Farewell!

So this is my last post, and I thought I'd make it a tribute to my friend who helped me discover how to control food crisis' like being allergic to basically anything american and good. Here is an article she wrote recently pertaining to gluten-free lifestyles. enjoy!

Is going gluten-free the new miracle diet?

Dana Ricci

Gluten became the enemy when people like Jennifer Aniston and Victoria Beckham stopped eating it and Chelsea Clinton handed out gluten-free cake at her wedding. Suddenly, products you ate every day had a big “GLUTEN FREE!” slapped on their packages, and someone somewhere heard that cutting this protein found in wheat, rye and barely out of their diet would make their thighs less jiggly. While you may feel good about ditching Wonder Bread for rice cakes and buying the gluten-free pretzels (for three times the price) instead of good ol’ Snyders, many people who have joined in on one of the top-growing food trends in America are wildly misinformed.

Gluten is truly a menace for those with Celiac Disease, because it damages their intestines, or those who have allergies and intolerances to it. However, avoiding it is more difficult than simply steering clear of the pasta aisle. Try taking a magnifying glass to the ingredients panel of everything. Gluten makes bread light and airy and soups and sauces thicker, so it finds its way into many food items. Special products that normally contain gluten but are made “gluten-free” have to compensate for the lack of this ingredient so they load their products up with extra fat and sugars to avoid having the palpability of chalklike, crumbly bricks. So those gluten free pretzels you bought are actually worse for you than their gluten-stocked twins.

In the end, if cutting out gluten makes you feel better physically, then you may have an intolerance and avoiding it is good for your personal well-being, but not necessarily your pants size.

follow her on twitter here

Happy Thankgiving!!

Although my family is addicted to flour, I found myself still publishing a blog about eating gluten-free on turkey day. With all the pies and dinner rolls, too much white flour can give us that post-turkey slump we experience around 8pm on Thanksgiving day. What my family does incorporate are sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are an excellent food to binge eat on--they contain beta caratone which decreases the risk of many cancers and are also an excellent source of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Along with mashed yams, we celebrated game day with sweet potato french fries, baked crisp with a dusting of salt and a hint of paprika. One of my favorite ways to incorporate sweet potato into even the most pickiest of dinner plates is by making sweet potato dinner rolls. The recipe calls for flour, but one can always substitute sorghum or barley flour to make these rolls gluten-free. The thing I love about this recipe is that the rolls have a buttery taste, but contain absolutely NO butter. Since I was cooking for a super picky eater (my sister) I left out the (visible) garlic and rather dusted the rolls with powder.

As for a gluten-free day of thanks, check out this website. I found the recipe for gravy and pie crust very informative and cannot wait to actually try it!

The Gluten Band Wagon

Recently, I came upon an article in Women's Health entitled Is Gluten Bad for your Body? This further proves how far along gluten-free diets have come out of the mist and into our daily lives. Chelsea Clinton's wedding included an entirely gluten-free cake while many celebrities (as mentioned in my previous blog) has hopped onto the Gluten-Free band wagon.

What was nice about the article is that it politely informed people that going genuinely gluten-free is not as easy said than done. Not only do people have to cut many foods with thickening ingredients (soy sauce, dressings, seasonings) but they also have to deal with the nutritional deficiencies that come with being gluten-free. The article states Gluten-free doesn't necessarily equal healthy, especially when people yank vitamin-enriched and whole-grain foods from their diets and replace them with gluten-free brownies...research suggests that those who forgo gluten may be more likely to miss out on important nutrients such as iron, B vitamins, and fiber.

With this in mind, the true health benefits that lie within the gluten-free diet include not eating as much processed food. Especially when one (such as my room mate) is allergic to gluten, most people stay on the safe side by not eating foods that have long lists of ingredients. For those of us who aren't allergic to gluten but would rather take advantage of the benefits that gluten-free eating comes with, we should focus on increasing our vegetable, lean protein, and fruit intake rather than finding yummy substitutes for regular cookies.

