Can dogs suffer from gluten intolerance?

For the past couple of years, the topic of gluten has come up quite a bit in this country. With the increased understanding of Celiac Disease, more people are being diagnosed now than ever before. Gluten Intolerance has also increased in this country.
With all this talk about humans with Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance, is it possible for our pets to have Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease?

While Celiac Disease has not been found to affect dogs, a very tiny percentage of dogs may exhibit symptoms of Gluten Intolerance.

For the most part, dogs can tolerate food containing gluten. For dogs that cannot, they may develop inflammation in their small intestine whenever they eat food containing gluten. 
Symptoms to look out for:

Persistent diarrhea

Weight loss

Poor hair coat

Lack of body conditioning

Failure to thrive

When dogs have this condition, they may have a delayed reaction tot he ingested gluten. Like in humans, dogs who have an issue with gluten intolerance have a body that constantly attacks itself. The immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract whenever gluten enters the body. Gluten destroyed the villi in the small bowel, causing the dog to be malnourished.

Gluten Intolerance can affect any breed, but it is well-documented to affect Samoyeds, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, and Irish Setters. The onset of symptoms can occur at 6 months of age.

How is Gluten Intolerance in dogs diagnosed?
Veterinarians will assess the dog's history of diarrhea, weight loss, and illness before running blood and urine tests. In some cases, your vet may order a fecal examination to look for parasites.
To be absolutely sure, your vet may recommend putting your dog on a grain-free diet for 2 to 4 weeks. If there is marked improvement, the vet will conclude that your dog has a gluten intolerance.

Just like in humans, the condition is completely treatable. Dogs must stay on a grain-free diet for the rest of its life.

If you suspect that your dog may have a gluten intolerance, contact your veterinarian so they can assess the situation.

BREAKING: Pizza Hut to offer gluten free pizza (hurrah!)

photo credit: Pizza Hut

Sound the trumpets! Pizza Hut will be offering gluten free pizza to the masses!

It is being reported that popular pizza chain Pizza Hut will be releasing a gluten free option to about 1/3 of its chain stores. That means, 2,400 out of the 6,300 stores nationwide will have the option available to those of us who suffer from Celiac Disease. This is also good news to those who suffer from a gluten allergy/intolerance or wheat allergy/intolerance.

Pizza Hut will start selling a gluten free pepperoni and cheese pizza, starting on January 26. Pizza Hut tested this pizza in Australia and received enough feedback to bring it to the states.

Even though Domino's Pizza has been selling a gluten free option since 2012, Pizza Hut will be the first pizza chain to offer a CERTIFIED gluten free pizza (which is excellent news for our community).
Pizza Hut global CEO David Gibbs issued the following statement:
"We partnered with the most-respected names in the gluten free community to develop a best-in-class pizza for those looking to limit gluten in their diet. Our gluten free pizza has all the flavor America has come to expect from a Pizza Hut Pizza, which is why we are thrilled to add this pizza to our lineup."

Pizza Hut has partnered up with Udi's gluten free foods and the Gluten Intolerance Group to help create this new item.
Pizza Hut says that they will keep the gluten free pizza ingredients in designated gluten-free kits. Employees will wear gloves while preparing the pizza, and will bake the pizzas on parchment paper. They will also use a designated pizza cutter for gluten free use only.

As we all know, the term "gluten free" seems to make the masses' skin crawl. Many people are sick of hearing the term. I did some research as to what various people think about Pizza Hut going gluten free, and the following are comments that most people are in agreement with. I took these comments off of a Yahoo forum.
"The entire GF deal amazes me. I have a friend who has suffered with Celiac Disease for years. She's extremely careful about what she eats, cross contamination and how it is all prepared. During many 'get-togethers,' over the years, mutual friends and her have talked about her issue and have since decided (no testing, no trip to the dr, no nothing other than THEY decided they are allergic) that the must be GF to survive. My better half is in this group. It's hilarious to watch this group of self diagnosed friends when we get together for meals at each others home or go out to eat. They all 'pick and choose" when it needs to be GF!!!!!!! LOL. Recently one made the comment 'mine has been feeling so good laately thaat I just HAVE TO HAVE a try of those cakes'. Not a teeny 'try'. FULL BLOWN SERVINGS OF SEVERAL!!! It's really disgusting and aggravating to have them saying 'oh we can't cook that because it has wheat in it and I can't eat that' and to turn right around and say 'oooohh, I'm going to try all of these cakes' (not made with GF products.
I feel for those with REAL DIAGNOSED issues but am tired of the rest....
It's a pain in the #$%$ to deal with when they're off and on as to what they 'can' eat!" -Walter

