Author Archives: triumphdining

Robert Burns Woodward did not conduct these studies. We just like this picture.

Since most of our readers live the states or Canada, we don’t often talk about gluten free products or news happening in other countries. When we do, it’s usually Western countries like Sweden or Italy. But the Triumph community is growing faster than ever, and I think it’s high time we started looking at what it’s like to be gluten free all over the world.

With perfect timing, a piece of news out of India just landed in my e-mail, so we’ll start there. A recent editorial in the Indian Journal of Medical Research calls gluten intolerance “an impending epidemic” and questions what, if anything, the country can do to prevent it from becoming a widespread problem.

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Welcome to part 2 of our Best of Gluten-Free Award Winners announcements. Here we tackle my favorite things: restaurant dining, beer & more!

(In case you missed it, check out Product Award Winners from last week, including winners in categories like: best GF bread, best GF pasta, best GF cookies, and other yummy stuff.)

Thank you again to the 5,800+ people who voted. Your votes counted, and here they are.

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pretty much good on everything

“Quick and easy” is one of those phrases like “no strings attached” or “satisfaction guaranteed” – often said, infrequently meant. This is especially true when it comes to food blogs. I’ve run across countless recipes that claim to be “quick and easy,” only to find out that they really mean “quick and easy…if you have a food processor, a high-powered blender, four different kinds of knives, two ovens, and you’ve already done your grocery shopping for the week.” Smoothies are the classic example of this. Delicious? Yes. Quickly made? Yes. But easy? With all that chopping and blending and trying to avoid cutting my fingers while washing out the blender? Not so much. Add “gluten free” and you end up with a tough search for a truly quick and easy snack.

But because you readers are so awesome and involved and often quite funny and informative, I’ve done the tough search for you.

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Image via Quit Smoking Bulletin

As someone with chronic asthma, this one really caught my eye. A new Swedish study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has found that people with celiac are about 60% more likely to develop asthma. The authors of the study also found the flip side to be true – that people with asthma are more likely to be diagnosed with celiac.

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Drum roll, please…Here are the long-awaited Best of Gluten-Free Award Winners!

Thank you to the 5,800+ people who voted. Your votes counted, and here they are.

That said, we hardly feel that we could do your voices justice with a simple list. For example, artisanal bakers Mariposa, in Oakland, CA, came very close to winning our brownie category — despite the fact that it went head to head with ‘bigger,’ at least in size, competition. We think these are brands you should know about too! So, stay tuned to profiles of runners-up in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, here are some results from our big categories. (Wondering where are the other winners? Don’t worry, we’ll be listing restaurant and other winners very soon.)

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In celebration of our new gluten-free stickers, we’re offering free shipping until Wednesday, March 7.

Use coupon code STICK22 on our new stickers, or anything else in our product catalog, and get free shipping.

These new stickers help solve the sticky problem of cross-contamination.

Stick 'em anywhere

Use these bright orange, impossible-to-miss stickers on things like a tub of butter, where a gluten-laden bread crumb might accidentally end up.

Even use them on drawers and shelves to mark entire areas that are gluten-free.

Stickers are a quick and easy way to help your kitchen stay cross-contamination free…even when you’re not there.

But hurry, these limited-edition stickers won’t be around forever. Only 1,500 sets have been printed. And we’re not sure when and if more will be printed.

Getting free shipping is as easy as 1-2-31.

1. Add the stickers to your cart
2. Enter coupon code STICK22 (don’t forget to hit the apply button)
3. Enter your payment information…and done!

With the upcoming nuptials of the United Kingdom’s Prince William to Kate Middleton, it seems like everyone is getting British fever. Why not let your breakfast join in the Union Jack-lovefest with a gluten-free English muffin or two?

English muffins are, well, quintessentially English. They instantly conjure images of fancy teatables and silver spoons and doilies. However, the best thing about English muffins are those rough little “nooks and crannies” which allow melted butter to pool so that you get delicious buttery mouthfuls with each bite. Getting the elasticity and airpockets of a true English muffin in a gluten-free English muffin is not always easy, due to the lack of gluten protein. However, these brands are leading the way in making tasty gluten-free English muffins the Queen herself would approve of.

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Some things in the gluten-free world have really perplexed us over the years. Like Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s  declarations throughout her book that celiac disease is an allergy. Or Starbucks’ recent decision to trumpet the addition of a new gluten-free offering followed, only weeks later, by a decision to remove said gluten-free offering with no more than a 140 character announcement via Twitter.

As perplexing as these decisions may sound to you, we found Sweetwater Tavern’s “Low Gluten Menu” equally bizarre.

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Every town, big or small, seems to have a Chinese restaurant these days. Usually locally or family owned, these restaurants serve up familiar dishes in those nostalgic, white rectangular take-out boxes. The food itself, however, varies widely; some places serve deliciously prepared entrees. Others  gain a notoriety for food poisoning and low standards of quality.

For such a ubiquitous type of cuisine, I expected there to be many name-brand chains where people could come to expect the same, consistent dishes and flavors served at a steady, high quality. But alas, P.F. Chang’s, listed in our restaurant guide, is among the very few major names in Chinese cuisine to open multiple, national restaurants.

And the restaurant shines as its gluten-free menu provides customers with many great options to choose from.

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“Ugh!” you’re probably saying, “Enough with the vegetable recipes!”

It’s true that we’ve gone a little green lately – gluten-free ways to cook kale, artichoke, cabbagey slaw, etc. Today we’ll go in the opposite direction: back to beer.

We talk a lot about beer, because it seems to be the stumbling block for a lot of celiacs diagnosed in adulthood. There are gluten-free beers, and they’re available in an increasing number of restaurants, bars and grocery stores.

But beer isn’t just for drinking. It’s also for eating. Well, sort of. There are lots of recipes that call for beer, and they can be easily modified to fit a gluten-free crowd.

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