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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 Helpful Links Food and Product Guides: Find me Gluten Free – the best resource for gluten free restaurants in any location!: www.findmeglutenfree.com Skin Safe – my go-to site for checking if beauty products are gluten free: www.skinsafeproducts.com Gluten Free Food List: Safe Gluten-Free Food List (Safe Ingredients) - Celiac.com Instagram: @eatglutenfreewithme – my Instagram page! @eatwithoutworry.tag @philhatesgluten @nycbutglutenfree National Organizations: Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE): FoodAllergy.org FARE Teen Advisory Group (TAG) – I am a member!: Teen Advisory Group - FoodAllergy.org Celiac Disease Foundation: www.celiac.org National Celiac Association: www.nationalceliac.org National Celiac Association Raising Our Celiac Kids (ROCK): www.nationalceliac.org/raising-our-celiac-kids-rock/ Beyond Celiac: www.beyondceliac.org Medical Resources: Pediatric Gastroenterology - Atlantic Medical Group Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition - Atlantic Health Center for Celiac Research and Treatment – Mass General Patient Resources for the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment – Mass General

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 Living With Celiac What is Celiac Disease? Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the small intestine when gluten is ingested, which means that continuing to eat gluten will cause damage to the intestines and throughout the body. Symptoms of Celiac can be different, and reactions to gluten can vary widely from person to person. Some symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, upset stomach, hair loss, weight loss, bloating, and more. Fortunately, these symptoms can be managed by eating a gluten-free diet. This website will help you to live safely gluten free, while still being able to find delicious foods, use great products, and socialize with friends and family. What is Gluten? Gluten is a protein found in certain grains. The most common sources of gluten are wheat, barley, and rye, which means that most breads and baked goods are made with gluten. However, gluten can also be present in places where it's not expected, which makes going gluten free very tricky at first. For example, gluten can be found in some candies, chips, salad dressings, processed meats, and other unexpected foods, as well as things like medicine, makeup, skin care products, and more. Luckily, there are a lot of gluten-free options and replacements for pretty much anything made with gluten. According to celiac.org , the most common gluten containing grains and their derivatives include: wheat; varieties and derivatives of wheat such as wheat berries, durum, emmer, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, graham, einkorn wheat; rye; barley; triticale; forms of malt including malted barley flour, malted milk, malt extract, malt syrup, malt flavoring, and malt vinegar; brewer's yeast; and wheat starch. There are other ingredients that may contain gluten, so it's important to always read labels and verify anything you're not sure about. A comprehensive list is also available here: list . Fear of Gluten I was diagnosed with Celiac when I was very young, so my parents handled rearranging my diet. However, when I got to Kindergarten, I had to eat lunch at school every day without my parents there to confirm that my food was safe. I was terrified of coming into contact with any gluten and spent most lunch periods crying at the beginning of that year. For a long time, it was difficult for me to eat out at restaurants or to eat at friends' houses. I did not trust anyone outside of my family to prepare my food. As I got older and became more used to having Celiac, it became easier for me to manage these situations and my anxiety began to lessen. In the process, I learned that one of the most difficult parts of having Celiac is trusting others with your food, and therefore your health. I have been able to get over most of the anxiety surrounding gluten, but there are still times when having Celiac can be stressful, and that's normal. Unfortunately, my experience is not a unique one. Many people who are newly diagnosed with Celiac experience a similar feeling of fear and anxiety when it comes to eating outside their home. Everyone's body responds to Celiac differently. Most commonly, people develop upset stomachs when eating gluten, but that is not the only way that people react. This is what makes being newly diagnosed with Celiac so nerve-wracking: once you stop eating gluten, you don't know how your body will react if you're accidentally exposed. At some point, especially in the beginning, you probably will accidentally eat gluten. The longer you have Celiac, the more you will understand how your body reacts to gluten and how to make sure you avoid it. While it can still be difficult to trust a restaurant or a friend cooking for you, eventually the anxiety that you feel around eating gluten will begin to decrease. It is important to be as cautious as possible when it comes to Celiac, but you can't let it stop you from living your life. Eating Out Safely If you are new to Celiac, you may not know that one of the main sources of accidentally eating gluten is through cross-contamination. Cross-contamination can occur in restaurants, factories, or even your own house. For example, if you order a cheeseburger with a gluten-free bun, it is possible that this burger could be cooked on the same surface on which the regular buns are being toasted, which would result in cross-contamination. Another significant risk of cross-contamination comes from ordering fried food like French fries. In most restaurants, the same