Gluten and Allergy Free Wellness Event

Woohoo! I'm starting the countdown to the Gluten and Allergy Free Wellness that's going to take place in St. Louis! I am so excited that I'm going to be speaking there! The event is going to take place on May 31, from 10 am to 3 pm at Orlando's Garden (admission is $10 for adults and children are free), and there are going to be many speakers and food samples (yum.)

I may be speaking in your area in the following months! Here are the dates and cities I will speak at:
-Little Rock, AR on June 21
-Raleigh/Durham, NC on August 9

Click here for more information about the event in St. Louis.
Click here to go to the event's homepage.
Click here to go to the event's Facebook page.

Quick Mother's Day Dinner: Shepherd's Pie

My finals/AP tests are coming up, so I am QUITE stressed and busy studying. Tomorrow is mother's day, so I am going to take a break from studying to make a special dinner for her. But I was thinking, my goodness, what can I make that is quick and easy and doesn't take up much time? So I came across this shepherd's pie recipe, and LOVED it :).

Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwiMEAxfCx8&feature=youtu.be

The good news is that it is naturally gluten-free, so you can make it with "regular" ingredients!
*Note that I didn't add wine to the recipe :)

Happy (Early) Mother's day!

-Sema

The True Alternative to Goldfish!

So, the other day I met Nikki Everet, the directer of Gluten-free Allergy Free Wellness Event, and she introduced me to a really delicious alternative to goldfish. I thought I had found the alternative to goldfish (Wellaby's crackers) so this new product came as a surprise to me. I tried them and LOVED them. They are called Qwakers, and you can get them from cuisinecube.com, where they offer a monthly membership to get a gluten-free box of goodies each month. These crackers are also available on amazon, and Qwacker's website. Bonus: their name is adorable.
Enjoy!
-Sema

Gluten-Free Oats

So last week, I had a post about gf oats, and how I prepare them in the morning. Well, I got questions like what is the difference between gluten-free oats and regular oats, and do they taste different. Oats are naturally gluten free. However, in order for the oats to be considered gluten-free, the farmer has to certify that the oats were not cross contaminated with any grains known to have gluten in them (wheat, rye, barley etc) during the process or transportation. Most celiacs can safely eat certified gluten-free oats. Be sure to check with your doctor before introducing oats to your diet! If you can eat it, then oatmeal may end up being your favorite breakfast item :)
-Sema

My Favorite Oatmeal

Now, they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I couldn't agree more. But I'm always in a rush in the morning. No matter how early I wake up, the time seems to speed up so that I find myself running out of the house to get to school. For a while, I would just skip breakfast thinking that making it to the bus would be better than eating breakfast. Well, that was not smart. I found myself ravenously hungry by second hour, and a simple protein bar wouldn't suffice it. So now my favorite on-the-go breakfast is oatmeal (gluten-free of course.) If I have time, I'll heat it in a pot, but I usually just put it into a cup and add some milk and sugar- I don't even cook it. It's tasty and filling so I can get the nutrition and the delicious taste to go with it.

My favorite oatmeal so far is this one from Trader Joe's:

Mmmm look at this deliciousness. (I also love adding raisins to it!)

Enjoy!
-Sema

Wheat in Shampoo?

Wheat seems to be in a lot of things- bread, pasta, pizza, but it hides in products like shampoo as well. It seems silly to have to check the ingredients of your shampoo, but you may find that wheat proteins are used. So, be cautious of the shampoo you pick, and be sure to read the ingredients on the back! (plus, you'll see how many chemicals are being used)
Happy ingredients reading
-Sema

Leftovers, but the Good Kind

Last week, I realized I would probably not have very much time to get ready for school in the morning (I can thank homework for that), so I decided to prepare my lunch the night before. Instead of having a sandwich, however, I had the night before's dinner. I took the meat off the chicken, added some steamed rice, and steamed green beens. For fun, I cut up a small cucumber and added it (fancy garnish right?). To drink I actually did not have that Starbucks refresher, I instead went with the Ocean Spray sparkling cranberry juice. On the side I had some peanuts, and for dessert I had an orange. It was quite the delicious combo!

-Sema

The steamed green beans had: a dash of garlic tomato sauce, onions, and salted peanuts.

The chicken was marinated with 1/3 cup of dijon mustard, two tablespoons of olive oil, and one clove of garlic!

Social Media

These days social media is abundant and everywhere. People often choose to have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and many other social networking sites. I am expanding to using Twitter and Facebook to further give out any kind of information I might have for you guys :). It gives me a way to share information I find from other websites, and just in general give little updates of my gluten-free lifestyle. I'm also on YouTube, and I plan on posting more videos soon! So, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel to be one of the first to see them!!