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That being said, if anyone was wondering what to do with bad/bruised/mealy apples that didn't involve 2 cups of sugar and a side of whipped cream, I learned how to make homemade applesauce. This is great because as I came to find, little to no sugar is really needed--the apples are naturally sweet.

Just peel, core and cube your apples and put them in a pot, covered with water (as if you were making mashed potatoes).

Boil for around 10 minutes, dependent on how many apples you have.

Mash with a fork.

If you're uncertain about water, always add less than more--otherwise your applesauce will be watery.

I like to add tons of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg to my applesauce.

I think I added only a tablespoon of sugar and this yielded 5 servings of delicious (and warm!) applesauce.

Immune-boosting foods!

I'm not sure about everyone else, but our apartment has turned into a scary haven for germs and flu viruses. The trash cans are filled to the brim with tissues, and I'm pretty sure the hot water pot is constantly boiling for tea. I even found various pills underneath cushions while cleaning. The main reason for the sickly season is the heaters in most apartments that dry out air. Rather than running for the ibuprofen and coffee, we should be practicing preventative habits. My mother always used to stress that what we ingest daily has a direct effect of what comes out of us, be it a cough, sneeze or even a smile. I'm taking her food advise and passing it on to you all, so take a few of these helpful tips and reminders to heart!

A lot of our sicknesses this time of year are due to a deficiency in vitamins A B and C. Stock up your fridge with commonly found fruits like

• Cantaloupe
• Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Strawberries

***The fruits with the highest amount of vitamin C are Avocado, Guava, Papaya according to this website***

Fill your plates with veggies like

• spinach
• broccoli
• carrots
• cucumber
• green peppers

If you're already sick, try boiling water with ground ginger, honey and lemon to make tea. It really clears up my sinuses and helps with the aching. (For those of us who are temporarily out of service due to a late night of drinking, this also helps with the headache and sore feeling of a hangover)

If you're cooking healthy already, consider adding garlic to your meals. Garlic is a natural anti-biotic and some claim a natural way to effectively PREVENT the cold and flu.

Although we're not sickly yet, we are starting to crave sweater weather foods. I'm currently still using up all the pumpkin puree I have--we made pumpkin spice hot chocolate and there is some pumpkin chili on the stove. I hope you all stay warm!

Stuffed Peppers

As the coldness sets in, all we want to do is eat eat eat REAL food. I noticed that all the recipes I've posted thus far are for baked goods. Sweets are good and all, but what about the meals? Actual meals are very friendly towards all dietary needs because of their versatility. Bread crumbs that are called for in stuffings, toppings, etc. can be substituted with gluten-free breads or crackers. Now we have yet to find a good recipe for gluten-free french toast, but we have dinner pretty much covered. I recently made a very colorful dish for our friends--stuffed peppers. I took a recipe from the Internet and played around with it until it fit my vegetarian dreams and Dana's gluten-free needs.

Stuffed Peppers!

Various Colored peppers, cut in half (I used 8 peppers, which made 16 servings)

2 peppers, chopped

2-3 onions, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 c. grape tomatoes, halved

1 zuchinni, diced

1 summer squash, diced

1 c. canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp parsley

1 c. frozen corn

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. of a mixture of the following spices: cayenne pepper, garlic/onion powder, oregano

salt & pepper

1. c Parmesan cheese (optional)

---saute the onion in the olive oil on med. high until translucent

---add garlic until fragrant

---add zuchinni, squash, diced peppers, corn; stir to mix for a minute

---add tomatoes and chickpeas and mix

---add seasonings

---fill peppers with as much of the stuffing mixture as you can handle (it may seem a little wet)

---bake at 375 until peppers are softened (about 20 minutes)

---if you want to add cheese, add it 5 minutes before peppers are done

enjoy! the colors were so beautiful

and also feel free to improvise! I've stuffed with rice, and you can also make pizza-esque ones with tomato sauce, ground beef and loads of cheese! They are so easy to make, and look so elegant when done

Happy Halloween!!

