Tests Show Gluten Free Foods May Be Contaminated…but I Already Knew That! Part 2

by Faydra on July 29, 2010

in Celiac Disease,Gluten Contamination,Gluten Intolerance,News,Research

: Image by basswulf via Flickr

Well, I promptly dismissed it as weird & a fluke. It had never happened before, right? I “kind of” forgot about it. A while later, I bought pinto beans again. As I prepared to make these beans, something happened that gave me PROOF that it was the beans that made me sick. I was so surprised that I had to bring everyone into the kitchen. But, there is no picture…I can’t believe I didn’t think to take a picture…so, I put flickr pic in for ya. (Well, on second thought, maybe I did…I’ll search through old pics & see…)

Anyhoo, as I was sorting the beans I found a wheat kernel – whole & intact – right smack in the middle of my pinto beans. I recalled in horror. It sounds a bit melodramatic, but I really did. There was poison in my beans. Poison, I say.

After being duly inspected by witnesses – my husband & 4 kids - we agreed it was truly wheat (back in the gluten days, I would grind fresh wheat into flour, so we’re very familiar with this glutenous grain) & it really did come from the bag of pinto beans. This was shocking news for us, folks. It kind of reminded me of Monsters Inc. You know, a 2319…

The CDA comes in, neutralizes the situation & “disinfects” the scary monster. Well, except, I would need the GDA – Gluten Detection Agency - & kids’ socks are not toxic & gluten is…to me, that is. Oh & monsters do not really exist & kids are awesome, not toxic. Ok, alright…this analogy breaks down really quickly, but you know what I mean, don’t ya?

That nasty gluten gets carried into gluten free zones & causes havoc – and we’re the ones who have to shut down the factory (sometimes our lives) for a while to clean everything up. See my analogy? Sadly, most don’t understand how important it is for us to avoid gluten and the danger it presents – even just 1 little kernel of wheat – Those who have to ask how just 1 kernel of wheat in a huge bag of beans could be so significant & make me sick should really be asking, “How did wheat, the staff of life, become so toxic to 1 out of 100 people?” That’s the right question we should be asking.

There’s more to the story, but I’ll tell you the rest of the story in the next post. Plus, some tips I use to avoid this nightmare…

See ya!

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Tests Show Gluten Free Foods May Be Contaminated…but I Already Knew That! Part 1

by Faydra on July 21, 2010

in Gluten Contamination,Gluten Free Prepared Food,News,Research

Have ya’ll heard about the study published in the June 2010 Journal of the American Dietetic Association? You can read the abstract here - OR keep reading & I’ll fill you in.

First though, see that picture over there? It’s a bag of lentils that came from Wally World. Normally, I read every label, but sometime earlier this year, in a state of shopping frenzy, this got deposited in my cart & thus my pantry. Before I pass along this little bag of lentils to gluten eatin’ folks, I my daughter took a picture of the label just to show ya’ something… See that allergy warning on this (supposedly) single ingredient food product? While I’m not a fan of big box stores, I do really, really appreciate Wal-Mart’s policy of allergen content labeling. Just wanted to show ya how Wal-Mart helped me stay healthy. I just love that!!

So, anyhoo…the gist of this report is this:

A survey was done by nutrition specialists and they found some naturally gluten free foods had traces of gluten in them. (This is thought to be from being grown or processed near and/or with gluten containing grains, such as wheat, barley or rye.)
The lead researcher, Tricia Thompson, and her colleagues analyzed 22 grains, seeds and flours that were naturally gluten free.
They specifically chose products that were not advertised as being gluten free.
Their tests used a standard limit proposed by the FDA. That proposed limit for any product labeled gluten-free is twenty parts gluten per million parts product.
7 out of the 22 products did not pass the test. One product in particular (a soy flour) had a gluten content of almost 3,000 parts per million.
Other troublesome products they found were millet flour & grain.

