It’s the Little Gluten-Free Things: Education, Food & well – the Criminal Justice System?

Time for a quickie update on all things gluten-free that are worth noting:  A few opportunities for celiac/gluten-free education, What’s up with the guy who sold gluteny bread as “gluten-free”, and a review of some ready-to-bake gf cookies.

Getting a Gluten-Free Education

This week the Gluten Intolerance Group holds its annual meeting here in Minnesota.  The event is June 4th & 5th.  I was hoping to be there, but because of  a scheduling conflict with my other job, I cannot.  Such a bummer.  The conference organizers did alert me to a gluten-free food expo they are having that we can attend if we don’t want to do the whole conference (even though on their website it looks like you can still register for the conference):

From an email about the Gluten-Free Expo that was sent to our Twin Cities ROCK group:

“This is a great way to try new products before buying. It is a great way to get the stores you shop in to bring in new products too. You don’t want to miss the great new breads and snacks available.”

Details:
Gluten-Free Expo
1-4 pm Fri, June 4  & 10-3:30 Sat, June 5

Minneapolis Airport Marriott
2020 American Blvd E
Minneapolis, MN 55425

$5 per person admission*

$15 family and friends (4 persons maximum) (vendor expo admission only)

60 gluten-free companies; sample and buy products

Admission fees from the Expo benefit GIG North America, which is a non-profit organization.

As long as we’re talking about education, I am preparing for teaching another gluten-free class at the Linden Hills Co-op this fall, and I am looking for ideas.  We have done a basic gluten-free 101 class, a dining out class and a class on being gluten-free over the holidays.  Let me know if you have suggestions on classes you would like to see.

False Gluten-Free Claims Turn Criminal

If you have been wondering, as have I, what happened to the guy in North Carolina accused of falsely claiming his bread products were gluten-free.  The state called a grand jury this spring in the case of North Carolina vs. Great Specialty Products. The Grand Jury found there is enough evidence to consider this a criminal case — according to Gluten-Free Raleigh.  Paul Seelig is charged with nine counts of “obtaining property under false pretense”.  The state Department of Agriculture says he bought regular bread products and repackaged them as gluten-free.

Courtesy: GlutenFreedafoods.com

Testing out Ready-to-Bake Cookies

GlutenFreeda’s Chocolate Chip “Real Cookies: Pre-Formed Cookie Dough”. I tried these out recently after the Linden Hills Co-op gave them to me to try.  I thought they were fine.  It is certainly nice to have in the house if you need a quick treat for a potluck or party or something. Or great if you want fresh cookies and you don’t feel like you’ve mastered gluten-free baking just yet.  But I thought they tasted nearly identical to French Meadow Bakery’s pre-formed gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.  Which again — were fine.

At Glutenfreedafoods.com they are $7.17 per container. I would be surprised if  they were that expensive at the Linden Hills Co-op.  But that is one place where you can find them in Minneapolis.

Tags: celiac, conference, cookies, expo, GIG, gluten-free food, Glutenfreeda, minnesota, Paul Seelig