I’m excited that my first WGF review (WHAT the GLUTEN FREE?!) is a positive one. I will do my best to share the best-of-the-best GF products with you. I should know, I’ve been trying them since 2005! Without going into too much history here (I know, you want to read about the product review) I will give you a little insight to my Celiac diagnosis at the end of this post. I was diagnosed in 2005, so I’ve tried lots of crummy GF food and I’m happy to say that GF options have only gotten better since then!
WGF: PAMELA’S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MIX
THE GOOD
Great texture. Huge square chunks of chocolate goodness. And all you need is a stick of butter and an egg. Sooo easy.
THE SAD
Can’t really say anything terrible here. I might cut back on the amount of butter, but it’s not a make or break for me. I also let them cook in the oven a wee bit longer: 16-18 minutes (never 12 minutes).
*Side Note, these cookies have never turned out the way they look on the package (blonde). They’ve always come out a deep brown color.
Being Diagnosed with Celiac Disease
In 2005 I pretty much thought I had Cancer. My skin was turning gray, I lost a bunch of weight, my brain felt like it was melting and I could barely keep my eyes open. My dear friend Suzanne laid down the law, she wasn’t going to talk to me until I saw a doctor for my ailing body. I despise going to the doctor, so this was a really big deal. I finally went. I was tested. A lot. Finally after a series of 10+ tests, the results were in. My anti-gliadin panel came back. Here’s how it works:
Negative = 11
Equivocal = 11-17
Positive = 17+
My results came back with = 49
Yeah, kind of high.
No doubt, I have Celiac Disease.
Also, it runs in my lovely Scottish family: My grandmother, mother, aunt and cousins all have it. It’s interesting that it didn’t really hit me until I was in my 30′s!
I made drastic changes. I failed a lot. And after some time, I finally found my GF groove. It took a lot of trial and error. Back then, there really weren’t any yummy GF options. And gluten is a sneaky bastard. It’s freaking everywhere! I still get “glutenated” from time to time, but it doesn’t stop me in my tracks like it used to. You could say that I’m kind of a Celiac veteran now. If you have any questions about GF living, please don’t hesitate to ask. I am more than happy to share what I know.