Useful Resources - Gluten Free Desserts

One of the difficult areas of being gluten free is dessert time. Regular cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, ice cream cones and more are now off limits. This area can be a real drag. Luckily a few dessert goodies were not taken from us. For example, there are ice creams and Italian ices out there which are completely gluten free. Here is my listing a few places I have tried recently when hungering for that dessert snack.

Dairy Queen
DQ has a page on their website specifically for GF goodies. You can have their Chocolate, Vanilla or swirl soft serve as long as you get it in a plastic cup. No cones or waffle cones allowed. If you so please, you can also get the following toppings on your soft serve ice cream; Chocolate, Hot Fudge, Marshmallow, Butterscotch, Strawberry or Caramel. DQ also usually has a freezer with take home frozen goodies. The following frozen treats are also GF; Fudge Bar, Vanilla Orange Bar and Dilly Bars. DQ also goes on to list that many of their Blizzard choices are GF but I usually stay away from these because there is only one machine used to make Blizzards and a non-GF Blizzard (like cookie dough) could have been mixed just before yours. There are six DQ's in the Raleigh area (2 in Cary, 3 in Raleigh and 1 in Clayton).
NOTE: None of DQ's ice cream cakes are Gluten Free.

Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins is a favorite of mine (especially when attached to a Dunkin Donuts). I have loved their Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream my whole life. Luckily for me, it and many others are gluten free. See Baskin Robbin's Allergen page here for more information. A good thing to remember here is to have the person getting the ice cream get a new scoop or thoroughly clean the scoop they are about to use to avoid cross contamination. There are 11 locations around Raleigh (6 in Raleigh, 1 each in Knightdale, Cary, Morrisville, Clayton and Fuquay).
NOTE: None of Baskin Robbin's ice cream cakes are Gluten Free.

Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone is relatively new to the Raleigh area compared to the first two places in the list. I got the chance to experience their regular products before I was diagnosed Celiac. Everything I had tried previously was excellent. This is the place that will take an entire candy bar and mix it into your ice cream of choice. Cold Stone's Allergen fact sheet can be found here in pdf format. It looks like they may update this regularly so in case that pdf changes, their Nutrition Information page is located here. They again have a lot of yummy choices available. It's also a good idea at Cold Stone to ask them to clean or get new scoops and ice cream utensils before preparing your treats. There are 5 locations around Raleigh (2 in Raleigh, 1 each in Cary, Apex and Garner).
NOTE: None of Cold Stone's ice cream cakes are Gluten Free.

Goodberry's
Goodberry's is a local creamery that serves up frozen custard in a variety of flavors. From this page about their ingredients, you can clearly see they are all about only the best ingredients along with not adding anything unnecessary to their product. Their simple ingredients list is milk, cream, eggs, pure cane sugar and honey. Naturally you can see all of these things are Gluten Free. Where to watch out at Goodberry's is their products and toppings that contain items like cookies or brownies. Same goes with their scoops here as well. There are 7 area Goodberry's locations (3 in Raleigh, 2 in Cary, 1 in Garner and Wake Forest). They also have their product available at the RBC Center during Carolina Hurricanes games.
NOTE: Goodberry's frozen custard cakes are made to order and can be GF. Call to inquire.

Rita's Italian Ice
Rita's is a little bit different but just as yummy. They feature Italian Ice, Cream Ice, Custard or a mix of Ice and Custard called Gelati. All are extremely tasty. I first discovered Rita's while visiting family in the North Eastern U.S. during summer time. But recently, several Rita's have opened here in the Raleigh area. Rita's Ice Nutrition page can be found here. There is a link on that page to Allergen Information in pdf format that can be found here. All their Italian Ice and Custard flavors are Gluten Free. Just watch out for some of the Cream Ice flavors like Birthday Cake and Cookie's n Cream. Rita's has the following area locations; Raleigh (coming soon at The Shoppes at Oberlin Court), Knightdale, Apex and Cary.

