Oh Canada!

[theceliachusband]

Being new to this forum, what jumped out at me first is, how active the folks from down under are in this forum. Very impressive. Not that I would like to be called a copy cat or ME TOO man, but I think in the Gluten free world Canada has so much to offer. Kinnikinnick, Glutino, Rizopia to just name a few of the best.

My wife and daughter are both Celiacs and we just moved back to Canada. One of the best places on earth.

Let's see how many Canadians are in here and can get active. Let's post things we don't have up here (Brown Cow Yoghurt the best of all, Cocoa Pebbles, the best rice based cereal), or things we found when travelling the world (Schaer products from Germany), or just plain simple exchange info.

Talk soon,

Peter

[Ursa Major]

Hi Peter! Well, we have El Peto products (located in Cambridge, Ontario) and Little Streams Bakery (Perth, Ontario). El Peto has just brought out a new bread, which is called 'Gourmet Bread' and it is delicious! It tastes just like light rye bread. Even my daughter, who hated all other gluten-free breads, will eat it.

[psawyer]

Hi, Peter, I am also Peter.

There are a number of Canadians who are regulars here, including two moderators (I am one of them).

In Canada, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is not gluten-free. It is in the US.

Rice Chex are now gluten-free, but they have not been sold in Canada for many years.

Welcome aboard.

[theceliachusband]

Hi Peter,

glad to hear that are some Canadians in here. I am actually Austrian. Married to a Canadian.

So let's see what comes of it in here.

I believe that gluten free foods will become not only better, but also more widely available, as more companies become aware of the loyalty that Celiacs display.

[solittletime]

Checking in from Mississauga... just learning this stuff but I'm so glad for Highland Farms and their huge selection of gluten free products, especially fresh bread - Sterk's Bakery (gluten-free Italian Hi-Fibre bread) from Vineland, Ontario.

[Chicklet]

Hello, I'm just outside of Edmonton and have been to Kinnickinick a number of times. Great stuff.

Cattle Boyz BBQ sauce is gluten free and made in Calgary. Yum. Open Original Shared Link

[Chicklet]

Cool, I liked your blog.

[elye]

Hi, Peter!

I'm in Ottawa. I used to order my Kinnikinnick products form their website and have it delivered, but I've since found a health food store in town that carries almost everything in their frozen section....a great find!

The one chain that hasn't made it up here, and boy, do we need it, is Whole Foods. We went shopping in one while we were on holiday in NYC......what a terrific source for our food!

If you are ever in the nation's capital, you must have dinner at Bella Vista Restaurant. The most delicious gluten-free pizza and pasta dishes....and gluten-free beer!

[theceliachusband]

We used to live in the USA for a while and yes, Whole Foods is a tremendous place to shop. We miss it very much. Not close to you. but int eh same province they do have one.

Toronto is the only place where you will find a Whole Foods market.

H.Peter

Hi, Peter!

I'm in Ottawa. I used to order my Kinnikinnick products form their website and have it delivered, but I've since found a health food store in town that carries almost everything in their frozen section....a great find!

The one chain that hasn't made it up here, and boy, do we need it, is Whole Foods. We went shopping in one while we were on holiday in NYC......what a terrific source for our food!

If you are ever in the nation's capital, you must have dinner at Bella Vista Restaurant. The most delicious gluten-free pizza and pasta dishes....and gluten-free beer!

[theceliachusband]

I am glad you liked my scribbles. Any ideas how to make it better, just let me know

H.Peter

Cool, I liked your blog.

[theceliachusband]

Guten Tag,

I am from Austria originally, moved here in 1995. Love it in Canada. Stay in touch.

H.Peter

Hi Peter! Well, we have El Peto products (located in Cambridge, Ontario) and Little Streams Bakery (Perth, Ontario). El Peto has just brought out a new bread, which is called 'Gourmet Bread' and it is delicious! It tastes just like light rye bread. Even my daughter, who hated all other gluten-free breads, will eat it.

