The holidays are coming up, and it’s time for so many great treats: Christmas cookies, Thanksgiving pies, cakes, breads and pastry. For those of us who have gluten sensitivity, it is tough. But it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy sweets and other goodies.

I am not a nurse, dietician or expert in following a gluten-free diet. I am just a person who is stuck with a gluten sensitivity diagnosis. There are people who follow a gluten-free diet by choice. For me, it’s not a choice. It is pure necessity, and requires a lot of education to get used to the gluten-free lifestyle.

One of my husband’s favorite phrases when we go out for pizza is, “you can eat the pizza or eat the box.” He is referring to gluten-free pizza.

Out of nowhere, I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in 2012. I had seen several doctors and a gastroenterologist who were baffled at my brain fog, rashes and stomach issues. Finally, a nurse in the gastroenterologist’s office said, “I don’t know why they are having so much trouble diagnosing you. You have all the symptoms of gluten sensitivity.”

I knew absolutely nothing about gluten. I thought she meant “glucose,” and I immediately had thoughts of never having anything with sugar. She explained the condition and recommended several books which I immediately bought.

After the nurse proclaimed her diagnosis, she explained it to the doctor. That seemed to be a backwards process to me. Several months later, I had a test for celiac disease. Fortunately, I did not have it. Celiac disease is when the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, resulting in difficulty with digestion. Though celiac disease is different and more serious than gluten sensitivity, the prevention is the same – no gluten.

I am not a doctor (“nor do I play one on TV”), but simply put, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Yes, that’s all the good stuff: bread, cakes, pizza crusts and beer. Flour is a major enemy. As painful as it is, that’s the easy stuff to avoid. When you get into sauces and seasonings, it gets much more complicated. The way to avoid gluten is to educate yourself. Reading food labels is essential.

Gluten free people find each other. Just like cat and dog parents, we all find each other in a crowd, on Facebook or through friends. We all talk and compare notes; some good, some bad. When we find a restaurant that proclaims to have gluten-free items, but the item turns out not to be gluten free, (we have been “glutened”), we are very vocal amongst ourselves.

The good news is that in the past 12 years since I was diagnosed, there are many more choices in restaurants and items in grocery stories.

Certain chain restaurants are very good while some look at you like you have two heads when you ask about gluten-free choices. Very generally speaking, the national chains in our area do not offer many, if any, choices. In most cases, good luck finding their gluten-free menus online. When asked if they have gluten-free choices, they will use the argument that they have salads. If you have the misfortune to be gluten intolerant, the last thing you want to hear is salad. We are all sick of lettuce!

Several of our local chains have outstanding gluten-free selections and well-educated staff: Aubrey’s, Connor’s, Chop House, Chesapeake’s and Tomato Head are among them.

This is my list of area restaurants where I have eaten, and the gluten free-choices are good. For those restaurants on the list, I am confident there is no cross-contamination in the kitchen. Cross-contamination is another key word to learn in the gluten free-celiac journey.

By no means is this a complete list. I know there are other restaurants in our area with gluten free selections, so I apologize if I omitted some. Please feel free to email me for more suggestions. I’ll be glad to update this list from time to time.

Bakery – Benefit Your Life Gluten-Free Bakery and Café, 10420 Kingston Pike. The staff is fantastic. They are quite knowledgeable about all ingredients and allergens.

Fast food – Chick-fil-A, Culvers, Chicken Salad Chick

Pizza – Jaboni’s, Uncle Maddio’s, Smoky Mountain Brewery

Mexican – About any Mexican restaurant is safe if you order corn items, not flour items. In other words, no tortillas or soft tacos.

Restaurants – Aubrey’s – They are outstanding. All servers are well educated as to which items contain gluten, and which items are cooked with items that may contain gluten (cross-contamination). Others are Calhoun’s, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Connor’s, Chop House, Tomato Head, French Creperie, Corner16

Asian – Pei Wei, P.F. Chang’s

Seafood – I can’t address this as my husband and I both have severe shellfish allergies. We rarely go to a seafood restaurant because of this; however, Chesapeake’s is particularly good and quite knowledgeable.

Smaller mom and pop restaurants – Be careful. Many do not have gluten-free choices, or they don’t understand the issue. I have had little luck with these in our area.

Best gluten-free restaurant food I’ve ever had – Canada at Epcot – “Le Cellier;” Paris Hotel in Las Vegas – “Mon Ami Gabis.”

Miscellaneous info

Apps – There are a number of apps available. I think the best is Find Me Gluten Free.

Breads – The most available gluten free brands are Udi’s and Rudi’s. In my opinion, they are not very good. The best I’ve found is Pure Knead which is occasionally carried by Kroger. It is very hard to find, and their distribution is spotty. If you can find it, buy a bunch of loaves. It’s better than anything I’ve tasted. ($6-7)

Grocery stores – Some grocery stores make it easy to find gluten-free items and some do not. Food City and Walmart are the easiest stores to navigate. Food City has separate sections, both frozen and unfrozen, for gluten-free items. Walmart has a separate section for unfrozen items. Neither Kroger nor Publix make it easy to find gluten-free food. No matter where you shop, all gluten-free items are more expensive. A good example is frozen pizza. See the difference in prices in the picture.

Did you know these items contain gluten?

Pasta … Red licorice … caramel … certain candy bars … ice cream cake … beer … gravy …dressing (stuffing) … soup, unless it is labeled gluten free.

Melanie Staten is a public relations consultant with her husband, Vince.