Food For Good Thought, Inc. is holding a silent auction for a great cause and we want your support! FGT has a two part goal: To create some of the finest gluten-free foods available, and to help train and employ individuals with Autism. According to their website, here are some Autism statistics that you should know:

More than one (1) million Americans have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
The odds of being diagnosed with Autism is 1 in 150
The unemployment rate for people with autism is 75% – 97%
Only 8% of ASD adults are living independently (the remainder are either living with family members or in group homes)
It costs up to $75,000 per year to give an adult with Autism a bed in a group home
Work is one of the most significant positive activities for the development of the mind—an activity that non-disabled individuals can enjoy for more than 5 decades of their adults lives
Work can provide a sense of competence, agency, and self-esteem as well as distraction from boredom and anxiety
When taught specific skills for the position, individuals with Autism can be employable
Appropriate employment opportunities need to be created for individuals affected by ASD

Don’t miss this opportunity to help out in a great cause, meet knew people, and taste some amazing gluten-free foods! The auction will include everything from fancy perfume to oil changes…so there will be something for everybody. Click HERE for information and dates.

( Please join us for a SILENT AUCTION to help us raise funds as we expand our services: Saturday, January 23, 2010, 4 pm – 6 pm, 4191 North High Street )

And stay tuned for a review of a detailed review of Food For Good Thought’s gluten-free menu items! Here is a sneak peek:

I am not sure why, but gluten-free granola seems to always be better than regular granola. The quality, texture, taste, packaging…it’s all better…why is that? I think it has everything to do with the attention to detail and knowing how picky us gluten-freaks are.
Needless to say, I loved Jessica’s Natural Foods granola. I was sure I was going to like the chocolate chip the best, but there is no clear front runner here, they all are going to be on my winners list! The funny thing is that I really don’t like cherry, so I was sure the Almond Cherry would not be to my taste, but it is fantastic!
I tried all of them with both milk, and with yogurt, which is my preferred way. Three bags were gone in 6 days, which says volumes…especially when I had Fruity Pebbles sitting right next to the granola, lol…yes I love junk cereal but not nearly as much as Jessica’s Granola!
Take a look over at GlutenFreeFitness.com to see what Erin thought of this product too! And I watch out for all of my other GFP Team blogger friends to post their reviews as well!

Coconut flour is coconut product that is made from the flesh of the fruit — dried and ground to form a fine flour. It is high in protein, low-carbohydrate, and contains fiber as well as other essential vitamins and minerals our bodies require. Coconut flour is also very low on the glycemic index. This means that it won’t spike blood sugar, contribute to weight gain, or leave you feeling fatigued after eating. For this reason, coconut flour is a very healthful alternative to use in your gluten-free cooking and baking, as opposed to other grain-based GF flours. Also, since coconut contains good fats, the flour will keep you feeling full without a drop in energy afterward, that some high-carb foods tend to cause.
Coconut flour is typically utilized in baking and cooking in the form of cakes, cookies, pancakes, scones, biscuits, crackers, crepes, muffins, brownies, and crusts, to name a few. It also serves as a great replacement for traditional white or wheat flour for breading, bread crumbs, or as a thickener in soups and stews. The possibilities are endless.
Tropical Traditions is a great place to find coconut flour. The company is what would be considered “beyond organic”: they place the health of the consumer and the health of employee and harvesters as top priority. Tropical Traditions organic coconut products are high quality and tasty. Though, I have also found coconut flour at my local Whole Foods, and independent health food store.
If you’re in search of recipes, I happen to be a big fan of Elana’s Pantry — a gluten-free recipe website. She uses coconut flour often in her baking. Also, a list of recipes can be found right on the Tropical Traditions website.
Happy baking!

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin Elberson of Gluten Free Fitness, gives some great tips in her blog post about staying out of gluten’s path and being mindful of your portions. Erin always has excellent health and fitness tips for anyone, gluten-free or not. Check out her site one time and you will be hooked! Read the full article HERE and try to ignore the part where she calls me out specifically to show my weakness. That’s Okay Erin…you’ll get yours some day….what goes around comes around. Did I mention you should watch your back?? Hehehe…

Thanks Erin!

