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We all have learned by now that not all gluten free restaurants and kitchens are created equally. On this week’s podcast, Beckee Moreland talks about her mission to change that one kitchen at a time. Beckee helped start the GREAT Kitchens program, assisting restaurants, colleges and camps to have safe gluten free kitchens including the education of cooks and servers through an accreditation program.

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Aaron the web guy here. I have to share a story. Last week we went to a local Italian place. They have a large amount of GF options & always take great care of people that choose or have to eat GF. I ordered a GF pizza & a hard cider (of course that is naturally GF). I also ordered one of my absolute favorites: a Caprese salad. Since we’ve been here before I didn’t have to stress the GF side of things. Again, they already take good care of those that order GF.

A few minutes pass. Our drinks show up. My wife’s appetizer shows up & then my salad shows up. My wife saw that I was very obviously disappointed & incredibly stressed out. On the side was a gluten-full roll. As we all know you can’t simply remove it & eat what’s there. I checked the menu. There was no mention of a roll. The last time I ordered this salad a roll didn’t make an appearance. But then I remembered. The last time we went to this place a friend of ours was our server. She knows that I’m GF & took extra “friend”care of me to make sure I was safe in the sense that I didn’t have to ask or remind.

So I walked to the waitress stand. You know at this point that this can either go really well or really bad. I’m VERY happy to report that she & the other staff were very apologetic. She even mentioned that she should have caught on considering I ordered both a GF meal & GF drink. She very quickly had another one made & brought it out to me, again apologizing the entire time. I commended her on the way she handled it as she did such a great job!

All that to write, what are some positive experiences that you’ve had while dining out gluten free?

This week Mike and Cam are joined by special guest Erin Smith, the Gluten Free Globetrotter. We talk to Erin about all things gluten free travel. Erin shares with us many of her top travel tips, thoughts and negotiating the world safely as a celiac. She has a unique perspective as she has traveled extensively and been diagnosed with celiac at a very young age.  Erin shares her thoughts on which countries, in her eyes, are most gluten free friendly.

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Mike and Cam take a closer look at the Elle Cartoon as they discuss the blog post from the Huffington Post, “Gluten-Free Shaming is not OK” by chef and food writer Jackie Ourman. They share their thoughts on people’s attempts at gluten-free humor and why it usually falls flat.
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Mike tells Cam about a recent visit to a local pizza place that goes very wrong. Three pizzas are purchased, but which ones are gluten-free, and which is not? Are there ways that these types of restaurant “horror stories” can be avoided? Or at the very least, what should restaurants do to improve safety for their gluten free diners?
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We have be receiving so many great emails and comments from our listeners that we decided to do a podcast completely dedicated to talking about some of them. This podcast covers great topics and fascinating personal stories. Thanks to all who have shared with us and keep those emails coming–you might be mentioned on a future show!
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Thanks to a fan recommendation (thanks Sara), this week’s podcast is devoted to talking about dating with celiac disease. In this illuminating discussion, Mike and Cam are joined by Mike’s nephew Sam and they look at some of the challenges to dating with celiac. They give many shout outs to Jessica Hanson (Tasty Meditation) who has been good enough to share here past dating experiences. They look at everything from the awkwardness of asking a date to brush their teeth to online dating. You won’t want to miss Sam’s prom “horror” story.
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From time to time I would like to share some of the incredible emails that I receive. The theme of many of the recent emails that I have been getting is people sharing their struggles to get properly diagnosed.  Many times, especially for those diagnosed prior to the last twenty years or so, there is little or no follow up from doctors. Many are told that they would “outgrow” this condition or are simply left to figure things out for themselves.

Kathy was good enough to share her incredible story with us:

“I am 54 years young and my story begins in 1962 as an infant. My heritage is Scottish/Irish. I do not have a memory of this time in my life, just the story from my mom. In those days, there was no blood test for Celiac. I was hospitalized at age one for a week. They thought I might have Cystic Fibrosis. I was finally diagnosed with Celiac as a result of a saliva test. My mom tells me that as soon as I was weaned, my symptoms began…constant crying, bloating, malnourished, horrible diaper poop.
She started making special bread and watching my diet, but it wasn’t long before she reverted to feeding me the same diet as the rest of the family. My mom had six children, had her hands full, and didn’t understand the permanent effects of Celiac.
During childhood, into my twenties and through 2 childbirths, I suffered from bloating, pain, constipation, exhaustion, and allergies.
About age 48, I met a parent at the preschool where I teach. She had just been diagnosed at age 40 and was telling me about her journey. I mentioned to her that my mom told me I used to have Celiac. This parent enlightened me to the fact that it doesn’t go away and I should seriously look into it.
I immediately researched the disease and started my gluten free lifestyle. Within 6 months I lost 30 pounds from the bloating, was pain free, had regular bowel movements, and no longer suffered from allergies.
It has now been about 6 years of living gluten free. My family is very supportive, but dining out can be challenging. I benefit from a few local San Francisco Bay Area gluten free restaurants and bakeries. Both of my daughters have been tested twice, with negative results.”

Thanks again to Kathy for sharing!

If you have a story that you think would help others please share it with us.

This week’s podcast is an exploration of an article from US News and World Report titled: 5 Myths About Celiac Disease, written by Stacy Colino. Mike and Cam have a fascinating discussion on such topics as, “should everyone be screened for celiac disease?” and “is celiac disease serious?” spoiler alert…it is. Along the way we find out strange things including how Cam found out he is allergic to cock roaches. Seriously we can’t make this stuff up!
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