Being gluten-free is about me.  I’m the one with the special diet and I’m in charge of taking care of my body.  Having a young child with gluten-free needs raises a whole new set of issues and concerns.  I can give advice about raising children gluten-free and kid-friendly GF snacks, but I’m not living it.

My friend, Kelly Blanchard, has two daughters, one is gluten-free and the other is not.  Kelly is gluten-free, but her husband is not.  That’s a lot of needs to balance at the dinner table, right?  Check out her article in RVANews, Gluten-Free Kids, with great advice and insight on raising a child gluten-free.

Kelly Blanchard’s Gluten Free Kids

A former student and dorm resident of mine, Lucy Glaize, paved the way for me in the gluten-free world.  Lucy even ‘diagnosed’ me before any doctors could figure out the source of my health problems.  (Of course I didn’t listen to her at the time.)  Now a student at the University of Vermont, Lucy has a great perspective on living gluten-free, especially in the college world.

When I was first diagnosed I remember vividly two different encounters with Lucy.  In the first one Lucy informed me that I needed to make sure David brushed his teeth before he and I kissed.  Yes, a high school senior was giving me, her teacher, kissing advice!  Of course I’ve listened to every piece of advice Lucy’s given me, because she has quite a few years on me in the ‘celiac world.’  The other dialogue with Lucy that stands out to  me also happened soon after my diagnosis.  Lucy and I were at the Union Station food court in Washington, D.C.  with the entire 9^th grade for an orientation scavenger hunt.  I was eating peanut butter I had brought with me from home and she was eating a salad, while everyone else devoured French fries and Chinese food.  I was complaining a little about how hard of an adjustment it was going gluten-free, and she responded, “But life is good, Mrs. Metcalf.”  So true, Lucy.  Life is so good.

Lucy will be guest blogging for Gluten Freedom about her adjustments, experiences, and adventures in the celiac world.  Check out her first post below:

Hello Gluten Freedom readers!  I know Betsy from my days at Episcopal High School.  We helped each other figure out the gluten free lifestyle at boarding school.

I was always smaller than my friends when I was a child.  My parents and pediatrician kept waiting for me to hit a growth spurt and grow up, but I never did.  After about a year of being tested for multiple allergies, I was finally diagnosed with a pretty severe case of Celiac Disease when I was 14 years old in March 2004.  During the first two months of following a strict gluten free diet, I gained 40 pounds and grew about four inches.  I looked and felt like a completely different person- I was finally healthy!

At the time of my diagnosis, no one (other than my doctors) that I knew had even heard of Celiac Disease.  It seemed close to impossible to eliminate gluten from my diet completely.  Luckily, my mom is a great cook, and she, my dad, and three older siblings were more than happy to transform our kitchen to be gluten-free friendly.  In the past six years, gluten free options have become exponentially more available and desirable.  I have learned an incredible amount about food and keep learning more each day.

After learning so much about nutrition by default, I did science fair experiments in middle school pertaining to gluten, projects and essays in high school about Celiac Disease, and declared my Dietetics major at the University of Vermont before starting my first semester in 2008.

I have learned to be gluten free at boarding school, overnight summer camp, a study abroad program in Spain, during a long-term nanny job, and at college.  Stay tuned for more details about my various gluten free experiences!

Sun, books, writing, cooking, and rest. Glorious vacation. After a few days in Naples, Florida with Jen I’m feeling totally relaxed and in the groove of vacation. We wake up with no alarm, eat breakfast with a beautiful view of the water, gather our things and head out for a few hours of writing. Yes, it’s a total nerd fest. We spend most of the morning writing and drinking coffee. Around noon we head home for lunch, and then an afternoon of sun and books. The big decisions of the day include, pool or beach and which book to read? Lots of great conversation during and in between all of these. A late afternoon “wog” (walk/jog) followed by cocktails, appetizers and delicious gluten-free dinner. Perfect day.

Our gluten-free menu this week:
“Smorgasbord” of appetizers including hummus, Farmstand carrots, dates & parmesan, chips & salsa

Gluten-free pizza (Bob’s Red Mill) with pears, goat cheese, rosemary and caramelized onions

Farmstand salad mix with watermelon radishes, pears, red onions, & dried cranberries

Barefoot Contessa’s Roast Chicken with onions, rutabegas & sweet potatoes

GF Fusili pasta with tomato sauce, garlic, ground turkey, onions and oregano

Betty Crocker Gluten-free Brownies

Tonight’s my last night in Naples. So sad. For the final night, we’re going out on the town for dinner in Old Naples at Café Lurcat. So we’re not being totally anti-social this vacation. We even went to hear live music at the beach club the other night. We didn’t dance, but we enjoyed watching the odd (and most likely drugged) man dance. (See photo below.)

