Crockpot Jambalaya

Recently a friend from work brought something for lunch that smelled divine!  When she told me that it was crockpot jambalaya and gave me the recipe, I got really excited because it was all gluten free!  The next day my excitement grew because Diane brought a bowl of her jambalaya for me!!!  My work friends get me!  Diane gave me permission to share her flavorful recipe with my followers, so here it is.

Diane's easy crockpot jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 whole sweet yellow onion, sliced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

28 oz (2 cans) stewed tomatoes with juice

14 oz Andouille Sausage (or another ring sausage), cut

1/2 tsp Thyme

Tabasco (to taste - or your favorite hot sauce)

12 oz package frozen cooked shrimp

Brown rice (I used a Quinoa & brown rice package)

*Don't forget to make sure that all of your prepackaged, processed ingredients are gluten free.  I look at the ingredients on the package even if the label says it's gluten free because I like to know exactly what is in the food I'm making.*

Place all ingredients other than the shrimp and rice in a 5 quart crockpot on low and stir together.  I added 3 shakes of the Tabasco.  How much you add depends on how spicy you like it.  

Cover and leave cooking for at least 4 hours.  Stir periodically to keep from sticking.  Prepare rice (or quinoa & rice mix) according to the package.  10 minutes before serving, stir in the shrimp to the mixture in the crockpot.  I added mine while still frozen and it cooked beautifully.  When the rice is finished, plate (or bowl) up and top with the crockpot mixture.  More Tabasco can be added if desired.

I love the simplicity as well as the variety of flavors that can all be tasted in this easy meal.  My husband is always a bit wary of new recipes that I make, but he LOVED this!  One bowl wasn't enough.  So, happy cooking and enjoy!  This is a meal that I will make again and again and again!  Thank you again to my friend and co-worker, Diane Worley for this delectable recipe!

And don't forget to check out my fundraiser for charity: water  You can learn more about this organization here.  And you can donate here.

Don't Breathe on Me - You're Sick!

This is me today.  I've been sick since Wednesday.  It's my fault, really.  I got cocky.  My husband had bronchitis a few weeks ago and several of the ladies I work with have had various illnesses over the past few weeks.  Just Tuesday I was saying that I felt pretty fortunate that I hadn't caught any of the yuck that's been going around.  Yep, too cocky!  I should have known better.  Wednesday morning I woke up feeling like crap.  I went to work anyway, but called in Thursday and Friday.  When you live with autoimmune diseases, your immune system is obviously compromised.  So you learn to take extra precautions.

You may laugh, but that picture of The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper is not far off from the truth!  I know there is a huge debate out there about whether people should get the flu shot or not, so I may not be popular when I state that I DO get the flu shot each year.  I am living with hypothyroidism and Celiac Disease.  My immune system is very compromised.  Chronic fatigue and illness are not strangers to me, unfortunately.  As much as I wish they'd go away and I take precautions to stave them off as much as possible, I still get sick.  I take my probiotic and extra vitamin supplements because I am deficient due to my damaged gut.  I try to stay away from sick people as much as possible, though I'd pretty much have to live in an airtight plastic bubble to truly be able to accomplish that.  My dear husband even slept in the living room when he was the sickest and most contagious with bronchitis.  Although, in large part due to the fact that he couldn't breathe when he was laying down, but he also was very aware of the fact that I could easily catch it from him.

Recently I've been very careful to make sure that I am getting plenty of sleep at night, plenty of fluids during the day, taking my probiotics and vitamin supplements and everything I can think of to try to stay healthy - or a chronically ill person's version of healthy anyway.  But, sometimes, no matter how careful you are and how many precautions you take, it is just going to happen.  You are going to get sick.  That is the thing about living with autoimmune diseases.  You are extra susceptible to everything you come into contact with.  Sometimes, no matter that you've done everything right and everything you can to prevent it, you are still going to get sick.  My illness this week?  A simple, every day, common cold.  Yup!  A little, itty-bitty thing like the common cold has done me in for the past several days.  I have spent the majority of time since I got home from work Wednesday night in bed, sleeping.  Yet, even today, I still feel thoroughly exhausted.  I hadn't showered (EWWWWW) since Tuesday morning - I haven't had the energy to be able to do it.  I finally HAD to do it today!!  While the steam from the hot shower opened my sinuses and the hot water pelting my skin helped ease my body aches, just taking a 5 minute shower completely wiped me out.  I took the shower 2 hours ago and still feel like I need a nap.  It is taking everything in me to sit down and write this blog post.  I began writing it 45 minutes ago and have had to stop many times to try to remember what it was I was going to write.  

