Halloween, the Gluten Free Way

This is scary.... being gluten free during Halloween is not!

I'll start by apologizing for that first image there... it was in between a picture of the clown with blood pouring out of it's mouth or this one, so consider yourselves spared some extra grief. 

Let's face it... Halloween is probably one of those nights for many college students where they find themselves saying, "What happened last night?" the next morning. Maybe more so than any other night of the year (Cinco De Mayo is a major contender). It's a night filled with girls dressed a sexy cats, guys dressed as girls, a lotta booze (optional of course), a lotta candy (also optional, except not really), and for the most part, a grand ol' time. Whether you choose to roam campus as Snookie, a zombie cheerleader, or, as I'm doing, Garth Algar from Wayne's World, you have a great potential of winding up with a pretty solid amount of candy the next day. Before you start shoveling candy in your face, you might want to do what us Celiacs are all to used to doing: do your research. Eating too much candy is going to make us all sick as it is- we don't want to get gluten poisoning on top of that! Here's a list that I've complied of popular candies that are generally safe for a gluten free Halloween-er:

Please keep in mind that most of these candies are produced in the same facility as gluten and wheat items, so I cannot 100% guarantee the gluten free status of any of these. I'm basing this off of what I would eat, and I consider myself to be about as sensitive to gluten as can be. Please be sure to always double check ingredients before digging in! 

CE DE CANDY

• Smarties

HERSHEY

• Baby Ruth
• Bliss, White Chocolate Bliss
• Jolly Ranchers
• Kisses (special dark, almond)
• Milk Chocolate Bars
• Milk Chocolate Bars with Almonds
• Reese's
• Rolo
• York Peppermint Patties

KRAFT FOODS

• Swedish Fish
• Sour Patch Kids

MARS

• 3 Musketeers
• Dove Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Caramel Milk Chocolate
• M&Ms
• Milky Way Midnight
• Milky Way Caramel
• Snicker
• Snicker Almond

NESTLE

• Baby Ruth
• Butterfinger (NOT Crisp of Snackerz)
• Raisinets

TOOTSIE

• Caramel Apple Pops
• Charleston Chews
• Charms Plow Pops
• Dubble Bubble Gum
• Junior Mints
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Rolls 
• Sugar Babies

Sources: http://surefoodsliving.com

http://www.celiaccentral.org/

Let's Get Physical.

While this blog is not necessarily a fitness blog, I would consider it to be a health blog. After all, isn't that why we're eating gluten free? To be healthy? It's for this reason that I'll be writing the occasional fitness/health related post. Maybe once a week. Fitness Fridays, anyone? 

About a year ago, I wasn't able to run a mile. Last night, I ran 5 miles. I credit my newfound ability to run long and far (at least according to me) entirely to my diagnosis with Celiac Disease. No matter how "healthy" I would try to eat in the past, the gluten in my foods was wearing me down: making me tired, unmotivated, malnourished, and just not good. Now that I'm finally eating foods that are actually nourishing my body, I feel myself becoming stronger every day. It makes me wonder why so many disease-free/naturally healthy people don't take advantage of all the magnificent things our bodies can do! Being sick for so long has made me appreciate and respect my body much more than I ever have. Has anyone else felt this way since going gluten free?

Sooooooo... how is this related to living gluten free in college?

If you're going to a university, there is a good chance that there's a gym at your school that you'll get free membership to as a student. Take advantage of this. Keep in mind that most gym memberships cost anywhere in between $20/month to $80/month which can really add up! Milk this free unlimited access for all it's worth and you won't regret it! 


As students, we spend a large amount of time abusing our bodies in one way or another; sitting hunched over homework for hours at the library, staying up obscenely late, potentially drinking past a normal amount, eating too much/too little, you get the idea. Between all this and the stress that comes with school, it is vital to make time for yourself to move your body. Whether it's for 20 minutes or 2 hours, you will feel 10 times better physically and mentally, guaranteed! 


I'll be posting more posts like this in the weeks to come, so stay tuned to some advice/tips regarding healthy snacking, decoding the gym, how to fit fitness into a busy schedule, and more! 

Stuff You Really Should Take Care of Before College.

As of this month, it has been about a year since I left Seattle, Washington to Denver, Colorado for my first year college endeavor. It also happens to be my 1st anniversary as being gluten-free! Yay! I anticipate some festive party hats and GF cake in my near future...mom....

Anyways, I have taken it about myself to create this realistic, not-yo-mamma type of back to school check list that I wish I had had possession of myself when I was a young lass leaving the nest a year ago.

Read on, young grasshoppers.

