The holiday spirit seized me in the grocery store a few days ago. As I reached for my usual Almond Milk I noticed two Seasonal Flavors of Silk Soy Milk: Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Mint. I’d tried the Egg Nog for Thanksgiving (and it seemed okay…), so I thought, hey! This could be a way to get some Christmas Cheer in a glass. So for breakfast this morning I had a decadent GFCF breakfast of Chocolate Mint Silk and Chocolate Chip Muffins ( Kinnikinnick). Yum! But then about 10 minutes after eating, I noticed I was starting to get stuffy… Then my eyes were itching. And then my throat was scratchy. And pretty soon I was wearing my “Allergy Mask:” a hot, red, itchy face that I only get when I’ve eaten casein. What?! But all Kinnikinnick products are manufactured in a dedicated gluten and dairy free facility! It can’t be the yummy muffins (yes.. I had two 😛 ) that caused my allergy reaction. So it must’ve been the Silk. Actually, come to think of it, I had a similar (yet not as severe) reaction yesterday when I had I had a glass of Pumpkin Spice Silk. By a meeting at 11am my face was bright red and itchy. Allergic reaction for sure. But I was so busy I didn’t take the time to track it down and try to figure out why. But today, well, today I took a look at Silk’s website. And I’m very surprised to see that Silk products can not be certified Kosher Parve! All of their soy milks are heated on the...
Ahhh…. Austin’s. I love this place. Located on Fairbanks Ave in lovely Winter Park, Austin’s Coffee and Film is a tiny little coffee shop that is owned by a wonderful couple who are very, VERY sensitive to food allergies/sensitivities. This is the ONLY place in town that I’ve found I can get a hot latte (Chai Tea Latte with Soy milk). Every time I’ve tried to get a Chai elsewhere, even after explaining about my milk allergy, I’ve gotten contaminated. But here at Austin’s Jackie is SO helpful: she triple washes the steam wand on the machine & uses a dedicated soy milk pot to heat it. In all the many times I’ve been here (yes, I’m sitting on one of the super comfy, eclectic sofas right now) I’ve only had a dairy reaction once. Not easy to do! They also carry vegan, gluten free baked goodies and can prepare lots of menu items to be GFCF as well. You can get salads modified to be GFCF and I believe you can now get their sandwiches on GF bread (although I’ve never had one). Let me go ask Jackie. Okay, here’s the scoop. She said that she had been getting the GFCF bread from a local bakery (which I won’t name, since it’s second hand info) but they were delivering substandard product, so she’s currently put all GF sandwiches on hold. But she’s been talking with the bakery and trying to work with them to get what she needs, but they haven’t followed through. So as of this post, there is not any way to get a GFCF sandwich. But that...
While it turns out that I’m not a Celiac, being GFCF means that I adhere to all the rules of Celiac – and then some! I thought this was a very interesting article. In it New York Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), discusses Celiac Disease and, most interestingly, an introduction of two bills. The second bill, S.7460, may help anyone with food allergies or sensitivities. I’m going to research that further and will post back with info on that bill. Until then, here’s a partial reposting, the bits I thought were interesting as it applies to anyone following a GFCF diet: ——- Celiac Disease causes damage to the lining of the small intestine from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. The exact cause is unknown; however, those with a family member with Celiac Disease are at greater risk for developing the disease. The disorder is most common in those of European ancestry and women are affected more commonly than men. More than two million people in the United States, or about 1 in 133 people have the disease. In New York State, approximately 150,000 people suffer from Celiac Disease. “No treatment can cure Celiac Disease. However, you can effectively manage Celiac Disease through changing your diet,” Senator Parker said. “Gluten is found in bread, pasta, bagels, pizza and many other popular foods but can also be found in medicines, vitamins and lip balm. People with Celiac Disease may have no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Raising awareness among medical professionals and the public could save lives.” There are numerous...
When I’m in the grocery store, running late with an antsy five-year-old, the last thing I want to do is have to read and decipher every last little ingredient of a potential new food. But being GFCF often means having to do just that. So I’m always looking for reliable shortcuts, ways to the cut time it takes to maintain a strict gluten free and casein free diet but not take any chances with G or C contamination. Enter… Passover?! Yes! Since I’m not Jewish, I had some vague ideas about the dietary restrictions that Passover dictates, but didn’t know any details. Everyone kept telling me that I should stock up on things during Passover because of all the extra kosher products that were released during that time. So I did a little research and found out that while “kosher” doesn’t nessicarily mean anything with reguards to strictly avoiding dairy content in a food, anything that is Kosher Parve does indeed mean something: Any food labeled Parve means it doesn’t contain any meat or dairy, hence there’s no possibility of casein and safe (for the “CF” part of our GFCF diet, anyway… We still have to be cautious of the gluten content). I found a WONDERFUL article on kidswithfoodallergies.org that gives some great information about the Kosher and Parve labeling I kept hearing about…. You can read the repost below or check out what they have to say on their site: Kosher Labeling and Dairy or Milk Allergy ———— “Kosher” foods are foods which meet Jewish dietary laws. These dietary laws prohibit the consumption of certain foods, require that foods be processed in...
So I can’t have butter or sour cream on my baked potato anymore… (boo hoo..!) And who cares if I can’t have crisp, drippy garlic bread anymore… (me! that’s who!) But wait! I found a way to have both yummy baked potatoes and garlic bread and still be GFCF!! Whoot! (Or should I say “Joy! Oh joy!!”) Joy’s Gourmet Garlic Joy is a line of fabulous local Florida products (but you can buy online if can’t find it at your local store) that’s Gluten Free and Dairy Free. As a matter of fact, most products are simply four simple raw blended ingredients: Garlic, Canola Oil, Lemon Juice and Salt. The Garlic Spread also comes in various fun flavors: Sun Dried Tomato, Chipotle, Olive Tapenade, Eggplant and Artichoke. They also have a line of Olive Tapenades that are GFCF, but I’m not a big fan of olives, so I can’t review them (there are some with Feta and Blue cheese tho — so be careful which one you grab – they all look very similar!). For lunch today (leftover grilled sausage, edamame and rosemary roasted new potatoes), I used the Garlic Spread to jazz up the leftover potatoes (they’re just never as good microwaved the next day as when they come out of the roasting pan, all crispy and fresh…). I was lamenting the lack of butter (there was nothing like it to “freshen up” day old potatoes…) when I spied a white container in the back of the fridge. Ah HA! Yes! Garlic Spread. YuM! I happily grabbed it and put a bit on the side of my plate...
