Dr Oz

I came across this tonight and thought it needed to be on my blog! It is a great explanation of what happens inside and the effects of Celiac disease. The website also has a ton of information on Celiac disease if you would like to look around! Enjoy! :)

Dr. Oz Part 1
Dr. Oz Part 2

A few products I love & a few to try....

 These are a few my go to pasta's. They are always more affordable and, to me, they taste similar to real pasta. There are a lot of different brands out there that are gummy, cook with a funny odor, and have a weird looking water when your done cooking it, but these two do a great job at minimizing these. In fact, the gummy part and odor is no more with these, in my opinion. Both brands make other types like penne, linguine, and elbow pasta's that are great too! 

Side note: The Ronzoni brand is usually with the other regular pasta's, not the natural food sections.


  Hands down, my favorite Gluten free bread. A little tip when your trying out gluten free breads though, always heat it in some way. If you expect to take a piece out and use it straight out of the bag, it's going to be super dry, and a little like card board. I always toast it or wrap in a paper towel and microwave it for 10-15 seconds before I use it. If I want a sandwich for lunch later that day, I toast it, let it cool, and then prepare the sandwich. It's not "toasted" by the time I eat it, but the steam and initial toasting really helps it taste good and like bread! This is also the kind I use at any holiday meal to make stuffing if you don't want to try the next product. (I'll post that recipe soon!)

This was awesome this year when my aunt made it for our family holiday dinner. I don't know the cost but it came from William Sonoma, so it may be a bit on the pricier side. That aside, it tasted fabulous!!!  Some even liked it better than the regular kind!

Now this one has become my absolute favorite brownie mix! Also from my aunt and fabulous! She got it from William Sonoma for $12.95, not too bad, but I just found it at Sprouts for $8.95 instead! Even better! If you have not tried it, please do! It wasn't gritty and it had a fudgy quality I have really missed in brownies. Cup 4 Cup has other products too that looked interesting, I just haven't tried them yet. Since this one is so good, I bet the others are pretty great too!

These next two pictures are also William Sonoma products that I just bought because I thought they looked yummy! I have not gotten a chance to try them but I'm excited to give them a go! (The cup cakes were on sale for only $2.97 a piece but usually they are $16.95 and the cookies were $19.95. So hopefully that means they will taste really good! Definatly not something I would buy a lot at those prices, but maybe they will be so good that the price won't matter! I'll let you know!) William Sonoma has some other gluten free items I'd like to explore and some REALLY yummy, but expensive, looking baked goods you can order if you want to try them. Please tell me if you do and what you think!

  Lastly, I came across this a few days ago and I'm so happy I did! This is a bundt cake shop that just started doing a gluten free mini bundt cake! I just had one and it was oh so yummy! I will defiantly go back!! Also, it was the same price as the regular mini's! Love it! It's not listed on the website but if you want to see some of the stuff they do or locations go Here.

Gingerbread Cookies

These are an every Christmas must in the Penrod family! I unfortunately lost my recipe this year, and while the one I found is close, it's not quite there. Still good, just not what it was. However, I feel I need to get it written somewhere so that I won't lose it again! It may be tweaked in the future though.... (I will put a date in here when I do though so you know you are looking at the one I use!)

Flour Blend: (I use this for all flour substitutions)
1 cup Rice Flour
1 cup Corn Starch
1 cup Tapioca Starch
1 Tbsp Potato Flour (I have had trouble finding this for a while and left it out. The blend still works well without it.)

Cookies:
3 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend
3 tsp Ginger
2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 to 3/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of softened Butter
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Molasses
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Raisins for buttons and red hots for eyes

Frosting:
1 stick softened Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
Dash of milk
3-6 cups of Powdered Sugar

• Heat oven to350°
• Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside
• Beat butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Add molasses, egg, and vanilla; Mix well
• Gradually add in flour mix on low speed
• Flour a gallon size zip lock bag or bottom of a bowl and put your sticky ball in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

• Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface. You may have to knead some flour into it a little until it is firm enough to not stick to your roller, cookie cutter, or counter.
• Cut out men with a gingerbread man cookie cutter and place on cookie sheet. (I like to put down a piece of parchment paper to help with cleanup and easy transfer to cooling rack)
• Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes (I had to do about 9) The egdes will set and begin to brown
• Cool on cookies sheet for 1-2 minutes and then more to a cooling rack

This made about 60-65 cookies.
I make this recipe with regular flour too, very carefully! 

Frosting:
Beat butter. Add vanilla, powdered sugar, and a dash of milk. Add powdered sugar until you have a frosting consistence. Depending on how you decorate your cookies you may need more than this makes. My father in law likes them with no frosting but what I use to stick the buttons and eyes on, but my husband has to have the whole cookie covered. It's whatever your preference is.

Gluten Free Biscuits and Gravy

LOVE this product!! It is a bit gritty and the biscuits are different than what you remember but as long as you put those aside, they are very good! While I visited Coronado, San Diego, my mother and sister in law made the best gluten free biscuits and gravy that I just had to share with you! Enjoy!

Biscuits:
2 cups Gluten Free Bisquick
1/3 cup Shortening (if you have it, the butter Crisco adds a little yum to it!)
2/3 cup Milk
3 Eggs

Gravy:
1 lb Medium Sausage (I like the RB Rice brand)
3 Tbsp Gluten Free Bisquick
1 1/2 to 2 cups Milk
Salt & Pepper

• Heat oven to 400° F

• Cut shortening into mix, using fork, until particles are pea size. Stir in remaining ingredients until soft dough forms.

