Tuesday

Yesterday Was Not So Good

Got Glutened yesterday. 

We went to Lonestar for lunch with the little one. It's usually a great dining experience for us there. The waitress brought Lincoln out a dough ball to play with. A nice gesture that keeps the little ones occupied until food has arrived. Being only 3, my little guy get's a bit antsy sometimes. He fooled around with the ball for a few minutes and had enough. Hubby took the ball away and I could see a gooey mess on his hands. I suggested he take our little guy to the men's room so that they could both clean up. Unfortunately, hubby thought a napkin was sufficient. Not wanting to create an issue, I didn't push.

Our waitress brought us out another nacho/salsa as our meal was not yet ready. This is where the problem arose, I believe. Hubby grabbed some nacho chips to eat instead of asking me to put some on a spare plate for him. I suspect that some left over dough crumbs from his hand got into the nacho platter.

I realized my error in not reminding hubby about the little things that can make me ill. About 30 minutes after leaving the restaurant we hit the mall and I hit rock bottom. It went like this.....

  • A thousand knives piercing my lower stomach
  • Hot flashes
  • Exhaustion
  • Nausea
  • Multiple washroom visits
The reaction that goes along with it is never something I can get used to or prepare for.

Pretty sure the woman cleaning the washroom thought I had an eating disorder due to 4 visits in less than an hour. Uggh!

I was so tired after this. Hungry too as my stomach was now clearly empty. Relieved though,to finally not be in serious pain. Today the sleepiness and tender tummy linger. But at least I am able to function.

I know my husband was not entirely to blame. I should have stood my ground. Really wish this learning experience did not come with health consequences.


Latest lesson learned : Say no thank you to the dough balls and make sure EVERYONE washes their hands well when we are sharing something. Better safe than sorry.
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Wednesday

Dearest Domino's



 Dearest Domino's Pizza,

You have probably noticed by now that the Celiac community is less then enthused with your offering of Gluten Free Pizza. Really, why call it Gluten Free  when it actually  ends up not being so. I understand that the crust itself is indeed Gluten Free, but once your employees handle it all that Gluten Free safeness is out the window. "Appropriate for those with mild gluten sensitivity" Not recommend it for those with Celiac Disease".
 Seriously? What are you trying to accomplish?





In my personal opinion, if you are going to offer a Gluten Free pizza, shouldn't it remain just that? I get that it's not only Celiac's who eat Gluten Free. The difference between us and  bandwagon yuppies   Kim Kardashian, Gwyenth Paltrow, and the rest of the posse is that Celiac's MEDICALLY REQUIRE 100% GLUTEN FREE FOOD! Did you catch that? The fact that you are even marketing it as  Gluten Free  blows my mind. Would you market something Peanut  Free but only suggest it to only those who have a "minimal intolerance"? Probably not. Just like you would not sell a Vegetarian Pizza that is dripped in meat sauce.


Please understand that I am not out to get you. You are just going about it the money making  wrong way. I mean sheesh, why not just label the darn thing "low carb" for crying out loud. Your twitter feed the other day sort of made me laugh. I had to or my eyes would have exploded at the shear ignorance of what you are doing. Sure, go ahead and tweet well known celebs who credit being  Gluten Free  for their amazing bodies, about your new Gluten Free pizza. Not a sham at all! You do realize that these people have personal chefs, fitness trainers and their photos get a healthy dose of that neato thing called Photoshop.




What was the point in partnering with the NFCA? Credentials perhaps? Neither of you recommend this pizza to those with Celiac.So what it is then? Are you secretly hoping that Gluten Free will be the next big thing and then when you are overflowing with money, you will actually offer pizza that stays Gluten Free? Or is it that you are hoping Celiac's in desperate need of something new and quick to eat will see GLUTEN FREE and order without questioning? Sure they can't sue or anything because you disclaimed the hell out of it on your website. Just know that not everyone reads fine print, things such as language barriers exist and a lot of people assume the words Gluten Free mean just that. You probably think that's silly though.

Celiac Disease is an Immune Disorder and Gluten Free is NOT a trend. It is my life. It keeps me from being so ill that I can't function. Have you seen someone with Celiac Disease have a reaction? Did you know that even if we all react differently (hence the trouble with diagnosis) we have the same detrimental outcome. Untreated, or continuous accidental ingestion can and does result in MANY other serious ailments. Please allow me to list a few for you - Osteoporosis, Cancer, Neurological Disorders, Infertility. Oh, and it can be fatal too.


