FIRST!!!

I decided to create a blog that allows me to talk about the challenges I've been facing ever since developing Celiac's disease when I had just graduated college.

College is a hard enough time to deal w/ eating right, grabbing a snickers from the vending machine in between classes for "lunch", getting excited when your 8am is cancelled so you can get a McGriddle before breakfast menu is closed, eating Pizza every single weeknight... my last summer of college, while I was taking a full 16hrs so I could graduate before my lease was up, I pretty much lived in the local cafe and ate nothing but bagels and danishes for two months.

This was probably a terrible idea, because that was the exact time that I developed symptoms of Celiac's disease, but because I wasn't having a stomach reaction (not sure why, but I only had dermatitis herpetiformis the first 12 months or so, and since we didn't know what it was, I just thought I had sensitive skin for a year. It was a really hard year), I didn't think to change my diet.

Then, August 2009, I started coming down with a late summer cold, and thought that perhaps my upset stomach was just from my post nasal drip. Until, one day, I thought to myself "geese, did I have something with lactose in it? I feel like I just drank a glass of milk... oooooh nooooooo..."

Well, I won't go into all the details on discovering I had a gluten intolerance. Long story short, at least 5 members of my mother's family have either been diagnosed with Celiac's disease, or have a gluten intolerance/sensitivity of some sort. Basically, we just don't eat gluten in my family.


The point is, suddenly, I was faced with challenge all of us go through post college... the realization of "Wait... now I have to make my own meals?" with the fun addition of "Oh, but I can't eat toast, oatmeal, most types of cereal, sandwiches, pizza, or pasta?"

So, I had to re-learn how to eat. Yes, there are gluten free versions of most of those foods we miss, but DAMN they're expensive!!! And let's face it, gluten-free bread tastes like diet food. It's gross...

Well, it's been a little over two years since I first made the change, and with a lot of help from my friends, I've started to get the hang of this whole eating thing, but I still pretty much only have an inkling of what on Earth I'm doing. Hopefully, my amusing stumblings will help others who are trying to figure this out as well!

Bon Apetit, and Bon Chance!!! We're gunna need it...