Disney Vacay Part 4: Gluten Free Eating

I know I talked about our food experiences already but I didn't give gluten free dining the attention it deserved.  I casually brushed over it for the sake of getting all of it in one post.  But since it's a huge part of my life, and a huge part of our vacation, here goes......

When we booked our hotel and dining plan, I had not figured out that gluten was the cause of all my health issues.  So we loaded our vacation up with character buffets and awesome restaurants. I follow the Disney Food Blog and get daily updates on the amazing food that Disney has to offer.  And I won't lie...I love good food.  It's probably the reason I'm the size that I am. Oh and the fact that I love bread.  Rolls, breadsticks, biscuits, you name it, I love it!  I was so excited to eat my way through vacation!  Then we figured out my gluten intolerance :/

I was no longer excited for our vacation because what would I eat? Everyone would be enjoying the food and I'd be stuck eating the same thing over and over.  The anxiety I had was enormous.  I hate drawing attention to my allergy as it is.  I hate being an inconvenience to anyone.  And I also hate being one of those people who special order like crazy at restaurants.  So I sulked for a while. Eventually I added my allergy to our dining reservations so they'd be on file.  That was a huge step for me.

All of that changed the minute I found Sarah's blog.  I love reading blogs on the gluten free life but her's was perfect for me.  I finally found another person who loves Disney as much as I do and deals with allergies like I do (although the poor girl has to stay away from dairy too).  After reading her blog posts and emailing back and forth with her, I became more and more comfortable with the idea of ordering according to my allergy.  I gave it a trial run on a weekend trip to Disney with the Hubs.  It definitely broke my stage fright since I had to ask them to call the chef for me.  Since I survived that experience, I was ready for vacation!

When we got to our hotel and headed for lunch, I got my first taste at how the week would be.  I decided what I wanted and waited for the chef to come talk to me.  She was a little abrasive at first but she definitely steered me in the right direction. She told me that they had GF buns but they were extremely tiny so she suggested I order my pulled pork on sandwich bread that was charred.  She was so right!  The bread was HUGE!!!!  Every dining experience I had in the hotel was great!  All the chefs were awesome.  One even carried my tray for me because I was trying to juggle myself and a very unhappy Emmy would was refusing to walk.

Chicken burger on the sandwich bread with allergy fries

The restaurant I was most nervous about eating at was Tony's in Magic Kingdom.  Put a gluten allergy in an Italian restaurant and there might be a problem.  I had reviewed the menu online a few times and had come to terms with the fact that I probably wasn't getting pasta for dinner.  When we were being seated, like any of our other reservations, they made a point to say that the chef would be called to the table to discuss my allergy.  Then the server would say the same thing.  I loved that every cast member there was very aware of the allergy.  The chef came out (I can't remember his name....I was really bad at that.  Next time I need to make a note of the names) and reviewed the menu with me.  He even said they could do a pasta dish for me!!!  It was settled....seafood pasta for this girl!!!!  He made sure GF rolls came out too!!!  My dinner was probably the best GF pasta I've ever tasted!  I really couldn't tell the difference.  It was so big that I didn't even finish it (which I felt bad about).  Dessert was ok.  I had the pistachio creme brulee.  I'm not a huge creme brulee fan but it was okay. I also really liked the fact that the chef was the one to bring my food out to me.  It made me feel just a little bit safer knowing that he was handling the food.

Seafood pasta with GF pasta, shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops and calamari

I had similar experiences at Coral Reef and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot and Cinderella's Royal Table in Magic Kingdom.

We had 3 buffet meals on vacation.  We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary and Play N Dine at Hollywood Studios.  We had lunch at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom.  Our first meal outside of the hotel was at Chef Mickey's.  It was also our first buffet experience.  We got seated, everyone made a point to let me know the chef would come out, then the Hubs went to get his food.  Well wouldn't you know the chef would come out and want to walk the buffet while he was gone.  He was nice enough to say he'd come back so I didn't have to leave my kids alone at the table. When he did come back, he walked me along the buffet line, reviewing each dish available stating whether it was GF or not.  He also said they could make Mickey waffles for me if I wanted.  I, of course, accepted those!  We went back and enjoyed our breakfast.  The down side was my waffles never came out!  I was totally bummed but I survived.  It was crazy busy and he came out to every table that was in our area I think.  I was amazed at how many people have food allergies!  Strength in numbers I guess.

