Schar Gluten Free Hot Dog Buns – Two Tips

On the Fourth of July, I finally broke down and got some Schar Hot Dog Buns.  Normally, I do not miss buns.  I have no problem eating something with a knife and a fork and skipping the bun altogether.  There are a couple exceptions.  There is something about eating a hotdog or a brat in a bun with your hand that makes the experience so much better.

We grilled up some brats and I excitedly cracked these open.  The first brat was, well… bad.  The second one was much, much better.  Here’s what I did…

  1.  The rolls were cut, but now I’m wondering if they are intended to be only partially cut.  The cuts weren’t near deep enough.  Our brats nearly sat on top of the buns.  I cut the rolls a bit more to let the brat sit in the bun lower and hold toppings and such.
  2. I microwaved each bun for 15 seconds or so.

After these two modifications, my son’s eyes lit up.  He said.. “I didn’t want to complain before, but that last one was bad, these are so much better now”

Big difference.  The warmth provided by a short microwave of these, makes them soft and chewy and makes a world of difference.  That combined with cutting them a bit more moved them from a 1 or 2 star to a 4 star to me.

 Schar Gluten Free Hot Dog Rolls – via Amazon

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Celiac Disease For Dummies

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Celiac Disease For Dummies by Ian Blumer and Sheila Crowe

About, from the book description: “Celiac Disease For Dummies is the ultimate reference for people with the disease and their family members. The book helps readers identify symptoms of the disease, and explains how doctors definitively diagnose celiac disease. It outlines how celiac disease affects the body, and what its consequences could be if untreated. The authors explain how celiac disease is treated, not only through the elimination of gluten from the diet, but with additional nutritional measures and alternative and complementary therapies. Written by two practicing physicians, the book also offers practical, helpful guidance for parents of children with celiac disease, whose treatment may be a particular challenge.

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Vitacost Flash Sale: Extra 20% Off Food Purchases [lots of GF items]

For a limited time  Vitacost is taking an additional 20% off food purchase of $50 or more. Expires 6/27/17 9 AM ET.

Visit Vitacost – use coupon code FOODFEST

Related: Vitacost has a large selection of gluten free foods –Gluten Free Food & Beverages at Vitacost

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Chick-fil-A: New Gluten Free Bun + What’s Gluten Free at Chick-fil-A

ATLANTA (June 19, 2017) – Chick-fil-A® announced today the addition of a new Gluten-Free Bun. The addition comes in response to customers’ requests for more gluten-free/sensitive options on the menu. The new bun, which is now available in restaurants nationwide, comes individually packaged and can be ordered with any of Chick-fil-A’s sandwich offerings.

The Gluten-Free Bun is made with premium ingredients, including ancient grains quinoa and amaranth. It is enriched with vitamins and minerals and is lightly sweetened with molasses and raisins. The Gluten-Free Bun rolls out nationwide following successful tests in three cities across the country in 2016.

Data shows roughly 18 million Americans have a gluten sensitivity or preference. Chick-fil-A is one of the few quick-service restaurants to offer a gluten-free bun.

“We know our customers are looking for more gluten-sensitive alternatives. They asked, and we listened,” said Leslie Neslage, senior consultant of menu development at Chick-fil-A. “We heard positive feedback in test markets that the bun tastes better than some other gluten-free breads. That’s because instead of rice flower, we’ve made the bun with more premium ingredients like quinoa and amaranth. Our hope is that the Gluten-Free Bun addition opens up options for gluten-sensitive customers to enjoy more of our menu.”

Also worth noting – “While individually packaged and certified free of gluten, guests will be required to assemble their own sandwiches to reduce risk of cross-contamination. Chick-fil-A kitchens are not gluten-free.”  See below for a link the full news release.

Chick-fil-A has also re-added a “gluten free” list to their website.  That, and any reference to gluten, has been conspicuously absent from their site for years.

I think Chick-fil-A has been going the wrong direction with regards to gluten free for a while.  See: Chick-fil-A – A Step Backwards When It Comes to Gluten Free.  This menu addition and the additional information MAY be a sign they are changing directions.  I still have serious concerns.  Read on.

Chick-fil-A continues use phrases that make me think they are not using Celiac-safe methods.

Example: “For guests who wish to minimize their gluten intake, here is a list of additional menu items offered at Chick-fil-A. (The fine print: Due to the handcrafted nature of our food, variations in our supplier ingredients and our use of shared cooking and preparation areas, we cannot ensure that our restaurant environment or any menu item will be completely free of gluten.)” from the What’s Gluten Free at Chick-fil-A? page.  Emphasis mine.

