BETTER than white chocolate! These coconut cacao truffles are creamy, vegan, gluten-free and luscious. Delightful with local organic strawberries, dried cranberries! Pure Pleasure and Healthy, too!
I Eat Green, an interview with Leslie Cerier. Here is the link for the interview from May 30th, 2013 on the Progressive Radio Network. . I start talking about 15 minutes into the interview. http://prn.fm/2013/05/30/ieat-green-053013/#axzz2VA0NyWFM
The interview is filled with many cooking tips on eating to maintain good eye sight, and to help with diseases like Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration, gluten-free cooking and super luscious eating for optimal health.
Host Bhavani Janoff. said of our interview, “Talking with Leslie was like sitting around the table with an old dear friend, having a cup of tea. Our mutual passion is to inspire people to cook, healthy, deliciously luscious, real food, and Leslie is really doing it!”
There has been much said, disputed, and just plain lectured about gluten and gluten-free diets these days. Here’s a great video that may not end all the debates, but will give you some more information…as if you really needed it.
This video link comes from a series of articles that Leslie Cerier was quoted in about Going Gluten-Free posted in the L A Times May 18, 2013 http://betterafter50.com/2013/05/going-gluten-free-more-common-but-not-necessarily-easier/
I hope you find this video informative about the truth about Gluten.
Toast-It-Bags allow gluten-free breads to be toasted without the chance of being contaminated by other wheat products. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / March 18, 2013)
May 18, 2013 L A Times Health by Mary MacVean
A by-no-means exhaustive list of resources follows. Please send us your favorites.
Celiac Disease Foundation, based in Studio City. Information, seminars and product shows, children’s summer camp.
Mayo Clinic. Information on health and gluten-free products.
The site http://www.findmeglutenfree.com lists restaurants by location and posts articles and more. It’s one of several celiac centers around the country.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The federal agency has proposed a definition of gluten-free that should assure consumers about what’s in products. The limit is likely to be at 20 parts per million of gluten. Several sources said the final rule could be issued any time. Currently there are private certifying agencies whose seals appear on many products to designate them as gluten-free.
Books
There are many books available, and many websites and blogs that offer recipes. A few of them:
“Real Life With Celiac Disease,” written by more than 50 experts who share patients’ stories and discuss treatments and lifestyle changes for people with gluten-related disorders.
Toast-It-Bags. Many of the gluten-free breads taste better toasted, and in some homes that requires two toasters on the counter. But people can also slip a slice of gluten-free bread into the bag and put it in the toaster to prevent cross-contamination from other products in the toaster. About $7 from online sources, including http://www.celinalfoods.com.
The Addiction Bistro, 408 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. With an owner and chef who eat gluten-free, this is a popular restaurant for gluten-free dieters. Burgers, sausages, chili, pasta and ice cream all made in-house. Hot sauces, ketchups and mustards are made by chef Johnny Kovin. http://www.theaddictionbistro.com
What is gluten? And other frequently asked questions about gluten
Gluten causes problems for some people. Here’s a look at that protein, where it’s found and gluten-free diets.
By Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times Health Section
May 18, 2013
Gluten-free food
A selection of gluten-free products show the variety of food available for those avoiding gluten. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times / May 14, 2013)
May 18, 2013
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein that is found in certain grains, including wheat, barley and rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye).
What problems prompt people to avoid gluten?
Gluten causes inflammation of the small intestine in people with celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease diagnosed with a blood test or biopsy; other symptoms include digestive problems, anemia, fatigue, headaches and joint pain. Avoiding gluten is the treatment, though there is no cure. Left untreated, celiac disease can lead to severe intestinal damage and osteoporosis, among other conditions.
Other people have a less severe sensitivity that may be an allergy to wheat, or what’s called non-celiac gluten sensitivity that causes such symptoms as digestive discomfort.
What foods contain wheat?
In addition to such obvious foods as breads and cakes, many products may have wheat in them. For people avoiding gluten, it’s important to read labels. Some unlikely sources of wheat include processed meats, seasoning mixes, snack foods, soups and sauces, salad dressings, medications and supplements. In addition, people who are particularly sensitive need to avoid foods produced in facilities in which wheat products are made.
Are there risks of a gluten-free diet?
Many grain products in U.S. supermarkets are enriched with iron, thiamine, niacin, folate and other nutrients. People who eat gluten-free should check with a professional to make sure their diets are healthful.
What grains are gluten-free?
Gluten-free grains include rice, cassava, corn, millet, buckwheat, sorghum, amaranth and quinoa.
