Tag Archives: Special Diets

Going to Someone Else’s Thanksgiving While Gluten-Free

Posted on by
1

there is more to thanksgiving than food

Are there any holidays more centered around food than Thanksgiving in America? Every holiday seems to have some sort of traditional food associated with it, but we all know Thanksgiving is all about the feast. Having a disease that is controlled solely by limiting the consumption of certain foods can make Thanksgiving pretty difficult to fully enjoy. It doesn’t help that a lot of traditional Thanksgiving dishes (stuffing, gravy, pie…) are made with wheat. There are a lot of really great recipes out there for gluten-free Thanksgiving dishes, but those only really solve the problem for gluten-intolerant folks if they are hosting the dinner or are somehow willing/able to cook the entire meal themselves. As a twenty-something with family in the area, I have so far only been a guest to Thanksgiving meals. In light of this, I think I am fairly qualified to offer some advice to those of us who are not cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but still would like to enjoy the holiday.

Try to lose the attachment to the food part of Thanksgiving. I don’t want to delve into a lot of boring thankfulness clichés, but there is more to Thanksgiving than just the food. Yes, people can go on and on about what they are most excited to eat, how they are fasting and exercising in anticipation of the meal, pinning or compiling recipes, and even making timelines (that start three weeks ahead of time!) to make sure all of that food gets cooked. That is a lot of frenzy. And it is easy to get caught up in it. But what about hanging out with the younger kids, if there are any, at your party? Or catching up with relatives? Maybe your group goes for a fall walk or plays football or makes some sort of craft? If you don’t, maybe this could be the year that you start a non food-centric tradition?

Bring something. I have made gluten-free pumpkin pie and brought it to a Thanksgiving before. This might be tacky, but I’ve also brought my own gluten-free gravy. I would check with your host first to make sure they are okay with it, but most likely they will be glad of it. Especially because they may already be feeling guilty about the lack of gluten-free options for you and others at their party. If money is an issue, vegetable sides are usually pretty cheap to make. Try to bring something that requires minimal additional preparation or can be covered while it is heating, because space in the kitchen will probably be limited, and also there will likely be lots of gluten flying around that you wouldn’t want to end up in your food.

If it’s appropriate, ask your host about what ingredients are in certain dishes. This one is a little touchy, because you don’t want your host to feel like you are guilt-tripping them for not feeding you. But if there is a quiet moment, ask them nicely if they would mind telling you the ingredients of a few things that you think have a good shot at being gluten-free. Remember though, that they are not running a dedicated kitchen and so will likely not be paying attention to cross-contamination from spoons, sieves, drips, or splashes.

And try to remember:

Thanksgiving is not the only day of the year for eating. The thing is, there is no sort of magical cooking force-field around this day that only allows certain foods to be prepared on it. If you are really, really sad about missing out on one of your favorite foods at Thanksgiving, you can make you own gluten-free version of it the next day.

Happy celebrating!

Quick and Easy Gluten-Free Dining // Chipotle

Posted on by
1

I have a new job. Well, I suppose it isn’t all that new since I just had my 3-month review (I did quite well, thank you :) ). But during this little new phase I have had to find new emergency options (ok, they maybe are also kind of treat options for bad or stressful days too) near my new work location. Thus far, one of my favorite options is the local Chipotle. They explain what may and may not be problematic for gluten-free people here, on their website. From what I gather it may be wise to ask your server to change their gloves. I think this may be especially important given that I have seen many workers there reach for the “default” option of a flour tortilla before taking an order. Far be it from me to ever criticize someone for efficiency, and in their position, I would likely be making the exact same motion,  but in the gluten-free world we have to watch out for these poor efficiency mavens, and correct their course in a friendly manner before the rest of the workday is ruined by digestive travails.

I think at this point I should mention that large, wheat-filled tortillas are dragged down the counter, not entirely shielded from contact from the food grade plastic and stainless steel by the aluminum foil that will eventually entomb their delicious burritos.  I feel pretty safe with my standard burrito bowl option, the cardboard boat-like structure safely sailing my meal past any visible contaminants.

But on to favorites. This is what I typically order:

A burrito bowl, with white rice, pinto beans, chicken, all three salsas and hot sauces, sour cream, no cheese, and sometimes lettuce. Also, there is a “secret” item here (sort of in the manner of the “short” drink size at Starbucks ; readily available at all of then but never on a menu…), the “kid’s chip.” It is this perfect little serving size of chips that comes in a cute little bag, and it isn’t on the “adult” menu.

