Today is National Celiac Awareness Day. Celiacs is an autoimmune digestive disease that is triggered by eating the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. Gluten damages the small intestine and, if left untreated, can develop into osteoporosis, thyroid disease, and cancer.
I have Celiacs and have been gluten free for over a year now. It hasn’t been easy, but I feel a ton better.
I want to take this opportunity to thank my dear wife, our friends, and our families for helping me stay gluten free. They’ve made a lot of adjustments and sacrifices to keep me healthy, and I truly appreciate that.
Here are some resources for gluten-free sites, restaurants, products, and recipes that we’ve had good luck with:
Against The Grain Gourmet – We just served their baguettes to a bunch of friends and no one could tell they were GF.
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness – A non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding for celiac disease research, education, and screening.
Udi’s – Best GF bread and pizza crust I’ve ever had.
King Arthur Flour – Now offering a whole line of GF baking mixes.
Northland Celiac Support Group – A Minnesota support and educational group for folks with Celiacs. Their dining guide has saved us more than once.
San-J – Gluten-free tamari and teriyaki sauces that taste a whole lot better than the Kikkoman we’d been using.
Bob’s Red Mill – Extensive line of GF flours and mixes as well as GF steel-cut oats.
Coborns Delivers – A grocery delivery service in central Minnesota with an extensive GF selection.
Red Bridge Beer – Yay, I can have beer again!
Trader Joe’s – Seven pages of GF products. Having one of these nearby has been a real boon.
Gluten Free Girl – Excellent recipe and a wonderful perspective on living gluten free.
Gluten Free Goddess – Tons of very tasty GF and dairy-free recipes.
Amazon Gluten Free
Penzeys Spices – Excellent products and only a couple of their soup bases have gluten. All their herbs and spices are gluten-free.
Gluten Free National Restaurants – There are more and more national chains that have GF menus. We’ve had good dining experiences with Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang’s, Big Bowl, and several restaurants in the Lettuce Entertain You chain.
Dave, thanks for posting this. I know quite a few people who will find this list of resources highly useful–I’m forwarding a link to this post right now!
Dan
PS: Thanks heavens on the beer, right?
Thanks for passing it on! I am more than happy to share the gluten free resources I’ve come across. The good news is that that there are more and more sources of GF foods becoming available. I had dinner last night at a great Thai place where probably half their menu was available GF and they had 3 GF beers to pick from.
If (like Ben Franklin said) beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, then GF beef is proof that he hasn’t forgotten about me!