Easy Gluten Free Living

Archive for the ‘Gluten Free’ Category

I know it’s been a while since I posted last.  I’ve been doing research into gluten in beauty products.  What I have found is conclusively inconclusive, but I will share with you what I’ve found so far.

When you are first diagnosed with celiac disease, you think that gluten is only found in the food that you were eating.  Not so.  Gluten is found in many things other than food, like toothpaste, although the major brands lke Crest and Colgate do not contain it.  Body wash, body lotion, hair care products, make up, almost everything you come in contact with.

Lipstick, and possibly chapstick.  Since they are used on the lips should be a concern.  Since I’ve used chapstick for a very long time, never really thinking about it, I called the chapstick contact number to see if chapstick has gluten in it.  I mean why would it?  Right?  The answer I received in my opinion was a complete run around.

I asked this exact question, “I have celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten, so I cannot eat any products with wheat, rye, or barley in it.  Does chapstick contain any of those grains.”  What I was told, “We do not put gluten in the end product.”  HUH?  Okay but is it in any of the ingredients that make up the end product.  Again I got we do not put gluten in the end product.  I guess I’ll be finding a new product to use instead of chapstick.

Now onto  what if it is body lotion or makeup that is not going anywhere where you might ingest it?  This is where it gets inconclusive. 

In her book The G Free Diet, Elisabeth Hasselbeck says that she can’t have any hair care products, body washes, lotions, or anything that she comes in contact with have any type of gluten in it.

However, Dr. Michael Picco at the Mayo Clinic says, “Gluten containing products and cosmetics aren’t a problem unless you accidentally swallow them.”

“If you use a cosmetic or skin care product that contains gluten and you develop a skin reaction, see your doctor or dermatologist to identify the cause.  It is possible to have an allergy to wheat or another grain that could cause a skin reaction.”

To read Dr. Picco’s full article click here.

That is pretty much what I am finding all over.  Celiac Disease is an intolerance to ingested gluten, but there are some people that can’t use skin  products that have gluten in them.

So it seems the best advice to follow is Dr. Picco’s.  If you use a product and have a reaction see your doctor to find out why.

I can’t believe that Christmas is over and we are winding down the last few days of 2009.  New Year’s Eve will be here before you know it.  So for todays Menu Monday I thought I would give you some gluten free appetizer recipes that you can use for your New Year’s Eve Party or to take with you to a party that you’ve been invited to. 

If you are going to a party instead of hosting your own you may want to check out last weeks Menu Monday, 10 Tips to a Gluten Free Holiday, if you haven’t already.

                                               Bruschetta Bites

• 1  (32 ounce) can whole tomatoes drained
• 1 Cup fresh Basil leaves, and a few more for garnish
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic peeled
• 2 large French-Syle Gluten Free Baguettes, sliced 1-inch thick (you can get these in the freezer section at Whole Foods or other specialty stores that carry gluten free breads)
• 1 1/2 pounds shreded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a food processor bowl add tomatoes, basil leaves, olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper.  Pulse until smooth, but still chunky. 

On a baking sheet , place gluten free baguette slices.  Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle grated cheese on hot bread and put back in oven for about 45 seconds, to melt the cheese.  Remove from oven and put about 1 tablespoon of the tomatoe mixture on each piece.  Chiffonade (slice thinly) the extra basil leaves and place on top to garnish.

                                               Broccoli Cheese Party Quiches

• 1 can evaporated milk
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 Cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 Cups chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour 12 mini muffin cups.  Whisk evaporated milk, eggs, flour salt and pepper in a medium bowl until blended.  Spoon 1/4 cup of mixture into muffin cups, filling almost to the top.  Stir mixture frequently to keep ingredients evenly mixed.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly brown.  Cool in pans for about 15 minutes.  To remove from pans, run a knife around the inside edges of the muffin cups.  Remove quiches carefully.

                                               Spinich Dip

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 container gluten free sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
• 1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
• 1 small onion finely diced

Combine all ingredients well and refridgerate at least 2 hours.  Serve with your favorite raw vegetables or gluten free crackers or chips.

