The CeliAct Blog

Remember the days when finding gluten-free food meant buying a bag of vacuum-sealed bread that tasted like cardboard? Well, those days are long gone! There’s never been a better time to be gluten-free! It seems like every week there’s a fabulous new gluten-free product on the shelves. Increasingly, new gluten-free products can be found not only at health food stores but at national grocery chains. Not sure where to start? We’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of the 9 best new gluten-free foods to check out this year… – Here they are in no particular order: Bold Organics’ Gluten-Free Pizza – Frozen gluten-free and dairy-free pizzas? Yes, please! For those on a GFCF (gluten-free, […]

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As we mentioned on the CeliAct Blog a few weeks ago, we were just as interested in the Domino’s gluten-free pizza controversy as the rest of you. For anyone who follows a gluten-free diet, a gluten-free product launch from an establishment like Domino’s is extremely exciting. … at least for the first 15 seconds. For many celiacs, this excitement quickly turned to disappointment as the disclaimers and warnings were made painfully clear. Domino’s new gluten-free pizza is made with gluten-free ingredients. But, it is NOT made in a gluten-free kitchen, so cross-contamination can’t be ruled out. Domino’s was very transparent about this risk. The gluten-free community was up in arms. At CeliAct, we were curious. […]

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The numbers don’t lie. You (the readers) LOVED our blog posts on gluten-free barbecues and gluten-free drinking last year. Well, I don’t know why that would come as a surprise. Just because you have celiac doesn’t mean you don’t have a good time, right? Well, we decided to go back to the drawing board and give you an even better gluten-free barbecue guide for 2013. So fire up that grill! Barbecue season is upon us again, and it’s never been easier to throw a delicious gluten-free barbecue! – Start Out with a Clean Slate   The first consideration for gluten-free grilling is the grill itself. Old grill grates typically have caked-on, burnt food residue on […]

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It’s that time of year again! Graduation is around the corner for scores of high school and college seniors and you’re probably searching for the perfect gluten-free gift. While it’s always safe to stick to traditional graduation gifts, wouldn’t your favorite graduating celiac find it especially meaningful to get a gift designed to help them transition into a healthy and easy gluten-free life at college or in the working world? Here are some ideas for gifts for your favorite gluten-free graduates. – Gluten-Free Gifts For High School Grads   For high school graduates, focus on items that will ease an older teen’s transition from living at home to living in a dorm or shared apartment. […]

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Domino’s and Chuck E. Cheese’s both announced the launch of gluten-free pizzas in May 2012. The timing of their decisions makes sense. May is Celiac Awareness Month, and if you’re going to make a splash in the gluten-free market during the year, it makes sense to take advantage of the additional publicity gained during the month. Well, additional publicity may not be what Domino’s wanted here. Many in the gluten-free community are up in arms over Domino’s gluten-free pizza launch. Chuck E. Cheese’s on the other hand, has taken a more thoughtful approach to their launch. Hopefully it’s not too late for Domino’s to learn from their fellow pizza-making friends. –   Domino’s “Almost” Gluten-Free […]

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Gluten-free products and companies are (thankfully) appearing all over the place today. Subway and Domino’s are two of the latest companies to test the market, and it appears that we’re entering a “Golden Age” for gluten-free consumers. Our culture’s romance with gluten is finally on shaky ground, but it hasn’t always been that way. Only in the past decade or so have we started to reverse our infatuation with gluten. In fact, the history of gluten in the human diet spans 10,000 years and includes key characters like the Roman Empire, the Great Depression and even the U.S. Government! We found the history of gluten interesting, so we thought you would to… –   The […]

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May is not just the month when wearing white comes back into style and everyone’s firing up the barbeque. The month of May is also Celiac Awareness Month, a time period during which extra public attention is drawn to this vastly underdiagnosed disease that affects 1 in 133 Americans. Celiac Awareness Month was pioneered by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), a national organization focusing on educating the public about celiac disease. Well, they’ve done a pretty good job because now you can find Celiac Awareness Month being celebrated across the entire country! With all of the exciting promotions and events going on during the month, you’re probably wondering where to get started. Lucky […]

