luvs2eat

I'll have to look for it! I'm one of the sick twists who's LOVED the show. I took my 3 kids to see the movie years ago and there was ONE other couple in the movie and when they got done with the first song... the couple walked out and we had the entire theater to ourselves.

This is awful... but I was on the PTA thingy in the kid's elementary school and they were arguing about something and I was thinking about one of the Christmas episodes on South Park and how everyone was arguing that you can't do/say this or do/say that and someone asked, "Okay... is there anything else we need to get rid of??"  The teacher who always had Mr. Hand (and is now a woman?? I've not watched it in a while) said, "Yes... can we please get rid of the Mexicans?" So, believe it or not, one of the PTA members said, "Is there anything else?" And before I knew it was coming out of my mouth I said (in the Mr. Hand teacher's voice), "Yeah... can we get rid of the Mexicans?" There was complete silence for a few seconds and I wanted to fall thru the floor as I realized not everyone watches South Park. "SOUTH PARK... it's a joke," I stammered.

I post every year... "if this is my 13th year of being gluten-free... this will be my 13th new stuffing/dressing recipe!"

I grew up with Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix. I used to make like a quadruple recipe and bake whatever didn't fit into the turkey in loaf pans so we could slice off a hunk and eat it with turkey and gravy.

Now... my 3 daughters and I are gluten free. I've tried traditional recipes w/ bread and quite a few corn bread recipes. NONE have been remotely passable after good old Pepperidge Farm. Thanksgiving has become my least favorite "food" holiday.

THIS year I'll use the Gluten Free on a Shoestring recipe my daughter made for us recently. It was really good. Now... if I can only find something resembling French bread in North Nowhere Arkansas... I may ask my daughter to send me some baguettes from Philadelphia... they'll be stale and perfect when they arrive... right???

I visited a gastroenterologist at age 49 with symptoms of unrelenting diarrhea. He did blood tests and scheduled a colonoscopy because I was so close to the 50 year old screening age. After the colposcopy, he told me he had good news and bad news. I opted for the good news. He told me he could stop my diarrhea... the bad news? I couldn't eat wheat, rye, or barley ever again. He did not recommend endoscopic biopsy as my blood levels were so high. I did end up having an endoscopy and biopsies a few years later (heartburn issues) but my doc said it really wasn't necessary at the time of diagnosis.

I wasn't diagnosed until age 49. I'd spent years making beautiful loaves of rustic country and beautiful challah bread. Does the craving go away? It does NOT. Will I ever eat those fragrant wonderful loaves again? Nope. It is what it is...

There aren't any Sprouts... or any other stores where I live. We have WalMart... I get Namaste pizza crust mix from the health food store. It's great!

I know there's wheat in it, but I've read that there are some that use cornstarch or tapioca starch as the binder. Has anyone found those anywhere?? I googled all sorts of stuff but never found a thing. I even found a recipe, but I'm not that brave.

Not to mention... Udi's pizza crusts are terrible!! I've been to pizza places where I trust their practices and they often used Against the Grain crusts (which are only for businesses... not individuals... to purchase). Those are awesome! Udi's... not so much.

Papa Murphy's is the pizza place where you go in and choose the pizza toppings you like. Then you take the pizza home and bake it in your own oven.

They've just come out w/ a Udi's gluten-free crust and are advertising they can give you a gluten-free pizza. Of course, there are tons of us commenting on their website and writing the corporate site to ask serious questions. One person asked if there were actually "schooled" in the gluten-free food arena and would they be changing their gloves when making a gluten-free pizza. Papa Murphy's responded that... surely they would change gloves, when asked, and would accommodate utensil changes... WITHIN REASON.

Bottom line... I told anyone who cared to read that this was NOT a gluten-free panacea and to avoid it at all costs. Serving completely gluten-free fare is an education and it was obvious Papa Murphy's has not taken the class!

Oh heck yeah... I can count on one hand the real glutenings I've had over the last 10+ years. They got progressively worse until the last one where I swore I would NEVER make the CC mistake again!!

I was told my GI doc that celiac was common in those if Irish ancestry. My mom was right off the boat in the early 1920s. Then I read that people of Jewish ancestry were also susceptible. I was diagnosed at age 49. My three daughters (of Irish and Jewish ancestry) were diagnosed in a continuous line... 3 of 3 are celiac. Sad to say, I told them... you're doomed.

We make this all the time, 'cept w/ ground chicken. We LOVE it!!

When I was a newly diagnosed celiac and didn't seem to have severe repercussions... I'd not stress about possible glutenings and even scarfed down a huge, thick slice of gluteny bread once. I probably was seriously glutened about 4 times in the next 10 years w/ increasing severity of symptoms.

10+ years later... I would never, ever, ever, EVER think about putting gluten in my mouth. My last glutening was so horrible... I'm a fanatic about knowing what goes in my mouth.

We went to an awesome restaurant for Valentine's Day where there are only 12 diners and the chef cooks right in front of us. I'd spoken to the chef long before our visit and he assured me he could easily do gluten-free. It was an amazing 5-course meal and we absolutely loved it. We decided to go back again last weekend and I again called and spoke to the chef. gluten-free is no problem, he repeated. I also told him that my husband (who is a picky eater on a good day) hates bell peppers in any way, shape, or form and he could also exclude that as well. He could, he told me.

