Making Tracks For Celiacs

My husband, sister and I ran a 5k on Sunday, Making Tracks for Celiacs at the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus. WOW was I surprised at the turn out-- there was over 900 runners!  

Making Tracks for Celiacs is an annual fundraising event, which is organized and managed by the Center for Celiac Research at Mass General. This is their 12th year and they have raised almost $2,000,000 to date. The funds raised are used to increase awareness and support research as well as national and local celiac projects.  

This was my very first Celiac Disease event. I was incredibly touched to see so many people supporting Celiac Disease. It was hard to see so many little kids with Celiac Disease but also great to see how involved their family and friends were. A lot of the runners had created teams with cleaver G-Free t-shirts such as: No Grain, No Pain! 

The runners in the front got a little off course so our 3.1 mile race ended up being closer to 4 miles but we were fine, finishing at 38 minutes!  It is definitely something I would love to do yearly and maybe create my own team next year; I was thinking Team Aunt Addie? (Aunt Addie is what my niece and nephews call me) 

After the race there was a gluten free vendor fair and we got to sample some great gluten free products! We tried everything from GF Oreos, pretzels, bagels, cookies, brownies, and even beer! It was nice to see a few local restaurants there supporting celiac disease by displaying their gluten free menu. Roy’s restaurant definitely caught my attention with their gluten free menu and samples of their chocolate lava cake brownie which was delicious! Now I will definitely have to have a date night there with Brandon! 

I was really excited to find samples of a product called GoPicnic; ready to go gluten free meals! They were giving away boxes of them and I was able to grab one of each meal. I think this would be perfect for the airport and traveling! I have not had a chance to try them yet but they had 5 different options from black bean dip to turkey sausage. Each "picnic" came with a complete meal including a dessert! Now let’s just hope that they actually taste good!  

I purchased gluten free labels, signs, and stickers to use in the kitchen! These will be great for labeling gluten free dips and side dishes at parties! I will give them a try this weekend at our Memorial Day party! I will post pictures after the party!

 

 

It was a great morning and it meant a lot to me to have my husband and sister there to support me and Celiac Disease research!

 

 

 

 

 

Surpise Gift

I came home from work yesterday and was suprised to find a package waiting for me on my front porch!  I opened the package, and saw the book my best friend, Kassandra had been telling me about...

Undiet: The Shiny, Happy, Vibrant, Gluten-Free, Plant-Based Way to Look Better, Feel Better, and Live Better Each and Every Day!

I was so excited to start reading the book! I opened the first page and came across a great quote written by the author that I wanted to share...

Now it is time for me to start reading my new book! Thank you so much Kassandra!

Eliminating Gluten... Starting with Your kitchen

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease on a morning before work. I felt so lost and confused on what I could and couldn’t eat and I had to go straight to work. I remember having a drug rep lunch that day and I had a sandwich and removed the bun, and I didn’t understand why I was so sick the rest of the day at work? Boy did I have SO much to learn! Getting rid of gluten is hard enough, I didn't know anything about cross contaimination at that time....

That weekend I went to the library, rented over ten books and decided the first place to go gluten free was my kitchen…. 

I started in my pantry.

-          Out went pretty much my entire pantry, it was bare! Pastas, bread crumbs, cereals, crackers, granola bars, flour, etc.

-          Then onto my spice cabinet where I went through and got rid of all of the pre-mixed spice packages including taco seasonings, onion soup packet mixes, etc.

-          Refrigerator- all my marinades, dressings, BBQ sauces 

That was the easy part! Then came all the scrubbing & cleaning! And scrubbing again!  

Eliminating gluten is more than just eliminating gluten foods….  Like I said earlier Cross Contamination is equally important to eliminate and understand.  

-          All shared condiments must be avoided. (ex. Mayo, peanut butter, jams, etc)  

o    Either have duplicate containers for the celiac person or make sure the non-celiacs always dip the container each time with a clean knife. Brandon and I find it easier to have separate condiments.

-          If you are going to have something with gluten in it; it is better to put the “Gluten containing foods” on the bottom shelf of the pantry or refrigerator. That way if the gluten free crumbs fall it will be onto the gluten containing food and not the other way around.

-          Buy a new toaster for gluten free bread and products only.

-          Buy new Tupperware. Plastic can scratch easily and then scratches can harbor minute amounts of gluten no matter how carefully you scrub! I replaced all my Tupperware and it is used specifically for gluten free goods. Anything with gluten in it must go into a glass container.

-          Clean out your oven!

-          Replace your plastic cutting boards, plastic spatulas, and colander.

 

 

The amount of gluten that can make you sick is microscopic, and gluten seems to have a way of spreading itself around. Remember, gluten is a protein- and gluey proteins are almost impossible to eradicate because they are sticky. There’s a reason that wheat is used in wallpaper paste, adhesives, and drywall compound!  (glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com)

 

A great resouce that I would recommend to anyone going gluten free or for anyone trying to understand the gluten free world,  is Elisabeth Hesselbeck's The G Free Diet, a gluten free survival guide.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

So What Can I Eat?

Going gluten free is confusing at first. Keep it simple! Focus on whole, naturally gluten-free foods.

· Say YES to fresh produce! All vegetables and fruits are gluten free!!

 

· PLAIN meat, chicken, eggs, fish are all naturally gluten free

o WATCH OUT FOR ADDED BROTHS, SEASONINGS, AND MARINADES 

· Starches: Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Rice, Risotto, Quinoa, Polenta

o Watch out for pre-cooked, instant or flavored processed rice in boxes these are most likely NOT Gluten-Free

 

· Dairy: Some Celiacs have to give up Lactose fortunately I do not!

o Yogurt-Plain yogurt is gluten free. Be careful with fruit flavored yogurts

o Most cheeses are gluten free. Watch out for additives, fillers, and flavorings

· Alcohol:

o Wine is naturally Gluten Free!!

o Gluten free beer is available! (More on my beer tasting later!)

o Potato vodkas, unflavored rums, and tequila are naturally gluten free.

 

Aside from the obvious “forbidden foods” (breads, breadcrumbs, rolls, muffins, bagels, donuts, croissants, cereal, pizza, fried food, beer, crackers, pretzels, cookies, cake, brownies, pie crust, etc.) I personally advise saying no to processed goods, mixes, packaged seasonings, dressings.

To sum it up avoid anything with ingredients that you can barely pronounce! My aunt through marriage who is also a Celiac advised me to buy nothing with more than 8 ingredients on the ingredient list.

But most of all- Enjoy your new lifestyle and have fun with it! This is your new way of life! At first, you may be upset and think what is fun about giving up all the foods you love? But here is the thing… After getting rid of your life long enemy, gluten, you are going to feel more energetic, focused, happy and finally healthy!