Monthly Archives: August 2012

As anyone who has been diagnosed with celiac disease (or anyone whose loved ones have been diagnosed) knows, the process from symptoms to diagnosis can be laborious. Once you find a doctor to connect the dots, though, you still need to get the right blood tests (and sometimes an endoscopy) to confirm that gluten is the culprit.

Specific blood tests are better for diagnosing babies with celiac disease. Jury's still out on the puppies though.

New research out of Europe indicates that the age of the patient plays a significant role in determining which tests to use: children under two years old, they found, require different tests than older children and adults.
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By Laura (The Gluten-Free Traveller)

The start of the school year is just around the corner! Looking for celiac friendly school lunch ideas but can’t think of anything that are both gluten-free and delicious? Triumph Dining are here to help! Here are a few ideas for lunches that are both tasty and easy to prepare.

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made on gluten-free bread
• Banana and peanut butter sandwiches
• Baked potatoes with cheese, beans or veggies
• Rice with veggies
• Fruit salad with yogurt and honey
• Gluten-free cold deli meats with cheese
• Gluten-free tortillas with cheese and ham
• Quinoa with veggies
• Gluten-free rice tortillas with peanut butter and jelly
• Hard boiled eggs
• Home made tacos
• Gluten-free pasta with veggies and tomato sauce
• Mac and cheese – various companies do gluten-free Mac and Cheese or you can make your own with Gluten-free pasta
• Rice or corn cakes with meat, cheese or veggie toppings
• Gluten-free soup – either home made or store bought
• Lettuce wrap – your favorite fillings without the bread
• Gluten-free sushi with gluten-free soy sauce
• Gluten-free hotdogs
• Dried fruit and nuts
• Gluten-free pasta with pesto
• Gluten-free beans and rice
• Gluten-free granola with yoghurt
• Gluten-free crackers
• Veggies with gluten-free dip
• Gluten-free sausages with black beans
• Gluten-free bars
• Fruit smoothie

To find out where you can buy safe, gluten-free ingredients with which to make these tasty school lunches check out our Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide. With 44,000 products and 3,300 brand name products, covering regional and national brands as well as products made in small, dedicated facilities, you will definitely be able to find something safe that even the fussiest of kids will love!

What do you make for gluten-free school lunch? What are your kids favorite gluten-free foods?

By Bridget 

Gluten-free product development is a constantly evolving science. Anyone with a gluten allergy can attest to the fact that not all gluten-free products are equivalent to their gluten-filled counterparts. Gluten-free baked goods are often wrought with issues from being too crumbly to having a funky aftertaste that’s so unappealing it’s not even worth eating.

As part of the effort to develop better and better gluten-free products, scientists at Kansas State University are conducting research specifically on the under utilized sorghum grain.

Sorghum is a grain that is used worldwide as a human food source, but has been used in the United States as livestock feed. The grain can be easily ground into a fine flour that, when combined with eggs and gums, can form gluten-free baked products. The grain also has slightly more protein and fat than corn, meaning the structure of products developed with sorghum is very different than those from corn, which is part of the reason scientists are looking into the advancement of sorghum research as a gluten-free flour alternative.

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By Laura (The Gluten-Free Traveller)

Mini Pops was kind enough to let Triumph sample some of their gluten-free products recently. I’ve always been a huge fan of popcorn so I was pretty excited to try popped sorghum!

You probably don’t hear about sorghum as much as you might, considering that it is the fifth most harvested cereal grain in the world. Sorghum is one of the grains in my hot breakfast cereal, but before Mini Pops, I don’t think I’d ever eaten it on it’s own or tried a product where sorghum is the main event. There are various different types of sorghum but the type used for Mini Pops is specifically grown in the USA to be of a high quality and free from any nasty pesticides or genetic modification. Sounds good to me!

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There are lots of ways to connect to other people on the Internet. We know this. There’s Facebook (big hello to those of you who like us) and Twitter (and/or follow us!), and a whole host of other sites that either promise to be freestanding social networks, or additions to the other networks we’re already on.

