Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

This episode is a follow-up interview with Ellen Bayens of The Celiac Scene on our favourite foods.  Episode 45 looked at many of our favourite foods, but in retrospect, most of the foods mentioned weren’t particularly healthy.  We thought it would be best to level out the options with a chat on our favourite healthy gluten free foods.  Ellen sent me the links to the recipes she chatted about, all are gluten free and some also fit into a low carb high protein diet –

• https://jenniferbanz.com/90-second-microwave-bread
• https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-asian-cabbage-stir-fry
• https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/new-york-style-keto-cheesecake/
• https://kirbiecravings.com/keto-low-carb-microwave-cheesecake/

Here’s the recipe for the low-calorie gluten free english muffins I spoke about –

¼ cup oat flour (make sure it’s labelled as gluten free)

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Blend together and add –

1 egg

2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce OR plain Greek yogurt

Stir till well blended.  Spray or grease a cereal bowl or ramekin and spoon half of the mixture in, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 ½ – 2 minutes.  Makes 2 muffins.

This photo is from Francine who co-hosted with me on the Gluten Free Weigh In podcast.

Ellen can be found online at theceliacscene.com, and also on facebook and Instagram.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

Changing to a gluten free diet was hard.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Getting the diagnosis that a gluten free diet is the only treatment for a condition you have suffered with for many years is life-changing and the best thing that ever happened to me – but it was still hard.  It became harder when my daughter was diagnosed and I tried to feed her everything I remembered from my childhood.

It’s only been over the past 5 years or so that my diet has made the huge shift in the direction of being healthier.  This isn’t to say that I don’t sometimes snack on gluten free pretzels, or chips or even chocolate, but I am much more aware of the fat and calories these foods contain.

As we all realize, knowing what’s in our food doesn’t necessarily lead to making the best food choices.  Healthy isn’t like gluten – it’s there or it’s not – healthy is subjective and appears in many different degrees. 

Deciding to have weight loss surgery was a big decision, but one I am glad I made.  I had always struggled with my weight, and when I had to eat gluten free, I found enough unhealthy foods to keep me overweight. It wasn’t difficult.  With the popularity of gluten free growing and manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon, the trend was to make something gluten free that was closest to its wheat counterpart.  In most cases the result was a food high in fat and sugar to compensate for the difference in taste and texture.

Since my surgery, my diet has evolved.  I now enjoy choosing healthier foods on a regular basis.  I love salads and don’t crave breads – I still enjoy them occasionally, but don’t crave them.  I eat smaller meals, but more often. The big switch to gluten free was a dramatic change, but working with the gluten free diet to make it healthier for me was gradual and will continue.  The baker in me will always be looking for the next recipe to make something healthy, satisfying and nourishing.  Make it gluten free and make it healthy-ish and I’m there.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:
On this episode I interview a blogger from Toronto, Ashley Gismondi, who is a proud Italian-Canadian. Ashley shares how her gluten free diet fits with the foods she was brought up on. She chats about cooking with her Nonna as a young child and lets us know about some Italian favourites that can be easily made gluten free. Ashley can be found online at www.celiacandthe6ix.com

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

It’s funny what you remember from your childhood.  My heritage is British, but along the way, my family took a liking to many kinds of foods.  My father travelled on business for extended periods of time, and one of his favourite places to go was Italy.  I remember as a child he would come home and amaze us with the few words he had learned in Italian.

My mother was a good cook, not a very adventurous one, but the food produced in her kitchen was nourishing, flavourful and satisfying, or in a word, memorable.  My mother was always keen to cut recipes out of the newspaper, something that I don’t know even appears in newspapers today.  I would often find yellowed, dog-eared scraps of printed paper with a favourite recipe on the counter or tucked into her recipe drawer – yes, it took a whole drawer to contain her carefully curated recipe collection.

Most Saturdays, my mother made spaghetti sauce.  I never thought much of it until, as an adult, I realized that this was common in Italian homes, but not-so-common in other homes.  Since my father had travelled to Italy so many times, he appointed himself the pasta cooking expert.  I’m not sure if this venerated position existed in other households, but it certainly did in ours.  There was a special pasta pot, he always used a kitchen timer and took over the kitchen for those brief minutes until the pasta was perfectly “a la dente”.

