Gluten-Free is NOT a Diet, People!

Seriously, gluten-free is not a diet!  It's an auto-immune disease.  What is wrong with you people who actually thing that not eating gluten is a good way to lose weight?  I'm sure that you didn't research that most people who try to go gluten-free (because it makes them sick - let's just be clear here) actually gain weight at first.
Gluten-free products can vary greatly in the amount of fat, protein and other nutrients they contain.  Some gluten-free breads have up to 13 times more fat and 16 times more protein than others, according to a recent study that compared 11 different gluten-free breads. (Eating Well, Feb 2012).


The reason Celiacs are so skinny is because all the years we digested gluten are bodies weren't actually absorbing the nutrients we needed - which (again, just to be clear) is really unhealthy.  Personally, I think that diets are unhealthy.


It's all about your life style - your activity, what you choose to put in your body.  For example, I started mountain biking with a friend of mine and started to get stronger and healthier.  When I went to eat I thought, well I'm not going to throw a bunch of junk in my body now that I've worked so hard to get to where I am.  So, I'd reach for something healthier - like tuna or cashews.  One begets the other.


The "experts" say to not cut out gluten unless you have a gluten intolerance or have Celiac.  It's really hard to do it when you are forced to.  I can't imagine doing it out of choice.  


Happy and healthy eating!

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

So, this Celiac thing is still new to me.  And while I know the adverse effects of not being GF/DF (gluten-free, diary-free) I still like pizza.  I have been craving pizza for days with the gooey yummy greasy cheese and the crunchy awesome crust.  I researched how to make gluten free crust and a dairy-free topping.  I think I actually found something yummy I wanted to try.  Then my butt magically became attached to my couch and I somehow reached for the phone and called a pizza place.  So, yes, I totally cheated.  And no, it wasn't that delicious.  And yes, it made me really sick - stomach crampings and all. Aaauuuggghhh!  Needless to say, I will be more careful from now on.  And, hopefully, I will have a really great GF/DF pizza recipe for you shortly.  Lesson for the day - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

What the Hell is Xantham Gum?

So, Xanthan Gum by definition is a polysaccharide (a molecule), derived from the bacterial coat of xanthomonas campestris.  When you buy it get it in a powder form.  It should be in the grocery store right next to the alternative flours.

Structure of a molecule

Next question for us non-chemistry majors – WHY do we care about Polysaccharides?  Polysaccharides again are molecules (you can't actually see them with your eyes!)  

They are important when you eat because they give you energy.  They change the food you eat in your gastrointestinal tract.  Polysaccharides also change how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed.  So, when you have Celiac and you eat gluten you aren’t absorbing nutrients that your body needs.  This is why it’s important to eat things that your body can absorb.  There are also many benefits to this:

• 1.    Lower cholesterol levels
• 2.    Reducing sugar responses after eating
• 3.    An association with a reduced diabetes risk

Ok, now I’m sure you’re next question is What the hell is xanthomonas campestris, right?  Well, this is kind of gross, so if you are grossed out easily stop reading now.  It is a bacterial species that causes a variety of plant diseases. But, keep in mind, not all bacteria is bad for you!  (apparently just plants)

Xanthomonas campestris on plants

If you’re still reading you’re probably wondering why we’re talking about Xanthan Gum right now.  So- when you can’t use wheat flour you need an alternative, like oat flour.  However, alternative flours don’t have a lot of natural “glue” to them like wheat flours do.  So, you need to add some “glue” like Xanthan Gum.  

Xanthan Gum

Not convinced?  The last time you made cookies with an alternative flour did you use Xanthan gum-No?  Ok, so did they turn out crumbly and a weird texture-Yes!  So, if you use the Xanthan gum that won’t happen!  Be forewarned, you only need a tiny bit!  I made banana bread today and my recipe was only for 1 ½ teaspoons.  Ta da!

My Banana Bread

I Can't Eat My Favorite Foods Anymore!

While this might be true, we can certainly try to get as close as possible to our old time favorite comfort foods.  I'll share one of mine with you.  Scalloped Potatoes and Ham.  This recipe calls for flour, milk and butter.  I just made this one without any of these products and this is how.  

First, heat up a pot on the stove and turn your oven onto 350 degrees.  Melt a butter alternative or olive oil in the pan.  Meanwhile cut up 2 medium sized onions.  Throw into the pot.  Cook until they are translucent.  

