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Ep 211 Food Bullying and the Gluten Free Diet
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
The topic of food bullying is a broad one and means different things to different people. To help me tackle with subject, I invited Nicole Byrom, Registered Dietitian with the Canadian Celiac Association to discuss food bullying in the context of the gluten free diet. The act of making someone feel bad for the food they are eating often comes from a place of ignorance about celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Education can be a key factor in your response to a food bully, but issues get more complicated depending on who is the being bullied and who the bully is. Children often face negative comments on their food when away from home and adults often have negative interactions with family members, or they are seen as being needy and high maintenance. Nicole is able to put food bullying in perspective with tips and strategies to empower you or your chid. Nicole gave us her email, Nicole.Byrom@celiac.ca, if you have any suggestions for issues you are facing that the CCA may be able to help with.
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 –
When I started editing the audio files for this podcast, I kept hearing two words – negative and positive. These are very specific terms, it’s not very often that one person’s negative would be someone else’s positive, as we often hear with trash becoming treasure. Herein lies our challenge. The bully, in comments, tone and sometimes deeds is completely negative. It’s hard work turning the negative experience for someone being bullied into a positive experience for both parties.
Nicole’s strategies of education and empowerment are a good place to start. Education involves the victim feeling secure in their knowledge of celiac disease and the gluten free diet, as well as being able to pass on some vital facts to the bully in hopes that they will realize the seriousness with which you must take the diet.
Empowerment is harder to “learn”. Most kids get pretty good at it. Those of us diagnosed later in life often have trouble finding a balance between talking (emphatically) and listening (with sincerity).
The other thing we touched on near the end of our conversation was just saying “NO”. This sounds simple, but the diverse social, cultural and family situations we often find ourselves in, make saying that little word very had. For me, like most celiacs, being glutened is painful and can set me back for a couple of days at least. These episodes give me the strength to stand up to anyone who wants to challenge me, or make me feel bad for eating my special food. No food is worth the pain, discomfort and longer-term effects on my body. The bullies don’t realize that, because if they did, they wouldn’t be bullies. Oh yes, and during my editing, I realized we both used the word “positive” much more than the word “negative” – so there is a way to deal with this.
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Ep 210 The Big Gluten Free Pizza Episode
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
This episode is a fun and informative conversation with two of my friends about Gluten Free Pizza. Fortunately, my friends Ellen Bayens (theceliacscene.com) and Cinde Little (everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca) are experts when it comes to ordering pizza in a restaurant and making pizza in your home kitchen. Ellen gives us some great tips on the questions you need to ask to ensure your gluten free pizza is safe to eat in a restaurant. As well, she gives us some information you can use to decide if ordering a takeout pizza is safe for you. Here is the link to Ellen’s list of questions to ask and the Gluten Free Pizza restaurant she spoke about –
Cinde and I talk about some of the options available to you if you want to make a gluten free pizza at home. There are premade pizza crusts, pizza dough and dough mixes. Although each of these options may be gluten free, the best gluten free pizza crust will likely come after experimenting with different yeast-based crust recipes. Techniques are very different from wheat pizzas and can often be best learned from a baking class. Whether you’re baking your pizza in a very hot oven, on a pizza stone or steel, or on an outdoor barbeque, Cinde gives us lots of tips to make your best gluten free pizza. You may want to join one of Cinde’s baking classes to gain some confidence and set you up for success with gluten free pizza.
Cinde’s Class Calendar – https://everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca/class-calendar-2/
Cinde’s Information on Flour Blends – https://everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca/recipe/gluten-free-flour-mix/
I mentioned my Gluten Free Cauliflower Pizza crust and you can see the video along with the ingredient list at the following link –
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 –
There were a few years when I operated my gluten free bakery that my life revolved around making more gluten free pizzas than you can imagine. All my pizzas were made by hand, and I had to recruit extra staff to make it all possible. The job was daunting with orders for hundred of pizzas each week, baked, topped, frozen and boxed. I did enjoy the process though.
After the bakery closed, it took me a bit of time to begin enjoying making pizza at home; and even more time to begin experimenting with different recipes. On Cinde’s suggestion, I recently purchased the book “No Gluten, No Problem Pizza” by Kelli and Peter Bronski. This book is a deep dive into different types of pizza dough, and techniques, and was written after the couple travelled to Italy and within the US, visiting more then twenty-five pizzerias and eating more than sixty gluten free pizzas. This is my kind of reading.
Currently, I’m working with the New York style dough recipe, using my pizza stones, but I’m anxious for the summer months, when I can switch to the heat of the propane barbeque to see what difference that makes. I’m happy with the results, and even happier with the challenge of making a variety of crusts that will suit my taste.
The thin crust pizza I made at my bakery will always be something I enjoy, but being able to add a healthier cauliflower crust and now a newer method and recipe to make a chewy thicker crust, is a good start on my overall pizza repertoire. Making pizzas is fun again, eating them is fun too!
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Ep 209 Discovering Nairn’s Gluten Free
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
I had the pleasure of speaking with Maria and Emma about Nairn’s Gluten Free Products imported from Scotland. Maria is the importer/distributor and Emma is the Brand Manager in the UK. Maria clarifies the requirements of importing a product and ensuring the packaging and labelling meets Canadian standards. Emma fills us in on the long history of oats in Scotland, as well as the origins of the Nairn’s bakery. She details how and why Nairn’s started their gluten free product line, as well as how they source oats and test for gluten. You can follow Nairn’s on Instagram @nairns_canada, and on Facebook at Nairn’s Oat Crackers Canada. Recipes can be found on the UK website at nairns.com/recipes. You can purchase Nairn’s products at some of the large grocery chains in Canada and online at www.well.ca. More recipe ideas can be found in the CCA 2021 Holiday Survival Guide – download your copy at https://www.celiac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-CCA-Holiday-Guide.pdf
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 –
I’m always happy to help promote safe gluten free oats in the diets of those with celiac disease or those on a gluten free diet.
Growing up, I often ate oats, either as oatmeal for breakfast or in a variety of oatmeal cookies, both store-bought and homemade. I was diagnosed with celiac disease at the end of 1995 and at that time, we were years away from having “gluten free” oats available for those on a gluten free diet. I was open to trying every new grain or non-grain ingredients I could, that was gluten free – and there were many, but I still missed my oats.
I remember a CCA conference many years ago when Dr. Vernon Burrows made a presentation telling us that if oats could be grown apart from gluten containing crops, harvested and processed with “free from gluten” equipment, then the oats would be gluten free. It was quite a concept those many years ago, but all of us who heard the presentation were hopeful, that one day, celiacs would be able to buy and consume safe oats and oat products.
Of course, we didn’t realize it then, but so much more had to happen to before safe oats were available to the gluten free consumer. Health Canada regulations and labelling laws had to be changed to recognize this specially grown and prepared oat product, along with education of consumers. The education part was taken on by the Canadian Celiac Association. A position statement was issued and added to over the years and is worth reading – https://www.celiac.ca/living-gluten-free/oats-statement/
My excitement about oats stems mostly from the fact that our oats have the same taste and nutritional value as “regularly processed oats”. Over many years, much care has been taken to produce different gluten free grains, combining them in blends to allow us to create wonderful baked goods. Oats, on the other hand are the whole grain – not broken down into starches, or hydrolyzed – available in different forms for different uses (groats, rolled, quick oats and flour). In my oatmeal cookies, I use oat flour and rolled oats. Gums and other standard gluten free additives are often not needed when baking with oats as they are a whole grain. The new Gluten Free Oreo Cookies contain gluten free whole oat flour. The nutritional breakdown is spectacular – 75 calories, 3g of protein, 2.5g of fibre in only ¼ cup (20g).
I use gluten free oats in my baking whenever I can. I find oats filling, nutritious and satisfying. Gluten free oats now are more than I could have even dreamed of when I sat in on Dr. Burrows presentation those many years ago.
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Ep 208 February 2022 Roundup
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
It’s the beginning of February, so that may mean Groundhog Day to some, but to me it means a lively conversation with Ellen Bayens of www.theceliacscene.com.
Ellen and I talk about a study looking at a link between atopic dermatitis and celiac disease, along with a publication of a report on increasing prices for gluten free in the UK. We also look at a paper from Turkey about the common myths surrounding celiac disease – most are universal. Ellen brings to my attention that Earth’s Own Oat Beverage will no longer be gluten free and we explore the why’s and how’s of that happening. Ellen highlights a couple of my recent podcasts Ep 207 about Suki the Gluten Detection Dog as well as my Gluten Free Weigh In episodes with Aaron. Every Tuesday, Selena Devries answers questions on her Instagram Story (@celiac_dietitian), but I never knew how to send her a question. Ellen walks us through the process, which is simple, but unless I was ready to do it, wouldn’t have explored. Here are the links to the topics Ellen and I spoke about.
• Significant Association Between Atopic Dermatitis and Celiac Disease
• ATTENTION: Gluten-Free Product Labeling Change | Earth’s Own Oat Milks
• Prices Up ⬆️ Selection Down ⬇️ for Celiac Shoppers
• “Inmate with Celiac Disease Starving to Death,” says Attorney
• More Misconceptions About Celiac Disease• Aaron Copes with the Emotions of a Celiac Disease Diagnosis
• Tuesdays Instagram Questions & Answers Session (FREE!)
• Join Selena’s Symptom Relief Facebook GroupSue’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 –
I try not to go down the rabbit hole that is social media when I’m researching a topic, and this is especially true when I consider something like the choices Earth’s Own had to make when switching from gluten free oats to “regular” oats.
It is difficult for us as consumers to step into the minds and boardrooms of the food producers and grocery store chains. I’ve sat in some of those meetings, and they were not what I expected. I particularly remember one meeting when I was presenting a new product to my distributor who would then list it for stores (mostly health food stores) to stock on their shelves or in their freezers. I had prepared some slick product cards with photos and nutritional information, case dimensions, storage instructions etc. As well, I had samples, plates and napkins. I was ready to sell.
The distributor had invited the marketing people and the sales people from my “area” to review the product. I was ready, gave my short talk, handed out the product cards and prepared the samples. It should have all worked perfectly, except they had very little interest in tasting the product. I was completely taken aback. Most attendees didn’t sample the product, and the ones who did, seemed to be doing it out of courtesy. How could this be? It was a great new gluten free offering!
Turns out the interest in the product boiled down to –
- What is the cost at my door?
- Is the packaging appropriate?
- What is the shelf life?
- Does it require freezer space?
- What price are the competitors?
I was able to answer all their questions, but as a gluten free food producer, I was most concerned about taste, texture, shelf life, visual appeal. As a distributor and retailer, they were most concerned about picking up the product, storing it, delivering it, and if it was unique, it would be an easier sell to their stores. Oh yes, their biggest concern was price!
Any large food producer has to walk the fine line between producing a food they are proud to promote, and the acceptance of grocery stores to list it, order it, and shelve it appropriately. And then there’s the price, which regardless of product quality will make or break the wholesale and retail equation. Earth’s Own had difficult decisions to make, ones I’m sure they wish they didn’t have to make, and one they knew would disappoint some customers. I’m sad to lose the brand from our gluten free shelf, but tend to believe that Earth’s Own did their best to alert their gluten free consumers and did the best for their brand in the long run.