[Gerri]

Hi

Gerri, here from Kichener, Ontario not far from Cambridge, Ontario where the El Peto products are made.

Hugs

[hlmac]

Hi everyone

My name is Heather I am in Newfoundland Canada

I was diagnosed 4 years ago and at first it was really hard to find food but I am happy to say it is much easier now and in fact there is quiet a variety here now.

For anyone else from Newfoundland or traveling to....there is a great Bakery in St. John's called Manna Bakery you are required to call them a day ahead to place your order but they make gluten free bread, kaiser rolls, carrot muffins, partridge berry muffins, blueberry muffins and then best chocolate chip cookies I have ever found.

A number of restaurants have gluten free menus as well but the best I have found is The Old Mill Ruins in Campbellton NL the father of the owner is Celiac so they almost everything they have is gluten free and they are really careful with the products that are not. They even have a separate gluten free fryer for cooking french fries and things.

I'm so glad I finally found this forum it is great to have a place to ask questions and just read how other people are dealing with the disease.

Cheers

Heather

[Rondar2001]

Hi and welcome Calgary!! This is my home town too and there are alot of great options here.

There is a fully gluten free restaraunt on 17 Avenue SE called A Tasty Menu. I also do quite a bit of shopping at Superstore, Community Natural Foods, Lakeview Bakery, and the Purified Water Stores as they all carry quite a bit of pre packaged gluten free foods. A couple of these places even hold gluten free pancake breakfasts during stampede week.

Enjoy the site and welcome.

[NorthernElf]

I'm in British Columbia.

I too love some of the Kinnikinnick stuff. I buy their sunflower & flaxseed bread mix and make it, slice it, & freeze it. I also eat their english muffins and cinnamon buns. Ugh, didn't like the cinnamon buns the first time I tried them but they grew on me.

I also like Quejos out of Vancouver - they make a mannioc/cassava based "bun". I first tried them out of the freezer at Whole Foods in Vancouver. They have varieties from cheese to jalepeno. Unfortunately shipping to where I live is a tad pricey.

I LOVE Riceworks chips. Costco has a large bag of sweet chili flavor but Safeway carries several other flavors. I've taken to the plain ones for salsa after some hit & miss experiences with Tostitos.

I am also glad Walmart has that Great Value brand - some things I can find there that are gluten-free. Also - Classico & Healthy Choice pasta sauces, Cattle Boyz bbq sauce, Grimms sausages (many varieties) from Costco...sliced ham too. I buy a large bag of brown rice from Costco that say glute free as well.

I am SO happy that new labelling laws are coming in...

[theceliachusband]

Holidays are coming to an end....there are more posts again in some topics.

Not much new, I am off to Europe for a while, back to Calgary mid September.

[Mommy2Ellie]

Hello! Also from Canada here! A tiny town about 5 hours east of Vancouver, BC. I have a 16 month old daughter that has been "tentatively" diagnosed with celiacs. We're trying out the diet to see! We don't have a lot of the "big-name products", but we have a lady in town that makes all gluten-free frozen foods so we order a ton from her! Anything you can think of, muffins, lasagna, breads......all yummy. Oh, and we have some El Peso stuff at the health food store. Glad to see there are a bunch of Canadians here!

[Wonka]

Hello from a Vancouver Celiac. One of my 13 year old triplets is also in the process of getting her diagnosis (positive ttg and rising and has the DQ2 gene, biopsy scheduled for Dec 4). We have 2 rice bakeries here, Panne Rizo and Choices Rice Bakery. I tend to make all of my own baked goods though, as I also can't have soy, all legumes(including cashews - who knew it was a legume), nightshades(tomato, potato, peppers and eggplants), carregeenan(found in commercial icecreams, sour cream, cream cheese and most dairy alternatives) and I'm off dairy because I'm not sure about it at this point.

