Yum,Yarn and Yoga

My friend, Kathleen is a great blogger.She is a vegetarian that dabbles in GF cooking. I like her blog so much that I decided to share this link with you:

http://yumyarnandyoga.blogspot.com/search/label/Gluten%20Free


The link will take you to all the gf recipes and posts on her site. Try some of her amazing food and let her know what you think!

Email Questions Anwered!

I have been receiving a lot of reader questions, which I love! Keep sending questions! I selected two to post to the blog! If you have questions, please feel free to send them to my email. If you do not want them posted, please enclose that in your email.

1. Michelle,

I work in a bakery, how do I not get glutened at lunch time? How do I keep myself from getting gluten all over myself?
            
 Respectfully,

   Marge



Marge,

I am assuming that your bakery is not gluten free. I suggest that you wash your hands as often as possible. Wear an apron to keep your clothes free of gluten. Try to avoid touching your face. Bring your own food from home and create a gluten free zone for it. If that is not possible, do not introduce your gf food to your work environment and eat out.
 - Michelle





2.   Dear GF Glutton-

Do you use GF skin care? What are your GF beauty tips?

- Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I have a skin care post coming up soon, I will mention a new product I have been using...so keep a look out for it!

I am rather sensitive to gluten in products. For a while my scalp broke out and was itchy and I couldn't figure out why, finally...ok, after a few months of being unhappy (I bought the largest bottle ever of this shampoo), I read the ingredients and there was WHEAT in it! This isn't the 1st time that this happened to me. I have found wheat in my lotion and in my lip products before.

So currently, I am using an all natural, GF shampoo that I really like-

Desert Essence Red Raspberry Shampoo smells really good and I don't have to worry about my scalp hating me. I use essential oils to condition my scalp. I get regular trims (4-6 weeks) to keep my hair healthy and I either straight iron my hair or use hot rollers to curl it. If I am lazy, I let it dry naturally.

I also wear SPF daily, year round. My co-workers tease me for being so pale. I try to sleep as much as possible and I am trying to be better about my water consumption.

-Michelle

GFXCON: Thoughts, praise and a big Thank You to Kristin Carey!

I am so happy I was able to attend the  the first ever GFXCON! Didn't attend? Don't worry! I have it on good authority that there will be more! There was so much to do at this Gluten Free Convention that there was never a dull moment. There was not only the Expo, there was also Conferences, Cooking Demonstrations, and a dinner to close out the night. I missed some of these events due to scheduling conflicts but in the future I know that I will not want to miss out on the fun!

Who is the mastermind behind the GFXCon? Kristin Carey. Why does her name sound familiar? I have mentioned her prior; she is the owner of Nourish. She is incredible. She keeps bringing fourth new ways for the GF/Dairy free/Soy free/Vegan/Vegetarian/Allergen free communities together in exciting ways. This Conference was the perfect blend of food,education, and fun. I want to thank Kirstin Carey for creating such an all encompassing  Conference.

That said, I am a big supporter of all the GF conferences, I think we (Celiacs), should go to every conference  available to us. The more of us that show up and give the GF lifestyle a face; the more conferences that will appear in your area. This is better for us as consumers. Keep that in mind...

Back to the GFXCON:

This is what the GFXCon looks like when you enter. There were a lot of Vendors and they were all very informative. There was not one that was unfriendly. It was great to see familiar faces like Julia from Julia's Bakery!

I sampled a ton of delicious foods, drinks and tried a lot of new beauty products. Most of the tables looked like this:

This is the Udi's table. I have spoken about my love of Udi's many, many, many times on the blog. A lot of the tables were set up like the Udi's table. Had I not been chatting so much with the awesome vendors, I would have taken more pictures. I am sorry, I was having such a great time and learning so much that I neglected to take photos.

 At the bottom of the post, please check out some of the links I have included for you to look at.  Additionally, I will be posting a lot of new great reviews of products from companies that I wouldn't have otherwise known about, had I not gone to the Expo.

I also met some amazing bloggers! One that I have followed for years and one that I now am excited to read! Please check out these two awesome blogs:

Stephanie- I read her all the time when she was SkinnyJeans! She was so kind and I was very excited to meet her. I love it when readers come up to me and she was very personable. Please check out her latest blog.

Ken-Ken was so nice and he is GF. He is your go to guy for sustainable living the GF way!


