A little about me

A little about myself... I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in late 2006, and became totally Gluten Free February of 2007. My sister, as well as her daughter, were also diagnosed in 2006. My daughter was diagnosed at the age of 2, in 2008, after becoming the "poster child" for Celiac Disease. She had the protruding belly, became very thin, didn't want to eat, and was quite mellow for her age. Thanks to my sister, who is also a dietician, I knew exactly what to look for and had her tested. (She was also tested at age one, and was negative for CD). We all had the intestinal biopsy to confirm the blood test findings. My daughter had severe damage,but after 3 weeks on the gluten free diet, she was like a different child. She liked to eat, she looked great, she had the energy of a 2 year old... it was amazing to me.

My daughter and I are very different in our reactions to gluten. I never had many symptoms, only headaches and mouth ulcers. Honestly, before my daughter was diagnosed, I occasionally cheated when all I could get was regular beer or just had to have a bite of pizza. Since her diagnosis, however, I am diligent about trying to avoid gluten. She is very sensitive if she accidentally ingests gluten. It has happened a handful of times since her diagnosis and every single time she begins vomiting approximately 2-3 hours after ingestion. Once it is out of her system (how long it lasts is directly related to how much gluten she ingested), she sleeps for a while and is then absolutely fine. She is my "canary in the coal mine". Obviously, I would never give her gluten on purpose, but she is 5 years old and a parent can only control so much.

I have learned a lot about being gluten free through my own diagnosis, my sister and niece, but especially having a child with Celiac Disease. Asheville is such a great place to be with this kind of dietary restriction. Lucky for us, there are several stores and restaurants that cater to gluten free eating. I decided to try and share some of our experiences because we have had both positive and negative while out there trying to navigate our gluten free world. My daughter just started kindergarten so this will be a whole new learning experience for me.

I am a working mother of 2, and have never blogged before, so be patient with me on this new journey. Did I mention we are vegetarian as well??

Asheville GIG Gluten Free Holiday Potluck - November 7th, 2010

Gluten-Free Holiday Potluck!
Sunday, November 7, 2010 ~ 1:30 pm
The Home of Sheila Horine

This is our biggest social event of the year. All members of Asheville GIG and the Hendersonville Celiac Support Groups and families are encouraged to attend. Please bring one or two covered dishes to share, being sure to provide an ingredient list or recipe to place with your dish. We need a variety of dishes including entrees and vegetables in addition to the wonderful breads and desserts that our members have contributed in the past. Please remember that many of our members cannot consume dairy or nuts and we would like to have some dishes to accommodate these individuals as well.

GIG will provide paper products, beverages (non-alcoholic), turkey and ham. You will get directions when you RSVP (you can RSVP up til Sunday AM!)

For questions about the Holiday Party, contact Sheila Horine at 274-8532.

Once again, GIG will NOT be charging dues for the upcoming year. However, we will have a donation jar available for those individuals who wish to help us out. Lastly, we will also have a short survey available to fill out. There will be very few questions. The focus will be on discovering your interests and needs for our meetings. (For those of you who cannot attend, I will be sending the survey via email in December.)

In this season of Thanksgiving I want to take the opportunity to send thanks to everyone who has attended our meetings in 2010. I hope to see ALL of you at our meetings in 2011! Support goes both ways.. Thanks also to all of you who have helped at our meetings. It sure makes a big difference to me! I am also thankful for all the new information and gluten-free products on the market. It is SO much easier to be gluten-free these days!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Sheila Horine,
Director, Asheville GIG

Asheville, NC Bloggers Needed

Live in Asheville, NC?

Live the Gluten Free Lifestyle?

Interested in helping others in your city?

If you have any questions or interest writing about Asheville please email me.

North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

Media Release

North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

• Triangle residents can participate in a gluten-free food drive at various locations or make a monetary donation to help stock the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
• Bella Monica Italian Restaurant is hosting a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine
• A top food allergens poster is available for restaurants to download to educate their staff about these items, including gluten

Raleigh, N.C., USA, April 30, 2010 – The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog has announced Governor Beverly Perdue has declared May 2010 “Celiac Disease Awareness Month” in North Carolina. The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog and Pat Berger, leader of the North Raleigh Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) Support Group brought the petition to the Governor’s office regarding the awareness month.

Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune disease that affects one in 133 people in the United States. It interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food and can cause gastrointestinal and neurological issues, infertility, skin rashes and cancer. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is lifelong, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet.

“The Governor’s proclamation paves the way to further educate the community on Celiac Disease and helps to create a positive impact on the quality of life for people living with this condition,” said Zach Becker, creator of the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. “It’s my goal to help raise awareness so those living with this disease can safely eat out at restaurants and have easier access to gluten-free food.”

In an effort to educate, raise awareness and give back to the community, there are a number of gluten-free events scheduled during the month of May.

• A gluten-free food drive will be held on Saturday, May 8 to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Special discounts at the drop off locations may be available in exchange for your donation. Bins are set up in each of these locations to accept the packaged gluten-free non-perishable food items:
o Rosie’s Plate – N. Person St., Raleigh
o Bella Monica Italian Restaurant – Edwards Mill Rd., Raleigh
o ZPizza – Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh and Cornerstone Dr., Cary
o Mellow Mushroom – W. Peace St., Raleigh
o Whole Foods Market, Raleigh – Wade Ave., Raleigh
o Earth Fare – Moncreiffe Rd., Raleigh
o Harmony Farms/Café Harmony – Creedmoor Rd., Raleigh

• A virtual food drive will be held all month to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina with gluten-free food. The link to donate can be located on the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog.

• On Sunday, May 16, beginning at 5 p.m., Bella Monica Italian Restaurant will host a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine and Corbett Monica, head chef at Bella Monica Italian Restaurant. They will be preparing dishes from Maltin’s gluten-free cookbook entitled The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook: Spicing Up Life with Italian, Asian and Mexican Recipes. Copies of the cookbook will also be included. Tickets are required for this dining event and can be purchased by calling Bella Monica Italian Restaurant at 919-881-9778.

• The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog worked with Sofia Noble of the design firm This Is Beautiful to create a poster featuring all of the top food allergens, including gluten. This poster is now available for download in English and Spanish at the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. Wake County restaurant owners may use it to educate their staffs about these foods.

“Research indicates there are approximately three million people living with Celiac Disease in the United States and of those, only about 120,000 have been diagnosed,” said Alice Bast, founder and president of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). “It’s great to see North Carolina working to raise awareness about this disease so perhaps others can be accurately diagnosed by their doctors. Zach Becker and the entire North Carolina Celiac Disease community should be commended for their leadership and successful advocacy efforts.”


About Gluten Free Raleigh Blog
Zach Becker was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in May 2008. He founded the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog in August 2008 and has created similar blogs across the state. He has recruited writers for these blogs so gluten-free information in those communities can be shared. The blogs contain restaurant and grocery store reviews, summaries of national news as well as highlight local companies that cater to the gluten-free community. Becker is an advocate for those living with Celiac Disease in the Triangle and donates his time to educate the newly diagnosed, local restaurants and government leaders on this condition.

Earth Fare - Gluten Free Tour

Two Upcoming Gluten Free Tours at Earth Fare...

South Asheville Earth Fare
Date: January 21, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Admission: Free
Contact: Jennifer.Brewer@earthfare.com
Join us for a guided store tour of how to shop for gluten-free products. Gluten-free recipes and samples of gluten-free products provided. Please register in advance at 828.210.0100 or jennifer.brewer@earthfare.com

West Asheville Earth Fare
Date: January 19, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Admission: Free
Contact: jennifer.brewer@earthfare.com
Join us for a guided store tour of how to shop for gluten-free products. Gluten-free recipes and samples of gluten-free products provided. Please register in advance at 828.253.7656 or jennifer.brewer@earthfare.com

More on Posana Cafe!

Check out Gluten Free Greenie's in depth review on Posana Cafe here.

Posana Cafe on Celiac-Disease.com

Kristen wrote about Posana Cafe here a few weeks ago but check out this very in-depth review of the 100% GF restaurant on Celiac-Disease.com.