McCormick gets an A+

Last summer I emailed McCormick about their products.  I received a very informative email back that day.  This past week I received a letter from them, this is what it said:

 “We recognize that gluten is the common name for proteins in specific cereal grains that are harmful to persons with Celiac Disease.  These proteins are found in all forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn and faro), and related grains, rye, barley, and tritcale.  When gluten or wheat is present as an ingredient, McCormick will declare it in the ingredient statement.Since the late 1990’s, McCormick has used ‘Plain English” allergen labeling to communicate our product ingredients to our consumers.  Gluten is listed as “wheat” in our ingredient statements.  This labeling policy adheres to the FDA regulations that were implemented as of January 1, 2006.If a product does not have an ingredient statement, it is a pure spice or herb with nothing added and contains no added glutens.  In addition, the alcohol in all of our retail extracts is not from grain and is gluten free.  Because we are constantly improving our products, we do not offer a list of our products that do not currently contain glutens.  We encourage you to read the ingredient statement on your package at the time of purchase to ensure accurate, up to date information.”I use a lot of the McCormick marinades in the summer time and it is great to know that they are a company you can trust. 

I Missed National Pancake Day

I missed National Pancake day this year because I seem to still think this is 2007. Pancakes are one of my favorites since going Gluten Free and I don’t know about anyone else but we seem to eat more pancakes now that I am Gluten Free then we ever did before. Our favorite is Pamela’s Pancake and Baking Mix and I add a little cinnamon to it topped with homemade maple syrup. Yumm!

I have put together some other favorites. If I have missed anyone please let me know and I will post them.

Sheltie Girls- Buckwheat Almond Pancakes & Upside Down Pear Pancake

Aylena- Buckwheat Pancakes

Mike’s- Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Ellen’s- Teff Banana Pancakes

Natalie’s- Pumpkin Pancakes & Cornmeal Pancakes

Mary Francis- Spice Apple Pancakes

Steve’s- Puff Pancake

Kate’s- Tender Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Diane’s- American Style Pancakes w/Maple & Pecan Sauce

In The Life of a Child- GFCF Sweet Potato Pancakes

Shauna’s- Gluten Free Pancakes

Becky’s- Banana Walnut Pancakes

Carrie’s- German Apple Pancakes

What a difference an ocean makes

Lucy recently explained to me the UK Prescription plan.  I wanted to share it with everyone. 

“The insurance plan element is the National Health Service.

The way it works at the moment is that a doctor can prescribe a range of basic gluten free foods (pasta, bread, crackers, sweet biscuits, pizza bases, flour) from a list of approved suppliers. This is one reason why it is good to get a ‘proper’ diagnosis of CD, at least here in the UK. (You can also buy gluten free food from supermarkets and so on).

We take the prescriptions to the pharmacist, who swops the paper for the goods.

Some groups of people don’t have to pay the pharmacist for the prescribed goods (including these gluten free things), and this includes children under 16 (under 19 if in fulltime education).

The bill for the prescribed goods is covered by central government, and is therefore paid for by the taxpayer.

So, once you have your diagnosis, it is possible to get a basic range of gluten free goods from the National Health Service. If you qualify, these will be free; otherwise it is worth buying a ’season-ticket’ which will give you a discount on the cost.

The range of items a doctor can prescribe is limited, and doesn’t include anything fancy. There are suggested amounts to be prescribed depending on the person’s age. Sometimes we hear of doctors who are unwilling to prescribe – and there is a lot of discussion at the moment about how the NHS can continue to afford this. If it does prove to be 1 in 100 who are coeliac, this definitely isn’t going to be affordable for government to continue to cover these costs. The argument is, though, that keeping coeliacs healthy and complying with the gluten free diet will reduce future costs to the NHS.

For my daughter, we usually ask for bread rolls, pasta, pizza bases and flour.”

I find it very sad that our government or even medical professionals do not take Celiac more seriously.  Yes, it is better then it was but it still has a long way to go.  I think about families on very limited incomes trying to survive being Gluten Free.   Being on a gluten free diet can cut into a budget quickly and for many of us we have very limited budgets.  It is especially expensive if you don’t live near any large cities then you depend on mail order and on top of the expensive products you end up paying shipping on your products. I hope that one day (soon) things will improve in this country.

If you are interested in looking at the UK Prescription list click here. 

Gluten Free S’More Cookie Bars

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Forgetting…

I don’t know about anyone else but sometimes life just gets so busy that I forget that I have Celiac, that I can’t have gluten. I just don’t have the “Classic” symptoms. I don’t get sick right away, I usually don’t have any symptoms. My main symptom is my anemia and with my iron shots I have been feeling really good again. I have energy again and I don’t seem to experience the foggy feeling I would have at work half way through the day.

I was looking through Danna Korn’s “Wheat Free Worry Free” the other night and realized that there are still products that I don’t think about or worry about that I should.

Here is a list of items to either avoid completely or to do your homework on. I really needed this reminder to keep me thinking.

• Envelopes, stamps or other gummed labels
• Medicines
• Cross contamination between food store bins selling raw flours and grains (the scoops are the culprit)
• Non-gluten free bread crumbs in butter, jams, toasters, counters, etc.
• Packet & canned soups
• Ground spices- wheat flour is often used to prevent caking
• Gravy mixes
• Laxatives- check carefully
• Ice Creams- check carefully
• Rice cakes and crackers
• Sandwich meats
• Beef and Chicken broth
• Egg substitutes
• Baked beans
• Dry roasted nuts
• Dried fruits
• Fruit pie fillings
• Potato Chips
• Instant drinks (tea, coffee, fruit drinks, chocolate)
• Gum
• Marshmallows
• Candy
• Baking Powder
• Worcestershire Sauce

So the next time life gets busy and I just grab something to eat or to even touch my lips I hope I remember to stop and ask myself. Is this bad for me?

Allie Mae was tired and decided she was going to bed without mom.