"We have been eating gluten filled products for thousands of years but in the last ten all of a sudden its the worst allergy ever. Total marketing scam. To the ones who do have a serious allergy you have my sympathy but this is just another corporate money maker." -tom A

"I LAUGH every time I read Gluten Free, because the only reason you need to avoid gluten is if you have a gluten allergery or Celiac Disease. While it is beneficial to 1%, the other 99% have absolutely no reason to avoid gluten!"- Tom B

"What a stupid fad. Only about 1% of the population have a legitimate need to avoid gluten. The rest that avoid gluten are posers jumping on a fad diet." -Phukyahu

"So glad I live in New England where we have real pizza and I don't have to eat that #$%$ from Pizza Hut or Domino's. FYI less than 1% of American's have Celiac disease, why are we alwas conforming to meet the few?" -G

"This gluten free junk drives me nuts. no offence to the 1/2 of one percent of the population that actually haas celiac disease. but the rest of you band wagon jumpers should try jumping off a cliff instead." -Jack and Cyn

My Two Cents:
I am happy that Pizza Hut is unveiling a gluten free pizza. It's great news for those who want to be able to go out for pizza with their friends and/or family. Celiac kids especially will be pleased as punch, as they can now attend gatherings with their friends.

I want to address the comments I read this morning before I go on.
"Walter" brought up a lot of great points in his post. I've seen a lot of this go on. If you have a Celiac friend and see how better they feel on a gluten free diet, many people wonder if they too have Celiac Disease. They self-diagnose themselves and go on a gluten free diet too. While it's great to have the support of your friends, diagnosing yourself as Celiac is kind of stupid. If you have a legitimate concern, you need to see a doctor (especially if you're like me and have/had a Celiac family member). Unlike Walter's friends who can "pick and choose" when to be gluten free, we Celiacs do not have that luxury. We can't have that piece of cake, or that bottle of beer. We have to be ON-POINT, every second of every day, for the rest of our lives. There is no wiggle room.
I know a woman who is gluten free to lose weight (plus she thinks she may have an allergy), and she says she feels so much better when she eats gluten free foods. However, she would go back on her word and get a slice of regular pizza a second later. It sucks to witness it, but people are going to make their own choices in life, and if she has an allergy, she will pay for it later (in the bathroom).

"Tom A" brought up a point that I have seen numerous times: "We have been eating gluten filled products for thousands of years but in the last decade.... it's the worst allergy ever." Yes, we have been eating gluten filled foods for thousands of years. Also, people have had Celiac Disease for thousands of years. It just hasn't been accurately diagnosed, due to not knowing exactly what Celiac Disease is. Also, Celiac Disease was very rare back then. When my grandmother was diagnosed with it 30 some-odd years ago, not much was known about the illness. There weren't special stores in every town that offered food that was safe for her. There weren't designated aisles in popular supermarkets where she could purchase gluten free foods. Celiac and GF was unheard of. My grandfather had to travel out of state to buy grains and flours. He grounded the grains himself and made her baked goods from scratch. He sacrificed his retirement years (and health) in order to care for her (she was deathly ill, bedridden and needed total assistance for her activities of daily living because of having Celiac Disease). I've grown up around Celiac Disease my whole life (and was diagnosed via blood test and biopsy in 2011). Within the past few years, gluten free has become this huge empire and so many people are jumping on the bandwagon. Of course "Tom A" would find the craze to be a corporate money maker. In a way, it is. Companies are using a serious disease in order to make money off of it. People are pointing out how bad gluten and wheat are, and completely eliminating it from their diet. By the way, gluten and wheat are not bad (unless you're Celiac). There are so many health advantages to having gluten and wheat in your diet. Wheat is very heart healthy. Unfortunately, there are some folks (like myself) that were born with a bad gut. Some of us inherited it from family members, others are the first in their family to get it.

