Ep 192 October 2021 Roundup

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

It’s the beginning of the month again, so I get the pleasure of speaking to Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com about some of the topics of interest that have come up during the past month.  We discuss the diagnosis story of the family of a Neonatologist in the US who sought out the team at the Celiac Disease Program at Boston Children’s Hospital for help.  Ellen and I discuss how comprehensive the whole family approach to treating and further diagnosing family members is.  See the link below to the article about this family’s journey.  Ellen and I go on to look at some of the feedback we’ve had about the stickers and wristbands from www.celiackidstuff.com and how families can use these tools to help their kids eat safely.  The silicone wristbands for kids which say – I’m a Celiac Kid     I Can’t Eat Gluten – are now being made available for gluten free bakeries to sell directly.  If you know of a bakery that might be interested in offering the wristbands, please let me know and I can reach out to them.

Ellen and I speak about bagels and doughnuts – I’ve ever the purest, but explain to her why fried doughnuts are rare.  Also, below is my recipe for Gluten Free Doughnut Holes.

In the previous episode of the podcast, I recorded a discussion with my adult daughter Deanna, about our differing attitudes towards celiac disease and the gluten free diet.  I am grateful for the opportunity to have these discussions as I suspect that much the same dynamic is going on in other families with multi-generational celiac disease.  Also, at the end of that podcast, Episode 191, I included a short “blooper reel” which Ellen refers to and gives a classic insight into mother/daughter interactions.

Episode 200 of the podcast is approaching, and I’ve decided to mark that milestone with a special episode allowing Ellen and my audience to ask me questions.  If you have a question, or comment you’d like Ellen to pose or discuss with me, please email her at ellen@theceliacscene.com.

https://theceliacscene.com/sending-kids-school-celiac-disease/

Sue’s Doughnut Holes

1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend (I use ½ cup of each white rice flour, potato starch & corn starch)

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup skim milk powder

1 tsp guar or xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend includes gum)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp oil

2 eggs

2 tbsp water

Blend together all the dry ingredients.  Add vanilla, oil, eggs and water.  Add more water 1 tbsp at a time if batter is too thick.  Blend by hand, or with a mixer.  Batter should be thicker than pancake batter but not as thick as cookie dough.

In a saucepan heat oil to 375° (only fill saucepan less than half full with oil, leaving enough room for the bubbling expansion of the batter).  Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil, cooking only 3 or 4 at a time.  Turn to cook evenly till dark golden.  Remove onto absorbent paper towel.  While still warm, place in a bag with sugar and cinnamon to coat.  Can be kept in sealed container 3-4 days.  If you want to eat the doughnuts right away, you can drizzle them in icing or chocolate sauce, but just know they will not keep well if they get soggy (so eat them up!)

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

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

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

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

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

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

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

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

My Thoughts –

Over the past few years, I’ve shifted many of my buying habits to online.  Certainly, the pandemic has changed the way we shop for most of us.  For me, an online store was a resource that anyone, anywhere could use to get something they wanted or needed.

When setting up the online store www.celiackidstuff.com, it did not occur to me that any of the products would be available anywhere else, besides through the website.  Recently, I had reason to visit a couple of gluten free bakeries in Ottawa, and yes, one reason was to do some shopping, but before I planned my trip, I thought back to my time operating a gluten free bakery and the customers who came in.  My bakery was usually the first stop for the newly diagnosed.  Husbands, wives, parents and children came in seeking safe food for themselves or their loved ones.  There’s no prescription to hand into a pharmacy, just the requirement for gluten free food.

What I was able to provide, because of my knowledge and training from the Canadian Celiac Association was support and advice, not only about safe food, but how to navigate a gluten free lifestyle.  We never thought of it as a lifestyle then, and only because of the popularity of the diet, do we consider it an accepted way to eat now.  The families I was drawn to and felt needed more guidance involved the diagnosis of a child, often the only celiac in a family.  Parents were lost.  How to provide safe food at home was one thing, but allowing their child to eat outside of their sight was quite another.

Somewhere, in planning my trip to the gluten free bakeries in Ottawa, it hit me.  Years ago, I was the first stop for parents of a newly diagnosed celiac child, so things must be similar today, and I had a tool that could help them in so many ways.  Selling the wristbands at the trusted place where safe food was available will make a difference to families who are urgently searching for solutions for their gluten free child.  I’m excited to be able to offer the Celiac Kid Stuff wristbands to bakeries who are the ‘boots on the ground” when it comes to filling the needs of celiac families.  If you know of a gluten free bakery that might be interested in offering the wristbands to customers, please either speak with them, or pass on the information to me.  You’ll be doing a good thing.