Gluten-Free Food Fair in Grand Rapids, May 21

Quinoa (pronouced "Keen-wah"

Find Some Buds & Learn Some Alternatives . . .

How tough is it to live with a gluten-free diet?  How difficult is it to make sure products are gluten-free, that you are choosing the right grains, that you are getting the most taste and nutrition out of alternative grains?  Its tough.  But as the allegen-free community grows, so does the knowledge that we can share.

Registration and Cost

On Saturday, May 21 some great presenters are getting together to help us all learn. You may register for one conference in advance by emailing registration@glutenfreegr.com with your name and address (at least city, state, zip)  to get on the list before May 18th.  Registration will also be available at the door.

Cost is free to attendees.  Vendors will be sampling some of their products, there are door prize drawings, opportunities to purchase products, and cooking demos by gluten-free greats like Marie Catrib's.  Marie will be demonstrating how to make gluten-free bread.  A not-to-be-missed treat!

You may be able to attend multiple conferences as space becomes available.

More information on the web site:  www.glutenfreegr.com

Who, When & Where

HOST: Celiac Ministries of Anchor Baptist Church (thanks, guys!)

WHEN:  MAY 21 from 10:00am - 5:00pm

WHERE:  The DeltaPlex (map)

Conference Schedule

10:15 am Conference 1: Gluten Free 101
Presenter: Anne Lee, RD Dietitian with Schär
This presentation gives the beginner the basic information about foods and ingredients to enjoy on a gluten free diet and those to avoid. Issues of cross contamination, preparing gluten free meals, and how to manage a mixed gluten free and non-gluten free kitchen. The talk will also include practical tips for dining out, social activities, and decoding labels.

Cooking Demo:  10:15am with Kinnikinnick (Pancakes & Syrup)

Cooking Demo:  11:15am with Marie Catrib's (Bread)

11:30 am Conference 2: Celiac and Diabetes
Presenter: Anne Lee, RD Dietitian with Schär
This discussion will cover the nuts and bolts of carb counting gluten free products. How to use alternative grains as low glycemic gluten free menu options, recipes and tips will also be covered.

Cooking Demo:  12:15pm Gluten-Free Sensations (Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache)

12:45 pm Conference 3: Living Lite
Presenter: Heather Leets, RD Dietitian with Spartan Stores
How can we pack nutrition into the foods that we eat without packing on pounds? This is especially difficult with the high carbs that gluten free flours bring to the diet. The conference will share tips and ideas that will help guide menu planning toward better nutrition.

Cooking Demo:  1:15pm Meijer Dietician, Shari Steinback (Spinach Strawberry Salad; Nu-Val Nutrition Scoring System)

2:00 pm Conference 4: “So . . . What CAN I Eat?”
Presenter: Kathy LeBarre, RD Outpatient Dietitian with Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital
Adjusting to a gluten free diet can be difficult and certainly has a tough learning curve. This
conference will discuss combining that dietary limitation with others, like dairy, soy, and corn.

• Cooking Demo:  2:15pm... 1 2 3 Gluten-Free (Dessert)

3:15 pm Conference 5: Food Allergies and Gluten Free—
A Review of News Headlines and Facts
Presenter: Lucy Gibney, MD Founder of the brand “Lucy’s”
A board certified Emergency Physician, Dr. Lucy founded the brand “Lucy’s” when her infant son was diagnosed with several very severe food allergies. She operates a “dedicated” gluten free bakery that adheres to the strictest ingredient screening program including an in-house testing lab. Her mission is to provide great tasting, high quality, convenient foods for people with special diets, and their friends and family. “Lucy’s” offers four cookie flavors planning to expand in the near future.
Dr. Lucy will discuss health facts and recent news headlines pertaining to celiac disease, gluten intolerance and food allergies.

Cooking Demo:  3:15 Bonefish Grill (Saucy Shrimp Appetizer; Macadamia Nut Brownie)

Cooking  Demo: 4:15 Willy O's (Surprise!)

