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EZ GFCF | A Gluten Free Recipes Blog

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If you are GFCF and looking for gluten free recipes, reviews and engaging discussion, then this blog is for you! We have posted a wide variety of gluten free recipes and information since 2006 for people struggling with Celiac, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, other health concerns and food allergies. Thankfully, there's been great progress with gfcf food selection and ingredient listings since this blog's first posts. Please join us!

10.23.2007

Tom's Rolls recipe

So, I posted the recipe for the famous Tom's Bread. It's only fitting that I follow with the recipe for Tom's Rolls, a variation of Tom Van Deman's original bread recipe. Good for rolls or burger buns. Here it is in Tom's words:

1 1/8 cup Chickpea flour also called Garbanzo bean flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup + 1 Tbs. tapioca flour
3 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. creme of tartar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/8 cup warm water (uncomfortable to touch but not boiling)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Recipe
Turn your oven to 350 degrees. Put your bread machine on the dough cycle
and let your machine make your dough. Your problem with our non-wheat dough
is that it is very sticky. You will need to dump the dough into the middle
of a greased plastic sheet like saran wrap and squeeze out each roll on a
greased cookie sheet. Roll the greased plastic sheet around the dough into a
roll of dough leaving one end open and the other folded it over. Squeeze
out the dough using both hands to form balls of dough about the size of a
tennis tall and about 3 inches apart. Fill up each of your cookie sheets
with the tennis ball size dough. Try to squeeze them as round as possible.
Cover each sheet with a greased plastic sheet and place in a non-drafty warm
place to rise. Allow the dough to at least double in size. As soon as the
rolls are ready take off the plastic and place in the top part of the oven.
Bake for 25 to 40 minutes or until they look brown and sound hollow when you
tap lightly with a spoon. Cooking times will vary according to atmospheric
humidity. From this point I think that you will be able to finish the
baking. Hope that you enjoy the rolls. They can be used for hamburger buns
also.

10.22.2007

My first GFCF pizza

Note: I've improved my pizza recipe since this time. You can find my latest pizza crust recipe by clicking here.

I think trying to make a pizza my kids would eat without the use of dairy or soy kinda scared me away from the idea altogether. But, recently, I've had a few ideas of how to make pizzas my kids might like. I tried one last night. And it worked. My kids had their first slices of pizza. And they liked it.

Now, if you're looking for a miracle recipe here, you won't get it. This is very basic stuff. I'll give you the recipes -- yes, two. And, now I think I'll try some of the other ideas I've had. And, when I do, I'll be sure to post.

These pizzas are using a crust made from the Noah's Bread recipe. Since I haven't posted Noah's Bread yet, I'll include it here (and, as a reminder to myself, I'll post that recipe tomorrow so we can all find it quickly in the future).

Crust
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg sub
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup water or cf milk
1/3 cup sparkling water

Sauce
1 garlic clove
1 tsp sea salt
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp oil

Toppings
Use any you wish.
Pepperoni
Genoa salami
Hamburger
Sausage
Onion
Peppers
Potato chips (for chip lovers)
Etc.

Heat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients well. When oven is ready, add liquids (have to wait -- don't do this too early because you want the sparkling water activity to be active and not have fizzled out). Mix well. Spread dough on a greased pizza sheet in a circular fashion. Pinch edges to form a pizza edge. Bake for 10 minutes.

Make the sauce. Chop onion and prep other toppings.

Pull shell out after 10 mins. Spread pizza sauce and other toppings. I added chopped onion and chopped genoa salami (Boar's Head).

Bake another 10 minutes.

Note, I made half a pizza with crushed potato chips -- sorta like you would with a tuna casserole. So, I waited to add those until the last 5 mins.

My youngest daughter liked the pizza with chips and my oldest liked it without.

It all tasted like pizza -- just without the cheese.

Stay tuned for more pizza updates.

10.19.2007

Autism rates in public schools

An eye-opening piece from Rescue Post yesterday on the rate of autism. This is a repost from the Rescue Post item.

October 18, 2007
Why the Department of Education Can’t Count
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
When journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were pursuing the Watergate scandal which eventually brought down President Nixon they were advised to “follow the money.” Or as my friend the Stanford economist says, “The truth is usually revealed when you find where people spend their money.”
I was considering these ideas when I came across some data from the U. S. Department of Education about the number of autistic children in public schools. The question of whether there’s actually an epidemic of autism is a controversial topic for many medical and educational professionals.
One of the more persistent critics of using data from the U. S. Department of Education has been Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher, a professor at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and President of the American Psychological Society. In an interview with Dr. Laurie Barclay and published in 2005 Dr. Gernsbacher laid out three reasons why the numbers from the Department of Education are not to be trusted.
First, the data is a count of only the children served, not all the children who meet the diagnostic criteria. Second, the criteria under which children will receive services may vary from state to state and across time. Third, the child count data for autism only began to be collected after the 1991-1992 school year.
I thought of my own initiation into the autism controversy when my daughter was three-years-old and in addition to having her seizure disorder and not developing normally was diagnosed with autism. At the time the therapy of choice was Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and it came with a hefty price tag, roughly two thousand a week. Adding to that were the other professions of speech, physical, and occupational therapy playing their role, and her price-tag for our school district was about a hundred and fifty thousand a year.
When we moved to a new school district and we tried a different therapeutic approach we were able to significantly cut the cost, but were still asking the school district to shell out a good seventy-five thousand a year.
Like you and me, the school districts are not interested in paying out that kind of money. I find it difficult to believe school districts could be railroaded into spending the sums of money required by our children if there wasn’t an overwhelming need.
George Orwell once wrote, “Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.” Before we decide to dismiss the Department of Education numbers, let’s see what they actually are, starting with the three largest states, the three smallest states, then the country as a whole from the time the records began to be collected, in comparison to the present day.
In California in 1992-1993 there were 1,605 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 31,077.
In New York in 1992-1993 there were 1,648 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 13,951.
In Texas in 1992-1993 there were 1,444 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 16,801.
In Wyoming, the smallest state by population, in 1992-1993 there were 15 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 279.
In Alaska in 1992-1993 there were 8 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 454.
In Vermont in 1992-1993 there were 6 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. In 2006-2007 there were 328.
In the United States in 1992-1993 there were 12,222 autistic children between the ages of 6-21 as counted by the U. S. Department of Education. (That’s about the current size of the small town in California in which I grew up.) In 2006-2007 there were 224,415. (Curiously, that’s a little more than the population of Madison, Wisconsin where Dr. Gernsbacher teaches as a professor at the University.)
When Vaccine Autoimmune Project/ founder Ray Gallup looked at these numbers with Dr. Edward Yazbak, they concluded that the most current autism prevalence among our children is not 1 in 150, but closer to 1 in 67.
Let’s look at this in terms of dollars and cents. I know at seventy-five thousand dollars a year, my daughter is a big-ticket item. Let’s cut that to an average of twenty-five thousand per autistic child per year and play around with the numbers, shall we?
In 1992-1992 if we used those numbers we would come up with a cost to our education system of a little over three hundred million, adjusted for today’s dollars. In 2006-2007 that number would be more than five and a half billion dollars.
The truth is found when you discover where people spend their money. If our public schools are wasting more than five billion dollars a year when they don’t have to, why are we letting them educate our children?
I’ll bet the Department of Education believes their numbers. They listen to teachers and principals on the front lines, not psychologists and professors in ivory towers.Kent Heckenlively has worked as an attorney, television producer, and is now a beloved science teacher.

To vaccinate or lie -- an autism dilemma

I signed one -- but in PA, the exemption is just not for religious reasons. Here's a snippet from PA code (note the part in bold):

"Religious exemption. Children need not be immunized if the parent, guardian or emancipated child objects in writing to the immunization on religious grounds or on the basis of a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief."

And here's the Associated Press story as printed in the Boston Herald...

