Michelle1234

I also got glutened a number of times at first. Then I switched to Haagen-Dazs and have had great luck with them. From their FAQ:

Is H

I got comfortable with a certain set of restaurants. The best were the small locally owned ethinic places that make their own recipes from fresh ingredients and don't have things shipped in pre-made. Also you have to get a sense from any restaurant whether they are comfortable offering a gluten free meal. If they aren't no biggie, just try someplace else. Same things with the big chains that you may have luck with in one location. Some know exactly what your asking for and some seem confused about it. If there is confusion best to try some place else. I also take GlutenEase if I'm eating someplace for the first time as that will help me with cross contamination.

Check to see if this place delivers in your area. I couldn't believe I finally had a location near me that delivered gluten free pizzas! Their premade combos are hit or miss in terms of taste but I've found a few that are to die for! And I haven't tried them all yet.

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I'm sorry I can't help with your question but I just bought the Betty Crocker mixes tonight and made the banana bread with the yellow cake mix

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and the grass hopper bars with the devils food cake mix

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which I modified a bit more toward the cake recipe on the box.

Wow! They were so easy to make and very tasty. In addition I can't believe how professional they look. My baked goods never ever turned out looking so good.

I hope you get the mixes in your area soon. I had never made Betty Crocker anything even before going gluten free but after trying the other stuff available to gluten free people over the last few years its nice to have Betty Crocker available. I'll be buying her gluten free stuff all the time now.

Michelle

I can't debate the science of it but here is my experience. When I was diagnosed I didn't have any known gluten symptoms beyond chest pains. I immediately attempted to eliminate all gluten from my diet. Like most others I wasn't successful at 100% reduction because I still was getting cross contaminated at home, getting glutened from shampoo and other products. However the less gluten I got the more sensitive I got. Eventually I couldn't eat out at all as I got glutened from cross contamination 9 out of 10 times. It's embarassing as heck to have explosive gas when out with others. It's also embarrassing to have to run to the restroom 20 min. after eating or risk an accident.

Then Glutenease came on the market. I read about it and decided to try it. I take it with their Digest Gold product every time I eat out. I am now never glutened from cross contamination. Did all the restaurants clean up their act? I don't think so. I credit the Glutenease. Does it prevent damage? I don't know but it sure is nice to not have lots of gas and diarrhea every time I eat out. On the rare occasion I get glutened at home I take it after the fact and it heads off the symptoms. It is a huge relief. I never intentionally eat gluten.

Best,

Michelle

Thank for posting about these. I hadn't heard of them. Found some at my local grocery store and they were fabulous! Nice to have a mainstream more affordable product!

I successfully use Hershey's cocoa in my hot chocolate with no problems. A little cocoa, sugar and milk or water makes the most delicious hot cocoa! I think since the cocoa isn't being processed into anything it doesn't get the cross contamination that could happen if it were going on equipment that processes wheat.

I think your relatives sound terrific! Consider the following:

Unknowingly they are doing the right thing. It is extremely hard to figure out what is really gluten free and what isn't. You can't always go by what the package says as often something is processed on a line that also processes wheat and you get a reaction any ways. By them asking you to send the food they will know what is safe and can have it on hand at another time. Asking them to pick something out that a kid will like (you know kids can be picky) is inviting frustration on their part and possible glutening. If you sent the food and she gets sick then they can't be blamed for picking the wrong thing. Keep sending her with her own food.

It's great that they are making the accommodations they can at family events. However this is a dangerous path to follow. Often when I'm invited somewhere those who know about my gluten problem will try to accommodate me. Fresh fruit is cut up on a cutting board (contaminated of course) or something else that could be gluten free is innocently cross contaminated. It why we had to buy all new cooking dishes, blender, mixer, toaster etc. when I went gluten free. Getting it out of the cooking implements is hard. It is far easier to set up a protocol where you bring your own food. It gets very messy when they go to special effort and you know you should turn it down because of the cross contamination risk. However they went through all the effort, you eat it, and then get sick. Just always bring your daughters food. It is safer for her and gets her into a good habit for the future.

Eating out is tricky. You can have on-hand a list of restaurants that are OK and the things your daughter can order safely. Share this with your relatives. Show them by example how to order for her (it takes alot of effort to order gluten free and sometimes you have to abandon the effort if your getting the wrong answers about dedicated fryer, cooking surface etc). Sometimes give your relatives a list of choices on where to eat so they start to become familiar with the restaurants that work. Frankly it is often difficult to eat with people at restaurants because they are talking while tearing up bread (crumbs flying every where etc.) or some such thing so socializing at restaurants is not very easy.

