Gluten-Free Sale: Envirokidz Cereals - super cheap!

Talk about an extreme bargain on gluten-free cereal, I just ran into one of the best deals ever. I found this three-pack of Envirokidz gluten-free cereal which includes their Gorrilla Munch, Panda Puffs, and Koala Crisp (that I would respectively compare to mainstream brands of Original Cap'n Crunch, Captain Crunch Peanut-Butter, and Cocoa Pebbles respectively).

The pack contained three full-size / normal-size boxes of Envirokids gluten-free cereal (e.g., the Koalo Crisp cereal box was 11.5 ounce size), and you perhaps will not believe the price: $2.99! YES, $2.99 for all three boxes! Where did I find it? BJ's Wholesale Club of all places. We were walking around the store picking up some items for our holiday baking, and there in the middle of an aisle was a big pile of these multi-packs. At first I didn't pay much attention, until I saw the sign over them which said $2.99. I though, "surely that can't be for the three pack", but I quickly confirmed it upon checkout.

I am used to a single box of the gluten-free Koala Crisp being $2.49 at Trader Joe's and $2.49 at Whole Foods (that was their sale price when I looked yesterday). I have actually seen a box as high as $4.00 at my local small gluten-free store. I like the Koala Crisp quite a bit, and the Panda Puffs nice on occasion too. I can't recall if I tried the Gorilla Munch before, but I figured if I didn't like them, I could just donate them to a food shelter. Heck, it was like buying one box and getting two free.

Actually, since I only regularly eat the Koala ones, and they are nearly the same price that I would otherwise pay, I plan to go back and buy a trunk-full of these super sale-price Envirokids and give a pile of cereal (any I don't plan to consume myself) to a food bank. Why not? In fact, I presume I can write-off 2/3 of the purchase-price as a tax-deductible donation if I give 2/3 of the cereals away. That'll help some people out and give me some nice year-end charitable giving write-offs, and make the cereal even more of a bargain!

I don't know if you have a BJ Wholesale Club near you, but it you do, I hope you find these cereals at the same bargain price. I have no idea if this deal is going to last or not, so I suggest getting them while they are available and/or on sale like this.

I have to wonder if Nature's Path Foods (the manufacturer of Envirokidz brand cereals) just had a big pile of inventory to clear out in a hurry. Gluten-free is certainly a growing trend, and not just among Celiac Disease sufferers from what I have noticed, but it doesn't seem quite "main stream" enough to attract the attention of a wholesale club yet, unless there was a particular reason to sell the product.

Gluten-Free Baking with Celeriac

What is it?
Celeriac, or "celery root": highly recommended addition to your gluten-free diet! I don't know where this food was my entire life, but I now know I missed out for many years. We only recently discovered Celeriac while on vacation in England, and have since found it here in the United States after looking around a bit. Turns out it is much more popular in Europe than in the Western hemisphere, which is too bad, since this is a gluten-free food that is simply excellent!

Where to find Celeriac here in the States
Look for the Celeriac in the fresh produce section of a grocer that carries substantial fresh vegetable variety, and from what I have seen in grocers near us, most will sell Celeriac by the pound (vs. piece). So far, Whole Foods Market has been the cheapest at $2.49/pound (Giant Eagle wanted $3.49/pound by comparison). It still may sound pricey compared to a potato, but Celeriac has several advantages I'll discuss here, and I must consider how $2.49/pound is less expensive than many certified gluten-free flours and such even cost.

What does it tastes like?
Think "potato" but with a pleasing celery or celery-seed flavor accent. It is a root vegetable, and like a potato, it can be eaten baked, mashed, boiled, you name it. I find the taste pleasant and mild, but noticeable enough to add additional character to soups and other dishes.

My wife first had Celeriac in mashed form in the UK, and really liked it. I like it baked with a bit of olive oil on it (as pictured below), or I quite often top it with some pasta sauce or homemade gluten-free pesto sauce, a bit of my favorite ground cheese, or many other flavorful topping options.

I'll post a simple gluten-free recipe to get you started with Celeriac in the future - a recipe I really like that is also super easy to prepare; which, is just plain old baked Celeriac like I pictured here. Basically we just chop up the cleaned and trimmed root and bake the pieces on a cookie sheet with some olive oil. I would suggest just experimenting with recipes you use potatoes in already. E.g., if you like Potato soup, Celeriac soup may be a simple alteration. And, mashed potatoes are rather simple to replace with mashed Celeriac.

As for their physical characteristics, the root portion (that you eat) tends to be about 4 to 6 inches in diameter - the one pictured (above) was something like 5 inches across. They have a very mottled texture where smaller roots have been trimmed off already - and you trim this thing down to look more like a trimmed potato when you are ready to bake it. The leafy green tops are, as perhaps you can make out in the picture, look quite similar to those on the tips of traditional Celery stalks.

(Celeriac picture: cubed and baked / roasted)


Why eat it? Tasty and Healthy!
Beyond its wonderful flavor and versatility, it makes for an incredibly healthful gluten-free diet food (or, addition to any diet, gluten-free or otherwise)! Celeriac is a low-calorie, low gylcemic-index / glycemic-load food (meaning, great option for diabetics or those with hyperglycemia concerns).

A quick comparison to potatoes can be made, since I look at Celeriac as a more healthful potato substitute (also consider Turnips / Rutabagas - these too offer much reduced calorie and glycemic-index options).

A side-by-side nutritional comparison of some gluten-free and Celiac-Disease-Safe (potato and potato-like) vegetable options appears below to round out this Gluten-Free Blog posting. Check out the dietary statistics, and see how Celeriac (and turnips or rutabagas) can be a great alternative to consider if blood-sugar control, diabetes, calorie restriction / reduction / control, a general weight-loss diet, or other concerns are part of your life:

	Celeriac	Turnips	Red Potatoes	Baked Potato
Calories:	42	28	70	100
Fat (g):	0	0	0	0
Total Carbs (g)	9	6	16	21
++Fiber (g):	2	2	2	2
++Sugars (g):	1	4	1	1
Protein (g)	1	1	2	3
Vitamin-C (%):	13	35	14	16
Iron (%)	4	2	4	6
Calcium (%):	4	3	1	1
Potassium (%)	8	5	13	15
Est. Glycemic Load	4	2	7	9

Gluten-Free Whey Protein : Miracle GF Baking Ingredient

I just released a new Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookie Recipe that features whey protein isolate as an ingredient. As such, I have simultaneously posted this blog on using whey protein in your gluten-free diet and Celiac-safe baking strategy.


Using whey protein in gluten-free baking has some serious potential, as I have been busy experimenting and researching how to use this ingredient as a fantastic gluten-alternative in the pursuit of perfect gluten-free foods. After experimenting with it for a few weeks in various recipes, I am nearly ready to declare whey protein the gluten-free baking miracle ingredient, as I am getting some absolutely incredible results with this protein in recipes ranging from pancakes to cookies and more (playing with breads and pastries next - and, I can't wait to see what my wife and I come up with!)

