Dairy Free Ice Cream, Right From Your Own Blender!

So if you are like me, and about 2/3 of the people living with Celiac Disease, you probably suffer from some sort of lactose sensitivity. I find that I have a lot of trouble with foods with high lactose content like ice cream, or cream. This gets to be particularly hard in the summer because everyone wants ice cream! Thanks to Pinterest (my new obsession!) I have found the best way to make a guilt free, and dairy free ice cream that you will go bananas over!

Get it? Because it's made from bananas!

Simply take 4 bananas, and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and blend them in a blender until they make a smooth constancy. Pour mixture into a Tupperware container and let freeze overnight.

TADA!

Simple, dairy free, and most importantly, it's tasty! You can always add extra flavors or add ins like cocoa powder, almond extract, or some chocolate chips if you desire. It's pretty fantastic any way you make it.

Does anybody else have any cool dairy free and gluten free treats they would like to share with up for our summer enjoyment? :)

Gluten Free Product Review: Pillsbury Gluten Free Pie Crust/Pastry Dough

Hello everybody! I hope you are all enjoying the summer weather! I love the summer because the produce in the area is always so much better! I can have them fresh, or I can bake something delicious. Which brings me to my new post....

I was grocery shopping yesterday and I came across these new buckets in the cookie dough area of the fridges. Pillsbury has released a new line of gluten free products! When I opened the fridge to get one of the buckets I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus playing. The current products out are Gluten Free Pie/Pastry Dough, Gluten Free Cookie Dough, Gluten Free Thin Crust Pizza Dough. Unfortunately the cookie dough was sold out, but I did grab a bucket each of pie and pizza dough.

I have not tried the pizza dough yet, but I did make a quiche last night and I just had to share with you all! I was HEAVENLY! It was buttery, and flaky, and tasted exactly how I remember regular pie crust tasted. I have eaten an entire half of the Quiche already...

There is enough dough to make either one covered pie, or two open faced pies in each bucket. I assume the pizza dough is quite similar and will have enough for more than one pizza. It was insanely easy to prepare! I have made my own pie crust since I have gone gluten free, and if you want to achieve the buttery, flaky texture, it takes a while to make the dough. This was so much more simple. Although it won't replace my thanksgiving pumpkin pie, it does make a great quick crust for breakfast foods or a last minute baked good.

I hope you all go out and try these new products. I have not seen the cookie dough out anywhere yet. Had anybody tried it? How about the pizza dough? Any good recipes to share? :)

Nutella Brownie Bites

It's been a while since I have shared a recipe, so I thought I would share this one here. I found the base recipe for this on pinterest (One of my new addictions!) and then added my own twist to it. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Nutella
10 tbsp Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Chopped Macadamia Nuts
Sea Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Combine the Nutella, Flour, and Eggs in a bowl and mix together well. Distribute the batter evenly among muffin tins. I use mini muffin tins, as I like mine bite sized, but I have been informed that they work well in regular muffin sizes as well. Sprinkle the top of these brownie bites with the macadamia nuts and a pinch of sea salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be entered in and pulled out clean. Let cool and enjoy!

I made these last week and they were to die for! The pinch of sea salt on top gave these brownie bites a fantastic flavor. They are a lot lower in sugar than the commonly used gluten free peanut butter cookies and they are super simple to make. If you are an avid eater of Nutella, you probably have all the ingredients in your house already!

Enjoy!

Quinoa: The Miracle Grain

Hello again!! As I has mentioned in a previous post, I underwent some surgery this past spring. The surgery confined me to a wheelchair for about 6 weeks, and despite my best efforts I gained some wheelchair weight. I have been attempting to lose some weight by exercise, but with my Physical Therapy limitations, I have only been able to do so much. So I turned to my diet.

I noticed that I was eating a lot of rice and other grains, so my first inclination was to work on that. With much research I found that Quinoa is a fantastic gluten free alternative! Although many consider it a gain, it is actually more considered a vegetable. It's high in fiber, so a little goes a long way, and it's a complete protein.

Quinoa has a rather mild flavor, so you can really flavor it however you would like. My favorite way is to saute some onions and garlic in a pan, add the quinoa and some broth and let simmer. Then you can add anything from chicken to black beans to it. Remember to spice your quinoa when you add the broth. Otherwise it would not absorb the flavor as well.

The ratio of liquid to quinoa, much like rice, is 1 cup quinoa to every 2 cups of liquid. Quinoa is easy to find as most grocery stores, and is an easy grain to make for any meal. It even reheats in leftovers very well!

I hope you explore the benefits of quinoa. It's quite tasty, and has great health benefits!

Long Time, No Post

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I have been MIA for a while. I had to undergo some surgery this year that really threw off my entire spring semester, and some things had to take a back seat to my schooling. But I am back now, and just in time for Celiac Awareness month!