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If you have had celiac disease or gluten intolerance for more than a handful of years, you probably remember a time when eating gluten-free at a national restaurant chain, or even an independently owned local restaurant, was simply impossible. If you ate out at all, it usually involved asking the chef a million questions and still feeling nervous when eating even a basic salad or baked potato. Thankfully, the world of gluten-free dining has traveled light years away from that reality. In addition to a plethora of local restaurants offering gluten-free fare, many regional and national chain restaurants are offering gluten-free menus to their customers. Many are even training their staff to help decrease cross-contamination. […]

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You know to order your burrito sans tortilla. You check the ingredients on food packages. You know soy sauce is typically suspect and you eat your sandwiches on gluten-free bread. You even know which restaurant chains serve gluten-free food. So why, then, are you still having symptoms of being “glutened”? It’s time to take a look at where you might be getting accidentally exposed to hidden gluten. Here are three immediate steps you should take to avoid cross-contamination… – Use a separate toaster (or Toast-It bags).Placing your thoroughly gluten-free bread in a shared toaster exposes it to crumbs of gluten that have been baked onto the metal elements of the toaster from previous uses. This […]

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We previously discussed the importance of starches in gluten-free baking. Although starch-heavy flours are the least nutritious of the gluten-free flours on the market, starch is critical to providing the texture necessary for many gluten-free foods. Gluten-free home bakers are familiar with starches such as corn, arrowroot, potato and tapioca starches. But what does it mean when your favorite packaged product lists the vague mystery ingredient “modified food starch?” Celiacs rightly tend to avoid any ingredient that is ambiguous in its gluten-free status. As with the gluten-free status of alcohol, rumors abound in the gluten-free world as to the gluten-free status of modified food starch. Let’s take a look at what this ingredient really is. […]

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Traditional beers aren’t an option when you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Most beers, whether you’re a fan of an American-style beer or a dark stout, are made from barley or wheat. Lucky for us, a few major companies and a number of microbreweries now offer gluten-free beer, enabling you to have one while you watch the game, enjoy a summer picnic or indulge in your favorite gluten-free pizza. What’s the status of the booming gluten-free beer market? We’ve gone ahead and “researched” the various offerings (and had plenty of fun while doing it!). We’re happy to present you with our findings on the various big-name brands, as well as the less-known beers that […]

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Everybody knows which foods are no-no’s on a gluten-free diet… or do they? Pasta, bread, cookies, cakes and pizza are obviously verboten. Many people new to the gluten-free lifestyle are confident they are eating a gluten-free diet by avoiding the most obvious foods that contain gluten. If they’re choosing a salad instead of a slice of pizza at the Italian restaurant, and preparing grilled fish, potatoes and vegetables at home instead of chicken pot pie, it seems like they must be doing a perfectly grand job of complying with a gluten-free diet. What they may not realize is that gluten is hiding in many surprising places that even knowledgeable gluten-free folks might be missing. – […]

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This is a guest article, written by Cynthia Henrich. It was originally written on her website, Holistic Health Insider. When you first head down the road of defining a possible issue with gluten, it’s like entering a new dimension. And you also need to learn a new vocabulary to navigate that world. You’ve been lucky enough to find a doctor who is associating your potentially varied symptoms with celiac disease, and now you need to be concerned about how your lab results are being analyzed, or you may be given a mistakenly clean bill of health. In order to achieve what physicians call the “gold standard” of a celiac disease diagnosis, an endoscopy must be […]

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Whether you’re gluten-free or not, menu planning (or meal planning) saves money and time. But when you have celiac disease, menu planning is even more important as proper diet and nutrition are so important for your long term health. Planning meals ahead of time can help you to make better food choices and achieve your health goals. You should menu plan whether you’re single and working full time or feeding a family on a gluten-free diet. Include breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks on your plan or keep your menu simple by eating the same basic breakfasts and lunches for a week and planning out your dinner. Use your completed menu to make grocery lists, get […]

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While no one’s claiming fast food is ideal, sometimes you need to eat on the run, whether you’re traveling, out with a crowd or just short on time. You can get a safe gluten-free meal at the drive-through, but you’ll need to be extra careful, choose your restaurant well, and ask questions. Here are my thoughts on 10 different fast food chains, from my own experience and from what I’ve heard from others who are gluten-free. Some you won’t have in your neck of the woods, but most are well-recognized across the country.   Fast Food Options: Which Have the Best Gluten-Free Menus? Wendy’s has a gluten-free menu, including bunless burgers, salads, baked potatoes and […]

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