Many women (and men) report feeling great after they finally learn they have celiac disease and begin adhering to a gluten-free diet. It normally takes years, still, for a diagnosis — so it makes sense that after so long feeling awful, people would be pretty happy.

However, many people on a gluten-free diet feel stressed when they realize just how often gluten lurks in the world around them. Anyone who’s been on the diet long enough, I guarantee, has had at least one day where they throw their hands up in the air and sigh at the hassle of it all.

A new study published in Chronic Illness sheds a little extra light on the subject of mental health and celiac disease in women, and the results are notable.
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Chick-fil-A has a generally good reputation amongst the gluten-free community, and with their latest announcement I expect their reputation will only improve.

According to the press release on their website, Chick-fil-A is adding two new, healthy options for their Kids’ Meal: grilled chicken nuggets and Buddy Fruits^® Pure Blended Fruit To Go. Combined with one of the beverage choices (skim milk, apple juice, lemonade or water), it’s about as healthy of a fast food meal as you’re likely to find anywhere.

Now, before I type up the rest of the press release, let’s jump over quickly to the disclaimer on Chick-fil-A’s gluten free info online:

…Some ingredients such as spices and natural flavors may be proprietary; therefore, we may not have the source listed for those items. We recommend you review this list with your physician before consuming any of the products listed below, or any other item on our menu. Although the ingredients in these menu items are gluten-free, we do not have gluten free prep areas and procedures for assembly of these menu items.

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As of last week, gluten-free labeling in the UK underwent a big shift.

The laws were decided a few years ago, and are set to coincide with the international Codex Alimentarius standards. What’s notable now is that the grace period is over: all food sold in the UK (England, Norhern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) is now officially bound to these standards. So, if you’re traveling through the UK or eating foods that were made/packaged there, this is news you’ll want to be aware of.

To me, the most exciting part of the regulations is that they apply not just to pre-packaged food, but also to restaurants, caterers, etc. And what are the regulations?

As always, read on:
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When I found out that Jovial Foods would be sending me a box of samples, I was pretty psyched.

I first learned about the company through a contest they ran, with maybe the best grand prize ever: a week in a villa outside Lucca, Italy, learning about pasta from Jovial’s artisans and taking cooking classes with the Gluten Free Girl and her husband, the Chef (note: the winners have been announced, but there are spaces open for other people to join the adventure).

Jovial Foods is one of those companies that hits all the right marks: their gluten-free products are

• certified gluten-free by the Gluten Intolerance Group
• made in Italy on traditional bronze dies
• packaged sustainably

Plus, I’d heard the pasta cooked up phenomenally. When I opened the package, there were gluten-free cookies in it along with the pasta.

My cup, it runneth over.
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Well, the holidays are incontestably over for this year. Some of you are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief: an empty (emptier) social calendar, fewer guests and less traveling, no more Christmas music at-all-times-everywhere….

But some of you, equally doubtlessly, have a case of the post-holiday blues — to which I’d like to suggest a cure of a different color: orange.

While the holiday season is over, clementine season is in full swing. These tiny little oranges, originally a Spanish cross between the mandarin and Seville breeds, are one of my favorite bright lights when I have a case of winter doldrums. Not only are they extremely high in vitamin C (just one can contain up to half a day’s RDA, according to Cooking Light), but they lend themselves to a variety of tasty, gluten-free recipes — if you can just resist eating them straight from the crate.
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mass spectrometry looks pretty neat, no?

Hot on the heels of last week’s gluten-free beer news, an interesting study on the gluten found in normal beer.

If you open your ears to the chatter, you’ll hear lots of different theories on gluten in beer. Some people will tell you that most “regular” beers are safe, because the gluten has been fermented away. Some people will tell you only light beers are safe. Others will tell you only those beers that are specifically labeled gluten-free and created from grains other than wheat/barley/rye/oat are safe.

What gives? Why is it so hard to get a straight answer, and — more to the point — what can we drink and what can’t we?

Read on, gentle reader, read on. Let me warn you, first, to manage your expectations: there’s no list of “safe” “regular” beers at the end of this post.
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Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, a holiday that always stresses me out. It seems like lots of people try to have big, blow-out, memorable evenings — and the effort that goes into planning far outweighs the fun they wind up having.

Accordingly, I thought we’d go for the opposite type of recipe today: recipes whose deliciousness far outweighs the planning required for them. Pumpkin Spice Waffle Cookies from The Daily Dietribe and Chocolate Espresso Angel Food Cake from Real Sustenance. Added bonus, they both look quite fancy: perfect for impressing someone as we start 2012.

Aside from their prettiness, these two recipes have very little in common. Well, except that they’re gluten-free. And isn’t that all that really matters?

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photo borrowed from Freshdaily's Toronto blog

A festive post for a festive week. I know many of us typically think of Champagne when we think of New Year’s toasts — but that’s not what today’s post is about.

Many of us also like beer. Or, at least, liked beer until we had to go gluten-free (you certainly had a lot to say about that last year when I wrote about beer, including some of your favorite gluten-free finds). The gluten-free beer market continues to boom. Happily for us all, in addition to established gluten-free beers like Bard’s etc., more and more established brewers are dipping their toes (and more) into the vat. What’s more, new breweries are setting up, dedicated solely to beers for the likes of you and me.

Dogfish Head, the well-loved craft brewer making, “off-centered stuff for off-centered people,” first tried out a gluten-free beer in their brewpub in Rehoboth, Delaware. It did so well that they’ve gone ahead and bottled it for our far-flung enjoyment.

The brew, called Tweason’ale, has a sorghum base but also includes strawberries and buckwheat honey. It will be released 4 times each year, starting in January, and come packed as 4 12-oz bottles.

If you’re in Canada — Toronto, specifically — you don’t just get a new gluten-free beer, you get a gluten-free brewery. Snowman Brewing, spun from a home brew, is now getting its own nights at Burger Bar in Kensington Market. Not too much info available on the brews themselves, but according to the article their gluten-free brews won this years All About Ales awards in the strong ale and the brown ales categories. The awards are given to amateur brewers by the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association, and it’s notable that Snowman’s entries beat out the gluten-containing competition.

Which gluten-free beers are you loving lately?

It’s the day of Christmas Eve Eve. Hooray!

If you don’t have your recipes set, may I suggest you have a look at these?

This week’s recipes from Iris and Brittany may seem incongruous to the season, but I thought amidst all the gingerbread and eggnog you might be looking for a splash of something bright and summery: cherries.

‘Tis the season for frozen or dried cherries rather than fresh — but with these recipes for Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cherry Pie, you’ll be transported back to warmer weather. Plus, added bonus! an extra pie crust recipe, for filling with whatever your hungry heart desires.

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I don’t know how you feel about horoscopes, but I tend to regard them with suspicion — even though they are sometimes eerily accurate.

I feel similarly towards the concept of a blood type diet. The idea that my blood would somehow dictate the foods that are potentially healthy/hurtful for me, well it makes me raise an eyebrow.

Mainstream science seems to scoff at the concept as well, admitting that none of the advice is potentially harmful (there is no blood type that thrives on whipped cream and corn syrup) but citing a lack of studies proving any specific benefit to the concept.

And yet…well, it’s interesting.
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