A Quick Science-Lesson Explanation for why I tried Whey Protein
Whey protein got my interest because I needed a safe baking ingredient alternative that could potentially replace the gluten-proteins in my foods (gluten that is obviously missing now that I have to bake without it). The gluten in "normal" foods (foods with wheat, rye, barley grains and flours and compounds derived thereof) is a mixture of water-insoluble proteins (particularly gliadin and glutenin) that lend elasticity to dough and chewiness / resiliency to finished bake-goods.

My objective (in the constant pursuit of gluten-free diet perfection) is to simulate, as best as possible, the effect of gluten in foods while not using any. Since gluten is nothing more than a complex protein, I figured a great substitute would be a complex globular protein like Whey Protein. And, I knew I had found what I was looking for when I tried some plain Whey Protein powder - I just put a teaspoon of it in my mouth (nearly flavorless by the way), and noticed how it quickly turned into a chewing-gum like substance as the proteins developed with just the water in my mouth. Plus, whey protein is easily digestible, so it should be well tolerated by many people.

Types of Whey Protein on the Market
When discussing Whey Protein, there are different types available. You will see all sorts of products on the market labeled as Whey Protein and Whey Protein Concentrates, and then there are some that are Whey Protein Isolates. Isolates are processed to remove the fat, and lactose — they are 90%+ protein by weight, and this is what I settled on for my baking strategy (Isolate). Speaking of protein, an ounce of this product has 25-grams of protein (i.e., half the published government "Daily Value" requirement) with only 105 total calories and nearly zero fat/cholesterol.

The first thing you need to do is ensure you find a brand that is definitely gluten-free, and this can be difficult, as most of the commercial Whey Protein products you will find in grocery stores (like Target, CVS, etc) as well as "health stores" (like GNC) have gluten-containing ingredients and flavoring in them. In addition, many of the whey protein products I saw sold at retail were rather expensive. I looked over countless products until finding some good "safe" gluten free varieties to try out, and even longer before I found one at what I considered a reasonable price.

The Whey Protein Isolate I chose to Use
At first I wondered if the addition of gums (guar gum, xanthan gum, etc) in some brands of Whey Protein was making any substantial contribution to the overall texture and consistency of the finished baked-goods I was creating. I wanted a product that would allow for others to duplicate the results I get, knowing exactly what was and what was not of significance in impacting the texture and consistency of the baked items.

So, I searched until I found a completely pure Whey Protein Isolate in a brand called Now Sports Whey Protein Isolate (pictured above). And, as you'll find on their product page, the product:

"Contains no: sugar, salt, starch, yeast, wheat, gluten, corn, egg or preservatives.", and for those interested, they also say:
"Voted 2005 Whole Foods Magazine “Best Sports Supplement” (I guess that is a "plus").

There are definitely no added gums in this product either, and no added flavorings or sweeteners. The only additional ingredient (less than 1%), is some soy lecithin, which is a natural emulsifier and should not even be an issue for anyone worried about soy allergies - since lecithin does not contain any of the soy proteins.

Having removed gums and thickeners from the equation, I could experiment knowing that whatever results I obtained were completely attributable to the addition of Whey Protein and not due to other "trace" ingredients.




What it looks like (a Powder)
I included the picture above so you could get a quick feel for what the whey protein isolate powder looks like. It is just an off-white light powder. I just sprinkled a little on a very dark-red plate for that picture.


Where to get the Gluten-Free Whey Protein
Now Sports has a "where to buy" finder tool on their site (to locate retailers in your area - since they don't seem to sell direct on their website), but I decided to go searching the web for the best deal I could find. I located it at a place called Outlet Nutrition, which had the large and economical 5 pound tubs of Now Sports Whey Protein Isolate for only $35.97 (price at the time). The order went smoothly, and the product was delivered quickly and packaged wonderfully (boxed with plenty of bubble-wrap - a "must have" when anyone ships with UPS!).

To give you a feel for how much gluten-free baking you can do with 5 pounds of this stuff: the container calls a "serving size" one scoop, which is 28 grams (i.e., essentially one ounce of whey protein concentrate). Thus, there are basically 80 servings in 5 pounds. I have determined that their "scoop" is approximately 3/8th Cup (i.e., 6 Tablespoons). As such, a tub of this protein will go a long way -- we only used 1/4 cup in a whole batch of cookies for example, and I use just a Tablespoon or two in my pancakes.

Baking / Recipe Results
The results in my baking experiments have been fantastic. It took a bit of time to get the proportions right, and adjust my bake times, liquid content proportions, fiber proportion, and other ingredients, but the end result is quite encouraging.

One of my long-time pursuits has been what I'll call "Gluten-Free pancake perfection". I love pancakes, and I always have. I mean, gee... the name says it all "pan CAKES" :) A cake has to 1) rise substantially, and 2) have nice resiliency and texture.

The pancakes I have been making lately are huge - I use the full surface of a 10-inch round cast-iron griddle (a favorite pan) - and with the whey protein isolate the results are amazing and meet my criteria for great cakes too. I have created pancakes that are 10" in diameter and a full inch thick, plus with enough sponginess / elasticity that I can grab an edge and shake the pancake without any chance of it crumbling or ripping apart. The interior of the pancakes are well developed and bread/cake-like. It's just wonderful (and even amazing - given that there is no gluten involved).

Those Chocolate Coconut Gluten-Free Cookies I mentioned earlier are also an example of what the whey protein can be used for. Although the whey was used rather sparingly in the cookies, it definitely helped with the binding and texture.

I have found that, in general, when using this Whey Protein Isolate in my gluten-free recipes, I need to play around to get the proportions right. Too much, and you may get something a bit too rubbery. It seems to require more liquid in recipes too (not too surprising, as this powder readily absorbs liquid when mixed). Also, the protein works best when combined with the right amount of fibrous ingredients (I have found pumpkin to be a nice fiber-rich source to use, and there are many other options).

In fact, one of the first gluten-free whey protein products I experimented (which worked as a "miracle additive" in my pancakes too) was this brand of Biochem Fitness "Raw Foods & Whey" (vanilla flavor - packet pictured below) which includes 3 grams of fiber per ounce by using a combination of Fig, Buckwheat, Millet, Pumpkin, Red Bean, Brown Rice, and Burdock Root in the product. It was quite nice. I got that at Whole Foods Market, and though it was a bit expensive (about $2.00/ounce), it goes a long way (one packet lasted through 4 pan-sized super-pancakes) I'd surely use it again, especially because it removed some of the guesswork regarding what other fiber-containing ingredients I would add.



I will be posting some other gluten-free recipes using whey-protein in the future, so stay tuned. This additive / ingredient could be quite useful in your gluten-free diet.

