Gluten Free Children's Summer Camp

Wow, I just found out about this Gluten Free Children's Summer Camp in Alberta! I am so excited!!! BoyBee still has quite a few years to go before he's old enough for summer camp, but I am just so happy that things like this are starting to pop up. What a great time to be gluten free! There are so many great products on the market, awareness is increasing very quickly, and gluten free summer camps are being organized. The things that I thought would be huge challenges for my gluten free child are becoming so much easier. I am grateful that he is going to be able to experience all the normal childhood experiences that other kids get to experience :)

If you have a child aged 7 - 17 registration begins this month!

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UHU stic

I'm mostly concerned about gluten in craft materials because BoyBee is still quite young (not yet 3) and random things end up in his mouth. But even when he's older I don't want him to be paranoid about anything we have in our house. This will be his safe place where he can be confident that slip ups aren't going to happen.

I recently inquired about UHU stics - those standard yellow tube glue sticks I always remember having in my house growing up. Although they're made by a German company they were very quick to respond...Here is my inquiry:

Hello, my son has celiac disease and cannot consume anything that contains gluten (wheat, rye, oats or barley) or anything that has come into contact with gluten. Since he is very young we also have to check for the presence of gluten in his craft supplies, including glue. Could you please tell me whether the UHU stic (glue stick) contains any gluten ingredients or could be cross contaminated with gluten? This information would be very helpful to me.

And their response:

thank you for your request. We can confirm, that none of our products contains gluten. We hope that we could help you with this answer. If you have further questions, don't hesitate to contact us again.

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A List of Favorites

I am so happy with the progress that we've made in the past two years in taste and quality of the gluten free specialty foods that are available. I have tasted a lot of terrible products but have found wonderful gluten free substitutions for pretty much everything that we used to eat. I don't feel like I am missing a thing anymore, and wanted to share with you a list of my family's favorite gluten free products. Hopefully this saves you some money on experimenting with bad products, and inspires you to try something new!

Favorite Gluten Free Specialty Foods (and more)

Cereal - Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise, Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise, Whole O's, and Corn Flakes, Chex Cinnamon, Corn, and Rice Cereals, Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies, EnviroKidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs Cereal

Bagels - Udi's Cinnamon Raisin

Bread - Udi's Whole Grain, Udi's Cinnamon Raisin, Glutino Genius Bread

Bread Mixes - Pamela's Bread Mix, King Arthur Bread Mix, Judy's Magic Mixes Multi-mix

Snack Bars - Cashew Larabar, Chocolate Coconut Larabar

Protein Bar - Chocolate Peanut Butter Luna Bar

Kids Treats - Mi-del Gluten-Free Arrowroot Cookies, Annie's Homegrown Cocoa & Vanilla Bunny Cookies, Kinni-TOOS Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Cookie - GogoQuinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies (individually wrapped)

Cookie Mixes - King Arthur Cookie Mix, Judy's Magic Mixes Ultimate Cookie Mix (add chocolate chips)

Crackers - Crunch Master, Edward and Sons Purple Rice and Black Sesame, Glutino Original Crackers, Glutino Table Crackers

Pizza Crusts - Udi's, Kinnickinnick, O'Doughs

Snacks - Glutino Pretzels, Barkat Pretzels, Schar Cheese Bites

Pancake & Waffle Mix - Kinnikinnick

Frozen convenience items - Ian's Fish Sticks, Ian's Chicken Nuggets, Conte's Potato/Cheese/Onion Pierogis

Pasta - GogoQuinoa Spaghetti, Le Veneziane Pasta, Jovial, Tinkyada Brown Rice Macaroni and Lasagna Noodles

Mac n Cheese - Pastariso Instant Brown Rice

Sauces - Organicville Sesame Teriyaki Sauce, Organicville BBQ Sauce

Salad Dressing - Renée's Gourmet Creamy Asiago

Dip - Fontaine Santé Hummus

Cookbook - Cooking for Isaiah (we're reviewing a lot more cookbooks right now but this has provided us with an incredible base)

Do you have a favorite that's not listed here? I'd love to hear what products you enjoy. Post a comment below!

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Tazo Tea

Here's a little more tea information for you...almost all of the Tazo Teas are gluten free. Here's what their website says:

All our teas are gluten-free, except for the following: Green Ginger, Tazo Honeybush, Lemon Ginger and Tea Lemonade.

As for the rest, enjoy!

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Stash Tea

Yes, we even need to check to make sure the tea we're drinking is gluten free. I checked into Stash Tea and found the following statement on their website:

Do your teas contain gluten?

All of the flavors used in our blends are gluten-free. We do not use barley malt in any of our blends.

What I found very interesting is that quite a number of their teas contain soy. Take a look for yourself if you're interested! Search for the word "allergen" on their FAQ page to find it.

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Asian Pear, Hazelnut & Amaranth Financiers

I made Asian Pear, Hazelnut & Amaranth "Financiers" from Nectar today with BoyBee and they were delicious...I say "financiers" because I don't actually know how to say that word and I don't have the special pan so I just used a muffin pan. I though I'd share the recipe with my readers since it was so tasty. I love the nutritional value provided by the hazelnut meal and the amaranth flour! BoyBee had a great time pressing down the pieces of asian pear and sneaking a few bites :)

Photo credit: Nectar

ASIAN PEAR, HAZELNUT & AMARANTH FINANCIERS

Makes 8

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup natural cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

4 egg whites

1/2 cup hazelnut meal

1/2 cup amaranth flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 small Asian pear, peeled, cored, and diced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease your individual bundt pans or line muffin pan with baking cups. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium high heat until the milk solids start to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour the brown butter (through a fine seive) into a bowl to cool for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla seeds. Rub all the ingredients together between your fingers until you can smell the lemon release its oils. Add the egg whites and whisk until lightly frothy. We are not looking for volume just that they are well mixed.

Add the hazelnut meal, amaranth flour, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the butter and wisk. Scoop the batter into mold and fill a 3/4 of the way up. Toss the diced pears with the lemon juice. Divide the pears amongst the molds and lightly press them into the batter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert them onto a cooling rack.

Recipe credit: Nectar

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Five Guys Burgers and Fries

I contacted Five Guys Burgers and Fries last week to find out if their burgers and fries are safe for celiacs to eat. Here is their reply:

Thank you for taking the time to write in to Five Guys. We have received your concern.

It is never a problem to answer the questions of our customers, as we realize that health concerns are very important!

As it stands, we never guarantee no cross contamination because that is a risky promise to make! We ask all customers to use caution while dining at our store. However, be assured that we do take all possible precautions to prevent this i.e. our buns are toasted on a separate bread grill, and we place products on top of foil as opposed to directly on our prep surface. Many customers also find comfort in the fact that the kitchens of our restaurants are always kept open so they may watch their food be prepared! Our fryers for French fries ONLY cook French fries in that oil; NOTHING ELSE! Our burgers are made from pure 100% fresh ground chuck with no additives, fillers, or spices and our French fries are fresh cut potatoes, soaked in water and fried in refined peanut oil. There is no type of breading or coating put on them at all.

I am also pleased to inform you that we would be glad to prepare your burgers or dogs without a bun!

I do hope this adequately answers your questions and do feel free to let me know if I can answer any others!

Thanks again for reaching out to us and we hope that you and your family will enjoy us in the near future. We can’t wait to serve you!

Victoria Cerminaro
Customer Service Representative

Thanks Five Guys! That's a very thorough answer :)

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