A GF Fourth!!

First of all, let me start out by saying Happy Birthday America!! (Also, Happy Canada Day, even though that was a while back...)

Second, I hope you all had a nice Fourth of July, I know I did!!

This year was way easier food-wise than last year. For starters, we had less people over, and some of my friends that came were GF too, so that helped, but mainly it was just that I have been GF for over two years now, and this was my THIRD GF 4th of July, so I just am more comfortable. It also helped that my mom made all the food, and she is really good about cooking GF.

So I ate potato chips and a hot dog, and peppers. I made some really cute brownie-cupcakes (details posted soon), which were verrryy verryyy yummy). And after the fireworks, 2 friends and I split a pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream. Needless to say, that kept us up for a good long time, far later than was probably healthy. :)

What did you all do for Independence Day?

C.C.

Wow.

I have always thought I was okay with being the only GF person in my grade, the only GF teen that I REALLY know. But now one of my closest friends is wheat-free (WF), and I am giddy. GIDDY. Wow. That sounds so lame! But, it is so true! Now, I know that WF and GF are different and they entail VERY different things. However, I just cannot wait to have someone to talk to! To unite with against those awful people who give us flak for asking for a clean ice-cream scoop.

I always thought that I was totally fine with going at it on my own, but now I guess I always felt a little out of it. I guess I always kind of felt like no body at the lunch table really understood. NOW someone does though!!!!!! :) SO HAPPY!!

thanks for "listening."
C.C.

Thank you

So there I was. All ready to say goodbye once and for all to the blogosphere. I was feeling like what is there to say? I don't know what to write. Then I read the comment from Jenn, and it made me stop and think. She shared a bit of her GF life, and I had shared a bit of mine. Because, really, isn't that why I got into blogging in the first place? To hear and be heard? To be part of a community that welcomes everyone, no matter age, race, religion, or medical issues? So what if 8 out of 9 posts are rambling and incoherent and DULL. That one little post makes it worth it.
I was recently reading some forums on Celiac Feed, and there are so many newly diagnosed teens out there! And most of them seem confused, and unsure, and frankly, a bit scared. Just like I was!!!! And it made me want to reach out to them and help them and show them that there are so many of us! So if Celiac Cake is my way of doing that, then I will keep blogging. Even if it is only two posts a month. Or less! Maybe I only help one person, maybe I help none. That is okay! I just feel like the reason I started was to create a community of GF people. Teens, kids, adults. Not a support group, just a place to ask questions, answer questions. Because thanks to the internet, even if we are miles apart we can still be united.

Okay, That was my little pep talk to my self. Also, I was feeling "deep." But all of that is still true.

Thanks for sticking with me.
C.C. 

Valentine's Chocolate? Not for me.**

**Mainly because I don't like raspberry filling. Ew.

Ahh...Valentine's Day. Cupid Day. Heart Day. Whatever you want to call it, it is pink, red, white, and chocolaty. Also, it usually involves class parties. Which tend to involve cupcakes. And cookies. And various other Gluten-Filled foods.

Cue Operation GF Infiltration. OF MY LUNCHBOX!!!!!! Whenever a holiday is coming up, and I suspect some celebrations to be imminent, I make sure my lunchbox is fully stocked with GF cookies, chips, and other general GF yumminess.

So. That's how I do it. What do you guys to do?

My February Resolution

New year, new you. That is what all the ad campaigns have almost wrapped up saying until 2012. Well, I am saying New February, TIME TO ACTUALLY DO SOME BLOGGING, YOUR FORGETFUL TEENAGER, YOU!!!!!!!

So, my apologies for being the type of kid who goes on the computer with one intent and ends up on Facebook an hour later saying "wait, why did I come in here?"

Anyway, Valentines Day is coming up and all my pallies and I are freaking out, because we still haven't mailed those Christmas gifts, and oh-my-goodness So-and-So's Birthday is coming up, and what should I get her, I only have 20 bucks, and all kinds of fun things like that.

(Segue in next topic)
The answer to what I am getting for "So-and-So's" Birthday is simple. One word, four letters. All yummy. If you are thinking Cake! Then you are..ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!!

Giving people cake or some other sweet for their birthday is my 'thing'. As I look at it, most everybody loves cake, (and if they do not cake, I make cookies), cake is affordable, and cake can be whatever you want it to be. All that matters is how you decorate it. Which is how I am giving one of my best girlfriends an "iPad" for her birthday.

Been up to any gluten-free escapades lately?

C.C.

Bedtime Stories (The Movie)

Just saw the movie Bedtime Stories, (the one with Adam Sandler..I think), and I noticed something funny.
In a very early scene in the movie, the childern's mother is throuwing a birthday party and she says, "Here is some gluten-free wheatgrass cake." 

I just thought that was funny because of the WHEATgrass being gluten free. I do not knwo what wheatgrass is and it very well may be GF, but still.. :)

C.C.

GF DOES NOT EQUAL VEGAN. OR ALL NATURAL.

The title says it all.
Example 1:
So, I am sitting at my lunch table today, and my music teacher walks through the cafeteria. To me, he says: "What are you eating?", (I am eating PB&J on a corn patty), and I answer, "PB&J on a corn patty". He says "Oh. Why not just bread?". Since, I really almost never feel like explaining about CD and my intolerance, I answer, something along the lines of "I am allergic to gluten." My music teacher then goes on for an extended period of time about how his daughter eats 'Lara' bars, and those are all-natural, and could he bring one in for me to try? They are all-natural! At this point, I had to make some excuse to leave, because I didn't have the heart to tell him that 'all-natural' and GF are not the same thing, and 'all-natural' often times does not mean GF.