While this study was really, really small, I found it to be quite liberating & validating. Liberating? Well, I am especially careful about what food I bring into my gluten-free kitchen – you know how it is, don’t ya? – So, when I buy any packaged food it is still a whole food, such as canned tomatoes, brown rice pasta, dried herbs, dried beans, whole milk cheeses (preferably raw) with some exceptions for chocolate (for medicinal use, of course) & an occasional package of K-Toos for dunking in a glass of Jersey milk. Yum! I digress…Sorry… So, there was a time when I never thought twice about whether or not dried beans or millet were gluten free…until about 2 years ago. I was glutened by naturally gluten free food. It was a complete shock! That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Obviously, gluten cross contamination is a serious threat to our health & possible even when we choose “single” ingredient, naturally gluten free foods. So, I’m not crazy or imagining things & obviously NOT the only one that has had this horrible experience. That’s the long-winded reason for this study being so liberating & validating for me.

So, once upon a time, I slaved over made a BIG pot of pinto beans…big as in 5# of dried beans. After our dinner, the rest of the beans were going to be divvied up for the freezer for quick meals. BUT, during the meal I began to notice symptoms I get from gluten. At first, I thought I must be crazy, because there was nothing new I used in our meal…pinto beans were not a new item to our menu…spices were not new, etc…Those beans made me so sick that the entire pot – 5 stinkin’ pounds of beans minus our dinner portions – were fed to the trash can. Boo, hoo!

So, what do you think I did next? But, I have to tell you in the next post, since this one is already 555 616 words long…

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Can You Be Intolerant to Gluten and Not Be Celiac?

by Faydra on May 7, 2010

in Celiac Disease,Gluten Intolerance,News,Research

That is a “Pandora’s Box” question, it seems.

There is much we don’t know about Celiac Disease & folks who don’t fit the current “normal” can present a diagnostic problem. Personally, the rise in gluten intolerance in our society is extremely alarming to me. I mention the Mayo Clinic study frequently to gluten free folks & very few have heard of it. Hopefully, if you spend anytime on the internet, esp. reading about gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease, you’re already familiar with the study. I blogged about it last year.

A quote from Dr. Murray, who led the study.

“Celiac disease is unusual, but it’s no longer rare.” “Something has changed in our environment to make it much more common. Until recently, the standard approach to finding celiac disease has been to wait for people to complain of symptoms and to come to the doctor for investigation. This study suggests that we may need to consider looking for celiac disease in the general population, more like we do in testing for cholesterol or blood pressure.”

We should be looking just as hard for the cause as we do at diagnosing the disease.

I don’t know why more people, both professionals & those who suffer from gluten intolerance, are not just “up in arms” wanting to know the truth about this epidemic. I think many are like frogs in the boiled pot…the heat has been slowly rising & we’re just living a “new” normal.

“Oh, you have celiac? Me, too!”

“You can’t eat gluten either? At least someone understands.”

Those are very valid thoughts. I’ve said things along those same lines many, many times. The internet has made all the difference in being able to become gluten free savvy. I love how it connects us with other gluten free folks, don’t you? I’m more likely to bake a new gluten free concoction when I’ve seen how someone else has done it, aren’t you? Like Gluten Free Mommy’s awesome Lighter Than Air Chocolate Cake or Angel Food Cake. Yum! We humans have this funny thing about us – we like to be around & learn from people like us. It’s just a psychological fact. It’s encouraging to see how others handle the gluten free life with such grace & at the same time learning from their blunders (that they so graciously share) too! While living gluten free has to be our new “normal”, we, as a society, should never accept it as just another disease or condition we should learn to live with or even worse, medicate. Should society be educated & offer GF alternatives? ABSOLUTELY! But, we should not be complacent & accept gluten intolerance as just another “thing” or disease society has to contend with. Some thing or things have changed drastically since 1950 & we need to investigate it further. We should strive to find the cause of the epidemic rate of increase in the prevalence of Celiac Disease!!

OK, I’m stepping down from the soapbox… *sigh* I know I took a huge rabbit trail…so, before you go…

Here’s another article where Dr. Sheila Crowe, a professor in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology in the department of medicine at the University of Virginia, where she responds to readers who asked whether you can be intolerant to gluten, the way some people might be intolerant to milk, without having full-blown celiac disease.

Have an awesome gluten free day!!