While I was at the GFXCon, I happened to catch three speakers. I saw Dan Maakastad, Sous Chef from Nourish, Kirstin Carey, Owner of Nourish and Dr. Kyle Collins from Upper Cervical. Each speaker brought something very interesting and unique to the table. Dan talked about Grain Free cooking, Kristin talked about how to travel without having to worry about getting sick and Dr. Collins spoke about Eliminating toxins.

The Expo made me very hungry! So before I made my journey home, I ventured to Nourish and ordered a meal to go. 

Teriyaki Wild Rice Bowl with ground beef added. Delish! Also, I love the blackboard quote they have displayed.

I had a marvelous time. I cannot THANK everyone that made this event possible enough. I cannot wait for the next one. I was in the best mood all day because of it. I loved the GFXCon!
Every vendor there was great, please check out these websites because I think that they are amazing:

• Celicas Disease Foundation-East Valley Chapter
• I am Fine (Skin Care)
• Gluten Free Country Store
• New Planet Beer
• Treehouse Bakery
• Sprouts
• Lady Of Moore

Thoughts on GF in the workplace

My Lunch for work

I have ditched the busy life of a Stay At Home/Freelance Writer Mom. Yes,by the way, that a pretty taxing existence.  I decided to rejoin my old comfort zone of the daily 8 to 5 and since this is my first time being gluten free in the work force; I was pretty nervous about it. It seemed silly,but I was. I have now been working for a little while and I have seemed to manage pretty well. I will let you all know how things progress in my new gluten free working environment as they go. But here is what I have done to keep from getting glutened at work.

• I pack my desk full of snacks to ward off hunger. Right now, I have gf protein bars and baby carrots...and chocolate. Let's not discuss the chocolate.
• I pack my lunch daily. It not only saves money, but my lunch is made at home in my kitchen that I can guarantee is pretty free of cross contamination. I know what is in my food.
• I researched the local restaurants in the area for my gf options in case I do want to splurge one day and eat out. I know where my nearest gf pizza is, where the closest Sprouts is, etc. This is important to make myself feel "normal". I may not want to eat the same types of foods everyday. After all, variety is the spice of life and being gf shouldn't make me want to be different from anyone else.
• If I drop food on a surface at work, it goes in the trash. I mean, this should just be common sense but sometimes I think we forget. Crumbs are everywhere and so if I drop something somewhere, I trash it.
• I don't share food. I get offered food all the time at work, usually it isnt gf so I decline. I dont accept food that is gf but already opened. I never know if it has already been crossed-contaminated. The only time I will accept is if it is just opened and I can make sure that I wont get glutened.

Those are the tips that I have so far. What are your gluten-free tips for the work place?

Book Review: Joy Bauer's Food Cures

Joy Bauer's Food Cures is a New York Times Best Seller

About a month and a half ago I thought someone was playing a prank on me, I received an email from JoyBauer.com. The email expressed enthusiasm for my site. I was flipping out. Holy crap. I watch Joy Bauer on TV.  I adore the Today Show not just for Matt and Meredith (when she was on) but also for Joy.

So, back to that email...maybe not Joy herself ,but someone at her company  knows who I am. This is almost like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but healthier...this is the degrees of separation Joy Bauer style. The email asked me to review two books, one of them being Food Cures.

Funny, actually, I was planning on purchasing Food Cures for my migraines since there is a chapter on that. I had no idea that the book even touched on celiacs. I like how Food Cures breaks everything down simply for the reader to follow. Even though Joy is a Nutrition Expert, she does not overwhelm you or frighten you with terminology that one cannot follow. I also feel like her advice is easy to apply to everyday life. Her celiacs chapter was comprehensive and she knew what she was talking about. It is a good starter book for a person that has just been diagnosed and needs answers or a person that has celiacs with other issues, such as myself.
I am using Food Cures to treat my celiacs, migraines and also for weight loss.

I would highly recommend Food Cures to anyone in the Gluten Free community or anyone that just wants to improve their overall health.

Preventing Cross Contamination

So this is my cream cheese. Notice the big GF? My lovely boyfriend wrote it. I don't have to worry about cross contamination at my house. We are really careful. We never double dip utensils into our condiments and the things that we really worry about, we buy two of and label mine, GF. I suggest that you do the same! It makes life easier and my intestines thank me.We also have two toasters (mine is a super cute Hello Kitty!) and other little tricks that make life easier!)

How do you prevent cross contamination in your kitchen?

SPROUTS GLUTEN FREE JUBILEE GOING ON NOW !