Lots of gluten-free food to be found here. I don't buy the Capers or Choices gluten free flours because they are bought in bulk and repackaged in a non designated facility (they just aren't safe for a Celiac person to consume). Best to ask your local grocery store to bring in flours from companies that have a designated facility (ie Bob's Red Mill).

If you live in the Lower Mainland or Kelowna, there is a Gluten Free Health Fair being put on by Choices Market. See flyer Open Original Shared Link

[theceliachusband]

Those Fairs look pretty interesting. I googled some of the exhibitors, very good stuff some of them have.

Hello from a Vancouver Celiac. One of my 13 year old triplets is also in the process of getting her diagnosis (positive ttg and rising and has the DQ2 gene, biopsy scheduled for Dec 4). We have 2 rice bakeries here, Panne Rizo and Choices Rice Bakery. I tend to make all of my own baked goods though, as I also can't have soy, all legumes(including cashews - who knew it was a legume), nightshades(tomato, potato, peppers and eggplants), carregeenan(found in commercial icecreams, sour cream, cream cheese and most dairy alternatives) and I'm off dairy because I'm not sure about it at this point.

Lots of gluten-free food to be found here. I don't buy the Capers or Choices gluten free flours because they are bought in bulk and repackaged in a non designated facility (they just aren't safe for a Celiac person to consume). Best to ask your local grocery store to bring in flours from companies that have a designated facility (ie Bob's Red Mill).

If you live in the Lower Mainland or Kelowna, there is a Gluten Free Health Fair being put on by Choices Market. See flyer Open Original Shared Link

[vcSmall]

Hi. I live in Calgary, AB. Born and raised! I'm new to all this celiac stuff. I just received the results of my biopsy yesterday. My symptoms are quite mild - just bloating after meals - no other discomfort.

Has anyone heard anything in the news in the last couple of days about the Canadian food labelling law? I read something in the Calgary Herald today indicating that the bill had been dropped. Not having reason to follow this until recently, I'm not familiar with what this is all about.

I have so many questions! What about oat flour as an ingredient in a cereal (Capt'n Crunch)? What about my face cream that contains some kind of barley extract and oat extract? If I apply it and wipe off my lips is that OK? What is the scoop on natural and artificial flavours? What about caramel colour or flavour? What about rye whiskey?

OK, that's enough questions for now. I'm not handling this well and want to try to figure this out.

Thanks for listening to me.

[Wonka]

Hi vcSmall,

Even though you have mild symptoms, you will still be creating damage if you do not adhere to a very strict gluten free diet (my symptoms were not severe until I went gluten free and now I react strongly to any exposure to gluten). Stay away from mainstream cereals, the oats can have cross contamination issues (they get processed, transported etc with/around other grains including wheat so you are taking a big risk consuming them). There are some other cereals that are specifically labelled gluten free and these are safer choices (most mainstream cereals also use barley malt, a big no no for us).

With natural and artificial flavours, they could be perfectly safe or not. You need to contact the manufacturers to ensure that no gluten or gluten derivitives are used in these flavourings. Same for caramel colour. Most alcohols are distilled and the distillation process renders them free of gluten (there are some that are still wary but many that drink the grain alcohols without incident, I'm a non drinker so I can't give you first hand experience on this). Most vinegars are safe with the exception of malt vinegar.

I haven't heard anything about the bill being dropped. That would be a huge step backwards. I googled and checked out the Canadian Food Inspection site but found nothing about this being dropped (or moved forward).

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by your diagnosis? It is overwhelming at first. I started out by making small baby steps. I was overwhelmed with tackling my kitchen so I did it in stages. I cleaned a cupboard a day and designated one counter and one cupboard gluten free (one of my daughters has just been diagnosed recently so we are probably going to go completely gluten free in our house. I have been very sick recently with other food intolerances and, what I think is crosscontamination issues causing me to have leaky gut issues).

I bought a new toaster. It is impossible to clean a toaster well enough to be safe for our use. I replaced any plastic/wood utensils that were scratched. I replaced my sieve and collandar (sp?) and cutting boards.

