Click Above for: newworldbistrobar.com

February Restaurant

Get-Together:

New World Bistro Bar - February 20, 2012 at 6PM

300 Delaware Avenue

Albany, NY 

We look forward to another incredible restaurant experience.   

Debbie Loncto-Ulrich has arranged this event and Jessica Evans, NWBB's General Manager,  said they "will make certain that all of your dietary needs are met." Reservations are limited to 20! Please RSVP by February 15th to Roz Spiller at upstateceliacs@yahoo.com or leave a message at 518-461-7065. 

Click Above for Elizabeth's Videos

March 8, 2012 - 7:00 PM

461 Nott Street, Schenectady, NY
Reservations Required
Attendance is Free & Open to the Public (Details Below)

Sponsors

ELIZABETH BARBONE

Click Above

April 19, 2012 at 6:45 PM

Future Event Plans

May 16, 2012 - Gluten Free Food Festival at the Century House & Sponsored by Price Chopper

June 2012 - Family Picnic (location and date to be determined)

July & August 2012 - Restaurant Get-Togethers

9/20/2012 -  ShopRite to Present Anne Roland  Lee from:

Dr. Schar:  www.schar.com/us/

October 2012 (Date To Be Announced):  Young Celiacs: 

It might very well be possible to purchase this test now and have it mailed across the border since an advertisement for BIOCARD was printed in the Winter 2012 issue of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, which is based in Santa Rosa, Cal. The ad mentioned BIOCARD is the only Health Canada licensed 10 minute celiac test and that it is 93.5% accurate. www.glutenpro.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently doesn't require labeling of the gluten content in medications (neither nonprescription or prescription) - but that's changing soon, hopefully. Here's the good news: FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) just issued a request for public comments about gluten in prescription and nonprescription drug products. Comments must be submitted by March 20, 2012. Click Here to Read More. Also, http://glutenfreedrugs.com is a well researched and organized resource for anyone needing to take a medication and uncertain of it's GF status.

www.Italianglutenfreefoods.com - Another ad in this issue was tempting so I looked it up. Wow what delicious looking food! Made to order and flash frozen and delivered. I was nicely surprised to see they have a 516 area code which means Long Island. Pictures of their garlic bread, stuffed clams, rice balls, mozzarella sticks and veal marsala are mouth watering. They are about half the price one would spent at a restaurant, if you could find a restaurant to make them.

Speaking of Italian, while I can hardly claim to have tasted every GF pizza in the entire area, it is my humble opinion, as a long time resident of NYC, Brooklyn and Long Island, the best made to order pizza, by far the best in the area is Just Me Pizza, opposite the Times Union Arena. To quote one of the reviews I found online, "They take GF to a whole new level". The GF crust is made by a local woman in Scotia and each round or Sicilian crust is individually wrapped and kept in the freezer ready for an order. While both sizes make great pizza prefer the larger 12-slice Sicilian size. It reheats beautifully. They also make a 12" round 8-slice as well. The owner says he doesn't really make much on these pizzas because the crust costs so much. We can help support him by buying more of this truly wonderful pizza. They are located opposite the Times Union Arena on Broadway in downtown Albany. This Sat. night there was a game and every seat was taken by families. Yet, without calling ahead, I had to wait under 20 minutes for my pie. So take the kids to a concert or game and go get some great tasting pizza, the new vegetable. Ha!

TIDBITS FROM DARIA

www.starbucks.com

Last verified 4/11 1-800-235-2883, Ext. 0

Customers can get ingredient information by asking their barista or calling 1-800-235-LATTE (235-2883). Starbucks, depending on the size of the outlet, does sell some pre-packaged GF snacks that are labeled gluten free.

Customer service call on 4/11/11: The customer service representative said the only information he had was that Starbucks could not guarantee anything they served as gluten-free because of cross-contamination issues. He was not able to confirm the information given below.

