Gluten Free Toaster Pastry!

I'm excited!!! A Gluten Free version of the Pop Tart is here!!! I've been waiting for this forever!
Sorry about all the exclamation marks...but I'm excited!
These yummy little toaster cakes are flaky, fairly low in fat and very flavorful. Right now I only see the Apple Cinnamon flavor but I'm going to email them and ask for blueberry.
Check out Glutino's GLUTEN FREE toaster pastry!

Celiac Disease Desserts

In my never ending quest to protect my Celiac Gut and still enjoy ice cream, I emailed Turkey Hill. I do eat Turkey Hill frozen Yogurt and was pretty sure it was Gluten free but I always go back and check every now and then. You never know when a recipe will change. I used to love the Peach Melba but I can't find it anymore. I'm hoping its a seasonal item and it will come back. 

I was impressed with Turkey Hills quick and concise answer. I'm even more impressed with the handful of coupons that arrived in the mail today. 
Yay Turkey Hill! They nice peeps!

So here's the answer from Turkey Hill. Enjoy! 

Dear Aimless,

Thank you for contacting Turkey Hill Dairy. We appreciate your comments and interest in our company and products.
We understand that more and more consumers are being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Therefore, we work with our suppliers to obtain gluten-free extracts and modified food starches. At this time, all of our extracts are gluten-free. We also use corn and tapioca modified food starches, both of which are also gluten-free.

We list our allergens on our labels. Below the ingredients, you will see a CONTAINS: statement. If the product contains gluten, wheat will be listed. Wheat is the only ingredient we use that contains gluten. Therefore, the ice creams containing cake and cookie pieces will contain gluten. All of our drink products are gluten-free.

You can also find our gluten information on our website. Please visit http://www.turkeyhill.com and click on the "Our Products" link. Click on the product category you are interested in (i.e. Frozen Desserts). Then click on the product line you are interested in (i.e. Premium Ice Cream). The individual flavors will be listed. Click the flavor name link to view the complete nutrition facts. The gluten and wheat information is listed at the bottom under the "Contains" statement or "Additional Info".
We have a number of Frozen Yogurt's and No Sugar Added Ice Creams that are fat free. This information can be found while viewing our product line on our website http://www.turkeyhill.com.

Thanks for taking time to contact us. In appreciation, we will be sending you a follow-up letter and coupons. We appreciate your comments and thank you for choosing Turkey Hill.

Sincerely,
TURKEY HILL DAIRY

A Celiac Vegetarian Day

I've eased into Vegetarianism slowly. Previous diet experience had me rushing head first into the Eat Clean program and I'm ashamed to admit, I crashed. I did great for almost a week and then life happened and I cheated a little, then a little more, and then forgetaboutit!

I'm caught between wanting to be a Vegan or just going Vegetarian. Its a tough choice. Which is healthier? Which one will I be able to sustain for life? I'm going Vegetarian for now. Once I get this nailed down I'll consider the Vegan aspect. I think as a Celiac our choices are a bit limited anyway and I wonder why I want to limit it even more? From everything I've read I think a plant based diet is healthier.

So here's my typical day as a Vegetarian so far;

Breakfast;
Coffee with Vanilla Coffeemate
Udi's gluten free bagel with humus
Orange

Snack:
Banana or Yogurt or other fruit-I cut up the fruit and stir it into the yogurt.

Lunch:
Salad with Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, shredded carrots, olives, dressing
Nuts (I buy a couple different kinds and mix them together)

Dinner;
Spaghetti with sauce with kidney beans and Parmesan

That was yesterday. I vary this from day to day. I still need  a vegetarian cookbook because I'm a lousy cook! I need to learn how to be a creative vegetarian in the kitchen so I don't get bored.

So far, I don't miss meat at all. Feel pretty good and I'm sleeping well.

Bagel Shopping

Celiac Disease sometimes limits our choices. Bagels used to be a Sunday morning favorite but once I went gluten free that changed. No more bagels for me :-(
Then companies like Udi's and Against the Grain stepped up to bring back this Sunday morning treat; the bagel. Yay!
But no.
If you're from New Jersey you know there isn't a bagel anywhere in the country that tastes like a Jersey bagel. We Jerseyans think it must be all the chemicals in the water, but who really knows for sure? Either way, anyone who wants to sell a Jerseyan a bagel better know the rules.

Bagels should be dense, easy to slice for toasting and come in many flavors. Texture is the key here. Don't serve a mushy, empty shell of a bread like donut to me! Yes, there is a big difference in what a bagel should taste like and what bread tastes like.

