It’s been three months since our teen began her celiac disease healing journey, and our family is making the absolute best of gluten-free life.
We have been eating this way long enough that it’s pretty rare for Z to say she’s suffering from celiac symptoms – or even that she misses a particular kind of food. We’ve found GF replacements for ALL of her favorites by now – including mouth-watering pizza, lovely baguettes and sourdough rolls!
The only thing that still makes being gluten-free difficult for Z is not being able to eat out just anywhere. When she’s out with her friends and they want to stop at McDonald’s, it’s hard. Everyone wants to fit in. But even fries, when cooked in a fryer with chicken nuggets or breaded fish filets, can become contaminated with gluten and harm her.
She has gotten good at bringing snacks in her purse or asking her friends to stop at Sheetz, which are now everywhere and carry many gluten-free snacks she can grab on the go.
But when we’re home, we have a fully stocked GF fridge, freezer and pantry for her. She eats like a queen. Here are some of our latest favorite gluten-free discoveries!
- Schar baguettes and rolls. For the longest time, Z missed bread – the fluffy, delicious baguettes and sourdough bread from Panera. But now, thanks to Schar, she has an alternative that hits the spot. We warm up the baguettes and sourdough rolls in the oven, then Z dips pieces in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Delicious! We’ve found these at Kroger, Meijer and other grocery stores in the bread aisle. You can also purchase Schar gluten-free breads online.
- Katz frozen GF cupcakes. Z hasn’t tried these yet – she’s not super into sweets – but Z’s friend A and I really liked these gluten-free Hostess cupcake dupes. We’ve only tried the chocolate variety, but they come in vanilla and other flavors, too. I’ll be watching for these! They’re available in the freezer section and are really good at room temperature or slightly warmed. We’ve found these at Kroger, Wal-Mart and other grocery store freezers.
- Frozen GF pizza. We’ve tried two brands – the Freschetta one pictured above, from Kroger or Meijer, was really tasty. We like the Sabatasso’s GF pizza from Costco (available in a three-pack) even more. These are such a nice, quick option for lunch or dinner! Of course, we still miss the luscious, doughy crust of a Papa John’s or NY-style pizza, but GF thin-crust pizzas are delicious. That said, I recently saw a post on Instagram about DiGiorno’s having a thick-crust gluten-free pizza, so I will be watching the freezer aisle for that one and we’ll report back! Pro tip: Wal-Mart has many cool gluten-free items in their freezer, so be sure to check there while you’re out and about.
- Frozen macarons. Z and I have always loved macarons – it’s just a super cool bonus that they are and have always been gluten-free! That said, do check the label on any new brand you try, just to be sure. We adore the frozen macaron trays available in the Costco freezer/refrigerated section. They vary the flavors by season and we love them all! We’ve even taken a fabulous macaron baking class at Macaron Bar in the Short North. These will always be one of our absolute favorite treats and it’s such a joy that they are GF!
- Ice cream mochi. I first had ice cream mochi while visiting my cool Cali nieces, who adore them. They are now available in the freezer section of most grocery stores here in Ohio, and they are so yummy! Little balls of ice cream wrapped in gluten-free rice dough, mochi are tasty, satisfying, and have the most marvelous mouthfeel. I was delighted when Z tried these and fell in love with them, too. We love the MyMochi brand, but there are other good ones, too – just check the label to be 100% sure they are gluten-free.
It’s important to remember that having celiac disease means eating gluten-free is a necessity, not a preference. Celiac is a serious autoimmune disease. Eating gluten will actually cause Z’s body to destroy her small intestine, causing internal damage, pain and other GI symptoms that in some cases can even be irreparable. Untreated celiac can lead to other medical complications and even early death. We are fortunate that Z’s symptoms have cleared up through months of avoiding gluten – and it’s certainly not something we ever want her to deal with again.
If you’re embarking on a new celiac journey, I encourage you to read our other gluten-free posts – we write about celiac topics monthly. And please let me know if there’s something celiac-related that you would like us to research and write about!
We’re glad you found us.
