December 2023 – A Canadian Celiac Blog

I had a very interesting conversation with Justine Dowd, PhD, a Health Coach who is also celiac. She works with individuals who are struggling with gut health issues. These issues can make someone feel less like themselves and put one in a spiral of depression and anxiety. We are all familiar with the struggles of feeling safe on a gluten free diet, and depending on what else is going on in your world, and what support systems you have, these struggles can have a negative effect on your day-to-day life.

Justine Dowd is a Health Coach who keeps up to date on the latest science and studies surrounding the link between mental health and gut health and understands these very specific issues. You can find Justine online at www.justinedowd.ca/.

You can also go back and listen to my previous conversation with Justine on Podcast Episode 269 Infertility Struggles and Celiac Disease.

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

Preparing food gluten free is not easy. For those newly diagnosed, or someone cooking or baking for them, it’s a steep learning curve. I am often asked for advice on how to set up a gluten free kitchen to make food preparation and baking easier. On this episode I speak with Robyn of Robyn’s Gluten Free Baking Courses for advice and practical tips to set up your gluten free kitchen to make baking fun and hassle free. Both Robyn and I have been baking gluten free for years, and we’ve come up with some handy tips to take some of the stress out of so many flours and the different equipment you might need.

Here’s Robyn’s list of flours other information she sent me –

What I keep in large jars (used most often):

Brown rice flour
White rice flour
Sorghum flour
Gluten-free Oat flour
Tapioca starch
Potato starch
Corn starch (though I just keep it in the large container from Costco!)
Almond flour: I also always have almond flour on hand, but I also buy the large bag from Costco and keep it in the fridge.

Other flours I like to have. I usually keep them in smaller jars or buy them as I need them:

Teff flour
Millet flour
Buckwheat flour
Sweet rice flour (I mainly use it during the holidays)

I also keep a small to medium-sized jar of xanthan gum in my baking drawer.

For those who might be overwhelmed with the number of ingredients listed here, my 6 must-have list for basic gluten-free baking are brown rice flour, white rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and cornstarch (as well as xanthan gum). These are all of the GF baking ingredients I use to make everything in my Essentials Course.

These are the jars I use for my everyday baking (what I consider to be “large jars”). If I buy even larger quantities of flour than what fits in the jars, I will keep them stored away and refill when necessary.

Here’s the link to order her very trendy aprons –

Robyn’s Gluten-free Shop
Shop all things gluten-free baking from Robyn’s Gluten-free Baking Courses, including premium linen aprons.

This is what my bread pans are like. They are normally used for a steam table in a restaurant, but they work amazingly well for bread in the oven. They are ¼, which means they are ¼ of a full steam table pan. They come in different depths, but I find the 4” one is best for gluten free bread. Here are similar ones found on Amazon.ca. – https://amzn.to/47KnVdl