LqrMan

I go up to Albany about once a month for business, but I have not explored the area that much. The 2 places that seem to be safe that I go to are the Butcher Block--off Central Ave. exit 2W off Northway and Colorado Mine Co. Steakhouse in Colonie 1 mile down from the Butcher Block. There is also a Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse at the Crossgates Mall. I have eaten at the Bugaboo in Poughkeepsie a few times with success, so you should be fine. Here is the listing of restaurants in the Albany area: Open Original Shared Link

Kingston: I have eaten the shrimp paella at El Coqui on Broadway and that was good. I met the owner/chef of Hickory BBQ Smokehouse on Rt. 28 and have eaten some of their food...it is delicious and his is accomodating. Ship to Shore on Broadway near El Coqui is a fancier restaurant so I would imagine they would accomodate you. Open Original Shared Link

Good luck!

I could definitely be down for a local celiac get together. I live in Orange County, but don't mind driving all over b/c I do that for work anyway. Let's get something going...

Hey fellow 20+ yr olds! I am 23 and trying to stay young for a while.

I don't know about the other celiacs out there, but when I hear that others are not only gluten limited, but rice, potato, etc, it really puts my gluten intolerance in perspective. It is so easy to get caught up in this disease and feel bad for yourself (I felt this way after being diagnosed 6 yrs ago), but now I just think about it and say it could be worse! Many others have it worse than we do unfortunately.

To the newly diagnosed celiacs, you are going to get a lot of clueless people asking you dumb questions and others making you feel bad about your illness. However, you really can't let them get to you! Eventually your friends will get used to you carrying food around with you (I never leave home without my cooler-haha) and you will just phase out the negative comments. Do not forget, this is what you need to do for your health! I found that controlling my celiac has been empowering because it made me a stronger person in the process.

Welcome! I live in Orange County too...now in New Windsor. I have been going to Dr. Alan Plumer for a little over 6 yrs now. He was the one that diagnosed me and he knew I had Celiac the moment I stepped into his office! He is a great guy as well. I think he is only in the Middletown office currently. Here is his number and good luck!

845-703-8806

I started drinking Southern Comfort recently as well! Since I sell/represent SoCo, I really wanted to promote my own product, so I inquired with the higher-ups in the company. I got an email back making sure I wasn't a mad scientist trying to recreate the recipe for SoCo. My boss covered for me and they said there is no wheat, rye, oats, or barley in SoCo. I am getting my annual gliadin test done shortly and will let you guys know if drinking SoCo has affected me. By the way, I usually do SoCO n Lime shots (an easy shot to do) and drink SoCo with a splash of club soda.

Does anyone know if Jagermeister is gluten-free?

Cachaca (pronounced Ca Sha Sa), which is made out of distilled sugar cane juice, is also gluten-free. I have not tried it, but I hear it tastes similar to tequila.

Welcome back! I am glad that you had a good time and didn't get sick! The staff seem very accommodating. That is amazing that you can go on a cruise and not get sick! I will definately consider Royal Caribbean when I plan my cruise. Do you think that they would also accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet? or is that asking too much?

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Thanks! I think that they would most likely be able to accomodate a gluten & dairy free diet. If you think about it, most of the food I ate had very little to no dairy in it. I actually met a woman on the cruise that was lactose intolerant and has to eat small meals spaced out in certain increments or else she gets sick. I think she said she had IBS as a result of her LI. I do not think she alerted them prior to the cruise, but she probably just stuck to the foods she knew she could eat. I bet if you give the cruise line enough notice, they might be able to get some Soy milk onboard if need be (maybe they already have it available, but I am not sure).

Rob,

Are you back from your cruise yet?  I would love to hear all about it especially the food.  I have cruised a few times before but it was all before I was diagnosed.

Karen

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Yes, I'm back! I had an INCREDIBLE time on my cruise and am slowly getting back into being home.

Royal Caribbean did a great job as far as the food goes. As soon as my family and I got onboard we met with the Maitre D. He let his Head waiter in the main dining room know about my allergy (there was another woman that had celiac the week before as well). The waitstaff was very cooperative, however, they did not have the full grasp of the allergy, which is fine. I planned out my meals the night before for dinner the next day. Most of the meals were either gluten free to start with or could be tailored to be gluten-free very easily. I ate lamb, steak, lobster tails, shrimp, even rice noodles. From the second night on, they prepared me a gluten-free dessert as well--usually a custard or flourless cake.

