Make a new plan, Stan ...

Homemade yogurt: Looks gross, tastes amazing!

Sometimes a gluten-free diet alone doesn’t cut it. For the past two and a half years, I have carefully monitored every bite of food I have put in my mouth, I have banned all gluten-containing products from my home, and I have relentlessly asked questions at restaurants, but now I have started having digestive issues again.

After several weeks of running to the restroom after every meal, being mostly tethered to the conveniences of my home, and looking over my shoulder for the nearest facility when I must be out in public, I started searching for new solutions to my new-old problem.

The SCD bible.

That’s when I discovered the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which, of course, is gluten-free, but which also eliminates all grains, sugar, and starchy carbohydrates and encourages the consumption of homemade yogurt to promote intestinal health. The concept is based on research by early celiac physicians and was developed into a diet plan by Elaine Gottschall, who wrote Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet. It claims not only to be of tremendous advantage for celiac disease, but also for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, autism, and many more diet-related illnesses.

Now, my scientific-minded husband constantly discourages me from jumping onto diet (or other) bandwagons, especially if they make huge claims and seem somewhat unconventional. I must do my homework and be able to defend the diet as he hammers me with questions. (If you have seen this dark side of this lovely, gentle man, you will understand what I must go through!)

And Gotschall does make huge claims.  “The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has been shown to completely cure most cases of celiac disease if followed for at least one year,” she writes in Breaking the Vicious Cycle, the bible of SCD followers. What??? To back up her claim she cites a mountain of anecdotal evidence—and you can find an entire mountain range of testimonies online.

She also explains the science behind the diet, which I used to defend myself against Doug, who is not allowing me to swallow the entire scheme, hook, line and sinker, but who is more than willing to help me out with this new adventure if it even has a snowball’s chance of working. “Much of the diet does make good sense,” he reasons.

I feel compelled to tell you that the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, one of the premier scientific communities searching for a cure for Celiac Disease, states flatly on its website that it does not concur with Gotschall’s findings: “A specific carbohydrate diet is not a recommended diet. There is no peer-reviewed, scientific publication that shows this diet will aid those with celiac disease.” That’s what it says; nothing else.

WebMD (and others like it) advises caution about the diet, but the website does admit that “[d]espite the fact that there is little scientific evidence for the SCD, it is hard to ignore the anecdotal praises for the plan. It quotes Dr. Joel Mason, associate professor of medicine, nutrition, and gastroenterology at Tufts University in Boston, who says, “We still don’t have perfect treatments for these GI diseases, and we should be open to unconventional therapies that are worthy of consideration [and] proceed cautiously and with careful medical supervision.”

Having recently seen the Academy Award nominated film Dallas Buyers Club, I asked myself, “What if the good folks portrayed in this film who suffered from their disease (HIV, in this case) had left all responsibility for their cure to the medical community?” They took it upon themselves to find solutions, because they were they ones with the sense of urgency, the ones who had to live (or die) with it every day. While their solutions might have been flawed, their anecdotal evidence caught the eye of the medical professionals and made a contribution to the control of the disease. This story inspired me to join the fight in seeking my own cure.

So, a few weeks ago, I decided to try the SCD. (Stop rolling your eyes and consider: what do I have to lose as opposed to what I might gain?) It’s not easy to follow, I admit—but after having given up gluten for so long, giving up grains and sugar doesn’t seem like an insurmountable task. Here is a list of ten random observations about this diet I have made thus far:

[No] Sugar! Ah, honey, honey ...

1. I feel MUCH better. The trotskies have almost completely subsided.
2. I feel MUCH better. I have been sleeping through the night. If you know me, you know that I have never been a good sleeper. One of my friends accuses our household as being a “vampire family.”
3. I feel MUCH better. At first I was pretty weak, having given up most carbs. I worried about whether I could keep up playing tennis or even walking (my passions). This week, as I add more legal foods, my energy is returning (although my tennis game hasn't improved much).
4. I am learning new tricks. I have successfully made my own great-tasting yogurt, the part of the diet that worried me the most--and it was more than delicious. Way cheaper than store-bought yogurt, too.
5. I am learning new tricks. I am cooking at home more—because I have to. While there aren’t so many SCD recipes out there, there are a gazillion paleo recipes. The SCD is close enough to the paleo diet that you can make a few simple modifications to be SCD legal.
6. I’m making new discoveries.  Eating out is more of a challenge with SCD than with gluten-free only, but it can be done! (I’ll address this aspect of SCD as I go along.)
7. I’m making new discoveries. I have learned a lot about celiac disease and other autoimmune illnesses from Gotschall’s book. (I ordered this book used on Amazon for about $10. If you’re at all curious about how the diet might help you, I highly recommend it!)
8. I’m making new discoveries. Honey tastes great in coffee, homemade applesauce, plain yogurt, almost anything. Who knew?
9. I can do this. I actually wrote out and signed a 90-day commitment to this diet, just to see if it will work. If I am still having positive results at the end of this period, I will gut it out (no pun intended) for the entire year. Will I be cured? Not likely, but I will never know until I try. What if it works?
10. I can do this. Having to give up rice, potatoes, oats, and corn makes me very sad, but so did giving up wheat. I know I can do it if I take it one day at time. I know I will even grow to like it. I am already growing to like it. 

