celiac and passing

Okay, so I have several colleagues who have daughters in the Scouts. I tried ordering from each daughter. And none of their daughters can get the two gluten free cookies in the DC-MD-VA region. I ordered a box of Thin Mints from one colleague, because I want to support her daughter (and my partner wanted Thin Mints), but seriously. 

Girl Scouts of the USA - why NOT try selling gluten free cookies in the DMV area? If you are going to test a “speciality” cookie, test it in a market where many restaurants actually have a gluten free icon or gluten free menu! I understand people with celiac disease are only 1% of the population, so in reality, many people in D.C. may be following a gluten free diet for other health reasons. Release your cookies in a region that already has a market for gluten free foods! I mean, a gluten free bakery just opened in Adams Morgan and they are doing really well (http://www.riseglutenfree.com/). And the last three restaurants I went to had gluten free menus or their staff was really knowledgable about what was gluten free. The D.C. region isn’t an area to worry about having leftover gluten free cookies. 

I’m curious how these markets were chosen where the gluten free cookies are being sold. You’re telling me that you can sell more gluten free cookies in Georgia or Delaware than in Washington, D.C.? (True story: I had to order Toffeetastics from a family friend who lives in Delaware. Another friend’s friend lives in GA and can also order Toffeetastics! And according to Twitter, Girl Scouts in Arizona can order those cookies!) I know I can order online, but I also want to support a local friend’s daughter. I’m settling for Delaware right now. 

Girl Scouts of the USA, I’m telling you: next year, sell gluten free cookies in D.C. My other friends who are celiac or have to eat gluten free for other health reasons will buy the entire supply. (And I will eat kale for the next month to make up for all that sugar.) 

Toffee-tastic (buttery cookies with toffee bits) and Trios (peanut butter, chocolate chips and whole grain oats) are both gluten-free, making this the first time in the 98-year Girl Scout cookie-selling history that a G-free cookie is available nationwide.

This is not an endorsement, but rather an OMG, the GS finally got it. 

I will post my review of both flavors as soon as I can shove $4/box into any colleague's hands who has a daughter in Girl Scouts.

Do you know what this is? America’s Test Kitchen’s "Multigrain Sandwich Bread." My parents bought us a KitchenAid mixer as an early Christmas gift and I made a loaf today so I could finally have a turkey leftover sandwich.

IT TASTES LIKE REAL BREAD. Oh man. I am in a gluten free bread love triangle. I mean, my heart once belonged to Against All Grain’s bread (see post below). But this bread is easier to make, uses less expensive ingredients (cashew butter isn’t cheap - sorry, AGA bread!), and my partner will also eat it. And he LIKES it. We both inhaled 2 slices with butter and it was heavenly. And this sandwich is incredible. The consistency of the bread is nearly the same as gluten filled bread - and it doesn’t fall apart! (Take that, Udi’s.)

This is of my favorite (actually) gluten free beers - New Grist! A Philly/college friend, Jake, introduced me to it. He moved to Madison after graduation and said I had to try it. It’s brewed by Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, WI.

This is how I imagine happy hour for celiacs who live in Madison: New Grist on special (because gluten free beers never are), yummy gluten free fries done in their own oil and served with garlic aioli, and kale chips. *swoon*

Why do I like it? Unlike my other favorite gluten free beer (that’s another post), it tastes like a pilsner. It almost reminds me of a Stella, holds a decent amount of head when poured in a glass (says the former full-time bartender), and doesn’t have a weird aftertaste like some gluten free beers do. Hint: most gluten free beer tastes like flat Yuengling and cider mixed together. That’s not a good thing. It is even certified gluten free!

So far, I have only found it at a hole in the wall beer store on Bowie, MD. (And the only reason I found it there was we were going to dinner at my partner’s friend’s house and it was the closest place to buy beer on the way.) I always check out the gluten free options at every store and shrieked when I saw it.

Conversation with kitchen manager of H St. restaurant at dinner last night: 

"I can leave off the avocado." 

"Why? Is it just avocado from an avocado?" 

"Yes."

"Then there's no gluten." 

Annual beginning of the school year meeting today. Gluten free donuts for the celiac and gluten sensitive teachers! (Verdict: very tasty - even to gluten lovers and a fantastic substitute!)

I was a sandwich girl until I was diagnosed with celiac disease at 27. I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, a region known for cheesesteaks and sandwiches. My grandfather brought over hoagies for our family to share after church every Sunday. I would order a sandwich in college, no matter how many of my girlfriends ordered salads. I loved sitting down after a serving shift with a big sandwich and a Smithwicks. I would buy an Italian from Wawa right before getting on the Chinatown bus on Filbert St. back when I made the Philly to D.C. trek regularly in my early 20s. I was friends with the same guys who once drove three hours from our central PA college to Philly for cheesesteaks - and I defended their quest for cheesesteaks to incredulous classmates for several months. 

Sandwiches aren’t just nostalgic for me, but seem like the easiest way to eat: you have bread, some kind of yummy spread, meat, cheese, maybe some bacon (!), and veggies. They are fast and portable. Sandwiches are a low maintenance food and it’s actually one of the things I miss the most on a car trip; it takes a lot longer to figure out what snacks I can eat at a rest stop than it does to order a sandwich from a Wawa kiosk. (A good sandwich also sounds so much more appetizing than lukewarm hard-boiled eggs from a cooler.) 

