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A New Way of Eating
-------------------
by Carolyn Randall
summarized by Carolyn Sullivan
Carolyn Randall is the editor of the Recipe Box column that appears in
Lifeline, CSA's quarterly newsletter. Carolyn spoke to our group at
the November meeting. Here are some highlights of her talk:
Carolyn's message to everyone is to "Celebrate a new way of eating".
When eating out, she carries a small spray bottle of seasoned rice
vinegar (1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar) but said you could make your own if
it is strained to prevent clogging of the spray.
She uses the CSA Restaurant Card because that way the chef comes out
to talk to her and she is not classified as a "finicky" eater. She
talked to the chef at the CSA conference and he suggested three
things: (1) call when the restaurant is not busy; (2) call 2 or 3
days ahead because if they are using fresh foods they need two days.
The chef also said that all chicken is marinated and so it must be
ordered ahead and lobster tail may be breaded so call ahead; (3) talk
to the kitchen manager or chef and tell them what you want.
When traveling, Carolyn checks restaurants with AAA guides and
suggests keeping a notebook of restaurants which lists the date you
checked it out.
Don't be afraid to leave a restaurant if they are not serving you and
your needs.
2-slice packets of bread from Ener-G are good for travel. For a
combination trip on land and sea to Alaska on Holland America, she
will take some pop top cans of chicken, tuna, etc. - just in case.
Audience members reported good experiences with Holland America.
Carolyn takes her own pot holders and utensils (bright orange) to
family get togethers. That reminds them of cross-contamination
possibilities.
Her favorite new small appliance is a rice steamer. She has an Oster,
about $30, and loves it. For brown rice she uses 1 1/2 times as much
water as is called for. A member suggested a microwave rice cooker
from Target or Meijer at $10.<3>
Carolyn left us with smiles and a new zest for being celiac.
Bruce Richardson, son of the late and beloved TCCSSG member Toni
Richardson, was also in attendance. He agreed with Carolyn but also
cautioned that chefs in a busy kitchen may use the same utensil in
several dishes.
Traveling in the United States and Germany
------------------------------------------
by Carolyn Sullivan
A daughter who was studying in the United States and a family coming
to visit her from Germany formed the setting for an exchange of
information about finding gluten-free (GF) food in the U.S. and in
Germany. They wanted to know where to buy GF products in the U.S.A.
and I wanted to know how to travel in Germany. I could supply a list
of local health food stores, the C.S.A. Handbook, a food guide, Bette
Hagman's cookbooks, and other material. But I think I learned much
more, for many German people understand and speak some English and I
speak no German at all.
Since the rate of diagnosis of celiac disease (CD) is much higher in
Germany than in the U.S. and the area of the country is much smaller,
they have one main group, the German Celiac Society, Deutsche
Zliakie-Gesellschaft E.V. (DZG). It has a paid membership of about
11,000 and approximately 7,000 others including doctors, dietitians,
hospitals, etc., who receive their publications. (Cost of membership
is roughly $40 U.S.)
Their Executive Board is a five-person volunteer board and each has
specific duties and oversight responsibilities. The DZG office is in
Stuttgart and has four full-time employees. The Office Contact Person
is: Sofia Beisel, Filderhauptstrasse 61, D-710599, Stuttgart, Tel:
0711/45 45 14, Fax: 0711/45 678 17. They have recently added a web
site: <http://home.t-online.de/home/dzg.e.v./>, which includes a page
in English for travelers.
They publish a Newsletter, DZG Actuell, four times a year. A major
food guide comes out once a year with updates in the newsletter. The
Food Guide is about the size of an oversize paperback and I was
cautioned to take it with me if shopping in stores as those "hidden
sources of gluten" occur in Germany as well as here. Some ingredients
may not be listed because it is not required. "Reading is no help."
Sausage is one of the many things that must be checked.
They believe in a strict diet but do allow dietetic wheat starch
(=0.3% protein) if the histology of the patient's small intestine
bowel is okay. This decision is up to the personal physician.
Interestingly, the DZG does not agree totally with celiac societies in
other European countries in the area of foods allowed. Does this not
sound somewhat familiar?
But what is the traveler to Germany to do? Call the DZG office in
Stuttgart and ask for a contact person in the area where you plan to
be. This person may be able to give you local information. Go
shopping at a Reformhaus (Health Food Store). Reformhaus is a
historical name for stores with dietetic foods. Look for products on
the shelf including Dr. Shr, Glutano and Bi-Aglut.
The manufacturers listed are from the St. John's web site at
<http://rdz.acor.org/lists/celiac/vendors.html>: Drei Pauly
Reform+Diaet GmbHH, Hammermuehle Diat GmbH, Muhle Hubmann
Minderleinmuehle and Naturkkosmhle are GF. Poesgen Ditbckerei is a
company that uses low level wheat starch in most of its products.
The "no wheat" symbol in Germany guarantees no gluten in a product.
The translation for wheat starch is: Prima-Weizenstarke) which means
0.5% protein. Some bakeries use dietetic wheat starch (Dietatische
Weizenstarke) which has only 0.3% protein and uses the symbol (+) on
the list.
When eating in a restaurant in Germany, use the following Restaurant
Card:
......................................................................
: :
: Ich spreche leider kein Deutsch. :
: :
: Ich habe eine Allergie gegen Weizen, Roggen, Hafer, Gerste, Dinkel :
: und Grunkern und darf nur glutenfrei essen. :
: :
: Wenn ich eine Speise mit einer kleinen Menge davon esse (z.B. :
: Suppen, Saucen, Panade), mub ich mit Ubelkeit und Durchfall :
: rechnen. Bitte informieren Sie den Kchenchef, damit mein Essen :
: kein solches Getreide enthalt und ich meine. :
: :
: Gesundheit nicht gefahrde. :
: :
: Ich danke Ihnen. :
:....................................................................:
English translation:
......................................................................
: :
: I do not speak German unfortunately. :
: :
: I have an allergy against wheat, rye, oats , barley, spelt and :
: Grunkern. :
: :
: If I eat a small quantity of it (e.g. soups, sauces, breading) :
: I can get sick. Please inform the cook, so that my meal does not :
: contain this type of grain and I stay healthy. :
: :
: I thank you. :
:....................................................................:
A few words you should know: FORBIDDEN FOODS: Weizen=wheat,
Roggen=rye, Hafer=oats, Gerste=barley, Dinkel=spelt,
Buchweizen=buckwheat, Malz=malt. Be careful of the word, KORN, which
is a generic noun for grain, corn, cereal, rye. PERMITTED FOODS:
Mais=corn, Reis=rice, Hirse=millet, Kastanienmehl=chestnut flour,
Soja=soy, Sesam=sesame, Kartoffeln=potatoes, Milch=milk, Eier=eggs,
Fleisch=meat, fisch=fish, obst=fruit, gemuse=vegetable,
Fette/Ole=fats, oil, Tee=tea, Saft=clear juices.
This article was written with information from the DZG and St. John
web sites, and with help from Dr. Heide Mecke, one of the leaders of
the DZG, and her family, Christoph, Barbara, Almut and Stefan; and
Ulricke Meyer, a newly diagnosed celiac in our group, who can spend
her first Celiac Christmas in Germany with confidence that food will
not be a problem. Celiacs are helping Celiacs.
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