A Celiac’s Wingman

My celiac was at a water park in Connecticut with his buddies from camp a couple of weeks ago.  As teenagers, they are allowed to go at their own pace on the rides and break for lunch at the concession stand whenever they feel like it.

These concession stands typically offer up the bunless burger and questionable French fry option for a person with a gluten intolerance, but my celiac decided on some sort of fruit and yogurt smoothie for lunch.

He proceeds to tell me about the conversation he had when he got back to the table with all of his friends.

Wingman: “Why didn’t you get the gluten-free cookie?”

Celiac:  “What gluten-free cookie?”

Wingman:  “The cookies right on the counter, right next to the cash register that say in really huge letters “GLUTEN-FREE.”

Now you have to use your imagination to conjure up the man/boy voices and teenage intonation on this dialogue.  But, the short version of the long story, is that my celiac went back up to the concession stand counter to check out the cookies and right where his buddy described was a display of packaged gluten-free cookies.

He was so focused on going through the menu up on the board to figure out what he could and couldn’t eat that he didn’t even see the gluten-free option right under his nose.   His friends have known about his dietary restrictions for so long and they understand it to the extent that their 13 year old teenage brains allow and they are actually incredibly helpful to my son.

The moral of the story is that it is never too early to develop your dietary wingmen.

Kendall Egan

Fancy Foods & Gluten Free

A month ago I attended the Fancy Foods show in Washington DC.  Going from New York to DC should be a breeze, but sometimes it takes two airports, two different security lines, two different flights, three taxi cabs and six hours to make the journey.  I earned my evening cocktail.

I had already done the prep work and knew which vendors were showcasing gluten-free food and who I wanted to visit.   This type of assignment is right up my alley, walking the show, chatting to people about food and tasting all sorts of incredible products coming to market.

A couple of things I noticed are newsworthy trends!  The first trend is bold flavor and the second trend I am calling “mother’s little helper.”  Both ideas actually work in tandem because global flavors from Mexico to India to Thailand are packaged in a variety of user friendly simmer sauces and spice blends.  This is a huge development for working parents everywhere.

It used to be if you rushed in from work and faced hungry kids, there were always chicken nuggets or hot dogs or mac n’ cheese that you could prepare in fifteen minutes.  But, that quickie dinner is lacking flavor and nutrition and doesn’t teach your child to become an adventurous eater.

With these simmer sauces, one night it’s a tandori chicken meal and the next night it’s a beef in a red curry sauce.   Even the chopping, slicing and dicing of vegetables for the simmer sauce has been replaced by flash frozen prepared vegetable that either require a quick toss in a pan or a steam in the microwave.   All the resident mom or dad chef has to do is sauté some protein and vegetables, open a handy-dandy pouch or jar, and “simmer.”  Side dishes of frozen rice or potatoes are easy to find and take only a few minutes in the oven or microwave. 

Couple that dish with a salad.  These days it is easy to find bags of triple washed lettuce, already clean and chopped up in the bag, just asking for a splash of oil and vinegar.  In an instant, there are two offering of vegetables at one meal that took you a few minutes to prepare.   

It has never been easier to globalize one’s taste buds in thirty minutes or less!

Here is what I liked even more about many of the products I saw at the Fancy Foods show, so many of them were certified gluten free.  Many of them were organic and all natural, but the gluten free aspect of the product was a featured part of the marketing of that product.  It seems to me that if a product is naturally gluten free, or if the creator has specifically sought to make the product gluten free, then certification of that product is natural step.  Gluten free is no longer an afterthought, it is a conscientious business decision. 

Another great advancement for those of us who prepare meals for someone with celiac disease or gluten intolerance!

Kendall Egan

Special Diet Backlash?

I knew this day was coming.  Special diet backlash has reared its head. 

New York Times Sunday Style’s section had an article entitled, “The Picky Eater Who Came to Dinner.”  Gluten-free, in my opinion, was portrayed in that article as the worst offender in terms of requesting Paleo, dairy free, sugar free, low fat, vegan or whatever!  For some reason, folks that ask for gluten-free meals were really slammed as “picky eaters.”     

