What Food Do You Miss the Most?

food with gluten

Yeah…yeah…I know. We’re healthier now so we don’t miss those evil gluten-filled foods. Blah, blah, blah.

Just play the game. 🙂

I received the following email recently (actually October but who’s counting…yes I’m that backlogged) and it just got me thinking.

Hmmmm…what would my last glutenous meal be??

Dear Gluten Dude,

Do you have any recommendations for what to enjoy before going Gluten-Free?

Let me explain. I am 25 years old and I had a strongly positive blood serum test for celiac disease a month ago. I am currently waiting for my endoscopy to confirm the diagnosis. Unfortunately timing-wise, I received the blood results the day before I moved to a new city for a new job, so the complications of being referred to a doctor in a new city means that I have another 1-2 months before I will have the endoscopy. While I know that there is the chance that the biopsy will be negative, having celiac disease would explain a lot and so I am trying to mentally prepare myself for a lifetime gluten-free diet.

The stress of having this unconfirmed diagnosis hanging over me sucks, but I’m trying to look at the bright side. Since I have to keep eating gluten for now in order for the endoscopy to have accurate results, I’m trying to enjoy this last chance of being able to eat normally.

So, my question is, what do you miss most about pre-diagnosis? If you could go back to before you learned you had celiac disease, knowing what you do now, what would you enjoy one last time?

Thanks,
Potential future celiac

Such a fun, yet torturous, question.

Personally, I didn’t get the chance to have a last meal. I went to the doctor never knowing the word “celiac” existed and before I know it, I was diagnosed.

If I could go back in time though?

Here’s what my last meal would’ve consisted of: Penne pasta with shrimp in a vodka sauce; garlic bread with gargonzola cheese and a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA.

Now if you’ll excuse me…I’m going to curl up in a ball and weep.

In the meantime, what would your last meal be?

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130 thoughts on “What Food Do You Miss the Most?”

  1. Homemade cheese stuffed pasta, tossed with butter and garlic with a side of eggs benedict on an English muffin followed by butter tarts. All of this is washed down with BEER – any kind. I tagged all the bases here as I’m allergic to dairy and eggs too. In the event that none of this is available BREAD – the good stuff not the kind that can result in dental work or that is simply a method to get the sandwich “middle” to your mouth. Not that I’ve given this ANY thought…….

  2. My family is from Louisiana, and I would totally load up on Southern favorites: real biscuits, seafood gumbo (made with a roux), fried chicken and doberge (special kind of pudding cake from LA).

    1. Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose flour makes a good roux. You don’t have to go without that one! I’m with you on the Doberge cake though!

        1. Plain old white rice flour also makes a good roux. I tried it for the first time last weekend, 3T butter and about 2.5T of white rice flour. Added the flour to the melted butter, kept stirring over med heat until it got frothy, then added the chicken broth. It was very yum!

  3. I would have headed to NYC for a final binge. I have no idea if these places still exist, since I haven’t eaten at them in a loooong time, but there’s a pizza place in the LIRR terminal at Penn Station that had the best white pizza (dream about it from time to time), then I’d head over to Grand Central Station where I used to get an amazing chocolate chip scone. Oh my….. I’d probably pick up a dozen bagels on my way over to Columbus Ave to get a wheel of brie (no dairy, either) and a baguette, scarf that down and pick up a street pretzel n my way out of town.
    Now…… I’d just head right to Jennifer’s Way. 🙂

  4. Beignets at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, drenched with powdered sugar, and accompanied by dark chicory coffee with cream.

    I’ll be thinking about this, all day, now, darn you. =0)

  5. Katy, there is a rice flour roux recipe on my blog, under, “gluten-free-white sauce.” You can still have gumbo with a roux–you just need finely milled (wet milled) Thai rice flour to make it work.

  6. A slice of super greasy and super cheesy pizza. I can’t have any part of a pizza now thanks to Celiac, casein intolerance, and garlic/onions intolerance (or allergy, I’m never sure which!)! Oh and garlic bread on the side!

  7. BEER, good fresh draft beer from Iron Hill Brewery, with a piece of thick crust pizza topped with sweet peppers, onions and mushrooms from Carmine’s on Kent Island, Maryland followed by a cookies and cream fluffy cream donut from Shady Maple bakery in Lancaster ( a donut so filled with cream you need to hands to hold it).
    SIgh.
    I have to admit, except for the beer and donut, I pretty much eat what I used to just in gluten free form. I am lucky I have the time to bake my own bread, bagels, deserts etc, and they have been tasty.

  8. I would go to Peppino’s on 3rd Av and 77th Street in Bay Ridge and order a large pie with pepperoni (which tortures me now) and sausage. I may even have a chicken parm hero too. I’d pair that with a Shock Top End Of the World Midnight Wheat, which isn’t even made anymore. It was a special run in 2012 (Remember the Mayans?) and it may be the best beer I’ve ever had. I had 6 left when I was diagnosed. I wound up giving them to my neice’s husband.

    1. Thin crust, brick oven pizza. I live in Bay Ridge too and know Peppino’s well. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed before we discovered Peppino’s so I never had their pizza and it kills me to watch everyone eat it. It looks and smells amazing and is just the way I used to like it. 🙁 Do you know that if you bring your GF pasta they will make it for you? I don’t know how sensitive you are and about any cross contamination, but it might be an option for you.

  9. I would have something I know full well is practically impossible to duplicate GF.

    Baklava.
    Croissants
    and possibly a baklava- filled croissant 🙂
    with a Guinness
    while sitting in a bar in Ireland
    where the Guinness makes your heart sing.

    …..where’s my passport?……..

    1. I thought of you when GD posted this on FB and pictured you (although I have no idea who you are) screaming “POISON!” while pointing at croissants in the bakery at your store…Lol!! The thought of a warm chocolate croissant makes me crazy!!!

      1. Deb!
        I promise you –as God is my witness!–everything these beautiful peeps are all posting today can be replicated GF!!

