Help! I'm being bullied because I have Celiacs!

There has been recent news in the gluten free world surrounding a phrase I coin as "celiac bullying." This type of bullying has actually been around for a while now, but just recently has taken a disturbing turn of events.
Now we have the Today Show hosts poking fun and disrespecting those who have food allergies saying that gluten free men are a "turnoff" to them and those who ask what's in their food are picky eaters and not "manly." Also, the Disney Channel aired an episode of Jessie called "Quitting Cold Koala" that featured some not-so-funny gluten free diet jokes that grossly distorted the seriousness of celiac disease and strict gluten free diets. Luckily, with all the hard work of the celiac community and advocates of legitimate gluten free diets, the Disney Channel has pulled that episode off the air. (Come on, Disney, I expected a little bit more from you than this). Besides these two incidents, I'm hearing news of bullying occurring in middle schools and high schools across the country. Bullying includes anything from throwing gluten filled foods at those who eat gluten free diets, purposefully offering children with celiac disease foods with gluten, and even the unwillingness of adults in those schools to offer proper accommodations to these children.  

Okay, seriously, what is going on with the world today? This is just plain ridiculous. Either us celiacs are getting way too sensitive or the rest of the population is just getting stupider. I'm going to bank on the latter.

Since my diagnosis, I have fortunately been lucky enough to not have experienced much of this "celiac bullying" that is running rampant nowadays. I believe this lack of bullying is because my current surroundings and community are of academia and those who are in higher education tend to have a greater respect for me and my specialized diet. It also helps that I live in Berkeley- a very friendly place for gfreers!

But in all seriousness, this type of bullying is making me lose faith in humanity. I mean, would you poke fun at diabetes or breast cancer? MS or asthma? No, you wouldn't, because these medical conditions are serious and potentially life threatening.

Well, celiac disease is the same. If left untreated, individuals can suffer for their entire lives and end up with life threatening cancers and other diseases. I don't see anyone laughing now.

Gluten free diets are quickly snowballing into another one of Hollywood's infamous fad diets. Well, let me tell  you, it would be absolutely disgusting to see gluten free diets compared to the grapefruit diet. One is essential for those who are diagnosed with celiacs and the other is just one of many failed fad diets followed by the ignorant.

As someone who is diagnosed with celiac disease, and I believe I can speak for T as well, this type of bullying is completely unacceptable and should be stopped immediately. We are talking about influencing the future generation of kids who, if this continues, will think that making fun of kids who can't help their genetics is acceptable and that kids who have celiacs will be forever destined to be ridiculed and brought up in an environment that is not supportive of their needs. It is also scientifically proven that those who have celiac disease tend to have more suicidal thoughts as well and frequently enter into bouts of depression and feelings of low self worth. Think about it. If we let this continue, we may have an even larger issue at hand.

At the end of the day, I'm not trying to point fingers. I fully understand those who are ignorant of celiac disease- hey, I used to be one of them. But, if you don't really know anything about what you're going to talk about, let alone poke fun at, save yourself the embarrassment and just keep your mouth shut.

For those who are being bullied right now or know someone close to you who is, please don't keep silent about it. Tell someone you trust that this is happening- you have a support group out there waiting to help you (including T and myself!!). Keep your head up and stay positive!

Besides, those who bully celiacs now will realize later exactly how idiotic their words and actions were. And if not, don't worry. You can always live with the satisfaction that their stupidity will not go overlooked.

Links to the stories referenced above:
1) Disney channel gluten jokes
http://www.teen.com/2013/05/22/news/entertainment-news/disney-channel-jessie-gluten-free-episode-pulled/

2) Hoda and Kathy Lee on the Today Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ueO0ttT33Qk     


       

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Gfree in Socal!

Hello all!

I just recently got back from a 4 day Socal vacation with my family and I am happy to say that it was a very pleasant trip! We went to the typical touristy places like the San Diego Zoo and of course, Disneyland!!

As always with vacationing, eating on a special gluten free diet certainly has its challenges. However, I was able to successfully eat gluten free for the entirety of the trip and didn't get sick! Yay!

