Family wedding!

[sarkin]

We have a family wedding tomorrow - the sweetest young cousin of my husband's (I've known her since she was 9!) is marrying a fellow I'm betting is the smartest and nicest guy on earth

I couldn't be luckier - it's a 3pm wedding, so I will eat a substantial lunch first. This will be a special lunch, because my poor MIL is stuck in transit to NYC, due to weather... so she missed the special dinner we hoped to share with her at a local restaurant I totally trust. I bring some steak in my purse (every glam gal's favorite accessory), and am pretty confident I can have a carrot stick or a chunk of fruit at the reception. (I've actually eaten at the lovely spot where the reception will take place, years ago, for Mother's Day with my MIL... but that was pre-MC.)

So now I'm just hoping my MIL gets here in time for us to fuss a little about which outfit is more perfect (she's bringing 3! I'm pretty much set, but have a backup plan if she talks me into it).

I know a lot of other folks have weddings happening around this time, and would love to hear how it works out. My one concern is that another cousin, who we're very friendly with, struggles with an eating disorder, and I don't want to make an issue out of my food, or hers. My strategy is: Histame, a glass of champagne, and a lot of time on the dance floor. When I was younger, I missed out on a lot of meals because I'd be dancing, and they'd take away my courses, one by one. Hope that works for me now!

--sara

[Gloria]

Hi Sara,

I hope you have a great time at the wedding tomorrow.

My husband's niece is getting married tomorrow also at 3:30 p.m. in a town about 4 hours from our home. My plan is to pack my usual lunch-away-from-home: a turkey sandwich with corn chips, which I will eat enroute to the wedding.

The reception after the wedding will be dinner and I expect that I won't be able to eat anything they serve. It's going to be a buffet. I will bring my usual turkey-quinoa meal to the wedding reception. So I'm putting my turkey, gravy, quinoa and asparagus into two crock pots. One is a 12-volt crock pot that just arrived this week, and another is 110 AC and will plug into the AC outlet in our Toyota. My food will be cooking/warming during our 4 plus hours trip. MY SIL says that the kitchen has a microwave, but I'm not taking any chances. If I must, I can cook the asparagus in their microwave. I've learned not to eat any vegetables out because they usually contain butter or a soy-based margarine for a sauce.

I'm packing homemade muffins and some almond pudding for extra carbs and something sweet when everyone is eating the wedding cake.

We're plugging in our new refrigerator/freezer to test it on the trip.

BTW, I just bought two .5 ltr vapur beverage containers at Eddie Bauer. I didn't waste any time, did I? DH wanted to get them as soon as he saw them. They were $9.99 each; I figured I saved on postage and also time. I'm going to freeze some remaining almond milk in one. I'll let you know how it freezes.

Gloria

[sarkin]

Gloria -

I think that price for the Vapur container is very reasonable - you would have had to pay shipping, of course... and you wouldn't have it in hand.

We are fortunate that our wedding is more like one hour's drive. So in addition to my packed snacks, I can put some potato chips in the car, and they'll be none the worse for wear even if there's nothing I can eat.

That crockpot sounds great! I am so inspired by your kitchen/car adaptations. I think in a way it's easier when it's a buffet (also, I hate being stuck at a single table - you get up to kiss someone and they take away your soup... not that we can eat the soup).

Except for the time difference, we'll be celebrating young marriages around the same time of day - I will think of you, and wish you a safe journey, much happiness for the wedding couple, and great good health and good eating,

Love,
Sara

[maestraz]

I'm in the same boat! Shower yesterday for my future DIL, lovely sweets and pastries, none of which I could eat, and I wasn't alone. Luckily, fruits and nuts were available. Wedding coming up in August, and gluten-free options will be available because of numerous people needing it.
What in the world has happened that so many of us are in this situation?

[Gloria]

Well, I didn't dance the night away at the wedding like you did, Sara. I wish I could have seen you!

My two crock pots worked well by cooking and keeping things warm. We put them both in a box, and the quinoa and muffin warmed up just by being near the crock pots. During the three hours that passed between the wedding and the serving of food at the reception, my food stayed warm, but not hot (because we turned the car off). Luckily, my SIL had told the caterers that I was coming and would need to heat my own food in a microwave. They were ready for me and let me heat it without any problems. I need to call my SIL and thank her for giving them a heads-up.

I dealt with urgent gas throughout the trip, however. We stopped a few times because I never knew if the pressure meant I needed to visit the bathroom. Luckily no one ever shared the bathroom and heard me. We got home at 11 p.m. and I still had the gas until 2:30 p.m., when I could finally fall asleep. No D, just gas. Very baffling. Today I'm fine. No almond milk or flour and no rice. Just pork and corn flour. We'll see what tomorrow's menu (lamb and rice) brings. I started taking Freeda CoQ10 last Thursday and didn't take it today. Could be that.

Gloria

[sarkin]

Suze - I know what you mean! There must be so many people walking around suffering, so maybe it's a good thing that more of them are figuring out that they truly cannot eat the gluten grains.

Gloria,

Sounds like a success, though I'm sorry to hear about the gas. I am seeking a new CoQ10 formulation - will be interested to know whether the Freeda's brand turns out to be the culprit. (Kind of hope not...)

How great that your SIL did such a great job setting things up with the caterers, *and* that they were ready, receptive, and helpful. I ate out tonight in a Mexican restaurant, and the staff came out to tell me not to eat one of the shared appetizers, which contains some flour. That gave me a lot more confidence that what I *did* eat was safe! (Time will tell, of course.) I was planning to skip the housemade corn tortillas, out my new renewed interest in Paleo, but the dish I had was spicy and they were a great counterpart.

Congratulations to all the new couples!

Love,
Sara