Next, grab your oat flour or alternative flour of choice, and of course, your xanthun gum.  Put in 2 heaving tablespoons of flour and a 1/2 teaspoon of the xanthun gum.  Mix into the onions until you get a lumpy mixture.

Measure out three cups of Soy or Almond Milk and add to the pot.  Grab your whisk and get to it.  You are going to whisk until it's not lumpy anymore.  Also, turn up the heat because you want the white mixture to come to boil (you're making what the French call a "bechamel sauce" or "white sauce").  When it starts boiling and you have no lumps, turn the heat back down until you dip a spoon in it and the sauce mostly stays on the spoon.

While you're waiting for your sauce to thicken, you should be dicing up your ham into bite sized pieces.  Also, you are cutting up your potatoes into nice thin circles.  Your sauce now should be done.  NOTE:  Stir your sauce often - it will burn if you don't!

Remove the sauce from the heat once it's reached its desired consistency.  Grease the bottom of a casserole dish or cake pan.  Carefully ladel just enough sauce to barely cover the bottom of your dish.  Then, lay your first layer of potatoes.  They can be touching, but not by much.  Add in a layer of ham.  Then dump some of your sauce over the layer.  Start over with another layer of potatoes, then ham, then sauce.  Repeat until you're out of all three.

Cover the dish with foil.  Put in the oven for about 40 minutes or until a fork goes through the potatoes easily.  Be sure to remove the foil AWAY from your face so you don't get a bad steam facial.  The sauce in the dish will set a little bit when you let it sit.  Serve immediately with your favorite veggie - like corn or green beans.  Yummy!  

REMEMBER:  You can make your own favorite foods, you just need to tweek them a smidge!  Good luck!

Accidently Ate Gluten!?!? Now What?

So, pretty much you're kind of screwed, but there are a couple things you can do to manage the pain:


1.  Clean everything out:

• Take a laxative
• Drink lots of water

2.  Heating pad:  Place a heating pad on your stomach to reduce the swelling.

3.  If all else fails and you're having a serious reaction you may need to consider heading to your nearest ER.

Remember - try to not do that again.  When in doubt reach for the safest thing possible: baked potato, chicken breast, rice.  It might not be the most flavorful thing, but at least you'll be safe.

Holiday Eating

Eating during the holidays isn’t the easiest thing for us Celiacs, but it doesn’t have to be horrible!  Here are a few things to keep in mind.  Typically any kind of meat doesn’t have gluten- just be careful of ham and the ingredients infused into it.  I like to add a little “butter” (I use butter alternative) on the skin of my turkey to make it perfectly browned and crispy just if you’re lactose-intolerant don’t fall into that trap.  Mashed potatoes are lactose city but can be countered by using any kind of broth (instead of cream or milk) with butter alternative or even olive oil-they taste just as good, if not better.  Veggies you should be safe, except for the butter or bread crumb topping (like French Onion Green Bean Casserole.)  NO NO NO stuffing!  Pies, cookies, and cakes – you might want to bring your own.  Don’t tell anyone it’s gluten and lactose free and see if anyone notices!  I bet you they won’t.  Just treat the holidays as if you’re going out to dinner – same concept.  Be informed and be smart about what you put on your plate.  Happy Holidays!

The Rules

As someone who has worked in the food & beverage industry since the age of 14 I am here to try to give you the behind the scenes scoop, as well as the the front:

1.  Don't be dumb!  Please, please be an informed eater.  Ask for a gluten-free menu when you go out. OR  If an item on the menu says it includes "breadcrumbs" don't ask your waiter if it is gluten-free.  It's not.  And there's tons of butter on it.  And when we (servers or bartenders) walk away from your table we go in the back and make fun of you.  This is NOT a judge-free zone.  Please don't be that person.  Know your disease, know your food.

2.  Don't be annoying.  Everyone at dinner probably knows you already have Celiac and if you go through each and every item on the menu your fellow diners are going to be annoyed, not to mention the waiter who really doesn't have the time to go through an entire dinner menu just for you.  And if you're out for Italian... now really, why did you think it was a good idea to go out for Italian food - pasta, bread, cream...!!!

3.  Don't eat wheat.  If you don't understand this one, I don't know how else to help you.

4.  Read the label.  I despise reading labels, however, this is now a necessary evil.  Even if you think something canned or processed should be gluten-free doesn't mean that is it.  If it doesn't say "Gluten-Free" assume that it's not.  Gluten is in all types of things you wouldn't think it would be like... ketchup, soy sauce, soup...

