NOTICE: This blog is no longer being updated, so medical information may no longer be accurate.

Celiac Crisis: Rare or Rarely Recognized?

After sharing my personal story of living with undiagnosed celiac disease last spring, my father brought a series of frightening events that occurred just over a decade ago to my attention and asked why I didn’t mention them in my post.  The plain and simple truth was, I didn’t (and still don’t) know if the […]

Heidi’s Favorite Trail Mix

I’ve never been a huge fan of trail mixes, especially those of the store-bought variety because there’s usually too many things going on in them that don’t appeal to my taste buds. Nor do I care for protein bars.  I know a lot of folks like them (my boys love LÄRABARS) and they are very […]

Camping (Mis)Adventures, A Weekly Menu Plan and A Few Giveaway Winners

I must confess that I’m not much of a camper, it’s not something we did when I was growing up in a family of 4 females and one token male.  I’m really not sure why we didn’t go camping either.  Afterall, my parents met when they spent their college summers working at Roosevelt Lodge in […]

Remembering 9/11

I will never forget where I was the moment the mighty towers fell.  I live in the Mountain time zone (2 hours behind Eastern), so it was still quite early in the morning here.  I was already at the hotel where I worked, making sure my convention was running smoothly when a co-worker approached me, […]

Freedom Foods Tropic O’s Cereal (a.k.a. Gluten, Allergen and Synthetic Dye Free “Fruit Loops”) with a Giveaway!

Gluten and allergen free moms, REJOICE!  The day has finally arrived that our kiddos can make the dreaded Fruit Loop necklace along side their classmates and no longer feel left out! 😀 It was precisely the above situation that led me to Freedom Foods in the land down under a couple weeks ago.  When Luke […]

Menu Plan – Week of September 5 (and Some Gluten Free Pita Bread…and a Gyro)

Monday: Labor Day BBQ Tuesday: Shrimp Scampi and Green Goddess Green Bean and Tomato Salad (recipe to come) Wednesday: Crockpot Smothered Round Steak my mom made this recipe often while I was growing up and it’s delicious!  I’ve obviously had to make a few tweaks since then but it still tastes exactly as I remember:  […]

Green Goddess Salad Dressing (Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Corn-Free, Nut-Free and Soy-Free)

Do you remember Green Goddess Salad Dressing?  I sure do, I used to love that bottled green stuff from Seven Seas when I was a kid.  My mom used to make a delicious taco salad with it and I even used it to top my baked potato in lieu of sour cream.  And it’s a […]

“In Defense of 20 Parts Per Million” by Alessio Fasano, M.D.

 The following letter is reprinted with permission from The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. “In Defense of 20 Parts Per Million” A Letter to the FDA From Alessio Fasano, M.D., and The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research In its efforts to establish a safer food environment, the U.S. Food and Drug […]

Ranch Dressing (Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Corn-Free, Nut-Free and Soy-Free)

Ranch Dressing Take 2. Last January I shared my first attempt at a dairy-free, corn-free, egg-free and soy-free Ranch dressing and while it’s very good, there are two problems with the recipe. 1). It contains cashews so it’s no good for my friends out there with tree nut allergies. 2). It’s entirely too involved of […]

Menu Plan – Week of August 29

For this week’s menu plan, I’m taking back Italian.  For the most part, I have steered clear of one of my favorite cuisines since going dairy-free (and mostly grain-free) earlier this year.  But now I’m ready to re-define my definition of Italian goodness.  With the exception of lasagna, I think most Italian recipes can taste […]