Of all the bagels I've tried so far Udi's is my favorite. Against the Grain a close second. So let's compare.

Udi's has 320 calories but is a slightly bigger bagel.
10g of fat
48 carbs (necessary info for diabetics)
3g fiber
8g Protein.
I like the texture and consistency of the Udi's bagel because its denser, like a real bagel. Still kind of bread-like but not too bad. The outer crust toasts nicely and it's easy to spread your favorite condiment on it. I prefer humus but because of the dense nature of this bagel it won't tear or collapse into itself if you slather on firmer things like butter or cream cheese. Udi's has no dairy but does contain egg whites.

Against the Grain Bagels would be my second choice mostly because the inside of the bagel is more airy and when cut in half to toast sometimes tends to be almost empty inside. Still tastes good but not dense like a real glutenous bagel. This leaves something to desire when spreading condiments. However when I'm craving peanut butter I use one of these bagels and you can fill the hollow crevices with gobs of peanut butter. Yum!
250 calories (but smaller than an Udi's bagel)
13g fat
28 carbs (better choice for diabetics)
trace of fiber
5g protein.
The package of Against the Grain I found at Shop Rite was Sesame. I don't know if this made a difference in the ingredients beyond adding Sesame (no seeds seen anywhere), but it had Eggs, Milk and Mozzarella cheese. I'm not sure why they have Mozzarella cheese in a bagel but this could explain why it's very soft and more airy than Udi's.

Celiac, Gluten and SICK!

Into every Celiac life some gluten must fall. Diet be damned I have no idea where it came from, but I've been sick all week. I'm wracking my brain trying to figure it out.

It started last Saturday and at first, when I started feeling ill, I thought I was coming down with something. I was an event last Saturday and there were a few people who complained about being sick. (I wanted to scream, "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU COME FOR, YOU GERM SPREADER!")

So Sunday and Monday I had killer headache, stomach cramps and just achy all over. started feeling a little better but then it got worse again. Wednesday is my busiest day. I'm running from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m with barely any break.  I was halfway through and afternoon class and fighting nausea when it hit me. Gluten!

Why didn't I think it was gluten before? Now I'm checking vitamins labels, any new food I've eaten, a new ginger tea I just got last Friday. I suspect everything! I still don't know what I ate but I'm narrowing it down. I now move through my kitchen like there's an enemy hiding there and I have to get him before he gets me again. The tea was new, the fresh Parmesan from the Italian market could have contamination, can of mixed nuts? I feel like Sherlock Holmes.

I emailed the company, Traditional Medicinals that made the ginger tea. Here's what they said;

"Thank you for your inquiry.  Only two of the teas in our line contain oat straw:  PMS Tea and St. John's Good Mood, so they would not be gluten free.  The remainder of our tea line is without gluten, however.  Regarding the possibility of cross contamination:  we follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) which means that we thoroughly clean our tea bagging machines between batches.  In addition, the first of every batch is discarded as a further effort to eliminate the chance of contamination from the previous batch run."

Hmmm, could be cross contamination if they ran the ginger right after one of the gluten teas? I sometimes worry about teas being made with barley but the oat thing was surprising. Not sure if this tea was my problem but I did drink it a few times during the week because ginger is good for digestion. 

So all week it's been tea with honey, heating pads and the BRAT diet. (Bananas, rice, applesauce, and tea) 

And I'm still not sure what made me sick. Anyone have any trouble with tea?

Celiac Disease & IBS

Celiac Disease has many symptoms. Let's face it, Gluten can do terrible things to, not just our gut, but our entire body. It shows up in skin problems, migraines, and the big one diarrhea.

In the beginning, before Celiac was ever mentioned, the doc labeled my tummy issues as IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My only thought to this was, "I know it's irritated! Now tell me why?"
The doctor shrugged. I went home and did some research.

The list of answers was never ending.
~Keep a food diary to find out what's bothering you. (On my list; everything!)
~Remove those top allergens; milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat. (Yes, all of the above!)
~Eat smaller meals throughout the day. (that resulted in getting the big D more often through the day)
~Take probiotics. (Minimal help, issues still there)
~Avoid sulfates. (no help there!)
~Eat one macaroon a day. (Really? Um, no, no help.)
~Candida. (back to the probiotic issue-still suffering_

The list went on. Navigating the Internet on a subject like diarrhea and IBS and you are deluged with information. Some I tried, some I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

When the doc finally said Celiac but refused to test me and told me to go gluten free I was just desperate and uninformed enough to try it.

