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gluten-free honey mustard chicken foil packet dinner for camping

A Camping Trip & a Foil Packet Dinner

You might have had a mild inkling that I am not an outdoorsy girl. Particularly if you have seen my instagram feed. Or my shoe collection.

When I was invited to this camping trip, a good friend asked if I even was going to have to buy new shoes so that I had appropriate footwear. (Clearly I own appropriate shoes – this first picture is proof…)

when frannycakes goes camping

I was very much undecided about a weekend filled with nature. I hadn’t been camping since Girl Scout Camp when I was 10. My idea of visiting nature is a mile or two hike through the forest preserve. Not spending 3 days away from civilization.

Somehow, I let them talk me into going. I am still unsure how that happened.

It started with crazy Chicago traffic, a third person I didn’t know, a broken down car and an emergency car rental. That first car ride is what made our trip. My friend Helen and I bonded with an acquaintance who needed a ride to the camping trip. (This was greatly aided by the Sour Patch watermelon candies that I grabbed on impulse at the grocery store…)

There was a lot of laughter. A little bit of singing. A lot of games. I spent time with acquaintances that I rarely get to see in real life. I bonded with some of the girls over our lack of outdoorsy-ness. We all got a little silly. We even got to watch lanterns released in lieu of holiday weekend fireworks.

So, if I ignore the fact that there were bugs and dirt, it was a pretty ok time. And the food was pretty spectacular.

It had to be the best – people expect things when you blog about food. Plain old burgers and dogs wouldn’t cut it if I was going to live up to my reputation. But I also had to be careful. There were 30 people on this trip, and I had to make sure that I didn’t end up coming in contact with food that would trigger an allergic reaction and necessitate an emergency room trip.

My solution to a crowded grill filled with gluten was a foil packet dinner. Packing up veggies and meat with something to add flavor makes for jealous camping buddies when your food is better than their burgers. This type of cooking is also great for cookouts where there is a shared grill, or for nights when you want to put together a fast and easy dinner using the grill so you don’t heat up your kitchen.

gluten-free honey mustard chicken foil packet dinner for camping

Honey Mustard Chicken & Sweet Pepper foil packet dinner

Recipe Type: Entree
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 4
An easy to prepare dinner for camping, cookouts and family dinners on the grill.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb chicken tenders (about 12 tenders)
  • 8-12 small sweet peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 1/2 cup honey mustard
  • Salt & Pepper
Instructions
  1. Start your grill or fire and let it get hot – it should be hot enough to cook a burger.
  2. Set out 4, 12″ long pieces of foil.
  3. Divide the chicken and peppers evenly and center them on the pieces of foil.
  4. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
  5. Pour 2 tablespoons of the mustard on top of each group of ingredients.
  6. Bring the short ends together and roll them down together, then roll up the open sides to create a packet.
  7. Place on the grill or over the fire, but off to the side so it isn’t directly over the flame, and cook for 20-25 minutes. You want the chicken to get golden brown on the bottom and the honey in the honey mustard to start to caramelize.
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relish - july 2013 boys 'n berries

Relish 06: Boys ‘n Berries

Relish is a compendium of things to enjoy greatly and that add a little flavor to your gluten-free life. Because really, summer is all about the berries (and the boys).

relish - july 2013 boys 'n berries

So, I’m an old lady now.

Two weeks ago, I turned 29. It was a celebration to remember – all my friends made it out for the night. For my birthday, I treated myself to a trip to BlogHer Food in Austin. I even got to spend an evening in Millenium Park with friends listening to music. And because that wasn’t enough, I hosted the Great Big Gluten-Free BBQ and went to WordCamp (a WordPress conference for work).

But let’s talk.

There were some epic things that happened online in the gluten-free community. First, if you didn’t read this incredibly honest and heartfelt post by KC from GFree Foodie, go read it right now. And if you haven’t supported the kickstarter from Erica at Celiac and the Beast, you should do that. (The rewards include that awesomely designed swag from her blog)

Delicious eats.

