Tips and Tricks – Cup of Coffee with Katie

First Aid/Staying Healthy, Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Life, Labeling Laws, Newly-Diagnosed, Product Recommendations, Tips and Tricks

It’s That Time of Year Again…

Posted on November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

That’s right: cold and flu season is here. (I know,more exciting seasons have arrived too but we’re going to be practical for a minute here.) While it is important for everyone to prepare for cold and flu season, the need for those of us with food allergies/intolerances is just a little bit greater. First of all, for those of us with autoimmune conditions like Celiac, any battle with illness can become more complicated than for the general population. Second, you really want to drag yourself to a store when you’re feeling sick to get the medications you need? Finally, and perhaps most important, do you really want to be sitting at a computer trying to research gluten-free/dye-free/whatever-your-restriction-is-free options when the fog of sickness has already descended, and then driving all over the place trying to hunt down the ones deemed to be safe?

Let me answer those questions for you: no, you don’t. So the time is now: stock up your medicine cabinet with all the cold and flu season essentials now while you are clear-headed enough to look into the ingredients…and not so patiently wait for those company reps to get back to you with an answer about their product.

Now before I dive into my list of suggestions, please remember a few things. First, I am not a doctor, nurse, or any kind of medical professional. My suggestions/recommendations are what have worked for me but you should talk to your own doctor about the best options for you. Second, always, always, always read the labels before you buy or use any product- even one recommended to you. Formulas can change every year and though I’ve done my best to research for this year, you just never know when a new product will hit the shelves so even if you know someone else takes it, always verify for your specific ingredient restrictions. Third, these are just the products that work for me. You may find others that are better suited for you, but hopefully this list at least gets you thinking about the items you should have on hand in your medicine cabinet as we head into the heart of cold/flu season.

cold prevention

If you’re anything like me, as soon as you feel a slight tickle in your throat, you’re doing everything you can to prevent it from turning into a full-fledged cold. Here are my go-to “first line of defense”items:

Umcka Cold Care: This was recommended to me by a doctor years ago and it has changed my life (especially when I was teaching elementary school where the little ones are always sneezing!) This one is my personal go-to but any from the line I’ve tried have been great. Maybe it’s all in my head but I swear it has made a difference in preventing full-blown colds, or at least minimizing the severity. It can be hard to find in stores. I’ve usually found it in my local health food store, but some varieties are available on Amazon and even in Walgreens this year. I verified with the company this week that all Umcka products are still gluten-free. (If you have dairy allergies, make sure to check the label and check with your doctor as some do contain lactose.)
Zinc Lozenges: Along with Umcka, it can’t hurt to start sucking on those zinc lozenges as soon as you feel that first throat tickle. Cold-EEZE tend to be the most common choice and they do currently label them as gluten-free. You will likely find generic brands that are labeled gluten-free as well. A personal favorite of mine (when I can find them!) are Nature’s Way Sambucus Elderberry Zinc Lozenge. They taste great and that added boost of elderberry can’t hurt, right?
Elderberry gummies: Now I’ll admit, I was skeptical of the elderberry craze (and I am still just a little bit.) However, there was a free sample of some elderberry gummies in a blogger bag I received a few years ago and I figured what do I have to lose? I have no concrete proof that they work but I also have no evidence to suggest that they don’t- and they taste delicious- so why not give it a whirl?

Cough syrup

Robitussin Honey: I personally love this product because it is tested to ensure it is gluten-free and it seems to actually work (for me!). Also, every part of the package is recyclable which to me is a fun bonus. It is a little pricier than some other varieties, but to me it’s worth it. And there can be sales if you keep an eye out in stores and bring this $1 off coupon.
Chestal Honey: This was my go-to cough syrup until Robitussin Honey arrived on the scene. My doctor recommended it to me and I never had a problem with it, but the parent company (Boiron) has a policy of not making gluten-free claims about their products so if that makes you nervous, go with Robitussin.

Cough drops

There are SO many choices when it comes to cough drops. Again, my best advice is to read labels and go with one that is confirmed by the manufacturer. Also be wary of just googling things because I found results from as long ago as 2012 and labeling laws have changed A LOT since then. Here are some potentially surprising/useful things I’ve learned while researching cough drops:

Ricola is no longer considered gluten-free! I have to applaud Ricola on their transparency here. They honestly state on their FAQ page that their products cannot be considered gluten-free under current FDA regulations…but then they go on to say that their products do contain less than 20 ppm. So essentially it’s up to you and your doctor what’s right for you, but I no longer consider them an option for myself.
Hall’s is complicated. The ingredient list seems safe but again the company won’t make a particular claim that the products are gluten-free. Read here for the best description I’ve found and then decide for yourself.
Fisherman’s Friend is your friend. This brand is my personal recommendation. They are gluten-free, vegan (that means dairy-free for me), and contain a LOT less ingredients than most of the other brands I’ve seen. Again, they are a little pricier and can be a little strong in flavor initially but it’s worth it to me to know I’m taking something safe for me.

Theraflu: It’s up to you

Theraflu is another one which is complicated. Honestly I have used their hot liquid powder for years now and have never had a reaction. However, when I called to check again this year I received the seemingly-now-standard response from the representative: they don’t use any gluten-containing ingredients but they do not test the final products so they can’t guarantee anything since some ingredients come from third-party vendors. (AKA we have to cover ourselves so we can’t say it’s gluten-free, but we also don’t want to incur the expense of testing to make sure…so good luck.) Also, it took me FOREVER to get someone to respond to me so if you’re planning to call and talk to them about your specific needs, I’d drop everything and start the process right now.

Tylenol/Advil

Obviously this one should always be on-hand, but it is getting more complicated too. Name-brand Advil was always my go-to for pain relief and fever but now they issued a similar statement to Theraflu saying they can’t guarantee it’s gluten-free. Also, some of the liqui-gel products DO contain a wheat derivative so I’m sure cross-contamination is also a concern. Of course, Tylenol (who used to label products gluten-free) also released a similar statement last year to cover themselves after the new labeling laws went into effect.

The good news is there are some generic brands that are still labeled gluten-free. I personally have generic versions from CVS and from Target. I do recommend you check the label, call the manufacturer, and also check with your doctor too to see what is best for you.

tea with honey

Finally, the classic for fighting a cold: lots of tea with honey. Just please, please, please make sure your tea is gluten-free. (That’s right, you have to worry about tea too!) I’ll admit I came close to purchasing a box of sugar cookie sleigh ride tea once before I noticed the glaring CONTAINS GLUTEN on the side of the box. (Thanks, Celestial Seasonings for being on top of the labeling!!) I know the name itself should have stopped me in my tracks, but in my mind it was tea. I never thought about barley as an ingredient. Here is a great (recent) article about your various tea options. Again, especially when you have a cold and might reach for decaf/herbal tea options, make sure to do your homework first. The last thing you need is a gluten reaction when you are already sick!

An ounce of prevention

My final word here is of course to do what you can to prevent illness this cold/flu season. Wash your hands thoroughly (and make sure it’s a safe soap!) and often. Try to get enough sleep and avoid situations where you may encounter a lot of germs in an enclosed space when you can. Finally, I am not here to wade into the vaccine debate, especially because I know it can be extremely complicated when you have an autoimmune condition. All I am saying is I strongly recommend that you see your doctor and talk about what is best for you. I did have a doctor who advised against the flu shot for me for a few years when around when I was sick/in the process of finding a diagnosis so my immune system was haywire already, because he was concerned the risks for me outweighed the benefits (again where the importance of herd immunity comes in). I personally have had a flu shot for a few years now because I have a toddler and I haven’t had any negative reaction. Also, some doctors strongly urge Celiac patients to get a Pneumonia shot each year- which is not standard protocol for an average 20 or 30-something, but I’ve had several- so I would just suggest talking to a doctor that you trust…and of course ultimately do what you think is best for you.

Here’s to a healthy cold and flu season for all of us!

Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Life, Holidays, Newly-Diagnosed, Product Recommendations, Thanksgiving, Tips and Tricks

A Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

Posted on November 8, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

Now that we’re in November the excitement is building for the most wonderful time of the year! For me, there is nothing wrong with starting to celebrate the holiday season before Thanksgiving as long as Thanksgiving still gets its due share of attention and celebration. That being said, Thanksgiving can be a source of stress for people with food restrictions, especially for those who are newly diagnosed. (Holidays centered around sharing a meal are hard- especially at first.) Thankfully, there are many of us who have walked this road for several years now so you’re not alone as you face this first (or second or third) Thanksgiving with food restrictions.

Whether you are reading this for yourself or you are preparing for a food-sensitive guest at your own dinner table this year, I wanted to get this post out now because it includes products which can be more difficult to find at the last minute. With 3 weeks to go until the big day, the time to shop/order is now.

Turkey

Of course, the main event. Believe it or not, turkey is trickier than you think. Not all turkeys are gluten-free because they can be marinated in or infused with broth, or even just processed on a shared line. There is a helpful list here of a few national brands with gluten-free turkeys, but the best thing to do is read the label and/or contact the company yourself and check. (For example, Butterball doesn’t label their turkeys as gluten-free but the company representative reported that all frozen and fresh turkeys are gluten-free, with the exception of the frozen stuffed turkey- for obvious reasons.) Which brings me to my next point…

Stop and think before you stuff!