I thoroughly enjoyed every dining experience I had.  I wish desserts would have been a little better (you can only have so much sorbet while others are eating gorgeous cakes and desserts) but I was so impressed.

Strawberry Mousse in a chocolate shell from Tusker House.  Only 1 of 3 desserts I had that wasn't sorbet

The care that the chefs put into the dining experiences is top notch.  Allergies are embraced not looked down upon.  I never once felt bad about having to eat something other than what was on the menu.  I also never felt like I was missing out on something.  That was a big deal for me because until this trip, I looked at my gluten issue as more of a "Scarlett Letter" kind of thing. I had never accepted it.  But after this vacation, and knowing that I can eat amazing food not having to sacrifice my stomach or health, has made me more confident in my eating.  I don't dread going out to eat as much. I don't have a problem asking a server to check with the chef to see if I can eat something. It's helped me truly realize that this is what I need to do to be healthy and I deserve to get what I need.

Thank you Disney Chefs for the amazing gluten free dishes you've created (and those extra pounds I gained)!!!

     

Disney Vacay Part 2: The Food

Let's be honest....you eat a lot on vacation. It's inevitable.  We were blessed with so many amazing food experiences on our trip!  I was very nervous about the dining experience that I was going to have due to my severe gluten intolerance but fear not....I probably ate better than I ever had while I was at Disney!  If you have food allergies, Disney is definitely the place to be!

Like I said yesterday, the Hubs and I decided against getting a family suite in favor of the dining plan and a cheaper room.  Disney offers guests of their resorts the option to include a dining plan in their travel plans.  This allows the guest to have an allotment of meals that are prepaid depending on the plan they choose.  While we explored our Dining Plan options, we figured it was better for us if we bought the deluxe dining plan because it was a little less restrictive when it came to our food credits. There's about 4 different options ranging from Quick Service plans to Platinum plans.  Quick Service means that you walk up to a counter and order food.  Table service means you sit at a table and are waited on.  The Deluxe Dining Plan allows each guest to have 3 meal credits (quick service or table service...it doesn't matter how you use them) and 2 snack credits per night spent at a Disney Resort.  Other plans include just Quick Service dining or 1 Quick Service and 1 Table Service per day.  Each quick service meal included a drink, entree, and desert.  Table service meals included a drink, appetizer, entree, and dessert.  You should never leave a meal hungry on this plan.  We figured if we were going to spend the money on the dining plan (it can be quite expensive) we were going to eat at expensive places.  My OCD totally kicked in and when we booked our vacation in February, I made all of our dining reservations at the same time. Disney recommends that you book dining reservations 180 days in advance so I jumped on it as fast as I could. It was a breath of fresh air knowing that we didn't have to stress about how much meals were going to cost or having to shell out money on snacks for the kids.  And all of this was done prior to the discovery of my gluten intolerance.

I worried about eating at the parks for weeks until I stumbled across Sarah's blog, Gluten Free and Dairy Free at WDW.  She blogs about all of her dining experiences at Disney while managing her allergies.  Reading her posts made a huge weight lift off my shoulders!  I emailed back and forth with her about dining strategies and any hints she had for me.  I felt like I became a smart, more confident allergy diner.  I went into vacation excited to see what the Disney chefs could do for me.

We ate a lot of meals at our hotel. Landscape of Flavors is an exceptional dining location.  I think because Art of Animation is a newer resort, they put an emphasis on healthy choices when they created their menus.  True you can get the normal cheeseburger and pizza but they also offered salads, smoothies, caprese sandwiches, pasta dishes, chicken burgers, and more. The kids ate like kings and queens there too!!!  For an allergy girl, I had such a good experience.  I was totally confident and had no problem talking to with the chefs in each station to see what they could offer me.  On the first day, I was still a little unsure of myself but the chef made me an amazing pulled pork sandwich on GF bread.  It was HUGE and delicious.  The Hubs was so jealous of it that he ordered it the next day (gluten filled of course).  I was dumb and didn't take pics of all my meals but I tried.  For dinner, the chef made me a chicken burger with queso blanco cheese and black bean salsa with allergy fries (they have dedicated fryers and equipment for allergy orders).  It was AMAZING!  So good that I got it for lunch a few days later. I also had a few awesome salads and a great spinach, ham, and feta omelette.