"G's" comment is one I really want to discuss. He/she brought up the question of why the 99% of people who don't have Celiac Disease have to conform to our way of life. Again I want to go back to Companies jumping on the bandwagon. The gluten free empire is now worth billions of dollars. Corporations have seen their stocks skyrocket and more companies are wanting that same success. Now these popular food chains are unveiling these options and people are stuck seeing "gluten free" on their menus. Of course, seeing these options everywhere can be quite annoying, but it is great for those of us who have Celiac. To those who think like "G," you don't have to buy the gluten free option. I know you're sick of seeing GF everywhere, and by no means are we wanting to make the masses conform to our lifestyle. We just want to eat out like everyone else. We don't want to be cut out of gatherings because we can't eat what you eat. We want to enjoy fellowship with our loved ones without falling deathly ill. That is all.

While the gluten free "fad" is somewhat annoying, it has been great for our community. We have an abundance of options that we have never had. If my grandmother were alive today, she would be so excited. She loved food. She would savor every flavor.

As for my opinion on Pizza Hut offering gluten free pizza, I've never really cared for Pizza Hut (I ate from there once or twice in my pre-diagnosed days), but if I wanted to order a late night pizza, I'm glad I have a place that I can call. Otherwise, I'm happy spending my money at local restaurants that offer gluten free pizza (i.e. "Mario's" in Watertown, Connecticut).

Fellow Celiac Warriors: What do you think about Pizza Hut offering a gluten free pizza? Will you be trying it?

Leggo my eggo! Kellogg's eggos go Gluten Free!

photo credit: Kellogg's

BIG news for my Celiac Warriors!

Kellogg's has unveiled their gluten free Eggo waffle line. The item has begun showing up in stores around the country, much to the gluten free community's excitement.

There is not much written about eggos going gluten free, but I wanted to share the news with you anyway.

I happen to have grown up eating eggo waffles (in my pre-Celiac diagnosis days). Seeing my childhood breakfast staple go gluten free is just amazing. I can't be the only one excited about this! LOL!

Here are the ingredients found in this new product:
Water, Rice Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Eggs, Sugar, Soybean And Palm Oil, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Contains 2% Or Less of Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Whey. Vitamin And Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Reduced Iron, Niacinamide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B12.

I have not tried this product, due to the fact that I have not seen it in the stores in my area. I will write a review once I have tested this item.

*PS- I did notice the whole oat flour ingredient. If you're a highly sensitive Celiac, proceed with caution.*

RECALL ALERT: Ian’s Panko Breadcrumbs from Stop & Shop

photo credit: emaxhealth

Those of you with Celiac Disease or a wheat/gluten allergy will want to pay attention to this post.

Stop & Shop is recalling Ian's All-Natural Italian Style Panko Bread Crumbs due to labeling issues that could lead to a 'glutened' reaction.

While the bread crumbs are labeled 'gluten free,' wheat is listed in the ingredients.

If you purchased a 9oz bag of this item, it is recommended that you ask for a refund and dispose of the product.
The UPC code that is being recalled is: 74951277220.
There are several expiration dates that are included in this recall:
31May15
11Oct15
17Oct15

As we all know, any Celiac that accidentally ingests wheat will rapidly develop 'glutened' symptoms.
Of course, if you begin to suffer these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.
The company has recommended that you throw away the recalled package and ask for a refund.

This is the reason why we Celiacs need to read our labels. We need to pay attention to the ingredients. Not all gluten free items are completely gluten free (even though they, by law, need to test below 20ppm in order to have the label 'gluten free.'
Even though Ian's is a popular gluten free brand, it isn't a 100% gluten free brand. They do make products that contain wheat/gluten.

Folks, PLEASE READ YOUR LABELS AND INGREDIENTS (even if it is labeled gluten free).

Food Review: Freschetta GF Four Cheese Medley Pizza

photo credit: Celiac Warrior (Me!)

Hey Celiac Warriors!

A few weeks ago, I saw a commercial for Freschetta pizza. I was laying on my couch and playing a game on my phone while the commercial aired. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw "Gluten Free" on one of the pizzas advertised. I decided to make a note of the new item and look for it when I go food shopping.
During my grocery shopping trip, I saw the gluten free Freschetta pizza. They had two kinds of pizza: Four Cheese Medley and Pepperoni. I picked up the Four Cheese Medley and finished up my shopping trip.

Tonight, I decided to try out this pizza.
For a gluten free frozen pizza, it was pretty good! It was crispy, cheesy, and the sauce was very good.

