Meet me in CT tomorrow!

Next Up for GLEE! April Appearance in Old Saybrook, CT

Shoreline Gluten-Free Association (SGFA) Conference:

"Beyond Gluten: Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit"

Date: Saturday April 17, 2010 - The Pavilion at Saybrook Point, CT

Time: 10am -3pm


(Excerpted from SGFA Spring Newsletter)

Get ready, get set, get healthy! The
2010 SGFA Annual Conference is
Beyond Gluten: Healing the Mind,
Body & Spirit. It will be held
Saturday, April 17 from 10 am to 3
pm at the Pavilion at Saybrook Point.

The three main speakers will be well
known author of Glee!, Elizabeth
Atkinson; local advocate Laurencia
Ciprus; and Shaman / Healer Gail
Sack. There will be other
speakers, lots of goodies and a few
surprises.

Lunch will be catered by La Piastra.
Reservations are necessary and
should be mailed to Sybil Nassau by
April 14 or contact shoreglutenfree@sbcglobal.net for more info.

The cost for the day: SGFA
members $25; non-members $40; and
students $20. For your convenience, a
registration form is on page three to
print out and return with your check.

Scrumptious GLEE (gfree) Stuffing

I made this gluten-free stuffing at Thanksgiving and it was everyone's favorite (even the wheat-eaters')!! The key is good gluten-free bread.

Melt in pan:
-1/3 c butter or marg

Add and saute until tender:
-1 c chopped celery
-1 c sliced mushrooms
-1/4 c diced onion

Remove from heat and add:
-seasonings such as sage or tarragon or basil or rosemary (or whatever you like)
-salt/pepper

In bowl combine:
-6 c cubed gluten-free bread (I use one Against the Grain Gourmet gf baguette)
-1/2 chopped pecans
-1/2 cup dried cranberries
-the sauteed veggies & butter above
-3/4 c chick broth or water

Bake stuffing inside roast turkey or chicken or cook separately at 325F for 25 mins covered with foil, then remove foil and bake another 15 mins until slightly crispy.

Even better the next day!

www.eXaminer.com GFree INTERVIEW

Original Format: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-20151-Manchester-Gluten-Free-Examiner~y2009m11d16-Interview-with-Elizabeth-Atkinson-Author-of-GLEE--An-Easy-Guide-to-Gluten-Free-Independence

(by: KIM HOPKINS)

INTERVIEW with Elizabeth Atkinson, author of:

GLEE: An Easy Guide to Gluten Free Independence

Q: What is your background? How did you get involved in developing a book about living with celiac disease?

A: I write novels for tweens, but have a background in freelance writing. My daughter was diagnosed with CD at the end of her junior year. She was very worried about leaving for college in the coming year and surviving on her own, so I wrote a concise survival guide for her. It turned out to be a great book for anyone newly diagnosed.

Q: How did you come up with the concept for GLEE?

A: When I searched around for a very basic, user-friendly GF survival guide for someone newly diagnosed, I only came up with "Gluten-Free for Dummies" by Danna Korn. It's an excellent resource, but still pretty lengthy. I wanted something much more concise and pocket-size.

Q: How did you decide on the title GLEE for your book?

A: Since I'm a writer I'm always creating and redesigning words and concepts. The first thing that came to mind with the "gluten-free" diagnosis was "What an unappealing word!" To me it sounded like food had glue it in! Anyway, I immediately shortened it to GLEE (GL for "Gl"uten and EE for Fr"ee"). so in our house we call gluten-free food "Glee" food. It's also a hopeful word, describing her new energy, health, and outlook on life!

Q: What is the most useful advice you have for people new to the gluten free lifestyle?

A: Besides reading my guide which has everything you need to know when newly diagnosed including food advice, food lists, travel, online resources? : ) I would say don't panic and take it one day at a time. The first most drastic thing you have to do immediately is cut out those wheat-filled carbs, so make a big pot of brown rice. You can add anything fresh to rice like veggies, cheese, fresh meats, nuts, tomato sauce, etc and have a meal. Then you must get a basic list of what you cannot eat either from a book or online. Then give yourself lots of time to do that first grocery shopping! And luckily today, almost all mainstream grocery stores carry gluten-free food - just ask at the desk. (And get used to asking a lot!)

Q: What are some of your family's favorite gluten free foods?

A: My daughter loves baked treats like cookies, brownies and muffins. I pretty much follow the usual recipe substituting store-bought GF flour for regular flour. The rest of the ingredients (like cocoa, chocolate chips, butter, etc) are usually GF. As far as packaged foods we love Against the Grain Gourmet Rolls, Bagels and Baguettes. Amy's Rice Crust pizza is our favorite GF frozen pizza, but there are many good ones. These days we rarely buy the packaged GF foods and cook fresh as often as we can making the correct GF substitutes when necessary.

Q: Can you share something about what you are currently working on?

A: I am going through the editing process with my editor right now for my next tween novel, "I, EMMA FREKE," which will be in bookstores Sept 2010! You can learn more about Elizabeth Atkinson by visiting her website and blog here.

Did you know? Drywall has Gluten!

I recently spoke at the PORTLAND (Maine) CELIAC DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP where an audience member told the story of her daughter arriving home from college and getting gluten attacks.

Now the daughter had been diagnosed years before and her mom kept at GF kitchen, so they couldn't figure it out. But the daughter was getting sicker every day over her break.

Finally her mom wondered about the renovations that were being done on the house. She researched the drywall that was being installed and found it contained wheat starch! In addition, the joint compound also contained a wheat derivative...and this stuff (as you can imagine) was floating all through their house. In fact, the mom was sweeping the floors daily.

Clearly gluten was coating everything!

Does anyone know of any other unsuspecting household substances that might contain gluten??