What a Gluten-Free Diet Is

Hi everyone, so today, I am going to talk about what a gluten-free diet is:

There are so many different diets and food restrictions that a person can have, whether you have celiac disease like me and need to be on a gluten-free diet, or are on a diet like vegetarian, pescetarian, etc. I implore you to do research, I cannot stress this enough. I would highly recommend talking to your doctor or a nutritionist first before going on a diet because when done incorrectly, you can really hurt yourself. I do not feel like I have the knowledge to talk about other food restrictions, so I am going to talk about the one that I am most familiar with, which is a gluten-free diet. 

So what is a gluten-free diet, well, it is a diet in which I can not eat things containing wheat, barley, rye, soy, malt, and barley. People automatically assume that the only thing that you need to be careful about is wheat, but that is not the case. Soy is actually one of the less commonly known forms of gluten, which is why in my house I try to be careful, by buying gluten-free soy sauce. We usually use a soy sauce brand called Kikkoman. 

A gluten-free diet, especially if you have celiac disease, requires both consistency and awareness.  It is not something that I can just stop and start whenever I want. I have to be on this diet consistently, in order to see some actual results. As mentioned in previous posts, celiac disease mainly affects the small intestines, or more specifically the villi. So when I eat gluten, my body begins to attack itself, as it thinks that gluten is a foreign entity. In order to stop the attacks from occurring, I need to be on a diet that is compatible with my body, and that is purely a gluten-free diet. Additionally, it requires awareness, it is important that before you buy anything, take food off of another person's plate, or accept food from another person, that you check whether that product, meal, dish, is gluten-free. Learn to read labels and do not hesitate to ask questions, I can not stress this enough. I can guarantee you, that if you take the few extra minutes to read the back of a waffle box or a package of bread and ask the question, is this gluten-free? You will definitely save yourself a lot of physical pain later on.

I would like to dispel a few common misconceptions. Number one, going on a gluten-free diet does not mean that I can not eat bread or pasta, it just means that I need to have food without gluten. Number two, a gluten-free diet is not healthier than a normal diet. Okay, that is wrong, let me rephrase, going gluten-free does not mean that you will lose weight. In fact in certain situations, you gain weight. Often times GF products have more sugar, in order to improve taste, however, they are low in dietary fiber and essential vitamins. In a normal diet, you would be getting fiber from whole grains and other products, however, those grains are cut out of your diet. In order to stay healthy, you need to continually supplement your diet with vitamins and fiber. Number three, and probably the most important, is just because a product is gluten-free doesn't automatically mean it is good. I found that out the hard way! So, I would encourage you to be adventurous and try new GF products. 

Resources that you can refer to:

Say Goodbye to Food . . . .(containing gluten)

Hi everyone, today I am going to talk about what it is like to "say goodbye to food (containing gluten)."

There is a very straightforward answer, and it is this. Saying goodbye to non-gluten-free food was difficult. It was even more challenging to see my dad clear out all of our cupboards, pots, and pans. At nine years old, staring at an empty cupboard for a day did not feel good. It felt even worse, to see my dad walk through the door, with a single bag of groceries, that was supposed to sustain our family. That was all we had a single bag of groceries to work with. At the time, there were obviously not a lot of options, so whatever we had would have to suffice for the time being. I am going to say this much, the road was very long, covered with bumps, and roadblocks, but they were kind of necessary to get us to where we are today. We had to do research and try new things, even if it meant that we wound up eating ice cream for dinner. 

But through it all, I have seen pretty much tried every different type of gluten-free food that there is: pasta that falls apart upon making contact with a fork, cardboard pizza, bread that could give someone a decent-sized bruise if thrown hard enough, and food that is just downright inedible. We came to learn quickly, that just because something is gluten-free does not mean that it will be good. So upon realizing that fact, as a family, we went on a mission to find good gluten-free food. There are some brands that we came across which did the job and more, these include but are not limited to:

  • Schar: They have cookies (great chocolate-dipped cookies, bread, rolls, pasta etc)

  • Barilla: Barilla does make gluten-free pasta, however, I would be careful because both GF and non-GF boxes are blue. However, there are some yellow barilla boxes, which are GF, but I would look at the labels regardless. 

  • Bisquick: The GF Bisquick boxes are yellow and orange. The pancakes or waffles are delicious;  I would just follow the recipe on the back of the packet. 