Parents take a shot at lying on vaccine forms
By Associated Press Thursday, October 18, 2007
Records show that a small but growing number of parents are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children, when the real reason is skepticism over their effectiveness or concern the shots may cause other illnesses.
Some say they are forced to lie because of the way the laws are written. Massachusetts and 27 other states allow parents to opt out for medical or religious reasons only.
Sabrina Rahim is not religious, but signed the form. She fears that earlier vaccinations may be to blame for her son’s autism.
State records and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show rising rates of religious exemptions.
Dr. Paul Offit, head of infectious diseases at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, and a harsh critic of skipping vaccines, said doing so is “irrational.”
The number of exemptions is just a few thousand of 3.7 million children entering kindergarten.
In Massachusetts, the number has more than doubled, from 0.24 percent, or 210, in 1996 to 0.60 percent, or 474, in 2006.
Officials say refusing vaccines carries a risk of disease outbreaks.
“You’re not just making a choice for yourself, you’re making a choice for the person sitting next to you,” said the CDC’s Dr. Lance Rodewald.
Rachel Magni, 35, a mom in Newton, is afraid of vaccines for her children. She got a religious exemption for her daughter, 4, and son, 1. “I felt that the risk of the vaccine was worse than the risk of the actual disease,” she said.
Dr. Janet Levitan, a Brookline pediatrician, tells worried patients to pursue the exemption. “I tell them, ‘If you don’t want to vaccinate for philosophical reasons and the state doesn’t allow that, say it’s for religious reasons,’ ” she said.

A gluten-free label -- but not mandatory

Maybe you've heard recently that the Food and Drug Administration is proposing the creation of a specific definition for "gluten-free" foods -- you know, putting a real meaning to the "gluten-free" label you find on that box of cereal, hot dog package or ketchup. This definitely is a step in the right direction as we gluten-free citizens well-know that most products have no label indicating the presence of gluten. That's because it's not considered a main allergen that should be disclosed, like soy and wheat. I hope that's the next step. So, for now, when this actually goes into practice, it will be a VOLUNTARY system. That means, companies don't have to label something gluten-free, but if they do, they must adhere to the rules. Also, unless I'm wrong, there's a little quirk in the proposal as products made from oats may be labeled gluten-free. That's because the oats themselves are gluten-free, but in most instances, are not kept apart from gluten grains and from the transfer, become a source of gluten. So, reading ingredient labels would continue to be a requirement. If you want to read more on the FDA's proposal, you'll find it here.

10.18.2007

Gluten Syndrome? Uh-oh

The Press (New Zealand)
Thursday, 27 September 2007

The effects of gluten on health
Gluten sensitivity is not restricted to those with coeliac disease, says a food-allergy expert. If you're constantly tired, stressed and anxious or have problematic eczema or headaches on a regular basis, you might be one of the thousands who have what Dr Rodney Ford has coined Gluten Syndrome.

According to Ford, a Christchurch-based paediatrician who is a world-renowned expert in food allergies, people who are sensitive to gluten do not necessarily suffer from coeliac disease, which affects the small intestine, as is the common belief among most experts.

Ford says that up to one-third of all cases of chronic illness and fatigue could be caused through gluten sensitivity, and up to one in 10 people may be suffering from Gluten Syndrome.

"Gluten causes tiredness, anxiety and stress. The medical world accepts it can damage the gut, but it can also damage the brain, skin and nerves. Until now, many of these illnesses have been blamed on everything from stress at home to other medical conditions, including depression," he says.

You can read the rest at The Press Web site.

What's in a vaccine -- formaldehyde, MSG and mouse serum?

With all this talk about the hidden dangers of vaccines, especially with relation to mercury and autism, I found a recent blog entry at Rescue Post very enlightening. It showed what the ingredients -- approved by the CDC -- are in each vaccine. And, it included a link directly to the CDC's Website that shows this. Here's the direct link to the PDF file - click here. Or, here's the link to the page of files with all types of information about vaccines - click here. Another interesting file on that page is the Thimerosal content of vaccines -- click here. The ingredient list is disturbing and includes MSG, lactose (for those allergic to dairy, mouse serum formadehyde, red dye, thimerosal, yeast, calf skin, mouse brain, soy and human fetal tissue. Don't believe me -- look through the documents. (Oh, the human fetal tissue is "human diploid tissue.")

10.17.2007

Autism cluster found in New Jersey school

For our autism education today, this is an interesting article from The Record in New Jersey about a cluster of autism cases found in one school. The article reports the study found of 24 school staffers, 57 percent of their children were diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders and 24 percent were diagnosed with autism. Read more.

The Record
Autism study hints at school cluster
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By KAREN SUDOL, STAFF WRITER

A research study has found a possible autism cluster among children of teachers who worked at a Northvale school.

"While we cannot yet determine the cause of these findings, we can say for certain today that the prevalence of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders ... is statistically significantly higher," said study leader Dr. Lawrence D. Rosen.

The study's task force will now look at environmental factors at St. Anthony's that could have caused rates of autism and other learning disorders to be higher than state or national levels.

"Whether the building is contributing is speculation," said Rosen, also the medical adviser for the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center, which initiated the study.

The findings released Tuesday were based on interviews with 24 school staff members who came forward after 500 letters were mailed to present and past employees. Rosen said he doesn't know the total number of teachers with children who have worked at the school during the past 10 years but that he wants to interview all of them.

Read the rest at The Record.

Tom's Bread - a gfcf bread

I hadn't posted this individually on my blog yet and thought it was time I did. If you're looking for an easy and reliable gluten - casein free bread, this is a good one. Tom shared this with the GFCFRecipes Yahoo message group and it is widely requested. People just call this Tom's Bread. It can be made in the bread machine or oven. I've subbed potato starch for the corn starch. And, I've even used a mock yeast recipe instead of real yeast. I also use regular cane sugar instead of the brown sugar. Very good gfcf bread. I'll post it below just as Tom wrote it:

CELIAC LIGHT BREAD by Tom Van Deman August 20, 2003

1 1/8 cup Chickpea flour also called Garbanzo bean flour (Jim's note: I've switched to sorghum here -- same amount -- as my youngest can't deal with the bean flour yet)
1 cup cornstarch (I use Cream corn starch)
1 cup + 1 Tbs. tapioca flour
3 1/2 tsp. xanthum gum
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. brown sugar (Make sure that there are no lumps)
1/4 tsp. creme of tartar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/8 cup warm water (uncomfortable to touch but not boiling)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil (I use peanut oil or canola oil)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Bread Machine Method

WARNING: Adding more liquids or flours or reducing same could cause the bread to not cook thoroughly on the inside or to be too heavy. Also I am at almost 6000 feet altitude in Denver area which might cause your bread to be slightly different than mine. First try it as is and then experiment if necessary.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl except for the yeast. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly with wire whisk. Mix together the lightly beaten eggs, warm water, and oil in a separate bowl and thoroughly mix with wire whisk. Pour the liquid ingredients into your bread machine bowl (I use my Zoj). Immediately spoon in your dry mixed ingredients on top of the wet ingredients to make a mound in the center but covering all of the wet ingredients. With a spoon or spatula make a small depression in top of your dry ingredients (must be dry for the yeast) and immediately spoon in your yeast. Place your bread machine pan in the machine correctly and turn the machine to regular wheat bread cycle and turn on machine. (This dough will need two kneadings in order to get its content to proper consistency.)

Do not add any more liquids or flour. The dough will form a sticky ball. With a spatula scrape down the sides of machine bowl to make sure all of the dry ingredients get into the dough ball. On the rise cycle use your spatula that is wet to smooth the top of the loaf, if desired. Bake the bread using the medium crust setting. When finished turn the loaf out onto your wire rack and allow bread to cool or you can slice it while hot (Do not squeeze the loaf too tightly while holding it to slice while hot.) Slice the bread thin with a serrated bread knife or electric knife and enjoy.


Oven Method

Turn your oven to 375 degrees. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl or your mixer bowl including the yeast. Mix thoroughly on medium or low setting. Mix together the lightly beaten eggs, warm water, and oil in a separate bowl and whip with wire whisk until all ingredients are mixed. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with your mixer on medium speed (Use paddle or dough hook). When sticky ball forms scrape sides to get all of the flours and ingredients mixed together and continue to mix for about 1 minute more. Scrape into a 9 x 5-inch lightly greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap, set in non drafty warm place and let rise until at least double size (approximately 45 to 60 minutes). Remove plastic wrap and pace pan in preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a spoon. Turn the loaf out onto your wire rack and allow loaf to cool or you can slice it while hot (Do not squeeze the loaf too tightly while holding it to slice when hot.)

10.16.2007

Free Autism video glossary now online

First Words ProjectThis could be a big help to anyone looking to decipher the world of Autism Spectrum Disorders. It's a free, online video glossary that explains a lot of the lingo and behaviors involved with these disorders. Now you can see the things that your doctor, teacher or therapist is talking about.

