Gretchen Scalpi, RDN

The gluten free diet has become very popular for many people.  Trendy products in supermarkets, and gluten free menu items can now be found everywhere.  Anyone who wants to follow this lifestyle now has the ability to find more than enough choices. But for people who must follow a gluten free regime for life because of a medical condition, gluten avoidance goes beyond merely choosing foods known to be gluten free.  One needs to be extra vigilant about avoiding all sources of gluten.   Unfortunately, gluten may be lurking in places that one would never imagine. Even meticulous attention to the finer details of gluten avoidance may not prevent  incidental exposure to gluten from other places.

Here’s  my list of hidden gluten sources which can cross contaminate safe and otherwise gluten free foods :

1. The toaster:  If your toaster was previously used for toasting wheat products, this is a source of gluten contamination.  It is impossible to clean out the inside of a toaster adequately.  Purchase a separate toaster that is used solely for the purpose of toasting gluten free breads or muffins.  Alternatively, if you have a toaster oven with a removable tray that can be thoroughly cleaned, you may use that to toast the gluten free bread.

2.  Flour sifters:  The mesh screen found in flour sifters or mesh strainers are difficult to clean.  these items should be replaced.

3. Wooden cutting boards, spoons, spatulas:  Wood is porous and if used with wheat products previously, small particles of gluten remain in the wood, despite cleaning.

4.  Colanders are often used to drain pasta. The small holes in colanders are difficult to clean and get completely free of contamination.

5.  Peanut butter, jam, or mayonnaise are just a few examples of foods that are spread on bread.  Knives that come in contact with bread, then go back into a jar will contaminate the spread .  Purchase separate jars of each, then label “gluten free ” for the person who needs to avoid gluten.

If you have been maintaining the gluten free diet for a while, yet still experience symptoms, dig a little deeper to see whether you are exposed from a “hidden” source.  In addition to the suggestions I’ve listed here, don’t forget to check your medicine cabinet, vitamin, and mineral supplements as well!

Tags: cross contamination, gluten, gluten free, gluten free diet

The importance of adequate hydration is really emphasized during the summer months because of the noticeable, increased sweating we experience.  But what about the winter months?  It would seem that because we don’t seem to sweat as much in the colder weather, our fluid requirements would be less, right?  Well, it turns out that our fluid requirements are roughly the same no matter what the temperature is. Your body loses water in the same way all year round: through sweating, breathing, and urinating.

Have you been getting in enough fluids during these colder months?

The Dietary Reference Intakes: adequate intakes (AIs) for water are:

Adult males (>19 years): 3.7 L/day

Adult females (>19 years): 2.7 L/day

If this sounds like a lot, keep in mind that water comes from other beverages besides water and certain foods that have a high water content. Variables such as activity level, exercise, and medications can all affect individual requirements as well, so consider these estimates.

The bottom line is, you should pay attention to how much fluid you get each day, whether you feel thirsty or not. If you have never really thought about this before, you may have no idea just how much fluid you actually consume on an average day.

Tags: drinking water, hydration, liquids

The options you have with apples during this time of the year are endless! From sweet to sour to crunchy, there is a type of apple that is bound to fit anyone preference. They make the perfect snack or even dessert when baked with delicious seasonings. Part of their great nutritional profile includes dietary fiber and antioxidants such as vitamin C.

Pears, somewhat similar to apples in their nutritional profile, is another great seasonal food to integrate into your meals. Pears also contain fiber and vitamin C. To reap the full benefits of the antioxidants, be sure to eat both pears and apples with the skin still on. The skin is antioxidant rich and also contains much of the fiber.

Pumpkin, a winter squash, is a super food when it comes to the holiday season. Not are they only a cultural food, making Halloween spooky and fun, but their nutritional benefits are amazing. Pumpkin is high in fiber and vitamin A, and also contains various B vitamins, calcium and potassium. Pumpkin is a wonderful ingredient in desserts, most commonly pumpkin pie, but is also a great ingredient to include in other dishes such as chili’s, soups and even oatmeal. The possibilities really are endless!

There are many other kinds of winter squash to enjoy during this season as well. Winter squash differs from summer squash in that winter squash typically has a sweeter flavor and a savory texture. Two very common types are butternut and acorn. The beauty of winter squash is that once bought, they can keep for months in storage. This way you have the ability to enjoy them throughout the whole winter season. Just a few key nutritional points to emphasize are their omega-3 content and high vitamin A.

A great recipe to try that also incorporates some of these wonderful fall foods is Winter Squash & Apple Bake. Apples and a handful of cranberries are all it takes to make any variety of winter squash something special!