Gonna make a new plan, Stan (the SCD)—and get myself free (from the bathroom)!

Pinterest picks the place ...

Otto's Tacos are GR8!

Social media has made following special diets infinitely easier. Using Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Yelp, and many other sites, you can find everything from specific diet advice and product information to recipes and restaurant reviews.

When I go to NYC to visit my children, I love to try out new places to eat, and I often use Google, Yelp, or an app called Find Me Gluten Free to help me in my search for them. Many of the city restaurants have begun catering to GF diners, and such sources make it very easy to find the ones that do. On a recent visit, I discovered a new favorite--Otto’s Tacos at 141 2^nd Ave--through Pinterest.

Here’s how it happened:

As I was sitting in my hotel room reading my email, I received a message that someone named nobreadNYC had liked one of my Pinterest pins. I don’t usually pay attention to those messages unless they come from one of my personal friends, but since I have a keen interest in NYC gluten-free restaurants, I followed the pin back to her boards.

There I found a goldmine of boards pertaining to GF dining in NYC: Healthy Hotspots NYC, Best BRUNCH in NYC, Gluten Free Bakeries, My Favorite Foods, and many more. Looking at her profile, I found a link to her blog at www.nobreadnyc.com, which also deals with GF dining.

When I visited her blog, I discovered that she had categorized, classified, and even reviewed an amazing number of GF restaurants located all over the city. I scrolled down through her lists to see what she thought of some of my favorites and found that she hadn’t listed my top two: Risotteria on 270 Bleecker St. and Risottera Melotti on 309 E. 5^th St.

Giant tortilla press at Otto's Tacos.

I acquired her email address in her contact information and wrote her a note thanking her for her excellent resource and recommending that she give the risotto restaurants a try.

She emailed me back to thank me for the suggestions and told me to try Otto’s Tacos, probably because I had told her that my children are students at NYU, and the restaurant is located in the area of the university. (In fact, Otto’s Tacos is on the very street where my son lives. How’s that for a “small world” experience?)

This flurry of computer activity took place around 9:30 a.m., and by noon I was sitting with my husband and son at Otto’s Tacos downing two of the best freshly pressed, carnitas-filled corn tortillas I’ve ever tasted. (Doug had chicken and Bryson had the shrimp, and they testified that those were also pretty delicious.) We also shared a side order of guacamole and chips and had refillable sodas (a bit of a rarity in NYC).

Social media made it that easy.

Pinterest is filled with useful info!

Without social media, people with celiac disease and other maladies would be condemned to a world of isolation and frustration. While the Internet can also exacerbate those problems—you should hear me screaming at my computer in frustration some days—they open up a world of help and hope.

If you haven’t joined Pinterest, I encourage you to check it out. With a few keystrokes, you can find literally thousands of great recipes, celiac-safe restaurants, and other helpful information pertaining to living a gluten-free life.

Gluten-free on the fly ...

Sunrise over SGF

As Doug and I were returning home from a little vacation in Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago, we had a dinnertime layover at DFW.  Thinking we would grab a quick bite before boarding our plane to SGF, we went to Tigin Irish Pub, an airport restaurant where I had once eaten a gluten-free salad. After taking and filling our drink requests, the waiter returned for our food orders, and I asked him to remind me of which items on the menu were gluten-free.

“We don’t have any gluten-free food,” he told me flatly, not offering to help me out. Not even a tiny little bit.

Since we had already received our drinks, I asked the waiter if I could run out to one of the restaurants in the food court area and bring back something to eat with Doug.