You can access the glossary, called the First Words Project, at http://firstwords.fsu.edu/.

The project is the product of the Florida State University's Dept. of Communication Disorders. Here's a statement from the university's website: "Our major goal is to identify early red flags of developmental language disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and other communication delays in children under 24 months of age. Through our research findings, we aim to improve screening tools and early detection of communication disorders by maximizing the role of the family, which will help families obtain intervention services sooner."

Note that the link above takes you to the Autism Speaks site, which hosts the actual video glossary. You have to click the big LOGIN button and register, which takes just a minute. It's very easy to use.

Even if you don't need it, bookmark the site and save it for when you get those requests for help from others.

10.15.2007

Garlic broccoli recipe - good luck!

I'm posting this recipe simply because it's good. It's gluten and casein free. It's soy free. It's rice/corn/potato/bean free. And, I'm sure there are some kids out there on special diets that like broccoli. My youngest (PDD) does. My oldest (also PDD) doesn't. And, best of all, the adults (that's us) love it. The recipe has many healthy benefits. First, it's low cal, low carb and fat free. Second, the broccoli, for my money, is the king of fiber in veggie land. It also has Vit C, folate, potassium and the phytochemical called sulforaphane, which has been proven to lessen the risk of cancer.

And, the recipe includes some olive oil, a proven link to decreased risk of heart disease and cancer along with increasing HDL, the good cholesterol.

Then, the garlic, which, according to WholeHealthMD, it "may protect against stomach and colon cancer, slow the build-up of artery-clogging plaque, prevent the formation of blood clots, help lower blood pressure, reduce the chances of infection, improve nasal congestion and sinusitis."

Wow!

So, how do you make it. Way too easy.

Take a bunch of broccoli - I don't measure. Wash it. Cut it as you wish.

Prepare 1-2 cloves of garlic. Chop fine.

Heat 1/4 cup water in a stove-top pan. Toss the broccoli and garlic in. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of black pepper. Cover with a lid for five minutes.

This essentially steams the veggies.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the veggies. Heat for a minute longer.

Strain the veggies or remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

Eat. Yum.

Gluten free chicken nuggets recipe -- my versions

I realized over the weekend that I had failed to post one of the most-requested recipes in GFCF land! Chicken nuggets.

So, here, I'll offer a couple different versions for you. However, this is very adjustable, depending on your child's likes and dislikes.

Basic fried nuggets:

- cooking oil (I used Tuscan Sun, non-GMO)
- Chicken (I use breast meat)
- GF flour mix (any will do. I have used different mixes. Some really like frying with chickpea flour mixes. I've also used a sorghum mix with tapioca starch. Use what you like. For today, I will use 1/3 cup sorghum, 1/3 cup tapioca and 1/3 cup potato starch.)
- Spices: add what you like. I add this: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp sea salt. Other possibilities: black pepper, cumin, cilantro, parsley, oregano, etc.
- Optional: ketchup
- Optional: egg substitute (I use Ener-G for this)

So, pour some oil in a frying pan. Heat on medium high to high. Mix the dry ingredients. Add your spices. Make the egg substitute.

Wash, trim and cut your chicken into nugget pieces.

Now, version 1: mix spices into flour mix and stir till blended. Coat chicken with dry mix. Fry several minutes on each side until cooked through.

Version 2: mix spices and flour. Dip chicken into flour mix, coat with egg sub, dip again in flour mix until coated. Fry several minutes on each side. This is a crispier chicken. You could also add a little baking soda to this too. Try it out.

Version 3: With either of the above two versions, you can coat the chicken lightly with ketchup before dipping and coating. Adds a welcome flavor to the mix. Very good.

Version 4: Try baking these instead of frying. I've done this with the "crispier" version. Baked on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. I've also done chicken strips this way. I think if you did the non-crispy version, you might cook less and maybe have to dab some oil on top halfway through so they didn't dry out.

Version 5: With the fry versions, you could also do this "popcorn" style, simply by cutting the nuggets into smaller pieces, and then cooking them for less time.

I purposely didn't include cooking times here because everybody's pans heat differently and some people use real fryers and all ovens are different, etc. etc.

Anyway, hope this works for you. If not, check for more GFCF nugget recipes at Recipe Circus, like this one here.

10.12.2007

Will a new Autism brain center lead to new treatments?

Why is so much 'real' research, funding and general concern about autism among public officials happening everywhere but here?

Oxford Mail
Princess to open autism image centre
The Princess Royal will officially open the world's first brain imaging centre for autism at an Oxford hospital tomorrow.

A special scanner at the £2.3m centre at the university's Department of Psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital, Headington, will help Oxford University researchers study the brains of autistic children and adults, to look at how it functions as they complete tasks.

The technique will highlight how the brains of those with autism disorders differ from other people, and could lead to better treatments.

The Princess Royal will be shown the scanner and other facilities at the Oxford Neurodevelopmental Magnetoencephalography Centre.

While in the city, the Princess will also attend a Citizenship Ceremony at County Hall and join a meeting of the St Helena Diocesan Association at Pusey House.

10.11.2007

The battle of school vaccine exemptions

So now we're dealing with the school, where my oldest daughter attends kindergarten, which wants her to get all of her vaccinations. Uh, no. So, we're finding our way through the process of satisfying the school. Our doc is sending the school a letter but it may not be enough, so we're also signing a formal letter citing a section of our state (PA) code that lists vaccine exemptions.

I found some help online with a sample letter at AutismLink. The actual page is at this address: http://www.autismlink.com/pages/autism_exemption/.

We'll see how it goes, but this is one battle we'll fight. I expect the school will not push this.

I forget the exact numbers, but the school got smacked with kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in their incoming kindergarten class this year -- 6 out of 40. So, we're not alone.

10.10.2007

Few mercury-free flu shots in Pennsylvania

And, here at home, not a thought given to the mercury lurking in our flu vaccines. I think I'll suffer through the flu this year. I get it anyway, even with the shot.




Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Mercury-free flu shots in short supply
By Mike Cronin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, October 10, 2007

People who want a flu shot without mercury this year in Pennsylvania will have to ask.

Most flu vaccine doses available in the state have thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury, according to local health care providers. About 54,000 of the 250,000 doses bought by the state Department of Health are thimerosal-free. But 90 percent of shots administered in the state will be done by private providers, said department spokesman Dan Miller.

The Allegheny County Health Department has bought 3,000 doses of flu vaccine, 200 of which do not have mercury.

"Children and pregnant women should not receive flu shots with thimerosal," said county Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole.

Eight states have passed laws to ban or limit mercury in vaccines, according to the Washington-based Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning. Pennsylvania allows the preservative, which some people believe is linked to autism disorders.

Read the rest at the Trib's Web site.

10.09.2007

Autism, Africa and an 8-year-old boy

This is just a very sad story, but one I couldn't stop reading.

Grieving mother plans autism school

By MICHELLE MOLZ
For the Courier-Post

MOUNT LAUREL

She traveled thousands of miles from one of Africa's poorest countries to seek help for her autistic son.

Now, after her 8-year-old boy died unexpectedly, Sabelle Jelani is preparing for a new journey. The 39-year-old township resident plans to open a school for autistic children in Dakar, capital of Senegal, as a memorial to her son, Hakeem.

It would be the first of its kind in Senegal, Jelani's native country. She left her homeland and spent the past five years here caring for her son and educating herself about autism. She hoped to return to Senegal to share her knowledge with families who have no resources to help them cope.

Plans for the school were under way when Hakeem suddenly died in his sleep in Dakar on Sept. 8. They had been visiting family for the summer.

"We laid down, and I rubbed his head, his chest, his hands, and he was stroking my cheeks, my nose, my eyes. He fell asleep and never woke up," Jelani said in a telephone interview from Dakar.

"I was his shadow, he was my shadow," said Jelani, who with her husband, Ahmed, 59 have two other healthy boys, Osman, 11, and Habib, 7. "He was a sweetheart. He was a wonderful soul."

Read the rest at the Courier Post.

10.08.2007

Strawberry ice cream - gfcf, soy and rice free

This gfcf ice cream is based on the original recipe for ice cream, using coconut milk, which you'll find in the recipes section of this blog. Again, very easy. And, this time I bought lite coconut milk, which has less fat.

