A Different Twist on Jeopardy’s Gluten Free Category

Let’s Play Jeopardy!  Most Americans (and folks worldwide) have seen at least one bit of Jeopardy to know the premise of the game.  Alex Trebek gives the answers and the participants “answer” with the questions.

Last Friday, the show had a gluten free category.  Jennifer Harris the Gwinnett Gluten Free Examiner had a good article on it Sunday.  Harris reported, “…it was the last category chosen by the contestants and that the answers to the questions were brand specific.”

The website called J! Archive documents shows dating back to 1984!  It has a graphic of all of the questions in this category for Friday’s Date of January 13th.

$200 question:  There’s an octet of veggies in this alphanumeric brand’s vegetable juice, but no gluten

$400 question: This classic canned meat from Hormel that debuted in 1937 has no gluten

$600 question:  In the U.S., this soda is gluten free, as its Vanilla Zero version

$800 question:  Don’t despair: gluten-free candies from Nestle include the Butterfinger bar & these chocolate-covered peanuts

$1000 question: This yogurt brand, known in France as “The Little Flower” has many gluten-free flavors, including strawberry kiwi

The “answers” — according to Harris: V-8, Spam,  Coke Zero, [Goobers], and Yoplait Yogurt.

So here’s my issue.  After 11 years of searching for and researching gluten free products — AND the fact that there’s no gluten free labeling standard in place– even gluten free folks can’t necessarily guarantee a product is gluten free from one shopping trip to the next.  How are contestants who aren’t gluten free going to know about specific gluten free products?

Also, none of these products, that I have seen, (with the exception of possibly Yoplait) are marketed to the masses as gluten free.  Nestle (Goobers), General Mills (Yoplait), Hormel (Spam) all have gluten free lists, and may or may not label the item gluten free, but their advertisements aren’t gluten-free focused– that I have seen.  And have you ever seen a Coke can that says “gluten free” labeled on it? I am not sure I could accurately answer all of these questions.  The cynic in me wonders if these are sponsors who paid to get their products on the air???

Gluten Free Jeopardy

Okay, so here are The Savvy Celiac’s recommendations for “questions and answers” in a gluten free category.  Ready to play??

$200:  The autoimmune disease that wreaks havoc on the body when gluten is ingested

$400:  Wheat, Barley & Rye

$600:  In 2009, General Mills reworked this cereal brand’s recipe to make it gluten free

$800: Discovering her aversion to gluten on Survivor, this celebrity now has a line of GF snack bars: NoGii.

$1000: Considered a pseudocereal, this gluten free “super food” is more closely linked to beets, spinach and tumbleweed.

 Answer Key:

$200:  What is Celiac Disease

$400: What are ingredients you wouldn’t find in a gluten free product.

$600:  What is Chex  (*Note: Multi-grain and Wheat Chex are still not gluten free)

$800: Who is Elisabeth Hasselbeck

$1000:  What is Quionoa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

I chose these because I felt like they had more mass appeal (for a very narrow subject), while still being challenging.  General Mills has paid advertisements on national television for it’s gluten free line of Chex.  You’d have to live under a rock to not know that Elisabeth Hasselbeck is gluten free — but you may not know she discovered it (more or less) when she was a contestant on Survivor or that she had a new snack bar.  My favorite is the quinoa one.  While I knew it was a super food, I didn’t know it wasn’t technically a grain.

I just wish Jeopardy would have asked questions more based in gluten free ingredients and slightly more common knowledge rather than specific products on the shelves.

Anyway, what do you think about Jeopardy taking on the gluten free question?

Tags: celiac, gluten-free, Jeopardy

I recently got the chance to get out and check out a relatively new gluten free menu in the Twin Cities area. I have wanted to check out Cooper’s Pub in St. Louis Park since my friend Alexa blogged about their promising new gluten free menu in June.  She was at their gluten-free menu unveiling and raved about it as well as their cooking/preparation procedures.

So when I was planning to go out with friends to a dinner and a movie last weekend, I had expressed my interest in Cooper’s.

When we  arrived (7 months after the launch of the menu) the gluten-free menu looked formidable.  They had appetizers, salads, entrees, burgers/sandwiches (with gluten free buns for an extra $1), desserts and beer.  The menu had french fries  listed on it — which is always exciting and a red flag all at the same time.  So I asked the waitress if the french fries were shared in the same fryer as other breaded/deep fried items. She said she’s heard both yes and no as the answer and went in the kitchen to check. She came back with a resounding yes, the fries are in a shared fryer.  Sigh.  But then she dug a deeper hole by acting like she knew anything about gluten issues and said “….so it just depends on how severe your allergy is to gluten….”  and I said, “with celiac disease you can’t have any gluten.”

She also explained how the restaurant’s menu was made with the intent of having a dedicated gluten-free  fryer, but the cooks weren’t able to commit to it and they were using the fryer for other things — causing the gluten contamination in the oil.