Carvel
Carvel also offers a ton of tasty ice cream goodies. Since they do not have any retail stores in this area (except at RDU Airport), I will focus on their ice cream cakes. Their ice cream cakes can be found in just about any grocery store in Raleigh. They have the following FAQ page about Gluten where you can clearly see which of their items are Gluten Free. From this page Carvel states...

"Most of our ice creams are gluten-free. However, the chocolate crunchies that are found in our ice cream cakes and the sprinkles put on top are not gluten-free. If you contact a Carvel retail store nearest you, they will be more then happy to substitute the crunchies for something else, such as fudge. They will also be more then happy to not put any sprinkles on the cake."

As you can see from the above, Carvel seems to be the most flexible in making special order ice cream cakes without crunchies and sprinkles. To bad they don't have any retail stores in the area in which to order from. So the word on these cakes if you see them in the grocery store is to stay away, they are NOT Gluten Free.

ENJOY!

Useful Resources - Gluten Free Beer Review

In my previous life (before CD), I was known to enjoy a few adult beverages, specifically beer. During situations that required mass consumption, I was strictly a Miller Lite and/or Rolling Rock (before the Anheuser-Busch acquisition) drinker. During more social situations where I focused more on quality instead of quantity, I preferred products from a local brewery called Carolina Brewing Company.

My favorites of CBC were Carolina Pale Ale, and ... well, I could list them all but that would make me too sad. Basically anything they offered was my favorite. CBC is located in Holly Springs and has distribution to a ton of grocery stores and restaurants/bars in the Triangle. They also offer a brewery tour each Saturday at 1pm. I had been many times and wish I could go again some day. As soon as I was diagnosed and discovered I could no longer drink normal beer, I contacted CBC to see if they would ever consider brewing a GF beer. They politely declined at the time but I intend to keep on them about this. I encourage all of you to do the same as well! You can email them using the following address - CarolinaBrewing@aol.com.

Naturally from there, I decided I would try all the GF brands of beer out there, assuming they would all be horrible. I discovered that there were just a handful with distribution in the Triangle. My first adventure was to Whole Foods, the GF grocery mecca. They offer, and I have tried, the following 3 GF beers.

• Anheuser Busch's RedBridge
• Bard's Tale Beer's Dragon's Gold
• Lake Front Brewery's New Grist Ale

I was immediately skeptical of RedBridge because in my previous life I never had good experiences with any AB products. I couldn't usually drink Bud or Bud Light because it would make me feel pretty crappy the next day no matter how little I had to drink. This now leads me to believe that AB products (besides RedBridge) must be higher in Gluten content than other brands I previously had consumed. Somebody should study this and find out if my hunch is correct. Regardless of the above, I tried RedBridge and was in fact pleasantly surprised.

RedBridge has now become my new favorite beer! It seems to have the best distribution of the GF beers I have tried (not only locally but nationally). So far, I have found it at Whole Foods, Kroger and Lowe's Foods priced somewhere around $8 per six pack (yikes). It is also showing up in other places like Taz's downtown market (see my earlier post about this) and The Flying Saucer Bar and Restaurant in Downtown Raleigh (more to come on this). I have offered RedBridge to my family members and friends for their honest opinion and they all have said it is pretty good beer. When you are GF and can only drink/eat one thing, your brain can trick you into thinking it's good. That is why I always offer new GF products to others who will give me an honest opinion just to make sure my brain isn't tricking me. RedBridge passes this test each time.

My next favorite would be Dragon's Gold. A darker beer with great taste. I think I would have it more often if I could find it in more places. I have only seen it and New Grist Ale at Whole Foods. In last place is New Grist Ale (not horrible but somebody has to finish last). While drinkable if the only GF choice around, I prefer the other 2 choices much more.

Here are the websites for each beer where you can read more about them, contact the brewers to say thanks (highly recommended) and check their local distribution.

http://www.redbridgebeer.com/
http://www.bardsbeer.com
http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/

One side effect of drinking GF beer is that you are pretty much limited to six packs of bottles. No cans, no cases or 12 packs, no 22oz bottles, and no kegs. I checked with an inside source about why RedBridge isn't available in kegs and it seemed that demand was not high enough and/or the dedicated facility at AB was only for bottling (bummer).

FYI - I have had good luck with requesting RedBridge at grocery stores that do not currently stock it. If you can find a beer manager and ask them to carry it, they usually get it in for you in a few weeks. It never hurts to ask, right?

Also, I am still waiting to be contacted by someone in the Food and Beverage department at the RBC Center. See my previous post about the Carolina Hurricanes being GF friendly here. I will let you know what I find out but one of my goals is for them to carry RedBridge.

Cheers!

Useful Resources - After Diagnosis Follow-up - Nutritional Deficiencies

After I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease this summer, my Doctor informed me that several follow-up tests should be performed to verify if I had any Nutritional Deficiencies. My doctor ordered a few blood tests called "CBC" or Complete Blood Count and a test for Vitamin D levels.

From the results of these tests, my Doctor determined that my Vitamin D levels were too low. Low levels of Vitamin D can lead to many issues in the human body. In Celiac's, it could lead to Osteoporosis/Osteopenia. This ended up being the case for me.

My Doctor did several things as a result of this Vitamin D deficiency.

1. Wrote a prescription for Vitamin D for 6 weeks. The dosage was 50,000 IU. The normal suggested dosage for adults is 400 IU per day. This was to boost as much Vitamin D into my system as quick as possible to try to make up for the deficiency.
2. Ordered me to undergo a Bone Density Scan Test also know as a "Bone Densitometry Test" and/or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) . See more about this test here.
   

I had the Bone Density test here in Raleigh at Wake Radiology in their West Raleigh office near Rex Hospital (West Raleigh Office - 4301 Lake Boone Trail - First Floor -Raleigh, NC 27607 - Ph 781-6707 - Mon-Fri 8am-5pm). The procedure took about 30 minutes from start to finish and was completely painless (other than hearing my diagnosis from the technician). Normally, 60 year old women are getting this test so they were a bit taken back to see me and my results. Regardless, I had the following areas scanned: wrists, forearms and ankles in addition to the normally scanned areas of the spine and hips. Patients with Celiac Disease will often see loss of bone density due to malabsorption in the small bones of the body first so it is important to make sure these areas are included in the scan.

The test results will be listed as follows:

• T score — This number shows the amount of bone you have compared with a young adult of the same gender with peak bone mass. A score above -1 is considered normal. A score between -1 and -2.5 is classified as osteopenia, the first stage of bone loss. A score below -2.5 is defined as osteoporosis. The T score is used to estimate your risk of developing a fracture.
• Z score — This number reflects the amount of bone you have compared with other people in your age group and of the same size and gender. If this score is unusually high or low, it may indicate a need for further medical tests.

My results were a T score of -2.4 which is technically classified as osteopenia, but very close to osteoporosis. One Standard Deviation difference in a T-score equals a 10-15 percent decrease in bone density. For example, a person with a T-score of -2.5 has a 10-15 percent lower bone density than a person with a T-score of -1.5. When my doctor reviewed the test results, he called me to recommend I take at least 800 IU daily of Vitamin D and schedule a follow-up appointment with him in 6 months. As a result, I am taking a Gluten Free Daily Multivitamin (found at Whole Foods) in the morning which contains 400 IU Vitamin D and then another 400 IU Vitamin D pill (found at Lowe's foods) in the evening. FYI - Vitamin D only pills are pretty difficult to find in my experience.

The Good news - my Doctor informed me that as time passes and I remain on the Gluten Free Diet, my Nutritional Deficiencies should disappear and my bone density issues should be reversible.

If you are a newly diagnosed Celiac and your doctor has not ordered any follow-up tests, then you should either demand they do or switch doctors. The results of Nutritional Deficiencies is not something to mess around with as you can see in my case.

For more information on Osteoporosis, please visit the National Osteoporosis Foundation website.

Restaurant Review - Chic-fil-a - Downtown Raleigh

For today's lunch, I ventured into Chic-fil-a in Downtown Raleigh.

