Another W-S Discount

Another bit of fun news about our meeting this Thursday at Williams-Sonoma.  A new sale on bakeware starts Thursday—15 percent off.  Our members will get an additional 10 percent off, so have fun perusing the options! 

Melissa Wallace will do the cooking demonstration.  Not only is she familiar with the care that must be taken while cooking GF but she will also be sharing insights from the “Food Wisdom” program.

Also, they do not usually have chairs during their cooking demonstrations but have agreed to have a few available.  See you there!

Williams-Sonoma Discount

I am so excited to have our monthly meeting at an alternate location for the first time.  Help me spread the word that it will not be at Taylor Road Baptist Church on 9/22 but at Williams-Sonoma in The Shoppes at Eastchase.  The managers at Williams-Sonoma are working on a cooking presentation for our group that will also highlight the many GF items the store sells.  An added bonus is that the night of our meeting, members will receive 10 percent off all purchases! 

In addition to the newer GF flour blend, cookie mix, brownie mix and pancake/waffle mix, the store will inform us of the many other mixes, oils, spices, etc. that are designated gluten free. 

Sami’s Bakery Warning

I am someone who has purchased Sami’s Bakery products.  I am passing along the latest warning about gluten content, courtesy of Tricia Thompson, RD.

Read her explanation of Gluten Free Watchdog testing on her website here:

National Celiac Awareness Day

Just read about this today—how encouraging!

From The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness:

The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution designating Sept. 13, 2011 to be "National Celiac Disease Awareness Day." This action, which honors those affected by celiac disease, also commemorates the birth of Dr. Samuel Gee, a pioneer in celiac disease research.

The resolution touched upon several issues that warrant greater awareness of celiac disease, including:

"As recently as 2000, the average person with celiac disease waited 11 years for a correct diagnosis"

"Half of all people with celiac disease do not show symptoms of the disease"

"Delay in the diagnosis of celiac disease can result in damage to the small intestine, which leads to an increased risk for malnutrition, anemia, lymphoma, adenocarcinoma, osteoporosis, miscarriage, congenital malformation, short stature, and disorders of the skin and other organs"

"Celiac disease is linked to many autoimmune disorders, including thyroid disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes, liver disease, collagen vascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogren's syndrome"

In passing the resolution, the Senate declared that "all people of the United States should become more informed and aware of celiac disease" and called for ceremonies and activities to recognize the day.

September Meeting

We are two weeks away from our next meeting and we have exciting news—note the change in location for September!  Many thanks to member Elaine Manikas, who made me aware that Williams-Sonoma now carries some gluten-free products and even did a cooking demonstration about a week ago.  Elaine also talked to the management about our group.  When I later spoke to the general manager, Jen was gracious and inquisitive and offered to host our September meeting.  More details to come, but make note of the change in location.  If you have never been to the store, it is in The Shoppes at East Chase near Taylor Road Baptist Church, where we have been meeting.  Williams-Sonoma is located between Dillard’s and the central fountain within the shopping center.

August Surprise

While our guest speaker had to cancel at the last minute, members had a nice surprise at our August meeting, courtesy of Earth Fare.  As you can see from the pictures below, a wide assortment of gluten-free cookies, pasta and other shelf-stable products were provided for our members to try.  Instead of one large gift basket like we did in February, we numbered each product to match numbers on name tags.  Attendees then found the product number that matched their name tag to take it home.  Everyone went home with a different product (along with an Earth Fare bag) so we should have lots of product reviews at the next meeting!