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Celiac.com 09/16/2022 - What’s for dinner? Somewhere between soccer practice, business meetings, hobbies, dentist appointments and time for family and friends, that question is always in the background. People often ask me for quick dinner ideas. In the real world, not every meal––or even week of meals––can be gourmet. Hectic lifestyles warrant easy, affordable meals that are kid-friendly and satisfying for adults. Everyone’s lifestyles and dietary needs are a little different. Some of the quick meal ideas below start with seasoned or pre-made items. Many people may enjoy this technique while others would prefer to add all the seasonings themselves and start from scratch at each meal. Whatever your preference, you can add any of these ideas to your meal-making repertoire either as they are shown, or by making your own personal adjustments. Brand names given were gluten-free at the time of writing this article. However, it is always necessary to verify before enjoying. Order a Meal to Take Home When dining out at a restaurant, order an extra gluten-free dish to take home to enjoy the next evening. I frequently enjoy this option locally at P.F. Changs Thai Restaurant, Outback Steakhouse and Boston Market. Many of their dishes travel well and are equally as good on the second day. This second meal is not to be considered leftovers. Pitch the take-home box and serve it on dinner plates. Shop the Grocery Deli Pick up a gluten-free pre-made rotisserie chicken or two, a pre-washed bag of salad greens, bag of baking potatoes, shredded Mozzarella cheese and pears. Once home, add raisins, pine nuts and mandarin oranges to the salad. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top. Combine the Mandarin orange juice with mayonnaise for a tasty dressing. Bake the potato in the microwave until done. Add toppings of your choice. For dessert, wash and cut the pear in half. Remove the stem and seeds. Top with Mozzarella cheese and warm the pear in the microwave until the cheese melts. Use a Store Bought Dinner Mix Thai Kitchen and other brand names offer meal mixes that need very few additional ingredients for a complete meal. You can expand the number of servings for their Pad Thai seasoned noodle mix by adding more of your favorite vegetables to the dish, 1⁄2 teaspoon of their red curry and a can of low fat coconut milk. For a refreshing dessert, a simple scoop of gluten-free lemon sorbet is very satisfying. Enhance a Premade Item Amy’s Gluten-free frozen Cheese Pizza provides the base for a quick meal. Bake the pizza for 5 minutes as directed on the package. Top with stewed tomatoes or gluten-free pizza sauce, add gluten-free pepperoni, a layer of onions, chopped bell peppers, chicken from a can or left over rotisserie chicken from a previous meal and top with a layer of Mexican Cheese Mixture and Mozzarella. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Serve applesauce on the side. Of course leftover pizza makes great snacks and lunches. Have Fun with Finger Food Make a Tuna Spread with a can of drained gluten-free tuna or seasoned tuna from a pouch, a half-cup of gluten-free mayonnaise, and a dab of pickle relish, salt and pepper. Serve with crackers and cheese and sliced Boars Head or Hormel luncheon meats. Add a plate of cut vegetables (can be purchased precut from the store) and a tray of beautiful fruit. Gluten-free cottage cheese or a fruit yogurt are an easy dip. For an even hungrier crowd, make Chebe Bread Mix into Pigs in the Blanket with Hillshire Sausages and enjoy a fun finger food dinner with a movie. For dessert, serve apple slices with melted gluten-free chocolate. Prepare a Pasta Dish One of the fastest meals is a pasta dish. This recipe for Sarah’s Cheese Lasagna may be changed by using different types of pasta. Serve it in a stylish dish. Boil gluten-free lasagna noodles until tender then drain and rinse with warm water Slice