Gale only eats three items. Just feed him the Absolute brand items you get in Act 1 and you are at no loss. They don't even matter for Act 2.
If you missed Astarion you aren't exploring. He's only missable if you don't explore the starting area. How much did you miss in this game?
Constipated Wood Elf face is really annoying, but they did need to nerf one of the most powerful races somehow.