Chick-fil-A is expanding its gluten-free options by adding grilled chicken nuggets and Buddy Fruits to their Kid’s menu.
According to Chick-fil-A’s full-time dietitian Jodie Worrell, these new menu additions come as part of Chick-fil-A’s broader initiative to offer healthier menu options to customers. Initiative highlights include the addition of the Fruit Cup in 2004 and moving to a complete menu (including all condiments) with zero trans fats in 2008. Chick-fil-A also is actively working to reduce sodium across its menu, including a 40 percent sodium reduction in its Chargrilled Chicken filet, 25 percent less sodium in breads and removing 10 percent of sodium in dressings and sauces. Additionally, the chain has removed high fructose corn syrup from its chocolate milk, and some salad dressings and sauces.
According to the company, adding grilled chicken nuggets to their kids menu marks the first time a national fast food chain has offered (more…)
On a recent visit to a museum, my husband and I stopped at its cafeteria for a snack. The choices were cookies and cupcakes, pretzels and potato chips, and assorted drinks. Clearly, the cafeteria didn’t cater to those of us who are gluten-sensitive, lactose-intolerant, and/or weight watchers.
Much against my will, I bought the only snack I could tolerate although it meant throwing my diet out the window: potato chips. And much against my dislike of being labeled a complainer, I decided to speak up. “Would you consider carrying gluten-free products?” I asked. “I can’t eat most of what (more…)
Bean bakes are the best thing to come my way, foodwise, since I learned that I was not only lactose intolerant and needed to diet but also gluten-sensitive. Seriously.
There are a number of nutrient deficiencies associated with Celiac and other autoimmune disorders. These occur not only BEFORE diagnosis, due to flattened villi and malabsorption, but AFTER diagnosis as well. It’s up to us to choose healthy, naturally gluten-free foods (like fruits, veggies, lean protein and brown rice) in order to feel the best we can. Even then, we may still have deficiencies.
I was diagnosed about 5 years ago. Although I have experienced dramatic improvements in my health, sleep quality, and energy level, I have still been dealing with some “weird” symptoms that I wasn’t sure were going to go away. These include eye floaters (which I’ve noticed for about 2 years now), shakiness and rapid pulse especially during the first half of the day, and carbohydrate intolerance. (Eating high carb meals have been giving me headaches). So…. I was VERY excited when I heard that Gluten Free Works was going to be offering NUTRITION TESTING. I couldn’t wait to try it out.
When I got my results back, I was AMAZED at how many nutrient deficiencies I still had after being Gluten-Free for this many years. I came up deficient in:
VITAMIN A (this explained the eye floaters) CHROMIUM (I had never heard of chromium before now, but this explained my problem with carbs. I have since read that a deficiency in Chromium leads to DIABETES… so I’m glad I figured this out now, rather than later ;) SELENIUM (had never heard of that one either) (more…)
On December 13, I posted a question on the Glutenfreeworks Facebook page to ask people who had adopted a gluten-free diet if they no longer needed medications they had been taking. The response was incredible. Dozens of people described how they no longer needed drugs, some of which they had been taking for years or decades.
Here is my post and their responses…
“I gave a presentation to a group and mentioned a friend who had been on Zantac for 20 years. I went on to say that once she went gluten-free the acid reflux disappeared. A woman in the audience stood up and said the same thing happened to her – she had been on it since she was 10 (I’m guessing she was in her mid to late 30s.).
My question for you is what medication (of any kind) were you on, before you went gluten-free, that you no longer need to take and how long did it take before you did not need it anymore?”
After getting the opportunity to interview Living Without’s Editor, Alicia Woodward, and learning more about her and the magazine, we went on to discuss Holiday and Social Event tip ideas. The following is a compilation of Alicia’s tips along with some of my own tips on the how to effectively work through the barriers that might interfere with following through on these suggestions. Enjoy!
Holiday Tips for Social Events
1. A- Communicate. Call well before the party to alert your host to your food sensitivities. Be specific about your food “triggers,” clearly explaining what you can (and can’t) eat.
J- Take a deep breath and think about what you would do if you were the host of the situation. My guess is you would try and do something to accommodate. Most people, especially people that care about you, don’t want you to get sick and will try their best to help out…or at least let you know ahead of time if there won’t be something safe, so you can eat ahead of time. If it’s a work event, you might want to talk to the organizer about the (more…)
This great resource gives you dozens of desserts, sides, breads and stuffings – pretty much everything you need to make a delicious and memorable Holiday Dinner. And while many of the recipes use Tom Sawyer’s Gluten-free Flour mix, any all-purpose gluten-free flour mix should work. (Of course, they may not work as well. Tom Sawyer’s mix is absolutely excellent! We LOVE the biscuits!!)
Bread Stuffing, Grandma’s Corn Bread, Turkey Gravy, Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes, Holiday Muffins, Tom Sawyer’s Award Winning Gluten Free Angel Food Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cake Roll and Cranberry Spice Bars are just (more…)
In my pre-coeliac days, canapés were a doddle. Even on a budget. The day before a party I would buy the cheapest bread from the supermarket, cut out as many circles of bread as I could get out of each slice, dip them in olive oil and press them into pattie tins or mini muffin tins and bake. I would end up with hundreds of little crisp toasts that kept overnight in a sealed box ready to be topped with an array of fresh toppings throughout the evening.
These days, that isn’t an option! Gluten free bread is too expensive to buy, too small to get more than 2 circles out of (with a lot of wastage), and frequently too crumbly to use. Home made is better – but that is an awful lot of bread to make, slice and cut. Just not practical – especially when you have no fridge or kitchen space – or time – for advanced prep because you are running a supperclub!
So this week I was left wondering what I could use as canapé bases for our Christmas Party that would be a) gluten free b) economical c) effective and these are my top three suggestions:
It’s a season of love, joy, peace. . . and stress? For those us with restricted diets, the holidays can be a struggle, especially when we are sharing meals with those who don’t adhere to the same eating style as we do. So how do we survive the holidays without sacrificing good times or our well-being?
It’s sad, but true, that many people who follow a specific diet (out of need or choice) opt to “check out” of holiday gatherings. Relationships are of such central importance in our lives, however, that we really shouldn’t let our dietary choices limit our interactions with others. I’m happy to share that our family has successfully hosted holiday meals in our home for years and we’ve attended family gatherings and (more…)
We asked people on on the Glutenfreeworks Twitter account how they felt about whether finding out earlier about their gluten sensitivity or celiac disease would have affected their lives.
Here is what they said.
Do you think your life would have been different if you had known about gluten at an early age???
@Glutenfreeworks incredibly. My senior year of high school probably wouldn’t be going so poorly if I had…. (more…)
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