Free gluten

Today a girl was carrying a very delicious looking plate full of paella style pasta and someone asked her: Does it have any carbs in it at all?!

It took me a while to fully comprehend what just happened. I was expecting that question to be about meat content. Not about carbohydrates. And then it struck me: what happened to all the vegans?

I have always found it funny to hear vegans compare human teeth to those of a horse, or when they posted animal cruelty pictures on Facebook right before bed time. I miss the endless discussions about beer, penicillin, seaweed and mushrooms. Back then, you were lucky to find one vegetarian option on the menu of selected restaurants. Vegans, where have you gone? You left me here with gluten haters and kale fanatics.

Because of them there are several green smoothies every morning on my bus, and I've seen Asian take-away menus specify whether fried rice contains gluten or not. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge supporter of smoothies and I surely don't mind an extra word on any kind of menu, especially if it can prevent my friends feeling sick.

My point is, all I hear during my lunch break, other than cricket sport news,  is the word 'gluten'. It seems like the majority of people are now intolerant or allergic to it, which is unfortunate, also a little bit sudden and concerning. Do you want to know what else I noticed? No one is on a diet anymore. People aren't just eating healthy, or reducing calories, opting for whole grains, trying to avoid having heavy meals twice a day. They are obliterating gluten! 

Consider yourself lucky if you can find a full gluten peanut butter cookie in a cafe. Bonus points if the cupcakes on display are NOT lactose free, egg free, sugar free, guilt free, and obviously gluten free. They are basically made of air and good intentions. Which, trust an Italian, don't taste as good as carbs.

 Image: via, via