His dinner style is to cook what he has access to... always fresh ingredients, mostly from the garden he keeps outside the tiny restaurant. So you make your reservation and eat whatever he cooks! We made our reservation on Thursday for Saturday evening.

The first course was a delicious sausage and goat cheese stuffed baby PEPPER. Of course the hubs wouldn't touch it and my neighbor got to eat his! Second course was a yummy smoked chorizio and crawfish and rice and veggie soup. Then we had pork tenderloin on top of some kind of unusual bean we'd never heard of with a spring salad on top of that (w/ day lily blossoms... interesting) and a cherry sauce... more yummy. Dessert was a lavender crème brulee with a dollop of strawberry freezer jam and marigold petals. It was wonderful. And the last teeny taste was an amazing buttermilk biscuit w/ sweet tomato jam.

He handed me my biscuit and I asked, "This looks wonderful!! Was it difficult to make your recipe gluten-free?" "Oh, he said, "That's not gluten-free... sorry."

So, not only did I not get all the courses of this wonderful and rather expensive dinner (nor did my hubs), but I had CHILLS thinking how close I was to putting it in my mouth. We had conversations about being gluten-free during the dinner! I had visions of having to say to our neighbors, "Um... we have to leave NOW," and surely not making it home before I exploded from both ends in their car!! I didn't ask about the other courses as they were served because he KNEW I was gluten-free and, thankfully, had no repercussions..

Needless to say, I doubt we'll go back again. I just don't trust the chef anymore. Would you go back?

Give yourself time. My bowels didn't return to anything resembling "normal" until I'd been gluten-free for nearly a year.

I got... "Oh, it contains whey... you can't have that, right??"

I swear that since I've been diagnosed (more than 10 years ago), I've had VERY few colds and any other illnesses. I work around lots of kids and never get their germ factory illnesses (knock on wood).

I'm with the others... cheating is never a good thing. When I was diagnosed 2 years before, and had the occasion to eat a huge hunk of (real) bread  it was a no-brainer... keep the kids safe!! 

I just bring my own food everywhere and say, with a huge smile, "Thanks so much for thinking about me... you are too kind...  but if I don't prepare it, I can't eat it." It's as simple as that.

My oldest daughter was diagnosed w/ stage 4 metastatic breast cancer at age 31. She's now 35 and is in remission (her 3rd?). She's one helluva fighter. She was diagnosed with celiac about a year or 2 into her cancer treatment. Youngest daughter was diagnosed with celiac right after having a uterine fibroid removed about 4 years ago. Her celiac was so severe, it took her more than a year for her gut to heal and her diet was extremely limited. I just got home last week from taking care of her after a hysterectomy, also at age 31. She's now the poster child for telling any and all of her friends NOT to skip their yearly pap smears. She had one wonky pap and a year later her choices were to have a hysterectomy or have cervical cancer. Middle daughter was diagnosed w/ celiac first... of the kids...at about age 26. I was diagnosed first of all of us at age 49. I've asked middle daughter, who's super healthy, if she feels like she has a bulls eye on her back!! Yikes!  

Good info, ken... thanks! We make sushi at home... just cooked shrimp and veggies, but it's delicious. I'd love to learn to make spicy tuna (my fave also) but not only is there NO fresh fish where I live... if there was, I wouldn't trust it!

I love to make a cheesecake using gluten-free ginger snaps for the crust. Top with lots of fresh fruit for a beautiful presentation.

I've had VERY good luck at both Red Robin and Outback Steak House. That said... the staff can be as knowledgeable as anyone and a mistake can be made while your food's going thru the chain (manager, server, cook/kitchen staff). I'm even afraid of PF Changs even tho they are known for their care in keeping gluten-free food safe. I eat out rarely.

The last time I ate at Red Robin, where we had a lengthy conversation with our server, the burger bun was so delicious and out of the ordinary for GFers... I kept saying to the guy, as I bit off yummy bite after bite, "Wow... do you SWEAR this bun is gluten-free???" That plus dedicated fryer French fries... holy cow... I was in burger heaven!!  

Not to mention, they're ridiculously expensive. I bought some gluten-free ravioli... so happy to find it... and found it pretty tasteless. I'd love to try making it myself.

When you say "blood in stool" do you mean bright red blood that's clinging to the stool or coloring the toilet water? Or do you mean black stool that indicates bleeding higher up that's completely mixing w/ stool and turning it black? The first is common and often blamed on things like internal hemorrhoids while the other shows the need for more study to find the cause. Like the others have said... knowing is what's important!

I understand your pain and frustration! Last night my daughter made the most delicious beef stew and the whole time I was enjoying it, all I could think of was that there were no good old Bisquick dumplings floating in it (tried the gluten-free Bisquick... it wasn't good). Been gluten-free for more than 10 years and every once in a while I get so sad about food memories I'll never have again. I've cried in stores too... but in the very end it's all good. Wallowing is allowed!!