Archives for September 2013

Hitting The Road

Cargo OverloadI’ve just wrapped up a ten-day vacation in Eastern Washington.

The great thing about a road trip, in my humble opinion, is that you can take everything you need with you – without having to deal with limits on excess baggage, or airport security.

For anyone who is Celiac, or dealing with food allergies, that makes a road trip ideal.

Whatever you need, you can bring it along, relying on local grocery stores to stock up on fresh produce and whatever else you might need.

Of course, that also means you might not exactly be traveling light.

In fact, if you’re like me, the words “travel light” might not be in your DNA.

But that’s exactly what makes a road trip so ideal!

For this annual escape, we always stay at the same place – a comfortable time-share condo, that is ours for exactly one week.

When we arrive it is always sparkling clean, and tastefully furnished – and that includes a well-stocked kitchen.

Even though the condo comes with a fully equipped kitchen, in the last couple of years, I’ve started bringing more and more of my own equipment.

Perhaps you can relate.

The big concern here, is cross-contamination.

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5 Ways to Fine Tune Your Ingredients

Carrot SoupWhether or not you are new to the gluten-free lifestyle, it’s easy to fall prey to less than wise food choices.

Perhaps even more surprising, you can follow a gluten-free diet religiously and still be eating poorly.

How is that possible?

Well, just because your diet is gluten-free – or vegan, vegetarian or something else entirely – it doesn’t mean your diet is healthy.

After all, temptation is everywhere.

And regardless of which diet you follow, processed, sugary foods are often pervasive.

However, fear not.

Below are some easy tips that could easily get you back on the right track.

 

Embrace Whole Foods

There is joy to be found in eating low on the food chain.

That means embracing the foods that come directly from the earth, with little to no processing.

In fact, that is the very definition of a whole food.

The fewer ingredients, the better off you will be.

Plus, you can be sure that none of these products contain gluten or any other suspect ingredients.

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Are Your Kids Missing School?

Allergy ConceptNot too long ago, a friend of mine mentioned that her two-year old grandson had been extremely sick over the past few months.

The poor little guy had been in and out of our local Children’s Hospital, subjected to one test after another.

But there was still no clear diagnosis.

Eventually, his doctors began to suspect that the real culprit was the new carpet recently installed in the family’s home.

As shocking as this might seem, the truth is things like this happen all the time.

Here’s something else that might surprise you:

Asthma in children is on the rise, resulting in a lot of missed school days. (According to the latest statistics, more than 25 million people are affected!)

The culprit?

Once again, these statistics can be traced directly to toxins in the environment, in this case a group of chemicals commonly referred to as VOC’s.

That stands for Volatile Organic Compounds  – even the word volatile sounds scary, doesn’t it?

You know how, when food has gone bad, it typically has a rather awful smell?

Well, think of VOC’s as being the household equivalent to rotten food.

Just as you wouldn’t eat food that has obviously seen better days – you really don’t want to surround yourself with toxins that poison the air you breathe, do you?

(According to recent studies, indoor air pollution can actually be 50% worse than outdoor air).

That’s why paying attention to your child’s sleep environment is such a great place to start!

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A Simple Summer Tomato Salad

TomatolI was lucky enough to spend a few relaxing days at our cabin this past weekend, enjoying the gorgeous weather and some much-needed time away from our usual routine.

We read, took long walks, and played Sudoku – and also enjoyed plenty of delicious food.

For many of us, the holiday weekend marks the end of summer as we slowly segue into Fall.

But, according to my calendar, summer isn’t officially over for several weeks.

While fresh produce is still abundant at the Farmer’s Market, tomatoes are something I like to take full advantage of this time of year.

As it happened, I had a surplus of tomatoes on hand this past weekend.

I wasn’t sure what to do with them, but the rustic country setting inspired me to keep things simple.

And that’s when – seemingly out of nowhere – I was suddenly reminded of my mother’s Tomato Salad.

Not only did I grow up with this salad as a summertime staple, but it was also a personal favorite.

And yet – I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten it!

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