I had a conversation with a colleague recently about the latest research into coeliac disease.
“What if they found a cure?” she asked.
Now I know it wouldn’t be like finding a cure for cancer or Alzheimers, but the idea is exciting for we coeliacs nonetheless.
I know a lot of people choose to go gluten-free but when there’s no choice it’s not unusual to feel a tad deprived and miss things you don’t even really like… like beer, for instance. It’s only because I CAN’T have it, I want it.
My colleague and I discussed current treatments and potential cures (hookworms and the like) and I fantasised about life without coeliac disease.
“Oh,” I gushed, “I could dine anywhere. I wouldn’t have to plan ahead or check the menu beforehand. I could buy anything from the grocery store. It would be amazing.”
And yes… like I said, I do realise my allergy isn’t as tragic or lethal as many MANY other ailments. But still…
“What’s the first thing you’d eat?” my colleague asked.
This, was a no-brainer as I’ve thought of it often.
The first three things I’d eat if I wasn’t coeliac
1. KFC
Yep. KFC. Something I took for granted back when I could eat it. It was my go-to hangover food back in the 1990s. The skin on the chicken, the chips and the gravy. The. Best. Takeaway. Of the originals anyway.
I’m waiting for them to introduce a gluten-free version of the Colonel’s secret recipe, but won’t hold my breath.
2. Asian takeaway
I love Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food. (Well, as long as it doesn’t have too many scary vegetables.) But because of stock powder, cornflour, soy, oyster and hoisin sauces Asian cuisine is a challenge.
I was excited to find a local place that caters for coeliacs but their answer is to just remove the sauces completely. So everything’s bland and tasteless. You CAN get gluten-free sauces – Fountain and Chang’s make them – but I’m not sure they’d let me smuggle my bottles into the kitchen!
3. Hot chips
I love hot chips but they’re very problematic. I don’t eat out a lot but I am forced to look longingly at fellow diner’s plates when at cafes, restaurants and clubs. Most places buy them frozen and they’re coated in flour so they’re usually a no-go. I know of a handful of local places whose chips are GF but that’s it.
And there you have it. See, I’m a simple gal with simple tastes, but they’re the things I most miss. Of course I wish I could walk into a bakery and order cakes or cheesecakes or similar, but I don’t really miss them. They wouldn’t be my first port of call when the Nobel Prize-winning cure for gluten-allergy is discovered.
Are there things you can’t eat? What do you miss? And… do you love KFC or are you without taste?
September 20, 2016
I shall never again order anything with a side of fries in your company 😉 I rarely have KFC, but image I would want it more if I couldn’t have it. I know a few people that are coeliac and I am pretty sure you’re not alone with the this list of things they would love to eat too.
September 20, 2016
I like big squishy hot chips…. the kind you get at pubs and clubs and they’re rarely gluten-free and it kills me. I’m always terribly excited when they tell me I can have them! But I’m used to others having them in front of me, so it’s okay.
September 20, 2016
At least there are some alternatives now. No one had heard of Coeliac 30 years ago although I did know one girl who had it. It seems to be much more common now. I’d miss hot chips too.
September 20, 2016
Oh god yes. I only got diagnosed 10 years ago but even then GF stuff was harder to find. People hadn’t heard of gluten / coeliac disease, but now it’s wonderful that the major supermarkets have GF stuff as it brings the price down a lot!
September 20, 2016
I have two friends with coeliac children and it’s a constant struggle for them to make others realise that they aren’t going gluten-free as some kind of diet fad that, in fact, any gluten makes their kids very, very sick. I think the fact that they have to have essentially two pantries to avoid contamination says it all. Apart from not being able to eat the things you mention (it’s tough for teens to not be able to eat at Maccas with their mates every so often), the biggest challenge is travelling. And the thought of travelling overseas even more so. From what I’ve observed, Australians are very good at food labelling – cafes and restaurants usually list what’s GF etc. but I haven’t noticed the same when I’ve been overseas.
September 20, 2016
I haven’t travelled o/s since my diagnosis and am not sure how I’d go in non-English speaking countries (though the Coeliac Society has little cards translated into a number of languages you can buy).