Run to Sprouts because their amazing GF Jubilee is going on now until 1/19/2011! Happy shopping my wonderful readers!

How to make homemade pancakes fluffier & my thoughts on a mix..

Buttermilk. It is a good way to make pancakes fluffier and I think yummy. I just started doing this and I totally notice a difference. When a mix says milk, I substitute low fat buttermilk and I think it helps!


Now, for my thoughts on this mix...I could take it or I could leave it. It is a good mix but there isn't a WOW factor. I think I prefer the Trader Joe's Mix to it actually.

Lip Smacker 100% Natural Line (and gluten free!)

If you will remember back to one of my previous posts about Lip Smackers, I was outraged that they used wheat as an ingredient because I couldn't use it! I loved Lip Smackers when I was a kid and a teen and then Celiacs happened...leaving my lips Lip Smacker free.

I know that our voices and pleas were heard because Bonne Bell Inc, the makers of Lip Smackers has a new line of all natural Lip Smackers that are Gluten Free! I am so happy and overcome with joy! The line has great kissable flavors: Vanilla Bean, Pink Guava, Acai Berry, and Honeydew Melon! Thank you Lip Smackers, you no longer deserve a smack on the lips but a great big smooch!

How do they do that ?

Wonder how Starbucks makes their new GF Valencia Cake? Check this out!

http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2009/05/05/gluten-free-valencia-cake.aspx

Book Review: The G Free Diet : A Gluten-Free Survival Guide

The G Free Diet : A Gluten-Free Survival Guide , by Elizabeth Hasselbeck arrived on my door on my wheat free anniversary last Thursday while I was spending time with Stephanie. We skimmed through the book both trying to figure out if it was something that we would like. Stephanie left and I cracked open the book that night.

I had been familiar with the books author from shows like Survivor and The View as well as her cute clothing line. I had known that she also suffered from celiac disease and that instantly made me feel connected to her, but would I like her book?

The The G Free Diet is highly informative. The book really made me think. If you follow me on Twitter you know that I realized that my hair dye had been glutening me. I had pondered this in the past but always forgotten to check the ingredients of my hair dye. Well, the The G Free Diet not only gives you Gluten Free Friendly Cosmetic Manufacture names but it also lists product names to look for. Also, sure enough, the hair dye I have been using for a while contained wheat.

I like how personal the book gets with Elizabeth's struggle with celiacs. I know how hard it has been for me and others I know that have to deal with it on a daily basis.

I also liked how the book has chapters on how to use the gluten free diet to help autism. There are also sections on how to be a wonderful gluten free significant other, which I thought was really sweet, plus, it was filled with the sweet antidotes from her relationship with her husband. There are also chapters on how to accommodate the needs of gluten free children, and how to party like a champion with out being a kill joy. Everything in her book was very informative.


The only things that I didn't like about the book was that she doesn't have a dedicated GF toaster because of space in her New York home. I am a Native New Yorker and I am sorry but crumbs are crumbs even if you use foil to shield them! My GF toaster just got contaminated yesterday and I will be needing a new one, I am a cross contamination freak.

The other thing was that she (I don't want to give away spoilers) ate a non-gf meal at an important function. I personally wouldn't take the risk, because my intestines are so sensitive to gluten and I know what happens if they are exposed. But she did for good reason, I just wouldn't.

Those things were minor. Over all, I liked the book a lot. I would have read it in a few sittings but I was swamped with finals. I totally recommend reading it when it hits store shelves in the morning!

Card Carrying Member!

Those cards I am holding are what I take when I go out to restaurants now. They inform the establishment I am dining at of what celiacs is, how not to cross contaminate me and what can happen to me if I do get contaminated. All of my information is neatly printed on a double sided business card. I have 500 hundred of them!

You can order them through http://www.triumphdining.com/ . I didn't though. I made my own and ordered mine through a small online printing company with a sale, coupon codes & free shipping! The grand total came to about .25 cents! Triumph's are cool though because you can order them in different languages, a plus for travel!

Regardless, I happy to have my cards and now I hope that my eating out adventures are safer!

CookThink.Com

Is there an item in your pantry that you are dying to use but you don't know how to utilize it? Or an item in your fridge about to go bad but you don't know how to use it? Sick of using bananas in smoothies or gluten free banana bread? I found an awesome website!

CookThink.Com will create a list of recipies for the food item that you typed in and incopreate it! Woo hoo, just use the recipie search tool! Just thought I would share my find :)