It sounds like common sense but obviously most popular stuffing brands/recipes are not gluten-free…because well, bread. So you as the host or as the guest need to make a decision. If you are going to prepare a turkey and stuffing that is gluten-free and allergen-friendly for everyone, then of course you have to use an allergen-safe stuffing (more on that below). My personal preference (and honestly what makes me feel safer as a guest) is to simply have a separate small gluten-free turkey breast that is cooked just for me (and whoever else may need it). Granted, another thing to keep in mind is oven space- not only room for the allergen-free turkey, but also assurance that it isn’t going to come in contact with something allergen-filled in the stove. (Yes, even when you use one of those turkey bags, you’re usually instructed to poke air vents so if air can get in, so can contaminants.) So again my personal recommendation would be one of the following:

Roast the gluten-free turkey breast the day before and just warm it up before dinner
OR (new idea this year!) prepare the turkey breast separately in an Instant Pot (again only if you have one that is allergen-safe)

Which bring us to…Stuffing!

This is my personal favorite item on the Thanksgiving table. Believe it or not, your days of stuffing are not over! With a little creativity, you can find a way to make a stuffing that is allergen-safe for you. My personal recommendation is hands-down Aleia’s Savory Stuffing. (NOTE: it does contain eggs, but for me eggs baked into things is OK but make sure you know what is safe for you and your guests.) Otherwise, it is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, and Kosher. I have been able to find it at my local Stop and Shop but you may need to order it so check out their website for a store locator near you and for ordering deadlines to guarantee arrival by Thanksgiving. Also, I have seen it on Amazon but I would just warn you to be careful when you order from there because there are older varieties I’ve seen that aren’t dairy-free so make sure it’s from a trusted seller.

What’s turkey without gravy?

I’ll be honest: I was never a huge gravy fan even in my gluten-filled days so this one wasn’t so hard for me to give up. However, a few weeks ago I attended the Greater Boston Gluten-Free Expo and met the lovely people from Full Flavor Foods, and let’s just say my life will never be the same. They handed me a sample of the gluten-free AND dairy-free turkey gravy and it was like all of a sudden a little piece of the world was right again. It brought back warm memories of childhood Thanksgivings at the kids’ table and touched my soul in the way that just the right unexpected food can. I have a packet stashed away for my Thanksgiving table, and if I were you, I would head to their website today to order one for yours!

In the words of my 2-year-old: “SO GOOD.”

Other Important Ingredients to Have On Hand

All of the items mentioned above are important, but so are the smaller ingredients that are necessary to complete the perfect allergen-friendly Thanksgiving meal.

Earth Balance Butter: This is key for keeping those mashed potatoes dairy-free, soy-free, and delicious. It can sell out or just not be available in stores (especially for people like me who need the soy-free version) so plan to snag one ASAP.
Chicken broth: Both the stuffing mix and my favorite mashed potato recipe require chicken broth. AND NO, NOT ALL CHICKEN BROTH IS SAFE!! I personally love Pacific Foods brand because I know it is safe, but it is expensive. I’ve also found success with the Trader Joe’s brand, Aldi’s brand, and College Inn brand BUT I cannot stress this enough: CHECK THE LABEL. Recipes and procedures change all the time and even brands which were once safe can change (and vice versa!). For example, the College Inn chicken broth in the box is gluten-free BUT the same thing in a can is not because it has hydrolyzed wheat gluten. I know, it’s enough to make my head hurt too.
Pie crust!: If you’re lucky enough to have a gluten-free bakery near you, you might consider ordering a pie. Yes, they’re expensive but especially with the limited oven space and the cross-contamination concerns in the kitchen, it might be worth it. If you are planning to try making your own, I would recommend looking for either the King Arthur pie crust mix or my personal favorite (because it’s so easy), these pre-made pie crusts from Wholly Wholesome.
Most of the other necessities (potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery and onion for the stuffing, green beans, etc.) can wait until the week of Thanksgiving when you make the big grocery store run for everything else.

OK now that I have given you the product rundown, I want to close with 2 important reminders.

First, I am not exaggerating when I say that planning early is important for preparing an allergen-safe holiday meal.

Even if you have a natural food store near you that carries a lot of these products, it is a BUSY time of year for these companies. This is the one time of year when a lot of people who don’t usually buy gluten-free/dairy-free items are stocking up for someone in their family.

Second, and honestly most important, whether you are preparing to be a guest at a Thanksgiving dinner or you are preparing this meal for someone with food restrictions, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE communicate first.

Levels of sensitivity vary. While one gluten-free guest may not be worried about shared cutting boards, sponges, or wooden spoons, the reality is that for many of us each of those things matter. If you feel more comfortable making your own food at home and bringing it with you, just say so. If you would rather be the one in the kitchen to oversee everything and show up with your own cooking utensils, say so. If you are the chef and you really just don’t feel comfortable doing this safely, say so. The last thing anyone wants is for Thanksgiving dinner to end in someone getting sick so just communicate with one another to see what is best for your particular gathering.

Now, let the countdown continue! Less than 3 weeks until the perfect (for you) gluten-free, dairy-free, whatever-else free Thanksgiving dinner.

Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Life, Newly-Diagnosed, Tips and Tricks

The Mystery of Grocery Shopping (AKA Deciphering All Those Labels)

Posted on May 5, 2019October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

When I was new to the gluten-free world, one of my biggest challenges was deciphering those confusing gluten-free (maybe??) labels at the grocery store. I wish I could say it gets easier with time. In some ways it does, but I’ll be honest, you’re in for a lifetime of detective work. Fortunately there have been some legal changes since 2013 in an effort to make this process less of a mystery, but as you’ll see below, they still leave you with a few cobwebs to clear.

If you have walked through a grocery store lately, chances are you saw more than a dozen products bearing a gluten-free label. Most grocery stores have an ever-growing gluten-free/natural products section which of course fills your heart with glee because that means so many more safe options for you, right?? Well, the answer is maybe, depending on your level of sensitivity.

The mysterious land of gluten-free food…

When I was diagnosed in 2011, there were no official FDA requirements for gluten-free labeling. Thankfully the Celiac community is a passionate one and their efforts led to the FDA issuing Gluten-Free Label Laws, which were passed on August 5, 2013 and went into effect a year later (August 5, 2014). You can read the full text of the FDA statements here but allow me to give you a concise summary.

FDA Gluten-Free Label Requirements

Sets the acceptable limit for gluten in a product at 20 ppm (parts per million)
States that products with the gluten-free label must be either inherently free from gluten-containing grains OR derived from a gluten-containing grain, provided that it has been processed to remove the gluten, to a point which measures below 20 ppm
Classifies gluten-free as a voluntary label (meaning manufacturers can decide whether or not to include it on their packaging)
Requires food imported into the United States to meet the same requirements if using the gluten-free label
Does NOT require manufactures to test for gluten in their products but the FDA will randomly test products to confirm compliance

Now let me start by saying that I am extremely grateful for the measures taken in 2014 in that at least I can be (relatively) confident that anything with a gluten-free label contains less than 20 ppm of gluten. However, the FDA law still leaves me with some concerns. First, because manufacturers are not required to test final products to ensure 20 ppm, I have to make sure it is a company (or person) that I trust. The good news is that in 2017, the FDA released data of their sampling and of the 250 products sampled, only 1 failed/was recalled. Second, the reality is that 20 ppm can still be too much for some people. In the FDA’s defense, this is the threshold agreed upon by the “celiac experts”, but every person’s sensitivity can vary. I’m not saying the number should necessarily be decreased- I just wish there was a way this was included on the label so that newly-diagnosed patients in particular, were aware of the threshold. Lastly, the labeling law does allow for manufacturers to use other phrases, such as “not made with gluten-containing ingredients” without meeting the established requirements. For a new shopper, that can certainly be confusing.

So now that I might have you feeling even more overwhelmed, there is good news too. You might have also come across products with that little certified gluten-free symbol (as opposed to just the phrase written on the package somewhere).

This little symbol is about to become your best friend.

This is because the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG) developed the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) which provides 3rd party certification of gluten-free products. Again, you can read all the specifics here but the basics are below.

Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO)

Requires that all ingredients AND finished products with this logo contain 10 ppm of gluten or less
Does not allow any barley-based ingredients in a product
Requires annual inspection of equipment, raw materials, and finished products in order to maintain certification

In other words, a product bearing this logo has been certified to be safe sometime within the past calendar year. You can add those products to your cart with as much certainty as you can probably find these days.

So of course now this begs the question: should you only buy items with the certified gluten-free logo?

Only you can make that decision but I will tell you for me the answer is no. Yes, I do feel safer when I pick up a new product with that logo; however, leaving out any product without the logo would mean giving up some wonderful, safe options for me. While the gluten-free certification is a great process for consumers, it is both expensive and time-consuming for the manufacturer. It states on the GFCO website that it can take anywhere from 6-18 weeks to get through the certification process and even then, new packaging has to be printed which includes the label so it will be even longer before it gets on the store shelves. Also, for a small start-up company, the cost of certification (and then annual inspection) might just be out of budget range for the first few years. This is why I love the chance to meet creators of new products at Gluten-Free Expos because I can talk to them in person about their products and production process and decide for myself whether it is safe for me.

So now what??

I know, I may have just added to the confusion in your life with all this information so let me leave you with a Cliffs Note version of how to navigate the puzzle that is grocery shopping in a gluten-free world.