Ingredients:

2 x 14 oz cans lite coconut milk (I bought organic)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pureed strawberry

I bought a pound of strawberries and pureed them in the blender until smooth. I mixed all of the other ingredients in a bowl, whisked together for a minute, and then poured it into an ice cream machine. I use a Rival machine. I know you can make this without the machine and use a blender. I added 1 cup of the strawberry to the recipe.


10.07.2007

Redesign!

Hope you all like the new look of the gfcf recipes blog. It's not entirely complete, but the biggest changes have been made. If you're having any problems with font sizes, colors, etc., feel free to let me know.

jim

10.06.2007

How schools handle autistic students

This will be happening everywhere, soon. It is in our suburban Pittsburgh school and I know of it happening in others.

Public schools respond to rise in autism

Goldsboro News Argus, NC
10/05/07 By Phyllis Moore

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism over the last decade and with it, the need to provide specialized teachers, Wayne County Public Schools officials say.

The once-rare disorder is becoming more prevalent across the country.

Some experts believe heightened awareness is prompting parents to have their children tested. Others attribute the rise to the fact that the definition of the autism spectrum has expanded.

Autism encompasses a wide range of behaviors and learning abilities -- from nonverbal and non-communicative students to children who are very talkative and adapt comfortably to a regular classroom.

Since schools are required to provide an equal education to all students, and fewer parents are opting to place their children in private or specialized schools, public schools are having to keep pace with the burgeoning need.

"It's plain and simple -- every child is entitled to a free and appropriate education," said Dr. Craig McFadden, assistant superintendent for accountability and student services for Wayne County Public Schools. "Whatever needs a child comes with, we're charged with meeting those needs, and not just for autism."

Currently, the district serves 2,872 students categorized as "exceptional children," which range from developmentally delayed and emotionally handicapped to hearing impaired and severely/profoundly mentally handicapped. Of those, 158 students are classified as autistic.

That number has quadrupled over the last decade. In 1998, out of the 2,553 exceptional children, 43 were deemed autistic. That number jumped to 83 in 2003, to 127 in 2003 and has gradually risen since.

Read the rest at the News-Argus Web site.

10.05.2007

Mercury free vaccines have arrived

Coming to a state near you? Let's hope so.

Santa Fe New Mexican
State's flu shots have mercury options
Thimerosal-free versions available to both children and adults
By Diana Del Mauro The New Mexican
10/3/2007

Although a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests the flu shot's tiny dose of mercury is harmless to a child's neurologic development, parents who don't want to take the risk don't have to in New Mexico.

The Department of Health ordered about 170,000 doses of flu vaccine this year, of which 97,440 doses are formulated without thimerosal, the preservative that contains mercury. The mercury-free version is available to both adults and children.

All the flu vaccine ordered for children 6 to 35 months of age is mercury-free, said department spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer. In addition, the state purchased 17,450 mercury-free doses for children ages 3 to 18, and 20,000 mercury-free doses for adults 18 and older.

Separate from what the state offers, some clinics also provide another mercury-free alternative: FluMist, which is administered as a nasal spray and is made from the killed influenza virus. Only approved for use with healthy people 2 to 49 years of age, FluMist is not safe for pregnant women, children who are on long-term aspirin use, people with asthma or other lung diseases, people with chronic heart disease, people with diabetes or kidney failure, or people with a weakened immune system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read the rest of the article at The New Mexican.

10.04.2007

Chili -- GFCF and bean free

My kids like this and I tend to make it more in the fall and winter. Well, here's the colder weather. And here's the recipe. Basic chili -- free of gluten, casein, soy and most major allergens. What's nice is that you can tailor this to the things you like to eat. Ours does not have beans because my youngest can't eat them. You could use rice, quinoa, potatoes, etc.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground beef
- half an onion
- 15-16 oz can tomatoes
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup polenta (optional)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Easy directions:

- cook the burger and diced onion in a pan, then drain grease.
- put burger mix in a crok pot (or large cooking pot)
- add the remaining ingredients. Stir.
- cook crok pot on high for 1 hour, then at least 3 more hours.
- or cook in pot on low for 2 hours, stirring frequently.

10.02.2007

An Autism guide -- finally

autism guideYes, finally. I wish they had this when my kids were first diagnosed with PDD. The group TACA has published a guide about dealing with autism, called the Autism Journey Guide, which you can buy in book form, or DVD, or both. I have not read this yet, but TACA shows the table of contents and judging by the topics covered, this is thorough and covers all the important points. It appears to really help people who need help quickly, especially those who have just received an autism diagnosis and are seeking treatment options or want to start the gluten and casein free diet. This could end up being the "How-to" guide for autism.

10.01.2007

Gluten-free brown rice bread

Bread is difficult to overcome on the gluten-free diet, much less gluten and casein-free. My youngest still cannot tolerate rice or eggs or yeast. But my oldest can. I like this bread recipe, which I found at the Pratt Family Allergy Free Cookbook online, and modified slightly. That's a helpful website if you're searching for ideas, simple conversions and other helpers. All the credit here goes to Barbara Pratt. It's a good bread. One note, although it's a "brown" rice bread, the bread is more of a white bread.

Brown Rice Bread
2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons GF Flour Mixture (1 cup GF brown rice flour, 3/4 cup sorghum flour, 3/4 cup tapioca starch plus 2 tbsp tapioca starch)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons instant (quick) yeast
2 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup water (100˚-120˚F)

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the eggs, vinegar and oil. Mix. Slowly add the water to the mixture while mixing. Scrap into an oiled or greased non-stick loaf pan. Cover with wax paper or plastic wrap. Let rise for 35-45 minutes or until it rises about 3/4" below the top of the pan. Bake in a preheated 375 ˚ F oven for 20 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more. Test with a toothpick. It will come out clean if it is done. (It will be light brown on top or it will smell done.)
Copyright © 2004-2005 Barbara Pratt. All rights reserved.

9.28.2007

Gluten free beer

Yeah, you read right. Since I don't drink (anymore), this really hadn't crossed my mind. Then I saw an article on gluten-free beer and got interested. The bottom line is you can find gluten-free beer and other alcohol. And, they're making more of it. Here's a few examples of what's out there:

Redbridge beer is made from sorghum by Anheuser Bush.

Bard's Tale Beer was developed by the Celiac community and still is overseen by a board comprised of Celiac folks. Also made from sorghum.

Lakefront Brewery makes a gluten-free beer from sorghum and rice.

Find out more about gluten-free beers by visiting the Gluten Free Beer Festival site.

Even other alcohols traditionally made from grains can be gluten-free, such as vodka. There are many vodkas made from potatoes. One such brand from Maine is Cold River Vodka.

Wines, of course, are primarily made from grapes. Some are better for those of us trying to avoid pesticides and stay as organic as possible. LaRocca Vineyards in northern California, for example, makes wine from organic grapes and does not use chemical additives including sulfites. Bravo!

For more info, visit a few other sites, like the Gluten Free Kitchen's page on alcohol or Celiac.com's list.

9.27.2007

The dangers of artificial color and preservatives

This will sound familiar to a lot of you...

TIME
Thursday, Sep. 13, 2007
Hyper Kids? Check Their Diet
By Claudia Wallis

Parents have long observed that some kids go bonkers after eating foods with a lot of artificial ingredients or neon-bright colors. Medical researchers--not to mention the food industry--have been skeptical; there was no proof of this effect, at least nothing like a double-blind, controlled study.

As so often happens, however, the parents turned out to be a step ahead of the pros. A carefully designed study published in the British journal the Lancet shows that a variety of common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate--an ingredient in many soft drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings--do cause some kids to become measurably more hyperactive and distractible. The findings prompted Britain's Food Standards Agency to issue an immediate advisory to parents to limit their children's intake of additives if they notice an effect on behavior. In the U.S., there hasn't been a similar response, but doctors say it makes sense for parents to be on the alert.

The study, led by Jim Stevenson, a professor of psychology at England's University of Southampton, involved about 300 children in two age groups: 3-year-olds and 8- and 9-year-olds. Over three one-week periods, the children were randomly assigned to consume one of three fruit drinks daily: one contained the amount of dye and sodium benzoate typically found in a British child's diet, a second had a lower concentration of additives, and a third was additive-free. The children spent a week drinking each of the three mixtures, which looked and tasted alike. During each seven-day period, teachers, parents and graduate students (who did not know which drink the kids were getting) used standardized behavior-evaluation tools to size up such qualities as restlessness, lack of concentration, fidgeting and talking or interrupting too much.