When I began writing this blog, I was determined that I would be honest and open with my readers.  That means even when I am feeling crappy.  We all go through times like this and we all go through feeling isolated because of our illnesses.  I share this today not to have people pity me or to garner attention.  I abhor this kind of attention.  I am writing this today so that you know you are NOT alone!  It sucks.  A simple illness that someone without an autoimmune disease may take only a couple of days to get over can take us more than twice as long.  Even when we begin to feel better, our bodies seem to still take forever to fully recover from the last illness and then we're catching something else.  It can feel never-ending at times.  That is frustrating to no end.  And it is difficult for people who don't live with a chronic illness to understand what we are going through or why it takes us so much longer to heal from the same illness that they got over in 24 hours.  We ask for their understanding, patience and compassion toward us.  We need to also exercise patience and understanding with them when they don't get it.  They don't live with what we live with, so they have no way to truly know what we are going through.  We need to patiently educate them as to what we are dealing with.  Don't beat them over the head with information or even expect that they will understand immediately.  Thank them for caring when they ask questions and answer their questions honestly.  When they offer a platitude such as, "Feel better soon." because they don't realize that you go through most of your life feeling like crap, don't scoff at them.  They are being genuine in their limited understanding and knowledge of chronic illness.  Again, let them know you appreciate that they care about you and what you are going through.  It is hard enough finding people who will try to understand and who will be supportive of what we are going through.  We do NOT want to alienate those who are making that attempt even though they may say the wrong thing.  Remember, they are trying.  That is huge.  And that opens the door to being able to educate them, kindly, not treating them as if they don't know anything.  I didn't know anything about Celiac Disease before I was diagnosed.  Not a single thing.  I would have said something ignorant, though it wouldn't have been intended to be.  If we want others to be kind, compassionate and understanding with us, we have to be the same toward them.  We aren't the only ones who get frustrated with the limitations our illnesses put on us.  Those who love and care about us get frustrated, too.  Because they want to spend time with us.  Because they hate seeing us sick.  Because they wish we could do the things we used to be able to do.  

Whatever chronic illness you are living with, you are not alone.  There are many others of us out there who understand and are walking a similar path.  I feel fortunate to have a really strong support system.  And, I feel like living with hypothyroidism and Celiac Disease has made me more compassionate and understanding toward others with chronic illness and just to other people in general.  I hope it has, anyway.  No matter what path we are on in this life, we all want, need and deserve kindness, compassion, understanding and support.

For more information about Celiac Disease visit https://www.beyondceliac.org

To donate my birthday or YOUR birthday to Charity Water visit https://www.charitywater.org

charity: water

A little disclaimer right from the start, this blog post has nothing to do with Celiac Disease.  Instead I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to an organization that I learned about last September called, charity: water.  

Can you imaging giving this "drinking" water to your child?  Would you drink it yourself?  Would you even give it to your pets?  Clean water is something that we take for granted Every. Single. Day.  We spend millions of dollars each year to buy ourselves the best water we can get via water softeners, special sink faucet attachments, purifying water pitchers and bottled water.  To have clean, drinkable water that won't make us sick is a basic human necessity.  Yet for countless men, women and children around the world, the ONLY drinking water they have is filthy, polluted, insect infested and disease ridden.

photo from charity: water's website https://www.charitywater.org/

Pastor Edgar from New Hope Church in Moville, Iowa brought us his message, "To Infinity and Beyond: Giving is Good" yesterday.  In September, he shared with us a video for charity: water that touched my heart so deeply. In fact, I remember that I had a Starbucks specialty coffee drink with me that I ended up not being able to finish and had to throw out because it tasted sour to me after watching the video and seeing so many beautiful little children and their families who were drinking filthy water because this is the only water available to them and here I was with my specialty coffee. These people were contracting diseases, having tumors grow in their bodies and dying simply because the water they have to drink is so filthy and not fit for consumption.  The founder, Scott Harrison, seen in this video, not only explained about charity: water and how it came about, but told the stories of these amazing children here in this land of plenty we live in, who were fundraising for charity: water by donating their birthdays and asking others to do the same. I knew right then and there that I wanted to do this. 

