Azure Standard, based in Oregon, was started in 1987, 16 years after the owner’s family realized the huge drawbacks of farming with chemicals and decided to remove chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides from their 2,000 acre farm.  Today they specialize in natural, organic, earth-friendly foods and products and they deliver directly to customers by semi truck or UPS.  Currently, they deliver to various locations in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Hawaii and Alaska.  If you live in Oregon, and feel like taking a drive, you can also pick up your order at their warehouse in Moro.

The company is dedicated to offering the healthiest and most natural foods available.  For example, I was told that they will not carry any products that contain refined sugar, and that they won’t even sample any potential products that contain it.  Love it!  They carry thousands of products from organic produce to bulk flours and frozen foods.  They’ve also got a great selection of gluten-free products from brands like Bob’s Red Mill, Food For Life, Namaste, Teff Company and more!  If you like snail-mail, you can order a product catalog from them, or they’ve got a great website where you can find all their products and place your orders.  You will need to register on their website in order to see their prices, but it’s free and takes about 2 minutes.

While not everything they carry is an amazing deal, they do have great prices on a lot of their stuff and we have been consistently ordering from them for quite some time now.  One of the best things, for me, is the fact that you don’t have to pay any membership fee and you don’t have to order everything in bulk - you can buy one bottle of this or one box of that.  However, if you do want to buy a case or 25lb bag of something you can and you’ll save even more!

If you want to place an order with them, the first thing you should do is contact them to find a local “drop spot” that is convenient for you.  Most likely there will be a few for you to choose from, here in Bend we’ve got about half a dozen.  For the truck to stop at any of these locations, the “drop” must have a total order of at least $550 and any number of people can order as long as each order within the “drop” is at least $50 (or you get hit with a small order handling fee).  I don’t think most people will have an issue with the $50 minimum, since you will only be ordering from them once a month.  Once you’ve got the drop figured out, you’ll need to check their delivery schedule.  You’ll need to place your order by a specific day and they will always make the delivery to your drop the same day of each month.  Keep in mind that you’ll also need to pay for your order with a credit or debit card, either online or by phone, prior to the delivery day.  Whoever runs your “drop” probably won’t cover your bill for you if you aren’t there when the truck arrives.

The one thing that took me some getting used to with Azure was the fact that if they are out-of-stock on something you order, you won’t know until they make the delivery, or you pick it up.  It won’t necessarily show *Out-of-Stock* when you try and order it online - it’ll let you order and then it won’t be in your box.  Rest assured though, if they are out, they won’t charge you for it.

I highly recommend anyone in their delivery area check them out.  Log onto their website and do a quick search of some of the items you use on a daily or weekly basis.  You just might find that you can save some money - and who doesn’t want to do that!

Ever since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease early last year, I have wanted to get my kids tested.  As I’m sure most of you know, if you are a first-degree relative of someone with Celiac, your chances are much higher that you may develop Celiac at some point in your lifetime.  According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, a first-degree relative has a 1 in 22 chance of developing the disease.  Given that fact, and the fact that we’ve had some concerns of possible food allergies with our kids for various reasons, we’ve talked about having them tested for quite a while. 

One of the reasons we were waiting was the cost of the test - at about $100 including the blood draw - we were looking at about $200 bucks to get both kids tested.  Did I mention there was a blood draw?  My kids, 4 and 8, were not too thrilled at the thought of having that done.  So, we kept putting it off and putting it off.  Then I discovered the Biocard.

The Biocard Celiac Test is distributed by 2G Pharma, Inc of Ontario, Canada and manufactured by ANI Biotech in Finland.  The test is a medical device that’s licensed by Health Canada and meets the European medical device requirements for a home test for Celiac Disease.  According to ANI’s website, this new kit is the only home test kit in the world.  It’s designed for rapid detection of IgA antibodies associated with celiac disease and requires only a small amount of sample fluid.  2G Pharma claims the test is as accurate as a doctor’s test. 

That’s right…you do the test at home, it only requires a finger-stick, takes only 10 minutes and costs only $50.  I made a quick call to 2G Pharma and two days later my tests arrived via FedEx.  Total cost - about $125 ($50 for each test and about $12.50 each for shipping).

