Menu Close All About Me Living With Celiac Resources Helpful Links Expert Advice Grocery Store Finds Trader Joe's Stop & Shop Skincare and Makeup Restaurant Recommendations (blog) Recipes Expert Advice Dee Harris is a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator and an IFM-Certified Practitioner based out of Bonita Springs, Florida. Her practice encompasses a myriad of nutrition, functional medicine, health, and wellness solutions. Dee works closely with clients who are diagnosed with Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity. She generously offered me advice while I was building this website. I recently sat down with her for an interview, which is excerpted below. Q: What is the best advice you can give to someone who has been diagnosed with Celiac and or has to go on a gluten-free diet? A: The best advice I can give is to learn from your own experience and how you feel, because if you're really sick, you’ll want to make changes, and that motivates the patient to make changes. Once you go strictly gluten free, your life gets so much better. So don't be intimidated by making changes because you will become much healthier and it's going to make your life a lot better. Q: What are some of the biggest challenges people face when starting a gluten-free diet? A: The biggest challenge, I think, is the reluctance to go gluten free because people think “there's nothing I can eat”. People are understandably afraid they won’t be able to go out with their friends and they’re going to be isolated. It's that fear of being different and being overwhelmed. There’s a shock of having to make what feels like such a dramatic lifestyle change. Once you commit to the change, you start to realize it’s doable and it starts to feel more manageable. You realize that you will not be isolated. You just have to take the first step. Q: In general, what are the long term benefits of a gluten-free diet for people who have Celiac or are sensitive to gluten? A: If you have celiac, you have to eat gluten free in order to heal yourself and achieve remission. If you have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, the same is true. We have found that the flour that's produced in this country is different than it was 50 years ago and it can cause more irritation in the small intestine, which increases the risk for autoimmune reactions, irritation, and inflammation. So whenever we have somebody who's sick with any kind of gut disorder, I take people off gluten, and they quickly start to realize the benefits and start to feel much better. Q: What foods would you recommend to someone with celiac or gluten intolerance other than just gluten-free substitutions for products? A: I tell people that when you go gluten free, you can eat food from all food groups, you just need to pick the gluten free choices, which are often the healthier choices. Have more vegetables, more fruit, beans and nuts, seeds, and clean proteins. With regard to grains, have gluten-free oatmeal, quinoa, wild rice, and foods like that. Most dairy products are good. There's no gluten in dairy, so an organic yogurt would be really good for somebody with Celiac. I always recommend organic products in order to avoid eating pesticides. There are still so many delicious foods you can eat that are naturally gluten free. Once you realize this, it becomes a lot easier to adapt to the gluten free diet!

Menu Close All About Me Living With Celiac Resources Helpful Links Expert Advice Grocery Store Finds Trader Joe's Stop & Shop Skincare and Makeup Restaurant Recommendations (blog) Recipes All About Me Hi, my name is Alex. I'm 17 years old and from northern New Jersey. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease shortly after I turned three, so I've been living most of my life gluten free. I decided to create Eat Gluten Free with Me as a way to help others with Celiac learn to safely eat and live gluten free. I'm the oldest of three girls and I run track for my high school. I love to hang out with my friends, go shopping, practice sports, ski, go to the beach, and so many other things. This website is a guide for how I am able to do all of these things while being gluten free! In the summer before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I had frequent stomach pain and occasional vomiting. At first, the doctors thought I had a stomach bug, but the symptoms persisted. I was given a blood test, which came back with markers for Celiac. I then had an endoscopy that confirmed the diagnosis. Ever since then I've been living gluten free. Now I want to help others make an easier adjustment to having Celiac Disease. Because I've been gluten free for most of my life, I consider myself somewhat an expert now, but in the beginning, it was much more difficult. Because of my age at the time, my parents had to learn what was safe for me to eat, the best brands to buy, and how to avoid cross contamination, which was a huge and overwhelming task. The purpose of this website is to share my experiences and the ways I've learned to handle my diet and still live a normal and happy life -- in the hopes of making the adjustment to being gluten free easier and less intimidating for others. In this website I will include a general guide to safely eating gluten free, my guides to my favorite restaurants near me and in every place that I travel to, the best gluten-free items to buy at the grocery store, using safe skincare and makeup, and my own recipes for my favorite homemade gluten-free foods. I will also share other reference materials and update you on what I've been doing to advocate on behalf of people with Celiac Disease and gluten/wheat allergies. Disclaimer: This website is not intended as medical advice

