Glad to see you are still around MonkeyG - I've decided myself to abandon the idea of eating grains again but only for today and in lieu of further evidence that some kind of them may be of some benefit. Like you with atrificual sweeteners, I gave them up cold turkey and really don't crave them any longer - the craving stopped quickly as I found other suitable things to eat. I use lots of shreded lettuce in place of rice in stir fry and shirataki noodle for rice noodle substitue in Pho and stuff.