By Jane Manaster
I always thought gluten free was a fad or a demand for attention. Now that we find our 6 ½ -year-old granddaughter is a celiac, the issue takes on a personal and more serious relevance.
We know wheat, rye, and barley are to be avoided, rice and corn are OK so it’s not difficult to work things out, especially as Sadie is a trooper and taking it all calmly, without expecting (or getting!) special treatment.

We must avoid the bulk food bins in natural food stores as gluten can drift mysteriously from one bin of flour (whole wheat, stone ground, spelt, rye, etc.) and cause bad bouts of tummy trouble.
Even a year ago, searching the grocery shelves for gluten-free products was tiresome. Today the problem has evaporated. It is no longer a problem to find clearly labeled items from cake mixes to pasta to frozen or home-delivered pizza and, of course, gluten-free flour that tastes just fine.
Prices are still higher, as they are for kosher foods and other special dietary items but “seek and ye shall find.”
My Mom’s best friend was a celiac and lived to the age of 95, probably just by saying with English spirit, “I like bread but it doesn’t like me.”
I’ve baked banana bread and chocolate chip cookies, following the more practical online recipes, not the ones with ten or more ingredients. I pack a slice of the bread or a pair of cookies in snack-bags then a larger freezer bag ready for school lunch or camp. Appreciative comments have been gratefully and gracefully accepted!
© 2014 Jane Manaster. All Rights Reserved.