                                               Polenta Bites

• 1 Cup cornmeal
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce

Grease a jelly roll pan and set aside.  In a 2 quart saucepan over high heat bring 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of butter, and salt to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine cornmeal and 1 cup cold water and stir.  Add cornmeal mixture to boiling water mixture, bring back up to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Continue to cook until mixture thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cheese and tabasco sauce.

Spread cooked cornmeal mixture into prepared jelly roll pan evenly to about 1/2 inch thick.  Refrigerate, uncovered for at least 30 minutes.

After the polenta is cool, cut in to bitesized shapes, about 2 1/2 inch in diameter.  In a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining butter and oil.  Add polenta shapes and cook 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.  Serve with Spicy Salsa.  (Recipe follows)

                                              Spicy Salsa

• 1 Cup Fresh ripe tomatoes diced
• 3 tablespoons minced onions
• 1 Tablespoon cilantro
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours to blend the flavors.  (Makes about 1 Cup)

                                             Cheese Ball

• 1 (16 ounce) tub Philadelphia cream cheese, (not the bricks of cheese)
• 2 (8 ounce) tubs Kaukauna extra sharp cheddar cheese  (check the ingredient list, besides Kraft Cracker Barrel in the tub which has become next to impossible to find this is the only brand I know of that is all cheese)

Set these out to soften for about 2 hours.  In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and the extra sharp cheddar cheese with an electric mixer.  Refrigerate until firm, place on a platter or cheese plate and form into a ball.  Sprinkle with parsley flakes and serve with your favorite gluten free crackers.

Both of my granddaughters love this cheese so much they eat it on everything.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  Please let me know how you and your guests liked them. 

Have a safe and Happy New Year and may your 2010 bring you all that you hope for.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free

December is all about the holidays.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or something else, there are always parties to attend or host.

At my house we celebrate Christmas, and it’s all about the true meaning of Christmas, family and good food.  Christmas eve is a really good meal then off to Christmas Eve services.

Dinner is a nice Beef Burgandy.  What makes it easy is I make it in the crock pot.  That way it takes minimal watching and I can concentrate on other last minute preparations.

Now, how do you make sure the food is something you can eat?  If the celebration is at your house, you need to decide, is everyone eating Gluten Free or is there going to be gluten filled food? 

If there is going to be a combination of gluten filled food and gluten free food make sure you prepare your gluten free food first to avoid cross contamination.  Think about making little signs to place on your buffet in front of gluten free food to keep your gluten free food, gluten free.

What if the party is at someone else’s house?  How can you be sure that there is food there safe for you to eat?

1. Remember you’re the guest.  You want to have fun but you won’t have fun if you’re spending the whole time in the bathroom.
2. Call the hostess.  If you’re not going to a close friend or relative’s house who knows your condition, call and talk with the hostess.  Offer to bring a dish.  If the affair is going to be catered, ask the hostess if she would mind you calling the caterer.  If the caterer can’t give you a list or label the dishes, arrive a few minutes early to speak with the caterer about ingredients in the dishes.
3. Keep in mind the possibility of hidden glutenous ingredients.  Just because something looks safe, doesn’t mean it is.  If you’re not sure of ingredients, ask.  Better safe than sorry.
4. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other, maybe ask a friend to help you keep informed of potential hazardous foods.  Extra eyes, and ears will help to keep you gluten free.
5. Eat before the party.  If you arrive full instead of hungry, you won’t be tempted to eat something you might not eat, if you weren’t hungry.
6. BYO Food.  Bring your own dish to share.  Let the hostess know that you would like to bring a dish.  Make sure it tastes good and will add to the buffet.
7. Try to be first in line.  If food is being served buffet style be first, to avoid cross contamination.  If that’s not an option, ask your hostess if you can prepare a plate ahead of time.  Then eat your plate when everyone else does.
8. Stick to food you know.  Eat foods that you know to be safe.  Avoid no no’s like bread, and pasta, and be aware of marinades, dips, sauces, casseroles, and desserts, unless you made them.
9. Be Gracious.  Thank your hostess for being accomodating.
10. Have Fun.  Remember this is a party.  Keep the above tips in mind and enjoy yourself.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free

My friend, Susanne Myers, The Hillbilly Housewife, is hosting a virtual cookie exchange.  The following cookie recipe is my contribution.  I hope that you enjoy them.