        I know, I have made them ALL…..EXCEPT flaky pastry which is the phyllo dough needed for my Gramma’s baklava ( yeah, yeah one guy on the internet shows you how to do it–and it takes 6 hours of patient rolling, rolling rolling so it does not tear–really? come on!)

        and the damn croissant..!!.. 🙁

        sigh (hmmm…then again, those croissants also made my thighs the size of Texas at one point.. the only time my thighs were “kinda small” was when I was sick…. hmmm again….eh …maybe I do not need croissants….?
        lol

        🙂 🙂

    2. Spanakopita, wrapped in the above mentioned phyllo dough for the main course and then my grandmother’s Grapenut pudding for dessert #1. There is no substitute for Grapenuts cereal anywhere…barley…I have looked…..no dice. I can still remember what it tastes like after almost 9 years gf.

      Finish off with a soy latte (yeah, I know, they are gluten free) and some fig newtons…..lots of them.

  10. Ahhhhh GD-

    Such fantasies you evoke. Mine would be at Revere’s in Ewing. Fried mozzarella in a vodka sauce, followed by gnocchi in gorgonzola. Oh yeah, don’t forget huge planks of rustic garlic bread. My nod to celiac would be to start with a Ketel One martini, straight up. One olive.

    Whoyah-
    Jersey Girl
    —————————————————————————-
    George: I didn’t get any bread
    Jerry: Just forget it. Let it go
    George: Excuse me, I think you forgot my bread
    Soup Nazi: Bread, two dollars extra
    George: Two dollars? But everybody in front of me got free bread.
    Soup Nazi: You want bread?
    George: Yes, please
    Soup Nazi: THREE dollars!
    George: What?!
    Soup Nazi: NO SOUP FOR YOU!
    [The Soup Nazi’s assistant snatches George’s soup and hands back his money]

    -Seinfeld

  11. Ok, here goes.
    I would have 1 perfectly toasted REAL bagel with cream cheese and jam, a Lagunitas Brown sugar ale, and a bowl of home made pasta with … Actually I don’t care about the sauce.. Surprise me.

  12. Bagels and donuts! I’ve found substitutions that I can accept for almost everything else, and other things I miss (like croissants) but I can still pass them up; however, sometimes all I can think about is a nice hot NY style everything bagel with cream cheese or a delicious sugary donut.

    I’ll probably always regret that I didn’t eat more of them before being diagnosed!

  13. Funny, was thinking about this question lately. I have been actually dreaming f foods lately… and I can taste the food in my dream and it seems so real when I wake up I am almost afraid!

    My meal would be:
    croissant (miss these seriously bad!)
    Crispy fried chicken breast strips (odd,I never wanted them prior to celiacs and now they look so good!), garlic bread, salad with croutons and favored candied nuts

    creamed corn with saltine cracker topping

    drinking a cold beer that tastes good

    for dessert: any yummy gooey soft pastry… or a whole display case filled with glutenous yummy goodness!

    well, time to pack my lunch.. I have a lunch meeting at a very unfriendly gluten loaded restaurant. Big fun!

    Thanks for asking, it was a nice walk down memory lane! 🙂

    1. So true!!!! As I was thinking of the question, everything I miss is dairy – cheese, milk, cheese, ice cream, cheesecake, most desserts….

    2. Same for me… gluten was much easier to give up than dairy. One of my favorite go-to meals (especially for Friday nights) used to be cheese pizza and Corona with lime. Pizza without the cheese on a gluten free crust just isn’t the same. Nothing is the same without cheese.

  14. My mom’s homemade biscuits with her fried chicken and gravy – my favorite meal EVER!!! And her coconut cream pie. GEEZZZ she can cook.

    But I have to follow with the fact that I had a stomach ache most of the time my entire life (until I was 44) so I don’t really miss anything because I just feel so much better!! NOT PERFECT, but better.

    Camille

  15. Missing foods – and trying to duplicate them – is really a waste of time and emotional energy. Once I realized that a mindset of abundance was the only thing that would lift my deep depression, I made a daily practice of noticing and enjoying the foods that were easy for me to create, accepting them exactly as they were.

    Having said that, about once a year I do envy. This year, that was last night – my friend had a Ruben on marbled rye with kraut and all. it looked pretty sexy.

  16. The list is long and there is so little time. So, instead here are the gluten filled things I would not waste my time with. In the next two months avoid:
    Fast food hamburgers: If you want a burger, go get you a big ole honkin’ fresh made burger that costs you 10 bucks or more.
    Frozen pizza or prepared pasta: Instead, go fresh made all the way. If you can find an Italian grandmother somewhere to make you any of this, try to arrange a way to supplement her social security income. If she will make you biscuits and gravy too, all the better.
    Boxed macaroni and cheese: You will NEVER miss this once you go gluten free.
    Cheap-o whole wheat bread. I fall on two sides of this. I miss the hearty whole wheat bread and I REALLY miss that cheap, horrible for you squishy white bread. The southern girl in me, I suppose (see biscuit note above).
    Cheap Beer: Indulge in the craftiest, wheatiest beer you love. If you like shepherds pie made with Guinness, get your fill of that while you are at it.

    Have fun… I am so jealous right now.

    1. um… I miss regular boxed mac n cheese sometimes. I’ve been gf for 2 years…
      Also I made some pretty awesome biscuits and gravy using Pamela’s pancake mix for the roux and the biscuits.

  17. Chinese food. Lots and lots of Chinese food. If I happened to be one of those “lucky” Celiacs who are painfully underweight (which I never was – I’ve never been able to pack on calories without gaining weight), I would go to a Chinese buffet at least once a day. Also Popeyes, Raising Cane’s, and Shipley chocolate-covered cake donuts. And all the food my office brings in for us every week. I would eat it all. All the things!!!

