May is Celiac Awareness month

Celiac Awareness Month is an event held throughout the United States each May and is supported by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (and other relevant organizations).This event raises awareness about celiac disease, and highlights the work of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) which provides support for those affected. The NFCA, in collaboration with scientists and other organizations, also supports research into celiac disease.

What Is Celiac Disease?
Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease which damages the small intestine. The small intestine is part of the gut which digests & absorbs nutrients from food. When the small intestine is damaged, the rate of nutrient absorption from food is reduced. Celiac disease can affect people in many different ways and symptoms vary in severity. 

In many cases, where there are no noticeable symptoms, a person has 'silent coeliac disease'. People with 'minor celiac disease' have minor symptoms. These can include a wide range of symptoms such as indigestion, bloating, weight loss, and mild abdominal pain.People with 'major celiac disease' have severe symptoms which can be of great discomfort. These may include 'minor celiac disease' symptoms which are more severe, and other symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrhea and muscle spasms.People with celiac disease are sensitive to gluten which triggers these symptoms. Gluten is a protein found in grains such as barley, wheat and rye. Consumption of gluten can affect the whole body.

Celiac Awareness Month also raises awareness about sensitivity to gluten.Treatment for celiac disease and gluten intolerance is straight forward; those affected are advised to avoid foods which contains gluten. This awareness event helps educate and inform the public about gluten free foods. However, it is not always easy to determine if a food item is gluten free.

Many People Are Not Aware They May Have Celiac Disease

In the United States, approximately 3 million people have celiac disease; 21 million people have this disease or are sensitive to gluten. Of the 3 million who have this disease only 5% know they have it. This awareness event aims, in part, to make more people aware that they may have this disease and that by eating gluten free foods, they can eliminate their symptoms.

How to Read an Ingredient Label for Wheat

This is a great article about how to read food labels from the Kids with Food Allergies website. At the end of this article is a link to a couple of pages that contain hidden names of wheat that would be beneficial when shopping. Reading labels of food products and asking questions about how an item is cooked when eating out is a part your life if you have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and sometimes can be very frustrating. New food labeling laws have made it easier but it is still very hard to be confidant that the food you are consuming with not make you sick. 

How to Read a Label for Wheat

Always read the entire ingredient label to look for the names of wheat. Wheat ingredients may be within the list of the ingredients. Or it could be listed in a “Contains: Wheat” statement beneath the list of ingredients. The federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires this.  Learn more about the U.S. food allergen labeling law.  

FALCPA requires that all packaged foods regulated by the FDA must list "wheat" clearly on the ingredient label if it contains wheat. Advisory statements such as “may contain wheat” or “made in a facility with wheat” are voluntary. Advisory statements are not required by any federal labeling law. Discuss with your doctor if you may eat products with these labels or if you should avoid them. 

Did you know that bulgur, malt, and seitan all contain wheat? Wheat may be an added ingredient in flours, baked goods and other products made with alternative grains, such as rice crackers. The FDA food allergen label law requires foods to state if they contain a top 8 allergen such as wheat. But, there are many foods and products that are not covered by the law, so it is still important to know how to read a label for wheat ingredients. Products exempt from plain English labeling rules: (1) Foods that are not regulated by the FDA. (2) Cosmetics and personal care items. (3) Prescription and over-the-counter medications. (4) Toys, crafts and pet food.  Download and print our Wheat Allergy Avoidance List and Travel Cards to carry with you and share.

CONTAIN WHEAT

The following ingredients found on a label indicate the presence of wheat. All labels should be read carefully before consuming a product, even if it has been used safely in the past.

All purpose flour
Bread — any type made with white flour, wheat flour; bread crumbs
Bulgur
Cereal extract
Couscous
Cracker meal
Einkorn
Emmer - also known as farro
Farina
Flour — atta, club, common, durum, einkorn, emmer, farina, graham, kamut, maida, semolina, spelt, triticale, triticum
Flour — all purpose, bread, bromated, cake, enriched, high gluten, high protein, instant pastry, phosphated, plain, soft wheat, steel ground, stone, ground, self-rising, unbleached, white, whole wheat
Fu
Gluten — wheat gluten, vital gluten, vital wheat gluten, fu
Kamut ® — khorasan wheat
Malt, malt extract
Matzo — Matzo meal (also spelled as matzoh, matzah, or matza)
Noodles, pasta
Seitan
Semolina
Spelt
Tabbouleh
Triticale
Triticum
Wheat, whole wheat — wheat berries, wheat bran, whole wheat bread, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, wheat germ oil, wheat protein isolate, wheat starch, wheat sprouts, sprouted wheat
Wheatgrass

WHEAT IS SOMETIMES FOUND IN

Artificial flavoring, natural flavoring
Caramel color
Dextrin
Food starch*, gelatinized starch, modified starch, modified food starch, vegetable starch
Glucose syrup
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
Maltodextrin
Monosodium glutamate, MSG
Oats**
Soy sauce, shoyu, tamari, teriyaki sauce
Surimi
Textured vegetable protein
Vegetable gum

However, if the product is an FDA regulated food, the word "Wheat" must appear on the label.

