Heinz goes Gluten-Free

I recently read on the NFCA website that Heinz has put together an international gluten-free list on their website. Although Heinz has almost always had "safe" products for a gluten-free diet, it is always helpful to have all of this information in one convenient location.

To visit Heinz's gluten-free list, please click here: http://www.heinz.com/health--wellness/focus-foods/dietary-preferences/gluten-free.aspx

As with any product, please check the labels on a regular basis to ensure that your favorite Heinz product is still gluten-free!

Don't Forget the Celiac Walk this weekend!

Don't forget that this Sunday (September 14th) is the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease.
Here is the agenda for the day.

Registration- 9:00 am start
Register and sign in for the walk and gluten free vendor fair.
Child (17&under): $20
Adult: $25

Gluten Free Vendor Fair- 9:00 am- 3:00 pm
Walk- 10:00 am
Presentations- 11:30 am- 1:30pm
Bagels & Lunch- 9:00 am- 3:00 pm

There are now over 25 vendors that will be present on Sunday.

http://www.colinlesliewalkforceliacdisease.org/

Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce

At the beginning of the summer, I was sent some samples of SealSama's Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce. I am not usually a big fan of marinades but I decided to bring this on our family trip because I knew we would be doing a lot of grilling up in Canada.

On the third night, we decided to make chicken and veggie shish-ka-bobs. We cut up the chicken and soaked them in the SealSama's Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce for about an hour before we skewered the meat and veggies. After my brother-in-law grilled everything, we dug in. I found the meat to be very moist and the taste to not be overpowering at all. As I mentioned earlier, I tend to shy away from marinades because I find them to be heavy but this sauce was not heavy and was just the right amount of flavor. Everyone in my family enjoyed the shish-ka-bobs, even my 14-month-old nieces. We didn't get a picture of us enjoying dinner because they all went pretty quickly.

Thank you to Jason Flowers, the VP of Marketing at Seal Sama Inc., for sending me these samples!

http://www.sealsama.com/index.html

Gluten-Free Pizza in Canada

In late July, we took a family vacation to Canada. Back in March, I had read that the Canadian pizza chain Pizza Pizza was now selling a gluten-free pizza crust at their stores. Imagine my surprise when we stopped at a rest stop on the 401 in Ontario and I saw a Pizza Pizza with this sign. I most definitely NEVER saw a sign like this on the NY State Thruway.

Unfortunately, I did not purchase a gluten-free pizza at that time. First of all, I couldn't eat a whole pie by myself. Second of all, the teenage girl working the counter was CLUELESS!!! She didn't know what gluten-free meant despite the sign 2 feet from her head. I was reluctant to believe she would get the correct dough out of the freezer so I opted against buying a whole pie. I do give major kudos to Pizza Pizza for rolling out a gluten-free option to a nationwide chain.

Have any of you tried the gluten-free pizza at Pizza Pizza?

Here is what the sign says in case you can't read the blurry picture.

NEW GLUTEN FREE PIZZA CRUST
The introduction of our gluten-free crust is one of many healthy options available to our customers..... (Blah blah blah, talking about whole wheat. Not sure why they added that to a gluten-free sign, but whatever.)

Ingredients: Rice flour, potato starch, water, non-hydrogenated canola oil, sugar, salt, methylcellouse (thickening agent), yeast, monoglyerides

If you would like to substitute for New Gluten Free pizza crust on any medium pizza order (including deals) there will be an additional cost of $3.25(CAN).

Gluten-Free Grand Opening: Joan's GF Great Bakes

1. Gluten-Free breakfast spread, 2. Howie and the gluten-free ice cream sandwiches, 3. GF onion bread, 4. Gluten-Free Bagels!!!, 5. Gluten-Free cookies, 6. Gluten-Free English Muffins, 7. GLUTEN-FREE BAGELS!!!!, 8. Gluten-Free Pizza, 9. Rice Flour, 10. Joan and her son Howie


Joan's GF Great Bakes
1905 A Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, NY 11710
516-804-5600

On June 29, 2008, Joan's GF Great Bakes opened their gluten-free Long Island facility to the public. Celiac Disease runs in Joan's family so started her gluten-free cooking and baking to initially help her family. Once Joan brought her gluten-free goods to the public, they were in instant hit. I first tried Joan's gluten-free bagels at the Suffolk County Gluten-Free Vendor Fair in 2007. I was hooked! Joan and her sons truly believe in the gluten-free products they produce and you can tell how excited they are for the Celiac community to try their products. The grand opening event was a huge hit. I ate gluten-free EVERYTHING from bagels with cream cheese, to pizza, cookies, onion bread, ice cream sandwiches!!!, etc. It was really an outstanding day. Joan keeps her facility 100% gluten-free and it was obvious how careful she is in doing so. At one point, a family with a toddler walked into the facility. The child had a bag of Goldfish crackers and he was quickly asked to leave. To a non-Celiac, this might have seemed like a harsh move but to me and others who are 100% gluten-free this was a very necessary tactic. Cross-contamination is a no-no because to those who are extremely sensitive can have a reaction to the smallest gluten-free particles in the air.

After consuming more gluten-free bagels than any one should eat in one day (I think I had 4!) and seeing David, of Gluten-Free NYC, and other members of the NYC Celiac Disease Meetup Group, I left with some yummy gluten-free products. Of course, I bought bagels but I also brought home some English muffins as well. These are now my weekend treat and I have been rationing them out ever since the grand opening. Then again, I can always buy more at the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease next weekend!!!

Check out Joan's online at http://gfgreatbakes.com/