Giveaway of Educational Publications by Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

March 8, 2010 · Filed Under Out and About, diagnosis, discussion, giveaway, gluten free · 52 Comments

After Ron Hoggan, Ed.D., spoke to my support group in November, he donated some of his educational materials on the effects of gluten. (You can read more on Ron and 20 Things You Should Know About the Impact of Gluten here.) Ron said that I could use his donated materials as I wished. I gave some away via a drawing at my subsequent support group meeting. I added another set to our group’s library. Still one copy of his book, The Iron Edge, and two copies of his video, Smarten Up! (How Gluten Grains Impede Learning and Behavior), are in my possession, so I am offering them up for a giveaway. In addition, I am purchasing two copies of Dangerous Grains to add to this giveaway.

The Iron Edge examines iron deficiency; its effect on learning, memory and health; the necessary tests; and how to resolve iron deficiency naturally.

Smarten Up! is a compilation of videotaped excerpts of Ron Hoggan’s presentations showing how gluten-containing grains are detrimental to learning in humans. Admittedly, the technical quality of this video is not the best, but the content is top notch. In fact, the support group member who won this video just shared with me how surprised she was at the information Ron shared on gluten’s impact on learning.

Dangerous Grains shares case histories—including Ron Hoggan’s own and that of his family members—and over 200 symptoms and conditions related to gluten. It truly is eye opening.

I’m really excited about sharing these very informative materials. There will be five winners. Frankly, I think this is my best giveaway yet. Knowledge really is power, and, as such, knowledge can be transformational.

This giveaway will end Sunday, March 14, at 9:00 PM Eastern. You can enter the giveaway by just leaving a comment. The other ways listed are for additional entries, but are not required. But, I’m so excited to share these materials with my gfe readers that I hope you will spread the word!

1. Leave a comment below and please tell me if you have a preference on which item you’d like to receive (I’ll try to oblige).
2. Tweet about the giveaway sharing the link and leave a comment saying that you did.
3. Post a message on your Facebook page about the giveaway and leave a comment saying that you did.
4. Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment saying that you did with your link.

All entries will be tracked by the individual comments, so you must enter a separate comment to get an additional entry. One comment showing you did all these things will only be counted as one entry, so please remember to note each by separate entries.

Truth be told, if I had my way, I’d be handing out one of each of these valuable educational items to every possible person in the world, but alas I must stick with this number. So, best of luck to all!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Tags: diagnosis, giveaway, gluten free

Maple-Nut Sundae and Xagave

February 19, 2010 · Filed Under Friday Foodie Fix, Out and About, dairy free, dessert, easy, giveaway, gluten free, recipe, sugar free, treats, vegan, vegetarian · 51 Comments

Full disclosure: The nice folks at Xagave sent me some of their Xagave nectar to use at the beginning of the year. They also provided a cookbook, Where Nutritious Meets Delicious, of recipes using Xagave. The Xagave and cookbook for this giveaway were complimentary as well. However, I was not paid to write this post. I am writing the post because I like the taste of the Xagave over other agave nectar products that I have used.

This post is linked to the Friday Foodie Fix—Agave (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang).

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner of this gfe giveaway—Lauren of Celiac Teen! Thanks to all who entered and special thanks to the Xagave folks for sponsoring the giveaway!

One of the most popular spots in our area is Carl’s Frozen Custard. Carl’s is a family-owned ice cream “mecca.“ Carl’s has been in business since 1947 and still uses its original 1940s Electro-Freeze ice cream machine. Housed in an Art Deco-style building, Carl’s has colorful neon illumination, including a giant cone. As far back as I can remember, we’d go to Carl’s. It’s been on my mind lately because it opened for the season a week ago. I don’t remember a time when we didn’t go to Carl’s as a special treat. We lived a half-hour away so we didn’t visit frequently. Now I still live a half-hour away—just in the other direction—so we still do not visit frequently. That makes any visit to Carl’s a special occasion. However, there was a period of time (part of college and a few years afterwards) when I lived just a mile or two away from Carl’s. In college, I even devised a Carl’s diet. Yes, I’ll admit it. I’d go to Carl’s when it opened at 11:00 am, get a small chocolate shake, inhale it, and then not ingest anything until I ate a small dinner. Oh, I did lose weight, but it was one of several foolhardy dieting strategies of youth and was soon abandoned. (Melissa’s recent post on her fabulous Montana Cookies mentioned The Hollywood Cookie Diet, which reminded me of my short-lived Carl’s Diet.) Because Carl’s is not open year round, we tend to go immediately when it opens for the season, stop a few times during the summer, and then stop by right before it closes in November. There’s always a line of folks waiting (except when it’s closed as shown in my photo). Often it’s a very long line, but the staff is the picture of efficiency, taking no time to exchange pleasantries. Non-locals are often amazed at how short the wait can be.

My favorites at Carl’s have changed over time. There was a period of time where I went for a simple vanilla or chocolate sugar cone. Then, I became somewhat addicted to the maple-nut sundaes. Imagine vanilla frozen custard covered with a gooey mixture of maple syrup and walnuts. Their sundae was way too sweet, but hard to resist at the time. When I became a teenager, hot fudge sundaes with nuts were my order. However, as I became more mobile, sitting to eat a sundae did not seem practical, so I moved on to chocolate shakes. Then one day, Mr. GFE and I were both in line and we heard the person in front of us order a hot fudge shake. Hot fudge shake? We both looked at each other with raised eyebrows and when the cashier/server looked at me for my order, the words, “hot fudge shake” came out. Mr. GFE ordered the same and we’ve never looked back. There’s nothing mysterious about this treat. They simply add a squirt or two of hot fudge to the chocolate milkshake before completing the mechanical stirring action. The flavor is fabulous. We both agree that we could never go back to a regular chocolate shake again. Yes, the hot fudge shake is definitely our choice these days. But, when I saw Diane’s secret ingredient was agave, Carl’s maple-nut sundae came to mind.

I found a maple-walnut syrup recipe at Recipezaar.com that sounded similar to what I wanted. However, it contained corn syrup, maple syrup, and granulated sugar. I omitted the corn syrup, omitted the granulated sugar, and added a small amount of Xagave—all of which increased the ratio of walnuts to syrup. Per the Xagave site, “Xagave is a premium blend of agave nectar derived from organic agave salmiana (white agave) and organic inulin from agave tequilana (blue agave). This combination results in the highest quality nectar with the best taste, best cooking qualities and the most heealth benefits of any nectar on the market; making our nectar the perfect sweetener for all of your cooking, canning, and baking needs.” I actually do like the taste better than any other agave nectar I’ve tasted.

In the end, the taste and consistency of the maple-nut syrup I made using Xagave, maple syrup, and water was just right—plenty sweet, but not too sweet, with softened walnuts hunks, and, of course, no refined sugar. When the maple-nut syrup was finished cooking, the vanilla ice cream was also ready. I waited for the maple-nut syrup to cool just a tad before ladling some over the ice cream. The resulting maple-nut sundae was incredibly good. Then my immediate concern became the fact that I was home alone with enough ice cream and maple-nut syrup to make several sundaes. Miraculously, Son and a buddy of his showed up … whewww, that was close! I fed them lunch and then served their sundaes. Son raved over his sundae, especially how good the walnuts tasted. That’s saying a lot because he typically does not like nuts in his dishes.

This sundae is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, egg free, soy free, and probably “more free,” but it still tastes of indulgence.

Maple-Nut Sundae
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

Vanilla Ice Cream

1/3 cup Xagave (or honey)
3 cups full-fat coconut milk, chilled (2 cans)
1 ½ – 2 tsp vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla extract)
some scraping from inside one vanilla bean (optional, to taste)

Mix all together in bowl with mixer or in blender. Add to ice cream maker and churn 20 to 30 minutes. Chill in freezer after churning if needed. Scoop and top with maple-nut syrup (recipe below).

Maple-Nut Syrup

1/2 cup Xagave
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup water
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (or walnut halves)

Combine Xagave, maple syrup, and water in sauce pan.

Bring to a boil slowly, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat and simmer until syrup thickens, about 15 minutes.

Stir in walnuts; simmer about 5 minutes more. Mixture will thicken upon standing.

Cool enough to serve warm (but not hot) over ice cream or refrigerate and serve later.

Shirley’s Notes: I used a very heavy pan that was much larger than needed so I would not have to worry about stirring constantly to keep the mixture from burning. I loved the process. As the mixture simmered and bubbled, it put on quite a show as you can see from the photo above. The syrup will “harden” quite a bit in the refrigerator. Therefore, reheating or at least allowing syrup to return to room temperature may be necessary if it has been chilled for a long period of time.

It might be Friday, but it’s Sundae time … enjoy!

UPDATE: The Xagave folks are sponsoring a giveaway of a 25-ounce bottle of Xagave and their cookbook, Where Delicious Meets Nutritious. While the cookbook is not exclusively gluten free, most of the recipes are naturally gluten free (e.g., flan) or easily made gluten free (teriyaki sauce).

