1. Sandwiches - From cubanos to tortas to paninis to grilled cheeses, bahn mis to burgers, it doesn't get much better than a good sandwich. Like this gouda grilled cheese with black bean spread, guava jam and dressed with jalepenos on a brioche served at the Kickshaw in Astoria. I've never had it, and now I never will.
2. Homemade cookies - When you work at a theatre with a cast of 37 and a company of almost double that, between the birthdays and the avid bakers there are ALWAYS little sugar, flour and butter based concoctions in the Green Room. Some days it's as simple as chocolate chip cookies, sometimes it's a ginger rosemary loaf, or maybe blueberry scones, or little cupcakes. Whatever it is, it's off limits to me.
3. Beer - I went to a bar the other night with over 100 beers. Only one was gluten free. It tasted terrible. Having been around the world and back again I've developed a taste for all beers. The good (Maredsous 8) the bad (Efes) and the necessary (PBR, Corona, Blue Moon). You can't play flip cup with red wine, and you can't chase shots of tequila with more shots of tequila. Plus, no more beer battered fish n chips, no beer can chicken, or beer braised ribs.
4. Dim Sum - This was the first thing I thought of when I was told to cut Gluten out of my diet, and two weeks later it continues to be the most devastating. There are no substitutes. Udi doesn't make gluten free pork buns, and no dumpling, no matter how good the company, ever tastes as good from a package as it does from a steam cart. Even the dim sum plates that I may be able to eat (pan fried taro cake, sweet bean curd, chicken feet, congee) are risky because any dim sum place that is worth anything is staffed by non english speakers. Miso sad!
5. Pizza - I live in New York. The top two reasons I decided to make the move were the following. 1. I got offered a job on Broadway. 2. New York Pizza. Come aaaaahhhn! It doesn't get any better than this. And to make matters worse, one of the best slices I've ever come across is served up at a deli a few blocks from where I live. It had become a once a week tradition, every Monday I'd get a few slices, a quart of their marinara, some homemade mozzarella and maybe a bag of dried mushrooms or something like that.
6. Magnolia Banana pudding - If you've never had it, I may recommend that you never do just in case you ever do end up with a disease where you're not allowed to eat it. There's no doubt in my mind that it is better and more addictive than crack. No matter how big the container, once I start eating it I can't stop until it's all gone. Banana Pudding, more than anything else I've experienced, has made me question the adage: "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
7. Bagels - Here's another example of an item that I didn't even eat that much when I could, but now that they're forbidden I see them everywhere. I sometimes wonder how I'll make it through the day. And there's no adequate substitute, just lots of mediocre ones. And sometimes that's even worse. It's easy to appreciate a Matisse if DaVinci is your favorite artist, but being asked to appreciate an art student's attempt at Mona Lisa? Forget about it.
8. Veggie sausage - This is the most umbrella category I'm including. Basically I miss being able to go into any Health food store and buy a prepackaged vegan something or other. Most vegan foods in such stores use wheat gluten as their protein source. It's a weird thing to miss, but sometimes I just want some veggie sausage in my salad, or a mock duck sandwich and now I can't.
9. Ramen noodles - I spent seven months in Asia, how can I not miss Ramen noodles now that they're on my forbidden list. Of all the foods on the list this seems the most cruel since I had only just started my love affair with asian noodle soups. It's a love cut off in its infancy. We were young and in love, but it was a love that could not endure. It's like a Shakespearean tragedy... told through food.
10. Clif Builder Bars - If you are what you eat, then last year I was approximately 15% Clif Builder Bars. I ate at least one a day, often two. They're freakin' delicious, chocolaty, minty, or else zesty with a sweet lemon creme. Probably the most delicious protein bars on the market.
For the Doctors:
pbpk weight: 179.8
12:15 -> 143 The fat at night kept me high. Gluten free bagel (meh) 42c, eggs 1c, cheese 2c, avocado 16c, soy chorizo 20c, cereal 40c = 120 = 2 units Novolog.
2:25 -> 90 Still hungry, had a gluten free Carrot Muffin 48c, two gluten free cookies 40c, a banana 27c, apple 12c = 127 = 2 units. Green tea and vitamins B12, B50, D, Cal and Mag.
7:28 -> 225 Well, shame on me for eating so much junk food earlier. Guess that caused the spike, too many high GI foods. Had 24 oz chili 75c, blueberries 20c, grapefruit 16c = 111 = 2 units insulin. Let's hope I creep down from the small carb deficit.
12:40 Had a glass or red wine.
1:40 -> 5 units of Lantus
3:18 -> 90 Had a pecan Lara bar 24c
Sigh, will I ever stop missing these foods? And what about the others I didn't mention? German pancakes, waffles, lobster ravioli, gnocchi, croissants...
Day 33
Classic! Especially the one about the Ramen noodles. You write about food better when you can't eat it!
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