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BECOME GLUTEN INTOLERANT?” So you have been diagnosed as having Celiac Disease....... You ask: “Where can I find out more about this disease?" “What can I eat if I can no longer eat all the things I love?” “What foods contain gluten, and where do I find out this information?” Look no further...here is the help you need to begin your journey learning to live a gluten-free existence! These were the very questions I asked myself when diagnosed as having Celiac Disease. How in the world would I learn to cook and bake gluten-free, and what is gluten? Both my son and myself were diagnosed with Celiac Disease in the early 1980's and all our lives had enjoyed any kind of food and especially pastries, homemade breads/buns and you name it, I baked it! On baking days, my home smelled like a Swedish bakery as one friend would always say.  We had three children and our kids were the envy of the neighborhood kids. At any given time there was a huge freezer full of homemade baking. Angel food cake, chiffon cake, muffins, loaves, bread, buns, cookies and all individually wrapped for lunches. All I requested from the kids was to bring up the empty container so I could bake more and replace the baked items. But I would check the freezer and find empty containers with the slip of paper with “butter horns” written on and would have to bake more. My kids told me after they left home that their friends would come after school and they would stand around the freezer eating frozen cookies and cake! My profession was nursing. I loved nursing and had a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in my job. Up to my own diagnosis of Celiac Disease, I had not met any patients or individuals that also had Celiac Disease. I was told by my Doctor, “Eliminate gluten from your diet”. This was the extent of the help I received from my doctor! And for myself this also meant lactose-free! I believe Celiac Disease has been the most miss-diagnosed disease for years. Personally, I was told by doctors that it must be stress, or irritable bowel disease, or “why not just try eliminating foods one at a time out of your diet and if you begin to feel better without certain foods in your diet, then these foods must be the culprit.” The results of my scope came back negative. Blood tests were done but no one seemed to know how to read the results. It was after I had a colonoscopy and was sent to another specialist I learned I had Celiac Disease, and was told the blood test results were positive for Celiac Disease. WOW! My life was altered forever when I learned of my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. This was to be one of the most difficult challenges for our family to conquer. We were at a loss as to where to begin. The first question we asked ourselves was “How could we live without breads, pastries, pasta - anything that had gluten content?” So began a journey of experimenting and quickly learning that baking without gluten content just doesn’t work the same anymore! And, I might add, a costly experience. Money was tight and it seemed every time I tried my hand at baking gluten-free products, I might as well have opened up my purse and flushed my money down the toilet. However, in retrospect, I can look back and laugh at the absolute disasters in my kitchen. 
My first attempt at Rice Bread was a total disaster! The bread was like a brick. If I had thrown it against the window it would have shattered! My next attempt was Corn Muffins. We were so looking forward to hot corn muffins with syrup. Well, they were as hard as golf balls. Our dog wouldn’t even eat them, far less bury them for a later treat. I can tell you there was a myriad of emotions ~ tears of frustration, laughter and determination that I was eventually going to bake something that smelled and tasted normal. I can assure you that where there is a will, there is a way. Over the years I have experimented~ some results good and others disastrous. However, with time I have become an accomplished gluten-free baker! I have won several awards for many of the recipes. I have learned that using a variety and blend of gluten-free flours results in an excellent finished product.It has been through, and because of, our personal journey that my husband and I desire to help individuals who find themselves in the same situation as we found ourselves many years ago. Since my own diagnosis I have met many individuals that have also been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It has been a wonderful experience to be able to help and encourage others and help them understand that this diagnosis is not the end of the world. Life has thrown a twist and we are just beginning a new chapter in our life titled, “The Art of Living a Gluten-free Lifestyle and Loving It!” Just being there to try to pass on any information that may be helpful and encouraging gives one a sense of accomplishment and acceptance of living a normal life with Celiac Disease. Over the past several years I developed new recipes and realized it was time to put them into print. We believe this represents an important step in the development of cookbooks that provide individuals “simple” yet “normal” tasting foods. The recipes written in these cookbooks are original, tried and proven to be true. Putting all these recipes in book form has been quite an adventure, and yes a very positive one! Thus, the title of the cookbook, “Gluten Free Tried And True and More...” Eventually I have mastered the art of baking and cooking gluten-free and today our visitors enjoy gluten-free meals and lots of gluten-free baked goods! I have won many awards by entering my products into competition. This has been a dream come true! I continue to experiment and try my hand at writing more new recipes. Last summer I began creating many more new recipes and hopefully will put these recipes into print form. I had total knee joint replacements in 2005. The second knee was 88 days after the first surgery. There were a few weeks where I wondered what in the world I had done, but I can say today I can walk without the aid of a walker or canes! I had to learn to walk all over again and it is pure joy to go for a walk.  Following my surgery, I decided to bake Dr. Chan a gluten-free Black Forest Cake as a thank you gift for all he had done for me. I had won several awards for this cake recipe. My husband delivered the cake to Dr. Chan’s office that morning. About 9:15 PM the phone rang and my husband thought it was another telemarketer wanting to talk to me. It was Dr. Chan and all he kept saying was, “This is phenomenal, this is phenomenal”. I finally recognized his voice and said, ” Oh Dr. Chan it is you”. He then told me he had been in surgery all day and had just got home and there was the cake in the middle of his dining room table. He was so appreciative and told me it tasted better than the black forest cakes he bought a bakery in town. What a testimonial to my baking! I am so thankful and each day is a gift! We believe these cookbooks would be beneficial to people living with Celiac Disease, enabling them to eat with the same variety and satisfaction they previously experienced. Meredith Stewart, Author of "Gluten Free Tried & True and More..." Pictured in this article are examples of Never-Fail Brownies, Soya Buns, Merri's White Rice Bread, Snickerdoole Cookies, Licorice Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Butterscotch Cookies, Cranberry Almond Muffins, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins and Veggie Tray with Dill Dip. ~ Find These Recipes ~ ~ Back to Gluten-Free Living Information Page ~ |
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