Labeled Gluten-Free: Proceed with relative confidence that this item contains less than 20 ppm of gluten and should be safe for most consumers with Celiac or gluten sensitivity

Certified Gluten-Free: Proceed with strong confidence that this item contains less than 10 ppm of gluten and is most likely safe for consumers with Celiac or gluten sensitivity

Labeled Not Made with Gluten-Containing Ingredients (or some variety of that phrase): Put it down and walk away. This phrase is not held to the FDA standard of gluten-free. It means exactly what it says: the product is not made with gluten-containing ingredients, but also the manufacturer doesn’t have the confidence necessary to put the label gluten-free so it may or may not test below the 20 ppm threshold

No label at all: This is where common sense kicks in. The FDA designated gluten-free as a completely voluntary label so you may see it popping up on anything from bottled water to diced peaches if the manufacturer thinks it might help the product to sell. However, that also means there are many inherently gluten-free products (canned fruit, frozen vegetables, etc.) that will not have any kind of gluten-free label or logo- because it just isn’t in the best interest of the manufacturer to go through that whole process. Again, this is where you have to decide what is best for you and your body.

I hope this little guide helps you (slightly) in your quest to navigate your new grocery shopping world. I will say that if you are shopping for gluten-free guests, I would recommend choosing certified gluten-free items because it will likely put their minds more at ease. Of course, you can also touch base with them about brands or products that they know are safe for them. (I’ll have a future post about hosting gluten-free guests)

Last but not least, if you do have an adverse reaction to a product which is labeled gluten-free, the FDA has established two ways to report this information. You can contact FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s Adverse Event Reporting System at 240-402-2405 or by email at CAERS@cfsan.fda.gov or you can reach out to an FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for the state where the food was purchased. You can find the number for your state listed here. We have to stick together to keep each other safe- if a product makes you sick, you can help prevent it from happening to someone else.

Now, happy (and safe!) shopping! I promise, you’ll get the hang of it 🙂

Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Life, Tips and Tricks

So You’re Going to Plan A Wedding…

Posted on January 13, 2018October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

Yes, the draft of this post has been a work-in-progress for over a year now. Literally. I started it in May of 2016 just a few weeks after our wedding…and then life happened. June of 2016 brought a move to Boston, August brought a new job, and then with Fall 2016 came news of our little bundle of sunshine and suddenly time was consumed by a combination of typical baby prep and slightly less typical “how to eat safely and handle pregnancy with celiac” research and appointments. Thus, the wedding post was left occasionally touched, but never quite finished. (Don’t worry, the baby ones are a work-in-progress too…so maybe by 2019 I’ll finish those?? 🙂

This post is going to address two different scenarios: planning a wedding (or any major event really) when you are the one with food allergies/intolerances, and also some tips for planning a wedding where some of the guests have food allergies/intolerances (which honestly these days is pretty much guaranteed at any event). So pour yourself something warm (it’s -2 degrees as I’m writing this) and here we go!

Scenario A: You are the one with food allergies/intolerances

Here is my advice to anyone planning a wedding, allergies or not: Choose what is most important to you about your big day and stick to it. And by choose I mean you actually have to choose 1 or 2 things and let those be your guide. I know all the wedding magazines, Bridal books, and Pinterest boards make it seem like you can (and should!) have everything and anything you ever wanted crammed into your day. From someone who has planned a wedding and been a part of many over the past few years, this is not the reality. The chances that your “dream photographer/videographer” will be available the same day as your “dream venue” on a day when the weather is desirable, there isn’t a holiday involved, there isn’t a conflict with a close family member’s college graduation, AND you’re not part of someone else’s wedding, are pretty slim. Unless you want to be engaged for 3-5 years. Which if that’s what you really want, go for it. (Remember choose what matters to you and your fiance(e) and stick with it!)

Here is the thing: planning a wedding involves so many decisions. SO MANY. I know everyone tells you that but it’s actually true. And if you go in without any concrete decisions to guide you, trust me it will get overwhelming really quickly. For example, for me the two most important things (and of course I mean aside from “be married by the end of the day”) were a) the church and b) the food. I could not imagine getting married anywhere except the church which had become my home in Baltimore (actually, Towson) and where I had taught for 4 years. Once we met with the priest and parish secretary (never underestimate the power of a parish secretary) and had a choice of dates that the church was available, it was pretty easy to settle on the date we wanted. That simple (OK, maybe not quite so simple) decision automatically made life so much easier because it immediately eliminated certain venue choices. Was I intrigued by the idea of a wedding reception at the Baltimore Zoo where a penguin would come to cocktail hour? You bet I was. But I called and they already had a wedding on March 19th so no more decisions to be made, just cross it off the list and don’t look back. The same was true with a variety of DJ and photography choices- if they’re already booked that day, time to move on. Again, this is why you really need to choose YOUR important things first. If you only want a certain photographer, get the available dates from him/her first and then the other details will have to fall in line accordingly. Trust me, it will be your saving grace to start narrowing down options.

The next important detail for me (not surprisingly) was the food. Now, as a bride/groom/person being honored at a big event, the choice of how to handle food allergies/intolerances is completely yours. Most venues/caterers will provide you-safe meals and serve everyone else gluten-filled, dairy-filled dishes. You might say “Nope, I want everything at my event to be completely me-safe so I don’t have to worry about it”. That’s also totally reasonable, and though a little more challenging, still very do-able. As for me, I fell somewhere in between. I knew that my wedding was the one day in my life where I wanted to feel included in the celebration with everyone else. I didn’t want a great catered meal for everyone while I had a plate of plain baked chicken and steamed broccoli. On the other hand, I was not going to spend the crazy amount of money it would require to host an entirely Katie-safe wedding where honestly the food may or may not be all that tasty. So we came up with the perfect-for-us solution. Cocktail hour would be lots of non-Katie-safe hors d’oeuvres because we would mostly be taking pictures anyway. We chose one dish that was Katie-safe and a plate was set aside for the bridal room and we also stashed some Utz potato chips in there for me to snack on between photos…but I figured why limit everyone else when I wouldn’t be at cocktail hour anyway.

Enjoying my Utz potato chips during cocktail hour!

Dinner was where it mattered to me that the food be delicious but I could also safely enjoy what everyone else was having. So what other option could there be but one of my deepest loves: Chipotle. That’s right, Chipotle catered our wedding. And it was everything I dreamed it would be. Not to mention, they were so excited about it that we got a discount AND some Chipotle merchandise waiting at our door when we returned from our honeymoon. Everyone ate well (as far as I know) and I got to sit next to my new husband in my wedding dress looking around a room filled with everyone I love while enjoying a chicken burrito bowl. Seriously though, does life get any better?? (Granted this was before I ate the same burrito bowl at the hospital right after our little guy was born this year, but that’s another story for another time.)

A handwritten card from our new friends at Chipotle corporate!

Eating Chipotle at my wedding. Dreams do come true.

We arrived home from our honeymoon to a box of goodies from Chipotle!

And then as far as dessert, we ordered a little Katie-safe cake for us to cut into and enjoy but then filled the rest of our cupcake tree with delicious (and much cheaper) gluten-filled cupcakes for the rest of the guests to enjoy. If you live anywhere near Philadelphia, drop everything and head right to Sweet Freedom. They are amazing- and even made sure I didn’t miss out on the cake-tasting experience before the wedding.

For us, it was the perfect night and I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing. However, as you’ll learn if you’re planning an event, there are very few venues today that allow outside catering to come in. Most places either have on-site catering or an approved list of caterers who are allowed to serve at events. Although this initially irked me, after some conversations I realized it’s actually for very practical reasons: lawsuits abound over improperly handled food, allergen contamination, etc. so it is in the best interest of a venue to only allow trusted caterers on the premises. So for me, this choice to have Chipotle and only Chipotle as my dinner option ruled out most venues in the greater Baltimore area…and in hindsight I’m so glad it did. I absolutely loved the woman who ran our venue and she was like having a built-in wedding planner that came with the hall. I loved that we spent the day before our wedding at the hall setting everything up with our family and bridal party. I loved that everything had a personal touch. We put coffee beans in our centerpieces (I mean, we re-met over coffee and you know my love for coffee!), we had pies on each table, my students helped fold programs during the week leading up to the wedding, one of them handwrote all of our placecards during her study halls, and even our wedding cake topper was a gift from a student who asked her brother to make it for us on a 3-D printer and he sent it to us from his class at Duke. It really felt like an event that was put together by everyone in our lives.

Again, I am not saying this is best for everyone. If you know that you want to spend the day before your wedding relaxing with family and friends you don’t often see, then don’t choose a place where you set everything up yourself. If you have a busy schedule and you’re not into DIY, then don’t choose your wedding as the time to start DIY-ing everything from Pinterest. (Again, maybe pick a project or two. Any more than that and you’re heading down the rabbit hole). I worked at a wedding venue in high school and college and I can tell you the wedding planners at those genuinely care about what they do and put a lot of love into the set-up of events so if that’s the best option for you, then do it and enjoy the freedom it gives you to just live in the moment and enjoy your weekend.

