Do I Like Sushi or Soy Sauce?

The world is a gluten minefield. I’ll say it again. The world. Is a gluten. Minefield.

Day 11 and I already accidentally broke my gluten-free streak. On what, you ask? Fro-yo. Yep! Frozen yogurt! OF ALL THINGS!

It makes sense after the fact. Turns out that if you get a frozen yogurt flavor called “double cookies and cream” it is bound to have wheat in it somewhere. And if you top it with cookie dough pieces and cheesecake mini-bites? Gluten. And if you scoop them out of your yogurt and into the trash, leaving just some crumbs from the cheesecake crumbles? Still gluten!

I totally thought, frozen yogurt is dairy. It has no gluten. Guilt-free deliciousness! Yay!

Nope!

But as it is, I may have actually broken my streak on day 7. That all depends on the wasabi.

You see, my 16 year-old cousin underwent a pretty serious surgery—hopefully the last of a few that will lead to his annihilating testicular cancer (it must be noted that this guy is, like, my hero. He made chemo seem like nothin’, and is a beast with physical therapy). So I found myself in a hospital cafeteria, purchasing sushi.

Mine one: soy sauce.

Lucky for me, I already knew that soy sauce had gluten in it. I looked to see if the hospital had any gluten free packets for the taking. None to be found—only low sodium. But seeing that I was at a hospital, I thought to ask a cafeteria worker if there were some gluten-free packets that were perhaps hidden away. Negative! AT A HOSPITAL! That was a bit shocking.

There I was, sushi in hand, only sandwiches, paninis, and fruit surrounding me for alternative dinner choices. Never having eaten sushi without soy sauce (because I’m newer to the sushi bandwagon and soy sauce has been my security blanket), I wondered to myself, do I like sushi or soy sauce? And was excited to find out.

Moments later I sat myself down. I spread my wasabi in a light layer over the top surface of my tuna roll. And that’s when it hit me…

Mine two: wasabi.

Is it gluten free? The answer is not a clear yes or no. If it’s fresh, wasabi will not contain gluten. If it’s like “much of the wasabi eaten in the US” as one website states, the wasabi will likely be a mixture of ingredients which could contain wheat starch.  But considering that my sushi was irreversibly covered in the stuff, I allowed myself ignorance.

Alas, at least minor slip up for this non-Celiac “gluten-free” gal.

But do I like sushi? I do.

And did I even notice that I had consumed gluten? I did. 

The next morning I woke up with a slight headache and a grog I haven’t felt since eliminating gluten from my diet, my itchy rash, and an ache-y body.

But, onward and upward! What additional awareness will this adventure bring?