The Crock Goes Gluten Free?

Holy crap who would have though... Betty Crocker (owned by General Mills) is now going gluten free with some of their products! Pretty much the antithesis of all that is gluten free? This amazes me. Maybe now we can get past the point of paying $10 at Whole Foods for a sub-par gluten free cookie mix or pre made brownies that taste like thick aged chalk covered in chocolate. This is really great. I have only heard about this through the blogosphere so far and havent read it first hand on their site. But whoever is doing their PR is pre leaking product photos and sending samples because people have tried the new products and so far the response has been good! Here are the blogs I found that have mentioned and reviewed the products 

• http://aglutenfreeguide.com/betty-crocker-gluten-free-cake-mixes-and-more.html
  
• http://blog.triumphdining.com/glutenfree/archives/betty-crocker-goes-gluten-free
  
• http://killthegluten.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html
  

Kill.The.Gluten did a great product review that I recommend checking out! All of the photos of products posted here are photos taken by kill.the.gluten blog and are not my own product shots.  Everything looks really great! Cant wait to try these myself! 

Wine and Cheese Night

Its Wine and Cheese night and unfortunately, again, there are are some cheeses that must be avoided as gluten is the anti-christ and manages to make its way into just about everything. I have a deep felt passion for the wine and cheese combo and even though being a Celiac has made me more dairy intolerant over the years its worth popping a Lactaid and going for it every once in a while. So, here is what I have educated myself with regarding safe cheeses. 

Cheese

Allowed: All aged cheese, such as cheddar, Swiss, edam, parmesan; cottage cheese; cream cheese; pasteurized processed cheese; cheese spreads.
Avoid: Any cheese product containing oat gum, some veined cheeses (bleu, stilton, roquefort, gorgonzola). Check ingredient list on cottage cheese, cream cheese, and all pasteurized, processed cheese; avoid cheeses with vegetable gum, food starch and preservatives not defined by a gluten-free source.

After doing some more research I have found the following brands to be gluten free:

• Cabot Cheese (www.cabotcheese.com)
• Some Lighthouse products (check here for their list of gluten free products http://www.litehousefoods.com/products_faq.asp#q2)
• Rosenborg Cheese (www.rosenborg.com)
• Tillamook cheeses are all gluten free (they have the best cheddar) 
  
• Voskos Greek Style Yogurt (www.sunvalley-dairy.com/products)

Of course there are many other brands out there that offer gluten free cheese. Just be sure to read the label and sticking to hard cheeses as opposed to soft gives you a way better shot at not consuming gluten. 

A great cracker to pair with cheese is Natural Nectar Original Cracklebread (also comes in tomato and oregano) and they are DELICIOUS. I know they are available at Whole Foods in both Canada and the United States. I really recommend these as they are just great. AND they are low calorie. 

I also like to pair my wine and cheese with assorted meats and again you have to be very careful with this. Many meats do actually contain gluten. I love all of the Oscar Meyer Deli meats because they are all gluten free. They arent the best for a wine and cheese night but they make a great day-to-day snack/meal. Also really great for kids with Celiac Disease. If you are near a Costco they sell great salami that is labeled gluten free right on the packaging and its delicious!

GREAT resource list

As I was doing some quick research I came across the following site:

http://www.e-celiacs.org/2-Gluten-Free%20Prescription%20Diet.htm

They have a phenomenal list called the Gluten Free Prescription Diet which lists additives, ingredients, food, drugs, products, etc that contain gluten and what to be aware of. I recommend taking some time to look this over because although the site is grossly unorganized and painfully dull to look at the information is great! The people over at Celiac Inc.  got it together on this one. Take a look...

Here is a little info about Celiac Inc. Im a huge believer in understanding the source of your information. There is SO MUCH crappy info out there about Celiac Disease and most of it comes from the Celiac.com forum board. I think its great that people share ideas and findings but every Celiac has a different sensitivity level and people seem to think that if something doesnt bother them then it must be okay. This is not the case and there are a lot of products and information out there that is not correct. Having said that Celiac Inc. is a private, publically supported non profit located in Omaha. They list their goal as: "To provide information, education materials, and referral resources for celiac patients [on the conditions of celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis and their associated prescription gluten-free diet] through the utilization of the following resources:  an internet web site and a monthly newsletter." 

Pretty cool company! 

Lip Stuck

One of the lesser known ways to poison youself with gluten is through lipstick, chap stick or any other lip lube you may use. Unfortunately there is a lot of gluten used in makeup and lip products. I have however done research on this (after I got very very ill from L'Oreal Paris lipstick) and have discovered that there are some brands out there that are usable. I like to use both chap stick and lipstick so I went on quite the hunt to find brands that I liked. The problem is that often times its really hard to just look at a cosmetic label and know that it contains gluten. Here is what I have found and verified as gluten free. I know there are probably more brands out there that offer gluten free lip products and if you know of any please comment and let me know. I have just stuck to the following because I am sure that I can use them. 

For chap stick:

Classic Burt's Bees is gluten free. This one took a while for me to get used to as I cant stand smelly or strong lip products. But it is a great chap stick and is totally safe to use which is enough for me. Also they now have Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer. I can't say Im a huge fan but thats because I got a color that didnt work. Im sure if I tried some of the others I could have found a shade I like. Most of the Burt's products are gluten free but be sure and double check EVERYTHING before purchasing. 

