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10 Reasons You’re Not Staying on a GF Diet

Mary Frances — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:00:14 +0000

The emails that my readers send me tend to go through spurts. Sometimes all of the emails are very encouraging. Sometimes they are filled with questions from the curious. At other times, the emails are filled with whiny complaints and excuses. We’re in one of those phases right now, so here’s some tough love. If you don’t need it right now, it will be hear when you do.

If you’re struggling with any of the following 10 issues, then learn how to love your gluten free life by reading my e-book. I really do want to help you, not just virtually scold you =)

10. You haven’t seen any improvements in your symptoms. At first glance it would seem reasonable to stop the gluten free diet if you’re symptoms are not improving. But, let’s ask a couple of questions first.

First, how long have you been gluten free? Some people see improvement in their symptoms within days. For others it takes months. Give yourself time to heal, especially if your symptoms indicated that there was a lot of inflammation in your body.

Second, have you really taken this gluten free diet seriously? Have you really been gluten free. There is a steep learning curve when you go gluten free. It can take a while to find all the sources of gluten in your diet. Have you been super careful about reading lables and avoiding foods that could have been contaminated with gluten? Have you been sure to use cookware that’s not contaminated with traces of gluten? If you’re not certain that you’ve been 100% gluten free, then it’s not time to stop the diet due to lack of improvement. read more

9. You don’t think that a little bit of gluten will hurt. If you believe this and you have celiac, then you’re lying to yourself. When you have celiac disease you’re body attacks the gluten when you eat it (or sometimes when you just touch it). That hurts your body, so don’t play around and have even a pinch of a slice of cake that’s made from wheat flour.

But perhaps you just have a wheat allergy….or gluten doesn’t seem to agree with you but you’ve not actually been diagnosed with celiac disease. You shouldn’t be playing around with gluten either!

If you have a wheat allergy then your body probably experiences some sort of inflammation when you eat wheat. Inflammation is NOT good for your body. And that gluten intolerance…..how do you know that’s not going to turn into something serious down the road. I’ve had way too many readers tell me that their ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, migraines, etc cleared up with they stopped eating gluten. You may not have those symptoms now….and you don’t want to. So stop sneaking the gluten when no one is watching!

8. You’re not paying attention to labels. This one is sneaky. Reading labels is boring and tedious and no one’s description of fun. But it’s absolutely necessary if you’re going to stay gluten free all the time. You have to be vigilant and suspicious and alert if you’re going to stay gluten free while eating manufactured foods. Companies change their ingredients all the time…and they process foods that should be gluten free on or near equipment that processes wheat, barley and rye.

7. You don’t have any willpower. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. If there is something that I’m not supposed to eat in the house, then I’m going to eat it. It may not be today, and it might not be tomorrow, but as soon as I get frustrated or discouraged, or tired I will eat that food like it’s the last edible food on this plant.

I’m not about to tell you to have more willpower. Gluttony (which this is, if we’re honest with ourselves) is listed as one of the deadly sins, and I’d be a fool to tell you to just have more willpower. Instead, get the gluten out of the house. If you don’t have willpower, then no one in your house should be allowed to eat food that you can’t eat. You’re health is too important. If the food’s not in the house, then you don’t have to have willpower to stay away, so the problem is solved.

6. You think a GF diet is too expensive. A gluten free diet can be expensive, but if you’re using that as an excuse to not stay on it, then you’re only thinking about the short-term. Is the price of gluten free groceries more than the price of treating stomach or colon cancer in 15 years? Is it more expensive than the lost productivity from having daily bouts of diarrhea, and bloating? Is it more expensive than emergency room trips for migraines, and all of the prescriptions that aren’t doing any good at actually curing what’s wrong with you?

You can find a way to eat a gluten free diet on your budget. You may have to spend more time working on your shopping skills. You may have to cut other costs so that you have more money for groceries. You may not be able to eat gluten free baked goods, which are the most expensive part of a gluten free diet. You many need to to apply for food stamps ask for charitable help that you’re pride is otherwise keeping you from doing. But you can find a way to eat a GF diet if you decide that you’re going to do that.