4:30 pm Conference 6: Beyond Gluten Free—
Other Natural Solutions to Digestive Disorders
Presenter: Dr. Ben Gillis, DC Speaker for the Foundation of Wellness Professionals
Even though compliant with the gluten free diet, some people have digestive issues that remain.
Acid Reflux, Hiatal Hernias, Ulcers, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, and Crohn's Disease are
just a few of the other digestive disorders that affect more than 61 million Americans each year.
This presentation will teach the audience about their causes and symptoms. Then it will
address natural means of improving or even correcting these problems using natural remedies
including vitamins, exercise, stress reduction and nutritional cleansing of accumulated toxins.

Let's Go Out To Eat! Tender Tapas at San Chez Bistro. (May 17, 2011)

Tuesay, May 17, 2011 from 5:00-7:00pm at San Chez Bistro in Grand Rapids, MI

One of the biggest difficulties for people with food allergies is eating out and being treated well when doing so. The good news is that there are restaurants popping up all over the country who are serving Tender Foodies with passion and responsibility. The even better news is that we have several right here in Grand Rapids. So let's eat out! You can help me review these restaurants, too, by adding your comments to my upcoming review on www.tenderfoodie.com (I'll post a note right here when its up).

RSVP:  on the Facebook Event Page or at info@tenderfoodie.com
PRICE: order from the menu & self-pay
DRESS:  whatever floats your boat

Stop by San Chez Bistro on Tuesday, May 17 anytime between 5:00pm & 7:30pm. We are gathering in the bar area (The Fishbowl). Come for just a cocktail or add a small plate or six. Or grab a table and have dinner! San Chez is one of the pioneers in serving people with food allergies; they might even be the first Tender Friendly restaurant in Grand Rapids.


Check out their food allergy menus here: http://www.sanchezbistro.com/menu.htm

They have nut-, treenut-, lactose-, gluten-, soy-, capsicum- (peppers), garlic-, citric-acid, seed-, seafood- free menus. They also have a Vegan menu (right on). As for gluten-free alcohol, they have Redbridge Beer, as well as Chopin Potato Vodka (Chopin grows their potatoes without chemicals or pesticides).

PLEASE NOTE: make SURE that you are clear and responsible with your servers about your food allergies, so they can serve you well. Speak up!

I'll tell you a secret, it's also my birthday. What a way to celebrate by meeting Tender Foodies & Friends!

To Degree or Not to Degree? My Tour of the Secchia Culinary Institute

Culinary Degree?  That is the Question.

The sound of clinking steel, the uber-visible hats, the TV battles and people calling you "Chef"...  it all has no small amount of sex appeal these days.  But the siren song of culinary school for me is this:  learning about food is creative, intersesting and endless. 

As my secret desire to hob knob with culinary experts bubbles up, so do the holes in my own self-training.  My palate has been lucky to have tasted extraordinary cusine throughout the world - especially in New York City.  I've read, I've watched and I've experiemented with brilliant success and with miserable failures.  A few of my friends who braved my first Easter Brunch; and who endured the deafening commentary of the smoke alarms in my tiny New York City apartment can attest to the miserable failure part.  Needless to say, I have improved. I've learned.  People seem to really like it when I cook for them.

But when it comes to the art and science of food, I would love to go beyond my current foodie status and simply ... learn more. And do so in the presence of people who really know what they are doing.  

On the Institute tour, I discovered something wonderful.  I don't have to get a degree.  I don't have to become a working chef.  I can pick a program and simply take classes without having to be super woman or go into the poor house.  I could take a week or two off for the technical labs.  My training could happen over several years.

I also discovered that the chef professors will work with my food allergies.  Although they require you to taste everything, the school makes real exceptions.  If you are allergic to an ingredient in a dish, or if you have religious reasons against that ingredient, you are exempt from its consumption.

They, like most culinary schools around the world, do not yet provide any formal food allergy training, however.  But I think this might change.  After speaking with Dan Gendler, the owner of San Chez and the upcoming head honcho for the Secchia Culinary Institute, I have some hope.  It might take a while, but I have some hope.

Salad Day

Our tour group had the privilege to walk in on a salad class that day.  It looked like they were learning about different vinaigrettes.  The kitchen was spacious and every chef-in-training had a place to work comfortably.  Apparently, this is not true in many culinary schools where students have to wait in line for a chance to give their newly learned skills a try.  At the Secchia Culinary Institute, everyone has a place at the stove and at the chopping block -- all under the personal and watchful eye of their class professor.   