Here's something else I bet you didn't know, Malnutrition is a symptom of Celiac Disease. 


In the end, you are attaching yourself to a trend that is not actually a trend. You are doing so at the expense of myself and others with Celiac Disease. Shame on you.





Tuesday

Celiac Disease: What kids have to say

Monday

Warning:Delta Airlines Dangerous For Celiac's

The post below is via Elaine Taylor-Klaus of  Touchstonecoaching.com. http://www.touchstonecoaching.com/blog/2012/4/19/is-deltas-food-policy-reckless-endangerment.html
I feel that it is an important read for all of us. An eye opener really. If you think you are safe ordering and then consuming a Gluten Free meal on Delta Airlines, you are WRONG. Your meal is labelled as Gluten Free you say? Delta Airlines actually labels Gluten containing foods as Gluten Free and then knowingly serves it to those who must maintain a strict GF diet.
Please read and share !


Born and bred in Atlanta, GA, I have always been a classic loyalist for Coca Cola and Delta Airlines. I have always chosen water if Pepsi products are the only option, and I’ve always flown Delta if the price is even close.
But as a mother of a gluten sensitive family, I am deeply, dangerously, disappointed in a series of recent encounters with Delta’s Food Service and Customer Service departments.  As a constituent, I am angry. As a native Atlantan, I am embarrassed. As a Gluten-Free mother, I am activated!  Here’s our story.
On a Delta intercontinental flight we ordered Gluten Free meals for the family, which is a great service that Delta offers. Unfortunately, the meal – clearly labeled “Gluten Free” – contained a packaged breakfast cereal that is NOT gluten free, and is clearly marked as such on Kellogg’s website.
My husband was halfway through his breakfast when I awoke and screamed for him to stop!  He had presumed – rightly so, I believe – that the meal was safe for him to eat since it was so clearly labeled. We all know that increasingly more standard products are changing their formulas to comply with GF standards, so it seemed a safe bet, right? NOT.
The flight attendant immediately brought us a very large bottle of water (fortunately, for him, flooding it out helps to limit the reaction). Following the water, they sent the airline Purser, who has a GF family member and knew, herself, that the cereal is not GF. She apologized, offered to compensate us with frequent flier miles, and told us that the new CEO of Delta, Richard Anderson, is a “buck stops here” kind of CEO. She assured us – repeatedly and adamantly – that he would want to know about this!
When we asked her to report the incident, she said she would, but she did not think it would get as much attention as if we reported it ourselves.  Now, here’s the catch. We have reported it ourselves -- on the two prior occasions that something like this has happened to us. Yes, this was the THIRD time we’ve encountered this on a Delta intercontinental flight, which is pretty pathetic considering we’ve only been GF for 7 years, and we actually don’t travel all that much!
But if Delta Food Service’s lack of due diligence isn’t embarrassing enough, wait until you hear about Customer Service’s (lack of) response. Forget the bureaucratic ridiculousness: “I’m sorry, sir, you will not get a response for a minimum of 30 days.” Delta has taken an “it’s not our fault” stance, leaving us to conclude that their policy around food allergies recklessly endangers the health and lives of their passengers.
Much like a parent feels when a teen breaks curfew to help a friend, I wanted to believe that Delta’s irresponsible policy was based in good intentions – that, once the company knew what was happening, they would readily, eagerly, make the necessary changes to provide safe food for their passengers. The first response to our complaint was unacceptable, so we posted another complaint and started climbing the veritable food chain. To our shock, in the weeks, now months, since this incident, Delta’s response has not changed.  Here’s what one Delta Customer Care Coordinator wrote:
“I am genuinely sorry you were dissatisfied with my response.” (Note, no apology for serving us poisonous food). “I understand you feel I did not adequately address your concerns. Further, I recognize that you are dissatisfied (dissatisfied?!) with the products that were included in the gluten free (gluten free?) meals you and your family received.
Again we recognize that passengers may have different requirements depending on individual gluten sensitivity. Passengers are encouraged to refrain from ingesting any product if they feel it does not fit within their dietary requirements, and select other food products included in the gluten free entrĂ©e served…”
Now, I would have no problem with Delta telling us that they cannot accommodate a gluten-free meal. It would be disappointing, bordering on pathetic in this day and age, and most certainly backwards ... but it would be tolerable. What is NOT tolerable is to serve a product publicly identified (by the manufacturer!) as containing gluten in a meal that is clearly labeled Gloten Free.
There are no nuances in this situation. This is not about whether it was gluten free enough. This product contained gluten and they gave it to us and told us it did not. Am I missing something?
I can’t help thinking what would have happened if we were dealing with an anaphylactic allergy. My husband was sick for 3 days of a week-long vacation, but he survived the ordeal. Imagine how much worse it could have been! Imagine if they had handed us peanuts and told us they were almonds. Would they be responsible then?
We teach our kids that when they make a mistake they should own it, take responsibility for their impact, and make corrections when possible. Mistakes are normal, they are how we learn. Making the same mistake twice with no effort to change?  Well, that’s just plain foolishness.
Delta’s policy around food allergies and sensitivities falls in the category of foolishness.  We were 2 hours delayed on another flight on that same vacation, and Delta sent a proactive letter of apology to all passengers on the plane with frequent flier points. But for this? They will not own their mistake, much less apologize, or make corrections.
As for the Customer Service chain of command? I suspect the “Buck Stops Here” stopped a long way before it got to Richard Anderson. In fact, our emails directly to him and his office remain unanswered. As I said, I am a loyalist, so I still want to hope that if Richard Anderson DID know what was happening, he would do something to change it. I still want to be proud of Delta.
So, do us all a favor. Send this blog to Richard Anderson at Delta Airlines.  Send it to your friends and ask THEM to send it, too.  After all, don’t we deserve to feel safe when a “Gluten Free” meal is handed to us? 
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Wednesday

