Posts
Have You Given Up on Dining Out?
Eating out is the most difficult part of living with celiac disease. Once you have been diagnosed with this chronic illness, eating out is forever changed. It will never be the same as it once was. This is an, unfortunate, stark reality check for those living with celiac. It sounds harsh, I know. But, it is true. There is no spontaneity with eating out anymore.
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Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Brownies by Selena De Vries, RD
Navigating the gluten-free flour world can be a huge learning experience – and definitely an ongoing one – if you are converting wheat flour favourites into gluten free, delicious counterparts. This recipe for Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Brownies get the thumbs up from friends and family!
Are You Confused About the Canada Food Guide and Celiac Disease?
Are you confused about the new Canada Food Guide in regard to celiac disease? As a dietitian specializing in celiac disease, Selena De Vries highlights the parts of the food guide that we should pay attention to.
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3 Things to Do When First Diagnosed with Celiac Disease – Selena De Vries, RD
Being diagnosed with celiac disease can be very overwhelming. Many of my clients have told me that they were informed to ‘google’ the diet and were then shown the door.
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Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Speaks About Self-Care During Christmas
Having celiac disease puts us under extra strain as we deal with severe dietary restrictions and the physical, emotional, and social challenges that go along with that. That’s why it’s essential that we celiacs take self-care seriously during the upcoming holiday season.
15 Gluten-Free Gift Ideas from Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries
Are you stuck on gift ideas for your loved one with celiac disease? Don’t worry, Selena De Vries, RD has got you covered with lots of suggestions that they will love! Read more
3 Tips for Successful Gluten-Free Holiday Baking by Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries
Gluten free baking is an art. One that needs trial and error and a lot of practice. Selena shares some of her favourite tried and true recipes, tips, and tricks so you can embark on gluten-free holiday baking with success! Read more
Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Gets Married!
“I got married last month! And, right before the wedding, wouldn’t you know it, I had a celiac attack.”
Gluten-Free Lunch Box Ideas for Kids by Selena De Vries, RD
Young kids like variety in their lunches. Little bit of this, little bit of that, bite here, nibble there … you get the picture. A little creativity with simple, whole foods can sometimes be all that is needed to jazz up the old lunchbox routine and encourage little ones to eat a little bit more.
Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Responds to Heart Wrenching Letter from a Mom
“My two children were recently diagnosed with celiac disease quite unexpectedly. We are struggling to cope.”
Top 10 Gluten-Free Convenience Foods for Quick & Healthy Meals by Selena De Vries, RD
If anyone is a fast cook in the kitchen, it’s me. And, of course, I like to make healthy, tasty, and always gluten free food! I do love to spend time cooking and baking as I find it relaxing. But nowadays with a new baby, fast, healthy and delicious is the goal for our meals. So, here are some of my favorite, gluten free convenience foods that I use all the time to make dinner appear on the table in no time flat.
Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Talks Romance
Starting up a new romance is nerve-wracking – our insecurities (Do they like me?) and neediness (Am I attractive enough?) flare up, and we try hard to make a good impression.
Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Speaks About Self-Care
Having celiac disease puts us under extra strain as we deal with severe dietary restrictions and the physical, emotional, and social challenges that go along with that. That’s why it’s essential that we celiacs take self-care seriously.
10 Communication Strategies to Decline Gluten-Free Food by Selena De Vries, RD
Having to turn down well-intentioned family member’s gluten free food or interrogate family members or friends on the ingredients used to make a gluten free dish, is by far, the most dreaded conversation a celiac will encounter. Am I right? I know this topic tops the list for me, hands down, for sure.
Celiac Counsellor Sherry Scheideman Takes A Day Off From Celiac Disease
Do you ever get bored with having celiac disease, and wish you could have a day off from it?
30 Ways to Make Your Celiac Friend Feel Normal by Selena De Vries, Celiac Dietitian
A diagnosis of celiac disease can be overwhelming. Often times, those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity will deny food-related invitations due to the fact that they “don’t even want to deal with it.” Replacing food with fun takes the pressure off while your friend or family member adjusts to the gluten-free diet. Selena has some great ideas!
The Celiac Counsellor Talks About Mourning and Celiac Disease
Six months ago, my mom died after a lengthy illness. In mourning her since then, I have noticed familiar feelings I associate with celiac disease.
