Monday

I'm Not A Trend Or Fad. I'm Celiac

I logged into Twitter today and saw this beauty care of Gluten Dude



Ryan Seacrest, you sir have made a mad woman of me.


In no way do I own Gluten Free, but when people throw the term around like they are about to endure some sort of miracle procedure, it makes me LIVID. I have a private temper tantrum in my head, feet stomping and colorful words included.

Why do Ryan Seacrest and the other fadsters get me so agitated when they "try" gluten free? Well for one, there is no try for Celiac's  It is what it is and we must maintain a STRICT Gluten Free diet. We can't just decide to live on the wild side and indulge a little bit. It's more serious than these people care to understand.

Because this "star" with 8,528,668 Twitter followers has decided to try Gluten Free for half a second, he has inadvertently set the ball rolling backwards for us by  hindering any progress that has been made in regards to understanding and safety. Thanks man!



 Did he even end up trying anything Gluten Free? Most likely not.Well, maybe he had a sip of water.

Its moments like this that make eating at a restaurant so freaking risky! Perhaps I Am presented with the waitress who apparently "gets it" because shes avoiding wheat for her figure. Or what about the Chef that has had one too many people order a Gluten Free meal and then request a side of bread? Danger.



What Ryan Seacrest probably doesn't know is that a Gluten Free diet is higher in fat and lower in fiber.On its own it is simply unhealthy. Period. There needs to be a variety of fruit and vegetables along with minimal sugary treats and carbs in any "diet".Yes Ryan Seacrest, even Gluten Free has carbs.

The Gluten Free club, is something I don't want to belong to. It chose me. I'm the one who gets to deal with the nasty and extremely painful side effects of cross contamination or misrepresentation on a label. Mr. Seacrest doesn't understand that.

Food is social. Don't make it harder for me. I'm not a trend or fad. I'm Celiac.


Wednesday

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

 Dinner in Frontier Land


To our surprise, this area was packed. Bottlenecked, jammed, crazy. You name it. This was the only area of Magic Kingdom where we experienced any sort of congestion. I still don't know why, as we did not stay long enough after eating to find out.

Pecos Bills is a big quick service restaurant. Lots of seating and lots of people. A downside here is that when it's busy, us special order peeps are really in the way. We had to stand next to the cashier and wait for the chef while having the regular order people try to squeeze by us to place their orders.

After what seemed to be forever, the Chef came out and took our orders.

Not much Gluten Free here. I ordered nachos with ground beef  and cheese. Not very Disney yum in my opinion. Desert was the amazing "OMG It's Gluten Free Fudge Brownie". My mom ordered a chicken salad (no dressing) which came with a side of corn on the cob and no desert.


This was the only time we ever ran into a slightly frazzled Chef. Maybe even annoyed. When he came out to take our order, he didn't really have that Disney joy. I felt like a bother to him and he really did not seem interested in offering us anything other than what ended up ordering.


After taking our orders, the Chef gave us a pager to take back to our table with us. For those unfamiliar, pagers are given to those who order food with special dietary requests or other types of food that takes longer to prepare. Instead of hanging around the line, you are free to take the pager to a table and wait. When it buzzes that means it's time to go meet the chef to receive the order.


The wait was around 20 minutes for our food.

After giving me my order, the Chef pointed out the condiment bar for toppings. I had to quickly tell him that it was not a safe option for me. I didn't feel like waiting another 20 minutes for condiments so  I just asked him to grab me some safe grated cheese from the kitchen.


All in all, it was filling, fresh and tasted okay. Just so very plain. I would have preferred to have more toppings for my nachos ie salsa or sour cream, as just beef and cheese makes it a bit dry. I don't think I would go back here in the future. There far better options around the park, which are also less chaotic.

Tuesday

Happy New Year!!!


Instead of a New Years resolution, I have compiled a list of goals I would like to see happen in the new year. Together, as a community, I think we can work on this.


  • I would like to see an end to all of the infighting and bickering among Celiac's Its not helpful nor is it necessary. If you frequent blogs, fan pages and forums, you know exactly what I am talking about.



  • Perhaps this will be the year Gluten Free gets taken seriously



  • It would be super awesome if Canada could sell the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cookie Mix. It is manufactured in Mississauga,Ontario after all. Time to send some emails!



