Recently I received a note from another blogger who is trying to raise awareness of her blog. I agreed to feature her blog on one of my blog post so here goes, sit back and enjoy....

Featured Blog Post

What Nannies Need to Know About Allergies

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Erin | in Nannies

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology published a recent study showing that the rate of peanut allergies in children has tripled between 1997 and 2008, as well as a 2012 study that indicated a correlation between antibacterial hygiene products and an increased likelihood of environmental allergies, which have also risen steadily over the last decade.

The rapidly rising number of children with food and environmental allergies forces nannies to make a concerted effort to inform themselves about the various triggers of and treatments for them. The likelihood of having at least one charge in your care that suffers from allergies with potentially serious side effects is great enough that a professional nanny should make every effort to learn as much as possible about these conditions.

Food Allergies

Milk, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy and wheat are all common allergens; unfortunately, they’re also so common in commercially-available foods that nannies must be vigilant in guarding their allergic charges against exposure. Even a small amount of a substance that a child is allergic to can cause swelling, rashes or life-threatening anaphylactic shock; as such, childcare providers should not only read labels closely and examine the ingredients of any food product before giving it to a child, but also be well-versed in the best treatment to administer in the event of accidental exposure.

Parents of children with allergies will almost always provide their nanny with a list of foods to avoid and instructions for treatment, and may even specify acceptable daily menus in order to control or limit allergic reactions. They’re also unlikely to stock foods that their child is allergic to, making the most risky dietary situation one that occurs when the child is having a meal or snack outside of the home. Restaurant menus may not always include complete allergy information, so nannies should be careful to ask pertinent questions about a menu item that the child wishes to order. Additionally, group outings or play dates in which one parent or caregiver provides snacks for the entire group can also present a challenge. In order to reduce the likelihood of an irritating food being introduced to your charge’s diet, it’s advised to make an effort to contact the adult who is assigned to snack duty in advance so that she can either eliminate allergens or prepare an alternative snack for allergic children.

In these group outings, kids should be discouraged from sharing snacks or lunches they brought from home, despite the long-standing childhood tradition of switching food. Meals prepared by the parents or nanny of a child without allergies could contain foods that cause a reaction to a child who is allergic, and very young children may not realize the importance of avoiding those foods. Nannies shouldn’t introduce any new or untested foods to their charges, even if they haven’t presented symptoms of any food allergies, as reactions can be quite sudden and very severe.

Learning when and how to properly administer epinephrine as temporary treatment for anaphylaxis until emergency medical attention is available is another wise move, as a situation that demands immediate intervention could easily present itself when children have serious food allergies.

Environmental Allergies

To read more information on, "What Nannies Need to Know About Allergies" click HERE. You may also want to subscribe to Sarah's blog so that you can keep up to date in important information.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Dig A Little Deeper

Health Update:

I haven't written in a while to let you guys know what's going on with me so here we go.

Months ago I was having like three migraines a week and my daughter called and asked me a question. I'm the mother so I should be asking her questions but at this time God used her to ask me and I'm so glad He did. The question was, "Mom are you sure your skin care products, hair care products etc are gluten free"? This made me start thinking I felt desperate to try some new things and try to get over having so many headaches. So I started investigating everything I was using. I found that my shampoo, conditioner, and eye cream had wheat in them. I changed these plus went to a toothpaste that I was sure was gluten free. I have changed many of my skin and hair care products.

One thing I have eliminated totally are all Bath and Body Works products not because I found them to be bad but when asking Bath and Body Works for a list of their gluten free products they were not able to provide one. I don't know if this means that everything has gluten in it or if they are just unwilling to take the time to inform us but whatever it means I'm not willing to go there.

Another change I am making is trying not to clean with chemicals. I still have some of these products in my house and will continue to use them until they are gone but then I am going to natural cleaning products.

In taking these small steps I am feeling sooo much better. I still have allergy related headaches but I have not had a migraine since August 17, I keep a migraine journal so I know.

So if you are suppose to be gluten free for a health issue and you are still having problems just dig a little deeper! It will be worth it!