When the kits arrived, they had everything we needed to perform the tests.  Each kit included -

• 1 test and dropper tip
• 1 sterile lancet
• 1 capillary tube
• 0.5 ml sample diluent
• 1 alcohol swab
• 1 bandage
• Paper instructions & DVD instructions
• Letter to take to your physician if you get a positive result

We laid everything out, made sure we had it all and then popped in the DVD to watch the instructional video.  When I spoke with 2G Pharma, they were very clear in telling me to watch the video prior to doing the test.  While the test itself is very easy, you do want to make sure you do it right so you aren’t wasting $65 bucks.  And, if you do decide to get one of these kits, I can’t stress enough, DO NOT use my “instructions” in this post.  You MUST follow both the paper and DVD instructions that are included with the actual kit.

So, after watching the video - twice - we told the kids to roll up their sleeves and get ready.  Of course, they were now a little apprehensive about doing this, having watched the person on the video stab themselves and start bleeding.  They started getting jumpy when we wiped their fingers with the alcohol swab.  But, finally, they got up the nerve and my oldest declared, “Ok, just do it!”

And just like that it was done.

After the fingerstick, you take the capillary tube, hold it “just so” against the drop of blood on your finger and it “pulls” the blood up into the tube (it’s pretty cool).  Once the tube is filled, you drop it into the vial with the “sample buffer”, put on the plastic filter tip and turn the vial upside down several times until all the blood is out of the tube and mixed with the buffer.  You then squeeze 3 drops out onto the round test sample hole and wait.  (Again, if you do one of these tests, DO NOT go by my “instructions” here.  You must follow the instructions that are included with the actual kit).

You need to wait at least 5 minutes before reading the results of the test, but not longer than 10 minutes.  It’s pretty cool - you can watch the sample fluid slowly move across the two windows on the test (it doesn’t take much, I’ll admit I’m easily entertained).  If you’ve done the test correctly, you’ll get a line in the far window like above.  If no line appears in the first window the test is negative, if you see that second line it’s positive.

We ended up with negatives for both kids.  Which naturally I’m very happy about. I thought the test was extremely easy to use and made it quick and relatively painless to have them tested.  I won’t hesitate to use the Biocard again in the future if we decide to test them again down the road.

And now ’cause I know your sitting there wondering - where can I get one?  The short answer is - right now you can’t get them in the U.S.  While they are working with the FDA right now for approval, it’s going to be months (at least) before they get the thumbs up and can begin distributing them here.  However, you can get the kit for personal use (ie, yourself or a family member) now by calling 2G Pharma directly.  You can visit them online at www.celiachometest.com, reach them by email at website@celiachometest.com or by phone at (416)-704-0573 or (416)520-4901.

Yes my friends, that picture is a gluten-free example of the kind of food served at Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails in downtown Bend, my personal favorite place to go when eating out.  And get this…that picture is of take-out…just imagine what you get seated in the restaurant. 

I did a full review of Zydeco last fall, but when I found this picture this morning I just couldn’t resist posting it - it just looks so good!  (Could that burger look any more perfect??)  And check out this receipt, like I mention in my review, you know you can eat confidently when your receipt looks like this one.

Tell me, how does your allergy free take-out stack up?

By: The Maniac

There’s something about a really good ham.  Now, I’m not talking about some salty, water-logged, pink brick of meat that’s stamped “Ham”.  No, no…I’m talking about a delectable piece of meat that doesn’t dry out when you cook it.  One that maintains just the right amount of moisture to melt in your mouth…not too salty, not too fatty.  And I’m talking about plain old deli ham here not some big ole ham for a fancy-schmancy dinner!  Let me tell you, DaBecca’s Uncured Black Forest Ham is absolutely delicious.  (Shameless plug)  And if you put it on one of our Celiac Maniac GF/Vegan English Muffins…well…you’re not going to care even a little bit that it’s all gluten-free.

We found this ham at our local Costco - two 16oz packages for only $9.99.  I love seeing a label like this - Uncured, No Nitrate or Nitrite added (except those naturally occurring in celery powder), All Natural, Gluten Free, No Artificial Ingredients…perfect.