    And Abita Beer – I would get to the Abita brewery the week before the endoscopy and go nuts drinking free beer. Skip the brewery tour and just sit at the bar drinking free beer!

    I don’t envy the road you are on right now or the one you may be heading down after you get the endoscopy results, but I definitely envy your ability to eat whatever you want while you wait to have the test.

      1. It is all ingredients and technique, and you can get a good wok at a pro restaurant supply place for about $12.

        Also, try Spiely.com and get the Five Spice. That flavor profile is sooooo tasty.

        I’m happy to say my life in this culinary area is doing just fine!

  18. I would eat a real pizza with lots of sauce, mozzarella cheese topped with pepperoni, garlic, anchovies, bell pepper, ham, tomatoes. The bread would be thick and yummy. I would top it off with about 3 Shock Top beers.

  19. I would eat in restaurants for all of my meals because I have a FEAR of it and have been glutenated. I would go for some fast food like Kentucky Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, a big Subway, hit up the Chinese buffet, the local pizza joint and have a 6 pack of Heinekin (I can’t even remember how to spell it after 18 years) at the local pub. On Sunday I would go to a fancy restaurant and order ANYTHING I wanted, including bread and dessert.

  20. I really miss a good lager! Since I cooked from scratch for my family for over 30 years and was use to ready labels I adjusted fairly well. I don’t go without biscuits, muffins, brownies, pasta… All really doable GF… So much easier than 10 years ago. I just don’t make my own BEER! I would like to make a stuffed manicotti once in awhile but have not found GF version of these pasta shells. The hardest for me is cross contamination… Not always preventable but disastrous. when I’ve had a drink or two I become a little cavalier about my diet, ultimately taking risks… And then am reminded that Celiac is serious.

  21. ohhhhh man – I’d have to say a really, really delicious sub with homemade baked bread and french fries that shared a frialator with breaded products. Is that too much of a celiac answer?

    1. Amanda
      We must be soulmates 🙂
      croissants…sigh
      and I used to make the most amazing beef wellington…..sigh again

      xx IH

  22. I was in a similar situation and had a week or so waiting for my endoscopy. Interestingly, my consultant said that it would be alright already to go gluten free because the damage wouldn’t heal that quickly (I already had a strong positive blood test). For the most part, I did start to go gf. However, I had been walking past a fancy looking French patisserie on my way home for months and had never tried anything from it, but had looked longingly through the window. I realized that would be my last chance and bought a different creamy, caky, sweet pastry thing each day (I was also underweight so I could afford to do that). Yum! I do miss those!

  23. I know it’s not a meal, but I miss Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the corner pieces of a sheet cake with traditional buttercream icing, like what you would get at Wal-Mart, the grocery store, or a bakery.

  24. I don’t have any particular food. I would just like to go to a restaurant and over what I would like, not what I can have.

      1. This is my reply too. I would spend my days going from restaurant to restaurant and ordering whatever I wanted just because I could!

        I miss going to the local tavern and ordering one of their greasy burgers with a thick fluffy bun. And beer. Definitely beer. And puff pastry. And raised donuts. But mostly I miss the freedom.

    1. YES!!!!!!!!! I can’t agree with this more! Especially sides, want fries? NOPE, they are in a shared fryer. Soup? No, made with flour as thickener. Salad? Yeah! That’s your only choice. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. But wait, no croutons, candied walnuts, etc. So… pretty much lettuce with some oil and vinegar with a burger on top.

  25. I would love to walk into any random restaurant and order whatever I wanted, from the FULL menu of options (not just the couple of gluten free options). I would love not to have to think about whether I “trust” that their gluten-free items will be truly gluten-free and not cross-contaminated.

  26. I’ve been able to make pretty much everything I want, but I told my husband there would be one thing worth cheating for, ever:

    fresh croissants, brie en croute, and other gourmet French foods from a 5 star chef in Paris.

    I’d just plan to do it the last day of my trip so that I could be tired and grumpy on the way home just like the rest of the travelers and people going back to work from vacation ;-P

  27. Since I don’t have overt symptoms, I actually took a month to make the change. I remember camping and eating all the donuts, pancakes, and everything else I could find that I knew I would miss. Now, ten years later, the one food I truly miss (other than the normal breads, etc.) is a Taco Bell Burrito. I have never been able to find a good substitute for a flour tortilla.

  28. The three things for which I have not found a true GF substitute, and which I regularly enjoyed in the gluten-filled days, are Hefeweizen (yes, wheat beer was my favorite), a chick-fil-a chicken biscuit (a biscuit with fried chicken, wonder why I always had a stomachache after that one?), and thick-crust pizza (there are lots of good GF thin crusts, though). I have managed to find or create pretty good substitutes for everything else, I rarely feel deprived.

    1. The week before I went GF, I had a Chick-Fil-A sandwich and a Veggie Lover’s Deep Dish Pizza from Pizza Hut, as well as one last Chinese take-out meal.

      I’m glad I did it but like others, I don’t really miss those particular foods anymore. I do miss just being able to eat somewhere without planning. Miss it a lot.

  29. Caroline - New Zealand

    It’s the basics I miss most. A fresh baguette with ham and cheese or fish and chips on the beach with my family and friends with a really cold beer. Ahhh, those were the days. 🙂

    1. Adrianne Gentleman

      I hear you Caroline, as another Kiwi girl. I also miss the old favorite from my childhood, Wattie’s tomato soup with hot crumpets. Oh dear this post could cause some heartbreak.

  30. Pizza with a good chewy crust, the kind you have to move your head and hold onto in order to get a bit off of. Donuts of any kind, but particularly chocolate frosted custard cream ones. Macaroni and cheese made with Creamettes elbow macaroni (a local brand) and Velveeta (yes, a growing up favorite). Hot, fresh baguette spread with brie cheese.

    But mostly, being able to walk into a restaurant and order anything on the menu and not worry about getting glutened!