I’ve written a couple of other posts about being coeliac including one that was slightly snarky when I was asked ‘How coeliac are you?’ I don’t want to begrudge others’ dietary choices but those who avoid gluten on some occasions only sometimes make it harder for us as I’ve had staff at places reassure me that others have eaten this or that. I used to work with someone who told everyone she ate gluten-free but drank beer and didn’t worry about hidden gluten. Really she was just cutting out bread, cakes and biscuits (flour).
September 20, 2016
I’m like you, once I know I can’t eat something, I want to eat it all the time! I’m supposed to be passing on the sugar and gluten to make up for my lack of thyroid, but I manage for a couple of days and then totally fall off the wagon. I don’t think I’ve ever had KFC – so if they ever make it gluten free, you can totally have my share!
September 20, 2016
KFC and Pizza Hut were the first (and only) takeaways to hit my hometown when I was a kid and KFC was my mother’s and my choice when my brother and father were away.
Interestingly I hate eating with my fingers and having dirty fingers AND hate eating things with bones. My mother almost got a full meal from what I didn’t eat of the pieces of chicken!
September 20, 2016
I try to cut back on gluten laden foods because it seems I have an intolerance to it – bloating, wind, reflux, weight gain etc. I have been tested for coeliac disease but it was negative. I can eat it though without dire consequences so I don’t need to be super vigilant but I avoid them because they make me feel crappy. My daughter also avoids gluten for the same reasons.
September 20, 2016
I’m supposedly lactose intolerant but was diagnosed at the same time as my coeliac diagnosis so I didn’t have the headspace to deal with it and I’ve never worried. I don’t like milk and rarely eat cheese and stuff, so I wonder if it’s my body telling me what’s what.
Having said that I’m drinking milk with my protein shakes at the moment and have sour cream. I can cope with a bit it seems and it’s worth the discomfort which isn’t too bad.
September 20, 2016
OMG, I never thought about the Asian food thing. I would be devastated to give up my Thai and Vietnamese take away. Poor Deb!!! x
September 20, 2016
It’s the hardest cuisine by far. Indian cooking doesn’t use a lot of stock / thickeners but SE Asian food is really difficult and it kills me!!!!
September 20, 2016
I have just started a low carb high fat way of eating and the only thing I think I truly miss is hot chips. It really is the greatest comfort food ever.
September 20, 2016
Oh yes, carbs have always been my downfall Melissa. I love protein (meat) which is good as my diet requires me to have large amounts of protein at the moment as well!
September 20, 2016
You know, in all my years of nursing I’ve never met a patient with true auto immune coeliac disease such as yourself. Scads of people who believe they are gluten intolerant though.
I did go to school with a girl who is coeliac, must have been awful back then
September 20, 2016
I can’t imagine what it was life 20-30 years ago. It was bad enough 10 years ago.
And yep, I had the blood test which indicated I was coeliac and then the endoscopy etc… to confirm. The Australian Coeliac Society (which you have to pay to join) actually requires a doctor’s diagnosis and confirmation to allow you to join!
September 20, 2016
I eat KFC maybe once per year..but it would suck to give that up. Even if I don’t want it more often than that!
September 20, 2016
I called into the bottle shop tonight which is right near the KFC and it nearly killed me. I used to walk home past one when I lived in Brissy and that was hard. (Also walked past Dominoes, Miss India, 2 x Thai places, Nandos and a Chinese place!)
September 20, 2016
Man, you just listed three of my favourite foods!
September 20, 2016
Gah! I know, right?!
September 20, 2016
I’m so thankful we have no issues with allergies in our house. Hubby tries to avoid gluten, because it makes him bloat terribly and more! but I’d hate to be restricted with what I can eat. Feels.
September 20, 2016
It makes going out difficult as I always need to check on menu options first. There’s a takeaway place near my new house and it has a variety of stuff – burgers, pizza, fish and chips…. but nothing is GF sadly!
September 20, 2016
Hahaha – I so get this list as a fellow coeliac! I’d go for a big gourmet hamburger, REAL hot cross buns and cookies and cream ice cream if I could eat gluten again! Maybe it will happen one day – but there’s no way I’m willingly consuming hookworms to heal my gut!!!!
September 20, 2016
Cookie dough ice cream would be yummy though I guess I could make my own version if keen enough. Bulla ice cream is GF I think and I could make cookie dough with GF flour and blend it through, but…. meh, way too hard.