Diagnosis of celiac disease and other conditions has more people cutting wheat from their diets. Others join in for self-diagnosed benefits. More products are available, but there are still struggles to maintain a strict diet.
Kristine Kidd prepares a gluten-free dinner: lamb burgers with mint, in her Topanga Canyon home. The former editor at Bon Appetit has a new book out, “Weeknight Gluten Free.” (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / March 18, 2013)
Ask author and chef Kristine Kidd about cooking and eating gluten-free Video: Author and chef Kristine Kidd on cooking and eating gluten-free
What is gluten? And other frequently asked questions about gluten What is gluten? And other frequently asked questions about gluten
By Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times
May 18, 2013
For more than 20 years, Kristine Kidd tasted what came her way as the food editor at Bon Appetit magazine. But she never felt great.
“I had digestive issues my whole life,” she says, but 21/2 years ago, the aching joints, bloating, fatigue and digestive problems became so severe she couldn’t ignore the symptoms of celiac disease.
She had already left her job and started doing some research, she says in the roomy, sunny kitchen of her hilltop home in Topanga Canyon.
FOR THE RECORD:
Gluten-free foods: An article May 18 about maintaining a gluten-free diet misidentified Melinda Dennis of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston as Melissa Dennis. —
“I was so miserable. And as soon as I went gluten-free, the symptoms started to subside,” she adds, as she prepared shrimp in tomato sauce over polenta, a recipe from her book “Weeknight Gluten Free.” In four months, she felt healthy.
Living a gluten-free life has become easier now that the conditions underlying the intolerance can be diagnosed. There are hundreds upon hundreds of products available, as well as a growing number of restaurants willing to accommodate diners who avoid gluten.
But easier doesn’t mean easy. One wrong bite can mean a week feeling lousy.
“I’m happy that I don’t feel like I’m dying, but … I’m still angry and resentful,” says Carol Blymire, a writer in Washington, D.C., who for a time wrote the blog “Gluten for Punishment.”
CHAT: Chef Kristine Kidd talks about cooking and eating gluten-free
She’s not alone. It is estimated that 1% of the population has celiac disease and a greater number of people suffer from wheat allergies or are gluten-intolerant, says Melissa Dennis, the nutrition coordinator at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In addition, consumer research from the NPD Group suggests that nearly one-third of Americans want to reduce or eliminate the gluten in their diets.
Thanks are due in part to the Paleo, low-carb and “wheat belly” diets, to the never-ending desire to lose weight (though a gluten-free diet is no guarantee of that) and to celebrities such as Gwenyth Paltrow. “Saturday Night Live” poked fun of going gluten-free as a “made up allergy that you invented to get attention” — just the sort of joke to make the celiac community cringe.
“Gluten-free has maintained this steady growth, but it has shifted in the reason why so many consumers are interested,” says Melissa Abbott, senior director, culinary insights at the market research firm Hartman Group. “Consumers don’t even know why they’re doing it often.”
That can be a little annoying to people who have no choice.
“Part of me resents them because they’ll go to restaurants and say everything has to be gluten-free, then nibble on their friends’ bread,” says Blymire, whose condition means she needs to avoid using even a shared microwave oven. “I’ve gotten accidentally ‘glutened’ six or seven times, and it’s excruciating.”
Nonetheless, consumer desires, and dollars, mean that the list of gluten-free foods, which include quinoa pasta, brown rice cereals and mung bean noodles, continues to grow. Evol makes burritos and other frozen entrees without gluten. Blue Diamond makes rice-and-almond crackers. Way Better Snacks produces chips with corn, flax and chia seeds.
Udi’s, the big player in the gluten-free kitchen, has grown in the last three years from $6 million in sales to an expected $130 million this year, says its vice president of marketing, Denise Sirovatka. Its whole grain sandwich bread is its biggest seller, and a frozen baguette has just been launched in limited distribution.
Many consumers are trying gluten-free products without professional medical advice, she says. “People hear about it and self-diagnose. If it works for them, they stick with it.”
But a gluten-free diet is not inherently a healthful one. Some products are no more healthful than “your classic processed foods,” Dennis says. “They’re adding salt and fat to make up for the mouth feel and texture of gluten, and they’re lower in minerals and fiber.”
Leslie Cerier, author of “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook,” suggests people branch out to grains such as amaranth, new spices and lots of produce.
For breakfast, “think beyond toast. You can have a variety of different porridges with millet or rolled oats, or quinoa. Top with coconut milk or yogurt, maple syrup,” she says.
Kidd cooks with lots of polenta, made from corn, and quinoa. She turns scrambled eggs into crepes and makes the naturally gluten-free French flatbread called socca.