I hope that in my absence, you have been exploring new gluten free restaurants and food items. I know I have found some fantastic things lately that I can't wait to share with you all. I also have some non-celiac but still gluten-free things to share, as my mother has been diagnosed with a gluten-intolerance, but does not have celiac disease. I have learned a lot about that kind of situation and I found a lot of it helped in my diet choice as well.

Please send me an email if you have discovered a new gluten free product or restaurant that you would like to share. Remember to wear green for Celiac Awareness!!

Happy Taste-buds!

One of my favorite things to do is to go out and try new food, especially food that has an ethnic twist on it! Recently, I tried a new restaurant called Happy Jacks. It was amazing!

First off, and most importantly, they have a fantastic gluten free menu! Not only are their entrees that are exotic and flavorful, but there are appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and dessert! Most restaurants just throw together a few things on an entree menu, so finding a full gluten free menu is always something I get excited about! I also enjoy the fact that they don't just say "order without bun" for things like sandwiches. Instead they serve their sandwiches in a lettuce wrap! It's super creative and super tasty!

My latest visit, I enjoyed the Mahi Mahi dish. It was cooked in a white wine sauce and served with shrimp and scallops. It was a little piece of heaven! I enjoyed every bite of it. The flavors were amazing, which is always important when eating white fish, as it is often bland.

For anybody in the Leominster area, I highly recommend you take a trip to Happy Jacks for a tasty meal! I can't wait to go back and try new food with them! I am hoping their fajitas are just as fantastic as the Mahi Mahi was!!

A New Year and A New Bakery!!

Hello everybody! Sorry I was MIA during the holiday season! My ankle is broken (again) and it has really slowed me down. That and finals just about killed me last semester! x_X

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of delicious gluten free foods! I know I had some mighty tasty treats! There's a new bakery in my town that is entirely gluten free! They are a distribution bakery, so I can't go directly to them for the baked goods. Luckily there are a number of places in the area that sell their products!

The bakery is Annie's Gluten Free Bakery, and they have some of the best baked good I have ever tried!! I LOVE their gluten free sugar cookies with chocolate drizzle! And their brownies are to die for! I am sad to say that I have only had the opportunity to try a few of their products. The stores I have been to that carry the products sell out THE SAME DAY they are delivered!! If that's not a voucher for how good this stuff is, I'm not quite sure what else is!

If you live in the Fitchburg area, and would like to try some of these tasty items, here's a list of all the businesses that sell them:

Roots Natural Foods - 100 Crawford St., Leominister, MA
The Shack Cafe _ 101 Independence Dr., Kingston,MA
The Natural Cafe 25 Main Street, Ayer, MA
Bolton Orchards - 125 Still River Rd., Bolton, MA
Donelan’s Supermarket - 248 Great Road, Acton, MA
Donelan’s Supermarket - 236 Great Road, Littleton
Eric’s Garden Center - 68 Boston Rd., Westford, MA
Verrill Farm - 11 Wheeler Road, Concord, MA
M & M Convenience - 1 Front Street, Shirley, MA
Acton Coffee House - 342 Great Rd., Acton, MA
Blackbird Cafe - 491 Main St., Groton, MA
Brew’d Awakening Coffehaus - 61 Market St., Lowell, MA
The Meat House - 120 Chelmsford St., Chelmsford
Weston Nursery & Garden Ctr - 160 Pine Hill Rd., Chelmsford
The Natural Market - 148 Main Street, Groton, MA
Harvard General Store - 1 Still River Road, Harvard, MA
Clover Farm General Store - 9 W. Main Street, W. Groton, MA
Spruce Street Cafe - 5 Spruce Street, Acton, MA

There's The Quick, And The Hungry

Hello everybody! Sorry I have been MIA as of late! School has been beyond busy for me this month. I've still been looking for new and fun gluten free goodies though!

On that note, I would like to talk about something that used to be a huge inconvenience in my life. Running around like a madman trying to get things done is stressful for anybody. It can be more stressful if you are gluten free, and can't pick up fast food at any old restaurant while you are running errands. So what do you do? Power Snack. I like to keep a stash of power snacks in my locker on campus. Here's a list of some of the things I like to keep in my stash:

1. Nut Clusters
While grocery shopping last month, I discovered True North Cashew Crunch. They are clusters of cashews and rice crisps that are lightly sweetened and salted. These things are addicting. I go through about 2 bags of them a week in my power snacking. True North makes other combinations of nut clusters, but I am quite partial myself to the cashew ones. From the display I saw, they are all gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and free of trans-fats, preservatives, artificial colors, and cholesterol. Be careful of these if you have fillings in your teeth! The sweet coating is quite sticky!

2. Microwave Popcorn
If you have access to a microwave where you are, this stuff is fantastic. I love sitting the the library during a study session on a cold day with a pipping hot bag of popcorn! Just make sure that you bring some napkins with you, especially if you are eating the buttered kind.

