Breakfast (Lunch, Dinner, Snack) Made Easy This open-faced Italian version of an omelet is a simple breakfast, lunch or dinner and a delicious way to use up leftovers. Recipes for frittatas abound – and are helpful. (Linda’s Spinach and Ham Frittata looks delish) But you can also go through your fridge or freezer and pull [...]
Gluten-Free, Right Owner Kellie Hopkins (left) and Jayme Yates Last week a major pizza chain unveiled their not-so-gluten-free pizza. We’re fortunate in Nashville to have a restaurant that does gluten-free and does it well. Before A Matter of Taste’s owner, Kellie Hopkins, learned she had to stop eating gluten in 2009, she’d been trying to [...]
When we start on the gluten-free diet, we’re just trying to find food to eat. It’s a matter of survival. Once we learn we can do that (because you can do that), it’s easy to tweak it and make it our own, find foods we really want to eat, find ways to change this [...]
Telling the World about Gluten Brandy Wendler didn’t dream of winning a beauty pageant. (Well, no more than other little girls might.) Once diagnosed with celiac disease, she realized a title would help her to help others so she pursed it and won. She’s been busy ever since. We were both at Chicago’s Gluten [...]
No Gluten in Sight Stepping through the doors of a gluten-free expo can seem overwhelming. Vendors at tables are offering samples of their foods, some to eat there and some packaged to take home. A taste here, a taste there. A bite of cookie, a piece of cracker. (I should mention here, come hungry.) Since [...]
Making Allergy-Free Foods for Kids Megan Ancheta of Wasilla, Alaska, makes delicious food for her two girls, ages 3 and 7 then shares those recipes with her happy readers on Maid in Alaska. I’m originally from nearby Anchorage, Alaska, so I became intrigued by her familiar Alaskan touches like moose in her yard. Then I [...]
Always a Bit of a Tart To me, lemons have a taste that brings sunshine on a rainy day. They’re light, fruity, fresh but with a hint of tart. They’ve been in the Americas for hundreds of years. Columbus brought lemon seeds along on his second trip to the Carribean. Early Spanish settlers to [...]
Sweet Treats “My passion is creating gluten-free products that taste better than their conventional counterparts,” said Pamela Giusto-Sorrells, who personally develops all Pamela’s recipes. “Gluten-free shouldn’t mean sacrificing delicious, home-baked comforts like light, fluffy bread or decadent warm cookies from the oven.” Pamela’s Products makes a wide variety of sweet treats, both as already made and as [...]
Higher Learning, Gluten-Free Style Wendy Gregory Kaho of Celiacs in the House has two children who went off to college last year. From their experiences, both good and not-so-good, she’s become, I suspect unexpectedly, an expert in eating gluten-free at college. Wendy’s “Gluten-Free College” page has some great links to articles and other information including [...]
Continuing an excellent interview with author, editor and teacher, Ron Hoggan. This is on the technical side, but full of good information. “With current trends in obesity, insulin resistance, learning disabilities, behavior problems, and addiction, gluten grains may well be contributing to each and all of these enormous social ills.” Ron Hoggan Q: Describe what [...]
I’m honored to present this interview with Ron Hoggan, Ed.D., author of “Dangerous Grains” and “Cereal Killers,” and editor of “The Journal of Gluten Sensitivity.” Diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, Hoggan has devoted much of his life to the pursuit and sharing of information about gluten and its related issues. Dr. Hoggan answered [...]
This open-faced Italian version of an omelet is a simple breakfast, lunch or dinner and a delicious way to use up leftovers.
Recipes for frittatas abound – and are helpful. (Linda’s Spinach and Ham Frittata looks delish) But you can also go through your fridge or freezer and pull out bits of leftovers to make a custom frittata. Today, our breakfast was a frittata with sausage, red pepper, garlic and Italian herbs.
I’ve made this with as few as four eggs but it’s a bit thin then. Six or eight is good then leftover slices can be put in the fridge and reheated in the microwave or oven/toaster oven. (My husband’s already called dibs on today’s leftovers.)
Choose a mix of these ingredients:
Any cheese: parmesan mixed with eggs before adding to pan, goat cheese crumbled into the eggs as they cook, shredded cheddar added to the top before putting it in to oven.
Veggies: whatever – onion, garlic, leftover broccoli or asparagus, diced tomato, roasted red pepper, diced sweet potato (if uncooked, sauté until done before adding eggs), leftover baked potato sliced or diced, mushrooms (sauté in pan before adding eggs), spinach, etc. A potato frittata is basically a Spanish tortilla (not what we think of as “tortilla” but I’ve had this in Spain.)
Herbs: whatever – either fresh or dried. A dash of cayenne pepper gives it some zing. A dash of paprika gives a more subtle but similar flavor. (My husband can’t take food that’s too spicy.)
Meat: whatever – bacon bits (I make mine by dicing and cooking until crispy), ham, sausage, leftover chicken, steak, taco meat (delish as part of a Mexican version with onion, garlic, tomatoes, oregano and, if you eat dairy, cheese), etc.
