Update on the Blackberry Gluten Free App

This weekend I figured out my paypal password again and purchased the Gluten Free for Blackberry App. Actually, my ad proceeds from Foodbuzz covered the $2.99 price tag, so . . . thanks! I'm really loving my Blackberry, it's such a handy tool for living gluten-free. I love being able to look up ingredients where ever I am, having internet on my phone allows me to easily be more diligent about my gluten-free diet when I'm out and about. This app is especially handy and I recommend it. It's much faster than doing a google search and, as far as I can tell at this point, the information seems very accurate. You can search GF products by caregory or search by brand name.

Here's an example of where I imagine this app would be super handy: say you're at the movie theater and feel like a sweet treat. But, you can't remember is Skittles are GF (and sometimes it's HARD to remember what's safe and what isn't). All you need to do is pull out your blackberry and search candy (although the list is LONG and takes awhile to scroll down to Skittles) and discover that yes, Skittles are gluten free. And so are Junior Mints. And Snickers Almond. Sweet, right? Because some of the lists are long, I would recommend using the search feature if you're checking on a specific product and using the categories if you want to explore your options.

The resources and community features still need to be filled out, hopefully an update is coming soon, but the gluten-free restaurant search brought up a Scott's Bakery near Belfast, Me that specializes in gluten-free cookies and whoopies pies. Bummer, I was in Belfast this weekend! I'm sad to have missed out on GF whoopies pies, but excited to add them to the agenda the next time we head towards the coast! I wouldn't bother with the gluten-free shopping list or the foods to avoid (unless you're newly diagnosed), most of this information is basic celiac knowledge.

Weekly Links: May 15th & 16th

For the weekend blogging, I've decided to do weekly links. My interests are varied and I expect the weekly links to reflect that. I often discover fun websites that aren't big enough for a full post, but that I'm still eager to share! Plus, I'll be able to throw the post together before I leave work on Friday. The main theme will be gluten-free, but I'm also planning to include links that reflect my other interests, like history, knitting, travel, Maine, sewing, running, etc, etc, etc!

Weekly Links:

Tartlette Gluten-Free Rhubarb Financiers: Two gluten-free recipes from Design*Sponge (a favorite blog) and one includes rhubarb? Be still my heart! (This gorgeous photo is from the site.)
Gluten-Free Maine: Again, because it's that cool!
Gluten-Free App for Blackberry: This doesn't look quite as cool as the iPhone Is That Gluten Free? App, but I'm planning to download it to my brand new Blackberry and will report how well it works. And, for those of us unwilling to get an iPhone until it's not an AT&T exclusive, this website does the same thing as the Is That Gluten Free App? and will work with all smart phones.
purlsoho.com: I just discovered this NYC yarn, fabric and notions website with an amazing selection of fabrics, including the hard-to-find Anna Griffin fabric I feel in love with for the new duvet cover. I ordered my fabric yesterday afternoon and it shipped Friday morning!
Nothing But Bonfires: I adore this blog. It's incredibly well-written, witty and I found my new favorite week-night recipe from on of her posts. Reading it, I often laugh out loud. I even wasn't annoyed by the months of wedding planning posts (and that's a huge feat for me). I highly recommend adding Nothing But Bonfires to your list of regularly read blogs.

Gluten Free Resources: Just for Us Mainers

About a month ago, gluten-free Mainers were treated to the establishment of glutenfreemaine.com! A website filled to the brim with Maine products that are GF, Maine restaurants that are GF and so much more! I'm particularly enjoying the "top gluten-free stories section" of the site. I'm connected enough to the GF community to be well-aware of the addition of gluten to the Starbuck's Light Frappuccino (if you aren't, read this), but if I wasn't, the top stories section would have alerted me very quickly. I've been making a point to read the top stories every morning. Much of the information is a little Southern Maine-centered, but to be expected with both the creators being Portland residents and I've been diligently emailing them about some of the great GF options in the Bangor area. I recommend adding Gluten-Free Maine to your bookmarks right now.