Three months from today, I will be turning 50 (April 29th).  I can't think of any better way to celebrate half a century on this Earth than by giving back and helping others by donating my birthday to charity: water.  I also decided to give up my specialty coffees because of the thought of how much that money would be able to do toward bringing clean water to those who need it. I usually end up with a specialty coffee drink about once per week. I am saving the money from that to add to my donation for my birthday. By my birthday, I will have saved around $200 just from giving up one of my favorite indulgences each week since September when this organization first came to my attention.  Between now and April 29th I will be including the link at the end of each blog where you can donate to charity: water.  I am doing this because I'm going to ask anyone reading this to 1 - watch this video all the way through and 2 - even if you can't donate my birthday, will you donate yours? 

I am starting a fundraising campaign through charity: water for charity: water because this is a cause I feel so incredibly strongly about. Clean drinking water is something we take for granted here. We don't give it a second thought.  Since first learning about charity: water last Fall, it has stayed with me - I can't forget about it. This organization actually uses 100% of ALL donations to bring clean water to areas where it is so desperately needed. Watch the video, it explains what they do and how they take care of their overhead costs separately from the donations made.  I'm not posting this to say, "hey, look at me - I'm doing something great for someone else." I'm sharing this post because I believe that once you watch the videos and check out charity: water for yourself, you will want to give, too.  I want to bring this organization and the wonderful work they do to the attention of as many people as possible. In this world we are met daily with a barrage of hatred and violence via the news, television shows, social media, print media, video games, movies and music.  Even in the way we speak to each other, not respecting differing opinions, pushing our agenda so much that we fight to talk over the "other guy" to be sure our message is heard over theirs.  We've too often forgotten to do simple acts of kindness and treat others with respect and compassion, putting another's needs before our own.  By giving to charity: water and encouraging others to do the same we can turn social media into a tool to help others around the world. We can set the example for the next generation. Will you join with me in this? #charitywater 

To learn more about charity: water, click here

Stressful Ending to a Bumpy Beginning

Four years ago today I finally got the testing that confirmed that I have Celiac Disease.  Of course, I went through all different, warring kinds of emotions with that diagnosis: relief, confusion, anxiety, apprehension, and I was very, very overwhelmed.  After months of doing my own research and learning many things the hard way, several dear friends suggested that I start this blog to help others by sharing my own experiences.

I love writing.  Always have.  And helping people is something else that has always been exceedingly important to me.  I figured that writing a blog would be a piece of cake (gluten free, of course 😉)  Let me tell you that it is more work than one would think.  I had these lofty dreams of writing a new blog post once per week.  Then it became more like once per month.  As life became busier and more stressful I haven't had the time that I've wanted to be able to keep up with this blog.  I have felt like I've let my readers down by not posting as often as I should.  While expressing this to a friend of mine in the Celiac community not long ago, she advised that I be honest with everyone and just write what has been going on recently.  So, this is that post.

No excuses.  I hate excuses and I've used enough of them through different times in my life.  This is not that!  This is just to give you an idea of what my life has been like the past few months.