So the Halloween and autumn season is upon us, and I hope everyone know's what they're being this weekend! I kicked off the week right by helping out at my club's pumpkin carving event. Nothing says Temple administration quite like the Student Activities Center police coming and telling us it's technically against school policy to carve pumpkins in the SAC (yes, I said SAC). Nevertheless, it was a success and we had many beautiful pumpkins to display at our autumn banquet this past Thursday. Now aside from baking the pumpkin seeds and compositing A LOT of the guts, I still had a garbage bag filled with the string gooey mess that comes post pumpkin carving. Most people throw this gross stuff out but I decided to put my creativity skills to the test and see what could be eat cooked. I came up with cookie, muffin, bread, cupcake, and cake recipes that are super simple and are also gluten-free and vegan! I most recently mastered the ratios for the bread recipe (which also can be used for a muffin recipe) so I'll share that one. The others are still working themselves out in my mind.

Pumpkin Gut Vegan/Gluten-Free Bread **this makes quite a bit (a.k.a one small loaf and a dozen muffins, so you may want to half it)

preheat oven to 350

2 1/2 C. Pumpkin Guts (to prepare them for cooking, remove seeds and use a food processor/blender (actually all I had with blades were sicssors) and cut up the stringy goop so it resembles a puree.
3 1/2 C. Rice Flour (or a mixture of whatever flour you have)
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger **you can also use nutmeg/pumpkin pie spice instead of the cloves/ginger mix
2 1/2-3 c. sugar (I found that 3 c. kind of made the muffins less pumpkin-y due to the low flavor of most carving pumpkins--the pumpkins people usually use for baking are the small ones)
3/4 C. olive oil
**optional** 1 c. raisins/choc. chips/nuts

combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and spices in a large mixing bowl

add olive oil and pumpkin guts

add raisins/choc. chips/nuts if applicable

mix until flour just barely disappears

pour into greased pans

bake for 1 hour, or until fork comes out clean (muffins will take around 25 min)

Midterm mayham, and meanwhile, in the kitchen...

So midterms ruled my life the past two weeks. Countless hours were spent in Paley, and I'm pretty sure I REM'd in Chinese. Now that the scariest part of October is finished, we can focus on more important things, like eating! I spent the majority of my weekend in South Philly, and was able to eat at the Loving Hut, located at 7th and South Street. Along with being a cute place, they are 100% vegan. Items I would urge everyone to try are their smoothies and tofu-nuggets. These treats and many more are made in front of you and served to you by the extremely friendly girls who work there. After my lunch, I was feeling pretty creative myself and decided to attempt gluten-free and egg-free apple pie. I used a basic apple pie recipie and snipped around until I came out with a room mate friendly version of the American classic. As a side note, I can't stand the rice-flour version of the apple pie crust, so feel free to try this with regular flour. I'm currently going to try a more "grain-y" flour to the mix next time. Next time so happens to be tonight, so I'll keep you posted!

Crust for Pie:
2 1/2 c. rice flour
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cubed **I used 1/2 c. apple sauce and only 1 stick of butter**
2 tbsp maple syrup (you can use sugar also, but I'm trying to cut down)
1/4 c. ice water

Filling:
3 lbs. apples
3/4 c. sugar **I used a mixture of white and brown sugars, I'm going to try it with less sugar and honey next time**
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. all spice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. rice flour

non-egg egg wash:
some melted butter (I think I melted around 3 tbsp)
2 tbsp milk

--preheat oven to 375--

In a bowl, place the flour, sugar, and cubes of chilled butter (and also the applesauce if you went that route).
Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, until largest pieces are pea-sized.
Add ice water little by little while mixing dough. When dough holds together when you squeeze it, it's ready.
Gather dough into a ball and divide it in half, wrap in plastic and chill in fridge while you make the filling (I've heard it's actually ideal to chill dough for 30 min, but since I thought I would be productive, I put the dough balls into the freezer for 10 minutes...the result? Dough was hard to form without breaking)

Peel and cut apples into slices. Toss apples with sugar, cinnamon, allspice, flour, and vanilla. Let sit while you roll out dough.