And now, I'm going to hop up on my soap box for a moment: Starbucks, what the frap? I am not a regular Starbuck's customer, a location isn't convenient to where I live and I don't particularly care for their coffee. But, I'm still upset by this latest piece of news. In my opinion, this is much worse than the Valencia Orange cake debacle of last year, Starbucks added gluten to a previously GF drink without any notice. I re-check gluten-free products every couple of months. If I was a daily Starbuck's Light Frappuccino drinker, there's an excellent chance this would have gotten by me. Getting glutened can be serious business. An accidental brush with gluten a few weeks ago sent me the the emergency room twice. This post from Gluten Free Mom exhibits the cavalier Starbuck's has exhibited toward the gluten-free community, first with the Valencia cake and now with the Light Frappuccino. Although they know the reformulated Light Frappucino contains gluten, they accept no responsibility to inform their gluten-free customers. Well, I say, the gluten-free community should not accept the potential hazards of ingesting Starbuck's products. I'm starting a completely ineffective boycott (ineffective because I never go to Starbuck's anyway) and would encourage others, especially if you are a Starbuck's regular, to do the same. And, if you feel like, use the contact information on Gluten Free Mom's post to let Starbuck's know what you think.

Might I recommend Dunkin Donuts? I got this reassuring email from them today:

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. It's always a pleasure to hear from our Dunkin' Donuts customers. Our product nutritional information including allergy data is available on our website www.dunkindonuts.com, you can also find information on our company as well as fun facts.

Our Dunkin' Donuts beverages are gluten-free.

At Dunkin' Donuts we value our customers and are committed to making your visits to our stores a pleasant experience. We look forward to serving you soon.




Thank you and have a great day.




Jennifer

Customer Relations Coordinator

That's the sort of customer service I expect with my coffee!

We've Been Hibernating . . .

. . . But we're back! Things have been busy the past several months and, while I've still been experimenting in the kitchen (and have some great recipes to share), I just haven't felt like blogging. I never wanted this blog to feel like work, so I've allowed myself to relax and not worry about neglecting it for a few months. Now, classes are over, I actually have time to relax and I feel like it's time to resuscitate the blog.

Since February I've been accepted into a full-time PhD program with funding, increased my weekly running mileage (but still have to be careful about my knees) and been busily decorating the condo Joe and I share.Of course, I've also been working full-time and taking classes part-time. Busy, busy, busy!

The beginning of this year marked five years living gluten-free. At first I ate only rice because I was too scared to explore options. Rice felt safe. In the five intervening years, I've embraced experimentation and trying new things in my gluten-free diet. One thing I thought I'd have to give up forever once I went gluten-free was bread. Most gluten-free bread leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, I believe bread is the hardest thing to recreate gluten-free. It was a tough adjustment, especially since growing up my Mom was an amazing bread baker. Readers, I have discovered something that has completely revolutionized my gluten-free life: this bread. I know the ingredients list and the instructions look complicated, but, trust me, it's so worth the extra effort. I cannot stop raving about this bread. Eating my first slice (without butter or jam or peanut butter or ANYTHING) I exclaimed to Joe four or five times, "This bread is SO GOOD!" And it is, it's so good as

Sandwich bread!

Pizza!

Cinnamon rolls!

I purchased the book book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which includes an entire gluten-free chapter with two master recipes that can be used to make most of the other recipes in the book. The gluten-free crusty boule is a fantastic all-purpose recipe, this versatile and tasty dough can be packed into crusty bread, thin crust pizza, and even naan (which I haven't tried yet, but I'm confident it will also be delicious). The Gluten-Free Brioche is just slightly sweet and bakes into the most delicious GF cinnamon rolls I've ever had. I make the dough on the weekend and put four balls of dough in the freezer that I pull out throughout the week to bake fresh bread for sandwiches or pizza crust or some yummy, gooey cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast. Making the dough is a little time consuming (and hard on the arms since I don't own a mixer), but the ease of pulling it out of the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator overnight more than makes up for that. I also really recommend using the method outlined on the website for the dutch oven, it makes for a delicious crusty bread.

