Be Free For Me Blog

After the email BeFreeForMe.com sent out yesterday regarding the Joan’s GF Great Bakes products, I received several emails from Members inquiring about the allergens / facilities at Joan’s GF Great Bakes.

I contacted Joan, and asked her to clarify the allergen information and received this email from her today:

Hi Kathleen,

I would like to take this opportunity to address some concerns voiced by your readers.

We have a dedicated, gluten free facility. We are also free of soy flour or oil, peanuts and tree nuts. We take great care to avoid cross contamination of any kind. When we prepare our dairy free bagels, all the equipment is carefully washed and the bagels are not prepared at the same time as bagels with dairy.

Our English muffins do not have dairy or egg and again, we take great pains to ensure no contact with substances not listed in the ingredients. Only the English muffins are prepared on our griddles. They are not used for any other purpose.

Our mixers are used for all the products and are very carefully cleaned between batches but it is because we use the same mixers that we put the disclaimer on the packaging.

When we first started in business we did produce 2 tea breads containing nuts.  They were never made on the mixers, but in large tubs and mixed by hand. It soon became apparent to us that we could serve a larger community by removing the tree nuts from our facility and we did that approximately 4 months ago. We no longer produce ANY product containing nuts but our packaging was made for us before we eliminated the nuts.

I hope this answers any questions you might have and I would be happy to answer any further questions. 

My warmest regards –
Joan

If anyone needs more information or would like to order their awesome English muffins (15% OFF until 03/01/09) or other products, contact Joan at:  http://www.gfgreatbakes.com

Be Free!

Kathleen

With flu and cold season in full swing, many of us are making numerous trips to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions to make us, or our kids, feel well.

While at my local pharmacy, I noticed a sign for a product called FLAVORx, a product marketed towards kids that essentially are flavorings that pharmacists add to liquid medications in order to combat that medicinal bad flavor that makes even kids with taste-buds of steel squirm.

In my mind, I broke into tune internally humming one of my favorite musicals hits.  Is FLAVORx the sugar that Mary Poppins crooned about? Is FLAVORx the fun Julie Andrews enthusiastically promoted to help get the medicine down in a most delightful way?

At first I was envious Pharmacists didn’t have this product around when I was a kid. I remember that awful pink colored, nasty smelling and horrible tasting Penicillin that made having the flu seem not all that bad. Then I wondered if FLAVORx was gluten and allergen free for those celiac and allergic kids out there in today’s world.

I placed a call to FLAVORX headquarters today and learned that all FLAVORx flavors are gluten-free, sugar-free, dye-free, contain no sodium or phosphates and are non-allergenic.

They can be found at all major pharmacies including Brooks, CVS, Rite-Aid, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens – as well as major supermarket retailers.

So put your doubts aside, concentrate on getting your little ones over the flu, sniffles and colds and have no worries about allergens – FLAVORx are gluten free, allergen free, and for the record … there’s no sugar in them either – not even a spoonful.

Who needs a red velvet heart stuffed with gluten and allergen-ridden chocolates? There are so many “gifts” to share with your sweetie that are free of gluten and allergens,  jam-packed with fun… and economical too! Here are just a few of BeFreeForMe’s favorites… what are some of yours?

1.) Room Service: Serve your sweetie breakfast in bed… heart-shaped gluten free pancakes anyone?

2.) Is a mini-adventure in order? Take a road trip… take a drive to nowhere! You’ll never know where you’ll end up!  Make sure you take a gluten and allergen free picnic lunch with you. Leave the GPS behind!

3.) The Big Screen at Home: Rent a romantic movie, grab a warm blanket and make some popcorn. Try a romantic-comedy and share a laugh together too!

4.) Make a Heart Sing: Make a gift of CD love songs or songs that bring back sweet memories. Pop it in the CD player of her car… instant smiles while driving the miles!

5.) Let’s get Physical!: Go bowling, sledding or ice skating. Live in a warm climate? Find an indoor ice skating rink with public skate time. Bring along some allergen free snacks and hot chocolate!
 

6.) The Game of Love: Have a marathon of playing board or card games – and let your sweetie win! Make tons of gluten free and allergen free snacks and invite another couple.

7.) Sweets for the Sweethearts: Go out for a gluten free ice cream!  Dilly Bar Anyone?

8.) Let me count thy ways… Make your own Valentine Day card. Include 10 things that made you first fall in love, and are still in love, with your sweetheart.

When things didn’t go just right, when my and my sister’s days were full of sniffles and childhood worries, our Mom would make us our favorite suppers that made everything good again.

My Mom’s magical comfort foods were (and still are to this day) chicken soup and rice pudding. Luckily for us, these classics are naturally gluten free, and no changes needed to be made to these recipes after my, and other family members, diagnosis of celiac disease.

One of the top trends in cooking during this new economy is the comeback of comfort foods – and it is no wonder. Not only is it more economical to eat at home, it also makes sense to simplify our crazy worlds and reach back to the basics. Basics like returning to home cooking, holding close the simple suppers shared as a family, or remembering the childhood excitement knowing that your favorite meal is being served for supper that night. All little things that make us treasure good food; plus all the good that comes from it.

In general, Gluten free and allergen free foods are a lot like comfort foods: simple, straightforward and uncomplicated. Just basic good food that makes you feel good – inside and out. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious. Treasured.

What are your gluten and allergy free comfort foods that make you cuddly warm, happy and full?