mozzarella cheese into thick slices Open a jar of your favorite gluten-free spaghetti sauce Find a pretty baking dish that is suitable for the microwave Layer lasagna in the dish as follows: Sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella. Top with a layer of noodles and sauce. Cover entirely with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Microwave on high for 5-7 minutes until the cheese has melted. Vary the recipe by including walnuts and a can of spinach. Or while the noodles are boiling, you can fry a pound of ground turkey with a few diced vegetables and onions to add to the lasagna. This dish also makes great leftovers. Keep it Simple with Salad and Poached Fish Seafood Salad and Apple Rings for Dessert Open a package of pre-washed Spring Salad Mix. Add sliced almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds to the salad Pour 2 cups of gluten-free chicken broth in a fry pan and add 2 teaspoons of berry jelly to the broth. Turn on to medium heat and stir together. If desired, add strips of green, yellow and red pepper to the broth. Add your choice of cod, monkfish or tilapia fillets and simmer (poach) until the fish turns opaque and flakes, about 7 minutes. Remove from the broth, salt and pepper the fish and serve on top of the salad greens. Be careful of any bones. Top with a gluten-free dressing like Annie’s Naturals Low Fat Raspberry Vinaigrette or make your own Ginger Dressing by combining 1 1⁄2 Tablespoon of freshly chopped ginger, 3 Tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce, 3 Tablespoons of mirin, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar Dessert: Cut a tart apple horizontally into 1⁄2 inch rounds. Remove the core. Baste with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and then with cinnamon (or ginger). Top with chopped nuts if desired. Placed rings on a lined cookie sheet and broil until soft, about 8 minutes. Broiling is Fast Steak Rolls with Vegetables and Wild Rice. Pistachio Peaches for Dessert. Slice 1 pound of flank steak across the grain into 16 strips. They should be less than 1⁄2 inch thick. Pound each strip to 1/8 inch thick and season with salt and pepper Place slices of bell pepper and Portobello mushrooms (or any of your favorite vegetables––well, corn probably wouldn’t work) across the short end of a strip of pounded flank steak. Roll the steak around the vegetables and secure with a toothpick. Place on a lined baking pan in a single layer. Marinate for 10 minutes using your favorite gluten-free salsa, Lea & Perrins Steak Sauce or your favorite vinegar dressing. Or prepare a marinate of 6 Tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar, 6 Tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce, 4 teaspoons of brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon of toasted sesame oil. Broil steaks for 5 minutes 10 inches from the broiler. A grill would also work, but be careful of the toothpicks (if you soak the toothpicks prior to using, they will not burn). Serve steaks with gluten-free barbeque sauce or Lea & Perrins Steak Sauce and pre-prepared wild rice by Fall River. Simply open the package of rice and reheat. Add as many toasted pecans and sliced grapes as you desire. Or make the rice into small patties by combining 1 cup of the cooked rice with 1⁄4 cup chopped pecans, 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 eggs. Mix all ingredients together and fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side. For dessert, open a can of sliced peaches. Put in a medium size pot on the stove and add 1/3 cup of low fat cream cheese. Cook on low until the cream cheese has melted. Remove from the stove. Pour a package of Pistachio Instant Pudding (or your favorite complimentary pudding) into a clean bowl. Pour the peaches and cream mixture over the pudding. Mix well. Serve warm with a gluten-free cookie or on top of pound cake. Or serve cold by mixing in 1 cup of whipped cream.