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Cedric Benson has been added to the Gluten Free Community

by Faydra on April 28, 2010

in Celiac Disease,News

: Image via Wikipedia

Are you a Chicago Bears fan? I’m not, actually. But, found this article very interesting. The writer mentions that former Bear, (now with Cincinnati Bengals) Cedric Benson has been diagnosed with celiac disease.

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Gluten Free Pizza Anyone?

by Faydra on April 14, 2010

in Gluten Free Restaurants,gluten free recipes

We Love Pizza!!

Don’t you? Love it, love it, love it…After learning gluten was making us sick, we began making pizza at home. It became a challenge to make the best pizza ever & that led to so many experiments over the years. You know…thin, crispy crust (my hubby’s fav), thick, deep dish (our eldest daughter’s fav) & everything in between. I love them all. I’ve heard of many pizza joints adding gluten free pizza to their menus. Yippee! Being in the boonies, I don’t get out much. However, we did get out a while back & tried some Godfather’s Gluten Free Pizza. Have you tried it yet? We were on a trip & decided to have it delivered to our hotel room. I was going to take pics of the pizza too, but everyone gobbled it up quick! Our honest opinion is that it is OK, just OK. Not horrible, but definitely not great. (I think we’re spoiled to the really fresh ingredients we use in our pizza at home.) That said, I’m glad Godfather’s & other pizza joints are taking initiative & adding GF pizza to their menus. Thanks, Godfather’s!

_____________________________________________________

That brings me to what we had for lunch today. Just take a wild guess…yep, pizza. I think we need a gluten free pizza ballad to insert here, cuz’ this one doesn’t quite cut it…

Our gluten free pizza we made for lunch today was turkey pepperoni with jalapeno & a tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was absolutely delish!

We used one of our favorite gluten free pizza crust recipes. This is just one of several we use & is esp. good for a medium to thin, crispy crust. However, I’m sure this would be yummy made in a deep dish pan too.

Our tweaks & preferences:

First, quadruple it. We have 6 hungry folks in our house & IF there is any leftover pizza, it’s gobbled up the next day.

I use 2 pans that are 12.5 x 18″ & grease the dickens out of ‘em. This crust will stick & you’ll end up with crustless pizza if you don’t use olive oil generously. (That’s what I use.) Also, after oiling you can sprinkle a bit of corn meal for extra texture & additional insurance for the “sticking” issue.

Since I don’t use powdered milk, I warm fresh milk on the stove & add to the warm water. I use the same water measurement, but it ends up being about half milk & half water instead. The milk isn’t necessary, but helps add color & browning to the crust. Also, we prefer our crust plain, without the suggested additional herbs.

After spreading this dough (with wet hands – I think that works better than flour) on the pan, I pre-bake the crust for about 10 minutes.

Then comes my easy, peasy sauce!

Open a can of tomato paste & spread very thinly over the pre-baked crust.

Then, sprinkle your favorite Italian style herbs over the top of the paste. We usually use basil, oregano & garlic. This is so simple & so good. Years ago, I would make a “special” sauce & cook it on the stove with herbs. One time, in a time pinch, I tried the paste with herbs. It was so good, I never saw the use in taking the time to make that “special” one again. If you have access to fresh herbs out of your garden, be sure to grab those!

Add your favorite toppings. We like to use gluten free turkey pepperoni, browned grassfed & finished ground beef & lots of veggies, esp. jalapenos. Are jalapenos a fruit or a veggie? I’m not sure, but we add lots of ‘em to our gluten free pizza pies.

Then we top it with lots of mozzarella cheese or sometimes a mixture of mozzarella & a hard, Italian cheese like Parmesan. I always freshly shred my own cheese, as the pre-shredded cheese has made me sick on numerous occasions. Besides, the best cheeses are NEVER pre-shredded. Also, I try to put the mozzarella in the freezer about 20 minutes ahead of time, as it makes it easier to shred, esp. in the food processor.

Sometimes we put the cheese on first, then the other toppings…we try to live dangerously around here…

Place those beauties in the oven & bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the crust has browned & the cheese is bubbly. Yummy!!

P.S. I like to use several baking stones for our pizza…However, right now a lot of our stuff is packed away while we’re living in a temporary house, so I just use my baking sheets as I mentioned before. The pizza is delicious either way.

Viola!

