Young blogger hopes to help others find better gluten-free meals

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- Eight-year-old Max of Santa Monica loves to eat, but he has dairy and gluten allergies that can make mealtime challenging.

So he started a food blog called "The Gluten Free Kid" to help others with food allergies.

His mom said the motivation for blogging came after an unpleasant dining experience.

"We went to a restaurant that said that you could order off the menu and had gluten free items. And then when we got there they wouldn't let him do that. It was non-stop complaining about the lying restaurant," Meredith Blake, Max's mother, said.

Rather than write a Yelp review, Max felt a food blog would be a better, longer lasting idea. His offerings got a bit beyond gluten.

"If the restaurant was good or not. And if the service was good or not. And the atmosphere too," Max said.

"If he goes and doesn't like the restaurant, you hear about it," Blake said.

For Max, eating foods with gluten can have painful consequences.

"If I eat it, I usually just get stomach pains and some digestive things that I probably shouldn't talk about on television," Max said.

Three million Americans have Celiac disease and 18 million report having some type of gluten sensitivity.

Gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and related grains is everywhere.

For those who have Celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, it's not just about the food itself, it's how the food is made.

"We actually had the Celiac Society, which is based in Woodland Hills, come out and walk us through it and talk to our cooks and talk to our kitchen manager to explain to them what gluten free is, what Celiac disease is, what gluten intolerance is so we know how to keep things separate," said Kevin Goldfein, owner of Rosti Tuscan Kitchens.

Goldfein tested different pizza crusts and pastas a few years back and created a full gluten-free menu that is proving popular with people like Max. Max's blog now has 11,000 subscribers from 80 countries.