I’m Back again!

It’s been so long since I blogged here, I can’t believe it.  I’ve been slacking at my day job that long too and maybe even a little at home (I definitely let some of the chores slide!

So, in addition to Celiac disease I’ve come up with a handful of new ailments (since September), that’s my excuse for the lack of activity on my part

One new factor: PCOS.  Oh the pain, the funny patches of hair, the weight gain despite gastro issues and the blood!  Finally, the blood convinced my Dr. to refer me to gynocology and the OBGYN immediately diagnosed me with PCOS and put me on the pill.  Immediate improvements in the blood and weight departments, but I’m still experiencing digestive issues and the patches of hair are still sprouting from time to time. 

What’s a girl to do?  My Dr. doesn’t want to do anything else with me except suggest Metamucil (which bloats me badly by the way) and tell me I have IBS and need to control my stress.  Ha ha hardy har.  I’m stressed because I have constant gastro issues that I haven’t been able to solve on my own through various elimination diets.  I need some help, not the voo doo I’m dealing with right now.

Anyway, I’m back.  Glad that Starbuck’s is stocking gluten free cookies and Kind bars so I can get a little something with my latte again.  Glad that Walmart started stocking Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mixes.  And glad that more companies are discovering the benefit of labeling their products more effectively for those of us concerned with our tummies!

I’m doing research on my symptoms tonight, maybe I’ll find new options to try.  Wish me luck.

Chipotle and Bone Fish Grill

More success dining out.  Chipotle is a fab find for fast food! Everything except the flour tortillas are gluten free.  It’s so simple to ask them to change their gloves before you order and I discovered that that flair for slopping ingredients certainly avoids cross-contamination. I’m pretty happy to discover one more place I don’t have to be afraid.

Another restaurant, Bone Fish Grill, offers a gluten free menu and their staff are trained in it.  I felt totally comfortable with my dining experience there although the food inself left something to be desired.  I had the shrimp and scallops and they were so charred on the outside I didn’t have the desire to eat more than one.  The garlic potatoes were more mashed garlic than potatoes but the vegetable side was good.  The saucy shrimp appetizer was super yummy though!  Next time I go, I’ll be ordering that as my meal with a side dish, instead.

Panera and Jason’s Deli are good for Celiacs

Surprisingly, I have found that Panera Bread and Jason’s Deli have been 2 great places for me to get gluten free options.  At work, we had 2 weeks of meeting that I needed to order boxed lunches for.  The catering manager at Panera was really helpful and even put my meal in a separate bag from the other boxed lunches.  I called Jason’s the first day to confirm that the allergen information on their website was still accurate and was actually able to order on-line for the rest of the time and can even order my favorite things without bread (I got a pastrami, corned beef, saurkraut and mustard with swiss in a box – yummy!)  They also have gf potato salad and coleslaw, which was a great option compared to potato chips every day.

What a surprise for me!

Disappointment at Starbucks

I’m so sad to find out that Starbuck’s discontinued the Orange V. cake.  The fruit and nut bars they replaced them with just aren’t the same!  I mean, who wants to eat trail mix with coffee first thing in the morning?  As the only girl in our department I’m often tasked with picking up coffee and pastries for morning meetings and finally got to have pastries like the guys, now I’m the odd man out again, so to speak.  Darn it.

My trip to NYC was derailed too.  I was so excited to go to a city where more people seem to be aware of gluten free needs.  Oh well! I get to spend 2 weeks renovating my house instead.  I’ll be painting my master suite and replacing the floor in the bathroom.  Possibly cleaning the carpet and hanging new lights.  No, it won’t take 2 weeks to do all of that, but I have plenty of time to read by the pool and work on my new career idea.  I’d like to work for myself and after many years of thinking and trying, I have finally come up with a viable option – given there is a market for it.  Wish me luck!

thrice frozen fish

2 weeks ago my freezer door got stuck open and defrosted over night, all over the kitchen floor. I thought most of the stuff was fine, but it appears that the frozen fish must have thawed. I cooked it tonight – rubbery and mealy. Ick. So, warning to the masses – if your freezer defrosts…cook the fish right away!

Today’s super fast recipe

I discovered the fastest way to make a healthy meal on the fly.  Basically, I took Kroger brand Garden Blend veggies in Fiesta mix and ready to serve chicken broth with some pepper in a bowl and nuked for 3 minutes.  viola! dinner.  The fiesta mix has garbanzo, white and kidney beans +broccoli, red bell peppers, green beans and other veggies.  I was pretty thrilled…it’s becoming a staple at my house!

New Favorite Gluten Free Foods

My most recent GF discoveries: Starbuck’s Orange Almond cake, Amy’s frozen meals and GF cookies at the Newstand in the airport.

I’m so happy to report that my favorite Starbuck’s now has the individually wrapped Orange Almond “cakes”.  I’ve always been addicted to their lattes and Soy Chais, now I can actually suggest going there for “brunch” with my girlfriends – until now, it was just “coffee”.

