Gluten-Free and not so fabulous

I am always excited to try new products, so when I got a big box of cookies from Gluten Free and Fabulous I was excited. Now that my sister is also gluten-free (more to come about this) we decided to do a taste test this weekend. We opened a bag of chocolate chip cookies that were slightly past their expiration date and were overwhelmed with a smell of fermentation. In my experience, gluten-free foods could have an overpowering, almost yeasty smell but these cookies just smelled awful. We dumped that first bag. We proceeded to the brownie bites which had an expiration date of 12/8/2008. Same smell. We were reluctant to open a third bag because both of us now just had this awful smell in our noses, but we opened the butterscotch cookies. Same stomach-turning smell. After the third bag, we just dumped the remaining five bags of cookies. Both of us felt slightly nauseous from the smell and at that point there was really no way either of us could have brought ourselves to eat the cookies. I hate to bad mouth companies that are doing their best to create gluten-free products, but I would have been terribly disappointed if I had actually purchased these cookies and didn't get them as free samples. Sorry to say I will not be purchasing these cookies in the future.

Yay for Quinoa!

I have recently introduced quinoa into my diet. I am one of those people that are afraid of new grains after eating the same thing for so many years. I keep hearing rave reviews about quinoa being the perfect food and found it at my local C-Town Supermarket so I decided to buy it. My first attempt at cooking it was successful but the flavor was too salty due to the chicken broth I used to cook it in. Since then I have decided to cook only with the water as suggested on the package. I had a bad case of food poisoning last week and the only thing I could eat when I started feeling better this weekend was plain quinoa. My body was craving both protein and calcium and the flavor was definitely plain enough for my stomach to handle at that time.

Quinoa is the seed of a grain typically found in South America for many thousands of years. Quinoa is naturally gluten-free and is cooked similarly to rice. This seed is high in protein, calcium, and iron. Since it has an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids, it is a complete protein and is often referred to as the perfect food.

I am excited that I now have quinoa in my pantry and look forward to explore many more recipes using it. Do you have any favorite quinoa recipes? Below is a recipe for Gluten-Free Tabouleh from Whole Foods that I can’t wait to try especially since I never had tabouleh in my life!

Whole Foods Market: Gluten-Free Tabouleh

Serves 4
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 5 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cups small grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 to 2 lemons, more to taste
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together in a large serving bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition Info
Per serving (About 8.5oz/238g-wt.): 340 calories (180 from fat), 20g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 7g protein, 38g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 100mg sodium

Help for the Gluten-Free Displaced by SoCal Fires

As seen on Gluten-Free NYC on 11/20/08

From Maryrose Hopke of the Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF):

If you have celiac disease and have been displaced from your home by the recent fires in the Southern California area and are in need of assistance in finding gluten-free foods, please contact CDF at 818-990-2354. We're here to help!

FREE Community-wide Celiac Disease Blood Screening in Florida

FREE Community-wide Celiac Disease Blood Screening in Florida

Now taking appointments for FREE Community-wide Celiac Disease Blood Screening Day....brought to you by the Palm Beach County Celiac Support Group, a Chapter of the Celiac Disease Foundation and Prometheus Labs.

Date: Saturday, December 6th starting from 9AM-1PM
Location: So. Florida Gastroenterology
Dr. Bromer
1325 So. Congress Ave, suite 211
Boynton Beach, FL

PLEASE make your appointments ASAP. There are only 100 free tests available.

This screening is NOT for anyone who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This test is for at-risk individuals who have family members with CD, those with symptoms related to CD, or individuals affected by other autoimmune disorders, commonly associated with CD. This is your chance to encourage your friends, neighbors, co-workers & family members to finally be tested.

Cutoff date for appointments will be on December 2, 2008

Call Phyllis Kessler at 561-637-0396 to schedule your appointment

Gluten-Free on Epicurious

Epicurious.com has advice on baking without gluten, essential gluten-free ingredients for your pantry, and more tips and resources for living without gluten, including how to avoid wheat at restaurants and what to look for on product labels. Thanks to increased awareness of the gluten-free lifestyle and a dramatic improvement in gluten-free flour blends and other products, it's now possible to avoid gluten and still eat deliciously. Enjoy!

Taste of Celiac - A Gluten-Free Sampling Event

Sunday, November 16, 2008
1:30 - 4:30 PM
No RSVP necessary
Entrance fee: $2.00 per adult; $1.00 per child through high school

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
65 North Main Street
Wallingford, CT

Join the Greater New Haven Celiac Group for our second "Taste of Celiac" an
opportunity to taste & purchase Gluten-Free products.

Don't miss this chance to purchase some great items for your pantry and the
upcoming holidays. The event runs for 3 hours. Plan to make a stop to sample and
shop or spend a leisurely afternoon visiting with other GNHCG members. This Gluten-Free Sampling Event offers you an opportunity to try before you buy!

Vendors include:
Paul Graven from Gluten Free Naturals
Patricia Williams from Patricia's Pizza & More
Kelly Plunkett with Arbonne International - a natural skin care company
Aleia's Gluten-Free Bakery
John DePuma from DePuma's Gluten Free Pasta target="_blank"
Joan Plotkin with Joan's GF Great Bakes
Lorna from Kettle Soups
Mister Nick's
Dee's One Smart Cookie
Grandma's Cookies
Sherrie's Gluten Free Foods

Product samples from Anello's Pastry in Maine and Chebe Bread mixes.

Gluten-Free Fun urges you to vote on Tuesday

This is the first time in a very long time that I have been excited to vote. Tuesday is going to be a history-making day and I cannot urge you enough to go out there and vote on Tuesday. Help make a difference and help bring CHANGE to this country.

VOTE