{"id":380672,"date":"2026-04-08T03:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/380672\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:09:16","slug":"new-to-eating-gluten-free-in-the-pittsburgh-area-this-guide-will-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/380672\/","title":{"rendered":"New to eating gluten-free in the Pittsburgh area? This guide will help.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you or your child need to eat a gluten-free diet? If you\u2019ve got a kid who\u2019s recently been diagnosed with celiac disease or you\u2019re trying to figure out how to transition to being gluten-free yourself, it can feel challenging. I\u2019ve got your back.<\/p>\n

When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease<\/a> at 12, I was completely overwhelmed by the thought of starting a gluten-free diet. It felt completely impossible to make that change. But it\u2019s been five years and I\u2019ve realized that it is not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be \u2014 especially if you have good information and a bit of support.<\/p>\n

There was no moment when it just clicked for me. Over years, with the support of my parents and doctors, I\u2019ve learned to cope. Now, I can look back and realize my life definitely wasn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n

If you feel as overwhelmed as I did, I\u2019m glad to share advice on some of the lesser-known issues that have tripped me up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Blackbird Market is among the places the author visits for gluten-free ice cream. Photo courtesy of Blackbird co-owners Melanie Vaughan and Denise Muiter.<\/p>\n

What to Know When Grocery Shopping<\/p>\n

Always investigate: Gluten can be found in a lot of places that you would not expect. I\u2019ve accidentally gluten-d myself on both Lindt chocolate truffles and melatonin tablets (a common sleep supplement). Even Chapstick can have gluten. (When I need lip balm, I use the EOS brand, which is gluten-free.)<\/p>\n

There are only two ways to know for sure if something has gluten: Read the list of ingredients or look for the gluten-free label<\/a>, which is regulated by the FDA. Anything that has the gluten-free label is almost certainly OK. (If the food\u2019s package notes possible cross-contamination, just be careful if you\u2019re SUPER sensitive.)<\/p>\n

Learning key things to avoid: When reading a list of ingredients, the big ones you want to look out for are wheat, barley, rye, and malt.<\/p>\n

For a more comprehensive list of ingredients to avoid, click here<\/a> to see a helpful\u00a0 article from the National Institutes of Health that I relied on for my first year.. And, when in doubt, google the questions that you have and look for solid information. Sometimes I still stand in the Walmart aisle, frantically googling whether or not yeast extract is gluten-free.<\/p>\n

Double-check: Sometimes, a company makes a product that has gluten and a gluten-free option. They may put those items in almost-identical packaging right NEXT to each other on the shelf. So read the packages very carefully. Once, I accidentally bought sourdough bread with gluten added and listed as an ingredient, because the package looked the same as the gluten-free one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ella Olsson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

What to Know When Eating Out<\/p>\n

Use websites like FindMeGlutenFree<\/a>: Often, people with celiac disease post on this website about the gluten-free options at restaurants in their area and what their experiences were like. They may mention the variety on the menu, the risk of cross-contamination, etc. It\u2019s a great resource, if you\u2019re looking for somewhere to eat and you don\u2019t know where to start. I use it all the time when I travel.
\nCall Ahead: Even if you\u2019ve found a website that says a restaurant has gluten-free options, it\u2019s always good to double-check. Make sure you clarify that they actually have gluten-free options that you are willing to eat. (As a very picky eater, this point is very important to me. The restaurant might have a salad that is gluten-free, but I\u2019m still not going to eat it.) Also, ask about whether the cross-contamination risk is high or low.
\nLook for GF symbols on the menu: You can be more confident at any restaurant\u00a0 that has gluten-free symbols on their menu. To me, it says that they value their gluten-free customers and are educated about being gluten-free.
\nCommunicate with servers: Even if an item doesn\u2019t say gluten-free, they might be able to make adjustments. Maybe they can put those tater tots in a different fryer or serve that side with corn chips instead of bread. So it\u2019s worth asking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My Recommendations for Eating Out Gluten-Free in the Pittsburgh Area<\/p>\n

There are many great places to dine in the Pittsburgh area if you\u2019re eating gluten-free. I have three favorites \u2014 all located north of the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Springfield Grille (Mars): They have gluten-free symbols on the menu, and I\u2019ve never had an issue with cross-contamination there. I recommend the Spinach Artichoke Dip. If you\u2019re in the mood for dessert, they have a delicious gluten-free chocolate peanut butter pie.<\/p>\n

Baked True North (North Hills): Baked True North is a 100% gluten-free bakery. My favorite item is the lemon bars. The parmesan buns are pretty good, too.<\/p>\n

Blackbird Market (Beaver):\u00a0Blackbird Market is an ice cream shop with a variety of gluten-free and dairy-free ice cream options. You choose your base, mix-ins and toppings from a variety of flavors, and they have a variety of other gluten-free treats.<\/p>\n

I hope my advice has helped you feel a little less overwhelmed. It\u2019s an adjustment, but you will learn. I believe in you! Now go get those lemon bars!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do you or your child need to eat a gluten-free diet? If you\u2019ve got a kid who\u2019s recently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,85,46,543],"class_list":{"0":"post-380672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}