Example 2:
I am over at my friends house, and a babysitter is over for her younger siblings. I have brought my own food. The sitter asks about it, the usual "why do you have your own food" type-question. I answer with my usual"I am allergic to gluten" type-spiel. The sitter then goes on to describe, in detail, her friend's vegan diet. Apparently, I should look into vegan-ism (is that a word? Spellcheck does not seem to think so), because it is "Full of whole grains, like wheat!". I am sorry, forgive me, but I had to respond to that. I was very polite, though. A lot of, "Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, blah de blah de blah."

Thank you.
That is all.

C.C.

Dreams

That time has come. I am now officially a Celiac. Because now, in my dreams, I eat GF. Up until now, even though I eat GF all day every day, I have been eating 'normal' in my dreams. That is not to say I am particularly longing for non-GF foods, it is just in my dreams I was not a Celiac. I had never had stomachaches or anything. Again, I am not dreaming like 'oohh I wish.....' dreaming, just I go to sleep dreaming. But, last night, I wake up and realize I had been eating GF cookies in my dream. And checking to make sure they were GF, and doing all sorts of other GF things. Like, "did you use a different strainer?", and "Sorry, I would love to buy some of your Boy Scout Popcorn, but I have a lot of 'allergies'." Crazy? Yes it is. However, I like to think that now I can make myself some sort of badge or something. Because now, I AM OFFICIAL. (Don't ask me why being diagnosed for a year and a half and always eating GF does not make you official. I do not know).

C.C.

GF Got Cool When We Weren't Looking

I am not quite sure how this happened, but it did. Gluten-Free is apparently, the newest trend. All the stars are going GF, and all the magazines have cover articles about this 'fad'. This may sound completely crazy, but I find that a bit annoying.  For so many people out there, it is not a fad. It is something that was forced upon them. I know I did not want to go GF, but I, like a lot of you, had no choice. So when I see that this celebrity and that talk-show host are going GF not because they are Celiac but because that is what is hot in Hollywood, it really bugs me. I, for one, do not get the appeal of a GF lifestyle unless you are a Celiac and that is your "cure". The food is more expensive, it does not taste even close to as good as gluten-y foods, and in most cases is WORSE FOR YOU! So why anyone is calling this 'The Diet Of The Century' is beyond me. I mean, just the other day, I made a recipe for GF cookies that used FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER. 4!! And it made less than one cookie sheet's worth of cookies.
Also, my blood heats up when I see an article, or an ad on TV for a new Gluten-Free food. "The market for GF is booming due to Hollywood's interest!", they say. But Hollywood is still not their biggest consumer base. We are. The ordinary, working-class Celiacs. CELIACS. Not people who go GF because it is'cool', CELIACS. The only reason the GF market is 'booming' is because the companies are trying to get noticed by Hollywood, and thus get some publicity and free marketing. Why aren't we good enough to give them free marketing and publicity? Why, instead of the recent spike in Celiac diagnoses, did it take the Hollywood crowd to motivate companies to make better GF foods?

Sorry for that rant. I am done now. (For now)
Thank you for listening,
C.C.


PS. I did not post yesterday or Friday, but that is because a)I was sick-ish, and b) I think 5 posts a week is plenty. :)

Pizza

I used to love pizza. Any and all pizza. I would eat it for lunch and dinner for multiple days in a row. But then, after I was diagnosed, I stopped liking it. It stopped being appealing to me. I am so thankful for that. Because if pizza still seemed good to me, it would really be awful when we ordered some from the local pizza joint. I would have to look at it, and smell it, and want it, and know I could never have it. Like, ever. Never. And Heaven knows I feel like that enough of the time, so to not like pizza is just about one of the most amaing things. Especially because I have had a few GF pizzas in my time, and they are...umm... let's go with not so great. Maybe it's because I don't want the pizza that it tastes bad to me, but I have had only two good GF pizza's, and both of them were from the same place. If you are ever on the West Coast, you should check out Amici's East Coast Pizzaria, crazy name I know, because they are on the West Coast, but they made delectable GF pizza and I didn't get a stomachache, which means THEY WERE ACTUALLY GF!! WOO!

C.C

My Story, And The Story of Celiac Cake

About 3 years ago, I became a self-declared baker. I took on anything and everything. I loved it. The dough, the sugar, the smells all made me smile. I would make gift baskets with 10 or more homemade sweets in them over the holidays, and I would conquer a new cake design for family birthdays. I had discovered something I loved, and something I could do, and do well.

About 1 and a half years ago, after two years of stomach aches, stunted growth, and unexplained, unhealthy, weight loss, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This sucked. Royally. Royal suckage. Over two days, I had gone from food-restriction free to reading every. single. label.

After trying some of the Gluten-Free products out there, I was even more mad. One would think that with all the butter and sugar that goes into these GF recipes, someone could turn out something a little better than chalk or Styrofoam. And that awful aftertaste! A mix of baking soda and...and...puke. GROSS! So I figured is some big, wealthy company couldn't turn out a decent BREAD, let alone cupcake, my baking days were over. And they were for a while, because not only are the ingredients ridiculously expensive, everything, no matter how good it smelled in the oven, came out tasting like dirt. Or what I would imagine dirt would taste like. I've never actually had dirt so I'm not sure, but one can assume...although you know what happens when you assume...

Over this summer, I started looking up recipes again, trying new things. And I found some cool stuff. Some GOOD stuff. And I thought, I wish I could take that year back. Because I missed out. And I am SO done missing out. So, I want to give that year of eating  cooking/baking back to some other newly diagnosed Celiac. Because, shocking as it may seem, Life Goes On. So power through.

That, essentially, is what Celiac Cake is about. I am not some star going GF because it's trendy or cool in Hollywood now, I am just the average person being forced to change their lifestyle. So let us share in the suckage, and...

Cheers to us!

C.C.

PS, There is one thing I forgot to mention. I'm 13.