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October 24 Dream big, and MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALWAYS READ THE LABELS!Hello Friends!
I hope that everyone is well and enjoying the cooler weather - when it's not raining, it sure is nice out there!
Just a reminder to everyone one a gluten free diet or buying for someone on the diet: ALWAYS READ THE LABELS WHILE YOU ARE SHOPPING!
Unless you know that the company whose product you are purchasing has committed to permanently omitting gluten from their products, or unless it is specifically labeled 'gluten free', then you should always check the labels for gluten ingredients.
Sure, it takes extra time to do this, and you must don the 'special label reading glasses' to decipher the impossibly small print, but it is well worth the effort to avoid 'getting glutened'.
Here are a couple of things that astute label readers have noticed and brought to our attention:
Walmart, who has seemed to be very proactive this year in giving us a GF food section and labeling all of their store brand products GF if they are, seems to be having some labeling problems -- some of the items that are listed as GF also have the "this product was produced in a facility that also handles......wheat....." label. That is a scary combination/contradiction of terms for those of us who are sensitive to even the smallest amount of gluten.
What are we to think of the safety of these products?
Be sure to use caution, and read the labels carefully while this gets sorted out.
Our good friend Jennifer
 sent me a link today regarding a product that had an obvious mistake on the label. (Find it in our 'Gluten Alerts' column) The article concerns a product that is most definitely not gluten free, and has an error on the labels where 'wheat' was ommitted from the allergy and ingredients information. The product in question is Breyers Cookies and Cream ice cream.I have to admit, that when I first read this I laughed; a sad little laugh, but a laugh all the same. Why? Becuase I wouln't have even thought to read any further than the word 'cookies' on the package before assuming that the product was off-limits. But some wishful dreamer read the label anyway and realized that there was no accounting for the 'cookie' ingredients in the mix.
This made me think: Maybe I have just become so jaded and used to not having a whole lot of selection out there in grocery world, that I eat the same thing a lot without looking to see what companies might have turned GF friendly and changed their ingredients - maybe I am missing some good stuff by not looking at a bigger variety of things.
And also, I think that there are people out there who are going to continue to check the label on the 'cookies and cream' - hoping for a tasty miracle - who will call the company and alert others to these dangerous mistakes, and possibly get someone on the churn, whipping up a gluten free dream come true! September 24 Meeting of the Birmingham Celiac Disease Support GroupDearest Friends, Please join me at Max's Deli, 3431 Colonnade Parkway Birmingham, Alabama 35243 on Thursday, October 1, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. for the next support group meeting. We will enjoy some great gluten free deli snacks, and plenty of other goodies including several new gf product samples. Visit www.maxsdelionline.com for information on the restaurant and their regular menu. Windowslive no longer offers the event invitation service that I used before - so please email me your RSVPs so that we know how many attendees to expect. I hope to see you all there! There is so much to talk about! Rebecca
August 28 New Format for Birmingham, AL Celiac Support Group InformationHello Friends!
In my ongoing quest to find a better way to communicate with you all, I have designed this blog for our group. I am hoping that the new format can help us with several problems that we have been dealing with, such as email notifications and forum searches. I beg your patience while I get it up and running - but this is what I expect to be able to develop with the blog:
1 - A 24/7 user friendly source of information for the group, that allows me to transfer information to all of you at once. Up until now, I have only been able to send out emails to fifty group members at a time, and with our group growing - this has meant that I have to forward each email five times - once to each group of fifty.
2 - It will give us a place, like the forum does, where you can post comments, recipes, questions, etc.
3 - Newly diagnosed people can find us easier, and will have access to information to get them started on their new gluten free diet adventure (I'm trying to make it sound positive and exciting for any newbies reading now - LOL), along with information regarding testing, doctors, food resources, and contact with other 'Celiacs'.
4 - We can post information on meetings, restaurants, food finds, etc. The GF Dinner Club meetings will be posted here.
5 - Links to: all of the major Celiac Disease organizations home pages, great Celiac or gluten free blog sites, etc.
Here's how you can help me -- Email me (birminghamceliac@hotmail.com) any links to your favorite Celiac and GF living related sites; including food resources, blogs, medical sites, recipe exchanges, etc.
If you have any more ideas for what other information I will need to add - please let me know. All of your comments are welcome and so appreciated!
Thanks - and be healthy!
Rebecca
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