Celiac Son's List of Questions for Nutritionist at Boston Children's Hospital

My Celiac son had a 6-month check in appointment with a nutritionist today at Boston Children’s Hospital. They have an amazing program which includes an active Celiac support group.

Knowing that today’s appointment was upon us, Celiac Son and I have been keeping notes about random questions we wanted to ask the nutritionist. His list was at the top of the order for the appointment and what I will be sharing in this post.

So the following was Celiac son's list of questions for the nutritionist. Would your Celiac child's list be similar?

Can I eat the following?

-Hot dogs (at hockey rinks)

-Popcorn (at hockey rinks and movie theatres)

-Gum

-McDonald's Milk Shakes (after hockey practice)


-Ice Cream (at ice cream parlors)


Nutritionists’ responses:

Hot dogs

Most of the time, yes. Be sure to ask to read the ingredient list on the package.
Remember, no bun (though you can bring your own. Try Udi’s!)

Popcorn
Yes, just make sure that the person scooping the popcorn is wearing gloves so you don’t have to worry about cross contamination.

Gum
Yes

McDonald’s milk shakes (after hockey practice)
Yes!

Ice cream (at ice cream parlors)
Yes, but follow strict rules. See my previous blog post about Going Out For Ice Cream with a Celiac Child.


Celiac son was thrilled! There are so many things we've had to say "no" to. It was nice for him to have a day where he heard lots of "yes's." Celiac son is thrilled that he can still enjoy some of his favorite “fast foods.”

We are so fortunate to have such an amazing facility in Children's Hospital Boston with professionals who are dedicated to the research and care of children with Celiac Disease.

Image Credits:

McDonald's Milk Shake: www.mcdonalds.com
Popcorn: timelessbeauty.wordpress.com

Gluten Free Communion Host

If you partake in Communion at Church and have recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, you may be wondering what to do about accepting and sharing in Christ's blessed meal.

We asked about this at our Celiac School session at Children's Hospital in Boston, and another parent recommended that I look online at a company called Ener-G. Ener-G makes a gluten free host that can be ordered and shipped directly to your home.

I spoke with Celiac Son's Religious Education Director, and turns out, he is not the only Celiac Child in our Church. Our Religious Education Director ordered Christian lockets that are to be kept in the sacristy. The Celiac children can keep their lockets there, along with a sealed bag with their gluten free host with their names on them.

Each Sunday, before Mass, the children walk back to the sacristy, put their host in their locket, walk out and over to the alter and leave their locket on the altar for Father to bless when he blesses the bread and wine. When it is time for the Congregation to walk up for Communion, Celiac Son jumps out of line and retrieves his locket, which has his blessed communion.

Now, I will admit, Celiac Son was a little bit nervous about this whole process the first few times. It takes a lot of courage to walk out to the altar in front of the whole congregation before Mass starts. However, after a few weeks, he has become a pro.

I don't know if the logistics of the way we do it will work for you and your Church, but I wanted to share the information about the Gluten Free Communion. I hope that you are able to find a solution that you are comfortable with so that you can continue to share in Christ's meal.

God Bless all during this Easter season!

Image Credit: http://www.ener-g.com/communion-wafers.html

Shaw's Supermarkets is Taking Gluten Free Seriously

Part of being a "New Celiac Mom" means that I haven't had to have the experiences of some of my predecessors, that is….Celiac Moms and Dads who have been doing this for a while. From what I understand, up until about a year ago, shopping for a child with Celiac sometimes meant shopping at 4 or 5 different supermarketer and speciality shops, sometimes driving miles out of your way to find the one item you were looking for, and/or scouring the web for particular gluten free products.

Fast forward just one short year into this new gluten-sensitive world we are living in the US today...shopping for gluten free items has become a breeze compared to what my peers were accustomed to. To those Celiac Moms and Dads, I salute you. And I hope you are finally finding some relief not that gluten free items are becoming more and more readily available.

Over the last month, I have noticed that my primary grocery store, Shaw's Supermarketers, has stepped their gluten free shopping experience up a notch. They are rolling out Gluten Free tags on their grocery aisles. Every item in the store that is gluten free now has a tag similar to this in front of it.