Stevenson found that children in both age groups were significantly more hyperactive when drinking the beverage with higher levels of additives. Three-year-olds had a bigger response than the older kids did to the drink with the lower dose of additives, which had about the same amount of food coloring as in two 2-oz. (57 g) bags of candy. But even within each age group, some children responded strongly and others not at all. Stevenson's team is looking at how genetic differences may explain the range of sensitivity. One of his colleagues believes that the additives may trigger a release of histamines in sensitive kids. In general, the effects of the chemicals are not so great as to cause full-blown attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Still, the paper warns that "these adverse effects could affect the child's ability to benefit from the experience of school."

The Lancet paper may be the first to nail down a link between additives and hyperactivity, but as long ago as the 1970s, the idea was the basis for the restrictive Feingold diet, popularized as a treatment for ADHD. Some clinicians still routinely advise parents of kids with ADHD to steer their kids away from preservatives and food dyes. "It matters for some kids, so I tell parents to be their own scientist," says psychiatrist Edward Hallowell, author of several books on ADHD. While a similar link between hyperactivity and sugar remains unproven, Hallowell cautions parents to watch the sweets too. "I've seen too many kids who flip out after soda and birthday cake," he says. "I urge them to eat whole foods. They'll be healthier anyway."

The food industry has responded cautiously to the study, calling for further research. The food dyes used in the study "have gone through substantial safety evaluations by government bodies," notes Cathy Cook of the International Association of Color Manufacturers.

The Lancet study will probably encourage other researchers to conduct food-additive work of their own. People with disorders ranging from autism to atrial fibrillation (a heart condition) have claimed that preservatives worsen their symptoms. "My guess is that if we do similarly systematic work with other additives, we'd learn they, too, have implications for behavior," says Dr. James Perrin, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard. "Kids drink crazy things with colors that are almost flashing," he says. The study is one more reason to cheer the trend toward less processed, more natural fare.

Read the entire article at Time by clicking here.

9.26.2007

Autism vaccines ad in USA Today

In case you missed this, you can view the full page ad from Generation Rescue that appeared in USA Today on Tuesday by clicking here. The ad focuses on the number of vaccinations children are given. Kids weren't given nearly as many vaccines years ago. This obviously has been tied to the mercury used in the vaccinations.

9.24.2007

Quick sorghum bread

I made this as an alternative to corn bread. It's gluten free, casein free, soy free, rice free, potato free, corn free and egg free. Still, it's good.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oil
~2/3 cup water

Grease a bread loaf pan. Heat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients. Add honey and oil. Add water. Whisk until blended. Shouldn't be too dry, like cookie dough, and shouldn't be runny like a quick bread batter. Scoop into the bread pan. Flatten with wet spatula. Bake 20-25 mins.

Gluten-casein-egg-soy free onion rings

I debated adding this recipe because it's so easy. But, I decided to offer it anyway, mostly because even the simplest foods often seem difficult to make without gluten and casein. Making fried onion rings is even more difficult without the help of eggs or soy. So, here's a really good alternative.

Ingredients:
- Onions, cut into rings or half rings.
- 1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I use 1/3 cup sorghum, 1/3 cup corn flour, 1/3 cup tapioca)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
- 2 egg subs (I use Ener-G)
- oil

So, heat a shallow amount of oil in a frying pan. Cut the onions. Make 2 egg subs in a bowl (I use 2 tbsp powder and 4 tbsp water). Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.

When oil is hot, dip a few onion rings in the flour mix, then dip in the egg sub, then dredge back into the flour until well coated. Fry in oil until golden and down -- just a few minutes.

Pretty good stuff. I make a batch of these after making french fries on special nights.

9.21.2007

Gluten free food industry is booming

I know, this is a press release. But, it has some eye-opening information in it about the gluten-free food industry. Worth reading.


Gluten-Free Just Keeps Getting Easier, Tastier, and More Affordable

Coeur d'Alene, ID, September 10, 2007 --(PR.com)-- The popular gluten-free manufacturer, Namaste Foods, has released their first edition cookbook and a new website with more discounted offerings for customers.

Demand in the gluten-free market is showing no signs of slowing down. While sales in 2001 were valued at $210 million, the most recent figures show it has escalated to roughly $700 million. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by 2010 they are expecting the market to reach a whopping $1.7 billion, primarily due to the compounding growth in the diagnosis of Celiac Disease. It has been estimated that 97% of people living with Celiac Disease still remain undiagnosed.

Yet as this special diet niche flows rapidly into the mainstream, so few companies have gotten it right. Crumbly, dry, and tasteless are terms often associated with gluten-free foods. Thankfully there is one small manufacturer tucked away in a scenic mountain town that just keeps on giving to the gluten-free community. Since 2001, Namaste Foods has been building upon their product line of gluten-free foods that actually taste good. They now boast a selection that includes eleven baking mixes (from muffins to pizza crust) and three pasta mixes.

As their products have grown significantly in popularity, appearing on grocers’ shelves nationwide, the people at Namaste have decided to expand the versatility of their mixes. Responding to customer requests, they have authored the Simple Pleasures Gluten-Free Cookbook, packed with 60 new ways to use Namaste Foods. Recipes such as the Taco Pasta Salad that follows dot this easy to use resource.

Catering further to their high level of repeat business, Namaste Foods has also redesigned their website for a new look and ease in purchasing direct, along with a host of ordering options. New customers will like the selection of trio packs, which allow you to purchase groups of three different products at a discount, while loyal customers will enjoy the bulk offerings. Every baking mix is now available in bulk sizing for significant cost savings.

Beyond the gluten-free market, Namaste Foods caters to other food allergies and sensitivities. Their mixes are produced in a dedicated facility, which is free of gluten, wheat, potato, soy, corn, milk, peanuts, and tree nuts. Namaste Foods’ baking and pasta mixes are distributed to grocers nationwide. Individually packaged mixes, bulk mixes, trio packs, and the new Simple Pleasures Cookbook are available to purchase directly from www.namastefoods.com.

9.20.2007

Mini gluten free apple rolls

My kids got tired of my basic, and easy, roll recipe. I had tried to sneak in some flax seed to provide a little fiber and other good stuff for them, but it became a boring food. So, I tried to change it up on them. And it worked (well, with one child, anyway).
This recipe brings an added layer of flavor to the basic roll recipe. And, later, I'll sneak the golden flax back in.

Here's how to make them. Use your own flours, of course.

Ingredients:
-- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
-- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
-- 1/2 cup corn flour
-- 2 tbsp sugar
-- 1 tbsp honey or syrup
-- 2 tsp baking powder
-- 2 tsp xanthan gum
-- 2 tsp egg replacer powder
-- 1/2 tsp sea salt
-- 1 apple, peeled and diced
-- 1/2 cup of water
-- 1/2 cup oil

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oven pan or use a liner. Mix the dry ingredients -- but not the apples. Put the apples in a small pot with the water. Heat to boil. Let boil 5 minutes. Pour the apple and water mix into a bowl. Using a masher or electric chopper, break down the apples. Pour the apple mush into a half cup measure. You only need a half cup. Add to the dry mix. Then add the oil. Blend together. Scoop into small rolls on the pan. Use an ice cream scoop, tablespoon measure or your hands. Bake for 12 minutes.

9.19.2007

Extra crispy chicken wings

How do you make extra crispy wings when you can't have gluten or dairy or eggs? Well, you can, and it's not too difficult. Use your flours of choice, of course.

Ingredients:
-- dozen chicken wings, cut and washed
-- flour mix (i use 1/2 cup sorghum, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper)
-- 2 egg subs (i use Ener-G)
-- oil of choice (i use canola)

Heat oil in a large pan. Cut wings. Now, toss and coat in the flour mixture. Dip into the egg sub mixture. Toss again and coat in the flour mixture. Cook in frying pan until golden and cooked through. These also could be baked.

The "regular-crispy" version of this is to not use the egg sub. Just coat the wings with the flour mix and cook.

9.18.2007

The power of cilantro

So, are you aware of Cilantro's power to detoxify the body? How about the link between cilantro and autism? Cilantro and mercury?

It really is a powerful herb. Many people know it as cilantro, which is a common ingredient in salsas. It's green and leafy, and looks something like parsley. The plant's seeds are known as coriander.

