Costco Heaven

We went to costco on friday and wow I found some really good Gluten Free products that I have never seen there before plus stocked up on some of my favorites.

First there was some new Rice Crackers that they were taste testing and wow, pretty darn good. Marked right on the box Certified Gluten Free. Grimms has come out with a package of 3 different meats all cut nicely for crackers or pizza... perfect for Grey Cup time or Christmas parties. Grimms Cracker Toppers, awesome. Sahale Snacks are one of my favorite must buys when at coscto. Finally last in this picture is some Goat Cheese Brie. I have found that I can tolerate Goat Cheese as it has very little lactose in it. Im really sensitive to lactose so this is a great thing. This brie is the perfect size.


This pictures shows some other great finds. Quinoa, a organic 3lb bag for $8.99 what a great price. Also we found a soup that even though the ingredient list was really long I could not find any Gluten in it. Harry's Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with chipotle. It is a great pre-made soup when your in a hurry. Last I've been buying this cheese now for a while ever since I saw it posted on Glutastic's blog. Lactose free Swiss Cheese slices... very yummy.

So it was a great haul at costco this week, always fun to take the time and find some new treasures.

Is Celiac Contagious?

Hmmm in a way it might be!
In July Don and I move in together, along with his daughter. It was interesting setting up a new house with Gluten and Non-Gluten concerns. We have designated cupboards for items that contain Gluten. 2 toasters and a Red cutting board that is only used for Gluten things (bread mostly). Still not one bit of wheat flour, rye or barley in the house. I was very adamant about that part. I mean lets face it you want to bake and cook at least make it that everyone in the house can eat it.
On to what this post is really about.
Don's daughter is 23, and she was complaining lots about stomach aches, vomiting and other discomforts. She sees her doctor regularly and one day when I came home the big news was "Guess what Im being tested for?" Of course Celiac!!! I had mentioned it a few times and we had even joked that both her and Don didn't feel well after a Gluten night. Well the blood test in, yup we now have 2 of us in the house.. poor Don, he is on his own for Gluten nights now. I think there should be a support group for Non-Celiac spouses.
How will she cope, well I hope its a bit easier for her, she was already eating Gluten Free at home most of the time so that transition will be OK, also the house is set up properly and we are all aware of cross contamination. The hard part will be away from home, work, lunch, out with friends.
Will she have the same reactions I did, temper tantrums and such. I hope not but we will all be more understanding if they do happen. Its hard and I hope she knows that she has mine and Don's full support.
So far it seems to be going well. She is trying to educate herself and will ask me lots of questions. Time will tell and as I know from first hand it takes awhile to really start to feel better.

So if your ever visiting our place, be careful you may get contaminated and leave a Celiac!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!

Well, today I have officially been on a gluten & lactose free diet for 1 year. Its also the birthday of Kracker since I took him home from the Canmore SPCA on this same day.
This is a time for me to reflect on the past year. I remember this day so well, actually I remember the day before even better. I hate shopping, never been a passion and when I picked this day to change my life for ever I had several reasons. First it was right after Thanksgiving and I went to see my parents that weekend and literally gorged myself on gluten.... It wasn't pretty people. I also had the week off work. So tuesday Oct 14th Don also had the day off so we went shopping for all the things that I would need to make the change. I had a list of products from Flours to snacks and different stores I wanted to check out. 6hrs later, 6 stores later and more weird types of flour than any sane person should ever have to have in their pantry, we were done. To say it was overwhelming in understating it. It took me 2 days to actually put all the stuff away, I just couldn't deal with it all. Kracker was my diversion... it was the reason I wanted a small cuddle dog. I was feeling sorry for myself and thought, hey lets get another dog that needs me and it will all be better. Do I have regrets on that decision...there are days. Would I do things differently... NO Way!!! when the little goof gives me a quick kiss or nudges me on my leg I'm lost. Oh... back to earth...
So the past year has brought me a lot of changes and not just in my diet. But I would say the first 8 months are the hardest. I had temper tantrums, I cried, I laughed, I got mad and I was sick! I think that has been one the most frustrating parts this past year is that I really did not feel better for a long time. Symptoms still persisted and I just would feel so crappy. But I was healing on the inside and it just takes time. I still have flareups and I have to be careful with lactose, it is the worse. But I can happily say that the last few months I have felt pretty good and what I think is normal. I don't have the cravings for stuff I can't have anymore and the most amazing one is Beer. I have no desire to have a beer anymore, and I think its because it used to make me so sick. I am enjoying wine a lot more though.