I get all three hot sauces/salsa in an effort to get more vegetables and spice in!

Happy Dining!

Cheesefest! or, Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival

Posted on by
4

Image from their Facebook page here.

I am going to Cheesefest in Seattle on Saturday! I am SO excited. There will be a whole gaggle of local cheesemakers there, as well as local cider and wine (beer, too, but obviously that is not of much interest to me!)

I am going to bring these crackers with me, because cheese is often served with crackers, flatbread, or bread, and it is unlikely that it will be gluten-free (also, I find it wise to have some sort of starch on hand when alcohol is present). I’ll put them in an easily accessible container so I’m not conspicuously getting out a giant box of crackers all the time. And if a particular cheesemaker is serving their cheese samples without any bread at all, I’ll just eat it the way they served it. I want to respect their vision for their cheese! And one more thing: if there is a cheese that is being dipped/cut into and then spread onto bread or crackers, I will stay away! Or, if they aren’t too busy, I will explain my intolerance and (nicely!) ask if they have a fresh one that hasn’t been opened or contaminated yet.

Can you tell I love cheese? Because I do. Hope to see you there (tickets are going fast!) and watch out for my recap!

Seattle Sans Gluten // Taste of India

Posted on by
2

I know, another Indian restaurant. Taste of India is my favorite Indian place in Seattle though! I cannot get enough of their food. Between the endless refills of yummy chai, fresh flavorful dishes, and truly amazing service, I thought they couldn’t get any better. But then, this happened:

They re-did their whole menu with the gluten-free items denoted with a special symbol! The servers were always very knowledgeable about which of their dishes were gluten-free when I asked before, but now I don’t have to! The majority of the menu is marked with this symbol too, so the options are almost limitless.

A fun little bonus of this place is they almost always give you either a free appetizer, a free dessert, or both! The pakoras are gluten-free, so if you get those, you can dig in!

I love love love this place. And now it’s even easier to eat at for those of you who are starting to eat out gluten-free!

Happy dining!

Gluten Free Beer // Rainy City Ales

Posted on by
1

The other day I had the pleasure of interviewing two bright young men of the newly-named Rainy City Ales in Ballard. They are a startup gluten-free brewery, specializing in innovative  ways of making gluten-free beers. The company consists of Ryan, who has a background in chemistry, and Justin, who majored in international business and foreign languages. It’s a pretty dynamic pairing, with Justin having the “crazy” ideas and Ryan using his scientific knowledge to determine whether they will work. They each work full time at their day jobs while developing their business and recipes. They have been brewing beer for several years, but they have only recently decided to start moving towards sharing their talents with the public.

I learned a lot about brewing from this interview- these guys really know their stuff! Most beers on the gluten-free market are very heavy on sorghum and buckwheat. According to Justin, “We don’t do that at all. We use a little bit of sorghum, but mostly we use sweet potatoes.” The magic of sweet potatoes is the enzyme beta-amylase, which is only present in barley and sweet potatoes. Barley, of course, is not gluten free, and so they use sweet potatoes as their base starch. This enzyme is necessary for the breakdown of starches, which is part of the brewing process. For depth of flavor, they use grains- which at this point are roasted lentils and millet. Since they process all of their own ingredients, they can taste their products at each stage as they go along, and adjust accordingly.

Neither of these two gentlemen are gluten-free, but some of their friends are.  As Justin put it, they started brewing gluten-free beer “when we tried out what they had to deal with, especially with beer- because we love beer- we’ve gotten it down so that we actually like the beer we make better than most beer that you can buy, gluten-free or not.” Being able to consume gluten allows them to compare more accurately whether a gluten-free beer tastes like its gluten-containing counterpart. In fact, their goal is to eventually have their beer sold in stores, in the “regular” beer section. They want to make “great beer that happens to be gluten-free.”

According to them, the current gluten-free beer market is very homogenous, and also low-alcohol.That is what they are trying to change. Their current beers contain about 6% alcohol, as opposed to the typical 3%. Using separate ingredients allows for a lot more variation in recipes, so they can make many different types of beer.

I was there on the first day a batch was ready, so they tasted it first to make sure it was carbonated enough. It was, and so we proceeded to drink it. It was pretty tasty. It is very, very light in color, due to its nontraditional ingredients (which is part of the reason they have begun roasting their grains, as I mentioned above). The taste, however, was stronger than the color suggested. It was certainly much  better than any other gluten-free beer I had tried. If you are looking for a good-tasting, small business-produced beer, I definitely recommend Rainy City Ales!

