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Gluten-Free Diet

Gluten-Free Gifts

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

Sending a food-related gift for someone that is gluten-free is tough. There are many non-gluten-free options – Cookie Bouquets, Cheryl’s Cookies, Harry & David, Hickory Farms, etc. It is always tough when we get a gift from one of the aforementioned places & Jon can’t have any of the treats. While there may be a piece of fruit from Harry & David or cheese from Hickory Farms, the gluten-free options just aren’t as plentiful.

There are some gluten-free options out there. Edible Arrangements are a great option for gluten-free gifts. The main ingredient is fruit and the fruit, if not dipped, is gluten-free.

Mariposa Bakery has gift sets you can order. I did a review of Mariposa’s products which can be seen here. All of the gift baskets are under $40 and would make an excellent gift. Some of the options include several varieties of brownies, coconut lemon squares, coffee cakes, biscotti & more. There is a dairy-free gift set as well. Other fun options are the brownie-of-the-month club, biscotti-of-the-month club & a gluten-free sampler club.

Illinois Nut & Candy has many gluten-free gift ideas. Some of the wonderful options include shaped chocolate bars & lollipops, popcorn balls & shaped sprinkles. I love all of the holiday options for Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and more.

Live gluten-freely has a wonderful new option. For $24.99 plus shipping LGF will include a gluten-free, full-size assortment of General Mills gluten-free products. This would be perfect for the newly diagnosed or for saying thank you or congratulations. The box includes:

  • Betty Crocker® gluten-free Brownie Mix
  • Betty Crocker® gluten-free Yellow Cake Mix
  • Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy Chocolate Frosting
  • Honey Nut Chex® Cereal
  • Betty Crocker® Create-A-Bug® Fruit Flavored Snacks
  • Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Snacks Variety Pack – Fruit Roll-Ups®, Fruit Gushers®, Fruit by the Foot®
  • Peanut Butter Cookie Lärabar® Snack Bar
  • Betty Crocker® Potato Buds® Mashed Potatoes
  • Betty Crocker® Red Serving Spoon
  • Coupons and More!

GlutenFreeMall.com has gift vouchers that can be purchased from their site in as low as $25 increments. You can get a $25 gluten-free Mall Gift Voucher here. This allows the person you are shopping for to choose from the hundreds of items that are sold at the gluten-free Mall.

Last but not least, gift certificates to one of the many restaurants that are now offering gluten-free menus. If there is a local restaurant, placing a phone call is a great way to see if gift certificates can be purchased. If the person is newly gluten-free, consider sending along a set of gluten-free dining guides & cards to help ease some of the confusion about eating out gluten-free. Some of the chain restaurants that have gluten-free menus are:

  • P.F. Chang’s
  • Bonefish Grill
  • Pei Wei Asian Diner
  • Z Pizza
  • Red Robin
  • Cheeseburger in Paradise
  • Outback Steakhouse
  • Carrabba’s
  • Olive Garden
  • Chik-fil-a
  • Chipotle

Gluten-Free Items for Passover

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

With Passover beginning next week, Tuesday, March 30, grocery stores are getting stocked with matzo and other traditional Passover food items. Unfortunately, most of these items are full of wheat and of no use on a gluten-free diet.  Technically, according to Jewish law, one must eat matzo on the first night of Passover, and real matzo must contain wheat, barley, rye, spelt, or oats, which has to do with the method of cooking and amount of time needed for the matzo to rise.  By Jewish law matzo must be made in under 18 minutes from the time it is started to the time of the finished product, being that it is forbidden to eat any grain that is leavened.

I even read from one source that if wheat-filled matzo doesn’t cause us “too much discomfort” one should be eating it in observance of Passover, which is obviously not a safe solution for observant celiacs.  Thankfully, there are some companies that keep gluten-free eaters in mind and provide Passover items at this time of year. As with wheat-filled matzo, it is required that when using gluten-free oats they are supervised by a rabbi throughout the entire process to be sure the flour does not come in contact with water and start leavening and monitor the 18-minute regulation, which again is a requirement of Jewish law in order for it to be considered real matzo.  This, unfortunately, means that gluten-free matzo is not necessarily cheap.

Gluten-free oat matzo and matzo meal are also available by Gluten-Free Oat Matzos based in the UK and can be found worldwide, and provide a list of worldwide distributors. These are currently the only gluten-free matzo produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility.