How can I miss sandwiches so much, you may wonder. There are so many gluten free breads out there! There are, but a good number of those breads taste like cardboard, are expensive, have to be kept frozen, and fall apart if you touch it. WHAT GOOD IS A SANDWICH, A LOW MAINTENANCE, PORTABLE FOOD, IF IT FALLS APART? If my sandwich snaps in half when I am trying to eat it and my dogs snaps it up mid-air, I’d rather just eat a salad. (I think this is one of the reasons I am in a long-term relationship with kale; it’s one of the few foods that can fill me up as much as my beloved sandwiches once did without any of the gluten-riffic consequences.) 

If you can’t tell, this is one of the things that annoys me the most about being celiac. I’ve tried almost every gluten free bread out there and most annoy me way too much to enjoy the damn sandwich. However, there’s one bread recipe I’ve found that I will eagerly endorse and I make about every week or two. 

Danielle Walker’s Against All Grain is one of my favorite gluten free cooks/bloggers. Walker tests all of her recipes repeatedly in her own kitchen on her (admittedly) very picky toddler and husband. I have a theory on gluten free cooking: if partners and children will willingly eat the food, it probably doesn’t taste gluten free. Why would anyone choose gluten free fare over gluten filled food unless it tasted just as good - right? This is what I adore about Danielle’s recipes: not a single one tastes “gluten free.” They are all full of flavor, nuance, and can “pass” as food you’d want to eat anyway. (She’s also about to release a new cookbook, Meals Made Simple. This may be obvious, but I’ve already pre-ordered it.)

Her grain-free sandwich bread is the only bread I really eat now. After you’ve made it a few times - and as long as you have a hand mixer - it’s relatively easy to prepare and it bakes in less than an hour. It does need another hour to cool off, but once that time is up, you have soft, TASTY, reliable bread to make your own Italian sandwiches on. I make one big sandwich about once a week with this bread (usually on a heavy training day when I just wants carbs and meat). I use avocado as my spread and layer turkey, salami, cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato between the slices of bread. It’s as mind blowing as the sandwiches I remember my grandfather bringing over every Sunday, minus the salt and gluten of his beloved Italian hoagies.  

Alright, here’s the link. Be warned: once you start poking around her site, you’ll be inspired by all of her gluten free recipes and probably have to make another trip to Yes! for more ingredients. I promise, they’re all worth it though!

http://againstallgrain.com/2012/05/21/grain-free-white-bread-paleo-and-scd/

P.S. 

I know what you’re thinking: passing is a loaded term. Historically, passing has been associated with race. But it can also be used when someone has or desires the ability to be considered a part of another race, class, gender, disability status, or other group of people to receive benefits, acceptance, or relieve some kind of anxiety about their actual status. I often think of this term when thinking about being celiac. I actually try to be as under the radar about my own celiac status as I can; I want to “pass” as “normal,” or someone who can eat freely (ha!). I bring my own food to work, I try to choose restaurants where I can easily order food without interrogating staff, and I like to cook food that tastes good (and is gluten free). I’ve had a few wonderful experiences eating out lately and I want to celebrate those moments instead of the ones where I was cursing myself for not being more careful five days later. (Hint: It is hard to teach, sleep, be happy, and Crossfit when having a gluten attack. I’ve tried and the results are Meg Ryan cute to Kristen Wiig hilariously horrible.) 

Recently, many people with health problems are being tested for celiac or a gluten sensitivity, even though 1% of the general population has celiac disease (according to some sources, it could be as high as 2% - but I doubt their reliability). Food manufacturers are making more gluten free food everyday. Diets that are inherently gluten free, such as paleo and Whole30, are incredibly trendy. Things should be easier for someone with celiac - right? 

I’ve thought about this and have come to this conclusion: the popularity of gluten free diets is a boon and a curse to individuals who have to eat gluten free for the rest of their lives. Yes, it’s SO much easier now to find food you can eat commercially. But as my favorite gluten free blogger, Gluten Dude, said, “I don’t need 10 different types of mostly crappy gluten-free bread to choose from. What I need is for my autoimmune disease to be given the respect it deserves and I think the trend takes away from that.” I’m tired of having to say to servers, “I’m not trying to be trendy, lose weight, or sound like a Kardashian. I’m just trying not to get sick right after I eat food here.” I’m happy with a plate of protein, veggies, and sauce that uses ingredients creatively instead of mediocre to terrible substitutes for gluten filled food that wasn’t good for me anyway. After eating gluten free for three years, I understand how amazing I feel, how efficiently my body works, and how much happier I am when I eat real food. 

So what is this blog? I will celebrate gluten free food, recipes, restaurants, stores, and more that make me feel like a person who happens to have celiac instead of “that annoying person who can’t eat gluten.” I love good food, real food, eating out, trying new food, and being surprised by new cuisine. I firmly believe eating gluten free isn’t hard if you eat real food (read: unprocessed) and there are so many people doing this well. 

Celiac disease is a challenging autoimmune disorder to manage. And when I do find a new food, recipe, or restaurant that makes me forget about this disorder and just enjoy my meal, I think that’s how it should be for most of us. We should be able to enjoy food again, spend time at dinner with our families, and do the things we love without worrying about gluten. I want to pass as just another 30-year-old woman enjoying a meal with her partner, a beer with a girlfriend, or someone buying a cookie. 

Sources: 

http://celiac.org/celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/