The War on Celiac

Here are some (not so) fun facts about gluten and Celiac Disease:

+ 1 in every 133 Americans have Celiac Disease
 + Of those 133, 80 percent do NOT even know they have it
+ 5-22 percent of patients have an immediate family member that is also diagnosed (my sister and ME)
+ NO pharmaceutical cures for Celiac disease
+ Gluten-free sales reached more than $2.6 billion by the end of 2010
 + Sales are expected to exceed more than $5 billion by 2015
+ Most common inherited autoimmune disorder
+ Children with Celiac disease will visit about 8 pediatricians on average before the correct diagnoses 
+ People can develop Celiac disease well into adulthood
+ September 13 is Celiac Awareness Day (ironically the day after my birthday)

So a little pick-me-up after these facts, check out this hilarious video!

OR check out this great book for more facts and information!

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• It’s National Celiac Awareness Day! But is there anything to celebrate? (spruestory.com)
• Celiac Awareness Day! (ladysorghum.wordpress.com)
• Where’s your gluten hiding? (73druce.wordpress.com)

Where’s your gluten hiding?

So although gluten is most commonly found in food that is not the only place is may be hiding. Weird enough, it can be found in household objects that you would never even suspect. Although it may just be a trace amount, gluten is gluten and especially for those diagnosed with celiac disease it is important to take this into consideration.

Here are some non-food gluten products:

Lipstick

Some Toothpastes

Hair Products

Fabric Softeners

Adhesive tape

Antibiotics

Cosmetics

Envelopes- MYTH! Envelopes do not contain wheat starch as it is composed of a corn starch instead.

Related articles

• A Comprehensive Gluten-Free Food List (guidetoglutenfree.com)
• Gluten Sensitivity: What we know is that we know very little (fooducate.com)

Most Important Meal of the Day

Well as we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day! This is true for two reasons, first, as everyone knows it gives you the fuel and energy to jump start your day. The second reason however is more particular to you readers. By starting your day with a healthy balanced gluten-free diet (and you have celiac) your day relies on breakfast!! Not only is it important to make sure your breakfast is 100% gluten-free, it is also imperative to make sure your getting the right nutrients. Although convenience may not seem like an option when eating a gluten-free breakfast, I am here to give you some quick and easy options.

1. Today’s breakfast, Chex cereal. Not only are these awesome as a bowl of cereal with milk, but this cereal is also great without milk as a on the go snack! Also a benefit they have SO many different gluten-free flavors including Apple Cinnamon, Cinnamon, Rice, Corn, Honey Nut, Vanilla, and Chocolate!

2. Cheese Omelet with any added veggies. This breakfast not only is delicious and my personal favorite but also is so simple with household foods, (so you can always opt for this on travel!) The eggs also add a great source of protein!

3.  Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles. You betcha, both of these popular Post cereals are gluten free! Don’t want them as a cereal? Also try amazing recipes making them into tastey rice crispy treats!

4. Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Granola Maple Mix. This product is irresistible. Not only do you get a different texture in every bite but it’s packed with nutrients! Add this to your favorite yogurt or snack on it plain, either way be careful, you don’t want to finish the bag all in one sitting!

Related articles

• Celiac Pros: Fruity Pebbles (kingglutenfree.com)
• Raising Your Gluten-Free Child (health.usnews.com)

Thinking of Me?

Well you might not actually be thinking about me, but if you know a gluten-free someone in college (or even just living a distance away from you) send them a care package! Not only are these easy to order it also saves you the energy of going on a gluten-free hunt at the grocery store! The only con to these are that they seem to be on the pricier side, although all gluten-free products tend to cost a little more money. The solution? Make your own, here are suggestions of easy gluten-free snacks that any taste bud will desire.

OK SO I HAD TO COME BACK AND ADD THIS PRODUCT INTO THIS BLOG! These are actually the best store bought cookies I have ever had, gluten-free or not. I have to hide these deep in my cabinet to keep my brothers away but these are a MUST!!!!!!!

Although if you are interested in sending a pre-made gluten-free care package I found that this site has baskets for all different occasions! Click the image below to arrive at the site!

Name that Brand

Grocery shopping? Here are the brands that recognized for their gluten-free superbity. (Not sure that’s a word.) But either way all of these brands offer a variety of quality gluten-free products that are safe from any sort of cross contamination. So keep your eyes peeled because most of these can be found at your local food shops! Also a bonus all of these products linked below are easy dorm snacks!