I get it.  Their kitchens contain gluten and there’s no guarantee that cross contamination will not occur.

Troubling.  The really troubling parts of that statement are – “variations in our supplier ingredients”…”we cannot ensure that our restaurant environment or any menu item will be completely free of gluten”

Wait, what?  You mean to tell me that Chick-fil-A doesn’t have enough sway with their suppliers to work with them to guarantee certain ingredients are gluten free?  So, the honey mustard is gluten free as of some point, but supplier A decided to change something and now it’s not and we can’t do anything about it and too bad.

What about other allergens?  Can those just randomly show up in the food too?  How about “Sorry guys, the coleslaw has peanuts in it today, hope you brought your EpiPen”.

This is careless, sloppy and/or reckless.

With regards to cross contamination… In 2013 Chick-fil-A had the following on their website: “While we don’t have a gluten free prep area for these items, our procedures have been written to avoid cross contamination”

Sometime after March of 2014, the term gluten was all but expunged from Chick-fil-A’s website.  In December of 2016, the only mention I could find of the term gluten related to applesauce or something in their kids meals.  The allergen matrix made no mention of gluten.

Now that gluten seems to be a valid word again at Chick-fil-a are they still trained to avoid cross contamination?  Were they ever trained to do so?

Chick-fil-A… How about working with your suppliers to make sure they truly supply gluten free items?  How about giving people with serious gluten issues some insight as to what goes on in the kitchen and give us a clue how and if we can order safely (within reason) at your restaurants??

Or – Just say it… Celiacs and the like – stay away.  We use the term “gluten sensitive” because we’re hopping hopping on the bandwagon.

At least that way, you wouldn’t be hopping on the bandwagon at our expense.

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AlsoManufacturer Correspondence: Is Perrier Gluten Free?

 

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Me Being a Celiac: Too Much Raw Food

I have Celiac Disease [About Me].

It’s taken me nearly a year and a half to figure this out, but, I have come to the conclusion that eating too many raw vegetables is a real issue for me.

I first read of this issue in one of the first books I read on Celiac Disease – Jennifer’s Way.  Jennifer Esposito remarked that this was a problem for her.

Although I continued to feel quite crummy.  I didn’t think that too many raw foods were a real issue to me (I’m also not saying they were the cause of all my problems a year and a half ago).  I figured if I had a problem with too many raw vegetables and fruits, I would have some sort of GI reaction, which I did not.

Advice ignored.

Fast forward a year and half-ish.  Even though I’ve adhered to a strict gluten free diet, I still continued to periodically feel crummy, without knowing why.

On the plane ride on a recent trip (heading to Florida and eventually on a cruise [See: Gluten Free on Royal Caribbean]) I finished reading Eat Dirt by Dr Josh Axe.  Again, I read mention of issues with too much raw food.  Again, I reasoned, this is not an issue I have.

Turning point.  In Florida we ate a completely gluten free, vegan, raw restaurant.  Within an hour or so I felt horrible and continued to fill ill through the next morning.

At this time, I also recalled that I started to feel ill after drinking my typical lunchtime smoothie AFTER I started adding Spirulina to the smoothie in heaping portions.

In all of these cases, I did not have specific GI symptoms, generally I just feel yucky, tired and blah.  It’s almost as if my GI tract has too much work and tells the rest of my body – slow down, this is going to be bad.

Since, I have tried to limit raw vegetables and fruits and have noticed a marked difference.  I feel better.  I still eat raw foods, I just try to do so in moderation.  I still make a smoothie, I just don’t put as much fruit in and I only use a pinch of spirulina.  For me, this was some advice I was ignoring, that seems to have made a big difference.

I feel like I also have a similar reaction of I ingest too many probiotic-type things.  As of this posting, I’m currently taking one Raw Probiotics Ultimate Care per day and that seems to be working well.  I can also drinking a Kombucha or two without issue.

I’m also not saying raw foods were/are the cause of all my issues.  I’m confused as to why I still seem to have this issue, but it seems I do.  Hopefully over time it will become less and less of an issue.

Disclaimer: This is in no way a recommendation to you.  This is not medical advice.  The following is for informational purposes only.  Before making a changes to your diet, talk to your doctor or healthcare professional to see what choices are right for you.

 

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From Maycamas Fine Foods Website (as of this posting, check for current statements): “All products are produced in our own dedicated Gluten Free and Nut Free Facility”

Tweet from January 2017.  Connect with GF Finds on Twitter

 

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