  • Vans: Vans have microwavable pancakes and waffles. They also sell a variety of cereals as well, however, I would just be careful with the boxes, both GF and non - GF products come in white boxes. It is quite easy to mix up the two. So again look at the labels. 

  • Udis: Udi’s have GF white bread (I would recommend heating it up), burger buns, and hamburger buns. 

  • Glutino: Glutino makes a lot of great GF products. We buy cookies and sweets a lot, but they make other things as well.

  • Canyon: As far as I know canyon makes white bread and multigrain bread. I am not a big fan of their products though, but don’t take my word for it. 

  • Annie's: Annie’s has really great mac and cheese, that is pretty much all we buy from them, however, they do make gummies, cheese crackers, etc as well. The boxes are multicolored, some are purple others are orange, so I would just read the labels and look at what the box says on the front.  

  • Bob's Red Mill: We use Bob’s Red Mill a lot especially for home-cooked goods like cookies, cupcakes, etc. This includes but is not limited to oats, GF Flour, Rice flour, xanthan gum, almond flour, etc. 

  • Katz: Katz makes awesome donut holes and donuts. 

  • Bell and Evans: Oftentimes we get Bell and Evans chicken tenders or nuggets. However, both the GF and Non- GF boxes are black or blue, so again read the labels. 

  • Synder: Synder does make GF pretzels, both the mini bags and the big party size bags.  

  • Enjoy life: Enjoy Life makes a lot of different types of GF cookies, protein bars, sometimes cereal although I don’t see that as much at the store. 


There are also products that are naturally gluten-free now:

  • Fruits and vegetables are gluten-free, so I am not going to list those. 

  • Lays (potato chips, Cheetos) - Regardless, I would still read the package, don't take my word for it

  • Breyers Ice cream: Not ice cream which contains cookies

  • Chobani and yogurt: Yogurt, in general, is gluten-free, just as long as it does not have the cookie bits or chocolate bits that you put into it. 

  • Chex: Most rice Chex are gluten-free, and oftentimes that is in large print on the front of the box

*Just to be clear I am not part of these companies, nor a promoter, I am simply listing some brands that have not failed me yet. If you use other brands that work for you and your family that is great!

Resources you can refer to:

Introductions

Hi, my name is Eleanor or I prefer Ellie, I am 16 years old and I have celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune and hereditary disease (it gets passed down) that really hurts my immune system and my digestive system, essentially not allowing me to get the nutrients I need. The only cure for it however is going on a gluten-free diet.....

When I was younger my relationship with food was great because I didn't have to care what it was or what was in it, I just popped it in my mouth and went about my life like many people do. Okay, sometimes I cared what it was, especially if it did not look physically appealing or smell good. For anyone who deals with a gag reflex, you know what I am talking about.  Regardless I ate whatever I wanted or whatever was in my house at the time.  Bagels, waffles, pancakes, pasta, vegetables (at times), fruit, cookies, rice, beans, etc. There were certain foods that I just could not seem to get my head around like fish and sushi. I didn't like tomatoes or peas for a time either. But that is beside the point, I was free to eat without worry.

When I was in elementary school, things got a little bit more difficult. Food that I once really enjoyed was making me really sick, like doubling over and clutching my stomach kind of sick. I was uncomfortable pretty much all the time, and not able to sit still in my chair. My grannie used to say had I ants in my pants because I wriggled and moved around so much, which is a pretty good description. Additionally, other aspects of my health were being hurt. Trying to go to sleep at night was a pain, rolling from side to side trying to alleviate cramps. I used to get ill frequently and have high fevers as an added bonus. Overall my health was suffering immensely. My parents had no clue what was going on, and I could not even begin to fathom either because I was only about seven or eight at the time.