Facebook: www.facebook.com/eatwithoutgluten
Twitter: https://twitter.com/E_W_O_G

And if you don't have any of these social media sites, don't fret-I will still post here!!

:-)
-Sema

My Grandmother's Crème Caramel Recipe

Do you remember your grandmother's recipes? Believe it or not, many of those recipes are actually naturally gluten-free, and might I add, QUITE delicious. This is by far one of my favorite desserts, so I decided to share my grandmother's recipe for Creme Caramel so that you can enjoy it just as much as I do!

Ingredients
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 and a 1/2 cup of sugar
Teaspoon of vanilla extract
6 eggs
1 tablespoons water

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the sugar in a pan that has about one tablespoon of water.

Bring it to a boil.

This will brown the sugar.

Pour it into a bread pan, covering all of the sides in an even layer.

Beat the eggs to a fluffy consistency in a bowl. In a pan, bring the cream to a boil, stirring it occasionally. Add the vanilla extract the fluffy eggs to the cream.

Strain the custard into a bread pan.

Put it into a larger tray that has about an inch of water in it.

After half an hour, check the mix. If it has turned a light brown color on top, you are fine. If not, keep it in for another 5-10 minutes. Let it cool for about 5 hours before taking it out of the tray.

Add a touch of whipped cream and voila, you have your creme caramel!
Enjoy!
-Sema

Are You Up For The Challenge?

 How much do you know about Celiac Disease? The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness has a quiz you can take to determine it! By taking this quiz, you are raising awareness of Celiac Disease, and I'm sure you will be surprised by some of the answers! I'm proud to say I passed, but I'll admit I could have done a bit better :) I was surprised by the answer to number 10!
Enjoy!
-Sema

Click here to take the quiz.

Betty Crocker's Gluten-free Sugar Cookies

It's still kind of cold where I am, so I can justify making cookies! (Although I think eating cookies is justifiable on its own.) I was looking in my pantry for snacks to munch on while I did hours and hours and hours of homework, and then I thought, why not just make cookies? It was nice to get my mind off the endless stress of school by making wondrous little pieces of goodness.

Ingredients:

1 pack of Betty Crocker's Gluten-free Sugar Cookie Mix

1 egg

1 stick of softened butter

2 tablespoons of water (the recipe called for one, but I found I needed two)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Sprinkles, dark MMS (or milk chocolate), cinnamon

Procedure:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the butter, water, vanilla, egg, and mix into a bowl.

Stir it like crazy! At first, I found that it was all clumpy and gross, but I just kept mixing and kneading and pounding until I finally achieved a great consistency! (I was pretty skeptical at first.)

Now, I used an ice-cream scoop to scoop out little balls of cookie dough, and I did not flatten them out for the first batch. I added dark chocolate MMS and pressed them carefully into some of the cookies. I also tried adding cinnamon and sprinkles as well.

Look at these little beauties!

Now, like I said for the first batch, I didn't flatten them out. They were smaller but thicker, and took a little longer to bake. (Bake the cookies until their edges turn a golden brown color, about ten minutes.) I flattened the second batch with the bottom of a cup, and even used a cookie-cutter to make shapes! (A fun activity for younger kids, but just as fun for "older" kids as well.)

Yum~ I have to admit I was munching on some of the dark MMS while I was baking (they are quite spectacular!)

Enjoy!

-Sema

19 Things Only People With Celiac Disease Will Understand

Hey guys! Sorry for the late blog post, I have school to blame for that!! I just wanted to share something I found extremely amusing on buzzfeed:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/antiwheatgirl/19-things-only-people-with-celiac-disease-will-und-l3lz

Notice: 19. Despite everything, finding an amazing and supportive Celiac community. :') I hope you all know that we are all in this together (by all I mean my fellow gluten-free people.) *cue Highschool Musical music* If you are new to the diet, just know that if I can do it so can you! If you are a seasoned Celiac like me, then you know that nothing feels better than knowing that other people are going through the exact same food situation like you.

:)

-Sema

p.s. seasoned Celiac-it's kind of like a joke, like food ;) 

p.p.s I will have a recipe out later this week, don't worry! 

Nugo Bars

My favorite bars are these Nugo Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bars with Sea Salt. They are salty, sweet, and VERY filling :). I usually keep one of these in my backpack or purse, because you never know when you'll get hungry and won't find anything to eat!
Enjoy!
-Sema

There are other Nugo Bars out there, but not all of them are gluten-free, so if you want to try the other ones, make sure you check the ingredients first!

