Saturday, May 29, 2010

My first blog...

You already see that I'm a rather random person so I have no idea what you are in store for today.  We shall explore and see what happens.

First of all I have to say that I'm so happy we are getting in great fresh local produce right now.  This morning we went to the farmer's market and bought peaches, cucumbers, beets, onions and yellow squash.  Can't wait to roast the squash, beets and onions tonight for dinner.  The fragrance from the peaches is filling the air in the house.  Delightful!

Over the past few days I've eaten a ton of fruit.  We've been lucky to find wonderful strawberries, watermelon and cherries. Add the peaches to my belly and I'm turning into a fruit salad.

If you have read my little blurb of what this blog will contain you will see that I have allergies.  There are foods, medicines, pollens, animals, etc that I'm allergic to.  Several years ago I did all the allergy testing and started taking allergy shots.  By the time I worked my way up to my 3rd bottle I started having terrible reactions.  They made me a new bottle containing the lowest doses possible and I was still reacting too badly so they made me stop taking the injections.  It was getting too dangerous and could potentially become life threatening.  So I've managed by taking 3-4 allergy meds a day along with eye drops and nose spray.  I know I am lucky because I don't have it as bad as some others.  But I do have it worse than most allergy sufferers. 

Besides having so many allergies last October I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  If you are not familiar with Celiac Disease I suggest you visit www.celiac.org to learn more about it.  They say that 1 in every 133 people in the US have Celiac, many with no symptoms or thinking they have to suffer because they can't figure out what they have.  I was very thankful that from the time I got to the point I was nauseated daily that it only took 6 months for a diagnosis.  But now when I look back over various problems I've had in the past it was Celiac rearing it's ugly head.  In my early 20's I was seeing a gynecologist because of horrible cramping on my left side.  They never could find a cause for the pain and cramps.  So I just sucked it up and they finally went away.  Over the years I would have spells where it would bother me and I figured it was just my body being weird.  Then I started getting a stomach virus at various times throughout the year but instead of hitting my stomach first then my intestines, it was backwards.  That was yet another thing I chalked up to being a complete weirdo.  Since 2004 or 2005 that has happened a LOT.  I don't know why the Celiac would bother me sometimes then not at all other times.  But I was so happy to finally have a diagnosis of what was wrong with me.  Celiac is an auto-immune disease.  I've known for years that I have some sort of auto-immune disease but never knew which one.  I wanted Celiac to be my disease and have the ability to move on with life.  Sadly, that isn't the only one I have.  The doctors are still trying to figure out what else I have.  I just hope it isn't anything major and is one of the non-life threatening ones. 

Celiac is where your body can't process gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and several others.  Instead of an allergic reaction to gluten the villi in your small intestines are actually damaged and can keep your body from absorbing all the required nutrients.  Although a person with Celiac may not feel any pain or experience any symptoms the villi in the small intestines are still being damaged and the gluten is still causing your body damage.  There is only one "cure" for Celiac - that is to avoid all forms of gluten.  Do you have any idea where you can find gluten?  It is EVERYWHERE!

Since my diagnosis my eating routine has changed.  I can't put anything in my mouth without making sure it is 100% safe.  Thankfully there are many wonderful tools out there to help you find the safe foods, medicines, beauty products, etc.  Do you know that a person with Celiac can't even lick an envelope?  Yes, you read that right!  The glue on the envelope contains gluten.  Play-dough is made from flour so if you touch it you must wash your hands thoroughly and make sure you do not have any open cuts that the gluten could get into.  There are so many wonderful websites out there for support, information, recipes, gluten-free products, etc.  I have a book that I take to the grocery store to help me know which brands were verified as safe when the book was put together late last year.  Their website sends out updates if a manufacture changes their process and an item is no longer safe.

It is very difficult to shop for groceries at first because we are so "addicted" to gluten containing foods.  You don't know how bad I want a saltine cracker!  But I can't cheat at all.  One tiny crumb will give me severe pain and other issues for nearly a month.  I wish I was one of those who had no symptoms.  But I guess I really don't wish that because then I'd be more prone to cheating.  Words can not express how bad I want to cheat some days and have some of my favorites.  Many people will tell you that you are lucky because all you have to do is avoid gluten containing foods and you are fine.  That is somewhat true, but people with Celiac sometimes have other health problems as well.