For this post, I want to share some of the restaurants/eateries I went to that either offered gluten free accommodations or had plenty of gluten free dishes. I found that Socal is actually pretty friendly to celiacs if you do your research and know where to go.

Before I launch into the restaurants, here are some quick tips for all gfreers planning on vacationing:

• Do your research! Figure out if there are any gfree accommodations around the area you are vacationing. You can use a handy app called, Find me Gluten Free, available on all smartphones to look up gfree friendly restaurants and eateries. Pretty cool, huh? 
• Bring snacks! This is a cardinal rule. You must always bring snacks just in case you find yourself in a pinch without food you can eat. 
• Be prepared for some cross contamination! If you're not preparing your own food, there is always a chance for cross contamination. Use your best judgment and make wise decisions regarding how much contamination is acceptable for you. 
• Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on menu or food items! Many times during the trip, I got lazy and thought that a certain sauce or food would be fine for me to eat just based on my knowledge of naturally gluten free foods. However, gluten is tricky and just because it's not visible doesn't mean it's not there. I would take the most precaution on sauces. Ask for clarification on if a dish is gluten free if you are unsure. You won't regret it, trust me! 

Okay, so here we go! These are grouped by location.

SAN DIEGO
Lucha Libre Taco Shop, Mission Hills 

Mahi Mahi fish taco. OMG SO GOOD!

Carne Asada taco with guacamole and Pico de Gallo

Fresh handmade tortilla chips and dips

So, I was told by several friends of mine who are from the Socal area that Mexican food is to die for. Well, I must say that they were totally right. I died from sheer food happiness when I put that Mahi Mahi fish taco in my mouth. I have never tasted a fish taco that good before! The best part? Mexican food is almost 100% gluten free save for flour tortillas. Flour tortillas are overrated anyway. =P  

LOS ANGELES 
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, Arcadia

Steamed House Beef Soup

Chicken Fried Rice minus the soy sauce

DTF famous dumplings. Unfortunately, not gfree, but they sure smell good :)

Not from DTF but from the dessert shop in the same plaza called, Phoenix Desserts. This is a sampler plate of gfree mochi. Flavors from left to right are: red bean, black sesame, mango (my fav!!), and taro. 

Din Tai Fung is a family favorite. Every time my family travels down to Socal, we make it a point to stop at DTF for dinner and to eat their famous steamed dumplings made fresh right in their kitchen. Unfortunately, those steamed dumplings are off limits to me now, but the good news is that DTF has a gluten free menu!! Let me tell you I was SO surprised and elated that they knew about gluten free diets and were so accommodating. There is hope for gfree Chinese restaurants in the future!!! Anyway, you can check out their website or go to any of their locations and on the menu, next to a gfree item will be a GF notation marking the dish as gluten free. This is so awesome on so many levels. Most of the dishes that are gluten free are fried rice with no soy sauce, soups, and some noodle dishes.

 Disneyland California Adventure Park, Anaheim

Chicken Rice Bowl with seared vegetables and lemon sauce

Disney dessert time with Mocha almond fudge and the waffle cone on the side

Really gross and sweaty by the end of the day...but ice cream fixes everything!

The novelty of Disneyland really never dies even after all these years. It must have been at least 10 years since I had last visited the Disneyland in Anaheim. We decided to go to California Adventure instead of Disneyland though because we knew that Disneyland would have WAY more people than its sister park just because it was Saturday and Memorial Weekend. It didn't matter much to me because I was able to go to the HK Disneyland this past Christmas so my Disneyland visit after all these years can finally have a check mark next to it!

Disneyland was super accommodating for gluten free diets. If you need or want to bring gfree snack foods into the park, according to their website, all you have to do is tell the attendant at the security bag check that you have a specialized diet and they'll let you take your food in. And that's it! There is no need to prove that you have celiacs with a written doctor's note or anything like other theme parks. It makes me love Disney that much more!

