I am new to this site.....any celiacs in central California? Would love to hear from you. Also would like to know about restaurants.....can we EVER eat mexican food again???

Hi where are you in central California? I live in Manteca (near Stockton/Modesto) but spend the majority of my time in the Bay Area cuz of friends/family and work.
Welcome to the board.

Hey! I am in Fresno, RIGHT in the center of the state. Can't remember how far Manteca is, seems to me it's about a two-hour drive? I don't spend much time in the Bay area, used to, but not too much now. Oh, I am a little daunted by the thought of travel now....just diagnosed four days ago, what would I eat???

Awww...don't feel bad. I'm gluten free for several months now and still dont know what to eat.
If you dont have other intolerances the diet is fairly easy (for me it was anyways). I got alot of other problems so its basically just meat and veggies for me right now....and yeah...no traveling.

Theres so much you can eat thats gluten free though. Seriously, theres a store here in the Bay Area thats got everything gluten free. Its great. Whole Foods has alot of stuff. You'll learn alot from this board. My regular grocery store hyas a big gluten free section...I never even realized it was there until I looked for gluten-free stuff. You'll be surprised at all you can eat. Its not that bad.

I'm near San Jose. I'm with you on the not knowing what to eat. I'm going to Disneyland in about a week and a half and am terrified even though I hear it's one of the better places to eat if you have special dietary needs, lol.

I am from Sacramento. Not far from the Bay Area. I am curious what store you are talking about. I agree, Whole Foods is great but also expensive (friends have nick named it Whole Paycheck).

Thanks!

Have you ever seen this? - Guidelines to Eating gluten-free at Disneyland

http://www.kintera.org/site/pp.asp?c=ewK0LjP7E&b=1173337

It says some of the places there carry Kinnikinnik bread. Crazy!

Its a little health store in Cupertino. Its called Cupertino Nutrition. They carry alot of supplements but also the biggest selection of gluten-free foods I've seen in one place. Thats how I found out about them. They have a huge sign that reads "Biggest selection of gluten-free products in the Bay Area".

Thanks! I might have to check it out some time. Davis has something similar though it has more "supplements" then food.

Thanks for the info!

Wow, thanks for the link...it has some great information!

Cupertino Nutrition is WONDERFUL...they are so helpful and they did indeed have a great selection.

Pturse - I've had one of the Whole Foods employees joke about Whole Paycheck, so something tells me they've heard that before.

That's funny that they know!

Hey Cupertino Nutrition has a website!

www.cupertinonutrition.com

Nice!

Hello I Live in Northern California and have been a "CELIAC" for about 4 years now and most of what I have learned has been trial and error and products especially the last two years have really turned around.

I loved to travel to the bay area because there is alot more to choose from but I all these products are spendy and there is nothing worse than buying products but not able to eat them so my word of advice for you is check out this site first before shopping. They rate all the products and I have found it to be a great indicator when purchasing products such as bread, snacks and so forth. Now if you order from them there is shipping and handeling where I have found a few times I have ordered to check it out such as LARABAR's and once I tasted it I was on the hunt where I just recently found these bars close to home and cheaper..


http://www.glutensolutions.com/store.asp

Also a year ago I broke down and purchase a gluten free dining guide which I have used several times.

I hope this information helps.

Good Luck
Pat Embury

Hi....I'm in Nevada City (in the foothills, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe). I went to graduate school in Fresno, so I know the area (we lived in Clovis) ! Hang in there....I think it will get easier. I'm feeling overwhelmed right now too, but I have my mom as an example...and she learned to live with celiac quite well, all alone, with no support group at all. So if she could do it, so can we all!

Hey! I'm from Central California, Dixon near Sacramento. And, yes, we can eat Mexican food. Thank God for corn tortillas. The only real Celiac store is in Davis, CA and it's called the Natural Food Works. Lots of gluten-free stuff.

Let me know where exactly you are!
Camila

I'm is Stanford, (Palo Alto) and I have been gluten free all my life. I would say that you should join the Yahoo group BayAreaCeliacs, it is a lot of help. I run the Bay Area ROCK group with my mom and other people around us. If you want to come to San Jose Area Maggianos is Santana Row best place it is Italian food, and they make gluten-free pizza and have Tinkyada pasta always there, just call ahead and make sure they know that you are gluten-free and they will make sure to have supplies. There are many other places in this area, e-mail me and I can tell you more places, but the celicbayarea is really the best place to start for places to eat out.
e-mail me and I can help more, celiacmolly08@mac.com

I'm in Fresno County about an hour out of Fresno, but I come to Fresno a lot for shopping/doctor appointments, etc.

Have you been to the new PF Changs yet! It is awesome. They have a gluten free menu and ALL the staff knows about gluten free! The first time I had chinese food in over 2 years.

We also eat at Mimi's Cafe, In-n-Out, El Pollo Loco (chicken only), we used to eat at Boston Market, but they are renovating their menu and we are now waiting to see what is going to still be on the menu that will be safe for us. There are some items at the Elephant Bar and I'm sure there are other places I am not thinking of right now. As for mexican, my kids don't like it enough for us to bother trying to get gluten free Mexican food...

Let me know if you ever want to try to get together for a gluten-free lunch or something. There used to be a Fresno Celiac group that met once a month, but I think it sort of fell apart. I never made it there because it was on a weeknight and my kids are young...

God bless,
Mariann

I'm moving to San Luis Obispo in July for work. Montana is beautiful but I can't wait for the warmer weather (it was 30 below a week ago) and for better food shopping. The closest town big enough to carry a good selection of gluten free foods is 300 miles. I love internet shopping.

Hi I am in Lodi, California. I have been gluten free for about two months now. It is getting easier but I still make mistakes. I had some potatoes from Safeway today and realized they had a seasoning on them. I checked on the website and found out that they were made with wheat flour. Oh well I am still learning.

pturse--
Do you live near Davis, CA? Have you heard of Natural Food Works? I shop at the Davis Food Co-Op, do you?





Oh, I see, you're from Sac. I'm from Dixon. Do you go to the Celiac support group? I haven't gone yet, but I think I should. I would reccommend Trader Joes for shopping... their Thai Kitchen stuff is excellent. I like rice/soy noodles, and the Food For Life Rice bread is really good. If you go to the support group, let me know.

I'm in San Francisco. I've been shopping at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Rainbow Grocery.


As far as Mexican food goes, it seems like all the things you need to worry about only apply to Americanized chains. We have tons of authentic taquerias and Mexican markets in SF. I've made lots of Mexican food from scratch before with ingredients from these stores. You have to worry about cross-contamination from the grill in taquerias, but soy sauce (in the marinade) isn't in real Mexican food. Aside from flour tortillas there just shouldn't be any wheat in real Mexican food. A lot of real taquerias make their stuff from scratch every day. The grilled/asada stuff *might* have something to give it that bbq flavor, but the stewed meats definitely don't have wheat if they are made the authentic way. You can totally make stuff yourself! Mexican markets are all over California.

Hey, I am from Sacramento and I competed in the Celebration of Life Triathlon last September at Scott's Flat lake. My friend's family lives & owns an art shop there too. Nevada City is a great little town. I wasn't following the diet when I was there but you seem to have quite a few restaurants (that vegetrian healthy one in particular) that might cater to you if you asked.

Nevada City was great. We stayed over night and had a great time.

I actually find a lot of gluten-free items up here. We have two health food stores that stock various items, and I've even found a few specifically gluten-free foods in our local market. And the health food stores are very accommodating...they say as soon as I get a list of requested items they'll see what they can get. They say there are a fair number of celiacs up here who look for things.

I found a pretty good selection of gluten free products (at a reasonable cost) at Elliot Foods in Sacramento. It is across from Country Club. I was pretty excited about some of the foods.

My mom goes there. I also found a fair number of items at Sunrise Natural Foods in Sacto...can't remember exactly where it was. That store had a bit more than the Sunrise in Auburn.

Wow. Thanks for the tips about Elliots and Sunrise! I will have to check those out. Next time I am in Nevada City I will check out some of the stores up there as well.

I'd be interested to know how that went for you - I had an AWFUL time trying to eat there...


Damn...

Sure wish I'd seen taht BEFORE my trip. I mostly starved while I was there...

Oh, and I'm in San Francisco.

By the by - if any of you in the Bay Area are looking for a good Japanese restaurant, try Minako Restaurant on Mission (between, I think 17th & 18th - or somewhere areound there). The owner is a good friend of mine, and it is a total family operation - her mom makes everything. She also says people bring thier own wheat-free tamari sauce in all the time. I've found that eating out in ethnic restaurants can be a hassle if you can't communicate with the staff (a real problem with "authentic" places). But rest assured, they speak fluent english & Japanese & the food IS authentic.

Well, I won't say it was easy, but I survived mostly. I took a lot of my own stuff with me like Bumble Bars, Lara Bars, home made trail mix and a jar of natural peanut butter. Our room had a refrigerator so I was able to eat my bumble bars with peanut butter for early breakfast, then we'd go eat at one of the diners that was just a half block from our hotel. They had a great low carb burger which I modified to be completely gluten free. Inside the park I ate turkey legs and was so happy to see they had lots of fresh fruit at little stands. I had a bad stomach pain on two days...it was hard to tell exactly what it was from. I had the turkey leg both days, but also ate at the restaurant both days and on one of those days had McDonald's french fries. I took the trail mix and some of the bars with me into the park for snacking just in case I couldn't find anything else to eat.

The hotel we stayed at was really great about making me a great lunch the first day we were there...my two friends were actually jealous of my lunch, lol.

I'm glad that you survived at Disneyland! When I went there, I didn't know about all of the gluten free options, so I starved the whole time! At least I'll know for next time.

Thanks to everyone who posted stores that sell gluten-free foods. The best local place that I have found in Raley's, but they don't have a huge selection of things, so I can't wait to check out these other places. Oh, and by the way, I live in Modesto and it's nice to see some local people on here.

-Danielle

Corinne - I live in SLO County - South end of the county. You'll love it here... very friendly and a wonderful farmers market every Thurs. night. SLO has some good health food stores also, and restaurants are eager to SERVE their customers. I find I can eat out easily.

Am looking for a group here. Anyone in SLO or Santa Barbara counties know of a group locally?

~~Barbara

Barbara - I'm starting a teaching job at Cal Poly and I'm SOOO excited. I didn't get to see much of the town when I came out for the interview (which was pretty much my first time in California), but it looks like a beautiful area. The farmer's market sounds good and I love seafood.

Hi, I'm in Southern California and I have had celiac for 6 months. I forgot and ate a pickle the other day and got sick. haha Anyway, it tasted SO good since I haven't had one in so long!
Well, I didn't eat red meat for 10 years, so now that I'm celiac I decided to go back to red meat. I still don't have a major affinity for it, but I do like a good steak now.
I love CLARK's Nutrition store. I actually got goosebumps when I saw the GIANT sign hanging from the ceiling that said Gluten Free! haha I also go to Henry's Market. I like the frozen gluten-free waffles from Van's. I put them in the oven so they're crunchy. I also make my own stews and soups in the crock pot. I make lots and freeze it for another time.
I eat a lot of shrimp, sushi, and fish, also. Make friends with a local sushi chef so he knows what you can and can't have. I enjoy eating "white" foods that my friends on diets can't have. haha As far as restaurants, I just order steamed rice and corn tortilla tacos and chips a lot. Salads without croutons. I love eggrolls and spring rolls- just make sure they use the rice wrapper. Sometimes I don't even ask and I still don't get sick from them. Plus I can eat the red sweet sauce they serve with it! haha
The miso soup made me very sick. On the list that was listed as a "maybe".
I also found a local donut shop that'll make me GREAT donuts that don't make me sick!
I love the gluten-free corn muffin mix- a little crumbly on the top, but I just use spray butter and jam. Yum!
I have a gluten-free pancake mix that I use, but I just have to think of them as crepes, since they don't taste like pancakes at all. You can taste the rice flavor. So I just put jam or gluten-free syrup on them.
I thought things were expensive at first, but once you find out what you like, you only buy those things and there isn't as much wasted food and $$.