Why am I telling you all this -- because of its detoxifying abilities, including heavy metals. If you're interested, do some research, including reading the scientific study that revealed the herb's powers - click here.

Here's a blog article on the topic that might be helpful.

And, here's a page on cilantro's healthy qualities from The World's Healthiest Foods.

Here's a snippet from the cilantro study:


"However, these mercury deposits, which commonly occur in such cases, were successfully eliminated by the oral intake of 100 mg tablet of Chinese parsley (Cilantro) 4 times a day (for average weight adults) with a number of drug-uptake enhancement methods..."
The study is by Omura, Shimotsuura, Fukuoka and Nomoto, from the Heart Disease Research Foundation, in New York.

Now, here's an easy way to store Cilantro, and for my money the best way. Harvest, or buy, fresh cilantro. Do NOT wash. Pull the leaves from the main stem -- keeping the smaller branches is OK. Place on a flat cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Pull from freezer and place the crisp leaves in a freezer storage bag. Refreeze. Great way to store. When you want to use some, pull them out and wash.

And, here's a great cilantro recipe from Health Diaries:

Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves (stems removed)
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (my kids can't eat cheese, so i was going to try polenta or just leaving it out)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
2-4 teaspoons water (depending on desired consistency)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Use more or less water to get the thickness you desire.
Serves 4-6 people.
Enjoy.

9.17.2007

What's the harm in milk?

This is interesting stuff, especially for us Autism families avoiding the casein gene.

The devil in the milk molecule
The Press Saturday, 15 September 2007

Has a Lincoln University researcher spilt the milk industry's secret about the potential harm in its product or is it more crank science? JOHN McCRONE investigates the latest fuss over A1 and A2 milk.

Is there a health risk in drinking milk? Has there been a naughty cover-up of the facts by Fonterra and others?

These, bluntly, are the questions raised in the explosive new book by Lincoln University agribusiness professor Keith Woodford, who this week reopened a long-festering debate within the New Zealand dairy industry.

The theory, which has been around a decade, seems incredible to most people: that our brains and immune systems can literally be poisoned by poorly digested milk.

Only a certain genetic strain of milk is to blame – the A1 type. However, that is also our most common milk.

The science, put as simply as possible, is that the A1 strain breaks down to release a tiny bio-active peptide fragment called beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7). The other kind of milk, A2, breaks down quite harmlessly.

In people who are susceptible, which could be as many as one in five (although this is still a guess), BCM-7 may trigger a host of diseases: diabetes, heart disease, autism, schizophrenia, infant cot-death syndrome, multiple sclerosis, coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease – the woes of the Western world it seems.

Then there is the question of an industry cover-up. Read the rest by clicking the blog headline.

9.15.2007

Frito-Lay friendly

If you haven't yet realized that not all chips are gluten-free, or soy-free, etc., you might consider Frito-Lay chips. No, I don't get money for saying this. I'm very impressed with this company. They don't make you guess about what ingredients are in the chips you're buying. It's all on the label. And, if you have questions, their Website is extremely helpful. They have an entire section on ingredient concerns that plainly shows you which chips have gluten, which have dairy, which are kosher, which have soy, etc. You can find that page by clicking here.

My kids only can eat the plain Lays, Ruffles and Fritos chips. No Tostitos because of the soy oil used in those. Until now! Frito-Lay recently started selling a Natural Tostitos chip that has no soy. It's in the photo above.

I'll also mention one other thing. No chip is healthy for you. I've tried many to find a good one, including Garden of Eatin and Bearitos -- both very good chips (I prefer the Bearitos). I should also note Terra Chips here for those that are corn and/or potato challenged. But do your own checking. The fat and sodium contents of those health-store chips aren't much less than Frito-Lay chips. Sometimes, the difference is zero. So, for my money, and because of all the saturated-fat snacks my kids cannot eat, AND because Frito-Lay makes it soooo easy for a family like ours to check ingredients, I'll buy Frito-Lay. Support the companies that help us.

9.14.2007

Peanut butterless cookies

I personally love this recipe. Why? Because the cookies are so good. And, it takes no time at all. My kids don't eat nuts. They're not allergic. But, our doc says to avoid them. But, he says, sunflower seeds are OK. And, you can buy sunflower seed nut butter. You can also buy pumpkin seed nut butter. So, experiment. I'll show you two ways to make this recipe. The original recipes tends to be crumbly. I added a little flour to firm it up. Both are good.

1 cup sunflower seed nut butter (Once Again makes this) or other nut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg (or 2 egg subs)
1/2 tsp salt

So, I made the egg subs, added sugar, baking soda and salt, then the sunflower seed butter. Then I mixed until well combined. I rolled into balls and onto cookie sheet. I flattened slighly with a fork, making the classic PB cookie indentation.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

I also made these by adding some flour and xanthan gum to hold them together. Can't tell you how much I used. But, what I'm trying to point out is that if yours fall apart, don't give up. Try adding your favorite flour mix and xanthan/guar to hold them together. I didn't use a lot, just enough to mix through. If it looks too dry, add water until you get that cookie dough texture while mixing.

9.12.2007

Dairy free sorbet

I like this recipe because there's no concerns about trying to make ice cream out of a dairy alternative like rice milk or Darifree. And, it has a lighter taste. Plus, it's very easy to make. Here's how.

- 1 packet of unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1.5 cups boiling water
- 3 large ice cubes
- 2 cups of fruit

Dissolve the gelatin and sugar in boiling water. Add the ice cubes and stir until melted. Pull from heat.

Chop up fruit. Put in food processor or blender. Add 1 cup of the gelatin mixture and puree until smooth. Add the rest of the gelatin mix and puree again until mixed.

Pour this into a 13x9 pan. Cover with foil or wrap and freeze for 2-3 hours.

Then, spoon the sorbet mix back into the blender and blend at high speed until smooth and fluffy. Pour into a loaf pan, cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight.

Use any fruit. I tried peaches.

9.10.2007

Allergy link

There's tons of info on the Web about allergies, autism, etc., and I come across good ones every so often. I found this today, for the Food Allergy Initiative and will be adding it to my link section.

9.09.2007

What's in your ketchup?

Did you ever think about what's in the ketchup you put on your favorite burger, hot dog or potatoes each day? I did a couple of months ago. And it made me change what I bought for my family.

Heinz ketchup -- America's No. 1 ketchup -- is filled with high fructose corn syrup. If you don't yet know the dangers of this sweetener, read my blog entry from yesterday, or Google it for yourself.

This was very depressing, especially since I like Heinz. But, with the care we're taking to feed our kids properly, I decided to look elsewhere.

I found two quality substitutes that are gluten-free, soy-free and HFCS-free.

Annie's ketchup is pretty darn good. For me, it's a little spicier, in a sweet way, than I prefer. But, my kids loved it. And, it's organic.

Muir Glen
also makes an organic ketchup, which I prefer. I now buy this by the case. It's taste more closely resembles Heinz -- and actually is what Heinz probably tasted like 20-30 years ago when it wasn't made with the HFCS.

Do a taste test for yourself, and make your burger a little healthier.

9.08.2007

High fructose corn syrup -- what's the big deal?

I'm sure you've heard talk about the evils of high fructose corn syrup. But do you understand the problem? I didn't. If you don't, this article is worth reading. It explains the issue well.


washingtonpost.com
Sweet but Not So Innocent?
High-Fructose Corn Syrup May Act More Like Fat Than Sugar in the Body

By Sally Squires
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 11, 2003; Page HE01

From fruit-flavored drinks to energy bars, a huge array of sweetened foods and beverages crowds grocery shelves, vending machines, restaurant menus, school lunches and kitchens. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), consumption of various sweeteners, often in calorie-dense foods and drinks, has risen in the United States from an estimated 113 pounds per person in 1966 to 147 pounds in 2001.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limiting intake of added sugars found in food and drink to no more than 10 percent of daily calories, a step the WHO said could help stop the worldwide rise in obesity that is fueling the growth of such chronic diseases as type 2 diabetes. The WHO recommendation is far stricter than any that U.S. groups have produced.

But increasingly, it's not just the growing consumption of foods with added sugars that concerns some nutrition experts. What has also changed during the past four decades, the USDA figures show, is the type of sweeteners consumed -- a trend that some studies suggest may help to undermine appetite control and possibly play a role in weight gain.

