Monthly Archives: November 2011

Last year Michelle covered some tips for using a bread machine to make gluten-free bread, and you had a lot to say. Ditto my post last year about being gluten-free in college.

So, I thought you might be interested in this press release from Chartwells and Bready, announcing a partnership to get gluten-free breadmakers to college campuses.

Who are these companies?

Well, Chartwells is a company that provides dining hall services to schools, put simply. And Bready is a breadmaking system involving specialized mixes and a specialized “robot” machine.
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Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Have you sorted out your leftovers, made your turkey enchiladas and your (gluten-free) stuffing casserole?

I sure hope so, because it is now officially the holiday season.

To start things off, check out Alek’s Controllable Christmas Lights for Celiac Disease.

The new display for 2011 should go live later today; 20,000 lights of festive cheer. Not only are there 3 webcams broadcasting the display, but you can take a turn controlling the lights and inflatables via the internet. And it all raises money for the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research.
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Bernd das Brot. Barely related to article, but still my favorite grumpy German puppet.

A quick post today, for when you need a break from turkey and cranberry and pie and all of tomorrow’s delicious foods.

I know you already know what kiwi and potatoes are. I’m not that goofy. But, did you know that there are some new products on the market, made from the exotic kiwi and the humble potato, that will likely be coming to a food near you.

Researchers and food scientists have developed two new products that are (supposedly) beneficial to those of us on a gluten-free diet. The ingredients aren’t going to be available for you or I to purchase in the supermarket anytime soon, but it’s good to know about them nevertheless.
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Is THIS guy going to be cooking your food?

First of all, thank goodness for the internet, without which I’m sure I would never read articles written for The Journal, distributed to the student population of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Second of all, The Journal had a little story the other day about Dr. Carmen Sanchez-Torres winning a grant. I’m sure she’s lovely but I’m far more interested in this grant:

She’ll be commercializing her new technology, using sound waves to improve the structure of baked goods.

What kind of baked goods apparently stand the best chance of being helped? You guessed it: gluten-free ones. (Well, OK, low-salt too — but that segment of the market isn’t nearly as sexy.)
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The folks at Halfpops sent me a really big box of samples the other week.

Folks at Halfpops: if I didn’t have plenty of friends to share with, I would be very upset with you. How in the world is a mere mortal supposed to summon up the willpower to not eat all of these, instantly?

For those of you not familiar with the company, allow me to explain. Halfpops are bags full of popcorn that’s only been (you guessed it) half-popped. So it’s still really crunchy. And tasty.
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We have a few things in the schedule for the next couple of days, and I suddenly realized that we hadn’t a single Thanksgiving post.

Sacrébleu!

Hopefully by now you have your menu straight and you’ve either talked with your host or your guests about what having a gluten-free Thanksgiving entails (whether for one person or the whole table). If not, though, the Internet is absolutely awash in Thanksgiving ideas for you to feast upon. The following is a bit of a meta-roundup, if you will. The favorite tasty morsels from my favorite Internet celebrities,  for your reading/cooking/eating pleasure.
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I don’t regularly read PizzaMarketplace.com, but this Q&A caught my eye and I thought it was worth sharing.

If you live in the midwest, you may be familiar with Pizza Ranch. They have locations in nine states, but more importantly, they have gluten-free pizza. Culinary Research and Development Director Nancy Jordahl answered some questions about the two-and-a-half year process of developing the new, gluten-free crust.

You can read the full Q&A here, and I think it’s a good reminder of just how many factors a restaurant has to consider before co-opting a gluten-free menu.
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Here’s a factoid for you: research shows that approximately 3 million Americans, or roughly 1% of the population, has been diagnosed with Celiac disease. This, plus the fact that many people choose to live gluten-free because of how it makes them feel, means that many more gluten-free products are showing up on the shelves of our local Safeways, Whole Foods, Ralph’s and Piggly Wigglys.

Udi’s is one of those companies that caters to us gluten-free diners. Its products include breads, bagels, granola, buns, cookies, muffins, pizza crusts, and cinnamon rolls. With these in the house you can almost forget you’re gluten-free! The products are easy to source and well-known and, in case you didn’t know this second factoid, its white and whole grain breads are the #1 and #2 top sellers in the segment.

The company has just introduced Millet Chia Bread and Omega Flax & Fiber Bread, which are fiber- and nutrient-rich, and fortified. I’m picturing a post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich on these breads! Early 2012 will bring fortified muffin tops, fudgy Double Chocolate Brownie Bites and three flavors of frozen gluten-free pizzas.

More information on Udi’s is here.

Click for more info on Vitamin A

The last thing I want to be is alarmist, so I don’t always post every little health scare that I find on the internet here.

For a while I’ve been hearing murmurs of concern as regards Vitamin A, and I’ve resisted posting. Finally, though, there’s some hard data to back everything up — which means it’s time to talk.

Vitamin A is a necessary part of everyone’s diet, celiac or no. According to the NIH, Vitamin A plays, “an important role in vision, bone growth, reproduction, cell division, and cell differentiation,” while also regulating the immune system, promoting, “healthy surface linings of the eyes and the respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts,” and more. It’s also often found in acne medications.

However, it turns out that Vitamin A is also inflammatory. And if you’ve been reading up on your celiac disease and gluten intolerance, you’ll know that inflammation plays a big role.
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An interesting article from the most recent issue of Chemical & Engineering News to talk about today. “Call in the Food Fixers” takes a good look at all of the replacements we find in food today.

The article isn’t strictly tied to gluten-free foods, and examines the ingredients that allow us to eat foods without (or with less) gluten, fat and sugar. The food scientists at the world’s largest brands pay careful attention to the taste, texture and appearance of their products — but what are they looking at?

Interestingly, “no new texture additives have entered the market for decades,” and today’s researchers are instead focused on modifying and combining the existing options: modified food starch, carrageenan, xanthum, agar, gelatin, pectin, etc. Fun fact: did you know xanthum gum comes from industrial bacterial fermentation, and the bacteria was discovered naturally keeping cabbage leaves from drying out in droughts?
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