It was a little more tricky to get the appropriate food for other meals. This was because I would have to find the Head waiter in the open seating dining room so he could check with the chef on the food that was already prepared. But the staple foods that were always there were white rice, salad, fruits, and a carving station. So, I would start out eating those foods while I waited to find out what other dishes I could choose from. Breakfast was good, usually got an omelet or I brought some cereal to the dining room.

The baker made me gluten-free corn muffins for every meal as well! They tasted pretty good, but were typically dry. I even ordered room service around 4am and got 2 burgers without the bun and a chef's salad. Probably the best part was that I did NOT get sick from anything I ate! I could not eat the soft serve frozen yogurt b/c we did not know the ingredients (they were in code form to protect the company's recipe). I guess if you REALLY want to have the frozen yogurt, contact the cruise company and see what company they use for their ice cream/frozen yogurt and make sure it's gluten-free before you get on the ship. There was Ben & Jerry's ice cream for sale in the promenade area of ship if you wanted some.

For those thinking about taking a vacation/cruise, I would highly recommend cruising. They are very accomodating as long as they know in advance of your special needs. I think Royal Caribbean has done the best job so far out of Norweigian and Carnival, but they are all pretty good.

I love going on cruises...they are so much fun! I think this will be my 4th cruise since going gluten free. This cruise is on Royal Caribbean and we(my family and I)are going to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Antigua, & Barbados! One of the best parts about cruising is the delicious food they prepare. We have contacted the special needs/diet person for R.C. and I am all set up, just need to meet the Maitre D when we board the ship.

For those looking into cruises, I have had good experiences with Royal Caribbean, Norweigian, & Carnival so far. On one of my cruises, they even made me bread--even though it crumbled and was dry as a bone, it was the effort that counted!

I will update you on the cruise when I return in a week

I just ate some Wendy's today...was on the run and did not have time to eat a "real" meal. Had a double with cheese in a "boat", side salad with ranch dressing, and a baked potato with butter. Wendys employees are getting better at understanding that the meat just needs to be put in a container and not touch bread. I am sure they get many requests for that because of the Atkins or South Beach diets. The Mandarin Chicken salad is pretty good as well.

You seem like a fun/interesting woman, so it is too bad you live across the country. I am always looking for down to earth people (with a sense of humor) to hang out with. Also, I am not too happy with most of the women my age (approx. 23 yrs old) because they usually do not know what they want. Good luck in your search!

I went on a Carnival cruise last year out of Puerto Rico. Just make sure you contact the company prior to your cruise because they have a special needs person that will deal with food allergies and stuff. Then, when my family and I got on the ship, we immediately met with the Maitre D so that he knew how important it was for me to have gluten free meals. The thing about cruise ships is that they have amazing chefs and are so accomodating in every regard, there should not be a problem! Also, I am going on another cruise in a month, which will be my 4th cruise since Celiac.

Good Luck!

Hey Virginia!

Sorry to hear you went all the way to Chester only to find out the bakery isn't open! Good to know it will open the 23rd though.

Open Original Shared Link is the website...

How old are you and what do you do for a living?

You might want to consider stopping over at Foods by George while you are in NJ! They are located in Mahwah which is northern NJ close to the NY border. It is probably around an hour or so away and you can purchase lasagnas and pizzas made by hand in their small factory. I think the website is www.foodsbygeorge.com.

Glad you liked my insights! If nothing else, at least celiac has provided us with a sense of humor.

It would help if you listed exactly what foods you ate. Could be the rice, could be something fried... I think I said in another thread: avoid mexican dishes that are deep fat fried with other gluten containing products and opt for the pan fried ones--less chance of contamination. The seasoning in the rice could have been bad too?

I think everyone's bodies are different with how long it takes to get a reaction.

On a side note, I remember eating at an Applebees 5 yrs ago for my bday. My parents took me out and I had a tough time finding something to eat there. Apparently they get meat that is already pre-flavored containing gluten. Now, this was yrs ago and in Rhode Island, I don't know if it is still true. I was able to have a steak that was unseasoned and they just got it in before it was contaminated.

Hey all...thanks for the replies!

I guess our bodies are quite amazing if they are able to still grow with health problems. We are quite the diverse group of celiacs! My goal growing up was to be taller than my father and be 6'1'' but then I said the heck with that, might as well be 6'2''. I have size 12/13 feet too...

If I eat Mexican food out at a restaurant, I make sure they do not deep fat fry my food with all the other breaded products. I will only eat it if it is pan fried! I would watch out for cross contamination if I were you. Also, you really have to be aware of what thickening agents are used in the sauces! Usually it is a wheat flour and sometimes the chef does not remember using it b/c it is such a natural ingredient for them to use.