Blistex has a wide variety of gluten free lip products. I have only used the Silk & Shine chap stick but I know that they offer many gluten free lip products including their Lip Ointment, Lip Balm, Fruit Smoothies, Herbal Balm and Gel, Complete Moisture and Lip Revitalizer 

I have heard mixed things about ChapStick brand. This used to be my classic go-to chap stick and I can not find any real info on their website nor have I heard anything conclusive outside of a Celiac forum (by the way, these are not reliable, I read misinformation on these everyday, PLEASE do not rely on them for real information without verifying yourself) that confirms the brand as making gluten free products. My advice on this one is to stay away from it unfortunately. 

Lipstick: 

Christian Dior....my absolute favorite lipstick ever. All of their lip products are gluten free thank God because they make such a great variety of shades and styles of lipstick that is just so great. All of their makeup is great but I am especially addicted to their lipstick. Its a bit pricey but if you like to be able to wear lipstick I strongly recommend it. Its great stuff 

I recently read about Afterglow cosmetics that has lipstick that is all gluten free. The idea behind the brand was to create mineral cosmetics that would not irritate skin and are 100% natural. I havent tried any of their products but I would be willing to just based on the fact that their lip products are gluten free. 

Please feel free to comment or recommend any other brands that you know of that are gluten free, I would love to hear of more options! 

Its Sushi Thursday...

Sushi Thursday comes once a week and this week I thought I would share how I manage (due to trial and error) to enjoy a sushi meal and not get sick. You of course cant eat a lot of things but there is still plenty of sushi to be had even if you cant have gluten. For starters traditional soy sauce is out (god I hope people already knew that, I had no idea when I was first diagnosed though). Having tried MANY kinds of wheat free soy sauce and sampling many kinds that tasted like they were brewed in a bathtub I have found what I think tastes exactly like the real thing. Tamari Organic Soy Sauce is 100% wheat and gluten free and delicious. Although it doesn't clearly say "wheat free" on the front of the label it is wheat free and "made in a plant inspected by the Gluten Free Certification Organization". 

My sushi menu usually consists of the following, however, each resturant is different and you have to be responsible for asking what you are eating. 

• tuna and salmon sushi (the rice does not contain wheat, but some sushi rice may so it is important to ask)
• spicy tuna roll or plain tuna roll  (again, spicy sauce is a toss up, you have to ask your server) 
• red snapper 
• sashimi (careful not to eat Unagi (eel), it almost always has a sauce on it) 
• California roll (only with REAL crab, imitation crab contains wheat) 
• vegetable rolls (as long as they dont have tempura batter)
• shrimp rolls 

Basically the lesson here is to avoid any sauces, deep fried foods like gyoza, anything breaded, and I would steer clear of miso soup (often miso includes barley, better safe than sorry). But there is plenty that can be enjoyed at sushi. 

Way To Ruin Easter Cadbury....the death of mini eggs

As some of you may already know, Cadbury Mini Eggs are now no longer gluten free. I had to lear this the hard way as Mini Eggs were probably my all time favorite chocolate. But the bastards over at Hershey (who actually manufacture the Mini Eggs) have now changed the recipe and added "natural flavorings" which they cannot confirm do not contain gluten. Well Hershey, let me tell you, they do. Just ask my stomach after consuming a large bag of them. This is the first year they have changed their recipe so unfortunately many of you celiacs out there may not even know about it yet.  What is equally annoying is that celiac-disease.com who is usually a pretty good source for information regarding celiac disease still has them posted as an approved "2009 Easter Candy". Lame. 

Glutino Pad Thai

For lunch today I tried the Glutino brand Pad Thai. The dish comes frozen and can be heated and ready to go in 4 minutes. I have to say, it was pretty delicious. Probably because Pad Thai can easily be made without gluten and there were no flour substitutes but it was very delicious. So delicious in fact that it has inspired me to create my own... I found the recipe below and am going to make it on my own. The recipe itself is gluten free and I checked out what exactly was in "fish sauce" and it is gluten free for the most part (cant of course speak on behalf of every brand of it). But the popular brand Thai Kitchen makes a fish sauce and it is gluten free as stated on their website (here is a listing of all of their products and the corresponding allergy info: www.thaikitchen.com/allergyinfo.html)

How great is it that they make it so clear on their site?? 

Pad Thai recipe 

3/4 cup of bean sprouts 

6 oz. pad thai rice noodles 

4 eggs 

salt 

3 tbsp lime juice 

3 tbsp ketchup 

1 tbsp brown sugar 

1/4 cup of fish sauce (Thai Kitchen is gluten free) 

3 tbsp peanut oil 

1 tbsp minced garlic 

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

2 cups of grated carrots 

2/3 cup of chopped peanuts 

1 cup of green onions cut into one inch pieces 

Add as much meat as you would like. Pad Thai is great with sliced up chicken breast or shrimp. 

Directions: 

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for approximately 30 seconds, remove, and drain well. When the water returns to a boil then add the noodles. Cook for 3-5 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain and rinse under cold water 

2. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Stir together the lime juice, ketchup, brown sugar and fish sauce in a separate bowl, set aside. 

3. Heat the oil in a wak or large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the garlic for a few seconds. Add the pepper flakes and carrot and cook for one minute, then remove. Add the beaten egg and gently scramble. When the eggs have set pour in carrots, sauce, bean sprouts, noodles, peanuts and green onion. Toss together. 

Anyways, here is the recipe I am going to try for Pad Thai. And if your too lazy to make it then I strongly suggest the Glutino Brand because its pretty great.