I have had experiences with them in the past (which were all good) but I had yet to post a review about them. Chic-fil-a does a nice job of communicating about Gluten on their website. Click here for their Gluten page. They have listed entrees, sides, beverages, desserts, dipping sauces, condiments, and breakfast items that are all Gluten Free. Unfortunately, their "entrees" are all salads, unless you count tortilla strips as an entree (I don't). I also don't count getting a chargrilled chicken sandwich without the bun as a GF choice either. It's a pet peeve of mine when people suggest that and you'll just get weird looks if you are sitting there eating a chicken breast with no bun. Plus, you would need to verify that the chicken actually never touched a bun (too risky).

Let's move onto the important things, like FRIES! Most places will put their fries in the same frying oil as other non-GF things like chicken fingers or nuggets so that means it's a no-go due to cross-contamination issues. Not Chic-fil-a, they have a dedicated fryer just for fries (FYI - I always ask about the dedicated fryer because I don't trust anyone).

Here is what I ordered this afternoon (and usually order). Total cost was around $8.

• Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad with Italian dressing (make sure you read the dressing labels also)
• Waffle Potato Fries (yummy) with Barbecue dipping sauce
• Dr. Pepper

Bottom line, if you're in a pinch and need some fast food, Chic-fil-a is your place. It's especially nice when traveling or running errands to know you can just stop in and get something fast and easy. The only downside to Chic-fil-a is that they are NOT open on Sundays.

Information
Chic-fil-a
Downtown Raleigh
400 Fayetteville Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 834-3875
Website: http://www.chick-fil-a.com

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Mr. Silly Approves

Mr. Silly vs. Mr. Yak

Introducing Mr. Silly and Mr. Yak...

A few days ago I decided to come up with a few characters to help readers easily identify restaurant reviews that were recommended versus not recommended. This is where Mr. Silly (Recommended) and Mr. Yak (Not Recommended) come in (get it?). Each review will have one or the other. This is my attempt to bring humor into an otherwise not-at-all-funny disease and dietary lifestyle. I have updated all previous review posts with one or the other.

VS

FYI - A graphic artist friend of mine is currently working on the permanent Mr. Silly and Mr. Yak drawings, so these will have to do in the meantime.

The word is getting out...

The word is spreading about the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog.

Last Tuesday, I added a hit counter to the bottom of this web page to count unique visits to the site. In less than a week, the counter is over 500 600!

The blog was also featured this past Sunday (9/7) in the News & Observer newspaper. See Sue Stock's article here (page 2). I have also been told by another reporter from the N&O (Andrea Weigl) that it will again be featured this coming Sunday (9/14) in her latest "Hot Stuff" column.

In addition, I will be placing business cards with information about this blog in the lobby of Rosie's Plate. Stop in and check 'em out.

If you know of someone attempting the GF lifestyle in Raleigh, please forward them the link!

Thanks for reading.

Local Product Spotlight - Bone Suckin' Sauce

When I started this blog, I intended to discuss all GF things in Raleigh in order to help others like me living the Gluten Free lifestyle. That includes restaurant reviews (since eating out is such a pain), where to find GF products in Grocery stores (more to come on this) as well as spotlighting local products.

Here is the first of my Local Product Spotlight series - Raleigh, North Carolina's own Bone Suckin' Sauce. According to its website, Bone Suckin' Sauce was created in 1987 by Raleigh resident Phil Ford while trying to copy his mother's recipe for a western NC-style barbecue sauce (for those of you who are new to North Carolina, Western-style translates to tomato based). For the next 5 years, Phil's family and friends encouraged him to market the sauce and in 1992 it finally happened. Then in 1994, Bone Suckin' won the "NC Battle of the Sauces". Later that year, the sauce was presented to 50,000 buyers at the International Fancy Food Show in New York City. This has lead to the sauce being exported to 40 countries.

If you have not tried Bone Suckin' Sauce, I highly suggest that you do. I have used this barbecue sauce for dipping, grilling and marinating (used it this past weekend to marinate chicken breasts for the NC State football game tailgate). The simple ingredients are as follows: Tomato Paste, Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, Molasses, Mustard, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Onions, Garlic, Peppers, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, Natural Spices, Salt & Xanthan Gum (A Natural Thickener).

