u/Alternative-Otter-4

Hey!

Has anyone found a good substitute for vital wheat gluten in recipes? Sometimes the recipe looks fantastic, but this is added in.

Also, has anyone tried vital wheat gluten? I'm non-celiac gluten free, but once I eliminated gluten if I accidentally have some it takes me out for 1-2 weeks because the reaction is so much worse than what it used to be.

I've had a few people, who are vegan but not gluten free, suggest that I still try vital wheat gluten and it may not be as bad. But I've also read that it can be much worse.

Thank you!

Hey All. I'm newer to being gluten free and vegan. There are 2 scenarios where I am struggling to figure out what to eat that I am hoping some of you have recommendations on.

1. I work some place where sometimes I need to eat lunch somewhere and don't have access to a microwave or fridge (ice packs also don't seem to stay cold long enough in my car in the summer). So far I've done things like grabbing an apple and a protein bar.

2. If I go camping for a weekend and would pack food in a cooler (but don't cook once there, or easy cooking as camp cooking is new to me).

I have a lot of sensory issues with food that I can usually navigate around. I would however like to avoid bread for these scenarios. I can freeze and toast GF bread when at home, but fresh GF bread or toasted long ago is a no go for me.

Any suggestions on what you eat in similar situations is greatly appreciated. Thank you! 💜

Edited for clarity.

TW: CSA

I started doing IFS mixed with art therapy about 9 months ago. I've found it to be so incredibly helpful, and the best thing that I have ever done for my wellbeing. I spent a lot of years doing more traditional talk therapies for CPTSD and a disorganized attachment style without making any progress.

A very early discovery I made in this process is that I had been focusing on the wrong thing in therapy in the past. I had a lot of abuse and neglect from my mother which we focused on, but this time around I realized it was more about my dad. There was a lot of CSA, cycles of abandonment, and I've been subconsciously repeating a shitty pattern and retraumatizing myself.

When I started IFS/art therapy and my therapist asked about measurable goals, I said to have 2 close friends and a romantic partner. But the more healing I do, the more I just never want to even try to trust another human enough for either of those goals again. I had bits and pieces of memories of the CSA from my dad and others before, but my exiles have filled in a lot of gaps in my memory and a lot of it is so much worse than I thought. When I think of all of the things that I've gone through, what patterns have been repeated throughout my life, and the increased vulnerability of being autistic and being unable to read people's intentions, the more I feel like I can't try with people anymore.

I've been able to gain trust from protectors, give some of them new jobs, help exiles release their pain, etc. But I don't know if I will ever want to risk letting someone hurt them again. I know most people are good. But the CPTSD/Autism combo and my life experiences makes me feel like the most self-loving and self-protective thing I can do is just not give anyone the opportunity to cause more pain.

Has anyone else gone through this? I know one of the goals of IFS is increasing connection with Self and others. But the further I go the more I want more distance from others.

Edit: fixed typo

Hello! I'm a parent of a 2nd grader, who has had the most amazing teacher this year. We've sent some classroom donation requests and baked treats throughout the year, I've sent appreciation messages and mentioned her by name in school surveys/talked to the administators about how great she is, etc. I would really like to send her something the last day of school that is for her to enjoy.

I know her favorite hobbies are baking and reading. There are some profiles on the school website and I figured maybe my kid could paint her a picture of either her favorite animal or place. But are there other things that make a good end of year appreciation gift that aren't so repetitive?

What would be most meaningful to you?