[pct-l] Eating Wheat Free

[Rebecca Mezoff]

Hi Ellie mae!
Thanks for your encouragement about eating on the trail.  I think I'm  
the person who started this thread.  I actually have celiac disease  
which is an autoimmune disease and not a wheat allergy... so I  
absolutely can't under any circumstances have anything with gluten in  
it (leads to all kinds of nasty short and long term side effects the  
immediate one being the destruction of my small intestine and  
resulting pain)... which is what makes my condition so tricky because  
so many things have hidden gluten.  But you're right that there are  
many people who are gluten sensitive who can get away with things  
like an occasional beer or a slice of pizza or aren't bothered by the  
wheat which is in almost all salad dressings.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to make heavy use  
of the United States Postal Service even if that means waiting in  
town over a weekend to pick up a box.  There seems to be no way  
around it so I might as well start the dehydrator now because it is  
going to take the next 8 months for me to make that much food.  :)

Thanks to everyone else who has send me messages on and off the list  
about my eating dilemma.  You all have some really great  
suggestions! .... and most of them I'm actually going to use.  There  
are many things in most backpacking recipes that I can't eat (besides  
the wheat base) like the soup mixes and MSG, and things like Lipton  
Rice Sides are also out... but I'm getting better at substituting  
things.  There also seems to be some kind of refried bean theme going  
which is intriguing to me.  I think I'll start eating the beans  
awhile before getting on the trail though so I don't get a trail name  
like Rolling Thunder!  (who's journal is great by the way!)

I think we all need to pay attention to good nutrition and I guess  
maybe in one way I'm lucky that celiac disease makes me look pretty  
carefully at everything I eat... hopefully that will help me be more  
aware of eating well on the trail and that will certainly help get me  
to Canada.
Thanks again for the assistance and support!
Rebecca