Gluten free

Last week, the flu stole my will to live. I spent the entire week in a fog and barely ate anything but gluten free crackers and orange juice.  Oh, how I look back now and long for that simplicity!  I didn’t know then how easy I had it, and I didn’t know until now the consequences of the fact that no grocery shopping has been done.

Yes, I am still out of the things I was out of when I took to my bed last week.  Now I’m out of gluten free crackers and orange juice too!  I am continually amazed that the gluten free grocery fairies have not graced me with their presence.

At some point, my body decided it would be funny to heal just enough to be starving, but not Read More »

Last December this Examiner put together a wish list for restaurants of gluten-free items we would love to see added to their menus.  Now it seems only appropriate as it is the beginning of 2011 to put together a wish list of gluten-free retail products we would like to see hit grocery store shelves.

My best advice for a new gluten-free company is to create something that is unique and stay away from Read More »

Wings are quintessential half-time finger food. No wonder! Wings are economical, easy to make appetizers that everyone enjoys. Find a recipe in this collection of our best wing recipes from About.com Food and Drink Guides.

When a recipe calls for soy sauce, be sure to use a gluten-free product. Same goes for hot sauce. I use Frank’s Red Hot Original sauce in my wing recipes.

Rich Products, a food service business serving colleges and universities, schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and restaurants, had a busy 2010 with projected revenues of $2.9 billion. A report in Business First shows how 2011 should be even busier, with more than $3 billion in revenues due to acquisitions and expansions.  Gluten-free products are expected to play a part.

Rich Products is based in Buffalo with 1,300 local employees. The company has operations in over 100 countries. It expects to expand by about 10 percent annually in China and is moving into new markets like Turkey and could grow in the Philippines and Indonesia.

The company is coming out with a new line of gluten free products here in North America. According to the Rich Products website, the products include:

GLUTEN-FREE ITALIAN ROLLS – BAGS (06142)
Gluten-free Italian sandwich rolls that taste great and have a moist, tender texture. Packaged in resealable bags of 8, 4.4 oz unit weight

Read More »

When . offered us samples of their brand new gluten-free pasta they claimed had the taste and texture of authentic pasta, we looked forward to the opportunity to judge for ourselves.

We were pleasantly surprised.  This is an excellent pasta, virtually indistinguishable from regular pasta in flavor, color, shape and consistency.

The Pasta

We received five different varieties: Spaghetti, Penne Rigate, Fusilli, Capellini and Caserecce.

All the pastas come in Read More »

I have thought for a long time about this very question.  Who would suggest such a thing?

I would. The main reason I would dare to make such a statement is because we have been so negligent in recognizing and treating people with celiac disease.  Not a day goes by that I don’t hear about or speak to someone directly who has suffered needlessly for years.  The other main point I want to make is that NONE of the currently available testing is 100%.

The blood tests and endoscopic biopsies are great tools if they are positive. If they are negative, I have heard of too many people tell me ‘I don’t have celiac disease, my blood test/biopsy was negative’.  This is a major cause for concern to me.  Both of these tests do not confirm you don’t have, or will never develop celiac disease.  First, neither test is 100% reliable.  Second, both tests are simply a snapshot Read More »

Most people who read my articles know this Examiner is a big fan of the gluten-free product line currently available from Kinnikinnick Foods. Kinnikinnick was the first company this Examiner found that made a retail line of gluten-free doughnuts, but this year Glutino got into the gluten-free doughnut making game and we felt it necessary to compare the brands and choose a winner. Read More »

For this week’s gluten free soapbox we go back to the forums. Those online “support groups” that are supposed to be a place of sharing, healing and camaraderie. People log on to the gluten free forums to talk about their troubles and make friends who are struggling with the same issues they are. That is why I am so disturbed today.

Something I’ve noticed happening every so often (not constantly, but too much) is the sarcasm and derision thrown at Read More »

Freedom from gluten is becoming easier than ever, especially if you happen to be eating at the University of Connecticut.

Are you gluten-intolerant?

If you are not, odds are you know someone who is.

And if you are – as are an estimated 1 in 100 people who have celiac disease – you know how hard it is to eat gluten-free.

But it is getting easier – especially if you are dining at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where the gluten-free menu is state of the art.

I sampled some of UConn’s gluten-free food the other day with Dennis Pierce, UConn’s director of dining services, and Robert Landolphi, manager of Read More »

1) Gluten Free Goddess has a great list of appetizer ideas, some of which are also vegan and vegetarian friendly.
2) My Crockpot Cranberry Glazed Meatballs are so easy to prepare.  Just let the meatballs simmer in the crock pot, and they will be ready just in time for your guests to arrive!
3) For a little kick, try this Gluten Free Black Bean Salsa and serve with corn or rice chips.

Beverages

1) This Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail from Epicurious.com will liven up Read More »