My story begins in October of 2010. However, having being diagnosed with Celiac, I've most likely had it for about 30 yrs. After being diagnosed, looking back on my life and my health, it all made since. I was at work on the Friday of Labor Day Weekend with an aweful headache. I never get headaches unless something is wrong. I went home and tried to sleep it off since I was off the next day. However, when I woke up, I still had the headache. Not wanting to have a stroke or something because of the headache, my husband took me to the ER. After running tests, they found I was cronie anemic. I had been that way before 3 yrs. earlier. I had to stay in the hospital overnight for a blood transfustion like 3 yrs. before. A few days later, I went to my regular doctor to try and determine why I was anemic. She thought since I was in menopause I might be passing too much blood. A colonoscopy was in order. I hated the thought of drinking that drink to get ready, but the test itself was a breeze. The best decision I had ever made about my health was to have this test. The doctor told me she was going to take a biopsy of my small intestine and make sure gluten wasn't a problem. At the time, I didn't think about what that meant. A week later, the nurse called and told me the biopsy looked favorable that I Celiac Disease. Just hearing the word disease stopped me in my tracks. I got on the internet and did alot of research. I also had blood drawn to confirm I did indeed have Celiac Sprue. ( I like that name better.) It took a months time from start to finish to be diagnosed. Being cronic anemic was the only outward symptom I had. On October 15, I began my gluten free quest. Looking back over my life, I can see many signs of being Celiac, but no one else saw it either. I had small babies, I lost my thyroid in 1998 and my gall bladder in 2007. It all was beginning to make since. Not only that, my paternal Aunt and Grandmother both had thyroid issues and pernisha anemia. I got it in the genes. After beginning to search for gluten free food, it was not as overwhelming as I thought. Companies have really stepped up to the challenge to help the growing Celiac Community. I work at HEB in Texas and they have a great selection. We should already be eating fruits and veggies. We just need to sub the other ingredients. I can feel normal by going to eat at Chili's, Jason's Deli and Boston Gormet Pizza. If I want to fix something I usually use gluten in, I get on the internet and find it in gluten free form. Of course, cost is an issue, but our health is worth it. You are not alone in your quest. Seek out those like you and talk about what you have discovered. It will really help you and knowing someone else understands makes a difference. When I see something gluten free in someone's basket, I strike up a conversation and we talk. Now when they come shopping, they have a gluten free friend. ~Dawn.G, Texas

I am amazed at all the gluten-free options that suddenly exist out there in the once cruelly wheat-excessive world! I discovered that I was intolerant to gluten back in 2001, when most people had never even heard of the word. I was given skeptical glances by more than one friend, relative and even doctor, when I told them of the problems that I had associated with digesting wheat. Making this discovery, however, began a new journey toward health and recovery for me, as I had experienced digestive problems and disorders for as long as I remember.

I once had a colonoscopy at the ripe old age of 20, and the doctor interpreted the results of negative findings to my father, saying (in so many words) that it was all in my head. Fast forward eight years, to a lovely Easter brunch of eggs Benedict, strawberries, coffee cake and piping hot coffee… and a gnawing, burning pain that I assumed was just bad gas turn into an emergency appendectomy. Before and in between these two incidents, I had chronic digestive issues that were diagnosed on several occasions by different doctors as “irritable bowel syndrome”. Well, duh!  I could have told anyone that! But what was making it so irritable? I experimented with my diet, removing specific ingredients for a couple of weeks to see if it relieved the symptoms, and then adding them back in when it didn’t change anything. Meanwhile, the internet started to become a greater resource for anything and everything that you ever wanted to know about, and finally, I found the source of my problem.

The first doctor that I explained this to told me I was crazy! She told me I didn’t have a gluten problem but that if I wanted an antibiotic for my symptoms, she would be happy to write a prescription for me! Falling victim to the power that doctors seem to exude over their patients, I walked away believing her, crestfallen at the news that I still hadn’t figured out my problem, but a little excited that maybe I wouldn’t have to take gluten out of my diet after all. I told my (future) husband that we should celebrate with beer and pizza at our favorite Italian restaurant. Oooh pizza! I had hadn’t any in soooo long! And then wham, bam! It hit me again. I couldn’t digest the meal, I was sick for a couple of weeks… and I confirmed that gluten was the problem.

To this day, I have never been diagnosed 100%.  This is because in order to determine if there are gluten antibodies in your system, you need to be eating gluten – a lot – for some time. I have been gluten-free for years before I learned of this test and had health insurance to pay for it. But I have finally gotten to a healthy point in my life, and in no way want to eat gluten again just for a piece of paper that confirms my condition to me or to certain friends, relatives or doctors. The cilia that are damaged in the digestive track can take from 3 to 6 months to repair themselves after being exposed to gluten. I don’t need to feel sick for that long again – ever!

While taking gluten out of my diet has significantly increased my health overall, it obviously has presented challenges when trying to figure out what to eat. Back in the days when airlines still gave you in-flight meals free of charge, I actually got to ask for a gluten-free option. I received a dry rice cake (the kind that people used to diet with in the 80′s), an apple, and a banana. Gluten free, it was! But taste…? Of course, who am I to expect anything tasty on an airplane anyway. I was actually impressed that they gave it a shot, but it was then that I realized that no one really knew what gluten was.

Luckily, I enjoy cooking and have spent the last decade developing tasty gluten-free recipes that I can cook without effort. After a number of years, I did find a decent alternative to durum wheat pasta, so that I could once again enjoy ‘spaghetti’ night at home. But eating out at restaurants was difficult and I usually opted for just a salad.  Also, seeing all the other yummy meals on the menu, which I couldn’t eat, was just a big tease. So eating out was not as wonderful an experience for me as it had once been.

Now here we are in present day and suddenly, everywhere I go I see gluten-free products abounding in regular grocery stores, I see gluten-free bakeries popping up all over the country, and every other person I meet knows someone who has a problem with gluten.

Even more amazing, I can walk into many a restaurant now and find either specific gluten-free items on the menu, or at the very least the chef and my server are often sensitive to gluten intolerant diets and will be happy to help me determine what things on the menu will be safe for me to eat.

This is an exciting time for me, as I am a foodie at heart and have lamented the loss of delectable wheat-free choices, until now. This is why I started this blog. I wish to share my adventure with tasty, healthy and yet still gluten-free foods as I begin to explore all the new options out there.  I will guide you to local restaurants that provide gluten-free selections, review gluten-free products and share gluten-free recipe ideas.

Of course there are still some things that I sorely miss: New York-style pizza -  greasy, drippy, cheesy -  yum!; buttery, flakey croissants; and extra hoppy micro-brews, are all at the top of the list. If anyone knows how I can fulfill these cravings, please let me know! In the meantime, we’ve come a long way from the dry rice cake on my in-flight meal. Things can only get better from here. ~ Heather J. Gluten Free Foodie