I think the best, most descriptive way to put it is this ham tastes like…well…meat.  I know that may not sound like much, but anyone who’s eaten some of the regular deli meats - either from the grocery counter or pre-packaged - would agree that most of it does not taste like meat (which is why you bury it with condiments, veggies, bread and anything else you can think of).  Not with this one!  I don’t know if it’s the lack of processing, the lack of additives or the fact that they smoke it using actual hickory chips, but DaBecca got it right.

If you are looking for a great, delicious, gluten-free, organic breakfast cereal, look no further.  Panda Puffs, by Nature’s Path, are so good I wish they’d come out with a bigger box…a much bigger box.

Don’t let the fact that the name of the cereal is “EnviroKidz” or let all the games, puzzles and fun kid facts that are all over the packaging fool you.  This cereal is great for adults too.  I’ll admit that we first started buying this for our kids, but now I have a hard time sharing any that I bought for me.  I mean isnt’ that the beauty of being an adult - I don’t have to share anymore if I don’t want to.  So, nyah…

For me, one of the best things about this cereal (other than the great taste, the fact that it’s organic and gluten free) is that there are only 6 ingredients!  That’s right, 6 - Organic Corn Meal, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Soy Oil, Sea Salt, Tocopherols (Natural Vit E).  And I can even pronounce each one and I know exactly what each one is…amazing!

For anyone with tree nut allergies (especially peanuts) or soy issues you’ll want to steer clear of this one.  The label states “Contains peanuts.  Produced in a facility that uses tree nuts and soy.”  Interesting though, I just noticed that it doesn’t state “Contains Soy” when soy oil is listed as the 4th ingredient.  Huh.

Assuming you have no issues with peanuts or soy, grab a box of these the next time you’re at the grocery store.  If it makes you feel better, you can pretend to be buying them for your kids.  But we both know you don’t really need to share when you get home.  Afterall, you’re the grown up right?

These look good don’t they?  Very cheesy and crispy.  Of course I have no idea how they taste…

The front of the box proudly states “Wheat & Gluten Free” and the nutrition panel notes that they “Are Proud to Support the Celiac Disease Foundation” and lists the website www.celiac.org.  However, even with those comforting notations and graphics, I still refuse to try them.

Listed on the nutrition panel, between the ingredients list and the support information it says:

“Produced in a facility that also makes products containing: Wheat, Pecans and Hazelnuts.  Each production run is sampled and tested to confirm gluten levels do not exceed 20 PPM.”

This is what I have an issue with.  As a lot of you know, I am a firm believer in the “Gluten Free means ZERO gluten” mentality.  I’m sorry but 19 PPM may pass the GF test as far as the FDA and Blue Diamond is concerned, but not for me.  Call me crazy, but shouldn’t gluten FREE mean FREE from gluten?  Can someone please explain to me how a product that is supposed to be free of something can still have a measurable amount of that substance in it?  That’s like putting a free sample out, then when someone takes one saying “whoah, whoah whoah…you can’t just take that!  I know it says free, but that’ll be 19-cents.”  While that 19-cents may seem insignificant, I still have to dig in my pocket for some change - it’s not truly free.

And please correct me if I’m wrong, but if a product is “Peanut Free”, doesn’t that mean there is absolutely NO peanuts or even traces of peanuts in it?  Something can’t be labeled “Peanut Free” and still contain 20 ppm of peanuts right?  Then why aren’t GF products required to be 100% GF too?  I may not go into anaphylactic shock when I eat gluten, but there is most certainly potentially life threatening damage being done if I have Celiac Disease and continue to eat it.

Now, I don’t mean to beat up on Blue Diamond by any means.  I know that they are supporters of Celiac organizations and I appreciate that.  However, these companies, and the wonderful FDA, need to fully recognize that those of us with Celiac Disease are not following some fad diet (which I’ve been hearing quite a bit lately), but that we can actually develop life threatening issues as a result of digesting gluten and so have to avoid it completely.  If you legitimately want to support us, give us food that is truly gluten free - which means zero ppm.

