Going to Paris? Need to eat gluten free and don’t want to miss out on all the pastries and baked goodies?

You are in luck!

As I was reminiscing of my young glutenful days in Paris… I decided to peruse the Internet and see what is out there that would be safe for me these days.

Here are a few places that have gluten free baked goods and sweets in Paris !

Helmut Newcake

36 rue Bichat
75010 Paris France
Neighborhoods: Colonel Fabien/Goncourt, 10ème
tél. : 09 82 59 00 39
helmutnewcake.com
HOURS vary on the late side 12p-8p, closed Mon/Tues
MÉTRO : Goncourt & République
Gateau, Tartes… Images to drool over: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/02/helmut-newcake-gluten-free-bakery-in-paris/

Thank you, My Deer

112 rue Saint-Maur
75011 Paris France
Neighborhoods: Oberkampf/Parmentier, 11ème
tél. : 01 71 93 16 24
http://www.thankyoumydeer.com/shop/
HOURS vary daily, but mostly 10a-6p, closed Mon
MÉTRO: Parmentier, Couronnes, Rue Saint-Maur
American style cupcakes, cookies, and tiramisu!!

NOGLU – Restaurant et épicerie sans gluten

16, passage des Panoramas
75002 Paris France
Neighborhood: Richelieu-Drouot, 2ème
tél. : 01 40 26 41 24
noglu.fr
HOURS varies, opened for lunch and dinner, closed Sun
MÉTRO: Richelieu Drouot
Strives to be allergen free, has dairy free, has gluten free full dining menu.

Looking forward to the day I can try these places out for myself.
In the meantime, let me know what gluten free treats you find in Paris and if you visit the places I have listed.

Bon Voyage!

Bisou Bisou Kiss Kiss

At your local grocery store, there is a good chance you will find these gluten free cornbread and chili items, a meal to love, cheaper and healthier than fast food. Preparation time is short at 20 minutes for everything.

I haven’t yet found any canned gluten free chili that I like better than Stagg CLASSIC Chili with Beans. I think some of Stagg Chili have wheat, so make sure to read the label and that you are getting the right one, in this case, the CLASSIC.

Usually, I buy Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix at WholeFoods, which I also use in my pancakes mixes.

With an urgent cornbread craving, I found Hodgson Mill cornbread mix at my neighborhood Safeway market. My husband and I ate all the cornbread muffins I made without delay, so yes, this brand is delicious too.

The meal is easy to make. The chili you just heat up in five minutes on the stove or microwave. The cornbread requires mixing a few ingredients (the mix with egg, milk, oil), scooping into a square pan or muffin tray, and baking. Buttering each muffin cup fully with my finger makes the muffins pop out easily.

[Click on brand name links above for INGREDIENTS on the label.]

* Please note that some chili and cornbread mixes do have wheat or white enriched flour in their ingredients, so always read the ingredients on these canned and boxed foods labels. When it says “Gluten Free” on the label, as these products do, it makes shopping much easier.

I love ravioli and Conte’s Pasta Gluten Free Spinach and Cheese Ravioli definitely meet my requirements for deeee-li-shuzsss !  These are so good. I can close my eyes and feel like I am in an Italian restaurant.

Takes 10 minutes all together. This is the fastest easiest meal for when I am feeling lazy and don’t want to spend much time cooking. 

I will teach you a few ways that I prepare them.

First, boil the water. When boiling, put in the ravioli. Stir GENTLY, these ravioli are not sturdy. Keep your eye on them and the water — not too hot and forceful because they easily break open. Remove them as soon as the look like they are going to burst. Takes about 8 minutes. Follow the directions for the first time and adjust to your own stove.

Pictured above is my lemon sage ravioli preparation. I put a swirl of olive oil (and butter, optional) in a small saucepan. Add garlic (chopped or powdered), salt, pepper, and half a lemon squeezed. In this case, I have added some sage leaves I clipped from my plant to my light lemony sauce. It takes a few minutes to heat up. That’s it. Pour it on your ravioli.

An even easier and simpler version is to not cook the above sauce and just put the ingredients directly on the ravioli. One less pan to clean!

Optional Ingredients I add when I have them are:

Chicken (boiled or fried). Broccoli, I toss in the boiling water with the ravioli at the beginning. Shrimp, I toss in the last two minutes with the ravioli. You can fry all kinds of sliced goodies in a sauce pan, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, sausages… and add those ingredients on top of your ravioli. This all natural Cucina & Amore Bruschetta Artichoke spread tastes great heated up and added as a sauce, pictured aside… you can thin it with some cream, butter, or olive oil. Or you can use a classic pre-prepared jar of pesto sauce or tomato sauce — all are easy and great with Conte’s Pasta Ravioli.