At this point, they are making about 15 gallons of beer per week. They are scaling up very quickly, but (as of our interview) they are not an official business. The suggested donation per 6-pack (sold in re-used bottles) is $10, and if the bottles are not returned for the next go-round, it is $12. They also have 18oz bottles available. These guys are super friendly and willing to let people taste their beer. Oh, and all of their major ingredients are sourced from within 150 miles of Seattle, if not from western Washington! If you want to find out what their latest batches are and when they are ready, you can follow them on twitter at @RainyCityAles, where they announce most of their availability. You can also “like” them on Facebook.

Happy drinking!

Baking Bread // Gluten Free Bread Mix: Gluten Free Pantry by Glutino

Posted on by
8

I baked some bread! I seriously love this mix.

It’s by Glutino, but their baking mix line is sold under the heading of Gluten Free Pantry.

I decided to line my bread pan with parchment paper, because I share baking equipment with people who are not gluten-free. I always feel a little worried about getting items that are used to cook foods that are gluten-heavy all the way clean. This eliminated that worry.

Once you mix it according to the directions on the back of the box, this dough will seem kind of wet. Don’t worry, it will turn out great!

I spoon it into my bread pan. It’s kind of rough at first.

I get my fingers wet with water over and over (I bring my bread pan over to the sink for this part) and smooth out the dough. The water helps to keep the dough from sticking to my fingers. Then it goes into a warm place to rise.

All risen! Then into the preheated oven to bake.

See how pretty the top is? I love that cracked, homemade look.

An added benefit of the parchment paper is the ease with which the loaf comes out of the pan. I didn’t have to do any pre-greasing, either!

This bread slices really well.

On a recent trip to the farmer’s market in Ballard I bought this honey butter (they use raw honey!) from Golden Glen Creamery. The stall had the cutest little girl at it, working with her father. She had some great recommendations on which cheeses to try, and she is learning to make change. Stop by and say hi!

I also got this trufflestack cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery. This flavor is limited edition, so hurry up if you want to try it! I’m almost sad that I tried this. It is one of the best cheeses I have ever had. It’s creamy, flavorful, and just the right amount of saltiness. I don’t know what I’ll do when they don’t stock it anymore!

I couldn’t decide what I wanted to try out first on my freshly baked bread, so I took a thick slice and I topped it with both.

This was such a wonderful mid-afternoon snack! This bread is so versatile. It is also great with jam, as a sandwich, or with butter and cinnamon sugar on it.

How do you like to eat your gluten-free bread?

Gluten-free Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted on by
7

One of the best parts of winter is the abundant supply of flavorful, fresh citrus. I had a few Meyer lemons from my CSA lying around, as well as an abundant supply of eggs, so I made a lemon meringue pie! This was my first attempt. I used this recipe by Alton Brown from www.foodnetwork.com for the filling and topping, and the recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill Rice flour package for the pie crust. Overall, it turned out pretty well. Here are my notes:

1. The pie crust recipe needed a little more liquid than the recipe called for. My mother taught me to always use ice water in pie crust. I had read somewhere that vodka or vinegar are good to use in pie crusts (something to do with the acid I think), so I poured about a tablespoon of vodka over three ice cubes, swirled it until it was ice-cold, and added it to the mixture. More like bartending than baking! If you keep your vodka in the freezer this step would be even easier.

2. This pie crust is really crumbly. If you can afford it, I would say use a gluten-free pastry flour blend. The rice flour is a little cheaper though, so I circumvent the rolling-out difficulties by not doing it at all. I grab handfuls of the crumbly dough mixture, squeeze it in my fist, and then press it into my pie dish in sections with my fingertips. No one can see the weird crater-like texture once the filling is in it!

3. One of my favorite cooking secrets is to use room-temperature egg whites to make meringues. This will give you those coveted stiff, shiny peaks every time! It was even easier to do with this recipe because the filling is made with egg yolks. When I separated the eggs, I put the whites in a liquid measuring cup, and put that on my stove-top while my pie crust was baking to bring them to room temperature a little faster.

And there you have it. Happy eating!

Gluten-Free Dining at P.F. Chang’s

Posted on by
5

  Gluten-free sauces and lettuce cups to start. I never go without getting lettuce cups. They are so good!

Lots of sauces for easy flavor customization!

Logo on plates denoting gluten-free status

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Singapore Street Noodles. One of my favorites!