Once inside the park, when you are ready to order food, simply let the cashier know that you have a specialized gluten free diet and that you would like to know which items on the menu are safe to eat. My family and I ended up eating Greek food at the Opa! festival that Disney was having. Most Greek food is gluten free, but it is best to ask for clarification. What happens is that the cashier will notify the servers inside who will notify the chef or restaurant manager who will come out and let you know which foods are safe to eat. I had excellent service and they were very knowledgeable and helpful. Another plus for Disney! Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of my beautiful Greek dish- I believe it was a Lemon oregano chicken on a bed of white rice (they switched out the rice pilaf), a cucumber salad with creamy tzatziki sauce- I got too excited and wolfed it all down. Oops!

For dinner, I chose to eat a rice bowl. I went through the same process again and asked the chef to come out. The Asian rice bowl sauces all contained gluten so the chef specially prepared a lemon sauce for me to pour over the rice. Delicious, light and certainly much healthier than if the rice bowl was slathered with calorie rich sauce!

Downtown Disney, Rainforest Cafe 

Tuscan chicken with a balsamic, sun-dried tomato sauce accompanied with creamy red skinned mashed potatoes and fresh cucumber salad with kalamata olives and sweet red peppers

For our last day in Socal, we decided to continue our Disney adventures by checking out Downtown Disney. We ended up eating at one of my favorite themed restaurants, Rainforest Cafe! Rainforest Cafe is intricately designed with a Mayan temple structure, indoor aquariums, fake rainforest animals all amid a wildlife soundtrack. Although RC is beautifully decorated inside and out, it is on the pricier side with meals starting at $20 per person and a long wait time for food. However, I was happy despite those things because I got my special gfree accommodations! I asked for which items on the menu were gluten free and the restaurant manager came out and pointed out which dishes were safe to eat and alterations for other dishes. Did you know you can get the burgers gluten free? Just order it without the bun and you're good to go!

In conclusion to this long post, I hope this was helpful for those thinking about vacationing in Socal and all the wonderful food options you have available to you! I can't wait to visit again and try out even more delicious restaurants and eateries.

Until then, happy travels and have a great start to your summer!
Kris

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The Potato Gratin!

Hi everyone!
Finals are finally over for me and looking back on this semester, it has certainly been a journey! I still can't believe I'm going to be a senior next year!!  

Today's post will be a quick recipe post since I know some of you have been asking for more recipes and I recently made a potato gratin dish for my church banquet last week. It was the first time I made it and it turned out fairly well for the most part, but I'm looking forward to making it taste even better the next time around! Enjoy!

Serves 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients
4 potatoes (russet or gold) -try to aim for around the same size for each potato
1 pint of heavy cream
1-2 garlic cloves
1-3 tbsp butter
Salt and black pepper
1 cup of shredded cheese (optional)
Thyme
Sprig of Rosemary
Nutmeg

Materials
1 standard casserole dish
Mandolin (can use a sharp knife if you don't have this)

Instructions
1) Preheat your oven to 365F (185C).
2) Prepare the casserole dish by spreading softened butter to grease the pan. Crush one or two cloves of garlic and rub the garlic cloves into the pan to let the juices mix with the butter. Save the garlic and finely chop- we will add this to the cream sauce.
3) Now it's time to prepare the potatoes! Wash and begin peeling the potatoes. Take your mandolin and slice the potatoes into round about 1/8th inch thick. We want the potatoes to be almost paper thin. If you don't have a mandolin, you must slice the potatoes by hand. My advice is to use a sharp knife and meticulously cut each potato into rounds as thin as you can get it while trying to keep each piece even in thickness.
4) After you finish slicing the potatoes, begin layering them in your casserole dish. Layer them so they lay on top of each other like.. fish scales? (that's all I could think of to describe this!) Fill the bottom of the pan until there is no empty space left.
5) Generously add salt and pepper to the first potato layer and to each subsequent layer as you move up. Continue layering and adding salt and pepper until you have no more potatoes left.
6) Time to prepare the cream sauce! In a separate bowl, pour out the heavy cream and add the chopped garlic cloves you used to flavor the casserole dish. Add one ground nutmeg, a sprig of rosemary and some thyme. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Mix together to combine.
7) Take your cream sauce and then pour it evenly over your casserole dish. Give your dish a little shake to even out the sauce distribution.
8) Take shredded cheese (optional) and add generously to the top of the potatoes.
9) Cover your pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 45 minutes to a hour. After 1 hour, take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes to allow for the cheese to brown to a nice golden brown  color.
10) Remove from oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