In 1966, refined sugar, also known as sucrose, held the No. 1 slot, accounting for 86 percent of sweeteners used, according to the USDA. Today, sweeteners made from corn are the leader, racking up $4.5 billion in annual sales and accounting for 55 percent of the sweetener market. That switch largely reflects the steady growth of high-fructose corn syrup, which climbed from zero consumption in 1966 to 62.6 pounds per person in 2001.

While soft drinks and fruit beverages such as lemonade are the leading products containing high-fructose corn syrup, plenty of other items -- including cookies, gum, jams, jellies and baked goods -- also contain this syrup. [For more information about which foods contain these and other added sweeteners, see the Lean Plate Club column on Page F2.]

Made from corn starch, high-fructose corn syrup is a thick liquid that contains two basic sugar building blocks, fructose and glucose, in roughly equal amounts. Sucrose, most familiar to consumers as table sugar, is a larger sugar molecule that breaks down into glucose and fructose in the intestine during metabolism.

An advantage of high-fructose corn syrup is that it "tastes sweeter than refined sugar," making it a popular ingredient for food manufacturers because it enables them to use less, says George A. Bray, former director of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. As a liquid, the syrup is easier to blend into beverages than refined sugar, according to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA). Industry taste tests suggested that consumers liked food and drink with high-fructose corn syrup as much as refined beet or cane sugar.

In the 1980s, manufacturing methods improved, prompting a boost in production of high-fructose corn syrup and a drop in price to just pennies below that of refined sugar. "While that may not sound like much to the average consumer, when you consider how many pounds [the soft drink industry buys], it was millions of dollars if not hundreds of millions of dollars in savings," says Drew Davis, NSDA's vice president for federal affairs.

The switch made economic sense and, as Davis notes, "back then, there was no suggestion that high-fructose corn syrup was metabolized differently" than other sugars. More recent research suggests, however, that there may be some unexpected nutritional consequences of using the syrup. "Fructose is absorbed differently" than other sugars, says Bray. "It doesn't register in the body metabolically the same way that glucose does."

For example, consumption of glucose kicks off a cascade of biochemical reactions. It increases production of insulin by the pancreas, which enables sugar in the blood to be transported into cells, where it can be used for energy. It increases production of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite and fat storage, and it suppresses production of another hormone made by the stomach, ghrelin, that helps regulate food intake. It has been theorized that when ghrelin levels drop, as they do after eating carbohydrates composed of glucose, hunger declines.

Fructose is a different story. It "appears to behave more like fat with respect to the hormones involved in body weight regulation," explains Peter Havel, associate professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis. "Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin secretion. It doesn't increase leptin production or suppress production of ghrelin. That suggests that consuming a lot of fructose, like consuming too much fat, could contribute to weight gain." Whether it actually does do this is not known "because the studies have not been conducted," said Havel.

Another concern is the action of fructose in the liver, where it is converted into the chemical backbone of trigylcerides more efficiently than glucose. Like low-density lipoprotein -- the most damaging form of cholesterol -- elevated levels of trigylcerides are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. A University of Minnesota study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2000 found that in men, but not in women, fructose "produced significantly higher [blood] levels" than did glucose. The researchers, led by J.P Bantle, concluded that "diets high in added fructose may be undesirable, particularly for men."

Other recent research suggests that fructose may alter the magnesium balance in the body. That could, in turn, accelerate bone loss, according to a USDA study published in 2000 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

In November, however, Havel and his colleagues published a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that examined evidence from multiple studies. They concluded that large quantities of fructose from a variety of sources, including table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, induce insulin resistance, impair glucose tolerance, produce high levels of insulin, boost a dangerous type of fat in the blood and cause high blood pressure in animals. "The data in humans are less clear," the team noted.

Others are skeptical that high-fructose corn syrup acts differently in the body than table sugar. "I don't see it as a particular evil," says Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a vocal critic of soft drinks, which he dubs "liquid candy." "It wouldn't make much difference if soft drinks were sweetened with sucrose [table sugar] or high-fructose corn syrup."

Until scientists sort out the details, many nutrition experts say it makes sense to not surpass the 10 percent recommendation of the WHO. On a 2,000-calorie intake, that works out to about 200 calories -- roughly the amount found in a 16.9-ounce bottle of soda or about eight Chunky Chips Ahoy cookies or about an three ounces of plain M&M's. (Last year, the National Academy of Sciences suggested that added sugars should not exceed 25 percent of daily calories -- about 500 calories on a 2,000-calorie intake.)

"Reducing consumption of added sugars seems reasonable to me," Havel says, "just as you should not consume too many calories from fat and you should exercise regularly."

But industry groups urged consumers not to respond by avoiding any one food ingredient. Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, notes that many of the studies used pure fructose rather than the combination of fructose and glucose found in corn syrup.

"There are many sources for the obesity epidemic," Erickson says. "There's no one single source of the obesity epidemic or the onslaught of diabetes in America. But there are many contributing factors and no scientific link to suggest that high-fructose corn syrup is a contributing factor."

Erickson says that research published in a 1993 supplement to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that there is no evidence linking the syrup to the obesity epidemic.

What does play a role, she noted, "is the lack of physical exercise. You can not discontinue the use of any one food or beverage and expect tomorrow -- or even in 10 years from now -- to be thin without increased physical activity."

That's a message being delivered not just by the food and beverage industries, but also by the U.S. Surgeon General, the National Academy of Sciences and the WHO, which also urged more physical activity -- an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity, such as walking -- in its report last week.•

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

9.07.2007

Popcorn lung

Sep 7, 2007 2:50 am US/Eastern
'Popcorn Lung' Patient Ate Two Bags A Day

(CBS News) Wayne Watson loved microwave popcorn so much he would eat at least two bags each night, breathing in the steam from the just-opened package, until doctors told him it may have made him sick.

Watson, whose case of "popcorn lung" is the sole reported case of the disease in a non-factory worker, said he is convinced his heavy consumption of popcorn caused his health problems.

"You know, it's one of those things that you kind of shake your head and say, how can anybody eat that much popcorn? But it was about two bags a day every day for about ten years," Watson told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen

Popcorn flavoring contains the chemical diacetyl, which has been linked to lung damage in factory workers testing hundreds of bags of microwave popcorn per day and inhaling its fumes. The chemical is a naturally occurring compound that gives butter its flavor and is also found in cheese and even wine, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

It's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a flavor ingredient, but hundreds of workers have sued flavoring makers in recent years for lung damage.

There are no warnings from federal regulators, nor is there medical advice on how consumers should treat news of the rare, life-threatening disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung.

Watson, 53, told CBS he first noticed something was wrong about three or four years ago during church choir practice.

"My lung capacity just seemed to start diminishing and I couldn't sustain my notes like I used to be able to," he said.

That's when he sought out Dr. Cecile Rose, a lung specialist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

Rose said she initially didn’t know what was causing Watson's breathing problems.

"He had a lung condition that we know is related to something he was inhaling," Rose said. "And I took a very complete history, including a work history and an environmental history and found nothing. And it wasn't really until the end of his initial medical evaluation where I turned to him and asked him … was he exposed to or was he around a lot of popcorn? And his jaw dropped and he asked me how I would possibly know that about him."

Rose said that no definite link can yet be made between Watson's popcorn consumption and his lung disease.

But, she said, "I think it's very important that the industry is taking this very seriously. They've known about the fact that workers who are using diacetyl can be at risk for lung disease. And if we're right in this case that consumers who are heavy users may be at risk as well, I think that the industry needs to be responsive to that possibility."

On Wednesday, the nation's largest microwave popcorn maker, ConAgra, said it would stop using diacetyl within a year out of concern for its workers - not because of risks to consumers. ConAgra makes Act II and Orville Redenbacher brands.

The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association said that Rose's finding does not suggest a risk from eating microwave popcorn.

Watson, 53, said his breathing has improved since his doctor told him to quit eating his extra-buttery microwave popcorn and lose weight. He said he's dieting and lost some 35 pounds, regained lung capacity, and his prognosis is good.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )
From Our Partners

9.06.2007


What does this tell you? Enjoy Life Foods was named to the 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the country. Enjoy Life, as many of you know, makes gluten-free and allergy-friendly foods.
Its three-year sales growth was 783%.


You can read the full release by clicking here.