Usually, frozen pizzas end up tasting rather tasteless, but this one had really nice flavors. You could taste (and smell) all the various cheeses that were on the pizza.

The pizza is a small/medium size. It has four servings and it's less than 400 calories a serving. You have to cook it in the oven at 450 degrees. It only takes 12-16 minutes to cook.
If you like crispy pizza crust, I highly recommend you bake your pizza on a pizza/bread stone.

For those of you worried about whether or not it is safe for us Celiacs, let me put your worries to rest: it is perfectly safe for us. The Celiac Sprue Association gives this new gem its seal of approval...and so do I.

If you're looking to have a pizza night, and you want something new, you HAVE to grab the new GF Freschetta pizza. The price isn't bad. You can find this frozen pizza at most grocery stores. It will be with all the non-GF pizzas, but you will be able to find it pretty easily. It says 'Gluten Free' in big bold letters.

Allergy Warning: This pizza does contain dairy. If you're a Celiac who is sensitive to dairy, I highly recommend taking a lactaid before enjoying this pizza.

Anyways, thank you Freschetta for making a gluten free option for us Celiacs! We appreciate it! Much love!

Scientist creating "gluten-friendly wheat;" says it will be revolutionary.

photo credit: pri (dot) org

A scientist in Italy is creating gluten-friendly wheat by lowering the amount of gluten protein in pasta and bread.
Carmen Lamacchia wets the wheat grains with water, puts the grains in the microwave, which lowers the amount of ppm in wheat. After years of research, she has been able to lower the amount of gluten to 80ppm, which is 10 times less than normal wheat. (Us Celiacs can only tolerate 20ppm or lower)

We all know the drill about gluten. It is that protein that creates the soft and chewy texture of bread and other kinds of dough.
In recent years, we've been hearing how unhealthy gluten in, and Lamacchia is stating that the news is false.

Lamacchia does have a concern about us Celiacs. She understands how bad gluten is for our intestines and immune system, but her discoveries will change all of that.
She states that the toxic part of gluten will be hidden. The enzyme in our intestine won't recognize the gluten protein and will not cause us harm. She has patented her discovery as "gluten friendly."

A Celiac researcher in MA is impressed with the findings, but he is not convinced that the 80ppm will fly with Celiacs.

"They want zero. I mean, zero is something not attainable in biology. We had to really fight and fight hard with the celiac community here in the United States — and it took nine years of debates — to convince the celiac community in the United States that 20 parts per million, it’s OK, because the immune system doesn’t see it.”

Lamacchia stands behind her research. She said that the immune system in Celiacs will not recognize the gluten protein. She states that 20 or 80ppms will not matter if the quality of gluten has changed, and she believes it has:

“We did [an] experiment on t-cells [white cells from the immune system] coming from the intestine of celiac patients. And on those cells, we tested extract from the modified flour. These cells didn’t produce the inflammatory cytokine."

In layman's terms: the immune system did not respond to the gluten.

My opinion:
While her research is impressive in theory, I find it to be an oxymoron. Gluten-friendly wheat? I mean, wheat is our kryptonite. You can't make it safe, no matter how hard you try. Also, any experiment has its risks. If she has successfully modified the gluten, what are the drawbacks? What will happen to our system when we consume the modified gluten? Will it increase our chances for cancer, or auto-immune diseases connected to Celiac Disease?

I do appreciate Lamacchia's hard work. However, I worry about potential risks. I would definitely like to know more about her research. As someone who has Celiac Disease, I don't trust anything unless I do research and have hard evidence that it is safe. I'm like that in every aspect of my life. I need concrete evidence that something works or doesn't work.

I agree with Lamacchia's stance of gluten not being unhealthy. It isn't unhealthy, unless you have Celiac Disease or a gluten/wheat allergy/intolerance.
Gluten is perfectly fine and healthy for the general population.

Celiacs: What do you think about this revolutionary research? If she has been able to modify the amount of gluten in wheat, would you try it?

Food review: Gluten free Chex Oatmeal

photo credit: Shauna Silva

I found this item shortly after the FDA ruling went into effect.

At first, I was a little nervous in trying this product, since I have had issues with gluten free oatmeal in the past. I decided to try it anyways. The following Saturday, I made myself my first bowl of oatmeal in over 4 years.