Sent by email in 10/10 from Starbucks Customer Relations:

"Starbucks is unable to guarantee a 'gluten-free' environment in our retail locations due to the potential for cross contamination with gluten-containing products. The open environment and operating procedures of our store locations may present additional risk for gluten-sensitive customers aside from the gluten-containing ingredients themselves. 'Gluten-free' is a claim with specific requirements defined by government agencies and industry standards. We are unable to make this claim on a product unless the item is specifically formulated and manufactured to meet the definition of the claim."

Sent by email in 12/10 from Starbucks Customer Relations: "The only syrup with gluten is Light Coffee Frappuccino Syrup. Java chips do contain wheat. Caramel Sauce, Caramel Brulee Sauce and Caramel Brulee Topping all contain corn syrup. There is always a chance of cross contamination, we can't guarantee anything being gluten- or corn-free."

The Blended Light Frap Mix contains gluten. The regular Frappuccino base mix does not contain gluten. Read the following blog, which also has a written response from Starbucks discussing their current policy. May, 2010. Click To Read More

Announcing...CDF's 1st Children's Celiac Camp!

Located in Southern California's beautiful San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear, the 2012 Camp Session Week, July 30 - August 3, will be filled with fun activities and adventure in an environment dedicated to their gluten-free dietary needs. Spaces are limited. Reserve now. Call the CDF at 818.990.2354 or visit our website at: Camp Nawakwa

www.kindsnacks.com/kindaholics

Your kindness kicked off the New Year with the gift of shoes for people in need: Today, hundreds of people living without shoes are tying up the laces of a brand new pair - all because of you.

This was the January BIG KIND Act and it was made possible by the collective kindness of thousands of KINDAHOLICS who accepted last month's KINDING Mission.

As we speak, members of the KIND team are paying your kindness forward at the Atlanta Mission where they are giving shoes to hundreds of people who have been living without this basic need. Joined by Soles 4 Souls volunteers, KIND team members are welcoming local homeless men, women and children as they take a seat to be fit with the gift of a new pair of shoes!   Read more about this story and about some Hollywood Actors like .... Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Orlando Bloom & Piper Perabo at: Celebs Do Lunch

From

JONES DAIRY:

Ready

for

some Football?
 

Uncle Sam's in Latham have expanded into the store next to their original space. They have expanded their GF selection even more. They have added some new GF brands.

Have you been to the new Shop Rite in Niskyuna? Well, you should. They have an entire on side of an aisle devoted to GF. And each of the other GF sections are nicely labeled. And But if it is too far, then wait a few months. A new one is in progress off of Central Ave and Everrett (Exit 5 of of 90). If it is anything like the Niskyuna one, then you won't believe it. There's an entire aisle of GF dry goods (side that is.. but still!). And they clearly identify sections of the freezer, etc. as GF. And what a selection! And their prices are often much lower, such as Against the Grain Baguettes, which were $2 less than anywhere else I have compared.

Before you head home, go across the street to 2227 Nott St and Balltown Ave., to the must-visit, venerable Niskyuna Food Co-op, established in 1943, a grand-daddy of co-ops. Started when 300 neighbor's got together to form a store closer than Schenectady during WW II when gasoline was scarce and rationed. Niskayuna Co-Op They have had Udi's bread, even at a non-members price, way lower then anyone one else in the entire area. Have you tried Udi's dog or burger rolls yet? They are the BEST! Sami's Bakery rolls are pretty darn good too. I use their dog rolls like little baguettes. I slice them in half-length wise and then I make 4 slices length wise on each. Or you can make smaller rounds. No one can ever tell that this bread is GF. Their herbal croutons make an excellent stuffing, by the way. They might need to special ordered at your local source for Sami's because I only see the plain around these days.

Restaurants nationwide have increased items listed as GF by 61%! There is even an online course restaurants can take on all the details of GF cooking for $200. Anyone have friends who own a restaurant and want to do it right? Here you go: Click Here This site has training tailored for each audience. They offer 1.5 CE for the pharmacists version. There are versions tailored to nurses and for mental health workers.

There's a helpful guide for restaurants in the area that offer GF items.

Restaurant Options

The US GF food industry surpassed 6 billion in sales in 2011, according SPINS, an industry sales data analysis company, growing 16% over the previous year.

Read More

A study was done at the Dahousie Univ. in Nova Scotia, comparing prices between non-GF items and their gluten free alternatives. They found that the average unit price was .61 compared to $1.71!, a 242% increase in GF food.

Tina Turbin of www.glutenfreehelp.info, states that if you have a doctor's note stating you have CD and you anticipate filling a Schedule A Itemized Deductions, then start saving your receipts. She says you can deduct the difference between regular food prices and your GF prices. (Trouble is, many stores don't identify a product as GF on their register printout. So I don't know how one can keep track of what's GF and what's not. You would have to highlight the UPC or bar code as soon as you were unpacking.) You can also deduct items that usually only us celiacs use, like sorghum flour, xanthum gum. If you purchase mail order, then you can deduct the shipping as well.

Also from this same issue of Winter 2012 Journal of GS, a dietitian compared the sugar content of pre-made flour mixes. Most of those tested had from 2-4.5 teaspoons per serving. Unfortunately, my favorite, Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookie mix had the equivalent of 4 1/2 teaspoons of sugar per serving. She recommended making one's own mixes and to freeze them in bags ready to use. We will save money and we can control the amount of sugar we put in or even substitute some stevia.

Here's a recipe that looks fantastic and just like the Kaiser rolls I grew up eating. Click Here

A team of teens in Washington state won 1st in their regional science competition with a robot that monitored for gluten contamination in the kitchen. They are going on to the state with this autonomous robot. The 5 teens, ages 9-14, used LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT components to build it to watch over a shared kitchen. The article doesn't exactly say how. Click Here

In an "Osteoporosis and CD", Alexander Shikhmen, M.D., PhD, FACR, discusses the risks for developing osteoporosis. The celiacs have problems with a number of nutrients. Malabsorption of Vitamins D, K and magnesium is detrimental to the bones. Signs of magnesium deficiency are muscle cramping, twitching, irregular heartbeats and high blood pressure. Chronic diarrhea or loose bowes leads to a drop in levels of bicarbonate in the body, causing acidosis. This leads to the body leaching calcium from the bones to restore PH, leading to bone loss. Long term use of proton pump inhibitors as well as SSRI's also increase risk factors. Also, low levels of estrogen in both women and men leads to higher rates of osteoporosis and fractures and it has been found people with celiac have lower amounts of estrogen. An autoimmune response mechanism has been discovered showing that celiacs have significantly higher amounts of autoantibodies, which block the actions of the chemicals that regenerate or tune over bone. The inflammatory response, measured as C-reactive protein, seems to be at the root of nearly everything that hurts or is malfunctioning. Dr. Shikhmen said knowing these risks can help one be proactive by getting your D levels tested. That is, specially tell your Dr. to be tested for the 25-hydroxy D and to supplement with D3. Increase your intake of anti-inflammatory foods and taking enough of the correct supplements. Low levels of D are also linked with depression, another condition many celiacs suffer with.

In the Autumn issue of J of GS, Brian Dean, MS, RD wrote Celiac and Mental Health. He warns that the very nutrients needed to build the crucial neurotransmitters involved in brain functioning are the same nutrients that celiacs have difficulty absorbing. Our brain uses 1/3 of our daily nutrient intake. If we are not taking in ( or able to convert them to active forms) enough Omega-3, calcium, zinc, B6, B12, folate, or the amino acids like tryptophan, when we are able to make sufficient serotonin, dopamine, GABA and other "feel good" neurotransmitters. Other forms of mental illness can be helped by a GF diet. Schizophrenia, was called "bread madness" in the 1800's when some schizophrenics improved when bread was withheld. Autistic children often respond to a GF diet with improvements with eye contact, speaking and emotion expression. While this diet is very restrictive, if the pay offs were that pronounced, then it would be well worth the time and expense.