Eating out can be a challenge, and Kidd says restaurant kitchens don’t always know what to do: Cooks will put gluten-free pasta into the same water they use for wheat pasta, for instance. In L.A., Kidd returns to the same restaurants; when she travels, she carries bags of gluten-free flour that she gives chefs for her meal. “In the beginning, I was very uncomfortable at restaurants, but if you don’t stand up for yourself once and you get really sick, then you know.”
Even the vaunted French Laundry in the California Wine Country has heard the gluten-free call, and chef Thomas Keller asked his research and development chef, Lena Kwak, to find a solution. After a lot of trial and error to replicate the complex role of flour in baking, the result was Cup4Cup, a gluten-free mix now available in stores.
And there’s hope for beer drinkers who want to avoid gluten.
New Planet, one of several gluten-free beer makers, uses sorghum to replace barley and is coming out with a brown ale in August. Omission beer, which uses traditional barley but removes the gluten after brewing, came on the market a year ago.
“Being able to sit down with someone and have them want to drink the same beer I’m drinking is really fun,” says Terry Michaelson, chief executive of Omission, who has celiac disease. “I’m beginning to understand how important beer is to people and understand the passion gluten-free consumers have when they learn, wow, I can drink this. It’s a really fun experience.”
My kids love a bowl of strawberry sauce any time of day. It is heavenly on pancakes, waffles, yogurt, and ice cream.
Yield: About 2 1/4 cups
1 quart (4 cups) coarsely chopped fresh or frozen strawberries*
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon cold water
* If using frozen strawberries, add an additional teaspoon of arrowroot and cold water.
1. Place the strawberries and maple syrup in a 1-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer about 5 minutes, or until the strawberries are soft and juicy.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot in the cold water. Add the mixture to the simmering strawberries, and stir for a minute or two until the sauce thickens.
Purple sauerkraut is beautiful, tasty, rich in Vitamin C and aids digestion. Here is a Felafel Salad served with fresh picked garden salad from Leslie’s organic garden. Tahini Dressing and Olives round out the meal.
Have you used edible flowers to dress up a salad? It is really easy and fun.Add them whole or sprinkle petals on top of a salad. Spring violets add pizzazz to this delicious gluten-free and vegan beet and cabbage slaw. Hemp seeds made this a main course salad, being a complete protein. As the seasons progress, you can change the edible flowers: red bee balm and yellow calendula petals are tasty summer treats.Whole lilies looks great on summer salads, too. Borage, marigold and anise hyssop are great choices in the fall.
If you do not have your own garden, you can buy edible flowers at Farmers Markets and natural foods’s stores, too.
Here’s a versatile recipe that is fun to eat as a salad, stuffed into pita or deep fried in egg roll wrappers. Eating 4-6 of these delicious egg rolls makes a great lunch or dinner.
Vitamin C provides a natural filter against UV rays. Cabbage and collards, and other cruciferous vegetables are good sources of Vitamin C. Goji berries are red and are high in antioxidants, a group of compounds that act as free radical scavengers, donating electrons and neutralizing free radicals thus preventing their destruction to other cells, eliminating them from the body before they can do damage.
Serves 4-6
Makes 20 egg rolls; also delicious as a side salad, too.
1/3 cup arame
¼ cup dried goji berries
1 –14 ounce extra firm tofu, diced
1 quart green cabbage or collard greens, sliced thin
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped cilantro
1 cup coarsely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons tamari
1 ½ tablespoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon maple sugar or maple syrup
20 egg roll wrappers (6-inch squares)
¼ cup extra virgin coconut oil for frying
1.Put the arame and goji berries in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Layer the tofu on top followed by cabbage, cilantro, and scallions.Add sesame oil, tamari, ginger and maple sugar. Let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes to allow the water from the tofu to hydrate the arame and goji berries. Stir mixture together and taste and adjust seasonings, if desired.
2.Place an egg roll wrapper diagonally on a large cutting board or plate, so it appears diamond-shaped. Place 2 tablespoons of arame mixture in the center. Fold the right and left sides of the wrapper over the filling, then fold up the bottom corner, and roll up tightly.
3.Melt coconut oil in a large fry pan. Add as many egg rolls as will fit leaving spaces between them to allow enough room to flip over. Fry over medium heat for a few minutes until golden on one side and then flip over and fry for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on all sides or at least 2. Remove from fry pan and drain on a paper bags or paper towels. Fry remaining egg rolls and add more coconut oil if pan becomes dry.
4.Arrange the egg rolls on a platter and enjoy or serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
