Hot Bowl of Yummy

I haven't had oatmeal in a long while and I have to say I am sooo loving this. 

Not only the fact that I know that this brand of oats are

Gluten Free 

but they're just so darn yummy and versatile too.

You can add...

Nuts

use Almond Milk instead of water

Brown Sugar

Honey

Bananas

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Apples

Gosh the list can go on and on!

You can add whatever strikes your fancy really!!

What do you like to put in your oats?

 write me

or

drop me a comment

I would love to hear what you dress your oats up with. :)

What do I like?

 Well...

I love to add chopped 

Blue Diamond Almonds

{BTW these are the only almonds we have found that doesn't say could contain traces of wheat}

 along with some 

Brown Sugar! 

and then for about the next five minutes or so I'm in hog heaven.

Usually eating my breakfast and surfing, checking emails, updating my lovely little Blog

while also getting a look at what my day is going to be like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the run down.


Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats

18 Servings per bag

Don't get hung up on the price when you calculate it out

it's only

$0.38833333 cents per serving!  

and takes only 2 minutes to cook in the microwave.

So there you have it

a very hearty, hot, healthy breakfast to start off your day!

and for only

a few pennies!

And if you have found other oats that are just as yummy let me know!


Hope you Enjoy :)

GF Valentines Pancakes!

OK. 

My girls love their pancakes. 

So one of the breakfast requests I have received has been for those lovely
flap-jacks, hot cakes, pancakes 
or the lovely name I gave them
PAIN-CAKES!
{oh sigh}

mmmm 

pancakes drizzled in maple syrup

So me and Anna being the early birds we are

decided we would whip up 

some 

We love how they turned out!!

What a great way to welcome the day on Valentines Day

by serving your shweetie

some of these 

Pretty Pink-a-licious Gluten Free Pancakes!!!

So here's how we made them.

First I got some Gluten Free Bisquick and after reading that the caramel color in 

most syrups contains gluten decided to go ahead and break the bank and 

get the real stuff.

&

O-M-G 

the maple syrup is so worth it. :)

We just followed the directions for the pancakes on the back of the Bisquick box 

and then added some Wilton food coloring to the batter to achieve the pretty pink we wanted.

I have been reading that most Wilton food colorings are GF and we have used

this food coloring many times and we have never had a reaction to it.

 My little helper. We added the food coloring with a toothpick. All it takes is a tiny tiny bit and you get a pretty vibrant color.

To get the control you need to make hearts. Put your batter into a squeeze bottle and clip a little extra off the tip to allow more batter to flow through.  :)

Now you're all set to be as creative as you wish. 

The sky is the limit!

Pop them on a plate and drizzle with your favorite maple syrup, serve and

watch the smiles spread!

Hope you enjoyed and...

Be sure to watch for

my

You're going to love them!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a little extra note.

My daughters requests for pancakes really got me to thinking... 

about my past with the sweet breakfast pastries that I loved so much prior to my diagnosis

and I really thought about how they made me feel after eating them.
{Remember my lovely name for pancakes that I mentioned above??}
PAIN-CAKES
well there is a reason for that nickname I promise...read on

I remember thinking that I must not be able to handle the syrup.

Maybe it's just to sweet for my body to handle first thing in the AM

because after eating pancakes, cinnamon buns, honey buns, donuts, really any of these breakfast lovelies...

well I always felt the energy being sapped from my body

and would be left feeling like garbage

and full of regret having ate them.

All these years I thought it was the sweetness of the foods

that brought me down like someone shot me with an 

elephant gun

{Oh I snicker, hehe,Elephant Gun}

anyhow

I never dreamed it was

Gluten.

{actually at that point I had never heard of gluten nor the nasty affects it could have on someone} 

So with this simple analysis of how this type of food has treated me in the past.

I went in this morning really wondering how I was going to feel after eating a few pancakes.