It was in the salad area, however, that I noticed that, contrary to my earlier perception, our tour group wasn't made up of a variety of age groups considering classes.  The older folk were parents of prospective students.  These prospective students were mostly just out of high school.  "Hmmm," I thought.  "I wonder if I would stand out?"  As one of the parents so kindly put it, "Are you having a mid-life career crisis?"  I hate it when people point out that I'm not one of the kids.  "No", I laughed (I didn't really laugh), "I love my job.  I'm a marketer who writes about food and just want to learn more." 

I'll show you a crisis, lady.  Just say "mid-life" one more time.

 

Retro Remnants,  Up-to-Date Training.

I loved running across some classic looking equipment in the meat area.  I have absolutely no idea what these things do, but they captured my attention and it gave me a sense that the school has a real history to it. 

 

But what impressed me on the tour, was the sense of discipline that the students seem to have.  We not only ran into students learning about salads, we met a few creating cake sculptures in the bake house, taking a break before serving lunch and setting up in the restaurant itself.  It was evident that they weren't just going to school, they were being trained.  Really trained (front to back) in the restaurant business itself.

A sneak peek into the ice sculpture case

I enjoyed seeing this discipline, because it felt like these students will be entering the food world with a deep and wholistic understanding.  An understanding that goes above and beyond whatever job they choose to do.  When they graduate, they will understand how to work with customers -- happy ones and not-so-happy ones.  They will know how to budget for and order food and beverages.  They will have participated in video conferencing with Scotland and other areas of the planet.  They will have learned from chef professors who have trained and worked within a few different cultures.   They will have witnessed customers responding to the food they cook and serve, because they worked in restaurants and catering facilities right through the school.   The Heritage Restaurant is one of them, and I had no idea that it existed before the tour.  The restaurant decor could use a solid facelift,  but what I witnessed in the attitudes of the students as they set up the dining room was an up-to-date knowledge of what service is all about.   Plus, the 180+ degree view provides an atmospheric element that is always in style.

Leading the Way in Food Allergy Training?

I felt satiated with information about the Secchia Culinary Institute after the tour -- and a little excited.  From what I understand, food allergy training has not been incorporated into most culinary educations thus far, including the Secchia Culinary Institute.  But I have a good feeling that Grand Rapids and its Culinary School might be responding to this need -- I'm hoping in the nearer future. 

Why am I so concerned?  If you have food allergies, you know why, because you have experienced this first hand.  A recent study in Great Britian (April, 2011) showed a shocking ignorance and a huge gap in the education of restaurant workers  when it comes to food allergies.

•  Almost 25% of those surveyed labored under the impression that drinking a glass of water could diffuse an allergic reaction when an individual consumed an allergy-triggering food.
  
  
• 23% believed that consuming a small amount of triggering foods, such as tree nuts or shellfish, would not harm the allergic individuals.
  
  
• 21% believed that diners could “pick out” allergy causing foods and still consume the dish without risk.
• Catered foods provide the most risk
• 1/3 had any kind of food allergy training, but 80% of these same respondents felt confident in serving customers with food allergies.

“Staff with high comfort and low knowledge are potentially dangerous, as they may convey an exaggerated sense of competence to their customers, giving them false reassurance.” _the researchers from the public health division of Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Sources: 

The Inquisitr

Science Daily

With the growing numbers of food allergic customers entering restaurants today, food allergy training is an essential addition to any culinary curriculum.  Could The Secchia Culinary Institute lead the way?  I'll keep you posted.

And who knows, perhaps I'll be jumping in at some point next year to learn a few thousand more of the billions of things there is to learn about this wonderful thing called food.

Hunger Walks. Why Do We Do It?

The Access/Grace Hunger Walk

I confess that I have struggled with writing this post.  Partly because I often hear disparaging remarks about the city’s needy from a small but opinionated group.  Comments surface, like, “Why can’t they get a job, or a 2nd job”, “I’ve struggled, too, especially in this economy,” and “Don’t they have family to help them?”  I can understand, to a point. Its tough out there for many of us.