Bone Suckin' Sauce can be found in the following grocery stores: Whole Foods, Earth Fare, The Fresh Market, Capital City Grocery, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Lowe's Foods and more (What's wrong with you Food Lion?). Basically, if you cannot find it you aren't looking hard enough. In addition, if you're too lazy to leave your house, you can buy Bone Suckin' on the company's website and have it delivered to your house.

In addition to Bone Suckin' Sauce, the company also makes the following products which are all Gluten Free.

• Bone Suckin' Sauce: Regular, Hot, Thicker Style, Hot Thicker Style
• Bone Suckin' Mustard
• Bone Suckin' Sauce Hiccuppin' Hot
• Bone Suckin' Seasoning & Rub
• Bone Suckin' Salsa: Regular and Hot
• Bone Suckin' Yaki (Contains Wheat but has less Gluten than 5 ppm)

I have recently tried the Bone Suckin' Mustard which is excellent as well.

Click here and here to see the company's website for allergy information.

ENJOY!

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Mr. Silly approves

Are the Carolina Hurricanes Celiac/Gluten Free Friendly?

I had an interesting thought today. I am a huge Carolina Hurricanes fan and my family and I attend many games. I got to wondering, since I was diagnosed during the off season, if the Hurricanes and the RBC Center were Celiac/Gluten Free Friendly?

So I fired off an email tonight to Karen Prince, a ticket sales representative for the Canes.

Here is what I sent.

Karen,

I have been coming to see the Canes since 2000 and my wife and I have been STH since 2006. I have a question about a food/beverage issue (you may have to pass this along to someone else).

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and cannot eat/drink anything containing Gluten (think pizza, pasta, beer, bread, hamburger/hot dog buns,
chicken fingers, or anything with wheat). It is estimated that around 1 in
133 people in the USA (about 1% of the population) have this disease and I know
of quite a few other folks in Raleigh with this disease. So on a sell out game night, there could be around 200 patrons at the RBC Center with the same issue.

I was wondering if you could help me identify if there are any concessions available with Gluten Free food items. If not, I hope we can work together to get some choices at the RBC Center. In addition, at times I have been known to have a beer or two at the game and was wondering the possibility of concessions carrying a Gluten Free beer. Anheuser-Busch makes a beer called RedBridge and it has national distribution (there are several places in Raleigh that carry it already).

If you have more information about this or can refer me to someone else that would be excellent. I can also be reached via cell phone at xxx-xxxx and/or would be more than happy to meet with someone in person to discuss further.

I will let you know what I find out, more to come...

Useful Resources - Celiac Disease Blood Tests

From what I can tell, there is a lot of confusion out there about which blood tests should be taken in order to properly screen/diagnose Celiac Disease.

After I was diagnosed, I suggested to my immediate family members (Mother/Father/Brothers/Sisters) that they get a blood test as well. I called my doctors office and they stated that my family members should ask their doctor for a "Complete Celiac Disease Panel" blood test. I assumed there was 1 simple test that all doctors/labs knew about. Should be easy, right? Think again. For proof, go to Labcorp's Directory of Services website (click here) and look at the all the different tests for Celiac (there are 12).

Long story short, my parents were given the incorrect tests while my sister was given the correct tests. When my parents results came back, I showed them to my doctor because both were negative. He said that the tests they were given were "basically worthless". In response to this situation, I decided I would post the exact tests I received in order to be diagnosed. These are the tests that my doctor (Dr. Colm J O’Loughlin) stated as being the correct tests.

They are as follows...

1. Endomysial IgA Antibodies - the result is either Negative or Positive
2. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgA Antibodies - the result is a number with anything > 10 being positive.
   

My results of course were positive for Test 1 and 123 (> 10 is positive) for test 2.

Hope this helps!

UPDATED 9-3-2008 @ 5PM
To be 100% accurate, my diagnosis was also confirmed by a small bowel biopsy as well. I also updated test 2 above to add the IgA part which I originally left off. Thanks Shauna.