I do have to say, one Starbuck’s I went to had the cake but had unwrapped them for the display, in the same case as the other pastries – which was REALLY disappointing.  I wonder why the employees felt the need to do that, and how many cakes they sold or if every one of them went stale because people like me aren’t going to trust that situation…

My other happy discovery is the Amy’s GF meals.  Especially the Spinach Pizza – so Yummy!  Not that they are a new develpment in the GF world, but I always thought it was too expensive for me.  Well, they went on sale at Kroger 40% off so I decided to give them a try (I won’t spend $8 for a pizza but I will spend $4.50).  I also found that Walmart by my parents’ house carries Amy’s and had a GF tamale meal, complete with rice and beans for $2.50). I was a little worried about other ingredients causing me problems, since I’m kind of sensitive to random things, but all’s well!

Oh and the cookie in the newstand at Denver International airport (DIA) thrilled me!  It was on the B concourse by the United gates, I can’t remember exactly what it was called.  But, they were on the very bottom shelf by the floor under the bags of trailmix.

I thank God all the time for my Celiac disease because it has actually saved me from so many things like bad dates (I know instantly he’s not for me if he is put out by not going out to eat on the first date.  Or if his life revolves around pasta and bread and he can’t imagine that gf would be as good.  Isn’t it every guys’ dream to date a girl happy with a $3 cup of coffee? Or one who is happy to cook for him all.the.time?).  It has also saved me from numerous business lunches, when I really need the hour to myself away from loud mouthed co-workers, to breathe just a little and refresh.  All I have to do is say, “I can’t eat there – I’ll get sick” and they all shuffle off unoffended and I get my down time .  I’ve avoided some pretty sucky business trips when they “need” someone to go just to make sure that the booth, graphics, give aways, and flyers get there.  I insist that sending me will cost the company so much more – I can’t stay at the Ho-Jo, I need a suite with a kitchen so I don’t get sick!  Somehow using the UPS tracking system to make sure those things got there and assign one of the actual exhibitors to make sure everything is ok has worked out!

So, when people find out about my disease they all feel so sorry for me, and true it is a huge pain, literally and figuratively, to go through life trying not to get glutened, but I somehow just can’t feel like it’s the worst thing that could have ever happened to me because really, it has changed my outlook on life and maybe even made it better for the wear.

Book Review: The Instinct Diet

The Instinct diet has an interesting focus and is written by a dietician. I’d recommend it for a rainy afternoon browse, but not really a captivating read.
Pros: It makes sense, doesn’t ask you to adhere to any odd routines or buy into any medication or strict exercise routines.
Cons: Almost every recipe and meal planned includes Wheat, Barley and Oats. I didn’t see Rice or Quinoa listed anywhere and there weren’t really instructions for substitutions.
Basically, I found it to be a semi-useful read because it reminded me of why we eat and how our eating habits are formed so I can be aware of what’s actually going on and don’t graze mindlessly.

I think doctors use IBS as a cop out

After reading statistics on how many people are diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and spending years suffering before finding out that they actually have celiac disease, Chron’s disease, colon cancer or any number of other food intolerances/allergies or diseases, I’m of the opinion that doctors diagnose any digestive problem they can as IBS so they can prescribe pills and Metamucil. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks it’s because that’s where the $$ are. The realistic side of me thinks it because it’s an easy diagnosis and they feel like they have closed the case. Either way, I know from a decade of suffring and multiple doctors who all diagnosed me with IBS I finally ended up at with a Dr. who was subbing for my regular Dr., crying my eyes out, at the end of my rope because all the fiber in the world (I had been told lots of whole grain wheat and barley) wasn’t helping me. In fact, it had driven me right over the edge to a point where I wasn’t able to function normally any more. My life was full of anxiety about where I could find a bathroom and how my tooth enamel was eroding form all the puking…he finally did a simple blood test for celiac. It was positive and within a couple weeks I was in for a biopsy which showed my small intestine looking like a clean new piece of copper tubing…that confirmed it.
I’m still shocked at how long and how many times my second opinion and third opinions still said “IBS – eat fiber!” and it was killing me. It has taken over 2 years for me to get to any kind of normal life. Still have GI problems every couple weeks and I have a GI specialist telling me that I have Celiac and IBS. I’m too young to have anything else wrong with me and my blood test came back good- I’m not being glutened…so it must be IBS. I hardly think so! He isn’t willing to look for anything else and my GP can’t do much either. It’s an HMO, so unless I get new insurance I’m kind of stuck until I’m bleeding from somewhere.
Why do I debate that it’s IBS? Because those symptoms are brought on by stress, and if anything it is the absece of stress when I’m having problems. When I travel I’m not having IBS probs. When things are crazy at work, no problems. But, once or twice a month something is triggering problems. Could be hormones, could be anything that I can’t possibly think of because I don’t know what it could be. I could have never figured out I had celiac! I didn’t know what it was or how to find it and now I’m having a problem that I don’t know what it is or how to find it and I’m just disgusted that my Doctor would dismiss me so quickly with a prescription for dycyclomine and samples of Metamucil again!
Is it a lack of training, laziness or ignorance? Why does it seem so hard to get a doctor to help you out? I’ve read so many stories about people with many diseases who had to figure out what it was themselves and fight for treatment. From cancers to broken ribs and migraine headaches. Do we all have to go to med school to survive?

King Soopers has gf Hummus

I’ve never tried hummus before but I saw it in King Soopers – Private Selection Brand and it was labeled Gluten free. So, I tried it! And I liked it!