• Roll into 9 equal balls and pat them flat leaving them 1/2 to 1 inch thick

• Bake 13-16 minutes or until golden brown. Do not over bake. Gluten free is dry enough that over baking is a disaster!

While those bake, gravy:

• Brown your sausage on the stove top and then drain off the grease.

• In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix the bisquick and 1/2 cup of milk.

• Add 1 cup of milk to your pan of sausage and warm to a boil. Stir constantly and add your milk and Bisquick. Stir until it thickens. Add more milk to thin it or add more Bisquick to thicken it up.

• Salt & pepper to taste

Cross contamination, Intentional Slips, and Genetics

Living totally gluten free is hard. To be honest, anytime you eat you are at risk of cross contamination, even if you made it. I have to admit, after being so strict for so long, I can get a little lackadaisical and I shouldn't. For someone with celiac disease, it is essential that you maintain no gluten in your diet. The short term issues can include abdominal pain, bloating, joint pain, fatigue, headache,  damage to dental enamel, anemia, constipation or diarrhea, gas and acid reflux. You could experience some or all of these, it's different for each individual. But there are more long term issues to be concerned with. Some of the following are side effects of this disease if you don't follow the "rules":

According to the mayo clinic:

• "Malnutrition. The damage to your small intestine means it can't absorb enough nutrients. Malnutrition can lead to anemia and weight loss. In children, malnutrition can cause stunted growth and delayed development.
• Loss of calcium and bone density. Malabsorption of calcium and vitamin D may lead to a softening of the bone (osteomalacia or rickets) in children and a loss of bone density (osteoporosis) in adults.
• Infertility and miscarriage. Malabsorption of calcium and vitamin D can contribute to reproductive issues.
• Lactose intolerance. Damage to your small intestine may cause you to experience abdominal pain and diarrhea after eating lactose-containing dairy products, even though they don't contain gluten. Once your intestine has healed, you may be able to tolerate dairy products again. However, some people continue to experience lactose intolerance despite successful management of celiac disease.
• Cancer. People with celiac disease who don't maintain a gluten-free diet have a greater risk of developing several forms of cancer, including intestinal lymphoma and small bowel cancer." Mayoclinic
• Other Autoimmune diseases.

So as you can see, it is very important to continue your diet as it is the only way to prevent these things. That last few are the scariest for me! I have lots of cancer related deaths and other autoimmune diseases in my family history, so honestly, this is a great little reminder, even to me, that I should never be lackadaisical.

Now, about what I said above, "anytime you eat you are at risk of cross contamination, even if you made it" I wasn't kidding. At any restaurant you will find not only people who don't understand the gravity of the situation, but it can be really hard to get every surface, every employee, every process perfect unless it's a 100% dedicated gluten free kitchen. Same goes at home! I cook regular meals for Jay and gluten free for me a lot due to the cost of my food. Sometimes switching from regular to gluten free, or vis versa, can inadvertently be dangerous. You must learn to make the gluten free first and if you make anything regular wash, wash, wash everywhere it touches! Hands, towels, sponges, counters, utensils, pans..... Wash it all really good! Some websites even discuss a whole different set of dishes, sponges, and pans for gluten free but I haven't quite done that yet. I just make sure to wash everything in the dishwasher, even the sponge, or double wash things with lots of soap/hot water.

"Slips" As in I just can't help myself, I have to have that cookie! Or when someone that doesn't know anything about your disease says, "Can't you just have a little?" Really, if you have read this far you can understand why I think this one is just silly. There is no such thing as just a little, or giving into a craving for things you used to love. I am understanding when someone doesn't know, but I defiantly don't give in. It is not worth my health, short term or long term. I encourage you to make that your priority too! 

Celiac disease is a genetic disease. Which means this can be passed to your children, and came from one of your parents or both. They don't necessarily have to have an active form of the disease though. It stays dormant until it is triggered by an illness, pregnancy, or surgery. So, it isn't a terrible idea to encourage your family to be tested if you have a positive celiac diagnosis. There is a blood test but this is generally not effective, so I wouldn't count that as the end all be all if you get a negative result. The best way to know for sure is the intestinal biopsy. This can be expensive, but is the only sure fire way to know one way or the other if you have celiac disease.

There is soooooo much more I could keep talking about, but this is enough for now. Just be careful out there! It gets easier over time, I promise!

Coming soon!

So sorry for the delay in posts. After Christmas I will post a bunch, I promise! On my list to do are: The Del Coronado in the Coronado/San Diego, CA area, gluten free turkey dinner, Gingerbread cookies, the gluten free fad, and gluten free biscuits and gravy! So keep an eye out! Hope everyone has happy holidays!

Granite City Food & Brewery

         Now, this is a more pricey restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised a few months ago when I found they had a separate gluten free menu. Not only that, but it has more on it than grilled chicken and salad! They have their own GF buns for sandwiches, appetizers, and though it's not listed on here, the creme brulee is GF as well! I try not to get french fries from too many places but sometimes I'll take the risk and this last time turned out fine. These can most often be a source of cross contamination, so I would not recommend it, but if you want to, ask for them without seasoning. The Granite city dip has not given me issue either, but is not on the list. I have found that restaurants that make a menu or list don't always put everything on them that are ok. Small sides, sauces, desserts, and dressings can get left off despite no gluten present. If you have any questions or comments, please post below and I will do my best to answer!

As the menu is not listed online, I tried to take a photo of it for you all. Here is their website anyways if you wish to see what else they have. 

http://www.gcfb.net/