Gluten Free Lucky Charms cereal is now available!

Are you the parent of a gluten free kid? Are you a 'kid at heart' and gluten free? Well, I have some news for you: gluten free Lucky Charms are in stores everywhere!

Last year, General Mills released news that they were in the process of making Lucky Charms gluten free. They were going to create the cereal using oat flour, the same kind of oat flour that is being used for gluten free Cheerios*.
Lucky Charms will have the same great taste as regular Lucky Charms, minus the gluten and wheat.

My Two Cents:

I was very excited about this cereal when I heard about it going gluten free. *However, when I found out that General Mills is using the same oat flour as the gluten free version of Cheerios, I became a little apprehensive. Last year, this Celiac became ill from eating the gf Cheerios. Now I worry it might happen again with the Lucky Charms.
Celiac friends, unless this cereal gets the Celiac Disease Foundation seal of approval on it, I wouldn't trust it.
If you suffer from an intolerance, or are gluten free for other reasons, I will recommend this cereal to you.

Celiac friends: Will you be trying this cereal? Have you already tried it? Any reactions?

Photo credit: General Mills

Can dogs suffer from gluten intolerance?

For the past couple of years, the topic of gluten has come up quite a bit in this country. With the increased understanding of Celiac Disease, more people are being diagnosed now than ever before. Gluten Intolerance has also increased in this country.
With all this talk about humans with Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance, is it possible for our pets to have Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease?

While Celiac Disease has not been found to affect dogs, a very tiny percentage of dogs may exhibit symptoms of Gluten Intolerance.

For the most part, dogs can tolerate food containing gluten. For dogs that cannot, they may develop inflammation in their small intestine whenever they eat food containing gluten. 
Symptoms to look out for:

Persistent diarrhea

Weight loss

Poor hair coat

Lack of body conditioning

Failure to thrive

When dogs have this condition, they may have a delayed reaction tot he ingested gluten. Like in humans, dogs who have an issue with gluten intolerance have a body that constantly attacks itself. The immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract whenever gluten enters the body. Gluten destroyed the villi in the small bowel, causing the dog to be malnourished.

Gluten Intolerance can affect any breed, but it is well-documented to affect Samoyeds, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, and Irish Setters. The onset of symptoms can occur at 6 months of age.

How is Gluten Intolerance in dogs diagnosed?
Veterinarians will assess the dog's history of diarrhea, weight loss, and illness before running blood and urine tests. In some cases, your vet may order a fecal examination to look for parasites.
To be absolutely sure, your vet may recommend putting your dog on a grain-free diet for 2 to 4 weeks. If there is marked improvement, the vet will conclude that your dog has a gluten intolerance.

Just like in humans, the condition is completely treatable. Dogs must stay on a grain-free diet for the rest of its life.

If you suspect that your dog may have a gluten intolerance, contact your veterinarian so they can assess the situation.

Food Review: Are Gratify Pretzels worth the buy?

photo credit: Vitacost

Earlier today, while I was at Ocean State Job Lot with my boyfriend, I came across the Gratify brand. They had 3 different pretzel snacks that you could choose from. I picked up the pretzel sticks and brought them home to try.

For a cool $2, these were a great buy. The pretzels taste like non-GF pretzels and are allergen free of the following:

• Wheat
• Gluten
• Milk
• Casein
• Egg
• Lactose
• Non-GMO ingredients

If you have an Ocean State Job Lot in your area, I highly recommend this snack. This product DOES contain Soy, however.

Happy eating, fellow Celiacs! :-)

Woman sues PF Changs over Gluten Free Menu Prices

photo credit: gsloan/Flickr

A woman decided to file a lawsuit against pan-Asian food chain, P.F. Changs, over the prices of the gluten free menu options. She claims that the prices violate her "Americans with Disabilities Act." She states that the additional dollar surcharge is discriminatory against those who suffer from Celiac disease.
Anna Marie Phillips hopes to bring a class-action lawsuit against the restaurant, "on behalf of diners with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance." The lawsuit states that more than 3,000 people in 39 states have been affected by the additional surcharge. She also filed an injunction against the restaurant in order to stop them from continuing to push the surcharge. Phillps also seeks restitution for all surcharges that have been paid, and she is also requesting compensatory damage.

Oh brother!

My Two Cents:
Folks, I as a Celiac, am not a happy camper with the prices we pay to dine out. However, I don't think it is serious enough to file a lawsuit against restaurants such as PF Changs.
First off, does Phillips KNOW how much it costs to prepare a gluten free option? The kitchen staff have to be as careful as possible when prepping (some even have to go to a seperate kitchen). Also, ingredients can be quite expensive. The restaurant has to cover the costs somehow. It is not like droves of people come in everyday asking for a gluten free option. It can be pricey to keep these items on the menu.

