"GLEE!"

(GLuten-frEE)

GUM & MINTS:

Adams Black Jack Gum

Altoids Mints

Beemans Gum

BreathSavers Mints

Dentyne Gum (peppermint, spearmint, arctic chill, spicy cinnamon)

Dentyne Fire Mints Dentyne Ice Mints

Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum

Trident Gum (original, spearmint, bubblegum, cinnamon)

Wrigley's Big Red Gum Wrigley's Freedent Gum

Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum Wrigley's Orbit Gum

Wrigley's Spearmint Gum

Gluten-Free for 55 Years!

The best part of book signings is gathering people’s stories. As a fiction writer I can’t get enough of it. As a non-fiction writer, it helps me to understand what my readers need to know.

Over the weekend I had a book signing for GLEE! in Bridgton, Maine – about an hour west of Portland. Almost every person who showed up to buy a copy of GLEE! had been newly diagnosed and was feeling overwhelmed. They were pleased to find a simple guide to help them understand the basics.

However, my favorite customer was a woman I’ll call Ida (pictured here), who had first heard of celiac disease 55 years ago when she put her son on a gluten-free diet. It turns out Ida’s husband had been a pediatrician. When their young 2 year-old boy was failing to thrive (as “everything he ate ran thru him”), doctor dad researched all the possibilities. The first thing they tried was a gluten-free diet and, like magic, it all cleared up.

“Of course, back then it was a nightmare trying to figure it all out,” explained Ida. “No one had heard of it. And the diet also included special milk instructions. We had to boil the milk down and add something, can’t remember what it was – and cheese was completely off limits.”

As a mom who struggled to deal with the gluten-free challenge just 3 years ago, my hats off to Ida – who did it completely alone and undoubtedly, against the tide.

All Tea Gluten-Free???

Nope.

Ever get a gluten attack (glattack) from a cup of tea?

Believe it or not, some herbal teas contain barley.

One fellow tweep (i.e., twitterer) recently informed me that Yogi "tummy" tea contains barley with the barley info listed in tiny type separate from the ingredient list. Another tweep warned of some Teavana teas.

“In general, pure black, green, and herbal teas will be gluten free,” says Lani Thompson, founder of Clan Thompson (www.clanthompson.com) and gluten-free SmartLists. “All Bigelow teas except chamomile mango, cinnamon spice and blueberry harvest are gluten free. When gluten is present, it seems to be barley that's added to some teas (for instance Celestial Seasoning Almond Sunset or Canadian Vanilla Maple or English Toffee After Dinner or Ginseng Energy teas).”

So keep an eye out for the tiny type!

GLEE! Updates

* Book signing (above) in Newburyport went well - the Book Rack sold all copies but 3!
* Next book signing in Bridgton, Maine May 24th (1pm) at Morning Dew Natural Foods
* Invited to speak soon at Over 55 Community Center and two libraries!
* GLEE! now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and distributed to bookstores/libraries by Ingram Books
* Article: http://www.newburyportnews.com/pulife/local_story_120230258.html
* Find me tweeting at www.twitter.com/glutenfreeGLEE

Delicious-Nutritious Beef & Bean Stew

2 Tbl olive oil
½ - 1 lb chopped stew meat
1 Tbl GF baking flour
4 medium yams, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
4 med white potatoes, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
3 large carrots, chopped
3 large celery sticks, chopped
2 jars tomato sauce
½ lb black turtle beans soaked overnight, drain
To Do:

Fill large saucepan with water, bring to a boil, and add soaked beans. Simmer 60 - 90 mins, according to directions, and drain.

Boil a large pot of water and add yams, potatoes, simmer for 3 mins. Toss in carrots and celery, simmer another 3 mins and drain.

Heat olive oil in same large pot. Add stew meat and brown quickly. Add GF flour and stir. Add both jars of tomato sauce, all the par boiled veggies, and cooked beans. Simmer one hour and serve.

Optional: Serve over pre-cooked brown rice.