Gluten free holiday cookies, part 1

 Hey, check out my Examiner article about GF Bakeries in the 

Philadelphia, PA, area!

Gluten free holiday cookies, part 1

www.landolakes.com

The Day I Felt Normal (sort of)

Having Celiac disease, or having to eat gluten-free for any reason, can make you feel like an outsider.  You know how it is:  You're at a party and someone offers you food.  You have to say, "Um...do you know if that has gluten in it?" (then have to go through the painstaking process of explaining what, exactly, gluten is.) Or, with a look of longing, "No thanks.  Allergies."  (just to simplify things)  Well, last week, for the first time in a long time, I felt normal.  As in, "I can eat and drink whatever I see! Woohoo!"  Read my Examiner post for my awesome day of normal-ness at the National Center For Celiac Awareness' Appetite for Awareness...

Appetite for Awareness: A Gluten-free Cooking Spree Part 3

It was great seeing all the local restaurants and caterers at A4A, and the amazing gluten-free dishes they came up with!  Click here to see who was there; there's even a wonderful recipe!

Grandma's Gluten-free Cannoli

by Grandma's Gluten-free

Appetite for Awareness: A Gluten-Free Cooking Spree part 2

This year's Appetite for Awareness, which was held on October 24 at the Navy yard in Philadelphia, was an enormous success!  Please see my Examiner posts to learn more...

Really Real (Gluten Free) Pretzels! Finally!!

Gluten Free food is finally making it to the mainstream!  Snyder's of Hanover recently unveiled their Gluten Free Pretzels Sticks.  Not only are they delicious, they're priced nicely, too!  (2.99/bag at Wegman's in Collegeville, PA.  Please see my Examiner article for more info...

Shabtai Gourmet: Gluten Free Goodies!

My most recent Examiner article on the awesome Shabtai Gourmet offerings.











Shabtai Gourmet's Swiss Chocolate Roll

Finally! A Visit (or two) to Uno Chicago Grill

I've been gluten free since 2002, and I'm embarrassed to say that up until a few weeks ago, I hadn't tried Uno Chicago Grill's GF menu.  Actually, the last time I was there, it was still called "Pizzeria Uno".  But recently, a bunch of us were stuck at Washington,  DC's Union Station for a couple of hours, and there just happened to be a Uno's there, which seemed to be the only restaurant in the station offering gluten free foods.  I was pleasantly surprised.  No - really, I was GIDDY!  There was pizza!  There was beer (Redbridge)!  There was dessert!  And while it wasn't the best pizza I've had since going GF, it was very good and it was so great to be able to sit down in a restaurant and order food like a normal person, without worrying about the "later".  (As in, "later, will I be spending the train ride in the bathroom?")


Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I went back a few days ago to a local Uno's.  And once again, I spent the night smiling.  Check out this gluten free menu.  You're going to be surprised at all the offerings.  Have fun!

A Gluten-Free Book Primer: What to Read When You're First Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

There are a ton of books out there on living gluten free.  Most of them are pretty great, but there are a few you really should have in your collection.  Here’s my book list:

In the beginning…

Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn

Like most Dummies books, this one gives great information, in easy to digest (no pun intended) pieces.  You’ll learn the science of Celiac disease and lots of practical advice on living the GF life.  Perfect for newbies.

The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Jules E. Dowler Shepard

This is definitely the book for you if you’re looking for someone who’s been there to teach you the ropes.  Jules (of the now-famous Jules Gluten Free Flour Mix) refers to herself as a “patient-expert”, after having been through the medical merry-go-round of diagnosis and a sickening (literally) year of trial and error.

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Peter H. R. Green, M.D. and Rory Jones.  Dr. Green is director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.  A comprehensive, easy-to-read book on all the aspects of celiac disease.

Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food that Loves Me Back…and How You Can, Too by Shauna James Ahern

The very inspiring story of blogger Shauna James Ahern (who is somewhat of a hero in the gluten free world.) 

Ready to dig a little deeper?

The Gluten Connection:  How Gluten Sensitivity May Be Sabotaging Your Health – And What You Can Do To Take Control Now by Dr. Shari Lieberman

The title pretty much says it all. 

