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Lauren-Lucille Vasser: Hi I'm Lauren-Lucille Vasser and I host an online show called the Celiac Diva
it's a talk show where I bring people the dish on all things Gluten-Free
covering all sorts of topics. Schar has brought me on in partnering with them, we're going to be doing
a really cool series
where I'm going to be representing
the Gluten-Free consumer; somebody who is newly diagnosed, new to the Gluten-Free community
and you're like, "where do I start?," because I know that's exactly what I was thinking when I first got started.
Anne Roland Lee: I'm Anne Roland Lee, the Director of Nutritional Services for Dr. Schar USA.
Schar is a dedicated Gluten-Free manufacturer
of specialty products for those individuals who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which people cannot
digest or tolerate Gluten.
Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye and barley.
So it does cover many, many, usual foods. We employ a team of professionals and an entire
R&D department to make sure that we're bringing in the latest research and information, the lastest
technology in making the best tasting Gluten-Free products available.
This care is also shown in our development of education materials and series such as this
so we can bring you the best information,
the best products, and have you enjoy a great Gluten-Free life.
Lauren-Lucille: Ok Anne, tell us what we're going to do here today.
Anne: Today we're going to investigate that whole new world of gluten-free.
What happens is that when you're first diagnosed and the doctor gives you this great news
that we've figured out what's going on,
which is that celebration
of, "good, now I know what's wrong,"
then he says okay, "do a Gluten-Free diet
be on your way." That's problematic for a lot of people because
as we talked about before,
what is Gluten, what is Celiac,
it can be an overwhelming feeling. You come home and feel that, "Gosh,
what can I eat?"
"What's safe, what's not safe?" So what we're going to do today is investigate
what's safe at home
and then in future episodes, we're going to talk about
how to make the kitchen safe, and reclaim your realm
as a Gluten-Free Diva.
Lauren-Lucille: So, when you come back, you've got your kitchen right here,
where's the first place to start? Anne: When we think about being home, we think about baking and preparing things, kind of 'home and heart'.
So we're going to start with that.
When we think about the different things that we would have in our cupboard for baking,
I have some really good news. The only thing that can't stay in this cupboard,
is the flour. Anything that would be a wheat flour,
a pancake mix, a cornbread mix,
any of those kind of prepared mixes or flour bases
have got to go.
And then, we can look at all of the things that can stay.
All of the things that are possibilities, that are totally safe.
Nothing wrong with your oil, your baking powder, salt, sugar.
One word of caution here,
on your cooking sprays, a lot of people use them now because its lower calorie,
as long as its just a vegetable spray,
its perfectly fine. If its a baking spray, it may very well have flour in it because its used to coat the pan.
So that would be something you'd need to be cautious about and read the label.
The good news is, look at all the stuff we have here,
from just one cupboard, that's perfectly safe on a Gluten-Free diet.
Lauren-Lucille: What about this cupboard? What can stay and what can go?
Anne: In this cupboard, again, we're going to have that 'mixed bag' of things.
Things that would be obvious, things like crackers, your cookies,
wafers, these are all wheat based, so these have all
gotta go. Out they come.
Lauren-Lucille: What about fruit?
Anne: Fruit cups are totally fine.
A word of caution though, is in your canned fruits
you could have something like this treat.
Looks like it would be great, Apple Cinnamon.
However, its Apple Cinnamon - crisp.
So this is a no go because you've got
a granola and a wheat based
topping that makes this not good.
So plain fruit, plain vegetables, things like kidney beans,
peanut butter and jelly
tomatoes, coffee, tea; look what we have left here.
Lauren-Lucille: What about cereal?
Anne: Cereal is a common snack right? Lauren-Lucille: It really is.
Anne: But, one of the first ingredients in that cereal is wheat.
Most of your mainstream commercial cereals are wheat based
or may even have barley malt added as a flavoring.
So those would all have to be eliminated.
Any shredded wheats,
any of those common kind of cereals.
Things that can be replaced in that
would be a rice based cereal, a corn based cereal,
some of the new ones like Amaranth or things like that, those would all be ok.
So as you can see, as we've gone through this cupboard, there are a lot of things most people have
already in their cupboards and in their home that are naturally Gluten-Free,
and are totally safe. Lauren-Lucille: Awesome!
Anne: What's even better, as we go to the next cupboard, you'll see there's even more things.
Lauren-Lucille: Woo!
Anne: The cupboard that often can look a little foreboding at first
are your spices, and mixes, and convenience things.
Lauren-Lucille: Tell us about the rice and sauce, any kind of an instant packaging. Anne: Any kind of instant packaging
you're going to say, "suspect, until proven innocent."
You've gotta read the list of ingredients,
most of these kind of things are no go. Anything that has a creamy sauce,
anything that has a thickening kind of agent,
is going to be left to the side.
But, the good news is
plain rice is fine. And there's no reason you can't make your own rice blend
so you have the convenience that packaged meal,
but you know it's safe and Gluten-Free.
Lauren-Lucille: Alright Anne, so what about the salad dressing recipe mix? Anne: These are fine.
Again, always read your list of ingredients, the Italian is fine, but when you get to some of your
other creamy flavors,
Lauren-Lucille: Any kind of thickening agent..
Anne: Anything that thickens, you have to worry about. Lauren-Lucille: Awesome.
So tell me about the sauces: soy sauce and barbecue sauce, what do you think?
Anne: Soy sauce and barbecue sauce - its a mixed bag. While we think soy sauce might be a simple item
and pretty safe, the second ingredient in most soy sauces is wheat flour.
So, because soy sauce has now been used as a flavor enhancer in so many other
marinades, you have to read that list of ingredients very, very carefully.
Lauren-Lucille: Cool. And last, but certainly not least, tell me about the spices. Can we keep them or do they have to go?
Anne: All of your spices are gluten-free. Lauren-Lucille: Ok.
Anne: Seasonings you have to watch out for
by FDA regulation, a spice has to be what that spice name is.
So if its 'Oregano', its Oregano.
It its Italian Seasoning, however,
now can be open for debate.
Most of your mainstream
spice companies,
their seasoning blends are fine. Lauren-Lucille: Ok.
Anne: But, its always good to double check.
Lauren-Lucille: [in unison] To double check. Read those ingredients!
Anne: Read those ingredients!
Gluten-Free, doesn't mean it has to be tasteless. Just because you are doing Gluten-Free,
it can still be delicious. It can still be easy and convenient.
You just have to read carefully. Lauren-Lucille: That's awesome. Thanks so much Anne. Dr.Anne: Great.
Ready for the fridge? Lauren-Lucille: Here we are! Anne: Alright. Now remember, at this point,
we're looking at what is Gluten containing,
and what is Gluten-Free.
The good news is that in the fridge,
there's a lot of naturally gluten free products.
As you see as we go from the top shelf on down,
all your dairy products, your eggs, your butter, all Gluten-Free not to worry.
Your yogurt and cheeses, fine. Things like
polenta are corn based, also gluten free. Your deli meats, again, cheeses as we said,
fruits and vegetables,
all safe, all naturally Gluten-free. Lauren-Lucille: Are there any deli meats that you might have to watch out for?
Anne: You do always have to watch on those
kind of bargain-basement types;
you always want to check ingredients. Now, one thing I want to point out is,
any of the jars, that are opened are considered contaminated because of double dipping.
So anytime you put in a knife,
and spread, or put in a wheat based chip or something,
the contents of that jar have gotta go. Lauren-Lucille: Alright. Anne: So here, there's not a lot to take out,
but it would be the jars and things that we would get rid of. Lauren-Lucille: Awesome.
Anne: Other than that, look at all the possibilities. That is the key take-away.
Lauren-Lucille: Ok Anne, I just have to thank you so much, for taking all of us inside of our cupboards and showing us
what's already accessible to us and what's already there in our homes that's Gluten-Free. Pretty cool.
Anne: My pleasure, its great fun. But,
its going to get better. We're going to go shopping
and show you even more things that are Gluten free.
Lauren-Lucille: I'm totally in, let's go! Anne: Let's do it!