Chicken burger....so good!!!!

A bright and colorful salad under an umbrella at the pool

We did 4 Character meals (Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Play N Dine, and Tusker House) while on vacation which meant buffets.  Cross contamination is a huge concern for me but the chefs put me at ease.  At each restaurant, the chef came out to the table and walked me through the buffet.  He actually went dish by dish explaining whether or not it was safe for me to eat an item. If I had an item special ordered from the buffet, the chef was the one to take the order and he was the one to bring my food out. It was a such a personal touch that it made any insecurity I have about my allergy disappear.  I left every single meal stuffed to the gills but without an upset stomach....win in my book!!!

I might have eaten a ton of these since it was one of the only deserts I could eat (besides sorbet) all week.  Strawberry mousse in a dark chocolate shell.....delish!!!! From Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

At the non-buffet sit down meals we had, I cannot speak enough about the chefs.  Every single one was amazing and never made it seem like I was bothering them with my allergies. They made sure I had my own GF bread or rolls with my meals.  They took the time to review each menu item that was safe for me to eat or how they could make it gluten free.  They also brought my meal out themselves.  Amazing Amazing Amazing

My seafood pasta from Tony's at Magic Kingdom.
GF pasta, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams

Lunch from Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus at Epcot
Asparagus, green beans, corn and roasted chicken (along with an amazing appetizer of salads, salmon, shrimp, and cheese)

Dinner at Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot
Mahi Mahi on a bed of jasmine rice with a lemon shrimp sauce 

My cheese appetizer at Cinderella's Castle (yes we ate at the castle!!!!)
Goat cheese with fig jam, smoked cheddar, blue cheese with honey, and grapes

My Castle dinner
Tilapia with heirloom tomato/quinoa salad

This leaves us with desserts.  I will say that desserts can be a let down if you have allergies.  Most places had at least a sorbet or ice cream option for me. At our hotel, I got gelato, rice crispy treats, or BabyCakes NYC brownie bites. The Hubs got things like this:

Or at dinners, he got chocolate cake or this amazing treat from the Castle:

"The Clock Struck Twelve"
White chocolate mousse in a milk chocolate shell on a graham cracker crust....I was so jealous!!!!!

I did get to eat a flourless chocolate lava cake from Coral Reef which was amazing!!!

I don't know why I can't turn the picture :(

Snacks consisted of drinks, cupcakes, chips, popcorn, bags of candy, cotton candy, and my favorite of all.....

A sweet treat from my favorite coffee shop that just opened in Magic Kingdom!!!!!!!!!

We definitely made the most of our dining experience and got our money's worth too!  I would never stay for more than a weekend without getting the dining plan.  It allowed us to eat at restaurants that we normally wouldn't eat at due to cost.  Plus it adds to the memories we're making with our kids.  We surprised them with dinner in the Castle on our last night of vacation.  We would never had been able to do that for the kids if we had eaten at any of the character dining experiences.  For us, it was the smartest choice.  It might not be the best for everyone but the way we utilized it, it was worth every penny!!!!

Next up......Some of the fun we had!

When I figured it out before the doctor did

I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing me mention my health problems.  Believe me, so am I.  I joke that I turned 30 and my body turned against me.  A small part of me was totally serious every time I said that.

Growing up, I was always getting sinus infections (well I still am) and strep throat.  I had a few injuries that required surgeries and casts. I suffered from the occasional migraine.  But as I got older, and really for the last 2 years, things have gotten horrible.  I spent a week in the hospital trying to figure out what was causing my stomach pain.  That ultimately led to my gallbladder being removed.  From that moment on, I always had some sort of GI distress.  I had never been plagued with stomach issues and let me say, I feel for anyone who has chronic stomach conditions.  It sucks for real.  Living on Zofran and Imodium is no way to live.  My migraines went from being once every 3-6 months to every week.  And my migraines debilitate me.  Like sweating, light sensitive, throwing up debilitating.