*drum roll please*

While it tastes EXACTLY like non-GF oatmeal, it has a different texture to it. I ended up overcooking it a little and it stuck to my non-stick saucier.
With this oatmeal, you need to keep an eye on it and cook it exactly to the package instructions. I ended up goofing and cooked it according to how I used to cook non-GF oatmeal.

All in all, it was very good. I added some brown sugar and craisins to the oatmeal, which made it even better.

When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I had a hard time with gluten free oats. Every 6 months or so, I had tried to re-introduce GF oats into my diet to see if I would have any reaction to it. This is the first time since my diagnosis that I haven't had a reaction to it.

Gluten Free Chex Oatmeal is less than $3 and it is whole grain oats. It is NOT certified gluten free, but with the new FDA ruling, ALL items labeled gluten free HAVE to test less than 20ppm. This product hasn't given me problems, but if you are sensitive, I ask that you exercise caution.

This product comes in several delicious flavors, including maple & brown sugar and apple & cinnamon.

If you're interested in trying this product, check out my Gluten Free recommendations store on Amazon. To visit this store, click here. (Items will be on page 3)

Celiac Warrior Gal's Favorite Recipes: Gluten Free Papaya, Mango and Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

This is a recipe that I saw on the back of an Annie Chun's Maifun Rice Noodle box. 

This recipe is filling, delicious, and GLUTEN FREE!!! It is super easy to make and is a perfect summertime lunch or dinner meal.

Here is what you will need:

• One green papaya (peel the papaya and slice it into matchstick strips)
• One slightly firm mango (peel the mango and slice into Matchstick slices)
• One small cucumber (thinly sliced)
• 1/2 package of Annie Chin's Maifun's Rice Noodles (cook, drain, and rinse as directions state for salad usage).
• 1 cup of small to medium sized shrimp. Make sure the shrimp are cleaned, deveined, and cooked (recipe says prawns, but shrimp is the same thing).
• 1 head of rinsed lettuce (separate leaves)
• 5 to 6 TBSP of peanut butter (recipe says to use Thai Peanut Sauce, but we improvised)
• 2 TBSP of fresh cilantro

 Directions:

1. Mix papaya, mango, cucumber, cooked noodles and shrimp in a bowl.
2. Add peanut butter to above mixture and toss.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate and divide noodle mix among the leaves.
4. Garnish with the cilantro (if you wish).
5. Wrap the lettuce leaves and eat!

The lettuce does have a hard time staying in a 'wrap' position, you might need to use a toothpick to hold it in place if you're making this for family or guests. I ended up just getting a fork and eating it like it was a noodle salad. Using peanut butter instead of the Thai Peanut Sauce gave it more of a hearty texture and made me full after eating just a little bit of it. I do recommend that you pick up gluten free Thai peanut sauce. Annie Chun doesn't make gluten free sauce, but San-J does! Thai peanut sauce will definitely add some spice and flavor to the dish. While the dish already has some flavor, I had to listen to my better half complain about the dish being a little bland. I think next time we will have to actually follow the recipe and use Thai peanut sauce.

To purchase the Annie Chun's Rice Noodles, click the photo.
If you are interested in the peanut sauce, you can purchase it here.

[photo credit: www.luxebc.com]

Soon, you could own a scanning device that checks for gluten in food.

Wouldn't it be great if we never had to worry about being 'glutened' when dining out? It would be freaking fantastic, right?
With the wonders of technology, this could be a reality. The science and technology gods may be blessing us with a scanning device that could determine whether or not there is gluten in our food.

A company in San Francisco, California called 6SensorLabs, is in the process of developing a portable device that has the capability of detecting gluten in food.
The company is only one year old, and was founded by a woman who was diagnosed with a gluten allergy in college. She, and her co-founder wanted to create a device so others could have a stress free dining experience while out to eat.
As for the size, it will be half the size of an iPhone, but will also be thicker. It will contain a sensor that will quickly detect gluten in food.

The company is hoping to have this device available sometime next year. There is no word on how much it will cost. I'm pretty sure it will be expensive. Then again, there is no price on freedom to go out to eat with your hunny and your friends and family.

They are working on devices to detect other allergens in foods. Right now, they only have the device that detects gluten. 

I, for one, am excited about this device. While I do have a bunch of restaurants that I am comfortable eating at, I do have others that I want to go to, but am too afraid to even try out of fear that I may be 'glutened.' It certainly isn't easy having Celiac Disease. I am thankful for the restaurants that I am able to go to. This device will make it much easier to become more adventurous.
Plus, this girl has been dying to go to restaurants with some spicy foods. This girl wants some Thai or some Mexican food!

