Well....

It's been over a month since I've posted! It has been a wild and crazy month, though...I definitely haven't fallen off of the face of the earth, I've just been focusing my energy elsewhere :). Wednesday was the last day of classes in a 13-month series of courses/practicum work I was enrolled in through Illinois State University completing graduate work that earned me certification as an Auditory/Oral Specialist....but this isn't the time nor the place to discuss the ins and outs of that! On to the food!

I am going to post a bunch of shorter posts now, instead of one super-long post with everything I have to say...so bear with me!

A peek of what's to come....fast food options, Mexican (=LOVE!), breakfast and lunch on-the-go, a new yummy dessert recipe....and MORE!

See you soon!

GF French Toast

So my brother, Dan, and his girlfriend, Laura, stayed with us Saturday night so I made a big breakfast for all of us on Sunday morning. I performed an experiment (risky, I know ;)) that ended up being decently successful. I used slices of my Whole Foods Cinnamon Raisin Bread (kept in the freezer section at Whole Foods and stays in my freezer at home) and dipped it in a mixture I made of 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, and some cinnamon...then cooked each side in a frying pan (I used non-stick pans so I didn't need to add any butter or anything for frying). I served the slices with the obligatory maple syrup...and they were actually pretty good! I'd say it's definitely a viable GF breakfast option...pretty tasty, and really easy! :)

Also, this past week I performed another experiment...gluten free cheesecake brownies. I used a Namaste mix (I hadn't used that brand before; I found it at Naturally Yours here in Bloomington) and prepared it as instructed on the package. After spreading the batter in a 9x13 pan, I mixed 1/2 brick of 1/3 less fat cream cheese with 1 egg and some powdered sugar (maybe approx. 1/2 cup; I just sprinkled some randomly in there ;) That's how I tend to bake/cook!!) until it was well blended. Then, I spread this out in a swirly pattern on top of the brownies. I baked the brownies as directed on the package...and they turned out pretty yummy!

Ok, as long as I wrote about 2 success stories, I should confess that approx. 1 1/2 weeks ago I did have a baking failure ;). I wanted to try to make a pound cake (from my 1000 Gluten Free Recipes book) but didn't have eggs...so I substituted banana for the egg (something I had read online was a viable option for people with egg allergies). Well, it may work...but I under baked it and didn't realize it until about 30 minutes after I had removed it from the oven and was cutting a slice for Jeremy (I planned to serve it with vanilla ice cream and strawberries...good thoughts, right?!)...I realized that the center was kind of gooey...in a really odd way. So, I threw it back in the oven for a while ;). Let's just say, it never really recovered ;). I sulked, as is my typical reaction when I fail at something, and left it on the counter for a good two days before throwing it away. What, did I expect that it would miraculously turn into something edible?! ;)

Oh well, 2 for 3 isn't TOO bad, now is it?! ;)

Have a great day! Happy GF eating to you :)

Check this out!

If you're a dork like me, you might find this interesting. I haven't quite looked through it as in-depth as I want to, but I plan on going through it closely over the next week or so.

Today I went to (I know, this is totally unrelated to gluten intolerance ;)) a conference about Childhood Apraxia of Speech (pertains to my career as an SLP) and the speaker told us about the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) website that was created by researchers at Johns Hopkins University...basically you can look for genes for anything that you want. Naturally, I typed in "gluten intolerance" and came up with the following page about Celiac Disease....
Check it out for more information if you are interested!!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=212750

Also, in other news....I ate a fast-food lunch today during the break at the conference...I went with some friends to Wendy's since I had read that they have a gluten free menu. I ordered the baked potato with cheese sauce, broccoli, and sour cream (ok....I know I wasn't exactly eating healthy! ;))....all which are listed on Wendy's Gluten Free Menu....but I felt like crap all afternoon. Bloating to the max....and I still feel terrible. No idea what is wrong or what is up with that, but I am not liking it! Sigh.....

"Additional Things to Beware of to Maintain a 100% Gluten Free Diet"

I found this article...and I thought it had some great info! Here's a breakdown of the info:

Additional Things to Beware of to Maintain a 100% Gluten-Free Diet

Rice and soy beverages because their production process may utilize barley enzymes.
Bad advice from health food store employees (i.e., that spelt and/or kamut is/are safe for celiacs).
Cross-contamination between food store bins selling raw flours and grains (usually via the scoops).
Wheat-bread crumbs in butter, jams, toaster, counter, etc.
Lotions, creams and cosmetics (primarily for those with dermatitis herpetaformis).
Stamps, envelopes or other gummed labels.
Toothpaste and mouthwash.
Medicines: many contain gluten.
Cereals: most contain malt flavoring, or some other non-GF ingredient.
Some brands of rice paper.
Sauce mixes and sauces (soy sauce, fish sauce, catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc.).
Ice cream.
Packet & canned soups.
Dried meals and gravy mixes.
Laxatives.
Grilled restaurant food - gluten contaminated grill.
Fried restaurant foods - gluten contaminated grease.
Ground spices - wheat flour is sometimes used to prevent clumping

News....

