Welcome!
>> Monday, September 30, 2013
Welcome to The Celiac Chef! Here's a little about me and my story:
My name is Jamie and I'm 26. I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in July of 2013. I was considered to be an "asymptomatic Celiac" meaning I didn't really have textbook symptoms. The only reason my doctors found out was my liver enzymes were extremely elevated. I was referred to a liver specialist and he ran some lab work. A few days later my lab work came back with the TTG and endomysial antibody tests way higher than normal and I was referred to get an endoscopy to confirm. After the procedure, the doctor who performed my endoscopy told me to enjoy the crackers I was eating because they should be my last. She said she could visibly see evidence of Celiac disease. I had Celiac and life as I knew it was over.
Just kidding, it didn't really end. But along with many others, I went through the emotional grief of losing a longtime friend--gluten. I selfishly mourned the loss of not eating my favorite birthday cake and didn't know how I could continue living without eating my mom's dinner rolls.
My selfishness started to pack its bags when I started reading all I could about Celiac and what could happen to me if I continued to eat gluten. I already have an autoimmune arthritis that is debilitating, I knew that I could not add any more health problems on if I could control it. I spent hours reading books, blogs, medical journals, and whatever I could get my hands on. I met with a Dietician who helped answer some questions. I was given recipes and conversion tools for transforming my favorite gluten filled recipes. Long story short: I was overwhelmed. The list of ingredients I had to avoid seemed longer than the ingredients I could eat. The hardest part for me was trying the new recipes I had encountered.
This is where The Celiac Chef comes in. I love to cook. However, I was extremely discouraged by some of the gluten-free recipes I had found. Some were delicious, some were extremely unpalatable. My sweet husband, who never says anything bad about my cooking, had to throw away the contents of his dinner plate a few times. The majority of recipes I found had no feedback on them or comments for how they could be improved. I've decided to post my successes and failures with gluten-free recipes on this blog. I will also share tips and tricks that have helped me along with resources. I hope this is as helpful for you as it is for me. As always, I love suggestions and feedback so feel free to contact me.