Schar
Enjoy Life
Udi’s
Authentic Foods
Glutenfreeda
O’Doughs
Barkat
Conte’s Pasta
Biaglut Pastamia
Three Bakers
Lucy’s 

                                  

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• Setting up your gluten free pantry (thismamacooks.com)

Well Everyone Else Is Doing It…

All of these hot celebrities have chosen to eat a gluten-free diet for different reasons, here are the top celebs that joined the fad either as weight loss tricks or to treat their Celiac disease.

Miley Cyrus

Lady Gaga

Zooey Deschanel

Elizabeth Hasselbeck

Drew Brees

Chelsea Clinton

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• Is Gluten-Free good, bad, or just a fad? (hage7410.wordpress.com)

Tastey Adaptations

Going to college can be tough, especially when you are moving into a different, unfamiliar city. For me, moving to DC was a big change but lots of family and friends told me how much I would love it! Another great thing about moving into such a popular city is all of the restaurant tips I got; little did I realize some of them were not gluten-free friendly. Here are a few places that I explored and found to be delicious and friendly to my diet!

1. Fuel Pizza: Offers 35 different options that any desire would crave. Personal sized 12” pizza and also serves gluten-free Red Bridge beer!

http://www.fuelpizza.com/menu/Gluten-Free

2. Baked and Wired: What’s better than a gluten-free dessert?! This bakery works carefully to maintain a selection of gluten-free options of all different sorts! My personal favorite is their Flourless Peanut Butter, my mouth waters just typing it!

http://bakedandwired.com/

3. Chima Brazilian Steak House: This all you can eat meat buffet can be a lot to handle ones first time through! A little pricier but the quality of the food is definitely worth it. Most likely not in a college student’s budget but luckily for me my sister used to hostess at a Chima near my home town (there are several locations) so I got my meal at a discounted rate! Although I could not find their gluten-free menu on their website a simple Google search will do the trick!

http://chima.cc/site/

4. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Two words, lettuce wrap. OMG the lettuce wraps are delicious and they serve them in a gluten-free and non gluten-free options but both are as tastey as ever! Also P.F. Chang has a great gluten free menu with a variety of options. What’s even better about this place? There is a gluten-free soy sauce option and some of their products are sold at grocery stores so you do not even have to tip the waiter!

http://www.pfchangs.com/menu/Menu.aspx

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Trick Or Treat Smell My Feet Pick Me Something GLUTEN-FREE To Eat

Just because you are gluten-free does NOT mean you have to skip out on Halloween trick-or-treating! But  with Halloween just around the corner I thought I’d give a quick list of some gluten-free candies to indulge in! Also I listed a few to steer clear from. Be sure to tell gluten-free friends everywhere what’s safe and what’s not!

YES!! 🙂 

Wonka Pixy Stix
Laffy Taffy
Baby Ruth
Butterfinger bar (ORIGINAL ONLY)
M&M (ALL FLAVORS EXCEPT PRETZEL)
3 Musketeers Bars (all flavors)
Snickers bar
Tootsie Roll
Dots
Junior Mints
Tootsie Pop
Hershey Kisses
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (all except for seasonal shaped items)
Mike and Ike
Tic Tac

NO!!

Wonka Bar
Chewy Sprees
Wonka Nerds
Mily Way
Mars Bar
Hershey Miniatures
Altoids Smalls Peppermint Mints
Sweettarts

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• 2013 Gluten-free Halloween candy (glutenfreefromutah.com)

Even The Littlest Things Hurt

Celiac means NO GLUTEN! Ok, so I’m sure that most of you already know that but I’m saying this for all of the non gluten-free people!! Emphasis on the title of this blog, any ounce of gluten may cause irritation to your stomach, so simply taking the croutons out of the salad isn’t helping! So when your in the sandwich line at the cafeteria (obvi with your gluten-free bread) make sure that the person making your sandwich not only keeps your bread on your own plate but also changes their gloves before making it! I know it sounds excessive and you may feel like a nag, but this is your health at state! My university even has a separate toaster labeled “gluten-free,” which surprised me (but it shouldn’t!!) Moral of the story is that even the littlest interaction with gluten can hurt your stomach so stick to the old motto better safe than sorry!

Too much to require the cafeteria workers to read this before serving food?!

Gluten-Free Athletes

As a college athlete, I am always on the go. Whether it is running to classes, practices or an extra study session, I rarely catch a break. Because of my busy schedule and expectations to always be on my A game sticking to my diet is IMPERATIVE!! Having celiac means that my body does not digest gliadin and glutenin properly so my body reacts with a variety of symptoms. It is always so important for me to stick to my diet especially the days leading up to game day because of the symptoms. Who would want to be tired on game day?!

Here’s a gluten-free protein bar for some pregame fuel!!

Also, an article my coach sent me that encouraged this post!!

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