And I know, the hookworm thing is kinda creepy. (LIke ‘the old lady who swallowed the fly’ kinda thing!)
September 20, 2016
Oh God! You poor thing!! I’d never be able to live without hot chips. I would miss pasta. I don’t know how GF pasta compares?? #teamIBOT
September 20, 2016
Usually it’s a bit gluggier Renee.
September 20, 2016
I thought I had a fairly limited diet, only for a handful of my favourite foods (bacon, eggs, pork, corn), along side gluten and dairy to be added to my banned list. I don’t know about you but I find the GF substitutes fail in comparison, so I just don’t go there.
September 21, 2016
I’ve known a lot of people who discover GF options so switch to them (GF cakes, breads, biscuits) thinking they’re healthier. They’re not… they just don’t have gluten. Calorie-wise they’re sometimes worse. I had to remind myself that I didn’t eat cakes and biscuits ‘before’ so why suddenly buy them now just cos they exist. They’re often far more expensive as well, but now the supermarkets are bringing out more of their own brands that’s getting better.
September 20, 2016
Oh Deb, that is really hard. The condition is well-known but not well-understood is it? Seems like people give GF a go thinking it will help them but if its not diagnosed as yours has been then they could be eating the non-GF foods. I have seen a growing range of foods in the supermarket but from what I read they don’t match the real deal. Sigh. Life is tough when you have so many food restrictions. I must learn not to whinge as much about my IBS…totally not food related, all emotional in origin.
September 21, 2016
I continued to have stomach issues (too-regular visits to the toilet) for years after my diagnosis. I assumed I still had IBS (which I thought I had before I discovered the coeliac thing) but my GP talked about FODMAPs and though I didn’t adopt it diligently I cut back on a few things – onion and garlic for example and found things improved a little.
September 21, 2016
My friend has gluten, diary and egg allergies so I think the first thing she’d eat if she had a chance is breakfast out at a cafe. Luckily, I can eat all the things (except meat as a lifestyle choice). Unfortunately, I tend to eat all the things. I do hope they ARE looking into finding solutions and cures because it is lifestyle limiting and people deserve to eat hot chips!
September 21, 2016
There seem to be constant studies Robyna. Though I’d love a cure, I do hope most of the research money out there is going towards cancer and the like! 🙂
September 21, 2016
My husband has Coeliac disease and I think he misses Tim Tams. Real bread. The ability to eat anything and not worry about a reaction. So often he is resigned to eating a steak when we are out as it may be the only safe gf option on the menu.
September 21, 2016
Oh yes…. And a potato in its jacket usually. With no sauce. I get excited when I’m told they can offer GF sauces / gravies.
‘Good’ restaurants can usually adapt their menu but I’m a bit of a fussy eater on top of being coeliac and don’t eat seafood or some veges. There are a couple of nice restaurants in Hervey Bay (where I live now) but a lot of their menu is very seafood based which is problematic for me.
September 24, 2016
Give me Red Rooster over KFC any day 😉 . I didn’t realise hot chips were a “no go” for coeliacs! Very glad it’s not something I have to worry about x
September 25, 2016
‘Twas mainly the KFC skin I loved. And yes, hot chips are a big problem… interestingly I can get McDonald’s chips and hash browns. (Though rarely do as it seems pointless going there for that. Some brands of frozen chips – from the supermarket – are gluten-free.)
September 25, 2016
I don’t eat KFC very often I’m not a huge fan of chicken but there have been times when it’s hit the spot. I love Asian food and if I had to go without the sauces I’d get very cranky. 🙂 But I think I would miss that the most. No check that- pizza. I don’t know if pizza is an issue for coeliac disease, but if I couldn’t have pizza I’d cry I’m sure lol.
September 25, 2016
You can get some gluten-free pizza bases Greg so you can make your own pizzas but there are also places who offer ready-made GF pizzas. Even Dominos Pizza has a good range here in Australia. I actually got takeaway pizza last night when I was at a friend’s babysitting. It was a small boutique pizza place and the owner was very helpful in terms of what was and wasn’t gluten-free. There’s an Aussie brand (I think it’s Aussie) of deli meats called ‘Hans’ and they’ve always made GF stuff, so the owner could tell me that I could eat the ham, bacon and pepperoni. Naturally I went for a meat-lovers option!