Where are you hiding, you little gluten you?

I knew that this month would be tricky.  Gluten is one of those sneaky ingredients that find its way into everything.  Knowing this, I started researching where this little trickster may be hiding.  I found out that mass-processed meats are often made with gluten, to fill out the salami or make the turkey seem plumper. Gross. 

The Gluten Free Girl also taught me that, "Anything packaged that comes in individual pieces--candy, frozen foods, corn tortillas; french fries; the cashews I ate the other night--could be dusted in flour just before being stuffed in the package. Why? Because we live in America, and we like everything to look pretty. Goodness forbid that two pieces of chocolate stick together."

Here are a few other things that contain gluten:
--modified food starch
--MSG
--lecithins
--textured vegetable protein (think veggie burgers, or any fake meat)
--emulsifiers
--soy sauce (most of it contains wheat; you have to use wheat-free tamari instead)
--prescription and over-the-counter drugs, even some vitamins

With this new knowledge, I realized that my yummy little calcium and vitamin D chews are off limits.  They contain glycerin, corn starch and soy lecithin.  It makes me wonder why I started taking them in the first place.  If only it were more sunny in Seattle...then I could get my vitamin D the old fashioned way.

Even though I ate two of these chocolate calcium chews yesterday, I don't consider them a mistake nor or a cheat.  I know that my gluten learning curve will be steep these first few days.  I'm just happy to be sticking to my experiment this well.  It's been two days of wholesome oatmeal, fruits, delicious thai food with brown rice, colorful salads and nuts.  I even was able to eat some flan and chocolate at a work dessert party last night.  More discoveries yet to come!