Celiac Counsellor Corner – How Meditation Helps Me Deal with Celiac Disease
Did you suffer on the Easter weekend, visiting relatives in gluten-filled environments? I did … but it definitely would have been harder without meditation. Let me explain! Maybe meditation can help you, too.
Selena De Vries, Celiac Dietitian, Unlocks the Potential of Dried Plums
For those suffering from celiac disease, dried plums can help close the nutritional gap in many ways by improving bone and digestive health and managing blood sugar levels. Delicious too, in Selena’s Gluten Free Dark Chocolate and Dried Plum Energy Bars!
Selena De Vries, RD Talks Gluten Free on a Budget: Healthy Breakfast Swaps
I hear it from clients all the time, “the gluten free diet is expensive.” And, while, there is certainly some truth to that for a minority of products, there are a multitude of ways to stay on budget, while still eating safely and I am excited to share them with you!
Celiac Counsellor Corner – How to Be Mindful When Things Are Tough
When life is challenging – financial woes, illness such as celiac disease, unemployment, divorce, or whatever – it seems hard to live in the present moment.
Selena De Vries, RD Shares 10 Gluten-Free Foods That Always Fill Her Grocery Basket
Ever wonder what is in a celiac dietitian’s grocery cart? Well, now is your chance! These foods are always stocked in our house, making meals easy to throw together with the pantry staples I keep in our cupboard, too (a post for another time).
Selena De Vries, RD Shares Yummy Recipe for Mango Kiwi Kefir Smoothie
This smoothie is packed with immune boosting foods such as ginger and kefir so it is perfect for the fall and winter season to help prevent the cold and flu.
Let Celiac Disease Motivate You to Be Your Own Ideal Marriage Partner
If you had the ideal marriage partner, how would they support you emotionally? What would it feel like to be married to them?
Selena De Vries, RD Shares Three Simple Strategies to Improve Digestion on the Gluten-Free Diet
On a gluten free diet, but still feel unwell? Tip the scales in favor of better digestion and vitality!
Experimental Blood Test for Celiac Disease May Replace Gluten Challenge & Biopsy
“An experimental blood test accurately identifies people who do, or don’t, have celiac disease, even if they are following gluten-free diets, researchers say.” Will Boggs, MD, Reuters1
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What Are Your Celiac New Year’s Resolutions?
Living with celiac disease is a challenge. It helps to take the time to identify our most painful difficulties and to come up with ways of dealing with them. Now is the perfect time to go through this process, and make Celiac New Year’s Resolutions!
Anxiety, Depression, and the Gut
When gut systems are compromised, the body’s happiness system is damaged, too.
What to Do When Your Celiac Child Isn’t Invited
THE SITUATION: My celiac child isn’t invited to a party because the party-throwers aren’t willing to make it safe for my child.
MY BELIEF: They should invite my child to the party.
Five Steps to Respecting Ourselves and Others Even When We Feel Like Crap
Celiac disease makes us feel like crap in many ways, and when we feel like crap, it’s easy to behave badly.
You Want to Say YES, but You Need to Say NO
As celiacs, many of our social and emotional issues arise from wanting to say YES, but needing to say NO. We need to learn how to feel comfortable saying NO. Psychologists call this “Drawing Boundaries.” There are lots of long and complicated books about it.
Are Celiac Disease, Autoimmmune Disorders & Trauma Related?
Trauma comes in many forms: it can be ongoing abuse that we experienced as a child, it can be a single horrible incident like an accident or a disaster, it can be a surgery, and so on. There’s even a thing called trans-generational trauma, in which we kind of ‘inherit’ the unresolved issues of our ancestors.
Celiacs: Want to travel but worry about finding safe food?
As a celiac, I find it frightening to go on trips. Will I be able to find safe food? Will I have to go hungry? Will I get ‘glutened’ and have to deal with the illness away from the comfort and privacy of home?
Getting ‘Glutened’ is Going to Happen
Years ago, when I was first diagnosed with celiac disease and was making a lot of mistakes with the gluten-free diet, I used to hide my digestive distress from everyone at work. The work scene, I thought, required me to be perfect. Being sick wasn’t perfect!
