Making a Difference

Earlier this week, I attended an all day conference for work. Since it was an all day event, we were served lunch. Everything was going so well until I got in the line for lunch. I was horrified to see that the only thing on the table that I could eat was potato chips. Now, being a Celiac for over 10 years now, I always have a contingency plan when I go to events like these. So, instead of having lunch at the conference, I left to go buy my own lunch and then came back afterwards. I know that I should have checked before the conference to make sure there was something that I could eat, but sometimes I find myself assuming with the amount of awareness out there now that there will always be something for me.
What this event taught me is that there is still so much more work to be done on spreading awareness about Celiac Disease and making sure that there is always lunch for those who can't eat just anything. After lunch that day, I listened to a speaker who talked about never giving up on what you want. She told us that if you believe in yourself, you can make anything happen. When I left that room, I found myself more determined than ever to get the word out there about Celiac Disease and the gluten free diet. That is one of the biggest reasons that I am hosting the Gluten Free Expo in Wichita Falls, Texas in less than a month. I want people to know what Celiac Disease is, and what it means to those who have it. 
This expo will be the first of many events to raise awareness in Wichita Falls, Texas. This experience has given me a new sense of purpose to help give those with Celiac Disease a voice and see to it that no one has to feel like an outsider at any event they attend. I admit this is not going to be an easy task, but it will certainly be worth it.

My Newest Addiction

We gluten free cooks spend a ton of time looking for and coming up with new recipes. Now, it's easier than ever to find those recipes online, with iPhone apps, and especially with Pinterest. For anyone who has never used Pinterest before, I caution you. It is incredibly addicting! When I first started using the site, I was amazed to see how many gluten free recipes, ideas, and product reviews that were available. Now there isn't a day that goes by that I am not on Pinterest checking out new recipes, products, and a ton of other things. The great thing about the site is that you get all of these things from people who are just like you, and even share the enthusiasm that I know I have when I find a new gluten free product. It's really amazing to have yet one more resource at your fingertips to get gluten free information from. I use Pinterest on my iPhone and iPad about 99% of the time. I do occasionally get on the computer to check the site out, but I like having the capability of checking it anytime and anywhere. So give it a try and see what great gluten free treats and dinner recipes you can find.

Remaking Recipes

Sometimes it's not so easy to make a recipe you used before going gluten free into a gluten free success. However, it is possible. It might take a couple of tries so don't give up if you don't succeed the first time. 
The first thing you should do when trying to convert a recipe is to make sure you know what ingredients on your recipe are not gluten free. Once you know that, figure out what a suitable replacement for those ingredients will be. Keep in mind that with a gluten free flour or baking mix, you might need a little more moisture in your recipes than you did before. 
The other thing that may need to be adjusted on your recipes is cooking time. Cooking times with gluten free ingredients are not always the same as their gluten containing cousins. 
One recipe that I converted shortly after going gluten free was an easy pie crust recipe that I use for every holiday and party. This pie is so good that I have my 10 year old cousin and my 11 year old nephew requesting them for every family dinner. This delectable dish was taken to my family's Easter dinner this past weekend, and the boys ate all but one little slice of it.

This go to dessert took me a couple tries to get a flavor combination that liked in the crust. After trying it with Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour and also with Gluten Free Bisquick, I wound up choosing the Bisquick.
After a few attempts with converting recipes, you'll get the hang of it. After several years of cooking gluten free, I can now convert recipes with ease and even make up my own all the time. I've failed at some recipes and some have taken several tries, but if you stick to it, you can figure anything out.

Gluten Free New Year

Another year has passed, and with it many things have changed. Celiac Disease and the gluten free diet have become mainstream with new foods coming out every day. You can also buy those wonderful gluten free foods at grocery store chains like United Supermarket and Albertsons and superstores like Walmart and Target. More and more companies are also labeling their foods gluten free and some are even going that extra step to reformulate their existing products to be gluten free. Some of these companies include General Mills and Post.

There are more places than ever to get information on how to live gluten free and so many wonderful people out there to lend a hand to those who need it. Gluten free expos and events are popping up everywhere and are easier to find than ever with sites like Gluten Free Calendar. 

