It was the winter of 2008 when I started noticing that my youngest daughter was just not herself after she ate her daily protein shake. She also was very irritable and had a terrible time going to sleep and she suffered from terrible rashes and itching on her arms, legs, back and torso, to the point were she would make herself bleed. I was able to get some lab tests done through a certified laboratory on the Internet at www.enterolab.com. EnteroLab is a registered and fully accredited clinical laboratory specializing in the analysis of intestinal specimens for food sensitivities (reactions by the immune system to common proteins in the diet) that cause a variety of symptoms and diseases.

We had her tested for gluten, soy, dairy, eggs and yeast products. She tested ‘highly sensitive’ to both gluten and soy and was fine for the other three items. I was shocked when the results came back! How could my little girl be allergic to the one food group she lives on….BREAD! Well, almost two years later and we have all survived…not only my younger daughter’s prognosis but my older daughter’s and mine.  I wish I had known about what to look for to determine gluten sensitivity. I had been plagued with stomach pain my whole life, sometimes even landing me in the hospital or undergoing agonizing lab tests to figure out the problem. Furthermore, it turns out that my youngest would often suffer from tummy aches herself but she just thought they were ‘normal.’  However, some people, like my older daughter, remain asymptomatic for years, which is common because only 3% of the population of celiacs are diagnosed.

Here is a list of symptoms from The G Free Diet: A Gluten Free Survival Guide by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in a Gluten Free Lifestyle. Although the presence of any of these symptoms could have multiple implications, it is easy enough to check out with your doctor.

• Abdominal pain and discomfort
• Anemia and Vitamin K deficiencies
• Constipation or Diarrhea
• Delayed puberty
• Loss of menstrual periods
• Reproductive problems, including infertility or multiple miscarriages
• Discolored teeth or loss of dental enamel
• Distension or Gas
• Excessive weight loss or weight gain
• Muscle cramps or fatigue
• Headaches or Migraines
• Joint or bone pain
• Skin rashes and itchiness
• Sores inside the mouth
• Stunted growth in children
• Tingling or numbness in legs

Before Gluten Free (BGF) we only ate pancakes from a boxed mix. I then discovered that there were not any pancakes or waffles ‘in a box’ that our family could eat, so I was desperate to find one that could please the picky palates in my house. This one is a hit, not only with my family, but with anyone who finds themselves at our house for breakfast.

Gluten Free Fluffy Pancakes or Waffles

1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
2/3 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/3 cup Almond Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tb Buttermilk Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tb Honey
1/ 2 tsp Vanilla
2 Tb Grapeseed Oil
3/4 cup Warm Water
1 Egg

Beat egg whites stiff, set aside.  Mix ingredients in order given, folding in egg whites last. Pour 2″-3″ circles of batter onto a heated and oiled griddle. They bubble like regular pancakes, flip like normal until done on both sides. Try with mixins too.