UPDATE 1 - PRODUCT SOURCE AND PRICE (Oct-2008):
Since I first wrote this, the original place I purchased the NOW brand isolated whey protein from raised their price considerably. I suggest shopping around.

I found it on Amazon.com for $35.97 per 5# tub, and reasonable shipping.




UPDATE 2 - PRODUCT SOURCE AND PRICE (May-2011):
I have written an UPDATE BLOG ENTRY about gluten-free whey-protein and its current price (link);  in summary, it is now up to approximately $53.00 (delivered) for a 5# container of isolated whey protein by Now (brand).  See that link to my recent blog for more details and link to seller's website.

UPDATE 3 - PRODUCT SOURCE AND PRICE (Jan-2017):
I again updated my BLOG ENTRY about gluten-free whey-protein and its current price (link);  in summary, the new price is $66.00 (delivered) for a 5# container of isolated whey protein by Now (brand).  See that link to my recent blog for more details and link to seller's website.

Gluten-Free Recipe: Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookies

GF Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookies Recipe

Another original gluten-free recipe from Laura: Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookies (hyperlink to recipe). These cookies are what I would best describe as a hybrid cookie / brownie. They are perhaps what a Chocolate and Coconut "Haystack" would be if it was turned into a cookie. One way or the other, they are delicious and pack plenty of flavor along with a pleasing cookie or cake-type brownie texture.

These cookies arise from some experimentation with gluten-free recipes and baking with gluten-free whey protein isolate. As such, today's gluten-free recipe is being released in tandem with another blog posting here about Gluten-Free Whey Protein in Recipes / Baking, where I discuss in much more detail why we used some whey protein in these cookies and how you can find certified gluten-free whey protein isolate if you are interested (it's lactose free by the way).

I also plan to feature more whey-protein-containing recipes in the future, since this really is an incredible gluten-free baking ingredient/additive that can be used to mimic gluten on some level - perhaps even being a full gluten-replacement ingredient in some recipes from my experience. In the meantime, enjoy these wonderful gluten-free cookies just in time for the Christmas holiday baking season. They are bound to be a hit.

Gluten-Free Pesto Chicken Parmesan Recipe

Fresh Homemade Pesto

Homemade Gluten-Free Pesto

I just finished posting a pair of my favorite gluten-free recipes online at my free recipe library site - a homemade Gluten-Free Sun-Dried-Tomato Pesto Recipe (as pictured above) and a Gluten-Free Pesto Chicken Parmesan Recipe (pictured below) which puts that homemade pesto to use in a delicious combination of chicken, pesto, and cheese.

I love pesto! I enjoy the traditional / standard basil, garlic, olive oil, and pine-nuts variety quite a bit. And, I also like extensions on this theme; by adding ingredients like Onions and Sun-Dried Tomatoes to the pesto, simple and versatile flavorful variations arise and present new opportunity for further derivative-recipe experimentation - like the enhanced Chicken Parmesan recipe.

This pair of recipes formed the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving dinner this year. We decided to skip the traditional turkey and serve up something a bit different for the event. Since we were only serving a small number of people, cooking an entire turkey (or even a turkey breast) was just more than we wanted to deal with. So, pesto and chicken Parmesan it was - and a great success it was too! These recipes were definitely a hit with everyone that has tried them.

One thing I really like about pesto is how incredibly versatile they are, and how pesto can easily add flavor and excitement to all sorts of dishes. We make a fairly good sized batch of pesto at a time (as shown in the glass dish above), so I nearly always have leftovers for other creations. I put pesto on my gluten-free pasta, potatoes, tortillas, baked celeriac (celery root - I have a recipe coming for this soon too), and many other items in my gluten-free diet. It is just a wonderful addition to so many recipes.

Gluten-Free Parmesan Pesto Chicken

And now, the pesto and chicken Parmesan recipe photo!

Gluten-Free Pesto Chicken Parmesan Recipe

Gluten Free Recipes: Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

I recently wrote a Gluten-Free Blog entry about a free Pumpkin Crème Brulée Recipe (link to full recipe) my wife made and posted online. After baking the Creme Brulee, we had a large number of egg whites remaining. So, my resourceful wife decided the best thing to do with them would be to bake up a new gluten-free Angel Food cake variation.

This is simply a variation to the existing gluten-free and dairy-free Angel Food Cake recipe in our Gluten-Free Desserts book (page 68). It removes the lemon juice/zest, and adds a bit or orange juice and almond flavoring, and of course chocolate chips (to remain dairy-free, you'll have to make sure you use dairy-free chocolate chips of course).

The detailed recipe modifications are online here:
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Angel Food Cake Recipe

I really enjoyed this cake! I have always been a fan of a good Angel Food cake, and this latest chocolate chip variation was a hit with both Celiac diet people and "normal" diet folks equally. I have an admitted weakness for chocolate, so the addition of chocolate chips only accentuated my hunger for this cake!

The exceptionally mild orange/almond undertones also furthered my enjoyment. Another nice thing about Angel Food Cake (in general, whether gluten-free diet type or regular), is that they are low-fat and should have no cholesterol either (even this one variation - especially if using dairy-free chocolate chips). The cake also tends to be rather high in protein (given the large number of egg whites used).

Hope you enjoy the variation as much as I did!

Slice of Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten-Free Recipe: Pumpkin Crème Brulée

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crème Brulée

Pumpkin Crème Brulée Recipe (link to recipe) - a perfect gluten-free dessert recipe for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday season, presuming you can tolerate dairy in your diet. I'm perhaps a couple days late posting this recipe here on the Gluten-Free Blog (for Thanksgiving that is), but this recipe will come in handy all year round and is bound to be a favorite among any that enjoy the rich creamy texture of Crème Brulée with the flavor of pumpkin, cinnamon, and vanilla!

I'm not going to try selling this recipe as a particularly healthy gluten-free diet addition, since it is one of the ultimate rich desserts. This is a full-cream Pumpkin Crème Brulée recipe that has a subtle, yet flavorful, pumpkin flavor throughout the rich custard. It can optionally be topped with a carmelized sugar layer if you prefer the traditional burnt-sugar top. In the Creme Brulee pictured above, we used our oven's broiler to slightly caramelize the top layer - since we didn't have a kitchen torch / creme-brulee-torch handy (that's a $20 item now on our Christmas gift list since we couldn't find one out at the stores before baking this dessert).

The recipe, like most creme brulee recipes, is rather straightforward and easy to prepare. It's mainly cream, sugar, and egg yolks (plus pumpkin and some spices) - all of which should be items easily acquired as safe-for-Celiac / gluten-free certified . It should take not too much over an hour to prepare this dish (including bake time). You will still want to plan ahead, since you will most likely want to serve it fully chilled (the dessert will keep fine in the refrigerator for a few days).

