Glamour on gluten (or...Gluten on Glamour)

Gluten: Friend or foe? Some of you may be interested in reading yesterday's post on Vitamin G, Glamour's daily health and fitness blog.

Is there new hope for celiac disease sufferers?

...in case you didn't read this article in today's L.A. Times.

(Photo via Flickr)

Got Le Creuset?

I used to have their whistling tea kettle in cobalt blue. Very nice--though it eventually ceased to whistle.

[**By the way, some of you may be interested in reading last week's New York Times article about the expense of eating with celiac disease.]

(Photo via Apartment Therapy)

Gluten free makes star appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. Wooooo-hoooooo!

Did anybody watch The Celebrity Apprentice last night? The task was to create a new dish and marketing campaign for the Schwan's frozen food LiveSmart line. Team KOTU, led by Herschel Walker, made Asian orange chicken. Team Athena, led by Jesse James, made turkey and spinach meatballs with GLUTEN FREE pasta. Guess which team won? I personally want to thank Annie Duke for coming up with the idea of having a gluten free dish. And for mentioning the words celiac disease and gluten free like eighty-seven times. Well maybe not that many.

(Photo via Google Images)

Do you think you could have celiac disease?

A friend of mine whom I've known for fifteen years was diagnosed recently with iron-deficiency anemia. After experimenting with various treatments and doing some of her own research, she decided to go on a gluten free diet. Since going gluten free, her lab test results are showing significant improvement. In fact, E. acknowledges having had digestive issues since childhood. While she doesn't yet have an official diagnosis of celiac disease, it's pretty clear that she is doing better with the GF diet.

While I'm not recommending that you self-diagnose and put yourself on a gluten free diet, my goal IS to spread celiac awareness. And to have you check out Shirley's fantastically informative post about the 20+ Reasons To Get Tested For Gluten Issues. Go there now.

If you're new here, you may also want to read this.

(Photo via weheartit)

Celiac Spotlight: An interview with Miss Aimee from Mostly Mod

I did a post last month on her gorgeous photography. What some of you may not know is that the lovely Miss Aimee of Mostly Mod has celiac disease. After I read about her recent trip to Marfa I was thinking: How does she maintain a gluten free diet while traveling? So I was thrilled when Miss Aimee agreed to answer a few questions about her personal experience with celiac.

When were you diagnosed with celiac disease?
About 4-5 years ago, although I will say it took me about a year to come to reality with the severity of it. I was in denial for a year thinking I could cheat the diet. I was scared that it would simply be unmanageable to continue on being "the foodie" I am in a celiac world.

What was one of the first things you ate after learning you couldn't eat gluten? Are there any foods you miss?
Well, naturally I think my body naturally disliked the foods I couldn't eat. I never liked pizza or pasta or bread. In fact, I can remember as a child always eating the inside of my sandwiches and the hamburger meat out of buns. I loved grits growing up and all corn-based products. So it wasn't a huge change for me. But I will say after knowing you cannot have something there is a funny thing that happens...you just want one more bite. I miss birthday cake from really great bakeries. I miss scones. I miss a good few bites of homemade macaroni and cheese or a good beer on a hot summer day. Although I have conveniently become a wino because of the lack of beer in the fridge.

Are there other members in your family with a gluten intolerance?
Yes, my Dad. He found out 5 years ago and that was why my sister and I both got tested. Of course my sister was fine, and I had celiac. Both my parents were not at all surprised as my Mom will tell the story over and over about the time I broke out in hives from eating too many stone wheat crackers one day. I loved those crackers! What a shame. The doctor (in the 70s) took me off wheat for about a year. Nobody knew what celiac was then!

What is meal prep like--do you cook one gluten free meal that all can share vs. separate ones?
I DO NOT make separate meals. We eat only gluten free foods in my house except for the basic bin of saltine crackers on the counter for my husband and the kids, and I always make sandwiches for the kids' lunch boxes on whole wheat bread. Although I will say my kids love toasted gluten free bread from Whole Foods. Whole Foods brand makes the BEST Prairie Bread ever! It must be toasted though. I eat it all the time.