Celiac.com 07/16/2021 - I’d like to serve a healthy, home-cooked dinner to my family, but it takes too much time. I frequently hear these words from harried cooks who are probably among the 75 percent of us who—at 4 PM on any given day—don’t know what they’re having for dinner that night, except that they want it to be quick and easy. A recent study by the NPD Group ( a market research organization) found that while the majority of Americans say they want to eat healthy—that is, more whole grains, fiber, calcium, and vitamin C and less fat, calories, cholesterol, and sugar—the driving force in their eating habits is convenience. Everyone loves a home-cooked dinner, yet few of us have time to prepare one from scratch. Over the years, I’ve discovered some principles that make food preparation quicker and easier. They’re in my latest cookbook, Gluten-Free Quick and Easy, (Avery/Penguin Group, August, 2007). Here are some excerpts from that book. Planned-Overs Save Time and Reduce Waste While some people turn their noses up at leftovers, smart cooks know that using them in new and different ways not only disguises them, it also saves time and reduces waste. In fact, these clever cooks intentionally create leftovers. However, we call them planned-overs to show that we have definite plans for how we intend to use them again. For example, if I roast a chicken, I automatically know that a couple of days later we’ll have chicken pot pie or some other kind of chicken casserole. The chicken bones immediately go into the stockpot to make chicken broth, which usually simmers during dinner. Later that evening, after the broth has simmered, it goes into the refrigerator to cool—right in the stockpot. The next day, I skim off any unwanted fat and freeze the broth in 2-cup containers. If I have any leftover broth after filling all of my containers, I whip up a quick chicken noodle soup. If there is any leftover chicken meat, it goes into a gluten-free tortilla wrap for a quick lunch. Nothing goes to waste. As you can see, that single roasted chicken determined several meals for later that week. Prepping Ingredients Ahead Sometimes it pays to prepare larger amounts of ingredients that you know you’ll use in the near future. For example, when I buy bacon, I fry the whole package until not quite done and freeze it in heavy-duty food-storage bags. Layered between two paper towels, a slice just takes a few seconds to become crispy in the microwave when I need it quickly for a recipe. Perhaps your recipe calls for a half cup of chopped onion. Why not chop the whole onion and store the remainder in the refrigerator or freezer in a food storage bag? Or, perhaps a recipe calls for a half pound of browned ground beef. Brown the whole pound and freeze the remainder. Need a quarter cup grated cheese? Grate a whole cup and store it for a future pizza (it will grate faster if it’s really cold or slightly frozen and the grater is coated with cooking spray). That way, it’s ready when you need it and you trim precious minutes off preparing a future meal. Suppose you have a recipe that calls for a pound of browned ground beef. Why not buy two pounds and cook both of them, freezing the extra pound for later use in pizza, sloppy Joes, or beef goulash—shaving precious time off food preparation on a busy weeknight. This “extra” technique works for side dishes, too—extra mashed potatoes top a shepherd’s pie later in the week and two cups of cooked rice becomes pork fried rice. Cooked vegetables show up in a couple of days as a hearty soup. Too many apples? Peel, then fry them in a pan with a little butter and cinnamon to cook up some chunky applesauce. Even the preparation of small, seemingly insignificant ingredients can reap time savings. Grate zest from lemons or oranges before you squeeze them—even if the recipe doesn’t call for zest—and freeze it in a container. Wash and dry an entire bag of lettuce, rather than just the amount you need today and store it in a plastic food storage bag in your vegetable crisper. Fewer, But More Flavorful, Ready-Made Ingredients We can reduce our time in the kitchen by using fewer, but more flavorful ingredients. For example, a splash of vinegar or lemon juice in a sauce can jazz up the flavor and reduce the need for more salt. Chicken broth is more flavorful than water; sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar is more flavorful than plain vinegar. Dried herbs are far more potent than fresh ones and don’t require washing and chopping. Since the Food Allergen and Consumer Protection Act of 2006, we can use more ready-made ingredients because the label will indicate whether they contain wheat. For example, I make a wonderfully easy black bean soup with 3 ingredients: canned black beans (rinsed and drained), chicken broth, and enough Mexican tomato salsa to bring the flavor to the desired intensity. Everything in Its Place for Efficient Organization You’ve probably heard chefs use the term “mise en place” (pronounced meez-ahn-plahs). This elegant French culinary term simply means “everything in its place,” or having all the ingredients ready on your work space (measured, chopped, etc.) so you can cook quickly and efficiently. It’s particularly important in baking, where precision and accuracy are critical. This concept of “everything in its place” can also apply to a tidy, organized work space as a major time-saver. A messy kitchen counter slows you down if you constantly have to push other items aside to make room to do your work. As you organize your kitchen, sort through appliances, utensils, bakeware, and cookware. Toss (or donate) anything that isn’t being used and organize the things you do use so that they’re easy to access. Use a Grocery List to Maximize Shopping Time Efficient cooks have a system to know what to buy and when, much like a company maintains its inventory. That’s where a grocery list comes in handy. To minimize your shopping time, you need a grocery list format that works for you and doesn’t make you run back and forth between aisles, wasting precious time. If you already have a master grocery list, great! If not, here’s how to make one. Lay out the list in the order in which you walk the aisles of your favorite grocery store, ending up at the checkout line. Organize it by what foods are in each aisle. If possible, assemble this master list on your computer so you can print a supply of forms. Carry this list with you at all times so you can add to it when necessary. Reap the Benefits of Saving Time in the Kitchen Getting a healthy, safe dinner on the table every night can seem daunting, especially when we’re pulled in so many different directions at that time of the day, but it can be a reality if you follow these quick and easy principles. At the least, they should help you get dinner on the table sooner, freeing up the rest of the evening for other chores such as helping the kids with homework, doing the laundry, or spending a few precious minutes with that special someone.