Being from New York City, I have always loved matzo ball soup and was so thankful when I came across a gluten-free matzo ball soup mix by Paskesz a few weeks ago at the Gluten-Free Trading Company in Milwaukee.  This has always been one of my favorite soups.  Paskesz offers many kosher gluten-free foods that are available seasonally as well as year-round. Currently, the gluten-free Trading Company carries matzo ball soup mix, matzo crackers, chow mein noodles, bread crumbs, cereals, cupcakes, and more.  Products are available while supplies last and can be purchased by mail order from their website.

They may not be as cheap as wheat-filled matzo, but at least those who observe Passover can feel comfortable that they can participate with proper gluten-free matzo and other kosher holiday foods.

Gluten-Free Medications for Motion Sickness

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

Both of my kids were unfortunately blessed with car sickness. I never had any problems with motion sickness while growing up, so it never dawned on me that my kids would. I feel bad that Jon suffered before I figured it out. I specifically remember when I finally figured it out. We were driving to the other side of town & Jon was sitting in the back of my van (3rd row). About 20 minutes into the trip, he complained about not feeling well. I thought he was trying to avoid going to school later in the day, so I didn’t pay much attention. He got progressively worse until we got to our destination. Once there, Jon improved quickly. We got back in the car & things went downhill quickly. It was then that I knew. Ever since then, I have medicated him on any trip more than 60 minutes long.

There are many different motion sickness medications or methods out there. I haven’t tried the wristbands I read about; I usually use one of the OTC medications on the market. I have verified that Benadryl is gluten-free and this was our medication of choice for car sickness until last fall. In order for any medication for car sickness to be effective, you have to give the medication before the trip begins. Another medication, that I think works a little better than Benadryl is Bonine. I found this medication accidentally one day. Hannah was feeling sick & I couldn’t give her Benadryl (an antihistamine) because she already takes Zyrtec (an antihistamine) daily. I spoke with the pharmacist and he recommended Bonine (chewable) – which can be taken along with Zyrtec safely. It worked like a charm!

I emailed Bonine to ask about the gluten-free status and got this response:

Yes, the product contains no gluten.

Best Regards,
Insight Pharmaceuticals
Consumer Affairs Dept.
1-800-344-7239

Some other tips for helping to prevent car sickness include:

  • Not sitting in the back of the car (back of vans or SUVs
  • Fresh air
  • Being able to see the horizon & focusing on it
  • Stopping frequently
  • Eating a light snack or meal on empty stomach tends to make car sickness worse

I always keep some towels & larger Ziploc bags in the car, just in case. In the event that all the methods above fail, you want to make sure to have some tools available to handle any mess that may occur.

For more information on gluten-free medications, please click here.

Informed Consumers can Improve the Gluten-Free Market

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

Being an informed gluten-free consumer is the best way to affect change in your gluten-free shopping and dining options.  With more companies than we can count jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon lately, it’s important that we not assume everyone knows what they are doing. I’m all for any company trying to make money in our market if they go about it the right way. It seems like more and more companies are competing for our business these days and that’s as it should be.  However, not every company and restaurant knows what they are doing in terms of providing safe options for gluten-free consumers.

In the Atlanta area, we’ve had restaurants say they had gluten-free pizza and pasta that in fact, were not actually gluten-free. One pasta company started selling gluten-free pasta that was made with a blend of buckwheat flour AND semolina wheat flour. The restaurants buying the pasta had no idea it wasn’t actually gluten-free until it was too late. When a local pizza joint contacted me to ask that I try their gluten-free pizza, the manager actually didn’t know gluten could be in sauce or toppings like sausages. The pizza place got into the gluten-free pizza game because a restaurant distributor salesperson told the manager about gluten-free pizza crust. The manager was clearly taken aback as I inquired about toppings, dressing, and sauces. She actually said, “gluten is only in bread items, right?”. Wrong. The good news is that the pasta place did bring in truly gluten-free pasta and the pizza joint got informed eventually.

Because I love using normal recipes and just modifying them to be gluten-free I often check mainstream recipes websites for interesting dishes. Over at Recipe Zaar, I tend to use “normal” recipes, but they have a decent selection of gluten-free recipes on the site. Everyone I’ve checked out has indeed been gluten-free, though I didn’t review them all. Yahoo often lists recipes so recently, I decided to search “gluten-free” there to see what popped up. Almost 400 recipes appeared, but four out of five (that I checked) all called for wheat flour. None of the recipes seemed to give gluten-free ingredient modifications so it’s unclear why they popped up in the search at all.

Some companies that are trying to cater to our market mess up so it’s helpful for us to help them improve things when possible. While many companies or people that run them might not listen, it’s worth a try to help them out.  If we’re successful in our efforts, we’re not only helping the company, we’re helping ourselves and the gluten-free community at large. If people go out to eat and get sick from a so-called gluten-free meal, it’s fine to share that news with others. It’s even more helpful to let the restaurant that messed up know what happened. The restaurant can not improve things if they don’t know they did anything wrong.

When restaurants try to offer special gluten-free menu items like bread or pasta, we owe them our gratitude. If the products they choose to serve are not very good, the manager (or owner) usually appreciates knowing how they can make better choices going forward. When gluten-free consumers give constructive criticism to companies trying to cater to our market, they will likely affect those options in a positive way going forward. Chef “ABC” has no way of knowing that all gluten-free pasta are not created equal, for example.

The FDA clearly isn’t concerned about ruling on a gluten-free labeling law any time soon. Therefore, more and more companies are going to jump on the gluten-free gravy train. Some food companies and restaurants will get it right and others will try to make a fast buck on what they assume is a trendy diet that will eventually fade away. It’s up to gluten-free consumers to make a difference in the market. I’m not sure who said it, but one of my favorite sayings is “be part of the change you want to see in the world”. That idea can totally apply to the gluten-free market.

In the Atlanta area, gluten-free consumers yield a lot of power due to the large size of the gluten-free community. Unfortunately, most smaller areas are not in the same boat.  I hear from people from all over who can’t buy a gluten-free cookie, cracker, bagel, or loaf of bread (inedible or otherwise) where they live. However, things are improving in some unexpected places. Recently, Three Guys from New York pizza in Tallahassee, FL began serving both gluten-free pizza (same crust as zpizza)  and beer. The company does not have a website but can be found through Trip Advisor. Bard’s Tale beer is currently selling at the pizza joint for only $3. Now that is something to celebrate!

Quick and Healthy Gluten-Free Snacks

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

Most people take grabbing a snack wherever and whenever for granted. For people that follow the gluten-free diet for health reasons, that’s simply not an option. We have always got to be prepared to find something safe to eat in any given situation. Bars are an obvious choice, but I’m not always in the mood for a bar.

Sometimes I go overboard with gluten-free replacement foods that are not always the healthiest thing around. Therefore, I try to keep some semi-healthy snacks on hand. The following fairly healthy items satisfy my snack cravings and most are easy to enjoy on the run.

  • Kozy Shack puddings are labeled gluten-free and they are very low in fat. One serving size – from the 4-pack – has only 100 calories. The serving contains 6% RDA of iron, 10% RDA of Calcium,10% RDA of Vitamin D,12% FDA of fiber, and only 2% RDA of fat. For a treat, that pudding is packing a pretty big nutritional punch. The fact that it also tastes great is also a plus, of course. Pudding does need to be kept cold so if eating on the run, it can be packed in a small insulated lunch bag.
  • Archer Farms is the food brand at Target. Historically, the products in the line have been pretty difficult to get the gluten-free status on, but things are finally improving. The last item I checked on only took four hours to get an answer and some items can be confirmed immediately. The Pomegranate Real Fruit strips from Archer Farms are really a great gluten-free snack. They are made with organic ingredients, are fat-free, and have only 45 per serving (one strip).
  • Trader Joe’s sells 10 mini bags of plain almonds in a large bag. The bag retails for $4 in our area, making the cost per serving only $.40. Almonds are a healthy nut with healthy oils and a handful a day might help keep the doctor away. Though I don’t eat them every day, I try to eat some almonds several times a week. Sometimes I can find mini walnut bags at Trader Joe’s, but not often.
  • Babybel Original mini cheeses contain 15% RDA of calcium and 5 grams of protein. One serving has only 70 calories even though it’s fairly small, it’s really filling. Each serving of the cheese is wrapped in a wax outer shell which allows for it to be kept out of the fridge for a while. That feature makes it ideal as a grab-and-go snack, assuming you are going to consume it within a couple of hours. Otherwise, you’d want to keep it in an insulated lunch bag.
  • Andean Dream gluten-free vegan cookies are made with quinoa. Each individually wrapped cookie has 1 gram of fiber and 2 grams of protein. Quinoa, the main flour used in the cookies, is a superfood and was rated the most nourishing grain in the world by the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. As cookies go, the coconut treats from Andean Dream are both tasty and good for you. The individually wrapped cookies do not contain soy, nuts, dairy, or trans fats. The company uses Royal Quinoa in its products, which are found only in Bolivia.

Obviously, fresh fruit and veggies are whole food gluten-free snacks that are very healthy. However, those are not always easy or practical to eat on the run. Let us know what your favorite healthy gluten-free snacks are.