Celiac Awareness Month

May is National Celiac Awareness Month and sadly it is coming to a close in just a few days. There have been so many great people raising awareness this month including, but definitely not limited to, Erica of Celiac and the Beast, Brandy Wendler (Mrs. Northwest) of A Spoonful of Wellness, National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Rebecca of Pretty Little Celiac, Mr. Dude of Gluten Dude, and EA of The Spicy RD. Again these are just a few of the wonderful bloggers and organizations out there that have shared delicious recipes, informative posts, and have been advocates for Celiac Disease not just during the month of May but all year-long.

There is so much that I wanted to accomplish on CCGF this month but sadly, life got in the way. I finished up another trimester of school and now only have one year left! I was awarded The Feinstein “Enriching America Award” for the community service that I completed while doing my internship and AmeriCorps, from The Feinstein Community Service Department at JWU. Our club, Sans Gluten was awarded Best New Club of the Year – there were 11 new clubs this year, and we have over 60 members with bi-weekly production meetings that consist of recipe research and development. I also completed my AmeriCoprs Scholarship For Service and in addition to that was awarded the Founders Award from JWU (with a lovely 5,000.00 scholarship!!!), and was inducted into the Alpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society. Plus, B graduated from law school!! So on top of final exams, the award ceremonies, and family in town for his graduation this month just got away from me. With that said, I do have some wonderful products and cookbooks that I will be reviewing and posting about soon – I promise!

Every year I stress out so much on how I am going to pay for school for the following year but thankfully I don’t have to do that this year. I was awarded over $20,000.00 in scholarships and grants for next year alone! This is possible by some very generous people and my hard work and dedication. Some of my favorite quotes that have gotten me through all the stress, long hours, and sacrifices (not seeing family much) are:

“Your dream is not big enough if it doesn’t scare you.” (Matthias Schmelz)

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. “(E. Roosevelt)

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” (Harriet van Horne)

“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” (Buddha)

With all of that going on, I still wanted to raise awareness this month especially as an Udi’s Campus Ambassador. In order to do so I had to incorporate it into my school schedule so for my term projects for Anatomy & Physiology and Technical Writing, I presented about…you guessed it…Celiac Disease! Both projects included a written paper and a PowerPoint presentation. In one PowerPoint I included an amazing infographic on celiac disease symptoms that Gluten Dude posted – everyone in the class thought it was great (well done Gluten Dude!). For the A&P project we had to research a disorder, discuss which systems of the body it affected, signs, symptoms, treatments, etc. and then do a 5 minute PowerPoint presentation to the class. My Technical Writing project was a bit more intense. My project was on Celiac Disease vs. Wheat Allergy. The final project was a total of 37 pages and included 2 appendices one of which was a sample menu to be used in our culinary labs on campus that lists the top eight major allergens plus gluten and also included resources for substitutions.  In addition to the 37 written pages I also had to present a 15 minute PowerPoint Presentation to the class. I also handed out samples of Udi’s Gluten Free Granola and Red Apple Lipstick to my classmates.

I will also be volunteering at Hasbro Children’s Hospital with one of my professors in the Allergy and GI clinic. My professor asked for me to send her my research report on Celiac Disease vs. Wheat allergy and we will be going over it and refining it over the summer while we are working together.

Also, back in April I was asked along with the former President of our Sans Gluten Club and one of our Chef Advisers to film some gluten-free segments for the cooking show that JWU does called Cooking With Class (Check your local listings). I was BEYOND nervous to do this and on top of it my seasonal allergies kicked in and I had almost no voice but I did it anyway. You can view it online (please ignore the credit information – it is incorrect and they were supposed to be fixing this. This is my original recipe that I shared). Below are the links to all five our of segments for Celiac Week which aired the first week of May. Chef Lavornia does not have Celiac Disease however his wife and children do and has been creating delicious gluten-free recipes for years. We hope to do more videos for next year’s awareness month and will be hosting cooking demos for local families who have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

Island Coconut Shrimp by Chef Michelle: http://www.turnto10.com/story/22171946/island-coconut-shrimp

Sweet and Spicy Chicken by Chef Jenny: http://www.turnto10.com/story/22171995/sweet-and-spicy-chicken

Raspberry Crumble Bars by Chef Lavornia: http://www.turnto10.com/story/22172217/raspberry-crumble-bars

Lemon Pound Cake by Chef Lavornia: http://www.turnto10.com/story/22172258/lemon-pound-cake

Dinner Rolls by Chef Lavornia: http://www.turnto10.com/story/22172063/gluten-free-dinner-rolls

You can also view my video below (Thanks to B for putting my site on there):

Cooking with Class from Jenny Manseau on Vimeo.

