Month: September 2012

Why Your Child May Not Need a Biopsy to Prove Celiac Disease

When we first suspected celiac disease we went through the normal protocols. First we tested for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. My son had two copies of each gene meaning that each parent had both DQ2 and DQ8. This is as susceptible as a person can possibly be genetically. Then we had him tested for an IgA reaction. We were warned that it might not be valid since he was already gluten free. Where normal was between 0 and 10 his number was 90. Even without known gluten in his diet he was still off the chart. As far as I was concerned we were done. He had every last symptom mentioned in the medical texts down to the canker sores. He had four out of a possible four genes. His autoimmune reaction was so high that it came back from the lab with a special note, and his symptoms improved dramatically within three weeks of going gluten free. Yet, the doctor wanted me to put him back on gluten for two months so we could do a biopsy to prove he had celiac disease because without a biopsy they could not be certain. Frankly, I thought this was ridiculous. It was like x-raying a compound fracture to see if it was broken. If you have mind numbing pain and your arm bends in a place where you do not have...

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Gluten Free Nut Free Dairy Free Halloween Candy List 2012

This post is designed to help you navigate the allergen minefield known as Halloween. Please note that these are the ingredients as of today in the United States. There are different versions of candies in different countries. This is also not a complete list. There are many wonderful specialty candy makers that have hypoallergenic and Feingold safe products. This is strictly a guide to popular American big box candies. Please also be aware that in the U.S. gluten-free is not well defined. Most manufacturers mean that no gluten containing ingredients are used. They may also have good manufacturing processes and in the cases of certain candies they may even have dedicated facilities, but it remains an area where the buyer needs to beware. When in doubt…ask. This list is a guideline which can help you to avoid the real problem candies and help you figure out which ones the manufacturer believes to be safe. This is not foolproof. None of these candies is certified by a third party as gluten-free or nut-free. I wish I could give you a definitive listing but I cannot be any more certain than the manufacturers are. No warranties are expressed or implied. You use this list at your own risk. You get the idea. All of these manufacturers warn that the labels can change so always read the labels before buying. So what...

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Suncups Nut Free “Peanut Butter” Cups

My favorite candy was always Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. Like many other candies, Reese’s is gluten-free and therefore it stayed on my permitted list. But this is not an option for the nut allergic nor for anyone on the Feingold diet. But there is a candy called SunCups. SunCups are made with sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter. They are gluten-free and nut-free. They are actually free of all of the major allergens with the exception of dairy (this is true even with their dark chocolate cups which I find especially disappointing since there is no need to put dairy in dark chocolate). So if you would like to share the magic of a peanut butter cup with a child who cannot have nuts, you can order SunCups here....

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The BEST Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Egg-Free Bread and It’s Corn-Free too!

I am from New Jersey, home of many excellent Italian bakeries. I always loved a hot crusty airy Baguette. Not enough to die for, but enough. I missed good bread. I missed good bread even more than I missed pizza. Which is why I was so excited when I tried the Rice Bran Dinner Rolls and the Rice Bran Mini-Baguette at Deerfield’s Bakery. Deerfield’s is a local suburban Chicago bakery with three locations (Deerfield, Schaumburg, and Buffalo Grove. None of the bakeries sells only gluten free items, however the Schaumburg facility does only gluten-free baking and has no gluten flour on the premises. They have gluten cookies and cakes which were baked at other facilities, but they are pretty clean. I never tried Deerfield’s before because I had only ever seen their cookies, which contain dairy and corn. So nothing for me to eat. Then I saw these rolls at Whole Foods and read the back and they were safe for me. They have sesame, potato and coconut flour so they are not for everyone, but they are egg free which is a small miracle. So I decided to try them. I have spent plenty of good money on bad bread before. But not this time. This stuff was airy, crusty crunchy on the outside, stretchy and soft on the inside. I just kept eating it. I ate it...