You also have the gluten free companies like Udi's Gluten Free, Katz Gluten Free, Rudi's Gluten-Free, Lucy's, and many more that have expanded their product lines to include more and more delicious offerings. 

And of course, you can't forget the strides that have been made over the past year in fighting for standardized gluten free labeling. This effort gave the gluten free community a chance to stand up and tell the world why this is so important to us. 

I think 2013 is going to bring many amazing changes to living gluten free and I can't wait to see what's in store. In the past week alone, I have seen news about Dunkin' Donuts adding gluten free options in test markets as well as Van's Natural Foods expanding their gluten free selection. I can only hope this trend will continue and things will get even better for living gluten free.

The Holidays are Coming!

November is just a few days away and per usual for this time of year, I find myself really excited. I've already started planning the Thanksgiving dinner menu as well as the sweet treats that I will be making. While planning all of this, I was reminded that the holidays were not always this way for me. When I was a kid I absolutely loved this time of year. 

The year I turned 15 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease after being sick and miserable for months. My diagnosis happened in the beginning of November. At this time most people had no idea what Celiac Disease and a gluten free diet was, including me. I remember leaving the meeting with the dietitian, who honestly didn't know any more about the gluten free diet than I did, thinking I was doomed. Thankfully, the internet had the resources I needed to get on track with this diet. Unfortunately, the holidays were so close that my family did not have the opportunity to learn about how to make sure the things they cooked were gluten free. That year, I had one dessert I could eat, simply because it was gluten free to begin with and dinner was basically meat and vegetables. That was the first year that I wanted to just cry on Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

By the next year, I had learned a ton on how to cook gluten free and so had my family. My Grammy made a gluten free chocolate cake, and I was so excited. One thing everyone knows about me is that I love chocolate. I remember her saying "it's not too pretty, so I hope it tastes good", and it did. The truth is that cake could have been terrible, and I wouldn't have said a word. I was so happy too see a dessert that I could eat too. From that year on, the holidays were the way the used to be..happy. Every year they get better and better as I come up with new and better ways to cook things and new recipes. 

This year is looking to be the best year yet, and I can't wait. If there is any lesson to be learned from this, it's that even though it may be a ways off, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Gluten Free Goodness

Once you go gluten free, it's the little things in life that really count. Today became a wonderful day the minute I saw this beautiful site at McAlister's Deli.

While I understand that this is a small thing to get excited about, it is still horribly exciting for me. To be able to get a sandwich like anyone else is nothing short of amazing. 


I was so excited about it that the McAlister's employee told me I could take the menu with me. Of course, I did and the second I got to the table I took a picture of it and immediately posted it to Facebook. I have since posted it on my website, Twitter, LinkedIn, and obviously I'm blogging about it.


It's funny, before going gluten free I was never so excited about food. This diet has given me an appreciation for food, and more importantly the little things in life. I hope others will be as excited about this delish find as I am. 


The menu is very self explanatory and the bread they are using is downright lovely. It reminds me of the Genius by Gutino Multigrain Sandwich Bread, but I'm not sure if it is or not. I will certainly be spending more of my money at McAlister's Deli in the future, and it will be money well spent to get a luscious lunch like this one.

Gluten Free Truth

This past weekend I came to realize that sometimes being gluten free just sucks. In the beginning that one thought completely fills your head, but as time goes on you realize things aren't really as bad as you once thought they were. Still you find that every now and then that thought of how much you miss being able to eat little things like Girl Scout Thin Mints. At that point all you feel is anger at how much it sucks to not be able to eat those little things and wishing that there was a gluten free alternative. I used to get mad at myself for having those feelings, because I work so hard to advocate being gluten. Now I finally see that it's ok to feel that way. I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way sometimes and just maybe putting these feelings down will help someone else out there that feels the same way I did. Being an advocate doesn't always mean you love what you have to deal with every day. It means you understand it fully, the good and the bad, and you know how to deal with both. Being gluten free makes me healthy. There isn't a single part of me that regrets that. My problem is that some of those little things I loved as a kid are now not available to me. I hope that some day they will be, but until then all I can do is try to deal with it the best way I know how. Over time it gets easier to deal with these little disappointments, but you still just have those days.