Gluten Intolerance Group

GFCO puts out a list of the organizations that go beyond the call of duty for gluten free

In 2016, Kent State became the first school in the United States to offer a complete dining hall that only serves gluten-free foods. Since then other colleges and universities have followed by with changes to the various dining area.

Kent State received certification from the Gluten Intolerance Group's Gluten-Free Food Service Accreditation Program. The certification shows that Kent State is committed to serving great food for celiacs.

Two years later the Prentice Caf?? is still serving gluten-free options. They promote all the various gluten-free options on the Prentice Hall website. According to various social media reports - the Prentice Cafe is just as popular as another campus cafe.

Gluten Intolerance Group

The Gluten Intolerance Group (GFCO) is one of the leading gluten-free certification programs in the world. They give out certifications to organizations that demonstrate the commitment to having gluten free options.

About the GFCO

Boston University

Boston University is the only Boston-area organization to make the GFCO certification list. They have 3-Certified Dining locations on campus:
The Fresh Food Company at Marciano Commons, The Fresh Food Company at Warren Towers and The Fresh Food Company at West Campus.

They are the only local type organization in New England to receive the GFCO certification.

National Chains

Other National Chains, which are based in New England has gotten certifications:

• California Pizza Kitchen - Located in the Natick Mall, Cambridgeside Gallerie, Prudential Center Mall
• The Melting Pot - Framingham
• Pizza Hut - Various locations including Framingham.
• The Village Tavern - Salem, Massachusetts

Gingerbread House

There is a gluten free ginger bread house kit

This Christmas season celiacs don???t have to feel left out when invited to a Gingerbread House party. You can buy a Gluten Free Gingerbread House making kit.

About Something Sweet Without Wheat

Something Sweet Without Wheat makes a Gluten Free Gingerbread kit that can be ordered online.

They had a booth at the Children's Hospital holiday party a couple of weekends ago. They had all sorts of goodies on display, but the Gingerbread kit was the big hit.

Visit SomethingSweetWithOutWheat.com today to order yours!

Sample Art Work

Here's a sample completed project using the Something Sweet Gingerbread House:

Extra Large Rice Cereal Treat

Wegman has a cool Rice Cereal Treat that Gluten Free

Kellogg's Rice Krispies isn't safe for Celiacs because they contain malt flavoring. Malt flavoring comes from a barley grain. Barley is not gluten-free and therefore Kellogg's Rice Krispies are not gluten-free.

Which means you can't really make Rice Crispy treats using Kellogg's brand of Rice Krispies. (There are plenty of alternative brands that make Rick Krispies that are safe for Celiacs.)

This is important to know because you can't buy pre-made Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats.

Wegman's Rice Cereal Treat

Did you know at Wegmans you can get a large Marshmallow Rice Cereal Treat? This is perfect to cut up and pack in lunches or to serve as treats for kids at parties.

They are devious and nobody would know that they are gluten free - they taste just like regular Rice Treats.

Where to Find them in The Store

You can find them near the in-store bakery section of Wegmans. They are located near various other allergy-friendly cookies and treats. (In Natick, they were on the second to bottom shelf - which makes it easy to miss!)

Wegmans Burger Bar

Good place, just make sure to check the plate for gluten crackers

One of the nice things about the Natick Mall's Wegmans is that they have a few places to eat. Last Sunday we made a stopover at the Burger Bar since we visited it a few times in the past and had good experiences.

Things were a bit differently on this trip - partly because of the CDC national mandate to not use Romaine Lettuce.

Meanwhile Back at the Burger Bar

When we placed our order for Gluten Free Burger, we told them it was for an allergy. We asked if she could have a salad with her order - since she can't have french fries due to cross-contamination issues. The server told us they couldn't do that, and that the only option available would be a fruit cup. We thought that it was weird that they still served salads using other types of lettuce, but they couldn't make a side salad from the same lettuce?

My daughter was happy with the fruit cup option so we were fine with that.