  31. Hmm, I’ve taken the “look forward, not back” approach to eating. Missing foods, or dwelling on what I can’t have, seems dangerous to me. That being said, if I could go back, I would totally go for cheap Lo Mein. I haven’t been able to replicate the sheer unhealthy, delicious flavor. I keep trying, though….

  32. A good moist cake (apologies to anyone who hates the word moist). I’ve tried many recipes and still haven’t found a cake that compares with the just right gooey goodness of my Nana’s simple chocolate cake made from regular ol’ flour. I got one every year on my birthday. I miss it so.

    Gluten free cakes and cupcakes typically are either too rich or too dry. Just once I’d love to eat a piece of gluten free cake that doesn’t make my tooth ache or collapses in crumbs on my chest.

    1. Hannah…try this? 🙂
      Trust me…it’s awesome and 2 chefs told me it’s the best cake they ever ate.

      Flourless Chocolate Cake

      CAKE
      1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate chips (Enjoy life/ Hershey’s/Ghirardelli-all GF)
      1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
      3/4 cup granulated sugar
      1/8 teaspoon salt
      1 /2 tsp. vanilla
      3 large eggs, beaten
      1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process preferred (Hershey’s is fine– it’s GF)

      GLAZE
      1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate chips
      1/2 cup heavy cream

      TOPPING (this is optional)
      1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in a 350°F oven till golden brown, about 10 minutes

      Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8″ round cake pan with butter; then, cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan. 

      TO MAKE THE CAKE: Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl. 

      Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine. 

      Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes.

      Loosen the edges of the pan with a sharp knife and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that’s fine. It may have cracks, no worries—the glaze will cover those. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine. The glaze covers all mistakes!

      Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing. 

      TO PREPARE THE GLAZE: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is very hot, but not simmering. Remove from the microwave, and stir till the chocolate melts and the mixture is completely smooth. 

      Spoon the glaze over the cake, and spreading it –to drip over the sides. Allow the glaze to set for several hours before serving the cake.  This cake is ultra-rich and a small serving is plenty. I sometimes serve it with a dollop of vanilla-spiked fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries or raspberries.

      I hope you like it, hon!! 😉

    2. Nigella Lawson has a great recipe for a flourless chocolate orange cake (moist!) in her Feast: food that celebrates life cookbook. I have the hard copy but it’s probably on the website.

    3. I don’t do a lot of baking (which is why I bought this particular book) but the “Cake Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free” by Anne Byrn has a Honey Bun Cake recipe that is insanely moist and my whole family, GF or not, loves it. I think it has something to do with the pudding mix added to the cake mix, well – and the oil, eggs, sour cream, etc. don’t hurt. She usually has dairy substitutes/suggestions, too.

      I don’t like really rich cakes and I haven’t tried most of the recipes but the ones I have are all very good. (The applesauce cake was very moist, too.) You might want to try your library for the book. There are several chocolate cake recipes in it. You never know… 🙂

  33. Samosas, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and egg rolls, all cooked in one big, nasty, shared fryer! Trans fats optional.

    Oh, and oatmeal scotchies for dessert, because I still haven’t reintroduced oatmeal and it suuuuucks.

  34. We just went down this road with my son.
    I was like GD – went into the Doctor’s office and out with a Celiac diagnosis. No warning. BUT my son (9 years old) had 3 months between blood test and biopsy so we made sure he had everything he has wanted to try.
    He made a list and we did what we could to let him have/try it. Including greasy-crap-for-you fair food like corn dogs and mini donuts.
    The day before he went 100% GF we had a “Good Bye Gluten” dinner at his favorite restaurant. He had an Oreo milk shake, calamari, chicken nuggets, etc.
    After that night he has been GF. It really wasn’t that bad a transition – I think the way we approached it was key. He has not really said much about not having gluten. He won’t take sandwiches to school and that has been a struggle (for me) to come up with other options for him.
    And that’s when I was trying to think of things I wish I had one more time. But all I could come up with was perogies (still can’t get good ones), croissants (or any flaky pastry) and Strawberry Twizzlers.
    Aside from that, it was more the wanting to eat AT a certain place rather than a particular food.
    The ability to walk into any single food establishment and know that I could have anything on the menu.

    Freedom.
    Freedom from the eye rolls, freedom from the 20 questions, freedom from the 5 item gluten free menu and the endless quest to find something to eat in airports.
    So, go eat what you love, but also eat WHERE you love.

    Also, I never ever actually crave gluteny foods anymore. Unless I am sick and then I want chicken noodle soup with half a sleeve of saltines. And yes, I CAN make chicken soup but I don’t want to make anything when I am sick. But if anyone can find me a GF version of a premium plus they will be my hero….

    1. There are many days I dont want to cook and that is when I turn to the freezer. Make a batch of soup and freeze it so you always have some on standby. I loved cooking before my diagnosis and now it is just not the same. I find cooking large batches when I am in the mood and freezing up the leftovers makes life easier when I am sick or just dont want to be in the kitchen. I dont think there is a good canned chicken soup gf or traditional.

  35. IrishHeart, your chocolate cake recipe looks absolutely delicious. I will definitely give it a try. Thank you!

    1. Helen
      I would never recommend something if I did not cook it, research it or live it. 🙂

      Make it…and ENJOY! (PS I made it long before I was Dxed. It’s
      everyone’s favorite cake in my life–GF or not)

      It’s from King Arthur flour’s website and it’s outrageously decadent..

      Cheers!

  36. My mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls made once a year on Christmas Day
    My mom’ s homemade biscuits and gravy
    Fresh baked French bread
    Bagels
    Tortellini – spinach &ricotta
    Cheerios – nothing I’ve found is quite the same
    Soft serve ice cream cones from the truck on the side of any random beach on a hot day

    That said, I eat a much healthier diet post DX. The only gluten substitutes I do are pasta (penne and spaghetti) and an occasional home made pizza.

