Tasty Tidbits  - The Allergiesandme.com Blog

Football is in the air and that means SuperBowl parties! This can be a little tricky for those with food allergies and food intolerances. I just added a new gluten free appetizer recipe to the site today, Gluten Free Minced Meatballs with Savory Ginger Dipping Sauce. That's a mouthful to say, but very tasty. This recipe was contributed by Terry Traub, author of "Food to Some, Poison to Others". Try it and let me know how many people ask for the recipe!
                                          

In honor of Valentine's Day, we added some wonderful Gluten,Wheat and Cholesterol free dark chocolate bars from Yamate Chocolatier:  Cocoa Nibs Dark Bar, Cranberry Walnut Dark Bar and Tart Cherry Dark Bar.

Now, I have made myself hungry...time for a snack!

More recipes to try at home...just added two new ones this week. These are from new contributors to our recipe collection, Tina Turbin & Megan Hart.

Tina Turbin is a children’s book author, Danny the Dragon, and provides gluten-free support on her blogsite, www.GlutenFreeHelp.info as well as her main website, www.TinaTurbin.com. Tina has donated one of her favorite gluten free recipes, “Browny Muffins”, and it should become a household favorite.

Megan Hart is one of the founders of the blogsite, www.WelcomingKitchen.blogspot.com. In addition, she has co-authored some allergen free cookbooks with Kim Lutz. Their newest, “Welcoming Kitchen”, will be available in September. Megan’s recipe contribution this week is “Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts”. These donuts have a coffee cake-like texture and will start your mornings off with a skip!

Check out these two new Gluten Free Recipes.

Happy cooking and for those in the path of this new winter storm...Stay Warm!

Happy New Year Everyone! I am glad all the holidays are over and we can concentrate on making this a productive year. I mentioned the "Allergy-Free" Recipe Contest last week and we are getting some great recipes...keep them coming. I can see it will be hard for my judges to only pick three!

I was reviewing some of the wonderful non-profit websites this week for new information and found that The Celiac Sprue Association has dedicated a portion of their website for kids with Celiac Disease. It is really a nice compilation of information and games for the kids, with plenty of information for their parents. I wrote an article that was released this week in Examiner " Celiac Kids Now Have Support".

We added two new recipes to the website this week as well...both desserts!
Check out Bananas Foster Cake by Alisa Fleming from GoDairyFree.org.


And the Easy Fruit Cobbler by Jean Duane at www.alternativecook.com.




Here's hoping you all stay warm this weekend. It's even cold in Florida, can you believe it?!

Have a fantastic weekend.

Jamie

Hope this finds all of you well and getting ready for the rest of the month's holiday events.

I found a great new group in my own "backyard" over the weekend. The Tampa Bay Celiacs had their Annual Gluten-Free Holiday Cookie Exchange on Saturday...and Allergiesandme.com was invited. I met several of the group's members and the leader, Janet. It was a really nice experience and I hope to attend some of their upcoming meetings to learn more about their individual issues and needs...and to get an even better understanding of the daily struggles that people living without gluten face. This helps me to provide the needed resources to my customers. For my contribution, I brought gift bags that included the Gingerbread Man and Snowman cookies from "Cookies...for Me?" and the Thai Chi Biscottea cookies...seemed to go over well!

I would like to mention some of the other vendors I met at the meeting that are providing local goods and services. Allergiesandme.com is always looking for resources and if you are in Florida, please check them out.

Mrs. Madewell Baker, www.mrsmadewell.com
Tina  Turbin at GlutenFreehHelp,  www.glutenfreehelp.info
Lynn with The Cookie Momsters,  www.cookiemomsters.com
Morty with Katz Gluten Free,  www.katzglutenfree.com
Viitals Cafe, www.viitals.com

Until next time......

Jamie

As is the case with most of you out there...who has time to watch Oprah?! Some of you might say, who wants to!!

Aside from that, I did see a nice article on Oprah.com and I thought I would share the link: Gluten-Free, Is it for Me?

 It gives a good, well-rounded discussion about gluten sensitivities and celiac disase, as well as some steps to going Gluten Free with your diet. Every article I read gives different ideas and possible approaches, so I always want to share, even if you might find it "old news". There are always good reminders to stay safe and be vigilant about reading those food labels.

Take care and eat healthy!
Jamie

Hello everyone,

As you will notice in the coming months and years with me, I love cooking and love eating even more!

To this end, I am constantly searching for cooks and their favorite recipes to post for your enjoyment as well.

Today, I have just added a new cookbook author to the website. Her name is Jennifer Cinquepalmi. Her story includes having two of her three children diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2001. She was then faced with the task of providing meals that were gluten-free, but were also great tasting for the rest of the family. From this, two cookbooks were born. You can read more about Jennifer and her cookbooks at www.aidantbooks.com.
You can check out our first recipe that appears in both of her cookbooks on our Recipe page:Dutch Baby Pancakes.

Try this one over the weekend and let me know what you think.

Have a safe and happy weekend with your families.

Jamie

I have found an online forum for those of you who are Vegan or Vegetarian and have Gluten concerns.
Below is the description of the support group website and the address....check it out!

"VEGIAC was created to help the gluten free and vegetarian/vegan community come together to make life easier.
Exchanging detailed recipes, pictures, product reviews and advice to one another are some of the ways VEGIAC hopes to make this possible."
www.Vegiac.com

Have a wonderful week!

Jamie

I found another interesting article to share regarding the growth in Gluten-Free products. I must admit that since I began creating this company, I am personally making a "lifestyle change" in my own eating habits and even my view of food and their ingredients...and how they affect our daily lives. More on that later...if you are interested!

Check out the article by Caroline Scott-Thomas
Many American parents are seeking out gluten-free foods, often without diagnosis of celiac disease.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Breakthrough-offers-peanut-allergy-hope/?c=UHdE%2BvF6mKIGqcDs2MdUYA%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly

Let me know your thoughts and how you may be using gluten-free products, both due to medical reasons...or just personal choice.

Have a great day and wonderful weekend.
Jamie

I am always on the look out for new studies or health-related articles on food allergies and intolerance issues. I believe it is important to share differing viewpoints or educational information that is not always in the "mainstream" news.

There are so many unanswered questions and concerns regarding our food and how it affects us!

A recent Harvard Health Letter outlines some concerns over gluten-free diet changes that might result in people having a  lack of essential nutrients including fiber and B vitamins. Here's the link:

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Many-gluten-free-formulations-lack-essential-nutrients/?c=UHdE%2BvF6mKIlNZl9bG6e2A%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily

Any comments or other references you might want to share would be welcome!

Have a "Tasty" Day!

Jamie