Category: Gluten Free

Having celiac disease I have to be really careful about what and where I eat. It really limits the places I can go that have a dedicated gluten-free menu. Surprisingly, some of the best restaurants are pizza places. Fired Pie just happens to be one of my favorites.

Fired Pie is a local Phoenix-area chain in the style of Chipotle. You can design your own pizza or pick from a few of the pre-designed menu items. So far I have only sampled from their pre-designed menu items because they have all been extremely tasty.

I have tried the pesto chicken, steak and blue, and meaty Italian. My least favorite was probably the meaty Italian because, of course, it was more greasy than the others. I really liked the steak and blue, although I did leave off the mushrooms. The menu items are well thought out and all the flavors mix well together. I plan to try the Hawaiian bbq next. Then maybe I will design my own. 😉

The toppings all seem to be fresh. They don’t skimp on the meat or cheese, which are essential ingredients on a pizza. My only complaint is the gluten-free pizza crust. It is one of the better gluten-free crusts I’ve had, but it isn’t the same as a regular pizza crust. Their gluten-free crust is a little bit thicker and chewier than their regular crust (I had it before I knew I had celiac). Plus it costs more, unfortunately for me it is expensive to have celiac disease.

They are very cognizant of celiac disease. Every time I tell them I have celiac disease, they go into attack mode. They change their gloves, wipe down surfaces, and they even have a gluten-free crust only pizza cutter. They take it quite serious, more so than some other places I’ve been. I have never *knocks on wood* been sick after eating at Fired Pie.

If you are ever in the Phoenix area I would highly suggest you check out Fired Pie (and get the steak and blue).

I had my first glutening this week and I hope to never have it happen again. Of course this will be next to impossible unless I shun the outside world and ban gluten from my house.

Sunday night I went to have gelato and reused the ice cream scoop. I rinsed off the scoop but didn’t wash it. I didn’t realize that my boyfriend used the scoop on ice cream that had gluten in it (Breyer’s Thin Mint, in case you were wondering).

Yes, I glutened myself. I feel incredibly stupid. I did go out and by myself a pretty magenta ice cream scoop so there’s that.

I would not wish glutening on any one. It felt like I was coming down with the flu. Monday I was so exhausted I came home from work and couldn’t get off the couch. I didn’t have a fever but my body was emitting a lot of heat, which usually doesn’t happen. My temperature was actually below normal.

I went to work on Tuesday, which was a big mistake. I became more exhausted as the day wore on. I ended with a migraine and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. I was moody and depressed. I couldn’t think straight. I wanted to eat everything in sight, and I did. I had no energy. It was early to bed for me.

I stayed home Wednesday. My alarm went off and I just couldn’t get up. I tried. I hit snooze once and then reset my alarm. I still couldn’t get going. My bed was calling and I gave in. I spent most of the day sleeping.

Thursday and Friday I went to work. I still wanted to eat everything and just sleep. Thursday night I went to bed at 8:45. I cannot believe how tired this made me. I guess this is my welcome to having an autoimmune disease.

I wanted to work out and run all week but I couldn’t. I kept saying, “Today I will go for a walk” but never did. Finally on Saturday I went for an hour walk and did a yoga video. I felt pretty good until about 10 pm. Sunday I also went for an hour walk but didn’t get in any yoga. I felt pretty good and not nearly as tired as Saturday night.

I also had some very strange dreams. I usually don’t remember my dreams but I woke up several mornings this week and could vividly remember the strange things my mind comes up with while sleeping.

Hopefully being glutened is a rare occurrence because this sucks. It knocked me out for the entire week.

My first gluten-free baking attempt was awful. I knew it was going to be a disaster as soon as I went to stir the chocolate chips into the batter. The batter was just the wrong consistency. It got worse as I was spooning them onto a cookie sheet. The chocolate chips were sinking to the bottom; stirring seemed to make it worse. Once on the cookie sheet the batter started to spread out way too much.

I put the first cookie sheet in the oven and waited the 12 minutes to pull them out. I had three large snowmen instead of 12 small cookies. I then waited the recommended 2 minutes before trying to remove them. They were stuck. The didn’t come off easy and did so in pieces. And yah, they didn’t exactly taste good either.

