One year later

Today marks one year that I've been gluten-free.
I was hoping to come up with something insightful to say about this anniversary, but I really don't have anything. I've learned a lot about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet, but I still have a lot to learn.
At least I learned I'm not going to go hungry. When I got the diagnosis a year ago, with two days before Christmas, I went into a panic over what I could eat over Christmas weekend, when everything would be closed. This year, I'm well prepared.
I find it amusing that people who don't have celiac disease think they can use the gluten-free diet to lose weight. People ask me all the time if I've lost weight. No, I've gained weight because I've replaced a lot of healthy glutenous food with gluten-free snacks like potato chips and Fritos. Those aren't part of a weight loss program.
My biggest concern is that my previous Gluten-free Glutton blog ended in August, for reasons beyond my control. I got a lot of feedback saying the blog was making a difference because of the information I was able to provide to people about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. I started that blog because I realized my position as a newspaper reporter would give me more access to information than a lot of other people could get.
Unfortunately, when I started this blog on my own, I found that without the backing of a newspaper, people are more reluctant to give me some of that information. So this blog hasn't been so successful. So for anyone who actually can find this blog (I can still find my old blog with a Google search but not this one), I apologize for that.
But anyway, I'll continue to pass on any new gluten-free information I can get.
Happy Holidays.

A gluten-free burger and onion rings! But not in Jacksonville, obviously

I finally made it to Yeah! Burger in Atlanta this week. I've been salivating over its menu for months, ever since Jennifer of glutenfreejacksonville.com first told me about it.
Not only can you get a hamburger on a gluten-free bun at Yeah! Burger, but you can also get gluten-free onion rings! This is the first place I've found that offers that.

So on a trip to Atlanta, I went out of my way to get to Yeah! Burger. And it was everything I hoped it would be. Good burger on a bun that held together fine. And the onion rings were quite tasty.
I liked the fact that when I ordered my burger on a gluten-free bun and gluten-free rings, the cashier asked me if I wanted a gluten-free beer with it (they have Bard's).
Yeah! Burger has two locations in Atlanta. I don't know if it's a chain that will expand.
Besides offering gluten-free options, Yeah! Burger also prides itself on its natural and organic ingredients and its eco-friendly environment. My friend who lives in Atlanta pointed out that those attributes are a big deal in Atlanta, but we agreed that it may not be important in a lot of other places, like Jacksonville.
One other note about my trip to Atlanta. We were looking for a place to have a beer so we stopped in a Mellow Mushroom, since the Jacksonville locations not only have gluten-free pizza but also gluten-free beer. But while the Atlanta Mellow Mushroom has gluten-free pizza, it did not offer gluten-free beer. That was disappointing.