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Health Update

I haven't posted anything in a while but to be honest Honey is away at the farms and I hate cooking for one person. Maybe when he's home for a while I'll get around to a new recipe for you but in the meantime review the things I have out there they are sooo good. You can find them here on my blog or on Pinterest.

So I was thinking many of you may have never read how I came to be gluten free.

An update: before you read my story. I am having less and less environmental allergy problems it is not that I have no problems but through the years I am learning to control them better. Being married to a farmer I have found that if he'll take his dirty clothes off as soon as he gets home and put them in the washer right away I have less headaches. Also I try to watch and keep papers, magazines etc put away and all garbage cans that contain papers emptied. If I see a sign of dust on floors or furniture I take care of it right away too. This is just a few of the little things I have found through the years.

So if you have never read my story and would like to do so click HERE!

I hope you are having a great summer, we have begun to harvest so our playing is totally over!

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Is the Easter bunny hiding under your bed?

 

I am convinced more now than ever that I may have something hiding in my house that could kill me. Let me backtrack, I clean my house thoroughly every week whether it needs it or not. My family have been known to tell me that I go a bit overboard.

Yesterday I went for my testing for RA and praise the Lord they think that I only have Osteoarthritis, which is bad enough in itself but not as crippling as rheumatoid. I should have all test and x-ray results back in eight weeks.



So this morning, knowing that I can't sit around and do nothing because I'm in pain or I will be an invalid, I decided it was house cleaning day. You will never believe what I found under my bed y'all! It was dust bunnies the size of a frog. REALLY when it came rolling out I jumped thinking a frog had gotten under my bed. Now for those of you who personally know me and don't believe this story just go get a good dust mop, lay down on your belly close to your bed and see what comes rolling out of yours then comment back and let me know.

Friends if we have dust bunnies like this under our beds and we clean all the time what else may be in our homes? Ugh I don't want to think about it.

See I knew that it was house cleaning time because I've woke up several morning with a bad sinus headache. If you are an allergy suffer that is a sure sign that the Easter bunny is hiding under your bed too.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

I have given into temptation and man have I paid for it.

My company have all left the hills and I am now on the farm setting with Ash and Punkin while Honey helps out with the planting. Every thing is going well with the planting this year and I am soo thankful for that.

Just when I thought maybe we were going to get some landscaping done, the farm called and guess what friends, it wins EVERY TIME!

This time of year is sooo nice and sooo hard for me. I want to be out side with every fiber of my being and so a few times I have given in to temptation and man have I paid for it. I am sick now, I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my head, my throat is extra sore, my ears and head hurts and as if that isn't enough I fell Wednesday and now my body feels like a truck has ran over it. So, for now I'm staying in as much as possible.

During the kids visit Punkin was sick so that kept all of us busy. It makes me sad when anyone I love is sick, doesn't it you?

Here are a few photos to share of our time together.

Playing the radio, watching a little tv and eating Gammy's biscuit!

Look mail for me....

Apple for a snack....

Gammy believes in everyone cleaning up even me!

I love my movies, my favorite is Alice in Wonderland, I'd watch it all day.
My favorite shoes rub blisters on my feet, see the band-aids?

This little bed was made by my Uncle in Virginia for Ash and given to her when she was 1-month old. Now I have given it to Austin and I think A is going to repaint it to match her room in the future.

I think we are doing well with our diet, we'll weigh again this weekend. I've been cooking a lot of meat and vegetables with select fruit for snacks, kind of following the Sugar Buster Plan. I did this years ago and lost thirty pounds and have kept most of it off. Now I only want to loose around ten pounds and it's easier if the whole family diets.  I had lost two pounds but I'll weigh this weekend after the Raspberry Roll I may have messed up. I made vegetable soup for supper last night and only had one bowl. Honey on the other hand had two bowls and a piece of french bread. We're still on the farm so when we get home we'll crack down. My man loves to eat and I love to cook and have spoiled him through the years with my very fattening southern dishes. 

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again!

Is it Spring time?

Spring is finally here, I thought I would freeze over winter so I am happy to see warmer weather.

Today Honey started planting the flat land, I can't wait to watch the crops grow. This is one of my favorite times of year.