Take out one ball of dough and roll out into a circle that is as big as your pie pan circumference. Fit into pie pan and mound the shell with apple filling. Take out other ball of dough and roll it into a slightly smaller circle and place over pie. Fold edges over and crimp to seal. Make a few slits/designs in the top crust to let steam out.

Melt butter and mix in milk; brush over top crust of pie (but not the crimped edges)

bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then lower temperature 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Pie is done when juices are bubbling and crust is browned.

I don't have a photo yet, but I can assure you it tastes great! Enjoy with ice cream and friends. (We also enjoyed ours with wine)

MIT: Gluten-Free!

Offering gluten-free options and keeping up with separation standards is an issue that I believe is very important for schools and other institutions to take seriously. One of the biggest issues in being gluten-free, especially when allergic to gluten, is that many people do not trust public eateries. Some restaurants do not realize that just because there is no gluten in their fish doesn't necessarily rule out the fact that there could be gluten remnants in the pan that the fish was baked in or on the hands that prepared it.

There are gluten-free options in many university and high school cafeterias, including Temple's Johnson and Hardwick Dining halls. Yet the problem still lies within proper food separation. Anyone who has been to the dining halls during rush hour can vouch for the picture that comes to my mind. Bustling students, different types of food dropped into the salad bar, employees that slop food onto plates before you have a chance to request anything special, and crumbs on the hot lines. This is about as dangerous as no man's land for people like my room mate. She was limited to the salad bar and french fries that J&H offered during her freshman year (2008-2009) and even then experienced uncomfortable rashes due to contact with gluten.
Lindsey Howell, contributor to Ezine articles, suggests that college attendees get a personal kitchen a.s.a.p. I think institutions need to go the extra mile and offer safe and completly separated gluten-free food options. This means different gloves and cooking necessities to cook the food and knowledgeable employees.
When the university fails to take up the challenge, students tend to help each other out through self-research and blogging. A blog posted on MIT's website gives a list of gluten-free eateries on campus along with nearby restaurants, cafes and grocery stores that offer gluten-free menus and aisles. Temple students also call awareness to local eateries (such as Sweet Freedom) that are safe for students suffering from gluten allergies.
But why shove the responsibility onto the sufferers? I think that schools should be aware of the hardship that comes along with finding food options on campus for students with food allergies. A gluten-free blogger complains, "Sometimes I get annoyed that I have to always know where my next meal is coming from". This pretty much sums up the experiences that I have observed from my room mate and other friends who choose vegan or gluten-free lifestyles.

In elementary schools, having celiacs disease can be a nightmare for parents who are too busy to pack lunches every day. Children shouldn't feel ashamed or like an outcast because of their food allergy that is easily dealt with if institutions implemented the proper food handling techniques. Triumph Blog, a blogging site dedicated to gluten-free communities, is working on a petition that is aimed specifically towards schools, demanding a lunch system that meets students' "medically prescribed dietary needs".
Blogging helps gets small voices heard, and it is with further awareness that we can get our own institutions to start offering safe and healthy meal options for people with food allergies. They should not have to be secluded to limited (and often weird) food options. They shouldn't be shunned from dorm life just because they need personal kitchenettes. The college experience should be about learning about ones self image rather than avoiding disasters that are easily preventable.
Recently, in talking to some freshman at Temple, I have learned that the J&H dining hall does in fact now offer more gluten-free options and there is an entire section dedicated to vegans and gluten-free students. This pleases me as it represents a positive reaction towards students' demands and requirements. Temple is an innovative university, and perhaps in the future more options will arise for the students who have special dietary requirements.