8.26.2007

Oh so coconutee ice cream

Yep, another GFCF ice cream. Oh, and, it's free of soy, rice, nuts, corn, dyes and just about everything else. I'll confess now, this is not my recipe, just as most of these are not truly mine. Most are variations of something I saw somewhere else. And, when I first saw this recipe, I truly had doubts that it would work. But, it did. It's great. I made two variations -- vanilla and carob (alternative for chocolate, but cocoa surely could be used too). Here's how.

Ingredients:

2 x 14 oz cans coconut milk (I bought organic)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp carob powder (or cocoa)

For vanilla, mix all but the carob in a bowl. Whisk well. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow directions. I use a Rival machine and it took less than an hour.

For carob, mix all ingredients together in a bowl, whisk and use the ice cream maker.

The plain mix has a distinctive coconut flavor, which some will like and others will not. My one daughter did not. But she loves the carob. So, anything to mask the coconut will work -- chocolate or carob chips, fruit, cocoa, nuts, pieces of cookies, etc.

8.15.2007

Pancakes II

This is a modification of my original pancake recipe, which you'll find on this site.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour mix (I use 1/3 cup tapioc starch, 1/3 cup sorghum flour, 1/3 cup millet flour)
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp syrup -- pure maple is good, agave is good, honey is good, Steen's is good.
1/3-2/3 cup water

Mix dry, then add liquids. Whisk until smooth and "pancakey." Drop a tsp of oil in a pan and heat. Then make pancakes. I top these either with syrup or sprinkle Domino powdered sugar on top.

8.05.2007

High Fructose Corn Syrup -- dangerous stuff

Soda Warning? High-fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Science Daily Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children. In a laboratory study of commonly consumed carbonated beverages, the scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels.


New evidence suggests that sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup may increase the risk of diabetes, particularly in children. (Credit: American Chemical Society)

HFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

In the current study, Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found 'astonishingly high' levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages. These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with "unbound" fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are "bound" and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.

Ho and his associates also found that adding tea components to drinks containing HFCS may help lower the levels of reactive carbonyls. The scientists found that adding epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound in tea, significantly reduced the levels of reactive carbonyl species in a dose-dependent manner when added to the carbonated soft drinks studied. In some cases, the levels of reactive carbonyls were reduced by half, the researchers say.

"People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country," says Ho. "It's in way too many food and drink products and there's growing evidence that it's bad for you." The tea-derived supplement provides a promising way to counter its potentially toxic effects, especially in children who consume a lot of carbonated beverages, he says.

But eliminating or reducing consumption of HFCS is preferable, the researchers note. They are currently exploring the chemical mechanisms by which tea appears to neutralize the reactivity of the syrup.Ho's group is also probing the mechanisms by which carbonation increases the amount of reactive carbonyls formed in sodas containing HFCS. They note that non-carbonated fruit juices containing HFCS have one-third the amount of reactive carbonyl species found in carbonated sodas with HFCS, while non-carbonated tea beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup, which already contain EGCG, have only about one-sixth the levels of carbonyls found in regular soda.

In the future, food and drink manufacturers could reduce concerns about HFCS by adding more EGCG, using less HFCS, or replacing the syrup with alternatives such as regular table sugar, Ho and his associates say. Funding for this study was provided by the Center for Advanced Food Technology of Rutgers University. Other researchers involved in the study include Chih-Yu Lo, Ph.D.; Shiming Li, Ph.D.; Di Tan, Ph.D.; and Yu Wang, a doctoral student.

This research was reported August 23 at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, during the symposium, "Food Bioactives and Nutraceuticals: Production, Chemistry, Analysis and Health Effects: Health Effects."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society.

Copyright © 1995-2007 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact:

7.22.2007

Ginger spice cookies

The neat thing about this recipe is you can make two different cookies using the same recipe. Confused? Don't be. It's simple. This really is a slight variation of a ginger snap cookie recipe. I've made it two ways -- one with more liquid and one with less. The difference is one version comes out like a crisp spice cookie and the other a soft, moist spice cookie. To my kids, it's two different cookies and allows for some variation.

Ingredients
-------------
1/2 cup gf flour -- either sorghum, chickpea, millet, etc.
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch or 1/2 corn starch *see below
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp egg replacer
1.5 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp molasses (or cane syrup or agave syrup or honey)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Blend. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. This recipe tends to make a crispier, crunchier cookie.

To make softer cookie, add 1/4 cup molasses rather than just 1 tbsp. Bake same.

*Note: I interchange the potato starch and the corn flour sometimes. The starch makes a lighter, chewier cookie. The flour makes a denser cookie with a different flavor.

7.17.2007

Non-dairy ice cream

So, do you have a child who can't eat ice cream of any kind? Try this.

This is a non-dairy, non-DariFree, non-rice milk, non-almond milk, non-soy milk ice cream.

It's chocolate but either cocoa or carob may be used. And, it's easy.

3/4 cup tapioca starch (or arrowroot or corn starch)
1/4 cup cocoa or carob powder (i use soy-free carob)
1.5 cups warm water
2 tbsp organic Spectrum shortening
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup powdered sugar (i make my own from organic cane sugar)
1 tbsp syrup of any kind (i use steen's for this)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (opt.)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (opt.)

In a blender, pour the hot water. Add the shortening. Add the starch and carob/cocoa powder. Add xanthan gum, sugar, syrup and spices. Blend on low 30 seconds. Blend on high 30 seconds. Pour into freezer safe container and freeze overnight.

This really was an experiment that sorta worked. My kids ate it. I'm still tinkering with the recipe. I may try a version using coconut milk next. Stay tuned.

7.07.2007

A meaty decision

So, no recipe today. Instead, I want to talk about meats, poultry and fish. And, where to buy them if you're following a strict diet made tricky by allergies and intolerances -- not just to ingredients, but preservatives and additives. I know, meat's not just meat, sometimes.

Everybody will have their own choices, based on where they live and how much they have to spend. I have to limit my cost and weigh that against providing my kids with choices. I also don't want to feed them too much beef, for example, because of its high fat and cholesterol content. Nor do I want to give them too much fish, because of health risks.

I buy meat both from a local farmer and from some national companies. And here's why. I hope it gets you thinking, too.

My local farmer lives about 30 miles away but sells each weekend at a local farm market, open all year. He sells beef, pork, poultry -- and that sometimes includes hot dogs, fresh turkey (for holidays) and both breakfast and dinner sausage. I also can speak with him face to face and ask him specific questions about how the meats are handled and made. I've been able to tell him about my daughters and the foods they cannot eat for medical reasons so he understands my concern. And, he's been able to assure me about most of his products. Some, as he pointed out, have some added spices, for example, that I might want to avoid. And, his prices tend to be even lower than the local supermarket -- not to mention that they are free of preservatives and hormones. What a deal.

Sometimes, my local farmer doesn't have hot dogs, and my kids love them. And, he doesn't sell lunch meat, and my kids are getting near to an age where lunch meat is handy. He also doesn't sell fish -- not running a fish farm. So, I look elsewhere. Some good companies I've come across that you might check out are Applegate Farms, Boars Head, Shelton's and Wellshire Farms.

These companies tend to offer foods I can use and they show exactly what's in their foods. They also make it easy to contact them with more questions. Boars Head is good for lunch meats. The others offer hot dogs, sausage, cuts of poultry, lunch meat, jerky and link snacks, etc. Many of these are uncured, with no preservatives and sometimes organic. Excellent stuff. You can order online or find these at a local food co-op or organic store. I buy the uncured, but not organic, hot dogs from Applegate Farms thru a food co-op in bulk -- cutting down the price. I buy Boars Head lunch meat from my local supermarket (I have them slice it first thing when they open so it's not contaminated by other meats). I buy Shelton's turkey dogs and am considering their breakfast sausage. Wellshire Farms makes a great dinner sausage that my kids love -- made from turkey, but you'd never know it.

Hope this helps.

5.26.2007

Corn bread

A healthy and quick corn bread is easy to make. Great for snacks.

BLOG UPDATE: Please note that this recipe was updated Nov. 1, 2007. I found this version to me much better.

Ingredients
------------
1/3 cup corn meal
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup sorghum flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch sea salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp syrup -- cane, maple, honey, etc.
2/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350. Grease 8x8 pan with organic vegetable shortening. Mix dry ingredients. Add liquids. If too lumpy, add more water. Spread evenly in pan. Bake for 12 minutes. That's it.