I've been trying to clean up around the yard and this time of year it is impossible. I swept off the deck late yesterday and it looks like I haven't touched it. Why don't I just leave it alone? I garentee I'll be back out there sweeping today. Honey and I are trying to find someone reasonable to re-landscape our yard. We have bought a book and we're deciding exactly what we want. I may get inpatient and get out there and start on it myself. I just can't figure out how I can pull up all these old boxwoods. I woke up this morning with my body telling me to "leave the yard alone". I had a headache induced by my seasonal allergies. That's the hard part I can work in the yard all day or several days straight and I get sick every-time but then the pollen forecast is very high in the south right now.

Today’s Local and National Allergy Forecast

Click on your state to see the 4 Day Allergy Forecast in your area.

Can you see my tulip tree, it is behind the little magnolia. The yard is starting to green up and I'm excited every thing has looked dead long enough.

We spent several days on the farm and I was able to be with Punkin. She is growing up so fast and I savor each moment that I'm able to spend with her.

She is completely feeding herself now and doing a really good job at it. Good thing since she wants to eat all the time!

She does some of the funniest things, of course being grand-ma I think they're precious!

Oh, Honey has been put on a diet and is doing well so far. My problem is cooking gluten free and low fat and keeping the food interesting. I'm looking for creative ways to prepare good food and that can be a challenge when on a diet. And wouldn't you know just when we stop eating those fating foods my friends blog really fattening recipes. Like "Chicken and Dumpling Bake" which I will feature as one of my favorite recipes for March. It's not gluten free by the way but I know that when I can transpose it, it will be! That gives me something to look forward too as I need to loose a few pounds too so this diet isn't hurting me at all. Now I'm not sure how my company coming will react, we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Does pollen just attack girls?

Is the pollen going to kill us or just make us think we're dying? The girls in our family have been sick for months with something like a cold, but I really think it's mostly allergies, and the men haven't been sick one time. Maybe it's because the Lord knows the men need to keep on working. Ash and I took Punkin back to the doctor yesterday for the third time with this stuff. They did blood work and she does have a virus but the doctor said he too believes a lot of it is allergies. I was feeling fine and today my head is killing me.

Austin on the ride home after her blood work, she was such a big girl she didn't cry at all but her eyes sure got big.

On our way to the closing for our new house that we will soon make a home.

After we signed the papers we went to check out the farm. When I noticed how green our grass is I thought about the old song, "The Green Green Grass of Home."

Always work to get done.

Resting while waiting on Honey to finish his work, it's been a long day, but praise God for all He did! Honey brought me home then he returned to work some more while I work on packing up and getting ready to move.

A Helpful Hint From My House to Yours

Allergies, headaches and surgery

As I've mentioned before I'm getting ready for a procedure on my stomach valve this next Monday so I am off all aspirin products. I have had a head ache for three days now, it may be lack of caffeine so I've have been drinking coffee. I really think it is something in the air. On our trip to Indiana I did great and had no headaches. I swear to you the minute we drove back into the deep south Steve and I both had a headache. What is it about MS that is so different? I hate the idea of leaving this Magnolia state but sure wish my head would feel better.

As for my stomach now that the procedure is scheduled and my part of it is already paid I feel better, go figure! I guess I need to go and let them check me out anyway and the only way they can do this is a scope down my throat I've never had this procedure done that it wasn't closed or had a pea size opening. I mentioned not going to Steve and his reply was, "Grace, you have been sick for a month now and you have two good days and want to cancel the procedure umm no"!


My Family

Steve has been in the Delta and is home now and I'm so glad I hate staying by myself. I have had Sydney here, Ben and Ashia's dog, but she just wants to sleep. The minute Steve walked through the door she was full of energy and seemed to be full all night long.


When Sydney sleeps she gets cold and stays right under me but if I wrap her up she'll sleep for hours. Notice her paw over her nose.


I don't know if you read Ashia's blog (find the link in the right hand margin) but she is very pregnant. She goes back to the doctor on Monday. We still don't know the sex of our Indiana baby but we should know in two weeks, I can't stand the suspense! Both Ashia and Mary are doing very well.