3. Apples and Oranges
Always an easy and healthy snack. I love apples, especially this time of the year. They stay fresh for a decent amount of time (unlike a banana) but you still want to make sure that you keep an eye on them if you are storing them somewhere. You don't want to find an old moldy apple in your stash! Yuck!

4. Water and/or Other Drinks
Keeping your fluids going down on a busy day is vital. When you are running around everywhere you don't always realize how thirsty you are, or how long it has been since you have had something to drink. I like to keep a few bottles of water in my stash, and a few cans of ginger ale, in case I find my stomach isn't feeling too well, or I want to replace some electrolytes.

Now these are just the items I keep in my stash. There are tons of options, depending on your taste and dietary needs. Just make sure that you keep an eye on expiration dates if things are sitting in there for a long time.

Here's hoping that November will be slightly less busy!!! If I don't post before then, I hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Celiacs Awareness Month 2013

I know it seems like it's a world away, but National Celiacs Month is about 200 days away, and I am hoping to get together a program for the blog. I wanted to plant this int he back of your minds now because
1) The holiday season is going to fly by soon, and that will take a big chunk of planning time away
2) Some of the project I am putting together requires some planning, and I am hoping for some feedback from my readers.
3) I hope with enough advanced notice, all of you will be able to participate in my project.

For the month of May in 2013, I am planning on the following activities:
1) Gluten Free Prizes. I would really like to put together some kind of prizes for my readers to win, wither it be in a raffle form, or in some kind of competition. I think we could have a lot of fun with it.
2) Celiacs Information. I would like to fill this blog with information about what Celiacs Disease is, what the symptoms are, how to get tested, and what to do when one is diagnosed.
3) Finally, I would like to issue a Gluten Free Challenge. For one week (Probably May 5-11th) I would ask that people who wish to support their friends and family with Celiacs attempt to live a gluten free life for an entire week. There are a lot of national groups that challenge the entire month, but I feel like that is a huge commitment  and a week is a more reasonable time frame.

If you have any suggestions, any piece of information to share, or would like to help out with running this event with me, please let me know! I would love to hear from you!!

Happy October!!!

Hello everybody!!! It's finally October, which means it's time for my favorite holiday of the year!

I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I love the costumes, I love the spirit of going out and causing mischief, and most of all, I LOVE THE CANDY!!!  For those of you with gluten free children, or who are looking for some gluten free candy yourself, I would like to refer you to my post from earlier this year: The Candy Man Can. There you will find a complete list of safe candy, candy to be cautious about, and candy to stay away from. I am quite a fan of this list, and I often refer to it myself when I am shopping for candy at the store. One thing I really like to do is offer an allergy friendly bucket of candy, not only that's gluten free, but one that is peanut free. I even let the kids who have allergies exchange some of the candy they are allergic to for candy they can eat. The parents love it because they don't have to take away as much candy when they get home, and the kids love it because, well, it's candy!

This month I am going to try and post a few spooky treats that are fun, tasty, and of course, gluten free. If you are looking for something specific, like a treat that is geared towards kids, (or even one that's for adults!) please let me know! I would be more than happy to try and help inspire some spooky celebrations in your life!

Organic, Gluten Free, and No Added Zombies!

Hello Everyone!

A week and a half ago I attended ROOTSFest! For those of you who have missed my previous excitement for the festival, ROOTSFest is an annual festival held by ROOTS Natural Foods, the local health food store in my area. It's what they like to call their "customer appreciation day" and let me tell you, did I fell appreciated!

I attended the festival with my boyfriend Andrew, and my good friend Chante. Chante is from Jamaica, and attends college with me. She brings a whole new culture into the world around her. The morning started with a mini sound bath. It was such a lovely experience! I loved listening to the singing bowls she had out. After that, we started with the outdoors area. We soon came to a table with, in my opinion, one of the best signs I had ever seen. It read as follows:

Oh good! I always worry that my food has added zombies in it! This sign was at a table for a company called Little Duck Organics. They make little organic fruit bites for kids. They are so tasty! They practically melt in your mouth! I am a fan of using them in my cereal. 

We wondered more and more both indoors and outdoors and tried all sorts of teas, butters, chocolates, veggies, honeys, and much much more! I got to see all the usual friendly faces I see each week when I visit ROOTS, and I even purchased a t-shirt with their new logo on it!

(Photo from ROOTS Natural Foods Facebook. Check them out!!)

Around noon time, it was time to line up for the free BBQ! YUM! The staff and volunteers of ROOTSFest were up half the night the day before preparing the food for the BBQ and it was all FANTASTIC! I loved the potato salad I tried! There were burgers, hotdogs, pulled pork, salads, fresh watermelon, homemade hummus and more food than I could fit on my plate! All of the food was well labeled, which was fantastic because between me (gluten free), Andrew (vegetarian), and Chante (exotic taste buds), we can be a group of picky eaters! 