Written by guest blogger Jaclyn Forbes. Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She hopes to achieve her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and share her passion for nutrition with others.

Tags: apples, fall recipes, squash

I just got my flu shot a few days ago, and that reminded me to start speaking with my diabetic clients about how to manage sick days. Of course, I hope that no one gets the flu this year, but with the season upon us, it’s better to be safe and know what to do.

People with diabetes need to be especially careful during times of illness, even if the illness seems minor. The mere presence of the cold virus or the flu is cause for an elevation in blood sugar, making  it more difficult to keep blood sugar in range.  Elevated blood sugar can lead to diabetic keto-acidosis, especially in persons with type 1 diabetes or older individuals with type 2 diabetes. Any illness that causes fever or loss of fluids can cause dehydration pretty quickly. Besides getting a flu shot, what else does the person with diabetes need to know about taking care of themselves if they become ill?

Prepare for sick days in advance by working with your diabetes educator or doctor, and learn what to do to have a plan in place.  Your plan should include how often to measure your blood sugar, urine ketones, what to eat or drink,  and when to contact your diabetes team.

Here are some frequently asked questions and tips that  may help:

1. Should I stop my diabetes medications while I am sick?
   No. Unless otherwise instructed by your doctor or diabetes team, you will need to continue to take you diabetes medications:  insulin or oral medications. Because you blood sugar is higher, the insulin or oral medications are still necessary during this time to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis.
2. How much fluid should I consume when I am ill?
   The more the better! Increasing fluids is recommended when you are sick. Fever, diarrhea or vomiting can cause dehydration.  Drink at least 8 oz. of calorie-free fluids (preferably water) every hour while you are awake to stay hydrated.  The extra fluids will help get rid of the extra glucose or ketones in your blood, so drink fluids liberally!
3. My blood sugar is much higher than normal. What should I do?  Understand that an illness or infection increases your blood sugar.  Monitor your blood glucose more often throughout the day; you may need to check every 2-4 hours, especially if you blood glucose is greater than 240.  Check your urine for presence of ketones every 4 hours while your blood sugar is elevated.
4. If I can’t hold down solid foods, what should I do?
   This can be a very big problem during an illness, but it’s important to try and stick with your usual meal plan if possible. If you can’t tolerate solid foods, try getting your calories by eating lighter foods such as (non-diet) Jello, crackers, soups, puddings or applesauce.  Aim for at least 50 grams of carbohydrate every 3-4 hours.  Use foods such as regular soft drinks, juices, sherbet, frozen fruit bars, regular sports drinks such as Gatorade® or pudding to obtain the carbohydrates you need.  Continue to drink plenty of non-calorie fluids.
5. When should I call my doctor or diabetes team?
   • when you have been sick for more than a couple of days and aren’t getting any better
   • when you have been vomiting or had diarrhea for more than 6 hours
   • when your urine ketones show a moderate to large amount
   • when your blood sugar is more than 240, even if you have taken extra insulin as instructed by your doctor or diabetes team
   • when your blood sugar has been more than 240 (before meals) for more than 24 hours, even though you have taken your diabetes pills
   • when you are having symptoms that signal possible dehydration or ketoacidosis

   As with many aspects of managing diabetes, having a plan is in advance is vital. It prevents an illness from becoming a major problem.  Be prepared by knowing what to do, when to call your diabetes team and have the right things on hand so you can care for yourself and get well quickly!

Tags: diabetes, diabetic, ill, illness, sick days

When following a gluten-free diet, it can be very temping to fall into the “gluten-free” packaged food trap. Although there are healthy gluten-free products out there, the truth is that not all gluten-free products are created equal. The gluten-free label on foods doesn’t necessarily ensure that you are making a healthy choice. What is extremely important in the gluten-free diet, and any diet for that matter, is that you are fueling your body with healthy whole foods.

Even though buying packaged gluten-free food may be easy and convenient, it is important to know that there are many alternatives to these foods that are extremely healthy and also gluten-free!

Legumes are a great option, because they are naturally gluten-free and contain plentiful amounts of nutrients. The legume family is made up of peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. These edible plant seeds are naturally low in fat and high in protein. Another great benefit to including legumes into your diet is their high fiber content. Legumes are also typically a good source of calcium and iron as well.

Combining legumes with gluten-free whole grains such as millet, quinoa and buckwheat, provides your body with the full profile of essential amino acids (essential proteins) that humans need to consume through the diet. This combination of legumes and whole grains is an example of “complementary proteins”. Just another reason to incorporate legumes into your diet!