I’ve also struggled with this post because as a writer. I want to say something that no one has said before.  But the truth is, there is nothing new about hunger.

•    It exists.  
•    It can happen to anyone.  
•    It takes a community of people to help solve the problem.

The more complicated questions are: why is there a hunger problem in the first place and how we do we kick hunger in its persistent little butt?

We Walk.

A Tough Blow in Life Is All It Takes

When I spoke to Jennifer Gray, the Hunger Walk Coordinator for Access of West Michigan, she helped clarify a few things about the “why”.  Jennifer told me that most of the people who visit the West Michigan Food Pantries have jobs. Sometimes two.  

I don’t want to get overly sentimental, because this post is not meant to guilt you into giving.  But the fact is, who can predict that you will lose your business because of a heart attack?  Or that medical bills because of cancer pile so high that you have to choose between treatment and food?  How do you survive if your sole breadwinner passes away and you cannot work yourself?  How do you keep your job if you lose your car?  What happens when your entire 401K disappears when you are retired and elderly?  How do stay hopeful, keep your emotions in check and your kids healthy if you can’t feed them?  How do your children learn in school when they can’t get enough to eat at home?

Food affects every area of our lives.  

Without healthy food, illness, loneliness and shame take a much stronger foothold within the entire community.  Look around at other communities that make us shake our heads.  If all of our citizens aren’t healthy and productive, then our community as a whole is not healthy either.

“Hunger does not discriminate.”
_Jennifer Wilson, Volunteer & Chairperson of the FightHungerGR task force now partnering with the Access of West Michigan Hunger Walk

About the Hunger Walk on May 7, 2011

In the spirit of a vibrant and caring community, Access of West Michigan works with a network of food pantries across Grand Rapids.  On Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 8 a.m. thousands of access volunteers and friends are coming together to walk and raise money together, so they can delve more deeply into the causes of hunger and eradicate them through a remarkable strategy of services.

You can sign up now, on Saturday morning or just donate a few bucks from your computer.  Click here to find out more.

“I really do believe that we are a community that cares about our citizens and that together we can end hunger in Grand Rapids.”  _Jennifer Gray, Hunger Walk Coordinator, Access of West Michigan

If I Had a Million Dollars

Here are a few quick facts about where your donations will be going:


•    Relationships with large, national food suppliers to keep their excess of products coming to West Michigan.

•    Broaden local resources like restaurants, groceries, farms and factories to become a truly sustainable, local food system and cut down on expensive transportation costs.

•    Collect local gardeners’ excess produce during the summer.

•    A Fresh Food Truck to deliver foods with a short shelf life -- like produce, meat and eggs to areas that do not have groceries within walking distance or along bus routes that offer such things.  There is a huge need for fresh foods.

•    Keep Pantries stocked all year round with longer shelf-life foods

•    Nutritional Options for Wellness (NOW) program that works with people who are faced with life-or-death diets for Diabetes, M.S., Cancer and other diseases.

•    Awareness Campaigns to help both the folks who are hungry and the people who want to help them.

•    Senior Meals.  Seniors, the disabled and children are the most vulnerable.

•    75% of donations will go to the local community

•    25% of the donations will support in-need international communities, such as Japan after the recent earthquake.


What I love about this Access of West Michigan is that when they say “community” they really mean it.  It is a faith-based organization that is made up of many different faith traditions.  And they work together for our local and international families.  

Many of us are lucky to have a family network to fall back on in hard times.  For the people who visit the food pantries, Access and their services have become that family.  The food pantries are all they have.

The financial goal of the Hunger Walk this year is $200,000.  I think I understand this piece of data correctly -- if we could raise $1,000,000, we could eradicate hunger in West Michigan.  It only costs us about $2.37 per meal.

If you can, will you join me in supporting them?

Update on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 9:48AM by Elisabeth Veltman, The Tender Foodie

Here is a note from Jennifer Philips Wilson to all who participated in this great event:

With your support, the Access/Grace Hunger Walk was a success. Preliminary numbers show over 1,000 people walked through East Hills this past Saturday and nearly $150,000 was raised to help eliminate food insecurity in our city. With over 20 local agencies fighting hunger on the front lines benefiting from the proceeds, it should take a bite out of our 19.7% food hardship rate.

