martinimade

picture stolen from Austinist.com and explained below.

The great thing about the Diva having celiac now as opposed to ten years ago is that there is so much more information out there currently. I have been reading about what parents when through to get diagnoses then and thank my lucky cliched stars that our path has been much, much easier. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that in five weeks we went from me pointing out my kid's big belly to her pediatrician to an official proclamation.

The amount of info is also the bad thing about the Diva having celiac now -- but it's the kind of downside I like to have. Still.

So far, I've found some great books, which are perfect for a global view. Thanks to a delivery from my friend the book fairy, I have been reading Danna Korn's Kids with Celiac, which has been recommended by pretty much everyone. It's haunting and oddly reassuring to see pictures of pre-diagnosis kids who look exactly like mine did. I don't agree with her advice on everything -- there's a bit of misdirection that she recommends for younger kids that won't work in our life for a variety of reasons -- but it is a great resource.

Also a great resource are Bette Hagman's cookbooks. I made her GF flour mix and the Dutch Babies last night. While cooking with non-wheat flours is going to take some getting used to -- I kept expecting the batter to do things that it was ill-equipped to do -- the result was a success. Needs some tinking, of course, but everyone snarfed it down. I suspect that one advantage I have going in to this is that I already have become a fairly good home cook and don't rely that much on pre-packaged stuff. This may kick me in the ass later.

For the Diva, the best book has been Eating Gluten-free with Emily. I'll catch her just flipping through it whenever she is in her room and she keeps asking to have it read to her. A good sign.

There have been some tantrums, of course. She's a kid dealing with a new regime. We carry on.

And on the bless the internet tip, there are some great sites, which are perfect for a personal view. I'm digging Gluten-Free Girl, whose promo spot was on the Food Network at just the right time, so much so it felt a little like some weird fate's finger thing. Her site led me to the Celiac Chicks, who make me wish we lived in the city and could hang out. Since I don't and we can't, I will do the next best thing, which is take the Diva to Babycakes next time she's with me on one of my NYC trips.

For those of you who don't give a rip about gluten or my kid's issues with same, two other links for your amusement: the nun themed coffee bar I wish I'd made it to in Austin and those pop watch guys want help choosing Katie Couric's new catchphrase. I'm voting for "Whoop, there it is."