Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often dismiss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).


• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because it's nice to see other places that have GF options and GF foods in super markets, makes my shopping days a whole lot easier, the one place that I go to, to get all that I need is the Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson. They have EVERYTHING that I need/eat. It's absolutely wonderul :) 

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because it's nice to see other places that have GF options and GF foods in super markets, makes my shopping days a whole lot easier, the one place that I go to, to get all that I need is the Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson. They have EVERYTHING that I need/eat. It's

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because it's nice to see other places that have GF options and GF foods in super markets, makes my shopping days a whole lot easier, the one place that I go to, to get all that I need is the Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson. They have EVERYTHING that I need/eat. It's

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because it's nice to see other places that have GF options and GF

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because it's nice to see other places that have GF options and GF

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because 

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening, because 

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening,

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

It's really great to see that this movement is happening,

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!

The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often disProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

ss the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!
The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often dismisProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

20the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

Article about GF Movement

The gluten-free movement is growing exponentially. Consider this: Two years ago about 40 people attended the Southern Arizona Gluten-Free Faire. Last year 200 to 250 people attended — that took me and the Southern Arizona Celiac Sprue chapter by surprise! This year the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group planned for higher attendance, rented a gymnasium to hold the Faire, and more then 650 people attended!
The dramatic increase over last year’s attendance is a record not only for SACS but probably a national CSA record as well! Perhaps most impressive is not the total number of people but the fact that approximately 80 percent of the people who came to the Faire were not SACS members, but new, off-the-street attendees ! That’s more than 500 people in the Tucson area who are new to gluten-free eating but have come to the conclusion that gluten free is the way for them to live for better health.

Going gluten free for better health isn’t just occuring in Southern Arizona. It’s a national (and probably international) phenomenon. It has become such a huge and growing trend in the U.S. health food industry the past few years, that Better Nutrition magazine responded by adding a “Go Gluten Free” column. That column is now one of the magazine’s most popular features.
Having watched what’s been happening the past few years, here’s my take on it: One by one, and now collectively, people are waking up to the idea that they don’t feel well eating foods that contain gluten. Individuals are moving toward gluten-free eating often without the help or blessings of their doctors. Physicians typically only look for celiac disease and often dismisProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

20the idea of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most stories, such as those that appeared in the media before the SACS Food Faire (links to those stories are below), focus on just celiac disease. See:

• "Celiac disease mystery can be tough to crack" - Arizona Daily Star in the Sunday, May 4, 2008, Neighbors section (registration required).
• Going Gluten-Free , which appeared on the KOLD News 13 Live This Morning program on May 6, 2008.

However, as I wrote in an earlier post , celiac disease doctors and researchers finally are starting to pay attention to non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I think the underground movement of people who don’t have celiac disease but know they feel better without gluten in their diet has simply become too big for researchers and doctors to ignore.

At the SACS Gluten-Free Faire, I signed copies of Going Against the Grain and talked with many first-time faire attendees. Most of them told me that they were gluten sensitive but did not have celiac disease – which is what I often see in my clients, too. Having people admit that they are gluten sensitive but don’t have celiac disease is a big change. Several years ago people used to talk to me and tell me they knew gluten bothered them, but they were afraid to eat gluten free because they didn’t test positive for celiac disease and their doctors told them to keep gluten in their diet. There has been a real shift in the past few years, though: Today doctors may still tell people not to eat gluten free, but many people don’t care now. People’s desire for good health is winning out and it’s gradually forcing doctors and researchers to notice, too.

If you are one of the many who are joining the gluten-free movement, congratulations and welcome. If you feel a bit alone eating gluten free or need more ideas on how to eat against the grain healthfully, consider joining my online Going Against the Grain Group . It’s a nutrition service, private online community, blog with a searchable database and exclusive club that offers discounts on nutrition counseling services. More and more people are eating gluten free, but many people make mistakes with their gluten-free diet and develop new health problems. To prevent that and reach as many people as possible, I have kept the cost of becoming a Going Against the Grain Group member unbelievably affordable. Plus, people from other countries can join the Group, too. If you live outside the United States, such as in New Zealand, just use your credit card and PayPal will make the conversion from your currency to payment in U.S. dollars. That way the Going Against the Grain Group can be a large and growing community, just like the gluten-free movement itself.
© Copyright 2008 Melissa Diane Smith

More GF triers!!