What have you done this month? Please feel free to share your stories below!

October – Celiac Awareness Month

Last month we celebrated National Celiac Awareness Day on September 13th and now its October – Celiac Awareness Month (also Brest Cancer Awareness Month!!) I just wanted to take a few seconds to put this post up and share with you some great resources for celiac disease, including some of my favorite blogs.  There are so many great bloggers out there and a fantastic gluten-free community on facebook and twitter.  Please take a few moments to check out the Special Report on Celiac Disease posted by The Chicago Tribune.

Websites and Blogs to check out for great information on Celiac Disease, Resources and Amazing Recipes (many are also dairy free, egg free etc.):

Celiac Central

Celiac Disease Foundation

Celiac Disease – Mayo Clinic

Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

Art of Gluten Free Baking

Celiac Teen

Elana’s Pantry

Gluten Free Girl and the Chef

Gluten Free Easily

Cook It Allergy Free

Simply Gluten and Sugar Free

Simply Gluten Free

Gluten Free Goddess

The Whole Gang

Triumph Dining

She Let Them Eat Cake

Celiac Scoop

And Love It Too

I Made Toast

Gluten Free Home-Maker

My Journey

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”~Harriet van Horne

Today is National Celiac Awareness Day – so what better way to celebrate and spread awareness then to share my own story of my gluten-free journey.

I have always been a food lover.  I love cooking, trying new foods, recipes and even enjoy baking.  I’m much more comfortable with cooking than baking though.  The  reason is, you don’t have to be extremely precise when cooking, but with baking – you better follow those directions and measure accordingly.  Growing up and learning to cook with my Grandmother it was always “a pinch of this” or “a dash of that” – no real measuring going on, plus you could taste along the way where baking you have to (for the most part) wait until you have the finished product out of the oven and keep your fingers crossed that it tastes good. And I was one of those people who would always say – “Thank God I don’t have a food allergy, I have no idea what I would do if I couldn’t eat…”

In June 2008 I was finally diagnosed with having Celiac Disease.  Ever since I was little I had digestion issues and was told I was lactose intolerant and had irritable bowel syndrome so I did my best to avoid cheese.  Mind you I love cheese so my best wasn’t really that great – I continued to eat lasagna, cheese sticks, mozzarella sticks, cheese and crackers, pizza and cheesecake.  Is anyone else seeing a pattern here?  Well it is something that my doctors have missed all of those years – it wasn’t the cheese that was making me have these issues, it was everything I was eating with the cheese!

I had all the symptoms of a person with lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome – which is what I think clouded my doctors diagnoses.  I was very much on the sever end of the symptoms for both of these.  I was always tired (also diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), and at the age of 15 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  I am now 28 so 13 years ago, it was very uncommon for someone my age to be diagnosed with such a thing. I went to at least five different doctors and it was always the same result “Oh, she is just looking for attention” or “There is nothing wrong with you, it is just in your head”.  I don’t know what 15-year-old would want to be in that much pain, and trust me if you don’t have this, I hope you never are diagnosed with it.  There were many days that I couldn’t get out of bed.  Being in high school, that isn’t a good thing – I missed way beyond the max days of school both my junior and senior year.  I have been on and off of muscle relaxers ever since.  I do my best to stay healthy, exercise and maintain a healthy diet to avoid taking these as much as possible.

Over the past two years since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease I have done quite a bit of reading on the connection of all my previous diagnoses with Celiac Disease – it is pretty amazing that they are all tied together some how.  It made me wonder for quite a while how my doctors over the years could have missed this connection.  But I am not here to dwell on that, I’m just here to share my journey with you.

So what is Celiac Disease?

Definition By Mayo Clinic staff

Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. If you have celiac disease and eat foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in your small intestine, causing damage to the surface of your small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients.