Hey, can any of you recommend any Thai and Mexican restaurants that are nice to the Celiac crowds?

Also, what do you guys think of this device? Would you buy one?

[photo credit: www.pinterest.com]

One of my most disappointing 'being glutened' experiences

Before my life-crushing Celiac disease diagnosis, one of my favorite restaurants to go to was Chili's. I loved going there to kick back, drink a few beers, and get the restaurant-made tortilla chips and salsa. I'd scarf those down while waiting for my meal to be made. I'd usually order a burger or steak or something along those lines.

Then I got that darn diagnosis. My first time at Chili's after my diagnosis, I was nervous. I decided to skip the beers, and get a margarita instead. I got my chips and salsa, because they are tortilla chips and I asked if they were GF and the staff said 'yes.' I told the staff that I had Celiac disease and needed to eat gluten free, so they gave me options that were GF. I ordered a meal that they recommended, and I felt safe with their recommendation. I talked with my friend and enjoyed stuffing my face with the chips and salsa.
The meal came, and we dined.
After the meal, I went home, and I was okay after a while. A few hours later, I was in the bathroom, and it seemed like I didn't leave for months. I was fatigued, I was moody, I was achy, and it was hard for me to work through it while doing my job every day.

I did try Chili's again last year, and I got 'glutened' again. I guess I'm like one of those kids who is told that the burner on the stove is hot, but I touch it anyway. I just wanted to see if Chili's was still a bad restaurant for me.

One of my "bad" restaurants is Olive Garden. Despite the fact that they do have a gluten free menu, and I ordered off of it, I still got sick.

I keep telling people that eating out is like playing Russian Roulette: Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get the shaft. You never know how you take to a restaurant unless you try. Each Celiac sufferer is different. We all react differently to different restaurants. Some people are okay at Olive Garden and Chili's. Others, such as myself, aren't.

If you are recently diagnosed to Celiac disease, and you aren't sure which restaurants have gluten free options, you can search each state here
If you live outside the United States, you can use the World Map

Even though I've had bad experiences, I have had some fairly wonderful ones too. Outback Steakhouse has been absolutely amazing in handling my requests. So has Red Robin, Mario's Pizza in Connecticut, Nardelli's in Connecticut, Margaritaville and Cheeseburger In Paradise in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I may have forgotten one or two. Cheeseburger in Paradise was my favorite find. The manager of the restaurant had come out and talked to me and made sure I was taken care of.

Fellow Celiacs, some restaurants DO care about us. Not all of them are going to "roll their eyes" at us. Stay encouraged, everyone!

Demi Lovato went rogue on her gluten free diet to eat pizza with the president.

Former Disney darling Demi Lovato went rogue on her gluten free/dairy free diet in order to enjoy pizza at a friend's house in Texas, where the guest of honor happened to be none other than President Barack Obama. Demi Lovato suffers from a gluten allergy and a dairy allergy, and ever since she learned of her allergies, she has been 100% dedicated to sticking to her gluten free and dairy free diet.
However, when she found out that her friend, Robert Rodriguez was making pizza for his guests, she didn't want to offend him by not eating the pizza, so she decided to join in on the festivities.
Lovato told Extra that she eats a lot of raw food, but sometimes when she goes "all in" to a diet regimen, she gets bored.
She eats GF and dairy free because she has to. She eats raw and vegan because it makes her feel better.
When asked why she broke her gluten free and dairy free diet on pizza night, Lovato explained, "But you kind of can’t turn down pizza that Robert Rodriguez handmade - and that you are also eating with the President."

My Two Cents:
I've seen this happen a lot to people who have gluten allergies, or any kind of food allergy. Heck, I've been tempted to eat food I'm not supposed to, even though I have Celiac Disease. But, I don't do it. I think about the several months I spent deathly ill before my diagnosis and then my desire to eat that pasta, or sneak a piece of my boyfriend's wheat bread just goes away. The consequences just aren't worth it. I'm too much of a busy body to deal with the aftermath of a stupid mistake. 

Of course, Demi Lovato's consequences of eating pizza are far less severe than a Celiac consequences from eating pizza, but, I know she probably didn't feel good after eating it. 
People with gluten allergies cannot be veering off course and giving into temptation. It's not worth feeling sick afterward.