Soo I told my class that I would be bringing in cookies for the last day of classes, not telling them that they would be GF - just to see if they could tell the difference between them and regular ones.

So I made a batch of Pumpkin Spice cookies with vanilla icing :) And damnn were they good! They were moist and chewy, and mmmm, amazing! (oh and I put sprinkles on them too!)

The class ate them up! they said that they were scrumcious!! Big points for the GF movement! At the end of the class, the people who ate them asked if they were GF? I said But of course! They said that they couldn't tell the difference, that they were actually better than regular cookies! AHH AMAZING!

Here are the ingredients if anyone is interested in trying!

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/4 cup rice flour
• 3/4 cup potato starch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream together the shortening, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and sugar. Add baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, rice flour, potato starch and raisins. Mix well.
Spoon out on cookie sheet (greased lightly) about the size of a walnut. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Globalization Disaster

I attended the Globalization even at Carlow University for a talk about The Garden in South Central Los Angeles. The Garden was going through hard times because the owner Ralph Hororwitz wanted to sell it and evict the farmers with no warning.


The Garden grows anything from Papayas, Bananas, and Cilantro. They use the land to grow food for themselves and their 372 farmers/families. They grow food on thirteen acres. The Garden is known by the community as the Urban Garden, it’s the largest community garden in the state. One day they got a note on their gate saying that their garden will close on February 2006 – with no reason at all. They have decided to go to court to fight to save their jobs and the love for their garden. Ralph Hororwitz paid 5 million dollars for the land to be sold. When he sold it, the new owner decided that they wanted to make the land into a soccer field, the farmers were angry because they said that there are already 4 soccer fields in the area; so why do they want the land? Is fresh food not important? They believe that the people who want them out hate who they are and what they represent. They had never given them a reason as to why they wanted them out. Ralph told them that they need to raise 16.3 million dollars in 5 weeks in order to save their jobs and the land. They got donations from all over, from celebrities such as Danny Glover. They raised the money in 6 days, they contacted Ralph, and he acted like that agreement never existed, like they never existed to him. The courts also acted like they never went to fight. The day of their eviction, (June 13th 2006) there were cops, chaos and riots. Even though they raised the money in time, it didn’t matter, Ralph didn’t like the cause, he pretended not to know them. Luckily they bought new land, in South Central LA under power lines. They now bring their food to local food markets. They believe that without their land, they are nothing.

In 2008, 2 years after their eviction, Ralph built nothing on the site. In 2010, the land is still dirt; they were trying to put in a ware house for the clothing company, Forever 21. They tried to do it without an environmental report, they gave up. Still to this day the land remains empty, and what for? Because a couple of people didn’t like the fact that there were others out there who grow healthy and organic food, and they love to farm and garden. It really opens your eyes to show you that people are selfish and greedy; that when they don’t like something or someone, they will do everything in their power to get rid of them, even when they don’t do anything personally to them.

Chef Poon Event

I attended Master Chef Joseph Poon’s Cooking Demonstration event during lunch, on March 30, 2010. Chef Poon started off by introducing himself to everyone in his audience. He is known for his Asian food cuisine. He puts his mind and concentration into preparing every dish with a splash of creativity. He gave us a quote to live by that he does every day, "Learn from your teacher, learn from your friends, and most importantly learn from yourself." He is a friendly, hardworking, and adventurous man and his spontaneous and exciting personality has earned him appearances on many television shows, magazines, and newspapers such as, “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, The Restaurant Report, and The New York Times. He has also recently published his inspirational, autobiographical cookbook called Life is Short...Cooking is Fun.