The deadline for the giveaway is Friday, February 26, 9:00 pm, Eastern.

Here are the many ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment below.
2. Subscribe to my feed via email or RSS and leave a comment saying that you did.
3. Tweet about the giveaway sharing the link and leave a comment saying that you did.
4. Post a message on your Facebook page about the giveaway and leave a comment saying that you did.
5. Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment saying that you did with your link.
6. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment saying that you did.
7. Become a fan of my new gfe-gluten free easily page on Facebook and leave a comment saying that you did.
8. Read and comment on any of the posts in the Gluten-Free Progressive Oscar Dinner Party. You can find all the links here. Then leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Tags: agave, coconut, cookbook giveaway, dairy free, easy, GFE, giveaway, go ahead honey, honey, maple, nuts, slow cooker

The Spunky Coconut Cookbook

February 6, 2010 · Filed Under Out and About, appetizer, beverage, bread, breakfast, dairy free, dessert, entree, giveaway, gluten free, raw, sugar free, treats, vegan · 115 Comments

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Rachel R.! Rachel was selected by Random.org and her comment was: “I would love to win this; we’d like to incorporate more coconut into our diet. Thank you for hosting the giveaway.” My sincere thanks to all who entered the giveaway. Remember that The Spunky Coconut Cookbook can be purchased at Amazon here if you’d still like to get your own copy. Stay tuned for more giveaways that fit the gfe approach!

Full disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy of The Spunky Coconut Cookbook by Kelly Brozyna. Kelly is also graciously offering the signed copy of her cookbook for the giveaway. However, I was not paid to write this review.

I am a huge fan of Kelly Brozyna and her blog, The Spunky Coconut, which I’ve followed for a long time. I’ve been consistently impressed with Kelly’s positive attitude, her willingness to reach out and help others, and her many simple, but extremely creative recipes. So, I was delighted when she published her cookbook—appropriately named, The Spunky Coconut Cookbook—last spring. As she states in her cookbook, her mission is to “create food that is so good that no one would ever know or care it was free of gluten, casein, and sugar.” I think you’ll see that Kelly does that when you make any of the recipes from her blog or her cookbook, The Spunky Coconut Cookbook. The cookbook includes 115 recipes, some of which in addition to being gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, are also egg free and grain free. There are even raw and “raw-inspired” recipes. For so many with multiple food intolerances, these recipes are a true gift. You have only to read the comments on Kelly’s blog or check out the reviews of her cookbook on Amazon to know this is the case.

I’ve made a version of Kelly’s almond muffins, Almond Banana Carrot Muffins, shown above (recipe here). I had hoped to make her Custard Pie. It’s flourless and crustless—my favorite characteristics—how could I resist? But, alas, I found out I was short of eggs and I wasn’t about to brave the grocery store with the impending storm of the century. Here’s Kelly’s fabulous photo of her Custard Pie. Kelly even made a gluten-free, casein-free, and refined sugar-free version of my crustless coconut pie. Check her version out here.

My support group was honored to have Kelly speak (via Skype) at our October meeting. She shared her family’s journey to their current diet with us. Their tale (also shared in her cookbook) involves misdiagnoses, celiac, autism, attention deficit disorder, gluten sensitivity, and more. (She also shares their story in the introduction of her cookbook.) However, their new diet has allowed resolution of their symptoms in almost all cases.

Kelly talked to us about the cooking techniques she’s mastered over the last few years. She even did a cooking demo of her Flourless Brownies. Made from almond butter, Kelly says they are healthy enough to even eat for breakfast. Yes, the recipe is in her cookbook, along with a mouth-watering photo. (Kelly took every one of the gorgeous photos in her cookbook.)

By the way, one of our members has made a couple of Kelly’s recipes for our meetings. She made the Cider Cabbage & Kale dish for one and Almond & Orange Spinach Salad for another. I don’t think she took leftovers home either time. That is how good all of Kelly’s recipes are.

The deadline for the giveaway is Friday, February 12 (Abraham Lincoln’s birthday), 9:00 pm, Eastern. Here are the many ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment below.
2. Subscribe to my feed via email or RSS and leave a comment saying that you did.
3. Tweet about the giveaway sharing the link and leave a comment saying that you did.
4. Post a message on your Facebook page about the giveaway and leave a comment saying that you did.
5. Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment saying that you did with your link.
6. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment saying that you did.
7. Become a fan of my new gfe-gluten free easily page on Facebook and leave a comment saying that you did.
8. Read and comment on either of these gfe discussion posts: Stop the Madness or Educate, Not Eviscerate. Also, leave a comment on this post saying that you did.