Friday

Stess Less When Dining Out


Dining out can be frightening and down right stressful. Although many restaurants are providing Gluten Free fare and advertising so, often times they neglect safety in exchange for profit.

Over the years, I have developed a certain mind set when heading out to eat. I try to treat the experience like a job interview. Pretend that you are the employer. Ask questions. A lot of them. Remember, you are looking to see if the restaurant as a whole can safely meet your needs.

Be honest and just tell it like it is. You have an autoimmune disease called Celiac. This is why you need to avoid certain ingredients and it is also why cross contact with offending ingredients is a big no no.

Go with your gut instinct. If something feels off, or too good to be true, it usually is. This leads us to something extremely important. When in doubt, go without. That's right, say it again. Know that there is no shame in politely declining to eat, if you do not feel safe.

Applaud those places which are upfront and honest in not being able to cater safely to restricted diets.  If you are somewhere which cannot accommodate your needs and you are comfortable not eating, order a beverage and enjoy some conversation with your party.

Research in advance, whenever possible. Email head office and get a confirmed list of Gluten Free options as well as a contact at the restaurant. Speak with the contact from this establishment and let them know that you will be visiting and when. If possible, print out the confirmed list of safe items and bring it with you to the restaurant.

Don't settle. If you are tired of the same old salad or baked potato, then go somewhere with more options. Or skip this round of dining out all together. There is no point in inflicting misery upon yourself. 

Don't ever feel like a burden. You didn't ask for this health condition and you need to do everything you can to manage it safely.


Tuesday

Campbell's Gluten Free Broth Recipe Challenge & Giveaway!

As part of Celiac Awareness Month, I am taking part in the Campbell's Gluten Free Broth Recipe Challenge. To help spread awareness, I developed my own recipe  with Campbell's recently launched No Salt Added Ready to Use Vegetable Broth. This broth is also 100% Gluten Free.

I have never made soup from scratch before so what better reason to give it a shot then this opportunity right here! I had a lot of fun experimenting in the kitchen and even taught myself a thing or two, thanks to trial and error.

Below is my Garden Vegetable Noodle Soup recipe:

Ingredients

1 Carton of Campbell's No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

1/2 Onion
2 Carrots
1 Tomato
5 Mini Potatoes (I used Mixed Little Gems)
1/2 Cup Frozen Edemame

1 Cup Whole Grain Instant Brown Rice
1/4 Cup Gluten Free Pasta (I used Brown Rice Fettuccine)

Desired Seasonings

Directions

Prep your desired pasta per the instructions on the box
  • Bring 1 Cup of Water to a boil
  • Add Rice and stir in 1 Tablespoon of Butter
  • Turn off heat and place lid on pot

While the Rice is doing it's thing....
  • Prep those Vegetables! Cut Onion, Carrots, Tomato, and Mini Potatoes into bite size pieces. Think small enough to get a variety in one spoonful. 
  • Add the Vegetable Oil, Minced Garlic and bite size Vegetables, as well as, the Edamame to a large pot and let sweat.
  • Cook pasta until al dente (it will finish in the soup)
  • Pour in 1 Carton of Campbell's No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth
  • Add both the cooked Rice and Pasta
  • Stir gently
  • Add 1 Teaspoon of desired seasonings (ie: Salt and Pepper)





Garden Vegetable Noodle Soup





***Disclosure: Campbell Company of Canada provided me with product to develop this recipe.



Contest Time!!!

Would you like to win (4) Coupons to enjoy  1 FREE 900ml carton of Campbell's No Salt Added Vegetable Broth? 

4 lucky readers have a chance to win 4 of these FPC's each! Enter below through Rafflecopter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday

Catelli Gluten Free Macaroni Launch & Giveaway

Recently, I attended an exclusive Gluten Free Pasta event which was held at George Brown College and sponsored by Catellli. The event celebrated the launch of Catelli's newest cut of gluten free pasta - Catelli Gluten Free Macaroni.


(Photo courtesy of Catelli)

To start the evening, we were treated to Catelli Gluten Free macaroni samples with pesto, olive oil and tomato sauce. We also noshed on grilled vegetables and cheese. The pasta dishes from left to right were cooked for 3 minutes, 5 minutes and 7 minutes. This gave us an idea of what kind of texture to expect from specific cook times. It also allowed us to explore how long we personally prefer our pasta to be cooked for. 

(Photo courtesy of Catelli)

Catelli Gluten Free pasta is produced in a dedicated Gluten Free facility. It is also certified by the Canadian Celiac Association Gluten Free Certification Program and is GMO free! This is one all around fantastic product line. I have been a fan since I first reviewed the line here.

Our host for the evening was, Director of George Brown Chef School, Chef John Higgins.

(Photo courtesy of Catelli)

 Chef Higgins is a judge on the Food Network's Chopped Canada and former personal chef for the Queen Mother. He was very engaging and pretty darn funny! I appreciated the time he took to answer questions and his thorough answers. Chef Higgins is a fantastic teacher! 

(Photo courtesy of Catelli)
Throughout the evening he provided us with wonderful pasta tips. You can see some of his advice below.


* Pasta should be cooked according to the directions on the pasta box. For some recipes that require the pasta to be cooked in sauce following boiling, however, an al dente consistency is preferred. For such recipes, cut one to two minutes off the cooking time on the package.

* When cooking pasta, use a large pot. You will need one quart of water to approximately 100 grams of pasta.  Using a large pot will give the pasta room to boil and not stick together.

