Gluten-Free Living at Nyack's Farmers' Market

These days, there are more and more recognized dietary restrictions based both on diseases and allergies.

Gluten-free is one of those phrases that seems to be appearing on labels around the grocery stores—there's even an entire gluten-free food stand when you go to a Mets game.

Why does a person eat gluten-free, and what exactly does that mean?

Celiac disease causes major stomach problems for a person when they eat wheat, rye and barley products. The hard part is knowing exactly what contains these products. It isn't just breads—included are some sauces, gravies, beer and whisky. Besides Celiac disease, some people have wheat allergies or a skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis, which is a chronic skin blistering aggravated by gluten.

Sometimes it's not about allergies—certain people will stop eating gluten to try and lose weight, and some think it's the new food fad.

Until recently, being on a gluten-free diet meant no bread, no cakes, no cookies and no beer. There was no way around it—almost everything contained flour or something else with gluten in it. But people with Celiac disease were few and far between, so there wasn't much of a market to cater to them.

Lately, though, this isn't the case. It is now estimated that one in every 100 people have some sort of gluten allergy, whether they are aware of it or not. And the markets seem to be responding with a good amount of force. Some pizza places now have gluten-free options, along with other establishments; the farmers' market in Nyack is one of them.

Walking through the market, there are several choices. Fresh produce is always a safe decision. At , some of the things you can find are peaches, pears, apples and tomatoes. They also have farm fresh eggs and milk (if lactose intolerance is not an issue).

has an abundance of vegetables to keep a green meal full of flavor. also has a mixture of fruits and vegetables, including baby watermelon. Fruit salad is an excellent meal for someone on a gluten-free diet.

Sweets can be rare and far between, but not if you visit . Here, you can forget all your problems and indulge in a satisfyingly chocolately brownie (deservingly called the "Wicked Good Brownie"). Debbie Sadowsky sells these brownies to both the gluten-free and non dietary restricted people. If chocolate isn't your thing, Debbie also offers gluten-free biskookies.

Sometimes we crave a nice drink with a kick, but as noted earlier beers and many other alcoholic beverages are not gluten friendly.  has the solution with their hard apple ciders. They come in original apple, rasberry and pear, and all have "Gluten-Free" on the label.

So enjoy shopping at Nyack's Farmers' market every Thursday, and keep on with the gluten-free dining.