when andrea and I started our blog last November, our goal was to provide a gluten free resource for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance that focused on lifestyle rather than simply recipes or medical research. we knew there was little to no resources on how to live with celiac disease day to day.
it's amazing to look back on our previously gluten filled lives, such as my third birthday party, pictured here. andrea cant wait to eat the cake! we knew what we were missing when we were diagnosed with celiac disease, and it is with this perspective that shapes our discussion on topics like where to find gluten free personal care products, where to shop, and where to find great tasting gluten free food on the go.
our year in review includes some of our most favorite gluten free topics and I will start with our most popular, gluten free beer! ironically, this was also one of the first posts of 2010. we wanted to start the new year off with a sweet cupcake recipe in January and gluten free hot chocolate for Valentines Day in February. in March, we had the pleasure of working with the Wallflower Café’s Lisa Hewlett on their new gluten free menu. some long overdue taxes were finally paid in April after researching how to claim the incremental cost of gluten free food on your tax return.
May was a busy month discovering not only Homestead Specialty Baking but the most divine gluten free pancakes at Brown Dog Café. in June, I enjoyed writing celiac in the city about the challenges of dating with severe food allergies (thank you to all of our readers who provided such positive feedback on this topic!). gluten free vancouver was also featured on Global TV’s One Bite at a Time with Registered Dietician Melodie Yong. our excitement continued when we found gluten free ice cream cones in the August heat wave.
this fall we explored gastown, and found gluten free tacos at La Taqueria on west hastings, and then recently enjoyed taking an extended vacation to palm springs, california.
over this past year while working away on our new blog, we have both experienced many personal life changes. Andrea went back to work after her maternity leave, she moved into the new Woodwards building to accommodate her growing family, and recently started daycare for my niece Pilar...a heart wrenching experience for any new mom! for me, I started a new job shortly after launching the blog that has kept me busy learning and traveling. I was heartbroken earlier this year after the end of a long term relationship, and while I felt positive when I wrote 'celiac in the city' back in June, my healing process took many more months. I also moved into Olympic Village at the end of the summer, and love my new space!
Andrea and I are both in new creative workspaces, and are excited for the year ahead...we will be launching our www.glutenfree-vancouver.ca website shortly, and expanding our ideas further into the community. we also plan to make a gluten free gingerbread house next month, as well as start a weekly gluten free cookie review on the blog.
gluten free giveaway...
to celebrate the success of our first year of gluten free vancouver, we want to offer one of our favorite gluten free products to one lucky reader! we are giving away a desert essence organics unscented body wash and shampoo! all you have to do to enter the giveaway is comment on our blog and tell us what challenges or obstacles you face living gluten free day to day. the entry deadline is midnight on tuesday november 30th. the winner will be announced on the blog on wednesday december 1st.
together, and through our blog, we hope to create more awareness of celiac disease and hopefully make gluten free foods more accessible to those that need it most.
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9 comments:
Congratulations!! Your blog has been a huge resource for me, so thanks!
Happy Birthday! I love your blog and restaurant reviews, it helps so much! The biggest challenge being gluten free for me is making sure I am getting all my vitamins and minerals. My gut is still healing and I'm not absorbing everything yet but I'm on my way there :)
Happy Blogiversary! This is such a great site. I have an intolerance to gluten and dairy. One of the biggest challenges for me is planning ahead so I have enough food to eat when I'm at work, since it's difficult to find diet-friendly convenience options if I don't bring enough food. Also, going to parties or other people's homes for dinner can be tricky.
I've been gluten free for over 2 weeks now and I visit your website daily for any new fun facts I can find! I am really excited to try the recipes you have posted as well as the gluten free restaurants. One of my biggest challenges so far is eating when I am at school. I go to UBC and I am scared to eat anything because of the cross contamination issues. I have been sticking to the salad bar but it is still worrysome. I think I am going to have to start packing my own lunches!
Happy blogiversary!
Your blog is great! Living gluten free can be a challenge when you go new places and don't know where to find all you want!
Congrats on 1 year!!! And thank you for being such a great resource for restaurants in Van! I always see lots of restaurants on The Celiac Scene, but I like the actual anecdotes of a successful gfree meal - it makes me feel much safer!! I'm visiting Vancouver right now and can't wait to try some of the places you've reviewed here!!!
Like others, eating out is a challenge for me. Unlike others, I have to pack my lunch every day because the nearest restaurant or shop is a 15-20 minute drive away from the office. The biggest challenge for me is that "gluten-free" seems to mean different things to different people. I will be assured something is gluten-free by a well-meaning soul and if I question further it often contains spelt or rye because many people with wheat issues can handle those grains just fine. Kind of like a vegetarian being assured it's OK because it's just chicken =)
ROOMMATES. oh boy, i am glad that i just have a gluten sensitivity and not full on celiac's (as far as i know). i have temporary roommates (for 6 months, who live in South Africa the other half of the year), and they are big bread eaters! I have become so paranoid about their crumbs getting everywhere, I don't let them use the toaster (only the toaster oven), and don't let them cut bread on the wooden cutting boards, but it is so hard to control where all those little bits go!
Congrats on the anniversary, your blog is (still) fantastic, thanks for it!
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