I just found out I have celiac disease, aka, a wicked reaction to gluten as a result of an auto-immune disease. As someone who has written about, eaten, and adored food this was kind of a buzz kill. But as someone who is pretty sure I can re-imagine fried food and bread sticks, I’m confident I can give gluten the ass-kicking it deserves.
You can also read more of my ramblings on parenting, current events, and whatever blows my skirt up around the world wide web.
Comments? Recipes? Super duper tips about rad gf fried chicken? You can reach me at aprilhatesgluten@gmail.com.
very timely and important blog.
April, are you stomping some gluten butt or what?! nice blog
Thanks Stacey! But omg, I wish you were here in LA to pilate my butt back into shape. Eating gluten-free cookies is making me chunk up.
I just found you and already I love you. I’ve been gluten-free for a whole decade now, but couldn’t find anybody with a sense of humor about it, or who complains about it as much as I do. I stopped reading the Gluten-Free Girl blog because she uses too much high-falutin’ gourmet stuff and cooks everything from scratch. Gimme a break! I’m a mom with things to do and I can’t (or won’t) spend more money on food than my mortgage. Forgive me if I ramble. It’s just nice to find a kindred spirit anywhere, even on teh intarwebs.
Just found out I have this too–not fun. I will definitely following along. (PS I also recently connected with you on Linked In. We have a lot of mutual friends, and I did a little work with you at Babble)
Thanks.
Thanks Ron. And bummer about your celiac. It does suck. Totally remember you via Babble! Glad to see you here.
So I found you on The Stir after reading your post on the mini pies kicking the cupcakes’ asses and then I noticed you mentioned a bakery in Santa Barbara with gluten free pies (and CHEESECAKE, apparently). I just moved to Corona, CA all the way from northern Virginia (near DC, as mentioned in your post as well) and with the major stress of that, not having a job, etc. I’m 99.9% sure I have celiac because my Mom was diagnosed with it a couple years ago as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have insurance to get tested for it but after changing my diet, I’m not getting sick EVERY SINGLE DAY…so, obviously that will be the first appointment I make when I do get a job and insurance! But your blog is hilarious and I think keeping up with it will definitely help me (I also shared it with Mom!). Thanks.
Thanks so much Caitlin! I also have a few posts up about Gluten-Free Palm Springs, Gluten-Free Los Angeles, and I’m working on one about Gluten-Free Santa Barbara this weekend. So check them out if you’re in the area! Also look at the blog, Gluten Freeways which is a Los Angeles based gluten-free blog. It’s RAD.
If you feel better after cutting out the gluten, yeah, that’s probably the case. ESPECIALLY since your mom was diagnosed. Stress doesn’t help either so you’re probably in the middle of a massive body revolt. Yuck. Good luck, and thanks so much for your comment!
Finally, a celiac with a sense of humor! You know better than anyone that “celiac” and “humor” normally do NOT get mentioned in the same sentence. And for good reasons…..eating and living gf BITES. I’m not a celiac but am gluten intolerant. I eat gluten and it triggers asthma. This also rates high among those things that BITE, but in the last year have learned of many gf products and only occasionally yearn for really good pizza or one of my mom’s cinnamon rolls. Thanks for the laughs, the education and for helping all of us kick gluten to the curb!
Thank YOU, Charlotte. I know, people get all serious about their gluten and stuff. Although if I had asthma as a result of eating gluten, I think I might be scared shitless. Fight the good fight!
Just found this blog while searching for GF Thanksgiving menu ideas. You are the first GF blog I have really liked!! I love your humor, as I call being a Celiac “the pain in the a** disease.” And come on, can someone please find a better name than Celiac Disease! The word disease has got to go. Thank you for your humor, I love to laugh and being able to laugh about oneself and of course our issue makes life more tolerable!
This is my first GF Thanksgiving, was diagnosed right around Christmas 2010. Can’t wait to try your GF Pumpkin Cheesecake! Happy Thanksgiving!
I like “pain in the ass disease” it totally fits. Thanks Michelle! I hope you enjoy the cheesecake, it’s really super duper yum.
Loved the gluten free holiday recipes!
You are adorable, April! I love your blogs and can SO empathize as I was diagnosed with Celiac Diease in 2006 (although probably suffered from it for a lot longer than that) and have been gluten-free ever since! Fortunately for us, the world has taken notice of this inconvenient and challenging disease and have really come up with some great gluten-free products and proper labeling. I will be making your GF peanut butter cookies for my dad for Christmas this weekend for sure! Although he’s not gluten intolerant, my rule is…if I’m cooking or baking, I better be able to eat it, too! Happy Holidays!!
Eydie, I totally have that rule too. Seriously, I’m not cooking or baking something that makes me physically ill. Not even on your birthday. (Not YOUR birthday, but . . . you know what I mean.)