They day was absolutely perfect, and I had lots of fun learning about new products, and tasting new things. About a week later, I got an email letting me know I won a gift basket in the big raffle they had at the festival!! I was attending King Richard's Faire that day, but luckily Andrew was able to go and get my basket for me. He had won one as well! He got a gift basket filled with all sorts of chocolates and treats! ( made out with a bag of lemon macaroons from his basket (he hates coconut!). My basket is a fantastic collection of bath products from Dr Bronner's! I have not tried a lot from the basket yet, but I promise to report back asap about the wonderful things in it! I will also be posting about some of the new products I discovered at the festival in the next few weeks!! (can't spoil all the findings in one post!) 

I hope all of you are enjoying the fall weather! Keep on living Gluten Free!!

Off to the Festival!

Hello there!

It has been a crazy week going back to school! I have made some amazing new friends, learned some fun things, and had an amazing college experience so far. I look forward to spending my weekend blogging about it. But before i can get to that, I must go attend Roots Fest 10!

If you live in the Leominster, MA area, make sure you stop by Roots Natural Foods for their annual customer appreciation day festival. There will be over 50 venders there sampling and promoting their organic foods, there will be live music, and tons of kids activities too! The best part is all the food is organic, and a lot of the companies will be there with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free food! I hope if you live in the area, you will take the time to stop by today and check it out. I will be taking pictures, trying foods, and gathering information so i can come back and let you know about some amazing new products! I will also be meeting with the owner of the store in a few weeks so she can tell her amazing story of how the store came to be what it is today.

Happy Fall!

Easy School Morning Breakfast

Hello again!

As a commuter student in college, it is often hard to find the time in the morning to get up and make breakfast. And, of course, most quick breakfast foods, such as muffins and bagels, are not gluten free. So how does one get a healthy breakfast on the go? Make sure you have some breakfast foods ready to go in the fridge! Here are some of my favorites.

1. Yogurt and Fruit

This requires very minimal preparation. Like to invest in some single serving gladware containers, and mix my yogurt in that. If you are going to be mixing your own yogurt cups, it will save you quite a bit of money if you buy a large container of yogurt instead of the individual servings. I like to get the Stony Fields plain yogurt. It makes it easy to change the flavor with whatever fruit I may want to add. Simply take 1/2 cup of whatever yogurt you chose, and mix it with a hand full of wherever fruit you desire. If it is something like a peach, make sure you cut it down to bite sized pieces. Make sure you mark the expiration date on the container!

2. Egg Muffins

As much as I am not a fan of the South Beach Diet, they have some fantastic gluten free recipes. Egg muffins, by fare, are the best of these recipes. It's exactly what it sounds like, a muffin made from eggs. For each muffin you would like to make, simply whisk in a bowl, 1 large egg, 1/2 tablespoon cream or milk, and 1/2 tablespoon of each of the veggies or meats you would like to add to your muffins. I like to chop mushrooms and peppers for these. You can also add any cheese you may like to these. Bake them in the over at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until they no longer wiggle when you shake the pan. Use a knife to help pop them out of the pan. You can either eat them right away or put them in baggies and store them in the fridge. I microwave them for just a few seconds to warm them up the morning I eat them.

3. Hash Brown Cups

These are super easy, and super tasty too!! I am a huge hash brown fan, and these are just fantastic, and pair great with the egg muffins. Simply grate a potato and dry out as much as the moisture as possible. Salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. oil a cupcake pan generously, and in each well, fill about half way with hash brown mixture. Cook in the oven at 350 until brown. (Usually 10-15 minutes, keep an eye on it!!) Like the egg muffins, they can be stored in baggies in the fridge and quickly heated the morning of. 

I hope you enjoy these simple recipes! They are a great way to get a good breakfast when you are sick of eating cereal every morning. 

Happy Back To School!!!

End of Summer Blues!

Hello Everyone!

I know I kind of dropped the ball with the celebrity week. It's been a long week with some family being sick, and getting ready to go back to school. Good news is, I got some really awesome deals on my back to school supplies and some awesome new recipes for packing lunches!

If you or your child are already back to school, then yay! It's the start of a new and wonderful year!

I hope that all of you have taken advantage of the low prices of fish this summer. If you have not, there is still time! Fish prices have plummeted this summer due to the mass amounts of fish that have been pulled in by fishermen this summer. Even the price of lobster has dropped! The beautiful thing about seafood is that most of it needs little to no seasoning for it to taste fantastic!

Also, thanks to back to back to school time, the stores are full of easy to pack things for lunch. There is such a variety of single serving food that there is something for even the pickiest eater! My brother is quite fond of gushers and smart food.

And big news!! ROOTs Fest is on September 8th!! I will be posting all sorts of information that I get from the festival on the blog. Also, the owner of ROOTs has agreed to let me come in and talk to her and the staff about the benefits of local healthy foods. Be sure to keep an eye out for that post!