There were so many incredible things shared to make this month, I chose a few of my favorite gluten-free summer options. (And some boy bait…)

relish - four things i want to make

This recipe is called Blueberry Boy Bait (01) from Alison at A Girl Defloured. I wonder if it actually works? And how about some Mango Coconut Popsicles (02) from Sarah Bakes Gfree Treats? These are perfect for hot summer days. I am going camping this week (yikes!), but these s’mores in a jar with bourbon marshmallows (03) from Sabrina at The Tomato Tart make me a little more excited about the food potential. And this incredible Icy Cold Mocha Chocolate Gelato (04) from Jane at the Heritage Cook will be making its way into my summer cooking rotation.

Other lovely things.

relish - four gluten-free things I loveThis casserole dish (01) from the Feed line at Target are both stylish and money for a good cause – you win twice! I know I mentioned it last month, but I am so excited about the new box club from Gfree Foodie (02). Go sign up now! Sometimes, fancy lipstick is a luxury we can’t justify, so this new lip balm from Almay (03) is both gluten-free and affordable. Taylor, the teen behind the blog Gluten Away has released a set of cards for diners (04) will all sorts of special diets. Go check them out!

What’s next?

Next month, I am going to meet some food blogging friends at BlogHer ’13 here in Chicago, so if you are going to be in attendance, make sure that you let me know that you will be there! I am also planning trips to some expos and conferences this fall, so keep your eyes on my list of events!

gluten-free lemon raspberry cupcakes

The three best cures for anything

There is an Irish proverb that says “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”

My ancestors got that mostly right.

Sure, there is nothing like curling up in your bed, wrapped in a comforter with squishy pillows to make you feel better. Bed is a great place to recover from colds, surgeries and broken hearts.
bed

As for laughter, it is a scientific fact that laughter is good for you and might even cure what ails you. There is nothing like a good, belly-punching laugh. You know the kind. You get them when you are talking to your girl friends about that night in college. You get them from I Love Lucy. And they make you feel better. Each and every time.

But they forgot something very important.

Cupcakes.

How could they forget cupcakes? Cupcakes cure a good deal of things.

Three Gluten-Free Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

They are effective treatment for the times you get dumped because you bought a pair of designer shoes. They can also be used to help ease the regrets you have for kissing someone you shouldn’t have. Conversely, they are an excellent way for you to take time and over-analyze your interactions with that guy you like.

After surgery, cupcakes are an essential part of the recovery process.

They work wonders for friendships. (I bribe people to be my friends with cupcakes. It’s a thing. And I’m ok with it.)

Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes on a wire rack

Sometimes, cupcakes can even be a force for good and help end childhood hunger.

These particular cupcakes were made for for the Chicago Blogger Bake Sale hosted by My Daily Find Chicago and the 900 Shops on Michigan Avenue. Proceeds from the event went to benefit No Kid Hungry as part of the Great American Bake Sale campaign.

Blogger Bake Sale 2013

 These are some serious gluten-free cupcakes. A lemon vanilla bean cupcake filled with raspberry jam and topped with a lemon merengue buttercream. They manage to be light and decadent at the same time, a balance that is hard to find in cupcakes.

gluten-free lemon raspberry cupcakes

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 36
These cupcakes are a little bit sturdier than some white cakes, but that is because you need to make sure they don’t fall apart when you remove the centers.
Ingredients
  • For the cakes
  • 1½ cups (360 ml) milk at room temperature
  • 7 large (210 grams) egg whites (pasteurized are fine), at room temperature
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste OR 1 vanilla bean scraped OR 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1½ teaspoons lemon extract
  • 460 grams ( 3¼ cups) gluten free all purpose flour*
  • 2 teaspoons xantham gum**
  • 450 grams (2¼ cups) granulated sugar
  • 7 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
  • 1½ sticks (170 grams) butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
  • 85 grams (6 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
  • Zest from 1 lemon finely minced
  • To assemble
  • 1 recipe Lemon Merengue Buttercream (recipe follows)
  • approximately 1 cup raspberry jam
Instructions
Make the cakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 cupcake tins with papers, grease the tops of the pans and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup of the mil, the egg whites, egg and vanilla
  3. extract.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients including the sugar on low speed for 30 seconds.
  5. Add butter & shortening and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk and stir untill just moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for a
  6. minute and a half.
  7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg/milk/extract mixture in 3
  8. groups, scraping down the sides before each addition.
  9. Gently stir in the lemon zest.
  10. Using a large ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly among the cupcake papers,
  11. making sure that none of them are more than ⅔ full (or you could have a little bit of
  12. a mess).
  13. Bake 2 cupcake trays at a time for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the
  14. center comes out clean.
  15. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.
Assembly
  1. While the cupcakes bake, make a recipe of Lemon Merengue Buttercream.
  2. Remove the centers from the cupcakes using a cupcake corer or a paring knife, making sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.
  3. Fill the wells with raspberry jam. I find that it is neatest when you use a pastry bag and a large, plain tip.
  4. You can replace the tops on the jam wells if you only fil them 2/3 full.
  5. Pipe the buttercream on top.
Notes
*I use [url href=”http://www.cup4cup.com/”]Cup4Cup gluten-free flour[/url] in almost all of my recipes. I find that it gives me the most consistent results. You can also use Jules’ Nearly Normal flour, Better Batter or the King Arthur gluten-free flour (this one requires the xantham gum). Baking mixes or bean flour based mixes will not work. **If your mix contains xantham gum, guar gum or expandex, leave this out.
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Lemon Buttercream

Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Cook time: 45 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Ingredients
  • 8 large egg whites (30g each–total 225g, or 1 cup)**
  • 400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
  • The peel of 1 lemon
  • 560 grams (5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Yellow Gel Coloring
Instructions
  1. Combine the egg whites, sugar and lemon peel in a small pot until they reach 140 degrees fahrenheit.
  2. Strain your sugar syrup into a clean stand mixer bowl, you want to make sure that the lemon peel doesn’t make it into the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy (soft peaks) and the temperature is neutral – the bowl should not be warm to the touch.
  3. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time until it is all combined.
  4. It might look like it is starting to curdle, don’t panic! It should all smooth out by the time you add the last bit of butter. If it is getting too loose, you can pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes to help it set up.
  5. Add small amounts of yellow gel coloring until the buttercream is the color you desire.
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apricocious gluten free trail mix

Snack it to me: Apricocious Snack Mix

This post is part of Snack It To Me – recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Gluten-Free Trail MixSour Patched Gluten-Free Trail MixCherry Cordial Gluten-Free Snack MixMango Lassi Trail MixApricocious Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

apricocious gluten free trail mix

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Snack mix number 5.

A little bit of Apricot in my life,
A little bit of Almonds by my side.
A little bit of Chocolate’s all I need,
A little bit of mixing’s what I see.
A little bit of fruit dried in the sun,
A little bit of munching all night long.
A little bit of trail mix here I am,
A little bit of you makes me your fan!
Snack mix number five.

It has long been public knowledge that I have terrible taste in music. You are lucky there wasn’t a Backstreet Boys song that worked here, because then I might have tried to re-write the whole song and not just the chorus that I am sure is now stuck in your head. (It’s been in my head since I wrote “Snack mix number 5 is here.”)

Apricots are a persnickety fruit. I have bought them one too many times at the grocery store, excited because they are finally in season, only to get home and be disappointed because they are mealy or, even worse, bland. You know the moment when you take a bite and you have the heartbreaking realization that the fruit tastes like a shadow of itself? Yeah. I really hate that.

Which is why dried fruit is great. All the delicious apricot-y goodness is concentrated into a little pocket of joy. Add some almonds and a wee bit of white chocolate for good measure and you, my friend, will not be hangry when you get stuck on the CTA when they are rerouting your communte and messing with your dinner schedule. Instead, you will queue up an episode of Doctor Who and munch away, pleased with yourself for being a grownup and thinking a head. (You don’t need to tell anyone that you forgot that it was buried in the depths of your purse, your secret is safe with me).

Someday soon this flavor combo might be reincarnated as a cookie. Or a muffin. But for now, instant gratification is what it’s all about.