                                        Gluten Free Mock Thin Mints

1 Cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Unsweetened cocoa powder + some extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon Rumsford Baking Powder
6 Tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
1/2 teaspoon gluten free Vanilla extract

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter & sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer.  While still mixing add in the egg and vanilla.  Set mixer on low speed and slowly add flour mixture,  so as not to have it pouf out at you.  Mix on medium high speed until all ingredients are incorporated.

Dough will be very soft so cover bowl with plastic wrap and refriderate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  With a teaspoon,  scoop up a teaspoon size piece of dough and roll in your hands to form a ball.  Place on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart.   

Dip the bottom of a glass into the extra cocoa powder and flatten dough balls into 1 1/2″ rounds (about 1/4″ thick).

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly firm to the touch, rotating cookie sheets half way through baking time.

Transfer cookies immediately to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Replace parchment paper on cookie sheets.

                                  Chocolate Coating for Cookies

One – 12 ounce bag semi sweet morsels
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 Tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a double boiler or a heat proof bowl,  set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, combine the chocolate morsels, peppermint extract, salt, and the sweetened condensed milk .  Heat,  stirring occasionally until smooth.

When cookies are completely cool, hold each cookie with a finger and thumb and frost with chocolate mixture.  I use the tines of a fork instead of a knife, so as not to get too much chocolate on each cookie.  Coat both top and bottom.  Place frosted cookie on parchment covered cookie sheet and repeat until all cookies are coated.

Place in refrigerator until chocolate has hardened, at least 1 hour.

Cookies can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an air tight container between layers of parchment paper.I hope you enjoy these cookies and all the others that you will find at the Virtual Cookie Exchange.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free

I thought that I would start blogging more frequently, but I didn’t know just what I would be blogging about. 

Those of you that know me personally, know that I rarely run out of things to say, but I want my blog to be informative and fun.  So I decided that I would have a couple of theme days every week and encourage you to join in.

This will start in full after the holidays.  If you’re like me right now, the holidays aren’t just creeping up on you, they are flying at you with the speed of a freight train.  I can’t believe Christmas is just 10 days away.  I still have shopping to do.  

I have baking to do also.  Because we had a night of freezing rain Saturday night into Sunday morning, church services were cancelled, interstate 376, commonly called here in Pittsburgh, The Parkway, was closed.  That hasn’t happened since the snow storm of 1993. 

 So I thought it would be a perfect day to do some  baking. I made Gluten Free Mock Thin Mints.  If you have a Girl Scout in the family, then you know what Thin Mint cookies are.  I think that was one of the things I missed most after going gluten free.

I will be posting the recipe here later today.  The reason I will be posting later is because my friend Susanne Myers, The Hillbilly Housewife came up with a great idea. 

Since alot of us are work at home moms, she came up with the idea to have a Virtual Cookie Exchange.  So if you are looking for some great cookie recipes check out the Virtual Cookie Exchange.  I think this will be alot of fun.

Feel free to post your favorite cookie recipes in the comments section below.  I look forward to a lot of great recipes.

Also, if you would like some more information on Celiac Disease, be sure to check out my Squidoo Lens.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free

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Having Celiac Disease or a gluten intollerance as an adult is inconvenient, but when you have a gluten free child, whatever the reason, it can be down right heart breaking.  Especially when the holidays roll around.  They just want to be able to be a kid, like their friends.

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I’d give you some tips, recipes, and gluten-free candy options to help you with your little ones celebration.

When you are choosing your halloween candy to hand out to the little ghosts and goblins, be sure to buy only those that are gluten free.  That way you don’t have to worry if your little trick or treater comes home with only gluten laden candy, or candy that is questionable.  Besides, if your household is anything like mine, we all have a hard time keeping our hands out of the treat basket. 