I hope you enjoy the recipe! I have been snacking on a couple of these dessert cups for a few days now - sorta pacing myself as to keep the calories consumed at one sitting to a minimum, and loving the fact I've had Pumpkin Crème Brulée for a few days running now :)

Gluten-Free Brown Cow Yogurt Coupons

I have been a fan of Brown Cow Yogurts for some time, whether for their low fat variety, Non-Fat type, or the rich and creamy aptly-named Cream-Top yogurt they produce. Their yogurts all have wonderful probiotics / live active cultures (body-friendly healthful bacteria like S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus and Bifidus) in them which are certainly good for our gluten-free diet options as well as our digestive tracts, presuming milk products are tolerable in your diet.

Brown Cow certifies most of their yogurts as Gluten-Free and includes this gluten-free statement on their website to quickly help you find which varieties are safe for Celiac Disease and gluten-intolerant people. In short, it can be summarized with the first paragraph, which states:

"Are all Brown Cow products certified gluten-free? Our Fruit & Whole Grains yogurts contain gluten, and we make our smoothies in a facility that has not yet been certified gluten-free. Otherwise, our yogurts are certified gluten-free."

Now, to the coupons! I noticed they have online "E-Coupons" available. You can currently get between 50 cents and a dollar off many of their products via the Brown Cow Coupon Page -- it asks for an Email address, then you get to choose from several coupon options to print.

The only down-side to their E-Coupons (in my opinion) is how their site makes you install a coupon-printing helper-control in your browser, and it requires Internet Explorer, which is all a bit lame quite frankly. I personally didn't care, because I just installed it into a "safe" virtual-machine I use for browsing the web, but it was still an added hassle. If you don't mind their website installing this "MeadCo ScriptX" ActiveX scripting/printing control used to print the E-coupon, then you can save some money -- you'll have to make that decision. I have to say to the Brown Cow company: please consider a user-friendlier alternative to this coupon-printing method, especially one that works with browsers other than Windows Internet-Explorer! You don't want to lose prospective buyers over technical constraints imposed on them.

Well, if the coupons are accessible and useful to you, enjoy that Gluten-Free Brown Cow Yogurt! Even if you can't get the coupons, I recommend their gluten-free products. I really like their yogurts, and tend to purchase the quart-sized containers since I eat so much yogurt. Their flavored yogurts are quite nice, and I also get the plain variety to which I add my favorite fruits and berries (and, I use it when making things like low-fat hummus too). Although I admit to liking the thicker, richer cream-top yogurt, I also like their lower-fat diet options too.

Golden KiwiFruit (kiwi)

My wife found these Golden Kiwi Fruit at the store recently, and I must say, they make a delicious gluten-free diet addition. I was never a huge fan of the standard Kiwi (the green ones), but I really like these gold kiwifruit. They have a rather sweet, less acidic taste that is definitely tropical in nature.

These particular specimens originated in New Zealand, which is second only to Italy in kiwifruit production - oddly, though native to China and declared China's "national fruit", China doesn't produce enough kiwi to appear in the top-10 producers list. With all the recalls of Chinese products and food these days, I'll admit that I feel much safer consuming Kiwi originating from New Zealand that I would if they had come from China.

I'm always glad to find new foods to mix into my gluten-free diet, and adding a new fruit to the mix is rather simple since fruit in general contains no gluten. Variety in the fruits and vegetables category will help make up for some of those wheat and gluten-containing foods that you can no longer eat. And, these make for a health diet addition too, since they are high in Fiber, Vitamin-C, and Potassium (by weight, just slightly lower potassium than a banana).

There is very little waste with kiwifruit also - especially with these golden fruit that have been cultivated to have less "hair" on the outside, so you can just wash them off and scrub loose what little bit of "hairy" coating there is and eat them whole. You can also certainly use a spoon to eat the center, leaving a very fine skin to be disposed of.

I definitely recommend these things, and if you get a chance to add them to your gluten-free diet, you will probably be happy you did. A tasty, healthy, natural treat for all of us with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance - excellent!

Gluten-Free Cocoa Crispy Rice Cereal Review

I found this New Morning brand Gluten-Free Cocoa Crispy Rice this weekend at Trader Joe's here in the Cleveland, Ohio area. It was featured as a "new item" in the store, and I had no prior first hand experience with it. As is my normal behavior when venturing into the unknown with a new gluten-free product, I just purchased a single box package.

I am please to report, I really liked these crunchy, and lightly sweetened, cocoa rice crispy bits. They held up nice in milk, and were both good for snacking on plain or eating for a breakfast cereal. They seem to be less sweet than many others I have tried, and I like it this way. There are only 120 calories per 3/4-cup serving, and 10grams of sugar per serving (compare that to 14grams, or 40% more per sugar, per the same 3/4 cup serving size in Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies - which are also not gluten-free from what I can tell, since they have malt flavoring for starters). The fact that the New Morning brand (unlike many others) are made from organic brown rice and have no artificial flavors and preservatives either is a nice selling point too for me. But, first and foremost, this New Morning Cocoa Crispy Rice had a nice pleasing cocoa / chocolate flavor and a nice crunch.

I guess it shouldn't be too surprising that these were a quality product, and clearly labeled gluten-free, since as I discovered later when searching the web for that link to the cereal I provided earlier, that the New Morning brand is owned by a company called U.S. Mills, which also owns the Erewhon brand (I prefer their crispy brown rice - gluten-free variety - for marshmallow crispy treats). I actually plan to try these cocoa ones in a marshmallow treat of some sorts, though being pre-sweetened, that may be overkill. Now, perhaps with peanut-butter? hmmm.... maybe :)

I'm putting this gluten-free product on my list of ones to definitely buy again. And, you don't have to be a Celiac (Coeliac) or on a gluten-free diet to enjoy this cereal.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes Summary

Just in time for Halloween, I want to recap some of the gluten-free and wheat-free pumpkin-featuring recipes that I have made available both recently and over the past year online. These gluten-free recipes include everything from main-courses to side dishes to desserts, and pumpkin provides the Celiac-safe ingredient of inspiration for each creation.

Note: the hyperlinks (blue, underscored text) within the text below links to the page(s) with the actual recipes. I didn't want to repeat the full recipe text for each of these here, since it is just a click away already.

Now, since I am definitely a fan of gluten-free desserts, especially around the Holidays when there are ample excuses to bake some extra treats, let me start with those recipes.

Dessert Recipes

Gluten-Free Pumpkin RollA perennial favorite this time of year is the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll recipe. This particular pumpkin roll has that flavorful pumpkin spice-cake rolled around a layer of sweetened cream cheese filling. The whole creation is dusted with a bit of powdered sugar, and served chilled. What a fantastic way to enjoy that pumpkin!

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bundt CakeHere is a quick and easy pumpkin-accent cake that will fit the season well: Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe. A nice blend of spices - clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (and even a bit of cocoa!) - give this cake much of the same overall flavor as a pumpkin pie would enjoy. And, it is quick and simple to prepare.


Main Courses and Side-Dishes
Are pancakes a main course?

