Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

This episode is the first in a series of talks with individuals from different cultures eating gluten free.  My first interview is with Diyaa who has grown up in an East Indian family eating food you may or may not be familiar with.  Diyaa talks about how gluten and wheat fit into her family’s diet including family gatherings and events.  We chat about which East Indian foods are naturally gluten free.  You may be surprised with some new food finds.  You can follow Diyaa on Instagram @lifeafterroti.  If you have a story about how you cope eating gluten free and adapting your cultural food and traditions into a gluten free lifestyle, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

During the podcast I spoke about how much I enjoyed Indian food, even before I knew I was celiac.  When I had my two daughters, we continued, as a family to enjoy curry, rice, butter chicken and pappadums (also spelled poppadums and puppodums).  For years my family has enjoyed Patak’s pappadums which are bought dry and easily brought to life in oil at home.  You should give them a try.

I have made my own curry, used different curry pastes and sauces and enjoyed takeout for many years.  I remember, there was an amazing Indian restaurant we loved when we lived in Bermuda and we got butter chicken takeout on a regular basis.  The girls called it pink chicken. 

I wasn’t raised on curry of any form and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I was introduced to this flavourful cuisine.  Once, when one of our daughters had a friend over and we ordered our favourite curry takeout, my daughter was very confused when her friend had never tasted curry before.  Now, both girls make and enjoy curry in their own kitchens.

The lesson here is to try new foods, have an open mind to different naturally gluten free foods and flavourings and don’t be afraid to share these finds with your families.  If you’ve never done it before, try bringing a chicken curry and pappadums to your next family gathering and see what happens.  Maybe you too will start a new family tradition.

On a side note – last year, when Deanna visited Bermuda as an adult, one of the meals she wanted to have was “pink chicken” – she got it, and enjoyed it, it brought back childhood memories and did not disappoint.  Food memories can be powerful and this is one our family shares.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

This week I speak with Edith Lalanne to find out more about the publication of the Practical Guide to Gluten-Related Disorders and the Gluten-Free Diet for Public and Private Senior’s Residences and Meals-on-Wheels Services.  Edith explains how the booklet came about and how best to use it as a resource guide.   It can be purchased from the Canadian Celiac Association on their website at www.celiac.ca and from the Fondation Quebecoise de la Maladie Coeliaque on their website at www.fqmc.org

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

Organizing the move of a senior relative into a retirement residence is something you don’t think much about until you have to do it.  In four months last year, I assisted with three of these difficult moves.  As a family we have been fortunate that our loved ones were in a position to make the choice to move willingly, which made our job much easier and less stressful.

During our visits to different homes, we were often offered a meal.  This is one way to let prospective residents know what to expect if they moved in.  It did throw a bit of a wrench into the works when I had to eat gluten free.  I wasn’t the prospective resident, but I was the one requiring the special meal.

On every occasion, I was pleasantly surprised with what was presented to me.  One of the wait staff even admitted he was celiac and assured me that the kitchen took gluten free very seriously.  I enjoyed my meals on those days, and continue to enjoy the food when I visit and eat with my relatives. 

My experience was very positive, but I do know that this is not always what happens.  In years past, I have heard of instances when the elderly were told their gluten free diet would not be catered for and the best way to eat gluten free was to supply their own food.  Since this was not my relative, it was difficult to get involved, and became a cause of great stressful for the family.  The practical guide could not have come too soon.

Trying to be positive, I hope the bad experiences are behind us, and the more enlightened chefs and executive chefs (the ones really making the decisions) are understanding the gluten free diet and striving to get it right.  At my last meal with my parents, the server told me there were 3 (out of 100) residents on a gluten free diet, and served me a tasty nutritious meal.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

This episode is a look at the new Canada’s Food Guide with Registered Dietitian Selena De Vries.  The new food guide is a dramatic change from the recommendations we have known for years.  We have always been told to eat so many servings from different food groups.  The new guide takes a different approach and Selena does a great job breaking that down for us.

Selena was a past guest on Episode 14 of the podcast discussing the challenges of losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight on a strict gluten free diet. 

