Violettes are Gluten-Free! Hop on the Band Wagon!

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My daughter, a violin purse owner, a violin player and now a young adult, attends a lot of dinner pot lucks with her friends. Recently she announced that she is going to have one less food with gluten every day to see how she feels. Most of us attempt some kind of health food kick once in our lives. As she has been on an admirable strict jogging and no dessert kick with her best friend for quite some time now.What is this non gluten craze we wanted to know?! Digging not very deep, I found it to be largely based on a clever marketing ploy. So much so that comedians are having a field day - "A lot of people don't eat gluten because people in their yoga class told them not to." spouts Jimmy Kimmel.How did the Gluten-Free Fad Start?The bottom line of the short version is – According to a June 2014 Wall Street Journal Article (1), after improved diagnostic tests were available for Celiac Disease, in which people are thought to have ill effects from gluten, in 2007 the Food and Drug Administration proposed labeling the amount of gluten in products. A General Mills executive, who had a gluten problem himself, suggested they make a gluten-free version of the lagging in sales Chex Cereal. Sales were boosted by double digit sales growth every year since. This was the first main stream gluten free cereal in the US in 2008, and today, General Mills has more than 600 products labeled Gluten-free including Betty Crocker Brownie Mix and Pillsbury Pizza Crust. Who Should Not Eat Gluten-Free?Generally, people with Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity should avoid gluten. Less than 1% of Americans suffer from Celiac Disease (a digestive and autoimmune disorder that can damage the lining of the small intestine), and a smaller percentage have gluten sensitivity, suffering some discomfort to their intestines.(1) A Feb. 2014 Scientific American Article(2), states that gluten may not even be the culprit for some of the health issues. More thorough scientific testing is still needed.What is Gluten?Gluten consists of several kinds of proteins found in Wheat, Barley and Rye. It is important for baking bread, giving it structure, texture and elasticity. When you mix water, yeast and gluten-containing flour, then knead them together, the gluten proteins form an elastic like web that traps the gasses produced by yeast. As gasses caught in the gluten matrix expand, they make the dough rise. When the dough is baked, gluten proteins help the bread maintain its shape and texture. (3)Does Gluten-Free means low Carbs?Gluten-free foods contain carbohydrates from flours made from grains and beans that are naturally free of gluten, such as flours made from rice, beans, sorghum, potatoes and millet. (3)Why Gluten Problems Now?The wheat plant was domesticated 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. Since then the amount of wheat in our diet has drastically increased. The types of grain that people cultivated contained far smaller amounts of gluten until the Middle Ages. In the following centuries, before people understood what gluten was, they selectively bred varieties of wheat that produced bread that was lighter and chewier, increasing consumption of the protein. As technology for breeding and farming wheat improved, Americans produced and ate more wheat overall. Today the average person in the U.S. eats around 132 pounds of wheat a year—from bread, cereal, crackers, pasta, cookies and cakes—which translates to about 0.8 ounce of gluten each day. (2)Foods to Eat and Avoid for a Gluten-Free Diet(4)Avoid: Wheat Products such as -wheat starch, wheat bran, wheat germ, couscous, cracked wheat, durum, einkorn, emmer, farina, faro, fu (common in Asian foods), gliadin, graham flour, kamut, matzo, semolina and spelt. In addition, barley, bulgur, oats (oats themselves don't contain gluten, but are often processed in plants that produce gluten-containing grains and may be contaminated), rye, seitan, triticale and Mir (a cross between wheat and rye), veggie burgers (if not specified gluten-free).Gluten may also show up as ingredients in barley malt, chicken broth, malt vinegar, some salad dressings, soy sauce, as well as in many common seasonings and spice mixes. Therefore, gluten-free cooking presents many challenges.Eat: Lots of foods are naturally gluten-free, including fruits and vegetables, beans, seeds, legumes, nuts, potatoes, eggs, dairy products, corn, rice, fish, and meats. Many other grains and foods are gluten free as well, including: amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, cassava, millet, quinoa, rice, sorghum, soy, tapiocaA gluten-free recipe just showed up on my Pinterest page. Look for Gluten free recipes on Pinterest!

Violettes are Gluten-Free - Eat 'Em Up!!!! 

1. 1. The Wall Street Journal, “Observations From L.A., Ground Zero of Gluten-Free Eating” by Julie Jargon, Jun 23, 2014
2. 2. Scientific American Article, “"Gluten Sensitivity" May Be a Misnomer for Distinct Illnesses to Various Wheat Proteins” by Roxanne Khamsi, Feb 1, 2014
3. 3. Livestrong.com, “What Is the Difference Between Carbohydrates and Gluten?” by Sandi Busch, Nov. 30, 2013
4. 4. Healthline.com, “Gluten Allergies Food List: What to Avoid & What to Eat” by Michael Kerr, May 4, 2012, Medically Reviewed by George Krucik, MD

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