My Blog

After having been diagnosed with celiac disease in 1993, I returned to Norway in 1994 to visit my foreign-exchange family from my high school years. They had been working hard to learn all about celiac disease and to produce food that I could eat while I stayed with them for two weeks. As I entered their house, jet-lagged after a long transatlantic journey, I was met with an example of all their hard work. I couldn't believe my eyes! There on a tray that looked like it had been arranged by Martha Stewart herself, lay beautiful Norwegian celiac-safe open-faced sandwiches. I had my own tray, of course, and the others at the table had another tray of open-faced sandwiches, just as beautifully arranged, but filled with gluten-filled bread.

Open-faced sandwiches are a staple of the Norwegian diet-sometimes eaten at three meals a day. And they are so wonderful and unique and yet, quite simple. They start with great breads of all varieties. And a wide array of toppings are produced with each meal, but most final sandwich combinations include slices of wonderful Norwegian cheeses. Other toppings include great jams, cucumbers, meats, tomatoes, eggs, fish, shrimp etc. They are a real treat and one that I thought I was sadly going to have to improvise with on my new gluten-free diet.

But instead, I had my own tray of wonderful-looking food all to myself. But the big question was if that wonderful-LOOKING food would actually taste good. Our hosts, and the people responsible for baking the bread, eagerly watched as I chose my sandwich-I think it was a shrimp number with lettuce and egg wedges and mayonnaise. I cautiously took my first bite, preparing myself to hate it and having to fake that it was great. But there was truly no faking required. I couldn't believe what I had found. IT WAS SO GOOD!! I had another and another. I ate myself silly and did all I could to keep myself from jumping up and down with excitement. And then to find out it was easily made from a MIX!! For the first time, I could see that I had the potential to really, really eat well and still not endanger my body by putting things in it that my body could not handle.

For the rest of our trip, anytime we went anywhere, Astrid, my foreign-exchange mother, would always produce a baggie with "Jenny bread." (pronounced Yen'-ny bread). She never failed. Even when we traveled over hill and dale for a week, she would rummage around in the car and produce this wonderful sliced bread. She would even give it to the wait staff in restaurants, whisper something in Norwegian, and soon, there would appear my own sandwich on "Yenny bread."

As I continued to enjoy my eating on this magical visit to Norway, I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to get the bread mix in the U.S. My mom and I made a plan to buy fewer mementos that might fill our suitcases, and instead we loaded up on the gluten-free bread mixes. That effort served me well for several months as I rationed my good bread. My Norwegian family would ship me mixes for Christmas and when anyone we knew traveled to Norway, we always asked them to pick me up a few bags.

But over time, that still wasn't enough and on another return trip to Norway in 2006, my husband and I decided enough is enough and we needed to share what we'd found with other celiacs in the U.S. It's been a long time coming, but I am now so excited to introduce these wonderful celiac-safe products to the U.S. market. You will find all our Toro products at http://www.tasteslikerealfood.com/