In third grade, it got to the point where I had to get an endoscopy to see what was going on. An endoscopy is a special procedure, where a camera gets lowered into your small intestines. Fun, right? Well, I was asleep so it didn't matter. But, it was really scary for me nonetheless. We did the procedure early because my dad is an early morning appointment type of guy and I couldn't eat any breakfast, which was kind of annoying. In order for the doctors to get a clear picture of what was going on internally, food was a big no-no.  I do remember putting on a white gown, with little ducks on it, sitting in a hospital bed, which had the bars attached to the sides. I remember sitting there with my parents listening to the anesthesiologist talk about the procedure and what to expect when I went under. I did not really understand what was going on at the time, I just tried to go with it. Later, I was wheeled into a really bright room and with doctors standing around. To be frank, the whole ordeal was pretty nerve-racking, but, it was really alright in the end. It took a little while for the results of the endoscopy to come back, but the general verdict was that I had celiac disease. Imagine learning that you had some strange disease and not really knowing what it was.  Well, I was absolutely clueless, although, I did get a good kick out of showing the pictures from the endoscopy to my third-grade teacher, who made a super weird face at me. I tried to be positive about the whole experience at the time, but really I was just scared. The fact is that celiac disease did change my life and the first major step was saying goodbye to some of the food that I loved.



Introducing Ellie

My name is Eleanor. I am 16 years old and in eleventh grade. During COVID-19, my school is doing hybrid learning, which means I am in school one day with a mask, and then out of school the next day, working from home. At home, I have two supportive parents and one younger sister called Diana. We have managed somehow not to take each other apart yet, which is a miracle in itself. I have two cute cats, named Oscar and Shawnee, whom I have had since graduating fifth grade. I think that in some ways they have kept my family and me sane during COVID-19. Apart from that, I am a pretty ordinary teenager, I go to school, do my homework, participate in clubs (theater and our school’s literary magazine) and spend some time on social media. I do have a somewhat quirky side though, I really like to read and knit, I love listening to CDs, I like spending time outdoors and messing around in our backyard (especially when it is not too cold). But perhaps the most influential part of me is that I have celiac disease and I have been on a gluten-free diet since I was about 9 years old. Going through the process of getting diagnosed and then having to completely change my diet was not easy, by any means. So I thought it would be a good idea to share my experience, and give others some advice on how to navigate through the twists and turns of living with this ongoing illness. 



Starting New Season in the Snow

Although there are inches of snow covering the earth, spring is certainly approaching. In the greenhouse seeds are tucked into warm, moist soil, getting ready to emerge and grow into this years supply of healthy, organic crops. Onions and Leeks, Kale, Cabbage, Broccoli, Collards, slow growing herbs and flowers are the first. We will be meeting on Saturdays for regular seed starting through the end of April, so please reach out if you would like to join us.

2017 Around the Corner!

Spring is here, seedlings have sprouted in the greenhouse, and we are starting to prepare and plant in our gardens.

We look forward to welcoming anyone and everyone interested in learning and growing with us. We're very excited to see old and new faces volunteering this year! Spreading compost and planting seeds have already started in all of our gardens. One of our new gardens is located in Passidomo Veterans’ Memorial Park in West Harrison, and we are grateful to Mayor Ron Belmont for his continued support and for helping us set up this garden. This giving garden will serve those in need in Harrison and the surrounding community. We are pleased to announce the opening of our new garden located on Manhattan Avenue in Greenburgh, which will hopefully expand as a larger project with the Town of Greenburgh. These two gardens will help us continue to expand our mission of bringing locally-grown, chemical-free, nutritious produce to all in the community. If you're interested in volunteering at the gardens, feel free to email us at ournewwaygarden@gmail.com, or come check out our new weekly blog to see our volunteer days! If you don’t see any volunteer days that fit your schedule, please reach out and we will work with your schedule.

Here are the volunteer days for the upcoming weeks!

  1. April 22, 1 PM-4 PM, New King Street Garden (4 New King Street, West Harrison, NY 10604)

  2. April 24, 11 AM-2 PM, New King Street Garden (4 New King Street, West Harrison, NY 10604)

  3. April 25, 10 AM-12 PM, Greenburgh’s Manhattan Avenue Garden (52 Manhattan Avenue, White Plains, NY 10607)

2016 Season

With Spring just around the corner, seeds are starting in the greenhouse.  It feels good to be back in the soil after the winter.  This year we will partner with Volunteer New York and have regular volunteer days at the New King Street Garden.  The 2nd and 3rd Monday April through September from 11am-2pmn each month and an additional day every other week still TBD with one Wednesday evening each month as well.  Please see the Volunteer New York website for details https://www.volunteernewyork.org or email us at ournewwaygarden@gmail.comif you are interested in helping out.

Thank you and see you soon in the garden