I recall interviewing a chef for the magazine and I asked if professional chefs were getting a little tired of special food requests.  It’s not the server’s or the chef’s job to make judgments on who really needs a gluten-free meal, but what happens when a patron goes through the hoops of making sure his meal is gluten free…because he is trying on the diet…and then the server sees him noshing from the bread basket?  Perhaps that is worthy of an eye-roll from the server, but hopefully it doesn’t send the chef into anger mode for the next person requesting a gluten-free meal.

What happens as more and more people try on the diet because it’s the latest craze to lower inflammation, or to speed recovery, or those folks requesting gluten-free meals who still mistakenly think it’s a weight loss diet?  What happens to those of us who are celiac?  Did anyone in this article stop and think that more and more people are being diagnosed with a gluten intolerance and thus there will be more requests for gluten-free options?  When I see quotes in the New York Times article from anonymous readers from a Portland reader forum expressing opinions like, “You probably don’t have celiac disease anyway.  Self diagnosis on WebMD doesn’t count.”  Dude, really?  Since when did anonymous opinions from some reader forum become quotation worthy in the eyes of the New York Times writers?

Or another quote from the article from Chef Josh Ozersky, the founder of Meatopia, who says “like a lot of chefs, I’m convinced that these diets are not always the results of the compromised immune systems of American diners, but their growing infantilism and narcissism.”  And this is coming from a guy whose event is all about meat consumption, like he's got an expert opinion on compromised immunity?

Uh-oh.  All of the work that has gone into restaurant awareness!  What if people start rolling their eyes when I ask if something is prepared with flour?  Or if I could have the turkey burger with no bun?

Another line in the article says, “Today’s restricted eaters are prone to identity-driven pronouncements along the lines of ‘I’m gluten free.’”  I have used that identifier in restaurants before because I don’t really like to identify myself as diseased, is that really a problem for chefs?   

Read the article for yourself, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/fashion/rsvp-ps-no-gluten-fat-or-soy-please.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

I have never once gone to a dinner party and made demands.  I have always graciously worked with my server and chef at a restaurant.  Last week at a business meeting, I did not call up the company executives and demand gluten-free options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I brought some stuff and worked around the rest. 

Hey, everyone out there, please don’t blow this for people who really and truly need to be choosy, not picky, about what they eat for serious and medically diagnosed reasons.  And to those people who expressed what I consider unintelligent opinions, try walking a mile in my shoes.  

Kendall Egan

Gluten-Free Soup Discontinued

Kettle Cuisine today announced that it will no longer sell its single-serving gluten-free frozen soups to consumers in stores. The company said it was not able to build the frozen soup category and get enough highly-sought freezer space in supermarkets to continue offering the product. The company will continue to sell its gluten-free soups to restaurants and other food establishments.

This is particularly sad for me because Kettle Cuisine figured highly in my recent, well-received, story about gluten-free soups. This category of food that has always been particularly troubling for the gluten-free consumer. Kettle Cuisine helped make things easier by offering tasty, innovative soups in flavors that were otherwise hard for those who follow the gluten-free diet to find.


 Here is the statement released by the company today:

 To all of our friends In 2007, when the FDA announced a recommended standard for gluten free foods, I saw an opportunity to give back to a community that has meant so much to me and my family. As you may know, my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease as an infant over 20 years ago, and at that time there were virtually no gluten free prepared foods available but there was a strong network of support from other families like ours. As such, it was a dream come true when in 2008 we were able to launch our line of restaurant quality, gluten free soups and offer a convenient solution to so many previously underserved people.

Since then, we have had the privilege of delivering soups to so many different people from all across the United States and Canada, and we have been humbled by your loyalty to us and to our soups.

Therefore, it is with much heartache that I announce the discontinuation of our consumer line of single serving frozen soups. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to successfully build the frozen soup category. There are many great brands and products vying for space in the frozen food cases of supermarkets, and our products fell a little short of gaining the necessary sales momentum.

I want to personally thank you all for all of your amazing support and advocacy over the years, and I want to assure you that our commitment to serving great tasting gluten free foods remains as strong as ever. While we will no longer be selling products directly to consumers, we will continue to make premium quality, gluten free soups for restaurants and prepared foods departments in supermarkets.