Apricocious Snack Mix (A gluten-free trail mix)

Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 4
No volume measurements are here because these are meant to be imprecise and easy. Either add each ingredient to the same bowl while it is on your kitchen scale, or just go ahead and wing it. With these ingredients you can’t go wrong.
Ingredients
  • 150 grams (3 handfulls) dried apricots
  • 150 grams (2 handfulls) almonds (I used blanched, but you can use roasted and salted here for a sweet & salty take on this mix)
  • 75 grams (really this is how much you want – i wanted one piece of chocolate for every 2-3 apricots) white chocolate callets or chips
Instructions
  1. Place a medium mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and tare (zero) it.
  2. Add each ingredient, weighing as you go. This recipe doesn’t need you to measure them out first.
  3. Mix to combine.
  4. Store in an air-tight container for up to one month.
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Relish - a list of gluten-free things from April 2013

Relish 04: Ramp it up

Relish - a list of gluten-free things from April 2013

Good bye April!

You might have noticed that I wrote 36 posts in April. Thirty of them were for the Health Activist Writers Month Challenge. Let me tell you, I am certainly ready for a cookie or two. And maybe a cocktail. (My friend Alison is curating a pretty impressive list of cocktails … you should go try a few, I know I am!).

For me, April was a little crazy, and I am not referring to the crazy number of blog posts. There was a little something about spine surgery in the middle. A design conference that needed attending. And a bowling outing for charity.

I also finally booked my hotel for BlogHer Food in Austin. I decided to stay at the Extended Stay America so I would have my own little kitchen and a guarantee of a safe meal if I need to cook one for myself. If you are going, you need to let me know so we can meet up and become best friends forever. (But the title of GFBBFF, that is Gluten-Free Blogger Best Friend Forever, is already taken, so we’ll have to come up with a special one for you too.)

Gluten

And there is something I definitely don’t want you to miss: the infographic about Celiac Disease that Gluten Dude created last week. Celiac Awareness Month is upon us, and this infographic contains lots of great information. Please share it! (He even has it set up so you can embed it in your blog!)

Let’s talk about some food

I’ve been missing cooking. Something about not being allowed to bend and lift makes it a bit difficult to do. Boo to that. But, I did find some mighty awesome things to make from some of the best people on the internet. Sadly, although it is ramp season (this month’s title was totally referring to them because I am clever like that), none of these include them.

First, my friend Alison has been a busy bee, and she made these amazing(01) Gluten-Free Muesli Breakfast Cookes. Cookies + breakfast = awesome. Then Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma made (02) Gluten-Free & Vegan Onion Rings. A lady after my own heart. More breakfast items from the lovely folks at Cup4Cup. They shared (03) Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars on their Facebook page. And last, but definitely not least, Tracy at Shutterbean shared an amazing (04) Honey Orange Ginger Ale recipe. I wonder if it goes well with bourbon…

Some other lovely things

Ok, sometimes I spoil myself, but that’s ok. We all deserve a little bit of indulging.

A friend of mine recently started selling Stella and Dot (this is a link to her page), and even though I had no intention of ordering, their (01) Alexandria necklace caught my eye, and my incapacitated self decided I needed a present. My (02) Zoku Slushie Maker made me feel like a kid again and brightened up my days this month in ways Real Housewives marathons never can. This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the gorgeous new cookbook from Shauna and Daniel Ahern (Gluten-Free Girl & the Chef),(03) Gluten-Free Girl Every Day. And yes, another pair of shoes. Did you expect anything less? I am supposed to take it easy for a few months, so I thought I needed more fun flats. These (04) brightly colored shoes from Two Lips fit the bill perfectly.

What’s next?

Well, May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, so look for posts and tweets with information about gluten-free living, celiac disease and gluten-intolerance from all of your favorite bloggers.

I will be finishing up the Snack It To Me series, I have reviews of two gluten-free pizza crusts and a review (and recipe from the lovely cupcake wars champion, yra Bussanich, herself) of the new Crave Bakeshop mixes.

Hooray for May!

gluten free trail mix mango lassi

Snack it to me: Mango Lassi Trail Mix

This post is part of Snack It To Me – recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Gluten-Free Trail MixSour Patched Gluten-Free Trail MixCherry Cordial Gluten-Free Snack MixMango Lassi Trail Mix, Apricocious Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

After an interruption for surgery involving my spine, Snack It To Me is back. And it is back in a big way.