Once a good friend threw me a birthday bash with gluten free cupcakes. I've never heard the end of how horrible they were. Everyone wants to know how can I eat them. What choice do I have? None. You can't expect others to not have a birthday cake just because your daughter can't eat it. It's going to be hard enough for her to continue to get invites socially when she needs special accommodations. It's going to be up to you to make sure she goes with the proper food items so no one feels bad about including/inviting her. When I first went gluten free I still went out the same amount with the same people. But after a few years I didn't get included as much as not everyone wants to go to the restaurants I can go to all the time and not everyone wants to sit through the gluten free ordering process for an unknown (to me) place.

Being gluten free successfully takes alot of time and effort. Over the years your relatives will pick up on what is OK and what isn't but it is a learning curve for everyone.

Best wishes,

Michelle

This is good to know! I think they give free deserts on your birthday. But usually not for us gluten free people since I think it was only the mini-desert. Now they have something for us too! I love PF Changs.

Michelle

I've had their cheesecake. It is crustless and gluten free. For the main meal I had their grilled chicken, broccoli and mashed potatoes. It was a nice meal and no glutening. I think they cooked the chicken in a separate pan. I've eaten at two different Red Lobsters and had great success at both. Both times the servers checked everything carefully with the manager and could answer all my questions about preparation. I was very suspicious they were just cutting the crust off the cheesecake but they weren't. It really was crustless and gluten free.

Michelle

I love the Glutino bagels. Have you tried them, Michelle? They're a little lighter than regular bagels, but still a very good platform for lox and cream cheese. One of my friends had one and said he preferred the light texture to regular bagels. I don't even think he was trying to make me feel good about my weird food the way he wolfed it down.

I'll take a look at them. It is so hit or miss with gluten free products. I've tried a few brands but don't remember which ones didn't make the cut. Thanks for the suggestion!

Michelle

My mom and I got sick every time we ate Udi's. At first I thought it was because when they converted to a gluten free bakery, they did not clean the equipment/environment enough. I got sick every time I ate their bread. Periodically I would try it again (every 6 mths or so) figuring that eventually everything would be cleaned out. They are a dedicated facility today but my understanding is that they are using their old regular bakery facility. Before becoming gluten intolerant they were one of my favorite bread bakeries in Denver so I wanted to keep trying. Funnily enough I can eat their bagels but not their bread. My mom thinks that maybe her problem is with the yeast they use. Hard to say. I do notice that I get sick more often now that I'm eating the bagels. Maybe I need to start taking notes and rethinking it if there is a tie in.... Giving up on Udi's is hard as there is almost no other products that match their taste in the categories they compete in.

Michelle (2 more special snow flakes)

I've done Princess and Celebrity Equinox gluten free. Good experiences on both.

You do need to notify them in advance. They pick an experienced waiter for you so you will have a minimum of problems and the ship knows to have gluten free supplies on hand.

In terms of things to bring. Bring enough snacks for all your on-shore activities. Finding a gluten free meal in a foreign country or while on an excursion is often impossible. No food can be taken off the ship unless it is prepackaged. I use the Kind bars and prepackaged Ian's cookies and have not had a problem. Sometimes they pull them out during inspection but I say I have a food allergy and all is fine. However you cannot bring any sandwiches or fruit off the ship so don't count on taking a picnic.

Often the gluten free bread on ships is horrible. I bring my own loaf and use that which works well.

Pick a fairly new ship. They often have dedicated kitchen facilities for food allergies whereas the older ships may not. You will find that you have plenty of good food to eat. I've had cake, pasta, crepes, marzipan cookies, crab cakes etc. all gluten free on cruise ships. If you like Indian food often that choice has no gluten in it and can be a nice change from the meat and potatoes choice. I've also had great luck ordering from room service for lunch. My favorite is always the turkey club with gluten free bread. Often when you come back from an excursion the buffet is the only thing available and buffets on many cruise lines are easily contaminated by the people using them. Eating in the dining room or from room service is safer.

Be flexible and zero in on the choices your cruise ship has to offer and you will be happy. The availability of certain gluten free choices can vary widely from ship to ship. Don't try to get things made gluten free that they aren't offered up. Don't have your heart set on any particular item. Stick with the offerings and if you do try to eat at the buffet look at what is in front of, behind and to the sides of what your looking to get as that is where the cross contamination will come from. One ship I was on had the pancakes behind the hard boiled eggs. I had to have them bring me fresh hard boiled eggs from the back do to the cross contamination in the egg water which got gluten in the shells. Also bacon can be put on top of white bread to absorb the grease. You have to look carefully at everything.

Don't be afraid to ask a manager in the buffet area to get you something from the back as they are often very happy to do it. Often the servers don't know what is and what isn't gluten free in the buffet area and will often say it has gluten in it just to be on the safe side. Talking to a supervisor or a chef will get you more accurate information.