These networks are great for connecting with your friends and the companies and organizations you like. But there’s another “social media” network that I’ve been finding, lately, is also really good for gluten-free info – and I’m wondering how many of you agree with me.

The network in question is LinkedIn, which self-reportedly has about 175 million people in countries all across the world.
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Eating gluten-free while traveling can be exceptionally easy or exceptionally difficult. Usually it’s a little bit of both.

Happily, if you’re traveling to Dubai, a new bakery is tilting the scales a bit closer to “easy”. Sweet Connection is the brainchild of Areej Jomaa, and the evolution of her earlier (non gluten-free) bakery, Areej’s Sweet Kitchen.

Sweet Kitchen, in creating a completely gluten-free menu of cakes, cookies, biscotti, breads, pizzas, and other sweet and savory items, has become not only the first completely gluten-free bakery in Dubai, but in all of the United Arab Emirates.

A number of the items for sale are also free of dairy and /or eggs, according to this press release. The release also makes it clear that all items can be sliced and are suitable for freezing at home — presumably many of Sweet Connection’s customers stock up on their visits.
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By Laura (The Gluten-Free Traveller)

Mary’s Gone Crackers was kind enough to let Triumph Dining sample some of their gluten-free products recently. Not only does this company have pretty much the best name ever, they also make some amazing gluten-free snacks. I’m a huge fan!

Their Pretzels are pretzel sticks, but they are better than any pretzel type snack I’ve ever eaten. They are made from an interesting mix of gluten-free seeds and grains – brown rice, whole quinoa, flax seeds, sesame seeds, amaranth, miller and chia seeds, which gives them a unique and interesting taste and texture. Pretzels come in three tasty flavors, Chipotle Tomato, Curry and Sea Salt, all of which have a wonderful crunch to them. Whilst I enjoyed each of the flavors, the chipotle tomato ones with their tasty spicy tomato flavor have got to be my favorite.  Delicious!!

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By Bridget

As far as using iPhone applications go, I’m guilty of only exploring a limited realm of solitaire, Words with Friends, and Draw Something. While people use Angry Birds daily, the apps don’t often extend into helping our everyday lives – until now.

I recently stumbled upon a press release touting a gluten-free application that tells you where gluten-free restaurants are relative to you (and your smartphone). The application (called Find Me Gluten Free) is definitely one that is great for families going on vacation that depend on finding restaurants with gluten-free options.

This inspired me to look at what other applications are available to specifically aid the gluten-free community and I found, what I believe to be, one of the best applications for any allergy sufferer.

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By Laura (The Gluten-Free Traveller)

In case you didn’t know, Triumph Dining got a chance to interview gluten-free olympian, Amy Begley, about what it’s like to be a gluten-free athlete. If you missed part one of the interview, don’t worry! You can check it out here.

Here’s the conclusion of the interview!

I understand that you ran in the 2008 games in Beijing. How wonderful!

Did the Olympic village offer gluten free food?

They sort of did. I had the USA team chef ask the Olympic village kitchen about their gluten free options. They had gluten free food but it was not prepared the way that gluten free food needs to be when you’re celiac. They used the same utensils, water, etc to make all of the food.

I asked all of these questions before I left for Beijing so I knew the situation I was headed to. I packed as much as I could and then worked with the TEAM USA chef to eat safely at the TEAM USA dining hall, which was a 20 minute bus ride from the Olympic Village.

Did you get any chance to explore Beijing whilst you were there for the 2008 Olympics?  

Traveling is one of my favorite things about racing.  I did a lot of sight seeing after my race.  I went to the Great Wall and then flew to Chengdu, China to visit the Panda Research Center.  I was able to hold a baby panda.  It was my gift to myself for making the team.  It was an awesome experience.

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OK I know I promised some Canadian GF brands for today…that post is going to have to wait a bit.

Instead, I wanted to talk a bit about the latest big-deal study that’s come out about celiac disease.

Headed by researchers from the Mayo Clinic and published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, the study examined data and blood samples from more than 7,500 individuals. The results aren’t particularly surprising, but they’re still important as we continue to figure out what celiac disease means not just for individuals, but for the larger population.
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