{still thinking, maybe it as a combo of gluten and sugar}

And I have to tell you

I was left feeling

quite simply

No sickie feelings.

No jitters.

No suck the life right outta me feelings

and at no time did the words

"Get me to the couch quick!"

ever roll out of my mouth.

Actually, what I did say was

I think I will have one more :)
Hope you enjoy!

If you get a chance to try this fun cooking project with your little ones

Please do!

It's fun for everyone. 

Let them orchestrate their own lovely breakfast pancake creations that disappear just as quickly

as they leave the pan.

Gluten-Free for Life Expo-St. Petersburg Florida

Join us for a Gluten Free Day
 Filled with food, education and fun!
March 24, 2012 from 11:am to 4:pm
St Petersburg Coliseum
535 4th Avenue N, StPetersburg, FL 33701 (727) 892-5202

Because Celiac Disease runs in Families

Because having only one person with Gluten-Intolerance can affect the whole Family

Because Celiac Disease/Gluten-Intolerance can create or affect an entire Family of other diseases such as 

Arthritis, Autism, Cancer, Depression, Diabetes, Infertility, Migraine, and many more.

SPEAKERS: We're excited to confirm some incredible Speakers
· Shannon Ford, Mrs United States 2011, 1 in 133 – Raising Awareness
· John Libonati, on Increased Awareness of Celiac Disease
· Melinda Dennis, MS RD LDN, Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess
· Cleo Libonati, RN BSN on Nutritional Deficiencies in Celiac Disease
· Pam Cureton, RD LDN, University of Maryland for Celiac Research

FUNDRAISING: 

We’re thrilled to announce two opportunities
· Camp Weekaneatit – a Gluten-Free summer camp for kids 8-17 years. Your $5.00 entrance donation benefits the camp.
· Gluten Free Friends of Tampa – a Gluten Free Food Pantry.  

Please bring a non-perishable food item for this great effort.

Email:          GlutenFreeForLifeExpo@GMail.com
Website:       http://glutenfreeforlifeexpo.blogspot.com/
Directions:   Take I-275 to exit 23A, and then exit 2
                     The Coliseum and parking are on the left

Gluten Free Pizza Night

Ohhh Emmm Geee!!!!!

What a hit this was!!!

Udi's Pizza Crusts and lots of yummy veggies to layer and pile on-top awesome pizza sauce.

I got the girls to help out in the kitchen with cleaning, chopping and organizing all the toppings.

They loved it. :)

Then it was time to dress the pizza's.

Anna had Cheese

&

Desi had a Supremo!

 &

 Daddy said he wasn't hungry until....

he came home and saw and smelled the pizzas!

[so we had to whip him up really quick too]

&

I had an everything Veggie Pizza.

And the music to my ears was when I heard both girls say

"Mommy this is really, Really GOOD!!!"

[even better was when they asked if they could take leftovers for lunch tomorrow]

THANK YOU TRACY!

You so rock. This idea for a meal was just perfect. 

Especially to end a day like today after the anxiety of testing and the doctor visit.

And Thanks UDI's for such amazing products that make our life so much easier.

Dr. Tom Explains Celiac Disease

Diagnosed

Monday, January 16, 2012

I was diagnosed with

CELIAC DISEASE.

It's not the end of things for me at all.
If anything it's the beginning of a new and wonderful life for me.
A re-birth so to speak.
{And anyone who has been diagnosed with CD knows exactly what I'm talking about}

I saw this posted at to the bottom of someones email and it rang so true...
I am NOT Celiac, I have Celiac Disease, it does not define who I am.
and I would have to say that's exactly how I feel.

So happy to finally have confirmation.

After going Gluten Free I pretty much knew I had it

because the improvements in my physical and mental health were nothing less than

miraculous.

Hearing it from my doctor and seeing it on paper was just confirmation
of what I already knew. But sometimes it's just good to see and hear it.