Is there a favorite gluten free recipe you'd like to share?
Wow. So many. See my blog Mostly Mod for favorites as I post them every Tuesday! I only post recipes that are loved by the entire family. I have a fantastic Mexican cornbread recipe and we eat Pamela's brand pancake mix every Saturday for breakfast. I recently brought it on my Marfa trip and made pancakes for two families. Nobody knew they were gluten free and everyone loved them! In fact my friend Joslyn told me she thought they were better than regular pancakes! She swears she will buy them now. How great is that!

How often do you travel?
All the time. We are huge get-up-and-go-on-an-adventure kind of family. So I never know where we will eat but I can always find something!

Are there particular places you favor going where a gluten free diet can be easily accommodated?
No, I am a go-with-the-flow kind of girl. So, I am pretty easy.

Is there anywhere you would NOT recommend to a person who has dietary restrictions?
Well, I will say I am NOT a fast food kind of person and never have been. It is greasy and makes you feel so bad after eating it. I try not to ever feed it to my kids but sometimes they just want it (so you got to give in).

Basically, what's your method/best advice for handling the whole gluten issue when traveling?
Pack a small cooler bag full of fresh fruits and veggies, pack a few of your favorite boxes of gluten free crackers and a jar of peanut butter....and you won't starve no matter what. Be open-minded....chefs are pretty on the GF diet now. I find that when I go to any place to eat they pretty much all accommodate me well. You can always order a grilled chicken nothing on it and a side of rice or potato right?!

Is there anything else you'd like to add about dining out in general? (e.g., restaurants, friends' homes, etc.)
I will say my friends are intimidated at first to have us over for dinner because of my gluten free diet and then they realize it is pretty easy. I always send them to a few great gluten free recipe links on my blog sidebar that I frequent and they are all great recipes my husband and friends absolutely love! I always tell people you can't really go wrong with Mexican food either. The truth is gluten isn't good for anyone, celiac or not...so if you don't HAVE to go there why go there...right? I feel great. I have tons of energy, I am feeding my body the way I should...so yeah for celiac. I love cooking, I love eating...so it's all good over here.

Thank you for sharing, Miss Aimee!

Please feel free to email me (jackie at VanillaSpoons dot com) if you'd like to be featured in a celiac spotlight.

Related posts about dining out can be found here and here.

Is your college kid allergic to wheat or gluten?

We call it The Graduate. Remember this? A gluten free care package from Vanilla Spoons filled with yummy edibles. Artisan-crafted chocolate bars which were described as the "Best Organic Bars" by Food & Wine. Gourmet peanut butter with flavors like Mighty Maple and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl. Home-style vegan cookies from the lovely Liz Lovely. (A little warning about these cookies: My two girls WHO CAN EAT GLUTEN once scarfed down the Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Chip before their celiac bro ever even had a crumb. Crummy indeed. True story.) And much more.

From now until March 20 we will offer a 10% discount on The Graduate. Just enter ANM for the code. Bridget (or Jake) will love being surprised by this gluten free goodness you send.

A spiel about celiac disease, gluten free food and Vanilla Spoons.

Some of you have asked me for the low-down on celiac disease and gluten. As the owner of a gift basket shop that sells exclusively gluten free foods, I assume everybody has heard about the gluten free diet. I sometimes forget that before my son was diagnosed with celiac disease ten years ago, I didn't know what gluten was either.

In a nutshell, celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten--the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Gluten is literally the "glue" that holds together baked goods and pasta. Although gluten is found mainly in foods, it may also be in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins and lip balms. Now given that I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV, I'm going to send you here to read more about it.