“No problem,” the waiter said.

Well, it wasn’t “no problem.” I searched most of the Terminal D fast food restaurants that were still open, and I got the same response at every single place I asked:

“We don’t have any gluten-free food.”

I couldn’t believe it! One place that sold baked potatoes told me that their potatoes weren’t gluten-free. Another wasn’t set up to avoid cross-contamination. Even Smoothie King told me they had nothing on their menu that I could safely consume. So I slinked back to the restaurant where I left Doug watching a football game and ate the GoPicnic I had fortunately carried with me.*

GF lunch from CIBO Express (ORD)

Fast forward to this week at Chicago-O’Hare (ORD):

We landed at ORD just before noon on our way to visit our children in NYC. Without any real expectations for success, I walked into a CIBO Express to look for a gluten-free lunch. The little guy behind the counter said, “Gluten-free? Sure. We have lots. We even have gluten-free sandwiches!” He proceeded to walk me through the store, proudly showing me their gluten-free offerings (which even included GF cookies). I’m sure he thought I was crazy when, with eyes glistening, I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheeks.

Ok, I didn’t throw my arms around him or kiss his cheeks. But I’m positive that my eyes were glistening. I DID choose a gluten-free lunch and enjoyed it immensely on our flight to NYC.

The take-away from this (and similar) airport experience/s:

1.  Don’t expect to find much GF food in airports. While ORD has several offerings, even at other places besides CIBO, the best foods you can find at most airports including SGF, DFW and MCI, are salads with “iffy” dressings, sushi with gluten-containing soy packets, chips, Kind bars (for which you may pay upwards of $3 at airports) and nut mixes.
2. Don’t travel without taking along a couple of GoPicnics or other prepackaged GF food. If you happen to have a long layover, you’ll be glad you did. (By the way, when you purchase your GoPicnics to bring along, be sure the package is labeled gluten-free. They have a few varieties that aren’t. You can purchase them at most health food stores, but I found mine at Venture.
3. If you are member of American Airlines Admirals Club, don’t expect them to save you from starvation, either. They have very limited gluten-free offerings, although they usually have fruit and occasionally veggie or cheese trays that you can eat.

Take along a gopicnic!

Whatever you do, don’t let celiac disease keep you from traveling. If you plan ahead—and manage expectations—you can enjoy your trip!

*To be perfectly fair to DFW’s Terminal D, there is a nice upstairs restaurant called Reata Grill that has gluten-free offerings. That will be my future go-to restaurant at DFW’s Terminal D. Other terminals at DFW also have a few restaurants that serve gluten-free selections.

If you have found any good places for gluten-free food at airports, please let me know, and I'll pass the information along. Happy Trails!

Time in the oval office ...

No matter how hard I try to prevent a single particle of gluten from entering my body, I occasionally become “glutenized.” The worst symptom (among many) for me is that I am forced to sprint for the Throne Room several times a day—or even several times an hour, if I’ve had a particularly bad exposure.

When glu&$#n happens, I can usually figure out where I made the slip-up (bad image)—and I am usually over my symptoms within a couple of days. After a recent trip to Costa Rica, however, I’m still having a lot of trouble finding relief from my symptoms. In fact, I’ve had the scoots for more than two weeks.

No problems eating in Costa Rica--if
you're a howler monkey!

Now, Doug and I have traveled to Costa Rica with friends every January for the past few years, and I have never experienced any trouble equal to this recent episode. While we’re there, we do most of our own cooking, and if we eat out, I quiz the wait staff about gluten, just as I would at home. I try not to order anything  “iffy” at all, mostly opting to eat grilled fish, beans, and rice.

I have racked my brain for the possible causes for this particularly difficult bout of glutenizing, and I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities: It was either a salad that I ate at a small booth (where I actually watched them blend the ingredients and saw nothing amiss) or the so-called Nachos Big As Your A$$ (yes, that’s the name on the menu) at one of our favorite beach hangouts.

Since I’ve had the NBAYA many times before without incident, I don’t think they were the culprit. (Oh, oh, oh! I really do hope not!) With the salad, I’m wondering if I picked up some kind of demon-possessed amoeba that has taken up residence in my gut. (Doug ate the same salad and was somewhat skitterish for a day or two, so I’m wondering if, because of my celiac disease, it just hit me harder.)