Celiac.com 02/04/2019 - With the rise in popularity of the gluten-free diet, and with more people being diagnosed with Celiac disease, more restaurants are offering gluten-free alternatives. While this is a great advancement, it’s important to note that not all gluten-free restaurant choices are created equal. Even if food is labelled “gluten-free,” the risk of cross-contamination could still be high, especially given the speed with which food is prepared. We see a lot of questions about gluten-free and gluten-safe fast food. One especially prominent question was “Is Burger King gluten-free?” The answer to that is that there is almost nothing gluten-free or gluten-safe at Burger King. There are far better options than Burger King in the otherwise bleak gluten-free landscape of American fast food. In fact, if you want reliable gluten-free and gluten-safe options, you’ll probably want to get beyond Burger King and McDonald’s. After a bit of research, these are the best, most reliable fast-food chains with gluten-free options we know about: Chipotle As long as you skip the four tortillas, Chipotle is a solid gluten-free choice. Chipotle’s burrito bowl allows you to choose from rice, meat, beans, and numerous gluten-free fixings. The tortilla chips salsa and guacamole are gluten-free. With numerous locations nationwide, Chipotle is a solid option for gluten-free diners looking for safe, reliable gluten-free fast food. Panera Bread You might not think it to look at the name, but Panera Bread offers a number of “gluten-friendly” options, mainly soups and salads, as long as you skip the croutons and the bread. Note that they changed their offerings from “gluten-free” to “gluten-friendly” due to the risk of cross-contamination, and their Web site indicates that their offering are not safe for celiacs. Panera’s gluten-friendly options include delicious options like the Greek Salad, Fuji Apple Salad, Modern Greek Salad with Quinoa, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken, Baked Potato Soup, Black Bean Soup, Greek Yogurt with Mixed Berries, and many of their steel cut oatmeal dishes. For desert, Panera offers gluten-friendly triple chocolate cookie with walnuts and a coconut macaroon. If you decide to eat there make sure you’re very clear while placing your order that you need your meal to be gluten-free. Wendy’s Wendy’s burgers are gluten-free when made without the bun, and you can also get several of their salads without the chicken or the croutons. Wendy’s famous chili and their baked potatoes and toppings are also a safe bet. The Frosty is gluten-free, too. Wendy’s has more and better gluten-free options than most major burger chains, and information about cross-contamination on their website shows that they understand gluten-free cooking. In’N’Out Burger In’N’Out is a family run California burger chain with a die-hard fan base. In’N’Out offers burgers, fries, shakes and drinks. That’s it. They make their fries fresh from scratch and will make any burger “Protein-style,” that’s lettuce-wrapped without a bun. As burger chains go, In’N’Out is a reliable stop for many gluten-free Californians. Basically, their buns are the only gluten in the joint. Their open kitchen allows you to watch as they prepare your order. Five Guys Like In’N’Out, Five Guys is likely a bit safer than other burger chains, simply because it uses very few products that contain gluten. There are no breaded items it Five Guys, and Five Guys’ burgers, fries, and hot dogs, and nearly all toppings, are gluten-free, just make sure you skip the bun, the malt vinegar, and the fry sauce. Five Guys milkshakes are gluten-free, too, just watch out for the Oreo cookie pieces, the malted milk, and cherry milkshake mix-ins. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen The only gluten-free options at Popeyes are side dishes. But, their gluten-free side options are not bad, and include their Cajun rice, red beans and rice, coleslaw, and corn on the cob. Subway Subway tested gluten-free buns and toyed with rolling out guaranteed gluten-free offerings, but then pulled back. Subway still offers gluten-free rolls at branches in Oregon and Washington state. Subway does offer salad version of many of their classic subs, like the spicy Italian Salad. Chili's Chili's isn’t a fast food chain, but a casual dining restaurant with popular take-out options. Chili’s does offer gluten-free patrons an allergen/vegetarian fact sheet and separate gluten-free menu. Chili's bone-in buffalo wings, bottomless tostada chips, and fresh guacamole are all gluten-free. Chili’s does warn diners that cross-contamination is possible, and advises that they consult a manager before ordering. Do you have a favorite gluten-free or gluten-safe fast food restaurant that we’ve missed? Share your thoughts below. Read more at Thrillist.com, and Thedailynutrition.com

Celiac.com 02/05/2018 - TIMP-GLIA, a new nanoparticle-based celiac disease treatment currently under development by Cour Pharmaceuticals, has received Fast Track Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Phase 1 studies to assess the safety and tolerability of TIMP-GLIA are currently underway in the United States. TIMP-GLIA works in part by encapsulating a component of wheat within a nanoparticle. The treatment has resulted in gluten tolerance in numerous animal models. By encasing components of gluten proteins in a nanoparticle, Cour is hoping that the gluten will remain unrecognized by the body's immune system, at least until immune tolerance can be generated through non-inflammatory antigen presentation. The FDA created the fast track process to speed development, review and commercialization of drugs that target serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. Fast Track Designation puts Cour in a "prime position to advance an innovative new approach for the treatment of Celiac Disease," said John J. Puisis, CEO of Cour Pharmaceuticals. Cour is investigating TIMP-GLIA as part of an effort to reprogram the body's immune system so patients develop a tolerance to gluten as a non-threatening substance and ultimately to reduce or reverse celiac disease without the need for immune suppressing drugs. Cour's approach is designed to work by encasing a component of wheat in a nanoparticle, and introducing that particle into a celiac disease patient. If it works as designed, the gluten will remain unrecognized by the body's immune system until tolerance can be achieved through non-inflammatory antigen presentation. The phase 1 clinical trial for TIMP-GLIA study is being conducted at centers in the United States. The objective of the study is to assess the safety and tolerability of TIMP-GLIA when administered intravenously (IV) as a single dose at ascending dose levels and as a repeat dose in subjects with celiac disease. All in all, this is another of many bold and encouraging efforts to treat or cure celiac disease that have arisen in the last few years. Look for news of success or failure over then next few years. Source: Pharmabiz.com

Celiac.com 09/26/2017 - If you've ever eaten any of the gluten-free foods made by Amy's, then you know their commitment to taste, quality, and solid gluten-free options. Bolstered by their success in the commercial grocery markets, Amy's is moving into fast food. Not just fast food, drive-through fast food. Amy's Drive Thru opened its first location in Rohnert Park, California back in 2015, where it was quickly embraced as a healthier, more ethical alternative to other fast food chains. Amy's Drive Thru is now set to open a second store in Corte Madera in 2018, followed by five more locations in northern California. All Amy's food is 100% vegetarian and organic, with a menu ranging from burgers and burritos to pizza and mac-n-cheese, and, of course, plenty of gluten-free and vegan options. Made from organic, locally sourced ingredients where possible, the recipes are often come from the family recipe books of Amy's own employees. For early birds, Amy's also offers a breakfast menu. So if you're find yourself in looking for quick, delicious gluten-free options in northern California, look for Amy's Drive Thru.