Gluten Free Edmonton

Gluten Free Edmonton, Alberta

Friday, November 4, 2011
Do you use beans and lentils for gluten free baking and cooking?

This is going to be a pretty quick and short post about beans and lentils. To my surprise, you can actually bake with them. Our first experience is buying some lentil crackers from Bulk Barn's gluten free section. We took a chance with them, and didn't know what to expect. Lets just say we went back and bought 4 more! They had a great crispy texture to them. I topped a few with some goat cheese and really enjoyed a nice after dinner snack. I have also seen these crackers sold at Winners.

Funny enough after trying these, one of our readers shared a pretty interesting resources for beans and lentils. It's the Alberta Pulse Association, and their website has recipe and cooking tips. Not only that, they have a free download specifically for gluten free recipes. Recipes for baking and cooking, from chilis to banana bread. The recipe book talks about the different types of beans, lentils and chickpeas and the health benefits. Beyond recipes, it even has tips of how to use beans in a gluten free diet to spruce up meals.

Click here for the Recipes page or click here to open up the recipe book directly.

Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta

Alberta ~ New Natural Food Store

http://www.okotoksnaturalfoods.com/

I am so happy that I found this store. The products are cheaper than in Lethbridge. They have a lot of products I have been unable to find since moving here in August. I can bake again!!!!!! ~YEE HAW~

Sabbatical...

I have been away for a time and in that time I have moved west a few provinces.
I travelled by car for 5 days to get to my desired destination. I am very happy to be here and thankful for the change in scenery, fresh water, and allergy free in healthy mountain air!

I will be changing things on Gluten Free Canadian Gal Blog Spot where I will post my findings each week with more focus on gluten free baking and cooking. I'm hoping to blog each Thursday so check back for your gluten free fix! I plan to engage in trying to find the products I need in a western world. I know there are fewer outlets for eating gluten free but my goal is to be successful in my weekly search!

Cheers,
G-Free Western Gal

Toronto Sun Report on Gluten Free

June 26, 2010
The Toronto Sun has a report on Gluten Free...check it out

Author develops flour for gluten-free baking

By The Canadian Press
Sat. Jun 12 - 4:53 AM

Wendy Turnbull, who has celiac disease, developed a recipe for a gluten-free flour which she calls GEMS. Turnbull has taken her breakthrough to another level with her book Gems of Gluten-Free Baking.

When a person suffers from celiac disease, the aroma of home-baked bread, cookies, buns and cakes can be difficult to endure.

This is because those with the disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley. When people with this condition eat foods or use products containing gluten their immune system responds by damaging the lining of the small intestine.

Consequently, they often miss out on enjoying delicious baked goods, something that most people take for granted.

But Wendy Turnbull, a Calgary-based celiac sufferer, has developed, through years of testing, a recipe for a gluten-free flour which she calls GEMS.

It’s a carefully selected mix of whole-grain flours which enables celiacs to bake bread that slices without crumbling and baked goodies which stay remarkably fresh and moist.

Turnbull has taken her breakthrough to another level with her book Gems of Gluten-Free Baking (Whitecap, $29.95).

"I have always loved cooking and the challenge of improving gluten-free baking was my goal," the 63-year-old said in an interview.

She began using brown rice flour for all her baking. Then Turnbull got to know other nutrient-rich gluten-free flours such as amaranth, buckwheat, chickpea and soy — in fact, 13 flours in total.

"Baking with the flours individually helped me discover their distinctive characteristics," she writes. "I used this information to create the GEMS flour." Here from the book is the GEMS Flour Formula. It requires four alternative gluten-free flours. The first two must be included; the next two offer a choice based on personal preferance, availability or cost. All will yield a superb loaf of bread.

GEMS Flour Formula

Basic: 675 ml (2 3/4 cups) brown rice flour and 150 ml (2/3 cup) sweet white sorghum flour

Add: 75 ml (1/3 cup) of one of the following flours: amaranth, buckwheat (light), gluten-free oat or teff

Add: 45 ml (3 tbsp) of one of the following flours: chickpea, millet, soy (low-fat or defatted), quinoa or white/red/black bean

Labelling of Natural Health Products Containing Gluten

Health Canada Statement on: Labelling of Natural Health Products Containing Gluten

New Cosmetic Regulations

Your toothpaste tube and lipstick container will look a little bit different in 2007. In late 2006, Health Canada introduced new regulations that require manufacturers to include a full ingredient list on all packages of cosmetics before the end of 2007. Manufacturers can sell off their present stock of products without labels, but by the end of the year, all cosmetics must have a full ingredient list on the package or on a tag or tape attached to the product.