In summary, here are my recommendations for anyone planning a wedding (allergen-related or not!):

Choose 1 or 2 non-negotiables. Whether it’s food, venue, photographer, date, etc. just decide on those and make the rest of the decisions to ensure that these non-negotiables become reality.
Own your decisions. Sticking fast to your 1 or 2 non-negotiables does not make you a Bridezilla. (Unless your non-negotiable is something outlandish- see recommendation #3) There were people who told me to give up on my Chipotle idea and just settle for the baked chicken, but I knew what I wanted so I didn’t give up that easily. (Again, please refer to #3)
I cannot encourage you to have non-negotiables without a caveat: make sure you have “that person” in your life. You know, the one who can lovingly but honestly say “Sorry, having your entire wedding party consist of beloved puppies from the animal shelter is not a good idea. Please stop with the crazy”. Now yes, you have your soon-to-be-spouse as one of those people, but sometimes you both get so caught up in the crazy and wanting to make sure the other one has everything he/she wants that it is helpful to have someone on the outside. I’m pretty sure that’s why there is a bridal party to begin with. Use them, listen to them, and thank them for keeping you sane 🙂
Ask for help. Planning a big event like a wedding is a lot of work. A LOT. Not to mention you still have the rest of your life going on: full-time jobs, one of you planning a move (I’m going to side with my grandfather on this one and choose to believe that everyone still lives separately until the wedding), and all your other regular life commitments. We had the help of my students of course, but we also had friends pick up the food for us, one of my bridesmaids picked up the Katie-safe cake and drove it with great care from Philadelphia, and countless people helped us with set-up, decorations, etc. People love to help. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Wegman’s does amazing bouquets and flowers for a fraction of the cost. Just make sure you check the temperature in the refrigerator where you store them so the water doesn’t freeze, thus killing your bouquet (true story- but totally not Wegman’s fault. I’d use them again in a second). See #7- hiccups happen, but they make for great memories!
Remember that this is one day of your life. One very important day, yes. But just know that whether you spend $5,000 or $50,000, life will go on the day after and you may want to use some of those thousands one something that lasts a little longer. But that’s your call. I found my dress at a wedding dress consignment shop outside DC and to this day I am so grateful that I found a dress I loved so much but cost much less than a month of rent 🙂
Enjoy yourself. There is a lot of stress that goes into planning a big event. You will get overwhelmed at some point and may find yourself in line at Chipotle one night almost in tears because they want you to decide between white and brown rice in your dinner. That’s when you need to step back and remember what this day/event is really all about. Details matter, yes. But when all is said and done, as long as you are married, you are happy, and everyone is healthy, nothing else matters all that much. (Trust me, I worked many weddings. One time a glass candleholder exploded all over the cake. Shards of glass were in the cake- and even then that bride managed to laugh by the end of the night) I never thought it would snow in late March, but it made for better wedding pictures than I ever could have hoped for!
Plan your meals wisely leading up to the wedding- and that includes the rehearsal dinner! I only ate things I personally cooked for the 2 weeks leading up to the wedding (including packing my own food for the rehearsal dinner) because I was not taking a chance at getting glutened/caseined, etc. and feeling sick on my wedding day if I could prevent it. Again, your call but something I would 100% recommend.
Have SCOPE on-hand. Seriously, though. We bought enough of these on Amazon for favors and we still have leftovers that we use to this day. Trust me, both of you should get to eat what you want at your wedding and still be able to kiss each other safely.

Scope: don’t get married without it!

Scenario B: Your Guests Have Food Allergies/Intolerances

This applies to pretty much anyone getting married today because odds are at least someone at your wedding has food restrictions. When it comes to handling this sometimes delicate situation, here are the options I think you have…and again, I really believe that any one of them is acceptable. And that’s coming from a frequent wedding guest 🙂

Option A: You’re having your wedding at a venue with a full kitchen that offers a wide variety of options to meet all kinds of dietary restrictions. Great, just make sure to include a spot on your response cards for food restrictions (*NOTE: This is especially important if you’re inviting a plus one for anyone. You may think you know which friends and family members have food allergies but Cousin Charlie’s Plus One could have celiac and you’d never know.) Once you give that information to the kitchen or coordinator at the venue, your job is pretty much done. Unless they say there is some restriction they can’t accommodate. In that case, your job is simply to make sure that guest knows. As someone with food restrictions, I am telling you it is not your job to track down a meal for that person. As long as you are open and honest ahead of time, the guest will figure out a way to get or pack food. The only time I would say you should go farther is if the person is close family or in the wedding party. In that case the person would have to be with you for pictures and wouldn’t really have time to procure food elsewhere so in that case I’d say work together with them to find a solution. Otherwise, you’re welcome to go above and beyond but it is certainly not expected.

Option B: You’re bringing in your own food from the outside and it will be buffet or self-serve. Usually this information is stated on the invitation (or assumed because guests aren’t asked to choose a meal). Again, I would recommend a place for food restrictions OR at least a contact name for someone who does have restrictions to reach out to. (This does not necessarily have to be you: again, delegate!) Also, buffets can be dangerous for the food-allergic (people tend to mix up serving spoons or drop items into different trays where they don’t belong) so if you can arrange for the people with allergies to go through the buffet first, that would make a HUGE difference. Again, your decision entirely but just make sure to communicate the plan to any guests with food allergies so they can plan accordingly.

My best piece of advice: include a contact on the invitation.
Then the job is out of your hands!

Option C: You have a million and one details to worry about. The menu is what it is and you are not trying to accommodate 15 different food needs. This may sound harsh but I 100% think this is a reasonable mentality.(Again, slightly different for family and bridal party consideration) I can’t speak for everyone with food allergies/restrictions but for me, I am fortunate enough to be a part of your big day. I get to witness your vows, share in your toast, dance at your reception, and bask in the happiness of your wedding day. If I can’t eat anything provided and be confident that I won’t get sick, that’s totally fine with me. I am the master of packing snacks and warming up food in my hotel room. I always scarf down some Utz chips or the equivalent on my way to cocktail hour so I can enjoy myself without sipping wine on an empty stomach. Also, if the wedding is out of town, you better believe I have scoured the internet for the nearest gluten-free, dairy-free bakeries to try out. I am going to try it out regardless of whether there is food for me at your wedding…I’ll just adjust how much I buy (maybe). As above, my only request would be communication. Just let the guests know, this is what the food is. Then the responsibility is on me to take care of myself. I know not everyone will agree with this option but I really think, unless your wedding is a 3-day affair in the middle of the woods, a guest can get by just fine with proper notification.

If there is a takeaway from that, my best advice as far as planning a wedding for guests with food allergies is COMMUNICATE. I honestly think the best thing to do is have a spot on your invitation that gives contact information for the food coordinator or whomever you want to field allergy responses. Then the burden is off your shoulders and the person with allergies knows who to get in touch with, because trust me the last thing we want to do is bother you either!

This is one of my favorite moments of all-time. And thankfully, our amazing photographer caught it 🙂

The reality is that every wedding is different but there tends to be a universal truth: you will never please everyone. So my advice to you would be please don’t even try. You will only stress yourself out unnecessarily. Just be open and honest with people and let them know what decisions you have made and what you need from them in order to make your day the best it can possibly be.
As for me, I would not change a thing about our wedding day and I find such joy in the privilege of sharing in other people’s big days. At the end of the day, food isn’t what matters most. It is the little moments of joy, the bright smiles, and even the heartfelt tears that fill my soul at a wedding…and no amount of Katie-safe food can do that 🙂

Tips and Tricks

Soy, Soy…Boy Oh Boy

Posted on July 17, 2017October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

Soy. It is something I rarely thought about prior to my Celiac days. I vaguely knew it had something to do with tofu, but aside from that I knew very little about it. Fast forward to my dairy-free/soy-free diagnosis and suddenly soy became a very important concept in my life. You see when you become dairy-free, things that are labeled vegan catch your eye…because even if you’re a carnivore like me, that designation means that there is no dairy and hence you can check one of your allergens off the list. Of course, you soon learn that vegan products more often than not contain soy (and sometimes gluten too) so as someone who has to avoid the magic trifecta (gluten, dairy, and soy), you are left standing in a gluten-free, vegan cafe where you can eat next to nothing, bewildered and wondering how eating out became this complicated. I feel you…virtual hug from me to you, my friend.

Now for those of you with immune systems that react to gluten, casein, and soy, there are rarely opportunities for me to say I have good news for you. I mean, many gluten-free items contain milk; everyone gets excited for you when something is lactose-free…but sadly for you that doesn’t mean much because there’s still casein (the milk protein your body reacts to) in there even when the lactose is removed; most dairy-free products replace the cow’s milk with soy milk or soy-containing butter substitute…in other words, it’s a landmine of missteps just waiting to be danced around. I can’t tell you the number of times over the past 5 years (I know, who can believe it’s been 5 years since dairy and soy were added to the mix??) that I have turned over a bag of gluten-free pretzels or a dairy-free chocolate bar (a rare find!) only to find the bold letters emblazoned on the package: CONTAINS SOY (As the physicist would say, tears on my pillow). HOWEVER, today I do have some potentially great news for some of you, and it all has to do with soy.

Note the warning: contains soy. Not safe, right?? (Hmmm…)

If you look carefully at the label of certain products containing the warning about soy, you might see that the only seemingly dangerous ingredient mentioned is something called soy lecithin. As someone who knows little about the process of soybean harvesting/refining, you (like me) probably put the package back on the shelf, perhaps with an exasperated sigh, and trudged onto the produce section where you know safe food is waiting. Well, what if I told you that many of you might actually be able to safely enjoy those delicious products you just put back on the shelf??