Selena has written about the new food guide on her website at –

The Canadian Food Guide and Celiac Disease

The new Canadian Food Guide was released and it is quite a drastic change from the old 2007 edition. Overall, it’s a very welcomed step in the right direction. The first thing to emphasize is that this a population health guide.

Selena can be found online at – www.healthbean.ca

on Facebook at Healthbean Nutrition and on Instagram at celiac_dietitian

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

A year ago, I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about living a healthy gluten free lifestyle with celiac disease.  I was wrong.  I’ve learned so much this past year producing the podcast and talking with different experts and celiacs from across the country. 

After speaking with Selena DeVries on Episode 14 of the podcast, I was inspired to develop another podcast that looked at how individuals are coping with losing weight and maintaining it on a gluten free diet.  I have always been overweight, and it took weight-loss surgery to get me on track.  I started the second podcast in the summer of 2018.

When I look at what I’ve learned about the gluten free diet, from both A Canadian Celiac Podcast and the Gluten Free Weigh In podcast, I can safely say that using the structure of a gluten free diet to eat healthy, eat more single ingredient foods, eat mindfully and enjoy food have been the common themes I’ve spoken about in both podcasts. 

Fast forward to January 2019 and the release of Canada’s New Food Guide.  It took me a while to connect the dots.  The mindful eating of mostly unprocessed foods; efforts to make more food at home; and enjoy it more were there in the new recommendations.  I’m doing something right on my gluten free journey, and I have to credit much of my enlightenment to the various people I’ve spoken with for research and interviews over the past year.  I love when a plan comes together.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

The podcast is celebrating one year of episodes!! Melissa Secord, Executive Director of the Canadian Celiac Association was the first guest on the first episode and since the CCA has so much on the go, I thought I’d check back with Melissa one year on.

Melissa mentioned the campaign to fund peer counselling services at the CCA offices for people who call in needing assistance.  A funding page has been set up, so supporters of the CCA can become Peer Support Champions.  It may or may not be difficult to remember back to realizing you needed to eat gluten free, but we all remember how tricky it was. You can become a Peer Support Champion with a single donation, or with monthly support.  Go to http://bit.ly/CCAPeerSupportChampion.  Otherwise you can find more information under the donate button on the CCA website at www.celiac.ca.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

It’s been a great year.  Before I started the podcast, I approached the CCA so they would be aware of what I was doing, and to work with them to help get their valuable message out in a format they had not used before.  The CCA encouraged me, but was not sure if their resources could be stretched to assist with a podcast.  I assured them that I would do the heavy lifting.  I just wanted us to be on the same page. 

I hoped to promote their efforts and gain access to some impressive experts in the field of celiac disease and the gluten free diet.  That’s just what I got.  I have interviewed Shelley Case, Dr. Duerksen, Selena De Vries, Mark Johnson, most of the Chapter Presidents and the list goes on.

Truth be told, when I started my podcast, I really didn’t know what it would be like.  Would I run out guests or material after a few months?  Would I get bored with the interview format?  Would I get frustrated with the technology?  Would I get discouraged because no one was listening?

I can now answer those questions.  Every time, I start brainstorming for new topics or guests, they seem to appear before me like magic, my friends and connections are more than generous to me.  Interviewing does take practice, but I love to talk, and I think, over time, I have become more comfortable with using questions to make an informative, natural conversation.  Just when I think I have a handle on the technology, something changes.  I have been sideswiped a couple of times by posting my Gluten Free Weigh In podcast on the wrong site.  Technology will always be a challenge, but one that feels so good when you actually figure it out.

About anyone listening – I have been so blessed by my many friends in the celiac and gluten free world for helping me to grow my audience.  I remember being told, if only 30 people listen to an episode, it’s like talking to an entire classroom of people.  To date I’ve had almost 11,000 downloads.  We started slow, but now the podcast is receiving hundreds of downloads each week.  So yes, people are listening.

One last thing, I didn’t consider when I started the podcast – the kind words, thoughts and feedback I get from my listeners.  When someone listens, the effort is worth it, when YOU listen, it’s a relationship, one I am enjoying greatly.  Thanks for listening.  I’ll keep going if you’ll keep listening.