[CaroCakes]

Hi! I'm a student intern for a celiac magazine and I was hoping to get teens and kids opinions on gluten free foods and dealing with eating gluten free at school and in restaurants. I'd love to hear your guys' opinion and experiences and quote you in the magazine, if you're okay with that. I'm fairly lucky, I go to Virginia Tech and all the nutritional information for every single food item is online, so I know exactly what I can eat and what I can't. Unfortunately, I'm fairly limited to the salad bar and a few mexican dishes, but it could be wayyyy worse. I would rather skip all the "fake" gluten free foods. Aside from kinnickinnick bread and brown rice pasta, I just accept the fact that I can't eat baked goods or breads. The gluten free alternatives are unappetizing and expensive, so I just do without. How about you guys? Do you all bring baked goods if you know you're going to a party that will have non-gluten free goodies?

[Lisa]

Hi and welcome to C.com!

We have many members with college experience and always willing to share if your inquiry is on a personal level.

If professional, you should contact the Administrator of Celiac.com and submit a request to poll the membership.

Thanks

[looneylinahon08]

I've found that some foods can be worked with. Just last night my boyfriend made me a chocolate pie and it is delicious! We use the gluten-free pantry brand for pie crusts and they turn out well (a bit sugary, though). It's normal for them to crack though when being baked. I'm nineteen and I was diagnosed at 11 so I've had plenty of time to find foods i like. I've found that if you add about 3/4 cup of half and half cream to most brownie mixes, you get a delicious and normal-tasting result! Even my brothers were eating them and they despise gluten-free desserts. I really love Annie's mac and cheese (it has american white cheese as opposed to the normal yellow cheese). You just have to remember to cook the noodles longer than it says on the box or they're really hard. If you tamper with the recipes you can usually get good results from most things. Pamela's baking mix works pretty well, but the gluten-free pantry mixes work the best in my opinion. I actually have a recipe used by most people for some delicious monster cookies, and it's not a special gluten-free one, but it's still gluten-free. I kind of gave up on bread, although kinnickinnick has good stuff. I stopped using a toaster though and started buttering and cooking my bread on stovetop and it tastes pretty good! Also, about the restaurants... I've only found one place that has fries that I can eat. It's a place called Gateway Market in Des Moines, Iowa. Usually I stick with steaks, baked potatoes, or shrimp though at restaurants. And at school, I'm pretty limited in choices. I basically ate grilled chicken and fruit for lunch and dinner everyday, and I'd have an omelette for breakfast. It kinda sucked.... But as for parties, I just take my monster cookies and everybody loves those!

[lovegrov]

I'm not a kid or teen but I work at VT in the publications department. Just thought I'd say hi.

richard

[Kylie]

I am a 20 year with Celiac, diagnosed 4 years ago. I go to James Madison University and am almost glad to be gluten free there. I have a “special diets” team that cooks just for me and the other kids with food allergies and I eat some of the most delicious food. I have had everything from apple fritters to fried fish and chips. Whenever I ask for something, the chefs do their best to try and make it for me. We also order bread to use and I have really liked some of the ones that I have eaten. I have a gluten free wrap for lunch every day on campus and they are always good. Although I can only eat in one of the dining locations on campus 100% safely, the team makes up for it by having to go options and being able to take more than one meal to stick in a fridge for later. We get a weekly menu emailed to us on Sunday night, and if we don’t like something on the menu, you email the chefs and they will have something else ready for you on that day. We also have some dessert or baked good at least once a week.

As for not eating baked goods or bread anymore, I don’t follow that at all. The other day I adapted a lemon yogurt cake recipe that I saw on food network to be gluten free. I bake bread at least one a month, make cinnamon rolls for special occasions, and bake gluten free cakes for every member of my family (no one else has Celiac) for special occasions and birthdays. Baking gluten free is definitely harder, but not impossible. My family actually prefers some of my gluten free baking to regular food. I am in the kitchen baking at least once a week when I am home and make my family, friends, and boyfriend try everything and rate it for me. I keep a book of all of my recipes and always have them on hand to share with people. My next endeavor is making my own pasta, have the equipment, just need the time.

As for going to parties, I usually do not bring anything to eat. I try and blend in as much as possible and don’t want to make the host or hostess feel bad, so I just say no thank you. I’m guessing it is very different for a child going to a birthday party, but it doesn’t bother me all too much. Sometimes when my boyfriend eats donuts in front of me and I really want one I get upset, but not usually. If I see or smell something I want in a restaurant or anywhere else, I write it down and just make it when I get home.

I was gluten free for only two years in high school and packed my lunch every day. I had great teachers who let me use microwaves so I usually brought left overs. What I was having was always so much better than school lunch that I never missed going through the lunch line. And now in college all of my friends envy my food. As for going out, I choose wisely. I do not eat out often and it’s not because of my celiac. I really like to cook so I would just much rather make my own food. When I do go out, I look it all up online first and have very rarely glutened myself in restaurants. I am not afraid to ask for a manager or hand out my allergy card to make sure that things are done safely.

Hope this helps!