Celiac Disease

Official Website of Celiac-Disease.com

You are here: Home / Blog

Blog

Review: Rudi’s Gluten-Free Buns

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

New gluten-free buns are hitting the market this year just in time for the summer grilling season.  I had the opportunity to sample Rudi’s Gluten-Free Buns recently and I was thrilled! I couldn’t wait to try them out with one of my favorite burger fillers – Sunshine Burgers!

These buns were every bit as good as I thought they would be! Unfortunately, I only got one because Jon managed to eat the other 3 within 24 hours.  He obviously loved them!  He used 2 of them to make his own version of a “Subway” sub on a bun and the other for a burger.  I kept these buns in the freezer to keep them fresh.  When it comes time to eat, they can be defrosted at room temperature or in the microwave for 10 seconds or more, as needed.

I lightly toasted the bun because that is how I prefer mine.  They hold up well to toppings and didn’t crumble, which we all know can be a problem with gluten-free bread products.  Even Jon didn’t have any issues and we all know that 15-year-old boys don’t tend to follow instructions (I mean that in the most loving way possible).

One of the best things about Rudi’s, other than their great-tasting products, is their certification as gluten-free:

Our Gluten-Free Certification

Our passion is baking better bread and we’ve been doing it since 1976, giving us extensive baking experience to help create gluten-free breads that taste, look and feel like the real bread. Our master bakers worked with gluten-free experts and consumers for more than 15 months to get our formulas to taste like real bread.

As an added step to making sure we’re baking products that are safe and do not contain gluten, Rudi’s gluten-free breads are certified gluten-free and carry the recognizable gluten-free Certification Organization (GFCO) GF Symbol.  GFCO provides a uniform system, using strict standards to certify a product gluten-free and enables people to easily identify GF foods with confidence.  These standards are confirmed by field inspections in order to achieve heightened consumer confidence and safety. You can learn more at: https://gfco.org.

Although we do not have a dedicated gluten-free facility, we do have a segregated, separate manufacturing approach. We bake our gluten-free breads on separate, dedicated equipment and on separate production days. You can feel assured our gluten-free products never come into contact with something used to make a product containing gluten. As part of our manufacturing process, we also do the following:

  • Our organic and gluten-free equipment is color-coded for easy segregation
  • Our gluten-free breads are baked only after our facility has gone through an extensive, full day clean-up process
  • All incoming ingredients are tested and certified to be gluten-free
  • As part of our gluten-free certification, every batch of our gluten-free bread is tested and must test below <10 ppm of gluten for distribution
  • We also send product to an outside lab to validate our test results and ensure we have less than 10 ppm of gluten

Rudi’s gluten-free Buns & Bread can be found in stores across the US and online. I just heard new information this week about Rudi’s gluten-free Bread being available at certain Costco locations for $6.89 for a package of 2 loaves.   Click here for a $1.00 off coupon for Rudi’s gluten-free Bread.  A quick note on the new products from Rudi’s:

A quick note on the new Rudi’s gluten-free hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, and pizza crusts:  We sell primarily to natural food distributors who in turn sell to natural and conventional food stores.  This process can take some time and we update our store list reguarly.

What have you been using for gluten-free buns up until this point?  Were you going without?

Finding Gluten-Free Food at Airports

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

During a recent trip, we made an unplanned detour to JFK airport in order to get back to Atlanta. Because I knew that finding a safe lunch at the first airport we were at that day might be tough, I had my own food in my bag and had plenty to eat for that meal. However, I had no way of knowing I’d also need to find something to eat for dinner later on. To add a little extra stress to an already horrifically stressful travel day, we had very little time to get from the gate we arrived at to the gate our last flight was departing from at JFK. I knew I still had some tiny snacks in my tote bag and assumed they would have to suffice for a makeshift dinner.

As we rushed by The Healthy Gourmet kiosk just before getting to our departure gate (and finding out our flight was delayed due to no pilot), a sign caught my eye. There on the corner was a round display of Food Should Taste Good chips. This line of chips is not only nutritious, but the flavors are also totally unexpected. I have not tried them all yet, but so far I’m partial to the delicious Olive chips. Since we now had some time before boarding, I decided to check out the offerings at The Healthy Gourmet.