5. You can’t find GF ingredients You’re wrong. Gluten free ingredients are all around you. Check the produce section and the freshly butchered meats.

Now, you may not be able to find gluten free flours at your local grocery (I’m not),and I know how frustrating that can be, especially if you’re used to the convenience. But you can drive to a larger town or order them on the internet. For those of you who are thinking, “But, I can’t order them on the internet because I don’t buy things on the internet,” I’m not accepting that as an excuse. The gluten free ingredients are there, you’ve just made a choice not to buy them. So, drive over to the big city or circle your cart back to the produce and meat section.

4. You’re not planning ahead. This one’s tough. Planning ahead for every food eventuality is not something that we’re used to, at least not in the United States. But, if you’re going to stay gluten free you need to plan for the times you’re going to be hungry. That means having gluten free food stashes at the office, in your purse, or in the car. That means planning your meals and going grocery shopping so that there is food in the house that you can (and want) to eat. And it means calling the restaurant or checking their website beforehand to make sure that they can feed you. I know you’re busy, but take care of yourself and plan ahead so that you won’t be tempted to cheat.

3. You’re proud. So, you just ate a wilted iceburg lettuce salad with mealy, pink tomatoes while everyone around you enjoyed a delicious meal. Congratulations, you stayed gluten free but you’re not going to be gluten free for long.

Nobody wants to eat disgusting gluten free food. Make sure this doesn’t happen. You’re important. If your friends are going to a restaurant that won’t have food for you, speak up. If you’re traveling and the restaurants don’t have good options for you (It’s tough to find anything but fried foods and hamburgers in rural areas), then make everyone stop at the grocery store so that you can get some food. A meal of grapes, nuts, and cheese would be better than a wilted iceburg salad.

Stop worrying about inconveniencing everyone and stop worrying about what they think. You need food, and you need food that won’t hurt your body and that’s delicious. Because if it’s not delicious then you’re not going to stick with it.

2. You’re not trying. Are you losing weight on a gluten free diet because you’ve been eating the same three foods over and over again, and have actually stopped eating because you’re tired of those foods. There are plenty, PLENTY, of naturally gluten free foods. Go figure out what they are and start eating again.

Oh wait, there’s a hand in the back. Oh, you can’t eat gluten and x, and y, and z, and a, and b, and c, and d? I understand that’s difficult, (really, I do!) but please stop whining about it and start focusing on what you can eat. Stop getting all emotionally wrapped up in a pity party and start looking for some recipes that will work for you. Google will not hurt you….start searching for recipes now.

1. You’re afraid. Here’s the biggie. Some of you are not sticking to a gluten free diet, because you are afraid to stay on a gluten free diet. You may be afraid of change. You may be afraid of what it would mean for your life if you started feeling better.

You may be afraid of what life would be like if you couldn’t eat your favorite (gluten-filled) foods. You’re afraid of cooking. You’re afraid of baking. You’re afraid of failure.

Fear will come of with many things for you to be afraid of, and the fears are all illusions. If you can pinpoint a fear that’s keeping you from staying gluten free, then please, please, please start working on that area of your life. Figure out what you’re afraid and do something about. Don’t let fear stop you from being a vibrant, healthy person.

January Open Chat

John — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:49:28 +0000

January Open Chat
January 22, 2011

Scroll down! The Google ad is making the chat box go below the fold.

January Open Chat

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Hot Homemade Gluten Free Bagels That Will Make You Groan With Pleasure

Mary Frances — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:00:32 +0000

I’ll give it to Udi’s. Their gluten free bagels are delicious. Spread with cream cheese, the Udi’s bagel was a wonderful breakfast treat.

That is, until I learned how to make homemade bagels at home. These were a revelation. Chewy, hot, yeasty goodness. That’s how we started our Sunday off (and have for several weeks now)

The options are endless. Sprinkle on sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Add cinnamon and raisins to the dough or chocolate chips. Indulge your whims.

Want some? The bagels will be part of the next course at the Cooking School. Now on to English Muffins!