Click to see and read the Conte’s Pasta Ravioli INGREDIENTS and full NUTRITIONAL FACTS.

One way to make sure you have no gluten in your herbs (as gluten may make its way into your food from the factory processing or packaging center) is to make it yourself at home.

Homemade herbs are fresher, healthier, safer, smell better, and save you money because your plant keeps growing and delivering herbs to you.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE DRIED BASIL

1) Buy an Organic Basil plant for $4.
– Mine is from WholeFoods. I have also seen them at Trader Joe’s.

2) Trim the largest leaves only from underneath other budding leaves.

3) Wash the leaves with water.

4) Lay the leaves out on paper towels, with a paper towel gently resting on top.
– I did 3 layers for this example. No more than 5 layers, or it might get moldy.

5) Place the dish in the hottest no-wind area of your home.
– I happen to have a sun room that worked great. Near a heater, where it safely won’t catch fire is an option. Keep in mind that slamming doors and open windows will cause your leaves to blow away.

6) After a few days, when the leaves are fully dry and turn to powder at the touch, crush the leaves. You can do it with your bare hands directly into a bowl.
– I couldn’t resist buying this cute old fashioned herb crusher that is pictured.

7) Transfer the crushed basil into a seal tight jar.
– I use a recycled tapenade jar.

You may use this process for any leaf herb. Basil is from the mint family. Mint and sage are other easy fresh dried herbs to make at home.

You can also use these herbs fresh (not dried) immediately after trimming them from your plant. Fresh leaves are great in salads. Whereas the dried herbs are great for hot meals and cooking or sauces.

PLANT CARE: My Basil plant is very thirsty and drinks every other day. If your plant wilts and the soil is dry, water it immediately. My plant is extremely prolific, weekly delivering lots of new large leaves.

Making dried basil was a lot of fun for me.

If you do it, come back and let me know how it goes, and what challenges you may have encountered due to a different home environment.

With Celiac Disease, gluten, when ingested, affects the digestive tract primarily, with a chain reaction damaging systems from the inside outward to other organs.

Even though skin is technically a different organ separate from the digestive tract, sometimes gluten, wheat, barley, or rye products also affect people’s skin negatively when directly applied. Maybe a person has an allergy, not connected to Celiac Disease. For me, I get itchy and red. If someone has a severe allergic reaction or auto-immune response, they may blister.

If only it was as easy as reading the ingredients, like with food, to avoid the ingredients that are damaging to us personally.

Many lotion and skin products do not fully disclose their ingredients and make me burn and itch. What can we do to keep ourselves safe?

Maia, a dear trusted (and brilliant) friend of mine started her own skincare line called Sweet Science. From her we can learn a lot. Here are some questions I had for her.

1. What inspired you to take the fearless jump into creating face skincare products? 

I got into it because I have always been a skincare fanatic.  I was a trend shopper for many years. I bought and used EVERYTHING on the market.  I got really tired of not getting the results promised on the package. I also was becoming frustrated because I was spending top dollar on “Natural” skincare that went bad very quickly and was also totally ineffective.

2. What are the ingredients that you see in so many lotions and skincare products that make you cringe and why?

Dimethicone is one ingredient that I will not use on my face or my line.  It is a silicone and those coat your face for up to 5 days! Silicone is a synthetic polymer derived from a naturally occurring element, silicon. Silicone is very difficult to remove, if not impossible, it just has to wear off.  Any ingredient with a “cone” at the end, I do not use those in my line.  They are now being connected with tumorous growths. If you avoid them for a couple of weeks, you will be amazed.  Your pores shrink, you stop breaking out, the random dry spots clear up, your skin balances out.  Its a very deceptive ingredient, silicone.

3. I love your Sweet Science product line because it is honest, fresh, natural, and priced fair. I see that there is wheat germ oil in some of your products. Can you tell me about your products without any wheat, barley, rye, or gluten in them, products that would be safe and of interest to my readers? What are they called and what is their function?

We have a Vitamin C Serum Complex that is absolutely the best!  I have friends who are makeup artists at MAC and Tom Ford and they can’t believe the difference it makes. It fades melanoma and discolorations because we use the best Vitamin C (called tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate)  and combine it with niacinamide. It totally works!

     Yes, I have that one and I love it.

4. How are your products different from similar products? 

There is nothing similar to Sweet Science.  We are the only brand available that has the actives kept separate.  I believe it’s the future of skincare. It’s not a gimmick. It’s the best way to get the best results for your skin.