Burger Arrived with a Bonus Side

When my daughter's dish arrived, she got the fruit cup, burger and animal crackers. Which was very strange seeing that this was an allergy order. I double checked the animal crackers packaging and they weren't gluten-free.

We have eaten at the Burger Bar enough times that we knew that the burger bun was gluten free.

Communication Breakdown

Clearly the server at Wegmans didn't know about the Gluten Free order - or not aware of what foods could be included as a side dish.

We didn't say anything at the time, as we didn't ask for cookies and she doesn't like animal crackers. It was a "bonus" side that was anything but a bonus.

My daughter loved her burger. She took her usual time of eating it. She didn't end up eating the fruit cup. All she wanted was a burger for lunch and she likes using the Coke Soda machine to make her orange soda.

It was a busy post-Thanksgiving Sunday at the Mall, but that's no excuse for serving regular crackers on a gluten-free order.

Gluten Free Eggnog

All Eggnog is Gluten Free

Good News! All major brands of Egg Nog are naturally Gluten Free! Wheat is not something to add in any recipe for Egg Nog. (I am sure someplace there's an Oreo Egg Nog and that's definitely not Gluten Free!)

I checked Hood, Garelick Farms and they both have their entire Eggnog product line as Gluten Free.

Turn of the Century Recipe

I found this "Turn of the Century" EggNog recipe at the Boston Public Library (January 1922). This is how your grandmother might have made EggNog.

I am not exactly sure that's going to taste the same as people might have gotten used to. I will continue to look to see if there's a more detail "Turn of the Century" way to make EggNog.

Turkey Shape Butter

Add some creativity to your Thanksgiving Table

Keller's Creamery Turkey Shaped Salted Butter is now available at Walmart, Hannaford, Wegmans and Stop and Shop. We did not see any in Market Basket or Whole Foods.

We had this last year, and it was a hit at the Thanksgiving table.

They make a Christmas Tree and a Bunny Shape Butter too. The Christmas Tree is available in December and the Bunny is available in March.

We recommend getting two, that way there's no issue with cross contamination if you have regular rolls and gluten-free rolls. (Or get one and put it next to the gluten-free rolls to encourage people to take the gluten-free rolls.)

Benevento

Great North End treat!

Boston's North End is the best place to go to get Italian food. There are lots of great restaurants to choose from and the food is excellent. Certainly worth visiting if you're coming to Boston for business for vacation.

If you're eating Gluten Free, you may think your best to stay away. You would be wrong. There are some restaurants that offer excellent gluten-free meals - Benevento is one such restaurant.

Gluten Free Garlic Bread and Alfredo Pasta

Nine Things We Learned visiting Benevento

We found Benevento via the Find Me Gluten Free ios App, it got a very good rating from other guests.

We made reservations for five at Benevento and ended up sitting in the basement. It was nice because it was quiet, but we were sitting next to the cleaning kitchen. (Not sure why we were put in the basement if we had a reservation.) You're much better off eating at street level since they have an open kitchen.

There is a TV downstairs where you can watch the latest Boston Sports. (I believe that there's one upstairs too.) There is no cellular service downstairs - so no chance of checking in. (You shouldn't be using the phone in a restaurant anyways.)

The downstairs bathroom was flooded and it took a while for it to get clean.

The server brought regular bread to the table even though we indicated that two people in our party needed to eat gluten-free. They did make some gluten-free garlic bread which is one of the appetizers. They don't have gluten-free bread as a regular table offering.

My daughter didn't really like the garlic bread. I think this is the first time that she tried Garlic Bread. It was a nice treat for her. I tried some and thought it was good. It was gluten-free flatbread that had garlic sauce on it.

We order my daughter the Alfredo Pasta, which is to her is just a different type of Mac & Cheese. She did enjoy it and ate a fair amount. I think she was saving her appetite for some dessert at Mikes Pastry. I also tried some of the pasta and thought it was good.

