Did you see this recent article New Guide to Who Really Shouldn't Eat Gluten in the Wall Street Journal?

This isn't really news to those of us in Gluten-Free World, though. It's still exciting that we are getting closer to having clear classifications in the medical world.

We've come a looong way, Baby!

A big Thank You to the Wall Street Journal for helping with awareness!

I thought it would be fun to take a poll at this time. Why are you gluten-free? Thanks!

And the three winners of the Save Your Booty Pirate's Booty giveaway who will receive a whole case of gluten-free 4oz. Pirate's Booty Aged White Cheddar (12 bags) are.....

[Drumroll]

#2 Katie

#36 Jessica King

#5 Brendan

Thank you all so much for your great tips on navigating parties gluten-free!

And a big thank you to Pirate's Booty for sponsoring this giveaway! Arggh!

La Tartine Gourmande from Unusually Fine on Vimeo.

Beatrice Peltre's new gluten-free book is out! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes For An Inspired Life.

If you're not familiar with Beatrice's work, she's a regular contributor to The Boston Globe's food page, a food photographer and stylist, and a food blogger. Her blog La Tartine Gourmande features her beautiful gluten-free creations and ethereal photos.

The cool thing is she transitioned into gluten-free cooking so her blog doesn't scream "gluten-free", but greets you with more of a "Welcome to my Frenchie kitchen that just happens to be gluten-free."

My copy of this book is due to be delivered soon, but I'm preparing for my big trip to Israel next week, so I probably won't be able to make anything out of it for a few weeks. I wanted to let you know about this asap in case you were interested in going to any fun book signings that are going on.

Au revoir!

It's happened! There's a gluten-free bakery in Paris now! Oui oui!

Helmut Newcake
36, rue Bichat (10th)
Tél: 09 82 59 00 39
(Open Tue-Sat noon to 9pm, Sun 10am-6pm)

You can read all of the sweet details about the new Helmut Newcake gluten-free bakery over at the David Lebovitz blog. There are gorgeous photos too!

Francophiles rejoice! 

If anyone gets to check out the bakery in person, pleeeeease come back and tell us all about it in the comments! And if you can, find out if there is anything dairy- and/or corn-free. Merci!

And if you're planning a trip to the city of lights, check out these related blog posts on where and how to eat gluten-free there:

Gluten-Free Eating And Dining In Paris
Gluten-Free France Without Fear
Gluten-Free Travel: A Gluten-Free Guide To Paris

Bon Appetit!

*photo courtesy of David Lebovitz

I personally know how trying to eat gluten-free at a party sometimes feels as dangerous as walking the plank! (Be grateful I didn't write this whole thing in Pirate! Arrrg.)

EASE YER FEARS

1) Eat before you go. It will be easier to resist temptation.

2) Bring something gluten-free you will enjoy.

3) Remind yourself that any occasion isn't really about the food, it's about enjoying the company of others.

4) Turn a negative into a positive. Super Bowl is the largest day of food consumption in the US with an average of 5000 calories being consumed during the game! Since we have to be more mindful of what we eat, we are less likely to consume so many calories.

SAVE YOUR BOOTY WITH SOME PIRATE'S BOOTY

Pirate's Booty wants to help you to enjoy the game. Grab a bag of their Aged White Cheddar Booty before the game so you can enjoy yourself worry-free with a cold gluten-free beer. Pirate's Booty is baked, all-natural and trans-fat free too! Yo ho ho!

WIN A BOOTY PRIZE

Pirate's Booty wants to give away to 3 mateys a treasure chest of Booty! Each winner will receive one case of 4oz. Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar (12 bags) each!!!

GIVEAWAY DIRECTIONS
Enter your tips for eating gluten-free at a party below in the comments and next Thursday I'll pick 3 winners to receive one case of 4oz. Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar (12 bags)!

RULES
Entry must include an email address.
Prizes not claimed by February 16th, 2012 will be forfeited.
Entries must be made before midnight Wednesday, February 8th 2012 EST.

