So, Year 12 Still Sucks

Hello to all of my readers (if there are any – I really don’t know if anyone other than me reads this). I’m having a bit of a hard time at the moment, as my English, History and Biology teachers were on Year Eight camp for the whole week, and decided that having a test on Monday (AKA TOMORROW!) is a good idea. One of my friends no longer wants to be friends, which was a bit of a blow. I mentioned her in a previous post; she was the really nice, amazingly kind one who made gluten free brownies to share after exams. So yeah, that sucks. I’ve also spent the whole evening trying to practice for my English Essay tomorrow, but my brain decided that it would be an AMAZING idea to not work. Yay.

Anywho, enough about how much school sucks, and onto my coeliac issue of the day/week/month.

As you probably know, Easter is this Sunday. Every time there’s a holiday like this, the boarding kitchen staff prepare a massive cake to celebrate the upcoming holiday. For some reason, they did it tonight. For me, it made my entire day go from amazing to oh. Literally ‘oh’. That kind of empty, blank feeling; perhaps numbness would be a better word? They gave me my gluten free option and that was that. I could deal with that; simply push past the numb, ‘oh’ feeling and she’ll be right. Then this year seven girl asked very loudly as I left the dining hall “Beck, why didn’t you have any cake?”

(You’ll never know my real name – my IT teacher in primary school drilled into the dangers of giving my real name out on the Internet so HA!).

This particular year seven I have told at least seventeen times that I am a coeliac, and after my annoyed sigh another friend answered, simply saying, “She’s gluten free, Tasha.”

(On another note, every time Tasha asks why I have separate meals another year seven girl called Savannah answers for me saying I can’t gluten, which is in dairy. I always face palm and let their unit leader answer that one.)

The year seven paused for a moment, and then continued just a loudly:

“What, not even the icing?”

My friend sighed. I rolled my eyes and asked whatever god(s) (sue me, I’m agnostic) there are to cure this year seven of stupidity. I have explained the dangers of cross contamination to the year seven boarding girls at least five times, and thus elected not to answer that particular one.

“Surely they could have made you your own cake?” Tasha asked.

I now wanted whatever deity(s) are out there to put me out of this misery.

“I am the only coeliac that I know of in boarding, and so making an entire gluten free holiday cake is ridiculous.” I answered, and promptly walked off.

For some reason, I hate being asked those kinds of questions. I don’t know why. It’s probably because with this group of year seven girls I have to say everything over and over. I swear every meal they ask me why I get my meals separate. As much as I want people to know and understand, I hate explaining it. It’s not shameful or gross, but I hate the ‘Why can’t you eat this’ type of stuff. I dunno. Maybe it’s because I’m a teenager or have answered these questions over and over.

Anyway, the boarding Easter egg hunt is this week, and seeing as they have never bothered to check whether the eggs are GF or not I’m going to buy six or seven packets of Cadbury Milk Chocolate eggs (they’re gluten free, to my delight) and passive-aggressively eat them in my room.

No solutions for this one, other than brutal murder. And also, if you’re religious I sit somewhere in agnosticism, and believe that when I die I’ll find out whether there is a God, gods, Nirvana/reincarnation or nothing. You’re welcome for that random bit of information on my religious life. It’s kind of ironic that I go to a religious school…during Eucharist I sit there and hope that I don’t spontaneously combust for not entirely believing in God.

Oh well now that you guys have to suffer through my angsty post I feel a lot better.

Thanks guys (if anyone actually reads this), and please actually give me some feed back, or just like it or something. I’d really like to know what you think about these incredibly horrible, informal blog posts about how much coeliac can suck.

Au revior

Sampai jumpa

Sampai nanti

Hwyl

TTFN!

PS: I didn’t get to sleep until like 1 o’clock last night because I was watching Disney movies on Netflix. Therefore, I’m tired and have a late night hangover (no I didn’t actually drink because barley and I’m in boarding). Late night hangover means my eyes itch and I’m only staying awake through overdosing on tea.

 

OK So I AM Still Doing This. Sorta.

Once again, Year 12 dominates my life. Yay.

However, I have some more interesting tidbits about good gluten free products.

There is a chain store much like Coles or IGA which I mentioned in a previous post; it’s called Aldi and they have a LOT of gluten free stuff, like the best ever brownie bites and an amazing passion-fruit sorbet.

I also discovered a packet mix over the holidays for chocolate chip biscuits. It’s a Betty Crockers mix and is absolutely wonderful.

Also turns out that the really bad home-brand breads (like Coles GF bread – it’s horrible. I DO NOT recommend it) is very good when used to crumb fish.

And my mother is a remorseless thief. She used the last of my amazing Country Life GF white loaf as fish crumbs. It was such a good loaf too……

AND THEY HAVE A GLUTEN FREE EPISODE ON THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF!

And I’m Still Alive, but Year 12 Sucks

Hola everyone who reads this, surprise but I’m still here! Year 12 has majorly taken over my life so I kinda forgot about this for a little while. Anywho, I have made some astounding discoveries (well, astounding to me but maybe not to you).

The boarding kitchen accidentally mixed up one of their ingredients and gave me oats. Imagine my shock when I did NOT have a more averse reaction than a slight stomach ache, and that was only because I realised I’d been eating these apparently gluten free biscuits for three days before one of the cooks realised their mistake.

I have also discovered that I freaking love Genetics. We’re doing it in ATAR Biology and it’s so interesting; I love it and want to do my Undergraduate Degree in Genetics at Murdoch University.

There is also the fact that Dominos is my new best friend; you can get the Godfather Pizza made gluten free and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

Random fact but I’m also learning Welsh because why not?

So this is the end of my update, because if I stay for much longer the boarding staff will probably block off my computer which would suck as I need to finish my Psychology assignment.

Hwyl, au revoir, sampai nanti and fare well.

May the odds be EVER in your favour!

Another Amazing Cafe, This Time in Kojonup!!

As part of the education system at my school, I have to 20 hours of community service. Recently, my mother met a mad keen rose fanatic/hardcore gardener like her, and insisted on taking to the Rose Maze in Kojonup to do a part of my twenty hours. There, after being viciously attacked by roses for four hours, we sat down with mum’s new BFF at the cafe which was right beside the Maze (it was either Kojer Place Cafe or the Rose Maze Cafe or something like that) and ordered lunch.

The staff were endlessly helpful, and so mum ordered a gluten free chocolate milkshake and a gluten free BLT. Mum ordered for me because I was passed out in my chair.

We waited for what must have been an hour before Mum got up and asked if there had been some sort of issue. The kitchen staff then informed her that they had cleaned off all of the cooking implements (including the toaster) so that we wouldn’t get crumbs in our food, as mum ordered gluten free as well. Mum then sat back down, and not five minutes later I ate what was probably the safest, most GF meal I have ever had. Then they brought a thick-shake out instead of a milk shake (a thick shake was more expensive than a milk shake) and said that they made that instead because they weren’t sure about some the milkshake ingredients.

The Kojer Place cafe has to be one of the best GF cafes I’ve been to so far, and the thick shakes, views and general atmosphere are to die for.

9/10 stars from me. The only reason they didn’t get a ten was because the seats weren’t that great. But they get a lot of dogs there so that is a bonus!

Toodles!

The Joys of Christmas

As we come into the holiday season of trifles, Christmas cakes and puddings, stuffed turkeys and a variety of other, delightful, gluten-y dishes, I have to say I believe this is one of the most dangerous times of the year for coeliacs. At the moment I am celebrating an early Christmas with my father’s side of the family,  and I’ve never been more aware of the risks of cross-contamination,  and how ignorant my uncles, aunts and cousins are on this side of my family. To combat the risk of cross contamination my mother has decided to try and get me to be served first so that my food will have no risk of crumbs etc being mixed in. Instead of my aunts preparing GF food, my mum has made a GF trifle. My aunt who is preparing a turkey has decided to do the stuffing separately. It is small things like this which make it so much easier. The best way to ensure YOUR health during Christmas is, I believe, to simply ask. If your family isn’t prepared to try, then the best way is to probably bring your own packed food for you and you alone. This can suck, but it is better than chucking your guts up the next day.

Happy holidays to anyone who reads this. Stay safe and enjoy yourself.