Labeling Jars

One thing I have become semi-obsessed with lately is labeling things. I found these great jars that have chalkboard labels on them. So now I can label them to let everyone know what's inside them (even though they are clear). Not only does this serve to make it look awesome, but it also keeps the food fresh and enticing. Yep, I said it. Putting your GF food in cool containers makes you want to eat what's inside! The same goes for lunches. I always feel like my food will taste better if it is in a legitimate cool lunchbox, instead of just a paper bag. (Plus it keeps your food fresh.)
-Sema

My Sick Day Routine

Looking around, I noticed how everyone was sneezing and coughing. Unfortunately I got that terrible cold, and decided to show you all how I deal with my sick days :)!

Enjoy!
-Sema

Gluten-free Athletes in the 2014 Sochi Olympics!

The Winter Olympics are here, and did you know that many of the athletes are on a gluten-free diet?

"Here are a few from the United States:

• Chris Creveling, Speed Skater - follows a gluten-free diet to reduce inflammation

• Jazmine Fenlator, Bobsled - follows a gluten-free diet.

• Todd Lodwick, Nordic Combined Skier - follows a gluten-free diet to help with inflammation of the lungs.

• Elana Meyers, Bobsled - follows a gluten-free diet.

• Sara Studebaker, Biathlon - follows a gluten-free diet. Sara's fiance, Zachary Hall, a fellow US Biathlon National Team member 2007-2011, is gluten intolerant, so it's easier if both of them eat gluten free. Sara says she "..feels better training and competing!"."

For more information, visit:

http://www.examiner.com/article/2014-winter-olympics-athletes-following-a-gluten-free-diet-sochi

Pasta Alfredo

Ingredients
1 jar of Prego Artisan Three Cheese GF Alfredo Sauce
1 lb of the Sam Mills GF Pasta D'oro
1 lb lean ground beaf
1 medium onion
1 yellow, 1 red, and 1 green pepper
 8 oz of sliced mushrooms
A dash of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Chopped parsley for garnish

Procedure
Brown the ground beaf in one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and sautee them for 3 minutes. Next, add the chopped peppers, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and sautee them together for 5 minutes.

Add the Alfredo sauce and mix it. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Cook the pasta al dente (meaning don't overcook).

Drain it, adding a dash of olive oil to separate the pasta pieces. You can also add a bit of chopped parsley if you'd like.

 Mix the two together, and garnish with parsley. It was so good that it was gone in seconds!

Enjoy!

-Sema

Take the Pledge!

"NFCA encourages you to Take the Pledge!

When you fill out the Pledge form below, you promise to:

Educate:

• The gluten-free diet is not a fad.  We know this, you know this - it's a treatment that's here to stay.
• Celiac disease is not a food allergy. Let's take this opportunity to set the record straight!

Be Empowered:

• We can work together to amplify our voice to raise awareness of gluten-related disorders.
• We are in the driver's seat when it comes to managing our own health.

Advocate:

• You play a key role in helping family members understand their risk for this genetic autoimmune disease.
• 83% of people with celiac disease remain undiagnosed. We have the power to change that by sharing our personal stories and raising awareness of the signs and symptoms."

Click here to Take the Pledge now.

Why did I take the pledge?

I took the pledge, because I want to continue to be a positive voice for the gluten-free lifestyle through my blog. I plan to fulfill my pledge by informing others of the many great gluten-free options out there, and how to best handle the gluten-free lifestyle. I am a strong supporter of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, because it helps to educate, advocate, and empower people with Celiac Disease. 

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients

9 cups Rice Chex

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 tspn vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Procedure

Put the 9 cups of Rice Chex into a large bowl.

Put the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter into a microwavable bowl, and microwave it on high for one minute, or until melted. Stir in the vanilla.

Now, sprinkle the mixture over the Rice Chex, evenly stirring it in.

Now, put the mix into a large ziplock bag.

Add the powdered sugar.

Now, shake it until it's evenly distributed (you can dance while doing so.)

Lay the muddy buddies out on a strip of wax paper.

Let it sit for an hour or so, or until they dry completely.
Voila, you have a fancy looking snack that will entice your guests!

Enjoy!

-Sema

Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread

I have been in the baking mood recently! This bread is so soft and delicious that I couldn't get enough of it!

Ingredients
4 tbspn melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 mashed banana
1 cup pancake mix (I used Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix.)
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 tspn vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the butter, sugar, eggs and banana.

Add the pancake mix, salt, vanilla and nuts.

Pour the mixture into a large greased loaf pan.

Bake for an hour, or until finished. I only had to bake it for half an hour for the toothpick to come out clean.

This banana bread was so moist and not crumbly at ALL. It tasted just as though it was made of wheat :)

Enjoy!
-Sema

If you missed it, here's my Draw My Life video from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEtbPuOK410
In it, I talk about how I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and how I learned to deal with it :)