I worked hard to be a good baker and now have to start all over again. I’m not sure it’s worth it to relearn. These gluten-free cookies were probably the worse thing I have ever made. I don’t recall having to throw anything I’ve made out but these cookies went straight to the trash can. I have made missteps but most have been minor and fixable. These cookies were beyond help.

The recipe I tried did not have any sort of flour in it. I may try some other recipes that use a variation of flour. I may also try using some of the cup 4 cup flours in regular gluten recipes. It is going to take a lot of work and a lot of attempts to get gluten-free baking right. I have sampled gluten-free baked goods that are fairly tasty so I know it can be done. The biggest issue I see seems to be dryness. A lot of gluten-free baked goods seem dry.

What is your favorite baked good?

May is Celiac Disease Awareness month. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in March. Celiac disease requires a gluten-free diet. It can be a challenge but I am feeling so much better.

Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease that affects the small intestines. It’s genetic and affects about every 1 in 100 people. There is no real treatment; a gluten-free diet will ease the symptoms and help heal the small intestines.

There are so many symptoms that often time are missed. Here is a pretty comprehensive list of symptoms. It can be difficult to diagnose because not all of the symptoms are related to the digestive system.

Gluten is not just wheat but rye and barley as well. And gluten is in all kinds of things, even products you wouldn’t think of. Like toothpaste. I think that was the most surprising one for me when the dietitian mentioned it. Gluten is used to thicken all kinds of packaged foods.

I stick mostly to fruits, veggies, dairy and meat now.

Here are some resources I have found helpful:
The Celiac Disease Foundation 

University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center

Celiac and the Beast

I also have used the following cookbooks:

Disclosure: If you click on the book you will be taken to the Amazon page for each book. I am an amazon associate and these books are linked to my account. I do receive money if you purchase but I fully endorse these books. I bought them for myself and really do use them. No one has asked me to push these books.

Do you have a favorite gluten-free recipe or book? If so please share in the comments!

I have been officially diagnosed with celiac disease and off the gluten. Forever. A couple of weeks ago I had my appointment to go over the test results and meet with the dietitian. My head was spinning by the time I left. I had done some research and knew quite a bit already but the appointment was so much information in just a few short hours. I was overwhelmed to say the least.

Luckily I love almost all fruits and vegetables. I also can still eat most dairy and meats, my other two favorite food groups. It’s just the pastas and baked goods I have to find alternatives too. Oh and watch for all the hidden gluten. It is everywhere.

Weekday breakfast have been more difficult than other meals. I need something quick and easy since I eat at the office. I usually have oatmeal, jimmy dean turkey sausage and fruit. My doctor has said no oatmeal in the first year, even if certified gluten-free. I can’t find anything if the jimmy dean sausage is gluten-free. The package or website has no concrete information. I also can’t use the toaster at work so I need to be able to make it in the microwave.

The other hard part is eating out. A lot of places have gluten-free menus but they may not be appropriate for someone with celiac due to cross contamination. We like to eat locally but most aren’t listed as a place safe for someone with celiac disease. I need to call ahead and make sure it is ok for me. The majority of places listed as “safe” are chains. We can no longer pick up McDonald’s or Filibertos on the way home from work.

I have my ups and downs, some days are better than others. I feel like I am having a lot of days where I get down about not being able to eat gluten but I am sure it will get easier as time goes on. Saturday was particularly tough on me. I went to a spring training game. It was 95 degrees out, hot and sunny. I could see the Leinenkugel’s stand and people drinking beer all around. Suddenly it was all I could think of. I wanted a beer. I wanted a beer so bad. It sounded so amazing on a hot day. This was the first overwhelming temptation I have had. Obviously I knew not to have one but that didn’t quench the cravings.

I am trying to focus on the positive. I feel better already. I was walking around in a fog before. The fog has been lifted. I am still pretty exhausted but it’s not as bad. My stomach is no longer in constant pain after eating. And I have been given the opportunity to improve my food photography. I get to try new flours and recipes to make into photo shoots (and then enjoy the yummy baked goods). I just need to purchase some specialty flours and get to work!

 

(this is not an April Fool’s joke. I really do have this and need to change my entire eating habits)

I have really been struggling with accepting the fact that I may never eat gluten again (see, I said may, not never). It is definitely having a mental and physical effect on me.

