Living Life Without

Encourage the Girl Scouts to sell an Allergen-Free Cookie

2012-01-17T11:48:00.002-05:00

Please sign this petition to help encourage the Girl Scouts of America to sell an Allergen free cookie that is free of the eight common allergies. Based on statistical data approximately 132,000 members of the Girl Scouts are selling cookies they can not eat.* The Girl Scouts have indicated that when they see enough need they will consider manufacturing a cookie that is free of the top eight allergens. Please sign this petition today.

* The number is based on the statistic that 1 in 33 individuals are gluten intolerant.

Gluten Free deals this week

2012-01-17T09:16:00.000-05:00

Gluten Free Saver is having a great deal for the Triumph Dining Gluten Free Grocery Guide. $14 dollars for the book including shipping! This deal requires no further action than to hit Order and the book will be shipped directly to your house. No voucher to redeem, no emails to send.

The fine print:

Limit 1 deal per customer. Cannot be combined with any other deal from Triumph Dining. Valid for residents in the contiguous 48 United States only (no shipping to Alaska or Hawaii).
Your order will be shipped the week January 23rd, 2012.
This is an exclusive Gluten-Free Saver "voucherless deal," which means that you will not receive a coupon code via email. Instead, you can sit back and relax while your Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide is shipped directly to your door!

Living Social is having a great Gluten Free deal with Glutenfreely.com Purchase $25 to spend $50 dollars at Glutenfreely.com Purchase all kinds of gluten free products at Glutenfreely, pancake mixes, cookies, cereals, and desserts.

The fine print:

Limit one per person, up to one additional as gifts. Entire value must be used in a single transaction. Free shipping on all over over $75 in the lower 48 states; shipping fees apply for Hawaii and Alaska. Order total based on product. Tax is not included. Additional frozen shipping charges apply. Promotional value expires on July 11, 2012.

Happy Shopping!

Sweet Potato Mash and Casserole

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

6 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
1/2 cup of butter
2 squirts of honey
1 tsp of nutmeg

Boil the sweet potatoes in water until tender. Drain and mash them with the butter, honey and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Casserole which is so easy I almost never serve them mashed. Preheat the oven to 350. Use the mash above but add:

1/2 Cup of brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of almond milk (or another vegan milk choice)

Mix all the ingredients above to the mashed sweet potatoes. Cook for 25-30 minutes until fluffy and golden. Delicious!

You can add 1/2 cup of pecans if you like but it doesn't really need if you don't have it handy.

Mushroom glazed chicken

2011-10-04T17:28:00.001-04:00

3 tsp of Vegetable Oil
1 stick of Vegan butter spread
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 of an yellow onion
2 tsp of garlic
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabella's)
1 cup of gluten free flour
1 cup of gluten free chicken stock
1 cup of red wine
6 tsp of balsamic vinegar
2 tsp of salt
Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. While that heats up put the flour in a pie plate to coat chicken. Add the chicken to the flour and coat, place in the hot skillet to yellow. (about 2 minutes on each side). You want to create a crust.

Pull out the chicken and place in a large casserole dish. Add the sliced onion and mushrooms to the hot skillet and cook until tender (about 5-8 minutes). Add the salt and pepper to taste. Add the balsamic vinegar, chicken stock and wine. Bring up to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Pour liquid over the chicken in the large casserole dish. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the chicken is done. Serve over rice with the sauce.

New Gluten Free deal ~ Blissful Body Care

2011-09-06T17:11:00.000-04:00

$15 for $30 Worth of Natural, Gluten-Free Products from Plantlife

For 15 dollars get 30 dollars worth of gluten free body care products from Plantlife. Go here to grab this deal!

The fine print: Online orders only. Orders are redeemable only if shipped to the United States. Voucher can be used for shipping.

To Redeem: Enter "GFD30" in the "Coupon Code" box, then enter your individual voucher code in the "Additional Information" box upon checkout at http://plantlife.net.Plantlife will validate each individual voucher code, and then process your order.

