2018 GFAF Expo
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10 Things I Wish I Would Have Known When I Was First Diagnosed…
This upcoming summer I will have officially been gluten free for four long, rollercoaster years. If you would have told me that I would be where I am today four years ago, I don’t think I would have believed you. I was about to be a junior in college, had gone through some major life changes outside of my diet, and now I was supposed to give up pizza rolls? I was in a rage of teenage angst and had no idea where to start. Here are the 10 things I wish I would have known when I first went gluten free: You are going to have to build a high tolerance for nay-sayers. There are always going to be people out there who tell you that they learned from South Park that being gluten free isn’t real (yes this actually happened to me). It is okay to be sad, angry, and at times completely and utterly defeated. I can’t tell you the number of times I have gotten mad at myself for crying about being gluten free, which …
Happy Celiac Awareness Month!
As you know, it’s May. What you may not know is that it’s Celiac Awareness Month! I typically have no shame in spamming the internet with all things gluten free but this is the month to turn it up to 11. Advocacy is the name of the game in May (and every other month). The happenings: I’m hosting a St. Louis Gluten Free Meet-Up this month. If you’d like more information please email me at sociableceliac@gmail.com May favorites: Goodie Girl Cookies now at Starbucks !!!!!!! Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe and photo from Against All Grain
Learning How To Say No
Recently, I was invited to a homemade pizza making party and it made me think about the things in my life that I have said yes to because I didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings who, at no fault of their own, didn’t understand my disease. The friends of mine who were hosting the party bought gluten free flour and offered to make me my own special pizza but I knew the chance of cross-contamination was way too high. This kind gesture is what has gotten me in trouble often in the past. I used to accept the offer and would end up with a stomach ache and a day on the toilet because I couldn’t handle saying no. However, there is a point in life where you have to understand that doing what is best for yourself is not always selfish. It is necessary for your health and well-being. I went to that pizza making party and had a hell of a time but for the first time in a long time I learned to say …
May is Celiac Awareness Month
If you didn’t already know, May is celiac awareness month and I am going green for the occasion. This is the perfect time for you to advocate not only for yourself but for the 1 and 100 people also diagnosed with celiac disease and the many more that are undiagnosed. Check out this post by Beyond Celiac (formerly the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) on 60 things you can do to raise celiac disease awareness. Then share this video on your social media with the hashtag #60ForCeliac. Read this post I had featured on the Beyond Celiac Gluten-Free in College series. Get out there and let the world know about celiac disease and hope for a cure someday soon (because I need some pizza rolls in my life ASAP)!
Better Batter | Financial Aid Program
I just came across this awesome financial aid opportunity for people to get a little extra to help pay for their gluten free foods. Check out Better Batter’s website for more information. “Better Batter’s gluten free products are the product of a family just like yours. Founder Naomi Poe found the gluten free diet to be enormously helpful in her son Zion’s developmental delays. Better Batter Gluten Free Flour was created as a safe and convenient way of providing food that her sons could eat. Better Batter products are not only gluten and allergen free, but they also taste great. Even your non-gluten free friends and family won’t notice the difference! We believe everyone should have the ability to eat healthy, enjoyable food. And gluten free foods are not always cheap. That’s why, as a part of your community, Better Batter is committed to offering special pricing to families with limited income, families with children with autism, college students and other households with extraordinary circumstances. With Better Batter products, you can live without and not be missing out.” Here is a link to the …
New Interactive Gluten Free Map
**1/7/17 it seems as if this link has been taken down and the site is no longer active ** Hey all, I just came across this new interactive map that allows you to add gluten free places in four categories: bakery, gluten free store, full GF restaurant, and restaurant (with GF options); I’m super excited about it!!! Currently, there are only places in NY, Texas, California,St. Louis, and Southern/Central Illinois but new locations are being added quickly!! I would love it you all would take some time out of your busy schedules and add a few of your favorite places to the map. I think this could be another really useful tool for us when traveling or looking for fresh ideas for places to visit. Here is the link: http://www.mapgf.com/ Let me know if you add some locations and help spread the word!
The Teal Pumpkin Project
If you know me at all you would know that this is the kind of stuff that gets me excited. SO FREAKIN’ EXCITED. If you have not heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project you can read all about it here. It is an initiative by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) that promotes inclusion of all kids on Halloween. You can sign the pledge and get awesome resources on being allergen friendly on Halloween. All you have to do it paint a pumpkin teal and get some allergen friendly treats or non-candy items to pass out on Halloween for kids with restrictive diets. The Celiac Disease Foundation has also joined the project and have posted some great resources on a gluten-free Halloween. Check them out here. My family will be hanging our Teal Pumpkin sign by our front door and placing our teal pumpkin for everyone to see. This is the first year we have participated but I am so excited to spread awareness and continue to do this for years to come. Pictured above …
One Redd’s and You’ll Be Dead*
*Maybe not dead but damn near close. Sometimes a celiac just wants to get drunk. Cider, as I have mentioned before, is my go-to alcoholic drink. But I am starting to realize that the world may not completely understand what cider actually is or what other beverages do not classify as cider. I recently proclaimed myself the #CiderQueen on Twitter because an online news source about food published an article titled: The Definitive Ranking of 17 Hard Ciders, According to College Kids. One of the “ciders” that they ranked was Redd’s Apple Ale. Let’s take a second to define Ale: “an alcoholic beverage brewed especially by rapid fermentation from an infusion of malt with the addition of hops” (Merriam-Webster). If you avoid gluten for any reason you will see one word stand out and that word is MALT and malt is ~ b a d ~. I know that the audience of their article was not celiac’s or people who avoid gluten because of medical reasons, however, putting it out there that an ale is a cider can be …
the sociable celiac 