I then ordered a cheeseburger with a bun and mashed potatoes, which were on the gluten free menu.

I got my meal and the bun looked fine — smaller than their burgers — with poppy seeds on top.  I received a hearty serving of mashed potatoes and what was next to it? A ramekin of gravy.  I asked the guy who was serving our food if it was gluten free and he fumbled saying yes….but that it was made with a beef base so it should be fine.  Oh boy…he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  I asked if the gravy was thickened with flour (which it looked like) or something else.  He went back in the kitchen and asked and came back and said yes.  I told him it wasn’t gluten free then and I handed him the ramekin.

Sigh.

My meal was fine, the potatoes were good, but really could have used some gravy.

At one point I tried to explain to the waitress that if they’re doing their gluten free menu they need more education — and I explained the gravy incident to her.  I didn’t get the feeling that it mattered much to her, but from her perspective, she was busy.

Too bad.  We won’t be going there again because it’s a cool place with a great atmosphere.  Just a poorly-executed gluten-free menu.

Tags: celiac, gluten-free, menu, Minneapolis, restaurant

Gluten Free Subway Sandwich

Subway expanded its gluten free test market to Minnesota quietly in December…and now the word is out.  First, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas then Portland, Oregon and Tacoma, Washington and now Minnesota.  I posted about the big news Thursday — read it here. Since then more information has come out about the test marketing, and we put the sandwich-making process to the test.

 Subway’s Take on Gluten Free

As soon as I found out about the gluten free sandwiches being offered at Subway in the Duluth area of Minnesota, I got on the phone, called Subway’s corporate offices.  I eventually heard from Kevin Kane, Public Relations Manager at Subway.  He confirmed the company is testing a gluten free roll and brownie in 19 Subway stores in the Duluth area.  He also confirmed that nearly 900 stores now have the gluten free line in four communities.  The one I didn’t know about was Washington.

Kane explained why it’s taking so long getting the gluten free items out across the country.

“We know people are getting antsy to try this,” Kane said.  ”We are confident, based on the feedback we have received, that we have a great product. Now we are working diligently to make sure we have a process in place that will ensure there is absolutely no cross-contamination during the process of making the sandwich.”

He says they have been working with celiac groups as well to have their involvement in the process.

I also talked with an employee at the Grand Avenue store in West Duluth.  She explained the process as such: the employee washes their hands, changes gloves, gets fresh deli paper to lay down on the counter, opens the wrapped bread and opens the wrapped knife to cut it with and they make your sandwich.

I mentioned concern of current toppings that would likely be contaminated by previous sandwiches.   She said if you have an “especially strong reaction” to gluten you can request fresh ingredients from the back.  Which, in theory, would help curb any cross contamination that has already happened in the sandwich fixins.

Subway Gluten Free List

Testing the process

So my sister-in-law, Dana,  (who’s married to my brother with celiac) lives in Duluth,  headed to the nearest Subway to check out the ordering process for me.  My cub reporter came back with an interesting report and good pictures!

Dana said there was a sign posted listing the gluten free options, then when she got in line she was the last one, but since it was around lunch time, people quickly filled in behind her and she felt bad she was asking for a gluten free sandwich because it took longer.

Here’s what Dana did: she asked for a gluten free sandwich and she asked for fresh ingredients from the back.  However, my sister-in-law noticed during the sandwich-making process, after touching the cutting board as they “slide” the sandwich down, the gloves can instantly get contaminated.

The employee clearly was flustered by her requests to have fresh ingredients instead of what was on the line, and for him to change his gloves again.  So while one employee told me to ask for fresh ingredients and I shouldn’t feel bad about it, my sister-in-law felt bad because the employee she dealt with appeared to be so worked up. And she noticed it was like the employee she worked with was in a lose-lose situation: he would wash his hands, change his gloves get the bread, but any time he touched something (like handles to the fresh ingredients or to the toaster oven) his gloves were potentially contaminated.

When Dana tried it she said she actually thought the bun was too thick and it was a bit dry.  However she admitted adding some butter or mayonnaise might take care of that.  Cammie Jezierski has been there several times already ordering gluten free sandwiches. She told the Twin Cities ROCK Facebook page, “It is so good! My 11year old daughter and I have gone 4 times and have not gotten sick. My husband and son LOVE that we can enjoy Subway as a family again!”

Another look at the GF sandwich

Will you try eating there?

I can see both sides of this story:

1. Subway is going to great lengths (short of having a separated prep area, which would be ideal) to do gluten free safely, including education of staff and conducting test markets that have taken a year — and are still only available in 4 areas of  the country.
2. A person with celiac or a gluten intolerance may see the contamination coming from miles away and feels helpless as they watch an employee potentially cross contaminate the sandwich.  Who wants to pay for a sandwich they believe they could get sick on?

As an advocate for celiac awareness I am happy they’re here, they’re trying hard,  but I really want them to do it right so everyone can eat there safely.  What will you do?

Tags: celiac, Duluth, gluten-free, Subway