CAN YOU REALLY TRUST A PIRATE?
I asked the Pirate's Booty people why we can trust that their products are gluten-free. Here is a list of the precautions they take with the Booty making process:

*Thoroughly clean and sanitize all parts of processing and bagging equipment between each run, batch, or flavor.

*Schedule non-allergen runs prior to allergen runs.

*Verify cleaning techniques by testing the raw materials, processing equipment and finished products with a highly sensitive, validated ELISA test.

*Test finished products at random.

You can read more about the details here...

So, go on now and post a comment telling us your top gluten-free party tricks! Aarrgh.

*This post was sponsored by Pirate's Booty.

Yay! An excuse to post my latest video clip addiction!!!!!!

[gasping for air]

And the winner of The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook by Elisabeth Gordon is....

[opening white envelope in my clown suit while riding my unicycle]

Angela Sheffer!!!!!

Please email me your mailing address, Angela.

Let's all give her a loud round of...

"Bread Hurts My Head"

"Can't Eat Wheat!"

"Oi Not Soy!"

Kale Martini?!

Uhuh. That's what Dr. Oz serves at his cocktail parties.

I know, this one has to go under the recipe category of Try Because It Sounds So Weird. Then again, when you think about it, any martini is just an excuse to look cool while drinking hard alcohol, and this one looks like you're trying to be healthy at the same time. Ironic and I love it! 

So, c'mon just give this a try!

Their good! Trust me!  And all the vegetables cancel out the booze, right?

Kale Martini
This recipe was in the goodie bag from Dr. Oz's cocktail party. See details below.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups spinach
2 cups cucumber
1 head of celery*
1/2 inch or teaspoon ginger root
1 bunch parsley
2 apples
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2.5 oz. vodka
2 cups of kale

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a blender. This makes approximately 28-30 ounces, or 3-4 servings. As you can see in the photo above, it has little bits of veg in it. I couldn't see what blender they used, but I could see they strained out the juice. I'm thinking a Vitamix might be needed. If you try using a regular blender, please let us know if it works!

*A head of celery is the the complete group of celery stalks bundled together.

THE PARTY DETAILS

Dr. Oz

So, some of you know from Facebook buzz that I was invited last minute to a cocktail party hosted by Dr. Oz and Evamor water last Thursday. I'm still not really sure why I was invited, but I'm not complaining!

The party was held at Hearst Tower, the green architectural darling of NYC. The 44th floor had a glittery view of the city that distracted me while I scanned the room for familiar faces.

(Sorry the photos are kind of dark and lame. It's a challenge to take decent photos in a room with candle light, high ceilings and reflective glass window walls.)

I thought I might run into Dr. Green or Elisabeth Hasselbeck there, but I didn't see them. I thought there might be a chance because Elisabeth had just been on the Oz show that day discussing celiac disease and featuring her new book Deliciously G-free. That's really the only connection I could come up with as to why I was invited to this event. You know, the celiac disease connection on the PR people's radar.

(Did you see the show? Here are some clips. There are 4 parts. What did you think of it?)

I did see Matthew Modine, though. Evidently, Rocco DiSpirito was there too, but even Oz couldn't find him when asking for him from the stage. 

Evamor Alkaline Water

The event was celebrating Evamor water becoming a sponsor of Dr. Oz's non-profit named HealthCorps. Evamor water is naturally alkaline, unlike most bottled waters that are either pH neutral or even acidic. I've been meaning to discuss this whole alkaline thing and how it relates to diet and health here on the blog, but a more in depth discussion will have to take place another time in order to do it justice.

Dr. Jamie Koufman was there signing her book Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure. I checked it out and it isn't gluten-free, but I'm sure you could easily figure out gluten-free substitutions if you are searching for some help in regards to acid reflux.

 Moi, Melissa and Chenda. I'm standing like I had too many green martinis!

So, I worked the room all by myself (*sniff*) and eventually approached the lovely ladies above. They were so sweet! It turns out that Melissa Castellanos writes for CBS and Chenda Ngak is part of the tech support team. We got in line to have our photo taken with Dr. Oz against a publicity backdrop and just as we got to the front he decided to leave. Yeah. I know. AND it was the 2nd time I had been in line! So sad. The first time I got all the way to the front and they whisked him away to give his speech. *sigh*

Really, I'm just thrilled that I was invited!

