Gluten-free Living as Easy as Pie

By Emily Nichols

September 26, 2012 at 12:00 am

Many stores have increased their selections in gluten-free items.

Photo by Stephanie Pellicano

For months she shared nothing. She refused not out of greed, but out of fear.

“Hey Kristin, you want a piece of gum?” the kids would ask, and she would always deny the

offer.

Kinesiology Junior Kristin Fankhauser now approaches her seventh year living with celiac

disease.

Essentially, celiac disease is intolerance of the small intestine to gluten. Those who are

diagnosed with the disease must avoid wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats.

Both Kristin and her sister, Elisa Fankhauser, have been diagnosed with the disease. Kristin

learned that she had the intolerance just one month after she had seen her sister fall to the

intolerable fate. Celiac disease is often hereditary, and in short time, the lifestyle of their

household completely changed.

“‘What? We can’t have bread?’” Kristin remembers sobbing for her sister, but also for herself.

The initial shock and sadness of a newly diagnosed insensitivity sparked vigilance in their lives

and called for a much more focused diet.

Bread, cookies and cupcakes were difficult to avoid, but even surprising products, such as

lipstick, Chap Stick and even medications (aspirin) became potential risks. Attentiveness became

key. Luckily for the sisters, their parents helped them read all labels, grocery shop effectively

and cook carefully. As the girls finished middle school and high school, they lived and ate

cautiously.

With the start of college, new challenges arose. Life away from home erases the simple luxury of

a safely cooked meal, Kristin says. Grocery shopping became a lofty task when her mom was no

longer by her side down the aisles.

Fortunately, with the increase in awareness and growing understanding for those with gluten

sensitivities, restaurants and grocery stores alike have recently expanded their menus and

department selections in order to accommodate these needs.

Although there are numerous indie cafes and independent restaurants that offer alternative

menus, Kristin finds relieving convenience in mainstream places.

“It’s always nice when the mainstream

places have gluten-free menus,” she says.

She and her sister find food comforts in

chain restaurants such as Pei Wei because

they offer an exclusively gluten-free menu

and they are easy to track down.

The convenient availability of gluten-free

crackers, breads, salad dressings and bagels

in mainstream grocery stores also save

shoppers— like the Fankhauser sisters—

from always needing to track down

specialty stores.

Grocery stores have whole sections devoted

to gluten-free items, but sometimes these

special goods can be more expensive.

Photo by Stephanie Pellicano

Even Target and Safeway have what she needs. However, Kristin admits that it can be slightly

upsetting when she and her roommate both purchase a loaf of bread, but hers is more expensive.

If only it were as simple as cost differences. The gluten-free lifestyle requires cautious planning

and diligent understanding of food products that most consumers do not even consider.

However, eating gluten-free would be a piece of cake for biochemistry senior Brooke Frederick.

Even with the utmost care, some of the most wholesome and careful organic eateries may still

pose a threat to Frederick’s health.

Undoubtedly, celiac disease is serious. But in perspective, Frederick says she would delight in

these simple restrictions—to avoid only wheat, barley, rye and oats. It is not a restriction but a

luxury in her case.

“Celiacs have it good,” Frederick says, while trying to explain her dietary restrictions in simple

terms. “I’d rather have to avoid wheat and gluten.”

It would be quicker to list that which she can eat as opposed to listing what she must avoid. After

she practiced gluten-free eating for nearly 5 years under the assumption that her reactions were

caused by gluten intolerance, Fredrick finally pinpointed her true dietary concerns in her throat.

In February of this year, Frederick learned that she has eosinophilic esophagitis, a condition of

extreme inflammation of the esophagus that often requires elimination dieting to avoid reactivity.

Ironically, wheat is one of the only ingredients Fredrick can eat safely without fears of an

allergic reaction. Elimination diets such as hers are arduous, and her daily efforts call for

extraordinary diligence.

In a list of 60 food items on her allergy test, Fredrick must avoid 43 of them. Not only must she

shun corn, soy and eggs, but she also faces risks in foods like chicken, cucumber, lamb, pork,

green bell peppers and peaches.

With a list so detailed, Fredrick often skips social gatherings.

“Sometimes I feel isolated,” she says. “My friends will ask me to get something to eat at the MU,

and I just think in my head ‘No, I’ll stay behind. I already know I can’t eat anything there.’”

Restrictive diets can pose social threats. For both Fankhauser and Frederick, going out for meals

inflicts an unwarranted stress about what they will choose to eat. The act of ordering a

hamburger without the bun may sound simple, but the associated embarrassment is often enough

to deny an invite.