The other meal that was served gluten free was Puttanesca. It looked exactly like regular Puttanesca and tasted just as good. The person was planning on saving some of it for the next day but ended up eating the whole thing because it was so good.

We did take home the Alfredo Pasta and my daughter didn't really like it a couple of days later. She said that it tasted better at the restaurant. I asked if she wanted to go back to Benevento, and she said yes.

Finding Benevento

Benevento is located on 111 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston. It's about a block away from Bova's Bakery. They have their menu posted online so you can see all the gluten-free options.

We would go back, as we love visiting Boston's North End. Next time we'll ask her to eat more otherwise we wouldn't go to get ice cream at Mike's Pastry.

Just Crack an Egg

Great Gluten Free Breakfast

Finding a good breakfast is kind of hard to do for a seven-year-old. They are very picky about what they want. Add needing to eat gluten-free makes it really hard. There's very limited choice on cereals and other breakfast goods - such as Eggos and frozen pancakes.

School mornings can be crazy. If people aren't up in time, it can be a madhouse to get ready for the day. However, a good breakfast is critical to winning the day.

Crack-An-Egg To the Rescue

We love Crack-An-Egg. It's a great way for my daughter to have a healthy breakfast very quickly. In about 70-seconds she has a simple scrambled egg breakfast. It's all naturally gluten-free!

Sometimes she's in a mood to make it herself, with some adult supervision and has fun mixing all the ingredients together. Most mornings, I am putting everything together.

The nice thing about Crack-An-Egg is that the portion size is perfect for her. It's not too much or too little. Sometimes she finishes it, and sometimes she leaves just a bit left.

Expensive Breakfast

Crack an Egg is a bit expensive breakfast for a seven-year-old. It's a nice healthy treat to have a couple of times a week. My daughter loves it and looks forward to breakfast in the mornings.

Obviously the concept of Crack-An-Egg is easy to make homemade. Simply get a microwave safe bowl, put in an egg and some chop vegetables and protein. But who has time in the mornings to chop up vegetables and protein?

You can find Crack-An-Egg in the dairy section, usually above the regular eggs. In New England, we have seen them in Market Basket, Stop and Shop and Sudbury Farms. Wegmans and Whole Foods does not carry them.

AMC Theater Popcorn is not Gluten Free

Hard to believe that Popcorn is not gluten free

At a recent meeting at the Boston Children's Hospital Celiac Group we were surprised to learn that the Popcorn at the local AMC Theater chain in the Boston area is not gluten free.

Wait. What? Popcorn not gluten free? We always thought it would be safe. Apparently not!

Members of the Boston Children's Hospital Celiac Group took the time to call around all the movie theater chains and received information that the butter topping that they put on the popcorn contains gluten.

I checked various AMC websites and did not get the same information - all indications was that the popcorn is safe. However, we know that the Boston Children's Hospital Celiac group is a reliable source and we trust their findings.

Now What?

The next time we'll go to the movies, I'll make a batch of popcorn for my daughter. If someone at the movie theater challenges bring outside food to the movies, I'll let them know that my daughter had enjoyed the popcorn in the past but can no longer have some.

If you want full details about how celiac friendly that other Boston area movie theater's are, be sure to join the Boston Children's Hospital Celiac Group and ask for the Popcorn report.

Switch Witch

Get a Switch Witch and make it a extra fun Halloween

In 2013, Audrey Kinsman created a new Halloween tradition - Switch Witch.

The concept is simple, after trick or treating kids would put unwanted candy in a cauldron and then put the Witch on top of it. The next morning, the candy would disappear and in place would be a wanted toy.

Another Practal Use of the Switch Witch

The Boston Celiac group took it one step further and suggest that children put in candy they can't eat because the candy contains Gluten.

The next morning the unwanted candy is replaced with safe to eat candy. Making it a fun holiday.

Where to Find the Switch Witch

The Switch Witch is available in most bookstores, including switchwitches.com and Amazon.

This is yet another new tradition for today's families.