Celiac 101

I have this resource of information about Celiac I share with those new to the condition. I had Billy reread it before sending out an updated version this week for a friend of a friend and he suggested I post it here, so here goes:

I've had Celiac for two years now and I'm happy to help anyone to adjust to this lifestyle change. This information is based on my experience and opinions over that time. Please ask what ever questions you would like, I will help in any way I can. Food is such an every day part of life and such a social point of interaction as well. I know some of it was frustrating in the beginning just trying to order and buy food.

1. What to avoid: No wheat, rye, barley and oats. Oats is a controversial one. You'll find on some websites stating to avoid it and other's say it's fine. I avoid it Oats unless it says Gluten Free on the packaging. Avoid ingredients such as artificial flavors, malt flavoring, modified food starch, as well as cottonseed oil on the package labels. Modified food starch can be corn or wheat based, so if it doesn't specify I pass. Be careful of soups, sauces, dressings and pre-packaged foods. Gluten is a very common thickener, preservative and binder in foods you would not think would have them. The most common foods to avoid are bread, pasta, as well as flour based tortillas, pastries and deserts. Gluten can also be found in personal care products.

2. Grocery shopping: I'll cover both the economic as well as the great treats that are a little more costly. Wal-Mart is getting very good about stating on the back of their products if it is gluten free (gf). I started out with that approach and then learned how to read ingredient labels so it wasn't so overwhelming as to what look out for in regular foods. Food labels do state the 8 most common food allergies on their labels per the law. You can read about it here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergies/AA00057. I carry around a pocket size dictionary guide from the Canadian Celiac Association that tells the 'Acceptability of Foods and Food Ingredients for the Gluten-Free Diet.' In order to still be able to more fully utilize Wal-mart and other more affordable grocery stores, educate yourself on the food labels. You can still buy quite a bit by knowing what to avoid. Shop mainly on the outside of the store at first with the fresh meat and vegetables. Avoid the cracker, cookie and bread aisles, there's nothing there for you. Some items I can still buy at Wal-mart include Cocoa Pebbles, Ranch brand dressing, Dinte Moore beef stew, a few Progresso soups, a few banquet tv dinners, Frito's, cool ranch Doritoes, and Tostito's brand tortilla chips. Several manufacturer's state which products are gluten free on their websites. Bookmark and check regularly to make sure they haven't changed their recipe.

Sprouts has the largest selection of gf specific foods. Pamela's, Glutino, EnviroKidz, Mrs. Leepers, Mi-Del, Bob's Red Mill, Ener-G and Larabar's are some of the most common labels in my pantry. Health Valley and Cherrybrook Kitchen have some very tasty gluten free items available. They taste great too! Wal-mart does not carry these brands, Target sometimes does if you ever grocery shop there, as well as I've noticed the Signature Kroger's have a growing section of gf items. The gf substitutes are usually 2 to 3 times the price compared to their mainstream counterpart. It is more expensive to buy gf, it's a smaller market and for example for every cup of all purpose flour, they have to combine about 3 alternative flours, plus gf binders to achieve a similar taste and texture.

3. Cooking: Easy food I do at least once a month at home is chicken stew. Chicken breasts, carrots, celery with Swanson chicken broth ( the bullion cubes have gluten, so those are a no). In the crock pot with seasonings (most dried ones that come in the racks are fine). Crock-pot, add potatoes the last hour, hearty, healthy and cheap. We eat on it for days. You can change normal flour recipes fairly easy by substituting Pamela's Baking Mix. I do much more cooking from home now since I can control what goes in my food and that gives me a huge peace of mind. I make lasagna and just getting rice or corn noodles, everything else is fine. Check your sauce, traditional or Meat Ragu is acceptable. I make my own bread from scratch after trying several both frozen and shelf labels that I only ate due to how much money I had spent to buy them. I have a high sensitivity level to any contamination so my husband (who isn't a celiac) and I use separate condiment containers unless it's a squeeze bottle. This prevents bread crumbs in the butter, peanut butter or jelly containers. When I cook something that contains gluten I do so after I have cooked mine to avoid contamination through the pans.

4. Eating out: A restaurant I can't say enough good things about and is comparable to a Bennigan's price wise is called Delicious 'N Fit or a.k.a Laura's Bistro in Plano. There website is http://www.delicious-n-fit.com/. They cater to people with food intolerance and allergies. You can eat chicken fried steak, gravy, a hamburger, pizza and it's all gf. They also have a small gf store and bakery. Pei wei, PF Changs, Outback Steakhouse, Maggiano's, Carrabba's, Carino's and Chili's all have gluten free menus. Macaroni Grill was very helpful in ordering when I went there for my husband and Chipotle is really easy as long as you skip the flour tortilla. When we started eating out at other places, we'd go earlier than their rush time so we could ask all the questions we wanted until I was comfortable and felt safe to eat there. At nice places, I've had the kitchen manager or chef come out and talk to me if they didn't have a separate menu. Also on the eating out, super simple place is McDonald's for convenience. I know I wasn't a fan as an adult, but I can go in and order a burger without a bun, and their fries are gf.Some fast food places fry breaded items in their oil thus contaminating the fries cooked in the oil. Chik-fil-a you can get a grilled chicken sandwich with no bun and their fries are safe too. Most soup and salad bars or sub shops you can at least have a salad with no croûtons, check the dressings and a baked potatoes.

5. Health Information:. Most people are lactose intolerant for the first six months to a year. This is due to the damage done to the small intestines from the gluten which is where lactose is absorbed. I did lactose free milk and eased up on the cheese and other dairy products until that was healed. I have to say this because I wish someone had told me in the beginning, rice is a very common substitution in this gf life. Between that particular additional starch and not getting in wheat which is high in fiber, it can lead to issues. I sprinkle Benefiber brand fiber on my food either while it's cooking or afterwards about once a day. This diet change is very hard on your system. Adjusting to less fiber can be quite painful if you don't do something. The benefiber is odorless, tasteless and no texture. I also started taking acidophilus once a day as well as the Dan Active probiotics drinks. My doctor agreed they were both a good idea as they help with digestive health. Down the road your doctor will will want to check your vitamin levels to see what your body is absorbing as malnutrition is a common side effect of Celiac.

6. Resources: There is a Dallas chapter of the GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group) that meets downtown Dallas. I went once just for the Introduction session to learn more, too far for me to drive on a regular basis. I am on their mailing list which has been beneficial. Their emails are pretty frequent. Celiac.com had some good information and food you can order online. I keep meaning to sign up for the gf cooking classes at Market Street, I've heard good things about them. I read quite a few gluten free blogs for recipes and information. You can google gluten free blog and find several. I use a cookbook called 'Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids'. I chose this book because it contains the most common every day foods