5.  Gluten is in everything.  Sometimes it's just easier to make dinner from scratch knowing there is no gluten in anything.  This may not sound ideal to you, but I use my cooking time as my "decompress time" where I only have to think about food and nothing else.  Take the time to put some focus on you.

6.  Switch out the flour.  Did you know there is more than just bleached processed flour?  Well, I'm here to tell you there are multiple choices of flour.  I prefer oat flour with a pinch of xanthun gum will get you just the right texture.

7.  Don't drink beer.  There is wheat in almost every kind of beer.  However, there are a few exceptions, like cider.  Woodchuck is gluten-free, I prefer the Pear.  But, be careful and assume that if it doesn't say gluten-free that it's not.  You could try a glass of wine- most of which are gluten-free.  Again, there are some exceptions.  Some wineries use a flour-paste to seal their barrels and inevitably fall into the wine itself.

8.  Vegan doesn't mean gluten-free.  Vegan just means someone who avoids eating animal products.  While this may help with lactose intolerance (butter, milk), it does not help with gluten intolerance.

Again, the biggest thing is to be an informed eater.  It's your body.  You decide what goes in it.  BUT, going out to dinner doesn't need to be production.  Be informed!

What, exactly, is Celiac Disease?

Celiac’s usually describe the disease as a gluten “allergy” because it’s the easiest most concise way to convey the general idea of the disease.  But, in reality Celiac Disease is not a food allergy - it is an autoimmune disease.

What actually happens is when you eat gluten, the villi (tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food) are damaged. This is due to an autoimmune reaction to gluten. Damaged villi do not effectively absorb basic nutrients – proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and, in some cases, water and bile salts. If it’s left untreated, damage to the small bowel can be chronic and life threatening, causing an increased risk of associated disorders – both nutritional and immune related.

So what the heck is gluten?


Gluten is a protein.  As a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye, it gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture.

What are the symptoms?

CD is a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder.  Like every auto-immune disease, symptoms vary and are not always gastrointestinal but here are some of the most common:

• Abdominal cramping, intestinal gas
• Distention and bloating of the stomach
• Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
• Steatorrhea – fatty stools
• Anemia – unexplained, due to folic acid, B12 or iron deficiency (or all)
• Unexplained weight loss with large appetite or weight gain
• Dental enamel defects
• Osteopenia, osteoporosis
• Bone or joint pain
• Fatigue, weakness and lack of energy
• Infertility – male/female
• Depression
• Mouth ulcers
• Delayed puberty
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
• Migraine headaches

SOME LONG-TERM CONDITIONS:

• Iron deficiency anemia
• Early onset osteoporosis or osteopenia
• Vitamin K deficiency associated with risk for hemorrhaging
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Central and peripheral nervous system disorders - usually due to unsuspected nutrient deficiencies
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• Intestinal lymphomas and other GI cancers (malignancies)
• Gall bladder malfunction
• Neurological manifestations

Thank you to the Wikipedia & the Celiac Disease Foundation for the information!

Finding Out About Celiac

I figured I had Celiac for a number of years now.  I ignored it.  I’ve already been lactose-intolerant since the age of 10 and I was NOT going to start eating cardboard or become a label reader.  Uuuuugggghh!  How annoying!  And do you know how many foods have gluten in them?  Most of them - again, so annoying.  Then, my dear friend and doctor told me that I did have Celiac.  I just rolled my eyes at her and decided I was still going to live my life the way I wanted and eat whatever I wanted because I didn’t want to go through life being that person, plus I love cake and pie and bagels.  Then, she followed up with – you know it can lead to auto-immune diseases, right?  Of course I have a family history of that already so this time I actually listened to what she had to say.

I did really good being gluten and lactose free – for almost an entire week!  I suck.  I totally cheated.  Plus, have you seen the prices on gluten-free products?  $7 for bread – you have got to be kidding me right!?!?  Unfortunately, I have become a label reader, which I despise, but it’s really unavoidable at this point.  I am getting better at not cheating and finding alternatives to my favorite foods.  I’ve noticed that I have less discomfort and my stomach isn’t bloated anymore.  I guess once you boil it down, a really good rationalization of this is to put good things in your body so you feel good and that’s worth it.