What is a cosmetic?
According to Health Canada, a cosmetic is “any substance or mixture of substances, manufactured, sold or represented for use in cleansing, improving or altering the complexion, skin, hair or teeth and includes deodorants and perfumes.” This includes animal grooming products, cosmetics used by professionals, and institutional products like hand soap used in restrooms.

Cosmetics are subject to the provisions of the Food and Drugs Act (FDA). The Cosmetic Regulations outline general safety, labelling and notification requirements. Products that have a therapeutic claim, e.g. sunscreens, vitamins and minerals, and homeopathic remedies, are regulated differently.

What needs to be labelled?

All ingredients in the product must be listed in descending order of predominance on the label, including colouring agents and fragrances. In the case of makeup and nail polish all the colouring agents in a range of colour shades may be listed, preceded by +/- or ± or “may contain”

What names might indicate gluten?
With only a few specific exceptions, an ingredient must be identified by its International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI) name. The International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook is an international naming system used in many countries including Canada, the United States, the European Union, and Japan. Learning a few Latin words will permit you to identify ingredients derived from gluten-containing grains. In particular, watch for oats (avena), barley (hordeum), rye (secale) and wheat (triticum). See Table 1 for some examples.


Does every ingredient with a warning word in the name contain gluten?

Some of the ingredients derived from wheat or other gluten-containing grains do not have any protein in them, and should not cause problems for someone with celiac disease. At this point, we do not know enough about the gluten content of all of the ingredients used in cosmetic manufacturing. It is a safe rule, therefore, that if a product is going on or into your mouth, and it has one of the warning words on the label, avoid the product.

What products should I be concerned about checking?

If you have celiac disease, you need to be concerned with cosmetic products that go in or near your mouth – lipstick, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. If you are caring for a child with celiac disease, you may also be concerned about products used on their hands that might go in their mouth.

In general, if a product goes on your hair or on your skin, you do not need to be concerned because the protein that causes problems is too large to be absorbed through the skin. However, there is some anecdotal evidence that some people have problems with skin lotions. If you find you have problems, you may want to avoid the ingredients in lotions as well.


References

Green, P.H.R. and Jones, R. (2006) Celiac Disease: a Hidden Epidemic. HarperCollins Publishers, New York.

Health Canada Consumer Product Safety (Cosmetics and Personal Care)
website: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/person/cosmet/index_e.html


Grains
Words to Watch For
Sample Ingredients

Oats
Avena, Oats
Avena sativa flour
Avena sativa protein
Avena sativa starch
Colloidal oatmeal
Sodium stearoyl oat protein

Barley
Hordeum, Barley
Barley Extract
Barley Seed Flour
Hordeum distichon extract
Hordeum vulgare
Hordeum vulgare flour
Hordeum vulgare juice
Hordeum vulgare root extract
Hordeum vulgare wax

Rye
Secale
Secale cereale extract
Secale cereale flour

Various Grains
Gliadin, Grain
Gliadin
Spent Grain Flour

Wheat
Triticum, Wheat
Hydrolyzed wheat gluten
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Hydrolyzed wheat starch
Sodium lauroyl wheat amino acids
Triticum vulgare bran
Triticum vulgare germ oil or flour or extract
Triticum vulgare gluten or protein
Wheat amino acids
Wheat germ acid
Wheat germ glycerides

Celiac Disease Diet Study: Many Gluten-free Grains Contaminated

Celiac Disease Diet Study: Many Gluten-free Grains Contaminated

Everything has to be so difficult. Why can't the companies do away with gluten in facilities that produce gluten free products so that we can buy foods that are safe? I'm glad that there is someone monitoring this so that the facts are stated in black and white so maybe this problem can be changed.

Gluten Free in 2010? The Sudbury Star

The Sudbury Star
Gluten Free in 2010?

Are you allergic to gluten or avoiding it because you believe its absence in your diet will provide health benefits? The Sudbury Star will explore the trend towards eliminating wheat from people's diets and the increase in numbers of people with Celiac disease in its Saturday paper.