So now we move on with getting the girls tested.
These beautiful young ladies are what my fuels my drive!
My only wish is for them to be 
Healthy - Happy - Safe

Appointments are scheduled!

Time off arranged!

Blood work is going to be a real beast of a task with the little one.

She is seven and wants nothing to do with needles. 

UG!

Wish us luck!

Allergic Living Magazine!

OK Seriously!

This magazine I had never seen or heard of before...

however

CAN YOU SAY

AWESOMENESS!!!!

That's exactly what this magazine contains cover-to-cover.

Pictures shared from http://allergicliving.com

Turns out a friend of our support group leader spotted this magazine and quickly snatched it up so she could share it with our group.

How cool is that?

This magazine, as well as their website http://allergicliving.com , is packed full of great information.

No matter what you have

Gluten Intolerance, Celiac Disease, Lactose Intolerance, Dairy, Soy, Tree Nut Allergies.

No matter what...

You will find something that deals with your own allergic health issues in this magazine.

 __________________________________________________

GF - Olive Garden - Pasta Fagioli Soup

This soup is soooo delicious and hearty

and makes the cold winter days so much sweeter when you have a hot bowl of this in front of you!

And it's one of those recipes that it turns out right every single time you make it. 

I never put the pasta into the soup because it sucks up all the yummy soup. 

So just keep it on the side and allow folks to add as little or as much pasta as they like.

INGREDIENTS
    •    1 lb ground beef
    •    1 cup diced onion
    •    1 cup julienned carrot
    •    3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
    •    2 garlic cloves, minced
    •    2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
    •    1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans (with liquid)
    •    1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans (with liquid)
    •    1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
    •    1 (12 ounce) can v-8 vegetable juice
    •    1 teaspoon vinegar
    •    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    •    1 teaspoon oregano
    •    1 teaspoon basil
    •    1/2 teaspoon pepper
    •    1/2 teaspoon thyme
    •    1/2 lb ditali pasta (GF Pasta of choice)

    •    Change Measurements: US | Metric

DIRECTIONS
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs
    1.    1 Brown beef in a large stock pot over medium heat-drain off fat.
    2.    2 Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
    3.    3 Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
    4.    4 After 50 minutes boil pasta to al dente.
    5.    5 Drain well.
    6.    6 Add pasta to the large pot of soup and simmer for 10 minutes.
    7.    7 (Weight Watchers Points for 1 Serving: 7).

{ps I have served this to my parents and my husbands family and they all rave about it.} 

Not knowing they were eating gluten free!

And many request I make this soup!

Gluten Free - Kobe's Steak House - White Sauce

This recipe is so inexpensive and so easy to make
not to mention it's

yummy too!

We keep a bottle of this whipped up and in the fridge for dipping steak and seafood into
or anything else that we feel could use a little saucing!

I've been making this sauce for a long while and was so happy when I discovered it was 

Gluten Free!

Let the Good-Times-Roll!

mmmmm

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup of Mayonnaise

1 T Butter or Margarine (melted)

1t Sugar

5 T water

1/2 t Garlic Powder

1/2 t Paprika

Chili Powder to taste to give it some kick if you want.

[ps - I never use the Chili Powder]

I mix all the ingredients with a whisk and then add the water at the end to get the desired consistency so it will easily squeeze from a squirt bottle!

And that's it! Pop it into the fridge and use the next time you do stir fry.

____________________________________________________

Give your Doc a Free Lesson on Celiac Disease

My support group handed out these awesome over sized post cards for us to share with our doctors!

And now I am paying it forward and uploading it here for you to share with your doctors as well! 

It's FREE

It's On-Demand

and it's available through

 JULY 19, 2013!

total awesomeness :)

I will definitely be distributing this to my primary care as well as my daughters pediatricians!

 

 

The more attention we bring to this disease the better.

The more educated we are the easier we can detect, prevent and cure.

So get out there

&

share, Share, SHARE!

information.

