Alberta

[troushka]

Hi there!

So, who out there is from my neck of the woods? I live in Alberta and both my son and i are celiac. I was diagnosed as an infant, but was told at age 11 that i had outgrown the disease!! I ate gluten for 20 years and was re-diagnosed at age 33. My son was disagnosed shortly after that, when he was 5. He is now 8.

We are gluten-free now, and doing very well! I also have a daughter, age 10, who has not been diagnosed with celiac, but i sometimes wonder... she seems to have alot of symptoms, and though they are very different from my son's symptoms, they are similar to what i had. She, understandably, is very reluctant to even go there!

Bye, Alberta!

Patricia

[SofiEmiMom]

Hi Patricia. My husband and I are going to be vacationing in Banff this June. I was wondering if there are any restaurants that you know of that cater to Celiacs at all? Any info about restaurants in Calgary would be of interest as well since we will be flying in and out of Calgary. Thanks so much!

[chantal]

hi im from calgary, i would recomend mongolian grill--

[troushka]

Hi SofiEmiMom,

There are lots of good restaurants to eat at here in Calgary.

At Tony Roma's, the sauces are gluten free, so you can order what you like of the ribs.

I do not know this first hand, but some of the moms in my Kids With Celiac Group shared that at Chianti's restaurant, you can order your pasta meal with gluten-free pasta! When you call to make a reservation, mention that you'll be ordering gluten-free, and they will have the pasta on hand. all of their sauces are gluten-free, including the white sauces. They also have an allergy binder. (I just phoned them and they confirmed all this info!)

you'll find them in the north: 300, 20 Crowfoot Cresent NW (547.5020)

you'll find them in the south: 444, 10816 Macleod Trail S (225.0010)

When my family and i eat out (my son and i both have celiac) we tend to eat at japanese, indian and vietnamese restaurants. these have many items that are gluten-free! here are a few suggestions:

downtown: glory of india: 515, 4th Ave SW (263.8804, i recommend a reservation and at lunch they have a great all-you-can-eat!)

vietnamese: my family and i love this one: oriental pheonix: 503, 4th Ave SW (262.3633) or 80, 104 58th Ave SE (253.8383)

i cant be much of a help for banff. i am certain, though, that they have many asian, indian and maybe even italian restaurants that may be celiac friendly. call the calgary chapter of the celiac association. they may be able to help and/or send a recent listing of celiac friendly calgary/banff restaurants! 237.0304

hope this helps, and have a great trip!

Patricia

[janet]

Hi, I'm from Sherwood Park. It was great to hear that Chianti's does gluten-free as I've always avoided them for that reason. I find that Japanese sushi or maki is great if I avoid the soy sauce. I wish I could find a bottle small enough I could fill it with wheat free soy sauce and fit it in my purse. Wouldn't it be great if someone manufactured gluten free condiments in portable size containers?

Janet

[tagger]

Hi Troushka,

My story is somewhat like yours. I was a childhood Celiac and at that time it was assumed children "outgrew" it. Two summers ago I was extremely sick. They were testing for hepatitis, salmonella etc. The Celiac thing was such a non issue with me that I had never even mentioned it to my doctor. When they started talking about more colonoscopys etc I decided to do a little research on the web. Typed in "gastro" and eventually went to a celiac site. There were all my symptom all laid out. I went gluten free immediately and was recovered in only a couple of days. Both of my brothers were also celiacs. They refuse to admit it though. I worry especially about my eldest brother as he shows all the symptoms but won't face up to facts. (his wife loves baking and he loves her baking!) I actually think my Mom is also an undiagnosed celiac but she won't go there either. I really worry about my 8 year old. The only symptom I've noticed so far is that he frequently gets mouth sores. Hopefully he isn't celiac because he's an awfully picky eater and of course loves pizza, hamburgers etc. He's just starting to get a little brave and try some new foods. It would be a nightmare if he were celiac!

For some time now I've been making myself separate meals when cooking for the family (depending what I'm cooking, ie spaghetti). I've now decided that if I am doing the cooking I will cook gluten-free and they can eat it too. Tonight for example I'm making stew and will dredge the meat in gluten-free flour. In some cases though gluten-free can be a lot moe expensive and in that case I'll use my own gluten-free stuff.

It's hard enough to stay gluten-free and I can imagine that keeping you daughter gluten-free must be hard.

I'm in Ontario. We have 2 restaurants here that can provide gluten-free. Mexicali Rosa's is a sure thing because the owners wife is a celiac. There is also an Italian restaurant called Il Fornellos which I haven't tried yet. Worse than restaurants I find eating at friend's homes can be pretty scary. Though they are aware that I am celiac an some will serve accordingly they really don't know about hidden gluten and cross contamination. I often just take my own little something along as I hate making a big deal of it.

Take Care,

Tagger

[SherriRoy]

I live in Edmonton. Unfortunately I haven't found many restaurants that actually have gluten free food other than a salad. I have been to Chianti's, and they do have a spegetti that is very nice, but when there is only litterally one thing to eat there next to a salad, it's still a little depressing.

I find that most restaurants here in Edmonton are very unreliable in regaurds to gluten free. They might know what wheat "allergy" is, but they have no idea abouti ngredients, or even the cross contamination factor. Most line cooks have not been trained with that sort of knowledge. I am a cook myself, and sometimes I wish I could just sit down with some cooks, and just give then some basic knowledge for the next time they meet someone with my problem.

I was diagnosed at 19, right before my 20th birthday. It has only been only just a year and a half to no avail in any gastro improvments. But I'm hopeful soon that the gluten free diet will soon start to help more than it is. I find that if I do have wheat I certainly know it...cause I am just that much more exponentially sicker...

When I cook, I love to cook gluten free as well, even to my family who is definitely attached to everything bread. Usually there isn't a big difference in texture and taste, so they don't seem to mind.

anyhow, if you are every in edmotnon area, I do know some great little lunch places..sushi joints, and some chineese restaurants that do have some great food.

Not a lot, but some good chicken fried rice.

Sherri

[mopsie]

Hi!,

I'm from the Peace River country. The only thing I've found gluten free is salad too. Not too appealing in winter I've gotten into the habit of taking my lunch along where ever I go. It's hard to find gluten-free flours here, so I have a flour mill and do all my own gluten-free baking.

mopsie

[sciencegeek]

Hi everyone,

I live in Edmonton, and have found numerous restaurants to eat gluten-free in. Here is a list of restaurants recognized by the Edmonton Celiac Chapter:

APPLEBEES, 13006 - 50 St., Edmonton.

CAF

[KarenCM]

Thanks so much for the list of Restaurants in Edmonton. I am going to Edmonton this month for the Celebrate Celiac conference I am so excited. I can't wait.

Karen