Add a couple of teaspoons of water* to the eggs and whip them with a whisk until light and fluffy then set aside. Turn on the broiler. Heat oil on medium heat in an oven safe skillet (12” or so) and sauté anything that needs it – mushrooms, onion, garlic (briefly – don’t let it burn), ham, sausage, etc. Turn the heat down a notch. Give the eggs a quick additional whip, add the rest of the filling and seasonings - other than any cheese you want on top – and pour the mixture into the pan. Cook for about five minutes, until the bottom is cooked and the top is set. If you have a heavy pan like cast iron, you can let it sit on the heat undisturbed for the five minutes. Mine is a thinner stainless so I push the egg to the center and tilt the pan to bring the liquid egg to the ege just as I would with an omelet. If cheese is desired on top, add it then place the pan under the broiler (with the oven door open) and cook until golden, about five minutes more. Watch it carefully! Cut it into wedges and enjoy.
To make our breakfast: In olive oil, saute crumbled sausage (I thawed it in the microwave first), chopped red pepper and minced garlic. Sprinkle Italian herb seasoning into the beaten eggs and pour over the ingredients in the pan. After broiling, I cut out a slice for myself then sprinkled shredded colby-jack cheese over the top and put it back under the broiler until golden.
*This was in a cookbook I had years ago and makes the eggs fluffier.
Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays on Gluten-Free Homemaker
Last week a major pizza chain unveiled their not-so-gluten-free pizza. We’re fortunate in Nashville to have a restaurant that does gluten-free and does it well.
Before A Matter of Taste’s owner, Kellie Hopkins, learned she had to stop eating gluten in 2009, she’d been trying to eat healthy foods. Kellie soon discovered that the gluten-free food in restaurants often didn’t include the fresh produce and meats without nitrates and hormones that she preferred. Having also lived in Texas where small sandwich shops were more common, she was frustrated that she couldn’t find something like that – particularly gluten-free – in Nashville. There were also other problems with finding gluten-free food, things that didn’t make sense. Kellie says, “Salad dressing doesn’t need gluten.”
Skip ahead to 2010. Kellie had access to a location that had been used by a caterer. “The idea for the restaurant stemmed from little things. I just wanted a place where I would want my kids to eat. I said, ‘Let me see if this works.’” She’s seen a “funny, twisted look” on people’s faces when they’re told something is gluten-free, and she wanted to change that. “I wanted people to know that it doesn’t have to taste bad if it’s gluten-free.”
Half of a Turkey Melt on Gluten-Free Bread with balsamic dressing (my husband got a cup of White Bean Chicken Chili with this)
The gluten-free bread is made fresh on site, but Kellie brings in regular breads for people who don’t want gluten-free. There’s separation between the gluten-full and gluten-free areas with separate condiments, cutting areas and different pans to heat food in the oven. It’s a shared oven but she’s looking into a faster CTX system – put the food in one end and it comes out the other – with separate lines for gluten-free and not.
Open for lunch – from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Kellie’s menu includes soups, salads and sandwiches along with desserts. She uses her mom’s chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad recipes. Desserts include childhood favorites like her mother’s homemade peanut butter cookies. The experienced chef she hired tinkered with the recipe, looking for the right gluten-free substitutions. Kellie knew it was perfect when she was handed a sample hot out of the oven and took a bite. “I felt like I was standing in my mom’s kitchen and I was six-years old again.” Her kids used to cringe when she brought gluten-free sweets home. Now they want anything she brings home from the restaurant.
California Salad with grilled chicken (my favorite)
Inspirational thoughts such as “Be Grateful” are written on a chalkboard, on the doors that open to the kitchen and fill books that sit on each table. Kellie’s seen people taking pictures of a saying on a page with their phones. If you wonder why she doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi, there’s a simple answer: “If you go out to eat with someone, I want you to talk to them.” Enough said.
The daily specials are posted on Facebook and twitter. The website is AMatterofTasteTakout.com. Why “takeout?” When Kellie opened this as a takeout restaurant, the tables and chairs were just so customers would have a place to sit while their food was prepared. When those customers started sitting down and opening up their takeout packages, she bought plates and silverware.
Things have worked out well. Kellie’s enjoyed the restaurant business so much that she’s thinking of franchising this one.
When we start on the gluten-free diet, we’re just trying to find food to eat. It’s a matter of survival. Once we learn we can do that (because you can do that), it’s easy to tweak it and make it our own, find foods we really want to eat, find ways to change this from a life we can survive into a life we can enjoy.
1. Visit the different grocery store chains in your area to see what gluten-free foods they carry. Each is different and, at least in my area, stores within the chain may carry different products or have a larger or smaller gluten-free section. Our nearby Kroger has a good number of gluten-free products including those in the freezer section but doesn’t carry the Tinkyada pasta we enjoy that the Publix across the street does.
2. When we first start eating gluten-free, many of us, myself included, go out and buy all of the pre-made gluten-free food we can find. Forget vegetables. Forget fruit. Give me the gluten-free cookies and bread. While delicious, these foods aren’t what your body needs to heal. Visit your farmer’s market. Most areas have one that runs at least through the summer months. This is produce at its freshest. Mine also has wonderful meats and eggs. I’ve found that the cost is comparable or less than other stores.
3. Google “gluten-free” and your city (or area if you aren’t in/near a city). “Gluten-free Nashville” gives me gluten-free restaurants, a gluten-free dietician (whom I saw when I was new to this) and another gluten-free blogger who lives in Nashville.
