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What runs around the cow pasture but never moves?
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Scroll down below the post to see the answer…
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The corny jokes last all week, just so you know… 
In honor of the bountiful sweet corn harvest….
I promised I’d share my tips on how I avoid gluten contamination in naturally gluten free foods. So, here they are:
1. Know the source of your food. Know your farmer. Know your food. I try to buy most of our food from the person who produced the food – the farmer or rancher. They can tell me, or better yet show me, exactly where my food was grown & where it has been right up to the time I take it home to my gluten free kitchen. That gives me great piece of mind. I support local farmers & the local economy with my dollars & they watch my back. If only chocolate grew near by…
2. Ask lots of questions. Call the food companies & ask where they source their grains, beans, etc. How do they package them? Is the processing facility shared with gluten containing foods. If so, move on. It’s NOT worth the risk. (I’ve been glutened by grain packaged by Arrowhead Mills. That was 2 years ago & at that time they did not have a dedicated GF facility.) Also, if the company seems uninterested in your questions or worse, can’t answer your questions…. bye, bye…NEXT!
3. Buy food that is labeled gluten free. That sounds obvious, I know. Right now there are only voluntary labeling guidelines in the US. I’m not sure of other countries. If you’re in the US & want lots more info about this, go to Celiac Sprue Association site. My experience with companies that are not labeling their naturally gluten free foods “gluten free”, (& processed in a GF facility) just want to protect their behinney. (Is that a word?) I suppose I don’t blame them. One example, is Ghiradelli chocolate. I’ve never been glutened by Ghiradelli chocolate. I feel safe buying their product because they have explained to me exactly how they source and process their chocolate products. However, they don’t recommend gluten intolerant or celiac folks to eat their white chocolate, as they do not control the entire process of that product. Oh & by the way, I take chocolate for medicial use only.
4. Buy unprocessed, fresh food as much as possible. This tip goes hand & hand with tip #1. Know your farmer. Know your food. This is true, though, even if your only options are the local grocery store. There is less risk of contamination in fresh carrots or green beans, then frozen ones. Check the label, many frozen veggies are processed in facilities with gluten products. Yuck! Buy a fresh whole chicken, instead of a ready-to-eat rotisserie one or even the raw, pre-seasoned birds you find in the grocery stores. Anytime food has been handled, there is increased risk of gluten contamination, like deli meat & cheeses, etc.
To be continued….I’ll wrap up the list tomorrow, in my next post. But I want to leave you with this thought…
In May, we talked to the manager at Whole Foods in Omaha, NE. We had a few questions about some of their products, esp. relating to the deli area. You know, you find BIG chunks of Belgian chocolate, delicious specially prepared almonds, cheeses from around the world, etc. Oh, my mouth is watering, just thinking about it. We wanted to know where they cut up those huge hunks of chocolate & such.
What he related to us was not what I expected to hear. He said, and I’m not quoting him verbatim here, that his store isn’t really safe for gluten free folks at all, esp. if you’re super-duper sensitive to any gluten residues. What? He told us he requires his staff to dust the store 2x a day because of all the flour dust generated from the bakery. It gets on everything and nothing is left untouched. That is a scary thought, isn’t it? We should all heed this warning in any grocery store with a bakery.
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So, what runs around the cow pasture but never moves?
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The fence. Hee, Hee!
I’d love to hear your thoughts. How do you avoid gluten contamination in GF foods?
See ya!
