Last week, I attended a workshop on gender sensitivity. Like most workshops and trainings, snacks and meals are included, along with overflowing coffee. Since I stopped drinking coffee July of 2009, I haven't had a cup since, and the scent of brewing coffee is mighty tempting.
But aside from this temptation, the other challenge is finding alternatives when you are being served food at an event or public gathering. At this workshop I attended, sandwiches were being served for snacks. As much as I wanted to be polite and not be fussy, I couldn't eat any of the sandwiches being served. In cases such as these, I usually request to send back the sandwiches rather than be served them. Another option would be to remove the bread and just eat the filling instead. I hate to put the food to waste, so if I can, I would ask to have the food wrapped instead to bring home. (I either give it to a family member or to a streetchild.)
I found out, however, that it's quite a challenge finding a snack quickly when the hunger pang strikes. After the said whole day workshop, I was famished. As expected, I couldn't eat the afternoon snack served so right after the workshop ended, I rushed to the nearest grocery (SM's Save More) to look for a snack.
Save More doesn't have an international foods aisle so finding wheat- or gluten-free products is close to impossible. My options ranged from energy bars to a pack of nuts, but the first was unavailable while the nuts were all greasy and high in salt. After traversing the aisles for a good 20 minutes, I saw a pack of rice crackers! Oishi's One-One Rice Crackers is a good snack for those who want to eliminate wheat and flour from their diets. One-One comes in two flavors: original (sweet, with bits of sugar coating) and spicy. For those who want to follow the endometriosis diet, sugar is one of the top no-no's, so One-One original flavor isn't such a good idea. Since I have chosen to avoid raw sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, syrups, even honey), I figured a little sugar on the One-One wouldn't hurt.
Aside from the sugar, a downside to One-One Spicy flavor is that it contains monosodium glutamate (MSG). I'm not very fond of MSG, what with the studies made on it linking it as one of the causes of obesity. Despite what the TV show sponsored by this MSG brand says, I don't think MSG is safe at all. Umami my ass.
I bought only a pack of each flavor (Original One-One pack contains 8 individual packs, I think, while the Spicy pack contains 10 individual packs) so that I'd have something in stock to snack on. I recommend eating only one individual pack at a time to limit the sugar or MSG. Of course, I still prefer the wheat- and gluten-free products sold in Healthy Options but if you have no access to these, One-One is a pretty good alternative. Overall, it's up to you to decide on whether you'd rather risk the sugar or the MSG in your One-One.
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