Enjoy that last gasp of summer!!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Living with a gluten intolerance and/or Celiacs disease is no easy task. For those who were raised eating glutenous food, it's a complete lifestyle change. It can be hard, and the support someone needs is not always there. Especially if you are like me, and live in a very small town. A majority of the people I know had never even heard the word Gluten until I got sick. When we are faced with a challenge in life, and need a little extra support, people often look to somebody they can admire. This can be a relative, a teacher, or for some people, a celebrity. This week I will be writing posts about celebrities who live a gluten free life, and are still able to leave an impact on the world.

The first celebrity I would like to talk about is the beautiful and talented Miss Zooey Deschanel!

Name: Zooey Deschanel

Age: 32

Profession: Actor and Singer

Best Known For: New Girl, 500 Days of Summer, Elf

Special Diet: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free

About Zooey:

I have admired Zooey Deschanel for quite a while now. She is a very talented actress, and she has a beautiful singing voice. I watch her show "New Girl" every week! She is so quirky and fun, and it was only recently that I read a post in her blog where I found out that this lovely lady and I share a common disease. 

Once a Vegan, Zooey has many food allergies, one of the biggest being gluten. The loveable actress gave up her vegan diet after being diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. ".. it was very difficult to eat and get enough calories. It was even impossible to eat at a vegan restaurant." commented Zooey in an interview about her gluten free lifestyle. And who can blame her? There are a lot of people on the internet who are Vegan who are upset that she gave up a vegan lifestyle, and say she's not a good influence, but let's face the facts: Not being able to eat any gluten, soy, eggs, or dairy cuts a lot of things from her diet! Everybody needs to have an essential amount of nutrients to survive and that can be very difficult on such a limited diet.

Zooey is a smart and funny person, who is very talented and beautiful. She is an idea person to model a positive outlook on gluten free life after. She sees everyday as an adventure and makes the best of each situation. 

Alcohol: How to Stay Safe and Still Have Fun

So, as an end to my college themed blog posts, (not that there will not be loving advice during the school year) I thought it would be appropriate to take the time to talk about something that every college student will face in their college career:

Regardless of where you go to school, it is a known fact that college students are notorious for getting their hands on alcohol. I am, first, going to start off with the following statement:

I DO NOT IN ANY WAY ENCOURAGE UNDERAGE DRINKING. IF YOU ARE UNDER 21, YOU ARE UNDERAGE.

On that note, even if you are under 21, you will probably be offered a drink while you are at school. Since you are no longer living at home, your parents will not be there to tell you "Drinking is bad! Don't do it!" and the decision is 100% your responsibility. Some students will be responsible and wait until they are 21, but many others will not. If you are a person who is living a gluten free life and you drink alcohol that is not gluten free, then you can get EXTREMELY sick. I am speaking from experience here. You think a hangover is bad? Try having a hangover where your small intestine feels like it's getting stabbed by 50 knives. It makes things a lot worse. Not to mention that alcohol gets absorbed into your body a lot quicker and a lot deeper than most things you ingest, so it will take a lot longer to get out of your system.

ON THAT NOTE, for those of you who decide to drink (hopefully you are 21!), you want to make sure you have some gluten free spirits at your disposal. Some liquor stores have staff who know exactly what is and isn't ok for you to drink. Others may have no idea. So for your convenience, here is a list of alcoholic
beverages that are ok to drink:

Armagnac (it's made from grapes!)
Beer: Before I list gluten free beers I would like to point out that although a beer may say it's gluten free, it may not be 100% gluten free. It is your responsibility to check the label to see what is says. Some beers are brewed without gluten, and some are passed though a filter that tries to extract the gluten.
        Bards Tale Dragons Gold, Bard's Tale Beer Company
        New Grist, Lakefront Brewery
        Passover Honey Beer, Ramapo Valley
        RedBridge, Anheuser-Busch
        Sorghum Molasses Brown, Outer Banks
        Tread Lightly Ale and 3R Raspberry Ale, New Planet
Brandy
Champagne
Cider: Like beer, is not always safe. Read labels!
        Woodchuck Brand Cider
        Old Deadly Cider
Cognac (again, made with grapes!)
Gin
Grappa
Kahlua
Kirschwasser (cherry liquor! yum!)
Margarita Mix:
        Jose Cuervo
        Mr & Mrs T
Martini:
        Club Extra Dry Martini (made from corn and grapes!)
        Club Vodka Martini (again, corn and grapes!)
Mead (distilled from honey for all you renaissance fair people out there!)
Mistico:
        Jose Cuervo Mistico
Mixes & Cooking Alcohols:
        Club Tom Collins
        Diamond Jims Bloody Mary Mystery
        Spice Islands - Cooking Wines - Burgundy, Sherry and White
Ouzo (made from corn and anise)
Rum
Sake
Scotch Whiskey
Sherry
Sparkling Wine
Tequila
Vermouth
Vodka
Wines

Ok, so after reviewing the list I would just like to emphasize that YOU MUST READ LABELS. Special brews of alcohol and different brands that come out may use gluten in their drink so PLEASE do your research before you drink. I have yet to meet a wine in my life that has ever contained gluten, so my key is: When in doubt, buy Miscatto!