I transferred to U of I as a junior, and was on my third college. (Apparently fashion design classes do not transfer to other schools as they do not apply to real world skills, so I went to community college to cram in some lost credit hours). I was a junior living in a dorm filled almost entirely with freshmen and the rest were either RAs or seniors who would be graduating in December.

Transfer student orientation was miserable, and none of my high school friends had gone to UIUC. And except for a cousin, I was on my own. And those first few days on campus were rough. Ugly cry yourself to sleep rough.

But then I met Sid.

sid and mary fran

Somehow, despite radically different cultures and polar opposite favorite hobbies, we became fast friends. He eventually worked his way to BFF status, and is still one of my first calls when I have big news (even if we live half a world apart now).

Sid is the reason this recipe exists.

Food was always central to our friendship. It started with grabbing dinner in the dining hall together when we could. Lunches on campus when we could squeeze them in. And two years of my home-cooked Sunday dinners when we both moved out of the dorms. Some weeks it was the only time our schedules worked out for us to see each other.

We have learned a lot from each other over the course of our friendship. I dragged him to his first American football game (we lost) and made him sit and watch the Bears in the Super Bowl. I fed him his first Irish soda bread and my mom’s famous tomato and rice soup.

He is the one who introduced me to Indian food (he also introduced me to Korean and Middle Eastern cuisine), something I probably never would have tried on my own. He is the one who talked me into trying new things every time we would go to one of the many curry places on campus. The one who got me to try a mango lassi the first time.

A lassi is a yogurt and mango dring that is creamy and just sweet enough. For me, it was love at first sip. (Joy the Baker has a recipe for a mint and cumin lassi that looks out of this world).

With that, I give to you Mango Lassi Trail Mix. The idea for this mix is, sadly, not all my own. I had a similar combination from Graze (more about them in another post), and was thoroughly disappointed when they discontinued it. So, I just had to make my own.

gluten free trail mix mango lassi

Gluten-Free Mango Lassi Trail Mix

Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Mangoes and yogurt are a match made in heaven.
Ingredients
  • 75 grams roasted sunflower seeds (a good handful and a half)
  • 50 grams yogurt covered nuts (about 30 yogurt covered almonds were used in the photographed version)
  • 50 grams dried mango (chunks are best, but the flatter kind kan be roughly chopped into strips, as it is here)
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Adjust amounts to suit your taste – I really love yogurt covered anything, you might really love mango. Take this and make it your own.
  2. Store in a sealed container for up to one month.
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HAWMC Day 24: Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I am attempting the Wego Health Activist Writers’ Month Challenge. A post each day in April. So, now that I told you I am going to do it, I oughta follow through, right? Today’s prompt is to create a Pinterest board that shows your health focus and share an image of your board.

A group board that is full of positive energy:

 

A board full of gluten-free treats:

 

A board all about inspiring stories:

 

 

Sour Patched Gluten-Free Trail Mix

Snack it to me: Sour Patched Trail Mix

This post is part of Snack It To Me Week– a week full of recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Trail MixSour Patched Trail Mix, Cherry Cordial Snack Mix, Mango Lassi Trail Mix, Apricocious Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

Life has been missing a little bit of its sparkle lately. Things that used to make me happy are just sort of there. My hands don’t want to knit anymore. My lips have been having a hard time remembering how to smile. My heart has started to feel a little heavier. I think I might have a case of the mean reds. 

“The blues are because you’re getting fat, and maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid, and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?” – Holly Golightly

Yes, Holly, I do.   And I needed some cheering up, so I thought putting sunshine in a jar might help.

Sour Patched Gluten-Free Trail Mix Today’s gluten-free trail mix is just that. Sunshine and childhood all bottled up. Dried pineapple is intensely sweet and chewy. The coconut flakes are just crunchy enough. But the real star of this mix is the glodenberry. Also called the  Cape Gooseberry or the Inca Berry, they are native to South America. They are both sweet and tart, just like some of my favorite candies – without all the chemical junk. They are supposedly full of bioflavonoids, vitamin A, betacarotene and anti-oxidants. They even contain a bit of protein. (The internets call them a superfruit. I call them candy.)