What to Do When Being Gluten Free Feels Unfair
One thing that comes up for me over and over as a celiac is the feeling that I shouldn’t have to spend so much time and energy finding something safe to eat. Everyone else just reaches out, grabs something to eat, and carries on with their fast-paced lifestyle. Why can’t I do the same? It’s not fair. I have to search and search while everyone else gets ahead of me and I’m left behind, hungry and cranky and feeling like the victim of an injustice.
Having a Child with Celiac Disease Can Be Difficult for Parents
As parents, we don’t want our children to have a disease … we feel our children’s pain, we want everything to be perfect for them, we fear for their wellbeing. Our celiac kids can sense when their parents are upset about their disease, and they feel bad about it.
How to Find Gratitude in Difficult Celiac Situations
It’s easy to see what not to like about being a celiac – I don’t like packing all my own food in case the available food is cross-contaminated, I don’t like eating a can of cold soup while everyone else is lining up for a buffet that I paid for too, I don’t like going hungry while everyone else is eating pizza, I don’t like saying no to food that people offer me, I don’t like worrying that something delicious I’m eating at a restaurant is possibly poisoning me with each bite, I don’t like facing weeks of debilitating digestive issues after a mistake, and so on.
Self-Care for Celiacs: It’s not Selfish – It’s Necessary
- Imagine yourself as a wheel, rolling along through life. Now that you’re in Celiac Territory, you will encounter all kinds of hazards that can give you a flat!
Ask the Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries, RD
I’m a celiac – should I be taking supplements?
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Simple Tricks to Help Us Cope with Celiac Disease
- It’s natural to experience anger, resentment, sadness, desperation, frustration, fear and exasperation as we adjust to to the gluten-free diet.
Celiac Disease – Crash Course in Adapting to Change
- Betty always spends two weeks at the home of her aging parents in the summer. Now that Betty has celiac disease, she suffers anxiety, hunger, sadness, and resentment on these holidays because her parents can’t/won’t make their home safe for her.
Ask the Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries, RD
“It’s been two years since I went gluten free but my energy levels are decreasing even though all my lab results are within normal.”
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Celiac Counsellor’s Corner – The Gift of Limitations
- When your parents or in-laws are gluten-clueless and unwilling/unable to learn, staying with them may no longer be an option. How can you deal with this limitation that celiac disease has introduced into your life?
How to Be Assertive About Your GF Dietary Needs
- Celiacs often face upsetting social situations around food. We fear that being assertive about our needs will seem rude, and we don’t want to offend anyone or wreck anyone’s fun.
Ask the Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries, RD
- “I remember the day as if it were yesterday. It was the day where someone else (besides my partner) attempted to cook gluten free for me.”
Has Celiac Disease Made You a Better Person?
- Celiac disease can help us become less prejudiced against people and situations in the world around us.
Celiac Counsellor’s Corner – Sherry Scheideman, RCC
- Want to get off the cycle of pain? The physical pain of celiac disease makes us angry, desperate, frustrated, and afraid. This emotional pain makes the physical pain worse. We’re already dealing with cramps or mouth sores or whatever it is, and then we add the extra suffering of anger or sadness or fear on top of it — putting us in a cycle of increasing pain. Here’s how to get off that cycle of increasing pain.
Ask the Celiac Dietitian – Selena De Vries, RD
- QUESTION: My 5yr old son has Celiac disease. He was diagnosed about 8mths ago, to make it easier we have made our house gluten free but the thing I am struggling with the most right now is school lunches. When we took away the gluten we took away most of his favourite foods and now lunches are becoming boring, any suggestions?
- See Selena’s response below!
Celiac Counsellor’s Corner – Sherry Scheideman, RCC
- Celiac Pain: Celiac disease presents each of us with our own unique set of pains to deal with – pain such as sores in the mouth, abdominal cramps, bloating, headaches, nausea, and so on. Normally, we wish this pain would go away. We tense up against it, wishing it weren’t there. We get frustrated, angry, and resentful that the pain is in our life. We feel like a victim, like it’s not fair, like our life is being ruined. We fear that the pain is a sign that something even worse is happening with our health. We hate the pain!
Celiac Counsellor’s Corner – Sherry Scheideman, RCC
- COMMENT: I’ve always been a very anxious person, and now that I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, I’m wondering if the celiac disease has something to do with it.
Celiac Counsellor’s Corner – Sherry Scheideman, RCC
- ISSUE: My travel companions pressure me to make quick decisions and take risks when I need a snack from a convenience store. I feel hurt and disrespected.