After introducing himself, he showed the audience how he would be making ten dishes out of one chicken in less than an hour as his challenge. Of course he conquered it. He told us to pay secure attention as he prepared those ten dishes because he wanted to teach us the easiest and quickest way of cooking. The ten dishes he made were chicken congee, chicken broth soup with ginger, mushrooms, and sliced scallion, four dishes of General Tso’s chicken each having a different homemade sauce, chicken kebab, chicken wing salad, deep fried chicken, and spicy chicken with a spicy homemade sauce. Which to my advantage was Gluten Free. He said that a lot of his foods that he prepares is GF. :) He showed us step by step how to prepare and cook those ten dishes and discussed the ingredients that we would need. A person will need several ingredients such as, chili peppers, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice, eggs, mushrooms, etc. in order to make those ten dishes, but once he or she has got the ingredients, he or she will be all set. He told us was that he had always prepared and cooked all of his food with care and love. He connected the relationship of food and eating with a sign of caring and of loving communication just as it was mentioned in the book Through the Kitchen Window.

Gluten Free Rice Crispy Treats

Before Easter, my boyfriend and I decided to be adventureous and make rice crispy treat eggs, lets just say it was very sticky!! We used pink marshmellows for theme! :)

•1 10 ounce box of Gluten-Free Brown Rice Crisp Cereal (Use the entire box)


•8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)

•1 10 ounce package of marshmallows

•1 teaspoon GF Vanilla Extract
 
it was nice to see the love of my life trying something new with me, shows me how much he cares about me. The treats turned out great, we dipped them in chocolate, they were soo yummy!!
 

More Newbies

So I was in class the other day and we were talking about Gluten free foods, and someone metioned that they'd like to try a gluten free cupcake, so I offered to bring in the good fortune and tell them that I would make and bring in GF cupcakes, So i'm pretty excited and eager to see what they think about them :) I'd say I make pretty damn good cupcakes ha ha.

1/2 Cup White Rice Flour


1/4 Cup Sweet Rice Flour

1/4 + 1/8 Cup Tapioca Flour

1/4 Cup cocoa powder (watch your source on this one!)

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp salt

1 1/2 Tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Xantham Gum

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs Red Food coloring (liquid)

If you're interested in making some GF cuppy cakes, try this recipe.

I'm noticing more and more that resturants and grocery stores are becoming more aware of this allergy/disease. It is nice to see that they have more stuff and foods. Makes it a lot easier to find stuff I can actually eat and enjoy. I noticed it at school too, makes me very happy to see that :)

Others are Beginning to be Aware

Yesterday my mom and I stopped Soergels right off of the Wexford Exit, and we hadn't been there in a long time since they got the gluten free food in, but they completely are aware of the allergy! They have their own section now for just GF foods! - and desserts... got a couple mountain pies and cookies.. :)

It instantly brought a smile to my face when I saw that, because it makes my time there much easier to find the things I need! We got our Lasagna noodles we had been looking for everywhere! It was like Giant Eagle isn't selling them anymore:( Not even in the GF section by the paramacy! So we got that, some flours, my desserts... ():) haha I love sweets. Can't help it! and Pre-made pizza crusts! I HAVE BEEN WAITING! I have been waiting for someone to come out with already made pizza crusts!!

So we bought 2 packages with 2 crusts in them. I ate 2 last night when I brought them home... Lets just say they were DELICIOUS!! I ate them both...(hint.. I'm a pig.) haha. But what can I say? I get excited when I see that other stores and places are becoming aware of the GF movement, haha. It definitely makes my life and eating habits easier!

I found a website that fully explains what Gluten Free is and the allergy. I do think that people need to be arware, and don't just think we are making this up. I went to PF Changs in the Waterfront a few months ago with my boyfriend and his friends and I asked him for the GF menue and the soysauce.. he asks me with this tone of voice like i'm lieing, "Are you REALLLYY Gluten free? or do you just like it?" - My response, "Sir, I have epi-pens in my purse and when I eat wheat I swell up and can't breathe." - "Okay" he said, walked away like he just got a slap in the face. Who asks that question anyway?! If someone asks you for the GF menue and Soysauce, you don't question it. OBVIOUSLY they are GF. Duhh! Anyway, here's the site. http://www.gicare.com/diets/Gluten-Free.aspx

I think there are a lot of skeptics out there about people with a Gluten/wheat allergy, I mean I can understand that it's not as popularly known as the Peanut allergy, but hello?! There are others out there with different allergies... Dumb Dumbs. So for future knowledge people... Read up on GF stuff, Wheat allergies, what it is, why it happens, how known is it... That way when you meet a GF person, you can say, "hey I know some stuff about that!"