*Unless otherwise stated on the food label, the single word “starch” in an ingredient list means corn starch. Starches from other sources should be designated by some non-misleading term that indicates the source of such starch, for example, “wheat starch.” See: Starches Common or Usual Names (FDA)

**Wheat-free and gluten-free oats can be found from special suppliers.

BOTANICAL NAMES OF WHEAT (SOMETIMES FOUND IN PERSONAL CARE ITEMS)

Club wheat (Triticum compactum Host.)
Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum)
Emmer (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell.)
Kamut (Triticum polonicum L.)
Semolina (Triticum durum Desf.)
Spelt (Triticum spelta L.)
Triticale ( x Triticosecale ssp. Wittm.)
Triticum: Triticum aestivum L., Triticum durum Desf., Triticum compactum Host., Triticum spelta L., Triticum durum Desf., Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum, Triticum turgidum L. subsp.dicoccon (Schrank) Thell., Triticum polonicum L., and x Triticosecale spp. Wittm.

Download Hidden Names for Wheat Guide and Travel-Size Cards

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

There are times in your life to eat healthy, which I would say is MOST of the time in this house. Then there are times when your husband tells you that the one thing he misses from the pre gluten free days is a good warm cinnamon roll. Of course the kids are always willing participants, so online I went in search of somebody elses idea for cinnamon rolls, because FRANKLY.. I was at a loss. I do believe I have found the mother ship folks. These went together in about 30 minutes of prep work, no need to even rise. Popped them in the oven and WALAH!!! the best darn cinnamon rolls that my husband says he can remember tasting. Even better than the wheat variety according to him. So, with valentines day fast approaching, what better time to bake up these SWEETS for your SWEETIE. Mine loved them and you know they say there is no better way to a man's heart than through his sweet tooth. So, I am allowing this one indulgence for all of you out there who might like to go off the health wagon for the day. Enjoy.

Cinammon Rolls (recipe from http://www.iamglutenfree.blogspot.com/)

Serves 8 or 9

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons shortening (I used butter)

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup of milk, room temperature

1 packet yeast (about 1 tablespoon)

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup potato starch

1 cup corn starch (someone subbed arrowroot successfully)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TO SPRINKLE ON BOARD COVERED WITH PLASTIC WRAP

1 - 2 tablespoons sugar

FILLING

1 cup brown sugar ( actually cut this down to 1/2 cup and had leftovers)

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped nuts - optional

GLAZE

¾ cup powdered or confectionary sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

milk to thicken (I used soymilk)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Mix well. Measure warm milk and add yeast to milk. Whisk well to fully dissolve. Add milk/yeast to sugar mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix very well, being sure to remove all lumps. Dough will be quite soft. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out so it covers a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square. Sprinkle sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Then pull out another sheet of wrap and gently lay over the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish pancake. Lift the top wrap up and then reposition it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in between the two layers of wrap. Occasionally you'll have to lift and reposition the wrap because it gets "stuck" under the edges. You might have to occasionally flip the whole thing over. Make sure that when you're done you've got ABOUT a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square of dough.Remove top piece of wrap. Combine filling ingredients. Spread evenly across dough's surface. (Original recipe poster suggested leaving about a 1 1/2" sugar free edge because when you roll the dough all the sugar shifts and fills this in; otherwise all the sugar spills out). Use the bottom piece of wrap to lift the edge of the dough and start to roll it up forming a long cylinder. Start with the sugary edge, which will be the center of your roll and roll toward the sugarless edge. Cut off or trim up the irregular ends of your "log". Then cut into 8 or 9 slices of similar size, about 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls into a greased round glass pie pan. Bake approximately 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make glaze. The amount of milk you use will depend on how thick you want the glaze to be. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Drizzle over warm rolls if desired.

GF Bisquick Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

1/2

cup packed brown sugar

2

teaspoons ground cinnamon

3

cups Bisquick™ Gluten Free mix

1/4

cup granulated sugar

1 1/4

cups milk

1

egg

1/4

cup butter, melted

1

cup powdered sugar

1/4

cup whipping cream

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray (without flour). In small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
• 2 In large bowl, stir Bisquick mix, granulated sugar, milk and egg until dough forms.
• 3 Place dough on surface sprinkled with additional Bisquick mix; knead 5 times. Roll dough into 16x12- inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter; sprinkle evenly with brown sugar mixture. Starting at short side, roll up tightly; pinch edge of dough to seal well. Cut into 1 1/2-inch slices. In pan, place slices, cut sides down. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• 4 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
• 5 In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and whipping cream until smooth. Spread glaze over rolls. Serve war

Cheddar Crackers

10 servingsThese corn-free, crunchy little crackers pack big cheddar flavor and make a pleasing snack for children and adults. Be sure to grate your own cheese since pre-grated varieties often contain cornstarch to prevent clumping.

• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 2 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose gluten-free, corn-free flour mix
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3-5 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. In the bowl of your food processor, fitted with a metal blade, place all ingredients except the ice water. Process the ingredients for approximately 1 minute in short pulses.

2. Add 3 tablespoons of the ice water and continue to process ingredients for 1-2 minutes (this time continuously) or until the dough begins to form a ball and “rides” the food processor blade. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of the ice water if needed (if the dough never comes together, then you will need to add the additional water).

3. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly, pressing the dough into a disk shape. Chill for 30 minutes (up to overnight) in refrigerator.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375° F. Working with 1/3 of the chilled dough at a time, roll out on a lightly dusted counter-top (rice flour works well). If your dough is crumbling apart when you try to roll it, you may need to knead it for a minute or two to warm it and make it more pliable.

5. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness and cut shapes with desired cutter. I prefer small, bite-sized shapes, but larger-sized crackers work too, just increase baking time accordingly.

6. Place cut shapes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet with a thin metal spatula that has been dipped in rice flour. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they have puffed up and are just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.

7. Remove from oven and carefully slide the crackers off onto a cutting board to cool, making sure that they are in a single layer and not piled on each other.

8. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Baking time: 6 to 8 minutes. Chilling time: 30 minutes to overnight.