I received a special package via UPS this afternoon. It contained quite a few things (A BIG thank-you to Kellogg's), including a full size box of Gluten Free Rice Krispies! According to the coupon pamphlet, the cereal will be available in Canada beginning this January! Im curious what distribution will be like as the Betty Crocker cake mixes took longer than expected to show up in most retailers. Some stores like RCSS in Oshawa have yet to see the mix hit it's shelves.
Hopefully Kellogg's can pull this off and provide Gluten Free Rice Krispies across Canada quickly and efficiently.
This has been a long time coming. Not only am I thankful to Kelloggs's for the heads up, I am grateful that this product will soon be available to Gluten Free Canadians.
Kick Off The New Year With Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies
**** Update January 13, 2012 **** Still no response from Kellogg's regarding my inquiring email BUT....My good friend Jax over at Gluten Free Ontario reports on her Facebook page that these have been spotted in Sudbury Ontario! Complete with French/English labelling you can expect Gluten Free Rice Krispies to cost around $5.29.
Talk about mouth watering! I was so excited when I saw this Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake by Tenenberry at Sobeys. I Called my mom, who is also Gluten Free due to Celiac Disease and told her about my yummy discovery.
We decided that this would be OUR Christmas day dessert. We also decided that we were not going to share it with the Gluten Eaters, no matter how much they drooled.
Christmas day came and went right along with my high hopes for this Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake. I wanted to brag to the world how amazing it was. I really did.
As you can see from the side view picture, there was a touch of frost on the side of the cheesecake when I had purchased it. No big deal, I thought. Should have thought again.
I tried so hard to enjoy a slice of this cake, but I could't. There was an overwhelming gritty / grainy texture. To me, it seemed as though the cake had been frozen and defrosted multiple times. The Graham Cracker crust bottom was complete mush! Even the taste of the cheesecake wasn't right. Something was very off. WAY OFF.
My mom and I decided it was best to toss the remaining cheesecake in the trash. Good thing too as we both ended up with some mild tummy troubles. No doubt(presumably) due to the way the cake was repeatedly frozen/unfrozen.
This was a waste of $24.99, but also a learning experience. Perhaps it was just frozen and thawed too many times. I don't know. What I do know is that I won't be spending that kind of money on a Gluten Free product that I have never tried before, ever again.
All I really wanted was a special treat that my mom and I could share on Christmas day. Something delicious for us, while everyone else at the gathering enjoyed their gluten filled snacks. Next year I'm going to bake an apple pie for our family Christmas. Nothing more heart-warming and comfort filled than apple pie and ice cream.
I have and unfortunately I cannot tolerate them. I was surprised by how fast I reacted. It really hit me like a ton of bricks.....3 days of lethargy and un-wellness.
If you can't tolerate GF Oats or do not want to take the risk, I have an alternative. A safe and satisfying one. When I bake cookies, I add Quinoa Flakes (Ancient Harvest Quinoa to be exact) to the recipe. Add as much or as little as you like and you will be awed with the texture. Just like a real oatmeal cookie, minus the unruly side effects.
There is a whole world of recipes that you can add these neat little flakes to. All it takes is creativity and a little a lot of patience. Here is some inspiration for adding Quinoa Flakes to recipes:
Do you enjoy looking at Christmas Lights? There's a website on the Internet that uses several webcams to provide a live view of thousands of 'em. You can also CONTROL them - yes, turn them on & off with a click of a mouse from your home PC ... plus you can even inflate (or deflate) the giant Elmo, Frosty, Santa, SpongeBob, and Homer Simpson - D'OH! So surf over to the Christmas Lights Webcam to check out all the fun action at the totally free site which also raises awareness about Celiac Disease Research at the University of Maryland.
Ever wonder how much of each food group you should be consuming? Check out this GF diet plate care of ChooseMyPlate.Gov . I'm quite happy the food pyramid is no longer. The plate and drinking cup make for easier visualization.
Check out my friend Jax's blog, for the recent winner of Recipe To Riches. It's a bitter sweet win for this Gluten Free contestant.
However Sonya will NOT be participating in the grand prize finale. After the episode was filmed, it was discovered that Sonya has an immediate family member who works for one of the entities involved with Recipe to Riches, which makes her ineligible to participate in the contest. This is a common eligibility rule in Canadian contests which aims to make contests fair for all participants.
Alek Komarnitsky is a parent on a mission. His two boys have Celiac Disease and for the past 7 years he has been doing something spectacular to help raise awareness for the condition. He decorates his house to the extreme for Halloween. It really deserves to be on an HGTV Halloween special. It gets better too....We can control the lights! Alek's website offers us the opportunity to view the decorations on 3 live webcams. You can even inflate/deflate Homer Simpson, the Incredible Hulk as well as other awesome characters. Alek's Controllable Halloween Decorations for Celiac Disease is probably the most innovative and interactive way to raise money for Celiac Disease yet.