Helpful Hint From My House to Yours

While at Mary's last week my girls and I made gluten-free brownies from a mix I had taken with me. I had made these brownies before and they seemed a little dry but not this time. While Alyana mixed them I added a large tablespoon of sour cream (I use Daisy all natural) to the mixture and they were great. George, my son-in-law, didn't realize they were gluten-free. I use sour cream or mayonnaise (Hellmann's) in a lot of baking gluten-free with mixes it always makes the item moist.



Something new I tried while at Mary's, if I eat at night the food just sets there and I can't sleep so I was looking for something I could drink at night. I bought this at Kroger and it was really good, it would have been better if I'd put a few potatoes in it. The neat thing is that they have soups such as this in many different flavors. UMMM

A Weekend With Sydney

When we got home Thursday night I hit the door running, I had to wash and repack so that Steve could leave again Friday afternoon to return to irrigate the corn. We had hoped to take care of giving the corn a drink of water while we were there this week but it seems Delta Electric has dozens of wells to hook up to electric so they did not get ours hooked up until late Thursday afternoon. They run things a little different there than we do in Macon. They unhook the electric to all pumps for the winter and then hook them back up at the beginning of the summer, what Steve and I didn't know was that you have to call in and have your name put on the list. We're not complaining because it sure saves us money after harvest but we know next year to call in earlier!

I came home to take care of our grand-dog for Ben and Ashia to go out of town. I don't know why we all love this crazy dog like we do but she has stolen our hearts. She was so excited to see me when I picked her up on Friday; we have found that if I pick her up she doesn't mourn their leaving her like she does if they drop her off. The excitement wore off, for me that is, when grandpa came home for lunch. Little did she know that he was getting ready to leave again. After he left she rain frantically through the house searching for him and when she could not find him she laid on the sofa all afternoon, upset. We had some bad weather to roll in so I picked her up and kept her close to me; as soon as I put her down she jumped back on the sofa. I sure hope she gets over this soon.

Sydney on the sofa.


I caught her with her eyes closed from the flash. Ashia takes photos of her all the time and she hates it she told me so.

In the meantime I ‘ve been cleaning house, which was long overdue, it’s so hard to keep two places going all the time. Now I can’t breath and I have a headache, I expected as much with all the dust in the house. A lot of times when I'm like this I can't stand to lay down, it only makes matters worse. If I have to sleep sitting up in my recliner I bet I have company tonight.



Sydney taking a nap with grandpa (Steve) before he leaves to drive back to the Delta.



Who ever thought we could have "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake", "Strawberry Shortcake", "Apple Turnover", and "Lemon Meringue" Yoplait that is Gluten-Free? Flavors like this usually contain gluten. My daughter called me this week to tell me of her new find. As soon as I had a chance I went to the grocery store and bought myself some. I can't wait to try them!

I've finally gotten over the dust attack and enjoying playing with the dog. She's not sad any more, I guess she realizes I'm not going anywhere.

You too can live gracefully gluten-free!

Instant Relief for Allergy Eyes

Steve and I returned to the Delta on Thursday morning to what we thought was finish a job. On Wednesday afternoon I had talked to my Dad who said that he saw on radar where it had rained in Inverness, but he didn’t think it was much. We were in for a surprise. When we got to within 20 miles of Inverness we saw that it was really wet but thought maybe they had received more rain than us, not so. On our farm rain was running between the rows in the field, the crops look good but the fields are wet! In the last few weeks we have received 22+ inches of rain on our farm here. We are able to monitor it closely because our crop pilot’s airstrip is directly across the road from some of the land we farm. Macon is wet but Inverness is much wetter, the neat thing is the type soil we have here will dry up twice as fast as anywhere else. God has truly blessed us with a wonderful farm in Inverness!!!!