Thank you again for your help in bringing food to the table for those who cannot afford regular meals. I am truly grateful for what you have accomplished!

All my best,

Jennifer Wilson

Let Them Eat (a Really Big) Gluten-free Cake! For Congress on May 4.

A Really Big Cake

Do you know what defines a gluten-free product?  Well, neither does our FDA.  In 2004 Congress gave the FDA a mandate to finalize this definition by 2008 to protect the millions of people who have celiac disease or who are allergic to gluten.  That's like, seven years, dudes. 

The Washington Post reports that some companies "might fail to test their products or might allow small amounts of gluten but still label their foods as gluten-free."  People with celiac and with serious allergies cannot tolerate one crumb.  This type of sloppiness and ignorance can make customers in this $2.6 billion dollar market very ill, hospitalized or contract other health problems like other autoimmune disorders, osteoporosis, infertility, neurological conditions and, in rare cases, cancer. 

While Tender Foodies can benefit from more manufacturers in the allergen-free marketplace, "Gluten-free" is not a marketing tactic.

So to tempt our authorities into doing their job, some gluten-free experts are making a really big cake in Washington, D.C.  to let our legislator know that this is a really big deal.  How big is the cake?  We'll have to wait for the videos.  If it's chocolate, I might hop a plane tomorrow.

Gluten Labeling - A Really Big Deal

So, you might ask, how big of a deal is this, anyway? 

Food allergies & intolerance, and their diagnoses, are escalating at a surprising rate.  In 2002, a study shows that there are 12 million people in the United States alone who have some type of food allergy (that's 1 in 25 people).  Three million more have celiac disease.   A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports on gluten study done in March, 2011.  It states that celiac disease "is rising sharply".  There are four times more people today with celiac disease than there were 50 years ago.  That's 1 in 133 people.  Even people in their 70's who have safely eaten gluten their entire lives are being diagnosed with celiac disease for the first time.  The University of Maryland School of Medicine (they did the study in March 2011) believes there are 18 million people with gluten sensitivities.  Gluten sensitivity or intolerance can manifest with over 100 symptoms, including depression, anxiety, bloating, brain fog, swollen joints, nutrition deficiencies. . .

Chew on This

•  75% of our human immune system lies in the intestines.  Our food matters.
• FAAN states that there are 300,000 ambulatory care visits per year for children, because of food allergies.
• In 2008, Fox News reported 50,000 emergency room visits per year (overall)
• in 2010, Aol Health reported that emergency room visits jumped to 200,000 (overall)

So on May 4, 2011, this really cool event in response to an important part of the growing food allergy problem.  A group of talented and enterprising folks are gathering in Washington, D.C. to lobby for laws that require gluten be declared on food labels. 

Click here to see the cake builders!

Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal article from March 15, 2011

"Patients have been told if it wasn't celiac disease, it wasn't anything. It was all in their heads," says Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the nonprofit Gluten Intolerance Group of North America"

"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.

"People aren't born with this. Something triggers it and with this dramatic rise in all ages, it must be something pervasive in the environment," says Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. One possible culprit: agricultural changes to wheat that have boosted its protein content."

 Full article

The Day's Events

11:00 a.m - 4:30 - Cake Building (all are welcome)
We are developing opportunities to brief staffers on Capitol Hill and meet with individual Congressional Representatives - watch for details.

5 p.m. - 8:30 - VIP Reception (donors & invited guests)
With distinguished speakers, including Dr. Alessio Fasano
Finger Foods by chef extraordinaire Aaron Flores and local restaurants serving gluten-free menu items
(Everyone is welcome, donations kindly requested. Please RSVP to Info@1in133.org First 300 attendees receive a "swag bag" full of gluten-free magazines and goodies provided by our sponsors)

All Day - Individuals are encouraged to make appointments with their Representative and Senators to discuss the need for gluten-free labeling standards. Not sure how to do this?  See "Coming to the Summit".