a special shoutout to some special people.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I attended two days of the Gluten Free Living Now Expo in Carmel, Indiana. I'll blog more about it later (and on some of the products which really stood out to me), but I'd like to take this opportunity to send a special thank you to the wonderful folks at Kinnikinnick foods, the people of Gluten Free Living Now, and the staff of The Fountains Banquet & Conference Center in Carmel, Indiana, where the Expo was held.

I had to drive over an hour just to get to the Expo, and by the time I got going and found the place, it was about 4:30 in the afternoon. Since I knew they were closing down in a half hour, I tried to look around as much as possible before I had to leave. I knew I would be coming back the next day, but I didn't want my trip Friday to be for nothing!

I had collected quite a few samples and a free reusable grocery bag by five o'clock, and I was ready to go. Now, when I know I am going to be walking around a lot, I don't like to carry a heavy purse; I will bring along a smaller bag and put just the essentials in it, such as my wallet and the key to my van. I pulled out the key to my van, and was holding it in my hand (along with my phone and my bag and the shopping bag full of samples) when I suddenly remembered a photo I wanted to take to jog my memory. I walked back, took the photo (of the Harvest Cafe Coffee Roasters booth; their coffee is great, buy some!) and walked just out the door to the outside. It was at this point that I made a discovery which no person likes to make...I didn't have my key.

gluten free living now expo in carmel, indiana; october 7-9, 2011.

I'd like to invite everyone to the Gluten Free Living Now Expo in Carmel, Indiana, on October 7-9, 2011. Yes, I know that's today; sorry about the late notification!

They will be having booths, samples, lots of information, test items, and a chance to interact with other people who live with Celiac Disease. There will be some free informational sessions as well as cooking demonstrations. They will also have some paid lectures and speakers, if that is something you are interested in.

General admission to the Expo is free, but they are requesting a $2 donation to help fund a camp for children with Celiac Disease, and also for the Food For Celiacs program. If you donate, you'll also be entered in the door prize drawings.

It will be held at The Fountains in Carmel, and the times are 10AM-5PM each day. If you're interested, there's a map here.

I am really looking forward to this event. Hope to see you there! :)

so it's kinda like the colonoscopy, except from the other direction.

I had an appointment with the gastroenterologist today (hey, Google, why is there a squiggly red line underneath that word?) and, to make a long story short, she's ordered an EGD for me to undergo today.  For those of you unfamiliar with that particular acronym (as I was), it stands for esophogastroduodenoscopy (there's that squiggly red line again...even "squiggly" doesn't have a red line).  Basically, what they're gonna do is put me under just like they did for the colonoscopy, and then run a scope down my throat and take a look at my esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum.  The first thing I asked the doctor was if I would be awake for this particular procedure...thankfully, the answer was no.  :)

She is a young doctor, but she does seem to know what she is doing.  That makes me feel good, because I don't want to trust my gut to anyone that I don't have a good gut feeling about.

I also have an appointment next week with a dietitian, so we can discuss various things related to Celiac Disease, foods, and food prep.  I'm actually looking forward to that, since it will give me a chance to ask some questions I have about cross-contamination and just how careful I truly have to be.  Right now, I feel like all I'm doing is washing my hands.  Seriously, I go through so many paper towels, I've probably killed a forest.  Celiac Disease and OCD go together like fire and gasoline.

Truth be told, I'm also looking forward to the procedure later today.  I'm curious as to what is in there, what it looks like, and just how much damage has been done.  The prep is a lot easier (only water to drink and nothing to eat after midnight, and no water after 5 AM) and I should get some answers to questions I've had for a long time.

I'll let you know how things go, what I find out, and how the whole thing felt.  :)  Stay tuned!

a thought about cross-contamination.

It occurred to me early on in my journey with Celiac Disease that there might be a risk for cross-contamination in the foods I might be eating.  It hit me one day when I was getting ready to make a peanut butter sandwich...I was using gluten-free bread, yes, but when I got ready to dip my knife in the peanut butter I suddenly remembered my husband also making a peanut butter sandwich earlier that day.  I thought...well, if he spread the peanut butter on regular bread, and then if I spread the same peanut butter on my bread, aren't I contaminating my bread?  Great.  No PB&J for me that day.

I solved my problem by going out and buying my own jars or bottles or tubs of peanut butter, jelly, margarine, mayonnaise, and whatever else might become cross-contaminated through regular daily use.  These items are clearly marked as mine and everyone else in the house has strict instructions not to touch or eat out of them.  It isn't selfishness, it's survival.  (I later read in The Complete Idiot's Guide For Gluten-Free Eating that this is a good idea...hey, GMTA.)

So, I've become pretty sensitive to cross-contamination, such as touching a "contaminated" food and then touching a "safe" food.  Therefore, it upsets me when I go to a store and see something like this:

Various flours side by side at a store.

Now, if you look at the box of wheat gluten, you'll see that it says it is in a "sealed bag".  Okay, so if it is sealed, it might be safe...but then again, it might not, since the box itself could be harboring contaminants from the packaging process.  Have you ever used flour in your kitchen?  It gets everywhere, no matter how neat you try to be. But, look at the white flour bag and the soy flour bag.  They are not sealed inside, other than the sealing used on the bag itself, which is made of paper.  Pick up a paper bag of flour and plop it down on the counter.  See that cloud?

Once I got home, I looked at that photo and noticed something I hadn't noticed at the store (in my defense, I was in a hurry, and I didn't want to get in trouble for taking photos in this particular huge big-box world-wide retailer).  I went back today, and took a new photo.  Look at the bottom of the paper bag of soy flour:

See the white powder?

That is some sort of white powder on the paper bag of soy flour.  Is it soy flour that has leaked out of its bag?  Or is it some of the white flour from the bag next to it?  It doesn't look like the bag of white flour has leaked, but how do you know?  Maybe it leaked from the back or the bottom.  And, as someone with Celiac Disease, who knows that you absolutely cannot have any sort of wheat, rye, barley, or anything contaminated with those grains, do you really want to take that chance?

We must educate retailers as to the proper handling, storage, and display of gluten-free products and products for those of us with Celiac Disease.  If we are kind, concerned, knowledgeable, and persistent, maybe we can help bring this to the attention of employers who don't even know that this could be extremely dangerous to a certain segment of people.