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Gluten-Free Soy-Free Corn-Free Citrus-Free Vegan Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

One of the challenges of a special diet is the expense of processed food. My favorite gluten-free bread is $12 a loaf. Why? Because it tastes like real bread even though it is vegan and mostly organic and gluten, dairy and corn free. Hence it sells out even at $12 a loaf. Having made my own bread, I can assure you it is worth the money. Making bread takes too much time, and the mixes all require eggs. Even the best of them taste “gluten-free”. The cheaper breads are made with cornstarch and GMOs. Bread, I am willing to pay up to outsource. But not salad dressing. Its faster to make it myself than it is to read all the bottles at the store to figure out which ones aren’t going to kill me. Also I have yet to find a gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free vegan bottled organic dressing. If you have one PLEASE leave a comment. Until then, I am going to invest the five minutes that it takes and make my own dressings. This one was a hit so here goes. Ingredients 1 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoons prepared gluten-free safe mustard (I use Organicville which has 5 ingredients) 6 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon white vinegar 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (this keeps the stuff from separating. Water 1/4 tsp salt (truly...

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Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Weeknight Dinner – Scallops in Pink Vodka Sauce

Strangely this works even better with fake dairy than it ever did with real sour cream or heavy cream. Real dairy haws to be added to the tomato sauce at the last minute or it curdles. Soy based products can easily be stored for next time. Ingredients 1 to1.5 lbs raw scallops (hungry people note that these will cook down to a fraction of their raw size) 1/2 cup vegan soy cream cheese (I use Galaxy Nutritional Foods brand) 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1 tbsp vodka 1 cup jarred gluten, dairy, and corn free pasta sauce Rice Pasta (I prefer Tinkyada) Equipment Measuring spoons and cups Heavy pot for cooking scallops and sauce Heavy pot for cooking pasta. Instructions Put water for pasta on to boil When it reaches a boil start the scallops in the next pan. Put raw scallops and cream cheese in a heavy saucepan and combine over low heat just until the cream cheese softens a bit Add red pepper flakes and stir to combine Add garlic powder and incorporate Add Pasta to boiling water in the other pan. Add jarred pasta sauce to the scallop cheese mixture and heat until scallops cook stirring occasionally (I find that I can bring the sauce to a boil and then turn off the heat and the scallops cook perfectly in the hot...

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Senza is Open!

I went to a lecture where the speaker said that the one place where American celiacs routinely cheat on their diets is on a date. It’s embarrassing to play twenty questions with the waiter and then still have to refuse to kiss your date goodnight because she ate the bread. The evening’s conversation becomes all about celiac disease and not about getting to know each other. Yes, there are chains that cater to us. There is P.F. Changs for Chinese, Zapatista for Mexican, Bonefish for fish, and Outback Steakhouse for ribs. But every one of these places will require that you explain your gluten-free status to get the menu. Every one of these places will offer your date gluten containing items and every one of these places has a children’s menu and crayons. For a middle-aged mom like me, these places are great. But for a childless single person trying to make a good impression? Once you get married you can join us here, but in the beginning you might prefer a place where very few of the diners use sippy cups. Enter Senza. Senza is located on Broadway north of Diversey where Boys Town meets Lincoln Park. There is a parking garage nearby as well as meters across the street. They have a pretty full bar, two kinds of gluten-free beer and the entire place is gluten-free. Whatever...

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Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Soy-Free Nut Free Chocolate Candy Bar!

The time has come to start planning for Halloween, which I think it the single most challenging holiday for anyone with multiple food allergies. My aon and I don’t tolerate dairy well, but unlike gluten we can handle small amounts. So if he eats say, peanut M&Ms the amount of dairy in the remaining milk chocolate will not cause a reaction. A buttery croissant, however, has him balled up with a stomachache. That said, this is not true of his friend who reacts to dairy the way I react to gluten. She needs to completely avoid dairy. So I was sad to see how many products contained dairy where it was not necessary (Does dark chocolate need milk in it?) She is a good sport but for her Halloween means Skittles. Lots and lots of Skittles and no chocolate…until now. Enjoy Life foods has come out with the boomCHOCOboom Gluten-Free Ricemilk Crunch Bar which I think is just a different incarnation of their “milk” chocolate crispy rice bar. Although I don’t think Godiva will be driven out of business by this product, if you cannot otherwise eat milk chocolate, this is a godsend. No corn, no gluten, no dairy, no nuts, no potato, no sesame, no sulfites, no artificial ingredients, and no soy. The texture is slightly off since they use ricemilk in place of cows milk, but it...