This is also a lesson to those of you with Celiac Disease. You cannot cheat. Don't let your friends and family tempt you. Gluten can literally destroy your insides, and it has been known to kill people. 

Don't give in to temptation, no matter what food is in front of you. This goes for those of you with gluten allergies too! 

[photo credit: www.newsrender.com]

"I'm sure these cookies aren't gluten free.." Weird Al's "First World Problems."

 Weird Al Yankovic has been making these spoof music videos for a couple of decades now, and he has quite a following.
In his latest video, he tackled "First World Problems." In the video, he gives a shout out to the gluten free population. He is in the airport scarfing down a cookie, when he realizes that the cookie may not be gluten free. He has crumbs coming out of his mouth. #firstworldproblems <--joke!

You may be wondering why I am posting this video on a Celiac/Gluten Free blog. Well, I have a few reasons.
-One, it's a pretty funny video.
-Two, it does bring up an interesting subject: staying gluten free at an airport. Of course the obvious option is bring your own snacks with you. That's pretty much what I would do. I do know that more airports are offering gluten free options and I know some airlines even have gluten free options for their on-board meals. Of course you need to use your best judgment when out and about.

Okay, enough of the shop talk. Grab some gluten free cookies and enjoy the music video:

Food Review: Bamboo Lane's Crunchy Rice Rollers

Ladies and gents, I have another awesome food find for you!

This is an item that I learned about last year, but was able to sink my teeth into just recently. It is Bamboo Lane's Crunchy Rice Rollers. It is sort of like a rice crispy treat, except for the marshmallows, butter, and nasty chemicals.
There are only four ingredients in this gem of a treat:
-White rice
-Natural cane juice
-Rice syrup
-Agar

One roller is 45 calories. For those of you counting carbs, there are 10 grams of carbs in a roller. This treat only has 5mg in sodium.

Yes, this item is Gluten Free, and it is also Vegan.

I bought this item in bulk at Costco to help me curb my ice cream addiction. For a while, I was having a serving of ice cream for dessert after dinner. I decided that I wanted to stop doing that. I picked up these rollers and decided to have one of these after dinner as a dessert. They are sweet enough for my sweet tooth.

If you shop at Costco, definitely keep an eye out for this amazing product. You can also find this item at your local grocery store and online.

To purchase this yummy treat, click the photo above. 

Backlash continues to slam the gluten free community. How can we fix it?

 The gluten free diet continues to be the most talked about diet in the country. With so many people looking to make healthy life changes, people feel that the gluten free diet is the answer to their prayers.
Go into any store and there are entire sections chock full of gluten free food items. Most chain restaurants have gluten free menus, and even some localized restaurants are offering gluten free options. With gluten free being everywhere, many people (those who aren't gluten free) are now on gluten free overload.

People who are not gluten free tend to roll their eyes or groan whenever someone even mentions the term gluten free. These folks have even become vocal and made comments about the gluten free diet being "trendy" and "ridiculous."
Those of us with Celiac Disease end up getting caught in the war between the non-GFs and those using the GF diet to lose weight (the trendies).

A lot of people in the Celiac community do take the ridicule personally, and end up lashing out at those who make the comments. I actually don't take it personally, because I know the ridicule isn't directed toward those of us who have Celiac disease. It is directed toward those who are being trendy.
The ridicule is a result of advertisement overdrive. People have had enough.

Now, how can we fix it?
-Well, we shouldn't be lashing out against people who ridicule us. We should look into why people feel this way. When I was in college, I majored in psychology. I loved picking people's brain. I love the way the mind works. I know that when people are on sensory overload, they will erupt and go crazy. If we react to it, we add fuel to the fire.
The fight ends up looking something like this:

-We can educate our communities about Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and the gluten free diet. A few years ago, I went out to a bar with a friend of mine, and I asked the bartender if he had any Redbridge beer. He had no idea what that was. I told him it was gluten free beer, and I explained to him that I have Celiac disease. We had a 2 minute discussion about it, and he said that he was going to put some on order. Whether he ordered some or not doesn't matter. What matters is, he took the time to listen. Also, those of us in the Connecticut area have probably seen the commercial for Quest Diagnostics, asking people to get tested for Celiac disease if they have the symptoms.
-Family gatherings are one area that I've started to get the hang of. Every once and a while, I make a GF dish to bring to my boyfriend's grandmother's house for Sunday dinner. They are an Italian family with very strong palates. If I can win them over, I can win ANYONE over. I've definitely won them over. Make some GF food for your family/community gatherings or potluck.