I wish the best for Evamor water and HealthCorp!

Thank you for the invite, Dr. Oz! It was great party!

The Complete Allergy Free Comfort Foods Cookbook

Today I had gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, egg-free Twinkie lookalikes show up at my front door, courtesy of Elisabeth Gordon. The recipe for these little beauties is in her new book The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.

(Note: I recognize that health issues that respond to a gluten-free diet are not necessarily related to a gluten "allergy". However, many of us that are gluten-free due to celiac disease do have other food intolerances.)

Have you met Elizabeth Gordon yet? No? Let me introduce you.

I met Elizabeth a few years ago when she dropped off some of her Betsy & Claude brand gluten-free cookies at my office job in midtown Manhattan. (Sorry, I don't think I ever told you about them, but the packaging was totally eco-friendly adorable and the gingersnap cookies were to-die-for. These little babies were even featured on Rachel Ray as Snack Of The Day.)

Elizabeth gave up the hectic cookie company life in order to pursue writing allergy-friendly cookbooks. Her first book is titled Allergy-Free Desserts and now her latest creation is The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.

Here's the super hip book trailer.

I love her style. And how cute is her family?!

ENTER TO WIN
So, who wants to win a copy of the new handy gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free egg-free Complete Allergy Free Comfort Foods Cookbook?  Just post a comment below listing your food allergies to enter and I'll have Elizabeth pick a winner next Thursday, January 26th, 2012.

CORN FREE TOO?
If you are one of my fellow corn-free peeps, you can easily sub the xanthan gum for guar gum and baking powder for Hain Pure Foods brand gluten-free Featherweight Baking Powder. Most of the recipes will work for us.

Now go enter!

Do you know what probiotics are and when or why you would want to take them? I've been taking some daily after having to take some antibiotics for a nasty cold I couldn't kick in December.

I'd like to invite you to join me for:

How Well is Your Digestive System Working?

Probiotics and their role in GI health, specifically IBS, Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity will be discussed in this  FREE Live Teleseminar on Wednesday February 1, 8pm ET

World-renowned experts, gastroenterologist Dr. Daniel Leffler and registered
dietitian Shelley Case will host an informative discussion regarding probiotics and
their role in healthy digestion.

The probiotic diet, probiotic foods and supplements have surged in popularity over
the past few years. At the same time, so has an awareness of these GI conditions,
such as IBS and celiac disease, and a widespread interest in gluten-free living.

With all this has come much confusion. This teleseminar will help clarify any
confusion.

The event will include a Q&A session during which these two experts answer
your pre-submitted questions. So register and secure your spot now at
jamiesonprobioticsteleseminar.com

PRIZES!
10 registrants will receive a copy of Dr. Leffler's book, Real Life with Celiac Disease
Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free, and Shelley Case's book Gluten-Free Diet,
plus a 2-month supply of Jamieson Probiotics.

Limited space. Register today at jamiesonprobioticsteleseminar.com

*This is a sponsored post, but I'm genuinely excited about this!

BAD NEWS
Did you hear?

There was a serious fire at Joan's Gluten-Free Great Bakes bakery several months ago and they had to close for 4 months in order to rebuild. Bummer! Despite the setback, she still won the recent Best Of Long Island award in the gluten-free category for the 2nd year in a row! Congrats!

GOOD NEWS
Now they are back in business and to celebrate they want to give our loyal Celiac Chicks readers a 10% off coupon! How sweet!

Gluten-Free Bialys

COUPON CODE
So, let's all help Joan bounce back and order some of her amazing gluten-free products. Some popular favorites are the bagels, bialys, and English muffins!

Here's the website: Joan's GF Great Bakes.

Just type in the coupon code CHICK for your 10% discount.

Easy!

Now go do it!

Gluten Free English Muffins

And if you aren't familiar with Joan and her tasty home baked products, you can read more about her here. She's a sweetheart! Feels like your own grandma. Everything is baked with love. Seriously.

Love you back, Joan! mwah!

*This is NOT a sponsored post. What kind of chick would make her grandma pay for advertising?!