Many people eat out a lot on vacation and during the Holidays and my family is no exception.
Getting a decent restaurant meal that won’t give you a headache or make you feel sluggish the next day is challenging enough, but for those who are gluten-free, it can be nearly impossible.
While I personally do not eat gluten-free all the time, I make an effort to avoid conventionally prepared wheat in restaurants. Â I have observed over the years that while the organic wheat I grind fresh and carefully prepare traditionally at home by either sprouting, soaking or sour leavening causes me no trouble, restaurant pasta, bread, croutons, and other processed wheat items make me feel extremely tired and sometimes achy for a day or two.
So, when I discovered that a family gathering was scheduled to go to dinner at The Olive Garden a few weeks ago, you can imagine that I was not all that excited at the prospect.
The Olive Garden could aptly be called the “Pasta Capital of America”. Â The dishes are embarrassingly huge with pasta and bread flowing nonstop from the moment you sit down until you roll out the door a couple of hours later. Even if you order a nonpasta dish, you get an obligatory side of spaghetti that could feed two people by itself.
While the food at The Olive Garden tastes ok, how it makes you feel is quite another matter. My husband and I like to joke that those who eat at The Olive Garden likely collapse on the couch in front of the TV for 3 hours straight after getting home. Either that or an emergency stop at the 7-Eleven for a Big Gulp coffee would be necessary to stay awake!
I ended up arriving at the Olive Garden before the rest of my family, so I had the opportunity to chat with the hostess for a few minutes before getting seated. I was surprised to discover during our conversation that The Olive Garden has a gluten-free menu, complete with Penne Rigate and salad without croutons. Non-pasta dishes were served with gluten-free penne pasta.
After looking at the menu for a few minutes, I asked about the ingredients of the gluten-free pasta. Â I was thinking it was probably rice or quinoa pasta, which would have been fine with me.
I use arsenic-free rice or quinoa pasta (brand) myself at home occasionally, and a pasta meal once in a while is not going to be problematic within the context of a nutrient dense diet the majority of the time.
I really wanted to order pasta as ordering steak or fish at a pasta restaurant is not usually a good idea. Ordering the restaurant specialty is the way to go if you want to get a decent tasting meal.
Unfortunately, the news from the waitress was disappointing, to say the least. She told me the gluten-free pasta was made primarily from corn and not organic corn either.
While I don’t have an issue with corn, I definitely have an issue with genetically modified (GMO) corn which has been linked with all manner of serious health problems and was found to induce huge tumors in rats (this study was quietly retracted during Thanksgiving due to the messy public relations it was causing the biotech industry, not because of bad science).
Since basically all nonorganic corn nowadays is GMO, ordering a gluten-free dish at the Olive Garden was definitely a no go. However, the most disturbing thing about the GMO gluten-free menu was the children’s Penne Rigate with Marinara.
GMOs served to vulnerable, allergic children? Â Unconscionable.
I ended up ordering the parmesan encrusted tilapia that was absolutely terrible (it tasted like microwaved dish soap, no kidding). Â At least the asparagus on the side was good.
Eating Gluten-Free? Â Watch out for the GMOs!
My experience at The Olive Garden got me to thinking about the silent and very serious GMO problem that exists with supposedly healthier gluten free products.
Examination of typical foods stocking the gluten-free aisle at the supermarket and at the health food store in the days after my Olive Garden experience confirmed my suspicion that those who choose to eat gluten-free processed foods have unknowingly exchanged gluten for another ingredient that is much, much worse: GMOs.
Glutino, one of the biggest gluten-free brands, is prominent in both supermarket and health food stores. I checked the ingredients of 10 of their products and every single one contained GMO corn, GMO soy, GMO sugar and/or GMO canola.
I realize that Glutino has gone on record supporting the Non-GMO Verified Project Seal, but as of this writing, many of their products are still loaded wtih GMOs and dangerous to consume.
It is possible to make gluten-free items also free of GMOs?
Absolutely. Here are a few brands I checked that offer both gluten free and nonGMO options: Andean Dream, Enjoylife, and Pamela’s Simplebites.
If you have issues with gluten and have decided to go gluten-free even going so far as to make gluten-free flour at home, make sure you continue to read labels and ask about ingredients at restaurants! Â Even if a product proclaims itself “gluten-free”, it is not necessarily any better and might be far worse for your health.
Next time you’re at Olive Garden, get the steak. It is really good! I get it without the seasoning…just salt and pepper and it’s one of the best steaks you can get at a restaurant. Really tasty!
I highly doubt that.