“I’d rather just not go than sit there like an awkward person,” Frederick says. “I always feel like

I’m the weird girl asking a bunch of questions.”

Fortunately, restaurants and support groups have grown out of collaborative efforts by restricted

dieters to eliminate their everyday worries.

To cope, Kristin and her sister have created “sister dates” that allow them both a delicious meal

without worry. Several online sites offer plentiful options for fun and social outings that are

friendly for the cautious diners.

Gluten-free blogger Jessica Fielding works to ensure that there is ample access to information for

those with nutritional restrictions. Her startup, Gluten Free AZ, offers links to blogs, lists of

recipes and celiac support groups, and even links to an Arizona Gluten Free Directory of

accommodating restaurants.

“I wish something like this would have been around when I was in college,” Fielding says.

Fielding, who has been gluten-free for 10 years, hopes that college students and adults alike can

easily access the tools and resources they need to live and eat stress-free.

Other larger organizations have also taken steps to alleviate the stress of restrictive eating.

“Over the last couple of years, the interest in gluten-free has taken off,” says Lola O’Rourke,

Director of Consumer Education for the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Groups such as this one work to inform and support gluten-free individuals in many areas.

Efforts for youth support are in action, and campaigns for living gluten-free in school and

college are underway, O’Rourke says.

During a time when quick and inexpensive meals are of the most convenience, those with celiac

disease and extreme food allergies face extraordinary inconveniences. With community support

for elimination diets, though, it might soon be easy as pie.

Reach the writer at ejnicho1@asu.edu or via twitter @TheEmilyNichols

Indian Fair & Market brings spirit, tradition

to Phoenix

By Emily Nichols

March 7, 2012 at 12:00 am

Shonto W. Begay stands proudly next to his artwork exhibited at the 54th Annual Heard

Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in downtown Phoenix. (Photo by Brittany Lea)

Rich with tradition, spiritual displays and devoted customs, the 54th Annual Heard Museum

Guild Indian Fair & Market provided an opportunity for cultural appreciation.

The festival in downtown Phoenix combined diverse Native American art and history with

modern elements. The event overflowed with elderly tourists in sun hats and fanny packs.

Adorned with their bright turquoise necklaces, earthy-toned earrings and traditional silver piece

bracelets, it seemed that many winter visitors made sure to stop by the fair.

Among food demonstrations, soothing tribal music, jewelry sales, displays of bronze sculptures

and thousands of intricate paintings and photographs, this event provided attendees with the

unique chance to further their understanding of several native cultures.

Within each of several designated areas labeled “A-L,” hundreds of Native American artists set

up booths for display. Each of the many tribes came to the festival equipped with representations

of their centuries-old beliefs and creative demonstrations of modern tribal artwork.

Just beyond a sign marked “Area C,” jeweler Royce “Eagle Boy” Kohlmeyer of the Jemez

Pueblo tribe set up his elaborate display of award-winning turquoise and silver jewelry. Though

not a miner, Kohlmeyer was well aware of the geological sciences of turquoise.

According to Kohlmeyer, the creation of turquoise takes millions of years and eventually forms

as a gatherable deposit for use. Miners gather the ore, rocks that contain the mineral. Jewelers

like Kohlmeyer buy the colorful material after it has been cut into cabochon as gemstones for

their use.

Turquoise is among the most popular minerals found in Native American jewelry and brightly

embodies extravagant green and blue colors with the occasional hints of earthy brown.

Located straight inside the festival’s entrance, artist Shonto W. Begay of the Navajo tribe sat

humbly inside his artist tent for what he believed to be his sixteenth or seventeenth time.

Despite slight heat exhaustion, Begay was still engaged with his artwork and was content with

being at the festival. He explained it is one of the chances he gets to socialize and reconnect with

fellow artists and friends.

In what he called neo-impressionist art, the Navajo artist transcribes his dreams, nightmares, and

visions of life into intricate paintings that spectacle several small brush strokes in a style similar

to Claude Monet.

The colorful depictions of Native American women, landscapes and tribal men were not limited

just to canvases. Begay believes that his artwork demonstrates his version of an unconventional

reality.

He said, “Painting is as much holding back as it is applying.”

The artist also does Etch A Sketch artwork, twisting and turning the knobs of the old-fashioned

toy to create spectacularly complex native designs of horses, men and women and much more

inside the erasable sands of the screen.

Even though these Etch A Sketch creations can be destroyed, the story and tradition of the

artwork at the festival cannot.

One of the most largely present tribes at the fair and market was the Hopi tribe. At the festival,

the tribe presented their Hopi Cookbook Project in a demonstration under a small tent equipped

with a small projector screen.

