Now that I am on the topic of food...

You know, I haven't really whined much about the wheat allergy thing. But the reason for my lack of whining: It hasn't been that big of a deal.

The worst part of Maggie's allergy is combined with her Dad's allergies, the list of foods we can eat is very narrow. I fugure once people hear the list of food restrictions, we will never be invited out to eat again. I am getting such a complex about the whole allergy thing that I want to cry out: "I have no allergies", because I don't and I am trapped in an allergists dream house.

These days, a wheat allergy isn't a horrible allergy to manage. Now that I am getting the hang of it, I am amazed at the selection of foods I find at Whole Foods. (I prefer Whole Foods to Trader Joe's, because it has more selection and a great cabbage crunch salad in the Deli.)

Here are a few of the wheat free items I highly recommend.

• Rice Crackers. Everyone in the family loves them. They have a really crisp texture and hit the salty craving. We go through boxes of them.
• Rice based spaghetti noodles are passable. In fact, the Magster ate two helpings for dinner last night. It was quite impressive.
• Tonight we ate homemade Macaroni and Cheese made with Quinoa Elbows and with Rice Bread crumbs on top. It was a hit.
• Buckwheat Waffles are fabulous. It is hard to keep Dad from eating them.
  
• Kix cereal has very little wheat (well, the wheat there is doesn't bother Maggie), but also there is a whole line of gluten-free kids cereal at Raley's that is great.
• There are "No-Wheat" cookies by Nona's that are pretty darn good, and a bunch of health bars for kids that are wheat-free.
  

Beyond this, it has slowly dawned on me how many foods are just naturally wheat-free. Applesauce, yogurts, meat, rice, vegetables, fruit, (not that Maggie will eat Vegetables or Fruit, but they are wheat-free) milk, eggs, oatmeal, tofu, popcorn, jello, ice cream, cheeses, quinoa, rice crispy treats.

While it is a bummer that Maggie needs to avoid wheat in order to enjoy the occasional piece of cake, for me, the only impact has been it requires an extra grocery trip a week to Whole Foods. That and the fact it takes forever to shop because I am always reading the labels. Now that can be painful with two kids, but that is another story.