The Gluten Free Neighborhood
Where folks meet at the corner of good health and appetizing cuisine.
WELCOME
If you have found your way here you probably have some interest in Celiac Disease (CD), gluten intolerance, celiac sprue, and perhaps living a gluten free life. Or maybe it was an “accident.” Whatever the reason for showing up here, there are lots of resources, recipes and probably more questions than answers.
I believe that building a neighborhood takes a broad base of people. As more and more people are diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and as more research focuses on Celiac Disease, there will be as many, if not more, who will fall through the cracks as “just being gluten intolerant,” There is no “just” in being gluten intolerant. It will take all of us to build a strong community.
In the early ‘80s, I heard a presenter talk about AIDS. She said that AIDS would touch everyone in the room somehow. All of us, she predicted, would know someone who was either HIV+ or who had died of AIDS. For me and the people attending that presentation, her prediction came true. I expect that, in the next decade all of us will know someone who tests positive for Celiac Disease and many more will struggle with being gluten intolerant as all the resources are focused on Celiac Disease. Many of us will be touched by gluten intolerance, celiac disease, celiac sprue, cancer, diabetes, obesity, anemia, and other autoimmune disorders, as we strive to connect the dots in this major public health epidemic.
So, after several years of research in the current state of all things gluten free, I am becoming more and more convinced that there is more to the issue than just eating gluten free.
I have come to believe we do not know what is really in our food. Manufacturers are not required to put all “ingredients” on labels. Although some of that will change in 2009, I don’t think it will give us a total picture.
In addition to gluten (which is pretty much in everything), do we know what preservatives are in our food? This is the “if you can’t spell it, don’t eat it” idea.
- Do we know what “enrichers” are used in our food?
- Do we even know what an enricher is?
- Do we know how our food (gluten free or not) is kept on the shelf for so long?
- Do we understand what “processed food” means?
- And most importantly, do we know how these preservatives and other chemicals affect our intestinal well being?
- As a matter of fact, do we know what constitutes a healthy “gut”?
- And as long as we are asking, what is a pro-biotic anyway?
In educating myself, I find that there are many more questions right now than answers and they go way beyond being gluten free.
So, I look forward to sharing what I am learning, and hearing about what you think in the “Great Beyond” of the GFNeighborhood.
PLEASE NOTE: The information at the GF Neighborhood is not intended to replace or as a substitution for medical treatment or advice.
Thanks for stopping by
The Gluten Free Neighborhood was a project that I developed several years ago when being "gluten free" was just beginning...this time around. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 1946. It has been a wonderful and interesting journey. As you can see from the last...
Whose who at the GF Neighborhood
Kathy Dee Zasloff is the founder of The Gluten Free Neighborhood and author of the Beyond Gluten Free blog. Diagnosed with Celiac Disease as an infant, she has first hand experience with the effects of gluten on the human system through all stages of life. As medical...
Beyond Gluten Free
I Have a Dream After several years of research in the current state of all things gluten free, I am becoming more and more convinced that there is more to this issue than just eating gluten free. And so for the last several years I have been dreaming of what life...
Resources
Associations American Celiac Disease Alliance Celiac Disease Foundation Celiac Sprue Association Gluten Intolerance Group National Foundation for Celiac Awareness The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Blogroll Plugins Support Forum Themes Celiac Disease Centers...
Crepes Demo in Portland, OR
This Fall Kathy Dee will be demonstrating several easy gluten free crepe recipes. Where: Montavilla Farmer's Market When: October 17th, 2010 ~ 10:00am and check out Farmer's Feast blog with Chef Kathryn Yeomans to see what's cooking at the Farmer's...
Food Safety News publishes a Zasloff Opinion
On April 14th, Food Safety News published an article I wrote on Celiac Disease and Food Safety ... connecting the dots.... Have a look at the new on-line news source as well as my opinion. Thoughts and comments are welcome.
Gluten Free Cooking Meets Appetizing Cuisine; Love Affair Sparks
They all said they’d never get together. Gluten-free food would always be tasteless. Now Kathy Dee Zasloff, founder of The Gluten Free Neighborhood, is proving the naysayers wrong. While the critics eat humble pie, Kathy Dee and crew are cooking up a mouthwatering...
Classes Being Offered
When: August 27th, 2009, 6:30pm Where: Sur La Table, Portland OR What: Gluten Free Summer Dinner Registration Information: Sur La Table calendar When: Sept 29th, 2009 - 6 to 9pm Where: A-B Technical College, Asheville, NC What: Gluten Free Immersion: A Gluten Free...
Celiac Disease and Food Safety
….Connecting the Dots… Why is it important for people with Celiac Disease and/or other auto-immune diseases to be concerned about food safety and why would it be useful to go see Food, Inc.? Celiac Disease and Auto-immune Disorders Over the last 65 years, Celiac...
Dr. Alession Faisano’s article in Scientific American – Aug – ’09
The August issue of Scientific American has an article on Celiac Disease. It's worth getting the hard copy as it has wonderful illustrations. Also make sure you read the comments on the online version. I found them very interesting.
Happy Fathers Day
My Dad, Ira B. Zasloff, the Chef My Dad was the one who taught me to cook and also the parent who gave me my first cookbook: “The Settlement Cook Book.” It’s still a staple on my cookbook shelf. And, I think I really got to cook with my Dad because he enlisted me...
Gluten Free Cooking Classes Schedule
Welcome to our Spring - Summer class schedule We are proud to offer our gluten free cooking classes at A-B Tech again. To register you can go to the A-B Tech Link to registration I want to make special note of three events that we are offering. Two Gluten Free...
Cooking Gluten Free
A Gluten Free Tasting and Cooking Classes Jan & Feb, 2009 Asheville, NC We are proud to offer two ways to learn about gluten free cuisine. Through A-B Tech's continuing education program, the GF Neighborhood will offer two ways to experience cooking gluten free....
History of Celiac Disease
I have found this historical accounting of Celiac Disease to be very thought provoking. I believe that Coeliac is the British spelling for Celiac Disease. I can say that the diet referred to in this accounting as the "Hass diet" is what I lived on as a child. I ate...
Call for comments in the Federal Register
On August 8th, 2008 there was a call for comments for the new labeling law that is coming soon. To see the complete request please go to: The Federal Register If you think that your words don't count, think again. My experience is that when it comes to making sure...
More Dreams
Add these to my existing dreams: I have a dream that Weight Watchers will offer a gluten free alternative to their meals and recipes. I have a dream that everyone will understand how important it is to be gluten free. So that means that people who can't afford the...
I Have A Dream
Well actually I have a lot of dreams...and these are my dreams for getting us beyond gluten free.... I dream that: • People will talk about grains as what they are: abundant grains and not what they are not: gluten free • One day in the not too distant future I will...
Is There More Celiac Disease or Better Awareness?
In 2005 I was hunting for a recipe on the Today Show web site and saw a link to Celiac Disease (CD). As I was diagnosed as an infant with CD that caught my interest. Three years later with lots more links and experiences, there’s much more information for me and lots...