Since there is no cure for celiac disease, a strict adherence to a gluten free diet needs to be followed. This is the tricky part. It involves reading labels, phone calls to food manufacturers, reading labels and re-reading labels. The cool thing is when you focus on all the naturally gluten free foods. Like fresh fruit and veggies; fresh meat, chicken, fish and eggs; potatoes, rice and quinoa; cultured plain yogurt; and aged block cheeses and many varieties of real cheese (assuming dairy is not a problem for you). It almost sounds like the caveman diet, remember that one?

Certainly there are the obvious forbidden foods (bread, pizza, bagels, muffins, donuts, crackers, cookies, cake, brownies, cereal, fried food). BUT the gluten free versions of all these foods do exist. Buying them or making them is just a little less convenient. But since when is convenience usually the healthier option anyway?

I started Vanilla Spoons because it was something I was already doing. (Albeit without pay.) I call myself the Expert Label Reader. I'm constantly searching for new, delicious gluten free food products that are not always found in the mainstream marketplace. Vanilla Spoons represents my view on living a gluten free life. All the food and fun that can be enjoyed. Vanilla Spoons is an experience that combines creativity and deliciousness.

Thanks for taking the time to read this (if you've made it thus far). It's an unusually long post for Absolutely Not Martha.

(Image from here)

Happy reporting in the land of the gluten free.

I'm happy to read that Dr. Nicholas Perricone's top ten beauty food picks are all gluten free. Yaaaay! The list includes: blueberries, apples, wild salmon, nuts, dark leafy greens, asparagus, olive oil and green tea. And I've saved the two best for last: red wine and dark chocolate. Yaaaay! (again)

Several, including the blueberries, dark chocolate and green tea, are great sources of antioxidants. Wild salmon helps keep skin young. Apples are good for your girlish figure. And we've all heard about chocolate being a potential mood elevator. I don't really care if it is or isn't. I'll still indulge.

Please note that the recipes you'll come across if you've followed the link, are not necessarily gluten free. However, I was surprised to see that the Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies are made without flour. Sounds gluten free to me. (No butter either!)

One last gluten free bite of reporting. I found it recently in the Orlando Sentinel. Heather McPherson placed "gluten free" at number eight for ten hot food trends to watch in 2009. She writes:

"Gluten as the new villain. Even though celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten, affects only about 1 percent of the population, proponents say a gluten-free diet can stimulate weight loss and help with chronic intestinal issues as well as diseases including autism and schizophrenia."

She does note, however, that these benefits are unproven. I'm curious to know if any of you would consider going on a gluten free diet if you didn't have to?

(Photo via weheartit)

Celebs eat gluten free too

Recognize any of these ladies? Maybe not the one in the bright red costume. That's Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz. BBC News states that Weisz has a wheat intolerance. (Yes, I realize there's a difference between wheat and gluten.)

remember Elf?
looking fierce

But... The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck definitely lives the gluten free life because she has celiac disease.

Watch her on YouTube talking with Dr. Peter Green, Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and author of Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic:



Here you can read articles about Zooey Deschanel's wheat gluten allergy and Victoria Beckham's craving for gluten free chocolate cookies.


(Photos via Google Images)

Vanilla Spoons Of Course

Who are we kidding? The only reason I started this blog was to plug Vanilla Spoons. So plug away I shall.

In search of the perfect gift that shows them you get it? (I am referring here to your loved one's gluten/wheat intolerance.) After spending nearly a decade checking and re-checking ingredients labels, I decided to start a little gluten free gift basket business. (My son was diagnosed at age two with celiac disease which means he can't eat foods containing gluten.) Me putting on a gluten free baker's apron and opening a bakery just wasn't in the cards.

There are 7 different baskets to choose from ranging in price from $69.95-$139.95. You'll notice a movie theme thing going on over at Vanilla Spoons. For instance, there's Close Encounters of the Sweet Kind filled with sweet stuff like chocolate bars, licorice and white chocolate peanut butter. Yum. And there's Mix and the City which has an assortment of gluten free mixes and comes with VANILLA extract and wooden SPOON. I know. Corny.

So please do check out the store if you'd like. Holidays are right around the corner, yada yada.