If you would like to share your story contact Lara Bradley at lbradley@thesudburystar.com or 674-5271 ext. 237.


If you would like to contribute here you can contact The Sudbury Star

Gluten Free Bakery Opens in Oakville

Voila Gluten-Free Bakeree is a new bakery located in Oakville, Ontario. The bakery is family owned and operation by John & Julie Richer and is located in downtown Oakville at Lakeshore Rd. W. & Chisholm St.

Why Gluten Free?

Read more...

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The gluten-free gourmet

I've met many people making similar adjustments to their diet because, as in Sandi's case, they were thought to have, or were diagnosed as having, celiac disease.

According to the Canadian Celiac Association (celiac.ca), it's a medical condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten that can prevent the body from absorbing important nutrients, such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

It is estimated the disease affects one in 133 persons in Canada. After being diagnosed, people can be overwhelmed when they realize a long list of foods are now off limits because they contain gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains.

Gluten, found in such things as all-purpose flour, gives baked goods structure and texture. Sandi, of course, can't use that flour now, but there are a number of gluten-free flours and starches she could use to make the quick breads she spoke of, such as rice flour, potato flour, cornstarch and tapioca flour, to name just a few.

These ingredients are often used in combination to create a gluten-free flour mix, where the benefits of each work in unison to create a baked good with a nice texture, not a brick-like one. In many mixes you'll see xanthan gum or guar gum called for, which are natural gums that take on the role of gluten in helping to hold baked goods together.

Read more & his G-Free Biscuit recipe...

Eric Akis is the author of the recently published, Everyone Can Cook for Celebrations: Seasonal Recipes for Festive Occasions. His columns appear in Life Wednesday and Sunday. E-mail him at eakis@tc.canwest.com

Canadian Celiac Association

Celiac News Updates
*Position Statement on Oats
*Does Breast Feeding Protect Against Celiac Disease?
*Good News About Enriching Gluten-Free Foods in Canada
*Celiac Disease and Osteoporosis
*Celiac News is the newsletter published by the Canadian Celiac Association and received by every member of the association. Currently we issue three issues per year.
*Selected articles from past issues of Celiac News:
*Celiac Disease and Vaccination - Vancouver/Richmond Health Board
Screening for Celiac Disease in a Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic - A-W Chan, MJ Fritzler, JD Butzner
*Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein - Quintin Wight, Ottawa Chapter
*Celiac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Looking Back over 25 Years of Nutrition - Mavis Molloy, RDN
Coming Events
This section provides links to information about coming events for the various chapters in the Canadian Celiac Association. Most events are gleaned from the chapters' newsletters, but events are also posted if the chapters send a notice to the webmaster at info@celiac.ca

From West to East -
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland

Read more...

Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz has taken Celiac Disease and explained it in his way on his site. Check it out. It's helpful!

Click on title above (Dr. Oz)

Petition for g free in Canada

Allergic Girl's blog has this posted:
http://allergicgirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/betty-crocker-gluten-free-chocolate.html

Click on the title "Petition for g free in Canada" and it will take you to the petition.

Betty Crocker is going G Free?

Betty Crocker foods are made in Canada but shipped to the US and the g free products are only being sold in the US. There are no plans to sell these products in Canada.

From the site:
http://www.allergysense.com/blog/2009/03/18/betty-crocker-is-going-gluten-free/
Betty Crocker is going Gluten Free
Written by: AllergyMom

March 18, 2009 · Posted in Food, Gluten free
Exciting news for cereal lovers – Beginning June 1, 2009, Betty Crocker will have 5 gluten-free cereals widely available across the United States. The choices will include: corn chex, honey nut chex, strawberry chex, chocolate chex and cinnamon chex.
In addition, the company will be offering 3 new gluten free baking products – cake mix, brownie mix and a chocolate chip cookie. Shipping for these products will begin on June 1, 2009. Retail prices are yet to be confirmed. Check your local retailer to ask if they will be carrying these products or call Betty Crocker in the U.S. at 1-800-446-1898.

When we contacted Betty Crocker today to confirm the information we were told that there are no plans for the gluten free products in Canada. To contact customer service in Canada, call 1-800-767-5350.

To visit the Betty Crocker website click here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/