I, for one, am so grateful to have so many chain restaurants providing options for our community. I am more than okay with paying the extra surcharge for my food.
I completely understand Anna Marie Phillips' frustration, and I know newly diagnosed Celiacs may think the prices are a slap in the face, but you need to think about it from an economical point of view. You also have to think about it from a culinary point of view. It's not like chefs learned about GF cooking in culinary school. I think it's been only within the past few years where people are learning how to cook GF. 10, 20, 30 or more years ago, no one knew what Celiac or GF was, unless you had a relative with the disease.
As for economics, think about the prices we have to pay for our groceries. Now, think about what restaurants have to pay to purchase the same groceries for their menus. There you go.
Do these prices suck? Yes. Folks, we have to just deal with it. There aren't enough of us out there for restaurants to lower the prices. If restaurants had all of us (Celiacs and non-Celiacs) pay the same amount, a lot of them would go out of business. Restaurant staff have to make money too.
I hear about these lawsuits all the time. Even though I understand the frustration that these people are going through, my heart really does go out to the restaurant staff. They need to earn a living too.

Fellow Celiacs, think back 4 or 5 years ago. Think back even longer than that. How many restaurants offered options for our community? Almost NONE of them. Isn't it worth the extra surcharge to be able to go out to eat with our loved ones and have an amazing night? What more do you want out of society? Do you want to go back to 10 and 20 years ago when we didn't have as many options? I sure as hell don't! We need to stop complaining and just be happy with what we have. If we keep on complaining, restaurants are going to continue giving us a hard time. Some of these restaurants will probably end up saying, "F*** it. Get rid of the options altogether! Why should we cater to a bunch of brats?"
I don't know if Phillips is a newly-diagnosed Celiac, but these prices are something that you just get used to. If she doesn't like it, she can stay home and make her own meals.

PF Changs, just so you know, this Celiac is grateful that you offer gluten free options. I am more than okay to pay an extra dollar so I can dine out with my loved ones. I hope that this incident doesn't make you believe that all of us are like that. As someone who has grown up around Celiac disease and GF food all her life, I remember what it is like to be without these options. I know I'm going to get shot in the foot for saying what I'm about to say, but, there is no greater time than now to be a Celiac. With all the options we have available to us, we will no longer go without.

Anyways, what do you all think of this lawsuit?  Do you think she has a case? Or so you think she is bringing more bad press to our community?

Gluten Free pizza is NOW AVAILABLE at Pizza Hut

photo credit: metronews

Good evening, Celiac Warriors!

The day has arrived. Pizza Hut now offers GF pepperoni and cheese pizza at many locations nationwide!

To see the list, click here.

If you will be trying the pizza this week, let me know what you think. My neck of the woods will be buried under 2 to 3 feet of snow for a while, so I won't be able to test this pizza out just yet.
Anyways, I just wanted to let you all know about this, and provide the link to the locations offering the gluten free pizzas.

Have a great evening everyone!

For all of my New Englanders, be safe during this Blizzard!

Quick Turkey Chili and Cornbread (Gluten Free)

Good day, Celiac Warriors!

This is a recipe that I found years ago that is super easy and yummy! Here is the cut-out from my local newspaper. The recipe is from Stop & Shop:

This recipe is naturally gluten free. However, I still advise that you check your labels, just in case. Even if I know an item is naturally gluten free, I still check. It's a habit after being gluten free for so many years, LOL!

As for the cornbread, I used the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free cornbread mix. It was really good (and filling!). I put the cornbread mix into muffin tins so it would cook quicker.

Enjoy!!

Food Review: Eggo's Gluten Free Waffles

photo credit: Kelloggs

Good afternoon, my Celiac Warriors!

So, I recently wrote about Eggos offering a gluten free option for us Celiacs. I promised to write a review of the eggos once I found them.
It is now several weeks later, and I FINALLY found them in my area. YAY!
I picked these bad boys up and had some the next morning.
I popped 2 waffles into the toaster and prayed to the Celiac gods that they wouldn't suck.

Folks, Eggos has done me proud! These eggos are crispy, tasty and they have that Eggos signature sweet taste to them.
I had no reaction to these waffles, so I highly recommend these to all my fellow Celiacs.

Allergy Warning: These Eggos do contain Egg, Soy, and Milk ingredients.

You can find these in your supermarket. Look in the gluten free frozen food section, or in the frozen breakfast section.

Thank you, Eggos! :-D

To see my original post: http://writersworld82.blogspot.com/2014/12/leggo-my-eggo-kelloggs-eggos-go-gluten.html