  37. My dad’s chicken and dumplings.

    Southern biscuits and gravy (I get close w/ gfree, but not the same).

    A Krispy Kreme donut.

    A croissant.

    I would have tried many more cuisines.

    1. I just made THE BEST gf gravy ever for Thanksgiving. (can’t claim the glory for the recipe) My whole family who eats gluten said it competes for the best gravy they’ve had too.

      Gravy
      1/3 cup dried mushrooms (shitake or mixed)
      2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
      3 TBSP Butter (dairy or non-dairy)
      1 ½ TBSP minced shallot
      3 TBSP flour (I used coconut flour and sorghum flour)
      2 TBSP Tamari (or coconut aminos)
      ½ cup cashew cream ( I make mine at home, soak raw cashew pieces overnight and blend with a tiny bit of water in a high-powered blender or food processor until very smooth. Add water to desired thickness)
      1 TBSP sherry (optional)
      1 TBSP minced fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
      Salt & Pepper to taste

      Bring stock to a boil. In a medium bowl pour stock over mushrooms and let soak for 20 minutes. Remove mushrooms from bowl, setting stock aside for later.

      In a medium saucepan melt the butter. Add the minced shallot and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat until softened. Add the flour to the butter/shallot mixture stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add the stock, stirring well to incorporate after each addition. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add the tamari, cream, sherry & thyme to the gravy. (also, dice the mushrooms and add here if desired). Cook for a few more minutes until heated through and thickened to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  38. Choice – just the freedom to eat anything anywhere without having to think about it. And like the previous poster I miss being able to try new foods (we travel a lot and adventurous eating was part of the fun).

  39. I agree with Diana, go to favorite Italian Restaurant(Stefano’s) and look at everything from top to bottom. I would lean toward a pasta, red sauce, with deep fried mozzarella, garlic bread and a cold dark beer. Ps, real strawberry cream cheese pie:). Kim64

  40. Pepperidge Farm white bread (not toasted) holding together a turkey sandwich with mayo and cranberry sauce. And some fast foods. I never loved fast foods before but now I miss the convenience of having that CHOICE. And Chinese food.

  41. Go to a patisierre and go crazy on pastry. Or eat tiger bread. Or any kind of bread. Baklava. Being able to eat wherever you want & never having to explain what gluten is. Bliss.

  42. I have two things. First is pizza at David’s – a little joint in my hometown that makes the best pizza anywhere, hands down. I don’t really miss any other pizza, but this one I do because it’s so good and all of the happy childhood memories attached to it. I had it one last time a few weeks before I was diagnosed and it was AWESOME!!!

    The second would be Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster. I used to be able to make an entire meal out of those things!!

  43. Cheap, shitty, greasy pizza primarily made of mozzarella cheese. A portion of chicken lo-mein with real soy sauce. One fried egg roll.

    Washed down with an Ommegang Three Philosophers 22 ounce.

    1. “Cheap, shitty, greasy pizza primarily made of mozzarella cheese”.

      Omg…this image made me lmao–and somewhat tear up a little because that was my teen age life in a nutshell –so thanks for that! 🙂

  44. I love playing this game!! I play it all the time!

    The breads that I would go for are bagels, fresh rye bread, challah bread and croissants.

    The meal that I would go for would be Chinese. I really miss good, authentic Chinese food. I cannot seem to duplicate it at home.

    If I then had another meal, it would be either fried chicken or fish and chips.

  45. Ciabatta bread. Perogis. White bread toast with butter. My homemade Italian bread. Cinnamon sticky buns. Subway sandwiches. Soft white bread with butter and potato chips snadwich. Elbow macaroni with butter.Thin crust pizza from Pizza Plus.
    Ronzoni pasta and Heartland pasta are good substitutes, but In have not found any bread that I do not have to be starving in order to eat it. There are some GF soy sauces out there, so I can make really good chinese at home. Bourbon chicken is especially good.
    I have to remind my self that I do not have a dreaded disease like cancer. I have a disease that is manageable by eating really good food. I have always been a very good cook and mostly eat things that are naturally GF. But a good, fresh caraway rye? I could weep.

    1. Hi Holly,

      I know it’s not exactly the same, but I made this Mock Caraway Rye for the hubs and he thought it was really good.( From Living Without Magazine) especially toasted. It’s GF and DF

      Ingredients:
      4 cups Gluten-Free High-Protein Flour Blend
      1 tablespoon xanthan gum
      2 teaspoons salt
      ½ cup almond meal, powdered milk or DariFree powdered milk alternative
      1 tablespoon cocoa powder
      1 package (2¼ teaspoons) dry yeast granules
      1 teaspoon rye flavor powder, optional
      2 eggs, room temperature
      1 egg white
      1 teaspoon cider vinegar
      ¼ cup shortening or margarine
      1 tablespoon organic molasses or unsulphured molasses
      4 tablespoons agave nectar or brown sugar
      1 teaspoon coffee extract or 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
      2 cups warm milk of choice (rice, soy, hemp, nut milk) or water (110 to 115 degrees)

      1. Grease two 8-inch loaf pans or two 8-inch round cake pans (at least 2 inches deep) and dust with rice flour.

      2. In a medium-size bowl, combine flour blend, xanthan gum, salt, almond meal or powdered milk, cocoa powder, dry yeast and rye flavor powder, if desired. Set aside.

      3. In mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, egg white, cider vinegar, shortening or margarine, molasses, agave nectar and coffee extract. Mix ingredients together on medium-low speed for 1 minute to blend. Shortening will be lumpy.

      4. Add milk or water to the wet ingredients and mix on low for 30 seconds.

      5. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Add remaining half and blend. Then beat at medium-high speed for 4 minutes.

      6. Spoon batter into prepared pans and set in a warm place to rise, about 50 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

      7. Bake bread pans in preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes until done. Bread is done when internal temperature reads 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Bread may darken quickly. If so, lightly cover loaves with aluminum foil.