5. Why are freshly mixed actives important?

Actives are what make the product produce results. Scientists isolate new, great actives all the time and they work!  But actives degrade over time when they have been mixed in an aqueous formula, namely water. Big name companies often manufacture products years ahead of time, so by the time you buy it, it’s basically lost all it’s effectiveness. That’s why, with my products, you mix the elements together yourself when you receive them for a longer lasting more effective solution. It takes under 5 minutes and you have a product that serves its function.

6. Since you dove into skincare, what is the most important thing you have learned that you wish everyone knew?

High price doesn’t necessarily mean a better product. I see the most overpriced stuff with terrible ingredients. Just because it comes in an expensive bottle or has some fancy packaging, consumers think it’s going to change their skin for the better.

I recently got some samples from a brand that everyone knows, really expensive and they WILL NOT list their ingredients anywhere.  That’s a red flag for sure. But I had to test it. I had to! The stuff was good for a day or so, I looked good, but after about 3 days, I broke out and my skin looked terrible.  The product was swimming in dimethicone. I went back to using just my line and my skin went back to normal.

7. What can we do to buy safer cosmetic and skincare products?

We all know we get a better product from the smaller farms who actually care about what they grow and have some accountability to the people. Why shouldn’t you think the same way about your skin?

When you buy from smaller skincare lines, like with your organic local foods, you have access to speak with the owners who are passionate about what they do and want their customers to be well and happy. The smaller the product line, the better the odds of getting a safer more effective product from someone who cares.

Look for skincare products at your local farmers’ markets and local health food stores. Seek products made in your town, or state, or province, or even your own country is a good start. Try to buy products made closer to home, when possible. I know lots of people live in regions where, due to harsh weather or sparse population size, many items have to be imported. Opensky.com is one place I sell my product online. There are many websites that cater to small run businesses.

Thank you Maia for enlightening us on skincare.

Thank you for having me.

INGREDIENTS

• Wild Caught Salmon (no artificial coloring)
• Yellow Squash
• Mushrooms
• 1 Lemon
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Olive oil / Butter (optional)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use a glass baking dish of 9×9 inches or 9×12, depending on how much food you have.

Put a thin layer of olive oil across the bottom of the dish first.

Rinse your fish and place it in the center side by side.

Thoroughly wash your squash and mushrooms (preferably organic, so they are covered in dirt).

Cut your cleaned squash into bite-sized and then place around the fish.

If you have small weird mushrooms like mine, you don’t have to slice them, just cut off the bottom growth. For larger mushrooms, cut them into bite size. Place the mushrooms on the fish and some on the squash.

Squeeze 1 full fresh lemon all over everything.

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic over everything.

Add slices of butter to the fish and vegetables, if dairy is acceptable to you. Or, you can pour a little more olive oil over the top, not more than 2 tablespoons.

Cover the dish with tin foil. Then put in the oven.

If you have fresh thawed fish, bake for 30 minutes. If you have frozen fish, bake for 45 minutes.

Clean the kitchen. (That’s what I do anyway.)

Take out, serve, and enjoy!

~ ~ ~

ENVIRONMENT

Please watch this amazing documentary about Salmon Health, dangers of fish farming, Infectious Salmon Anemia, Salmon Alphavirus, Piscine Reovirus (weak heart, can’t swim up stream, can’t escape bigger fish), sea lice, blisters, lesions, dangers of uncooked fish, sushi… Bill to fine or jail anyone who exposes the disease to the public…

http://vimeo.com/61301410 

Trader Joe’s has come out with a delicious and low price gluten-free flour on their Baker Josef’s line.

The ingredients are: Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour.

Click on Nutrition Facts for more details.

Simple and tasty, this versatile gluten-free flour is perfect for a straight replacement of enriched white flour (wheat) in recipes.

I was impressed with how good this flour tasted in my simple pancakes recipe.

If you or your guests are intolerant to gluten, wheat, or have Celiac Disease, the new Trader Joe’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is a reliable flour to have in your cupboard, ready to use for any recipe that requires flour.

Not only is this gluten free flour an acceptable and functioning replacement for white flour, I think the taste is superior too.

For the gluten-free love of your life, I suggest you get a delicious Valentine’s Day treat from the Mariposa Bakery. Mariposa Bakery is local to San Francisco and Oakland, but they do mail many items within the United States!

Pictured here are their Valentine’s Day chocolate donuts, distinguished by their sugar heart sprinkles. They taste like Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake or a rich chocolate cupcake. Like any donut, this is more of a dessert than a start-your-day kind of healthy breakfast.

Mariposa also has, on any given day, a wide assortment of cookies and cakes too. You can call and special order for birthdays or other celebrations.