Eventually, the decreased absorption of nutrients (malabsorption) that occurs with celiac disease can cause vitamin deficiencies that deprive your brain, peripheral nervous system, bones, liver and other organs of vital nourishment. This can lead to other illnesses and stunted growth in children.

No treatment can cure celiac disease. However, you can effectively manage celiac disease through changing your diet.

Symptoms By Mayo Clinic staff

There are no typical signs and symptoms of celiac disease. Most people with the disease have general complaints, such as:

• Intermittent diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Bloating

Sometimes people with celiac disease may have no gastrointestinal symptoms at all. Celiac disease symptoms can also mimic those of other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, Crohn’s disease, parasite infections, anemia, skin disorders or a nervous condition.

Celiac disease may also present itself in less obvious ways, including:

• Irritability or depression
• Anemia
• Stomach upset
• Joint pain
• Muscle cramps
• Skin rash
• Mouth sores
• Dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis)
• Tingling in the legs and feet (neuropathy)

Some indications of malabsorption that may result from celiac disease include:

• Weight loss
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps, gas and bloating
• General weakness and fatigue
• Foul-smelling or grayish stools that may be fatty or oily
• Stunted growth (in children)
• Osteoporosis
• Anemia

Another gluten-related condition
Dermatitis herpetiformis is an itchy, blistering skin disease that also stems from gluten intolerance. The rash usually occurs on the elbows, knees and buttocks. Dermatitis herpetiformis can cause significant intestinal damage identical to that of celiac disease. However, it may not produce noticeable digestive symptoms. This disease is treated with a gluten-free diet, in addition to medication to control the rash.

When to see a doctor
If you notice or experience any of the signs or symptoms common to celiac disease, see your doctor. If someone in your family is known to have celiac disease, you may need to be tested.

Seek medical attention for a child who is pale, irritable, fails to grow, and who has a potbelly, flat buttocks and malodorous, bulky stools. Other conditions can cause these same signs and symptoms, so it’s important to talk to your doctor before trying a gluten-free diet.

So with no medicines to try (which I was very excited about, I hate taking pills!) I changed my diet.  It wasn’t the easiest of things to do.  Like I said before I love food and at first I got really nervous that things wouldn’t taste good.  I cleaned out all of my gluten containing food items and brought them to work to give away.  When I came back home I realized I had nothing left!  It was mind-blowing to me where gluten was actually hiding in these food items. Soy Sauce!? Really!! I went to whole foods and about had a panic attack right in the store when I ever saw the prices of everything.  I picked up a few of the basic things and decided that for now I would just eat fresh foods (veggies, fruits, non-marinated meat) and will eventually teach myself how to bake gluten-free.  I searched and searched the web to find blogs, articles, recipes etc.  The first one I came across and is still one of my favorites is Elana’s Pantry.  Reading her site and trying her recipes helped me realized that this isn’t so bad.  You can bake and cook gluten-free and it still look, smell and taste wonderful.

I started this blog shortly after being diagnosed for several reasons.  To keep track of my journey, my recipes (both created by myself and those that I have adapted to be gluten-free), my experiences and to potentially help others that were in the same boat as myself.  It has been an amazing two years.  I have learned so much, yet there is so much more I have to learn (for example how to blend flours to bake with).  Changing my diet and lifestyle to be gluten-free wasn’t nearly as bad as I was first expecting it to be.  I realized I just needed to be creative with my cooking (hence my blog name).  There are so many wonderful recipes out there that are naturally gluten-free or are easily adaptable to become gluten-free, you just need to think outside the box a little bit, be creative and realize that somethings aren’t going to look, smell or tastes exactly the same.  I love it – even if I could eat gluten again, I don’t think I really would (maybe some french bread though).  I have found many great recipes to replace my favorite gluten containing foods. I’m happy, healthy and feel great.  Since eating gluten-free my fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and ibs have been under control.  I rarely get flare ups and it is such a wonderful feeling.  I’m not saying that this works for everyone but for me this diet has helped in so many wonderful ways!!  I don’t have to take my muscle relaxers as much, and for the most part only the weather has affected my fibromyalgia -ahhhhh relief.

I love the huge gluten-free (dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free etc.) community that I have found.  Granted I have yet to meet any of them in person their blogs, wisdom, recipes, funny stories, generosity, and kind hearts have helped me on this amazing journey that I am on. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being the wonderful people who you are, for sharing your experiences and always sending encouragement along to others.