Each gluten-free vacation gets easier and easier for me. I continue to learn more about traveling gluten-free and how to stay healthy away from home. Of course it helps to have a gluten-free travel buddy who likes to cook just as much as I do.

Last Monday night David and I went to 5 Seasons Brewing Company, Westside location, to sample their new gluten-free beer.  While I generally prefer wine, it’s so great that a restaurant is serving a house-brewed GF beer.  First, I must provide the disclaimer that I don’t know anything about beer tasting, but this particular beer brought back memories of Blue Moon beer for me, as it’s lighter and more of a citrus flavor.  Crawford Moran, the beer guy at 5 Seasons, told me that he made this GF beer from sorghum and roasted buckwheat.  He used gluten-free yeast and Cascade hops (whatever that is).  Crawford described it as a very hoppy gluten-free beer.  While I’m not a beer expert, I do know that to be a gluten-free diner and be able to purchase an alcoholic beverage under $5 is a rarity and a treat for my wallet.  Wine tends to hike up the check when going out to dinner!  I’m already looking forward to watching March Madness at 5 Seasons, while enjoying a cold, g-f beer and a slice of pizza.  Check out  their GF pizza with andouille pork, sausage, asparagus, onions and tomatoes below.  Yum.

As I mentioned last week, all of the specials on Monday nights at 5 Seasons are gluten-free, even their pizza special.  They use a housemade pizza crust and 5 Season’s topping selection is always unique.  This Monday’s special pizza was ‘Roasted duck, eggplant puree, spinach, red onions, cashews and tomato.’  Yum!  I wasn’t in the mood for pizza this week since I’d just made pizza (pear, goat cheese, and sautéed onions…yum!) at my friend, Jen’s, on Friday night.  I ordered the Braised Red Angus Beef ‘Little Plate’ (with carrot salsa and cheddar grits) and a side of brussel sprouts.  Delicious and plenty of food for me.  I just can’t seem to get enough Brussels sprouts this year.  Other items on the ‘specials’ menu that looked yummy were the Duck Tostada and GA Pork Loin with organic greens, caramelized apples and smoked tomatoes.  The daily vegetable plate is always a personal favorite for me.

5 Seasons gluten-free beer is officially on tap, but does not yet have a name.  Can you think of a catchy/thoughtful/clever label for this brand new brew?  Post a comment with your thoughts.

Yesterday, my friend Jen, and I drove from Atlanta to Naples, Florida for spring break.  In case you’re wondering, this drive takes about ten hours.  Nine hours and 50 minutes of the drive takes place on I-75.  Beautiful?  Not so much.  I can’t take too much credit since I didn’t do any of the driving but it was a pretty painless day of travel through scenic Florida.

Traveling always raises questions and stress for us gluten-free eaters, and anxiety levels start to rise with concerns of ‘Where am I going to eat?’ and “How will I stay healthy?”  Even though I’m traveling without my biggest supporter, David, this week, I feel very safe as Jen, too, is gluten-free.

During our car ride, we ate lots of GF snacks and managed to avoid buying any mediocre fast food along the way.  Here are some of my favorite travel snacks that we ate:

• Peanut butter and jelly on rice cakes: I use two rice cakes and compose it like a sandwich.  Just make it before you hit the road, put it in a zip lock bag and it’s ready for lunch time.
• Stonyfield yogurt with homemade granola: just don’t forget to pack a spoon!
• Popcorn Indiana Kettle Corn: the perfect combination of sweet and salty, and healthy.

• Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips: I don’t turn down anything involving sweet potatoes.  And you can find them at Starbuck’s!
• Bananas
• Trader Joe’s gluten-free ginger snaps: a great sweat snack for the car or packing a lunch for a gluten-free child.  These are some of my favorite store bought GF cookies

• La Croix sparkling water: I prefer the grapefruit and lime flavors

Not only is the food good, but it saves money along the way.  Yes, you feel like you’re carrying a small grocery store in your car but it’s so worth the extra preparation ahead of time, I promise.  When we arrived in Naples late last night, we were tired from traveling, but before heading to bed, we enjoyed a slice of delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cake that my friend, Maury, so sweetly made me for my birthday.  She’s the first non-gluten free person to ever bake me a cake.  Amazing!  Birthday cake and red wine…a great start to spring break.  So, it’s not quite MTV spring break, but it’s perfect for me.