The versatility of legumes makes for endless cooking options! It is best to buy dried legumes and cook them yourself, although when in a pinch, canned legumes are also an alternative. When purchasing dried legumes, most require soaking before cooking. After soaking it is most common to prepare legumes over stove-top in a pot, but pressure-cooking is also an option, which additionally reduces cooking time. For stove-top cooking, fill pot with water (three to one ratio) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat once boiling to a simmer and cook for the duration of the required time.

Legumes are great ingredients for soups and stews.  Instead of feeling limited by following a gluten-free diet, remember that there really are many great alternatives to buying packaged gluten-free foods. Including healthy foods such as legumes into your gluten-free diet is a great way to stay healthy and reap some pretty impressive nutritional benefits! What kind of legume dishes will you try?

Written by guest blogger Jaclyn Forbes. Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She hopes to achieve her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and share her passion for nutrition with others.

Tags: beans, celiac disease, gluten free, legumes

Lately, I’m loving avocado oil!  It’s a cooking oil I discovered rather recently, and I now find myself using it almost as frequently as my old mainstay, olive oil.

Here’s some things that may make avocado oil worthy of your attention:

• Avocado oil boasts many of the same health promoting properties as olive oil. It is primarily composed of mono-saturated fatty acids (MUFAs), with a low percentage of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid.  We now know the mono-saturated fats are the type that we should incorporate into our diets more than saturated, trans, or even polyunsaturated fats.  Using MUFAs can provide you with certain health benefits like lowering your risk of heart disease.  Some research suggests that MUFAs may also benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control.  This is especially important if you have type 2 diabetes.
• One thing that sets avocado oil apart from many other oils is its much higher smoke point.  When oils are heated to high temperatures above their smoke point, many cooking oils start to break down and create free radicals.  Free radicals are damaging to body cell structure.  Many oils (including olive oil) have low smoke points, making them unsuitable for certain styles of cooking that require high temperatures.  Naturally refined avocado oil on the other hand, has a smoke point of 500°, so you can stir-fry, barbecue, broil or roast using a very healthy oil at high heat, without risk of oil breakdown.

Avocado oil is not just for cooking: you can use it in salad dressings,sauces and in baking for a mild, nutty flavor.

If you are already using olive oil for it’s health benefits and good taste, here’s another option to add to your cooking arsenal: Avocado Oil.   With cooking versatility, a healthy source of fat, antioxidants, and no cholesterol, what’s not to like?  To learn more about avocado oil and where you can purchase it, visit Chosen Foods, the largest producer of 100% naturally refined avocado oil.

Tags: cooking, healthy eating, nutritious, olive oil

This naturally gluten-free grain alternative is a great option for individuals following a gluten-free diet. The Aztecs were the first to domesticate and eat this small yellow grain, where it was used in many religious ceremonies and rituals. Although amaranth has had a very extensive history, it has only become popularized in North America in recent years. One of the many reasons for this rise in popularity is amaranth’s powerful nutritional benefits.

Incorporating amamranth into your diet is a great way to reap some pretty impressive nutritional benefits. It is much higher in protein than wheat, packing in roughly fifteen grams of protein per serving versus nine grams in wheat. Amaranth is also a great source of calcium and iron. In addition, the fiber content in amaranth is considerably higher than other gluten-free grain alternatives.

Cooking with Amaranth

Amaranth is a very absorbent grain, calling for three cups of water for every one cup of amaranth. To prepare, you simply boil  water, add amaranth and cook for roughly 25 minutes. After cooking, you can eat it as is, (which has a consistency like porridge), or you can drain and prepare like pilaf. It can even be popped like corn over a hot skillet. Try adding the cooked seeds to salads or even putting them into bread or pancake batters. Due to its high absorbency, amaranth flour can cause baked goods to be very dense and result in an inability to rise properly. To combat this,  combine different flours together with amaranth flour.

It is also important to note that amaranth seed should not to be consumed in its raw form, but always cooked before eating. A simple but delicious recipe to try is Cinnamon Amaranth Porridge found at the website Gaiam Life, which is a great place to learn healthy living tips! Give this recipe a try or spark your creativity and create your own!

Written by guest blogger Jaclyn Forbes. Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She hopes to achieve her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and share her passion for nutrition with others.

Tags: Amaranth, celiac disease, gluten free

PortionMate Measuring Tool

Are you someone who eats healthy foods, but you simply eat too much of it?  My recent blog post“Too Much of a Good Thing” talked about this very problem.  I meet people all of the time who are so careful about the foods they choose, but they still have problems controlling their weight or diabetes because their portions are simply too large.  Portion control is such a powerful strategy for weight or diabetes management, yet many people don’t take the time to figure out how much food is on their plate.