Like many Celiacs, stress is a major trigger for many of my Celiac symptoms.  No matter how hard I try to keep the stress away and fight the symptoms, they seem to hit anyway.  My blog is something that I write to help others, as already stated.  It is not my job.  I do not get paid for writing my blog.  Monetary gain is not why I write.  Having said that, I do have a full-time job that, of late, has become much more than I ever bargained for.  Not just for me, though.  The company I work for is going through some major changes that we have been working toward for over a year and a half now.  Being in a leadership position in my department has put me also in a leadership position in learning, testing and training for the big changes in store for our company.  This has stretched me in so many ways that I never realized that I could even stretch!  There have been many times, especially in the past few months, when I have felt stretched past the breaking point.  I am grateful for the trust my boss has in me to put these added responsibilities on my shoulders, but there have been moments when I most definitely did NOT feel up to the task.  As are many others who are working on these changes in the company, I have been working a lot of extra hours.  Between the extra hours and stress, I haven't been sleeping well for many months.  You know where I'm going with this, right?  Yep, I've been sick more often recently and many of my other Celiac symptoms have been plaguing me, as well.  My concentration has been off.  It's been difficult to focus.  I've come close to anxiety attacks many times over the past few months, though only ended up in a full-fledged panic attack twice.  Both times at work.  Complete meltdown!  Seriously!  Not proud of it - at all!  Here's where I send a HUGE SHOUT OUT to my co-workers who have been there for me and with me through all of this and even helped bring me down from my anxiety attacks!  Also to my boss, who has believed in me and been patient and supportive in everything I've been doing.  They have all been so understanding and helpful through my health issues, my meltdowns and just all around stepping up and working together to help us all get through this together.  As stressful as everything has been recently, I feel so blessed to work among this amazing bunch of strong, beautiful women.

My G'ma Viola on the left with her 86 year old sister, Aunt Jean on the right.

As 2017 drew to an end, sadly we said goodbye to my dear Aunt Jean, my grandma's "baby" sister.  While not entirely unexpected, it was still a hard way to end the year.  My mom and I were the ones to break the news to my 95 year old grandma, who lives in a nearby nursing home that her beloved little sister and best friend (85 years old) had just passed.  Aunt Jean had Alzheimer's and my grandma has dementia.  We weren't sure if G'ma would retain the information that Aunt Jean had died, so we waited until the night before Jean's funeral.  Mom and I had planned ahead for this.  G'ma is very frail and confined to a wheelchair.  She is a fall risk, so we haven't taken her out of the nursing home since she became confined to the wheelchair.  We've been too afraid of accidentally hurting her in transport.  We KNEW that we had to make sure she made it to her sister's funeral to say goodbye.  The nursing home staff was wonderful and so helpful.  My husband, Dave, took the day off from work, too, and drove us three to and from the funeral and didn't hurry us away when we were visiting with family after the funeral.  My brother and sister-in-law met us there and were absolutely fantastic with G'ma!  They pretty much took over getting her in and out of the car and caring for her needs while we were there.  My sister-in-law has experience with working with the elderly so she knew exactly what to do and how to care for her.  While G'ma was saddened by the loss of her sister, she loved getting to see and visit with so many family members.  I'm so grateful we were able to take her.

The beginning of 2018 has definitely been a bumpy start, as I've dealt with a couple of illnesses.  This weekend I've been dealing with sinus infection and an abscessed tooth.  NOT fun!!  Here is where I have to admit that I have not been faithful about going to the dentist throughout my adult life.  I know better and should have been going regularly, but I haven't.  Today I had no choice.  That awful tooth was causing too much pain and discomfort.  Thankfully, I was able to get in to see a dentist today!  And, though there is a lot of infection and I will have to have a tooth extraction, I was amazed that the news at the dentist wasn't worse!  In fact, the hygienist said that my gums are in pretty good shape for someone who hasn't been to a dentist for as long as me.  She was surprised!  I'll have to get some work done, but nothing that wasn't expected.  I'm running on amoxicillin and ibuprofen for now.  So, while 2018 is off to a bumpy start, I am looking at this as a year of changes for me.  Positive changes.  It's a chance for me to become a healthier version of myself by taking my health into my own hands and doing what I need to in order to become and stay healthy.  That means continuing to heal my gut, get better sleep at night, work at keeping my stress levels manageable.  I'm learning that the best way for me to keep my stress levels manageable is to get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, eat healthy and keep my prayer life active.  Faith is a HUGE part of who I am.  It is one of the most important things in my life and lately it has taken a back seat to everything else.  Spending time in prayer and reading my Bible, listening to uplifting music at work has all helped bring things back in to perspective and has helped me to re-prioritize my life.