Snack it to me: Sour Patched Trail Mix

Recipe Type: Snack
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 4
The star of this mix is the [url href=”http://www.sunfood.com/food/incan-golden-berries.html”]goldenberry[/url]. If you can’t get your hands on those, dried sour cherries would work in their place.
Ingredients
  • 100 grams dried pineapple, roughly chopped (volume wise, this was just about a cup)
  • 100 grams dried goldenberries (volume wise, this was also about a cup)
  • 30 grams dried, unsweetened coconut flakes (this was about a quarter cup or a small handfull.
Instructions
  1. Weigh out ingredients and stir to combine.
  2. Store in an air-tight container for up to a month.
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HAWMC Day 15: Sharing

I am attempting the Wego Health Activist Writers’ Month Challenge. A post each day in April. So, now that I told you I am going to do it, I oughta follow through, right? Today’s prompt is to pick someone else’s blog post and write a comment to them. (And yes, there is a lot of writing about other people going on in this challenge, but I think this might be the last one).

I have made it halfway through this challenge, and I can certainly say that I am learning an awful lot about myself. And it is incredible to feel so much less alone. To know that there are others out there who suffer as much as I do. To know that other people have faced the same type of choices that I face. To know that other people are pushing through too.

Getting a diagnosis is hard. I don’t care what it is for. There is always a relief  knowing what is causing your symptoms but that little relief is often overshadowed by the fear of the unknown. Not knowing how soon you will get your life back. The uncertainty that plagues your research and tests your hope and faith.

This post about the moment of diagnosis from Breaking Up with Captain Crunch brought me to tears. Go read it now, I’ll wait for you to come back.

post

I have been that girl, too. The one overwhelmed in the grocery store. Trying to figure out which unfamiliar products to buy. Resenting the experience of shopping.

Thanks for telling it like it is, Alissa. I would give that girl a hug too!

HAWMC Day 14: Share the love

I am attempting the Wego Health Activist Writers’ Month Challenge. A post each day in April. So, now that I told you I am going to do it, I oughta follow through, right? Today’s prompt is to thank a few of your fellow activists for what they have done.

I mentioned some of my favorites on Day 4 of this challenge, so my apologies if some of this feels like a repeat.

There are some lovely ladies in the gluten-free world. Ones who fight the good fight every day to bring awareness. There are so very many who I consider to be friends, but I want to take a couple of paragraphs to talk about just a few of them. To give you an idea of the variety of activists that my community has.

ladiesofglutenfree

Brandy Wendler, Mrs. Alaska International 2012, Mrs. Northwest International 2013

Facebook | Twitter | Website

I was kind of terrified of Brandy the first time I met her. She is pretty, incredibly intelligent and darn funny. She can grab and hold the attention of a room full of people. And she can make them care. I was lucky enough to spend a whole weekend with her in San Francisco this year, and I can tell you she is the real deal. She travels the country talking about Celiac disease, gluten-free diets and heart health.

Kyra Bussanich, 2-time Cupcake Wars Winner

Facebook | Twitter | Website

I actually met Brandy through Kyra at an expo just over a year ago. Kyra is taking the gluten-free fight to mainstream media with 2 wins and 2 second-place finishes on Food Network’s crazy popular Cupcake Wars. Her gluten-free cupcakes beat out traditionally baked ones every time. If you ever get the chance, you need to stop by her bakery outside of Portland, Oregon.

Aime Valpone, Culinary Nutritionist, Personal Chef, Author Extraordinaire, Health Conqueror

Facebook | Twitter | Website

This lady is a force to be reckoned with, and I hope that I have just one quarter of her optimism. She came back from an incredibly painful mystery illness that doctors gave her just days to live and is now rocking the healthy-eating world. Her struggles closely mirror mine, and her positive, encouraging posts and delicious yet healthy recipes are inspiration for anyone who is struggling with any health or diet issues.

Candice Clifford, Bravely blogging about gluten, CRPS and grad school

Facebook | Twitter | Website

Candice is incredible. I do not know how she handles a blog, grad school and CRPS all at once. And with such poise. I had a hard enough time just living gluten-free at her age, her strength through her struggle is incredibly inspiring.

I could keep going and adding more gluten-free rock stars to this post

But I need to end this list somewhere. Check out my Day 4 list, or check out my Resources page to find all the best gluten-free people of the internet.