Celiac Disease

[getfit]

Today it was confirmed that our 19 yr old dd has Celiac disease. This is all new to us and so I want to get as much information as possible. I know there are several Maniacs that are dealing with this and have had to make dietary changes. I would appreciate any info you can provide. I have several books from the library, so will be doing a lot of reading over the weekend.

[farmgirlinthecity]

Hey!

Welcome to the gluten-free world! It's not that bad

A few websites:

http://www.celiac.ca
http://www.celiacteen.com (Check out the perogies, they are soooo good!)
http://www.kikiskitchen.ca
http://www.theceliachusband.blogspot.com
http://glutenfreegirl.com/

Do join the Celiac Association, they send out some really good information. I have a small handbook from them that I carry everywhere with a list of allowed and not allowed ingredients. It has saved me many times in the grocery store. Happy to send mine to you if you like.

I was diagnosed April 2009 so I'm still learning lots but if you want to ask me anything specific please go ahead!

[gnu]

I have a family member with Celiac and I second joining the Celiac Association.

The great thing is, GF is a lot easier to find now than ever before - and tastes pretty darn good, too! I also find restaurants are a lot more knowledgeable now - you can say GF or Celiac and the chef can often tell you which items are or can be made GF. Don't be afraid to ask, most places are good about it.

[getfit]

Thanks for the info and the links to the websites. There is so much information out there and we're just trying to take it all in.

[babysteps]

Just seeing this. I was diagnosed in March of 2010. I read everything I could get my hands on and found a lot of good information. There's also a lot of, what I would consider, crazy information out there so you need to be a critical consumer. I have a lot of serious food allergies in addition to the celiac (which date back to infancy) so my diet is much more limited than most celiac's and I'm still not starving!

My only advice is to be patient and sensitive. I was was doing really well until one day when we were out for one of hubby's races he automatically drove us to Tim Horton's for lunch. I didn't want to sit there and smell everything I'd never be able to eat again so I sat in the car and felt sorry for myself. About an hour later I had a "moment" which I still regret! Having said that, the family's been much more considerate since then! So yes, maybe your loved one can order a salad at the pasta place and not go hungry, but maybe there's a better spot to go too. As you're a mom, I doubt this is an issue for you though. I'm sure you're already thinking about all the available options!

One website to add

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

And Swiss Chalet is a good choice if you're worried and desperate for a restaurant. They are very accommodating for celiac and will tell you if their fries are "safe" that day or if they've been fried with the battered stuff. Baked potatoes are a good option.

Also, at Wendy's you can order a grilled chicken burger w/o the bun and a baked potato for a fast food lunch. (You may be a weird look but someone there should have had this experience before and know what you mean!) If she has an iphone there are apps out there that you can get that help with eating out.

She should get her own toaster and cutting board. There are these wonderful things called toaster bags so she can use public toaster with her GF bread (I do this at work or when traveling to my parent's etc).
http://www.citychef.ca/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=18393

And finally...if she doesn't love it already, learn to love quinoa. It's her new best friend.

Hope this helps. PM me if you want to chat some more!

[getfit]

Thanks for the great info and advice Babysteps Yes, there will certainly be lots of adjustments to make for all of us in the coming days. In the past week I have gone a bit overboard buying gluten free stuff, but since she's living in a house with a bunch of girls at university I want her to have as many options as possible. She was so excited when I told her I had found gluten free pizza sauce and pizza dough. She said she'd feel normal if she was eating pizza like everyone else I'm not sure what meat she can put on it though, I think anything processed like pepperoni is a no, no. She's coming home for the weekend and I have made a GF carrot cake to celebrate her grandma's birthday. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells.

[Size5]

Thanks for the great info and advice Babysteps Yes, there will certainly be lots of adjustments to make for all of us in the coming days. In the past week I have gone a bit overboard buying gluten free stuff, but since she's living in a house with a bunch of girls at university I want her to have as many options as possible. She was so excited when I told her I had found gluten free pizza sauce and pizza dough. She said she'd feel normal if she was eating pizza like everyone else I'm not sure what meat she can put on it though, I think anything processed like pepperoni is a no, no. She's coming home for the weekend and I have made a GF carrot cake to celebrate her grandma's birthday. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells.

As farm girl taught me, there are some sausage companies that have GF stuff. Freybees (sp??) is one and they are sold at various grocery stores.

Good LUCK!

[BJH]

She was so excited when I told her I had found gluten free pizza sauce and pizza dough. She said she'd feel normal if she was eating pizza like everyone else

Pizza Pizza offers a GF crust. I'd be worried about cross contamination though.