fryer is used for cooking French fries and breaded foods like chicken fingers or mozzarella sticks. When a restaurant has a separate, gluten-free fryer, or a fries-only fryer it is safe to eat these fries. Employees should be able to tell you if anything with gluten goes in their fryer. My favorite restaurants are the ones with gluten-free fryers! Even if the risk of cross-contamination seems small and only a tiny amount of gluten is ingested, these small amounts of gluten can cause significant harm to your body. The most important thing about eating at restaurants is to inform your waiter that you have Celiac Disease and cannot risk cross-contamination. They should be able to tell you more about the situation in the kitchen and whether they can prepare your food on a separate, clean surface and if they have a separate fryer. Even though it's annoying, sometimes you will be stuck only eating a burger without a bun or just a salad. It's important to research restaurants before going out to eat so that you can find places that have a lot of available gluten-free options. I'm lucky to have some safe restaurants in my area, and I tend to stick to these places when I eat out. Shopping for Gluten-Free Food The good news is that there are still so many foods you can eat when you go gluten free. Fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and eggs are naturally gluten free, as are rice, nuts, and most dairy products. When it comes to packaged food, you have to learn to read the labels, but it's pretty easy once you get used to it. If something is identified as "certified gluten free," you can generally trust that it’s safe to eat without having to inspect the ingredients. If something simply says gluten free, it also likely is safe to eat, but you should inspect it further. There are many products that may or may not be labeled gluten free that are also safe to eat. As a general rule, if a product is not "certified gluten free," I start by checking the back and reading the ingredients. If I don’t see any wheat, barley, or rye (or their derivatives) in the ingredients, I look below the ingredients to the “contains” and “may contain” sections. These sections list out the most common allergens in the product. If "wheat" is listed, the product is not safe. There’s another section on most products that states whether the product was “made on shared equipment” or “made in the same facility” as products containing wheat (or other allergens). If the product was made on the same equipment as a product containing wheat, I generally avoid eating it. If I don’t see any gluten or oats in any of these areas on the product other sections (see Being Careful with Oats ), I decide that the product is gluten free and eat it. This is my process of ruling that something is safe to eat, and it's kept me healthy through the years. Avoiding Cross Contamination in your Home Believe it or not, when you're new to being gluten free, you actually run a big risk of cross-contamination in your own home. Your pots, pans, blenders, toasters, counters, tables and more can all be sources of cross-contamination. In my house, we started fresh with new pots, pans, baking sheets, etc. when I was diagnosed. Because I was diagnosed with Celiac when I was so young, my whole family eats mostly gluten free. We usually have gluten-containing rolls and tortillas in the house, but our family dinners are always gluten free, and our cooking and baking are also almost always gluten free. We now have two separate toasters, one where only gluten-free products go and one for foods with gluten. We have a small “gluten counter,” which is a specific counter that we use to prepare any foods containing gluten. We don't put any gluten in our blender to keep it safe, and we have separate pots for when my parents occasionally cook pasta with gluten or other non-gluten-free meals. There is no one correct system for keeping your kitchen gluten free, but it's extremely important to keep your gluten-free food separate from gluten and to keep surfaces clean and free of cross contamination. Being Careful with Oats I am very careful when it comes to avoiding cross-contamination, so I'm extra aware of oats. Most oats have high levels of cross contamination because they are usually grown in fields where wheat, barley, and rye are also present. Some oats are intentionally grown separately from gluten containing crops are certified gluten free. There are ways of decontaminating oats, which is done for cereals like Cheerios and Lucky Charms, but they are not certified gluten free. This is because their method for decontaminating oats is somewhat inconsistent. Some people believe that these cereals are completely safe because they are labeled gluten free, but others are more skeptical. There is a lot of debate over whether these cereals are safe to eat if you are gluten free, but if you would rather just be safe you can avoid these cereals. If you do choose to eat them or other similar products, monitor your body’s reaction to them and if you feel that are making you sick stop eating them. Similarly, most granola is typically made with regular oats, so it can be unsafe for people with celiac to eat. Gluten-free granola, however, is made with oats that are not cross contaminated. It is easy to purchase gluten-free granola at the grocery store. I love acai bowls, which are made with granola. Many stores that sell acai bowls also offer gluten-free granola, which is great because people with Celiac are still able to get regular acai bowls. Overall, be careful with oats if they are not labeled certified gluten free, even if they are labeled gluten free, but are not certified.

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!

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.