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes
I don't know about you, but for me, Pancakes do count as a main course on more than a few occasions. So, here is one type of Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Pancake Recipe that I enjoy on occasion. I say "one type" because I tend to regularly vary the ingredients, especially the flours that I use, on a rather ad-hoc basis. Some days I'll use some Millet flour, other days will include Sorghum, and still others the Teff and Buckwheat (which IS safe for Celiac sufferers in its pure form - it is NOT a wheat, though it sounds like it). I also have a tendency to throw a few chocolate chips into the mix and turn the whole pancake into a giant cookie of sorts :)



Pumpkin as Pasta
I recently wrote a blog about using pumpkin as a "pasta" of sorts. As such, this dish works well as both a main course or a side dish - take your pick. Quite often, it is a wonderful low-calorie and healthy feature item for my dinner. It is simple to prepare, mild in flavor (primarily taking on the flavor of whatever pasta sauce you choose), and starts using pumpkin in its most basic form, without the usual pumpkin-pie spices many are accustomed to. This recipe relies on the basic baked-pumpkin recipe.


Standard Baked Pumpkin Recipe
I wrote this gluten-free blog entry just a while back, about how to prepare a small pumpkin-pie type pumpkin as a baked pumpkin for eating as you would any other baked squash. It is quite simple to take a pumpkin, "gut it", place it in the oven, and produce a healthy and satisfying dish (or foundation for other recipes). And, speaking of a foundation for other recipes, I'll move on to another recipe which features this baked pumpkin...



Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto
And now, for a wonderful pumpkin-accent side dish for the season, do not forget the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto Recipe. It has a mild, pleasant flavor, with just a hint of cinnamon to go along with the very subtle pumpkin undertones. It relies on the baked pumpkin recipe again, though you could probably just as easily use canned pumpkin if you choose.


Happy Halloween!
Certainly all these recipes could make for some great Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes as well, so keep them close at hand for any of those leftover pumpkins you may have sitting around in a month. I know I'll be feasting on various pumpkin recipes for the next few months, as I have already cooked up quite a pile of pumpkins and have frozen their cooked pulp for later. Happy Halloween everyone, and happy pumpkin eating too!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin "Pasta"

Here is another one of the Gluten-Free Recipes I have been enjoying during the Fall, just in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the pumpkin harvest season in general. Pumpkins are such a wonderful, healthy gluten-free food, it is a shame to not find ways to use them more often than just the standard gluten-free desserts like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and so forth.

What many people do not realize is how mild the taste of pumpkin on its own really is. And, so often pumpkins are only associated with the complementary flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, clove,... that we tend to forget what pumpkins taste like in their natural state.

I've recently been baking all sorts of dishes using the small "pumpkin-pie" type pumpkins. They are a squash, and they have a flavor, on their own, that is nearly as mild as what would be found in a Spaghetti Squash. The flesh is tender, low in calories, of a low glycemic index, and full of beta-carotene and natural fiber. They are quick and easy to prepare, and keep for a nice amount of time prior to cooking, and after cooking the flesh can be stored frozen indefinitely for later consumption.

So, today's "recipe" leverages my previous gluten-free recipe that I posted here: gluten-free baked pumpkin recipe. In fact, there really is not much more to be done - just prepare the baked pumpkin as described earlier, then top with your favorite pasta-sauce! I love this dish! In fact, I find it as enjoyable as any gluten-free pasta, and had I not been on a gluten-free / Celiac Disease diet, I would still work this recipe into a "normal" diet along with standard semolina pasta - it's that good.

I topped this particular batch of pumpkin "pasta" (pictured above) with my favorite pre-made bottled sauce: Gia Russo's Hot Sicilian Sauce; which, though not specifically labeled gluten-free, contains no gluten-containing ingredients in the sauce and no warnings of it being prepared in a shared facility or such. The spicy/tangy nature of this tomato sauce makes for a really flavor-packed "pasta" dish, and one that is low in calories and packed with nutrition. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto

The Fall presents plenty of opportunity to create some wonderful gluten-free recipes during the time of Halloween and Thanksgiving. One of the stars of the season is pumpkin, which happens to be in-season just at the right time for these holidays. As such, the holidays bring with them an expectation (at least for me) of pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and pumpkin roll,... but now I also see other great uses for this healthy and versatile squash.

I recently wrote a gluten-free blog entry about one such recipe, a super-healthy gluten-free baked pumpkin recipe (the blog also discussed the potential health benefits of cinnamon too if you're interested). Further extending the reach of pumpkin into other gluten-free main-course and gluten free side-dish options today is a recipe that takes the baked pumpkin from earlier and uses it as a featured ingredient in a new dish my wife created:
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto.



That's a picture of the final product, sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon on top. It's not one of the better pictures I've taken, but I think it's good enough to get a feel for what to expect.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Risotto (uncooked)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¾ Cup Vegetable Broth
• ¾ Cup Organic Whole Milk*
• 1½ Cups Water
• ¼ Teaspoon Salt (optional)
• ¼ to ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon (or to taste)
• 1 Cup (packed) Flesh from Cooked Pumpkin-Pie Pumpkin (i.e., approximately half of one small baked pumpkin-pie pumpkin)
  

*Note: Can substitute soy milk for the organic whole milk. Or, remove milk and increase vegetable broth to 1 Cup and water to 2 Cups. Risotto will not be as creamy with such substitutions.

Directions

• Begin by baking the pumpkin pie pumpkin according to my prior blog (baked pumpkin recipe) and go as far as scraping out the cooked flesh into a bowl (once baked pumpkin is cool enough to safely handle). Once pumpkin flesh is ready for use, proceed.
  

• In medium (2 Quart) sauce pan stir together Risotto and olive oil over medium-high heat. Continue to stir for approximately one minute.
• Add remaining ingredients (this includes the pumpkin) and stir. Bring to boil and then cover. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes (Check after 20 minutes. If liquid has been absorbed and a creamy sauce remains, Risotto is done - if not, stir and continue to simmer until done.
  
• Give the risotto a final stir prior to serving. Garnish (optionally) with Cinnamon as pictured.

That's the recipe, sweet and simple. It yields a risotto with a pleasant, mild accent flavor that just makes it stand out from plain risotto, as well as fit in as a perfect Halloween or Thanksgiving dinner addition. I have specifically targeted using fresh-cooked pumpkin from scratch as the pumpkin ingredient of choice. I don't know how the recipe would perform with canned pumpkin, but you could certainly try it.

Since I picked up 60 of these locally-grown pumpkin pie pumpkins (at the bargain-price of 3 for a dollar!) from farms near my parent's place here in Ohio, I've been busy cooking pumpkins quite regularly. 20 bucks worth of pumpkins filled nearly the entire trunk of my car. So, now I'm busily trying to get through 6 to 9 pumpkins a day - baking them, digging out the centers, and freezing the pumpkin flesh for future (off-season) gluten-free recipes use.

This works quite well by the way (freezing the flesh for later), as I tested it out before buying a pile of pumpkins. Simply place the cooked flesh in freezer bags or freezer containers, allow to cool to room temperature, then pre-chill in the refrigerator, and finally move them to the freezer for long-term storage. When ready to use, simply extract from the freezer, thaw the pumpkin flesh, and include in your recipes.

I have been working on additional pumpkin themed recipes, and I plan to add all these recipes to my online gluten-free recipes library as time permits (in addition to here on the Gluten Free Blog). Enjoy!

Super-Healthy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipe

Ah yes, that wonderful gluten-free squash (or gourd) that many of us love to make into Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Rolls, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Custard, and so many other delicious pumpkin-themed treats (not to mention pumpkin soup, and toasted pumpkin seeds). Pictured above is a small pumpkin of the variety usually sold as "pumpkin pie pumpkins" - which measure only between 5 and 6 inches in diameter, and weigh (while intact) about 2 pounds each (or, 1 kilogram). They have a much thinner and more tender skin than the large jack-o-lantern / Halloween carving-type pumpkins, and are very simple to work with and prepare.

Who would have guessed you could also use this incredible gluten-free vegetable for something so healthy and simple as a main-course or vegetable side-dish? And, better yet, a dish that takes nearly zero effort to prepare (certainly very little work compared to those pumpkin desserts and other recipes). The pumpkin is not just for Halloween or Thanksgiving holidays - instead, it can introduce a nice change of culinary scenery to your everyday lunch or dinner.

The Baked-Pumpkin (or Cooked/Microwaved Pumpkin) Recipe
Well, quite simply, this is about as healthy of a gluten-free food you can find. It has an incredibly low glycemic-index (or, another useful blood-sugar-impact analysis method, glycemic load), is full of essential vitamins, protein, and nutrients, plus it delivers a nice dose of your daily fiber requirements - all with a mild taste that is easily accented (as it is in pumpkin pie and other dishes). To top this off, my "recipe" is going to further attempt to positively affect your health by reducing your blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides with cinnamon, and I'll explain that effect too a bit later in this post.

Directions:

• Simply take your pumpkin-pie pumpkin and split it vertically in half (from the stem at the top, to the center point at the bottom.
• Scoop out all the seeds and loose fibers in the middle of each pumpkin half
• In an oven-safe pan or pyrex dish an inch or two deep and large enough to hold the two halves of the pumpkin, place 1/2" of warm tap water.
• Now, invert the pumpkin halves in the water (i.e., center of pumpkin facing down in pan)
• Place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes - when ready, a fork or knife should easily slide through the pumpkin.
• Remove from oven.
• Carefully (remember, this pumpkin is hot!) use a spoon to scrape the fleshy inside of the pumpkin away from the very thin rind, and place this onto serving plates or into a bowl for serving.
• Suggested topping: upon serving, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over each portion served, and perhaps a bit of granulated Splenda (or sugar / brown-sugar if you don't mind the calories or don't watch your sugar intake).
  

Nutrition:
With the baked pumpkin being so mild on its own, the slight accent of cinnamon and a sweetener should remind you just a bit of a pumpkin pie. And, when it comes to health, you can't get much better than the nutrition of cooked pumpkin (check out that link - it is a really useful nutritional analysis site), which for every half-pound of cooked / baked pumpkin yields:

• only 50 calories per 1/4 Kilogram (half-pound) serving - the entire prepared pumpkin likely won't exceed 150 calories, and it is quite filling
  
• nearly 250% of your RDA of Vitamin-A, much of that as Beta-Carotene
• nearly 3 grams of fiber
• essentially zero sodium
• roughly 20% of RDA of Vitamin-C
• a bit of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acides
• about 8% of your Iron, and 4% of your daily Calcium recommendations
• A super-low glycemic-Load of only 4 (in a range that goes up to 75 or 80)!
  

Hopefully you'll enjoy the pumpkin for both its taste and it's health benefits! I know I sure like these little pumpkins prepared as I detailed above, and I am so glad they are safe for Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free people too. I plan to experiment with a few other spice combinations, perhaps adding a bit of clove, nutmeg, ginger, etc to my dish - much like a pumpkin pie or pumpkin roll would use. I keep meaning to try this, but never get around to it, perhaps just because I enjoy the Cinnamon by itself so much. And, speaking of Cinnamon again...


Health Benefits of Cinnamon in Recipes and your Diet
If you already own my Gluten-Free Desserts recipe book, you have probably noticed that we use Cinnamon quite regularly in recipes (many times as "optional" ingredient if you don't care for cinnamon). We do this for a few reasons:

1. we love the taste of cinnamon and the accent it provides to certain recipes
2. Cinnamon can essentially be a gluten-free "flour" of sorts, as it is a powdered, ground form of the bark of a cinnamon tree with a super-high fiber-to-total-carbohydrates ratio (nearly 80% of the carbs are in the form of fiber), and a 1/4 ounce (about 1 Tablespoon) has 4 grams of dietary fiber.
   
3. and, because scientific-evidence demonstrates Cinnamon's ability to lower fasting blood-glucose levels, triglyceride levels, and cholesterol levels - which is a very nice side-effect for such a versatile and delicious ingredient. *(see NOTES below before going TOO crazy with cinnamon).
   

If, in addition to consuming Cinnamon via our dessert recipes, you find additional ways to incorporate it into your daily life elsewhere (e.g., I love adding it to my pancakes, coffee, milk, tea, and many other things), hopefully you will get the full health benefit that was demonstrated in this 2003 study entitled: Cinnamon Improves Glucose and Lipids of People With Type 2 Diabetes.


NOTES and DISCUSSION REGARDING CINNAMON:
There have been some concerns with long-term high-level dietary intake of cinnamon, though I personally wonder how much has to do with pharmaceutical companies wanting you to take their Diabetes medicines instead of using cinnamon as a first-line attempt at combating the disease. One reason I am a bit skeptical about the true presumed toxicity threat from cinnamon consumption comes from the fact that a particular cinnamon health-risk discussion paper went so far as to implicate cinnamon with pseudo-science repeatedly, pointing the finger at cinnamon for all sorts of things that can not be proven, like this:

"At least one case report points to carcinoma formation after the consumption of up to five packs of cinnamon chewing gum a day in a 24-year-old non-smoker"

The fundamental flaws in that type of statement come from 1) the incredibly small sample population - i.e., "at least one case"; and 2) the inability to rule out any other causes of the carcinoma aside from smoking - like, how about whether the gum used artificial red dyes or food colorings, like nearly all such gum does, or perhaps artificial sweeteners if applicable. This type of "proof" of cinnamon toxicity is bunk and a serious stretch to say the least. As such, it makes me question the motives behind that entire discussion paper, as the paper takes many different angles of attack on cinnamon to dissuade its use. You decide for yourself what to make of it though.

