Home
  Classes
  Articles
  Links
  About Us
Contact Us
 

New Store

  Specials
 

 Events

 


 

 


Join US :)

 


 
| save | help 

 



Other Upcoming Classes & Events- Click here

Alison's Gluten Free Tip of the Month:

Tip: Use finely ground nuts or nut flours in your baked goods to gives them a rich flavor, nice texture as well as a fiber and nutrient boost! My favorite GF pie crust recipe uses almond flour and coconut in addition to a packaged GF pie crust mix:

1 cup almond flour
1 cup Gluten Free Pantry Perfect Pie Crust Mix
¼ cup raw coconut flakes
½ stick butter—cut into 1” slices
ice water

With a fork, crumb together pie crust mix, almond flour, coconut and butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal or crumbs.  Add enough ice water to the mixture so that it forms a ball of dough.  Press the dough into a pie plate or tart pans that have been greased with a little butter.  Fill and bake as usual.

Option: Use pure, cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil instead of butter, if you are avoiding dairy products.

October is National Celiac Awareness Month

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) has some great information on their website including: Celiac 60+ a brochure for those over sixty and their caregivers, Gluten-Free Guide to College and Celiac Disease & Women's Health: A Guide to Understanding.
About the NFCA:
“The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) was formed as a national 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization to raise awareness of celiac disease among the general public and the healthcare community, and to facilitate research to better understand the causes, mechanisms, and treatment of celiac disease.
Awareness brings treatment that, in turn, brings improvement of the quality of life for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Our goal is to reduce the time to diagnosis and, in the process, reduce the devastating impact of undiagnosed celiac disease, including the contraction of others diseases such as cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and an “autoimmune cascade."
NFCA is affiliated with the leading researchers internationally and supports collaboration and partnership among scientists and institutions to optimize research potential with the goal of improving the quality of life for those who have celiac disease.”
http://www.celiaccentral.org/awarenessmonth/

July: Book Review

You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten-Free! by Roben Ryberg, Lifelong Books, 2008.   This is a great primer for those new to gluten–free cooking.  The book contains 500 classic, kitchen tested recipes, including red velvet cake, bagels, fortune cookies, wedding cakes and ice cream cones—all gluten-free.  Most of the recipes contain single ingredients, like potato, rice and corn starch.    Although from a nutritional perspective many of these recipes are too high in refined starches and lacking in fiber, the book does deliver on its promise of making “everyone’s favorite foods—gluten-free at last!”  Highly recommended.

April: Are You Feeling Crumb-y?

Those who are newly gluten free need to be extra careful when dining out that servers do not simply brush off bread crumbs from prepared food items and serve them as “gluten free” options.  Be certain to educate the wait staff—even a trace of breading is enough to cause adverse reactions in those with celiac disease.  You also might not know that if you have celiac disease, you should invest in a separate toaster, if you live with others who still eat gluten.  If you prefer, toaster bags are also available for this purpose, such as No-Stick Toast It Toaster Bags (available from IMCG -- http://www.imcg.us/). Breading on chicken, fish and tofu can be made out of prepared gluten free bread crumbs (Aleia’s brand is a favorite at New Morning!).  Crushed corn flakes, rice crisp cereal or nuts can also be used to make gluten free breading.  Simply place your choice of nuts or cereal in a food processor and crush into a fine bread-crumb like consistency.  Dip poultry, fish or tofu into beaten eggs or prepared egg-replacer (Ener-G brand foods), then into the gluten free breading.  Bake or fry as desired.


January: Forbidden Rice
 
 Black rice or “forbidden rice” is an heirloom variety of rice that is naturally gluten-free and much more nutritious than white or brown rice.  It is called “forbidden rice” because only royalty in China were allowed to eat it, due to its superior nutritional value. It has the same amount of fiber as brown rice, but is higher in iron, vitamin E and anthocyanin pigments.  Black rice has more anthocyanins than the same amount of blueberries!  These antioxidant compounds are important for cardiovascular health and for cancer prevention.  Some studies also show that anthocyanins are protective of the brain.  When choosing gluten-free grains to include on a gluten-free diet, it makes sense to choose the colorful ones, which have these added benefits.  Red and black quinoa, purple cornmeal, black rice—all of these add beneficial antioxidants to the diet, while being a good source of fiber and healthy carbohydrates.

September - Enzymes for Gluten Intolerance

If you are following a gluten free diet, you might be relieved to learn that there are enzyme products that can assist the body in digesting any residual gluten that may be lurking in your food.  Although these products do not cure or treat gluten intolerance or sensitivity, they can help make the symptoms from unplanned gluten exposure more bearable.  Enzymedica GlutenEase is one such product.  According to the Enzymedica website:

“GlutenEase™ offers those suffering with such intolerances assistance in digestion and assimilation of the offending proteins. Proteases high in DPP-IV activity assist in normalizing inflammatory response to the gluten peptide, thus better digesting and utilizing gluten containing foods. This proactively  supports the gut, allowing proteins to be properly broken down and absorbed in their digested state; broadening the potential food groups a person may eat. GlutenEase may also be used by those who wish to remain on the GFCF diet to ensure complete breakdown of proteins safely and effectively”.

Anyone who eliminates gluten from the diet, will find that taking an enzyme supplement with proteases high in DPP-IV activity will enhance digestion and act as an insurance policy against hidden gluten.  I highly recommend gluten-specific digestive enzyme formulas as one more healing strategy for these individuals.

July - Book Reviews

Celiac Disease-- A Hidden Epidemic, Revised & Updated,
Peter H.R. Green, MD and Rory Jones, William Morrow Publishing, 2010.

This book is one of the most comprehensive, up-to-date books on celiac disease, written by one of the world’s renowned experts.  This book covers every aspect of celiac disease from getting a proper diagnosis to coping with the psychological aspects of living with a chronic disease and how to follow a gluten-free diet.   Some notable chapters include: The Medicine Cabinet and Cosmetics; Is your Gluten Free Diet Healthy?  Research: Finding a Cure; Why Symptoms Persist- I’m on the Diet and Not Getting Better and Myths and Unexplored Areas.   Highly recommended reading for anyone with celiac disease—one of the most under diagnosed of all autoimmune diseases.

Real Life with Celiac Disease: Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free, Melinda Dennis and Daniel A. Leffler, AGA Press, 2010.

This is a must-have book for anyone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.  Subchapters include: The Basics: Definitions and Diagnosis; The Gluten Free Life: Solutions & Strategies; The Obstacles: Concerns & Complications.  A number of important topics are addressed such as: nonresponsive celiac disease; malabsorption of fructose, lactose and related carbohydrates; probiotics in celiac disease; functional medicine in celiac disease; anemia and celiac disease; the gluten-free vegetarian; inadvertent gluten exposure; genetic testing in celiac disease and so much more.
Celiac Disease-- A Hidden Epidemic, Revised & Updated,
Peter H.R. Green, MD and Rory Jones, William Morrow Publishing, 2010.

May

Did you know that lactose intolerance is often a secondary problem associated with celiac disease?   Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the sugar lactose—the primary carbohydrate found in milk.  Symptoms include bloating, gas and diarrhea as well as intestinal cramping.  Many newly diagnosed celiacs do not produce enough lactase enzyme, due to damaged intestinal villi.  This ability to digest lactose or milk sugar can be restored over time as the villi of the small intestine regenerate and the body becomes capable of once again producing lactose-digesting enzymes.  Those who are newly diagnosed may need to avoid lactose for several months or a year.  Avoid milk, ice cream and most cheeses.  Some low lactose cheeses (hard cheeses such as Swiss or cheddar, many soft ripened cheeses, feta and ricotta cheese) as well as cultured milk products (cultured butter, yogurt, and kefir) may be tolerated in small amounts, as these are generally lower in lactose.  Lact-Aid brand milk and milk alternatives (rice, almond, coconut or soy milk) may be used instead of cow’s milk.  Avoid fat-free and reduced fat cheeses, as the lactose content is higher in these than in full fat versions.  Also avoid products which contain added “milk solids” such as processed cheese products and some commercial, low fat yogurts. 

    

April

Living a gluten free lifestyle is a challenge, especially when it comes to getting proper nutrition.  Avoidance of gluten may lead to a diet that is uninteresting and based on convenience and routine.  Thankfully, Navitas Naturals line of organic and wild- crafted functional foods can help fill the gap in the gluten free diet for good nutrition and culinary interest.  These foods, known as Functional Foods, Super Foods or Power Foods are highly concentrated sources of nutrients that “turn your average meal into something super healthy”.  Each Navitas Naturals product confers its own unique health benefits: try maca root powder in smoothies for hormonal balance and relief from stress; much on gogi berries for a healthy liver and eyes;  eat raw cacao nibs in your yogurt or make raw cacao confections for heart health; try acai berry in fruit smoothiesfor beautiful skin; eat someTrail Power Mix for an energizing snack at your desk or while hiking the trails!  Navitas Naturals features Non-GMO, raw, kosher, gluten-free, vegan, and 100% organic products.  Visit representatives from Navitas Naturals products at New Morning this Earth Day!
http://www.navitasnaturals.com/about_us.html

     March


If you are following a gluten-free diet, you may not be getting enough iron, especially if you are a vegetarian.  Whole wheat is good source of iron and other nutrients in a vegetarian diet.  Make sure you replace   whole wheat with iron-rich gluten free whole grains, such as amaranth, quinoa and teff.  Beans and dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, beet greens and chard are good choices as well.  Adding vitamin C to a meal of iron-rich foods can enhance absorption, as can cooking with cast iron cookware.  Iron status is easily measured by having a serum ferritin test performed.   To order a serum ferritin test visit www.directlabs.com for more information.   
 

BACK to main page