Most people that are living gluten free lives are doing so for health reasons, and in particular, due to being diagnosed with Celiac Disease.   What many don’t know, however, is that the gluten free diet has gained some popularity in many areas of the United States among many health conscious people, who see the diet as a good way to eat well and improve their lives.

As you’d expect, Los Angeles is one of the places where this trend has picked up, and the L.A. Times recently wrote a post about the gluten free lifestyle:

Judy Beckett, a retired educator, was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago: Her gut cannot tolerate gluten, and switching to these foods has improved her digestion and quality of life. Claudia Lopez, a housekeeper and mother of four, is looking for gluten-free food for herself and her family. She recently switched to it at the urging of a health expert she heard on Spanish radio.

Beckett and Lopez have plenty of company as more and more consumers embrace the gluten-free trend. Users run the gamut: There are people like Beckett with celiac disease who must be on the diet; others who believe the diet can alleviate chronic intestinal complaints and boost energy; still others who believe the gluten-free diet may help in the treatment of autism and a host of other disorders, including schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, migraine and even fertility problems.

And some people are trying the diet simply because they’ve heard it is healthful.

“A lot of people are going gluten-free . . . but they really don’t know why,” says Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides, a company that forecasts food trends. “It’s just like, “Quick, it’s gluten-free, it must be good!’ “

Click over to check out the rest of their post!

Well, today is officially my birthday, and in honor of my birthday here is an incredible recipe for a gluten free oreo cake.   Give it a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Gluten Free Oreo Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• One gluten free chocolate cake mix (Pamela’s or Namaste are good, Namaste is dairy free)
• One container prepared frosting (Gluten and Dairy free…we used Pillsbury milk chocolate flavor, which interestingly enough contains no milk!)
• One container Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)
• 10 Gluten Free Sandwich Cookies (we used K toos, best darn OREO substitue ever!)
• 1/2 bag gluten free chocolate chips (we used Sunspree).

Directions:

1. Follow the directions on the cake mix, and bake the cake in two 9 inch rounds.
2. Remove from pan and let cool.
3. While the cake is baking, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.
4. Once the cake is done, frost the sides and top of the first layer of cake.
5. Crush the cookies in a plastic bag (or pulse in a food processor) until you have coarse crumbs.
6. Mix the cookie crumbs in with the whipped topping, and spread the topping over top of the first cake.
7. Carefully set the second layer on top of the first, and frost the sides and top of that layer.
8. Take your cookie topper out of the freezer, and carefully peel the wrap off the bottom.
9. Quickly lay the topper on top of the cake, and press down gently to secure it in the frosting.

If you are looking for an organic banana bread recipe, here is one you may want to check out:

Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups GF organic flour
• 1 t organic baking soda
• 1 t aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 t organic sea salt
• 1/4 t All Spice
• 1/2 t Cinnamon
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 2 organic free range eggs
• 4 extra large over ripened organic bananas
• nuts optional

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease TWO glass bread loaf pan with the wrapper of the butter after you add the butter to your sugar.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, All Spice and Cinnamon in a large bowl.
4. In a small bowl mix butter and sugar together until sugar has melted; beat eggs and slowly add to the sugar butter; mix in 1 banana at a time; add vanilla.
5. Combine all ingredients together and pour into TWO glass bread loaf pans.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

[Recipe Courtesy of West Des Moines Mommy & Designer]

There are a number of great gluten free recipes for cookies, but for some reason it is rare that I run across a good one for peanut butter cookies.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1.5 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening together for a few minutes until you have a paste that resembles dense frosting.
2. Add both types of sugar and continue creaming until the mixture resembles dense frosting with sand mixed in.
3. While the butter/shortening mixture is creaming, mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the peanut butter to the wet mixture and mix well, until the it is no longer readily apparent in the dough.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure the first completely incorporates before adding the second.
6. Top it off with the vanilla, and continue mixing until there remains no evidence of any of the individual ingredients.
7. If you decide to add any additional ingredients (i.e., chocolate chips, nuts, etc.) to the final cookie, this is the time to do it.
8. Slowly add the dry mixture, mixing steadily to ensure that the dry ingredients incorporate properly without clumping up.
9. After all the dry has been mixed in, you will have a very loose dough that will clump properly when compressed.
10. Scoop the dough with spoons (I like to use an ice cream scoop) into balls about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Try not to compress the dough too much in this process, as doing so can create a denser cookie.
11. Bake at 375F for about 14 minutes for a cookie portion the size of an ice cream scoop.
12. Allow the cookies to cool on a rack until they can be handled without burning your fingers.

[Recipe Courtesy of Carl's Kitchen]

Even though the gluten free lifestyle seems to become even more mainstream with each passing week, there are still a number of myths regarding the diet that many people don’t know about.

Today I noticed a great post uncovering a bunch of gluten free myths over at Delightfully Gluten Free. Here is a small part of their terrific post:

Myth 1: Vinegar is not gluten-free.
Truth: Most vinegars are gluten-free. The exceptions are malt vinegar and “flavored” vinegars, which have stuff added to them after the distillation process.

Myth 2: McDonald’s French Fries are not gluten-free.
Truth: A very small amount of gluten was in a flavoring used in the oil to par-fry the potatoes. The french fries have been tested and NO detectable gluten was found in the final product. Even the CSA believes them to be gluten-free. Now, you may not want to eat them on the principal that they once put even a small amount of wheat in them. That’s fine. But the bigger concern is the level of cross-contact caused by the obnoxious 16 year-old in charge of the fryer. If you’ve never had chicken nugget bits in your french fries, then you’re pretty lucky. And that is why I don’t eat their fries.

Myth 3: Alcohol from grain sources are not gluten-free.
Truth: The distillation process removes the gluten. I don’t know what kinds of alcohol are distilled, because I don’t drink it. I do know that beer is not distilled and does have gluten (unless you get one of the brands of gf beer).

Myth 4: Envelope glue has gluten.
Truth: I have not seen any proof that it does happen, though it still could. But, seriously, why would you want to put that stuff on your tongue anyways? I quit licking them when I was 10. Dab a little water on it and spread it around, and you’re set to go. Your tongue will thank you.

Click over to check out the other myths that are uncovered.