My boyfriend, family and friends have been amazing, they are my rocks. They kept me sane and put so much effort in making things that I could eat and just supporting me whenever I needed to vent. I owe them all so much I don't even really have the words to express what they mean to me. Luv you guys!!!

Ive made it thru my first year as a celiac and I have a life time ahead of me. But a lifetime of feeling better. I have learned so much about Gluten and myself this year its amazing. Education on this subject is key to being able to maintain a GF diet. I have lots of cookbooks and subscribe to I think every magazine out there, and the learning will continue forever.

Im ready for the next chapter in my life and its started already!

Happy 1st Anniversary to me!!!

Old Dutch and Gluten Free!!!!!

Did you always think you would only be able to eat boring plain potato chips or maybe salt & vinegar, but that was it for variety. Well think no more. I just found out that Old Dutch has a huge variety of Gluten Free chips. Chip away people!!!!

Check out this list!!!!

A Totally GF & LF Turkey Dinner

Well yesterday was our big thanksgiving dinner. I had decided that I was going to make everything Gluten and Lactose Free. Everything on the table I would be able to eat without having to even think about it. For me it was a challenge, could I do it and have it be a good as my Mom's thanksgiving dinner?
It started Friday with the trip to Cochrane for the bread.
Saturday I bought 2 rice pie shells from Planet Organic and made a pumpkin pie and biscuits. Sunday I was up at 7:00 and started to make the Lemon Pie - from scratch except the crust. Then it was on to the stuffing and getting the turkey ready.
With my Mom's help the turkey was stuffed and in the oven by 10:40. It was approx 24lbs so was going to take all day. We prepared all of the other veggies so that everything would be ready to just cook when the time came. Wow...it was a busy day.
We were hosting 10 people for dinner, our first real formal dinner in our new home.
I have pictures of the stuffing being made and the biscuits and pie done.
Dinner was scheduled for 6 and we sat down at 6:30...I was pretty impressed with this. LOL
What a success, everything was perfect, tasted amazing "even the stuffing" and I didn't have to worry about a thing. Everyone ate a lot with lots of compliments.

Yippee, one of the best thanksgivings ever!!!!!!!

Life is Busy

When I decided to post something today I really didn't have anything in mind but its had been awhile so here I am just pounding the keys as I'm thinking.
I'm training for a 1/2 Marathon right now and its not my first. I run with my sister and we try to do one a year. I also mostly train in the winter as I would prefer to bike during the summer than run. When I was first diagnosed with Celiac I wondered if my running would improve. I'm a pretty active person and never let how my stomach or other things stop me in the past, I would just suffer and go on. Ive been on a GF & LF diet for almost a year now so if any difference could happen I should see it now with my training.
I am a lot faster this time around, my training seems to be going pretty good. I have noticed that I am not getting a heat rash after I run. One other thing Ive noticed is that my Asthma is also not as bad as before. Hmmmmm all things to ponder.

Oh on another note, I was taken out to lunch the other day and decided to go to a Lebanese place. Sahara which is downtown and they have a buffet. While I'm sure cross contamination is an issue I took the chance. They took me for a tour of the items and pretty much everything except the pita bread and some condiments I could eat. They use a lot of lentils, eggplant and other really good stuff. I seemed to be fine but remember I'm not as sensitive as some people as long as I don't have any dairy. It was nice to have such a big choice of foods to eat for a change. Joey Tomatoes while is really nice with the GF menu I'm already getting tired of the Tuna Salad (cheapest thing on the menu).

I Scream You Scream We All Scream for Ice Cream

I really miss Ice cream and yogurt. Soy yogurt is only so so and I have found a soy ice cream made with Coconut milk that is pretty good. But there is an easy recipe to make your own ice cream that was posted on GFE today, and its Dairy Free, made with coconut milk. It sounds and from the pictures looks amazing. I would love to try it.

One big problem: You need an ice cream maker! So here is where reason comes into play. Yes i like ice cream but its winter for 8 months here so can I really justify buying an ice cream maker????? I only eat ice cream if I have it, so Ive put it in with the Bread Maker category. I never ate a lot of bread before so it doesn't make sense to buy a machine to make mediocre bread when I can buy the best from my favourite bakery GF Patisserie in cochrane. I may change my mind on the Ice cream Maker and ask for it for Christmas....