Making spaghetti on a Saturday was something my parents collaborated on for as long as I can remember.  I can assure you, I didn’t leave home without the recipe.  Now, when I make the meat sauce (it has to be a double recipe to save some for the freezer), my home smells like it did when I was a kid.  It came up in the podcast, and just thinking about it, I can savour the rich aroma of Mom’s meat sauce on the stove.  Some things remind you of home, the smell of my Mom’s sauce recipe reminds me of so much more and yes, the original recipe was always gluten free.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:

This episode looks at how, in Canada, a celiac can make a claim on their taxes for the extra expense of gluten free food.  The subject sounds simple enough, but as we find out, the Canada Revenue Agency has made the process laborious with very little positive effect on your tax return.  For a professional perspective, I speak with my daughter, Deanna, who is an accountant and has worked with taxes for years.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

     (search Sues Gluten Free Baking)

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

I said most of what I think about this issue in the podcast, but there is one thing I want to touch on here briefly.

Is Celiac Disease a disability?  There are different definitions of a disability, and certainly celiac disease, or aspects of how it effects our lives, meet some of these criteria.  Personally, I don’t want to look at CD as a disability.  Yes, it affects everything I eat and all the work and decisions that go into that, but in my other day-to-day activities, I, personally don’t feel its impact.

There are many, who have other autoimmune conditions as a result of their CD, and those conditions can range from simple to complex, painful and debilitating.  That has not happened to me, and I’m hoping that by managing my CD closely, other conditions will be minimized, or held off completely.

Except for CD, I consider myself healthy.  I am fortunate, I don’t take any medication, except for some recommended supplements, and I feel I can function well in a fast-paced lifestyle.  Many things are difficult – all around the aspect of food, but I can learn to deal with those. Other people may find an advantage is identifying as disabled, and I would not take anything away from them for that.  For me, CD is not a disease, or a disability – it is condition that I am managing well.  I’ve had lots of experience with it, and am comfortable both with CD and the gluten free diet.

Let’s start the blog with the Show Notes for this episode:
This episode is a look at a different kind of gluten free entrepreneur, one that has set herself up to fill the needs of her local community. Sue Torrance operates Tasty Indulgences from a commercial kitchen in her basement. She doesn’t have a store front, but makes her desserts and comfort food meals available at local stores and a restaurant. Sue is located in Prescott, Ontario. You can find her on facebook @tastyindulgences.

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –
Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com
Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com
Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast
Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA
Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com
Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com
Instagram – @suesgfbaking
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL
(search Sues Gluten Free Baking)
Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com
Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –
Most people think entrepreneurs start a business to make money. I think if you ask them, they start businesses to fill a need. In the case of Sue Torrance, she saw a need in her local community. I can relate well to this, as I saw the same need, but mine was years earlier.

When we think of gluten free food producers, we often think of the big names that have widespread distribution and are relatively easy to find in stores and online. I find that many of the smaller businesses are much more interesting. They often fill a more specific need, and do so for a variety of reasons. Some start out on a shoestring budget and many are one-person operations for a long time, as they get established.

I remember taking a course put on by a local business development group where I live, in which the participants were flushing out ideas for new local businesses. Getting together with other entrepreneurs and facilitators was a valuable experience. One thing I learned is that just because you get compliments on something, your baking for instance, doesn’t mean people other than your immediate family will actually shell out money for it.

With me, it took a while to fully form my business plan and strategy. I decided to start very small, with very few resources and call in favours from whomever I could. It was hard work, as any entrepreneur will tell you. What keeps you going is that fact that you are making a difference, in your local community, or in a larger market. Maybe you are disrupting established businesses, maybe you are introducing something new. Either way, you are making a mark, making a difference.

I often did taste testing of my baked goods in different locations and situations. Many people who require gluten free and had been deprived of certain foods for years, were brought to tears tasting my baked goods. For me that made it worthwhile. The work of an entrepreneur is rewarded in many different ways. I started on a shoestring, but got back a fortune in appreciation.