Celiacs in the House

I grew up in the kitchen, mixing and chopping at my mother’s side, and have loved cooking since I was quite young.  We ate whole, natural foods and cooked from scratch, so doing the same for my family has always been important to me. Some question why I insist on making everyday foods, rather than saving time and relying on convenience items.  My decision to cook is a combination of wanting to feed my family the best, and enjoying the process of cooking.  Photography has always been another passion, and about a year ago, I decided to take pictures of everything I made and post them on a  blog called, “A Year in the Life of a Kitchen.”  Since I was often getting requests to share a recipes or meal ideas, and I find myself inspired when I glimpse into someone else’s kitchen, a blog seemed like a fun next step.

In September of 2011, the luxury of making our own food became a necessity.  My seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, and only weeks later, I was too.  Since the age of two, we watched her experience fatigue, bloating, mouth sores, and muscular cramping, but we could never figure out what caused these symptoms.  Her discomfort peaked during the summer of 2011, when she experienced almost daily stomach pain, refused to eat (losing weight as a result), and was frequently lacking in energy even for the outdoor activities of summer.  We were frightened by her malaise, and self-referred to a wonderful pediatric gastroenterologist who was thorough and reassuring.  Blood work revealed gluten sensitivity, yet we still felt guilty consenting to the endoscopy her doctor recommended.  Was it worth putting her through anesthesia?  Were her symptoms real, or were we making a big deal out of nothing?  Fortunately, we went through with it.  It brought more answers, including a hiatal hernia, GERD, lactose intolerance, gastritis, duodenitis, and inflammation consistent with celiac disease.  Acknowledging the heritability of the illness, we suspected we weren’t done yet.  After reading Dr. Greene’s, “Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic,” I knew I was next.  When I was twenty I’d been diagnosed with IBS; as an adult, lactose intolerance had been added to the list.  Since my pregnancy with my younger daughter four years ago, I’d never felt like myself, and often remarked how “pregnancy” had ruined my stomach.  I dismissed my feeling “off” as a byproduct of a busy life and the stress of motherhood.  However, after blood work and then an endoscopy, I found out that I too had atrophied villi and nutritional deficiencies I’d never suspected.

After watching my daughter suffer, the opportunity to heal her through something as “simple” as food was welcome relief.  However, we quickly came to realize that gluten is everywhere, and in everything. No longer could we rely on grabbing a loaf of bread at the store, stopping at Dunkin Donuts for a bagel, or going to a birthday party and simply eating what was served.  From that moment on, our diets and lifestyle became forever altered.  For both health and financial reasons, we need to rely on ourselves to make our own food.  With concerns ranging from cross-contamination occurring in a restaurant, to the cost and inconvenience of buying a loaf of gluten-free bread (over $7! For a tiny loaf!), I immediately came to the realization that self-reliance was going to be the safest, most cost-effective way to go.

I jumped into action mode overnight.  I ordered book after book from the library and pursued the internet, and spoke to friends who’d been down this road already.  Realizing there are many philosophies on how to cook gluten-free (ranging from the prepackaged lifestyle to the ten-flour-guru), I figured we’d try them systematically until we found what works best for us.  Next, I attacked my kitchen.  I began with the basics: cleaning out the silverware drawer, the toaster, the baking paraphernalia.  I went through the pantry and weeded out everything that contained gluten, giving it to a food pantry or family.  Since I do all of the cooking and had no intentions of making multiple meals, it was clear from the start that we would all share the same diet.  While my husband is free to eat wheat on his own time, my immediate goal was to make every meal pleasing enough for the whole family, using alternative ingredients to make the food delicious, yet safe.  Given that my daughter is so young, I took extra care so that she’d never feel excluded, or like she was missing out.  I began to go through recipes, both new and old, figuring out how to proceed with as little disruption as possible.  Finally, I hit the stores.  I stocked up on everything I’d need to continue cooking all of our favorites, and some new dishes as well.  Our dairy, meats, and produce haven’t changed, but our grains underwent a full makeover.  Although I cringed initially at the thought of owning every gluten-free flour under the sun, I’ve since learned the different properties of various grains, and how many of them are invaluable at creating baked goods that keep us feeling included in family functions, holidays, and social occasions.  A peek into our pantry will reveal brown rice flour, almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca starch, potato flour, potato starch, cornstarch, cornmeal, amaranth, sorghum, and xanthan gum.  Does it feel ridiculous?  It does, until I pull out a new-favorite recipe and am thankful that I have everything I need.