So things have been busy...but I should get back into my old "blogging" habit! :) Recent happenings include, but are not limited to the following:

I attempted the "CORE" Weight Watchers diet plan with my friend Jillian for a week...talk about torturous. I craved refined sugar like none other!

I met my first "internet friend", Kristin, in person

I made some delicious gluten free chocolate mint cookies and sent 62 of said cookies with Jeremy to work this past week for a "food day"....to rave reviews!

I sampled (TWICE) the new GF Valencia orange cake from Starbucks...it's so good, it's honestly crave-worthy, as evidenced by my need to get one on Thursday for lunch! HA! Not exactly a balanced lunch, but it was delicious!

I discovered that Naturally Yours here in Bloomington carries fresh baked goods...including a delicious raspberry muffin that I gleefully sampled

I am still asked quite regularly what gluten is

I've made a number of gluten free meals here at home for a number of guests

....I found out I do NOT have Celiac Disease.........yeah! Weird, huh?! Well, I have
"gluten intolerance" or "gluten sensitivity"...so really, nothing will change in the arena of my diet/current lifestyle. But the knowledge that I don't have an autoimmune disease is a good thing.

Ok, so I had my follow-up appointment post genetic testing with Dr. DeWeert, a GI here in town, on Tuesday.....and....I don't (yes DON'T) have Celiac Disease....I don't have either of those 2 genes that predispose people to Celiac Disease! 35% of the population has at least one of these genes in some form and I have NOTHING! When I first went in to see Dr. DeWeert a few months ago he told me that he was pretty darn sure the genetic testing would come back showing that I had at least one of the genes. I definitely have gluten intolerance according to Dr. DeWeert, though, and I am not arguing with that! Gluten is definitely key in whatever was screwing me up for so long...eliminate it and I am suddenly basically fine. Also, I can definitely tell if I had something that was "contaminated"...or at least I think I can. What if it is in my head?! Well, I don't think some of my....err...SYMPTOMS ;)...can be just "in my head". So, now I am in this weird non-Celiac but still gluten-intolerant population. I did some reading about this recently, too, when it became apparent that maybe this was the category I fell into. People talked all tragically about how they feel "forgotten" since they don't have the "label" of Celiac Disease but still have the same symptoms...just don't have the auto-immune disease component/etc. I don't plan on being that tragic about it ;).
Well, like I said though, nothing for me is going to change...I mean, it's obviously good to have this information and I may even try something glutenous (since I know it won't permanently damage me) at some point...but the thought freaks me out!!! I don't know if I can really bring myself to do it. I mean, sometimes it sounds really tempting (bread bowl from Panera anyone?!)...Obviously I know what I was like pre-diet-change and don't really want to go back to ANY of that suffering! Plus, there is a tiny percentage of Celiac's who supposedly DON'T have the genes ;). I totally recognize it's a long shot...but I could be in that ;). HA! I hope people don't use this news as some kind of excuse to be less careful around me. It's still totally obvious that I get sick when I have gluten...boy oh boy. I have to admit, though, sometimes I do doubt myself...like, am I just some kind of hypochondriac who made all of this crap up!? Then I remind myself....um, no...not likely! This isn't exactly FUN. It's been incredibly hard and it's definitely not about getting attention or anything like that. I don't even LIKE being the center of attention/having something "different" about me! Not to mention the fact that, well, there's no way that practically pooping my pants after eating gluten can be just IN MY HEAD! HA!
I just read on celiac.com : In some rare individuals, especially some men, a negative genetic test may not exclude the possibility of celiac disease anymore than a negative blood test. Men more commonly have negative genetic tests and blood tests, especially older men with long-standing severe disease.
Well...I'm clearly not a man. And definitely not an OLD man ;). But who knows!!!
Well, for not I am content....I don't have Celiac Disease, but my body still hates gluten. That's fine...with all of the support I've been getting, I've been doing pretty darn well. I am finding things to eat that I actually enjoy and I am not suffering by any means! So, bring on the rice pasta and the Chebe bread! :)

