Back To School Gluten Free Safety

It's that special time of year again. No, not Christmas. It's 

almost time for the School year to begin. First day of the year is one week tomorrow where I am.

Sending Gluten Free kids to school can be a scary thought. Although my little guy is not intolerant to anything, I am trying to teach him about not sharing any food at school. Period. Sounds a little harsh I know. But in my opinion its better to be safe than sorry. The last thing I want is for him to share his lunch with someone who may be intolerant to it. There are so many food intolerance's out there and its not reasonable to expect very young children to understand them just yet.

Here are my top tips for back to school Gluten Free safety.

1) Have a sit down meeting with your child's teacher, principal and PTA head. Bring any materials you think will help to clearly get the message across. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

2) Supply both the teacher and office with a letter explaining how medically important remaining Gluten Free is for your child and the details of Celiac Disease. 

3) Advise that if there is accidental consumption of Gluten, that your child may need to use the washroom suddenly and possibly for multiple visits. Depending on the age your child and severity of the reaction, you may want to have the school contact you immediately.

4) Go over an action plan with your child and teacher about what to do in case of accidental glutening.

5) Ask the teacher for a list of dates where there will be food brought in for a special occasion such as a child's birthday or a Halloween party. Make note of these dates and send your child to school with a special treat for that day.

6) Make sure teachers know that your child cannot participate in crafts involving  regular noodles and play dough. Point out that children often touch their mouth without realizing it and how this would cause accidental ingestion of Gluten. See if you can provide a small craft kit to be kept at the school for your child. 

Items that can be included in craft kit : homemade GF playdough , GF noodles , peel and stick stickers, GF finger paint. The kit doesnt have to be huge. Just make sure it includes the GF version of what the other students will be using.

7) Advise that under NO circumstances is your child to be given any food other then what you have sent with them. Not all children are comfortable saying no and some don't understand the severity of their intolerance's until they are older.

8) Suggest that the teacher and or Librarian read a book about Celiac Disease to the students. Some great options are :

The GF Kid: A Celiac Disease Survival Guide  

Eating Gluten-Free with Emily: A Story for Children with Celiac Disease 

Mommy, What Is Celiac Disease?: A look at the sunny side of being a gluten-free kid













If you have any back to school tips, feel free to share via comment :)

Review: Whole Foods Mississauga

Over the weekend we made a trip to Whole Foods in Mississauga Ontario.  Wow, what a journey that was! Really wish they would open up shop in Durham region.

I always have my eye open for new places to stock up on Gluten Free food so we went to check it out and see if there were any thing different  available there.

The staff at this location was really friendly and were awesome in helping me find GF food. Let me tell you what a scavenger hunt that was! I'm quite surprised that Whole Foods does not have a better way of displaying GF items. Even Metro does a better job then them, and I'm not fond of Metro's (location near me) GF layout. The food was everywhere. There was really no rhyme or reason to it.

Overall, the items at this location were pretty much on par with what I can get where I live. Nothing special other then the odd  crepe or lasagna. I know people say whole foods is overpriced but we only looked at Gluten Free items and well, they were pretty much on par with everywhere else. Yippee (note sarcasm).

Gluten Free Chicken & Potato Casserole - Review

How about a Gluten Free lunch all the way from Scotland. That's what I have here. 

This hearty dish is a Chicken & Potato Casserole. It is made by Tesco and is part of their Free From line. The price was IMPRESSIVE - £2.40 which works out to around $4.00 or so Canadian. Still, affordable by Gluten Free standards.

This product earned my favor right from the start. Just a few minutes in the microwave with the top sides of the package peeled open and we have a hearty meal!

Although it's called Chicken & Potato Casserole, it was more of a stew in my opinion. That could very well be due to our different way of wording things on this side of the pond.  It was fantastic! Not only did this come out of the microwave fiercely hot, but it did not have that signature microwaved texture.  Very rarely does anything come out of the microwave tasting like it was made fresh and this did. 

This dish reminded me of the stew that my grandmother used to make when I was a child. The chicken was moist and the potato had a nice bite to it. The only thing missing was dough balls. To remedy that, I grabbed a couple of Queijos and tossed in. Perfect!

The portion would probably be one bag to one person, unless your feeding this to kids. Then you could probably split it between two people.

