For someone newly diagnosed with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, the prospect of eating can become pretty daunting.
There’s no more pasta, fresh-baked bread and definitely no biscuits and gravy – unless it’s made specifically gluten free.
“Since I’ve been open, people have asked or mentioned that they’re newly gluten free and are looking for a resource,” said Karen Wilson, who owns Crave Cafe & Bakery, an exclusively gluten-free eatery. “When you first find out, it’s so overwhelming because gluten is hidden in a lot of products.”
Some of those surprising products include certain brands of soy sauce, salad dressings, canned soup, imitation crab and barbecue flavored potato chips, just to name a few.
For those struggling to navigate a new diagnosis or just looking to learn more about gluten-free eating, there’s a new community group forming. Wilson, who has been gluten free for nine years, is helping start the group and Crave is its sponsor.
The first official meeting Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at Crave, located at Warehouse Row in the food court area.
“We really want this group to be about the people in it, not about [Crave],” said Wilson. “We’re really hoping to get a lot of people involved.”
During the first meeting, she said she will lead a discussion about grocery shopping and label reading. In the future, Wilson said she hopes the group will be able to bring in speakers, share potluck meals and maybe even start a gluten-free dining club that tries gluten-free recipes from restaurants across the city.
“We want to be a group people can turn to for advice and just be a resource in town,” she said.