Kinda helps others feel better. :)

Steph's First Gluten Free Pizza

Yesterday, my friend steph and I went to Pizza Fusion to eat pizza. They are 100% organic and gluten free. We had organic root beer made with sugar cane. It was soo yummy!

Steph and I shared a large gluten free pizza. So yummy. 1st time for her - and she loved it! She said that it was fully satisfying and you don't feel hungry or sick afterwards! And when you eat other pizzas you feel fat, bloated and like sluggish. But not with the GF pizza. She said it was light and greesy and cheesy! :)

She's always wanted to see what being GF would be like. She always feels bad that I can't get sandwiches when we go out to lunch and stuff. (I really don't care, ha i'm so used to it!) but it's the thought that counts :)

Score one for me!

Making people aware of how good gluten free can really be if made correctly is the best feeling ever. I have to admit the first time I tried it, it took me a while to get used to it and to find things that actually tasted normal. When I finally found Pizza Fusion's pizza and it actually tasted like a pizza, I was soo happy!! My mom and I do make pretty good pizza, better than any other's i've tried. But PF is pretty damn good.

I try to show my family too that GF is good. My dad has tried a lot of the stuff I have, I don't think he's totally go 100% like I do. But atleast he's trying. :) My mom likes the GF stuff, she tries, too.

It's also nice to see that resturants and bakeries are trying to do GF foods. Gives me more places to get goodies :) Gluteny in Squirrel Hill is all GF desserts, they also have wedding cakes! (Future tip for me..) So far I have tried their cupcakes and choc chip cookies. Both very yummy! Can't taste any difference! :) I just wish it wasn't so expensive!! But hey I don't care, nor do I have a choice in the matter ha ha.

Just glad that people are noticing and trying new things :)

Going Gluten Free is Hard

About 5 years ago, I had a very scary thing happen to me while I was eating a Subway sandwich. The best kind, Cold cut, with everything on it :) even yellow spicy peppers... mmm. About 20 minutes later.. My tongue swells... my lips get so puffy I looked like a puffer fish! o.o eek! I realized that they got every itchy and then they puffed up! My mother had to rush me to the hospital.. and to my surprise my ER doctor looked like Brendan Fraiser... hahaha only with a beard. He was too cute! They had to give me a rush of meds in an IV and benydrill (sp) - can't spell!

2 hours later...

The swelling went down, and they told me to get a blood test done.

3 Negative blood tests later... Still allergic to wheat, and barley. Everything I would try I would get a horrible allergic reaction... Luckily now I haven't had one since last year. *fingers crossed!* I'm more aware now of what I cannot eat, even when the doctors tell me I can - still scared to.

I have to always carry around Epi-pens with me just incase.

Everything That I eat that would have wheat in it made me have a bad reaction.. now i'm 100% Gluten Free. And It's harder than ever. Food is so expensive - 6 bucks for a loaf of bread! AH! I can't go without my sammys. Not going to happen!



Gluten-Free foods are 100% different from what I'm used to! Everything tastes so different. Not all resturants have GF foods.. Now i'm more picky than ever! Sometimes I think I belong in a bubble.

On a good note, I had THE BEST PIZZA that I've had in a long time. I've always been searching for a good pizza for the longest time. Everything I've ever tried tasted like a brick! Yuck!

Pizza Fusion on RT 8 in Gibsonia, PA is amazing! :) actually tastes normal! you can't even tell the difference! :)

That really made my day.. I ate the whole thing. Mmmm.

My Most Memorable Meal

My most memorable meal







When I was younger, I used to love eating my grandma’s homemade pizza. It wasn’t round, it was square. Before I developed food allergies to wheat, I remember loving her pizza, the way the house smelled when we would walk in the door, seeing her form the pizza, roll it out and everything. Even though she had a very small kitchen, it didn’t matter, she made pizza like it was her job. I would always help to put the pepperonis on. And she wouldn’t make just one; she made at least 4 because our family and extended family is so big when she would have all of us over for dinner. There was always so much great food to go around. Now she’s 84, and can’t make it anymore. I really miss that pizza.