Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

This is the first in a series of discussions with different celiac organizations around the world.  On this episode I speak with Michelle Laforest, the CEO of Coeliac Australia about their organization, their members, what resources they provide as well as their current challenges and goals.  On their website you can find a great resource is you are travelling to Australia.   

Coeliac Australia website – coeliac.org.au

Travel Fact Sheet link – https://www.coeliac.org.au/uploads/65701/ufiles/Travel/Travelling_to_Australia.pdf

I have many different interviews scheduled for the first couple of months of 2020, and if there is anything you’d like me to cover, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.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 –

I have always considered myself a brave traveller.  I’m not sure I’m living up to my self-expectations as I’m getting older.  Recently, my husband and I were talking about where we’d like to travel to, maybe later this year.  He came up with some exotic locations, and before I knew it I said “why would I go there, when I can’t speak the language and might get sick”.  To be fair, I was having a trying day, but in reflection this isn’t my normal attitude.

Maybe it’s a function of age, I don’t want to waste any of my precious vacation time trying to navigate a special diet in a foreign language, or worse, spending my vacation looking for the nearest restroom.  

I like to research, and maybe this could be the key for me.  Normally people study up on a location to find out which is the best museum to see, or how the public transit is laid out, or where the best restaurants are.  My research would mostly consist of memorizing the words for gluten, gluten free and wheat.  As well, I know being able to recognize these words, especially “gluten free” in another language will be most helpful, should we decide to go that route.

Recently, my celiac daughter was planning a quick getaway to New York City.  I realized I was following quite a few accounts on Instagram that mentioned New York City and suggested she look them up.  Her search was plentiful.  Not only do you get pictures of great desserts and must-haves, but you also get reviews and comments.  She was excited to walk in the footsteps of these Instagramers and visit the places they recommended.  She was not disappointed.

Nowadays, with apps for our phones showing gluten free locations, and giving us immediate translation, it shouldn’t be scary to travel, but if I remember back to the conclusion of my discussion with my husband, I was able to identify many places I’d like to visit that speak English and wouldn’t require that extra effort (maybe I’m just tired today).  I think I’ll exhaust those countries first, before I start learning a new language.

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

This week I have an in depth discussion with Cinde Little, The Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet about Gluten Free Flours.  Cinde wrote a series of blog posts about her experiences with different flours, starches and binders.  We chat about why there are so many flours and how they effect baked goods.  We also look at flour blends, and give some tips on making your own.  Cinde has provided two tables of her findings, which are on my blog for this episode at www.acanadianceliacblog.com

You can find Cinde online at www.everdayglutenfreegourmet.ca

I have many different interviews scheduled for the first couple of months of 2020, and if there is anything you’d like me to cover, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.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 –

I love to bake, and I suppose that’s why I operated a gluten free bakery for more than 10 years, and followed that with two seasons of a gluten free baking show on our local cable channel.  What makes gluten free baking different is that it is almost always an experiment.  I call my effort to make up new recipes “experi-baking”, and I usually have to try different forms of a new recipe many times to get it just right.

Gluten free baking isn’t like conventional wheat baking.   Things don’t puff up as much, hold in as much moisture, and spring back when you touch them.  In my experience, I could make the same recipe three days in a row and have three different results.  That made setting up a gluten free bakery an even greater challenge.  The products had to be consistent, not only in their taste and texture, but in size and colour. 

In the world of commercial baking, I had many failures, but everything was edible, and I learned as I ate my mistakes.  It took me a few years to settle down with a plan for a new recipe.  We stocked ten different flours in the bakery, so we had lots of choice, maybe too much choice.

Whenever, my baker and I were formulating a new recipe, we looked to see how different we wanted it to be from what we already made – a different flavour of muffin, a different type of cookie, or maybe it was something completely different.  We usually started with a basic wheat recipe and substituted my flour blend (2 parts white rice flour, 2/3 part tapioca starch, 1/3 part potato starch).  We would also alter a few other things to make the recipe more suitable for gluten free (adding extra egg, or gum, or liquid etc.).  Another trick we used was to make a basic recipe then split it in 2 or 3 equal portions to make revisions (a different amount of egg, different leaveners, different fats, different flavours etc.).

