FDA’s Gluten-Free Labeling Information

The following is a letter from Andrea Levario, Executive Director of the American Celiac Disease Alliance.  Please read it so that you will have the correct information, and share with those that may have the incorrect information.  Thank you.

Last week, information was reported, which has now circulated among groups, and in blog-posts, that the FDA’s proposed rules on GF labeling “were effective in August.” That statement is INCORRECT.

Since 2004, when we worked so hard to get the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act passed, the celiac community has been [waiting] for this announcement from the FDA. Unfortunately, it will be a bit longer.

According to the FDA:

“The final rule to define the food labeling term “gluten-free” will not be issued until sometime after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of its draft report on a safety assessment for gluten intake by individuals with Celiac disease.  FDA will be soliciting public comments on that draft which will be considered along with the comments we previously received on the proposed rule on gluten-free food labeling as well as the findings of the safety assessment itself in developing a final rule.

The notice on the safety assessment is expected to be published shortly, but it is premature to anticipate the issuance date of the final rule. However, when the notice and final rule are published, they likely will be posted at FDA’s website www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-cat.html#gluten Therefore, you may wish to visit that website periodically for any updates.”

It is not clear when the safety assessment report will be published. As soon as the ACDA can confirm the report is available, the information will be posted on the Celiac Listserv and distributed through our email network.

To sign-up for the ACDA’s news alerts go to www.americanceliac.org/advocacy.htm then scroll down and click on ‘Action
E-list’

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at info@americanceliac.org

Andrea Levario
Executive Director
American Celiac Disease Alliance

Learning to Cope

Finding out I was gluten-intolerant was not “the end of the world” for me, like it seems to be with some people. I never spent any time grieving, being angry or in denial, or any of that. It was a miracle to me to find out what was wrong and be able to easily fix it. I learned what to do, then I learned how to bake, and I’ve been helping others ever since.

I don’t know why, but this whole gestational diabetes thing has turned my life upside-down and inside-out. The strange thing is, I can’t even understand why. It’s not like I’m being forced to count carbs for the rest of my life - only the next 10 weeks (give or take). But there has definitely been anger - anger I didn’t even realize was there until it was unleashed on someone else. Is that because of the diagnosis, or because of my blood sugar, or because of my pregnancy hormones (or probably some of it all)?

Pricking my finger and taking my blood glucose level is no big deal (actually, it’s kinda neat to see the numbers - if only I understood them a little better). I now don’t even feel the prick, and have to squeeze my finger before I know if it actually got me or not.

Eating healthy? Well, I’ve pretty much always done that.

But eating 6 times a day? That, I just cannot seem to do. I feel like I’m spending almost all of my day eating, and even at that, I always miss at least one of my snacks.

And I’m nearly terrified to leave the house for any real length of time. The kids and I really needed to be with friends this week, but I can barely manage to get my meals and snacks together as it is, without having to prepare beforehand.

When I met with the dietitian on Thursday, I thought I understood everything I needed to do, and I felt fine. Well, that feeling didn’t last very long. Tomorrow, I have an appointment with another dietitian, and I definitely have some questions to ask. (I also have an ultrasound tomorrow, as the doctor wants to check and make sure the baby is as big as she’s supposed to be. Yeah, that doesn’t seem to make much sense with having gestational diabetes. But when has my body ever tried to be rational about anything? LOL.)

I guess, though, that I really must be fair to myself and say that this is only the 4th day, and things are getting easier (a bit). A few of the foods that I’ve been eating, I now “know” and I no longer need to look at the number of carbs before preparing my meal. I don’t really need to look at my chart anymore to know how much protein, carbs and fat I’m supposed to have at each meal and each snack. Hopefully, tomorrow I will make some bread (I’ve been saying I’d do that all weekend). That will give me a few more options, especially for snacks and meals on the go (like to church or a friend’s house).

Now I really need to start menu planning. It would really take the frustration out of preparing meals.

Some of the things I’ve been doing that help me are:
Using www.nutritiondata.com to make a food label for recipes I have
Sharing (emotionally) - a little bit here and there with various people, and a lot with my husband
Adding vegetables everywhere
Adjusting the recipes slightly to give a little more fiber and less sugar

I did have quite a bit of fun preparing spaghetti last night. I made the sauce from scratch. I started with the ground beef (one pound), and had some chopped bell pepper and carrots (matchstick carrots - so much easier) cooking up with the meat. When that was cooked, I added a box of frozen spinach, half a can of beets (shoestring), a can of large tomato chunks, almost 2 cans of tomato sauce (I had some leftovers in the fridge) and a can of tomato paste. A dash of salt, a little garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and thyme, a little simmering, and presto! It was good. I had some on top of a bit of spaghetti and a salad (it was good on the salad, too - even Braden ate his that way).

