Our Story Our story begins over 20 years ago with our sons, Lee and Travis. While living in Ohio, my oldest son Lee, became very ill with symptoms of classical Celiac Disease. At one year old he weighed just 14 tiny pounds and had reached the point of severe dehydration. He had been through so many doctors and testing that led nowhere. With a strong will to live, the right doctor (at last!) and very determined parents, our son was finally given the correct diagnoses. Travis was born the next year and was healthy and thriving... until he started on solid foods! We knew where his symptoms were leading, and the test confirmed he was also a Celiac. The first few years, we were just so thankful to see our children healthy and growing, especially after the helpless feeling we had before Lee was diagnosed. A few years later, my husband and I also started on the gluten-free diet as symptoms of the disease became apparent and testing also confirmed. The Gluten Free diet is the only treatment for the disease About Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance Celiac Disease, also known as Gluten Intolerance is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the small intestine. The ingestion of gluten, the proteins found in wheat, rye, oats, and barley cause symptoms to occur. This digestive disease often causes damages to the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. When people with Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine and/or other symptoms. Related disorders Dermatitis Herpetiformis Thyroid Disease Systemic LupusType 1 Diabetes Liver Disease Collagen Vascular Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjögren's Syndrome Depression Anemia MS Autism Ovarian and other cancers Many autoimmune diseases other than celiac disease show improvement in symptoms or remission when using the gluten-free diet! We all worked hard to learn how to make sure the food was safe. Good tasting was another story! Good food and Gluten-Free were not always synonymous! Through years of trial and err we learned to make food that looked and tasted great. More importantly to the boys, they looked and tasted like the ‘real thing’! Having safe food to treat a disease is important, but food also is a social issue. We eat and have foods for all occasions and moods. When you cannot join friends for a slice of pizza, munch a cookie or have a Big Mac®, it does have an impact on you! Working with the boys in the settings of school, sleepovers, camps, etc. Made us realize the need for foods that were fun, convenient and delicious! We are now into a new generation of Celiacs in our family with our grandsons, Christofer and Logan. Christofer was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A strong correlation between Celiac Disease and Autism has been established. A gluten-free/lactose-free diet is recommended as part of the treatment for Autism. Because of this, our products are also milk free. Since being on the gluten-free/milk free diet, Christofer has made tremendous progress! Because we saw the need for products that had great flavor and texture (like the real thing), we developed our line of Gluten-Free Essentials Baking Mixes. Now those with gluten Sensitivity can enjoy our easy to use products that keep the smiles coming!