Here’s a new, easy tool to help you measure proper portions of meals or snacks.  Its design  is so streamlined and simple, yet it works incredibly well!
PortionMate™ allows you to quickly and easily measure out the perfect portion of just about any food you put on your plate.  The kit has 6 different colored and sized cylinders that correspond to specific groups of foods.  A handy calorie-count nutrition and meal planning guide with easy directions for using PortionMate™ comes with the kit.

Although it is not a diet plan, PortionMate™ follows the food portion recommendations of the American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The large green cylinder, for example, is used for measuring vegetables, while the smallest, purple cylinder is the perfect 1 oz. size for high calorie foods such as nuts or cheese.

Using PortionMate™ routinely can provide a visual guide of how much of a specific food to put on your plate each and every time.  Learning to visually size up portions is a very handy skill to have when you eat out.  We all know that the portions served in many restaurants are way too large.  When you know what a reasonable portion should look like, you can easily figure out how much of that restaurant food to take home in your doggie bag!

If you need to get a handle on your food portions, I think this is a great little tool to have.  It’s easy to use, easy to clean, and it helps you to re-learn appropriate food portions:   that’s a concept so many of us have lost site of!

To learn more about PortionMate™ visit their website at www.portionmate.com.

You can also purchase PortionMate™ at Amazon.com.

Tags: food portions, lose weight, weight loss

Lately, we have been writing about gluten free grain alternatives so that people who need to follow a gluten free diet know about the healthy options that are readily available.

Buckwheat Groats

Another great grain alternative is buckwheat, a fruit seed comparable to a sunflower seed, with a notably nutty taste. There is no gluten in buckwheat, which makes it a great option for individuals following a gluten-free diet. There are many different ways to cook with buckwheat and a lot of unique dishes that can be created. Learning how to cook with this grain alternative will be sure to broaden the different recipes you choose to try, especially when following a gluten-free diet can seem restricting.

Buckwheat Nutrition

Not only is buckwheat a great cooking ingredient; it also provides many nutritional benefits. An important part of a healthy diet is fiber, which buckwheat is considerably high in. It is also high in manganese, magnesium and copper, which all contribute to keeping your immune system healthy. A noteworthy benefit of its high magnesium content is that is can help lower blood pressure, helping to keep your cardiovascular system healthy. Additionally, when compared to grains, buckwheat is found to have much higher protein content. Buckwheat also contains the essential amino acid, lysine, which our bodies are unable to produce on their own.

Cooking Options for Buckwheat

Homemade Buckwheat Soba Noodles

There are many variations for the way that buckwheat can be prepared, purchased and used. You can have buckwheat in the form of noodles (popular in Japanese dishes), groats and flour. Using buckwheat groats, you can cook porridge with a consistency similar to rice. Buckwheat flour is a great way to cook many delicious foods where you would typically use grains. Breakfast foods such as pancakes and waffles taste especially great when using buckwheat in the place of conventional flour.

Written by guest blogger Jaclyn Forbes. Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She hopes to achieve her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and share her passion for nutrition with others.

Tags: buckwheet, celiac disease, gluten free diet

Adapting to a gluten-free diet can be challenge without knowing the healthy gluten-free grain alternatives. One great substitute for gluten-containing grains is quinoa. This ancient seed, pronounced “KEEN-wah” was first used in South America but is now becoming more popular due to its versatility and nutritional benefits.

Nutritional Benefits

Quinoa can be used in the same ways that the common grain is used, but has addition nutritional benefits. It is a source of complete protein, which means that it provides all of the nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own. Quinoa is also a good source of dietary fiber, B vitamins and is high in minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc. According to NutritionData, one cup of cooked quinoa provides 222 calories, 4 grams of healthy fat, 5 grams of dietary fiber and 8 grams of protein.

Cooking with Quinoa

Due to quinoa’s natural coating of saponin, which protects the seed from bugs and insects, you should always rinse before cooking. Cooking this seed is very simple and can be done in the same way that rice is cooked. Using 1 part grain and 2 parts liquid, you can cook quinoa on the stove until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Aside from simply cooking quinoa in the way that you would cook a grain, you can also grind the seed and use it as a flour substitute. The great part about quinoa is that it tastes great by itself but is also a great addition to many other dishes such as salads and even desserts.

Quinoa is a great option during the summer months due to its lightness and the ease it has on the digestive system.

Written by guest blogger Jaclyn Forbes. Currently working towards her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She hopes to achieve her goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and share her passion for nutrition with others.

Tags: quinoa