Oh yeah, and if you’re still wondering how the crackers tasted, I had Tammy try them.  She said “they have a nice cheesy flavor, but they still have the underlying rice cracker taste/texture.”

Let me know if you decide to try them.

I am a huge fan of Ginger Ale - always have been.  I hate soda in general, but to me, Ginger Ale has always been different.  Soda is just a bunch of sugar or high fructose corn syrup and water with some flavoring, absolutely worthless.  But hey, Ginger Ale has health benefits right?  I mean, when I was little and my stomach hurt, what did my mom give me?  Ginger Ale (and saltines) - and I would swear that it helped.  Heck, I give those things to my own kids when their tummies are a little upset.

A while back I looked at the ingredients list of my old favorite Ginger Ale to see what kinds of healthy goodness were contained in that plastic bottle.  Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup (what?!), Citric Acid, Natural Flavors (could that be the ginger??), Sodium Benzoate (a preservative) and Caramel Color (huh?!)  Uuummm…correct me if I’m wrong, but that would be sugar, water and flavoring…that’s nothing but…but…SODA!  I couldn’t believe it!  Crushed, I started a search for a Ginger Ale with actual ginger in it.  Something that I could actually drink.  Thankfully, after a little searching, I found it.

Reed’s Premium Ginger Brew is exactly what I was looking for - and what I thought my old Ginger Ale was for all those years.  No high fructose corn syrup or caramel color here!  This great tasting product is made from nothing but Sparkling Filtered Water, Sweetened by a blend of Canadian White Clover Honey and Pineapple Juice from concentrate, Fresh Ginger Root (17grams per bottle!), Lemon and Lime juices from concentrate and Spices.  Now this stuff might actually give you some health benefits!

According to the label, Reed’s Ginger Ale is 25% fruit juice, has no preservatives, and is caffeine & gluten free.  They also state it has a “Strong Ginger Bite”, and that it does.  To me, it has a wonderful “homebrewed” taste to it, and I would agree that there is definitely a strong ginger bite to it.  But that’s what I love about it.  Of course my wife and kids don’t particularly care for it, as the taste is too strong for them.  But I think it’s just right - very “full bodied”, with a subtle bite as you drink it with a fairly heavy ginger after-taste.  Perfect.

While I will admit that I don’t think it’s necessarily for everyone, I can’t recommend it enough if you like Ginger Ale - trust me, switch from your ginger soda, you’ll be happy you did.  I would also definitely encourage anyone to try it the next time your stomach is feeling a bit off - believe it or not, it just might have you feeling better.

Recently, when we were out for dinner, I asked the server what they had for gluten free beers.  Instead of the usual blank stare that I get, I was pleasantly surprised when I was given a few different options.  I didn’t know what to do…it’s been a while since I’ve had options like this.  Rather than go with my current favorite, Redbridge, I decided to try a new one - Green’s Quest Tripel Blond Ale.

Quest is made from a combination of millet, rice, buckwheat and sorghum.  As you can see from the slightly blurry picture above (the restaurant was pretty dark) the beer has a great honey color to it.  Green’s claims their beers do not contain any gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soya beans, milk, lactose, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites.  And, according to their website, Quest has a “fairly light body for beer of this strength; spice and herb nose with flavors of candied fruit.  [Has an] aromatic, long finish.”  Sounds good so far…but then I tried it.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this beer - and there is no way I could drink an entire bottle of it.  I’m not a beer connoisseur by any means, but the other GF beers that I’ve tried actually taste like…well…beer.  The first thing I thought of with this one is champagne.  It is very bubbly and light and wwwaaayyyy to fruity tasting for me.  I agree with them that it has a long, aromatic finish and, for me, that only compounded the “champagney” taste issue.  After every sip I took, that fruity taste lingered, which again may be ok if I’m drinking a different beverage, but it kept throwing me off coming from a beer.

Sorry Green’s, I’m going to stick with my Redbridge.

Yesterday I was asked if Wegmans in New York has a gluten free products list.  After doing a little searching, not only did I find a gluten free (and gluten free/lactose free) list, but I was extremely impressed by the amount of information they do have available.

