National expert and speaker for recognition and treatment of Gluten Intolerance / Celiac Disease
Would you like a gluten free restaurant in Corvallis? I know we would!
Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey for us to better assess the need for a gluten free restaurant in Corvallis.
Thank you for your support! We will keep you posted on the progress…
Are you yearning for the savory taste of a juicy hot dog? You are in luck! A new hot dog stand has come to Corvallis.
Willie’s Hot Dog stand offers 100% beef New York Sabvett hot dogs. Gluten intolerant? No problem. Willie will be sure to wrap it up in a delicious gluten free, dairy free crepe. Stuff it full of sauerkraut, chili or grilled onions and you’re sure to have a satisfying, hearty lunch. For dessert, try out one of his sweet crepes like “Strawberry and Fresh Lime” or “Nutella and Banana”.
The Gluten Free RN has checked out Willie’s cart and can contest that he is very aware of cross contamination. There are gluten containing buns, but they are kept in a separate bag. When ordered, they are taken out and placed directly on a paper plate, never touching any part of the cart.
At $4 per gluten free dog, you can be sure to get a great lunch. He is usually there, weather permitting, from 11am to 4:30 pm, but his hours will be extended in the summer. Stop by and see him in front of the Starbucks on 4th St. and Madison in downtown Corvallis.
Zia Southwest Cuisine
A coffee shop in Eugene is offering gluten free foods: Go Healthy Cafe. Check out the whole story on KMTR here.
If you are avoiding casein, finding dairy substitutes that are gluten free can be tricky. A friend of mine with celiac disease who also avoids casein recently mentioned that she makes her own rice milk. Apparently, it’s a cinch. I did some more research and found the recipe on the website of Vegan Reader:
Ingredients and Supplies:
1 cup uncooked organic long grain brown rice
8 cups water for cooking
More water for diluting
1 tsp salt
Jars for storage
A Blender
Mesh strainer
Directions
Thoroughly wash the rice. Put 8 cups of water in a big pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Pour in the rice. Cover the pot and lower the heat to let the water simmer. Cook for 3 hours.
You will end up with something that looks a bit like a soupy rice pudding. Add the salt.
In batches, fill your blender halfway with the rice mixture and halfway with water. Blend until very smooth. Strain twice through a fine mesh strainer into a mason jar. Continue on with the rest of the milk until you’re finished, filling jars and screwing the lids on good and tight.
Even with the extra water, the homemade rice milk ends up thicker- more like rice cream! You may want to dilute it further at the time of serving it. Just add a bit more water until it’s the desired consistency. Or if you would like it even creamier try adding 2 Tbsp of oil.
For a blended rice and nut milk: at the blending stage, add some blanched raw almonds or hazelnuts, or some cashews for an even richer, creamier, more nutritious milk.
Yum!
Recently here at the Gluten Free RN, we purchased Annalise G. Roberts Gluten-Free Baking Classics. We have quite a collection of gluten free cookbooks so it remained on a shelf until a special occasion gave me cause to pull it down and take it home. The assignment- make a gluten free birthday cake for my younger sister that is so good, no one will be able to tell it apart from ”normal” cake.
I settled on a yellow cake that would make a nice double round recipe and set to work. A nice brown flour mix Ms. Roberts uses yielded cake batter unlike any other gluten free batter I had yet tasted. Sweet, no aftertaste, delectable. Upon baking, it rose to a normal cake height and sprung back when pressed. Topped with a simple chocolate frosting, it was the hit of the party. Not a person at our birthday celebration could tell it was gluten free, and most were excited when they found out it was.
The next morning, inspired by the yellow cake, I set to work. The same brown rice blend was used for breakfast crepes. A person would be hard pressed to tell the difference from normal crepes. They folded easily without the least bit of crumply texture found in some gluten free products. I stuffed them with left over potatoes, cheese and salsa and wolfed them down before heading back to the kitchen.
Next was a bread recipe. I tried the simple white bread, putting it in my bread machine where I am sure it did not rise to its full potential. The taste however, was again marvelous with an actual crust surrounding the outside crispy and brown. I tried it one more time in the oven as the recipe actually suggests. The top was just beginning to peak the top of the bread pan when I pulled it out. It was to my horror that I discovered it was not yet done and watched it quickly delapitate before my very eyes. The bread can most certainly be done, unfortunately, someone much more experienced at bread making than myself is going to need to try it.
Without losing hope, I switched to a brownie recipe. An avid chocolate lover I could not resist adding in an extra cup of chocolate chips. The brownies were chewy, dense and a chocolate lovers heaven. Similar, if not better than my pre-celiac diagnosis brownie recipe. The brownies lasted a day in my household before being devoured.