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY!!!!
DON'T BUY ALCOHOL FOR MINORS!!!!
DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!!
DESIGNATED DRIVERS ARE ANGELS!!!!!

Move In Day: Starting A New Gluten Free Life

I thought I would start off my week of college blogging with the way all students start their college career; Move In Day! Every year students pack their parent's cars full of everything they need to survive a year of school (and a little more!) and drive great distances in the wee hours of the morning to try and get to campus early. The streets around campus will be packed (I try to stay miles away from any college on move in day) and there is a certain excitement in the air that can only mean the start of not only a new school year, but for a lot of students, the start of a new chapter of life. Some will adapt very well to college, but others will struggle with the lifestyle change.

When you are packing your essentials up for school, it will suddenly hit you that you are going to be 100% on your own, without your parents, for the first time in your life. It's a scary, empowering, and thrilling feeling. For those of you who are on a gluten free diet, this may present a little more of a challenge that the average student. A lot of gluten free children grow up with their parents preparing all of their food for them, and unless their parents took the initiative to teach them to cook, they are in for a culture shock. Here's what you can do to make your transition into your new life easier:

1. Pack Some Gluten Free Basics
Crackers, bread, instant rice and other basics are essential to any sort of move. You want to make sure that whatever you pack at first are non-perishable food items. My advice is to buy a crate (which will become your new favorite storage tool) and pack that will some gluten free essentials. Everybody has their favorites when it comes to brands, and things they eat often. make sure if you have roommates, you label ALL of your food, or some of it might disappear!

2. Find Out More About Your Living Situation
There are many different ways you can move to a new college. To start off, dorm rooms are small, and have the very basics. Some of them provide you with a micro-fridge (a fridge with a microwave built into the top) and some don't. Make sure you figure this out before you plan your food supply so you don't get caught off guard. Some dorm buildings have shared kitchens. make sure you find out what this consists of as well. I have had friends move to a new school where the "kitchen" is a wall of microwaves and a counter and sink. If you are living in on-campus apartments, you are significantly more likely to have what you need. These places are usually old apartment houses that the school bought from a neighboring piece of property and have dressed up to look new again. There is usually a full kitchen, but again, please call your school and make sure. Lastly is off campus living. If you get a single room apartment or a full apartment with friends, you need to figure out what you will have access to.

3. Get To Know Your Dining Services
Every campus has a dining services area, and if you are living on campus, it is very likely that you will be required to have a dining plan. As soon as you know this situation, contact the head of dining services for your campus. Although I personally had a bad experience with the dining services at my school, I promise that not all schools are like this. Most dining programs are more than happy to work with you. How much they are willing to work with you is what you need to find out. Some places ask that you bring your own bread and pasta and they will prepare it for you. Others will fully provide food for you to eat. This is why it's important to contact your dining services and see what they are willing to do. You are paying hundreds of dollars to them to eat, and they are there to serve you, so don't let them cheat you!

4. Get To Know The Area
There are two ways to do this. 1. Go to the area with a friend or family member before school starts and explore the area. This is a very fun way, but it's not always the most efficient. If the city your school is in is big, you might not know where to go, and if it's small, you might need to go to a neighboring town. 2. Make friends with a local and ask them. I am active on the Fitchburg State University new students Facebook page right now so I can make new friends, and help those who are new to the area find what they need. I have met two lovely girls so far who are gluten free and I have been telling them about our local restaurants and stores where they can find food. The best part about knowing a local is that they know the little hidden gem stores that might not be hugely popular.

I wish everybody who is starting school this fall the best of luck on their new adventure in life. It's scary and exciting and will definitely have a big impact in you. The good news is, there are thousands of you going through the same feeling who are all there to support each other. The friendships you make now will be some that you will have for the rest of your life.

Again, I would love to hear about your college experience. Please feel free to e-mail me at ad4458@gmail.com with your story.

Celiacs and College: A Cautionary Tale

Back in the fall of 2007, I was a wide eyed college freshmen who couldn't wait for my own chunk of independence. I was away from my family for the first time, all the way across the state, and felt empowered that I was in charge of my own life. My first few years had its ups and downs, some very very bad, and others very good. All of them life changing.

In the summer of 2008, I was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. For those of you who have experienced this, you know that it's hard news to take. Any news that means you have to change your lifestyle permanently and immediately is hard for anybody to take. I spent the remainder of my summer learning about celiacs disease and gluten free living, trying to prepare for a fall semester without being home.