During our period of feeling unwell, I decided to take a hiatus from my blog, although I never stopped photographing our food.  Once we were up and running again, moving forward and sharing our gluten-free kitchen felt natural.  Although Celiac disease and gluten intolerance is quickly gaining more attention, I didn’t want the blog to become so specialized that it would lose its appeal to those not gluten-free.  I decided to continue to feature everything we eat, but give alternatives as needed.  If I make a flour-containing food now, I’ll give instructions for what ingredients to use whether someone is gluten-free or not.

Lastly, and probably most challengingly, I had to begin educating our family and friends.  It ranged from the skeptical (my Dad not wanting to believe that this was real) to the minimizing (“Oh, a little won’t hurt, it’s not like you’ll go into anaphylactic shock!”) to the generalizing (“Oh, gluten-free foods are everywhere, it will be SO EASY!”)  Yes, easy in the sense that we now have to read every label (and put most products back on the shelf after scrutinizing the label), pay up to three times more for comparable items, and mail-order flours or drive to a health-food store every time we need a specialty ingredient.  Fortunately, pleasant surprises also awaited us.  My mother found gluten-free recipes to include on Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law invited us to a brunch that included gluten-free bagels and cupcakes, my father-in-law sent gluten-free oats, and friends invited us to their homes for gluten-free meals.  Even my 90 year old grandma, the lasagna-maker of the family, brought over a box of gluten-free noodles, and made her famous apple pie with gluten-free flour.  My daughter’s teacher at school has been wonderful, keeping me apprised of events for which I’ll need to send in alternative foods.  She even allows us to keep a container of cupcakes in the school freezer, so that my daughter has a treat waiting whenever a class birthday is celebrated.

Mishaps have happened, like the time I proudly made gluten-free waffles but then realized I hadn’t cleaned out the waffle-maker first, or when I made chili and then looked at my spices to read in horror, “may contain traces of wheat.”  We haven’t become agoraphobic (yet), but instead treat each instance as a learning experience.  I’ve tried recipe after recipe for bread, ranging from the loaf that rises beautifully but then collapses, to the one that tastes exquisite but uses flour slightly more costly than pure gold.  I’ve picked up some helpful habits, such as making multiple loaves of bread, and slicing and freezing at least one so that there’s always bread on hand. Ditto for bagels and rolls.  I’ve always cooked in bulk and frozen the extra, but I focus on this even more now.  My freezer is full of homemade of soups, BBQ sauce, extra dinners, even cookie dough.  My next goal is to make a few mini pizzas and keep those in the freezer as well.  We travel with water, cut-up fruit and carrots, crackers and pretzels, and cheese sticks no matter where we go, and I don’t bat an eye when I have to pack cupcakes and snacks each time we go to a birthday party.  Is gluten-free living without thought?  Absolutely not.  If I thought I was organized before, I’m certainly getting a run for my money now.  But are we enjoying ourselves?  Absolutely.  With each gluten-free cookbook I take out of the library, I find myself even more inspired to try a new recipe, new food, new style of cooking.  My girls love to cook, and are delighted to put on their aprons and “whisk” away a weekend morning.  Even my food-scrutinizing husband has looked at me wide-eyed and said, “Will you make this again?” which is the ultimate compliment in my book.

A few recent favorite meals include Chicken Pot Pie, Banana Muffins, and Chicken Quesadillas.  Breakfast smoothies are also a part of our repertoire.  Finally, to share a glimpse into our lifestyle, here are a few kitchen pictures.  The before and after pictures from baking day make me cringe, but it’s the reality of a working kitchen.  Thanks for sharing in our journey, and I’d love to hear about yours.

“Thanks to Wendy for her informative, lively blog, and the opportunity to share our story here.”

Happy gluten-free cooking!

Stephanie