Living Without's Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest

I am so very excited to announce that I will be part of the official blogger team for this years Living Without's Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest here in Portland Oregon! It is going to be an amazing event packed with tons of gluten free samples and snacks, expert chefs to help ya out, bloggers and authors galore, and tons of allergy free fun. All my girls will be coming from around the country (Erica Dermer from www.celiacandthebeast.com, Kyra Bussanich from www.kyrasbakeshop.com, Mary Fran Wiley from www.frannycakes.com, Brandy Wendler, Miss Alaska and Celiac Advocate, Allison Needham from www.agirldefloured.com, and K.C. Pomering from www.gfreefoodie.com) We are all beyond excited to spend the weekend spreading the gluten free love. I have two free tickets to give out so look for a giveaway on my social medias. Make sure to head over to http://www.glutenfreefoodallergyfest.com for all of the info! I can't wait to see you there!

Barons Market

One of the challenges of living a Gluten Free life can be finding healthy, affordable, gluten free groceries. I am always looking for grocery stores that have tons of gluten free options and that don't break my budget. The nice folks at Baron's Market showed me around their beautiful location in Point Loma. Baron's Market is a family owned store which allows them to have the customers best interest in mind. As most of you know, GF can be expensive and sometimes the product isn't even worth it! What I love about Barons is that they do not hike up the price of groceries for their benefit which makes it more affordable for us gluten free folks.

Now that we have found a grocery store that carries all of our gluten free needs, they make it easy to find what we are looking for. Most of the gluten free items are put into this little section. To make things even easier, they have put together a guide for customers. 

Not only that but everything at Barons is labeled. Yep! You heard me, they have stickers to point you in the right direction. Most of the gluten free items are in this neat little section but while you are exploring the rest of the store they have labels that catch your eye. I found tons of gluten free items that I have never even heard of!

The selection of Gluten Free products is insane! I was in heaven! 

Udis! Glutino! Enjoy Life! Bobs Red Mill! 

Barons Market has 4 locations serving San Diego. 

Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, Temecula, and Murrieta/Wildomar

Check out their website and head over to their stores to find a huge selection of GF products at great prices. 

Barons Market

Thanks again to Barons Market for taking the time to talk to me about all things Gluten Free and showing me around! 

Off to Coachella Land...

Heading out to the desert for Coachella 2013. I have my backpack packed full of my favorite gluten free snacks! Stocked up on Lara Bars, Kind Bars, Kale Krunch, Glutino Pretzels and Bakery on Main Granola! Hopefully the festival has a few more options for me this year. The gluten free demand is growing everyday! Have a beautiful weekend everyone. XO

If you are looking for easy GF snacks check out these awesome products.

Bakery on Main

Alive and Radiant Kale Krunch

LaraBars

Glutino

Kind Bars

What's in a label?

One of the more difficult tasks of living a gluten free lifestyle is figuring out what the heck that label actually means. Big words, small words, words we can't pronounce... I just want to know is this gluten free?!

Here's a few of my favorite websites to make your life a little easier

XO

Livestrong: How to read a food label to find Gluten

SF Gate: Check nutrition labels

Celiac Sprue Association: Label Reading 101

Seasons of Love

Spring is just around the corner with these bright sunny days in San Diego. I like to try and buy fruits and veggies according to season, because they really do taste better. Here is a great little guide that I found on Pinterest that shows you what to eat according to season. Enjoy! xx

Since I Love Quinoa...

A Little Baking Guide

Baking can be tricky, Gluten Free baking is a whole different world. Here's a little guide I found on Pinterest to get you started.

xx

Things to know about Gluten

Becoming gluten free can be overwhelming at first. Take a look at some of these tips to help ease your mind and transition into gluten free living.

What is Gluten?
Gluten is a type of protein that can be found in most grains like Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats and Malt. Gluten is used as a binder in foods like breads, pastas, cereals, baked goods and sauces. About 3 Million people in the United States have Celiac Disease or a form of Gluten Intolerance. For someone with a gluten intolerance or celiac disease consuming gluten can cause damage to their bodies and make it hard for them to properly absorb nutrients. Gluten can cause stomach and digestive issues and cause other harmful complications.

What can I eat? 
There are so many great, delicious foods and recipes, so don't stress! At first, it may seem that everything contains gluten but that's when you should try and get creative. Many foods are naturally gluten free like meats, fruits and vegetables. Here's a simple guide to get you started.

GLUTEN FREE

-Plain meats like chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish and shellfish.

-Fruits

-Vegetables

-Eggs

-Rice 

-Corn

-Potatoes

-Soy

-Nuts/Seeds

-Quinoa

-Millet

NOT GLUTEN FREE

-Breads and Pastas

- Flours (Wheat Flour, White Flour, Semolina, Spelt, Matzo Meal, Bulgar, Farina, Durum)

-Soy Sauce and other asian sauces like Hoison, Fish Sauce, Peanut Sauce. 

-Baked Goods and Pastries 

-Processed Meats

-Imitation Seafood

-Chips and Candies

-Cous Cous 

-Beer

-Gravy, Broths, Dressings and Marinades

As usual, things are always changing. A product that was once not gluten free can become gluten free and vice versa. Always ALWAYS check your labels. Talk to your waiters and chefs in restaurants and always inform them of your allergies. 

Check out some of these links to get more info

How to Identify Gluten on Food Labels

Gluten Free Living

Gluten Free Help

Gluten Free in San Diego