Menu Close All About Me Living With Celiac Resources Helpful Links Expert Advice Grocery Store Finds Trader Joe's Stop & Shop Skincare and Makeup Restaurant Recommendations (blog) Recipes Grocery Store Finds Trader Joe's Finds Stop & Shop Finds One of the most difficult parts of navigating Celiac is knowing what gluten-free food to buy. Gluten-free food has a reputation for being not as good as regular food, but if you know what to buy, gluten-free food can be delicious. I have had Celiac long enough that I have figured out all of the best gluten-free foods, from pasta, to cookies, to snacks. This section will help newly diagnosed Celiac patients and anyone else who is gluten free to find the best gluten-free foods in the grocery store Here are some of my favorite staples that you can find at most grocery stores: Gluten-Free Substitutes All purpose flour: Cup4Cup Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour or Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour Pasta: Barilla Gluten Free Pasta or Jovial Gluten Free Pasta Pretzels: Snyders of Hanover Gluten Free Pretzels or Glutino Pretzels Rolls: Schaar's Gluten Free Ciabatta Rolls and Baguettes Crackers: Lots of great brands, my favorites are Milton's Gluten Free Baked Crackers, KAME Rice Crackers, Schaar's Entertainment crackers, Lance Gluten Free Baked Crackers Cookies: Tate's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free Oreos Naturally Gluten-Free Grocery Staples There are so many naturally gluten-free staples available at every grocery store. All foods like fruits, vegetables, and meat are all naturally gluten free. Of course, if the meat you buy is processed or has a seasoning it is important to make sure it is still gluten free. Staples like rice, beans, corn tortillas are naturally gluten free as well. Lots of snacks like corn chips, potato chips, popcorn, and more are almost always gluten free. Similarly, most dairy products like milk, cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, and butter are all naturally gluten free. But again, it always important to check the labels and be aware of any additional ingredients that may contain gluten. For example, most ice cream is naturally gluten free, but some flavors contain cookies, pretzels, or other wheat containing ingredients. There are many gluten-free options at every grocery store, but the most important thing to remember is to always check the labels.

Multiple Locations https://www.joejuice.com/ Joe & the Juice is one of my favorite places to stop for food when I'm in New York City. They have the best gluten free paninis I've ever had and they are very careful to avoid cross contamination. My go-to order is the Turkey Sandwhich. There are a ton of Joe & the Juice locations in NYC, so if you're there I highly recommend trying it out.

27 Kings Rd, Madison, NJ 07940 https://sundaymotorco.com Sunday Motor is one of my favorite places to go for breakfast, lunch, or coffee. This cafe is able to modify almost all of their toasts, sandwhiches, and salads to be gluten free. Sunday Motor has a great atmosphere and is almost always crowded. All of the food and coffee is always delicious, and I go with my friends and sisters all the time. My personal favorite dish to order at Sunday Motor is the avocado toast on gluten-free bread along with a vanilla latte. The staff is very aware of allergies and I always feel comfortable eating gluten-free food prepared here.

12 Village Rd, New Vernon, NJ 07976 https://www.thejolielife.com Jolie is another one of my favorite places to go for breakfast or lunch. Jolie offers a ton of gluten-free options and I am able to have almost all of their sandwiches, toasts, and paninis on gluten-free bread. Jolie also has an entire section of baked goods that are all completely gluten free. All of the employees at Jolie are very aware of Celiac and make sure that there is no cross contamination when I order. My favorite thing to order at Jolie is the Exuberance Sandwich on gluten-free bread. Jolie also has a ton of delicious coffee options available such as the Lovely Lavender Latte and the French Vanilla Latte, which are some of my favorites.