What helps you find your center?  How are you able to cope with the stresses and pressures that come your way?  How do you keep things manageable?

I'm not guaranteeing that I will be better at writing more blog posts, though I do hope to do so.  I promise that I will always be upfront with you and share what I am going through in hopes that I can help in some small way make this Celiac journey we are on together a little brighter just knowing that you're not in this alone.

The Best Things in Life are Free (Gluten Free, that is!)

                               

A couple of months ago I started asking my followers on Facebook and Instagram to contribute for my Thanksgiving post.  While many bloggers are posting recipes and how to safely navigate the holidays with family and friends when you are gluten free, I decided to go a different direction.  I put out the idea that "The best things in life are gluten free." and I asked my followers to list some of their favorite things that are naturally gluten free.  

My goal is to show that there is so much more to holidays (and life) than just food.  In the Celiac and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity world, we face the holiday season with trepidation and anxiety because of shared meals with non GF family and friends.  I want to focus on the positive things a holiday can bring.  There are so many negatives about living with Celiac Disease or any other autoimmune disorder or chronic health condition.  But, we're still alive and as long as there is breath in our bodies, there are beautiful and positive things out there for us to cherish and enjoy.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I didn't get a lot of responses to my requests, however, those who did reply provided some incredible thoughts on a variety of wonderful gluten free things to enjoy.  So, without further ado, here they are:

**Note: throughout this post I will be including hyperlinks to pages that are relevant

to this post and the people who participated by posting their comments.

I am including these links because I believe their pages are helpful

 to the Celiac and gluten free community.**

A few of my own favorite naturally gluten free things are: children laughing, waking up to the aroma of coffee brewing, kitty snuggles, relaxing with a good book and a cup of hot tea under my favorite throw blanket, reuniting with old friends, spending time with loved ones, connecting with others in the Celiac and gluten free community, joining my New Hope (church) family each week to worship and grow together, bear hugs, candles, an over-sized sweater fresh out of the dryer, kicking off my shoes at the end of the day.

Edie 'Smilee' Place Orris (Facebook): Spending time with my dear daughter! 

(Siouxland Celiac note: Thanks, Mom!)

mile_high_celiac (Instagram): Jumping in leaf piles, enjoying a hot cup of coffee in the crisp fall air, seeing the beauty of the trees changing color as far as the eye can see.

The mountains laying in wait for the impending snows in late October.  The monarch butterflies traveling through as they fly south for the winter...the gaggles of Canadian geese making their stops and honking overhead, echoing through the still chilly air as they fly in their perfect "V" formations...

Walking through the outdoor shopping mall with the smell of pumpkin spice in the air...seeing friends meet up outside a coffee shop, overhearing their excitement and creativity, exchanging recipe ideas and oo-ing and ah-ing over each new addition or twist the next person adds to the imagined flavors of their recipes for Thanksgiving...looking into confectioners windows and watching the candy makers begin to work on the new seasonal treats...breathing the first crisp breath of the new fall air.  Collecting flower seeds for the next year...collecting leaves for those projects 🍁🍂 there are so many awesome things that ONLY happen in the fall 💓🍂🍁

(Siouxland Celiac note: don't forget to check out her YouTube channel Life Minus Gluten.)

martafocker (Instagram): Even though my Canadian Thanksgiving is well past I will still comment on What is Naturally Gluten Free (that I love).  That would simply be WATER!  Water water water!  I love Water SO much I can't even explain without sounding like a freak.  Obviously humans need water to survive but I love to drink it and bathe in and swim in it!  I don't need to add anything to my water to drink it, it does have to taste like NOTHING though (no weird aftertaste).  All sources of water are Gluten Free...tap water, bottled water, lake water, ocean water, pool water...ditch water 😜  And of course Bath Water...aaahhh think I will take a bath right now cause I'm thinking about it 😃💦 but I really wish to go for a swim in Water but it's too cold...bah!  Wait: I should make a cup of tea with it...Naturally Gluten Free as well 😋  Decisions, decisions. 