Now, on to the real science of potential cinnamon toxicity...


NOTES: Types of "Cinnamon" and Toxicity Potential Discussion
Basically, there are two primary types of Cinnamon available to consumers - the less common Ceylon Cinnamon ("true cinnamon") and the common mainstream "Cinnamon" (Cassia, or "Bastard Cinnamon") that is sold as powdered cinnamon throughout the USA. The cinnamon we all most likely use regularly is the latter type - Cassia - and is the type reported in the media and studies to have a beneficial effect on blood glucose (blood sugar), cholesterol, and triglycerides levels.

But, Cassia also contains higher levels of a toxic component called coumarin than does Ceylon Cinnamon (which contains very little - but also contains little of the chemical in Cassia that purportedly helped blood sugar and such). Cassia ("cinnamon") contains somewhere between 2 and 4 milligrams of coumarin per gram (mg/g) on average. The European Food Safety Authority has set the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of coumarin at .1mg/Kilogram body-weight per day as being safe and of no threat to health (see here for further discussion and the .1mg/Kg/day reference).

What does this mean? Well, if you weigh 154 pounds (70 Kilograms) for example, the acceptable TDI for you is 7 milligrams of coumarin from Cassia "Cinnamon" or other sources (70 Kilograms x .1mg/Kilogram = 7 milligrams ). So, using the upper end of coumarin-level estimates (4mg/g) in cinnamon, consuming ~2grams of Cinnamon per day at 4mg/g coumarin concentration every single day for life would put you at the TDI threshold (i.e., between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon every day).


Cinnamon Health Benefits in relation to toxicity concerns
By comparison, the health-benefits-from-cinnamon study showed substantial and significant benefit from cinnamon when consumed at between 1 and 6 grams per day (i.e., a maximum of a quarter ounce / day). And, even the lowest-dose level (1 gram/day) produced substantial reductions (in blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides) in this study, with such dosing levels being well within the TDI threshold discussed above.

Though it was only one study on cinnamon's health benefits, the study appeared scientifically valid and placebo-controlled and everything, and it showed the following results (after just 40 days in the 6g/day group, and with nearly the same findings in the 1g/day group):

• Between 18-29% lower fasting glucose levels
• approximately 25% lower cholesterol levels
• approximately 25-30% lower triglyceride levels

Those are some rather impressive figures to say the least! I'm looking forward to additional, larger, follow up studies that can further validate these results. They sure look encouraging, and are substantial enough to provoke persons like myself to include cinnamon in their diet. As with any dietary alteration, it is probably best to consult with your doctor or physician to make sure you don't cause any unplanned drug-interactions and the like (especially if you are using Diabetes medications already). And, I only put this information here for you to evaluate and make personal decisions on, as I am not a doctor. You may want to read other sources like this one on Cinnamon Health Benefits for similar information and further research.

In the mean time, using a bit of cinnamon on your freshly prepared baked pumpkin, or in and on some of your favorite desserts, is certainly a delicious way to enhance your gluten-free foods while potentially improving your health along the way. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Blog featured in Wall Street Journal Online

The Gluten-Free Blog Review in the WSJ

This week, I kept wondering why my Gluten-Free Blog traffic was 3-4 times what it was just a week earlier. My hopeful side was thinking that perhaps someone wrote a nice review of my Gluten-Free Recipes Book and caught the attention of prospective readers, but I was convinced the blog readership had to do more with the latest series of topics I posted with regard to controlling blood-sugar and controlling diabetes with exercise.

Well, thankfully David Marc Fischer over at Gluten-Free NYC set me straight and clued me in. Turns out the Wall Street Journal Online (WSJ) had recently written a Review of my Gluten-Free Blog where they were so kind to help others find this resource I have built, and provided the following summary to describe my Blog:

"The Gluten Free Blog
Gluten-Free-Blog.blogspot.com

This blog by Cleveland-based Mike Eberhart addresses the needs of those who suffer from the digestive disorder called celiac disease and others who just want to maintain a gluten-free diet. Many common foods contain gluten, so those who need to avoid it face many of the same challenges as allergy sufferers. 

There are lots of recipes here for gluten-free foods, as well as reviews of gluten-free products and frequent updates on the latest medical news. Mr. Eberhart also encourages readers to share their personal stories and information on products on the blog."

Though I don't know the author of the WSJ Online article (a Becky Bright), I surely am glad she found my blog noteworthy and took time to include it in her roundup. I was absolutely thrilled to see that I am making an impact and helping others as I intended. And, if the extra media coverage and exposure helps others locate the Gluten-Free Blog, great! I hope I can live up to reader expectations in the coming months and years and provide more great gluten-free recipes, science news, and related discussion.

Thank you Wall Street Journal!

Perhaps some day a similarly large-readership publication will review my GF desserts cookbook, since I am still sort of caught in that "you can't reach people until you reach people" phase (aka, a Catch-22), as I have chosen not to sell my book on Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, or Borders Books (since their margin-requirements would leave me with nothing). As such, only those people who find my book directly on our website (at my Gluten-Free Desserts site or via this blog), or purchase a copy at one of the several food / diet / and nutrition product retailers around the country that inventory it, will ever have a chance to find out what they are missing. [UPDATE: in 2017, our recipes will simply be migrated onto a website of gluten-free recipes for everyone to enjoy there, for free. The printed book is long sold out.]

Now, on to other delicious topics...

UK Yeo Valley Yogurt Review

Where does time go? I have planned to review some of the wonderful Gluten-Free food items I found while in Britain a couple months ago.  In particular, I wanted to mention this wonderful Yeo Valley gluten-free organic yogurts I was eating (by the pint!) for breakfast while in the UK. It had to be the best yogurt I've ever had, which explains why I ate it nearly every day for two weeks (I luckily discovered it on only my second day in the country).

Sure, yogurts should be Gluten Free, but you just never know because of added flavorings, colorings, and the like. That's why it is so nice to have a clearly indicated "Gluten-Free" label on the package, as the Yeo Valley yogurts have. Not only is this yogurt incredibly creamy and flavorful and smooth, but it is also:

• Organic and GMO-free (no genetically modified ingredients)
• Full of bio-live cultures, including Lactobacillus, Acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium probiotics - wonderfully delicious bacteria from what I can tell!
• Gluten-Free and suitable for Celiacs / Coeliacs (of course)
• Suitable for all vegetarians, though obviously not vegan

I've included a picture of the label (above) that demonstrates how "Gluten-Free" and other important classifications are clearly indicated. Plus, you'll be able to quickly recognize the brand should you ever have the chance to purchase some. The bummer for us here in the USA is that Yeo Valley does not export, nor has any current plans to export, their fabulous yogurts - arghh!