Holiday Baking Company was showing off their awesome pizza crust at the recent celiac conference in Columbus. I was lucky enough to take a few home with me to share with other pizza lovin’ bloggers like GlutenFree Mary! Now in these videos, Mary makes this look…well…a bit more complicated than it should be, but that’s just Mary LOL. As always with Mary, pizza making sure can be entertaining!

If you have followed my blog for a while you will recall that I am, or was, a runner. I used to race all the time until one day, my knee simply said, “no more!” Since then I have been able to run about 2 0r 3 miles before it acts up.
A friend of mine asked if I would try MonaVie not only because of its claimed benefits for joint health, but also because it is tested to be gluten-free. Sounded like a no lose situation to me! So for a few weeks now I have been drinking MonaVie Active. Maybe it is psychological, maybe it is coincidence, but more than likely…this juice really does help! I haven’t changed shoes or started stretching or done anything different, but all the sudden I can run further with NO issues. And it is a great tasting juice too. How often do you have something very healthy, gluten-free, AND taste great?
The other product I tried was the MonaVie Emv. I was able to compare this energy drink directly to RedBull, from a taste perspective it is a n0-contest win for MonaVie. RedBull is certainly not something I just cant wait to drink, but the Emv is very smooth. It still has a bit of a bite to it just like RedBull, but you don’t feel like you just drank liquid sugar either!
The energy comparison was a night and day effect. RedBull acted quick and I was super alert, but about an hour later I wanted to pass out at my desk. Emv on the other hand did not give that quick boost, but i also never crashed, and i didn’t feel the need for any coffee in the afternoon either. I think that is a much better result myself!
The real test was for me to take a few samples to my conference last week to get some random opinions. Out of the 10 people who I had try MonaVie, every single one really enjoyed the unique taste and wanted more info on it!
Thanks for the tip Mark!
If you want to try MonaVie for yourself, you can contact my friend with the information below:
Mark Garfield
Independent Distributor MonaVie
614.264.6088

www.mymonavie.com/markgarfield

Here are just a few highlights from the Children’s Hospital Celiac Disease Conference in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. Thanks to everyone who attended and to everyone who visited my table! I met some great people, some old friends, and a few…well….’interesting’ people as well (hehehe). I was lucky enough to speak with two large groups of kids about my website and other celiac resources on the net. What I learned was that a lot of these kids new more than me! I wanted to give a special thanks to ONEsource Optimal Nutrition, Sugar Inc., Holiday Baking Company, and Pamela’s Products for helping out by supplying my table samples!

I only recently discovered Kettle Cuisine, but I have been hooked since my first bite! The Clam Chowder is amazing! The best thing about them is that KettleCuisine is at my local grocery store, so I have these about 2 or 3 times per week.

Allerenergy was at this same show last year and they were just as big of a hit again. All you could hear around the conference center was, “…have you tried the hot pretzels?!?!”

Gluten Free Sensations has some of the best granola around, I have even offered them my ‘Winners List Seal” its so good! But they kids were going after something else at their table this year, the chocolate chip cookies seemed to be a huge favorite.

There were a few vendors there giving away samples of their pizza, and my Best of Show Pizza goes hands down to Against the Grain Gourmet. If you see that one in your health food store freezer, snatch it up as quick as you can!

Erewhon gluten-free cereals have been around for quite some time, yet I have never once tried them…kind of odd for the cereal junkie that I am. I’m not sure why I always passed them up, other than still being a kid at heart and going for the flashy junk cereal boxes. Not all Erewhon cereals are gluten-free but the company was kind enough to send me their line-up for a quick test.
There is certainly enough variety in their cereals that most anyone should be able to find something they like. But I believe you will be very surprised to find that they are all excellent! I have found that many GF rice/corn cereals seem to taste stale right out of the box, not these…they were very fresh and super crunchy! The berry flavors were fantastic and the Coaco Crisp taste just like…yep, you guessed it! Erewhon cereals are a solid win and you just have to try them and give me your opinion too!

Ohio’s biggest Celiac and Gluten-Free vendor conference is this Saturday, November 7th! The conference at Nationwide Childrens Hospital always has lots of vendors giving away their products, there are several presenters (including myself) to keep you busy, activities for the kids, and more! I hope to see you there, I love meeting people who read my website…all 5 of you! Hehehe….