I buy squeeze bottle condoments, and some that I label as just for my consumption (so that the gluten eaters do not contaminate them).

Cooking gluten free has not been to much of an issue for me as I have always cooked from scratch. I have just switched some of the ingredients that I used to use ( ie. gluten free soy sauce instead of reg soy sauce which contains wheat).

You will need to become a strict label reader, every time you purchase something (manufacturers are often switching ingredients so

they can change).

You will make mistakes. Forgive yourself and move on. This is a process and it does take some time getting used to.

There are some really great gluten free blogs on the internet where people share there experiences and there food/recipe successes. Eating gluten free is very doable, there are good cookbooks out there to help you out. Many good recipes are found on this site as well.

Here are some of my favourite sites:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much information. You can email me anytime, through this site, I have lots of tried and true recipes that I have collected and I'd happily be moral support, through this early stage, for you.

Veronica (Wonka)

[Treen Bean]

Hi and welcome Calgary!! This is my home town too and there are alot of great options here.

There is a fully gluten free restaraunt on 17 Avenue SE called A Tasty Menu. I also do quite a bit of shopping at Superstore, Community Natural Foods, Lakeview Bakery, and the Purified Water Stores as they all carry quite a bit of pre packaged gluten free foods. A couple of these places even hold gluten free pancake breakfasts during stampede week.

Enjoy the site and welcome.

I'm not from Canada, but my husband and I drove through Calgary on our honeymoon. He did his research and surprised me by taking me to A Tasty Menu.... I cried! It was amazing! The cheese rolls were to die for. We bought extras to take home with us!

[theceliachusband]

Hi. I live in Calgary, AB. Born and raised! I'm new to all this celiac stuff. I just received the results of my biopsy yesterday. My symptoms are quite mild - just bloating after meals - no other discomfort.

Has anyone heard anything in the news in the last couple of days about the Canadian food labelling law? I read something in the Calgary Herald today indicating that the bill had been dropped. Not having reason to follow this until recently, I'm not familiar with what this is all about.

I have so many questions! What about oat flour as an ingredient in a cereal (Capt'n Crunch)? What about my face cream that contains some kind of barley extract and oat extract? If I apply it and wipe off my lips is that OK? What is the scoop on natural and artificial flavours? What about caramel colour or flavour? What about rye whiskey?

OK, that's enough questions for now. I'm not handling this well and want to try to figure this out.

Thanks for listening to me.

There is a couple of Canadian producers of "de glutened" oats.

www.Lame Advertisement.com is one of them.

As for bread and cakes, in Cochrane you can find gluten-free Patisserie.

Hope that helps

The Celiac Husband (GOOGLE)

[JJoan]

Hello,

I am also a Canadian, living in London, Ontario. I was just diagnosed about a month ago and am still adjusting to the changes. I had been lactose intolerant for about 7 years but it has miraculously gone away on the gluten-free diet. I am now hoping that other things change, like my osteopenia, migraines, and fatigue.

Finding appetizing alternatives to bread and cereal have been my biggest challenge besides having to give up some of the things I love. We do have a good health food store here but I have a feeling I'm going to have to start baking.

It's great meeting some fellow Canadians on this forum. I just discovered the site this morning and am delighted to find a resource for help and sharing.

Joan

[maile]

Another Canadian, from Vancouver. Nice to see there's a few of us here

I've been haunting the local Choices recently but found that Famous Foods on Kingsway has slightly better prices for most products plus they have a seriously WIDE range of flours!!!

I have positive dietary reaction but negative bloodwork, my GP wont go to a referral for the biopsy without the positive bloodwork problem is I had already reduced my gluten intake for about a week or so b4 the blood test (I told him, he said take it that day anyway) and had been relatively gluten lite, by accident really, for the past couple of years.

I'm going to go the Enterolab route at this point and then take the results to my GP to discuss...any other Canucks have a similar experience with their GP?