FDA reopens comments on gluten free labeling

2011-08-03T08:41:00.001-04:00

Weigh in on this very important topic.. Details below from google news.

FDA reopens comment period on proposed ‘gluten-free’ food labeling rule

Rule would help by creating a uniform and enforceable definition
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today reopened the comment period for its 2007 proposal on labeling foods as “gluten-free.” The agency is also making available a safety assessment of exposure to gluten for people with celiac disease (CD) and invites comment on these additional data.
One of the criteria proposed is that foods bearing the claim cannot contain 20 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten. The agency based the proposal, in part, on the available methods for gluten detection. The validated methods could not reliably detect the amount of gluten in a food when the level was less than 20 ppm.
The threshold of less than 20 ppm also is similar to “gluten-free” labeling standards used by many other countries.
People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Celiac disease damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. About 1 percent of the United States population is estimated to have the disease.
“Before finalizing our gluten-free definition, we want up-to-date input from affected consumers, the food industry, and others to help assure that the label strikes the right balance,” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods. “We must take into account the need to protect individuals with celiac disease from adverse health consequences while ensuring that food manufacturers can meet the needs of consumers by producing a wide variety of gluten-free foods.”
The proposed rule conforms to the standard set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2008, which requires that foods labeled as “gluten-free” not contain more than 20 ppm gluten. This standard has been adopted in regulations by the 27 countries composing the Commission of European Communities.
The FDA encourages members of the food industry, state and local governments, consumers, and other interested parties to offer comments and suggestions about gluten-free labeling in docket number FDA-2005-N-0404 at www.regulations.gov. The docket will officially open for comments after noon on Aug 3, 2011 and will remain open for 60 days.
To submit your comments electronically to the docket go to www.regulations.gov
1. Choose “Submit a Comment” from the top task bar
2. Enter the docket number FDA-2005-N-0404 in the “Keyword” space
3. Select “Search”
To submit your comments to the docket by mail, use the following address:
The Division of Dockets Management
HFA-305
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
(source)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Gluten free deal!

2011-07-25T11:50:00.001-04:00

$15 for $30 worth of organic, raw, soy-free, GF, dairy-free, and nut-free foods. Over forty foods to choose from. Go here for the full details on the deal.

The fine print:

Must redeem online. Expires on 1/31/12
Extra fee for shipping ($4.95)

Free Lettuce Wraps at P.F.Chang's

2011-07-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

Have you tried them yet? Oh so good and FREE.

Go to the P.F. Chang's facebook fan page and like them. Click on the sidebar that says Free Lettuce Wraps. Enter your email address and name and print out the certificate for your free lettuce wraps. Enjoy!!

While your at Facebook like my fan pages. Living Life Without.

Follow me on Twitter (I only need 9 more people to make it to 1000 followers!)

DC Gluten Free Expo

2011-07-13T13:16:00.003-04:00

Who went? Anyone go? I wasn't able to go, I was recovering from surgery. See my pictures about that here.

I did give my ticket to a nice woman in the DC Celiac Group but no one has posted yet about what happened or how the expo was..so I found an article here that was pretty interesting. Anyone go? Anything new going on? I'd love to hear all about it.

Gluten Free Deals!

2011-07-11T18:45:00.001-04:00

Simpler Squares Sample Pack with Free Shipping. Pay $7 dollars for a sampler pack of 3 Nut and Honey Confections: Coconut, Rosemary, Sage. All with Free shipping and five dollar coupon included!

The fine print: Online redeem online, offer expires 12/31/11

Go here to buy your sample pack today.

Pan fried Swai Fish Fillets

2011-06-23T17:04:00.000-04:00

I wasn't planning on making fish today, but walking past the fish counter at the grocery store today my oldest son said, let's get fish! I saw a sign for Swai $3.27 a lb. I said sure...Three fillets please.

My total was $3.18. Not a bad deal for dinner. Since I've never heard of Swai before I asked the fish guy is it like Tilipia or Cod? He said I guess...I've never had it. An adventure I like it. Looking on the internet for recipes with Swai left much to be desired so here's my gluten free, dairy free version.

