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Hey all
It was a cool thing...a friend stayed with me (out of town guest) whose son
has Celiac. I was excited to share treats and also worried about
everything. Even though my house is totally GF and I am single, I had this
fear of contaminating him. Goofy hah....

ANYWAY, here is the odd part. Having someone stay with me with Celiac, and
learning/listening to how the parents deal with it was eye opening.
She has two kids, one celiac, one not. So she lives in a different world
than I do. I would have assumed she was as psychotically careful as I am
about everything, but she wasn't, which was interesting to me. I know we
all have different levels of care with this, some eat out, some don't, some
worry about xyz, others don't...but I do w

onder if I am being too careful
and letting things get tooooooo strict to the sake of not enjoying food
especially dining out.

My friends feel comfy doing the following...I wish I could...
- reading a label on something pretty non threatening, (salsa, ketchup,
etc, beans) and trusting the ingredients...and GOING for it. Without
knowing the manufacturer..etc.
- they do not have separate pots and pans for celiac son
- they go out to eat with him and give a talk but not a crazy talk to the
waiters...just to watch out for bread, etc...they order mild stuff like
eggs and rice, etc, but don't nearly go to the lenghts I would...and do...I
am not in judgement at all....I think they live a healthy balance...I do..

I guess I still wonder what is the right level of care vs obsession. I mean
I know there is not one answer...but being around them made me feel I take
it too far...I bought new pots/pans for their

 stay....I wonder.....if I
should not be as nutty about not trusting labels,
waiters...etc....chefs.....yada yada....

HOW WORRIED ARE YOU? How worried should you be?  Eating out I mean....
I hate this part...tee heee....my friend also had GF snacks in same bag
(big shopping bag) and regular crackers. I would be totally paranoid about
crumbs and cross contamination. Both boxes were open.....

Sorry to ramble...still trying to figure out right way to live healthy and
happy...not sure I have a good mix...and afraid to be more daring...
BOY I MISS THAI AND INDIAN FOOD....BIG TIME

redcat
baltimore, MD

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *