Category: gluten free

ancient wheat · celiac disease · gluten free · Gluten free eating · gluten free foods · gluten free lifestyle · gluten intolerance · gluten intolerance diagnosis · gluten intolerant

Sourdough the Answer for Gluten Intolerance?

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Two naturally-leavened (sourdough) loaves. Fro...

A couple of days ago I was sitting in a doctor’s office when I spotted a Whole Living magazine which was a welcome diversion. I don’t often see those lying around so I was happily surprised, yet far more surprised by what I actually read. There was an article about a baker making sourdough bread with regular wheat that apparently gluten intolerant people can eat. The story goes on to explain about the starter and yeast and other things, but the gist of it was that at least one Santa Monica baker has a technique that has gluten intolerant people lining up for miles around, and it also talks about ancient wheat varieties versus the modern ones. Here’s the article so you can read it too, and join me in my plan to move to Santa Monica, or at least find out more about this technique. It sounds like at least a lot more people are thinking about this epidemic in gluten intolerance and trying to do something about it. (Yay!) The bummer for me though is the fact I was not tested for Celiac Disease when diagnosed with gluten intolerance. I just asked the doctor (whose office I was in reading the above article) about getting tested now and she said I would have to go on a gluten diet again before being able to get an accurate answer. That bites! I didn’t even ask how long I’d have to eat gluten (and feel rotten) because my immediate thought was about the feeling rotten part. She said as long as I don’t know I just have to stay off gluten entirely and forever~ which makes these ancient wheats and sourdough starter prospects bittersweet. It makes me wish I’d demanded to be tested way back when the first GI doctor I saw told me it didn’t matter because whether I was a celiac or just gluten intolerant all I could do either way was stay away from wheat, and that I didn’t look like a celiac b/c they are normally blonde and pale. (That still cracks me up.) At the time I wanted to know for certain because I thought it important for my kids since it is a hereditary disease, but I let him talk me out of sticking a long scope down my throat into my small intestine. Honestly, it didn’t take long for him to convince me that was unnecessary. Oh well. I guess I can always try these new things and see how I feel which sounds a lot easier than eating a bunch of gluten just in order to take a test. Looks like the Santa Monica farmer’s market is now on my “must go to” list now.

Food allergies · gluten free

Evolution Fresh

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I have a new favorite restaurant and if its sibling is any indicator, it’ll be coming to a corner near you soon. Starbucks launched a restaurant called Evolution Fresh and it is naturally friendly to any food allergy you might have because they use whole foods, healthy and heavy on veggies. You may have seen their juices lining the Starbucks cold cases, and honestly I’ve tasted one or two of those and wasn’t overly impressed. There have been times in my life when I’ve been an avid juicer so I know exactly how I like my veggie juice and when it is pre-bottled, well, it’s just never the same. The food on the other hand, is awesome, so here’s what the experience at Evolution is like: You go up to the counter, think Qdoba or Chipotle, and you can either order a bowl where the ingredients are predetermined or you can ‘make your own bowl’ where you handpick each ingredient you want. Also, you can get it in a warm broth instead of a salad feel, which I haven’t done but I’ve heard is a wonderful alternative. Here’s an example of making your own bowl~ I asked for Quinoa, Kale, brown and wild rice, red peppers, grape tomatoes, black beans, and garlic balsamic sauce. Here’s the menu at their first store which happened to be in Bellevue Square: Menu. Yum. Notice the little w that is the symbol for without wheat ingredients~ nice touch. It’s inspiring, really, and each time I have gone there I think, “why don’t I just do this in my own fridge?” and the answer is, because it will go bad before it is all used. This is one chain I’ll be rooting for seeing on more corners.

Food allergies · gluten free · gluten intolerant

Making the Best of Things…

kristenann3 Comments

Twice now I’ve tried to make my dear friends some yummy bakery items for Christmas, and both times I’ve ended up with crumbly messes. They are fine tasting crumbles, but not exactly what I had in mind for a Christmas gift. My friends are a family of four who are gluten, dairy, and egg free, so the recipes are not exactly run-of-the-mill, open box and add water types, but still I am using Flying Apron recipes which I use all the time so I do not know what the trouble is. The first time I tried to make chocolate cupcakes which rose beautifully and then collapsed in on themselves in such a miserable fashion I threw them away before they had even cooled. The second time I was making gingerbread cookies which broke apart as I took them off the cookie sheets. During this fiasco I happened to be talking to another friend who was hearing my distress through the phone and said, “Just stick them in a jar, get a spoon and deliver it as ice cream topping.” Brilliant! It wasn’t what I had intended but they do eat soy ice cream and the gingerbread did taste really good, so why not?! That saved me from trying a third recipe with ever decreasing confidence and I was sincerely happy not to waste all that food again. During this stressful time of year it is especially wise to keep an open mind and be flexible~ something I tend to forget in the Holiday craziness. Thank goodness for friends.

Food allergies · gluten free · gluten free lifestyle · gluten intolerant

Gluten Free in Disneyland

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Traveling is always going to be one step harder for those of us with food allergies, but at least us gluten intolerant people are becoming more and more recognized in the restaurant world. I am completely aware we annoy a lot of chefs, sorry, but I’m pretty sure I am speaking for more than myself when I say, we didn’t ask to be gluten intolerant and if we could eat anything we wanted without feeling ill, we most certainly would! But annoyed or not, more and more menus are prepared with us in mind, whether the menu is a separate one or one where the gluten-free meals are marked, and traveling with at least this particular food allergy is easier than ever. I am happy to report that Disneyland was remarkably easy to navigate with gluten intolerance. As long as you can make it through the throngs of people, you can find gluten-free food. A little research and planning definitely helps though, so here are some tips~ First of all, make your dinner reservations ahead of time. You can email them (dine@disneyland.com) and in the email (with location, time, date, name) let them know the food issues your party has. Second of all, contact the special diets dining services (DLR.Special.Diets@disney.com) and let them know all of your dinner reservations and they can advise both you and the chefs. They can only help you with the actual park restaurants though, not the downtown Disney district ones. This was extremely helpful the one night we ate in the hotel at Goofy’s cafe which is a buffet style dinner with characters walking around. When I checked in the chef was alerted to come talk to me, which I almost declined because I hate to be a bother but I’m so glad I did not. He offered to make me either rice, veggies, and a meat of my choice or a gluten-free pizza. I was confused because it was a buffet, and he said that he’d be happy to talk me through the items of the buffet but since it leaves his control he cannot guarantee the items are in fact not cross contaminated. That made sense but I wanted to see what was available anyway, and he pointed out all the gluten-free items, and also all the things I might expect to be gluten-free but were not, such as the steamed veggies had been dipped in pasta water, and all the salad dressings had hidden croutons that had fallen in. He was very helpful and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there. At Tortilla Jo’s the gluten-free meals are clearly marked with an asterisks by them, and there was a large selection. At Naples Ristorante the waiter just told me what I could and could not get, which mostly turned out to be gluten-free pasta with any sauce they had available. To be honest this was my most boring meal and the rudest staff, but everyone else loved their meals so I can’t not recommend it. The last night we ate at Rainforest cafe and the manager came over to talk to me about what I could and could not safely ingest. He actually did not inspire much confidence as he looked so frightened I felt like offering him a sip of my wine, so maybe he was new…? I don’t know, but all I wanted was a soup and salad and both were in fact gluten-free (with a certain dressing that is) so it worked out. For breakfasts and lunches we ate snacky stuff (I brought Udi’s bagels and travel peanut butter) and bought smaller meals. You can actually get a gluten-free guide to the park at Disneyland’s courthouse on Maine Street but each time I looked in there was a long line so I did not bother even though I was very interested in what it said. (Were all those people gluten-free? What else does one do at the Disneyland Courthouse? Apply for a marriage licence with Mickey and Minnie as witnesses? Change your name to Tinkerbell? Ask for a judgement in a ride dispute?) Anyway, 3 days of Disneyland and I don’t feel one bit gluten-fied. That is indeed…magical Continue reading “Gluten Free in Disneyland” →

children · gluten free

Broccoli and Tofu Wrap

kristenann3 Comments

Normally I’m annoyed when one of my sons tells me what he’s “going to have for dinner” before lunch time has even passed. Today though, I let it go because what my oldest ‘ordered’ happens to be my favorite thing to give him, a broccoli and tofu wrap. It’s easy, healthy, and the fact my son gets excited for it leaves me smiling no matter what kind of day it’s been. (And it actually hasn’t been a very pleasant day.) Here’s the basic recipe: lightly steam cut-up broccoli and cubed tofu with a bit of balsamic vinegar, (gluten-free) soy sauce, and a turn or two of cracked pepper. Pile that into a couple of warm tortillas, corn if gluten intolerant of course but my son’s favorite are spelt. Add some garlic sauce on top and enjoy. I usually steam more than I need of the broccoli and tofu and keep it in the fridge for warming up the next day~ it works well, plus the mixture can always end up on rice instead if that sounds better. Great weekday recipe.

gluten free

Veggie Breakfast

kristenann3 Comments

Lately my boys can’t get enough of gluten free waffles for breakfast, one has peanut butter on top with syrup and the other just plain syrup. I’ve tried three different brands now as well as just putting my own mix together, but it does not seem to a matter one bit~ the boys think it all tastes the same, maybe because I always add cinnamon to the batter and use vanilla almond milk. Although it smells delicious, I’ve been preferring a sweet potato for breakfast lately, and love how eating a vegetable for breakfast makes me feel healthy and not bloated. Even my skin feels smoother when I indulge in a sweet potato first thing in the morning, which is great since my skin is not liking the change of weather much. I follow this recipe on Whole Living. It is actually from the detox diet we did last January and it was one of the meals I loved enough to keep as part of my regular diet. I usually cook three sweet potatoes in the oven at once, in the evening when we are home and not busy (about an hour on 450, wrapped in foil). Then the next morning I take one out of the fridge and just have to microwave it for a minute or so, depending on how big it is, after first slicing it, squeezing some orange on it, adding the dash of salt and a good amount of cinnamon. (I don’t use the nutmeg~ personally I like it better without it.) Then after it is warm I add the almond slivers. Of course this is good any time of day, there is just something about having a vegetable at breakfast that makes me feel like I’m starting the day off right.

gluten free · gluten free symptoms · gluten intolerance symptoms

Sneaky Gluten

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I was feeling a little bad for a couple of weeks. Not terrible, just kind of like I was fighting a little virus or something~ bit of a headache, less energy, skin looking bad, vague sense of un-well-ness. After about a week I started thinking, wait a minute, this feels like gluten! But what could it be? My diet has not varied much lately and I rarely eat out and the symptoms were persisting, telling me I was taking it in continually but it seemed in low doses because of how stealthily the bad feelings crept up. That is when I thought about the supplements I take everyday and I began to wonder when was the last time I checked to make sure those are gluten free…and let me just say as someone who used to work in the natural foods industry and as a certified herbalist I tend to take more supplements than the average human, so that’s a lot of bottles about which to keep vigilant. Sure enough, my three Whole Foods brand supplements were made in a facility that also processed wheat, etc. They weren’t made with gluten mind you, just had potential to be cross-contaminated. To be honest I was dubious these were the culprit~ am I really that sensitive? After I stopped taking them, I felt a little better the next day, and even better the day after that, and by the third day I woke up with no headache. Bingo. It is a bummer to be so sensitive although I do take those supps every day and who knows for how many months it’d been before either a. it built up in my system as a problem or b. I just had starting taking some that were indeed contaminated. It was a good reminder to keep vigilant. Now I make sure my supps have a cute little gluten-free symbol on the bottle~ these are the most common:I’m partial to that top one…tatoo material maybe? I’m gluten-free after all. Or at least I try to be.