(Siouxland Celiac note: I LOVE my followers!!!  And @martafocker's comments bring to mind a charity I learned about a couple of months ago at church called Charity Water that works to bring clean water to Third World nations who have no clean water sources.  I will be writing about this organization in the next few weeks, so stay tuned or check out their website for yourself here.)

Cupcake and Yoga Pants (Facebook): Pumpkins 🎃, bonfires 🔥, and ghost 👻 stories! 🎃

(Siouxland Celiac note: you can check out Cupcake and Yoga Pants blog here.)

Jen Harold (Facebook):  Spending time with relatives we don't get to see often enough, a game of cards, veggie trays, and the joy that the season of togetherness brings.

(Siouxland Celiac note: 💖💖💖💖 well said!)

AlafiaMarije Wright (Facebook):  The soap and other skin care products I make for our company, God's Green Earth have started healing my family and are a blessing to many others and the beauty is that these non-toxic and made from scratch products are naturally gluten free and don't hurt people, animals or the 🌎  God really blessed us with this ability and this business.

(Siouxland Celiac note: for more information about God's Green Earth natural skin care products click here.)

rachelwjj (Instagram):  God's fresh grace every morning!!!  And, for someone who despises the cold weather, the promise of spring time 🌞🌞🌞the ability to have a job, gluten free food on the table, roof over my head and family to share it with 💓😘

(Siouxland Celiac note: this wraps it up pretty good, don't you think?!)

Do you have your own favorites to add to these great naturally gluten free "best things in life"?  Please be sure to comment with your favorites.  I want to hear from YOU! 👉

And, since it IS Thanksgiving, I'll give you a couple of links for some great recipes from two of my favorite people, my friends Kallie and Tina.

For Kallie's gluten free Pumpkin Pie bon bons visit her YouTube channel here.  I'm going to make these tomorrow!  I can't wait!!!!

For Tina's gluten free Dressing recipe visit her Better For You Bakery page here.  I use her mixes and recipes a lot.  In fact, I'll be making decorated sugar cookies this weekend using her  gluten free Sugar Cookie mix and her GF Buttercream frosting recipe!!  

Happy Thanksgiving and may you feel God's blessings and love through out this holiday season and always.

Truffles Anyone?

So, this past Saturday was National Chocolate Day and, feeling inspired by my friend, Kallie at Life Minus Gluten, I decided what better way to celebrate than to make homemade truffles!  Last week, Kallie posted a video on how to make these amazingly delightful treats.  You can watch the entire video here.  I'm not going to give you the recipe, so you'll just have to watch her video to see how to put these together.

Like I said, Kallie's post inspired me so I followed the instructions shown on her video and then did some of my own creations, as well.  I started with milk chocolate and dark chocolate chips combined with heavy whipping cream.  

 

 

While that mixture was setting I thought I'd try my hand at some white chocolate truffles.  I don't discriminate when it comes to chocolate - it's ALL good!

One thing I figured out really fast with the white chocolate is that it is much thinner than milk and dark chocolate.  I got some tips from Kallie on how to get this mixture thicker and I ended up using two entire bags of white chocolate chips and still needed to thicken it a bit with 1/4 cup of corn starch.  It worked like a charm and they taste AMAZING!!!!

The next day I decided to try one more combination and made another batch with milk and dark chocolate chips (heavier on the dark chocolate chips) and I also added 1/2 a cup of soft caramels to make this batch a dark chocolate caramel truffle.  A tip on these would be to melt the caramels before pouring the chocolate chips into the mixture because they are more dense and take longer to melt.

 

Once all of the mixtures had time to set (again, refer to Kallie's video on Life Minus Gluten's YouTube channel here.) I began to scoop out truffle mixture and form it into balls to roll in various toppings.

Toppings I used: instant coffee grounds, shredded coconut, crushed candy cane
cocoa powder and Himalayan Pink Salt (tip on the salt - a little bit goes a long way!)
People who know me will be shocked at the shredded coconut, but I made enough
to share and I know a lot of people who enjoy shredded coconut - not me, but many
others 😜😁

If you're feeling inspired, you'll have to try this easy and richly delicious recipe for yourself!  Until next time - Happy Gluten Free Eating!