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Gluten-Free Egg-Free Soy-Free Dairy-Free Tuna Salad

When I tell people we need to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and corn-free but that I try to also design recipes to be egg-free, soy-free and nut-free they look at me in horror and ask “What do you eat? What is left?” As it turns out, most of the recipes we grew up on in the 1970s (yes I am that old) can be adapted quickly and easily to be largely hypoallergenic. Hence this recipe for gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, peanut-free, tree nut free, egg-free tuna salad. You can make this…really. Tuna salad has to contain fish so this is not fish free. I have chicken salad recipes for people like my lovely cousin Kathlynn who cannot eat fish. This recipe makes a LOT of tuna salad, because I am lazy and do not want to keep remaking tuna salad during the week. That said if you have a smaller group at home, you will probably want to cut everything in half or even in thirds. Ingredients One cup of minced celery One cup of minced onions 6 cans of tuna (in water if you are allergic to soy) 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons of Trader Joe’s gluten free (or Organicville) sweet pickle relish (really optional. My husband likes the sweetness but I do not) 3/4 cup Earth Balance Olive oil Mindful Mayo (egg and soy free) Salt Pepper Dried...

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Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Oh happy day! The Starbucks customer service representative just wrote me back that the Via Pumpkin Spice Latte packages are indeed gluten-free. The words “natural flavors” on the package always freak me out, but this time it looks like we are OK. I am still waiting to get confirmation that the natural flavors do not include dairy or corn and will update this post when I get confirmation, but I wanted to let you all know that, per Starbucks, you can indeed safely drink the Via. They are not cheap and its not EXACTLY like the ones they made in the store, but due to my desire to eventually leave Starbucks and their desire to regain the use of their ladies room, I haven’t had one made in the store in years. So me and my flax milk have a date with a Via Pumpkin Spice Latte. And people, think holiday gifts. I am serious. This is a good gift for a celiac. Now if they can only do a via egg nog...

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Egg-Free Soy-Free Gluten-Free Vegan Corn-Free Mayonnaise!

In my local Whole Foods, which is approximately the size of a small convention hall, I had never found a mayonnaise that was free of gluten, dairy, soy, corn and egg. Hain’s Safflower was our mayonnaise of choice because we don’t react to eggs but we do avoid soy. I recommended Vegenaise for people who could have soy but not eggs. But soy-free and egg-free meant mayonnaise free. Then I learned that Vegenaise makes a soy-free version using safflower oil. If you live near a Whole Foods this company is in their system so you have to ask for the product to be ordered for you if it is not in stock. I have not tried this product so I can’t vouch for the taste. But last week I saw that Earth Balance has a mayonnaise without any of the big allergens. I think they have to call it a sandwich spread, but for anyone on a limited diet this is so exciting. I have several recipes that simply require mayonnaise and the total lack of a solution in this area has been frustrating. It is even Non-GMO project certified which is really important when dealing with canola. There are actually TWO flavors. Olive Oil and Regular. The regular has a jar with a blue lid. The olive oil one has a green lid. The olive oil one is...

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The Most Important Foods to Eat Organic

Last night I was talking to a neighbor about eating organic and gluten free and she was just commenting on how expensive it is. She is right. It can be very expensive. Which begs the question. What is the most important thing to always eat organically such that you avoid it when eating out and just don’t eat it period… and what can slide a bit. So this is what I do and why I do it. I am not God’s gift to food wisdom, but I wanted to share my system and its logic in case it is helpful. I have a system whereby some foods are either organic or unfit to eat and others are OK to let slide when you are on a limited budget. First you get the list then I will explain my ranking system. Category 1 Foods. Foods I virtually never, ever, even in a restaurant or at a wedding eat unless they are organic OR Non-GMO Project Certified. I try to treat these as I would gluten. I never buy them to eat at home. Corn Soy Canola Potato Tomato Anything prepared with any of the above (say fajitas cooked with corn oil or a soy oil based salad dressing. No soy cream cheese. No soy cheesecake at the gluten free bakery (they use Tofutti which last time I checked contains GMO...

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