dressing on the side, leave out the gluten please

So apparently to my own surprise, not everyone is gluten free because they are allergic to it. One of the biggest complaints that I hear from my room mate is when she has to have conversations that go like this

person: want to get pizza?
room mate: sorry, I'm allergic to gluten and eggs; I can't
person: what's gluten?
room mate: it's like flour and such. I can't eat things like cookies, pasta, pizza blah blah blah
person: oh my GOD. How do you LIVE??!!
room mate: well...
person: well you're pretty lucky! no wonder you're so skinny, it must be the best diet to be on!
room mate: **rage**

Surprisingly enough, I found a web page that talked specifically about the "trend" of gluten-freedom. It is an article from The Hartman Group and it touches on the fact that even though 1% of the U.S. population has celiacs disease (the main reason for an allergy to gluten), 93% of gluten-free buyers do NOT have celiacs. Gluten is increasing in popularity. Maybe because it makes more sense to cut out starches than to only eat a half a grapefruit each day.

What was interesting was that the web page decided not only to disagree with the validity behind this new fad, but it also seemed biased towards gluten-free products in general. They disproved the idea that gluten is healthier--indicating that a gluten free diet can lead to spikes in ones glycemic index (pushes your body into extreme states). It also sheds light on the "social nature of eating" and how being gluten free can be a "burdensome restriction".

It's interesting to see a marketing group take a concept (not a product) and completely pull a 360 on the idea and portray it back in a negative way. By no means is the hartman scoffing at those of us who absolutely cannot eat gluten, but it is rather sending out factual information to the people (much like the person in my example conversation) who only see the superficial selling points of going sans-gluten.

examples of celebrities who are following the gluten-free trend

TGIF!

So it's Friday, and like most college students, my room mate and I are about to go to a friends house for a party. Now parties for my gluten-free room mate can be a disaster. Think about it, solo cups being flown around in a viscous game of flip-cup...beer sloshing out of kegs, cans, coolers, everywhere! Beer as we know it, is madefrom wheat and grain products. Yet with a little searching, we were able to find a brand of beer that caters to the 3.2 million of us who cannot or will not eat gluten products.

Redbridge is an award-winning beer that was developed for those who wanted a good tasting beer without the allergen. I think they have a very successful tagline: Beer Made With You in Mind: Alternative Recipe, Classic Taste.

Since then, I've learned to appreciate Redbridge over my usual beer drinks. It is light, has a summery taste, and is perfect with fall foods!

Since I have had a new interest with gluten-free foods, I have noticed that many people view the allergy a new "fad". Gluten diets are becoming more popular. CBS had an article entitled Gluten Free Eating: is the new "it" diet better for you? In it, the author describes how people are catching on to the gluten-free trend not because of allergy reasons but for other. The possibility of a Gluten-free fad can open many opportunities for companies to hone in on specific target markets that are essentially untouched (compared to other foods).

Companies are beginning to realize the power of the gluten-freedom eaters. I found a posting on AllBusiness.com selling a report to the gluten-free consumer. The blurb about the article spoke on how many businesses are turning to gluten-free advertising of their products. For instance, general mills purposely advertises their normally gluten-free cereal as "New! Gluten Free!". No change was made to the cereal, but the advertising took a different direction that presented itself new and innovative to consumers.

So even though Redbridge has carried one of the oldest names in the Gluten-free world, many other companies are jumping on the popular trend of eating Gluten-Free. I think it is very wise for supermarkets, restaurants, and catering services become aware of their small clientèle who demand gluten-free products.

freedom! sweet freedom!

This summer, I bought myself a beach cruiser for the city. It was awesome for the first 2 weeks, until it was kidnapped from me. (moment of silence) I took a trek to Frankenstein Bike Works which is located on 1529 Spruce St to buy a new bike (and lock). The owner is very quirky, but that's what I love about the small shops in Philadelphia.

With my new bike, I have had many biking adventures and many of them seem to end at the quaint bakery on South Street. Sweet Freedom isn't your ordinary bakery. The sweet gals who work there bake solely gluten free and vegan products. It's a great place to chill and people watch over a cookie, pizza slice, or muffin! Yes, the pizza doesn't have any cheese (vegan!) but it's definitely worth a try. My personal favorite are the cupcakes--lime and coconut in particular.