A Celiac's First Year Checklist:

• Find out the details about your dorm's kitchen/cooking situation. {does your residence have a communal kitchen? Personal kitchen? No kitchen? Microwave? Mini fridge? Be that obnoxious kid who needs to know all the nitty gritty details about the place before getting there.}
• Email the dining hall manager and see if you can set up a meeting with him/her. {take a look at the sample contact e-mail I wrote}
• Buy needed cooking utensils. Do this AFTER you get to college if you are flying there so that you don't have to worry about somehow getting all those pots and pans to your destination. {click here for my basic list}
• Do some online research about gluten free restaurants and grocery stores near your campus so that you have some options of places to eat out/grocery shop once you get there. 
• Talk with parents about a monthly or yearly budget for food/groceries. {Are they willing to pitch in for your food, aside from what is offered at the dining hall? Can you negotiate a budget for food spending money?}
• Consider what foods you like to eat at home, and think about how you can make (or modify) these foods at school. {This process will make you consider what kinds of kitchen utensils/equipment you need, which ingredients you should have on hand, etc.}

An In-General College Student's First Year Checklist:

• Uncover the magic of 8tracks. {Mixes on this website have gotten me through hours upon hours of studying.} 
• If possible, rent your textbooks online a week or two before classes start. {Are you really going to need "Calculus For Life Sciences" after the course? No.}
• PACK EARLY WITH A DETAILED LIST OF WHAT YOU NEED IN HAND.
• If you are flying to school, try to take an airline like Southwest. {They allow you to check in 2 bags for free! This is a godsend when you are pretty much moving your whole life.}
• Go on ratemyprofessor.com to be ahead of the game when it comes to knowing what to expect when you enter the classroom. 
• Buy lots and lots of comfy but cute lounging clothes. {Chances are, if you are at all like me, you end a long day of classes with a change into very un-sexy pajama type clothing. This can become a hindering of your friend-making capabilities when you are living in a dorm with fellow students and possibly peers of the opposite sex (gasp!). Trust me and invest in some cute yoga pants, nice sweaters, and slippers that aren't bunnies.}
• Check out the gym for the first time during off hours. {Wandering in confused and overwhelmed while the place is crawling with fit college students makes you look like an obvious new freshman, therefore making you look less cool.}
• Don't don't don't go into the showers without flip flops. {No lie, some dumb boy who had too much to drink one night decided to go #2 in my hall's girl's showers. Blehhhhhhh.}
• Bring enough quarters to attract attention from airport security. {Quarters are like gold to students with dirty laundry that has been sitting around for weeks.}
• Expect to encounter that one fraternity where all they seem to do is sit out on their porch day-drinking and blasting music while everyone else is trudging to class, feeling a little less cool than they did earlier. {When do these people actually go to class?}
• Anticipate meeting some weirdos, seeing some things you wish you hadn't seen, learning a lot {or a little}, encountering some of the smartest {and stupidest} people you've ever known, and experiencing one of the most exciting parts of life! 

Celiac Friendly Colleges: Leading by Example

As I'm sitting here, watching The Social Network with my dad, I've become inspired to write something back-to-school/college related (uhhh Julie? Isn't that sort of the point of your blog? Why yes, it is. Thanks for the input.). For high school celiacs looking to attend college, the availability of gluten free food can be a major factor in deciding where to apply and ultimately attend. In my curiosity to see what different colleges are doing to facilitate the eating experience of celiac students, I did some research on the topic. Here are some stand out universities that I came upon:

Columbia University
The dietitian at Columbia goes the extra mile for gluten free students: orientating them around nearby markets, introducing the chef, and even teaching them how to read nutrition labels! The chef prepares two 100% gluten free meals every day, and takes special requests! I don't know about you, but this sounds like gluten free heaven to me!

University of Colorado: Boulder
Boulder, Colorado is known for being one of the healthiest cities in the U.S. There is a certainly no shortage of gluten free options in the area surrounding the college. So what about the college itself? The school identifies the top eight food allergen (fish, eggs, dairy, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat) AND gluten on all their menu items. They have also cracked down on creating stricter cooking environments to ensure that a food marked as gluten free is truly 100% gluten free- an easy detail that many universities let slip by!

Yale University
Yale is prestigious both in academics and, as their dining services website signifies, their accommodation to students with food allergies as well. Their website describes each allergen in detail and claims that they can specially order gluten free breads, cereals, pastas, and more. They will also take extra measures to follow gluten free preparation requirements for you. All you have to do is ask!

University of Connecticut
The head chef at this school sets the perfect example for what all college chefs should be like. He acknowledges that one student's unique dietary needs is just as important as another's, so he is sure to educate his staff on the preparation and serving of gluten free foods. They have everything available in gluten free from bread to pasta, even desserts (which are not baked on site due to risk of cross contamination). They have separate toasters in all their facilities, designated for gluten free bread only, and they have a dietitian who checks up on students with special diets several times a year. Sounds good to me!

Some honorable mentions: Brown University, College of the Holy Cross, Franklin and Marshall College (they've all opened allergy free kitchens and offer made-to-order meals prepared by specialty trained cooks!)
Here's some more celiac friendly colleges
And here's a really great article from USA Today related to this topic, "Colleges Accommodate More Students With Food Allergies". Enjoy!