The fact that the Food Should Taste Good sign listed gluten-free for every passerby to see delighted me on a trying day. It was a little like seeing a rainbow after the rain. I grabbed a bag of chips and proceeded to check out the rest of the items at the kiosk. To my surprise, there was a very fresh-looking salad (several of them, in fact) that clearly listed every ingredient and allergen info to boot. I chose a salad that included salad greens, turkey, cheese, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, and mandarin oranges.

When I went to pay for my airport dinner, I was offered a packet of dressing, but I was not in the mood to read the label so I declined the offer. Not only was the salad gluten-free, but it was also shockingly delicious for airport food. Our flight ended up leaving even later than first expected so I had time to check out some other things at various kiosks and there was a shocking amount (to me) of gluten-free labeled items. Various types of chips and bars were among the offerings.

At the Atlanta airport, there were also several options such as bars from Oskri and yet more Food Should Taste Good chips. I’d noticed them on the way to our gate over a week before. Even though I was not in need of any safe food at 9 am that day, I appreciated the fact that they were available. And even better, I like knowing that most people buying the items are not in need of gluten-free food. They just want a snack and buy items they either know they like or that look good to them.

To say we’ve come a long way in the past five years is quite an understatement. Gluten-free options are growing every month and more mainstream consumers are embracing them for whatever reason. While it annoys me that trendy gluten-free diners are out there who would not know if they were served gluten by mistake, on the retail side of things, the more gluten-free purchases made the better for all of us.

As an aside, I’d like to thank Delta Airlines. The Atlanta-based company came through for us in a big way and we arrived home safely because of their excellent customer service. Their help was greatly appreciated considering the fact that we were using frequent flyer tickets for the trip and the fact that we missed our departing flight was not related to Delta in any way.

Recipe: Artery Clogging Gluten-Free Egg Casserole

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Back when the fabulous gluten-free bakery, Pure Knead, opened in Decatur, we stopped in to pick up some incredible Olive Boule and Hamburger Buns. After picking up our fresh, pre-ordered goodies, we headed over the Pine Street Market which is located a couple of miles from the bakery.

All the regular meats at Pine Street Market are gluten-free. On rare occasions, there might be some gluten in a specialty item, but otherwise the bacon, sausages and other artisan meats are gluten-free. We went to the butchery to get their delicious Applewood Smoked Bacon, but picked up some delicious Picnic Salami and Pancetta as well.

The Pancetta went into the freezer until about two weeks ago when I defrosted it and decided to use it in an egg casserole. I ended up making what might be the highest fat and calorie egg casserole in the history of egg casseroles. However, it was also the best one I’ve made to date. Or so my husband told me. We agreed that the Pancetta was what really made the dish exceptional.

Pancetta and Gruyère Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 leek, green part only, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese
  • 1 cup regular whipping cream
  • ½ pound Pancetta, diced
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Cook Pancetta over medium heat until crispy and drain on paper towel lined plate
  2. Reserve only a tablespoon of the drippings
  3. Saute the diced leeks in the drippings until soft
  4. Set meat and leeks aside to cool
  5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  6. In medium bowl, mix beaten eggs, cheese and cream
  7. When meat and leeks are cool enough to not cook the eggs, fold them into egg mixture
  8. Pour contents of mixing bowl into a greased 9″ glass pie plate or small baking dish (mine is 7″ x 11″)
  9. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake the casserole for approximately 30 minutes or until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cover the dish with foil about 20 minutes in to keep it from over-browning (as happened to mine).
  10. Let casserole sit for five minutes before cutting to serve
  11. Enjoy – but don’t be surprised if you feel your arteries clogging as you do so!

Gluten-Free Hot Dog Round-up

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

The first time I read the word wheat on a pack of hot dogs, I was shocked. I was sure that people on celiac online forums were mistaken about American summertime food containing gluten. But they, in fact, were right on the money. After reading wheat on about three brands of hot dogs at the store, I left without any at all.

So much has changed since that happened, including many hot dog brands removing gluten (in the form of wheat) and adding gluten-free to their labels. One of the most famous of all the brands to make the conversion is Nathan’s franks. Most of their options went gluten-free in the Fall of 2009 and had hit stores across the nation by the spring of 2010.

Since it will soon be time to brush off our patio grills (at least in the South), I’m excited to have several options to choose from at my corner grocery store. Before late 2009, if I wanted to buy hotdogs that were labeled gluten-free, I had to drive 14 miles to Whole Foods to do so. In addition to Nathan’s brand, there are many other gluten-free hot dogs out there. The below list is not comprehensive, but the companies listed below label their gluten-free items as such. At least, they did so at the last check. Always check the labels every time you purchase a processed food item to make sure the ingredients are all gluten-free.

  • Applegate Farms
  • Wellshire Farms
  • Trader Joe’s Brand
  • Shelton’s
  • Jennie-O

Always check the label carefully when buying anything – especially something like hot dogs. Not all gluten-free hot dogs are labeled as such which is why I like supporting the companies that label their safe options as such. I can do a quick check of all the ingredients and if they meet my other criteria, I’m good to go.

So many things that used to contain gluten (in the form of wheat) as a filler do not anymore. It’s a wonderful thing for all of us that companies started paying attention to what consumers want. Sometimes I’ll notice when browsing at the grocery store that wheat is not listed in a product that is previously in, and the next thing I know, the item is labeled gluten-free. I just love it when that happens – even if it‘s not a product I’m interested in buying.

The reality is that wheat was used as a filler in tons of things where a nonstop allergen ingredient could do the trick instead. The list of people avoiding wheat and/or gluten is growing each year it seems and let’s face it, we are all benefiting from that trend.

*Sure Foods Living has a great list of gluten and dairy-free hot dogs and sausages.

Mother’s Day the Gluten-Free Way!

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is this Sunday already! That means this year is almost half over already. I really do not know where the time goes. Do you prepare a meal for Mother’s Day or do you go out?  There are many places that are doing special meals or hours for Mother’s Day. Some of those places include:

  • Bonefish Grill – They don’t typically open until 4:00 PM, but will be opening for lunch at 11:00 AM on Mother’s Day.  They have a nice variety of gluten-free items on their menu.
  • Mimi’s Café – Open for breakfast through dinner and they are accepting reservations now.
  • First Watch – Breakfast – lunch.   They don’t accept reservations, but have a nice gluten-free menu & a knowledgeable staff.
  • Pei Wei – Great for gluten-free take-out if you don’t feel like going out or cooking
  • BJ’s Brewhouse – Not only do they have gluten-free pizza, but you also can enter to win a $1,000 shopping spree at Nordstrom for Mom!
  • Carraba’s – Nice gluten-free menu that is a little more upscale than some of the other places listed.
  • P.F. Chang’s – Always a good choice – open for lunch  – dinner with many gluten-free options.  Don’t forget the incredible Chocolate Dome!

Don’t feel like going out or are hosting family?  Here are some of our favorite things to make to share with family:

  • Pumpkin Raisin Scones
  • Lemon Bundt Cake
  • Catholic Potatoes
  • Glazed Ham
  • Buffalo Chicken Dip
  • Veggie Tray
  • Perfect Herbed Pork Tenderloin
  • Fruit salad or skewers

Of course a celebration can include any food that you like – as much or as little as you like.  Adjusting to holidays can be tough when you are new to the gluten-free diet (or any diet).  Can’t find a recipe to make an old favorite that is not gluten-free?  Try something new and create new traditions!  Never let the absence of a certain food dampen your spirit.  Open your mind and celebrate the occasion.  Appreciate the ones you love and the ones who love you.  Life is too short to mourn food.  Remember there is much more out there that you can eat than what you can’t.

Happy Mother’s Day!