Next up....my mysterious leg pain.  I'll spare you the details.  You can read them here.  Weird burning pain from the knee down in both legs that my doctor couldn't explain.  But it went away when I was taking B12 injections.  This, along with crazy extreme fatigue made August-November unbearable for me (and probably for the Hubs).  It was in November I was blessed with my first kidney stone.  Only to be followed up 3 months later (like 2 weeks ago) with a second stone.  I walked in to my doctor's office for my ER follow up and told her there has to be something that's really wrong with me.  She didn't really have any suggestion besides start taking my B12 again and to avoid things that can cause kidney stones.  I left that office a little let down but ready to do whatever I could to prevent another God awful stone.   That's when this Instagram post changed my life.

A list of all the foods that can cause kidney stones

A friend commented on my picture saying that she got horrible kidney stones until she got diagnosed with celiac disease. Since going gluten free, she had not had another stone.  So, being the medical professional that I am,  I went straight to Google to see if there was a correlation between celiac and kidney stones.  And of course there is a correlation.  {Oh I'm leaving out an important detail...when I was in the hospital for my gallbladder, I had a colonoscopy in which the doctor did a biopsy of an area that he thought was celiac disease.  The biopsy was either inconclusive or negative.  I can't remember}

In my googling, I came across an article titled "Celiac Disease Head to Toe."  After reading it, I could not shake the idea that I had a horrible issue with gluten. Maybe I didn't exactly have celiac disease but I was convinced that me and glutens just don't mix.  Here's my list of symptoms that match:
~Migraines
~Sinus headaches
~Sinus problems
~GI problems
~Kidney stones
~Fatigue
~Peripheral neuropathy
~Easy bruising
~Vitamin D deficiency

That's well over 50%, probably closer to 75%, of all the body systems that can be affected by gluten sensitivity. Plus take into consideration the fact that a GI doc was suspicious enough for celiac disease that he biopsied an area of my intestine.  But I wasn't totally convinced until I got to the peripheral neuropathy section.  My neuropathy is only relieved by B12 supplementation.  When I read this statement from the article, I was convinced:
Peripheral neuropathy is a disorder that results in numbness, tingling, and sometimes severe nerve pain in the extremities.  Finger, hands, toes, feet, and lower legs may all be affected. Although usually associated with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy shows up fairly frequently in those with celiac disease, and is fortunately reversible on a gluten free diet supplemented by B-vitamins and some specific amino acids.

This was the best explanation I've been able to find.  The B vitamin supplementation sealed it for me.  Could this be the cause of all my ailments?  Monday couldn't come faster so I could call the doctor.  {Oh another thing I forgot...I was starting to think I was allergic to beef because I'd get violently ill within 10 minutes of eating it.  But after coming up with gluten intolerance, it occurred to the Hubs that I never eat beef alone. It's always with bread or pasta. So it probably wasn't the meat at all}

I did an experiment Sunday night and did not eat any glutens through dinner.  I felt amazing.  Then I had an oreo cheesecake truffle.  Within 10 minutes of eating it, my stomach was in knots.  It had to be the wheat in the cookie.  I was then convinced.

I called my doctor Monday morning and she agreed that I must have a horrible gluten sensitivity.  She didn't feel like I needed to be tested for celiac disease since I had been biopsied before (still not sure how I feel about that) but she told me to go gluten free for 2 weeks.  She said I'd feel better instantly if it was from the glutens.  It was a challenge that I was willing and eager to accept.

Then the anxiety kicked in.  I probably over-googled but I became overwhelmed with eliminating glutens.  I might have thrown a pity party for myself Monday night, tears and all.  But I've done it. Tuesday will be an entire week of being gluten free.  Not only am I feeling great, it's so nice not to spend most of my time in the bathroom (sorry if that was TMI).  I have great energy.  I'm still tired but that's because I haven't been sleeping well, not because I was just waking up exhausted regardless of the number of hours I slept.  I haven't had a headache in 2 weeks but I did just get my contacts adjusted.  And I'm not missing wheat as much as I thought I would.  I'm still trying to navigate my way through my pantry and the grocery store.  I'm still adjusting to the sticker shock too.

But I feel good.  And that's all that matters.