      Each serving contains 106 calories, 3g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 15mg cholesterol, 208mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 2g protein.

      TIP Gluten-free rye flavor is available from Authentic Foods (authenticfoods.com).

      Variation

      For Caraway Rye Bread, add 1 tablespoon caraway seeds to the dry ingredients. Before setting your bread aside to rise, lightly beat one egg white with a fork and brush the top of the loaves with a pastry brush. Sprinkle additional caraway seeds on the top of the loaves and let rise.

      High-Protein Flour Blend
      MAKES 4¼ CUPS

      This nutritious blend works best in baked goods that require elasticity, such as wraps and pie crusts.

      1¼ cups bean flour (your choice), chickpea flour or soy flour
      1 cup arrowroot starch, cornstarch or potato starch
      1 cup tapioca starch/flour
      1 cup white or brown rice flour

      Blend ingredients together until well combined. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until used.

      Each cup contains 588 calories, 3g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 128g carbohydrate, 24mg sodium

      http://www.livingwithout.com/recipes/gluten_free_dairy_free_mock_rye_bread-1535-1.html

  46. Samosas, Baklava, Oom Ali (translation, ‘mother of Ali’, an Arab “bread pudding’ with phyllo and cream)
    Croissants
    Ravioli
    Good bread
    Naan
    Pita
    Phyllo

    *sigh*

  47. Last meal? I would likely just have my husband drop me off at a local French bakery (that opened in our area exactly 9 days before I was diagnosed and had to go GF, so I only ever went once. Not that I’m bitter or anything….) and would work my way through the case, pastry by pastry, bread by roll until I dropped on the spot. If I didn’t die before I left (and this next bit is just sad) I would go through the drivethru of a Long John Silver’s, get a family order of their deep fried chicken planks with a side container of just the fried ‘crunchies’ to devour. (We didn’t eat much fast food when I was growing up, or even as I moved out onto my own. I’ve always been the gal who cooks – but the occasional LJS was a much loved treat and for my 11th birthday one year, my older brother took me out and actually bought several POUNDS of the aforementioned crunchies and we both chomped through until we made ourselves sick – our birthdays are 3 days shy of 5 years apart, so it was often a joined birthday in our family.) Possibly ending with – also just sad – a whole tube of uncooked pillsbury cresent role dough, eaten straight out of the tube. Mom handed the cooking over to me almost 100% by the time I was 11, so I don’t really have any family based food requests. And if I was having my last meal, and one of my struggles with celiac is how much time/effort/energy/strength cooking so completely from scratch can be (when a recipe starts with “Pull out the grain mill, grind 6 different flours” BEFORE you get to the recipe itself, it can be… easier to skip meals, frankly.) so I would definitely go with having someone else prepare, serve, and especially clean up after the food for me.

  48. Here’s my condensed list (in no particular order):

    – Crab Rangoon

    – Potstickers

    – Toasted Ravioli

    – A good bagel

    – Crunch Wrap Supreme

    – Cheese Danish

    – Panda Express Orange Chicken

    – But the thing I miss more than any of these foods, is the convenience of going out to eat spur of the moment and choosing any item on the menu (or sharing food among friends).

  49. If I could go back in time, I’d fly to Germany…hit up the Hofbrauhaus for a weissbier stop for bratwurst and a soft pretzel on the street, finishing it up with a huge slice of black forest cake!

    However, I did have the opportunity to knowingly have a last gluten-filled meal at home of delivery pizza and a nice cold Stella Artois…unfortunately it all came back up 10 minutes later.

  50. Potential future celiac

    Hello all, as the submitter of the original email that started this post, I appreciate all of your responses, thank you!

    It’s now been 5 months and counting since I got my positive blood test results and I still haven’t had my diagnosis confirmed yet, though the biopsy is finally booked for February. Because of all the delays, moved doctor’s appointments etc, since August I’ve been eating like it’s my last chance to enjoy food worry free. I’ve been gorging myself and have gained more than 10 pounds and I’m ready to be done. It’s maybe not the optimum road to get to this place but I’m in a state of mind where I now just want to find out the results as soon as possible and I feel ready to move forward with eating healthier and potentially gluten-free.

    If I do end up having celiac disease, I think the thing I’ll miss the most is food while travelling, on previous trips I loved the freedom of being able to order something in another language where I didn’t even know fully what I’m getting, but seeing what ends up on my plate and just going with it. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get a “one last gluteny vacation” in. Also, pasta, I’ve been having several last meals of that. I suppose I won’t really know what I’ll miss most until I’ve experienced the gluten-free diet for a few years though, so I’ll keep you posted.

    I’m sorry for everyone who didn’t get the chance to enjoy a last meal. I’ll try some of the things in this list in your honour.

    1. I don’t know how to say this kiddo, but a positive blood panel means positive to me. Whether you have a biopsy-proven diagnosis or not,
      you do not register antibodies to gluten without cause. It’s pretty likely you have celiac, IMHO.
      I cannot believe you are ingesting gluten for 5 months waiting for this test, but if you are not keeling over dying (which I certainly would have been by the end of week 1) well, mazeltov! 🙂
      Still do not understand why doctors put people through that part if they claim the blood panels are reliable. All it does is cause more intestinal damage to confirm what they already know.
      You may want to read up on celiac and going gluten free in the coming
      weeks. I highly recommend Real Life with Celiac Disease by Melinda Dennis and Daniel Leffler.
      Feel free to call on me if I can help further. I have a NEWBIE 101 thread on celiac.com.
      Good luck and hope we’ll see more of you!
      Oh and…please eat baklava for me wash it down with a Guinness?
      Thanks..

  51. A warm loaf of San Francisco sourdough french bread and a stick of butter, every day. Every. Single. Day! Oh lawd, but I miss real good sourdough french bread. KFC extra crispy fried chicken and Chinese Food would be next, followed by as many Mrs. Fields cookies as I could eat, and then I’d eat another one just because I could.

