Gluten Free Support Group

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac Disease is a common (although often undiagnosed) disorder/allergy that is activated by eating gluten. Gluten is a protein that is found in Wheat, Rye and Barley. Current estimates are that Celiac Disease effects 1 in every 133 people. That means that in the Smith College Community there are perhaps 30 people who have it, and probably most of them don't even know it. These links have comprehensive information about Celiac Disease:
http://www.celiac.com Celiace Disease and Gluten Free Diet Information
http://www.celiac.org The Celiac Disease Foundation

What If I Have Celiac Disease?

It means that you shouldn't eat gluten. Unfortunately most foods have gluten in them. If these words appear on a food label there might be gluten inside: stabilizer, starch, flavoring, natural flavors, emulsifier, hydrolyzed plant protein, vegetable protein, malt, soy sauce. Here's a fairly comprehensive list of foods to avoid: http://gfkitchen.server101.com/FoodstoAvoid1.htm

Why this Support Group?

If you or someone you know is diagnosed with Celiac disease it can be a difficult transition to a gluten free diet. Some of us who are now on a gf diet can help with the transition. Also, us with it are always looking for new recipes and ideas on gluten free food. Please feel free to contact any of us:
Sandy Bycenski sbycensk@smith.edu
Aisha Gabriel agabriel@smith.edu
Chris Gentes cgentes@smith.edu

Some Helpful Links

Flexible Spending Accounts and Celiac This article talks about how the cost difference between gluten containing food products and specialty gluten-free alternatives is tax deductible for Celiac patients.

Heather McQueen's Cooking Blog This links to Heather's excellent buckwheat and yogurt pancake recipe - but most of her entries are gluten free.

www.Glutenfree.com An online source fore gluten free food.

www.glutenfreeda.com The largest collection of gluten free recipes in the world.

Here are a few links from Jensey about "Raw Food".

www.learnrawfood.com "Everyone knows it is healthy to eat fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables every day. That isn’t a new concept. A raw food diet simply says that these foods should be most of what we eat."

somelikeitraw.net "The Raw vegan diet consists of fruits, vegetable, nuts and seeds. Nothing is heated above 118 degrees..."

www.rawchef.com Information on the experience of vital living through pure food.

A Few Tips

Is it OK to use White Vinegar? Many packaged foods that are labeled gluten-free have "white vinegar" listed as an ingredient. Is there a gluten-free white vinegar that they refer to? If the label says 'Gluten Free' and has white vinegar it should be OK since white vinegar can be made from corn. If it doesn't say 'Gluten Free' and has white vinegar then avoid as it is probably from grain.

I use Pamela’s Products, Glutenfree Pantry, Bob’s Red Mill, Tinkyada pasta, Chebe bread mix, Namaste pizza and cake mixes as well as adapting recipes to be gluten free. -Sandy

Corn tortillas make excellent sandwich wraps. Heat them at 350 wrapped in foil, or better yet in a tortilla warmer, until warm and pliable. Fill with your favorite ingredients - usually something sauteed with vegetables works well. -Chris