Soy again…

It was last summer when a nurse finally mentioned something to me about soy and soy lecithin being quite different. (Note: This wasn’t even a nurse taking care of me…we just happened to be working together at the Pregnancy Center where I volunteer and chatting about food restrictions over lunch. Divine intervention I tell you.) She was the first to let me in on the well-kept secret: soy oil and soy lecithin, though derived from soybeans, rarely contain the protein in soy that causes the reaction in most immune systems (by the time they are processed). Well, you better believe I ran right to my trusty Google. Sure enough, I found countless articles to support what she had said here, here, here, etc. Since last summer (Thank you, University of Nebraska -Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Food Allergy Research and Resource program), there has even been an additional study which came out with these magic words:

“Soy lecithin does contain trace levels of soy proteins and these have been found to include soy allergens. However, apparently, soy lecithin does not contain sufficient soy protein residues to provoke allergic reactions in the majority of soy-allergic consumers. Many allergists do not even advise their soybean-allergic patients to avoid soybean lecithin when it is included as an ingredient on food products. From this practical standpoint, we can surmise that most soybean-allergic individuals do not react adversely to the ingestion of soybean lecithin.”

(Source: http://farrp.unl.edu/soy-lecithin)

Now, please note that this is true for MOST people who react to soy. There are of course people who are extra sensitive to soy for whom this may not be the case…so I would recommend what most of the articles suggest: consult your doctor/allergist. Fortunately, because my reaction to soy was always much less severe than my reactions to gluten or casein, my doctor gave me the clear to try it. Not only did I feel fine, but my bloodwork last August confirmed it: no reaction to soy lecithin! (Insert cheering and jumping here!) Bring on the KIND bars and the gluten-free pretzels!! (Not a moment too soon either since just a few weeks later I was pregnant and let me tell you, those KIND bars and pretzels were a lifesaver while trying to snack and teach 2nd grade at the same time- all while growing a little human.)

So, in summary, if you are a soy-allergic or soy-averse individual, I would encourage you to talk to your doctor. I would completely understand if your reaction is, “No thanks, I feel great now- why take the chance?”, especially if soy is your only culprit. However, if you’re a gluten, dairy, soy trifecta- I’m here to tell you that you’ll be amazed how much this small nugget of information can change your life. Granted, you have to be extra vigilant because some dairy-free products contain both soy lecithin AND soy protein (AKA the dangerous one) so don’t get lazy on your label-reading. And of course, soy lecithin is an additive with its own list of potential hazards (though it seems like everything is that way these days) so please read and make an informed decision that is best for you!

One of these is safe…

…the other is not!

I hope this news brightens someone’s day/month/summer as much as it did mine last August. (And I’m sorry it took me almost a year to share…I told you I have quite the backlog of half-written posts!) Now hopefully someday I can have some similar great news about casein or gluten! But until that day comes, I celebrate the mini-victories…with KIND bars and gluten-free, dairy-free (but soy lecithin- containing) chocolate pretzels.

Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Life, Tips and Tricks

And Just Like That…It’s April.

Posted on April 22, 2017October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

I know. April…how did we get here? I came back to you for two brief posts last summer and then disappeared off the face of the digital earth again. I can promise you it was my intention to get back into posting this year. I couldn’t wait to share all my tips for traveling to out-of-state weddings (we had 5 this summer/fall); I was going to document the challenges and triumphs of married life (namely sharing a kitchen with gluten and dairy products again); I was going to take you on my adventures around Boston, discovering new Katie-safe hot-spots to take the temporary place of the ones I had to leave behind in Baltimore. I was going to regale you with tales of my days back in a 2^nd grade classroom, navigating a daily life that once again involves morning snack time…and of course 7-year-olds only love gluten-filled, dairy-filled snacks. I still have half-written wedding advice posts that are sitting in a folder on my desktop, just pleading to be finished and shared. However, as you know, none of that happened since August.

There are a few good reasons for that. First, I started teaching at a new school…and as you teachers out there can understand, this year I found myself graced with “that class”. They challenge you in ways you never imagined, drain your energy in ways that it just doesn’t seem a group of 7-year-olds should be able to do, consume your thoughts even hours after you’ve walked out of the classroom…and yet you can’t help but love them because after all, they’re 7 years old. None of what is causing you such angst is really their fault. Well, most of it anyway. I knew it on Day 1. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, I walked (and by walked I mean dragged) my exhausted self to the Physicist’s new office (which is conveniently just a few blocks away) and asked him for a hug. Then I went outside and sat on a bench in the middle of a Harvard courtyard, took out my rosary app, and proceeded to pray an entire rosary asking God what I should do. I mean, if I left then, I’d just be that crazy lady who showed up for a day and disappeared. But by the end of the the third decade, I already knew the answer- I was here for a reason and those kids needed me…and perhaps I needed them too. And so I woke up on Day 2 and marched back in there and I continued to do so every morning until last Friday. Which brings us to reason #2. Just over a week into the new school year (so 9 days after my rosary chat with God in the Harvard courtyard), the Physicist and I found out that a little one would be joining our family. Now this had always been our plan…but as you may remember from previous posts, part of True Life as a Celiac had been hearing for 5 years that I may never have children of my own…so needless to say we were equal parts “over-the-moon excited” and “let’s-try-not-to-get-our-hopes-up-yet terrified”. So take the craziness of the first few weeks of a new school year, add in 1 handful class, 3 Boston-Pennsylvania weekend trips in a row for back-to-back-to-back Villanova weddings, the normal exhaustion/nausea of first-trimester pregnancy, AND the added stress of keeping our news completely to ourselves (again 5 years of warnings take its toll on a person)…and let’s just say that leaves no time to even consider working on a blog.

So I made the conscious decision to take a hiatus from writing. Now don’t think that means I forgot about you. I can assure you I didn’t…and the countless notes I have about various posts to share regarding how to navigate a gluten-free, dairy-free pregnancy can back me up on that. Our little one is scheduled to arrive in just under a month…which basically means anytime between today and 6 weeks from now is considered reasonable. Spring Break comes to an end for my students and colleagues on Monday morning, but I will be home- beginning maternity leave as they finish out their 8 weeks left in the school year. My hope is to have some time to post between now and arrival day, but of course that’s all up to the little one. Regardless, I can assure you that at some point – though it may be late summer/next fall before we settle into our new life enough to do so- I fully intend to catch up on writing and share all the posts I’ve been mentally composing (and forcing the Physicist to take pictures for) over the past 8 months.

Until then, here are just a few exciting tidbits to share. Consider this your preview of coming attractions:

Starbucks now has almond milk!! I know this is bad news for any nut-allergic readers…but for me it meant my first Starbucks Peppermint Mocha in 4 years this past December. Pure heaven.

My 1st Peppermint Mocha in years!

There is an allergen-free chocolate company that actually makes good chocolate! It’s based in New Jersey but they ship nationwide. You’re welcome in advance.

My beautiful stocking 🙂

These little tags? A necessity if you’re sharing a kitchen. We learned early on that our own color-coded system works great…until company comes over. If a guest sees a toaster, they’re going to use it. If you put one of these on it, they won’t. Problem solved.

GET READY FOR THIS: There is now gluten-free, dairy-free Bailey’s! This is brand-new….as in just released a few weeks ago. The Physicist was sweet enough to put a bottle in my Easter basket and it is now safely stowed away until the days when I can drink again. I’ll be sure to update you once I’ve tried it.

There is an entirely dairy-free ice cream shop less than a mile from our new apartment! Come visit anytime and we can walk there. Bonus: they serve coffee too! J

Newly-Diagnosed, Tips and Tricks

Learning, Loving, and Frugal Living

Posted on October 5, 2015October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

You may remember back in January I deemed this to be “The Year of Fiscal Responsibility”. You may also have noted that in the 9 months which have now passed since that post, I have yet to add a single money-saving tip to this blog. I don’t want you to think I’ve abandoned the theme…I can assure you I didn’t…I just somehow ran out of time to share the wealth! And by that I mean the money-saving tips. I may have lived frugally but I’m not that good 🙂

I just looked back at that post from January and chuckled to myself. Literally. (I startled myself actually when my laughter broke the silence of my apartment.) I laughed when I read the now seemingly-prophetic final line of my original post: What if 2015 is the year that changes everything?. I’d say 2015 has been that kind of year for me. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that I’d be getting engaged in less than 8 weeks…and I certainly didn’t know how fitting the Year of Fiscal Responsibility would become when attempting to save for a wedding. (I promise the gluten-free wedding planning tips are coming too…it’s just one delinquent post at a time these days 🙂

If I had only known…

Now looking back at my original tips, they have served me well this year. In fact just today I was pointing out to my college roommate (who recently moved to Baltimore!! Yay!!) that those cans from the infamous ShopRite Can Can Sale have carried me through until just this weekend when I had to buy the first can of beans I’ve purchased in 9 months. Thank you, ShopRite. I can assure you I’ll be there in January for a repeat performance. Second, my budget spreadsheet is alive and well…and goodness knows the physicist and I have several others now. (Seriously, those of you who planned weddings in the days before Google Drive and Excel spreadsheets: I tip my hat to you. You’re amazing.) Generic products too are still a staple of my frugal existence. So, first, I’d say yes: keep up with those same tips I gave you in January. Now onto a few more:

1) Find a BJ’s. Or Costco. Now, if you have a family where someone is gluten-free, the annual fee for this membership will easily be worth it. If you’re a single 20-something like myself cooking for 1, well, the typical fee is not. Have no fear. There are other options. You could take my approach, which is scour LivingSocial and Groupon deals until one appears. If you’re patient, I can almost guarantee that it will. I paid $25 for mine last year AND that included a $10 gift card…so in essence I paid $15 for a year membership. I’ve already earned that back just in the gas savings, let alone food! If you don’t want to wait around for a digital deal, pick up the local paper. There is almost always an ad for a 60-day membership. You can easily go and stock up then on some select gluten-free items and call it a day. I stockpiled my freezer with frozen salmon fillets, Bubba burgers, and enough chicken to keep me fed until Thanksgiving. Now each week, I grocery shop for a meal to make on Sunday which lasts until mid-week when I dig into one of my freezer options. It has been amazing…and amazingly cost-effective.

