1- We want to help others like us who are new to the whole gluten free thing to see the light. Guys- its not the end of the world. No matter how hard it is to stomach the idea that you can’t have gluten, I promise…. it gets better! (No pun intended..)
2- How many times have you gone to the store wondering if a gluten free product is yummy or yucky? We know! We do this almost every time we go to the store and peruse the GF aisle. Wouldn’t it be nice to KNOW if a product is good or bad before you spend your hard earned cash on it? We want to inform all gluten freebees about products that are good & products that are bad.
3- Most blogs we’ve seen have recipes that freak us out. We are not gourmet chefs, nor do we have the pantry/budget of one. We want to provide easy peasy recipes that don’t take your whole day.
4- Gluten is not limited to just food. It is in lotion, makeup, shampoo, & many other beauty products. As a licensed cosmetologist, Brooke wants to share her expertise of this seldom mentioned aspect of living a gluten-free life.
5- Most importantly, we don’t want to JUST bring you recipes. Being diagnosed with Celiac (Bri) & gluten intolerance (Brooke) has turned our whole WORLD around. It’s not simply about not EATING gluten. It’s a lifestyle change. It involves the food you eat, the products you put on your body, how you feel day to day, and where you shop. It’s extremely expensive and you have to be on top of what you eat at all times, it makes you more concerned about what your children eat, the diversions you enjoy, & literally every aspect of your life. Most of us don’t choose this & don’t ever plan on having to be this careful & limited. So hopefully we can be of some help to you by sharing the good, the bad, the ugly, and of course- our daily discoveries!
Hannah Ruthie Smith
Way to go you guys! What a great thing to do. I thought I would starve the first time I heard of my diagnosis. But, I’m also allergic to eggs and soy, so I think being gluten-free alone would be a vacation! Keep up the good work.
Brooke Roundy
Yeah that’s exactly what we are trying to do- keep people from starving from lack of knowledge. Bri also has many other allergies on top of Celiac Disease including allergies to dairy, soy, & eggs. We will most definitely be writing about those allergies as well. We wish you luck in your fight for survival, haha!! Be sure to stop by again!
Helena Taylor
I was wondering how you knew you had celiac/gluten intolerance. I have had issues for years and had a celiac blood panel a couple years ago that came back negative. I went to a specialist yesterday and he said that sometime blood tests are falsely negative and the only way to know for sure is to do an endoscopic biopsy. My question is, what were your symptoms and how did you both know? By the way, I found this blog today on Facebook by your brothers! They were my FHR bros my first semester of college! 🙂
Brooke Roundy
Hi Helena! Thank you so much for your comment! We hope this covers all your questions:
1- Blood tests are sometimes not sensitive enough to pick up on your gluten sensitivity, resulting in unreliability. We were tested under a saliva test and that picked up gluten sensitivities, as well as other allergies. Those are sometimes hard to find though, because most doctors don’t offer them, & we had to wait YEARS for our insurance to finally cover it.
2- The scope- Bri was scoped twice. The first time they weren’t looking specifically for Celiac Disease so it came up “normal” & the second time she had been off gluten for about 3 months. She went to the best Gastroenterologist Specialist in the state. He could tell there was damage to the villi, but not enough damage to be completely sure. He did say he believed that she had Celiac Disease. So you can see, it’s really hard to know, based off of a test. The best test to do, is to go off gluten for at LEAST two weeks, and see how you feel!
3- Our story includes pretty much all of our symptoms, but if you have more questions regarding symptoms, let us know!
Helena Taylor
Thank you so much! You have a beautiful family and are both GORGEOUS! I think that I may start looking for an allergist that does a saliva test. I found that even the endoscopy can be falsely negative, so I will be looking into that.
Brooke Roundy
Awwww thank you so much!! And we are so glad we were able to point you in the right direction! Good luck with your search and let us know if you have any other questions!!