Along with all of the wonderful gluten-free bloggers out there I have to thank Bryan for being my wonderful taste-tester!  Even though he isn’t gluten-free he eats all the gluten-free meals, snacks and baked goods I put in front of him.  He is truly amazing and the most wonderful man in the world.  I have no idea where I would be without him, he truly is my best friend. (and I am slowly turning him into a foodie).

If you haven’t been tested for Celiac Disease please do so, especially if someone in your family has Celiac Disease!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes over the last two years:

Garlic Basil Shrimp

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Cauliflower

Thai Chicken Soup (Elana’s Pantry)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Apple Crisp

Bacon Cheddar Scones

Granola

Happy Celiac Awareness Day – What are you doing to spread awareness??

Business Cards – A Great Resource

Yes I am that weird annoying person who takes photos of my food…all the time! At first Bryan would shake his head about me but he has gotten used to it. Not only do I bring my little point and shoot camera with me to the restaurants, I also bring one of my favorite little note books…the moleskines! So whenever we are traveling we are constantly on the search for new places to try, especially cupcakes places.  In the past month or so we’ve been to quite a few places and several of the waiters have seen me writing in my notebooks and hearing Bryan and I talk about the different dishes we’ve ordered etc.  They asked what I plan to do with these notes, and I simply explain that I have my own Gluten-Free blog that not only has recipes on there but when I try new places I write about them.  That last part seems to get their attention real good!  Once they hear that they ask if I have a business card…which I didn’t but now I do!

Bryan helped design these for me and I think it is a great resource for all gluten-free, allergy-free bloggers to have! Now I carry them with me and hand them to the waiter if they ask or leave it with our signed check.  We also looked up facts about Celiac Disease on The National Foundation For Celiac Awareness’ website to include on the reverse side of the card along with their website.  So here they are:

Front Side

Reverse Side

Special Report on Celiac Disease – USA Today!!

It’s here!!!  Pick up your copy of USA Today or download the report from The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness website.

USAToday.CD.May2010 – pdf version

Faces of Celiac Disease

Another Gluten Free Blogger – Heidi of Adventures of A Gluten Free Mom posted this on Facebook yesterday…when you have a chance please check out this video and her blog!

I was diagnosed almost two years ago now with Celiac Disease. “Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. If you have celiac disease and eat foods containing gluten, an immune reaction occurs in your small intestine, causing damage to the surface of your small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients.”  “The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown, but it’s often inherited. If someone in your immediate family has it, chances are 5 to 15 percent that you may as well.”

Since I was about ten years old (if not younger) I always had problems with being sick especially after eating.  Around that time I was diagnosed with being lactose intolerant.  For many years I went dairy free but still was getting sick…ALL THE TIME.  Little did I or my doctors realize that it wasn’t the dairy making me sick, it was everything I would eat with it.   At fifteen years old I was diagnosed with both IBS and Fibromyalgia.  The Fibromyalgia was very uncommon for someone my age at the time and still is.  The IBS was no surprise because many of my family member either have that or  Crohn’s Disease.

After twenty six years of eating pretty much anything I wanted: Pasta, Breads, Pizza, Chinese Food, Soy Sauce etc it was a hard change for me to switch my lifestyle to be completely gluten free.  I’m not going to lie its a challenge, but honestly having a good attitude about it, a great support system of friends (none of which are gluten free but made every effort to cook/bake gluten free so I can enjoy it also) and being forced to be creative with my cooking (hence my blog name) it hasn’t been that bad.  There are a few days where I miss the texture of real Italian/French bread but besides that, the joy and feeling of not being sick all the time is truly amazing.  I can enjoy almost all the food I truly love with out fear of getting sick.  I cook at home most of the time and have learned to recreate my favorite gluten filled meals to be gluten free with all the taste that one could hope for.  These past two years have been a journey for sure and I’m sure all the years to come will be even better.  I have an amazing boyfriend who is willing to eat gluten free meals (he can go out and get real food, but at home it will be all gluten free).  He is extremely well at looking out for me and reading labels on products.   I’m very thankful for him.

May is Celiac Awareness Month and I would strongly encourage you to get tested if you have symptoms of Celiac Disease (especially if someone in your family has Celiac!-hint hint to my family members)

Thanks Heidi for posting this.