Pan Fried Swai Fish Fillets

1 lb of Swai patted dry
1 cup of gluten free corn flakes
3 Glutino vegetable flavored crackers crumbed up
2 eggs
1 tsp of water Salt and Pepper to taste.

I used the food processor to grind up the corn flakes and then added the Glutino Crackers. I keep these in the house and enjoy them with tuna, egg or chicken salad. They have a nice flavor and give a good taste to the bread crumbs. I mix up the egg and place the eggs in one pie dish and the bread crumbs in another (once they are in a nice consistency. This might take a while as the Glutino crackers take a while to crunch up into a nice fine bread crumb. Add some salt and pepper to the bread crumbs after you put them in the pie plate.

Add about tsp or two of water to the eggs...they just need a little extra liquid to adhere to the fish. Melt about a tbsp of Smart Balance (or some other dairy free buttery spread) in a large frying pan. Dip the fish in the egg then the bread crumbs and right into the hot pan with the melted butter. This will get mess so try to only use on hand for the dipping. Once you have all the fillets in your pan let them cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes. It will only take 8-10 minutes to cook the fish.

My bread crumbs did not adhere as much as I would have liked but I ended up with enough on the fish for them to taste delicious. I served mine with petite medley potatoes and corn on the cob. My kids LOVED this meal. Healthy, gluten free, dairy free, and kid approved. We'll have Swai again some time soon.

Granita

2011-06-14T19:51:00.000-04:00

Recently we were invited over to a friends house to have dinner. Since we all have several allergies (corn, peanut, tree nuts, dairy and wheat!) things get a nutty. Luckily I had some frozen fruit and a big watermelon in the fridge when my friend asked me to bring dessert. I made watermelon granita, peach granita and cherry granita. They were all yummy and I even enjoyed the watermelon and peach together. Super sweet but tasted like summer to me. They are super easy to make especially if you have frozen fruit that your not sure why or what you were buying it for.

Watermelon granita:

A large (heavy for it's size) seedless watermelon cut into chucks
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of lemon juice (fresh or bottled)

Take the cut up chunks of watermelon and place in a food processor. Liquify the mixture and add the lemon juice and sugar. Taste. Place in a swallow baking dish. ( I used a 9x13 dish) Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Scrap down the sizes after 30 minutes and continue to freeze. Scrap down the sizes every 30 minutes for 4 hours or so. Once it's the slushy consistency you want, place in an air tight container and back into the freezer (or enjoy!)

My kids loved these and thought they were thicker Slurpees. Easy to do and a great way to sneak in a little fruit to picky eaters.

For the peach granita I did the exact same recipe as above but let the frozen peaches thaw for a half hour before I placed them in a food processor. This was yummy and used a little less sugar. Go easy on the sugar when you know the fruit is sweet.

For the cherry granita I used a whole bag of frozen pitted cherries. I cooked these down in a 1/4 cup of sugar and about 1/4 cup of water. Added the lemon juice and then pureed them in a food processor. Adding the granita to a 9x9 square baking dish. These cook down a LOT so we didn't end up bringing them to dinner with us but they were sweet and delicious after they froze up a bit.

Two great deals this week!

2011-06-14T19:05:00.000-04:00

Over at Gluten Free deals we have $10.00 for laminated dining cards in 10 languages! I have cards like these and love them. The lamination helps you find them and you don't have to worry about them being crumbled up in your purse. Great deal at 10 dollars for 10 cards!

The fine print: only redeemable online, Does not include shipping costs and deal expires on 6/20/2012

Over at Capitol Deals today there is a Jules Gluten Free deal. $29 dollars for a new customer pack which includes:

-1.1 lb all-purpose flour: Enough to prove it works in a couple favorite recipes
-Cookie mix: Makes 60 palm-sized cookies
-Grahams mix: Perfect for snacks, pie crusts, s’mores and, well, more!
-Bread mix: The bellwether in gluten-free; this bread rocks!
-Gluten Free Oats: Healthy, versatile… back on the menu!
-Cookie Mix e-book: 12 tested recipes you can make with Jules Gluten Free Cookie Mix
-Nearly Normal cooking e-book: Over 150 family favorites
-Bread baking e-book: Tips, techniques and recipes for bread everyone will love

The fine print:

Deal expires on 12/14/11

Valid towards New Customer Pack only

Price does not include 12 dollar flat rate shipping costs

Must order online.

No refunds, all sales are final.

The Capitol Deal is only good for 3 days. So go get yours now.

DC Gluten Free Vendor Expo

2011-06-07T08:01:00.000-04:00

I just bought my ticket for the DC Gluten free Vendor Expo at Embassy Suites at the Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. I can't wait! Go buy tickets here. I can't wait to try all the sweet treats.

Gluten free deals!

2011-05-30T08:41:00.000-04:00

This week's gluten free deal is Pay $12 for a sampler pack of 6 flavors of amaZing gluten-free bars - shipping included! (70% off the cost of the bars!)

This deal includes one bar of each Zing flavor: all gluten free, all taste amaZing:
Almond Blueberry
Chocolate Coconut
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Cashew Cranberry Orange (also dairy free)
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (also dairy free)

The fine print:
Online orders only, offer expires on December 4, 2011. All offers will be shipping UPS Ground.

Amazon deal!

2011-05-24T08:05:00.000-04:00

Amazon is celebrating Celiac Awareness month by offering 30% off of gluten free products. Go here to see what they are offering!

Gluten free deals!

2011-05-23T20:21:00.000-04:00

This week deal is a great one! Pay $10 for $20 worth of gluten-free banana bread, pumpkin muffins, brownies, and more from Main Line Baking Co.

From the website:

Happy customers agree that their products taste as good, if not better, than products made using traditional ingredients like wheat flour and butter. Main Line Baking Co. is certified kosher and parve, and is a dedicated gluten-free, dairy-free (casein-free) and peanut-free establishment.

Yum! The fine print: Voucher not valid for shipping and taxes, One voucher per customer and Voucher expires on August 31, 2011, Voucher only accepted on online orders only. No in-store vouchers can be used.

Boy dies after an allergic reaction

2011-04-19T08:23:00.000-04:00

A 17 year old boy in Liverpool goes out to dinner at a place he's eaten at before eating the same meal he's eaten before and has a severe allergic reaction to his meal and dies. This is a real eye opener for those of us with food allergies. Restaurants will change the recipes from time to time, food handlers will not change their gloves or even wash their hands between preparing meals.

Each and every time we eat out or have someone else make our meal we have to be diligent about asking the questions again and again. Does this have my known allergy in it? Do you change gloves when preparing my meal? Do you change utensils when scooping out my portion?

My heart goes out to the family in Liverpool. I hope the restaurant can educate the food handlers at their stations to make sure this never happens again.

New Gluten Free deal!

2011-04-18T08:26:00.000-04:00

This week's deal is edible cupcake toppers for cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies from Cake Sugar Designs. Pay 10 dollars for 20 dollars worth of Edible toppers. What a great and fun way to celebrate.

The fine print:

Minimum purchase is 20 dollars. Value expires April 31, 2012 (1 year from purchase) Limit one voucher per website transaction. You may buy up to 2 vouchers (limit 2 vouchers per household)

1 in 133

2011-04-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

I stumbled upon this site through Facebook. What a great idea to raise awareness AND get the FDA to support Gluten Free food labeling!

In case you haven't heard, we're going to build the World's Tallest Gluten-Free Cake! That's right - May 4, 2011 in Washington, DC, we're building this massive edible structure to push the FDA to set a federal standard for "Gluten-Free" on food labels! It's about awareness, it's about food safety and it's about cake!
Please sign the petition & share with everyone you know - spread the word!

Go sign the petition, donate some funds, or show your support by clicking here.

Gluten Free deals ~ Week 4

2011-03-21T15:49:00.000-04:00

Dealcoop.com's fourth gluten free deal is for Liz Lovely cookies. Buy 30 dollars worth of cookies for 15 dollars. GREAT deal and oh so yummy. Liz Lovely cookies are vegan, organic and they make an entire collection Gluten free. What a great concept and a yummy cookie. So if your missing out on the girl scout cookies this year try some Liz Lovely cookies.

Here are the details:

The voucher can be used immediately.
Voucher can be applied to shipping.
Enter code on final checkout page as "pay with Gift Code" (not as a promo code on View Cart page)
Promotional value expires March 25, 2012 (one year).
Full voucher must be used at once.
Required to opt-in to the Liz Lovely fan club at checkout, but don't worry you can opt-out at any time.

Gluten free deals ~ Week 3

2011-03-14T16:08:00.000-04:00

Dealcoop.com has a great Gluten free deal this week with Custom Choice Cereals. For just ten dollars you get 20 dollars worth of Gluten Free Custom Choice Cereals.

Choose from 3 bases and add 11 ingredients to those bases, choices include dried fruits, seeds or nuts. They deliver your custom cereal right to your door.

The fine print:

Voucher is not valid until March 22, 2011.
Expires March 22, 2012 (1 year from purchase).
Voucher not valid for shipping costs.
Shipping is $4.80 for the first bag and only $1.00 for each additional bag.
Offer cannot be combined with other promotions.
Voucher will work like a gift card. You can use part now and part later.

Butternut Squash Risotto

2011-03-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

Friday night we had friends over whose husband was allergic to corn, their children were allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. So together we had gluten, dairy, corn, tree nuts, peanuts allergies. To top it off it was a Friday during Lent. So I wanted to go meatless. At first I thought Spaghetti. Easy peasy. Then I thought heck let's do risotto. It's creamy, yummy and easy. I saw some great butternut squash in the grocer's and picked up two. The hardest part about working with butternut is the slippery texture when your peeling it. Using a towel to hang on to it helps.

Butternut Squash Risotto

2 tbsp of olive oil
2 small butternut squash peeled and cut into pieces
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup arborio rice
4 - 5 cups of vegetable broth

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add squash cook for 3 minutes stirring frequently. Add onion cook for 3-4 minutes or until squash is almost tender. Stir in paprika, salt, thyme and pepper. Add rice; stir to coat with oil.

Add 1/2 cup of broth cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in another 1/2 cup of broth when almost all the liquid is absorbed. Repeat with remaining broth until consistency is creamy and rice is tender. (total cooking time is 20-30 minutes)

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2011-03-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

As a child, Ash Wednesday always meant Tuna Noodle Casserole. Two cans of tuna, two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup, egg noodles and lots and lots of cheese. Delicious. Those days are long gone for me. But...this year I decided I was going to attempt to make it dairy and gluten free.

I used my favorite penne by bionaturae and cooked the pasta per the package instructions.

Then I added a can of tuna (I like the albacore type in water). Portobello Mushroom soup by Imagine, Daiya cheese and frozen peas.

I used about 8 ozs of the soup, a half cup of the cheese and about 1/4 cup of frozen peas. I mixed the noodles, soup, frozen peas and tuna in a shallow baking dish. I added some salt and pepper.

Put it all in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Then I added the half cup of Daiya Cheese. I put it back in the oven for another 6-8 minutes just until the cheese melted. A delicious comfort meal on Ash Wednesday, gluten, dairy and whey free. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Deals! ~ Week 2

2011-03-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

Dealcoop.com has just launched their second deal on Gluten free deals.

Pay $15 for $30 worth of any GoPicnic.com gluten-free products and other tasty treats!

The fine print on this deal:
Redeemable beginning March 15, 2011 - Expires July 14, 2011 (4 months from purchase).
Can be applied to gluten - free and non gluten -free products, including meals and care packages.
Offer not valid on prior purchase.
Ship any order for a flat rate of $9.95.