Cookbooks

Any Celiac worth her salt (pun intended) needs a good arsenal of GF cookbooks.  Here are some great ones:

The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods:  Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours by Bette Hagman

Bette is the Queen Mum of GF baking.  Any of her books are worthy of a place on your bookshelf. 

Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating:  A Fresh Approach to Living and Cooking without Wheat or Gluten by Jules E.D. Shepard

If Bette is the Queen Mum of GF baking, then Jules is the Princess.  There are some great treats in here: delicious cut-out cookies, light and fluffy rolls and breadsticks (yes, I said light and fluffy) and 2 recipes for peanut butter cookies.

Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook: More than 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes from the Gluten Free Chef by Robert Landolphi

Not only are there great recipes in this cookbook, but it is also chock-full of invaluable cooking tips.

BabyCakes: Vegan, (mostly)Gluten-Free, and (mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna

BabyCakes bakery has taken Manhattan by storm, and now there’s a cookbook to help us replicate the goodies from this wildly popular GF bakery.

Magazines

Did you know that there are magazines just for us?  Living Without is a “Lifestyle guide for people with allergies and food sensitivities” and Gluten-Free Living is written by and for celiacs.

So, there you have it...my short and sweet list of Must-Have GF books.  Do you have any favorites?  Let me know!

A Cooking Competition Just For Us!

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) is hosting Appetite for Awareness: a Gluten-Free Cooking Spree on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. 

This much anticipated (at least for us Celiacs!) event teams top area chefs and doctors in an ‘iron chef’ style competition to create the best gluten- free dish.  (What’s the “secret ingredient” I wonder?)

Guests will sample gluten-free creations from over 25 of the area’s preeminent restaurants, an open bar that includes gluten-free beer and wine, and an active marketplace with products from some of the nation’s best gluten-free vendors. 

Some competing restaurants are Beneluxx Tasting Room, Bindi, Café Estelle, Capital Grille, Chifa, City Tavern, Cochon, Devil’s Den, Distrito, Little Fish, Lolita, Melograno, Osteria, Sauté Restaurant, Vetri, Xochitl, and Zahav. 

Click here for more info or call the Appetite for Awareness Hotline at 215-325-1306 x400

Exposing Hidden Gluten

So, you’re going along, doing your gluten free thing, but you think you should be feeling a lot better than you do. Or maybe you’re still having symptoms even though you’ve stripped your kitchen of wheat and all the other “bad” grains. What’s going on? Well, it could be hidden gluten, that nefarious little protein is lurking somewhere – you just need to flush it out. Look into some of these more common sources of hidden gluten and see if they sound familiar.

Toasters, grills, toaster ovens, bagel cutters…do you toast regular bread in your toaster, and then throw in your carefully baked GF bread? There could be teeny weeny wheaty crumbs sticking to the inside of your toaster. Either invest in a dedicated toaster just for GF use, or try toast sleeves. http://trishydee.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/672913

Same for grills, toaster ovens, panini makers, even bagel cutters. Make sure you use a cutting board just for your GF foods or wash the family’s cutting board well before using it.

Peanut butter, Mayo, etc…One of the biggest hiders of crumbs is the infamous peanut butter jar. Your family makes a pbj, dipping the knife in and out of the peanut butter and jelly, depositing little crumbs just waiting to jump on your knife when you go to make your GF PBJ. You need a dedicated peanut butter jar, just for you. Same with jelly, jam, mayonnaise, Nutella (tell your family that you NEED your own Nutella jar!) tub margarine or butter and other jars and tubs. Lots of products now come in squeeze bottles, so that’s a good option, too.

Products that you wouldn’t think would have gluten in them sometimes do. Soy sauce is almost always made from wheat. Some ready-to-spread frostings and whipped toppings contain gluten, as well as tomato sauces and pastes. Some spices and spice blends may have gluten, and sometimes corn tortillas have wheat in them. You must be diligent and look at labels each time you buy them. Some products may change ingredients over time (i.e.: Pringles used to be GF, but now they’re not).

Many medications and vitamins contain gluten; if you’re not sure, ask the pharmacist. Some health and beauty products, like lip balm and moisturizer, also hide gluten. Check the label, but if there’s no info, go to the web site. Most companies have it listed somewhere on their site.

Thanks to GFers like us, more and more companies are listing ingredients and/or labeling products as containing gluten or gluten free. Be a label detective and you should be fine.