Sushi- I love that stuff, probably more now that I'm gluten-free. You need to stay away from Eel anything in sushi! The eel comes in a sauce that is soy based. I always talk to the chef/server to make sure they do not use soy sauce on my sushi. (You could always bring your own gluten-free soy sauce with you when you eat sushi! I always forget to do that..

Chinese-I don't eat much Chinese food at all... However, if I do, I get white rice and steamed veggies/chicken/shrimp to play it safe. Takes all the fun out of eating Chinese food though.

Puerto Rican- I just ate at a PR restaurant yesterday and it was great! I talked to the chef and he made me some seafood paella (no tostones b/c they are deep fat fried). You have to make sure what they serve you is only pan fried...So far so good!

Good luck!

I have eaten at Friendly's a few times since being diagnosed. I have also had the vanilla and the black raspberry ice cream 2 times. I really love the black ras and it did NOT give me any problems. Keep in mind I do not have DH though... Sure you were not contaminated somewhere else? Could be cross contamination as was just mentioned as well.

Sorry to hear that!

I posted a thread in another section about other tall celiacs, but I am glad to have found this post. I am 6'2'' and the tallest in my family! My dad is 6' and mom is 5'6''. Even when I probably had celiac (it slowed down my puberty) I was still growing somewhat, then I shot up even though I was malnourished/anemic! I was 5'10'' at 17 just before graduating hs and when I was diagnosed. Then, I just kept growing while at college! I love being this tall and I find it amazing that I beat the odds.

A lot of this list sounds like me too! I must say, the celiac members on here have no shame in talking about their bowel movements!! I've got some possible additions to the list...

-You bring your own gluten free bread or muffins with you when you eat out.

-(To add to the bowel movement comments) You could probably set the world record for most trips to the bathroom even when you didn't eat gluten!

-You carry a cooler with you whenever you leave the house (that's my signature move)

-The chef at a restaurant you are eating at comes out to talk to you about safe foods/ingredients for your meal.

-You have had to call ahead to order "special" food from a restaurant for your meeting because the food they are serving has gluten in it.

-Someone has told you they had what you have and outgrew it.

-Someone has told you that you should slowly reintroduce gluten into your body in small increments that way you can build up a tolerance for it in the future.

-Your waitress has brought out your salad with croutons on it even when you specifically told her NO CROUTONS! Then you have to tell her that they cannot just take the croutons off the salad, they must make a completely new one.

-You check every package of every product (food/medicine/etc) that you come into contact with for gluten.

-You are annoyed every time you read "Modified Food Starch" in the ingredients of a food you REALLY want to eat!

-Someone has given you the weirdest look when they see what pre-packaged gluten free food you are eating.

-Someone has spit out your expensive gluten free food after asking to try some.

-Someone thinks you are lactose intolerant when you tell them you have a food allergy. Then when you tell then your food allergy, they ask you if you can have dairy products.

-Your sandwich bread has crumbled to a million pieces before you were halfway done with your sandwich.

-You wish your local health food store offered a shopper's card like large supermarkets because you are there so often.

-You have asked your local health food store owner to carry certain products just for you.

-You have ever gone into detail about what gluten does to your body when someone asks you what happens if you eat it.

-You are tired of explaining to everyone why you cannot have gluten!

That is all I have for now... Hope you all can relate to my list!

I couldn't find the best place to make this topic, so I put it into the health section. I am 6'2'' and remarkably continued to grow even though I was malnourished/anemic/had osteoperosis before being diagnosed with celiac disease! I was just wondering if there are any other tall celiacs that can relate because I always thought celiac could stunt your growth if not dealt with properly.

When I was diagnosed with celiac 6 yrs ago, I was 17 and 5'10'' tall, but weighed a measely 121 lbs (that was my lowest). Throughout my life, I was always thin and had the most difficult time gaining weight. It was amazing that I actually grew so tall as now I am 6'2'' (everyone keeps saying I look taller every time I see them) and weigh around 180-185lbs now. I have also tried to work out for a while with very slow results, but lately it seems like my body is developing decent muscle. It really is amazing what can happen when you start absorbing the food you take in! By the way, I eat roughly 4,000 calories a day just to maintain my weight...haha!

Since no one mentioned it yet, Friendly's makes good ice creams as well and they are cheaper than others out there. I prefer the (Black) Raspberry, it's awesome!

Thanks for the info Tiffany. You are correct about distillation, however, fermentation is the key to the production of alcohol. All alcoholic beverages must be fermented. After fermentation has taken place, then distillation is next.