My latest stockpile from BJ’s

Now this leads me into my next suggestion:

2) Meal Plan. If you’ve never been a teacher and always kind of wondered what it was like to structure your week in neat little boxes, this is your chance. If you are a teacher, this is a welcome break because meal planning seems like nothing compared to those learning objectives, enduring understandings, and essential questions you’ve been filling into the newest curriculum map. Mine is as simple as a dry-erase board. Each weekend, look in your cabinets FIRST. Take note of what you already have that can be turned into a meal. Then make a plan for the week BEFORE you shop. Otherwise, you convince yourself that you need everything you see in the store that is safe for you to eat.

It’s not rocket science. You just need a rough plan!

3) Clip coupons!: As anyone who has lived with me can attest, I LOVE Sunday mornings. There are few things I love more than the Sunday newspaper and clipping coupons. (I know, you thought I was going to say church, right?? Well, I do love that too…but sometimes that’s Sunday night. No competition there.) I don’t know why people have given up on this money-saving past-time. It actually makes me sad when I see someone checking out at the grocery store who has an item that I know there is a coupon for. I want to run over and stop them…but I also don’t want to be forever banned from the store so I’ve resisted the urge thus far.

It’s Sunday so here are my coupons! And yes, they are all from today.
The first weekend newspaper of the month always has the best coupons!

4) Go digital with coupons!!: If you’re anything like me, making the switch to a smartphone was not an easy decision. The poor Verizon man just stood there while I debated the merits of the gluten-free apps/access to ingredient lists wherever I was with the substantially higher monthly price tag. In the end, the smartphone won out and I can honestly say it is a decision I haven’t regretted for a moment. The “Find Me Gluten Free” app coupled with my ability to pull up gluten-free menus and ingredient lists on the spot in restaurants and grocery stores has made it well worth the investment. Then recently, my sister introduced me to an app which has taken my gratitude for my smartphone to a whole new level: Ibotta. It’s the most amazing digital coupon app which has taken my level of couponing to a whole new level. Basically you go through and select certain rebates you’d like to have, you watch a quick video or take a survey or read a fact, and they give you a coupon! Then when you get home from the store, you simply select which items you purchased, scan the SKU, take a picture of your receipt and within 24 hours you get the money in your Ibotta account…which can later be redeemed for CASH sent straight to your account. I’ve already saved over $20 with my account. The best part is you can even pull it up after you’ve gone shopping to see if there’s anything you just bought that falls on the rebate list. You have up to 7 days after shopping to redeem. The best part is there are challenges to earn bonuses AND we can form a team and help each other save. Do yourself (and me!) a favor: click here and join. You won’t be sorry!

It’s so true. Shop smarter with your smartphone.

5) Go back to the basics: In other words, channel my Grandpa. Well, really both of my grandfathers are master savers. I still remember the giant empty water jug (you know the ones that you put upside down into a water cooler) which my Grandpa filled with loose change. I remember at 6 or 7 being amazed by how much change could fit inside one little jar. Every night when he came home, the empty change from his pockets went into the jug. I started my own version this summer. Though it’s not quite as large as his, I have already filled and emptied it once. Now I’m onto round 2 of filling up this little guy. You really would be surprised how much change you end up with in a week’s time. Every little bit counts!

All right, before I overwhelm you with too many ideas at once, I’ll stop there. Make it your goal to work these into your October lifestyle and then perhaps in November, there will be more tips coming your way! (Again I’ve learned to make no promises in that regard.) I will just leave you with a fantastic idea for a frugal fall meal: chili. I just made a crockpot full tonight and I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of all the steps. All I have is the final product. There are SO many chili recipes but here is the link to the one I used tonight: My “made it through September” teacher brain was too tired to come up with an original recipe this time 🙂

Sunday night deliciousness.

Now it’s time for this tired teacher to head to bed. Tomorrow begins another week of learning, loving, and frugal living 🙂

Newly-Diagnosed, Tips and Tricks

Forever is a Long, Long Time

Posted on August 2, 2015October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

I think one of the hardest aspects of a diagnosis like celiac or a food allergy is the finality of it all. At first you’re just so grateful to have an answer and relieved that it wasn’t one of the other seemingly-more-frightening options tossed around as a diagnosis. However, in time, that relief gives way to an overwhelming sense of “Wait, this is forever? Like forever forever??”Again, the feeling passes, you gain confidence in yourself and in your new lifestyle…and yet some time down the road, that “Wait, forever?” feeling comes out of nowhere and hits you like a ton of bricks. Now, at this point I’m sure there’s a good chance you’re thinking, Gee, Katie, thanks for the pick-me-up post today. I promise isn’t one of those rare downer posts…rather, it’s a reminder and an assurance that you’re not alone in having thoughts like these. And I don’t think it’s restricted to just food issues either.

Somehow July has already come and gone, and with it my 4-year Celiac-iversary. Crazy, I know. This year the day passed unceremoniously. I didn’t bake a cake or go to dinner at Sweet 27. Honestly, the day was almost over when I even realized the date. (Summer school with 7-year-olds will do that to a person!) A few days later, I had one of those “wait a minute, this is forever?” type moments. For me it happened at church. (I know, I know: who didn’t see that one coming??) There’s a church within walking distance of my new apartment (AKA new as of March, I didn’t move again haha) that has a 6:55 morning mass. One morning I decided to walk over for mass. I went to the freezer and retrieved a low-gluten host, gathered my belongings, and headed out the door at 6:30- plenty of time to make the 15-minute walk and arrive by 6:45 to inquire about how they handle low-gluten host distribution. Well, apparently the church website is a bit outdated, because just when I opened the door at 6:45 on the dot, the procession had begun. I missed my chance. I stayed for mass, the homily was beautiful, and it was still a nice way to start the morning…but I didn’t get to receive the Eucharist. I was so pained by it that for a brief moment during the Eucharistic prayer, I actually pondered going up in line anyway. I actually had the conversation with myself, “Well, maybe it will be OK to take the chance? I mean even if I get sick, won’t it be worth it?” Fortunately, my rational side won out (with a little assistance from the Spirit if you ask me) and I knelt in prayer during the distribution of Eucharist. And as I prayed, I couldn’t help but get that feeling in my stomach as I watched everyone else process up: This is forever. I will never just waltz into mass at the last moment, or randomly pass a church and decide to stop in for mass without my pyx in tow, and process up to fully participate in the Eucharist. Though as sad as I was about that, I think it was exacerbated by the fact that I felt frustrated: here I am, 4 years later- I’m healthy, I’m happy, I encourage other people to embrace their food issues…and yet I still have these moments? What is wrong with me??

I took a long walk after mass and pondered this question. That’s when I realized: there’s nothing wrong with me. Well, in regard to the question at hand I mean. We humans have created a society that is very end-goal-oriented. We plow through to-do lists. We earn diplomas, degrees, and certificates, that say You’re Done, You’re Licensed, now check that off the list and move onto something else. We run races which, even if it’s many miles away, always end with a finish line. We plan road trips which may include a few detours, but are never without that checker-flag final destination typed into our GPS. We’re not a society which does open-endedness well. We’re the Marthas of the Gospel from that morning mass last week. We rush through life busily getting things done, and we don’t like to stop and pause for anything, even Jesus himself sitting in our living room.

I think this reality is what makes chronic illnesses, or any permanent life-altering event, such a challenge. There’s never a point where it’s over or you’re cured and it’s just a blip on the radar and you’re back to regularly-scheduled programming. A chronic illness is forever, and that’s also a word we don’t do well with in this society. I mean just look at the divorce rate, or the number of people just foregoing marriage to live together: commitment scares a lot of people, and forever means whatever we want it to mean when it’s convenient. So when something comes along that really is permanent beyond our control, our brain just can’t quite process that- and it’s totally understandable. It seems logical that the first year of a new reality would be the biggest challenge, because we’re actually not yet sure that we can handle each holiday, event, etc. arriving in a way that isn’t the same as it used to be. However, I can tell you in my experience, that’s true: the first year is hard and you feel a sense of accomplishment when you’ve made it through….but it’s those random moments afterward that get you; when you get upset on a random Tuesday afternoon when you come across some remnant of your former life, or a quiet Sunday night when you realize that there are still many major life events on the road ahead that won’t look quite like you always imagined. Those are the moments when you feel crazy for being upset, but take it from me, you’re not crazy.

