VioletBlue

Congratulations! That is terrific! The world always needs more educated people.

I don't see where anyone has ripped anyone apart? What did I miss? Betty Crocker is a corporate entity who certainly has the right to do what they want with their products. But at the same time I have a right to note that what they're doing is stupid and tell them so. By adding soy to a product intended for Celiacs they've just eliminated part of their potential Celiac buyer base. Why would they do what they did? No one wants to sell to FEWER people. Don't they want to sell the cake mix to as many people as possible? Perhaps they don't realize what they've done and they need to be educated. Or perhaps they simply don't care because their plan all along was to cater to the casual gluten free diner who does not have to avoid gluten but chooses to and they never really gave a fig about us to begin with. I don't know, but I do know I have a right to voice my opinion and will continue to do so. If you say nothing, do nothing, then nothing can ever change. I'd rather speak up in the hopes of changing their point of view. If soy in gluten free food is not an issue for you than congratulations, seriously. You are luckier than you know.

Oh my, I never stopped to think others started having it so young too. It started in my teens for me too. I never knew why or even what it was at first. It is almost completely gone if I am 100% gluten free. I rarely get episodes anymore unless I get accidentally glutened. Wow, coincidence or not I wonder.

This was the email response I recieved from Betty Crocker. "Thank you for contacting General Mills. Your comments are important to us. We are committed to making a difference in the lives of our consumers. Feedback such as yours is important to the nature of our business. If you would like an adjustment for your purchase, please provide us with your mailing address. We appreciate your loyalty and the time you took to contact us. Please be assured that we will share your thoughts with the appropriate individuals."

The issue is obviously not yours, congratulations. For those of us, and there are quite a few here, with multiple allergies and intolerances it is a problem. Soy is one of the seven top allergens and many people, not just Celiacs are allergic to it. It is unfortunate that a company like Betty Crocker, in trying to service the Gluten Free community has gone about it with about the same level of sensitivity as you seem to posses. I had hoped for more from Betty Crocker.

That's the real frustrating thing for me, Betty Crocker is it in this town. The organic store went out of business back in February so the nearest brick and mortar with gluten-free mixes is now an hour away down a mountain road. That's why a mainstream product that was gluten-free was so wonderful to me; no more mail order in bulk off the net. Now it's back to 6 boxes at a time. Double grrrrr. And yes, I sent them a lovely little email yesterday too. I can't wait to hear how they rationalize the ingredient change.

You mentioned a prescription. Some prescription drugs and over the counter products can contain gluten. That's another thing to consider and check out, like you needed one more thing. This whole gluten free thing has a learning curve to it. You won't know everything in the beginning and you will figure it out as you go along and get better at it so cut yourself some slack on the bad days and rejoice in the good days.

I only eat Mission tortila chips. They are the only brand that is not only gluten free but also sunflower free. Actually it's the only chip in the whole freaking chip aisle I can eat because of the sunflower thing. I also like that they have a very short, very simple ingredient list and I can pronounce everything on it. I have never had a problem with their chips or their corn tortilas. You have to be careful with Frito products as some people react to CC in them. I can't touch them myself.

So now there's soy flour in the Betty Crocker cake mixes? I know they weren't using soy flour when they first put them out, I would have seen it in the ingredient list and said no way. I saw the may contain trace mention but after trying one and not being bothered I moved on. But like a fool I stopped reading the ingredient list on their cake mixes because I knew they were gluten free. So when did they slip the soy flour in there and WHY? It also explains why I can't handle the Bisquick either, the slop over on the production lines is probably pretty intense, and with the protein content in soy flour there's no way I could not react. Thanks for nothing Betty Crocker. Really, nothing.

Is this the first time this has happened? Seriously? Cause I had meltdowns on a fairly regular basis for the first six months or so It is going to happen. Things will take you by surprise. The supermarket was out of Diet Coke at one point and I started to cry in the aisle becuase I couldn't remember what else I could drink and I really wanted a Coke. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it does get better and the crying eventually stops. You will get through it, but you have to go through it.

Actually, if that theory WERE correct, which I don't believe it is, I would think you'd be having a bigger problem with milk from grass fed cows rather than cows feed the generic feed lot mix of corn soy and whoknowswhat. Rye grass is common in most pastures as are certain strains of wheat grass. If the milk could be contaiminated by what the cows eat, you wouldn't want a grass fed cow giving you milk.

My friend doesn't even bother with the "just a little" thing. She knows what gluten does to her but she eats it when she wants to anyway. She says "I just have to deal with the aftermath is all." She's stressed by her life so I get that she'd rather be able to stop and pick up a regular old pizza on the way home. But it makes it hard for some of our mutual friends to get why I am so careful with my diet. I wind up feeling like the idiot and the bad guy because I won't just "deal with it".

I stopped gaining weight when I went gluten-free. For me that was a big deal as I'd been steadily gaining weight for a couple years and nothing seems to change that. So to not gain anymore was great. I started actually loosing weight once I went soy free, but that's a whole nother story.

I LOVE Tinkyada's Spinach and Brown Rice Spaghetti. I buy it by the dozen off a well known website. It's heavenly with tomato sauce and it reheats well. You do have to test it periodically to find the right point to stop cooking, but that should be true with any pasta. I have always liked Thai Kitchen's rice noddles too when I can find them.

You know, these days my motto is "If I'm not allergic to or intolerant of it, I can and will eat it." So pass the spiders. They gotta be a good source of protein.