Fall Harvest Time

#tealpumpkinproject

Hi everyone!  Boy, have I got a lot to share with you today.  The first thing I want to talk about is FARE's (Food Allergy Research & Education) Teal Pumpkin Project.  With Halloween fast approaching, this is an important topic to talk about.  Let me give you a little history about it first.

The Teal Pumpkin Project was started in 2014 by FARE to help raise awareness of food allergies and encourage people to provide safe items to hand out to Trick or Treaters at Halloween.  There are many other non-food items that you can pass out so that children with food allergies may safely participate in this yearly holiday tradition.  I was surprised this week to learn that this important campaign has only been around for 3 years.  It will be easy for me to remember, though, since my Celiac diagnosis occurred in 2014.  To learn much more about the #tealpumpkinproject and how to participate and let parents and kids know that you are participating click here.  This is such a wonderful idea as more and more children are being diagnosed with some sort of food allergy, Celiac Disease and more that are affected directly by the food they eat.  FARE is doing some amazing research and working hard to raise awareness.  As someone living with Celiac Disease, I know firsthand how isolating it can be to not be able to participate in an event, holiday or tradition simply because of the dangers of certain foods to me.  And I'm an adult!  Think about how much more isolating that is to a child.

I also have something to share with you that I am beyond excited about!!!  A friend of mine named Kallie Smirnov is starting a YouTube channel that is dedicated to spreading Celiac Disease Awareness, sharing fun and easy gluten free recipes as well as other important tips about how to navigate this gluten free life when you have Celiac Disease or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or Intolerance.  She is working on raising funds to finance this project and help get the word out through a gofundme campaign.  For more information about what Kallie is working on click here.  She is hoping to have her first video available in time for Halloween.  As a matter of fact, she actually began filming today for her first shows!  Check out her gofundme campaign and subscribe now to her Life Minus Gluten YouTube channel so you don't miss a single posting!  I've gotten to know Kallie over the past year and am so inspired by her positive, upbeat attitude and I love her sense of humor and the way she deals with everything life throws at her.  I'm very proud to support and promote what she is working on because I believe this is something that will be helpful to so many people.  

Siouxland Celiac Support Group

Next, I just HAVE to share with you about our most recent Siouxland Celiac Support Group meeting that took place this past week (Oct. 19th) at the Hamilton Blvd Hy-Vee Foodstore.  Hy-Vee Dietitian, Corrinna Lenort welcomed back Tina Meseck from Better For You Bakery who did a cupcake and sugar cookie demonstration for us as well as gave us tips (and her recipe which I shared in a recent blog post here) for making the perfect buttercream frosting!  

 Tina Meseck & Corrinna Lenort

 Tina preparing her special buttercream frosting

Tina brought un-decorated gluten free sugar cookies and chocolate cupcakes for us to decorate.  Everyone had a lot of fun with this - especially eating the finished products!!  Corrinna spoke to us about the Teal Pumpkin Project and about how we can participate.  For anyone in the Sioux City, Iowa area who is interested in attending the monthly Siouxland Celiac Support Group meetings, please contact Corrinna at 1610Dietitian1@hy-vee.com and she will be happy to give you more information about the group.  The next meeting will be Thursday, November 9, 2017 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm.  Location to be announced.  We will be celebrating "Friendsgiving" with a gluten free potluck.  Whether newly diagnosed, living with Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance or sensitivity or a family member of someone who is gluten free due to health reasons, this group is perfect for you!  We hope to see you there!!  Here are a few photos from this last meeting to show you how much fun and how interactive this group is.

Happy Harvest and Halloween!

Un-decorated GF sugar cookie & GF chocolate cupcake by BFYB

Corrinna decorating her cookie

More decorating fun <3

My finished cookie and cupcake - and, yes, they were AWESOME!

My mom's finished cookie & cupcake

**The Siouxland Celiac Support Group is separate from and not affiliated with this Siouxland Celiac blog.  It is sponsored and facilitated by the Sioux City Hamilton Blvd Hy-Vee Dietitian.