Of course it’s wonderful if your doctor is connected to the local gluten-free community. My internist isn’t but my chiropractor told me about a gluten-free restaurant.
4. On my own, I discovered that we didn’t have a gluten intolerance group (GIG) here, but we did have a chapter of another organization. I visited them for their last meeting but will go one more time before committing to join. I like to visit a time or two to make sure the group’s a good fit. I also just learned that we have a new GIG, and they will have their first meeting soon.
5. Visit your library’s catalog online to see what books they own on a gluten-free diet. Searching “gluten-free” should work. This is a great way to get some general books on the gluten-free diet like Donna Korn’s Living Gluten-Free For Dummies
Remember that just like every restaurant, every cookbook has a style of cooking. I’ve learned to love thyme because it’s an herb Carol Fenster often uses in her 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes (1,000 Recipes
Once you’ve exhausted your library, consider searching Amazon – or another online book supplier if you have a preference - to find more. Read the reviews. If someone says the book uses a lot of dairy products and you can’t eat dairy, then move on for now. Later, you may become skilled enough to start making substitutions. Once you’ve narrowed down the list to books you think might help, you have two choices. You can buy them, or you can do what I often do and order them first via interlibrary loan which my library does for free. If it’s truly a good fit, I then order it or request it for Christmas or my birthday.
6. Start experimenting in the kitchen. You may find you enjoy it, even if you didn’t in the past. Let’s face it, once you need to eat gluten-free, you will most likely need to cook in order to get the food that you want and/or need to eat. Whether the meals are simple or more elaborate is your choice. (Read Shreve Stockton’s story on this blog.)
7. Blogs are a wonderful source of information and inspiration. There are many that are excellent. Here are those I’ve interviewed. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom so you don’t miss the interview with Shirley from glutenfreeeasily.
When you’re looking for technical information such as what to eat, check carefully to be sure you’re on a reliable site so you know you’re getting accurate information. You want to make sure someone isn’t telling you it’s ok to eat spelt. (Yes I’ve seen that.)
Recipes online need to be evaluated, too. If the site has comments, read them. Do people seem to be successfully making the recipes? Does the blogger seem to make them more than once before posting or just make the pancakes for breakfast and call it good? You can often tell this from the post itself.
Now, take the next step into your enjoyable gluten-free life: try a new recipe, maybe invite a friend over to share something you’ve made from the post. I invite you to share something you’ve enjoyed about your gluten-free life. I know there has to be something.
Photos courtesy USDA
Brandy Wendler didn’t dream of winning a beauty pageant. (Well, no more than other little girls might.) Once diagnosed with celiac disease, she realized a title would help her to help others so she pursed it and won. She’s been busy ever since. We were both at Chicago’s Gluten & Allergen Free Expo last month but missed each other, because she’s so busy doing what she needs to do to help others.
Brandy lives in Alaska (when she’s home) with her military husband, just around the corner from where I grew up. Step into her dream of everyone with celiac disease being diagnosed so they can live a healthy, better life. Don’t forget to also check out her blog.
Q & A:
Q: You weren’t someone who’d always had the goal of winning a beauty pageant, yet you first entered the Mrs. United States pageant, winning the title of Mrs. Alaska. Then, when your reign with that title ended, you won the new title of Mrs. Alaska International 2012. How have these titles helped with your goal of spreading information about celiac disease and gluten intolerance/sensitivity?
A: Going for a title was originally my husband’s idea as a way to raise more awareness for Celiac Disease and a gluten-free lifestyle. Before we moved to Alaska I was looking for a bit of a support system. I couldn’t find any real cohesiveness in the Celiac or gluten free community though. I was used to living with my mother and sister in Atlanta, and they both have the disease so it was easy to stick to the diet and find a variety of foods. Alaska was a different story.
Winning the title gave me an instant credible profile in the community. With my master’s degree in nursing and with the visibility that a title brings, I was able to grow a support group in Anchorage and network with restaurants, health care providers, and grocery stores in order to show the need in the community.
Recently a resolution I helped create during my reign as Mrs. Alaska United States was accepted by both the Senate and the House and then signed by the governor of Alaska to recognize May as National Celiac Disease Awareness Month. I’m not sure I would have been able to get so much work done in so little time without my title! I had never participated in pageants before I was married, but I would definitely recommend them for any woman who is passionate about a cause.
Q: How did you feel emotionally and physically when you were told of your diagnosis?
A: By the time I actually got my diagnosis, I was physically and mentally drained. I had been suffering for so long, and I was passing through life almost like a zombie. I was given a dual diagnosis of Celiac Disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis so I think the numbness from being so exasperated for so long helped me gradually ease into the realization of what was making me sick. I also was diagnosed with cross allergies to casein, a protein found in milk, and soy. My mother was definitely a big help in keeping me compliant at first. It did get overwhelming a few times but a good support system and educating yourself is key to getting better.
I would say that being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease has been a big blessing. My life was a mess and God used that mess and turned it into my life’s message. I have a new direction and purpose.
I was a nurse and it still took me almost a decade to be diagnosed. How much harder is it for people who have no medical background to get the answers they need? 1 in 133 people have Celiac Disease and 95% don’t know it! Another 6-7% of the population has gluten intolerances. That’s a lot of people suffering for no reason. I want to decrease the percentage of undiagnosed people and help them get well.
Q: How has the diet improved your life?
A: Going gluten free has also taught me the value of my health and the importance of a clean, less processed and less packaged diet. I used to love packaged microwave meals and high fat and sugar baked goods. I could eat a roll of cookie dough while watching a movie and not think twice about it. Cleaning up my diet has definitely opened my eyes to how poor my eating habits were and how valuable food is to your body and its health. Food is like medicine, and if you don’t take the right medicine your body won’t be well. That’s part of the premise of my nonprofit, A Spoonful of Wellness. The goal of the organization is to educate about gluten and other food allergies and improve people’s lifestyle through a healthy diet.
Q: What would you say to someone who’s newly diagnosed and overwhelmed?
A: That it’s going to be ok! There is life, a good and fun life, after gluten. Think of it as a new adventure and a new way to experience life – new tastes and new recipes! I would definitely recommend they also visit a support group in their area at least to get a good support group surrounding them and visit websites like celiac.org or celiaccenter.org to find out more information. I also always tell newly diagnosed people I meet to just e-mail me or someone they trust, like a support group leader, with questions. It’s natural to be scared and overwhelmed because it’s new. A new diet takes a good six months to adjust too and maybe even longer to fine tune. It’s ok to make mistakes. A little bit of time and a little bit of manipulation and you’ll get there – I promise!
Q: What advice do you give to someone who has symptoms that might be caused by gluten but their doctor(s) hasn’t considered that possibility or told them gluten doesn’t cause those symptoms – but you know it does?
A: You know your own body – you are the one who has been living it so if you feel like you may have gluten issues, you need to get tested. No one should tell you that what you are feeling isn’t real or correct. It’s your body and you know it best! Gluten can cause symptoms everywhere in your body, not just your GI system. I struggled with depression, anxiety, headaches, heart burn, fatigue, vitamin deficiencies, even carpal tunnel. All of these have a link with untreated Celiac Disease and on a gluten free diet I don’t have any of these issues anymore! So be your own advocate – if your physician won’t run the test find another one who will. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll feel so much better!
Thank you Brandy!
Just before thousands arrived at the Chicago Gluten & Allergen Free Expo - April 2012
Stepping through the doors of a gluten-free expo can seem overwhelming. Vendors at tables are offering samples of their foods, some to eat there and some packaged to take home. A taste here, a taste there. A bite of cookie, a piece of cracker. (I should mention here, come hungry.)
Since one of the benefits of attending a gluten-free expo is the ability to try foods before you spend money on them, having hundreds of foods to sample is a good thing. The problem starts when you’re back home: you wonder what the really delicious sample was on the third table. Or, on the flip side, you’re trying to remember the crackers that weren’t really your thing so you want to make sure you don’t buy them at the store.
I tapped into some of the experts I met in Chicago to get their advice on how to resolve these issues, and to just have a great time at an expo, whether it’s your first or tenth.
Jen Cafferty of GFreeLife.com is the force behind the expos in Chicago and Dallas. Following her advice will make sure you have useful information once you’re home.
Annelies Zijderveld of Attune Foods Inc., the maker of yummy Erewhon cereals, takes a people centered attitude. “When you’re at a conference the best thing you can do is go in with a good attitude. You are there to make friends and new contacts who share the same passion or interest that you do. What’s better than connecting with likeminded people?” So true. It was a pleasure to meet Annelies face-to-face – she was the sponsor of my blog’s first giveaway.
I’ll add a simple tip for those samples you’re given to take home: keep the wrapper if you like it then it will be much easier to work with a store on stocking it. Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s new Nogii bars were given as samples and the Nuts About Tropic Fruit paleo bar was a hit with me. Just today I asked Whole Foods to carry it and it would have been much harder if I’d been trying to remember the details without the wrapper.
The most important thing to remember about expos is to have fun. How often do you get to spend hours in a place filled with gluten-free foods that you get to enjoy eating beside a bunch of people who totally understand a gluten-free life?
Interested in going to a gluten-free expo? They’re being held in many parts of the U.S. (If anyone reading this is from another country, please let us know if they’re also held where you live.) Here are just a few of those still to come in 2012: Charlotte, North Carolina on June 2; Dallas, Texas (also by Jen Cafferty) on September 8-9; and New Orleans, Louisiana on October 21.
Megan Ancheta of Wasilla, Alaska, makes delicious food for her two girls, ages 3 and 7 then shares those recipes with her happy readers on Maid in Alaska. I’m originally from nearby Anchorage, Alaska, so I became intrigued by her familiar Alaskan touches like moose in her yard. Then I started cooking her food. A friend described her Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites as “like an Almond Joy” then told me I should make them for my annual Christmas cookie party. (See my cookie photo below)
Megan shares the story of her girls’ allergies and how she helps them live with those allergies. She also gives great information about how to get any kid to eat more healthy food.
Q: How did you learn what foods your two girls had problems with?
A: Both girls were lactose intolerant as infants, but Abbi started having severe emotional outbursts and constant diarrhea shortly after she was a year old. I suspected a sensitivity to gluten and bought it up to my pediatrician. In not so many words, my pediatrician thought I was crazy and told me, “I had no idea what a gluten-free diet consisted of.” (This was after I had already been gluten free for over a year for my own health issues, so I absolutely knew what a gluten-free diet consisted of!) I left the appointment upset and angry (she is no longer our pediatrician).
Shortly after the appointment with our pediatrician I took Abbi to see my naturopathic doctor, Dr. Amy Chadwick at Soaring Crane Clinic in Palmer, AK. Dr. Amy listened to me describe Abbi’s symptoms and agreed Abbi probably did have a gluten sensitivity. Within a few short weeks of removing gluten from Abbi’s diet there were HUGE improvements, but she continued to have some minor problems. Dr. Amy then recommended removing corn from Abbi’s diet, so we did and it was just what was needed to bring Abbi back to being “normal.” The diarrhea stopped and Abbi was back to being a happy, sweet little girl instead of having an erratic, unpredictable “Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde-like” personality.
Kylie was diagnosed with psoriasis when she was 4 years old. Over time we tried eliminating various foods from her diet and came to the conclusion gluten, corn, and dairy were all psoriasis triggers for her.
Q: How have you helped them understand that they shouldn’t eat certain foods?
A: Teaching Kylie what she can and cannot eat has been fairly easy, Abbi, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. It is much easier to teach an older child that grasps explanations and questions like, “If we allow you to eat that, your psoriasis will break out. Do you remember how miserable and itchy you were the last time you had a psoriasis patch? Do you really want that to happen again?”
It is difficult teaching Abbi what she can and cannot eat simply because of her age, so we have started with very simple explanations like, “Abbi, you can’t have that, baby, because it will make you sick.” Or “that has gluten in it; you can’t have it because gluten makes you sick.” Eventually she will begin to understand.
Q: Your oldest is in school now. How do you make sure she doesn’t eat problem foods?
Kylie is homeschooled, so eating problem foods in school isn’t an issue; however, there are other settings (like Sunday school, vacation Bible school, soccer games) we have to be concerned about. We always tell Kylie that if someone offers her food she very politely needs to tell them, “No thank you; I can’t eat that, I have allergies.” It’s a simple explanation that others (especially adults) understand.
Q: How do you make their lives feel “normal?”
I feel like this question ties in to question #4 so well. We never go anywhere without snacks or food. I always carry Larabars, nuts, trailmix, crackers, or a special allergy friendly treat in my purse that the girls can have so they never feel left out.
When it comes to birthday parties or special events, I always bring our own food. If I have time in advance, I try to make a treat similar to what is being served at the party. If I don’t have enough time to make something I tell the girls, “Momma doesn’t have enough time to make you cupcakes to eat at the party, so we are going to swing by the grocery store to pick up a special treat you can have (like dairy free ice cream, Pamela’s Mini-Snaps or Kinnikinnick Amimal Crackers).” As long as my girls have something special to replace what they can’t have they are happy.
Q: You aren’t just eliminating certain allergens in your home, you’re also trying to feed your children healthy food. What foods don’t you allow in your home? What foods do you especially encourage your kids to eat? (See her post – 10 Tips for getting children to eat healthier)
We absolutely do not allow soda pop, juice (unless it is juice made out of real fruits and veggies from our juicer), store bought candy, processed foods, or any sort of foods with preservatives or artificial ingredients.
We try to urge our girls to eat whole foods, but especially try to encourage them to eat organic veggies. Kylie and Abbi both have different veggies they refuse to eat (what kids doesn’t?), but overall they do fairly well, as long as they have a special homemade dip or sauce to dip their veggies in.
I love that these cookies are grain-free and sweetened with a small amount of honey or maple syrup (I used maple syrup) and stevia which she says is optional. I also made these with toasted, chopped pecans. My husband preferred the cookies with the pecans, I preferred the original recipe.
Thank you Megan!
To me, lemons have a taste that brings sunshine on a rainy day. They’re light, fruity, fresh but with a hint of tart.
They’ve been in the Americas for hundreds of years. Columbus brought lemon seeds along on his second trip to the Carribean. Early Spanish settlers to California found the climate good for growing citrus and time has proven them right; today California and neighboring Arizona are the largest growers of lemons in the U.S.
Lemons don’t have season like apples or pears, they are harvested throughout the year. This small yellow fruit has some interesting other properties. (See this video by Dr. Oz.)
The inside and outside of a lemon are both filled with lemon flavor. When adding lemon juice to a baked good or entree, consider adding a little zest -remembering that the outside can have chemicals on it if it isn’t organic. I recently bought a microplane, and it makes wonderful fine pieces of zest so it’s a good investment. (Commerically, the peel’s are also used to make pectin, the stuff that thickens jellies and jams.)
The scent of lemon is in the air over at the Gluten-Free Homemaker for her theme this month. This post in linked to her Gluten-Free Wednesdays carnival.
I’m sharing a recipe we’ve enjoyed quite a few times since becoming gluten-free. It’s a non-recipe because I usually mix it up without one, but I wrote down the amounts for you. If you like things spicy, a dash of cayenne would be great. If peppers and/or onions are your thing, slice some and toss them into the pan with the meat. (I’d go with a sweeter pepper like red in this, not green.) Fresh basil (3 times the amount of dried) would be wonderful, I just tend to use dried because I have it on hand. Whipped cinnamon sweet potatoes and green beans rounded out our meal.
2 strip steaks*
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (this was 1/2 a lemon)**
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 large garlic clove or 2 small, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Slice the steak into thin strips and place in a glass container. Add the other ingredients, mix, cover and place the container in the fridge for at least two hours to marinate. To cook, heat a skillet on medium-high, throw it in (no additional oil is needed) and saute until cooked to your desired doneness.
*I buy Laura’s beef on sale and freeze it. These two steaks totaled 1.21 pounds. This isn’t an inexpensive meal but much less than a similar meal out.
**My husband doesn’t like a prominent lemon flavor so I use just the 1/2 of a lemon to keep the lemon in the background. Extra lemon juice could be used if you would like the lemon to be more of a major player.
Linked to:
Pamela and I at April's Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Chicago, Illinois
“My passion is creating gluten-free products that taste better than their conventional counterparts,” said Pamela Giusto-Sorrells, who personally develops all Pamela’s recipes. “Gluten-free shouldn’t mean sacrificing delicious, home-baked comforts like light, fluffy bread or decadent warm cookies from the oven.”
Pamela’s Products makes a wide variety of sweet treats, both as already made and as mixes. Sometimes we forget to have fun in the kitchen and be creative once we’re gluten-free, so consider taking one of her products in an unexpected direction. Instead of just eating the Pecan Shortbread (which is always a good option), I turned the cookies into a cheesecake crust. By adding chocolate chips to the Luscious Chocolate Cookies recipe* on her website, I turned her Chocolate Cake Mix into chocolate chocolate chip cookies one woman described as the best gluten-free thing I’d made yet. Her Baking & Pancake Mix is the number one selling natural pancake mix. I imagine it could become many things beyond pancakes. Be creative.
This September, four new products will be on shelves: a Biscuit & Scone Mix, Oatmeal Cookie Mix, Sugar Cookie – Roll & Cut Mix, and an Artisan Flour Blend which is designed to be used as a cup-for-cup replacement for all-purpose flour in most recipes. The flour blend could be an answer for those who want to move away from xanthan gum and have found that guar gum works for them. Artisan Flour Blend’s ingredients are: Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour, Arrowroot Starch, and Guar Gum.
Pamela’s answers some questions for us.
Q & A:
Q: What steps does Pamela’s take to ensure that products are gluten-free? Are you testing and, if so, to what ppm?
A: Our plant is certified by GFCO [Gluten Free Certification Organization]. All of our ingredients require a certificate of analysis to verify they are gluten free before we bring them into our plant. Every production run of product is then tested for gluten at 10ppm before being packed off. We take our gluten free status very seriously and make all efforts necessary to ensure our consumers are getting the best gluten free food.
Q: You have a cookie to suit everyone’s tastes including peanut butter, chocolate, ginger and lemon. What is the inspiration for new products? How are they developed?
A: Pamela personally develops all of our new products. She is a whiz in the kitchen, always testing new recipes and product ideas. She is not just committed to gluten free but also to making sure the product tastes delicious and quality is superior. Some of Pamela’s products spend years in development before launching to ensure they meet Pamela’s high standards.
Q: Pamela’s Products always have rice flour in them. Is there a less known flour such as teff or sorghum that’s finding a place as new products are being developed?
A: Pamela’s flour blend is 100% proprietary to us. Pamela spent 8 years developing and perfecting the formula. We have several new products launching this year that contain sorghum flour, including our Artisan Flour Blend, Pizza Crust Mix, Oatmeal Cookie Mix, Sugar Cookie Mix, and Biscuit & Scone Mix.
Q: When I had to start eating gluten-free, I thought I’d have to eat food like the horrible gluten-free bread I’d sampled decades ago. You’re making food that tastes good and making mixes for people to make their own great tasting food. What is the most delicious or unusual (but still great tasting) food that’s been made with a Pamela’s mix?
A: That is a hard one. I don’t think I can pinpoint one item. We have tons of recipes on hand, and Pamela is constantly in the kitchen experimenting and bringing in new samples for us to try. Fans often send us great new recipes that we add to our collection, many of which we share on our website. We recently had some cinnamon rolls Pamela made with the new Artisan flour blend that were absolutely delicious!
*I added one additional large egg to the chocolate cookie recipe.
Thank you Pamela’s!
Wendy Gregory Kaho of Celiacs in the House has two children who went off to college last year. From their experiences, both good and not-so-good, she’s become, I suspect unexpectedly, an expert in eating gluten-free at college.
Wendy’s “Gluten-Free College” page has some great links to articles and other information including this publication from Celiac Central that includes an interview with Wendy’s college student daughter.
My husband is a college professor. We used to eat at the school cafeteria quite often but since being diagnosed we haven’t tried. I realize now that we need to try and perhaps pave the way for a student living on campus who needs gluten-free and can’t easily eat elsewhere. So this is for myself and for all of you with gluten-free students who are about to go off to college.
Q & A:
Q: Should a college be chosen then contacted to check their level of understanding about making gluten-free foods, or should students and parents only consider schools known for doing gluten-free well?
A: It certainly helps a lot to choose a college that does gluten-free well, but it really depends on the student. Are they motivated enough to do the extra to work required to feed themselves safely or are they better in an environment where eating safely is easy and they don’t have to think about it?
Q: Not all colleges are equal in their gluten-free setup. The photo on your blog of Ohio Wesleyan’s GF station shows a school that’s doing it well. Please describe the range of gluten-free services that are available in colleges.
A: It really is a range of no accommodation to extravagantly and safely gluten free. That really is the dilemma for students and parents. There are places that get gluten free and do it right and schools that have no accommodation or a poor understanding of special diets of any kind.
Q: What questions need to be asked and arrangements made before the student arrives at school?
A: Make a list of questions and be very precise and focused in asking them and evaluating the answers (see list here). Watch the dining hall in action and even find a gluten-free student at the school and tag along as they eat to get the best feel for how the dining service operates and to see if you and your child feel safe. After our experiences last fall with both kids starting different colleges, I recommend really immersing yourself and your child in the dining hall experience like this to know for sure how it’s going to work. (The link leads to some great articles written by Wendy.)
Q: How should the student follow up when he or she is there to make sure the food is gluten-free?
A: Know your symptoms and watch carefully for signs of accidental gluten exposure. Our son had been so safe at home and as a homeschooled kid, that he had no clue that his symptoms were feeling like he had the flu all the time with body aches and fatigue, brain fog and low grade depression. Not everyone with celiac has those classic digestive symptoms and those who don’t have to be extra alert and careful.
Q: What’s your favorite tip for a celiac/gluten intolerant who is going off to college in the next year or two?
A: Before going off to school you need to build your independent living skills like cooking, shopping, reading labels and also getting your health in the best shape you can with healthy eating habits. Living at college whether in the dorms or off campus, you will be stressed, exposed to large groups of people and all kinds of challenges to your immune system. Be strong when you get there and stay strong with good self-care. There will be all kinds of temptations to cheat on your diet with pizza and drink beer to go with that pizza. My kids were both shocked with the cheating that goes on with other gluten-free students in the college environment. Students and parents need to talk seriously about those challenges and how to cope with them. Decide before you go if you will be drinking and if it is your plan not to abstain, know what is safe. Try to plan ahead with your own gluten-free treats, so you aren’t swept up in the pizza party scene and try to surround yourself with friends who support you.
As always, when I interview a blogger, I also make one of their recipes. I made, and enjoyed, Wendy’s:
This salad is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and vegan. Wendy offered a choice of pomegranate or red wine vinegar in the recipe; I chose the red wine vinegar because I already had it. I also added some chopped, seeded tomato for color. This was my first use of ground chipotle pepper so I have to thank her for a new flavor to add to future dishes.
I brought this on a picnic with a friend – where it was a hit – and to a vegetarian friend who was stripping wallpaper at her house and needed a power-packed lunch. Quinoa and chickpeas are a great protein combo. Then I ate the leftovers the next day. Delicious.
Thanks Wendy!
Continuing an excellent interview with author, editor and teacher, Ron Hoggan. This is on the technical side, but full of good information.
“With current trends in obesity, insulin resistance, learning disabilities, behavior problems, and addiction, gluten grains may well be contributing to each and all of these enormous social ills.” Ron Hoggan
Q: Describe what opioid peptides are and what they do?
A: This is an enormously broad question and one that I am only partly qualified to answer.
Christine Zioudrou and colleagues discovered morphine-like peptides (partial proteins) in the incomplete digests of wheat gluten and alpha casein, a protein in milk. They reported their discovery in The Journal of Biological Chemistry in April of 1979. Since that time, their findings have been repeatedly replicated, and the characterization of the moprhine-like peptides from gluten has been further characterized into five separate opioids. Because they behave like endorphins but come from outside the body, they were originally dubbed exorphins by Zioudrou and colleagues.
The morphine-like action of these opioids leads to a variety of changes in the body. These include addiction, appetite enhancement, altered neurotransmission, altered tension in blood vessel walls, and they sometimes seem to inhibit our ability to foresee consequences and feel empathy.
One of my own publications suggests that the elevated cancer risk, in the context of celiac disease, is the result of the down-regulation of natural killer cells by opioid peptides from gluten. Natural killer cells are part of the innate immune system (more on this later) and they are our bodies’ first line of defense against cancer. So the down-regulation of these cells can have a powerful impact on whether we develop malignant tumors and whether we can recover from them.
One difficult patient with lymphoma is a powerful case in point. He was diagnosed with a B cell lymphoma. He refused all other treatments except Naloxone, which blocks attachment of opioids to opioid receptors. The patient experienced a full recovery from his lymphoma on Naloxone treatment alone. That certainly suggests the possibility that my hypothesis is correct.
Addiction is also a very important facet of the impact of gluten because, as with other addictions, there is a large component of denial involved. We are habituated to these peptides from infancy, when we are first given a cookie to slobber on. And by the time we were weaned, most of us were eating breakfast cereals, porridge, bread, cake, pasta, processed meats, and many of the other foods that increasingly contain gluten.