I’ve found that corn pastas are the only one that have the correct taste and texture that keeps my palette happy. “Sams Mill” pasta fits the bill AND its GMO free. So, I can have pasta ( occasionally, since too much doesnt make my tummy happy) and not have to worry that I’m eating herbicide residuals.
Barilla just came out with a gluten free pasta, and it is very good. I contacted the company about whether they use gmo ingredients. This is their response: “Barilla has decided to play it safe and refrain from the use of genetically modified ingredients, guaranteeing not to use GMO ingredients for all of its products”. Yeah! This is likely because my box of pasta said “a product of Italy”.
And Barilla’s pasta is fantastic. Great flavor, cooks al dente beautifully, keeps its form and doesn’t overcook easily. I have tried many a brand and I’m very impressed with this one. My family had no idea it was GF until they realized I was eating too.
These products are high carb and have lots of sugar in them. No, no, no!
Processed cookies are never ideal, that is for sure! But if they must be used, at least they are gluten and GMO free.
A friend of ours worked (works??) at Olive Garden as a server and she told me they microwaved their food. I was appalled as I’ve been going there for years, though not as much in the last few years when I went GF. I did go one time this past year and had soup and salad. It was decent. I find without eating pasta (GF or not), there are few GF choices available….
I never use a microwave at home and can taste microwaved food pretty easily when I do eat it at a restaurant. That tilapia dish I had at the Olive Garden was absolutely gross and tasted frozen/thawed/microwaved so I’m not surprised to hear that is a regular practice.
My husband took me to OG one night. I am not celiac nor have any kind of food issues, but I have been improving my diet a little at a time as good information comes across my desk, so to go to the Pasta Capitol was not my idea of a good date night. I ordered the salad and asked that they leave off the dressing having them bring me oil (they said they used olive oil) and vinegar instead. Years ago, when OG first entered the dining scene, their salads were very good. But this salad was from a bag. It had a very strong plastic smell to it just like all those bag salads do that are treated with whatever chemicals they use to keep them from browning before they get to the stores. I told the waiter that they might consider at least rinsing off the salad before they dump it in the serving bowl. No wonder they have to douse it so heavily with all that dressing. My husband smelled it too, and was very apologetic that I could not get a good meal that night. But now-a-days, where can you get a “good” dinner outside of home. I’m content to go instead to the gym for our dates.
Tony Durrum, Julie Simonson, Ryan Simonson, Jaime Field, Susan Reudelhuber
Olive garden is the WORST for Gluten free, also the service is terrible… Chipotle 1000 times better
as I told a friend who does arevada (sp) I take actives charcoal when I eat out. helps a lot with the reaction to bad stuff in foods. even MSG!
If you don’t mind sharing, how much activated charcoal do you take with your meals? I was just wondering about doing this myself for a trip to Haiti where I am concerned about the food, but never thought to do it when eating out. Such a great idea as I haven’t found a place to eat that doesn’t result in a headache later.
Lisa,
I also take activated charcoal when I eat out, it really does help. I take two 250mg tablets before the meal.
Since adopting a gluten free diet after being diagnosed as a Celiac in 2010, I’ve always been proud of the fact that my new diet c consisted of fresh, minimally processed food. It really did make a difference. The occasional gluten free “treat” never caused me to feel lethargic, fuzzy or ill. It really is hard sometimes when most of your life you are used to eating certain foods and then you can’t. A gluten-free cookie, pizza or cake is more than tempting! This holiday season I lost my focus and indulged in gluten free treats…more than I ever had before. What followed was hair loss, lethargy, breakouts–all thanks to the crap I was putting in my body! I will never do that again–not worth it!
Thanks for your post – I have had chronic fatigue for many years & just recently realized it’s food that is the culprit – only when things got REALLY bad. Now I’m going non-GMO, organic, fresh, local veggies & beef. I was having terrible hair loss no matter what shampoo I used. I finally started cleaning up my diet – no grains whatsoever…. not cheating is hard & I’m still working on it….and I switched to Shikai Every Day Shampoo and Conditioner and with that first shampoo & conditioning of my hair I had 1/4 of my normal hair loss in the shower than I had had with any other shampoo & conditioner. Thanks for stating what you’ve been through – it encourages me to give up grains entirely & just eat fresh as possible fruits, veggies & meats & get as much as I can straightened out. (Following GAPS diet somewhat & making bone marrow stock right now in the garage in a crock pot! Have had trouble with weakness, joint stuff & lots of weakness.)
So, have you checked out all of Pamela’s mixes for GMO or just the Simplebites? Be safe, go organic or take the chance of who knows what!
no?