Armaan’s story: Turning a celiac disease diagnosis into a passion for cooking

Like many kids with celiac disease, Armaan has explained many times – to many people – that he can’t eat gluten. He can’t even come into contact with small, hidden traces of gluten, which can be lurking in everything from toothpaste to Corn Flakes. Gluten is his body’s enemy, attacking the inner lining of his small intestine.

To avoid serious growth, nutrition and long-term health problems, Armaan has to do everything possible to avoid ingesting gluten, a common protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

When he was younger, Armaan struggled to know how to talk about having celiac disease. But now, at age 13, he’s no longer bothered by questions from classmates about what celiac disease is or what causes celiac disease. And he’s quick to correct anyone who expresses some version of, "Having celiac disease must be so hard and sad."

Instead, his diagnosis has provided a series of opportunities: to learn more about food and healthy eating, to become closer to his family, to learn to cook – and to share his story and the delicious gluten-free recipes his family has created with others.

Getting connected to Children’s Health celiac program

When Armaan was six years old, he was having constant stomach aches and his family was living in Canada. His parents also noticed he wasn’t gaining weight and couldn’t seem to remember much of what his parents or teachers told him. Concerned, they took him to see a few different doctors. Several tests later, including a biopsy of his intestine, Armaan was diagnosed with celiac disease.

"After we removed gluten from his diet, he started getting the nutrients he needed. And he was a different kid – who had a sharp mind and could excel at school," said Azad, Armaan's dad.

When his family moved to Texas from Canada, Armaan's doctor recommended Michele Alkalay, M.D., Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Director of the Pediatric and Childhood Celiac Disease Program at Children’s Health and Associate Professor at UT Southwestern.

Armaan and his parents instantly liked Dr. Alkalay and could feel her passion for her work. Armaan also made a strong impression on Dr. Alkalay.

They were glad to have Dr. Alkalay on their side when, out of nowhere, Armaan developed severe stomach pain, even though he was following a strict, gluten-free diet.

"For months, Armaan’s stomach pain was so intense for 3 to 4 hours in the evenings that it brought him to tears, in a way I hadn’t seen since he was a baby," Azad said.

After a series of tests and a visit to the Emergency Room, Dr. Alkalay diagnosed Armaan with lactose intolerance. This is very common in kids with celiac disease because the disease affects the lining of the small intestine, which contains the protein that helps break down lactose.

Upon hearing this diagnosis, Azad hugged Dr. Alkalay and called her an angel. He was so happy his son’s agonizing pain could be alleviated. And Armaan felt like subbing vegan cheese was a small price to pay to avoid more agonizing stomach aches.

Bonding over becoming a gluten-free family

Armaan is quick to credit his positive outlook on living with celiac disease to his mom and dad. He knows they took a big step when they decided to become gluten-free themselves – and how much love was in that decision.

Armaan's older brother, Khajan, also made the choice to live gluten-free – in solidarity. "Whenever we go to the store, Khajan is the first one to read the labels. And he won't eat anything that his younger brother can't eat," said Azad.

Azad and his wife, Avinder, admit that eliminating gluten was hard and a little depressing at first, especially since so many Indian foods contain gluten, and cooking is an important part of their culture. But now he thinks Armaan’s diagnosis and everyone becoming gluten-free has created an even stronger family bond.

"My wife is a wonderful cook and has perfected the art of cooking homemade gluten-free rotis, a type of Indian flatbread, and she’s taught me to make them too," said Azad. "And we’re definitely all healthier because so many commercial, packaged foods – and a lot of gluten-free products – are not at all healthy."

All four members of their family now know how to read labels, find recipes and prepare homemade, delicious gluten-free foods.

But Armaan was the one who decided to share his family’s best recipes with others.

"My brother told me about a competition on the popular, how-to website, Instructables. So I entered – and a handful of my recipes got featured there," said Armaan. Now, Armaan's tried-and-true recipes have inspired more than 8,000 viewers to see how delicious, healthy and simple gluten-free cooking can be.

A gluten-free lifestyle that’s not as hard as people think

Armaan said his family has one key gluten-free ingredient: buckwheat flour.

It's the base of two of his most popular recipes: his pizza crust and buckwheat pancakes.

Despite having the word "wheat" in its name, buckwheat grains are entirely gluten-free. And Armaan and his family actually make their own buckwheat flour at home.

"We didn’t want to pay $8 per pound for buckwheat flour at the store. So we got connected to an organic farm in Oregon that does a monthly drop in Dallas and we get our buckwheat grains for a little over $1 a pound," said Azad.

Armaan tells families it’s very easy to make your own buckwheat flour at home and you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination. (Many commercial products are produced in facilities that process wheat and can contain trace amounts of wheat.)

To make their busy weekday mornings go more smoothly, they always spend a few hours on Sunday prepping homemade grab-and-go breakfast items – one batch of buckwheat pancakes or waffles that everyone can reheat on their own and one batch of gluten-free banana bread or muffins.

Keeping it real, normal – and fun

When Dr. Alkalay helped launch the Pediatric and Childhood Celiac Disease Program in North Texas, she had a vision of making it a place for families to learn and get support – but also have fun. Their center hosts parties for families like Armaan’s but also welcomes all families, even if they’re not existing patients.

Dr. Alkalay also recommends support groups like Generation GF, where families can share what it’s like to live with celiac – and give recommendations of how to keep life "normal."

"We always had a tradition of eating pizza as a family and watching a movie together on Friday nights. And, at first, we used to order a pizza out. But now, we’ve perfected our own gluten-free pizza recipe and we can’t imagine ordering out because our own version is so easy and delicious," said Azad.

To date, Armaan’s most "fun" recipe is the one that he and his brother experimented with on a hot, summer day. Their "fruit cake pops" are made with frozen watermelon, mango, blueberries and yogurt – and use a celery stick as the handle.

He's got plans to add more recipes to his blog on Instagram over the summer, including a taco one and a few smoothie recipes. For the moment, his life feels full with schoolwork, acting in a recent, whimsical production of the SpongeBob musical – and working on coding a chess program.

Learn more

Approximately 1 in every 130 children has celiac disease, and some show few or no symptoms. The Pediatric and Childhood Celiac Disease Program is the only medical pediatric celiac disease program in North Texas. It offers whole-person, whole-family care to help families diagnose and live better with celiac disease. The program includes a team of celiac specialists including a dedicated dietitian who is a trained expert in gluten-free eating and a social worker who helps families get school support through 504 plans.