Entrigued by the “captivating chocolate chip” comment on the front of the book, I set out to prove it. Opening the oven half way through baking showed what appeared to be a melted mess. However, five minutes later the goo had turned into real cookies. The result left me delighted as my previous chocolate chip cookie recipe had always been flat and chewy as well.
Last but not least was a cornbread recipe. My father, who does not eat gluten free, proclaimed it was the best cornbread he had ever eaten.
I have yet to find a recipe that does not work from this book. If you are new to gluten free, or even if you are just looking to perfect a gf baking recipe, I suggest you check out Annalise G. Roberts Gluten-Free Baking Classics.
If you are headed to Portland, I would recommend checking out www.GlutenFreePortland.org. This site has a great rating system for restaurants in the Portland area that serve gluten free items. I never knew there were so many! They let you know what locations are safe, where you have to be cautious, and which items on the menu taste the best. Check back often, as they update with schedules of gluten free cooking classes as well.
I think I will be scheduling a trip to Portland in the near future…
Almost a year ago, I started our dogs on gluten free dog food, mostly for my own benefit. I wanted to remove as many gluten containing products from our house as possible to limit my exposure. At that time, we had three dogs, now we have four. I never said I wasn’t crazy.
Back to the dogs. The oldest is Slugs, she just turned 14 years old this September. She is an old black lab that lays around the house and wakes up to eat, goes outside, then back to sleep. Prior to going gluten free, Slugs could very capably clear our house of any breathing beings simply by ‘breaking wind’. A foul odor was emitted from Slugs back side that reminded us, on the receiving end , of nothing pleasant or good. Our eyes would water and we would open windows to clear the grey-green toxic cloud from the house. But, it was a heavy stench and it tended to linger so we would bring out the fans.
We also realistically figured, ‘hey, she’s a 14 year old lab, she can’t live forever’, but she lives on and on… But she no longer drops the BOMBS on us. No kidding. A change in her diet, going gluten free, hasn’t made her completely fart-free, but it sure has made her pleasant to be around. And she is healthier, her coat is shiny and she doesn’t shed enough hair to cover another dog everyday!
The dog food I use is called Taste of the Wild. The website for the company is www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com and their phone number is 1-800-977-8797. I buy 30 lb. bags of the ‘High Prarie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison- A Grain Free Diet’ at Big B Feed and Seed in Albany, Oregon for about $43. A bag lasts roughly a month with the black lab, a small roguish mix named Ernie, Pumpkin the long-haired dachshund and our newest member Pepper, a senior rescue dachshund. Denson’s feed store here in Corvallis said they would carry it if enough people requested it. We try to keep an extra 5 lb. bag of this dog food on hand; something easy to grab in case of emergency or disaster events. Always be prepared.
The dogs all need treats when they are good, which happens at times, so I also pick up Natural Balance – Potato & Duck formula treats. They are available in small and large breed size. The website is www.naturalbalance.net and their phone number is 1-800-829-4493. I have found these products at every major pet store in the area.
The diet change for the dogs, as for people, is not a cure-all. Slugs still has a seizure once in a while, but still seems to recover to her baseline. Slugs had a check up with the vet recently and he said she is in great shape for her age. The other dogs play like puppies and are fun to have as part of our family.
Interestingly, our newest addition Pepper, came to us with a lipoma or fatty tumor on her back. My daughter was grosssed out by the lumpy bump and wanted us to have it removed. Well, it’s not completely gone, but it is less than half the size it was a few weeks ago. We are adopting the ‘wait and watch’ approach to see if it goes away completely.
I am told by my friends that have cats, the same options are available to them for gluten free cat foods. Since I don’t have cats I don’t know what the effects would be, perhaps fewer hairballs?
Keep me posted. Let me know your thoughts. What works for humans not surprisingly sometimes works for animals.
Do you really need to worry about health and beauty products such as shampoo and hair spray? How about toothpaste? Do these products even contain wheat, barley, rye or oatmeal. The simple answer is ‘yes’ they can all contain gluten and can cause symptoms, especially for people that are exquisitely sensitive or have the rash DH. Certainly, if you have asthma related to gluten intolerance and you use hairspray that contains wheatgerm oil, it could trigger an asthma attack or at least cause wheezing. People with gluten intolerance, celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis ARE sensitive to gluten in the personal care products. The wheat germ oil that is in shampoo, for example, does get absorbed into your skin. So people that have an itchy scalp need to review the ingredients in the shampoo and other products they buy. I use a products from North Dakota called Savonnerie and Dakota Free. These companies can be reached at www.GFSoap.com and www.DakotaFree.com . If you live in the Corvallis area, we have a local distributor, Deb Savageau. She can be contacted at 541-760-4361 or www.debonairenterprises.com or deb@debonairenterprises.com . Of course, I always encourage people to develop their own gluten free products, market and sell them!
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