This is an article from a while ago but is a reminder of the financial impact of living gluten free and the efforts required to work with these limitations.  Be safe and eat well.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/the-high-price-of-celiac-disease/

As a parent, and fan of Ian’s foods, I love this website.

For children, they can earn points to redeem for prizes, but besides that it encourages them to eat well, be active, and participate with their families and local community.

Parents can use this site to encourage their children as well as contact Ian’s Dietician with any questions.

All around it is just well designed, easy to use, and provides some resources I have not seen elsewhere.

http://imasuperfitkid.com/

This week was a disappointing one as a Celiac. I have gotten comfortable with the grocery store and wasn’t diligent about checking labels.  As a result I spent $10 on food that I can’t eat.  In this case, it was a package of frozen shrimp scampi that was not clear on the type of food starch or yeast extract and corn meal processed on the same equipment as wheat.  The scampi was thrown out, but thankfully I can donate the corn meal to my local food bank.

Let my mistake help you on your path to stay gluten free.  Take the few minutes to read your labels.  Be safe and eat well.

Our first gluten free Thanksgiving made for an interesting time balancing the traditional elements of our family tradition and adjusting to also include me in the meal without leaving anything out. As a result we did two different turkeys, one full bird and just a breast. Potato and bread stuffing was added to the whole turkey while we cooked a sausage and cornbread to accompany the breast. Gravy was made with the individual dripped, the “normal” thickened with flour in the roaster, with the GF thickened with corn starch. There were also crescent rolls for the regulars, and my Masa Harina cornbread for me, which also formed the base for the cornbread stuffing.

Desserts were also divided up. Pies were out of the question as I have not done a lot of GF baking so do not have a pie crust down. Because of this, I made an apple crisp with currants and walnuts. It was also spiked with a heavy does of brandy which was a luxurious addition and expanded the flavor beyond apples, sugar, and cinnamon. If you have never put walnuts in a pie or crisp, you should: they transform the texture. Those covered the major differences for our GF Thanksgiving. One minor adjustment was that any place that called for oats, we used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats. I have not had any issue with them what so ever.

Our complete dinner list:

Turkey
Potato and Bread Stuffing
Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet and Sour Greenbeans
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Candied Yams
Seasoned Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Cornbread
Crescent rolls
Sweet Potato and Banana casserole
Fruit Salad
Coconut Cream Pie
Blueberry Pie
Apple, Walnut, and Currant Crisp
Brownies
Vanilla Ice Cream

Be safe and eat well.

My first week eating gluten free saw a lot of potatoes enter in as the staple of my diet in place of breads and pastas. Mostly my spuds were baked but also mashed, they were covered with cheese, sour cream, butter, and/or dried-beef gravy thickened with masa harina.

Emotionally I am adjusting well. I tried adapting my own gluten free sugar cookie recipe, with masa harina corn flour and corn meal in place of all-purpose flour. They were not what I was hoping for as they tasted like sweetened corn bread and a texture like sand. I will return to my kitchen with a renewed understanding that baked goods are possible, without having to used additives like xanthan or guar gum, as my interest is in making whole foods from simple ingredients.

With some searching gluten free products are easier to find now that I know where to look. Understanding a food label is less mystifying. I start at the bottom of the ingredient list to see if it mentions wheat. If so, it goes right back onto the shelf and I move on to the next product. If not, then the rest of the label gets read for derivatives: food starch, yeast extract, malt vinegar.

Two different things I turn to in a grocery store that eases my quest for safe products are the international section, and to generic brands. Asian and indian cuisine have been favorable when finding good wholesome food without too much junk and many are gluten free, though some are manufactured in plants that process wheat and other allergens, so it is best to still read the label.

The other items I look for are store/house/generic brands. My experience so far is that they have less additives, ingredients with long obfuscating names, and are well labelled.

The important lesson is that even with letters from manufacturers about gluten free products, it is still necessary to read labels because of how formulas can change. The same goes from the information you find on websites, even this one. Though all of us living with Celiac Disease and Gluten Allergies/Intolerances are doing our best to avoid these products and become knowledgable about what is and isn’t safe, manufacturing in our indutrial food system moves rapidly and may not always be up to date. That each of us have different tolerances to gluten and derivative proteins, what may be OK for me could cause a problem for you.

Today was my first day Gluten Free, or at least it was supposed to be, but I wound up starting my day off with a Cheerio while giving my toddler her morning snack.  Though whether or not oats cause an issue seems open to debated, in an effort to stay strictly gluten free for my 3 month follow up period, I am trying to avoid them or anything else that is questionable.

Other than that small AM transgression, the rest of my day went fairly well when it came to food and I don’t feel like I am missing anything.  Being the middle of summer helps and I have a wife variety of fresh fruits and veggies available at the market.  Corn on the cob is a warm weather delight and can easily form the bulk of my diet.  Though I am not a vegetarian by any means, the summer sees me eating less meat and more fresh bounties.

I did spend my mid-day at a grocery store seeing what my options are for gluten free products.  I was surprised to see how many items in the international cuisine section were safe, though also found out how hard it is to avoid yeast extract.  One saving grace was to find that my favorite potato chips, Martin’s Bar-B-Q Waffle, are gluten free.  I rejoiced and ate a few more than I should have as my evening snack.

Today my life was changed in a rather dramatic way.  I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, an immune disorder that causes damage to the small intestine and can lead to digestion issues.

For many years my digestive tract has never been what I would call “normal”, but it was what I was used to.  As my condition worsened in 2004, I made an appointment to talked with my Physician.  At at the time he diagnosed me with IBS and recommended I supplement each meal with fiber, watch for foods that triggered a problem, and cut them out.  I began keeping a food journal and moved to a healthier diet with fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods.

Following his advice nothing seemed to work. Whenever I would have a problem I would look back through the journal, see something out of place, perhaps an order of wings here, or a large order of fries there, cut it out, and still experience problems days later, when I was eating just things that seemed safe.  After a few months of this I talked to my doctor again and  he said “keep trying”.  After more months of trying and no further encouragement, I went back to my old habits, deciding that dealing with the symptoms was something I could handle better than the constant dietary flux.

Fast forward a few years and I am married, have two children, and the symptoms continue to slowly get worse.  Instead of the occasional bout of body disharmony, it became a nearly daily struggle. Trying to balance it with a family was becoming more and more difficult.  As my problem was largely related to sudden onset diarrhea, I  reached the point where I was mapping bathrooms.  Day or night, anywhere within a 30 mile radius of my home I knew where every bathroom was located, which gas stations needed a key, and the hours they were open.

So I made an appointment with my current doctor and we discussed the problem.  She referred me to a Gastroenterologist , Dr Ahmad, who gave me a long list of possible conditions. We also scheduled a colonoscopy, and took some blood for testing.  After the colonoscopy we scheduled a follow up Upper-Endoscopy.

During the Upper Endoscopy biopsies were taken of my small intestine which on testing showed an issue with wheat, as did my blood tests.  These results, combined with my symptoms, lead to my diagnosis of Celiac Disease.  After nearly a decade of issues, I finally had a name to put to my problem.

Now I get to learn what being Gluten Free means.  And there is a lot of information to go with it.

Any questions or thoughts?  Leave a comment.