Gluten opioids, as with morphine and other opioids, slow the speed of neurotransmission. That is how they attenuate pain. Sometimes that is a good thing, except that pain is one of the tools by which we learn. I remember the pain of burning my hands by sliding down a rope on a swing my father built in our back yard. I think that was before I started school. I can tell you that I have always been reluctant to hold a moving rope or climb on a rope without gloves since that experience. Thus, by feeding our children gluten grains, we may inhibit their learning capacities.
But that is just a small facet of the tremendous impact that grains can have on learning and behavior. Alexandra Blair reported in the Times Online that the gluten free diet induced improvements in reading and writing for between 70% and 90% among two groups of children with dyslexia. One group (70%) lived at home with their parents, while the other group (90%) resided at the school where the school had total control over their diets.Over a six month period, these children achieved improvements expected for one year’s schooling in children without learning disabilities. Some of these children experienced up to 3 years’ progress in just six months. My own professional experience echoes this report. I have seen startlingly positive results from a gluten free diet alone.
Many children with attention deficit disorders also experience dramatic improvements from a gluten free diet.Gluten has been reported to alter blood vessel-dilation, thus altering blood flow patterns in the brain. Perhaps this is a factor in these learning and behavior problems. We can only await relevant research in this area.
We also know that ingesting these exorphins leads to decreases in endorphin production in the brain. Again, more research is needed to determine what impact that has on learning, cognition and other brain functions.
One way we can tell that these opioids may sometimes be involved in unwanted weight gain is that when binge eaters, obese subjects, and people of normal weight are given Naloxone, a drug that blocks opioid attachment, there is a spontaneous reduction in appetite without any sense of hunger or being deprived. One study reported those reductions at 400 kilo-calories per day. (It is not hard to see why this would lead to rapid weight loss.) Thus, by implication, gluten opioids cause unwarranted appetite enhancement.
With current trends in obesity, insulin resistance, learning disabilities, behavior problems, and addiction, gluten grains may well be contributing to each and all of these enormous social ills.
“The dramatic improvements must speak for themselves, recommending the diet for each and all who suffer from psychiatric illness, learning problems, mood disorders, behavior problems, or any of the host of other problems that frequently improve after removing gluten from the diet.” Ron Hoggan
Q: How can someone’s mental and emotional state be changed by removing gluten?
A: There is clear evidence that a subset of people with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorders are benefitted by a gluten free, dairy free diet. Whether gluten’s impact is with a major psychiatric disorder or a relatively minor emotional disturbance, the gluten-free diet can be enormously beneficial for some of these people. They may experience a period of withdrawal and anxiety, but once they have passed through this stage they will experience newfound calmness, peace, and serenity. I was fortunate in my own experience. On the third morning after beginning the gluten-free diet, I awoke to a pervasive sense of anticipation and joy. I don’t know why I was spared the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms, but I am grateful. As with many such things, I now take these feelings for granted.
There are many theories about what causes these changes in mood. Chronic intestinal inflammation may consume most of the available serotonin, leaving little of its precursor, tryptophan, for the brain to convert into this feel-good neurotransmitter. Or there may be many other issues at work. Only further research will solve this mystery.
From the earliest descriptions of celiac disease that I’ve read, children with celiac disease are characterized as cranky and whiny. Some researchers have attributed this to their illness. Others harken to the nutrient deficiencies these children experience. But neither of these explanations is satisfactory. Why do some experience a wave of well-being after just a few days on the diet, long before they have been restored to good health or their nutrient deficiencies have been corrected? There is something more there, but it we just don’t know enough about gluten’s impact on the psyche to go beyond the observations.The dramatic improvements must speak for themselves, recommending the diet for each and all who suffer from psychiatric illness, learning problems, mood disorders, behavior problems, or any of the host of other problems that frequently improve after removing gluten from the diet.
“. . . our results show that a gluten free diet induces dramatic changes in school readiness . . .” Ron Hoggan
Q: What do we know about gluten and learning disabilities? How can removing gluten from the diet help a child improve in school?
A: As mentioned earlier, dramatic improvements are often seen following removal of gluten from the diet. Supporting evidence does not seem to be found in the peer reviewed medical literature, but that may be explained by the gate-keeper function of the peer review process. Dr. Rodney Ford and I conducted a retrospective study of the school readiness of more than 900 children both before and after six months on a gluten-free diet. Our work has repeatedly been refused publication. I suspect that the pre-conceived notions of the reviewers are what have led to these denials. Perhaps they cannot bring themselves to believe that our results could be correct. But the reality is that our results show that a gluten-free diet induces dramatic changes in school readiness across a number of gastrointestinal complaints and a variety of other variables.
Thank you again Ron!
Thank you for visiting. I've spent many, many hours reading blogs and books about the gluten-free life. I love research. Really love it. I'm a writer so this is part of what makes me tick. But I know not everyone likes it. My goal is to bring this wealth of useful information to you here through interviews with prominent people from the gluten-free community. I hope that each time you visit, you’ll walk away with a little something new, something that helps you enjoy your gluten-free life even more.
Disclosure: If you click on an Amazon link and order something, I will receive some money from that purchase. Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Please do not take anything on this site as medical advice. You are responsible for your own choices. The interviews and product reviews on enjoyingglutenfreelife.com are informational and not an endorsement.