[PaleSnail]

Congratulations on getting the diagnosis so early. Your daughter will benefit greatly from this. Having such a supportive parent helps a lot as well.

Here is a pretty good message board for all things Celiac...

http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php

As with all message boards, you'll have to be careful with some of the advice given

Some unsolicited advice (from experience)...make sure that your daugthers doctor is keeping a close eye on any nutritional deficiencies that may have been caused by the disease (B-vitamins, minerals, etc).

Take care, and good luck.

[gnu]

She was so excited when I told her I had found gluten free pizza sauce and pizza dough. She said she'd feel normal if she was eating pizza like everyone else

Pizza Pizza offers a GF crust. I'd be worried about cross contamination though.

Apparently the GF crusts come to the store pre-made (frozen I think) which might reduce some of the cross contamination risk - of course one never knows what goes on behind the counter. They also have 2 types of pepperoni there, one of which is GF but I can never remember which (I want to say the New York style...). My dad has never had a reaction after eating from Pizza Pizza, but he's not prone to immediate/violent reactions to small amounts of cross contamination.

[Dr. S]

I made some gluten free pancakes yesterday and they were AWESOME!!

I adapted it from this recipe One size fits all pancakes

That was good for 3 big pancakes

■1/2 cup white rice flour
■1/2 cup tapioca flour
■1/2 cups buckwheat flour
■2 teaspoons baking powder
■1/2 tsp salt
■1 1/4 cups milk or milk substitute
■1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
■1 egg or egg substitute
■3 tablespoons oil or applesauce (omitting this is fine) ~~I used canola oil~~


First, whisk the milk and apple cider vinegar together and let sit for a few minutes to create a “buttermilk.” Then, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients together and mix well. It is better if batter is a little lumpy.

Pour pancakes on a lightly greased pan heated on medium heat. Flip them when the batter starts to bubble. Enjoy with toppings of choice (suggestions below).

[getfit]

Thanks Sonia, we'll have to give those a try. Well it's been 6 months since her diagnosis and it has not been an easy road. Initially I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal, we'd just start buying gf bread, buns, etc. and life would go on. What I didn't factor in are all the hidden sources of gluten and the risk of cross-contamination. The darn stuff is in practically everything and food manufacturers label everything with 'may contain wheat', just to protect themselves. For my 20 yr old daughter the hardest part is being around her friends, when they're eating stuff she can't have. For example, she's away at a friend's cottage for 5 days. When they showed her the list of all the foods they were planning to eat there was hardly anything she could have. She ended up packing a whole cooler of food that she could eat. Some of her friends are supportive, but others think she is overreacting and making a big deal out of it. She is the kind of kid that has always hated being the centre of attention, so this is really hard for her. Anyway, we're all adjusting and probably eating healthier because we've cut out most processed food. Oh course, now that she's away at the cottage we're eating all the bad stuff we've had to give up

[babysteps]

Supportive friends make it so much easier. Hopefully she's learning to tune out the unhelpful ones and not let it get to her. Like your daughter, I hate having the focus on me and what I'm eating. I find it always turns into a discussion of allergies/celiac, and I'm pretty tired of talking about it! It's also hard to feel like everyone is watching what you eat, like you're a science project or something. But like I said, friends who "get it" are wonderful. I have a couple of friends who went out and bought new pans and GF flours and cookbooks when they found out about my diagnosis. Now, when we have parties and potlucks (which we do a lot of) they bring their recipe in ahead for approval and make a dish I can have. Initially I felt bad that they were going to all this trouble (the centre of attention thing) but now I can see they really don't mind doing it as it's a way for them to show they love me. It really helps.

[Jwolf]

Some of her friends are supportive, but others think she is overreacting and making a big deal out of it.

That's too bad. Unfortunately there are so many people making dietary choices that are NOT medical that people don't take the medical ones seriously.

It sounds like she's doing well overall.

The good thing is that LOTS of restaurants these days are offering gluten-free options. It's not always on the menu, so ask before you go.

[babysteps]

I just found out that Montana's has a GF menu. (I had the rotisserie chicken!)

[Dr. S]

We went to Uno's and they had a gluten free menu! I think it's only in the states but that'S nice to know.

Also in a grocery store called Shaw's they have a list of all their gluten free products. It'S really neat! I found some hamburger buns and I was really excited!

[farmgirlinthecity]

check out http://www.theceliacscence.com It's an online guide to gluten free restaurants in North America.

Very handy!

Milestone's has been fantastic for me. They have a separate cooking area as well as the gluten free menu. Japanese Village also has a separate cooking area in the back that they do all their gf cooking in.