  • Lower GF prices. Come on, its 2013 and clearly there is a strong need for this type of product. There is especially no excuse for high prices from big name companies. Also, why is Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies WAY more money then the regular one? They took out the malt and increased the price. I don't get that one.



  • Lets stop treating food like religion. I eat Gluten Free because I have to. I'm not about to eat dirt and rocks because someone thinks its a healthier habit that I should adopt. I also don't care who eats GF as long as Celiac gets the understanding and respect it deserves.



  • This year I would love love love to see a proper interview with lets say Pierce Morgan, detailing Celiac Disease and chronicling a day in the life without sugar coating it. A documentary would be pretty swell too.

  • I will be starting a petition to encourage Amazon.ca (Canada) to sell Gluten Free food online. The American counterpart and many international Amazon websites carry an enormous offering of Gluten Free foods so why must we be left out? Lets change that shall we!



Wishing you all the very best in this beautiful new year !









Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe



After being in the park since the wee hours of the morning, we decided to hit up Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe around 11:30 am. This turned out to be a stellar lunch choice. Barely anyone was there! It was great to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere without feeling rushed. This is a very big place so I imagine that when it gets busy, it also gets quite loud as well.

We really loved the entertainment of Sonny Eclipse! In case you are not familiar with him, he is a Jazz singer from somewhere far away in the galaxy. Sonny's shows are about a half an hour long and he even cracks some funny jokes between songs.

The set up of Cosmic Ray's takes a moment or two to grasp. There are 3 "Bays" from which you can place your order. Each bay has its very own menu, line ups, and cash registers.


Bay 1 : Chicken and Pork
Bay 2 : Burgers and Hot Dogs
Bay 3 : Sandwiches, Wraps, Soups


Make sure you are at the Bay you want as they will not make you anything that is offered at the alternate Bays. I suggest anyone who will be eating here with children, scope out the menu beforehand (online before you get to the park) and go in with a plan.

 We ordered from the Burger Bay. As per Disney protocol, we advised the cashier that we would need to order Gluten Free. Within minutes a super bubbly and charming manager came by to take our order. It's a good thing it was not busy as we had to wait at the Burger Bay for our order. Thankfully it was only about a ten-minute wait.

Also worth noting,Cosmic rays has the infamous condiment station that has been known to produce a salad or two. Thankfully they also carry packets of Ketchup, Mayo ect.. which have the ingredients listed right on them.

 Both my mom and I ordered bacon cheeseburgers with a side or fries and an Enjoy Life cookie for dessert. Holy yum batman! I'm not sure what brand of Gluten-Free buns Disney uses, but they were soft and could not be more perfect. The burger itself was a welcome treat as well. The meat patty was nice and thin, quite the decent change from the ones I'm used to buying in the grocery store. I saved my cookie for later on in the day. When I got to it, I was so impressed that I was actually a bit sad. Why? Well, because I was hooked and we don't have these cookies at home.



Monday

A Gluten Free Mammoth Of A Sandwich At Disney's Boardwalk Bakery


After checking into our Little Mermaid room at the Art of Animation resort, we decided to hit up Disney's Boardwalk.  By this point both my mom and I were excited and ready for our first real taste of Gluten Free Disney.


A little bit about Boardwalk Bakery - It's super tiny inside. Like 4 people in line makes this place jam packed kind of tiny. Seating is located outside along the store front as per the top left photo with my family eating away. The style and setting of Boardwalk Bakery reminds me of something you would see in France. Not that I've been, but that's just the feeling it gave me.



While waiting for our order we had to shuffle around quite a bit as there is no real waiting area for us special diet peeps. This made for an awkward dance. After about 15 minutes, we were presented with mammoth Turkey sandwiches. The photo doesn't do my words justice. These things were HUGE. We were on the Disney Quick Service dining plan which included a drink, side and dessert with this meal. I was so full after only half of my sandwich that I took my chips and blueberry muffin back to the hotel. My mom had the vanilla frosted cupcake to the left of my muffin.She took that back to the hotel to keep in the fridge as well. When we did get to our desserts they were heavenly!

I would recommend Boardwalk Bakery to anyone on a Gluten Free diet. Keep in mind that options here are pretty much limited to what we ate. Great tasting and  satisfying portions trump variety in my book though. If you are going to check out this lovely little bakery, I would suggest hitting it during off peak meal times. I would also recommend checking with Disney ahead of time to verify that they are still serving Gluten Free food as things can and do change.


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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