 

______________________________________________________

xoxoxox

Kimmy :)

Turn your TOASTER into a GRILL??

Who Knew!

Last night I attended my first 

Celiac and Gluten Intolerance Support Group Meeting 

and I have to tell you it was packed full of great information and the life stories were very inspiring.

It's always great to be around people who are just like you.

Remember that famous sitcom that took place in a bar??

Had that catchy tune playing as it came on...

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your naaaame!

do do do do

And their always glad you caaaame!

{hehe you know the one}

Well that's what going to this support group was like for me. 

I was embraced and understood by all.

It was great.

________________________________

So today I share with you another little nugget of inforamtion I gained in hopes that you can benefit from it as well.

The first thing I was introduced to by the group were these awesome bags that you can put your GF bread into so you can share a toaster that may have crumbs left over from someones 

regular bread, bagel, pop tart, strudel, waffle...

I think you get the idea.

Any how what's really cool is you can actually put yummy stuff in between those two slices

of GF Bread and have a hot sammy at home or work!

Luv this idea.

And you can affordably order them online @ Amazon

By Clicking Here!

Hope you find this helpful.

Thank you Tracy for buying me a pack of these.

You are just so darn sweet! :)
xoxoxox

___________________________________________________

Delight GF Magazine Available: Paper | iPhone | iPad

GET THIS MAGAZINE

in two versions

{Paper}

or 

{Digitally on your iPhone or iPad}

Delight Gluten-Free Magazine 

is proud to support the Celiac Disease Program at Children's National Medical Center through financial contributions as well as dedicating our staff to advancing the Program's mission. 

Want to learn more?

http://www.childrensnational.org/ 

Vita Foods Gluten Free Product Listing

I contacted Vita Foods, makers of Jim Beam Seasoned Atlantic Salmon, in regards to their salmon.
Their turnaround on this request was phenomenal!
24 HOUR RESPONSE TIME!!!

Thank You!
Vita Foods

____________________________________________

Dear Vita Foods, 

I am a Celiac patient and would like to know if your Jim Beam Seasoned Atlantic Salmon is Gluten Free? Your ingredient list contains some vague listings and I wanted to confirm that gluten is not hiding in those ingredients. Your help will be much appreciated.

Kim Panella

____________________________________________________________________

Hi Kim, thanks for the inquiry.  Yes, it’s gluten free, attached is the list of gluten free products.  Enjoy the product and thank you for your business!



Margaret Sims | Customer Service Manager
P: 312-738-7507 |F: 312-738-3215
msims@vitafoodproducts.com | www.vitafoodproducts.com
Send orders to:  orders@vitafoodproducts.com

______________________________________________________________________

Gluten Free Menu Doesn't Equal Gluten Free Dining!

You've just discovered that one of your favorite restaurants has a

Oh joy! :) 

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but...

don't go getting to excited just yet.

I know, I know..it really says 

"GLUTEN FREE"

on the menu

and guess what they even have an entire GF Menu printed up just for 

lil-ole-me

but 

and take a few minutes to understand exactly what a

restaurant that offers 
true gluten free foods

r-e-a-l-l-y

goes through to be considered 

Gluten Free.

____________________________________________________________________

First of all, 

I have to tell you that I was really shocked at the lack of 

restaurants on this list  in my area, compared to the number

of establishments that have GF offerings 

and full blown GF menus!

Honestly,

There are only a few restaurants I will eat at now

and those will be restaurants that work

hand-in-hand

with the GIG to provide a 

Gluten Free Dining Experience

for

those of us who

CAN NOT CONSUME GLUTEN. 

and here is why...

We can not consume any gluten as it damages our small intestines and make us

very sick. 

And the only treatment for us is a strict

GLUTEN FREE DIET
for LIFE.

With that being said.

