Now Serving 700 Members: The New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group

I am excited to announce that the New York City Celiac Disease Meetup group has now reached 700 members!! In less than 6 months, we have added an additional 100 members to our group. As some of my readers know, I have been an organizer of this group since 2005 and I am very excited about how quickly this group has grown! It is a demanding volunteer job, but I really enjoy planning our events and meeting so many gluten-free people in the tri-state area.

Click here to check out
The New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group!

Here are some fun Celiac Disease Meetup facts

• Our group is the #1 largest Celiac Disease Meetup group in the world. (ok, there are only meetups in 2 countries, but still sounds impressive)


• There are 25 Celiac Disease Meetup groups in 24 cities.


• The NYC Celiac Disease Meetp group consists of 36% of all Celiac Disease Meetup members (1,984 total)


• We have three active volunteer organizers (Erin, Liz, and Ben) and one honorary founding organizer, Shanel. We have also had many "guest organizers" over the past few years and are always looking for more volunteers.


• The NYC Celiac Disease Meetup group was founded in October 22, 2003, making it the oldest Celiac Disease Meetup group.


• We are a part of the Celiac Disease Meetup Alliance


• The NYC Celiac Disease Meetup group has been responsible for at least two spin-off groups including The Jersey City Celiac Disease Meetup Group and The Long Island Celiac Disease Meetup


• We have had 63 events over the past 5 years and have many more planned for the months and years to come!!

We always welcome new members, so don't be shy and join us at our upcoming events. I also encourage you to post to our message boards. This group has become an invaluable resource to those that are newly diagnosed as well as a gluten-free family of sorts to our veteran members.

Please visit our calendar for upcoming events this weekend and beyond.

Thank you again for all of your support. Without our group member participation and ideas, the New York City Celiac Disease Meetup would not be where it is today.

$2 Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese on 6/24 at S'Mac

I have been to S'Mac twice now and it gets better each time. I think Tuesday will be the kicker when we can enjoy gluten-free mac and cheese for only $2!!

Come celebrate the second anniversary of S'Mac when they will be offera Nosh All American for $2.00 for the gluten-free version of this popular dish.

S'Mac
345 East 12th Street
NY, NY 10003
212-358-7912
sarita@smacnyc.com
http://www.smacnyc.com/glutenfree.html

$2 Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese on 6/24 at S'Mac

I have been to S'Mac twice now and it gets better each time. I think Tuesday will be the kicker when we can enjoy gluten-free mac and cheese for only $2!!

Come celebrate the second anniversary of S'Mac when they will be offera Nosh All American for $2.00 for the gluten-free version of this popular dish.

S'Mac
345 East 12th Street
NY, NY 10003
212-358-7912
sarita@smacnyc.com
http://www.smacnyc.com/glutenfree.html

McDonald's Fries are NOT gluten-free

McDonald’s might be one of America’s favorite fast-food joints, but it isn’t as gluten-friendly as you may think. French Fries and Hash Browns sound like they would be gluten-free, but sadly those of us on a gluten-free diet must stay away from these two potato-based menu items. I have to admit that despite being gluten-free for a quarter of a century I have had my share of McDonald’s Hash Browns. I have also had my familiar post-gluten reaction to most McDonald’s food. (And we all know what that means)

I thought it would be especially helpful to new Celiacs to make sure you realize you CANNOT eat McDonald’s French Fries or Hash Browns. Here is why:

French Fries:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

Hash Brown:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), salt, corn flour, dehydrated potato, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), extractives of black pepper. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK. (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

Here are some other gluten-containing foods at McDonald’s that those on a gluten-free diet MUST AVOID!

Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich
Premium Crispy Chicken Classic Sandwich
Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich
Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich
Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich
Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich
Big Mac® Bun
Big Mac® Sauce
Chicken Selects® Premium Breast Strips
Fish Filet Patty
Flour Tortilla
Grilled Chicken Breast Filet
Honey Wheat Roll
McChicken® Patty
McRib Bun
Regular Bun
Sesame Seed Bun
Southern Style Crispy Chicken Breast Filet
French Fries
Chicken McNuggets
Barbeque Sauce
Sweet 'N Sour Sauce
Butter Garlic Croutons
Candied Walnuts in the Fruit & Walnut Salad
Orange Glaze
Newman's Own® Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing
Biscuit
Hash Brown
English Muffin
Griddle Cakes
Hot Cakes
McFlurry® with OREO® Cookies
Baked Apple Pie
Cinnamon Melts
McDonaldland® Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Sugar Cookie
Ice Cream Cone

Source: http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html

Celiac Students and Gluten Free Lunches

From the American Celiac Disease Alliance (ACDA)

As the school year draws to a close, we've been doing a lot of thinking about the growing number of children with celiac. How many of these kids able to get their medically required gluten-free diet at school? From what we know, not very many How does it make them feel that they can't go through the lunch line with their friends? Some shrug it off. But I expect that many, like my 10 year-old, will tell you about the special Thanksgiving lunch with tears in their eyes.

Many parents are not aware that the National School Lunch Program requires schools to meet the needs of students with special dietary needs.

The ACDA has launched a brief online survey to find out who is providing lunch for student's with celiac disease - parents, school, or a combination. This survey will help us to work with parents so that their children can have gluten-free meals during the next school year.

If you have a child with celiac disease attending school
please CLICK HERE to complete the survey.

Your input is vitally important to demonstrate that our children want and need gluten-free meals at school. The survey will close on July 2, 2008.

Thank you for helping us help our kids!

American Celiac Disease Alliance (ACDA)