Here's the bottom line: this bread has air pockets and texture almost just like gluten-full bread.

Another Reason to Cheer for the Saints

It wasn't just my undying hatred of all things Manning that caused me to root for the Saints during Sunday's Superbowl match-up (I was raised a Pats fan, after all), I was also cheering on gluten-free quarterback Drew Brees! Aside from being a top-notch quarterback and kicking Peyton Manning's butt, Brees is allergic to gluten, eggs and dairy. Pretty exciting, the Saints get a franchise first Superbowl win and living gluten-free gets a little time in the spotlight.

Just When You Thought Living Gluten-Free Was Hard Enough

This.

http://www.thesunnews.com/564/story/1295320.html

http://glutenfreeraleigh.blogspot.com/2010/02/nc-vs-great-specialty-products-update.html

Gluten-Free Fraud. Again I ask, what sort of world do we live in?

Gluten Free Libation

I've always been a beer girl. Not exactly conducive to living gluten free, especially since I just don't care for gluten-free beer. I think it's the sorghum, that metallic aftertaste is really off putting. I've talked about Redbridge before here and I find it's a great gluten-free cooking beer - I've made some delicious beer cheese soup with it. But, I don't want to sit down at the end of a long day and enjoy a refreshing Redbridge - ick.
What's a gluten free beer lover to do?

Luckily, the team over at beeriety (I love their blog for their fun beer facts) have been exploring gluten free beer options and posted on it last week. Be sure to check it out! And let's all hope some craft brewer will take up their challenge to create a truly delicious GF beer. In the meantime . . .

Did you know Guinness is wheat-free?! From wheat-free.org:

"With the exception of Breo White Beer, none of the products produced by Guinness Ireland Group contain wheat. However all our beers are brewed from malted barley. Barley contains a protein called hordein which is somewhat similar to gluten, the protein in wheat that causes difficulty for quite a few people. While the reaction to barley protein is generally much milder than to wheat gluten, a few people may experience difficulty with barley-based products including beer."

"This information is only advisory and we recommend that you speak directly to a qualified medical advisor / dietician if you are concerned about consuming any of our products."

So yes, Guinness is wheat free but not gluten free.

Woohoo! If your one of the lucky ones who can tolerate hordein (I am! I am!) Guinness just entered the enjoy in moderation list. And Guinness is so, so much better than Redbridge!

Of course, there are some things that, in my opinion, are even better than beer and that would be a martini. I was turned on to martini drinking by co-workers in June and since Joe has learned to make the perfect dry martini with extra olives so I can enjoy one after a hard day. Gin, distilled from juniper berries, is naturally gluten-free, but sometimes contains additives that result in trace amounts of gluten. But, according to celiac.com and the new gluten-free guidelines, all distilled liquids (including vinegar and gin) are safe.

At the most basic level the new guidelines mean that celiacs do not need to avoid foods containing unidentified vinegar or distilled alcohol, this alone will allow much more freedom when shopping or eating out. Further, celiacs who drink alcohol will have much more freedom and a far greater choice when they want to have a drink. Additionally, celiacs will be able to more easily maintain a well-rounded and nutritious diet because they will have access to a far greater number of highly nutritious and safe grains.

If you consider the distillation process, these new guidelines are quite logical. I've never had any trouble with Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray.*

Here's a list of gluten-free alcohol. Or, at least what should be gluten-free, it's never a bad idea to double-check:

• Armagnac
  
• Bourbon
• Brandy
• Champagne
• Cider
• Cognac
  
• Gin
• Grappa
• Kahlua
• Kirschwasser
• Mead
  
• Mistico
• Ouzo
  
• Rum
• Sake
  
• Scotch Whiskey
• Sherry
• Sparkling Wine
• Tequila
• Vermouth
  
• Vodka
• Wine
  

You might wonder, why is Scotch Whiskey gluten-free, but not Irish, Canadian, etc? It's odd considering what they said about distillation. I'm wondering too, will try to find the answer . . .

*Everyone is different and everyone has different body chemistry. What works for me, might not work for you and vice-versa.