Live from the GIG Conference in Minneapolis / Saint Paul, Minnesotta!

GIG Volunteers are standing by. So, come on down!

We are here enjoying the Gluten Intollerance Group’s Annual Education Conference!

“Savor the Flavor of a Healthy Gluten-Free Life”  Tons of great speakers, exhibits, people and FOOD!

Photo by William T. Beverly, Ph.D.

For more infomation, go to the GIG website.

Peeps are Gluten-Free!!!

  Regardless of religious beliefs, many of us who are living these Gluten-Free lives miss lots of the holiday treats we used to love. I was pleasantly surprised the other day.

Peeps are Gluten-Free!!!

  I was at the store at an “Easter” display, and I read the ingredients on one of my old favorites — “PEEPS”.
  And low and behold, just under the ingredients listed, it actually said, “Gluten-Free”!!!
  I was soooo glad to see that and I hope if this is news to you that it helps in at least a small way to bring back some of the holiday cheer that can come with such treats.

Sweet Cabbage Simmer

Lean Lemon Pork Schnitzel with Mushrooms

  This is a Gluten-Free innovation of a very popular, yet incredibly simple dish that I learned to prepare in one of Atlanta’s wonderful restaurants almost 30 years ago (Spencer’s and Sidney’s Just South).  I learned to prepare it using freshly cut and tenderized Veal.  It can also be modified and prepared using thinly cut, lean and boneless chicken or turkey cutlets.  Surprisingly enough, given my adaptation is to use lean Pork cutlets; among the very similar classical origins of this recipe is Classic Israeli Schnitzel.

  Click here for the recipe!

Valid and Reliable Information on Gluten-Free Simplicity

  Here at Gluten-Free Simplicity, it is super important that we ONLY provide information that is both Valid and Reliable.

No Bull; No Horns! (c.2009, wtb)

  Often, when someone begins to ask me in-depth questions about Gluten-Free Simplicity and Gluten-Free Living, I share with them how I learned that perhaps the most crucial element to successfully negotiating Celiac Disease is accepting that perhaps the most significant ingredient is information (i.e., What does and does not have gluten; where to get affordable gluten-free products; and/or how to think critically about important Gluten-Related information).

  Giving bad information to a person with Celiac Disease is kind of like handing a glass of poisoned water to a person who is very thirsty.  At G-FS, I don’t give you any Bull, and so I hope you won’t give me the horns.

  And by the way… if by chance you ever run across any data on this site that seems like it cannot be right, send me a comment and I’ll triple check it. 

  Thanks for reading this blog.

Adventures on The Planet “Glutenia”

Gluten-Free Fiction Date 001; Hour 01

  I was just out of my doctor’s office.  It seemed soooooo long ago, yet it was probably only a few moments to someone anywhere else.  But I had arrived.  Per my recent diagnosis, when leaving her office, I exited her doorway onto the Planet Glutenia!  This is what I saw.

Glutenia At First Glance (c.2009, WTB)

  I wondered if I could breath… and I could.  I was afraid to take those first steps.  But I did.

  My doc had said something about “Celiac Disease”…??? 

  I wondered, “Am I a Celiac?”  “What the heck is a Celiac?”

  ”Will I find more Celiacs here?”

  I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, praying to have nice dreams…  Perhaps I can wake up some day on a different planet that the one I just walked onto.  Or even better — maybe I will learn to adjust and possibly I can learn to thrive as a free person…. a Gluten-Free person… on Glutenia.

  More later…  I hope.

Nice Article on Celiac Disease and Emotion

Check out this article at Psychology Today.com, “Gluten: The Secret Stalker“.  It discusses the Emotional impact of Celiac Disease, an important issue for many of us.

#45: Keep that Isolation in Check on the Way Toward Gluten-Free Simplicity

#45: Keep that Isolation in Check on the Way Toward Gluten-Free Simplicity

  Ever just wish you could be alone?  Of course you do.  Probably everyone does here and there.  But…… what if it is more often than one thinks is normal?  “Maintaining a strictly gluten-free diet can cause feelings of isolation” according to an article about Gluten Free Online Social Communities by Marissa Carter (Sept. 29, 2009).  She writes,

“It is hard for these people to adjust to the food culture in America, knowing that every bite of food they eat may cause them to get sick. Ordering at restaurants becomes a chore and attending dinner parties becomes a major challenge. Often, they begin feeling like they are a burden to others. Even people who have very supportive parents, spouses and friends feel the need to reach out to others who will really understand them.”  Read More.

  All I can say directly to her opinion is, “I heard that!!!”  This is one good reason for my present posting.  Watch out for that tendency to isolate.  Yes, some isolation is probably very good for the soul.  But, too much can be dangerous.    And do I isolate on purpose when I do isolate?  No…. not always…

Sometimes, I Just Feel Like an Isolated Bump on a Far Away Planet (c.2009, WTB)

  But I do (I really really do) sometimes feel like I am a lone bump on a far away planet.  Once in a while,  I get a feeling that I am all alone.  The metamessages at almost any social meal time, grocery trip, and other times and places are often seeming to beckon me into an isolative state where it no longer feels strange or hurtful to have to be so different when it comes to one of almost every human being’s most basic functions — eating.

  The problem though… isolation can lead to lots of other problems. (eg., depression, feeling left out, getting behind etc…).  Just think about it this way…   If a person is isolated then they can begin to think things and form habits that are all wrong.  The reality checks inherent in social interaction can often be very healing.  Like if I am feeling really down on myself for something that I did and I am wondering if I did THE WRONG THING….  I can  often turn to a trusted friend or colleague and ask for their take on it.  It is soooooo wonderful for me when I do so after wringing my hands for hours… only to find that I actually did the right thing afterall.

  Also… there can be lots of good healing energy out there in public with loved ones, friends, family and colleagues for those of us with Celiac Disease.  NOT ALWAYS… of course…  there are unfortunately times when either due to one of their comments or one of my inferences, I feel like being alone instead.  But still in all, yes, sometimes, it just feels so good to be alive and around good people.

  So if you are one of us who is often finding yourself alone and feeling lonely… do something about it!  Here are a few ideas:

• Go online as Carter suggests and seek out information or just chat.
• Try to prepare a Gluten-Free recipe, then offer a review to the author.
• Take a walk and make a point to say hello to a person.
• Call an old friend or family member and ask them how they are doing.
• Stop by a restaurant, health food or grocery store and politely ask responsive staff members about their Gluten-Free selection.
• Write a letter to a manufacturer, a publication or a friend about something that you feel passionate about (i.e., Celiac Disease or Gluten-Free Living).

I am sure you can probably come up with even better ideas.  Go ahead and do something.  And just so I don’t get too lonely, Please let me know how it turns out.

Why Celiac Educator?

Without Education, Some People with Celiac Disease are in a Tailspin. Click on this picture for the story (c.2009, WTB)

Gluten-Free in Southern Colorado

Gluten-Free in Southern Colorado (c.2009, WTB)

 Go to Gluten-Free in Southern Colorado!