If you enjoy the decorations (and hard work) please consider donating to the over $60,000 raised for the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. Don't forget to send an instant message over the webcam. You can also watch the fun and excitement on Halloween night.
To help celebrate my husband's birthday this year, I made him a cake. Gluten free for obvious reasons. I used a GF Golden Cake Mix (more on that later) and whipped cream cheese frosting both care of Betty Crocker . To make the Batman design and other decorations, I used Wilton Sparkle Gel. Very easy to use.
Back to the Betty Crocker cake mix. Although it tasted alright and was easy to make, I doubt I will buy it again. Unless there is a substantial price decrease that is. It is simply not worth the cost. The mix made half the amount of cake that other GF cake mixes make for the same price or less. I really layered the icing both inside and on the cake as well. This helped the height slightly. I did find this cake to be quite crumbly. Re
An interesting discovery (although I'm not surprised) is that there is quite a bit less cake mix in the GF Betty Crocker version compared to the wheat indulged Betty Crocker counterpart. Plus the four dollar or so difference, in price.
I opted not to make a cake for my son's 3rd birthday this year as he LOVES "Cars" and I seriously lack the skill to tackle a cake of the nature below. I purchased it at Walmart for $20.00. In all honesty, the gluten eaters did not really like it. Most people commented that it (fondant) was too sweet and opted for my GF cake instead.
I sent an email to CBS this morning regarding the show 2 Broke Girls.
I missed Monday night's episode but I would like to thank my friend Jax of Gluten Free Ontario for making me aware of this poor attempt at humour. Please view the clip below and then read on to see my email.
Good morning.
I am writing you today not only out of serious concern, but out of disappointment. On Monday nites episode of 2 Broke Girls, there was a joke about the Gluten Free diet. I find it to be in very poor taste!
Celiac Disease is a SERIOUS medical condition. I have Celiac Disease and I need to be conscious EVERYTHING I consume. I am not doing so to "mask an eating disorder" as the show implied. A tiny speck of wheat/gluten can make me severely ill.
1 in 133 people in the United States have Celiac Disease. It is a hereditary (My mother has the Disease as well) autoimmune disease, which left untreated can lead to life threatening disorders. There is no cure for Celiac Disease. The only way I can keep my body from attacking itself is by maintaining a strict Gluten Free diet. Yes, this means I have to ask every server at every restaurant about Gluten Free options available. This also means I have to double check to make sure that everyone preparing my meal understands that I can become seriously ill if they do not prepare my meal 100% Gluten Free.
Your most recent airing of 2 Broke Girls puts my life and the lives of other Celiac's in danger. This "joke" of sorts is the reason I fear going to a restaurant. I do not deserve to be made fun of, belittled or have my health taken lightly. Would you suggest that someone with a peanut allergy is just trying to lose weight? Or claiming that they can't eat something for attention? No, you wouldn't! Just because I will not drop on the floor dead the moment I ingest Gluten, does not mean that my body is not reacting negatively! I won't go into details, but feel free to visit the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness website for the not so lovely particulars.
"Untreated celiac disease can be life threatening. Celiacs are more likely to be afflicted with problems relating to malabsorption, including osteoporosis, tooth enamel defects, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, internal hemorrhaging, organ disorders (gall bladder, liver, and spleen), and gynecological disorders. Untreated celiac disease has also been linked an increased risk of certain types of cancer, especially intestinal lymphoma." This quote is direct from the University of Maryland Centre for Celiac Research.
And just so you are aware, I would NOT be on a Gluten Free diet if I did not have to be!!! It is extremely expensive. Would you pay $8.00 for a loaf of bread better suited as a brick if you had a choice? Decent tasting and nutritious food can be difficult to come by and best of all, I get to deal with people not taking my health seriously! It is not my intention to make a server's job difficult. I have to look out for myself as it is clear that real life will unfortunately be mimicking your show.
I would like an apology for myself and other people who have Celiac Disease.
Sincerely,
Sandra Lajoie
***If you would like to make a complaint about this epsiode please visit the CBSFeedback Form***
Has your child been diagnosed with Celiac Disease? Want a stress free, entertaining way of explaining the condition to your little one? Check out the video below! It's produced by Kumquats (named so because the original puppet was orange like the fruit).
Being a square is pretty awesome thanks to Kinnikinnick's Gluten Free Pizza Crust. This is by far the best GF pizza crust I have ever eaten. Well worth the price in my opinion.