gluten free · gluten free lifestyle · gluten free travel

Gluten Free Lunch in Kirkland~ Cactus

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A couple of days ago my dad and I were walking around Kirkland for a bit of distraction before he headed to a trade show in Seattle. After coffee we decided to get lunch there too, unwilling to leave the slightly sunnier, always adorable center of Kirkland, or “little California” as my husband calls it. After narrowing our lunch choices down to “Mexican” we wandered into Cactus right in the middle of Park Lane. The atmosphere is slightly more upscale than a family style restaurant, though it is casual and I watched a young mom having lunch with her toddler a few tables over and they looked completely at home in the setting. After we sat down I started my usual gluten-sensor skimming that counts as menu reading when the waiter informed me that they have a seperate gluten free menu, oh yes! You know you can trust a restaurant when they take time to make a separate menu for the gluten intolerants. The waiter continued to be extremely helpful, somehow knowing I was vegetarian before I even said (was it the Birkenstock clogs?) and had a great recommendation for me which I never would have thought to get on my own~ Butternut squash enchalidas with spinach and mole sauce. She did bring my dad the wrong item, but he liked it anyway and later she insisted on bringing us a dessert to share because “it was our first time there” but probably actually because of the messed up order. Whatever the reason it was a thoughtful touch and we enjoyed the food and experience thorougly. Great find in Kirkland and they have several more restaurants in Seattle.

Food allergies · food allergy blogs · gf bread · gluten free · Uncategorized

Easy Croutons (Can Be Gluten Free or Not…)

kristenann2 Comments

The other day I made a garlic soup following, more or less this recipe from The Splendid Table. I went the potato route with it and it turned out pretty good, though pureeing soup is one of my all time least favorite kitchen tasks. If I make it again I’ll add more garlic than the recipe suggests because it was actually quite mild and I won’t make the same mistake of letting people try the soup without the croutons, because the croutons are by far the best part of the whole meal. First of all, the recipe calls for drizzling warm butter on the finished soup before serving but that seemed over the top so I ignored that suggestion. Then you add the croutons which changes the soup from a porridge consistency (that wasn’t well received in my house) with a more soup with crunch taste~ much better! Plus the way the recipe calls for making the croutons is far easier than I had ever seen. In the past I’ve always made them by coating cut up stale bread in oil, then stirring in herbs and salt and pepper, then sticking them in the oven with occassional stirring. This recipe just says to cut up the bread, any bread, into crouton size chunks, put some olive oil in a pan and cook them up on the stove for a couple of minutes. So easy and so good! I used fresh gluten free bread~ Maninis to be exact which is sliced nice and thick, and added only Mediterranean salts while they sizzled in the olive oil . It took five minutes tops and the soup will never be the same. I also used stale sourdough bread (not gluten free) for my husband’s croutons and he loved them. In fact he ate the croutons like a main dish and ignored the bowl of soup they were supposed to support. That’s what I get for serving it plain the first time. I have a feeling I’ll be adding these croutons to a lot more soups and salads now.

gluten free

Chickpea and Lentil Stew (Whole Foods Recipe…modified)

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This slow cooker recipe from Whole Foods caught my eye but I have a slight slow cooker problem…I don’t have one. People were surely making chickpea stew before the invention of slow cookers though, so I thought I would give it a try, and I’m so happy I did. It is delicious. Here’s the original recipe and below it I’ll list my modifications, which were plentiful.

Bad picture of yummy stew
Ingredients:

Method:
Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions. Add peppers, garlic, garam masala and sesame seeds and cook until peppers begin to soften. Combine everything except the yogurt in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Add yogurt about 15 minutes before serving.
I added a chopped leek (it was a giant!) and one chopped carrot and left out the olives and yogurt. I used diced tomatoes because I couldn’t find puree (14.5 oz can.)
For serving it I got naan for the rest of the family but put layered it on top of fresh spinach on a warmed corn tortilla for myself. I might add a dollop of yogurt on top of the stew next time, but really it doesn’t need anything~ it is stewiliciously good. It tastes like Indian food but is not spicy at all. Seriously, not at all~ despite the warming garam masala, the garlic nor the big old hatch pepper I used, so next time I might add another pepper such as jalapeno as they suggest. This was easy and I imagine it’d be even easier with a slow cooker, though I’m just not convinced it’d really improve our family’s life at all. (If anyone wants to convince me otherwise, I’m open to changing my mind…)