April,
Fortunately, I am not Celiac. However, my wife is. I know all too well the struggles of making most food edible while also making it g-free. Seeing as I do 90% of the cooking, I have had to get creative, practice a lot, and not get too mad when dinner tastes like cat litter. Luckily, there is growing support and resources and yours is truly a gem! We live in a tiny county and most people have no clue what gluten is, so restaurants are out of the question if we want any sort of variety (I went g-free to support my wife).
Anyway, keep up the ass-kicking, and I would love to swap recipes and compare notes (I have a *delicious* coconut chicken contest winner recipe)!
Thanks Luke! I’d love to have an award winning recipe, especially one that is not a dessert. Since I seem to have some laser focus on that food group.
And I grew up in a very, very, very small town in Oklahoma so I thank god every day I wasn’t diagnosed when I only had those limited resources — and no Internet! So I feel your pain
You go girl!
April I found this site at just the right time. Thanks!
Welcome!
Yay, so glad to come across your site. I’m a new GF blogger, but it’s nice to find another slightly snarky and sarcastic GF blogger, too. Maybe it’s a So Cal thing? I must admit the warm fuzzies and endless healthy recipes were … not my style? heh. I am not into recipes – which is why I’ll bookmark your site. And learn all about your thoughts on food, and how to perfect the jello shot.
And I’m equally stoked to check out WTGF? Super rad name.
I’ll just join the chorus and say that I needed this blog. Actually, when I really needed it was about two months ago on the Day of Diagnosis, but I was awfully busy then with sobbing on my kitchen floor and smashing my freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies (not unlike the photo above). But now is good too.
Seriously – thank you. Thank you for not trying to make me eat egg substitute or quinoa loaf. You are a life raft of humor and non-bullshit in a sea of borderline unbearable GF blogs.
I will never make you eat an egg substitute, Christine. NEVER.
Ugh, and I’m sorry about your recent diagnosis. Welcome to the poop club.
Well as I said I would, here is a starter recipe. I’m sorry for not having any exact amounts, measurements etc. I never use em
I couldn’t follow a recipe to save my life. Feel free to amend anything if you decide to try it!
COCONUT CHICKEN WITH PEACH PAPAYA SALSA
Ingredients:
-2 boneless chicken breasts thawed
- 2 to 3 cans of sweetened coconut milk
- Equal parts white rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch
- Shredded, sweetened coconut
- 1 peach
- 1 papaya
- 1 onion
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 tomato
- 1 clove garlic
- fresh cilantro
- deep fryer
Preparation:
-Cut 2 chicken breasts into small pieces (about 1 inch cubes).
-Place chicken into large bowl and pour coconut milk over chicken. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
-Combine white rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch in a large bowl. -Mix coconut milk and shredded coconut into flour mixture until a thick batter forms. Should resemble thick pancake batter.
**Prepare your deep fryer according to manufacturer directions**
-Dip chicken pieces into batter, evenly coating each piece. Carefully place battered chicken into fryer.
Once batter is a nice golden brown, remove from oil and let drain.
Salsa Prep:
-Dice peach, papaya, onion, jalapeno, tomato, garlic, and cilantro.
-Combine into a saucepan over low to medium heat. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add salt, pepper etc to taste.
Serve over rice or Pad Thai noodles. I personally prefer the noodles
This recipe won in a cook-off for the chamber of commerce where I live. It was set up very similar to the t.v. show Chopped…it was awesome!
in your experience, what has been your most successful gluten free cake recipe? or can you recommend any resources out there? i ask because i’m hosting an event in the next couple of weeks and there has been a request for some GF pastry options.
The cake recipe I have that always blows people away is my Honeybun cake. You can buy a white/yellow gluten-free cake mix and it’s super easy. I’ve used Cherrybrook Kitchen as well as the very pedestrian Mrs. Betty Crocker and they’ve both turned out fantastic. It’s also best to serve it as soon as possible out of the oven, because people can get the whole “warm honeybun” feeling. http://glutenismybitch.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/happy-gluten-free-birthday-honeybun/
Love your blog – and love the name! Looking forward to reading more about how to make gluten my bitch too! x
Just found out last week that the horrible exhaustion, daily aches and pains, head aches, constant back door trotts, bad sleep, and severe foggy headedness that has been going of for over 5 years is a result of gluten reaction. My business, relationships and quality of life have been s**t for so long, I’ve talked about suicide. I can’t believe thats all it was. I’m glad to have found this blog. Being gluten free for a week has been amazing. I’m grieving and reeling with strong emotions now over so many lost years, some of the best years of my life. But I look forward to folding in the information I find here into what I can feel is a budding vigor growing in side me. Intense, all of it, whew. Thank you.
Oh, man. It so totally sucks to hear stories about people going undiagnosed for so long. I thought my months of misery was bad. I can’t imagine! But, umm, welcome to the club? So glad you’re feeling better and I hope you’ll be able to laugh about it someday. Over some gluten-free waffles.