The main thing I buy are the plain frozen pizza crusts that I prepare in full at home; I will write in depth about that in another article.

Mariposa has some great lunch options as well (pizza, beetloaf sandwich, salad, etc). Everything is delicious here. You can’t go wrong.

I came across Mariposa for the first time many years ago when I was getting my old Volvo serviced. Someone had put a Montclair Auto Tech flyer on my Volvo for their autoshop. They turned out to be the most honest, affordable guys, and I got to hang out at the gluten-free bakery next door… and the wine shop one more door over. It was a three-for. Getting a car tune-up had never been so fun!

In those early days, there were not very many customers or employees at Mariposa. It was quiet.

Over the years, a few other competing gluten-free bakeries popped up in the area with high prices and not great products; they came and went.

Meanwhile, Mariposa Bakery blossomed into a beautiful big prosperous business. These days, they are always busy, have lots of friendly employees, and ship out boxes of products too.

They opened up a convenient storefront at The Ferry Building at the end of Market Street in San Francisco, great for commuters and tourists.

Mariposa Bakery has given me many years of joyful eating. Their prices are only slightly above mass-produced foods, and therefore quite reasonable for freshly baked gluten-free food. Since the day I found them, I have felt blessed to have them in my life.

You can find Mariposa Bakery at:

5427 Telegraph Ave, Unit D3
Oakland, CA 94609
tel: 510-595-0955
OAKLAND HOURS:
Monday-Friday 9-6
Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

~~~

One Ferry Building, Suite 32
San Francisco, CA 94111
tel: 510-595-0955
SAN FRANCISCO HOURS:
Monday-Saturday 8-6
Sunday 10-5

~~~

MARIPOSA BAKERY WEBSITE:  http://www.mariposabaking.com/

If you have a severe case of Celiac Auto-Immune Disease, keep in mind that kissing can be a danger for you, depending on what your partner has been drinking or eating.

If your make-out buddy has been drinking beer, you can still get a big dose of gluten from French kissing him or her, which may cause blisters on your gums and pain for many days.

By tongue kissing alone, not ingesting the beer yourself, you probably won’t suffer any problems further down in your digestive tract, but your mouth may suffer if you are sensitive. Once you have a wound in your mouth, you are more susceptible to all other illnesses.

If your partner is eating regular wheat white flour bread sandwiches, pizza, cookies, or pastries, there will be particles in his or her mouth, stuck between the teeth and floating around, that may come into your mouth when you kiss.

After your partner eats gluten foods, before kissing, suggest a teeth brushing or mouthwash. Flossing would be ideal, but that’s an awkward conversation that doesn’t go over well early in the dating process. A rinse of water is better than nothing.

For beer drinkers, request a water swisharoo if they want to kiss.

Getting people to eat and drink the same things as you is often easier than getting them to wash their mouth, so that is another safe route, especially if you are making dinner.

Days or weeks of pain is not worth one night of kissing, is it?

Ok, sometimes it is.

If your partner doesn’t care enough about you, though, to, at least, rinse their mouth with some water before kissing you, then they are not very clean and maybe they aren’t worth your time anyway.

Some people may in fact have the same intolerance to gluten as you and not know it yet.

By having an honest conversation about it, about the symptoms, about the triggers, you may enlighten someone else, and improve their life. You never know.

If you don’t want to have a conversation about Celiac Disease or gluten, you can avoid mouth kissing and go for the neck.

On a white label with silver and gold lettering, Pure Cider’s stylish modern packaging is like a Kubrick futuristic movie or an Apple Macintosh store. Not new, Pure Cider boasts 130 years of heritage. That’s just what I like: old and new, classic with a modern edge.

I feared Pure Cider would be a hard bitter cider that I wouldn’t like, but it turned out to be a nice sweet flavor similar to Martinelli’s non-alcoholic cider. Martinelli’s is what was always given to the kids in my family on holidays, so Pure Cider brings a positive association with its flavor.

Gluten Free Possmann Pure Cider has 5% alcohol.

The bottle reads: “Simply pure enjoyment from the rich flavor of German apples ripened for the full summer, then picked, pressed and fermented to cider according to the traditional Possmann recipe. Cheers from Frankfurt. ”

I am not sure where you can find Pure Cider in the USA. It is probably easier to find in Europe. It immediately sold out at my store. It is a bit expensive at $9.99, as it has a long journey to make to get to California. At $2.50 a bottle, it is still cheaper than buying a drink at the bar.

If you can find it, Possmann Pure Cider is a nice light gluten free alcoholic beverage to have at your holiday and New Year’s Eve parties. Plus, Pure Cider will look nice next to the champagne and confetti.