Anne Roland Lee spoke about, “The Nutritional Aspects of the Gluten Free Diet”.  She spoke about some really interesting topics that Casey and I haven’t thought about, such as the topic of how a celiac might not be getting the nutrition that they need.  I didn’t think about it, but she mentioned how many of the gluten-free flours aren’t fortified like the glutenous ones, which are regulated by the FDA to be enriched.  This might be one reason Casey is still often fatigued… maybe Casey needs additional supplements to counter the less nutritious gluten-free flours… we’ll see.

Jules did a great job and showed how easy it can be to make great tasting gluten free foods.  Jules brought already made items (day before) and also showed how to make each of these items live during the demo.  This was great because we could sample each item a day after it was made… as many celiacs know, most baked goods don’t taste that great the day after you make them.  Her items were all very delicious that she had made he day before.

Jules Shepard Demonstration

So you are probably asking yourself, what did she prepare / demo?  Well she demonstrated how to make bread in a bread machine, pierogies, graham (like)  crackers, and finally a two-layer birthday cake.  All of which were very good.  The graham crackers were the best gluten-free ones I had ever had, light and crisp!

It was also nice to hear her talk about how you could vary the recipes to get different results… like how to make ravioli using almost the same recipe as the pierogies(for the dough).  I also enjoyed hearing about bread machines and makes me want to bust mine out of the closet again to start making breads.

At the end of the evening, she had a raffle and the group attendees could win one of three items: cake batter, graham cracker dough, or pierogi dough.  I won the cake batter, so I will be making that tomorrow night!  I also bought one her books: Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating.  I definitely enjoyed the demonstration and encourage those of you that are near one of Jules’ demonstration locations to attend!

Thanks to Natures Pantry for providing water and the space for the demonstration.  Thanks to Karen from the State College Celiac Support Group for initiating and organizing this event.

Heidi Watson is the group organizer / contact person.  Kudos to her for getting the local support group started!  I enjoyed the meeting agenda.  I especially enjoyed the meeting’s inclusion of two local business owners: Natures Pantry Owner and Corrinado’s Pizza Owner. I have been to Natures Pantry a few times before, but it was nice to hear from the owner about some of the efforts she was taking to make it easier to find gluten-free products in her store.   I have heard of Corrinado’s Pizza before from friends, but never actually tried their pizza.  Well, the owner brought 3 of his pizzas for sampling by the group and they were very good.  He also explained in great detail the efforts that his staff goes through to ensure that their gluten-free pizzas are not contaminated.  Bravo to him and his staff for making this comfort food gluten free for the local community!  Casey and I will definitely have to stop there sometime and get a pizza when we are in a rush.

The group is very friendly and social which made for great discussions about all things celiac related.  I was especially interested to hear about doctor issues that almost everyone in the group had experienced.  The fact that most doctors just don’t have any experience when it comes to celiac disease.  This brought back the memories of Casey’s horrible dietician experience.

I am looking forward to the next meeting and hope that Casey can also attend.  I think I will also make something delicious for the group to enjoy at the next meeting since they seemed very excited about some of the foods I have made for Casey.

For those of you that were in the meeting and happen to visit my site, here are a few of our favorites: