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A review by bartlebies
Gluten Is My Bitch: Rants, Recipes, and Ridiculousness for the Gluten-Free by April Peveteaux
5.0
Allow me to wax poetic about this book for a few minutes. I’ve only recently been diagnosed with Celiac, although I’ve been dealing with the symptoms for close to a year now and this book is a godsend. Most of my research before now has come from forums on celiac.com, which number in the hundreds-of-thousands and aren’t comprehensive in any form of the word. I was able to glean the very basics of what it takes to be truly gluten-free, and I also got really specific information I’ll never have any use for.
All that said, this book should be handed out to every newly-diagnosed gluten-intolerant. I’ll briefly mention the humor – there’s nothing more depressing than reading about your chronic autoimmune disease that forces you to never eat cinnamon rolls again and not even be able to laugh about it. Peveteaux knows exactly how to turn that gluten-less frown upside-down (to the best of her ability; there’s still no cinnamon rolls involved, so…).
In my cursory research, I found myself with about 60% more anxiety about being a celiac-sufferer after reading those forums because EVERYTHING SUCKS and THERE’S NO HELP FOR US! This book really covers all its bases. I found myself wondering if she was going to cover this obscure gluten-related topic or the other, and she did! From the first few weeks of learning you’re basically about to hate everyone around you for being able to eat a baguette, to the evils of cross-contamination, to other restrictive diets, to traveling in the USA or overseas, to airplane food, to debunked meds, to current research on treatments, to helpful hints for parents with celiac kids, to an updated (2013) chapter on gluten-related updates - it's all there! All that, plus a full stock of varied recipes.
This book is inundated with tips for the newbie as well as the celiac veteran, all done with an amazing amount of levity. I only wish I could convince everyone else in my life to read this book so they might realize that Yes, I know that bag says “gluten-free”, but No, that doesn’t actually mean I can eat it. Yes, I appreciate that you're willing to cook gluten-free for me, but No, I don't trust that you've sufficiently bleached every surface of your counterspace beforehand.
She even has a story about asking a server at Chipotle to change his gloves – a situation I’ve very specifically been dreading! I knew from the moment I was diagnosed that my inability to speak up for myself was going to be an issue, especially when it comes to eating out. I wish I had someone in my corner to do it for me, but I suppose I’ll have to be my own advocate. At any rate, I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one struggling with speaking out and sounding like an asshole when really all I want to do is not DIE, thanks.
Now with a full list of all the kitchen and cooking equipment I’ll need to keep a shared kitchen from become a death sentence, I’m poised to drop another $500 on a debilitating and expensive illness. Yay! At least Peveteaux’s book will be there for me to commiserate after the fact.
All that said, this book should be handed out to every newly-diagnosed gluten-intolerant. I’ll briefly mention the humor – there’s nothing more depressing than reading about your chronic autoimmune disease that forces you to never eat cinnamon rolls again and not even be able to laugh about it. Peveteaux knows exactly how to turn that gluten-less frown upside-down (to the best of her ability; there’s still no cinnamon rolls involved, so…).
In my cursory research, I found myself with about 60% more anxiety about being a celiac-sufferer after reading those forums because EVERYTHING SUCKS and THERE’S NO HELP FOR US! This book really covers all its bases. I found myself wondering if she was going to cover this obscure gluten-related topic or the other, and she did! From the first few weeks of learning you’re basically about to hate everyone around you for being able to eat a baguette, to the evils of cross-contamination, to other restrictive diets, to traveling in the USA or overseas, to airplane food, to debunked meds, to current research on treatments, to helpful hints for parents with celiac kids, to an updated (2013) chapter on gluten-related updates - it's all there! All that, plus a full stock of varied recipes.
This book is inundated with tips for the newbie as well as the celiac veteran, all done with an amazing amount of levity. I only wish I could convince everyone else in my life to read this book so they might realize that Yes, I know that bag says “gluten-free”, but No, that doesn’t actually mean I can eat it. Yes, I appreciate that you're willing to cook gluten-free for me, but No, I don't trust that you've sufficiently bleached every surface of your counterspace beforehand.
She even has a story about asking a server at Chipotle to change his gloves – a situation I’ve very specifically been dreading! I knew from the moment I was diagnosed that my inability to speak up for myself was going to be an issue, especially when it comes to eating out. I wish I had someone in my corner to do it for me, but I suppose I’ll have to be my own advocate. At any rate, I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one struggling with speaking out and sounding like an asshole when really all I want to do is not DIE, thanks.
Now with a full list of all the kitchen and cooking equipment I’ll need to keep a shared kitchen from become a death sentence, I’m poised to drop another $500 on a debilitating and expensive illness. Yay! At least Peveteaux’s book will be there for me to commiserate after the fact.