I won’t be very likely to update until the school year starts in February, as I live in the country with no Internet connection except for my phone data (which is what I’m using now), so until then toodles!

Just Some Interesting Facts

I found some things out recently and I found them quite interesting. Did you know that researchers still don’t know how coeliac is inherited? They know which gene carries it, but they don’t know whether it comes from the maternal or paternal line, or whether it’s dominant, recessive, co-dominant etc. They don’t know which ethnic group it originates from or anything, nor do they know if it has something which triggersit.

Apparently this is because coeliac just pops up everywhere. There is no way of knowing if someone is going to develop it until it develops. Coeliac is random, and even people with no known genetic history of coeliac can develop it. In all honesty, to me coeliac sounds like those giant squid documentaries where they’re like ‘Yeah! Let’s go find a giant squid and do awesome stuff!’ and then at the end they’re like ‘Well, we tried but giant squids are too rare and shy for us to find anything not already known…’. Is it just me or does that sound a lot like coeliac disease?

Food

Apparently there is a really good food store in Bunbury for GF foods called Aldi or Eldi or something. I’m not quite sure but the biscuits are very good.

Struggling With School?

From my experience, it is quite normal for boarding school kitchens and normal school canteens to be quite limited in the range of gluten free meals. At my own school, I had to write a letter to the staff about how frequently I got cross contaminated meals, and the negative effects it had on my small intestines.

Do not stay quiet and let this continue. Speak up, because your intestines are at risk. I had to learn this the hard way; trust me, it’s not worth it. Write a letter, but don’t just complain. Talk about the good things they do, offer GF cook books, or just talk to them about how many options there are out there. Just be helpful but make your point known and don’t let them try to talk you down. This is very important, because it’s YOUR health at risk.

I sat quiet for a year as a boarder before eventually getting fed up and writing my letter. It has made a massive improvement in my general health, and the kitchen staff were very polite and helpful and it made all my fears of them being dismissive or angry seem stupid. Trust me, it is worth it.

Social Situations (But Not Parties, Because I am an Introvert)

How many times have you gone to eat out with friends or family and nearly cried from anger/frustration? I know I have done this a lot, whether it is because of my brother’s insensitivity, the wait staff’s cluelessness or the lack of menu options.

There is no easy solution to this problem, but if you are willing to risk it you can order plain grilled fish or steak with vegetable salad, no dressings or chips. However, you do run the risk of cross contamination with things like flour or non GF oils.

Another option is to say that you are allergic to gluten instead of simply coeliac. Apparently this usually sends a clearer message to the chef/s than simply saying gluten free. I have never done this myself, but apparently it works.

If you have insensitive friends/family, I have to say the best thing you can do is move on. Don’t ask them not to order your favourite non GF meals, simply try to accept it. They won’t understand if you do ask, because that is why they are ordering it in the first place.

If you have friends who make cakes etc. and never do gluten free ones, again accept that your friend either hasn’t tried or did try and it turned out badly. When this happens, I usually treat myself to something like a Flake, a Twirl, an Aero or Chocolate Coated Peanuts. I am a coeliac who can eat things labelled May Contain Traces of Gluten. Some can’t, and in this regard I count myself fortunate. If you can’t eat these, you can get gluten free mint slice called Mintons in most Health Food aisles, or very good gluten free chocolate. I can’t remember the brand name but they are very good, however they cost $7 for a chocolate which is about 6 centimetres in width and 8 centimetres in length.

I must say that I do have a few very good friends who try to make gluten free cakes and brownies. One of them is the sweetest thing ever and usually makes GF brownies after our exams; or failing that buys GF mint slices (I have a very soft spot for anything mint flavoured, including tooth paste).

If you can’t fix the situation, just try to live with it as best you can.

So I Have Discovered An Awesome Cafe

So I go downtown with friends maybe once every two weeks. During those trips I found an amazing little cafe in Centrepoint Shopping Centre, Bunbury. It’s called Muffin Break, and the staff are VERY helpful. They have a variety of gluten free muffins, milk shakes and other such things. Just ask and they will help. Apparently the lattes are good but I’m not a coffee person. I can vouch for the milkshakes (just ask to have no ice cream and you’re good with the chocolate ones) and the GF choc-chip muffins.