    I also totally relate to missing going into any restaurant I want and order whatever I want. But mostly I miss sourdough french bread, fresh out of the oven on the pier in San Fransico with that crunchy, thick crust, and just about any sandwich made on a sourdough roll.

    I will actually sit and smell the basket of bread and just close my eyes and think back to how it tastes whenever my husband gets a bread basket, and I’ve been GF for 18 years. The smell still takes me back.

    I would have been as big as a house because I was never underweight. My first doctor told me the diagnosis had to be wrong because I was fat. Nice, huh? Found a better doctor and have never felt better.

    Good luck, it’s not as bad as you may think.

  52. I’m 27 and am in this EXACT same position. Got my blood test results back yesterday with my doctor greeting me with a smile (he’s a lovely chap) and saying after I was seated “I’m very sorry but you are definitely celiac, the blood test strongly shows this”. I am now on a waiting list to get my endoscopy (otherwise I have to wait till mid April) and am struggling to even try and eat something containing gluten. The symptoms suck!! While getting used to the idea of having a life long gluten free diet I am realising a lot of things I will miss. Here’s my list (not really a meal, but things I will miss a lot)
    Vegemite (yes I’m Australian)
    Craft beer
    Tim Tam’s
    Bagels from my favourite cafe
    Most cadbury chocolates
    Sesame wheats
    Coco pops
    (I am now opening my kitchen cudboard to find more)
    Shortbread biscuits
    Smiths crinkle cut cheese and onion crisps (actually I might eat some of those now for my little bit of gluten for the day)
    2 minute noodles

    …. Okay so our cupboard is pretty bare at the moment as the week grocery shop hasn’t been don’t yet… But there is a lot that will be missed.

  53. Since finding out I have CD and a long list of foods my body can’t tolerate 3 years ago , Then quickly realizing our kids have the same issues. Our whole family has had to give up a lot of foods.. We are grain, gluten, dairy, soy,legume, nightshades(except for tomatoes)- free.. But I have gotten pretty good at making delicious substitutes – even cakes, cookies, bread, ice cream, “cheese sauce” etc- Not an easy task when you have so many food restrictions ..but we have adapted and are happy for the most part with our food. Certain things just can’t be replicated though.. like dairy free cheesecake ( I have you can make a version with cashews but I don’t think it would be the same) or a grilled cheese sandwich. I think if I could turn back the clock I would take the kids to any restaurant they wanted to go to and let them order whatever they wanted including dessert and not have to worry about them being safe- that would be awesome! Then for a date night with my husband, I would go the best Italian Restaurant, Order a bottle of wine then freely go dairy wild lol.. Cheese sticks for the appetizer of whatever they offered that was smothered in CHEESE! Salad with ranch dressing and blue cheese!, Fettuccini Alfredo with extra parmesan- I don’t even care if there is pasta in it lol. just bring it to me in a bowl with a spoon!!! Pizza loaded with 5 different cheeses! Maybe some greek yogurt as a side. For Dessert Cheese Cake!Lots and lots of cheesecake covered in whipped cream- and a real dairy cappuccino! AAAHHHHHH!!!

  54. Hi, I’m gluten-free since only 6 months and, me too, I didn’t take the chance to have my last “gluten meal”… I’m from Italy and of course I love pizzas and pastas, but I’ve kept on eating the gluten-free versions with joy… there’s not so much difference. I thought I would miss a lot some kind of cookies, cakes and other sweets, but actually I don’t. I fount a lot of tastefull gf-products and recipes as an alternative.
    So, the food that I am missing more now has nothing to do with italian culinary tradition… I am thinking about…kebab!
    At least here, there’s no chance to find a gf-kebab. As far as I know, the meat is mixed with an additive which contains gluten… so it’s prohibited, also if you eat it without bread and avoid contamination.
    I wasn’t a big consumer of kebab, simply sometimes it happens that I feel like eating it…and can’t. 🙁 But it’s not such a drama…When it happens, I try to think about something else…;-)
    My best wishes not to be coeliac, or at least to keep your positive attitude.

  55. a plate of french toast or pancakes and shipyard pumpkinhead. still waiting for a decent pumpkin gf ale to come out. maybe next fall

  56. Well, I’ve been able to make my favorite Italian dishes thanks to decent GF pasta and Udi’s baguettes (for crostini) and I use SmartFlour for chicken piccata….so I think I would have a Mexican Torta with Milanesa (It’s a sandwich made with a specific fluffy crusty bread and breaded steak) some fresh flour tortillas and churros….there’s no decent GF substitutes for those! ( didn’t eat that very often but it’s really the only thing I miss!)

  57. I have celiac disease, confirmed by endoscopy. I would say 95 percent of the time I am super stoic about the diet and tell people it’s fine, not that bad, I’m used to it, blah blah blah.

    The other five percent of the time I just CRAVE all the food I can’t have.

    What I miss? PIZZA. Real pizza, not the freaking ‘thin crust’ because we all know the ‘thin crust’ tastes like cardboard and is mushy and the only reason all GF pizza is so vile is because they can’t get the GF dough to rise like real dough. Half the joy of pizza IS the dough. I miss being able to eat normal pizza so much, seeing a pizza ad on tv just hurts. When people order it and eat it in the house, I literally have to leave the room.

    Also: mozzarella cheese sticks. Also: FRENCH FRIES! Being able to eat food at a party. Being able to sit in a restaurant and order whatever the heck you want. Not feeling physically anxious at the thought of eating out and having to explain your shit to people, including but not limited to the waiter.

