gluten Archives - Cruisin with the Colemans

Oh how I wish we were the best of friends. The pastries, the pizza, the pasta, the bread, Lord have mercy, the bread. I want to have a relationship with these foods like no other relationship I have had before. Sorry, Brian but you get me.

I don’t want to linger on this discussion because I made a decision many years ago that my life will not be defined by whether or not I eat gluten. But I do think it’s an important topic for those who care to understand how I manage my food allergy.

Let me take you back to our first pilgrimage in 2017 on the Camino Frances in Spain. I ate zero gluten the entire trip and, with regards to food, I was miserable. I hated missing out, I hated have to explain my food allergy to every sweet person trying to give food to a hungry pilgrim, but most of all I hated being defined by my food allergy.

In 2019 when we walked part of the Camino France and all of the Camino Portuguese, I decided food allergy be dammed, I am eating whatever I want. LOL My body said, “Oh you want to play that game, let me show you who’s really in charge.” Guess what? It’s not the mind, it’s the stomach. I paid a hefty price on that pilgrimage. I had breathing issues, anxiety, and the horrific, constant wheat belly. When I eat gluten, my belly protrudes and makes me look very round in the middle until is processes through my body at a snails pace as it impacts my breathing. I didn’t want to believe the gluten was to blame, denial was much easier to manage.

Fast forward to when we decided to go on another pilgrimage. I spent the year working with my doctor to ensure my heart and lungs were functioning well (since I developed breathing issues). I got a colonoscopy where my doctor did two different tests for celiac disease. He confirmed that I do not have celiac disease. Well, there’s a win!

I went to my allergy doctor, we decided to go ahead with a food allergy test. Guess what? Dang it, it was confirmed that I am allergic to wheat. Not the, “you will go into anaphylactic shock,” type of allergy but one step down, a moderate allergy. I already knew that but my mind needed the confirmation. Now what? I am going to Italy! I am eating the pasta! Ughh!! But I will not let my food allergy define me.

I did some research and found a gluten relief pill to help ease the pain my body goes through to process wheat. Click here to see what I use.* It’s not a perfect system, but as long as I take it before I eat wheat, my body processes it a bit faster. I still have a bit of breathing issue and my belly still protrudes some but it helps the wheat process faster.

On pilgrimage, the greatest problem is that we are at the mercy of those who are providing food for us. Some places we stay only have bread and coffee for breakfast as that is typical for Italians. I am not going to hike on coffee alone. See my blog, “I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It.” Therefore, I avoid gluten when I can, I take the preventative pill and eat it when I have to do so.

Life is a delicate balance of choices whether you have a food allergy or not. Sometimes we eat too much, drink too much, and that’s just life. My allergy will not define me, it’s just part of the consideration when I make choices. I can feel a life lesson in there, can you?

On this day, I found gluten free snacks! And a cappuccino with chocolate. 🥳

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Right now my biggest struggle is food. There never seems to be enough of it. The Hospice we stayed at last night included breakfast. Unfortunately that breakfast was a few day old piece of bread with butter/jelly and tea. Neither one of us could finish our bread because it wasn’t sitting right. We planned to have “second breakfast” at our first town 5 kilometers into our walk. Unfortunately, maybe because it’s Sunday, nothing was open. We hiked on to the next town where we found a bar. At the bar we could have cappuccino, liquor, or packaged muffins. We skipped the liquor. For a moment, I was ok.

We planned to stop for lunch in Etroubles but it was down pouring rain, thundering, and at times we had hail, so we pushed on another 3 km to our destination for the day. We stopped at our accommodation to shower and put our bags down but nobody was home. We tuck our bags into a corner, walked down the big hill to the one restaurant in town. It’s sure to be open because there are a ton of cars.

We approach only to see a handwritten sign on the door, chiuso, closed. Noooo!!! I am starving! A gentleman comes to the door to tell us they are having a family reunion today, “maybe we can come back about 8 p.m. for dinner.” It’s 2 p.m. now. Since it’s a tiny village we ask about our accommodation. He tells us that our host is his brother, he will get him. Thankfully his brother drives us back up the hill, settles us in, and tells us about a restaurant at the last town back if we want food. It’s a 25 minute walk, one way. He made some joke about wine but I wasn’t willing to listen. I smile politely. I’m hungry and I don’t want to talk about it.

Let’s talk about our hiking day! You know the saying, “What goes up, must come down!” And boy did we climb down. We descended just over 1,200 meters (4,100 feet) in 15.4 kilometers.

The scenery was just as stunning with wildflowers in abundance. We even saw a mountain goat frolicking up the mountain. Check out our TikTok videos for about the same glimpse of him that we had!

The rain was intense but didn’t last long. All in all it was another spectacular day on pilgrimage. I just wish there was more food. Ok, I guess I want to talk about it again. We have completed a pilgrimage in Spain, the Camino de Santiago, and in Portugal, the Camino Portuguese. There was always plenty of food. By looking at me, I will survive without food for a day, probably more, but I am not as much fun to be around, just ask Brian. Haha.

It’s 6:30 p.m., Brian and I are distracting ourselves with writing/video editing, social media, anything but food conversations. The owner of our accommodation comes home. We settle up the bill, arrange a time for breakfast, and ask if his parents are open for dinner. He says yes! We arrive and there are 5 pilgrims already eating and laughing! What? We are late for dinner! I guess they know what time, “maybe 8 p.m.” is code for in Italian.

Alas, we have an outstanding meal of homemade pasta, pork and potatoes, salad, wine, tiramisu, and homemade grappa. A meal literally sent down from the heavens. I am no longer withering away, my belly is full. We will both sleep well tonight! It’s our biggest day of hiking yet tomorrow and are guaranteed a farm fresh breakfast. Tomorrow is going to be a good eating day, I just know it.

I know some of you want me to talk about the gluten issue and I will. I am just not ready to talk about it yet. In short, I am avoiding gluten when I can, taking preventative measures when I can’t. The bottom line is “wheat belly” or not, I have to eat. And yes, you can see in some of our videos when I have the unfortunate “wheat belly.”

Check out our YouTube video of this day!!

Stats for today:

Walked from Grand Saint Bernard Pass to Echevennoz at 15.4 km
Lodging at Affittacamere L’Abri— €84

Tag: gluten

Gluten is Not My Friend

VF Day 6: I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It