Make sure your child knows and understands not to eat anything from his or her treat bag until they get home.  Not only is this a good policy to keep your child gluten free, it is also just good sense, in this day and age of “bad guys”.

Check out the treats.  When your child gets home from trick or treating, make a game out of going through the “booty”.  Make a pile for candy known to be gluten free, a pile for candy known NOT to be gluten free, and a pile for candy that you just aren’t sure of.  It may or may not be gluten free.  If you want to take the time you can contact the manufacturer, give it away, or just throw it out.

Remember the old adage:  “When in doubt, throw it out”, because nothing is more important that keeping your child healthy and safe.

Keep it positive.  I know from experience how easy it is to get angry and depressed about not being able to eat the foods that you know and love, but that don’t love you back.  If your child is on a gluten free diet chances are pretty good that he or she will remain on that diet the rest of their lives.  Now is the time to teach them that it’s not the end of the world.  Yes, there are some restrictions, and they will always have to be diligent, but new and better tasting gluten free foods are coming out everyday.  If you show a positive attitude your child will too.

Over the next week I will be telling you about popular candy that is gluten free and also giving you recipes that are gluten free that can be used for school parties or your own Halloween Ghoul Party.

Here’s one such recipe:

                                            Halloween Haystacks

What you’ll need:    

1. 1 (11 oz.) package butterscotch chips
2. 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
3. 1 (12 0z.) jar dry roasted peanuts (optional)
4. 1 (4 02.) package of (gluten free) potato sticks         

How to make the Haystacks

     Place the chips into a large heavy saucepan.  Add the peanut butter to the pan and place the pan over low heat.  Stir constantly and heat the mixture for 5 minutes or until very smooth.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanuts until well coated.  Add the potato sticks and carefully stir to coat them well with the mixture.  Line a pan with wax or parchment paper and drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the paper.  Chill the haystacks until firm.

These sweet and salty stacks will have them begging for more.  For school treats wrap tightly in plastic and tie with a Halloween bow.  If you want a more peanut butter cup flavor, substitute semisweet chocolate chips in place of the butterscotch chips.   

Hope you and your little goblins enjoy them.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free

Celiac disease is a very common, yet very under diagnosed, incurable, hereditary, autoimmune disease.  Recent studies show that one  in 133 people , in the United States alone,  are affected by celiac disease.  The reason that it is so under diagnosed or misdiagnosed is because the symptoms can be so varied.

With most diseases there are a set of symptoms that are basically typical to that particular disease.  However, celiac disease has a broad spectrum of symptoms, none of which are “typical.”  Symptoms are triggered by the ingestion of gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats. 

Symptoms of CD can be any one of or several of the following:  fatigue, anemia, unexplained weight loss or weight gain, skin blisters or other skin disorders, mood swings, depression, anxiety,  miscarriages, osteoporosis, irritable bowel, headaches, a bloated feeling, flatulence (gas), profuse diarrhea, severe stomach aches, joint pain, and possibly others that just haven’t been linked to CD yet.  As your body becomes more intollerant to the gluten in your diet, you may experience numbness or tingling in your face and hands.

With that wide of a variety of  symptoms, you can see why self diagnosing is so difficult.  If you experience or are experiencing any of these symptoms, check with your doctor to see if you may have CD.  You will want to ask for the following blood tests:  IgA antihuman tissue transglutaminase (IgA TTG) and IGA endomysial antibody immunofluoresence (IgA EMA).  That is a mouthful,  I know, however, these tests are currently recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as being the most accurate.

Then if your blood tests positive for gluten antibodies, you will need to have a biopsy of your small intestine, to check your intestinal villi.  This is done as an outpatient procedure.

After that you go on a Gluten Free diet and feel better.

Just keep in mind, if you suspect you might have Celiac Disease, and you want an actual medical diagnosis, DO NOT start a gluten free diet before your blood test and intestinal biopsy.  You need to be eating gluten for the blood tests and biopsy to be accurate.

Tomarrow I’ll talk about different symptoms for children with celiac disease.

Mary Blackburn

Living Gluten Free