    I weep at the thought of croissants. Or eating doughnuts, because I have yet to eat a GF doughnut that tastes like the real thing. They taste like cardboard covered in cinnamon, (because GF doughnut makers have decided cinnamon masks the taste of cardboard? They ALL are made with cinnamon. Gone are the days of jelly, powder, sprinkles, coconut…). I miss tasty cakes. I miss birthday cake that I don’t have to make myself (and it’s cousin: cake icing, because there is something about the grocery store icing that makes it amazing). I miss getting to eat cake at a wedding. I miss eating bread from the bread basket. I miss eating bread that tastes GOOD. GF bread, even the best GF bread, still tastes of varying degrees of (I’ll say it again) cardboard. GF bread smells awful baking, and in order to eat it, you have to mask it with the taste of something else. There is no joy in eating GF bread.

    Also: I miss thai food. Also: crag ragoon, and ordering take out Chinese food. And homemade Italian ravioli from a restaurant. And flour burritos. Greek gyros with falafel. Naan bread.

    Thanks Gluten dude, needed to get that off my chest! I’ll go eat a gluten free cookie and will feel better about all of this in the morning. There seriously are a TON of foods I love that I can still eat, it just sucks having to make them all yourself!

  58. I’m jumping in late on this, but I am being tested for Celiac at the end of this month. I have been instructed to eat the equivalent of two pieces of whole wheat bread each day until the day of the test. So in a way, I get 3 weeks of last meals! I have a script for zofran and instructions to stop eating gluten immediately if I experience severe abdominal pain. So I guess we’ll see how it goes. But I do have a list of yummies to eat. And all of these comments have helped me add to it! Thanks for a great read!

  59. Cake, white forest, carrot cake with cheese…my best friend is a pastry chef.(yes am being punished)…before i was diagnosed she once made me a velvet cake i almost ate it all by myself…
    but the bloating,abdominal pain,Bloody stool!!!! i just had to stop but i miss cake so much.

  60. I don’t miss food at all. I eat to LIVE now instead of dreaming of what I am going to eat. I could give lectures on living well without focusing on food.

  61. A Cinnabon cinnamon bun. The pull apart kind from pizza hut. and an entire apple pie. and angel food cake. and just order out. something. anything. I would throw a dart at the phone book and surprise myself. I would not care for once about where my food came from. <3

  62. I know this is a year late, but I miss the “traditional” family stuff.
    1. the soft wheat dinner roll, buttered, that sops up the last bit of gravy/broth from a roast or soup
    2. the day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich: a cold, soft dinner roll slathered with butter and topped with cold turkey and a sprinkle of salt. No cheese, stuffing, or anything else. Just the roll, butter, and the turkey. It used to be my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving!
    3. the family recipe for “Green Dessert” aka “Lime Fluff”: crushed Oreos topped with lime jello mixed with cool whip, then tooped with more crushed oreos… used to be an annual request for birthdays at my house 😉
    4. The local hole-in-the-wall donut shop called “Donuts”
    5. The local hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where the owners’ son does homework in one of the booths between customers; that place had the BEST fried rice you’ve ever had

    Oh, and the fact that I could eat however much of whatever I wanted without ever gaining weight. Now, it’s being gained and very much unwanted. It’s hard to figure out how to diet after eating anything I wanted for 20 years!

  63. I know this is a year late, but I miss the “traditional” family stuff.
    1. the soft wheat dinner roll, buttered, that sops up the last bit of gravy/broth from a roast or soup
    2. the day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich: a cold, soft dinner roll slathered with butter and topped with cold turkey and a sprinkle of salt. No cheese, stuffing, or anything else. Just the roll, butter, and the turkey. It used to be my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving!
    3. the family recipe for “Green Dessert” aka “Lime Fluff”: crushed Oreos topped with lime jello mixed with whipped evaporated milk, then topped with more crushed oreos… used to be an annual request for birthdays at my house 😉
    4. The local hole-in-the-wall donut shop called “Donuts”
    5. The local hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where the owners’ son does homework in one of the booths between customers; that place had the BEST fried rice you’ve ever had

    Oh, and the fact that I could eat however much of whatever I wanted without ever gaining weight. Now, it’s being gained and very much unwanted. It’s hard to figure out how to diet after eating anything I wanted for 20 years!

  64. I’m facing this- and I want to eat all the things! I’ve had my biopsy, so technically I think I could start GF- but I’m not really sure, so am waiting to be on the safe side.
    It’s not going to be too bad for me- I have much lighter symptoms than you, and I suspect if I have it, I have for a long time.
    Savoury pies. KFC. mcd’s. Pizza. Pasta. Toast. Crumpets. Fresh white bread sandwiches. Salad rolls with ham. So. Many. Things.

  65. 1 Krispy Kreme Doughnut
    1 slice of Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizza (I’m from Chicago)
    1 Corona Light
    1 Modelo
    1 Large Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll
    1 Pint of Ben & Jerry Chocolate Fudge Brownie Fro Yo

  66. GrudginglyGlutenFree

    Oh my gosh, fresh, warm, soft, chewy french bread….mmmmm
    Also, thick crust pizza….gahhhh that chewy delicious goodness….T__T
    Maybe some perfectly al dente spaghetti + meatballs with parmesan roasted garlic french bread….i’m actively drooling now

  67. Steak, with a baked potato and a side of broccoli. Fajitas. Pho. In any restaurant that happens to be nearby, or that friends want to go to, or that new place that just opened. Without calling ahead, reading up, asking questions when I get there, and then dreading the worst. I don’t care for two seconds about never having dumplings or whatever again. I just miss the absence of hassle and fear, and the ability to travel without planning out every meal.

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Who I am. And who I'm not.

Who I am. And who I'm not.

I AM someone who's been gluten-free since 2007 due to a diagnosis of severe celiac disease. I'm someone who can steer you in the right direction when it comes to going gluten-free. And I'm someone who will always give you the naked truth about going gluten free.

I AM NOT someone who embraces this gluten-free craziness. I didn’t find freedom, a better life or any of that other crap when I got diagnosed. With all due respect to Hunter S. Thompson, I found fear and loathing of an unknown world. But if I can share my wisdom, tell my stories and make the transition easier on you, I’ve done my job.

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