Author Archives: Leslie Morris

Examiner.com recently published an article of celebrities avoiding gluten. The author writes that she’s still amazed that a number of celebrities who continue to tout eating gluten free as a way to lose weight, but she also concedes that as long as they are talking about the gluten-free diet it benefits those people who eat gluten free for medical reasons.

The lists are broken down into five groups: Celebrities with Celiac Disease, Celebrities with gluten sensitivity/wheat intolerance, Celebrities who eat gluten free by choice, Athletes with Celiac Disease, and Athletes who eat gluten free by choice. Here’s the list:

Celebrities with gluten sensitivity/wheat intolerance

• Malin Ackerman (Actor)
• Bill Clinton
• Miley Cyrus
• Dana Delany (Actor)
• Zooey Deschanel (Actor)
• Cody Gifford (son of Kathie Lee Gifford reportedly needs to avoid gluten)
• Elizabeth Gillies (Actor on Nickelodeon)
• Geri Halliwell (Singer)
• Mariel Hemingway (Actor)
• Juliette Lewis (Actor)
• Ryan Phillipe (Actor)
• Ian Somerhalder
• Terence Stamp
• Billy Bob Thornton (Actor)
• Rachel Weisz (Actor)

Celebrities with Celiac Disease

• Avery Aames (Author)
• Neil Boortz (Radio personality)
• Sarah Joy Brown (Actor)
• Meg Cabot (Author)
• Chelsea Clinton
• Heidi Collins (former CNN anchor)
• Jennifer Esposito (Actor)
• Susie Essman (Actor on Curb Your Enthusiasm)
• Shannon Ford (Miss USA 2011)
• Scott Michael Foster (Actor)
• Rich Gannon’s (NFL Quarterback) daughter, Danielle
• Thom Hartmann (Air America Radio)
• Elizabeth Hasselbeck (“The View”)
• Katherine, Duchess of Kent
• Laura Kaeppeler (Miss America)
• Jilly Lagasse (Daughter of Emeril Lagasse)
• Jessie Lagasse Swanson (Daughter of Emeril Lagasse)
• Dean McDermott (Actor)
• Tenley Molzahan (Bachelorette contestant)
• Dannii Minogue (Younger sister to Kylie Minogue the singer)
• Keith Olbermann (TV personality)
• Emmy Rossum (Actor)
• Aarti Sequeria (Food Network)
• Joe Stanton (Cartoonist who draws Batman, Green Lantern, Archie & Scooby-Do)
• Jane Swift (former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor)
• Sarah Vowell
• Brandy Wendler (Mrs. Alaska International)
• Amy Wheaton (Wil Wheaton’s Sister)
• Deb Wheaton (Wil Wheaton’s Mom)
• Deborah Ann Woll (Actress) Click to continue reading »

King’s Delight of Georgia is recalling 1,572 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets labeled as gluten-free because they contain wheat.

The product is 8 ounce cartons of “APPLEGATE® Naturals Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets.” The nuggets were packaged on September 19, 2012. The establishment number “P-2617″ is found on the side of each carton. The lot number is 210864 and best before date is 8/28/13. The UPC Click to continue reading »

On my doorstep sat a FedEx box. I opened it and found gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cake batter and all natural buttercream frosting. It was the answer to my dinner dilemma — a long day at work and guests on their way. Even better that it came in dry ice and my kids googled then executed science experiments with it.

The GFCO certified, ready-to-use frozen cake batter is an amazing addition to a gluten-free kitchen. It was very easy to use and even more convenient than packaged, Click to continue reading »

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in San Francisco. Blue skies. Temperatures in the 60s. No wind. There was no lack of fun things to do in the city this day and so I spent a few hours at the Winter Fancy Foods show scouting out new gluten-free products. To set the stage, there are 1,300 exhibitors and the c0-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods gives the keynote. This is a big show.

We ran into some old friends, as you can see from this picture. But we also came across some products that will soon be our new best friends. Some sauces. Some baking mixes. A whole lot of snacks. I can’t wait to share our findings with you in future blog posts.

Enjoy your holiday and come back tomorrow for a new product review!

One of my close friends is Australian and her food picks are always spot on. So while she didn’t bring Corn Thins to my attention, they got some decent mindshare since they are Australian-made. What exactly are Corn Thins? They’re a natural, low-fat crispbread made from popped corn. And even though they’re made in Australia, they’re widely available at retailers in the US and beyond.

This taste test took place during a break at a dance competition where I happened to have access to hungry kids and gluten-free ones, too. The company’s Tasty Cheese Flavor disappeared before everyone got a taste — a very good sign. The Original Flavor was next to disappear. They also come in Organic Flax & Soy, BBQ, Cracked Pepper & Lemon, Sesame, Sun Dried Tomato & Feta, Multigrain, and Sour Cream & Chives. Click to continue reading »

New Year’s Day seemed as good a day as any to try out Hearthy Foods’ Gluten-Free Pies. Our Badger-cheering crew sampled the Apple Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and Pumpkin Pie. There are also Blueberry, Pecan and Smooth Bean pies as well as gluten-free pie crusts.

They all tasted good, not discernibly different from their gluten-laden counterparts. Our testers preferred the Apple version but it’s not clear if that’s because they are just apple pie people or if it’s because of the three, their taste buds just gravitated toward the apple version. We offered up fresh whipped cream with the pies, which was a nice complement. Click to continue reading »

No Opportunity Wasted Energy Bars and Snack Bars came along with us to Tahoe last week. We tried the White Chocolate, Fruit & Nut flavor, and the Soft-Baked Strawberry Newton-style one.

Not surprisingly, the adults preferred the prior and the kids preferred the latter. We’re a fairly healthy, active group so we appreciated the convenience of these portable power sources, especially during a day slogging through three feet of fresh powder. Click to continue reading »

My youngest child gets her hair cut at the local kiddie salon. They do a great job and at the end of the appointment she receives a Dum Dum. I’m sure you know what these small lollypops are. Frankly, they’re a childhood favorite. And they come in 16 flavors (who knew?!) including Watermelon, Strawberry, Cherry, Grape, Blue Raspberry, Root Beer, Sour Apple, Cream Soda, Butterscotch, Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum, Mango, Orange, Blueberry and Fruit Punch.

As it turns out they’re also gluten-free. Spangler, their manufacturer, also makes gluten-free Candy Canes, Saf-T-Pops and Circus Peanuts.

Click to continue reading »

My brilliant idea for taste testing these bars was to offer them to the high schoolers, the student athletes who show up at our house some afternoons mostly because one of them belongs to the writer of this blog post.

“Mmmmm.” “These are good.” “They are healthy?!” Those were a few of the comments that came from the mouths of the 14-year-old girls gathered around my kitchen island. They gravitated toward the Peanut Butter Chocolate ones but also ranked Chocolate Mint a close second. The former contains 20 grams of protein and the latter 17 grams. And of course they are all gluten-free because they’re Elisabeth Hasselback’s brainchild. NoGii Products are manufactured in a facility approved and certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO).

Click to continue reading »

We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a safe and healthy 2013!

Pictured below are daughters of Michelle Conwisar, Best of Gluten-Free Awards Program Director and Dave Morris, Triumph Dining Publisher, on their annual two-family ski trip.