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Your Gluten Free Life Doesn’t Need to Be Without Yumminess!

by Faydra on April 7, 2010

in gluten free recipes

Oh my, is it April already? I’m so embarrassed that I’ve neglected my blog for so long. I do have some good excuses, though. Does that count? I’ve been helping my hubby with business stuff & homeschooling the kids. *sigh*

Ok…I mentioned yumminess…You know if you have lived gluten free for any length of time you’ve probably heard some pity from family, friends & such. I know I have. “How can you live without fill-in-the-blank?” Well, honestly I’d rather not live with any gluten within my general vicinity. It makes me feel horrible. But…I will admit after a while, I began to wonder if I could make those yummy things I liked in my gluten filled life. You know what I’m talking about…Krispy Kreme donuts, warm, fresh bread, breaded & fried yumminess like fish, chicken, pickles & such. Oh, how about pizza? Or strawberries & angel food cake with whipped cream. While these items are not on our regular menu, I do make them. Admittedly, I haven’t perfected the Krispy Kreme gluten freed rendition yet, but want to perfect that recipe this year. However, that requires me to make them, a lot & well…that’s not very good for any of us. Gluten free or not, the donut is not a nutrient dense food, is it? Darn!!

One little bit of yumminess I like to make more often is Bananas Foster. It’s naturally gluten free & absolutely delicious!! Here’s the recipe I’ve tweaked to become our favorite over the years. If you try it, would you go to Recipezaar & leave me a review?

http://bit.ly/bananasfostergf

Thanks!

Enjoy!

Saucy Bananas Foster – Naturally Gluten Free!

This recipe is a compilation of many we’ve tried over the years. We like extra sauce, hence the name.

Also, we don’t care for an overpowering rum flavor, just a nice, smooth compliment to the brown sugar (not too much), butter & bananas. Personally, I like to use bananas that are just turning ripe, with no speckles. They’re sweet, but very firm. Use the best vanilla ice cream you can find & lots of it. Yum, yum! I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

by Gluten Free Savvy

20 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 4 , 2 cups

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 medium bananas, peeled cut in half & sliced length-wise
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup dark rum or golden rum
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

Be sure hair is pulled/tied back, sleeves rolled up & any other flammable items are not near your stove when you begin this recipe. Flambe is fun, but we have to be very careful.
I like to either recruit someone else to scoop the ice cream while I put the sauce together OR do it myself first & place in freezer until I’m ready to serve.
Add butter & brown sugar to large saucepan & melt over medium heat. It should not separate. If it does, your burner is too hot.
After the butter & brown sugar has melted & turned into a luscious, rich sauce, (5 minutes or so) add the bananas & cinnamon.
Saute for about a minute or even less. I don’t like my bananas to get mushy – not even a little bit – Remember, they will cook when you flambe the sauce. So, I basically add the bananas & stir to evenly distribute the sauce over them. Then, I move quickly to the next step.
Turn off burner & pour rum over evenly the bananas & sauce.
Grab a match or long, grill lighter (my personal favorite). Turn off kitchen light. (optional) Ha! We like to do the next step in the dark.
Place lighter or match close to sauce & light. It may take a few tries, but usually not. Be careful & prepared for a beautiful light show.
Gently move pan back & forth to continue distributing the rum & flame around the sauce.
Pour sauce with 4 pieces of banana over several generous scoops of vanilla ice cream. We have to evenly distribute the sauce at our house. .
Serve immediately & enjoy!

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Is This A New Hope For Celiac Disease Sufferers?

by Faydra on December 24, 2009

in Celiac Disease,News,Research

Wow…I can’t believe I’m posting on Christmas Eve, but I found this article & wanted to share it with you. Apparently, researchers are looking at oral enzymes and immunotherapy as possible treatments for celiac disease. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? I have some of my own thoughts & I’ll share them in the next post…but check this out first….I’d love to hear your comments…

We’re baking some gluten free Christmas cookies as I type this…Yummy!!! We’re using this recipe.

Merry Christmas!!

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Gluten Free City Guide

September 30, 2009

Has anyone seen and/or used this great gluten free resource? You haven’t? Well,

We Love Pizza!!

Saucy Bananas Foster – Naturally Gluten Free!

June 2009

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