When The Gluten Free Section Isn't




I went to HomeSense yesterday . This was my first trip to the store and I went thanks to the suggestion of a friend. When  I approached the food section, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of Gluten Free items. They were in a section labelled as such too. I was so happy at the site of this that I took a picture with my phone.


Now for the not so cool part. Today I was going through yesterday's GF purchase of almost $40.00 to decide what product I would be enjoying first. Upon reading the ingredients/directions I discovered that  I had made a silly mistake. A novice mistake. In my shear joy of seeing a section full of Gluten Free goodies, I neglected to read EVERY label of every item I was placing in the shopping basket. I bet you can guess what is next! I ended up purchasing 2 NON Gluten Free products. Total bummer! I have labelled the 2 items in my photo in hopes of preventing the same mistake from being repeated by anyone else. At first I thought, okay I must have grabbed these items from a different section. Nope. So there seems to be a mishmash of Celiac friendly and pain inducing (non gf) product in the so called Gluten Free area. Not sure if this is a mistake or if this is just how that section is taken care of. Unfortunate I know.My mistake completely for not verifying and triple checking like I normally do. But still, you would think that a Gluten Free Section would be just that wouldn't you.


Metro's GF Freezer Bin
Metro has a freezer bin almost full of amazing Gluten Free items. I say almost as a few items in the right of the bin (not in the photo) are only nut free. Interesting how prominent the Gf sign is and how there is NO sign advertising the nut free part of the bin. A sign is needed not only to help promote the nut free product, but to prevent confusion. Oh, and the cookies on the top of the bin are NOT GF. Im not even sure they are nut free.

 The Real Canadian Superstore , like many grocery stores has Gluten Free mixed in with Organic and Natural items. This is where I do my groceries so I am well aware of the regular stock of GF items. Anything new, I triple check.


I guess I would just like to see a Gluten Free section that is just that. Gluten Free.
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Disclosure

This policy is valid from 23 February 2013

This is a personal blog written and edited by me. All opinions are that of my own. I am not a healthcare professional or an expert. All information presented in this blog is purely that of my own experience and or opinion. Please consult a medical professional before making any changes to your diet.

I write this blog as a hobby that I am passionate about. From time to time, I may receive monetary compensation for a sponsored post. I only work with brands that I trust and would use in my own home.

This blog accepts complimentary products for review. The opinions I have of a product will never be swayed by a company sending me an item(s) for free. I take into consideration the opinion of family members who are gluten-free due to Celiac Disease and I also value the opinions of non-gluten free family members. Taste is a matter of personal opinion so please use your own discretion and don't take my opinion as a gold standard.

Any ingredient or gluten-free claims should be verified with the restaurant/manufacturer as things can and do change.

For questions about this blog, please contact: sandra@glutenfreedoll.com

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