So, what does all this mean for you? Well, two things. First, it means you shouldn’t beat yourself up when moments of doubt sneak up on you, even 27 years into your new reality. This is not a sprint, and it’s not even a marathon, because even those end. This is a forever journey, and unless you have some superhuman magical powers, there will be moments of doubt, darkness, and weakness. You’re not alone in that…and there’s certainly nothing wrong with you. Second, it’s particularly important to keep this in mind if you have celiac, or another food allergy/intolerance, because the reality is, in your case, your continued health is a choice. In those moments of darkness and weakness where you are shocked to find yourself considering just one bite of real cake at a wedding expo or one lick of an ice cream cone on a sweltering summer day, it is 100% your choice. It’s the unique aspect of our condition: there’s no doctor adminsitering the treatment or a nurse overseeing our case 24/7. There are no pharmacists measuring out the appropriate dosages. You are 100% in control of what enters your body (or your child’s if you’re the parent of a young celiac patient). There will be moments when you’re tempted, but we all know the tradeoff is not even close to worth it. Forget the way you’ll feel for the next few weeks, there are longterm effects too.

So now the practical advice:

1) Find a friend. Or several. Have someone to call in those dark, defeatist moments. You’re not on this earth alone for a reason. I can assure you I wouldn’t have made it through the past 4 years without the listening ears and comforting hugs of the smiling faces below. If you’re not sure who to turn to, you can always call me, I’m usually pretty good at making people feel better…and I can probably whip up some you-safe comfort food. Which brings us to #2…

I’m very blessed when it comes to the friend department 🙂

2) Have a you-safe comfort option. I think it’s important to have a certain treat that is both you-safe and somewhat easy to obtain for moments such as these. When you’re feeling bad that everyone else is indulging in a summer ice cream treat, go spend the absurd $6 for a pint of you-safe ice cream. It can’t be a regular habit (financially I mean) but sometimes you just need that.

Here’s my newest go-to comfort food.
So expensive…but SO Delicious!

3) Be a Mary. If you’re not a Bible reader, this one may be confusing. Essentially Mary is the opposite of the Martha described above. Martha is busy, stressed, and anxious about getting a meal served and the kitchen cleaned; her sister Mary recognizes the importance of the present moment and sits at the feet of Jesus. Don’t spend your life caught up in the hamster wheel, checking things off and running onto the next. I hate to break it to you, but celiac isn’t going to get a checkmark next to it. Even this cockeyed optimist has given up on the 2026 dream. It’s just not worth setting timelines for such things I have no control over. Live in the moment, enjoy the precious encounters you do have with people, places, and even food….because we don’t know how long forever is for any of those things either.

So get out there and keep making your forever the best it can possibly be: one day and one moment at a time 🙂

Newly-Diagnosed, Tips and Tricks

Just to See You Smile

Posted on July 23, 2015October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

If you’ve encountered me in real life, you know that smiling is one of my favorite things to do. I’ll admit I didn’t even realize how often I smile, or how much I enjoy it until this past spring when I had stitches in my mouth for a few days and couldn’t smile. Even my students commented on how sad it was when an entire class passed without a smile on my face. When that class turned into 3 days, they were nearly at their wits’ end. I’m pretty sure I smiled more than double the next 2 days, partially because of my own excitement, but also to reassure them that my smile hadn’t vanished forever.

Now, those of you who are dealing with food/health issues and haven’t been feeling the greatest, your smiles may be weaker and fewer in number these days…but, take it from me, when you reach that turning point on your road to health, the smile will return with a vengeance! However, inevitably such smiles bring us to our favorite place: the dentist’s office. Now this is a topic I’ve referenced and said I’d come back to multiple times…and somehow I never do. Well, today is the day. I’ve had quite a 10-week relationship with the dentist and there is just so much information that needs to be shared. If I can help just one person avoid a gluten-filled dentist visit, I’ll feel like my suffering has not been in vain 🙂

Courtesy of bestsayingsquotes.com

As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up LOVING the dentist. Granted, I think it was in large part due to my perfectionist streak as a child. It was kind of like report card day…the nervous anticipation in the waiting room: will it be another cavity-free visit?? Will the perfect streak continue?? And you walk away with a brand new toothbrush. I mean, really, does it get much better than that when you’re a type-A 9-year-old? Aside from a few sealants, I had a perfect track record when it came to dental health. Now, orthodonture is a different story, but I figure maintaining that perfect track record of dental health while navigating around pounds of metal in your mouth? That takes skill. When my braces finally came off (yes, I went to college with braces on my teeth…I try to forget those days), I ramped up my dental care routine even more. I trekked back up to my dorm room on the 4th floor after breakfast every morning to brush and fluoride rinse. During my 2 years in ACE (when I had no dental insurance), I still scheduled a dental visit/cleaning when I was home on Christmas break and paid out of pocket.

As you can tell, dental hygiene is not something I take lightly. Of course, just a few weeks after my arrival in Baltimore, my health was rapidly in decline and any time I wasn’t at school was spent at doctor’s appointments or lying on couches, so the dentist slipped a little on the priority list. Still, that February I trudged through the snow to a new dentist. I wasn’t feeling well at all that day, but I still mustered some excitement for the dentist. There’s nothing quite like a good teeth-cleaning in my book! Well, imagine my suprise when I opened my mouth that day and learned that I had not 1, not 2, but 4 cavities. I was shocked. I was devastated. On top of my dizziness, exhaustion, and questionable bloodwork, now we had to add cavities to the mix?? I cried when I got to my car. As devastating as that afternoon was, it wasn’t indelibly sealed in my memory until 5 months later when I sat in my gastroenterologist’s office with my celiac diagnosis and he explained that often times, dental problems (like the ones I had that winter) are the first indicator of celiac in younger patients. He explained that he’s trying to raise awareness among dentists because I should have been sent to his office back in February and by July could have been well on my way to healing rather than the lifeless blob sitting in front of him.

So, point #1: if you, or someone you know, has a similar experience of great teeth which suddenly show significant decay in a short period of time, don’t just brush it off. (Like that pun??) Of course, this also assumes you’ve remained faithful to your dental hygiene regimen and the decay still happened. If you started going to sleep with cupcakes next to your bed for a midnight snack or swore off brushing for a year, then I’d suspect enamel and absorption issues are not to blame. Talk to your dentist. If it’s the same dentist you’ve had, it’s an easy comparison to old x-rays and your chart. If it’s a new dentist, do what I didn’t: call your old dentist and get all your records sent for comparison. My new dentist just assumed I was one of those 20-somethings who relegated tooth care to the bottom of the priority list…and I did nothing to convince her otherwise. I could have saved myself months of misdiagnoses, or at least 5 months of enamel erosion…which for the record, can’t regenerate. (For more information, click here.)

#2: Some toothpastes have gluten in them. Yes, that can make you sick. And of course that will result in more enamel erosion. Talk about a vicious cycle. There is a great summary here of the various brands, but my advice would be this: a) Be wary of Colgate. It’s mentioned in here, but I talked to them myself and the lovely rep told me that though the regular flavor is “apparently gluten-free”, she couldn’t safely verify that for any others. So I personally end to steer clear of Colgate all together; b) Whichever toothpaste you choose, do yourself a favor and double check. A quick email or phone call is well worth your time in the long run. And sometimes it can even be a fun conversation!

I think this was my favorite product phone call to date:
“Is it possible to get the ingredient/allergen list for your Be Adventurous Chocolate mint toothpaste?
It was discontinued so I bought it today for 70% off!“

#3: Not all mouthwashes are created equal. Of course by now you know I have a soft spot in my heart for Scope, but Listerine is also a great option. However, the nice Crest representative offered information before I even moved past toothpaste, and told me that both the Pro-Health Rinse and Crest Whitening Rinse contain outside ingredients and may contain gluten!! Again, my advice would be, if you have a product you love (or one that is recommended by your dentist), pick up the phone and check. You have to be especially careful with generic brands: they often contain ingredients from outside suppliers and all kinds of co-mingling can happen. I know, my frugal heart is crying too…but trust me the dental bills later will be far more than the extra $2 for name-brand mouthwash. Deep breath 🙂

Clearly, I love Scope. For many reasons 🙂

#4: Your dental cleaning and fillings might not be safe. This is the doozy. Gluten is in most adhesives (i.e. Elmer’s glue…if you could only have seen me last week at summer school when we used entire bottles to make our own silly putty, the kids thought I was hilarious with my gloves/handwashing, but I was taking no chances) so it makes sense that tooth polish, bonding agents, etc. would also have it. From what my dentist told me, the entire industry has made a shift in the past 5 years away from gluen, and they now get an ingredient list sent with each product, but it’s still best to ask. And if your dentist responds with a laugh when you ask and says, “Honey, I asked if you had any allergies, I meant like latex? I’m not going to feed you bread so gluten isn’t a problem”. Yes, that was a real response from someone who is no longer my dentist. In hindsight, I should have kindly educated her rather than bolt, but those were my early celiac days. Live and learn.