Homemade Gluten Free Bagels

December Online Chat this Saturday

Mary Frances — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:37:13 +0000

I am sitting at my desk surrounded by cookbooks and cooking magazines all opened to recipes for sugar cookies. David is four this yea,r and he is all about getting into the kitchen with me and decorating cookies. So, this morning, while he’s at school, I’m going to try a few different recipes to find one that is just perfect for decorating.

But, before I get started I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be doing another online chat this Saturday night from 8 – 10 PM CST. Join me on this page and we’ll talk about all things holiday, from baking cookies to successfully navigating holiday parties. If you’d like to get an email reminder about the chat, just enter your email address in the gray box below.

Talk to you soon.

Gluten Free Cooking School – December Open Chat

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Let Me Answer Your Gluten Free Thanksgiving Questions

Mary Frances — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:18:17 +0000

Are you feeling a little less than thankful that Thanksgiving is a week away? Does the prospect of watching your family eat your favorite foods (that are full of gluten) make you wonder whether the day is even worth it? Are you overwhelmed at the thought of cooking the entire meal yourself, so that it can be gluten free? Do you wonder whether it’s possible to make good gluten free stuffing?

Join me for an online chat this Saturday night (November 20, 2010) from 8 – 10 PM CST to learn strategies for creating a gluten free Thanksgiving that is worth being celebrated. Get answers to your questions about gluten free Thanksgiving recipes. And, find out how I cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal on a moment’s notice in a kitchen that had no special gluten free ingredients.

If you already know what questions you want to ask – email them to me at maryfrances(at)glutenfreecookingschool.com and put “Thanksgiving Questions” in the subject line. Then, come back to this page on Saturday night to join us for the chat.

Your Thanksgiving Questions Answered

Free Webinar – Answers to Your Gluten Free Cooking Questions

Mary Frances — Thu, 20 May 2010 09:45:43 +0000

*Updated to add registration form*

Hi again,

I wanted to invite you to join me next week for a free online seminar that I’m hosting. I receive a lot of questions from my readers and since most of the questions do not lend themselves to short answers, I decided to answer them “in person” during the seminar. The seminar is scheduled to run for an hour and I’ll answer as many questions as possible.

Mark your calendar to join me on Tuesday, May 25th at 9:00 PM Eastern (6:00 PM Pacific). As I mentioned, there is no fee, and you can join us online (via a webinar) or by phone. Use the form below to register for the seminar and I’ll send you the phone and webinar access information by email. (If you’re reading this by the email, click here to register) If you’d like to ask me a question, click here to submit it.

Talk to you on Tuesday,

Mary Frances

P.S. Blogging friends, please feel free to let you blog readers know about this seminar if you think that they would be interested. And thanks in advance for helping me get the word out.

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Gluten Free Cheese Pizza

Mary Frances — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:00:38 +0000

I’ve never understood cheese pizzas. There are so many delicious toppings, why would you not use them? I don’t expect everyone to like some of the wacky combos that we come up with, like sesame eggplant and onion with tzatziki sauce, but why would you not add a few veggies or meats? Well, I have to say I’ve figured it out. Our newest Friday night tradition is two thin-crust gluten free cheese pizzas. It’s so simple – just tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar, but, oh my goodness, it may be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.

By this Friday our newest little one will have made an entrance into the world, so our weekly pizza feast may have to wait a few days. But if you’d like to throw your own pizza party in our honor,scroll to the bottom of the post for some tips on making the perfect gluten free pizza.

By the way, the thin crust recipe is new, and if you’d like the recipe then be sure to sign up for my free gluten free newsletter via the Subscribe Box in the sidebar (click here to get to the site if you’re reading this by email or RSS feed). Most new recipes will be sent to the newsletter readers first, rather than immediately posted to the blog. You will also get a copy of my Top 10 Gluten Free Recipes (in printable format) when you subscribe.

Those of you who are new to the gluten free diet are probably just glad to hear that there is such a thing as mouthwatering gluten free pizza. You can stop buying the incredibly expensive and incredibly gross frozen gluten free pizzas and start making your own. If the thought of rolling out a pizza crust terrifies you, then try this gluten free pizza recipe, where you just pat the pizza dough into the pan. If you’d rather roll the dough out so that you can cook it on a pizza stone, then try my recipe for gluten free pizza crust.