I've sailed about 135 days gluten free on cruise ships and I think it is one of the best ways to travel gluten free. The other is in your own RV with all the gluten free food at your fingertips.

I should mention that the Celebrity Solstice post above is right on target. Excellent choice for gluten free. I did the Celebrity Equinox (sister ship to the Solstice). You can even get gluten free meal and gluten free desert crepes in the $5 specialty restaurant. What a treat! The first time they had to get the rice flour from the store room but after that they had it on hand for us to have our delicious crepes. They made them in a fresh pan and we never had a problem with cross contamination. Here is a picture with info.

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And more pics.

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Best,

Michelle

I have traveled all over the world and will offer the best advice I can.

This situation is not the restaurants doing. It is all on you. As a celiac you need to have a few bars in your purse to carry you along so you don't get into a desperate situation looking for food. The restaurant did the right thing in telling you they could not accommodate you. In order to travel safely you need to be able to judge by the restaurants reaction whether you can safely eat there, not try to force restaurants to accommodate you. There is nothing I like better than having a restaurant say delightedly, "Of course we can do a gluten free or celiac meal". If there is too much discussion or they cannot answer my preparation questions then often I will find another restaurant. I have to go with my gut often when they say they can but don't seem to know enough to actually pull it off.

The cards are a wonderful aid when your tired or don't know the language. I got great use out of mine. Japan is a tough country for gluten free. I find at western hotels that cater to travelers I can get things like hard boiled eggs, fruit, veggies and steamed rice.

And yes, I've been told many times a restaurant can't do a gluten free meal. I smile, thank them for telling me and go on to the next candidate.

Best Michelle

I just tried a new place in Denver this weekend for gluten free crepes. They were delicious! We had two meal crepes and two desert crepes. Here is a link to their menu.

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Cheers!

Michelle

First, do you know which cruise line? I believe most cruise lines do pretty good with gluten free these days. But you do have to be careful, use your honed celiac sense and ask questions. Also get Glutenease or some other gluten digestive enzyme and take it with every meal to help with cross contamination. When in doubt don't eat it. Ask questions about the preparation. Don't let them toast the bread unless they tell you they have a dedicated toaster.

I did a 107 day cruise on Princess with pretty good success, only having problems when they changed the crew out and I had to re-educate. I also did 28 days on Celebrity with good success also.

The cruise lines will make their own gluten free bread. It generally isn't too good so bring your own if you have a loaf you like.

Hard boiled eggs are great. Don't allow them to pull them from the buffet due to cross contamination of the water with the tongs being used on gluten items. Omelets, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and fruit are all good for breakfast.

I often got a room service gluten free turkey sandwich with potato chips for lunch. I often didn't want to sit in the dining room and depending on the buffet I stayed away from it. The Celebrity Equinox had some buffet areas isolated (dried fruit, cheese, indian food) from gluten so I could eat from these buffet areas.

Diners were easy. You can pre-order and get just about anything. Most even have gluten free pasta. However it you don't preorder it is easy to get their anytime chicken or steak, baked potato and veggie. I like the french onion soup minus the bread. I also had good success with salads and they have some creative appetizers that can be modified to be gluten free.

Deserts were often ice cream, creme brulee, mousse, meringue or marzipan. Sometimes you have to tell them what you can have as they seem a bit confused about what types of deserts have no gluten in them.

In terms of things to take. Take enough protein bars that you have meals for all your shore excursions. I like the Kind bars. I also take some prepackaged Ian's gluten free cookies so when everyone else is having something yummy I can to.

I always ask when they deliver the meal, is this gluten free. I also check when in doubt, for instance with room service to make sure they didn't pull anything from the buffet. On Celebrity if there was something that was gluten free but had been potentially cross contaminated they would go to the back and get me one fresh.

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Best,

Michelle

Real Meat dog treats say Gluten Free right on the bag. They are semi-soft.

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They also have a new air dried dog food that is a great size for treating.

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I get them both at my local boutique (not chain) pet store. The ingredients of both are extremely high quality. Worth taking a look.

Have fun with your dog!

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption. I have traveled around the world gluten free. I'm not sure if you are sensitive to MSG but it is hard to get away from in China. Through the use of my gluten digestive enzymes and Kind bars, prepackaged nuts from the US and crispy rice bars from the US to back me up when I wasn't 100% sure that I was being understood I don't recall having a problem with the gluten.