UPDATED 9-19-2008 @ 4PM
The following Web Site from the American Celiac Disease Alliance provides an in depth overview of the types of blood tests out there for Celiac. It's a good read.

Restaurant Review - Rosie's Plate - Downtown Raleigh

As promised here is my review of Rosie's Plate. I have now eaten there on 3 different occasions. If you ever get tired of the involved process of preparing Gluten Free meals at home, this is the place for you! My family has been eating here about once per month and it is a great break from the challenge of GF meal preparation.

Rosie's Plate opened this summer in Downtown Raleigh (ironically next to Krispy Kreme donuts - argh) as a completely Gluten Free kitchen which specializes in prepared meals. As I mentioned before, this is technically not a restaurant. You can order prepared meals online (Click Here) or by phone or fax from a menu which rotates every 2 weeks. At this point, you must order the day before you would like your food but they will have it warm for you to pick up the next day (Orders placed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be ready on Monday). On all 3 occasions, I have picked up my food warm and taken it home to eat with my family. The food stayed warm during my 20 minute drive home and didn't need reheated. They also have the option of picking the food up cold and cooking it yourself.

The menu (completely gluten, shellfish, and peanut-free) consists of a variety of entrees, salads, side dishes, snacks and desserts. Rosie's is now on their 5th menu - click here. There are usually 5-6 entrees and sides (purchased separately), soups, salads, breads, snacks and 8-10 dessert choices.

Rosie's also offers a lunch-to-go menu. While I have not tried this option yet, I anticipate giving it a shot in the near future. My work usually requires a lot of large meetings in which food is usually provided. Most organizers do not take into consideration that employees might have food allergies and as a result there is usually nothing for me to eat. I could see Rosie's filling the void here.

At this time, the only pitfalls of Rosie's Plate are that they do not deliver and they do not have pizza on the menu EVERY week! I have spoken with them about this and they mentioned they hear this feedback all the time and are making plans to rectify these items. If you would like to give input to the folks at Rosie's, please go to their website and click the "New Visitors, please fill out our survey" link at the bottom left part of the home page to let them know what you are thinking. I would also encourage you to call Rosie's and speak with Emily Ellis the Customer Service Manager.

Here is a listing of the items I ordered the 3 times I have eaten at Rosie's.

June 2008
-Tangy Bar-B-Q Chicken Breast $8.50
-Tuscan Grilled Pork Kabob with Vidalia Onions $7.50
-Organic Roasted New Potatoes with Thyme $3.25
-Green beans sauteed in olive oil with garlic $3.00
-6 pack of Chocolate Chip Cookies $4.50
Total Cost $28.82

July 2008
-Grilled Chicken "Scaloppine" with Peach Chutney $8.50
-Brown Rice Penne Pasta with Cream of Red Bell Pepper Sauce $5.50
-Organic Potato and Corn Chowder $4.00
-Yellow squash and zucchini $3.00
-Organic Roasted New Potatoes with Thyme $3.25
-4 Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes(Chocolate Sprinkles & Chocolate Frosting) $9.50
Total Cost $36.37

August 2008
-Terrific Chicken Bites w/Honey Mustard sauce $6.00
-Macaroni & Cheese $4.50
-Cuban Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Roasted Vegetable Salsa $8.50
-Spring rolls - Veggie filled with Spicy "Peanut" sauce $5.00
-6 pack of Sugar Cookies $6.00
Total Cost $32.34

My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed each time we order from Rosie's Plate. I would highly recommend and encourage all Celiac's or Gluten Free folks in the area to give Rosie's a try and let them know you support them. I have spoken with several folks at Rosie's and each time they are pleasant and grateful of my patronage. Their customer service is great and the food is always ready on time and kept warm in their lobby (in case you are running late).

Rosie's has been mentioned in several publications since they opened. For more information, I encourage you to read the following...
-click here
-click here

Information
Rosie's Plate
701 N Person Street
Downtown Raleigh
Phone 833-0505
Web http://www.rosiesplate.com/
Hours: Monday – Friday
* 10a – 7p for Customer Service
* 3p - 6:30p for Order Pickup

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Mr. Silly approves