Check back soon for pictures of the new baby and pictures and posts of all of the yummy gluten free foods that we’re cooking. I’ve come up with a new biscuit recipe that is a perfect recipe for kids to help out with, and I’m hoping to do some more yeast roll experiments if Baby L makes us wait a few more days.

Five Tips for a Gluten Free Pizza Party:

1. If at all possible, pre-bake your crust on a hot pizza stone (just until it’s golden on top). The extra time in the oven, makes for a crisper crust.

2. Buy your pizza sauce, so that you can spend your time on prepping a few fresh pizza toppings. And have fun, a cheese pizza is great, but there really are so many possibilities.

3. Involve your family or friends. Whether it’s just family for supper, or you’ve invited a bunch of friends, you can have a lot of fun by letting everyone make their own pizzas. David is almost four now, and he loves to roll the pizza crusts out (with help from me) and sprinkle his toppings on.

4. Put Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes on the table, so that it feels like you’ve gone out for restaurant pizza. Get special cups and straws for the kids so that it feels like a special meal.

5. Make it a real party and let everyone have their beverage of choice. For us this means soy milk for David, Pomegranate Italian Soda for me (the major craving of this pregnancy), and gluten free Redbridge beer for John.

The Essential Gluten Free Restaurant Guide & Dining Cards

Mary Frances — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:09:16 +0000

Do you know what one of my favorite special indulgences is? Eating in a nice restaurant. Most of our family’s meals are cooked from scratch in our kitchen, but it is so nice to get out every now and then and eat delicious food that someone else has cooked. It’s probably even more special now that we’re on a gluten free diet and the restaurant choices are more limited.

For the past couple of years, John and I have used some special tools from Triumph Dining to make eating out easier. These tools have helped us find restaurants that understand the gluten free diet! The tools have also helped us to communicate with waiters and chefs that were not familiar with a gluten free diet, but really wanted to help us find something to eat. Until you’ve experience it, you won’t believe how nice it is to eat food prepared by chefs that really care about feeding you well and enjoy the challenge of creating a great gluten free dish.

The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide

John’s sister lives in St. Louis and when we first visited her there I was a little wary of how we would handle our food needs while staying in a hotel. We’ve traveled enough to know that not planning for our meals can put a damper on an otherwise great trip. Triumph Dining had recently sent me a copy of “The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide” so I pulled it out and flipped to the section on St. Louis. And am I ever glad we did! We discovered the most amazing little hole-in-the-wall breakfast cafe that makes gluten free crepes. Rooster: Crepe.Sandwich.Cafe is now one of those places that we have to visit when we’re in St. Louis.

“The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide” is a huge listing of gluten free friendly restaurants organized by state and city. Both chain restaurants and local restaurants are included. All of the listings include at a minimum the restaurant’s name, address, and phone number. However, many of the listings also include the general price range of the entrees, the restaurant’s web address, and comments on what types of gluten free items are on the menu, as well as the restaurant manager’s suggestions for ensuring that you get special treatment from the restaurant staff. Gluten free menus for many chain restaurants are included near the back of the guide.

Our next trip to St. Louis was for John’s sister’s wedding and the Gluten Free Restaurant Guide save the day once again. The caterer for the wedding reception was not able to provide a meal for us, so we used the Restaurant Guide to find the closest Maggiano’s. John and I slipped out after the wedding, picked up take-out from Maggiano’s, and got back to the reception before the rest of the guests finished going through the buffet. If we hadn’t had The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide to help us find a restaurant, we probably would have had a horribly little pity party. Instead, we ate a great meal (probably better than the caterer’s) and got to spend plenty of time enjoying the wedding party with the bride and groom.

Triumph Dining Cards

So, I know some of you are probably saying, “I live in the middle of Nowhere, Alabama, and I don’t think that a gluten free restaurant guide is going to help me eat out at either of the two restaurants in town.”

You’re right! But, that’s why Triumph also publishes the Triumph Dining Cards. These handy-dandy little cards (which are the perfect size for a purse, backpack, diaper bag, glove box, etc) can help you obtain a gluten free meal in any restaurant that employs at least one person who can read English, Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish (Mexican), Thai, or Vietnamese.