However MSG was another matter. My guide was convinced that the MSG wasn't there because the govt. told her most had been eliminated but it was in everything. I usually have enough Kind bars etc. to get me through about half my meals and figure I can find regular food for the other half. Not in China. I started checking labels in the stores because I quickly found out I could eat in no restaurants. Their peanut M&Ms (packaging looks just like it does in the US) contain MSG. The Lays potato chips contain MSG. I could buy a banana at a convenience store when desperate but not much else. The raw nuts all contained nuts and MSG in the ingredients except for one bag of chocolate covered almonds that I located. I did have some luck with the Hilton breakfast buffet by getting a dining manager who special prepared me a plate of hard boiled eggs, cheese and fruit.

My advice is:

• Buy GlutenEase and Digest Gold digestive enzymes. This works to reduce/eliminate symptoms from minor cross contamination.
  
• Bring as much food as you can. Trust no prepared foods in China.
  
• Eat only fresh food that you have control over the preparation of.
  

You can get a Triumph dining card in Chinese. I had a guide who was my interface with the restaurants to explain the gluten problem. She did a great job. I had her read the card to make sure she understood what I was asking.

Bring dust masks. The air quality in China is horrible. Lung and respiratory infections are common among visitors.

I've been gluten free for years so have gotten pretty good at getting myself fed. This year I've been to Grand Caymans, Ecuador, Peru, Easter Island, Tahiti, Rarotonga, New Zealand, Tasmania Austraila, Australia-main cont., Papua New Guinea, Guam, Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Israel, France, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, France, England, and the Canary Islands. As a result, I do have a basis for comparison. China was the worst place in terms of food contamination and pollution. Be prepared with as much US brought food as you can figure out how to bring.

Honestly, gluten free isn't really that hard once you figure it all out and toughen your hide to be really explicit when ordering at restaurants, each and every time. That is the hardest thing. Also changing out your toaster and other contaminated appliances as well as all your personal care product can be something everyone denies is necessary at first but I think we all get there eventually. :-)

My motto when traveling - your almost always safe at an Indian restaurant. Lots of naturally gluten free dishes to choose from. The exception may be China as they may add MSG to the ingredients to appeal to the local population so for China I would still recommend staying away from anything where you don't directly have control over the preparation.

Enjoy your new baby!

I got glutened from a number of brands until I switched to Hagen Daz. I'm sure there are a number of brands that are OK but to be safe I only go with Hagen Daz and then only flavors on their gluten free list (which most obvious ones are).

Cheers!

Michelle

For general practice I like Dr. Ellice Goldberg DO

Family Health Care Ctr

12001 W 63rd Pl

Arvada, CO

80004

Phone: (303) 423-1360

Fax: (303) 423-9170

For spinal issues I like Dr. Gentile DO

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For a good dentist I like:

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Relocating is hard. Fortunately there are tons of good gluten free food options in the area. Let us know where you end up.

Cheers!

Michelle

Thanks for the review! I live in Denver and you've mentioned some new places to try.

Cheers!

Michelle

I use 100% Nestles powdered cocoa and add plain sugar. Can be added to milk or water. Taste's great and no nasty chemicals. Only slightly more trouble than ripping open a mix bag as you have to dip the spoon into the cocoa and then a different spoon into the sugar. This is the way we used to make it in the girl scouts when I was a kid. I don't use vanilla but the recipes below do.

I have two containers of the 100% cocoa and neither says it is processed on equipment that also processes wheat and I've never had a reaction to my hot cocoa.

Here is a slightly more complicated recipe. Since your looking for a mix this may not be for you.

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Here is Nestles own recipe that will give you the ratio of cocoa to sugar if you want to prepare your own mix.

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1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup NESTLɮ TOLL HOUSE

I thought for sure they must give you more than one for that price, maybe a case of 3. But I checked and it was just one. Shocking! They must not be going for economy of scale with the big ones. Even the case of 8 of the three inchers for $63.84 which basically works out to $8 each is a bit shocking.

Michelle

They work wonderfully for me. I did a 3.5 mth world cruise and rarely got glutened. I ate them before almost every meal. Next month I'm leaving on another 1 mth trip to Europe and will take enough to have some before every meal. I use Enzymedica GlutenEase and Digest Gold.

Cheers!

Michelle

What is this? Where can I get some?

I have to eat out for my job, and could really use this.

Hi Sarah,

It is Gluten Ease by Enzymedica. I take it along with their Digest Gold. They are both digestive enzymes.

We have it in our health food grocery stores but I'm sure you can get it on-line.

I still order everything in restaurants gluten free but now I almost never get cc issues. There are a number of different brands with similar products but I've only tried this one.

When I went on a world cruise, earlier this year, I took it almost 3 meals a day for 3.5 months. Sometimes I would forget and get glutened. Sometimes they would majorly gluten me and I got sick anyways but most of the time I did OK.

Cheers!

Michelle