Explanation of the last post ;)

Ok, ok...here's the latest drama with me and my silly "medical issues"...
I had 2 blood tests when I went in to see Dr. DeWeert (of Digestive Disease Consultants here in Bloomington) about 2 weeks ago...the genetic test for the 2 genes that predispose one to Celiac Disease (basically if you DON'T have those genes, there is no way you have Celiac...but if you DO have the genes, it doesn't necessarily mean you have Celiac for certain...it just means you have a higher likelihood of developing it at some point in your lifetime) and the one looking for antibodies in the blood stream. He decided to do both even though I have been GF for nearly 7 months now and the antibody one might be negative since I haven't had gluten for a long time. He said that recent studies have shown that some celiacs still have antibodies in their blood for 6-12 months after going GF. So, I said to heck with it and just had both tests done ;)....which may or may not have been the right decision on my part, but he really made it sound as if that was the way to go. It will probably cost a butt load, but oh well I guess....that is what my flex spending account is for, right?! ;) Honestly, though, I am kind of irritated....ok, very irritated, with the somewhat shoddy service I've gotten from that office. I called on Tuesday (one week after I got the blood tests...I fully recognize that this was a bit early to be calling, only one week after having the tests...but the girl in the lab actually told me that I could start calling on Monday. So, I did wait a whole day after she told me to start calling ;). With my OC personality, that was definitely practicing restraint! ;)) to see if they had the results yet, and the nurse called me back on Wednesday saying they had the results. She told me "the results do not confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease"....not you don't have it (I was/am pretty certain I won't be hearing that), just that the tests didn't confirm the diagnosis. Ok, so I tried to get the nurse to explain this to me better...for example, what did each test specifically say (in my mind I was thinking, based on the way she worded the results, that the genetic test showed I had the genes that predispose you to Celiac, but the antibody test didn't show the high level of antibodies that would indicate Celiac...since I've been GF for so long)...but she just repeated "the results do not confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease" and told me I could talk to the dr. more about that on the 19th when I go back for my follow-up appointment. Naturally, I wasn't satisfied with that...I called my primary care physician's office (who always gets me in right away, which is great) and got an appt. for last friday, then called DeWeert's office back after hanging up with her and tried to get a hold of someone in the medical records department to get those results sent to my primary care physician....but was just forwarded to a voice mail box that told me to allow 5-7 business days. WHAT?! So, I called the front desk hoping to figure out a way to get expedited service (i.e., going in myself to get the records and simply bringing them with me to my dr. appoint at my primary care physician...)....but they were of zero help. I am not trying to be unnecessarily mean here ;)...I KNOW a receptionist doesn't necessarily know what goes on in the medical records office or whatnot, but I thought she might at least be able to transfer me to an actual person instead of just the voicemail again. Ha, I probably sound like one of those psycho-patients that dr. offices really hate ;). I promise, I am really not that way at all...I am just trying to be proactive. Oh, and I haven't heard back yet from the records office even though I left a voice mail in the early afternoon Wednesday. ARGH! Ok, ok....I know it hasn't been 5-7 business days like the voicemail box said ;)...it's only been 2 (since it's the weekend)...but still! I thought I'd at least hear back so they could tell me what to expect...and I think I need to probably go in and sign something giving them permission to share medical records, etc. Who knows. I'll wait til I hear I guess...I shouldn't be this dramatic about everything. In the grand scheme of things, what does it change?! In all actuality, I guess I am over it ;)...I mean, clearly "celiac disease"explained ALL of my crazy symptoms...and they subsided within a month of going GF...so even if I don't actually have celiac, I am probably "gluten intolerant" or whathaveyou....but this merry-go-round this past week kind of drove me crazy! HA! Sorry for that long rant!
So, there you have it...where my mind has been this past week!

In other news, Biaggi's in Bloomington has GF pizza now...and it's fantastic! We had Jeremy's family over here for mother's day tonight...and ordered Biaggi's take out. I made a fruit salad and a dessert and we got pasta, bread, and salad (my fav. messina salad!) and GF pizza for me. YUM!

Have a great week, all!

~Rachel

Celiac

so I might not have Celiac disease? What? Some test results just came back (a nurse called; I had more blood drawn on last Tuesday) and they "do not support the Celiac diagnosis"

Ok.


Then.....


WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! And why did a gluten free diet fix symptoms that tortured me for 6 1/2 ish years!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!!