So if you're up for an adventure, venture off of the beaten south/lombard path that all the freshmen seem to hawk to. Get off on to the side streets, and you'll be surprised at the neat shops!!

hunt around, and see if you can find other neat spots around South Street like

• hookah bars with the best Israeli fries in Philly (Fez)
• thrift stores (Philly AIDS thrift)
• old-fashioned candy shop (sweet tooth)

let me know of any personal south street favorites!

Apples to Apples, oh and eggs are soooo last year.

When I was younger, we had family game nights every Sunday. The usual boardgames would include chess, scrabble, trouble, ect. ect. It wasn't until a wacky Wednesday night when, accompanied by low doses of sleep that I discovered apples-to-apples, the game where you just describe things.

Yes, I may have been sheltered. I know this is an all-American classic. Yet with my new found knowledge, I decided to take game-night to a whole new age-group. My apartment now holds racks of nonsensical board games, and we often share food during those rainy nights where we all should be studying but would rather sit on my stained apartment's carpet and laugh at how cute we can be with word combos.

Now what does game night have to do with outdated eggs? Well, we've all heard about the salmonella outbreak, and my roommate is conveniently also allergic to eggs. So when it comes time to break out the batter for game night munchies, we had to find something to go along with our gluten-free dessert recipes.

One of my favorite original recipies is my recipie for banana bread. It's versatile, and I always have the ingredients on hand, even in my work-study-job funded kitchen. The only problem was that not only did it include gluten ingredients (flour) but also eggs(!!!). eggs are essential in quick breads because they bind the gluten together. What we found to work wonders in place of eggs was the adding of applesauce. Whoah! We decided that we didn't need to hit the gym after satisfying our sweet tooth craving for sweetness. Our health-conscious points shot through the roof. This bread is healthy also because instead of fattening butter, I used olive oil; and instead of loads of granulated sugar, we squeezed in some maple syrup and brown sugar. What we ended up with was a totally rustic, melt-in-your-mouth bread that was a total hit when combined with a friendly game of apples-to-apples.

1 c. brown sugar

8tbsp olive oil

2/3 c. applesauce

3-4 ripe bananas (dependent on size and how banana-y you like your bread)

1 tbsp milk (or use vanilla soy milk for vegan banana bread)

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 c. rice flour

1 tsp baking powder (or 2/3 tsp. double acting baking powder)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tbsp maple syrup (I've used molasses before also)

preheat oven to 325

mix brown sugar and olive oil well

add applesauce and mix well

in a separate bowl, mash bananas until smooth (if you leave big banana pieces in they'll show up as grayish chunks in your bread)

add milk and cinnamon to mashed bananas

sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together

add banana/milk/cinnamon mix to sugar/butter

stir in maple syrup and vanilla to wet ingredients

add dry ingredients and mix just until the flour disappears

pour into a greased pan and cook 60-70 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean

enjoy! I serve it with a squirt of extra maple syrup, but that may be because I'm addicted to the rustic flavor!

Rule #1: no gluten

Okay, so I'm a college student. This meaning that I often divulge in late night pizza raids, free pretzels outside the bell tower and of course the warm beer offered at Temple's fine establishments. So what do I do when I decide to live with someone who turns red (literally) at the presence of what all these activities have in common---gluten?

For those of you who don't know what gluten is, check out this website. Foods that we have always grown up with as privileged gluteneers are sharply rejected by some people who develop allergic reactions to all-things gluten. Gluten can be found in the strangest of things....think barbaque sauce, chocolate chips...ovaltine???

That being said, my roommate is no poor starving child. With years of gluten cooking behind her, she was able to help me freshen up my favorite recipes. As the semester goes on, I hope to share with you the recipes I have created successfully, along with some funny mistakes that I have made, sans gluten. I encourage you to try the substitutions, because as I have found, they're really not that scary. Even to the beer drinking, Owl's Nest loving college student.