Close your eyes and just think for a moment of how amazing it would feel to walk into your favorite ethnic restaurant, whether it’s Thai or Southern Fried Everything, and not have to try to explain what gluten is. Instead, you just hand the server your Dining Card and the Dining Card explains everything that the server and chef need to know in order to provide you with food that you can actually eat. Isn’t that a nice image?

Get Out There and Explore

Now that our third kiddo is on the way, John and I are making a concerted effort to go out to eat by ourselves at least once a month. And while our favorite Thai restaurant is safe, we’re ready to explore other options. We’re going to be making use of the Triumph Dining Cards and The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide as we do. And whenever we find a product that we love, we like to share it with our readers too. While both of these tools are available on Amazon, you can only order both products at the reduced “combo” price through a Triumph Gluten Free affiliate. And since we think that the “combo” is the only way to go, we’ve signed up as Triumph Dining affiliates so that we can offer you The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide and the Triumph Dining cards at a 23% discount off of the regular price.

If you’re interested in either the Restaurant Guide or the Dining Cards, or just want to find out some more details, click the link to head over to the Triumph Dining website. Feel free to leave any comments or questions about the products in the Comments below.

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Open Comments: What is your greatest gluten free need/challenge?

Mary Frances — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:32:27 +0000

John and I were recently discussing what the greatest challenges/needs of a gluten free diet are. For us, it’s finding time to cook gluten free food at home, but since we, admittedly, do not have a typical lifestyle I wanted to get your input. Leave us a comment to let us know what your challenges are on a gluten free diet. What do you need to succeed on a gluten free diet?

By the way, Gluten Free Cooking School now has over 2400 readers! I’d love to see how many comments we can get on this one post. Who knows, maybe if you tell the universe what you need, you’ll get an answer =)

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Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes

Mary Frances — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:48:05 +0000

I am ready to get started on some Thanksgiving cooking! I’m not sure that it’s going to happen, but I thought I would at least start a list of the of good gluten free Thanksgiving recipes, mine and everyone else’s.

If you’d like to join in on this Gluten Free Thanksgiving Blog Event, you can submit a recipe post (just comment below), new or old, and I’ll add it to the list. Please add a link to your blog post directing your readers to this roundup post. For my non-blogging readers, feel free to post your favorite Thanksgiving recipes in the comments. I’ll take them out and add them to a separate “Readers’ Thanksgiving Recipes” post and link to them from here.

We’re planning to share Thanksgiving with John’s family this year. David is very excited to see his grandparents and aunt and uncle. And I know that they are all excited to see David and Grant (who’s already 7 months old and scooting and rolling around). Baby #3 is due in April and I’m exhausted so who knows how much cooking will actually get done. I’d like to work on my yeast roll recipe some more, but it may have to wait a few years =)

(November 2010 update: Wow, how fast that year went by. Grant is now 19 months and is already helping me cut out biscuits on Saturday mornings. David can roll-out gluten free pizza dough by himself at age 4, and Lucy (the #3 mentioned above) is 7 months old and scooting around the floor. By the way, I did get around to working on my gluten free yeast roll recipe and it’s amazing. I can’t wait to use it to scoop of gravy next week. If you’d like to try it, it’s included in our new e-book, The Gluten Free Survival Guide. There is also a recipe for Cream of ____ Soup – in the book. It comes with instructions on how to make the base recipe into Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, Cream of Celery, etc. The recipe can be used as a 1:: substitute for condensed cream of soups”

Gluten free Recipes:
Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
Gluten Free Gravy
Gluten Free Stuffing
Gluten Free Cornbread
Lentil/Rice Shepherd’s Pie
Black Bean Stuffed Mushrooms (veg)

Thanksgiving Sides:
Curried Carrot Soup
Dad’s Brown Rice Recipe
Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Cranberry Glazed Carrots
Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving Desserts:
Gluten Free Pumpkin Souffle with Homemade Caramel Sauce
Gluten Free Pumpkin Custard (vegan)

Thanksgiving Leftovers:
Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry and Arugula

Tutorials:
How to make Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup