I have finally decided to do my first rafflecopter giveaway! one lucky person will win 1 pound of gluten free grain free coconut flour and over 18 dollars in gluten free coupons from companies like Namaste, Udi’s, Crunchmaster, and Enjoy Life. I was given this coconut flour by Bob’s Red Mill when I asked for it to write my comparison of 7 top coconut flours. The coupons are from the Washington DC Gluten Free Expo. I do not buy many gluten free prepackaged items due to my corn intolerance so I figured I would pass on these awesome coupons to you guys. Continue reading →
I love coconut flour. I bake with it as often as I can and eat it at least once every day. Some people would call me obsessed. Low calorie, high protein, low carb, high fiber, this flour has amazing benefits! What’s not to love? I have tried my fair share of coconut flour recipes from other food bloggers. Most worked out fantastically, but some flopped. After reading a bajillion comments on those recipes the common consensus was that the brand of flour may be the reason for the recipe failure. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of water. Coconut flours differ in how finely they are ground and how much fat they contain as well. I really wanted to figure out which flours worked best and why. Continue reading →
Alan reads Tosh daily. I can’t stand the guy and think he is unfunny and mostly meanspirited. Alan showed me a Tosh today about glutenfreesingles.com. It pokes fun at gluten free eaters. The comments, which Tosh’s blogs are famous for, are horribly mean. Chris Kieth’s comments made me extremely angry. Anyone who thinks that opening up a gluten free restaurant and feeding gluten filled foods to celiacs is funny is a very sick minded individual. Gluten free is not a fad diet. Bloggers like Tosh are further putting the idea that gluten free is a fad into the mainstream school of thought. I am livid and can not string my words together properly at this point so today I am handing over this post to Alan the gluten free boyfriend. Here is what he has to say on the subject. Continue reading →
Four days ago I wrote a post titled Celiac Alert: Sprouted Wheat in Athena Gluten Free Greek Yogurt Bars. Since then it has gotten many hits and shown up on reddit. This post got many people talking about these bars and their ingredients. Many said they were going to or had emailed the company for more information on the gluten free labeling. Continue reading →
Update: Athena will be removing the words gluten free from their packaging.
Who would have thought a bar labeled gluten free would contain wheat sprout?
I often check out the gluten free options available at gas stations and rest areas when I travel. I have found some amazing products that way. While at a Sheetz in West Virginia I came across Athena Yogurt Bars.
I spotted the words gluten free on the front of the wrapper and thought about buying one. I would have walked out with a bar in hand and quickly devoured it based on the gluten free claim on the wrapper. Thankfully my corn intolerance saved me from this fate. I read every ingredient on every wrapper to check for corn as it is not a top eight allergen and is not disclosed.
When I turned over the Athena bar many ingredients alarmed me. (I am listing these in the order they show on the wrapper not in order of level of alarm or severity. If I listed them due to highest concern I would have started with the wheat sprouts.) I first saw grain dextrins and wondered what grain they were derived from. Then I saw barley grass and wheat grass which I know the fda approves for gluten free foods as long as the items test less than 20 ppm gluten or less. I will not eat anything with barley or wheat grass as it has a high rate of cross contamination. The grass itself is gluten free if it has not been allowed to sprout or begin producing grains, but who is to say that some of the blades of wheat grass don’t sprout sooner than others? It is just too much of a grey area for me to trust.
The third ingredient I saw was the one that made my jaw drop: WHEAT SPROUT! I immediately dropped the bar and had to retrieve it from the floor. I then took a photo of the ingredients and emailed Bella makers of Athena Bars. I knew that sprouting grains can begin the process of breaking down gluten proteins to make them easier to digest in general. In no way does sprouting wheat make it anywhere even close to gluten free. I did a bunch of research before writing this post and all of it pointed out that sprouted gluten grains are not gluten free. They are not even low gluten (I hate that trendy fad diet term). So I asked in my email to bella why their Athena Yogurt Bars are labelled as gluten free but show wheat clearly on the label. I have not gotten a response and I emailed them over a day ago. I also left a comment on the Bella facebook page asking the same question today and have yet to get a response. I am slightly impatient and wanted to get this information out to you all as soon as possible in hopes to save someone from a possible glutening. I will update this post as soon as I hear any word from the manufacturers. Until then I would cautiously advise you to steer clear of Athena Yogurt Bars. I could be wrong. There could be new research that escapes me and wheat sprouts could magically be gluten free now, but in case I’m not it wouldn’t hurt to eat something else until I get a clear response.
In an attempt to categorize which alcoholic beverages were celiac safe I emailed the major alcoholic beverage corporations. The response that I received from Constellation Brands shocked me. Continue reading →
May is a month of new growth and new beginnings. Temperatures turn balmy and flowers come into bloom. May also happens to be the month dedicated to spreading Celiac awareness. Awareness is spread in many ways. Some do it boldly through rallies and politics. We hear about those fairly often. Today I would like to focus on those who spread awareness through food. After all, reading food blogs is what ultimately inspired me to write this one. Continue reading →