When I arrived at school that fall, I immediately set up an appointment with the head of the food services department at my college so I would be able to eat. Being a residential undergraduate student, I was required to have a meal plan. The manager of food services was very helpful, and very understanding. He himself did not know a whole lot about gluten free lifestyles, but was willing to listen to my suggestions for meal ideas. The first few weeks of school I saw things like a veggie and hummus bar once a week, or gluten free pasta offered at the pasta station. The first few weeks were fantastic, and I ate well and healthy. As the semester progressed, the gluten free items were offered less and less. The staff were saying that they were not popular, so they would only be offered certain times a week. I pointed out to them that celiacs disease is not something that comes and goes for a menu, and I have to stay gluten free all the time. They would normally shrug it off. During the lunch hours when the manager was on duty, I would always be able to get a good meal, but at dinner service when it was just the night staff, I would get served breaded food and get told to "just pick off the bread stuff". Needless to say, I became very ill that semester.

Me in 2009

After about a school year of being fed food that contained gluten at school, or being lied to about gluten content, I had become ill to the point that I was missing classes every week. I ended up failing most of my classes for the semester, and got suspended from the college. I decided that fighting to get back into that school just to be sick again was not worth my while. There had been other issues I had with the school as well, but this was the major thing that moved me to transfer.

In the spring of 2010 I stared my academic career at Mount Wachusett Community College. I was able to live at home, where I could cook my own food and still attend classes. I just graduated this past spring with a 3.4 GPA and an acceptance to the English Literature program at Fitchburg State University. Taking charge of my diet and how I wanted to live my life was something, I feel, made me a stronger person. There are so many people with a diagnosis with Celiacs who either ignore their symptoms, or just deal with it because they don't have access too the food they need. People should not have to settle when it comes to health matters such as this. For the next week, I will be blogging about ways that people with celiacs who are going to school this fall can empower themselves and make sure they do not have to leave school the way I did because of a lack of support.

Me today, over 50lbs lighter, healthy, and doing well!

If you have a story about dealing with celiacs in college, please e-mail it to me at: ad4458@gmail.com. I would love to hear from others about their experiences. 

Better Safe Than Sorry!

For those of you who live in Massachusetts, you probably remember the unusual weather we had last summer and fall. A lot of us were without electricity for quite a while, and some who lost their homes in the tornado had to go to shelters. Unlike other states that are prepared for this kind of weather, we in Massachusetts have not been trained in the same way. We do not have emergency supplies for bad weather stocked up in water proof boxes, and we don't always think to have any kind of emergency plan for things like tornadoes. If you have celiacs and went to a shelter, most of them did not have specific gluten free food put together, and might not be able to supply a group of people with celiacs. After all the things that happened in Massachusetts last year, it might be time to start considering these types of things. Here is some advice for preparing for living gluten free with no electricity or in a shelter.

Pack An Emergency Supply Box!

The Box:
First off, make sure that the box is waterproof. You don't want to be evacuating from your house in a storm and have a cardboard box fall apart in your hands. Also, make sure that it's a reasonable size. Each household will be slightly different due to population and needs. Make sure it's big enough to store the essentials you need, but not so big that you will have trouble leaving with it in a hurry. You want to make sure that it is airtight too as you will be storing some food in it.

Non Food Essential Items:
Flashlights and extra batteries are a must. When the power goes out, you want to make sure that these are easily available to you, and you know exactly where they are. If you lose power for a number of days, the extra batteries will definitely come in handy. I also packed an extra USB battery charger in my kit. It stores 12 hours of power for anything that can be charged via a USB port. This is great for your cell phone of you need the extra power. A first aid kit is certainly essential in this kit, as you never now what kind of situation you are going to run into. Make sure you have the ice packs that don't need to be kept cold, and plenty of bandages, gloves, cleaning materials, dust masks, pain killers, and anything you might need like an emergency inhaler or an epi pen. If you talk to your doctor about an emergency kit they are usually more than happy to prescribe you an extra epi pen or inhaler for your kit. Also make sure you have any personal sanitation items you may need packed. If you have an infant in the house, make sure that you have extra supplies packed in the kit for them, OR you make sure that there is a diaper bag ready to go with you with everything baby will need. Pack a whistle that is really loud, or some other item that can easily attract attention if you are in any danger. Having some cash in there is a good idea. If you are able to find a store that is open, but is only accepting cash, it will come in handy. Local maps are a good idea to have as GPS systems have a hard time communicating during the bad weather, and you want to make sure you can find where you are in an emergency. A battery powered radio is also key for listening for any weather alerts or other information you might need to know. And lastly, glow sticks, to make sure you and your love ones can be seen in the dark by any vehicles or emergency response teams. Glow bracelets are great for kids as they do not have to hold onto them for a long time and they stay right on the wrist.

Essential Food Items:
Like I mentioned above, if you are traveling to a shelter in an emergency, the shelter you arrive at might not be equipped with the supplies to provide a gluten free community. You need to take some initiative and have some food stored in your emergency supply box. In mine I have a box of gluten free granola bars, a box of gluten free cereal, a pack of gluten free crackers, gluten free cookies, peanut butter, and a few cans of easy-open gluten free soup. You need to keep in mind when packing your food in this box that things like gluten free easy mac will not do because if you have not power, you can't cook it, and there may not be someplace to prepare food at the shelter you are going to. Soups can sometimes be alright if you are ok eating them cold. They are a nice change of pace from eating crackers and granola bars. Just make sure the cans are easy open, or you have a can-opener in the supply box.Also make sure you have some plastic silverware packed in the kit so you can eat whatever you packed. Water bottles are essential. You want to make sure that you have a supply of water in case you don't have access to water for a little while. If you are traveling an evacuation route with everyone else in the county, it's going to take some time, and you want to make sure you keep well hydrated.




Non-Essential, But Very Handy Items

These things are not needed as vitally as the above items, but if you have the room in your kit, they cab become quite handy in an emergency situation. Some of these things can also be essential depending on who is in your household. Remember that this is a loose guide, and the needs of each household vary. Sweaters for each person in the house are good, especially if we get a freak snow storm in October that cuts the power like we did last year. I was quite grateful for my sweaters I had unpacked before the storm. If you have children in your home, you might want to consider packing some form of entertainment for them. handheld devices are one option, but they either need to be charged, or they will suck up your battery supply. If you choose to pack these things make sure you pack extra batteries specifically for the toy. Books are a great idea, or any kind of traveling game. I have a dice game that my friends and I love and it's stored in a cup and you don't need anything else to play! A deck of cards can be handy too for passing the time. A blanket or two can come in handy, and my mom keeps a battery powered lantern in our kit. It helped light up the area we were all in when we had no power. .

Things To Have At Home, But Not In Your Kit
We have a few things that we keep around the house that really came in handy when we had no power. We had little Sterno containers that we could light and cook a small amount of food in my old mess kit from girl scouts. This was good for heading up a can of spaghetti-o's or some water for some tea or coffee. These should not be stored for a long time though or in any place that they might be a danger. Make sure you read the warning labels on the can for proper storage instructions. We also have an emergency plan for our cats. I would never be able to leave my cat behind in an emergency. Make sure you do some research and see what your community's evacuation plan is for pets. Most of the time there is a designated shelter for the pets to go to where they can be safe, and be fed, and you can retrieve them safely from when the danger is over.

I hope that this inspires you to have a kit prepared for an emergency. You don't want to be caught off guard and end up in a bad situation!

Wisdom Teeth and Soft Foods

Like most people around my age, I have reached a time when I am in need of having my wisdom teeth removed. Unfortunately it took my wisdom teeth growing in sideways and cracking a molar open for the dentist to go "Ok, this needs to be done now." So tomorrow, I will be going in to get my 3 wisdom teeth removed (the 4th one never developed apparently!), 2 root canals, and I need a bone implant in my upper jaw. I have been on pain killers for the past week for my cracked open tooth, and have been eating all soft and bland foods. For those of you who are on a gluten free diet, you probably know how hard it is to find soft gluten free foods. In case you are ever in need of soft gluten free foods, here are some of the things I have been eating during my dental problems.

1. French Onion Soup
Progresso makes a fantastic gluten free french onion soup. If you purchase the glutano gluten free bagel chips and get some mozzarella cheese, it tastes just like the stuff at the restaurant! The baking of the bagel chips in the soup makes them super super soft, and easy to swallow, and the cheese is just fantastic! Simply pour half of the can of soup in an oven safe bowl, layer some bagel chips on top, and sprinkle with a layer of cheese. Bake in an oven at 350 for about 5-10 minutes (until the cheese is melted) and enjoy! It's bland and soft, and super tasty!

2. Mashed Potatoes
Pretty self explanatory. I didn't do anything fancy with it like add garlic or cheese, just a little bit of butter, and a pinch of salt. It was quite nice and comforting on a rainy night.

3. Soup, soup, and more soup
Honestly, I feel like I have spent most of the week eating soup. Thankfully the line of Progresso gluten free soups were on sale at Shaws Supermarkets this week, and I was able to stock up. I was especially a fan of the broccoli cheddar this week, and as mentioned above, the french onion soup.

4. Chocolate Pudding and Cool Whip
The medications they had me on to prevent an infection in my broken tooth left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth all week. This wasn't so pleasant with all the soups I was eating, so I was definitely craving something sweet in a matter of days. I tried a bite of FroYo we had in the fridge and that was a BAD IDEA with a broken tooth. My mom ended up bringing home some chocolate Snack Packs that I kept out of the fridge so they were at room temperature, and some Cool Whip for a nice topping. I was disappointed to find out that Jell-O brand jello is not gluten free, but the pudding seemed to hold me over just fine.

I hope none of you have to go through the tooth pain I have been though this week. Needless to say, I will not be posting for the next few days as I will be in surgery tomorrow, and recovering for a day or two afterwords. I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!