What have you found that has totally knocked you flat, and how did you deal with it? Feel free to share in the comments, if you’d like.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp - BBQ Time

About a month ago, Kate at Gluten Free Gobsmacked decided to host a virtual barbeque. The date is tomorrow. Yeah, I know, I’m barely making it in time (but I’m 6 1/2 months pregnant - so cut me some slack). We each picked a letter, and I got R. I wanted to make something with rhubarb, but couldn’t find any in the stores. Finally, I found some - hiding in the back of my freezer, of all places. So here is what I came up with. It was a real hit!

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp

1 & 1/2 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut (if frozen, thaw and drain)
1 & 1/2 lb strawberries, sliced (if frozen, thaw, but don’t drain)
3-5 Tbs sugar (depending on the sweetness of your strawberries)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup gf flour mix*
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbs buttermilk powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup margarine

1/4 - 1/2 cup gf oats
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Place rhubarb and strawberries in greased 9×13 baking dish; sprinkle with sugar.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine brown sugar, gf flour mix, xanthan gum, buttermilk powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Mix in oatmeal and nuts, and sprinkle mixture over fruit.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 35 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and the topping starts to brown. Serve warm or cold.

*You can use whatever flour mix you want. I used the standard Bette Hagman mix: 2 parts white rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch.

The guys all had ice cream atop their first bowls, and ate their second bowls without. I was really pleased with how this turned out. Mom, I’m so sorry that you are away on vacation and can’t taste it.

Prior to eating this wonderful concoction of mine (yes, I am pleased with myself - I’m only beginning to really experiment in the kitchen), we had hamburgers… on buns.

I made the microwave hamburger buns for our dinner. Andy deemed them a success. Because Braden hadn’t appreciated the flax seed meal ones yesterday, I made him one with rice flour (same ratios), which he thoroughly enjoyed. Yeah, it was a little too big for his mouth, lol.

Check out Kate’s blog in the next few days for her barbeque roundup. You should definitely leave with some recipes to try!

Dental Cleaning

I just wanted to tell you about something I learned this morning during my dental cleaning.  I had been telling the hygienist that I haven’t been able to wear my night guard (that I got about the same time as I got pregnant) because I’ve been sick the whole time.  So when it was time to polish my teeth, instead of using that icky gritty polishing paste (which sometimes may have gluten, but they’ve checked on theirs), she got a paste-free polishing cup, that has the abrasiveness built right in.  (She didn’t want me gagging on her, lol.)

If your dentist can’t find out about gluten status of the polishing paste, or you just think it’s icky, check and see if they have a paste-free polishing cup.

Almost Time

I am so excited.  The GIG National Education Conference is in just a few days.  I am getting ready, completing some last minute details.  One of those involved making some cheese crackers.  I’ll tell you more about them after the conference (and about the conference, too).  For now, just know that they are extremely addictive.

Enchiladas

I had the pleasure of having some real Mexican enchiladas this weekend.

My little brother just graduated from college, and his mother-in-law threw a party for him.  She is from Costa Rica, and some of her best friends are from Mexico.  They helped her out and made the enchiladas for the party.  Marjorie (Corey’s MIL) made sure the whole meal was gluten-free, except for the cake (from a bakery).  She made sure to have fruit for me, since the baby is not inclined to let me eat sugar (as she was going to make sure there was ice cream for me).  We had a wonderful dinner, and a great time just sitting around and talking.

I wish I could give you a recipe, but I can’t.  Apparently, these ladies are taster-cooks (which is totally fine - that’s how I often cook).  Everything but the corn tortillas were made from scratch.  But here’s the real secret - they lightly fry the corn tortillas (individually) prior to rolling, and that’s what keeps them soft and together.  Nifty, huh?  Now, you may have noticed that the chicken enchilada in the picture is not quite together.  There was a little too much going on, and they forgot about them a bit, and ended up scraping off the top (though I doubt they were that burnt).  At any rate, they were sooooo good.

So next time you make enchiladas, why not try lightly frying your corn tortillas first, and see what kind of difference it makes for you.

Time Is Running Out

The deadline is approaching to get the early bird pricing for the Gluten Intolerance Group’s Annual Education Conference. Register by May 21st to save some money. Conference dates are June 6 and 7, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

This conference is going to be a total blast. I know - I helped organize it. And, if you come, you can meet me Alive and In Person (and with a 6-month-pregnant belly, lol). I mean, you all want to come just to meet me, right?

Well, if that’s not a good enough reason, then let me give you some more.

