Gluten Free Tweeting – Using Twitter to Support Your Gluten Free Lifestyle

Well I’m back from wedded bliss. I’ve gone to the grocery after having not done so for 2 mos. I’ve cooked two meals this week. Not even sure when that last happened.  I’m back to eating gluten free all over Austin. As my first post back, I want to talk about an invaluable gluten free resource: Twitter.

I avoided Twitter for years because I just didn’t get the purpose. In addition, I didn’t want one more internet site to keep up with. Facebook & email were quite enough for me. However, an Austin gluten free friend changed my mind. At lunch one day, she told me the gluten free (or vegan, dairy free, etc) community is extremely strong and vocal on Twitter. I joined and quickly discovered she was correct.

Twitter has hundreds, I’m sure thousands, of gluten free chefs, recipes, and bloggers. Some are doctors, some are moms, some are young teens. It’s amazing how much gluten free information passes in front of my eyes on my Twitter feed.

If you are gluten free, whether new to it or not, Twitter is a valuable resource. Even if you never send out a “tweet” (message to people following you), join just to read what others are saying. It’s a place to share, to find support, to ask questions. It really is remarkable. I will share a few examples of how Twitter has been helpful to me.

I headed to Denver to visit my family a few months ago, and I wanted to know the best & tastiest gluten free restaurants in town. I sent out a tweet a few days before my departure and had over 10 recommendations within just 24 hours. Hearing about places gluten intolerant people eat is, in my opinion, more trustworthy that scouring the internet with its outdated articles and mistagged websites. While I still double check the restaurants before sitting down to dine, when it’s a recommendation straight from a person’s mouth, I at least know where to start. I’ve successfully eaten gluten free in quite a few cities that way. Unfortunately a lot of restaurants don’t post their gluten free menus online, and so often googling isn’t helpful.

Another example occurred a few months ago when I was dining at a local restaurant and debated with a friend about if bleu cheese was gluten free. I headed straight to my phone to use Twitter to ask other’s opinions. One of the most popular gluten free bloggers (Gluten Free Girl) answered me, along with several others, by providing a link to a study conducted by the Canadian Celiac Association proving that bleu cheese was in fact gluten free.

I got this response before our entrees had even been served. There is no other form of communication where I’ve found you can get so much information so quickly.

Lastly, there are so many good gluten free bloggers out there I may never have known about if not for Twitter. I’ve got an abundance of recipes, many complete with a multitude of substitutions to accommodate all diets, at my fingertips, and for free. If you’re a cook, you can share yours. You can also make friends. There is a closeness, a feeling of community, amongst these gluten free people.

Try Twitter out. I think you’ll be amazed at how much it can offer. Find me & say hi if you like: @glutengirlinatx. Start following some of the people I follow. You’ll figure out your way from there, and if not, shoot me an email.

(You can also find Gluten Free Works on Twitter!)

—————————–
Author Information: Sarah Rodenberg, Austin, TX
Sarah Rodenberg loves all things gluten free. She also loves local & organically grown food. She also loves dessert. That’s often difficult for someone with gluten intolerance, yet she perseveres. Sarah runs her own gluten free blog Gluten Girl in Austin and interns at a local organic food delivery company planning its monthly events. She works a full time “boring” job to support her love of food and gluten free dessert. Contact Sarah.