Wegmans, one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009, has an enormous amount of information and resources on their website for not only celiac/gluten intolerance, but also for other food allergies.  Here’s a list of some of the resources and help they offer in their stores and online for those following a gluten free diet:

•  Gluten-Free Wellness Key  Look for this little orange dot which indicates Wegmans products and recipes that are, according to their website, ”free of gluten-containing ingredients and have been produced without the risk of cross contact with gluten-containing ingredients.”
• Dedicated Aisle  Most of Wegmans stores with a Nature’s Marketplace have a dedicated aisle for gluten free items.  In addition to food, you will also find reference books, baking ingredients and cookbooks in this section.
• Build Your Gluten Free Shopping List  Very, very cool online application.  Click here to browse their gluten free products.  You can create your shopping list online by looking at product descriptions, nutrition facts, labels, ingredient statements, allergen information and customer ratings.  You can then choose your preferred Wegmans store to get pricing information and sort the list aisle by aisle.  I did think the “Choose a Store” was a little hidden (you’ll need to do this to see any pricing information).  When you click the link above, you can then click “Choose a store to view product pricing” which is located just under the “Show Results for “Gluten free” in the middle of the page.
• Gluten Free Product Lists  These lists are updated weekly!  I’ve linked directly to their current (as of 9/17/09) gluten free and gluten free/lactose free lists.  However, you’ll want to return to their site often to consult the most current version.
• Other Resources and Information
  • Links to Celiac associations and gluten free manufacturers you can find at Wegmans
  • FAQs on Gluten Free diets and Celiac Disease
  • Links to local area support groups
  • Hundreds of gluten free Wegmans recipes

It is obvious to me that Wegmans is dedicated to not only helping those on a gluten free diet (as well as those with other food issues such as lactose intolerance) find the best GF food options, but they also provide support information, recipe ideas and links to up-to-date information on the issue.  Now, if only they would open one in Bend…

Recently, when we were at the coast, we ran into the local Grocery Outlet to see if they had any gluten free items in stock.  Not too long ago, the Grocery Outlet in Bend had Glutino pretzels for an amazingly low price, and I was hoping I could find the same sort of deal here.  As we wandered the aisles, we stumbled upon this box of crackers that I had never heard of.  They seemed like a pretty good deal for $1.99/box, and we liked the fact that not only are they gluten and trans fat free, but they are also made with organic corn and all non-GMO ingredients.  Of course, even with all these positive aspects, I will admit, I was a little leary of trying them - number one, I’m not eating too many processed foods right now and two I get nervous eating anything produced in a facility that also produces wheat or any of my other allergens.  But, with gentle prodding from my wife (she picked them up and put them in our basket while rolling her eyes), I bought a box.  I am very happy we did!

These crackers were incredibly good!  As a matter of fact, I didn’t think they tasted like crackers at all, oddly (in a good way), they have the texture and feel of a cracker, but taste more like a really good tortilla chip.  I kept wishing I had some salsa or guacamole to dip them in.  They’re salted, and it’s just enough to complement the entire cracker, but not so much that they make you die of thirst.  I also like the fact that the ingredient list is very simple - and there’s nothing listed that you can’t pronounce - basically just organic corn, various seeds, almonds, some oil  and salt. 

When we were done “oohing and aahing” over them, we had some of our gluten eating family and friends try them as well, and everyone liked them - each one giving me the eyebrow raise, followed by, “Mmmm…those are really good…” sign of approval.  Needless to say we ended up heading back down to the Grocery Outlet and picking up a few more boxes. 

Unfortunately, after visiting the RW Garcia website, it doesn’t look like they are carrying this particular cracker anymore (it’s been changed to Tellicherry Cracked Pepper).  I tried to contact them to confirm if they had in fact stopped making them, but after a few failed phone calls and unanswered emails I gave up.

As a quick side note, they’ve got a great website, that while it gives some product information (no full ingredient lists or nutritional information), the site does have a great Store Locator that not only tells you what stores carry their products in your state, but also breaks down exactly which products those stores carry.  I thought that was pretty cool.

So, while I don’t think you can find this particular cracker anymore, you might try and find some of their other gluten-free products.  If they’re anything like these were, they’d be worth trying!