The IBS still followed me, however a lot of the other symptoms resolved. The pains in my gut that felt like someone had left a block of cement in there, gone. Skin, cleared. IBS came and went with no apparent reason. I often wondered if my gut was just so damaged that it was something I'd have to live with for the rest of my life. Then I read about Caltrate. Before we go any further I just want to be clear that I have no interest in this product outside of the fact that it has practically cured my IBS. I found this information in an IBS forum here.

I take half a tablet with breakfast and half with lunch. (Or dinner if I forget lunch) As long as I remember to do this the IBS is gone. Also gone is that loose queasy feeling down low in my abdomen.

I don't know why this works but read in this forum where someone thinks they can explain it.  Are they right? Who knows? It kinda makes sense but I've taken other calcium supplements before and they have not relieved my IBS. This one, the Caltrate in the purple bottle is the one that works for me.

Vegan Veggies: Choosing the Best

Vegan's and Vegetarians eat more vegetables over all and so I've been doing my research on how to get the best bang for  my buck. I think if I'm going with this vegetable lifestyle I need to be better versed in types of veggies and what I can do with them to make them tastier. The first step would be to pick the best of the crop.  (I'm still not locked into this lifestyle but I'm ready to give it a go. I just don't know if I'm going pure Vegan or Vegetarian. Anyone else make this decision? How did you decide?)  I'm not even sure if this is the optimum diet for a Celiac and because of this I'm thinking of keeping a food diary and documenting how I feel along with any changes.

Since there are so many veggies in the world, this is only round one in veggie research. 

Choosing fruits and vegetables at their freshest can be a challenge for even the best cook. The entire meal tastes better when the green beans are crisp, the asparagus firm and that apple pie is cooked to perfection. Here’s some quick pointers I found for bringing the best of nature’s bounty to our table.

 Sweet potatoes: The sweet potato should be firm with smooth skin. Chose the ones with as few eyes as possible. The outer jacket can range from tan to rosy-orange. Avoid bruised, split or ones with soft spots.

 Peas: Pea pods should be well filled, not bulging. They should be firm to the touch. Avoid soft, yellowed, spotted or dried pods.

 Carrots: Choose carrots with a deep, orange color for higher beta-carotene. They should be firm and not bend easily. The skin should be smooth and blemish free. I avoid baby carrots as they are treated with chemicals which can cause digestive upsets. Buy the regular ones and skin them yourself for a healthier snack.

Cucumbers: Pick the long, slender cucumber with dark to medium green coloring. Be sure the skin is smooth and without soft spots.Cucumbers turn yellow when over ripe.

 Ice Berg Lettuce: Head should be heavy and solid. Leaves should be green without any brown spots.

Romaine Lettuce: Tightly packed heads with bright green leaves are your best choice. Avoid brown or wilting leaves.

 Green Beans: The perfect bean is crisp and smooth without imperfections. Avoid beans with brown spots or dried out edges.

 Asparagus: The Asparagus stalk should be tender yet firm. The tips should be close and compact. For the more tender asparagus, pick the ones with very little white.

 Strawberries: A summer favorite, these berries should be plump and solid with bright red coloring. Strawberries without the green cap may be too ripe.

 Blueberries: Full of antioxidants, the blueberry is best chosen when it’s firm with a uniform blue hue. Shake the container. If they stick together they may be old. When they move freely they are probably fresher and free of moisture and mold. I always keep berries in the refrigerator drawer.

 Apples: No matter what kind of apple you choose it should be firm with rich coloring. Yellow or green apples with a slight blush are the best. Avoid apples that are bruised or dented. Apples stay fresher in the refrigerator but if your family eat them fairly quickly you can leave the on the counter.

 Bananas: Check to be sure the bananas are firm, but not too hard. Stems and tips should be intact. Avoid bananas with bruises or splits. Green bananas will need a day or two on the counter to ripen.On an experiment I put half my bunch in the refrigerator and left half on the counter. Although the skin of the bananas in the refrigerator turned dark, the fruit inside didn't seem to age much at all. It was still firm. Much firmer than the ones left on the counter that were getting softer with each day. Try this experiment yourself and maybe your bananas will last longer.

 Oranges: Uniform coloring is not as important as a smooth textured skin. The fruit should be firm and heavy. Smaller oranges and those that have thinner skin tend to be juicier than others.

 Cantaloupe: First tap the cantaloupe with your palm and listen for a hollow sound. The fruit should be heavy and the rind under the netting should be changed from green to yellow-cream. Take a sniff, the cantaloupe should have a pleasant, sweet aroma. 

 Well, that's it for today! Tomorrow I'm going to start researching easy recipes for a lazy Vegan cook.  

Happy gluten free eating!