* Over-seasoning the water with salt – bringing it almost to the taste of the sea – will substantially enhance the flavour profile of the dish. As a rule of thumb, use 10 grams of salt for one litre of water and 100 grams of pasta.

* Never add oil to the water when cooking pasta.  It does not keep it from sticking together.  In fact, the oil creates a coating that prevents the sauce from adhering to the pasta.  

* Always stir the pasta for about 45 seconds after adding it to boiling water.  Then, stir occasionally as the cooking process continues, especially during the first three minutes, as that’s when the pasta can stick together.

* Never rinse pasta after cooking, as it’s important to retain the starch to enable the sauce to coat. Instead, spread it evenly on a baking tray to cool.

* When making a pasta dish, think about the harmony of taste, texture and balance between noodle and sauce. Thin pasta strips, for example, work best with a classic tomato, seafood or pesto sauce. Thicker pasta cuts, such as fettuccine, are wonderful for a cheese or cream-based sauce. Filled pasta is ideal with a light tomato broth or cream sauce.


(Photo courtesy of Catelli)

With the guidance of Chef Higgins and his team, we each prepared the Ginger Edamame Macaroni Salad recipe below. If you are looking for a vibrant pasta salad, this one is a keeper! It's fresh, filling and full of flavour. I love this dish and cannot say enough positive things about it. Give it a try and let me know what YOU think.


Ginger Edamame Macaroni Salad
 Prep Time: 20 min    
Cooking Time: 5 - 6 min                  
Servings: 8
 Ingredients:
1 pkg (340 g) CATELLI® Gluten Free Macaroni
2 cups (500 mL) frozen edamame
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) rice vinegar
2 tbsp (30 mL) each granulated sugar and water
4 tsp (20 mL) gluten-free soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
1/3 cup (75 mL) canola oil
1 cup (250 mL) each diced red pepper and cucumber
1 cup (250 mL) each shredded Napa or Chinese cabbage and carrot
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped green onions
 1.         Cook macaroni according for 3 to 3½ minutes. Drain in colander, then place pasta on a flat tray to cool. Once cooled, sprinkle with 1 tbsp (15 mL) of olive oil and mix gently with fingers.
 2.     Blanche edamame in 2 cups (500 mL) of salted water for about 2 minutes and drain.

 3.         Meanwhile, whisk vinegar with sugar, water, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper until sugar is dissolved; whisk in oil. Add cooked edamame to mixture.         

 4.    Toss macaroni and edamame mixture with red pepper, cucumber, cabbage, carrot and green onion to combine. Serve immediately.  


Grab yourself a  coupon  for $1.00 off the purchase of any Catelli Gluten Free pasta product and get cooking. 


*** CONTEST ALERT ***

Catelli was kind enough to offer one of my readers a chance to win a one year supply of Catelli Gluten Free Macaroni. This Give away is open to residents of Canada only. Enter below, through Rafflecopter.

Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Friday

Toaster Bags


Toaster bags are such a neat little invention. Although I don't use them in my own home as we have a separate toaster oven for all things Gluten Free, I would grab a set to take on vacation with me. Heck, they are probably good to keep on hand along with mini jams (GF ones of course) for those all too common occasions where you are headed somewhere which may not have "safe" options.


Where can you get them?

I searched online and found many places which offer the toaster bags in Canada. One problem I noticed was sky high pricing. So I have listed below, two sellers with reasonable prices.

If you are  American, a simple search of "toaster bags" on Amazon.com will provide you with several affordable brands



Regal offers a set of 4 toaster bags for $7.98. Shipping extra. 

















Plan It Products sells a set of 2 toaster bags for $6.00 via amazon.ca Shipping extra.









Have YOU tried Toaster bags? Let me know what you think!

Tuesday

Healthy Kids Community Challenge

Eating Healthy is important for everyone, but it can be a challenge. As a Celiac I am a Gluten detective who is constantly scrutinizing labels to make sure that food is safe for myself to consume. In doing so I have noticed how junk food saturated the Gluten Free market is. That being said, extra effort is involved to maintain a healthy Gluten Free lifestyle for kids and adults. 

The Province of Ontario has launched an exciting new program intended to teach kids lifelong healthy habits. It's called The Healthy Kids Community Challenge. Local communities can submit applications to the province of Ontario for funding and other tools that would improve healthy food choices, increase activity levels and encourage appropriate amounts of sleep for children and youth. Building partnerships with schools, public, private and non profit sectors - to promote healthy weights for kids is a key part of the challenge.





Apply by March 14th 2014 to be part of the up to 30 communities that will be chosen to participate. If your community is selected, the province will offer resources to champion the programs success. Selected communities will be eligible for up to 1.5 million over four years in funding to develop and build on community based platforms promoting healthy living. 

Activities for the challenge can include  after school cooking clubs with dietitians, healthy breakfast clubs for children living in poverty, and walking school bus initiatives. Municipal partners can include schools, recreation centers, parents, private businesses, health care providers and community organizations servicing children and youth.  

To be a part of the challenge, communities must have a minimum population of 10,000 and Maximum population of 200,000 people. While no minimum population is required for aboriginal communities, they must have a maximum population of 200,000 people.

If you are interested in championing this challenge with your community, please contact your local Mayors' or CAO/City Manager's offices as part of the process to submit an application. 


For more information about the Healthy Kids Community Challenge, please visit the links below. 





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

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