Anyway, I’ve been reading and reading—and surfing and surfing—to find out how to turn off the leakage, and I found a diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which has had some success at helping people with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, celiac disease, and chronic diarrhea, among other bowel-related illnesses. The diet, which was formulated by Elaine Gotschall, author of Breaking the Vicious Cycle, is, of course, gluten-free and very restrictive in other ways (no grain, no sugar, for example), but if it works as well as testimony indicates, it might offer solutions to people with these issues—myself included.

The SCD bible.

Following the diet’s principles, I have eaten only eggs, ground beef patties, pureed carrots, and diluted grape juice for a couple of days, and the big D has currently ceased. A few days ago I would have done anything to shut off the faucet. I haven’t yet fully committed to the diet—I’m still studying—but it may be just what I need to live a healthier, happier life—a life outside the comfort station.

More information on the SCD can be found at these interesting websites:

www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info

www.scdlifestyle.com

www.scdfoodie.com

www.eatingscd.com

If you’ve had experience with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I’d love to hear from you!

Cashew Chicken is our "defining food"

Doug enjoys GF Crockpot Cashew Chicken!

With the exception of a one-year sojourn in Dallas, TX, I have lived my entire life within 100 miles of Springfield, MO. I love this area of the country with its beautiful hills, its clear lakes, its friendly cities—and its cashew chicken!

One of Springfield’s claims to fame is, in fact, cashew chicken. David Leong, a chef who moved to the area in the late 50s, is generally credited for the dish, which is a combination of Ozarks fried chicken and Chinese stir-fry topped with oyster sauce and sprinkled with cashews.

In an article titled “Missouri Chinese: Two Cultures Claim This Chicken” in The New York Times  (March 11, 2009), John T. Edge outlines the history of the dish. In his story he quotes Springfield native Kelly Knauer who explains,  “Cashew chicken is a kind of inside joke in Springfield … but it’s also our daily bread, our defining food.”

After my first taste of the dish (at Leong’s Tea House) during my high school years, it definitely became one of my defining foods. I ate cashew chicken on a regular—almost weekly--basis. While my son was in architecture school at Drury a few years ago, I drove to Springfield from Bolivar once a week to meet him at Lucy’s Chinese Food, which is located on the edge of the Drury campus. Or we’d go to The Ricksha downtown or to Dragon Inn on the edge of the MSU campus. (The Times article points out that there are more than 70 Chinese restaurants in Springfield with cashew chicken on the menu—and I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many of those I’ve tried through the years!)

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, however, my cashew chicken days were over. With its characteristic breaded fried chicken as its main feature, the dish is definitely off-limits. Alas! I have missed cashew chicken even more than I have missed cheese enchiladas from Mexican Villa. Even more than I have missed the biscuits and gravy at Gailey’s. Even more than I have missed “throwed rolls” at Lambert’s. Even more than I have missed good hamburger buns from nearly everywhere.

But yesterday I tried making my own gluten-free version using a recipe for Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken (from www.favfamilyrecipes.com) that appeared on my Facebook timeline a while back. And, people, I have to say that the end result was pretty amazing. Now, maybe I’ve just forgotten what good cashew chicken tastes like—but it also passed the “husband test.” Doug thought it was pretty close to the real McCoy. (I think he might even have spilled a little on his shirt—the true test of delicious!)

Here is the recipe with my modifications:

Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

            2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4), cut into smaller pieces

            1/4 cup gluten-free flour (I used Hol-Grain Chicken Coating Mix.)

            1/2 tsp. black pepper

            1 Tbsp. canola oil

            1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce

            2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

            2 Tbsp. ketchup

            1 Tbsp. brown sugar

            1 garlic clove, minced

            1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

            1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

            1/2 cup cashews

• Combine flour and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken for about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker.
• Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in small bowl; pour over chicken.
• Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours. Add cashews and stir. (The mixture got a little dry before we were ready to eat it, so I added water to barely cover. Before serving I also added a heaping teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken it up a bit.)
• Serve over rice. (I prefer brown rice because of its fiber and other health benefits.)

The final result was indeed wonderful, although it did seem a bit more vinegar-y than I remember. Next time—and there will be many next times--I may cut back on the vinegar and add some gluten-free oyster sauce. (I understand that Panda Brand Green Label is gluten-free. You might be able to get it at Oriental grocery stores, but I haven’t looked, yet. I did find it on Amazon.) I will also cut up some green onions and sprinkle those on at the end. Yum!

Cashew Chicken Days are here again!

•