Yesterday, I announced of our survey in which 215 people who live gluten free answered the question “What do you need to simplify your gluten free life…” and talked about the most popular response. If you have not already read that article, I suggest that you click here to read the article and then click on the arrow in the top right of the page to return here to read this article.

I was a bit surprised your second and fourth choices “specific lists of restaurants offering gluten free choices” and “specific lists of gluten free foods”. After all, lists abound on the internet. Why do we need more? But then I realized that most of those lists are incomplete, some are out-of-date, and maybe inaccurate for any number of reasons.

On the other hand, list-making is one of the most time-consuming and tedious task  a webmaster can attempt. Keeping the lists updated is even harder. I’m experimenting with an idea that may make things better for you and more feasible for people like me. I’ll announce details as soon as I can work the bugs out of my system.

I’ve already started working on your third ranking concern “living gluten free on a budget”. I’ve written several articles on the subject and summarized them on a “power page” called GLUTEN FREE ON A BUDGET. Click on the tab at the top of the page to see what I have written.

The experts all seem to agree with the common sense idea that in order to save money we must all do more home cooking. I’m experimenting with an idea that may be helpful here. I certainly agree with the basic idea: food cooked from scratch tastes better than anything that comes out of a box or can.

I’ll complete my analysis of the survey results tomorrow. Specific actions will be announced on Monday. I have republished the survey results below. We need to have them on hand when we are dealing with these topics.

column 1 / ORANGE / “healthy eating regimens that include all aspects of diet and nutrition and are appropriate for people living gluten free / 31 responses / 14.4%

column 2 / LIGHT BLUE / “specific lists of restaurants offering gluten free choices” / 28 responses / 13.0%

column 3 / PURPLE / “living gluten free on a budget” / 26 responses / 12.1%

column 4 / DARK ORANGE/ “specific lists of gluten free foods” /22 responses / 10.2 %

column 5 / GREEN / “information about ‘best buys’ am competing brands of gluten free food” / 19 responses / 8.8%

column 6 / BROWN / “controlling weight while living gluten free” / 18 responses / 8.4%

column 7 / DARK BLUE / “cooking and baking gluten free food” / 17 responses / 7.9%

column 8 / RED/ “information to help make decisions about foods, restaurants, etc. / 15 responses / 7.0%

“What do you need to simplify your gluten free lifestyle and/or to make it more effective and productive?” 215 people answered that question on our recent survey. I’ve summarized the responses at the bottom of this article. (Unfortunately, reading the chart requires a better computer and/or sharper eyes than I have, so I repeated the information in the space after the chart.)

I WILL ADDRESS YOUR EIGHT MAJOR CONCERNS. I am not totally sure how to do so, but I am excited about the opportunity to find out. I’ll talk in general terms about a few concerns today and write about others in the next few days. Specific solutions will come as soon as possible.

Your primary concern was finding “healthy eating regimens that include all aspects of diet and nutrition.” That’s my main concern too. I kind find gluten free substitutes for any just about any gluten toxic item in my diet — I am no longer malnourished because of undiagnosed celiac disease — but what about the big picture? Is my diet healthy in all respects?

The ability to control our weight is an important feature of what I am calling “The Total Diet that is Gluten Free”. Weight control emerged as the sixth major concern on our survey.

I’ll write more general comments tomorrow and announce specific initiatives as soon as possible.

column 1 / ORANGE / “healthy eating regimens that include all aspects of diet and nutrition and are appropriate for people living gluten free / 31 responses / 14.4%

column 2 / LIGHT BLUE / “specific lists of restaurants offering gluten free choices” / 28 responses / 13.0%

column 3 / PURPLE / “living gluten free on a budget” / 26 responses / 12.1%

column 4 / DARK ORANGE/ “specific lists of gluten free foods” /22 responses / 10.2 %

column 5 / GREEN / “information about ‘best buys’ am competing brands of gluten free food” / 19 responses / 8.8%

column 6 / BROWN / “controlling weight while living gluten free” / 18 responses / 8.4%

column 7 / DARK BLUE / “cooking and baking gluten free food” / 17 responses / 7.9%

column 8 / RED/ “information to help make decisions about foods, restaurants, etc. / 15 responses / 7.0%

I enjoyed sampling these mixes. They are vacuum sealed, which certainly enhances their shelf life and fresh taste.  Generally, other ingredients must be added and this improves the fresh taste of the foods. My personal favorites were the corn chowder, the basil dill pasta salad, and the southwest chicken ste;w ; but everything I tasted was excellent. They certainly taste like they were made in Texas but are certainly not “hot” enough to be offensive to anyone.

The mixes are quite large so these are best for  people who are cooking for large families or groups of people. This company has earned the Celiac Sprue Association’s seal of approval and all raw materials are tested and found to contain no more than five parts-per-million gluten. Click on the logo at the beginning of the article to see what Mixes from the Heartland has to offer. Try it you’ll like it — I know I did.

The results of our survey will be announced on Thursday. Over two hundred celiacs and others living gluten free have responded to the question “What do you need…” I’m excited about the answers. They have the “ring of truth”. They are needs that I have the power to address those needs. I can’t do everything at once, of course, but I can be of help!
This seems to be a good time to remind everyone that I am not a doctor or a dietician and have no academic credentials in these areas. But, I’ve lived gluten free for a decade and now feel better than I did prior to my diagnosis. The internet has been my tool for living and thriving gluten free.

This is version three of the website that was born in 2002. I’ve set this guide-line for myself:
I relay information. I state personal opinions. I do not give advice. As I’m sure you realize, everything that appears on the internet is not “gospel truth”. I point you to information. It is up to evaluate that information.

People living gluten free want more that a diet free of wheat, barley, rye, and oats. However, when we google the term “gluten free diet” we are inundated with suggestions for eliminating gluten but no advice about how to eat a healthy diet.

We need a simple and straight-forward “total” diet plan; simply living gluten free is complicated. We want to do more than that. The best tool I’ve found for that is the Department of Agriculture’s food pyramid.

Keep in mind that there is new version (introduced in 2005) and an older version. References to both systems appear on-line, The best way to tell the difference is that the graphic for the old system (the one we learned about in elementary school) has horizontal bands while the newer version has vertical bands and is referred to as “My Pyramid”.

I suggest that you browse through this site. FYI, you will not find any recommendation (or even suggestion) that you eat gluten toxic grains. You’ll be pleased to note that the pyramid now states all measurements as “cups” or “ounces” rather than the elusive and vague term “servings”. Keep in mind that I have no academic or medical credentials. I relay information and occasionally state personal opinions. I do not give advice.