Why Do I love Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Pizza Crust?
4 individual size crusts per box
Bakes in about 17 minutes via my toaster oven
Once created, these pizza's freeze beautifully.
The crust is tender with the right amount of crunch and feels light in your mouth. Not dense or cracker-like.
My non-GF hubby will eat this...happily!
Cost's about $8.99 per box
The holes in the top of the crust are not an imperfection. They are there to help the pizza rise by creating air flow. The bottom of the pizza crust is dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking to pan.
My favourite GF pizza sauce to use is Primo Pizza Squeeze. Just the right amount of tang and sweetness. I prefer the squeeze bottle to the canned sauces for convenience.
Kinnikinnick is one of the largest gluten-free / nut free manufacturing facilities in the world. Please visit their website for a complete product listing or to shop online.
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we are not able to send out autographed items or pictures. Autographs are done at the discretion of the players/staff, so you would have to write to them individually at the following address. We do not encourage fans to send in items to be signed as we cannot guarantee there return.
Name
50 Bay St, Suite 500
Toronto, ON
M5J 2L2
Thanks again, Fan Services
Your Comment @ 2011-09-14 13:30:40 Subject Category: Fan Services Good Afternoon, Can you please tell me if there are any Gluten Free options available at the ACC. As a fan with Celiac Disease I would like be certain that there are Gluten Free options myself (along with other Celiac's) as well as staff trained about cross contamination.
1 in 133 Canadians have Celiac Disease. There is no cure and the only treatment is a strict Gluten Free diet.
**********UPDATE************
Below is a response (09/17/11) I received one day after the one from above. Clearly someone ended up reading my email this time. Although ACC does not offer much, a proper response is a nice gesture.
Dear SANDRA, Thank you for your email.Unfortunately there are not a lot of options at the Air Canada Centre in regards to gluten-free food items. Jamie Kennedy fries and our fruit cups are gluten-free and are available for most events. In addition to those, there are modifications we can make to accomodate you. Take for example we serve a prime rib sandwich, we could serve you prime rib without the bread. Also if you let us know ahead of time of when you are attending an event then we can prepare something in advance for you.Thanks for being a fan and hope to see you at the ACC soon!Fan Services
It's best to discuss any school Halloween activities with your child's teacher. Prepare a special snack (ie: a cupcake or decorated cookies) for your child to eat during the celebration. I would also suggest giving the teacher a loot bag containing Gluten Free goodies. This prevents temptation and the feeling of being left out as there can be a lot of that darn gluten at school.
There are numerous Gluten Free "safe" candy lists published online. Although I had thought about researching and creating an updated list, in the end I decided not to. My reasoning for this is to encourage the constant checking of ingredients and not to create a so called safety net of sorts, that may inadvertently give a false sense of security. Sounds over the top right?
Ingredients can and do change frequently
There may be confusion between a full size product and it's miniature counterpart as they often have different ingredients
American and Canadian versions of the same product tend to have different ingredients
It may be time consuming but reading the ingredients on the package is key to having a successful trick or treating experience. Keep in mind that some companies do post a Gluten Free label on their candy which can be helpful. I would still advise reading the label in it's entirety to be sure that there is no risk of cross contamination.
Check ALL treats before they are consumed but have some fun with it. It's easy to make a game by grouping the candy into piles.
Safe Candy
Not Safe Candy - This group of treats can be donated to a sibling, perhaps as a trade or even designated as a treat pile for mom and dad.
If there is No Ingredient List-contact manufacturer or place in the Not Safe pile If you feel that there may not be enough "safe" treats handed out, create a Gluten Free goodie bag. Remember, not every treat needs to be candy. Think temporary tatoos, stickers, hair accessories, bracelets, glow sticks, Halloween themed story books and movie's. The possibilities are endless.
Spelt, Kamut and Ezekiel bread. There seems to be a mecca of people who just don't understand grain. Although these grains may be easier for some people (who can maintain a normal diet) to digest, they are NOT and never have been safe for those with Celiac Disease.
It is important to note that although an item can be labelled "wheat free", that does not mean it is gluten free as well. In order to be safe for consumption, a product must be both wheat and gluten free.
Spelt and Kamut are a form of wheat.They are often referred to as “ancient grains,” which is just a fancy way of saying that they have not been modified.
Ezekiel Bread contains a combination of wheat, spelt, rye, barley, and millet along with great northern beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. The only difference with this type of bread is that it is made from sprouted grains. Still a giant no for Celiac's.
According to the Health Canada website - Gluten: any gluten protein or modified protein, including any protein fraction derived from the grains of the following cereals: barley, oats, rye, triticale, wheat, kamut or spelt. The definition would also apply to the grains of hybridized strains of the cereals listed above.