We are going to have some fabulous speakers. Cookbook authors: Roben Ryberg, Carol Fenster, Annalise Roberts, and Jennifer Cinquepalmi. Dieticians: Shelley Case and Cathy Breedon. Gluten-Free life experts: Danna Korn and Andrea Levario. Doctors: Michelle Pietzak, Edward Hoffenburg, Jean Layton, Steve Wangen and Megan Tichy. And let us not forget our guest speaker, the one and only, Dr. Alessio Fasano (he will be speaking at the Saturday night banquet).

A Texas Hoedown Barbeque and Dance awaits us for the Friday night entertainment. We are going to have a Singing Cowboy, and line dance instructor. Come have some fun, Texas-Style! Our Saturday night banquet will have such a wonderful atmosphere. We get to be a little fancied-up, eat, and chat with our new friends, listen to Dr. Fasano speak, and participate in a live auction, which helps fund the various children’s camps that GIG puts on every year.

I even have the inside scoop on the items for the live auction. Shh. Come closer and I’ll tell you a few.

• Four different bed and breakfast packages, including the famous (to my blog readers, anyways) Chicken Paradise
• Two autographed Dallas Cowboys footballs
• A personal chef service
• A set of two American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. (round trip!)
• Sunday morning breakfast with Dr. Fasano (ladies, I know y’all want to bid on this one)

We’ve got some great silent auction items that will be available to bid on Friday and Saturday. Some will even have a “buy now” option if you’ve just got to have it. Here’s a few to tickle your fancy:

• Texas/Southwest themed kitchenware
• Giftcards from nationally recognized restaurants
• Unique handmade gifts, like jewelry from my friend, Tara
• Lots of great gluten-free food baskets

We had some ideas to spruce up the conference a bit, and make it even more user-friendly:

• A pack and mail service available, for all the food, books, and auction items you buy
• Chair massages
• A walk-around breakfast, where the vendors supply the carbs (get ready to chow down)
• A book table, run by me (and David, our treasurer), to outfit you with the speakers’ books - because I know you’ll want to buy some

If you are bringing a companion who is not into the whole conference thing, they will be just minutes away from Grapevine Mills Mall, which has just about everything, including a huge movie theater and other entertainment areas. Check out this Vacation In Texas brochure I helped create for more ideas.

So come and join us. It will be the highlight of your summer. I know it will be mine!

Pink Is My Favorite Color

It is, actually (I have become girlie in my adulthood).  But, dun dun dun duh!  I now get to buy a lot of pink.  We had our sonogram today, and it sure looks like a girl.  We are all very excited.

Rice Chex and Recipes

I know everyone else has already written about it, but I was waiting until I could actually purchase a box.

Well, finally, they were available to me (they’ve had the old, non-gf boxes on the shelf, driving me crazy). I got a box today (I only got one because I still have some Crunch ‘Ems hanging around).

I’m excited, because it’s a mainstream company that has taken notice of us (and I hope they will continue to produce more gf cereals). Andy’s excited (or at least I will pretend he is) because it’s something from the evil cereal aisle (though we buy Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles). Braden’s excited because they have box tops (box tops for education). Carter’s excited because I let him carry them into the house.

So we’re all excited. And all of us Celiacs are going to buy lots of these so GM will take notice, right?

Yeah, but what do you do with a whole bunch of Rice Chex? Oh, so many possibilities.

The obvious: eat them. Eat them plain, eat them with milk. My new favorite way is to add cut-up dried apples or pears, sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar, and add just a touch of honey, and have that as my morning bowl of cereal. (Okay, you ask, how do I have a favorite way if I just bought them? - well, I was using the Crunch ‘Ems like this.)

But oh, the recipes. Chex actually has a gluten-free page of recipes now. Currently, there are only 8 recipes on there. But I did some digging on the Betty Crocker website and found a whole bunch more. I posted them over at the Delphi Celiac group, here. There are more than just the “mix” type recipes - there is even a chicken pot pie recipe and a green bean casserole recipe (I think I may just make the topping, lol).

Rice Chex would make a good crumb crust, too. Just crush the cereal, add a little sugar (if you want a sweet crust), and melted butter, and press it in. You would probably bake it for about 7 to 10 minutes at 350° (just guessing - I haven’t done it yet).

So enjoy, and spread the joy. What is your favorite way to eat gluten-free Rice Chex?

New GF Product - Yogurt

For those of you who called Dannon about their Activia yogurts, and were depressed to hear that they are not considered gf, then I may have found an alternative for you.  (At least, I think this is like that yogurt, but I can’t say that I have actually paid too much attention to the Activia.)

It’s called BeneFIT and it’s by Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) and marked gluten-free.

“Probiotic light yogurt with added fiber.”
“Benefits:
Regulates Digestive Health
Beneficial Bacteria
Contains Active Cultures
Tastes Great”

They come in a 4-pack of 4-ounce yogurts, in at least 4 different flavors (I got Raspberry and Blueberry).  There is 3g (11% daily value) of dietary fiber in each one.