Hopi women, Iva Honyestewa and Jessica Quamahongnewa offered educational material and

taste samples of a few of their traditional tribal meals as a part of their efforts to display and

educate others about healthy Hopi dishes. Some of these dishes included noqkwivi which is

comparable to a hominy stew and ongava pitsotiskwit enang which is a version of pork and

beans.

Quamahongnewa mentioned amidst her presentation that their goal with their food

demonstrations was to mix traditional Hopi life with modern life and spread the word about

simple and nutritious Hopi dishes for anyone to enjoy.

Also scattered throughout the festival was the ever-popular and sweet-smelling fry bread that is

associated with traditional Native American cultures, but has become somewhat mainstream.

This light and flaky delicacy can be purchased at several events and venues throughout the U.S.

and was appropriately offered at this tradition-filled festival.

While festivalgoers enjoyed their sweet and savory meals, they could also watch dancing and

performances at the main stage amphitheater or at one of the smaller stages. Soothing tribal

music provided a calm background noise for the busy fair.

Tony Duncan, Darrin Yazzie and Jeremy Dancing Bull of Estun-Bah performed at the Canyon

Stage beside the food vendors during peak lunch hours. The group featured an uptempo Native

American flute, guitar and percussion that combined traditional music with contemporary

sounds.

Festivals like this one incorporate culture, creativity and genuine tradition. Appreciation for the

beliefs and customs of Native American cultures allows for community enrichment as a whole.

Reach the reporter at ejnicho1@asu.edu

DiCiccio pushes efforts to speed up small

business startups

Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:49 am | Updated: 12:49 pm, Fri Oct 5, 2012.

By Emily Nichols Special to AFN | 0 comments

Several members of the audience let out a unified “wow” as Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio

of Ahwatukee Foothills told of his recent efforts to make small business startup almost

instantaneous.

“In the city of Phoenix, you turn in your plans, you walk out with a permit, that day, and you

start your operations that day. That day,” DiCiccio said.

At the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce public policy meeting last Friday, several

members seemed impressed with the efforts by DiCiccio to help small and local businesses.

DiCiccio mentioned in his speech to chamber members that it generally requires “about a six- to

eight-month process” for anyone to open a business.

Alongside councilman Tom Simplot, DiCiccio has recently put forth much of his energy to

change city policies on this issue.

The councilman also claimed that this once lengthy process “is now being done in less than 24

hours” and also touched briefly on the progress made with the Internet as a tool.

“You push a button and submit plans, push another button to get a permit, pay for it then and

there, then have your operations occur instantaneously,” DiCiccio said.

Chamber member Charles Thompson is pleased with DiCiccio’s efforts and appreciates that the

councilman is “streamlining” the process for small businesses. Thompson feels that the approval

process is far too lengthy.

“Small business owners are going in the hole while trying to start the gun,” Thompson said while

energetically commenting on the setback that small businesses face with lengthy approval

regulations.

Although the councilman focused mainly on his successes with the streamlined process for

business approvals, he also touched on hot issues both locally and nationally.

Members of the audience seemed particularly interested in hearing about the hot-button issue

affecting Ahwatukee Foothills, with the controversial extension of the Loop 202 South Mountain

Freeway. DiCiccio’s speech was cut short due to time, but he was sure to provide a small update.

Alongside his update regarding local Ahwatukee issues, DiCiccio was sure to comment more

broadly on his optimism for the future of Phoenix as a whole, and promised again to make

Phoenix an inviting and thriving city.

“I’m the most ecstatic person I’ve ever been,” DiCiccio said. “We’re about 30 to 40 percent of

the way there.”

DiCiccio admitted that there is definitely still work ahead for Phoenix as a whole. Despite the

necessity for much more work, the councilman did remark on the unity within the local Arizona

government.

“The City Council and city of Phoenix are probably more unified than I have ever seen before,”

DiCiccio said.

Additionally, the councilman also mentioned that he, the mayor, and several others “all get along

great.”

These reassuring words came just before the councilman mentioned what a horrendous journey

the past two years have been. Overall, the speech that DiCiccio provided for the Ahwatukee

Foothills Chamber of Commerce was a mixture of information and updates that were seemingly

intended to reassure local community residents of the progress made at the city-wide level.

Douglas Harkey, a member of the chamber, felt enlightened by the speech, and appreciated the

councilman’s “casual” approach.

“To be apprised of some of his conservative successes was pretty cool. I enjoyed it,” Harkey

said. As a means of both informing and updating, the councilman was able to provide local

Ahwatukee businessmen and women with a better understanding of changes that are currently in

motion.