Most of all, we need to be a strong, thick-skinned community. The world is not against us. However, we should always try to be strong and also calm (especially for the sake of our immune system).
The backlash doesn't seem like it will let up, so long as there are people buying into the "fad." During this time, we need to continue living our lives.
The only good part of the GF popularity is all the good GF food it's brought us. 

Readers, what else can we do to help fix the problem? Comment below.

Food Review: Skinny Pop Popcorn

What better way to kick off Celiac Warrior Gal's triumphant return than with a food review of everyone's favorite snack food: Popcorn! We buy it at the movie theater, pile it into our mouths before the movie starts (I know I'm not the only one who does this), and we pick the kernels out of our teeth on the way home from the theater (don't lie, you do it too).
Well, if you want to save yourself the money, the calories, and the guilt, you can try out Skinny Pop popcorn. Only 39 calories per cup, this popcorn is chock full of flavor. One serving is 3 and 3/4 cups (only 150 lovely calories). For all of you counting your carbs, there are only 15 grams of carbs in a serving. Those of you keeping track of your sodium intake, it is only 75mg of sodium per serving.

Here's the best part:
-Dairy Free
-Peanut Free
-Tree Nut Free
-GLUTEN Free (yes, it is certified GF)

*For those of you worried about GMOs, this item is Non-GMO verified*

As for ingredients: All natural popcorn, Sunflower oil, and salt. Yes, ingredients you can actually pronounce! *gasp!* The company guarantees that there is "No Artificial ANYTHING in this popcorn.
For those of you wondering where this item comes from, it comes from Chicago, Illinois. Yep, this item is 100% all-American!

So, if you're looking for something to snack on while you're marathoning your favorite Netflix original programming (if you're marathoning "Orange is the New Black," you are my new best friend), you might want to consider purchasing Skinny Pop popcorn. It's all-natural,  GLUTEN free, and yummy.
This item can be found anywhere and everywhere. I'm actually snacking on some right now. I'd share some, but, I haven't mastered passing items through the computer screen yet.

To purchase this amazingly delicious snack, click on the above picture.

Barilla Pasta: Revisited.

My friends over at Barilla pasta have been following my blog posts about how much I LOVE their gluten free pasta line. They contacted me and sent me free pasta (which was the best early Christmas/birthday present I've ever gotten). They sent me four boxes of pasta, which was extremely nice of them.
For the past few days, I have been in a cooking storm. On top of baking a gluten free cake from scratch, I recently indulged in a little bit of gluten free Barilla pasta. Again, I paired the pasta with some of my boyfriend's homemade pasta sauce. Absolutely amazing! Pairing this meal with a glass of my favorite Shiraz-Cabernet made this meal perfect.

Barilla pasta not only puts out amazing and safe gluten free pasta, they have amazing people working for their company.

 Gluten free friends, I can't say this enough, you NEED to try this pasta... right now!

To purchase some gluten free Barilla pasta, click on the above photo.

Food Review: Udi's French Baguettes

After I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, I was unable to have one of my all-time favorite foods: Garlic bread. I thought I would never be able to have garlic bread again. I loved eating garlic bread with a helping of spaghetti and meatballs.

Then I discover Udi's French Baguettes. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I decided to have a pasta night. We had a package of these baguettes in the freezer and we decided to add garlic bread to the meal. You cannot have spaghetti and meatballs without garlic bread, right? My boyfriend knew that it had been a few years since I had any garlic bread.
The Udi's French Baguettes toasted nicely in the oven. It was crispy on the edges, and soft in the middle. My boyfriend was able to make decent garlic bread out of these baguettes.

As usual, I was pleased with Udi's, for their high quality food items. The French Baguette was amazing. Not only is it great for garlic bread, it is also perfect for dunking in soup.

It is hard to find this product, so I would recommend going to your local organic/gluten free shoppes. Sometimes you get lucky and find this item in the chain supermarkets. It is moderately priced, but, it is well worth it.

To purchase some online, click on the above photo.

photo credit: http://www.celiac.com/glutenfreemall/images/udis_french_baguettes.jpg