I would definitely purchase this in the future...if I could. Unfortunately the lovely folks at Tesco do not ship to Canada and hubby wont be making a return trip to Scotland any time soon.  

This makes me want to fight for more Gluten Free variety in this country. We have enough cookies and snacks. I want to see healthy, ready to eat  and easy to prepare Gluten Free meals.  

That is a post for another day though.

Gluten Is My Kryptonite

We all know what it's like to be accidentally glutened. 

It sucks.

I've sort of become used to it as of late. That sucks even more! Although, I must say that I have reached a sort of Zen point with it. As soon as I get that first knife wielding stomach cramp, I know exactly what is in store for me. It's exhausting and unfortunate really. But at least I can sort of manage it.

Fortunately for me, I have only been glutened just a couple of times while away from home. That is a scary thing for me. At least when I am at home, I can follow the drill without hassle so to speak.

As long as my 3year old is occupied, I can run to the washroom and stay for a while if need be. This is usually when the Nintendo DS makes an extended appearance for him. 

I'm okay with this. It's part of my life. I can deal with it. What I'm not okay with is the potential complications that my body will face in the future. The more I get glutened, the more harm is done to me internally. The kind of harm that I can't see, but will one day be forced to deal with.

Gluten is my Kryptonite

12 Things You Should Never Say To A Celiac

When Someone Suggests That A Crumb Won't Hurt

If that was the case, do you really think I would be so cautious? To put things in perspective for you, one crumb can and will make me ill. One crumb makes me a difficult person to be around and shortens my lifespan. Chew on that.

When Someone Asks If Gluten-free Helped You Lose Weight

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No! I actually gained weight. It's called being healthy. Any carb overindulging person will see a drop in weight if they instantly cut it out of their diet. That being said, there are actually carbs in Gluten Free food. Yep. Bet ya didn't know that, like ya didn't know that some people have no choice but to eat Gluten Free.

Every Time Someone Asks Me What I Can Eat

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 I can eat a lot of the same things you eat. Not everything is off limits. I just have to be cautious of ingredients and make changes to adapt recipes. Time-consuming yes, but extra time and effort trumps being sick.

When Someone Says They Tried Gluten-free for a while

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You "tried" it? Must be nice to have that option! I do it because I have to. Unlike you, there is no choice for me. Being Gluten Free is what allows me to live. I don't understand why anyone would want to be GF by choice! Not only is it a difficult road to navigate but it is expensive. I would not buy it if I didn't have to, even if it was on sale kind of expensive.

When Someone Mentions The Increased Food Cost

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Yes, gluten-free can be expensive. A lot of companies take advantage and price gouge. It blows my mind that people will choose to pay inflated prices for food they are not restricted to. 

 I prepare chef quality meals without said expensive flour

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 Not everyone lives in an area with massive Gluten Free variety. Nor does everyone have the luxury of being an exceptional chef. Most of us are average folk, given the task of creating satisfying Gluten Free meals. 

When The Server Says The Oven Will Kill Off Any Gluten

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Am I being punked? Seriously, who started this rumor?

When People Call Me Picky

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I am NOT a picky eater. Unfortunately, when one has a dietary restriction, eating can become mundane. Like anyone else, I enjoy variety in my diet as well as flavor. I can't always afford to purchase  different and exciting gf food. Nor do I always have the time or energy to make something from scratch. I have a right to become irritated with my food options from time to time.

When Someone Tells Me Gluten-free Is A Fad For Money

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This actually has a little bit of truth to it. Sometimes it feels like a Gluten Free label is just an easy excuse to charge more money.For those of us who NEED a gf diet, the high cost is an unfortunate side effect of this mandatory lifestyle.

The Suggestion That VeryFew People Have Celiac Disease

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That is a very archaic thought. 1 in 133 people have Celiac Disease. More people suffer from Celiac than Alzheimer's Disease. 

When Someone Complains About The Cost Of Vegan/Vegetarian/Organic Food

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Being Vegetarian is a choice. A choice you are allowed and able to make. I don't have any choice when it comes to eating Gluten free. My wallet sure wishes I had a choice, though.

When People Admire My Apparent Willpower

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No, it's not willpower at all. Gluten is toxic to my health, therefore, I avoid it. Period.