More Diabetes and Blood-Sugar Control Methods

Here on the Gluten-Free Blog, I recently published an entry entitled "Controlling Blood-Sugar / Diabetes", that focused on the results of a recent study showing that through exercise alone, you could remarkably impact and improve your blood-glucose levels. Given the spike in readership here on the Gluten-Free Blog after posting that information, it seems I have touched on an area of interest. So, I plan to today continue the discussion about reducing blood sugar, and present a few other proven methods for significantly improving this important indicator of health.

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid (aka Folate treatment)

Some studies have shown that Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid can improve insulin resistance, which in turn will improve blood sugar values. In one study on insulin resistance improving after folate and B12 therapy, subjects were given 500mcg B-12 and 5mg Folic Acid daily for a period of a couple months and compared to a placebo / control group. The results were quite encouraging, and the study found:

• ...prolonged folate treatment decreased not only homocysteine levels but also reduced insulin levels, improving insulin resistance in patients with metabolic syndrome.
• Insulin levels dropped by over 25% in the Folate-Treatment group.
• as a bonus: fasting glucose levels dropped, triglycerides dropped, plus a slight but significant decrease in systolic blood pressure was also demonstrated.

Note: If you suffer any B12 absorption issues, whether from Celiac Disease or Pernicious Anemia, you may wish to read another previous and popular blog I recently wrote entitled "Medical Secrets Revealed : Vitamin B12 Administration", where I discussed the efficacy of taking Vitamin B-12 sublingually (i.e., B12 dissolved under the tongue).

Calorie Restriction (CR)

I know, this proven method of improving blood sugar, pre-diabetes, and/or diabetes doesn't exactly sound "fun" as soon as you see those words calorie restriction on the page. CR is definitely something that takes a bit more work than popping some Folic-Acid/B12 pills. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this method of controlling insulin levels and blood glucose is probably going to be the most difficult (even more so than a consistent exercise program) for most people to successfully implement - myself included. I love food, especially delicious carbohydrate-rich breads, pizzas, desserts, etc., and just the thought of reducing my consumption of such treats causes anxiety.

But, it all comes down to which is more important: eating everything you want, or taking (challenging) steps to reduce your food consumption to live healthier and longer (I say "longer" here because CR is shown in various non-human mammalian studies to increase longevity; human results are expected to be the same, but our already long lifespans make studies quite difficult to implement). Harvard Medical School, just last week, published more information about how Calorie Restriction can lead to long healthy lives. CR induces a glucose-lowering and insulin-lowering response in the body, and in addition it alters the GH/IGF-1 (growth hormones) axis. The end result in studies is that by cutting calories substantially (by as much as 50-60%), huge gains in longevity (and reduced incident of age-related disease) are achieved.

The key is to restrict one's calories while not restricting one's nutrition; meaning you have to make very healthy choices about what you consume in order to get nutrient-dense calories. Essentially, this means less of the mainstream carbohydrate options (remove those refined carbs and sugars), and more of the fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meat. Seems like that's always what a good diet, CR or not, boils down to: eating healthy and eating things in moderation.

With this plan, I could certainly still find a way to eat my favorite gluten-free cakes, cookies, biscotti, and the like, but just much less in one sitting. I'm certainly glad the cakes freeze nicely, as I have learned to cut them up and freeze pieces for future days. Desserts are nearly all bound to be high-carbohydrate items, so moderation is always recommended, whether you are on a CR diet or not, since it is just better for you overall. So, do what you must to keep your eating under control.

Resveratrol

This compound present in grapes, peanuts, and a few other fruits and veggies, has shown great promise in laboratory studies in controlling insulin and blood sugar levels. In fact, it essentially provides the benefits of CR (calorie restriction) in normal higher caloric diets. At least one pharmaceutical firm, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, is currently in clinical trials with drugs based on this compound as potential treatments for Type 2 diabetes [Update: in 2013, well after the GSK buyout of this firm, development was ongoing on new variations of this approach].

Sure sounds great to me - just eat a lot of grapes and get the effect of CR! Oh, wait,... not so fast... it isn't that simple. It takes a lot of this substance to get the desired effect; more so than you could get by eating foods that naturally contain Resveratrol. And, although there are (expensive) supplements on the market, there are lots of questions regarding the efficacy, shelf-life (due to oxidation), and required dosing levels in humans,... and in addition there is even a study entitled "high absorption but very low bioavailability of oral resveratrol" that suggests Resveratrol use in humans will be unable (even with supplementation) to get the desired effect due to how it is metabolized. So, Resveratrol one sounds like a "wait and see" item, with hopes that someone perfects a mechanism for delivery of the compound into our bodies while also making it affordable. I for one would sure like the CR-benefits while eating everything I normally like to chow on!

Some other noteworthy diabetes related items...

Recently, high-fructose corn sweetener (HFCS) has been in the news a lot for it's apparent correlation with Type II diabetes incidence. The fact is, this ingredient is in many commercially produced items these days, whether it is the pop/soda you are drinking, or the bread you are eating, or perhaps even the brand of tomato paste you put on your homemade pizza today. Search the Internet and you'll find plenty of information - like this article about sugary soda and diabetes [update: I had a link here, but over the years, the MedLinePlus article disappeared. Right now, I find that the best way to avoid this ingredient is to cook and bake my own foods, which is already commonplace for me given the gluten-free diet.

I also came across a presentation which documents that eating a high carb meal for breakfast results in an unacceptably high blood sugar swing - much higher than any other blood sugar rise seen throughout the day - even when compared to the same amount of carbohydrate eaten at a meal other than breakfast. The implication was that the body can not optimally process carbohydrates first thing in the morning, and if you are going to eat a meal higher in carbs, you should do so at lunch or dinner. Got me. But, that's what was shown.

I also have read about going to a completely low-fat vegan diet to control blood sugar. To me, that sounds like a lot of work and giving up a lot of foods I really like. In fact, I'd personally find that one easily as difficult as going on a CR (Calorie-Restricted) diet. And, this is coming from someone that was a totally meat-free vegetarian for over 7 years (I still consumed dairy and egg-products, since they are in most things I like). Even with my (prior) history of vegetarianism, I just can't imagine dropping my milk products or eggs - they come in so handy for baking (whether gluten-free baking or otherwise).

That's it for my roundup of other diabetes-control possibilities for now. I need to get back to posting some more Celiac-Disease and gluten-free specific topics in the coming days and weeks, especially some recipes and other things to coincide with the upcoming holiday events (yes, Thanksgiving and Christmas are still a bit away, but they tend to sneak up on me!)

UPDATE/NOTE: Please do not leave comments with links to your purported "cure-all" diabetes remedy-selling sites and tell me stories of how such and such supposedly did all sorts of remarkable things for someone you know. I will not let such comments through, UNLESS you can also provide links to placebo-controlled true scientific research that validates your remedy claims in an unbiased fashion. My goal is to provide people with proven ways to combat diabetes and high blood sugar, not to get their hopes up over products that make such claims with obscure, indirect, little, or no science behind them. Thanks.