Most people don't realize how difficult it is to avoid gluten. Do you have any idea what all you have to avoid on a gluten free diet?  This means no more cake, cookies, Oreos & Chips Ahoy!, soy sauce, egg rolls, crackers, croutons, sandwiches, pasta, bread, pizza, fried chicken, gravy, etc.  So many gluten containing items are a part of our daily lives.  Even some beauty items and medicines contain gluten.  People say it should be easy to avoid these foods, but it isn't.  We have gotten "addicted" to these foods and it is so hard to just give them up.  If you are thinking that there are gluten-free foods out there you are correct.  But have you tried some of these foods?  GROSS!  Thankfully there are a few that are good, but many are just plain nasty!  Texture is a big issue for me so some GF items simply get on my no list because the texture is horrible.  I have found one sandwich bread that is pretty decent.  But sadly it isn't sold where I live.  Many GF items aren't sold where I live.  We have to go to somewhere like Asheville to get the foods I want.  Thankfully Asheville is amazing when it comes to GF foods.  Many of the restaurants in Asheville do an amazing job for those with dietary restrictions.  They even have an entirely GF restaurant! 

Sadly where we live many people look at me like I have 5 heads when I ask for GF foods.  There are only a few restaurants that we eat at because of this.  I just order foods at those few restaurants that I know are already GF or can very easily be altered.  If I'm getting a salad you have to ask that it be mixed in a different bowl because all it takes is one tiny crumb.  I've learned that I can't just say that I can't have this or that and that I must say that I can't have it because of medical reasons.  Ugh.  You would think the staff would be just as careful no matter the reason.  But one day I ordered a salad without the wonton strips.  They left them off, or so it seemed.  They actually started to put them on there then picked them back off and missed a few small pieces.  As soon as I bit down into a little piece I knew I was in trouble.  Within seconds the pain started.  It really sucks having to be so careful.  I want to be free to eat whatever I want.  I don't like all these restrictions, but I must learn to deal with it and make the necessary adjustments.  This is how life HAS to be for me now.  I was used to making adjustments to foods before because of my food allergies.  But now I'm even more limited.

Thankfully I have found a few great tasting gluten-free products.  Udi's bread is good.  Grandma Corbi's GF chocolate chip cookies are delicious!  You would never know they are GF.  Sadly they do contain eggs, but I still eat some.  Shhh!!!  Posana in Asheville is the GF restaurant there.  It is such a wonderful feeling to go into a restaurant and not have to worry about cross contamination!  Woo-hoo! 

Every single trip to Asheville now has to include a stop at The Hop Ice Cream.  They have many GF products and don't mind at all when you ask them to clean off the scoop before getting out your ice cream.  They even make a doggie ice cream that my dog, Auggie, and my oldest cat, Galaxy, love.  Auggie likes Frosty Paws ice cream but she LOVES her Hop ice cream.  She always shares her food with Galaxy but she will run him off away from her ice cream.  Galaxy doesn't go anywhere near the Frosty Paws. 

Nine Mile and Luella's BBQ are also great places to dine in Asheville for GF diners.  Nine Mile offers quinoa pasta or fresh spiral cut zucchini as a replacement for regular pasta.  Both are great and they are really good mixed together too.  I wasn't sure which I would like so they let me try both.  The staff there was wonderful!  I wanted the special of the day but the lady who had made it had already gone home for the day so they wouldn't let me order it because they couldn't be 100% certain it was safe for me. 

If you have any type of food restrictions find the restaurants with the great servers who actually care about what they are doing and about their customers.  It makes the experience so much easier and better.  They actually make you feel like you aren't missing out.  And they do their best to look out for you.  After visiting so many times they will know you and know your needs without you telling them.  But you should still mention it just to be safe.

At Luella's BBQ they are a bit cruel though.  They have mac & cheese made with Ashe County Cheddar.  **faint**  I LOVE Ashe County cheese.  I also love mac & cheese.  This sounds heavenly!  Sadly I can't try it.  But they do make a pimento cheese dip with the Ashe County cheese.  YUMMY!  It comes with pita chips so they let me substitute the sweet potato chips.  I thought it was going to be a very odd combo but it worked!  It was delicious!  The spices on the chips were perfect.  And then the chilie cheese grits.  Whew!  This place knows how to make grits! 

Now it is difficult to decide where to go eat when we visit Asheville because there are so many great places where I can find awesome GF options.  I'm so glad it isn't difficult because it is hard to find a place where I can get something great.  My mind is wandering and trying to figure out a reason to drive up to Asheville for dinner and ice cream tonight.  I am trying to talk my husband into moving up there after he gets out of school.  Asheville has so much more to offer me and anyone on a restricted diet.  Of course there are many other wonderful places to dine in Asheville but these are on my mind right now. 

Well I guess I have rambled on long enough for now.  I didn't have anything specific to say when I started but it looks like I found plenty to talk about.  Told you I ramble.