AUTHENTIC HERITAGE TUSCAN GLUTEN-FREE CUISINE: HEALTHY                                 cooking classes for kids  and adults 

The Bible says the prophet Abraham held an open house and fed people all day long as a ploy to educate them about the Teachings. In this manner, he reminded his guests that God blessed both the host, (Abraham), and his guests--clever marketing idea!

Not everyone is a philosopher or wants to learn new ideas, but everyone likes to eat, especially when it's free. I have always loved to eat and been inquisitive about food and nutrition. I was born with an allergy to wheat, eggs, nuts, and dairy. In spite of these limitations, I have tasted and gobbled up seventy-three years of an infinite variety of food from around the planet as I searched for the perfect diet to satisfy my adventurous and insatiable palate. At the moment I am a gluten-free, organic locavore- however, this hasn't always been the case. I have lived in Western Europe, (mainly Tuscany), and most of the major American cities, where I ate anything and everything until those allergies and sensitivities caught up with me and took the form of Celiac Disease. The EU doesn't allow chemically altered food that has been sprayed, dipped, radiated, injected with antibiotics, additives, dyes, and also genetically modified.
Celiac Disease (CD), is a digestive disorder that causes an immune reaction to the protein gluten, which damages the lining of the small intestine, and reduces the ability of the small intestine to absorb nutrients. It is hard to diagnose, as tests are not always accurate, and celiac symptoms of celiac can resemble other conditions such as chronic fatigue and certain types of anemia. The immune system is challenged by inflammation and underfunctions.
Lactose (milk sugar) and gluten (protein found in wheat, barley, and rye) are
allergens. They manifest in similar ways to gluten intolerance. Gluten is not an allergy, it is an intolerance and sensitivity-a subtle yet essential difference when it comes to diagnosis. Tests for CD are improving but are still not one-hundred percent accurate. 

Symptoms of both lactose intolerance and gluten sensitivity involve both physical and neurological challenges: gastrointestinal problems, headaches, fatigue, mood swings, and many other disturbances. Gluten intolerance is the more serious of the two sensitivities, as it can lead to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autism, and ADHD. Celiac Disease can appear at any time of life. Many inherit it and some are diagnosed after pregnancy, a trauma, or surgery. Even though I was diagnosed with an allergy to wheat and lactose as an infant, Iwas sixty-eight years old before Ilearned I was gluten intolerant. Most likely, I inherited it from my father, who had psoriasis and eczema-two major CD symptoms. Until recently, there were supposedly no cures for
this silent epidemic. Since then, I have discovered the power of the mind, and that we can attain anything we desire, including perfect health.

As I write this book, in 2011, there are three to five million Celiacs in the world,
ninety-five percent of whom don't realize they are afflicted with this treacherous disease. Many of these people spend thousands of dollars and many hours in the search for the answer to their mysterious aches and pains, as they run from doctor to doctor, sometimes seeing from twelve to fifteen doctors before they are diagnosed with CD. Even though the word celiac has become more familiar to many Americans, there is still a great deal of confusion about the correct and tasty way to follow this eating style.

May this book that comes from my heart and soul, as well as my taste buds, satisfy the readers' yearnings for a simple and nutritious diet, and a normal life, despite the challenges of a wheat and gluten-free diet. We are all different, and no single diet is good for everyone. I dislike the word diet along with what it implies. I prefer the European word regime. Europeans live the food experience with passion, as an integral part of an entire lifestyle with other essential ingredients that include laughter, family friends, and love.

I hope you enjoyed this -
To Be Continued ...

  Celiac and Me How can I help end the gluten epidemic? As a food activist, I and my colleagues know we can help change the health of the world through education, example, and organizations such as Slow Food (I was a leader of 3 conviviums).


This was the question I asked myself in 2002, as soon as I learned I was a Celiac and what that signified. Because of a breast cancer mastectomy in 1995, I had undergone chemotherapy and radiation, plus a slew of powerful antibiotics when I contracted a life threatening staphylococcus infection after an attempt at breast replacement. I vowed I would delve deep into my inner self and find out why I contracted cancer. I wanted to upgrade my diet further, even though I had eaten mainly the Mediterranean Diet for more than 20 years, when I lived in Tuscany. This nutritional lifestyle is based on vegetables and legumes, and nutritionists and dieticians identify it as one of the world’s healthiest nutritional regimes.

 

When I moved to LA in 2004, my Hungarian MD, Dr. Ilona Abraham, diagnosed me as gluten intolerant. She recognized the symptoms, as she is Celiac herself, and said it is very common with people with Eastern European roots. Dr Ilona suggested I omit all wheat from my diet. Then, my homeopath, Dr. Gail Tune McDonald, diagnosed me with Sjorgans Disease, which is a similar immune system disease. By 2005, I was a food coach and cooking school director for Whole Foods Market—the first full time food coach at the time in the Woodland Hills, CA store—a position I developed thanks to my customers, who would ask me for advice about what to eat when their doctor told them to eliminate wheat from their diet. I began to research wheat allergy, (had born with an allergy to wheat), which led to the discovery of my own gluten intolerance.  Gluten sensitivity is not an allergy. It is a lifelong disease of the immune system, which can lead to dire consequences such as cancer, arthritis, and neurological chemical imbalances such as autism and ADHD. Over the last 200 years of our modern age, active genetic selection, and genetic modification, has changed the aspect of the original wheat from few grains and little gluten, to huge wheat production with added gluten (50% of the protein content), well adapted to cultivation and extrinsic production.Humans today no longer eat the original wheat grain, and are still too young to digest the wheat we can buy in today’s markets and bakeries, which are additive “enhanced”. However, we are fortunate to have a choice of a frozen, gluten-free breads at many specialty supermarkets and health stores.

 

As an avid label reader, I haunt the shelves of normal fare and gluten-free with the same approach. There are too many products that contain ingredients that are toxic for me to take any chances. Every time I do, I have a mood swing or tummy ache. I like Kinnikinnick, Glutino, and Seeds for Life seed breads, English muffins, and hamburger buns, as they don’t contain yeast, which sometimes provokes candida. When I toast theses gluten-free breads, I find them very tasty substitutes for wheat. I also recommend Tinkyada and Pastariso gluten-free rice pastas. Quinoa pastas are good too. Be sure not to overcook the pasta—al dente us best.I also work with a naturopath who reminds me that my allergies can dissipate when I don’t tell my subconscious that I “own” the allergy, as when I used to say, “I am a Celiac”. Now, a few times a day, every day, I tell myself I am on the way to perfect health. On the way to perfect health, I remind myself to be very grateful I have found this new way of eating. I feel better, have fewer cravings for sugar, and am able to educate people daily about this silent epidemic through my lectures and consultations. 

 

 

FOODS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW CONTAIN GLUTEN