I work hard to insure we do not ingest 

Gluten and I refuse to go out to dinner at a place that 

doesn't understand Celiac or Gluten Intolerance 

and who's only effort appears to be

ordering GF menus from their 

AWESOMELY TALENTED CREATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Keep in  mind. 

I'm not saying the foods they list on their GF Menus

are not GF.

{Not saying that at all}

But there is this one very big detail called...

CROSS CONTAMINATION.

[You may be wondering what I am talking about]

and that's cool.

And this actually brings me to my next point...

__________________________________________________________________

What's the BIG DEAL with 

CROSS CONTAMINATION?

I mean come on already. Some ask me, Aren't you being a tad obsessive with this??????

Let your hair down for God's sake and don't be so uptight!

IF IT SAYS GLUTEN FREE IT HAS TO BE SAFE! RIGHT?

I'm very sad to tell you this but...

NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE AT ALL!

{Oh [sigh] if only it were that easy}

For instance.

Did you know...

And for us

 even very small amounts of gluten (more than 20 parts per million) are potentially dangerous.
So flour hovering over our food as it's being prepared is not a good thing
AT ALL!

Flour dust in the air, shared equipment with dust particles, use of common utensils and baking equipment, and inadequate cleaning and scheduling of GF vs. gluten- production are major causes of cross-contamination of gluten-free products and the foods restaurants serve. 

As you see...GF is a lot more than just having a 
GLUTEN FREE MENU.
RIGHT?

__________________________________________________


 

For me piece of mind is everything and knowing...

The GIG,
Gluten Intolerance Group,
works hard to insure that the
fine dining establishments that partner with them meet
very high
quality standards and training regiments before
ever recommending them.
That means a lot to me.

 This
allows me to feel safe and comfortable
when dining out.

Does this mean I put my guard down?

Oh Gosh No!!

I will still remain very diligent to express my concerns to the wait staff
and speak with a manager if I do not feel 100%
comfortable.

and I hope you will do the same.
:)

________________________________________________________________

If you would like more information on how restaurants should avoid cross contamination
and the strict guidelines they need to follow when working with the
GIG then
check out this awesome resource

Hope you have been enlightened by this article.

 I welcome comments and would love to hear about your GF dining experiences.

Kimmy :)

Women with Celiac Suffer Depression and Disordered Eating

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Women with celiac disease -- an autoimmune disorder associated with a negative reaction to eating gluten -- are more likely than the general population to report symptoms of depression and disordered eating, even when they adhere to a gluten-free diet, according to researchers at Penn State, Syracuse University and Drexel University.

People with celiac disease often suffer from abdominal pain, constipation, decreased appetite, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting in response to ingesting gluten. The disease affects somewhere between one in 105 to one in 1,750 people in the United States and is typically controlled by avoiding gluten-containing foods such as those made with wheat, barley and rye.

"It is easy to see how people who are not managing their disease well can frequently feel unwell and, therefore, be more stressed and have higher rates of depression," said Josh Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and medicine, Penn State, "But researchers had not carefully looked at whether people who are effectively managing celiac disease exhibit a greater risk for such difficulties."

Read the full article on Penn States site click here

Tonight-Kicking4Celiac Founder on NY Ink

For those of you with cable, set your DVRs this Thursday night, Jan-5, at 9pm for the

TLC show 

NY Ink. 

 

See Celiac get some much needed national attention tonight on NY Ink as Craig Pinto, Founder of Kicking4Celiac, talks to NY Ink's Chris Torres about growing up with Celiac and overcoming his diagnosis!

Nightshades

I have to admit the first time I heard nightshades I shuttered a little bit.

I had thoughts of wizards and maesters working with potions and herbs to create that on-screen poisonous drink that ultimately closes the eyes and stops the hearts of many unsuspecting villains and sometimes...

{Do I have to say it?}

our Heroes!

It could have been the close to one of the most famous love stories ever penned

Scary thought hu?

So after having these thoughts

I told myself there is no way I eat any of the foods that may fall into this category.

Just the thought of it makes my heart skip a beat.

But what I didn't know is that many of the foods that are classified as
nightshades 
are some of my most favorite foods.

{Are you kidding me?}

And after doing some reading I learned some 

p-r-e-t-t-y

interesting things about these 

so called...

[Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce are all classified as nightshade foods!]

So by now you have taken a gander at the image above and said to yourself
O-M-G!
Nightshades are Yummy!

and I would have to agree with you there...

But there are some very interesting traits and qualities to these foods that I found very intriguing and would love to share with you.

______________________________________________________________________

Nightshade foods contain a particular substance called alkaloids.

  NO NOT THE CURIOUSLY STRONG BREATH MINT!!

Alkaloids not Altoids 

silly :)

[OK where was I?]

oh yeah Alkaloids...

What do they do? Well...
Alkaloid substances can disrupt nerve and muscle function in both animals and humans, they can also impact digestion and compromise joint function.

And since cooking these foods only decreases the amount of alkaloids by about 40-50%
if you are sensitive to alkaloid substances you may have to avoid this food group all together.
________________________________________________________________________

If you experience problems with

Arthritis or Joint Pain

you just might want to limit the amount of

POTATOES 

you eat.

 

And I clearly remember as a kid being told not to eat that lone green potato chip that sometimes found its way into the bag.
 
So when I read this I immediately thought
AH HA! Mom was right!
It turns out that the green and sprouted spots on potatoes usually reflect a high alkaloid content, even though the green area contains chlorophyll, not alkaloids.
so here's the deal...
that green color, CHLOROPHYLL, is very beneficial to our health but unfortunately is accompanied with high levels of alkaloids that we can not see.

Therefore,
 all green and sprouted areas should always be completely removed before cooking
or
toss that potato!

_________________________________________________________________________

And Green Tomatoes fall into this category as well. Sitting just behind the eggplant with nicotine content!

Lastly, I discovered that tobacco isn't the only plant on this lovely planet that contains
NICOTINE!

with that being said I have to tell you that
EGGPLANT and GREEN TOMATOES contain NICOTINE
as well.
[Yeah you heard me right!]
and actually
the level of nicotine goes
Tobacco then just under it sits Eggplant followed by Green Tomatoes.

Shocking I know.
But don't panic just yet!

 The amount that's in your eggplant parm
is really minimal compared to a tobacco leaf.

But it's still in there to say the least and with an amount that puts it
right behind tobacco with the next highest nicotine content on this
pale-blue-dot-of-a-planet
we call home.
 
___________________________________________________________________________

and of course something we all already know is
that nightshade foods add a boost of flavor to our favorite dishes and help make that
oh-so-delicious
salsa
we all love and adore.

So the next time you reach for that corn chip and take it for a dip in the salsa bowl

remember it's the 

NIGHSHADES 

that give it that

HEAT,  FLAVOR & PIZZAZ!

Hope you enjoyed this post

and...

If you would like more in-depth information on nightshades please click here!

What does it take to be Gluten Free? A Lot!

I'm not going to lie. 
It takes
A LOT!
But guess what?

My Family 
is so worth it!


In the beginning it's very overwhelming
[pssst... Just so you know I'm still in my infancy of this whole GF Lifestyle thing]
so it's safe to say I still have moments where it can be a tad overwhelming 
but I must say it is getting easier each and every day.


Simple things that I really never thought much about, now require me to be on my toes.

For example

My little one and my big girl are both still on gluten so they can be tested.
So when birthday cake is being cut and served by little oh moi
I have to intercept that cake and icing covered finger before it's instinctively popped into my mouth.
{by-the-way I actually had that happen just a couple of days ago :)}
It was a close one! But I caught myself before it happened. 
Thank Goodness! 
I've come to far to have a long sick day on the couch.