I keep thinking, hoping all these feelings, the ups and downs will go away once I have an official diagnosis; until then it is just speculation. If I have a positive endoscopy I know it is celiac disease, until then it is just the most likely scenario.

The thoughts and feelings inhabit my life 24/7 and I can’t wait to know for sure. I feel like every aspect of my life is being affected because I don’t know. Emotionally I am all over the map.

As much as I hate to admit it, this process and possible diagnosis makes me depressed. I keep thinking of all the food I will miss out on. I think of all the amazing future restaurants I won’t be able to eat at. I think of all the new (to me) foods I won’t be able to  try. I imagine how traveling and vacations will become more difficult. I get depressed. Over food How sad am I? There are people out there with much worse going on and giving up gluten makes me depressed.

I have to relearn how to eat and how to grocery shop. I have to be that person asking the server a million questions they probably don’t know the answer to. I am already embarrassed that I may have to be that person.

I am getting misty-eyed and frustrated just writing this out. I know I have to give up gluten if I have celiac disease; I just didn’t realize it would be this hard, this emotional.

I do want to feel good again. I can’t remember what it feels like to not have digestive problems. I don’t want to hurt my body and cause future problems by continuing to eat gluten. I know it has to be done and I will do it. I just wish it was easier, less emotional.

I try to think of the positives. I will feel better. I will probably perform better in my running and workouts because I won’t be so exhausted. I can work on my creativity in several ways. I can try my hand at converting recipes to gluten-free. I can take photos of my gluten-free creations. I can further my blog and photography business during this process.

If you have celiac disease did you struggle emotionally with giving up gluten? If so, what advice would you give someone who just received a diagnosis?

March 11th is D-Day. I have my endoscopy that afternoon. From now until the 11th I have to be sure to eat gluten. The GI specialist has basically already diagnosed me with celiac disease but the endoscopy is the icing on the cake.

I am currently on a whirlwind tour to eat all of the gluten. What do I want to eat, or try, that I won’t be able to after the 11th?

I am eating mac n cheese, having my last frozen pizza, turnovers, pop-tarts and burritos. I am going to restaurants and ordering lots of favorites made with gluten. Pizza and pitas. Cheeseburgers and fries.

I did spend some time looking at gluten-free foods at both the grocery store and Costco. It amazes me how much more expensive gluten-free food can be. At Costco we picked up a loaf of Udi’s gluten-free bread for $8.99. $9 for a loaf of bread. Seriously? Seriously. I guess some shopping around is in order. I did find out Whole Foods has an entire gluten-free bakery line. I guess I trip to Whole Foods is in order.

My life is about to make a major change and I am going out with a bang!

Vacations will be hard.

My boyfriend and I love traveling and eating at local places, trying new things. But celiac disease will really limit what I can eat while out. It seems everything on every menu contains gluten.

It doesn’t help that I love foods that contain gluten. Waffles and pancakes. Garlic bread and pasta. Local beers.

Hawaii was an eye opener. I tried to limit my gluten to one meal a day. When I “saved” my gluten for dinner I felt fine all day.

We always research ahead of time where we are going to go. There were very few places that had specific gluten-free items on their menu. I had to assume with a lot of things that appeared to be gluten-free.

I think the hardest meal for me was breakfast. On vacations I love stuffing myself silly with crazy pancake or waffle dishes. I don’t eat a lot of pancakes or waffles usually so it is a special treat. I may not be able to have these ever again, as most places aren’t offering a gluten-free versions of pancakes or waffles.

All of these things I can figure out how to make at home. There are alternatives available. I will struggle while eating out, while on vacation. I know if this is celiac disease I have to give up gluten. I will feel much better but (and as bad as this sounds) giving up gluten makes me feel depressed.

One night while we were looking over menus for the next day I became very upset. I didn’t want to eat anywhere because everything I wanted on the menus would make me sick. I didn’t want to go somewhere where I would have to pick a sub par breakfast item. I didn’t want the omelet. I wanted the brioche french toast.

I love being able to just order anything off the menu. To go anywhere to eat. But now this freedom is in danger of being taken from me. I don’t have a choice anymore. I think this is what makes it most difficult. I will have to pick a runner-up meal over what I really want.