Picture
Today’s post is a bit more serious in tone as I was waxing nostalgic for some reason during my morning commute and remembering how my food allergies came to manifest themselves.  As if being Celiac was not enough I also developed a shellfish allergy not that long ago so in the course of a few years my life became very interesting indeed.  When first diagnosed with Celiac it was a pretty big blow.  I mean I loved bread, pasta, beer – okay, I had a love affair with gluten and did not even realize it.  Yet, this was a one-sided love affair as I may have loved gluten but gluten was slowly destroying my digestive system unbeknownst to me at the time.  It is funny when you think back and the signs were so clear yet Celiac was not something that had mainstreamed so it was always a case of having a funny tummy or GERD (God, I was on Nexium for 3 years which I am sure is not a good thing).  It is amazing how something can be right in front of you yet without a little bit of knowledge it just goes unnoticed.

I often wonder what life would have been like having known I was Celiac all along and am glad that younger generations can spare themselves the damage and discomfort early on.  I am also still amazed that one can become allergic to anything at any point in their life.  Celiac aside, because obviously many of us had it our entire lives but just went undiagnosed.  My shellfish experience was a real wake up call because, once again, the initial warning signs my body was sending off were ignored because I did not know what was happening. I would eat shellfish and feel itchy or get small hives but never connected the dots until my body sent a clear message which led me to a fantastic allergist and in-depth allergy test to find out not only what I was allergic to but also to what degree.  I was amazed at how specific the tests could get (down to the different varietals of individual species).  I will never forget my allergist going over the results and starting to read the shellfish section – about half-way through, after being off the scale for every type thus far, he looks at me and said Just never eat ANY type of shellfish again because you are off the scale.  At the time I felt like, great, yet another entire food group wiped away.  But somehow the shellfish took a priority in the sense that 1) it would likely kill me and 2) the thought of having to jab my Epi-Pen into my thigh (which I had to be trained in) was really not appealing because I am essentially a big baby when it comes to any type of needle.

So where am I going with all this?  My lesson learned was to listen to your body.  No one knows it better than you do.  If something seems a bit off, get it looked into and nip it in the bud.  Also, you have to be comfortable with your physician – if you are not, find someone else.  I am lucky to have a brother who is a physician and I can bounce things off which comes in very handy.  But is important to ask questions and have a physician that does not seem put out in answering whatever (or however many) questions you might have.  It is your responsibility to take a proactive stance in your own health in order to keep living a full and fabulous life. 
 
 
Picture
The other evening we were entertaining yet again and I thought I would take this opportunity to share a few tips when catering to non-Celiacs as a host with Celiac disease yet making a menu everyone can enjoy.

Now this was just a small get together so we decided to keep the snacks and dinner pretty straight forward.  We began with a selection of GF cheeses including Swiss, Pepper Jack, and Cheddar paired with some sesame rice crackers along with regular cracker flats and water crackers for the gluten eaters. 

It is important to note that when serving a mix of GF and gluten options steps must be taken to avoid cross-contamination.  I always ensure that GF and gluten options are served on separate plates.  Also, be sure to serve and dips of spreads either in separate serving bowls or provide a spoon and cocktail plates and have your guests create their own individual plates.  Remember to discourage dipping to prevent contamination.  I never make a huge deal about GF/non-GF etiquette as the golden rule of entertaining is to make guests feel welcome.  However, if you make a subtle move of serving yourself on the cocktail plates, most guests will follow.  All of my friends know about my GF-lifestyle so entertaining rarely becomes an issue.

Some corn tortilla chips and natural potato chips paired with fresh salsa, olive hummus, and roasted red-pepper hummus rounded out the dipping options.  The main course consisted of a wonderfully fresh filet mignon roast cooked to order, fresh local bi-color corn and a truly fantastic salad with organic mixed greens, brussels sprouts, edamame, chick peas, and tomato covered in a homemade dressing that is a family secret (though I might divulge one day in the recipe section).  Dessert was a gluten free vanilla ice cream topped with organic fresh strawberries.

A great time was had by all and everyone, myself included, were more than satiated at the end of the evening.
 
 
Picture
I have been gluten free for well over 5 years now and am overly cautious when it comes to eating foods I did not prepare myself.  However, as I am sure many of you know it is still a challenge and sometimes, no matter how diligent you are, gluten sneaks in – gasp!  Let’s face it isolating gluten components from packing is not as easy as some think because you need to be very well versed in some of the more non-traditional way gluten can sneak in.

That's right, yours truly had a minor run in the other day and I will be the first to say it was my fault.  I always read product packaging as though it were an exciting novel -- so when you see the guy in the market staring intently at a box, that's me.

For my little brunch party the other day I was perusing the aisles of my favorite gourmet shop and stumbled across a glorious pile of French chocolate truffles.  So, I picked up the box and read the ingredients.  Unfortunately a “replacement label” in English had been plastered over the original French and other European languages citing the ingredients.  Having lived in France I would have preferred to just read the original labeling but looked at the translation and it seemed to be just fine.

Alas, things are not always what they seem.  After my splendid brunch we retired to the living room and I thought what better way to cap off the day that with the truffles – and they were FABULOUS.  However, as I was letting the delicate chocolate morsel melt in my mouth I noticed a bit of a more solid texture.  Curious I thought.  Perhaps some crystallization of the sugar?
I went back to the kitchen and looked at the package, this time peeling off the English overlay and there it was…wheat gluten.  Damn!  Well, thankfully I did not have a bad reaction but even after all this time being gluten free it reinforced that you can never be lax and need to question everything.  Oh well, lesson learned.  I am just sad because the chocolate was to die for and such a shame it was not GF.