You will still be able to find our single serving frozen products at select retailers for the next few months, but please call ahead to make sure they still have the varieties you are looking for.

Thank you again for allowing us to be a part of your lives, and if you have any questions I will do my best to respond in a timely manner. You can reach me directly at jerry@kettlecuisine.com
Jerry Shafir Founder &  President


While it is true that many mainstream canned soups are now labeled gluten free, Kettle Cuisine will be missed by gluten-free soup lovers.

Amy Ratner

“Bring Dessert”

As a person with celiac disease, I try to help out the hostess by offering to bring something if I have been invited to dinner or to a beach house or wherever.  Part of that is common courtesy and part of that is to ease the host family’s fear of coming up with some dish that is gluten-free so that I can eat it.

This past weekend, we spent the night out in Montauk and I was asked to bring dessert.  I got my inspiration at Stop & Shop in their seasonal section!  They had everything all set for S’mores, the store even had a cute tray and the special S’mores sticks for the BBQ.  The only extra work I had was making sure to purchase gluten-free graham crackers for the two of us on a gluten-free diet.

This was a lot easier than trying to pack a pie or cupcakes or a cake for the drive out to the beach.  Because it was so hot, the chocolate was melty to begin with when we made these and they were completely a gooey mess.  The Jumbo Marshmallows were showy, but in my humble opinion, it was just way too much melty marshmallow per S’more…stick to the regular size marshmallow for the right proportion of ingredients.

Everyone had to have one! I wish I had taken photos of the hands and faces that were covered with melted chocolate and marshmallow when we finished up.

Kendall Egan

New Wegmans' gluten-free products

If you live near a Wegmans supermarket, you might have noticed that the grocery chain has launched its own store brand of gluten-free products.

Included are corn pasta in four shapes and four baking mixes. There are already more than 1,700 gluten-free items among Wegmans store brand foods. But the new pasta and baking mixes don't just happen to be gluten free. Instead they are specialty products formulated to be gluten free.

In addition to boldly stating their gluten-free status on the package label, the pasta and mixes are also marked with Wegmans' gluten-free key, a white G in an orange circle.

Wegmans says the gluten-free key only appears on products with ingredients that have been verified to be gluten free and have no risk of being cross contaminated.

For recipes, and new product info go to Wegmans'
website.

Also, if you are a Wegmans' shopper, keep an eye on your postal mailbox for coupons for free pasta and a baking mix.


Amy Ratner

Domino's Pizza drops Amber Gluten-Free Seal

Domino's Pizza has stopped using a controversial certification seal on its new pizza made with a gluten-free crust. But the company does not plan to discontinue the crust itself.

On its website, the national pizza delivery company said it now has a "Gluten Free Ingredients" rating from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

Originally Domino's was given NFCA's Amber seal. That designation was designed for restaurants that get staff training regarding gluten-free meals and verify the gluten-free status of ingredients but don't guarantee that meals are free from cross contamination in the kitchen. It may take some time for the seal to disappear completely since it has already been printed on pizza boxes, but changes have already been made on Domino's website.

When the pizza was launched two weeks ago, both Domino's and the NFCA said it was not designed for those who have celiac disease because the crust was likely to be cross contaminated during preparation. Domino's said it was made for those who are "mildly sensitive" to gluten.

Negative reaction from many in the gluten-free community caused NFCA to suspend use of the Amber seal, part of a new two-tier certification program. The Green tier, used for restaurants with that meet higher standards, including strict gluten cross-contamination controls, is still being used by the group.

Domino's said despite withdrawal of the Amber seal NFCA supports the company's effort to provide a crust made with gluten-free ingredients to a national audience. While many with celiac disease and gluten intolerance, who must avoid all gluten, protested the pizza, some consumers following the gluten-free diet for other reasons said it does meet their needs.

NFCA said it is re-evaluating the Amber seal but remains committed to finding effective ways to warn gluten-free diners that all gluten-free menus are not created equal. The risk of gluten contamination in restaurant kitchens, even those that advertise gluten-free items, is higher than most consumer realize, according to the group.

Amy Ratner