Recipes for those with a gluten intolerance

Image via WikipediaEllen Lund/Daily Bread | Posted: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 11:00 am 

Last week I promised you a column with recipes designed for gluten intolerant folks. I knew just where to find them - the Celiac Sprue Association headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

This organization's goal is to offer information to those who are living with gluten intolerance and offer them the opportunity to meet with others who are also living a gluten-free lifestyle. To that end, the organization publishes a newsletter entitled Lifeline. This publication offers extensive first person narrative about the effects of celiac disease and suggestions on how to live well with this challenging diagnosis.

Lifeline also features ads that show common products on our grocery shelves that are gluten free and therefore acceptable for a celiac patient's diet. In addition, the publication deals with legislative issues that benefit the celiac community and tax code changes that offer deductions for those who must follow a special diet and deal with the extra cost that the diet entails.

By reading this publication, I also learned that there is a gluten-free dining and travel club that allows those who must live a gluten-free lifestyle the joy of exploring this beautiful world we inhabit without worrying about the availability of food to support their nutritional needs.

This publication can be obtained by contacting the Celiac Sprue Association at P.O. Box 31700, Omaha, Nebraska or by telephone at (402) 558-0600 or by going on their website at www.csaceliacs.org. They will explain to you the many benefits of membership in the Celiac Sprue Association.

The following recipes are from Lifeline and are delicious additions to anyone's cooking repertoire. Since it is very likely that most of us know someone who is gluten-intolerant, these recipes allow you to serve healthful and delicious food safe for their consumption.

Quick and Fabulous Chickpea Soup

Melissa Belser

• 1 chicken breast, skinless, boneless
• 1 can (16-ounce) chickpeas, drained
• 1 can (10-ounces) Rotel tomatoes, original recipe
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 32 ounces gluten-free chicken stock

1. Sauté chicken on medium heat until just cooked. While chicken is cooking, peel, chop and assemble the remaining ingredients. Remove chicken from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into cubes and add back into the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan with the chicken. Cook on a medium or low heat for 30 minutes and serve. This recipe freezes well.

Coconut Banana Muffins

Mary Buchman

• 1/2 cup butter or palm shortening
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 and one-half teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter or palm shortening and eggs in a medium size bowl, add mashed bananas and set aside. Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry just until moistened. Spoon the resulting batter into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Easy Flourless Brownies

• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa
• 3 tablespoons regular cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend nuts until they have the appearance of sand granules. Add the rest of ingredients and blend for about minutes. Place brownie mixture in a greased 8-inch-by-8-inch pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

Copyright 2011 FremontTribune.com. All rights reserved.

Taken from FremontTribune.com; source article is below:
Recipes for those with a gluten intolerance

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Cancer cookbooks aim to help patients, caregivers bring joy back to eating

Cover via Amazon19-October-2011

By Maureen Linke, USA TODAY

When a friend is going through cancer treatment, we naturally want to help — and for many people, that means whipping up a casserole or some other comfort food.

But for those experiencing nausea, stomach upset or a metallic aftertaste from chemotherapy, some rich or heavy foods may be anything but comforting, say authors of cookbooks created with cancer patients in mind.

Good nutrition is especially important during cancer treatment because people who are nutritionally depleted don't tolerate treatment well, says Kris Ghosh, a gynecologic oncologist and co-author (with Linda Carson and Elyse Cohen) of Betty Crocker's Living With Cancer Cookbook: Pink Together Edition (Wiley Paperback, $19.99), out last month.

• PHOTOS: More recipes for cancer patients

Listening and simplicity are key when cooking for a cancer patient, Ghosh says. "First and foremost, find out what their cravings are," he says. "Tastes can change during treatment. You don't need to cook fancy for them to be happy; they need substance … something they can tolerate or digest."

Cookbooks such as Living With Cancer and theAmerican Cancer Society's What to Eat During Cancer Treatment: 100 Great-Tasting, Family-Friendly Recipes to Help You Cope ($19.95) aim to help patients and caregivers with symptom management. Both categorize recipes by common symptoms: nausea, diarrhea, constipation, mouth soreness and difficulty swallowing, altered sense of taste, unintentional weight loss.

Though it can be difficult for family and friends to discuss a loved one's diagnosis, patients don't want pity, Ghosh says: "These books can be a subtle and supportive way to start the conversation." Some insurers may even cover cookbooks' costs, he adds.

The recipes in these books are not difficult, the authors note: Each recipe in What to Eat takes only about 30 minutes, and Betty Crocker cookbooks are known for easy-to-prepare recipes.

Different stages of cancer treatment can affect taste or appetite in a variety of ways. Chemotherapy is the most significant because chemo drugs kill cells that divide rapidly, such as taste buds, causing patients to have to regrow new ones, Ghosh says. Regrowth doesn't begin until at least a month after all treatments are completed. During regrowth, everything tastes bland or patients have cravings they've never had before, he says.

Though nutritional value is a high priority, overall calorie intake can be the ultimate goal, especially for someone suffering from frequent nausea, says Colleen Doyle, a registered dietitian and editor of the American Cancer Society cookbook, published in 2009. "If nothing but ice cream sounds good, that's OK," she says.

Simple, non-spicy foods can be the most appealing during chemotherapy, says breast cancer survivor Jody Schoger of The Woodlands, Texas.

"I was always hungry for soup, but something that you may have enjoyed before may not appeal to you at all during chemo," says Schoger, who is now in remission and cooks for cancer patients in her community.

Foods can bring back memories of how life can be normal and positive again, and that mental aspect of treatment is just as important, Ghosh says.

"Here you are going through the most challenging part of your life, and your basic ability to eat has been taken away," he says. "People get depressed as they go through treatment, and a side effect of depression is lack of appetite. Bringing that joy back to eating is a really critical part of treatment."

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Taken from Your Life, USAToday.com; source article is below:
Cancer cookbooks aim to help patients, caregivers bring joy back to eating

 

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