#5: You can be so careful…and you’ll still get burned sometimes. Such is life with celiac. It’s either live in a bubble or always be slightly open to risk. I went to the dentist this week. I love my dental office. I love the dentists, the hygientists, and the x-ray technicians. The receptionist and I greet each other like old friends and swap stories of our respective upcoming wedding plans. They are great people and they know what they’re doing. But while they were applying that numbing gel this week before the Novacain (for yes, yet another cavity…remember what I said about enamel not regenerating? I now have what are called “soft teeth”. All I know is it’s not good.) and when they suctioned, it didn’t all come out and soon I could tell I’d swallowed some (because my entire throat was going numb). I told myself all would be well, even though I kind of knew that was a lie. And it was. I spent some quality time curled up on my bed as my stomach rejected the invader, and after a fitful night attempting to sleep, I woke up the next day with the familiar symptoms of slight contamination: my brain was all foggy, I was irritated by everything and everyone, my face was pale and my heart raced…but the one consolation of knowing what triggered the reaction is knowing that it was a trace enough amount that it shouldn’t escalate. Still it meant a phone call to the doctor and an addition to the file, but fortunately nothing more. Now I’m safe (from the dentist anyway) until February…though considering our wedding will be on the horizon, I may just play it safe and wait an extra month 🙂

In conclusion, please take it from me: before you go to the dentist, do your homework. Talk to your dentist ahead of time. Don’t show up and assume he or she should know everything about every product and about your autoimmune condition. Dentists have an awful lot to learn in just a few years of dental school. It would be like expecting a teacher to be an expert on every single condition a student might walk in with. Just like I would want advanced warning about my students so I can spend time researching and familiarizing myself with the needs of that particular student, the dentist needs the same time to become familiar with your unique needs. Don’t just show up at appointment time expecting quick answers to your questions.

I know it sounds terrifying, but don’t be too nervous. It’s a lot, yes, but it’s totally worth it…just to see you smile 🙂

We love to smile…smiling is our favorite! 🙂

Newly-Diagnosed, Tips and Tricks

2015, Here We Come.

Posted on January 22, 2015October 20, 2019 by katiebiddle4317

Happy New Year!! Yes, I’m 3 weeks delinquent in my wishes, but still 2015 has arrived and so far I’d have to say I give it 2 thumbs up. Now I just know you’ve been sitting around for weeks wondering,” Just what is Katie going to designate for this year? Last year was love, this year has to be something amazing, right?” Right. Well, initially I bet you’ll be let down by this one…but perhaps by the end of the post, you’ll feel differently. So without further adieu, I deem 2015 to be my Year of….Fiscal Responsibility!! (Insert cheers and confetti here)

I have a feeling you’re a bit deflated at the moment. Hey, at least you’re in good company with the Patriots’ footballs (allegedly). Last year’s theme was so beautiful, so hopeful, so lovely…and now this? Well, trust me, I have my reasons. First of all, whether I care to admit it or not, the calendar pages keep turning and thus it seems I must actually be getting older. And since one day I’d love to reside in a place where I don’t pay rent and frequently co-exist with cockroaches, every penny counts! Second, even if you’re fortunate enough to be in a place you’d call “financially sound”, wouldn’t it be nice to save money where you could and use that money to do something fun? Or, even better, be able to give it away to a worthy cause or organization? Lastly, because I have to break the news that most people are afraid to tell you: life with an autoimmune disease (or any longterm health condition I suppose) is financially draining.

It was about 18 months ago that I went to visit one of my ACE brothers during his own bout with illness, and as we shared our experiences in his hospital room, we kept coming back to the point that people today just seem to think we need to say what people want to hear, rather than what needs to be said. And hence, the “Keeping It Real” campaign was born. It means you tell people what they need to hear, that you say what you need to say. Life is too short for beating around the bush…just hack your way through!

This is a t-shirt to support the “Keeping It Real” campaign. With math equations.
Yes, this exists. Thanks to the Philanthropic Physicist…and my birthday 🙂

For my part, I’ve done my best to live up to this campaign over the past year and a half, so here is my latest contribution to the campaign, in the form of a letter:

Dear Friend with (insert autoimmune condition here),
I know you often turn to me for upbeat, positive news about your new life. I’m happy to be that person for you. However, I also know that being a true friend means telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth…even when it’s not an easy thing to do. So here is a less upbeat truth about your new life: though you will soon be feeling better, the same cannot be said for your bank account.

As you probably figured out after about 30 seconds in a grocery store, your food bills are going to skyrocket. That’s an inevitable truth, but one we’ll address this year as I share all kinds of money-saving tips I’ve acquired over the past 3 years that will make that jump slightly less astronomical…more like aeronautical. However, one thing I cannot fix for you are the inevitable non-food expenses your new life is bound to bring with it. For example, I started a new job (and therefore new insurance) 5 months ago. In just that timespan, I have accrued over $5,000 in medical expenses. That’s an average of $1,000 per month…and this was a relatively good period healthwise. (There was that one ER visit and an MRI that put it over the top, but still nothing too severe, comparatively.) Now, I thank God and all good things on this planet that I’m fortunate enough to have health insurance, so thankfully my share of that amount is less than 20% of that number. But still. That’s money I would much rather spend somewhere other than bloodwork, scans, and physician payments. However, this is the reality which is my life. And now yours too. Depending on what your specific condition entails, there will be some variety of bloodwork, follow-up visits, periodic testing, prescriptions, etc. Add that onto your elevated grocery bills, and well, I think you see where I’m going here.

Yes, my dear friend, I wish I could tell you that I have a magic panacea waiting for you in this letter. I don’t. I wish I could tell you that bloodwork you have to get will be reasonably priced, and that the follow-up testing when something is off on that bloodwork will fall under the same co-pay. It won’t. I wish I could tell you that you won’t end up needing an additional job (or 2) just to keep your head above water. You might. I can promise you that one day someone will ask you why you don’t just quit one of those extra jobs, and that when you simply respond with a shrug, that person will not understand that when you say “I can’t”, you mean you actually can’t. I wish I could promise you won’t spend a few sleepless hours wondering whether you should abandon what you consider to be your vocation in favor of a job which delivers a heftier paycheck. There’s a good chance you will ponder such a move. But please don’t, at least until you’ve tried all the tips in the Year of Fiscal Responsibility 🙂

I can promise you though that your life will be a full and rich one, regardless of what your bank statement may reflect. You will amass a wealth of knowledge, a rich array of cooking skills, an abundance of tenacity, and a profound appreciation for medical science and the human body which you cannot even begin to imagine at this moment. Yes, I promise, you will be rich…just in a very different way. I’m sorry if I’ve left you a little shell-shocked, but trust me, it’s better to know what you’re getting into.

Love,
Your “Keeping It Real” Friend with Celiac

Now, onto the optimistic part. This is the reality, what are we going to do about it? So many things. In fact, it’s going to take a year to cover them all. However, since we’re already 3 weeks in, here are some quick tips to start off your year of Fiscal Responsibility.

1) Find a ShopRite. Immediately. Well, in the next 8 days. January is the infamous “can can” sale. Some of my earliest memories as a child are wandering around the aisles during the semi-annual sale. There are can towers everywhere!To a kid, it looks like some kind of grocery theme park castle and navigating the corners with the shopping cart was like a video game in real life. As an adult, it means LOW PRICES. So low in fact, you may just want to stock up on your beans for the year. At less than 50 cents a can and a quantity limit of 24 cans per variety, well you can see where I’m going here. I’ve already gone twice and I’m heading back one more time tonight. Chickpeas for less than 50 cents. Homemade hummus, here I come. (Don’t worry that post is coming).

When you use beans in cooking as often as I do, the “can-can” sale is essential.
My pantry was filled for $10.

2) Start a spreadsheet. I know, it sounds like that’s just the accountant in me resurfacing. No, no. Trust me, a spreadsheet will change your life. Create categories. Enter every amount you spend. Yes, every. Even those impulse buys where you only spend $3. You’ll be amazed at a) how much you hesitate to get something that’s more of a want than a need when you know you have to add it to your spreadsheet and b) seeing a breakdown of where your money goes, though often sobering, can also be highly informative. If you’re a visual person, Excel can make your data into a pie chart. Even more sobering. However, this can help you make money-saving decisions. Plus, if you really want this to be effective, I recommend making it on Google spreadsheet. Then, thanks to the wonder of Google Drive, you can update it from anywhere (iPad, iPhone, home computer, etc.). Full disclosure: there are also apps which can do this for you…but Excel has my heart, now and always. And if you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, “But Katie, all those boxes. Excel intimidates me.”, then let me know. I’ll help the two of you get acquainted. 🙂

3) Do some generic food research. Now, I can relate to your hesitancy with generic foods. I tend to err on the side of caution too, AKA the package with the GLUTEN-FREE label stamped on the side. However, there are many generic brands which are still “you-safe”. And to be honest, most of them are much friendlier to talk to on the phone, because they’re not a huge multi-million dollar company. If you have a grocery store you tend to stick to, contact the manager, Ask for contact information for their products. And if you are lucky enough to have an Aldi near you, get out of your seat and jump up and down right now. Not only are the prices AMAZING, but the company is based in Germany, where labeling is SO much better than the U.S. so everything has gluten-free or lactose-free on the side. Well, everything that is those things of course. You have to put in a quarter deposit to use a shopping cart and you have to bring your own bags or pay to buy some, but those savings show up on the shelf prices for sure. Google map it. If you don’t have one, come visit me. We can walk to one from my apartment.

All of this cost $12. Yes, that’s gluten-free pasta AND chicken broth!

All right, I could keep going on money-saving tips all day (literally) but you’ve read enough, and I have a stack of midterm essays waiting to be read. So, I wish you a happy start to the Year of Fiscal Responsibility!! And in all seriousness, get excited. Won’t it be much nicer to have money to spend on fun purchases, to finally donate to that charity you’ve been wanting to support, or to finally give the kind of financial support to your church or your alma mater that you wish you could provide? Or most wonderful of all, to finally pay off whatever loans may be hanging over your head?? Don’t worry, you’re not alone in your food journey and you’re not alone in this either. 2015 is our year.