One of my all-time favorite places to go for reliable, well-priced gluten-free food is P.F. Chang’s. They have a really fantastic gluten-free menu, the servers are all trained in the gluten-free offerings, from which sauces to bring (which are always held in red containers to differentiate them from their gluten-containing counterparts), to what notes to make on your order. Gluten-free foods are served on plates that are marked with the P.F. Chang’s logo and a stripe, so there is no confusion. I am never disappointed by that place! If you are looking for a tasty, low-stress gluten-free dining experience, I highly recommend P.F. Chang’s!

Gut Healing After Gluten Contamination

Posted on by
9

I’m feeling mostly better from my gluten run-in the other day, but I still feel a bit off. I’m very fatigued, tired, I’m still having tummy aches, and I just feel kind of unbalanced. Even though I haven’t tried all of these, I thought I would share a few recovery supplements and strategies that I have come across both in my work (I work at a naturopathic clinic and supplement store) and from personal research. If I try any of them and I think they work, I will let you know!

L-Glutamine Powder
This is a powder you can mix with water and drink. I’ve heard it tastes really terrible, but it can be very helpful for some people. From WebMd:
“Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Glutamine is produced in the muscles and is distributed by the blood to the organs that need it. Glutamine might help gut function, the immune system, and other essential processes in the body, especially in times of stress. It is also important for providing “fuel” (nitrogen and carbon) to many different cells in the body. Glutamine is needed to make other chemicals in the body such as other amino acids and glucose (sugar).”
From what I’ve learned, L-Glutamine can be very helpful in gut healing. People use it for all kinds of intestinal issues, such as chemotherapy recovery and Crohn’s disease. Due to the fact that Celiac’s Disease leads the body to attack its own intestines, this is a key area to heal as soon as possible to help the body recover. I also like that this is an amino acid, meaning it is already present in the body, so it doesn’t mess too much with the body’s systems.

Omega-3 Acids
Omega-3 acids are thought to help with a large array of health problems, from arthritis to allergies to depression. They are also thought to assist in decreasing intestinal inflammation. They can be found in some foods, such as fish, walnuts, and flax seeds. You can also buy fish-oil in the form of gelcaps or liquid. Fish oil supplements are supposed to be better than plant-based omega-3 acid supplements, because they are already in the form that your body uses them in, making them easier for your body to use and absorb. Just make sure that the fish oil you buy is of high quality, and has been tested to make sure there are no heavy metals or other contaminants in them. A therapeutic dose is around one gram of omega-3s a day. To determine how many omega-3s are in your fish oil, look at the nutritional information panel. Near the bottom they will usually list, in milligrams, the amount of EPA and DHA (types of amino acids) in one “serving.”  The total of these numbers is the amount of omega-3s. Aim for 1,000 milligrams, or one gram, taken with a meal.

Probiotics
I mentioned these before, but they bear mentioning again. Tom and Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen (nourishingmeals.com) recently wrote a great post about making lacto-fermented vegetables, which are a cheap and easy way to get both probiotics and vegetables into the diet. Here is what they had to say about the benefits of probiotics for those who suffer from intestinal illnesses:
“Lacto-fermented vegetables provide a viable source of probiotics (at a cost well below most supplements) to heal and maintain a healthy gut. These beneficial microorganisms attach to receptors in our guts that send a signal to the immune system that says everything is okay, no need to overreact to foods and other things entering the gut, let’s keep everything calm. If you are dealing with multiple allergies, chances are your gut is out of balance and is in need of a daily dose of beneficial microorganisms.”
Not to mention they are tasty!

Gelatin
Hear (read) me out! I’m not talking about the gross processed stuff we try not to think about when we eat Jello, I’m talking about the nutrient found in chicken bones and marrow that are great for the joints and the gut. This is fairly simple to get into your diet, just make chicken stock with chicken bones (if you are feeling really adventurous and have access to them, you can use chicken heads and feet, too). Chicken stock already feels like such a healing food, and gelatin is just one more reason to drink it when I’m feeling unwell!

Nothing too fancy here. Just a few natural ways to aid the body in returning to normal. Note: I am not a health professional! This information is not intended to treat or diagnose any illness, and is merely information I have gleaned and hope can be of assistance to you!

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with anything. But look! A bunny!

What do you do to help heal your body and return it to its natural balance?

 

Gluten-Free Goodies

Posted on by
Reply

It came! Recently I purchased a half-off coupon to glutenfreely.com on LivingSocial. The prices on the website were a bit high, and I’m not sure I would use them again unless I had another coupon. I could see this being a great resource for people who live far away from any stores that stock quality gluten-free items, but I can find most of these items, or items comparable to them, close to my home in Seattle for cheaper prices. Either way, I’m super excited for all of my gluten-free treats!