And there you have it! A beautiful potato gratin and a wonderful side dish to complement any meal. :)
I hope all of you give it a try and if you do, let me know in the comments or on facebook how it turned out!

So tasty and creamy!! 

Kris

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How often do you cheat?

So, what's the honest answer? Once, twice, three times? Or... is it too many times to possibly count?

Unfortunately, the last answer would be my honest answer. 

And no, I'm not talking about cheating on exams and the sort... well, even if I did, you would never know and I would never tell. 

AHEM. Well, no one's perfect yeah? :p  

Okay, so what am I talking about here? I am talking about cheating on your gluten free diet. 

Cheating, in this case, is purposefully breaking the strict oath you have taken as a gfreer to not consume any gluten containing products or use any dishes/utensils that have potential cross contamination and suffering the consequences afterward. 

Why in the world would anyone want to do that and risk their health?? 

That's actually a really good question to which I have some viable answers: 

First of all, no gfreer wants to be the spotlight of your dinner party/gathering with food. We can't help awkwardly standing out already since we have a restricted diet- yep, we're the ones analyzing the potluck food asking questions about what's in the sauce and holding up the line. <--I'm reallllyy good at that! But, hey sometimes, we cheat. And by cheat I mean if a food looks essentially gluten free except for maybe the sauce, some of us will eat it. I do. Sometimes I feel sick afterward, sometimes I have no reaction. It's really up to my GI tract's mood. The main point is, we do it to fit in. Which brings me to my next point...

Sometimes us gfreers find ourselves in a situation where the words "celiac disease" and "gluten" are non-existent. This has happened to me quite a few times when I eat at Asian restaurants or when I travel to Asian countries. NOBODY, and I repeat, NOBODY will know what you are talking about when you say you get stomach aches when you eat gluten. And although I could give them one of those nifty gfree dining cards, I bet you 10 million (well, if I had that much) that they would give me the wtf face and turn me away. So, what do I do? I cheat. I eat the stuff that's coated with soy sauce (although I try realllly hard to dip it in tea or wipe it off with a napkin before pushing it in my mouth). I eat gluten when I have no other choice. I eat it when it would be rude not to and when I'm not in the position to be making demands for food preparation. I do it so I seem like everyone else and not labeled as a "picky eater." 

I guess it can be difficult for those outside of the celiac circle to fully understand the plights of the gfreer, but I'm not expecting them to know everything there is to know about celiac disease and gluten. Although, if you make an honest and sincere effort to learn about it, let's just say that I will regard you highly. In other words, let's be best friends!! :) 

You know, one of the things I have learned since being on the diet is to be as accommodating and polite as possible while trying my best not to jeopardize my health and well being. One exposure to gluten, depending on the sensitivity of the individual, can take weeks or years to heal. I know that very well, yet I still do it. 

At the end of the day, it's impossible for me to be entirely gluten free unless I live in a cave (aka my apartment) and cook for myself all the time and never go out to eat... ever. And if I did, I would be the weirdo who would whip out some Tupperware, dump it on my plate and call it a day. Heck, maybe I'd eat right out of the container. 

Okay, mayyybe I wouldn't do that. At least not in public. The reality? I'd suggest a change of venue or eat beforehand and suggest a safe dessert place. 

Ahh, the subtle ways us gfreers can manipulate food choices!

Anyway, stay safe all you gfreers out there- make good choices and don't use me as a role model in this case. Everything else nice and good about my habits you can take, but do me a favor and leave my cheating habits behind if you can.  

After all, no one likes a cheater! 

-Kris

  

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