Oh, I TRAVEL a lot! I take Quaker instant grits and use the coffee maker to boil water and empty the packet in a coffee cup and dump in the water and mmmmmmmmmm!!
I also eat real potato chips, popsicles, popcorn, dried cranberries and chocolate for snacks when I'm out and about! I order cobb salads at the Laker games I go to. I like the baked potatoes and Frosties at Wendy's, since some guys I date like fast food.
Anyway, hope I gave ya some ideas!
B

Hi,

I run the Central Valley Celiacs(CSA) support group based in Manteca. I just had a meeting(I post on the calendar here) April 30th and had people come from as far away as Lodi and Merced! I shop at Raley's, Pak'nSave, Trader Joe's and a few health food stores in Stockton and Tracy. I have eaten out locally at a Mexican restaurant and In'nOut (you have to be very specific and watch them prepare your order-last time I caught a girl touching lettuce for my protein burger and then touching buns!) but don't eat out much yet simply because I have a family/expense. I showed the owner my Triumph Dining Card http://triumphdining.com/ and we were able to identify what my daughter and I could eat. It might be best if you can find small places where the owner is the cook or there is a chef that you talk to directly-not just workers.
My name is listed on the support group contacts page here so you can get in touch with me. Hope to hear from you!

Karen Cadiz

Great ideas! Wish you two lived closer, we could go to lunch! When I first posted that, I was so new to Celiac and so bewildered...this board has been a lifesaver. But, I am always learning something new here, which is great.

By the way, what do you order at Sushi bars? I never thought of going because I definitely have to eat sushi w/ soy (and wasabi - is that safe?)...DUH, can take my own wheat-free soy sauce.

Thanks girls!

Susan -
I'm in Redlands, CA and I've been off for around 4 months now. Interestingly, I found Mexican one of the easiest foods to eat. I just order fajitas with corn tortillas and make my own. I hope you've been having a better time of late.

Hello, I live in Rohnert Park Ca. Wine country about 45 minutes north of San Francisco. 1.5 hrs from Sacramento.
I haven't gone out to eat because I am so afraid to get sick. Soon as I can I want to go to Outback I saw there menu online beside learning on this board that they have a gluten free menu. Now hearing about mexican for which I love Maybe I will venture out to get a taco at Sonoma Taco. I love their food. Iam going to order the eating out cards, does anyone have an opinion on them.

I have learned so much since I found this board.



Rebecca

I have repeated my self I had comepletely forgotten that I spoke of where I live before.
on another site, here on the board. Sometimes I can't get out what I want to say even. Sorry......

Dear Mariann:

I live in Fresno, have been gluten free since January 2007, and am wondering if you still come into town on your shopping errands. I would like to help form a group to support celiacs in the Fresno area and thought you might be interested in this endeavor, as your busy schedule permits. While experiencing a number of serious symptoms, I was diagnosed with celiac disease about a month ago by means of a blood test, and also avoid soy, dairy, and eggs, which showed up on a food-sensitivity test I gave with a saliva sample about three months ago. I've been doing very well in the past couple of months.

Incidentally, I agree that PF Chang's in River Park is a wonderful restaurant; but it's a little pricey for me. I agree that the staff there know how to treat celiacs right. I'm wondering what you've ordered to eat at Mimi's Cafe and the Elephant Bar. Myself, I go out to eat at El Pollo Loco (plain grilled chicken with corn tortillas, plain pinto beans, and steamed vegetables) and In N Out Burger ("protein burger," raw onion, and french fries).

Paul

Hi Everyone,
I saw a lot of people mentioning Sacramento and Davis, which was quite a relief for me because I'll be moving there at the end of September. I'm moving to Davis because I'm attending the University, which I'm SO nervous about because I'll be dorming as a celiac (with a ton of other allergies). I'm currently gluten-free and also not consuming anything that comes from an animal (or IS an animal for that matter) because I react to it...and I also react to oil. So I'd appreciate ANY advice anyone would have for shopping or eating in the area, because I'd like to go in feeling a little more prepared!

Hey there,

I was just at the student health center at UC Davis, seeing my doctor, and he asked if I wanted to see a nutritionist. Given all your food issues, I'd imagine it's very tough to get all the nutrients/fats/proteins, etc. that the body needs. I'd recommend you make an appointment to see a nutritionist ASAP.

I've graduated, but am working at the university through September at least. Feel free to ask any questions!

Geoff

Hey, I'm in Calif! In the foothills east of Lodi. And my parents live in Clovis which I visit every couple of months.



PF Changs and Outback have worked for me. Picnicing seems to work out best though.

San Jose CA here.

I've been making homemade stuff mostly and have had some good successes. It's cheaper than buying expensive pre-made gluten stuff if your careful about what you get. Trader Joes has almond meal and flax meal for reasonable prices. I found glutinous(sweet) rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and rice noodles for inexpensively at Chinese markets around here and Chana or Besan flour (chickpea flour), Sorghum, Millet, and sweet corn flour at reasonable prices at an Indian grocery. You'll have to do a lot of recipie research and trial and error to get stuff you like though ; D

For eating out, I do a double burger protein style (lettuce wrapped) at several different fast food burger places and so far haven't gotten sick. My favorite is In-N-Out because they have fries I can eat safely too. I've also done sushi at a Japanese restaurant, but have to be aware what has soy sauce (with wheat) or if their imitation crab has wheat. I've heard PF Changs, Outbacks, Baja Fresh, and El Pollo Loco are OK if you pick the right things, but I've not tried them yet. Pretty much any eating out has high risks and I've taken to avoiding it if at all possible. Go to enjoy the company and eat before or after.

Hi Rosewynde!!
I'm moving back to SJ after thank-god-not-yet-2-yrs in Phoenix!
Wondering if u have a favorite (or two) sushi place in the S. Bay! I SOOOoooo miss sushi.
I've had other celiac-caused issues that have prevented me from eating much beyond what I bring to my house raw & make myself.
But THOSE days are more over every week!!
I was @Tengu, downtown, on 3rd a couple wks ago but wasn't yet ready to go for it.
Well . . . . .if I could've talked to the chef, maybe, but there was some weird smell that made me take a table outside and let dining partner order for herself. (Hehehehe a friend's 8yr old who loves sushi!)

Anyway - I WANT SUSHI!!
Any help greatly appreciated!



P.S.

Ole deeng-gor-rrrrRRREEE-TA!!

Aposte que has tenido muchos de alimento mexicano desde entonces!!

A dingy post lives on!! LOL
Surprised I'd never even looked in this entire section before.

Go early and bring your own bottle of Tamari. I've had really good luck with that. Naked Fish up here in South Lake Tahoe is very good ($$$'s though). There is a Japanese restaurant in Carpenteria that has excellent sushi, inexpensive. Bob

Hey Bob!!
Thx for the S. Tahoe tip! I used to, and expect to, go there regularly.
A cousin used to lived just houses away from some that just burned - ugh!!

Sadly, I won't be having any soy sauce of any sort. My brain just woke up in early June while trying soy elimination test. So I'm NoSoyBoy from here on out!!!

But I expect to still enjoy sushi, albeit in a new way, w/ no soy/wasabi mixture. Argh! It better still be awesome!!!

Do you work directly or indirectly in the tourism industry? Casino biz? I can't think of what else goes on economy-wise.

Oh MAN I used to love my Tahoe trips!!

I'm in San Mateo (about 15 minutes south of San Francisco). Just wanted to give you all an FYI on prpobably the least expensive place to get your gluten free flours and noodles: Ranch 99 Market. I go there for all my noodles (rice, tapioca, bean thread, and sweet potato flours) and I get my tapioca and rice flour there also (rice flour for $.79 versus $4.89 for the same brand at Whole foods). Plus alot of the Malyasian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Singapore style sauces/curries are gluten free (no soy sauce). Of course any Asian market will do, but Ranch 99 has the best prices...plus you can sign up for one of their "membership" cards (like a Safeway Club card) for free and get special discounts. I would have to say my family does about 60-70% of our shopping there and fill in the rest at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Molly Stones (they have fab produce!).

Meemsy

Hey thanks Meemsy !!

I haven't been to a Ranch99 in a long time, and never often. Used to go by one in Milpitas regularly, but can't quite remember *why*!
Oh wait I bet it was a rush-hour off-freeway shortcut!!

I was in SJ yesterday, but now back again in (ugh)Phoenix.
I NEED TO MOVE ASAP!!!!!!

Next time I'm there I'll give Ranch99 a new look.
Thanks again!!

I'm in Big Bear in San Bernardino County south east of Los Angeles.

I've taken to making my own sushi. There's a sushi place in town but it's so expensive. Discovered making sushi isn't all that hard really. I'm picky about the fish I use, but homemade sushi has become a staple.

I don't bother with restaurants much. I can't have corn or anything with sodium nitrates either, so trying to eat in a Mexican restaurant would be pretty pointless. One of the local italian restaurant makes a good anti pasta salad and I have them leave the meat off. They've been pretty careful, plus they have a kitchen where I can watch them work, LOL.

We have one small organic store which stocks some special gluten free stuff, but by and large it's not worth it to me because of the price. I go there mostly because they carry the wheat free soy sauce and the red chili sauce from Thai Kitcen.

I can't quite bring myself to drive all the way down the mountain to shop at a Whole Foods or something that might offer a bigger selection of gluten-free stuff. I can't justify the hour down and hour back up and the gas. So I eat mostly whole foods and almost no pre-packed stuff.

violet

Hi Violet!

I can barely believe I haven't tried making my own!!
I'd seen a SIL make sushi many years ago, and it STILL didn't come to mind!

So . . . . . .any tips on where to get fish that's good enough?
Or on which to attempt making 1st?

Do u do anything special to the rice? I think at a restaurant it's called 'vinegared rice'.

Thanks for the idea!!
Mmmmmmm I can't wait.

I've been making my own sushi a lot lately. You can google tons of good recipes. For the rice I add Rice vinegar and sugar. We buy our fish at a small asian market, but I always talk to the proprietor about what is fresh. We go there often enough, and once or twice he's said "not for sushi" but most of his stuff is pretty fresh, the place is pretty busy. I can't really offer to many good tips beyond what's on the websites you'd see if you google "make your own sushi" but one thing I found recently that works great, that I've never seen on a website-

Lots of sites will tell you to use Saran Wrap to roll "inside out rolls" where rice and some topping are on the outside. I was finding this tough, as it sticks to itself and is hard ot work with. I ended up using gallon sized ziploc bags. the rice won't stick, and it has enough "weight" to it to use to pick it up which helps when flipping it. Serve someone a homemade rainbow roll, stuffed with fun stuff and topped with avocado, tuna and salmon, and I guarantee they'll be impressed.

Geoff

Ahhhh yes!
Thx for the info Geoff!

I'm sure small asian markets will work for me too.

I didn't know whether there were more gluten-free tips beyond tamari.
I guess not.

I haven't had vinegar or sugar or tamari for >2 yrs so I might end up w/ just fish!!
And I'll love every bite!!

I've mostly used salmon for sushi, in part because we've got limited options up here. Well, and I love raw salmon. The wild salmon is tough to work with, but has a different flavor than farm salmon, just a little wilder tasting and not as uniform a texture. Occasionally Vons will have a good piece of tuna that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Tuna really needs to be nice and red. If it's pale or the color of swordfish I pass on it.

I love salmon and avocado rolls. That's my staple I use aluminum foil to wrap the sushi with. It' helps get it rolled up. I use a little garlic rice vinegar in the rice, and I buy the sushi rice. Sushi rice is a must because it's shorter grain and it's stickier so it's easier to get it to hold together. A wooden spoon for the rice and a sharp knife for cutting are essential too.

I start the rice and then begin slicing the fish and whatever else and getting the pieces of foil laid out. Usually by the time everything else is ready the rice is done. I turn the rice out into a glass bowl and mix in some vinagar and let it cool a little. Not too cool though becaseu the warmth of the rice helps soften up the nori

Mmmmmm, I think I just talked myself into salmon rolls for dinner tonight.

Violet