Today is National Celiac Disease Awareness Day. I know gluten-free has become a fad diet for some, but for those who suffer from Celiac Disease, a gluten-free diet is absolutely essential.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. What does this mean? Essentially the body is attacking itself every time a person with celiac consumes gluten. – National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
My daughter has a wheat and gluten allergy, but does not have Celiac Disease for which I am grateful.
Living gluten-free now is soooooooo much easier than it used to be, however there are still challenges (B-Day parties, school functions, family parties, restaurants). So many times kids/people who need to avoid gluten are not able to eat the same fun treats other people are and it leaves them feeling like a bit of an outsider. For this very reason, my heart leapt when we were in Orlando recently. I knew that Downtown Disney had recently welcomed Babycakes Bakery (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Dairy-Free, & Kosher). It was with such joy that I was able to tell my daughter, “You can have ANYTHING you want from this bakery!” She looked at me like I was on crack and then quickly became mesmerized by the goodies in the glass cases. We ended-up buying a cupcake, donut, and chocolate chip cookie sandwich. Great memories! Babycakes also has bakeries in NYC and Los Angeles. I also love my Babycakes cookbook and I hear Erin just came out with another cookbook, Babycakes Covers the Classics, that I am sure is fab.
I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you some of my favorite gluten-free resources: