The Diet actually works!!!

Great news today.

I got some 6-month blood work back today & my iron levels (my worst side effect) are WAY UP!!

Here's my levels in the past:

Jun 21 '06, 12:08PM Iron 14 L 30-160 mcg/dl
Aug 16 '06, 18:33PM Iron 18 L 30-160 mcg/dl
Sep 18 '06, 18:15PM Iron 29 L 30-160 mcg/dl


So I was psyched today when I got this:

Mar 19 '07, 10:29AM Iron 201 H 30-160 mcg/dl

WOO HOO!!! 201!! I'm so pumped. My primary care doc said at my age I should be in the hundreds range - so that's good!

It's so great to know that the diet is working for me. What's funny is you'd think I'd be absolutely bursting with energy, but I basically feel the same... I think I was anemic for so long I just got used it -- down the road, I'm sure it would have been a major problem.

Anyway - happy day for me!

Wagamama Update

Great news on the Wagamama front. They are opening their first US location in Boston's Faneuil Hall on April 23, 2007!

I emailed with Barnaby Godden - their local head chef - and he wrote the following:

"... It's great to know that there is so much interest building in the opening of our first us site here in Boston.

I am currently working on our allergy table to accommodate as many dietary requirements as possible. When completed it would be great if you could give us feedback in case there are any areas that we may have overlooked...."


He also is sending along an invite to go to one of their dry-runs to try out their dinner & give feedback! I'm beyond excited!
I'll be sure to fill you all in, and I'll post his allergen table as soon as he emails it to me!


(ughh -- tried to upload a cute pic, but blogger wouldn't allow it... ps - I'm making the switch to wordpress very soon, I'll let you all know the new address)

Bisquick Blunder

My loving boyfriend decided to make me breakfast in bed this morning - we decided on pancakes and I mumbled something about the new Pamela's Pancake Mix that I just bought, and he was off to the kitchen.

He brought in my mini tower of pancakes and my first thought was that they weren't as good as the Kinnickinnick mix that we had just run out of. I then headed into the kitchen with my empty plate to see a box of BISQUICK on the counter!!!

Yup, you guessed it - my boyfriend poisoned me this morning - completely unintentionally though. I think he just had a brain fart or something - he assumes since I do most of the shopping around there that everything is GF. (I find people get confused, they ask about celiac - I say I can't have wheat, flower, etc. and someone inevitably says, "Wait, but you can eat pasta & cookies right?")

Anyway... It was such a shock that this happened! I haven't ingested that much gluten since before the diagnosis! And you know what? I barely had any reaction to it. I was waiting for it all day... I'm sure internally my intestines are being ravaged, and now I have to heal again.. but I can't help thinking - WHY couldn't i have accidentally eaten that mouth-watering slice of pepperoni pizza he had last night? Pancakes are such a waste on this accident. I actually much prefer the gluten free mixes - I think they're delicious & a little sweet.

So, it looks like i'll be asking questions about every meal he prepares for me from now on....

Gluten Free Cooking Spree - Coming to Boston?

I was bouncing around blogs, websites, forums and saw that the NFCA Gluten-Free Cooking Spree was happening in NYC, and that it is sold out!

Here is some info about the Gluten-Free Cooking Spree:

The Gluten-Free Cooking Spree is an event that joins together the medical and lifestyle aspects of celiac disease. The event began as a partnership between the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, the Drexel University School of Public Health and the Drexel University School of Hospitality Management in an effort to educate people about the wonderful world of gluten-free cooking.

NFCA paired culinary arts students with prominent physicians from nine hospitals in the Philadelphia area and taught them basic lessons about celiac disease and how to prepare gluten-free meals. After the training, the doctors partnered with students to compete in developing gluten-free recipes and preparing the delicious results. George Perrier of Le Bec-Fin and Christina Pirello, host of Christina Cooks, judged the food entries on taste and presentation. The winning team received a cooking lesson from George Perrier.

People who attended the event were able to watch the teams prepare their recipes and enjoyed a variety of gluten-free food and drinks from local vendors.

Here is the page online:
http://www.celiaccentral.org/Events/Gluten_Free_Cooking_Sprees/331/

Scrolling down to the bottom I see that there will be cooking sprees in Boston in 2007!

This event will also be taking place in Washington, Philly, Atlanta, San Fran & St. Louis.... I signed up at the bottom, it sounds like a great idea and a lot of fun.

I have no other information right now, but emailed to find out more - I'll let you know what I hear.

Bread Dilemma

I need to issue a few questions to breadmakers out there.

As you know I bought the Breadman Breadmaker last week and was very excited to use it this weekend. My bread mix I ordered had not yet arrived, so I went to the store and bought the Gluten Free Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread. The problem: this was a 2 lb mix, and the Breadman can only make 1.5 lb on gluten free setting.

SO - do I pick a different setting? How do I modify the 2lb recipe for a 1.5 lb?? It seems tricky, especially with the yeast.

Also, my Pamela's Mix that I ordered last week jsut got here today and sure enough, it's a 2 lb loaf recipe!

Any thoughts greatly appreciated... I'm a novice baker to be sure, and bread-making is a tricky business, I don't want to waste a lot of mix!

THANK YOU

Absentee Blogger

Hello everyone!

I've been a terrible blogger as of late - work has been SO NUTS, I haven't had a chance to do any updating at all.

Update: Thanks to reading Karina's website - I have purchased the Breadman Breadmaker! I got it yesterday, and I can't wait to try it out - let me know if you have any recipes, tips, etc on using this machine. I also purchased some Pamela's Bread Mix and Gluten Free Pantry mix - those have not yet arrived....

Also - I would love to re-design the look of this site. Blogger is very limited in its options, and it's difficult to add my own look to it. As a designer, I have a million other ideas of how to make this site look better - but no way to do it in Blogger (that I'm aware of) - again, I'm asking your advice, any thoughts? This current look is through a third-party site, but I want to make it my own. Help?

Hope everyone doing great... I'll post again soon.. Sunday I'm having an Oscars party with lots of gluten free goodies - I'll give you an update.

Banana Nut Muffins

I was recently browsing the forums at GlutenFreeForums.com the other day, and saw a thread on banana bread. I immediately had a craving for it, and reading through the recipes, Amy gave one for Banana Muffins. The recipe she gave was not just gluten free, but lactose free & vegan (I think, no eggs).

I made a few modifications, added nuts, used real milk & eggs - so I'm not sure if I got the measurements exactly right - I'm sure some of you more experienced bakers out there would know - I'm more of a beginner with baking, I'm usually cooking something salty.

So in case you're interested, here's the recipe I used:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup crisco
2 eggs
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup of milk - a little more was added when it was too doughy
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (I used Tom Sawyers, see link below)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Crushed walnuts - or any nut of your choice, about a cup

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl sift together all dry ingredients and set aside. In a small bowl mash the banana. In a large bowl cream together crisco and sugar. Add eggs, mashed banana, milk & vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well (this was where I realized i needed more milk!) Spoon into muffin tins, I used individual wrappers for minimul clean-up.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. About 5-8 minutes before they're done, sprinkle walnuts on top of muffins. OR mix them right into the batter, I think I'll try that next time, because the walnuts taste really delicious with this. Remove from oven. Let cool on rack. They tasted great out of the oven, cut in half, with a little bit of low-fat butter, and for the next day & day after that, microwave, bit-o-butter & ENJOY!

Tom Sawyer's Gluten Free Flour