A little frustrating

[sailorzeo]

We watched Bedtime Stories last night. It was cute, but I'm glad we caught it on a Starz free weekend rather than paying to see it in a theater.

One thing in it _seriously_ bothered me, and it's something I'm seeing more and more of. Apparently, "gluten-free" has joined the ranks of rice cakes and tofu as comedy shorthand for "healthy but disgusting." Bedtime Stories and iCarly both used "gluten-free" as a punchline for food, and Bedtime Stories seriously Did Not Do The Research: the cake at the girl's party in the beginning is called a "gluten-free wheat grass cake." Um, for the most part, wheat grass isn't considered gluten-free because it can contain seeds that CONTAIN GLUTEN!! Also, same character also regularly fed her kids WHEAT GERM. Um, yeah, GLUTEN.

Also, on Facebook, twice now I've seen the initial reaction to something gluten-free being automatic disgust. Food2 posted a link to Alton Brown's gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and people were replying, "Ewww, why would you do that?" Several people with celiac or gluten intolerance gave well-worded replies, but the "Eww" reactions continued. A friend of mine posted that she made gluten, dairy, and egg-free cupcakes for her daughter's preschool class. First reply? "I hope you made her some real ones later!"

Just because something is gluten free, dairy free, and/or egg free does NOT mean it's disgusting! I've been living gluten-free for three years now, and when I make a dish or dessert to take to an event, it's going to be gluten-free. I have a co-worker with dairy and peanut allergies, and we trade recipes back and forth. He's made a few gluten-free dishes (including that Alton Brown cookie recipe!), and he likes them. I subscribe to multiple mailing lists and a magazine devoted to allergy-free cooking. Very rarely do I come across a dish I'd label as "disgusting." The fact that I haven't really lost weight on a gluten-free diet must mean that the food's pretty good. :-)

And as for whether or not they're "real," think of it this way. If you were to make a wheat-flour, butter, and egg-based cupcake for a child with celiac, dairy allergies, and/or egg allergies, that would be tantamount to offering that child a pretty little cup of poison. For him, that gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free cupcake IS "a real cupcake." And I know the mix my friend used. It's as good as a standard mix. I've had a gluten-free cake mix, Pamela's Decadent Chocolate Cake, that I think is better than a wheat-based mix, and several non-allergic friends have said is the BEST chocolate cake mix they've ever had. It's very moist, very rich, very dark chocolate.

I know my ranting won't stop the world from thinking alternate baking methods are "weird" or "disgusting." But it helps me get it off my chest.

But for now, I think I'm going to have some gluten-free biscuits with turkey and gluten-free gravy.

Comments

[dollsahoy.livejournal.com]

Lots of people get weird about anything that's not part of how they live, and that kind of person simply can't understand that anyone would want to live differently than they do--forget getting them to understand that some people *have* to live differently. These are the kind of people who, if diabetic, will eat cookies and cake and say, meh, they'll just increase the amount of insulin they take later. "What? Cut back on sugar and I can cut back on insulin, too? Never! I like cake!" They just...don't get it.

I've been reading The Simple Dollar blog lately, and it appears that a lot of people have the same reaction to the idea of changing little things in their lives that would save money. Not only do they feel like it threatens their lives, they also feel that anyone who does the cost-saving things is crazy...even when they themselves are in massive debt. *shakes head*

[(Anonymous)]

I know this blog was written a year ago, but I stumbled on it while looking for the gluten-free wheatgrass quote from Bedtime Stories and felt I had to respond.


I'm surprised at how bitter you are about people making jokes about gluten-free food. I have Celiac disease, and frankly, I understand exactly why these jokes are being made. An awful lot of gluten-free food IS actually disgusting, be it because of the texture, the after-taste, the dry crumbliness, the runny-ness, or the blandness. Some of it's really not bad at all, but the majority of it is an acquired taste-- and surely, not a taste most would bother to acquire if not for necessity.

Additionally, in Bedtime Stories, it was never stated that either Courteney Cox's character nor her children HAD to eat gluten-free; it was only mentioned that the cake was gluten free wheatgrass. I understand why you believe that they made a mistake there, as wheatgrass is not gluten free as it is grown, but the edible parts of wheatgrass do not contain gluten at all. Therefore, "gluten free wheatgrass cake" is actually a viable possibility. There was also nothing to indicate that any of the characters were eating "gluten free" wheat germ. Get a sense of humor. They have a point to this! There are good recipes and not-bad GF products out there, but for the most part, they're absolutely right to make these jokes!

By the way-- if you are living gluten free because of an actual intolerance or disease, such as Celiac, you actually are far more likely to gain weight when switching to a gluten free diet, because your body stops reject the nutrients you are feeding it. So the fact that you haven't lost weight on a gluten free diet is not really a valid point, especially not in relation to the quality or taste of the food. No offense or anything, but unless you've adopted a gluten-free diet completely by choice or because it's the new Hollywood trend, it would be unlikely for you to lose weight on this "diet".

I understand why you might be frustrated at such jokes. But really, dude, get a sense of humor, and-- more importantly-- research your facts before you start ranting. You're really making a big deal out of, literally, nothing.