Or I'm cruising through my super market and I hear 
"SAMPLE!"
{Can't go there. I simply can not do it.}
I refuse to risk it.


Or we're walking out of the theater and they offer us candy breath mints.
I methodically
[in a sense like a robot] 
take the mint, just as I always have when candy is offered at an establishment, and start the unwrapping.
I'm walking along and the wrapper is coming off and I'm just about to push that lovely little minty
yummy into my mouth
WHEN I REALIZE
NOPE! DON'T DO IT!!
and I let it go...
into the trash.
[shew that was another close call]
So now you see what I mean about being on my toes???


I'm not sad. I don't feel left out. 
&
{Please do not feel sorry for me}
I am happy, feel awesome, and in control of my health.


In conjunction with catching those unpredictable moments like I just mentioned above you also have to do a lot of homework. 
I won't lie. It's a lot. 
But the rewards are a long and happy symptom free life!

And honestly, I felt like crap for the past 20+ years so I'm not about to go back there so...

the first and foremost thing you have to learn to do is

 READ YOUR LABELS

A lot of research, calling around and there is absolutely no room for laziness. You really have to be diligent and read labels every single time you buy a product even if you have bought it a bazillion times before... you just never know when they might yank the rug right out from under ya by changing the ingredients!

And know the list of ingredients that can get you into trouble.
You can't just rely on seeing the words
Wheat - Barley - or Rye

Gluten
is a lot like a little kid
IT LIKES TO PLAY HIDE & SEEK!
and guess what?
YOU'RE IT!
[that's right you have to be the seeker!]

So Research - Research - Research is Key!

And if you ever get in a situation where you can not verify a food is GF. 

Then simply

Do - Not - Eat - It!

[period]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JOIN A SUPPORT GROUP

Join a support group where you can talk with people just like yourself and make your transition into the GF world much easier.
Looking for a local chapter?
Hit Celiac.com for a complete listing or just click here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OWN THE INTERNET

CELIAC.COM

This resource is a must. I can not tell you the number of times I hit this site a day. You get lots of feedback from community members in the forums and can read awesome articles by medical experts and folks just like us who are living with Celiac Disease.

Have a product you are unsure of?
Chances are you can find it on Celiac.com and if not...
own the internet
and hit the company's website that processes the food.

Ask QUESTIONS until you receive ANSWERS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

READ

There are so many great books out there on CD [Celiac Disease] and Gluten that you really have no excuse to not be in the know. If you have CD or you're GI then pick up one of these highly recommended books and get your learn on!

Have a

Kindle? iPad?

EVEN BETTER
You can download both of these books in less than a minute and

get your read on

NOW!

Take a sneak peek and buy it here

The Gluten Connection

I love this book. It really helped me realize just how badly I needed to go GF.

Take a sneak peak and buy it here

Gluten Free Living for Dummies

This book is great at breaking GF Living down. You get all the much needed information on Gluten Intolerance, Tips and Tricks as well as lots of yummy recipes. :)

BE ADVENTUROUS

Try new recipes. Go out on a limb and try something you've never dared to try.

Introducing new foods is a great way to keep your mouth from getting bored.

And we all know what happens when the tongue gets bored!

It starts thinking of yummies it used to have that were so tasty instead of searching for new

mouth watering alternatives.  This scenario just might leave some folks caving in and jumping off the GF island for a bit. . . 

Only to have them laid up on Redemption Island

for a day or so trying to get their body

readjusted and back on track.

And then sadly realizing

it totally wasn't worth it!

To be successful at this you have to feel your needs are being met

100%.

NEVER

feel deprived.

[and honestly I have yet to feel deprived eating this way]

Keep your chin up. Be thankful. 

Take deep breaths.

Smile often

&

simply

LIVE

and remember

It's worth every ounce of energy it takes

reading labels, making phone calls, reading as much as we can and going the extra mile to verify we are safe

when that fork or spoon carries food to our mouths!

Kimmy :)