The below chart from U.S Dept. of Health and Human Services breaks down the different species of grains. It does a good job of showing the many different and often confusing forms of grain that are not safe. It also shows which grains are indeed safe to eat.
Processed Foods that May Contain Wheat, Barley, or Rye*
bouillon cubes
brown rice syrup
candy
chips/potato chips
cold cuts, hot dogs, salami, sausage
communion wafers
French fries
gravy
imitation fish
matzo
rice mixes
sauces
seasoned tortilla chips
self-basting turkey
soups
soy sauce
vegetablesin sauce
Do not feel obligated to try something just because someone tells you that it is safe. Well intentioned people make errors from time to time. I have seen two Canadian talk shows to date that have had (cooking and fitness) guest's speak about food being gluten free when in reality said food is not GF.
There are also those who don't have your best interest at heart and are just trying to make a quick buck. Unless you are 100% sure something is safe, don't risk it. In the end, your health is top priority.
Sometimes going to a sporting event is like choosing entertainment over hunger. There is always the option to pack some small snacks, but this often turns into an " I wish I could eat something here" moment. If you are a Seattle Mariners fan, this IS your moment - Friday August 26th. There will be a select seating area, close to a Gluten Free Concession!
The Gluten Intolerance Group (advocates in the GF community) will be on hand during the festivities. This should help ensure it will be a Gluten Free Success!
1) Summer is almost over. Who hit the fast forward button? 2) My vegetable's will soon be ready to harvest from my garden 3) Soon it will be time to research safe Gluten Free treats for Halloween 4) It looks like it is going to rain, but I wouldn't be surprised if the storm misses us.....Again 5) I bought my first loaf of Udi's Gluten Free bread yesterday. I am excited to try it! 6) This weekend was full of much needed fun 7) Celiac Disease NEED'S a superhero. A voice with the power to educate and create awareness.
This is my second year growing a vegetable garden. I have learned a lot and still have many things to discover.
Currently, my garden consists of potatoes, strawberries, miniature lettuce, garlic, red onion, tomato, carrots and chives. I definitely plan to branch out and add more next year.
As you can see, many of my plants are in container's. I actually started my garden while we still had a deck in our backyard. It has since been removed and we are left with a luscious grassy yard.
Next year I hope to improve the garden by learning more about harvesting properly as well as pest prevention.
I love my garden. It really helps keep grocery costs down and it's quite relaxing to take care of.
This was my first time baking with Betty Crocker and she did not disappoint! The cookie mix is beyond simple. All you need to do is add butter, vanilla, an egg, and stir. Baking time is about 8-10 minutes depending on your oven.
For me, this cookie mix brought back memories of regular home-made cookies. They are chewy with just the right amount of crumble! Betty Crocker has proved that Gluten Free does not have to be taste free. The cookies are so marvellous that you may have to hide them from any non Celiac's in your home. I guess that can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It's great that I finally have cookie's worthy of sharing. Although,how much sharing I want to do is debatable
The mix is made in a dedicated Gluten Free processing facility.Thumbs up! It will be available across Canada by August of this year.
Awesome pros:
The mix has chocolate chips in it. Talk about value for your buck. Easy to make and quick to bake Minimal additional ingredients required
Some exciting news in the world of pasta - Barilla is introducing a line of Gluten Free pasta! It's made with non GMO corn and rice...
Disclosure
This policy is valid from 23 February 2013
This is a personal blog written and edited by me. All opinions are that of my own. I am not a healthcare professional or an expert. All information presented in this blog is purely that of my own experience and or opinion. Please consult a medical professional before making any changes to your diet.
I write this blog as a hobby that I am passionate about. From time to time, I may receive monetary compensation for a sponsored post. I only work with brands that I trust and would use in my own home.
This blog accepts complimentary products for review. The opinions I have of a product will never be swayed by a company sending me an item(s) for free. I take into consideration the opinion of family members who are gluten-free due to Celiac Disease and I also value the opinions of non-gluten free family members. Taste is a matter of personal opinion so please use your own discretion and don't take my opinion as a gold standard.
Any ingredient or gluten-free claims should be verified with the restaurant/manufacturer as things can and do change.
For questions about this blog, please contact: sandra@glutenfreedoll.com
I received a special package via UPS this afternoon. It contained quite a few things (A BIG thank-you to Kellogg's), including a full size box of Gluten Free Rice Krispies! According to the coupon pamphlet, the cereal will be available in Canada beginning this January! Im curious what distribution will be like as the Betty Crocker cake mixes took longer than expected to show up in most retailers. Some stores like RCSS in Oshawa have yet to see the mix hit it's shelves.