This process seems cumbersome, but it worked and we learned a great deal in the process.  I have to say, recipe development is something I still love to do.  My drawback now is that I’m the only one at home to eat the mistakes, and that’s not very compatible with watching my weight.  I have been fortunate to work with a couple of gluten free companies to help with recipe development for them.  I can’t say much now, but I’m excited to be able to share once products go to market.  I do believe the old saying – “do what you love, and it will never feel like work”.

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
I’m speaking this week with a very knowledgeable author who helps others who benefit from a gluten free diet, Susan Neal. We take on the topic of converting a conventional kitchen to a gluten free kitchen, or at least a part of the kitchen to be gluten free.
We look at the fridge, the pantry, cupboards, small appliances and family habits. We also look at some of the must haves in your gluten free kitchen.
You can find Susan online at –
http://susanuneal.com/
The blog post on setting up a gluten free kitchen can be found at –
http://susanuneal.com/how-to-transition-to-a-gluten-free-kitchen
This is the link to her closed Facebook group, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar, Carbs, and Gluten, where she answers questions and provides support can be found at –
https://www.facebook.com/groups/184355458927013/

I have many different interviews scheduled for the first couple of months of 2020, and if there is anything you’d like me to cover, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.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 –

I’ve worked with many newly diagnosed celiacs and one thing they all have in common is that choosing food in a grocery store is hard.

It’s difficult to bring a new concept up to the top of your criteria for buying food, but that is exactly what must be done.  Before a diagnosis, I, like many others were mostly concerned about fat and salt content, calories and protein.  On a gluten free diet, we must read labels to exclude gluten first.  Once we identify a food as gluten free, then we should look at the overall nutrition it provides.  I must admit, this was not always my focus prior to my diagnosis.  Now, once I scrutinize the ingredients for gluten; fibre, sugar, protein and vitamin content are the key elements I look for on a nutrition label.

Reading a nutrition label doesn’t sound like much of a skill, but when I operated my bakery, I had to formulate the labels.  There are software programs that help, but at the time, many of our gluten free ingredients didn’t exist in the databases.  My math skills were tested to the max to determine minute amounts of different nutrients. 

To most of us, once we’ve determined something is gluten free, one label looks like the next, but for me, I obsessed over my calculations of 2.1g or 2.3g of protein, and 4% or 6% of fibre.  I gained an in depth knowledge of how the numbers work on the label and in our daily diets. 

You don’t have to know this stuff, but you should be looking past the ingredients and the GF labelling to ensure you are bringing food with some value into your newly minted safe gluten free kitchen.

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

This week I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Melissa Ing D.M.D.  Melissa is Canadian, now working as an educator at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston.  Recently, her focus has been on educating dental professionals about the relationship between celiac disease and oral health.  Melissa’s research of late has involved the materials and substances used in dental procedures and how suitable they are for someone on a strict gluten free diet.

Melissa, would like all dental professionals to have the knowledge about the oral signs of celiac disease, so they can refer patients for CD testing, even before it may come to the attention of their GP.  Melissa has participated in educational videos, online webinars and sponsored presentations to raise awareness of CD among dental professionals.

I have many different interviews scheduled for the first couple of months of 2020, and if there is anything you’d like me to cover, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.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 –

Dr. Ing and I spoke at length, both before I recorded the interview, and after the recording button was switched off.  I was interested to learn that she had been diagnosed with celiac disease many years ago, only to find out later it was an allergy.  The irony is both conditions required a strict gluten free diet. 

Over many years, I have spoken with people who have odd, sometimes confusing and often sad stories of their diagnosis.  It is not uncommon to be mis-diagnosed, but I’ve been surprised to hear of cases of proper diagnosis, but mis-communication.  This has come to my attention a few times, where patients were tested for CD, but somehow, the positive results were never communicated to them.  One particularly sad situation involved a woman who was tested for CD when she became ill and was subsequently diagnosed with cancer.  For some reason, the doctor thought to only pursue the cancer treatment and disregarded the CD diagnosis.  In another case, a patient was only told of his positive CD test results when he changed doctors. 

We can always question the how’s and why’s of situations like these, but it boils down to human error or mis-judgement.  That’s why I’m excited about the education Dr. Ing is involved in.  We often think of our health being in the sole care of a physician, and forget about the other health care professionals we come into contact with.  The complexity of a CD diagnosis should fall on our family of health care providers, including chiropractors, physiotherapists and of course dental professionals.  If they receive the proper training, they can raise red flags when they see symptoms that may indicate an autoimmune condition, and pass this information on to the GP.

Kudos to Melissa for taking on the mammoth task of educating a generation of dental professionals, and re-educating those who have been in practice for years.  She’s getting funding for research, and sponsorship for presentations, and it’s all about putting a spotlight on celiac disease.

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

This week I chat with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com for a roundup of news and views to begin January 2020.  We talk about the current and upcoming food trends in the gluten free marketplace, as well as a recently published study on the connection between celiac disease and psoriasis.  We cover the subject of body image from a male perspective and identify that females often find the diagnosis and GF diet isolating.  Bard’s Beer is different because of the malting process, which in this case is gluten free, and the My Healthy Gut App is offering a 7-day free trial.  Here’s some links from Ellen you might want to look up –

Are You Gluten Free? Here’s What’s Happening in 2020!

2020 Vancouver Island Safe Fries List (+ onion rings, calamari, chicken strips, S’mores & more!)

Study Shows Significant Association Between Psoriasis and Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease – Is it affecting Your Body Image?

Is the Gluten-Free Diet Making You Feel Lonely?

Facebook Response: https://www.facebook.com/theceliacscene/posts/10159158832503012

15 Things We Wish People Knew About Celiac Disease

Bard’s Beer Trademarks Truly Gluten-Free Beer Logo

Symptom Tracking & Report Creation by MyHealthyGut i-Phone App

I have many different interviews scheduled for the first couple of months of 2020, and if there is anything you’d like me to cover, please email me at acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.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 –

While I was discussing food trends in the gluten free marketplace with Ellen, I identified some past trends that got us where we are today.

For a long time many foods that were “naturally” gluten free were not identified as such.  I’m thinking of foods like potato chips, popcorn, most yogurts, drink mixes.  In most cases these foods would not contain gluten, unless it was hidden in flavourings, but gluten was not an integral part of the food as it might be for a cake mix.  As celiacs we learned to read labels, and to trust them as much as we could.  We also learned to contact food manufacturers if we had questions.

Gluten Free Certification changed food shopping for the better.  We were able to look for a symbol, making label reading take a back seat on many products.  Gluten Free was what we needed and what we looked for.

As I mentioned in the podcast, my bakery customers, who needed everything to be gluten free began to request other exclusions from my recipes.  Milk free, egg free and nut free were common, and in some cases, I was able to accommodate these specific requests.  I was able to adjust a couple of my recipes to be “free from” something or other, while still maintaining the integrity of taste and texture.

A natural progression of this trend was for companies to produce foods that were “free from” the common allergens.  While this can be very beneficial to many consumers, it may not serve the gluten free community well.  Some ingredients make a real difference in gluten free recipes and removing those produces an inferior product.  Eggs are a good example, they add structure and protein to a gluten free recipe.

Of late, the “free from” trend has become the vegan, vegetarian, paleo and keto friendly.  If a company can produce a “special” food that meets all the requirements of the common diet restrictions it has to be a winner, right?  Wrong.  I don’t need my food to be vegan, dairy free and egg free, I just need it to taste good and feel good in my mouth.

Let’s talk eggs again.  For a food to be vegan, it can’t contain eggs, to be keto friendly, eggs are welcome.  The common vegan substitute for eggs is a flax meal concoction.  I know it’s personal, but I have a severe allergy to flax seed, so these vegan, gluten free products are off limits for me. 

When I operated my bakery, I stuck with my plan to make the best gluten free foods I could, with common grocery store ingredients.  Maybe one day we’ll get back to that, maybe not, but for me, and my family, I will likely need to keep baking my own food to my specifications, regardless of current and future food trends. That suits me just fine.  You can find many of my recipes on my website at https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com