On Thursday night we ate at our local restaurant “Hometown” where I came really close to being glutened. I ordered a chef salad that I have ordered before, the girl that usually waits on us knows of my disease and wheat allergy and she automatically knows I don’t eat bread or fried foods. Also the chef is a friend who knows that when he has a order labeled NO BREAD it is usually for me. We have gone over spices etc. that he can use in preparing my food and I have become spoilt because they never mess up on my order. A different girl waited on us this time and it never occurred to me that she had never waited on me before and may not know about the gluten thing. When I ordered she asked, “is there anything you want left off your salad?” And my reply was, “no you’ve made it for me before and did a good job!” When I received the salad it looked great but instead of diving right in I started cutting the lettuce in smaller bites and noticed that under some of the toppings there were CROUTONS! I was bummed. Bless his heart Steve had ordered grilled fish and baked potato and we switched plates instead of my having to send my salad back. My meal was still great but I hated that Steve had to eat a salad instead of his wonderful fish.



After supper Steve and I decided to take a walk around the walking track. The track runs through the middle of town and is really neat. It has barbecue grills, picnic tables, benches and even a couple of drinking fountains. Our walk didn’t last long because I did not have on my walking shoes and before I made it half way around the track my foot started hurting, so much for getting old. Next time I'll make sure to wear the oppropriate shoes, the track is great and I'd love to use it.


Friday we had to chase parts and was out at lunch. Because it was early lunch we were able to go to Shoney's and get salad bar. I love good salad bars but am always afraid of cross contamination I figured that this was the best I would be able to do, many people were still eating breakfast and we were the first ones to dip into that wonderful salad bar!


All day Friday my eyes itched and burned but I did find one relief and it was great, “Visine-A” eye allergy relief. Steve had bought this but I had not thought to try it until I became desperate and starting looking for something. It numbed my eyes and gave me instant relief!

So Much Beauty in the Midst of the Ugly

Last Saturday I woke up around 6am with another terrible headache. Ashia and I were supposed to go baby shopping but didn’t make it. After a late breakfast Steve was going to work mowing up around the farm so I asked that he take the ant killer with him and sprinkle it on all the massive ant beds in our yard. He suggested that I do it because I probably needed to get some sunshine; while the sun was shining we had a big chance for rain later on in the day. So off I go with my little shaker to try and kill the ants all of the rain had brought in. While I was out side I was looking at my flowers. I don’t have a lot of flowers anymore because with my allergies I can’t work in the yard like I use to but I still love the ones I do have. While is was outside my head started stopping up and I started sneezing and I thought to myself, “there is so much beauty in the midst of the ugly”. Not that anything outside is ugly but when I have an allergy attack while outside I think of my ugly allergies. I have posted a few photos of the beauty!

We are in the Delta and I have just finished cleaning my home away from home. It is very small and doesn’t take a lot of my time though it gets really dusty here on the farm. I cover the coach to try and keep the dust down. When I go home I always take the cover and wash it.

I have the better of two jobs though Steve is out mowing up in the yard around the camper to try and rid us of many snakes. I guess after having 12+ inches of rain we are abundantly blessed with snakes. I’m not talking about Rat or King snakes I’m talking about deadly poisonous Cottonmouths. Steve didn’t have to tell me but one time, “if you go outside be sure and walk in the gravel”!

This afternoon we are leaving Inverness and returning to Macon to pick up more supplies and clean clothes. We plan to return soon and should be able to work in the field by Wednesday afternoon. After cleaning the house yesterday I am either having an allergy attack or I have taken a head cold. Either one is no fun! I may go to the Doctor before returning and see if she will give me a shot.

My Story

I don’t think we take Celia disease as half as serious as we should. Because of this I want to give my personal testimony.

My name is Grace and I was born in raised in a small town in the country in Mississippi. We had a happy family but we lived from day to day due to continual Doctor bills of both my mom and I. Growing up I can’t remember a day that my Mother wasn’t sick. She was sick so much that when she complained we always thought and sometimes said, “but you’re always sick” and no one took her serious!

In 1995 my family and I moved to Guatemala to work with a ministry called Adopt-A-Child. As a child I had migraines a lot and was hospitalized several times because they would lead to dehydration. During my time in Guate I observed that I was continually having sinusitis and bad headaches. I had a friend who had just found out that she was allergic to wheat so she suggested that I go to her allergy doctor there. I did and found that I also was allergic to wheat and after eliminating it from my diet I felt much better though I was far from perfect.