Wow, does this make things easy!

I still recommend reading labels in case items were moved from one shelf to another or in the case of human error.

I wanted to write this post to give a big, gigantic shout out to Shaw's Supermarkets for making this New Celiac Mom's just a little bit easier.

Thank you, Shaws!




Image Credit Shaw's Logo: www.shaws.com

Going out for ice cream with your Celiac child

This is our first ice cream season as a Celiac family. Celiac Son was diagnosed in September, so it was easy to avoid during the fall and winter months. But with the warmer weather finally upon us, all of the little ice cream shops in town are starting to open up and Celiac Son wants to "go out for ice cream, already!"

Luckily, we are a food allergy family and this is not our first time around the ice cream rodeo. Remember, Celiac Son has a Peanut Allergy Brother. So, we are familiar with and comfortable requesting some extra TLC at the ice cream counter.

You may feel a little bit reluctant the first few times, but ice cream is something your child should not miss out on. It's worth the embarrassment of holding up the line and asking for help for yummy, yummy ice cream!

So here are my recommendations when going out for ice cream with a Celiac child:

First and foremost, always be sure to tell your server ahead of time that you have a gluten allergy and ask them if they are willing to take the necessary precautions to keep you safe. If your server is not comfortable, ask to please speak to a manager.

Second, you have to find a gluten free ice cream (nothing with cookies or other add-ins that contain gluten). Ask to read ingredient labels. You'd be surprised at what is added into ice cream.

Third, you have to ask the ice cream shop to open up a brand new container of the ice cream that you know is safe. The reason that you want the brand new container is that even though the ice cream may be gluten free, if the person before you (or before them) ordered that same ice cream and the employee scooped the ice cream into a cone, and then dug back into the ice cream carton for a second scoop, that ice cream is now gluten contaminated.

Finally, ask your server to diligently wash the ice cream scoop before preparing your ice cream from the brand new container.

Soft serve: Soft serve ice cream typically doesn’t have cross contamination issues, though you should still ask to see the ingredient list.

Cones: Obviously you want to avoid cones at the ice cream parlor. If your child MUST have a cone, Joy makes a gluten free ice cream cone. I would suggest bringing your own cone and place it on top of your child's ice cream bowl.

Toppings: also largely a no-no. Even if you are asking for a topping that is gluten free, they are typically left in open containers and cross contamination is a big issue. You can, however, ask for whipped cream out of a brand new container. My son gets excited about adding whipped cream to just about anything. Also, consider bringing your own gluten free toppings.



This ice cream process may sound daunting, but we have found over the years that most ice cream parlors that we visit are familiar with food allergies. In fact, it was at an ice cream shop in Bar Harbor, Maine that I was first exposed to the washing of the scoop. The server recommended it to me!

Like most things food related for a Celiac, going out for ice cream will take some careful planning, but for a reaction like this, I think we Celiac parents would all agree it's worth it!

P.S. Okay, she's not mine, but I couldn't resist!

Ice cream image credit: http://www.fanpop.com
Nut Free Zone image credit: www.allergylifestyle.com
Joy ice cream cone image credit: www.joycone.com
Super Cute Girl Eating Ice Cream image credit: www.flickr.com

Podcast: I interviewed my Celiac child and here's what he had to say

If your child has been recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, my elementary aged son and I know what you are going through. In the following podcast, I asked my Celiac son about his experience with Celiac Disease (so far). Some of his responses may surprise you.

Guide to Gluten Free Flour Blends

Admittedly, I'm a Betty Crocker kinda' mom. Well, since the Celiac diagnosis anyway. I really haven't experimented much with flour blends, and have found it easier to buy pre-made brownie and cookie mixes. But, I thought this infographic was interesting. Lots of cool recipes for yummy gluten free flour blends.

Have you experimented with any flour blends? Would love to hear of your experiences! Leave me a note in the comments below.

Explore more visuals like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Easy To Understand Gluten Free Infographic

Here's a great infographic to share with kids and other people who maybe don't quite understand where gluten hides, and really what it is.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.