Category: News

Starting a new job is quite terrifying. Imagine starting a new job and then just a few short months into your new position you end up terribly ill! All the thoughts were running through my mind, “I am going to get fired.” “My new boss will regret hiring me” “Someone is going to say something about me spending a vast majority of my day in the women’s restroom”.

And this went on for 6 entire weeks. I was barely into my 30s and wanting to kick my career into high gear.

I had been sick before and sick constantly as a child. “The sick one” was my nickname. As an adult, I had learned pretty good coping mechanisms and grinned my way through many a meeting when I actually felt like I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. It is a gift….

Not this time, there would be no grinning my way through.

I walked into the Cleveland Clinic family practice and heard these words “You either have colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, celiac, or a combination of all three”. That is how sick and unable to function I was and yet I never actually called off sick at work. Not something I am terribly proud of. Self-care wasn’t part of my vocabulary in those days.

Within 48 hours my blood test revealed that I had Celiac Disease….and my antibodies were 200 times higher than they should be. They tested for the other items on the list and thankfully it was “just” celiac. This was 7 years ago.

Changing my lifestyle was not that difficult at home. I loved to cook and finding recipes that would keep me healthy was my new mission. What was the most difficult by far was the social aspect. I was raised in a very large family. You ate what was in front of you, or you didn’t eat. I was never a picky eater and loved trying new foods. Drawing attention to myself over food was just not something I was comfortable with. If a restaurant brought me a wrong entrée, I might eat it before pointing out they made a mistake.

Being a Celiac in the professional world is very difficult. Business lunches, dinners with clients, morning brunches are quite commonplace. Not to mention the fact that I was an International Business Manager at the time and expected to travel 2-4 times a year around the globe.

Here is my shortlist of helpful tips if you find yourself with extreme dietary needs in the workplace.

• People will ask about your condition thinking they are being polite and you want to talk about yourself, you don’t owe them an answer
• It is OK to pack food in your purse like you survived the Great Depression! I had to learn that pulling food out like Mary Poppins pulled out that lamp was way better than the alternative of being dizzy or sick by midafternoon of a trade show.
• Locally – tap into all the resources that Cleveland has to offer. NorthEast Ohio Celiac Network and Café Avalaun have been great resources.
• Internationally – I personally found it easier to be in China, Dubai, Switzerland, Germany and France than sometimes I do in the US. There is a lot of awareness and sensitivity to Celiac
• Use this to your advantage that shows you are a classy professional in control of all areas, including the menu! Quietly speak with the waitress about your dietary needs. Be proactive and call ahead to restaurants that you know you will be meeting clients at.

Food is important in the professional setting but it doesn’t have to be an embarrassing differentiation.

I had a delightful trip to the south of France this summer. Everything was fantastic: the people, the sights, the weather. But especially the gluten free food.

The pre-trip planning included frustration with traveling on multiple airlines on one ticket. Because of the codeshare arrangement neither Air Canada nor Brussels Airlines would assign seats or note my need for gluten free meals for travel to France. Travel back was all on Air Canada and was no problem. Poking around on the Brussels Airlines website I found a special meal request form and I received an email a couple of days later which confirmed the special diet.

The travel went off without a hitch. Flights were all on-time and GF food was served.

Between Toronto and Brussels I was served dinner which was plastic wrapped and sealed. Bean salad, Indian chickpea curry with quinoa, bread and a brownie.

It even included a note which listed the dinner menu and what I would expect for breakfast and advised that no other served food would be guaranteed gluten free.

There was another service before landing with a muffin, granola and applesauce. It, too, was sealed.

On the flight back home, from Lyon to Montreal, I was also served a meal, sealed, with fish and rice, carrot salad, cut fruit and crackers. The second service was a packaged frittata, clearly labeled gluten free.

The food was quite good and I felt comfortable that it was gluten free and had not been contaminated while being served.  But much better food was to come!

The Viking Buri, one of the Viking River Cruise ships that navigate the Rhone river, was my home for the week.  The Lyon & Provence itinerary sailed from Avignon to Lyon, stopping in small towns and larger cities along the way.

There was plentiful and delicious gluten free food on the ship.  I enjoyed croissants every morning at breakfast.  The fruit was some of the best I’ve ever tasted.

Most of the menu items could be made gluten free and I had fun with sandwiches, many days, for lunch.

There was always a tasty dessert like this flourless chocolate cake.

Even crepes Suzette!

While sightseeing I stopped in a few grocery stores, from small healthfood shops to supermarkets. All had some gluten free food and many had large selections.

I highly recommend this trip. I’ve sailed with Viking River Cruises before and would again. And southern France exceeded my expectations for beauty and charm.

Where did you travel on your summer vacation?

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/07/sibling_revelry_brewery_brews.html

 

http://mailchi.mp/da330195b687/cafe-avalaun-august-2017-newsletter

 

CGF August 2017

 

http://glutenfreeincleveland.blogspot.com/

Some interesting pieces of information from the gluten-free community….

If you’ve been following the controversy of gluten-free designation/FDA rules/foods in violation you can follow along on the latest in the discussion from Tricia Thompson founder of Gluten-Free Watchdog:

https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/encouraging-the-fda-to-investigate-when-products-labeled-gluten-free-appear-misbranded/

 

Here’s the link for the latest issue of GIG magazine including timely articles, coupons, recipes and more…….

http://www.gluten.org/cgf-june-2017/

 

This past month I’ve encountered a couple of news articles, both print and digital, where the information contained in them regarding the gluten-free diet was just plain wrong.  Where references were made to product and to diagnosis and to treatment that were old, out of date and still circulating.  But, just when you think folks are starting to ‘get it’ – smack – something else appears to reveal how far away the general population is  at ‘getting it’.

When dining out g-f there are so many; so,so,so,so many things to keep in mind.  Here’s an article that will highlight for you why you need to always be your own advocate; ask and ask again.  You never know just what that kitchen is doing……….

http://boredomtherapy.com/reuse-noodle-water/?pas=1&as=701aol

 

Will gluten-free make it to the list of Food Trends for 2018-19?  You might be following the shifts in the dining scene by going to restaurants and seeing the changes in the menu offerings.  Or you may be seeing the shift in the grocery store shelving.  You may also be seeing more advertising about g-f food items in magazines.  The big trend for restaurants in 2017-18 is ‘faux foods’ – things that look like foods you know but made with ingredients you might not realize could mimic those items – think tofurkey – with pizzazz!  Vegan food is on the rise, everywhere, and it took a long time to get there.  So, while restauranteurs may not yet be ready to accept that g-f needs their attention, the financial sector has noted the growth of the g-f products.

https://www.ft.com/content/5348432e-1a13-11e7-bcac-6d03d067f81f?mhq5j=e1

Cleveland.com post by Hannah Drown

Looking over this list and having just traveled across the country using Find Me Gluten Free I would have to say that my experience was successful.  If you’ve used any of these please share your favorite!

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/07/the_best_gluten-free_phone_app.html#incart_river_home