The last ten years of Mom’s life she continually went from one Doctor to the other in several different states but no one could ever find anything wrong with her. One said she had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and that she just needed to watch what she ate, he prescribed some medicine for her but it never seemed to help. She was sent to specialist in New Orleans who could not find anything and told her she just had IBS and needed to learn to live with it. Mom continued to be sick. She became unable to leave home because she could not make it to the bathroom in time and would mess up the floor. She threw up continually no matter what she ate. I suggested that maybe she too was allergic to wheat but eliminating it from her diet didn’t seem to help much. Her stomach hurt all the time and she thought it was ulcers because of being so sick. Her family doctor prescribed one medicine after the other but nothing seemed to help. She had been diagnosed with Pernicious Anemia and was taking B-12 shots and even giving them to herself at home. After a while she would have to be hospitalized and given drips to pump her back up. I had a cousin going through school to be a nurse practitioner who called me in Guate one day crying. She said, “Grace if something doesn’t change you Mom is going to starve to death”! This seemed crazy since my mom had always been some over weight and ate like a pig. This went on for a several years.

In 2001 God turned bad into good as I underwent a terrible divorce that led to my moving back to Mississippi. I was able to help with my Mom who by this time she had days that she could barely get out of bed. Mom was put in the hospital once more and her medical doctor decided to try one more thing he put her on a gluten free diet. Back then we had no clue what this was, mom was so sick that my Dad did all their cooking and he didn’t realize the importance of living gluten free. They weren’t sent to dietitians or anyone for help of any kind so though we tried and did our best gluten was not totally eliminated from her diet. After a while of taking gluten out of her diet as much as possible we did see a change though for one last time Mom passed out and went back in the hospital, the doctors then told us it was only a matter of time. They said that this time the drips and things they were doing was like putting air in a tire with a hole in it. The change came a little too late and my Mom died in October of 2004. It upsets me to realized that if Mom had been on a strict diet she could still be alive and able to see the birth of her first great grandchild.

I continued to have stomach problems but after going through a terrible divorce and the lost of my mom we all thought it was nerves. I too was treated for IBS and several other things but nothing seemed to do a lot of good. I noticed that when I ate some things I felt worse than others but still did not know enough about living gluten free to make a difference. This went on for a while and my aunt, mom’s sister-in-law who knew I also was having stomach problems, called and said her son Billy had been diagnosed with Celiac disease. I had remarried by this time and my husband said, “that does it you are going to a specialist and see what is wrong with you”! I had several doctors to choose from in our area and chose a gastroenterologist who has been a blessing. He has a son with autism and so he is very up to date on the gluten free lifestyle. He did not find damage to my intestines but said with my being allergic to wheat and eating with my mom so much chances are that was why. I did have ALL the symptoms of Celiac so he sent me for counseling on how to live totally gluten free. When I have friends or family tell me, “just eat a little it can’t hurt you that bad” I am able to refrain because I’ll never forget what my mom went through and I choose to live!

If you follow my blogs you know that I am sick most of the time. This is due to environmental allergies as well as being glutened. I have been seeing an allergy specialist who after much testing declared me allergic to all grasses, pets, molds, mildews, dust, most trees and the list goes on and on. So I am learning to live with these allergies as well as living gracefully gluten free.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Going Gluten-Free?

Photo of Sydney and my Dad, I can't wait until Ben and Ashia's real baby gets here so we'll have a human form to love on!

While you are reading this blog I'll be in Jackson visiting my Dad for the weekend. I have a niece who is turning 13 and Ashia and I are going to celebrate her birthday. I have been sick with BAD sinus headaches for three nights now but felt better on Thursday. Wouldn't you know Friday morning I woke up at 3am with a sinus turning migraine. I'm going to Dad's anyway and see if I feel better away from home. We live in an older farm house and sometimes there are things in this house that make me sick. If I get to Dad's and feel great we'll know it's the house and we'll start trying to search out the problem. (details and photos to come)

Below is some very good information that I got off of another blog about gluten free living. I hope that you gain something from reading it and you too are able to live or help someone else live Gracefully Gluten-Free.


A Cheat Sheet for Going Gluten-free

Gluten is the elastic protein in the grains: wheat, rye, barley, durum, einkorn, graham, semolina, bulgur wheat, spelt, farro, kamut, and triticale. Commercial oats also contain gluten due to cross contamination in processing.
 

Recipes that use flour (bleached white flour, whole wheat, cracked wheat, barley, semolina, spelt, farro, kamut, triticale) or vital wheat gluten are not gluten-free.

Semolina, spelt and whole wheat pasta, including cous cous, are not gluten-free.

Beer, ale and lager are not gluten-free. Brats, meats and sausage cooked in beer are not gluten-free.

Malt vinegar, malt flavorings and barley malt are not gluten-free.

Recipes calling for breadcrumbs, breaded coatings, flour dredging, bread and flat bread, croutons, bagels, croissants, flour tortillas, pizza crust, graham crackers, granola, cereal, wheat germ, wheat berries, cookie crumbs, pie crust, crackers, pretzels, toast, flour tortillas, wraps and lavash, or pita bread are not gluten-free. 

The vegan protein called seitan is not gluten-free; and some tempeh is not gluten-free (you must check). Flavored tofu may or may not be gluten-free. Naan bread (traditionally made from teff flour) and Asian rice wraps may be gluten-free, but are not necessarily gluten-free (check labels).

Barley enzymes used in malt, natural flavors, and to process some non-dairy beverages, chocolate chips, coffee and dessert syrups (and even some brown rice syrups), are not gluten-free. Always check.


Gluten is sneaky.

Hidden gluten can be found in gravy, broth, bouillon, soy sauce, tamari, marinades, sauces, salad dressings, cured meats, sausage, hot dogs, vegan hot dogs, sausages and burgers, self-basting poultry, flavored and herb cheeses, blue veined (bread mold based) cheeses, spice blends including curry powder, dry mustard, canned and prepared soups, tomato paste, sweeteners, confectioner's and brown sugar, beverages, flavored coffees, herbal teas (watch for barley), roasted, flavored or spiced nuts, jerky, flavored yogurts and puddings, some chocolate and chocolate chips, cocoa and instant coffee mixes, flavored vinegars, cooking wines, flavored liqueur and liquor, wine coolers, some ice cream and frozen desserts. Always read labels. Call the manufacturer.
What is gluten-free?

Grains, flours, starches and thickeners that are safe for celiac and wheat allergies include:

Corn, grits, polenta and cornmeal

Buckwheat, buckwheat cereal, kasha and buckwheat flour

Rice- white, brown, risotto, basmati, jasmine, sticky rice, rice cereal

Rice flour- white rice, sweet (glutinous) rice and brown rice flour

Quinoa, quinoa cereal flakes, and quinoa flour

Millet and millet flour

Sorghum flour

Amaranth and amaranth flour

Certified gluten-free oats and oatmeal

Coconut flour

Teff flour

Nut meals and flours- almond, chestnut, pecan, cashew

Chick pea, garbanzo, soy (soya) and bean flourTapioca and tapioca starch (manioc)

Potato flour and starch

Sweet potato and yam flour

Arrowroot starch

Cornstarch

Pre-made ingredients that are safe for celiac include:

100% corn tortillas and taco shells, pre-made polenta rolls

Plain teff wraps made from 100% teff flour

Plain 100% brown rice tortilla wraps

Unflavored mochi

100% Corn pasta

Quinoa and corn pasta

Soy pasta (if it states gluten-free)

Brown and white rice pasta, rice noodles, rice glass noodles

100% buckwheat soba noodles

Rice paper, rice and tapioca rice paper wraps

100% nut butters- almond, peanut, cashew, pecan

100% seed butters- sesame tahini, sunflower and hemp seed butter

About baking recipes:When it comes to converting your favorite baking recipes to gluten-free, a simple one-to-one flour substitution will not yield the same results as your recipe based on wheat flour. Gluten is a giving, stretchy ingredient that supports rise, structure, texture and kneadablity. It takes more than a single gluten-free flour replacement to make a cake, bread, muffin or cookie recipe work. A combination of gluten-free flours and starches with some extra egg whites or leavening, and xanthan gum added to improve viscosity is necessary for optimum results.


Taken from http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com