New celiac research group formed

A group of physicians and scientists last week announced the formation of the North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease.
Membership in the society is open to researchers in the field of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The group has scheduled its first general assembly for May 20 in San Diego.
"The NASSCD’s overall mission is to advance the fields of celiac disease and gluten-related disorders by fostering research, and by promoting excellence in clinical care, including diagnosis and treatment of patients with these conditions," it said in a press release.
Dr. Stefano Guandalini, founder and medical director of the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center, was elected as the NASSCD’s first president. I met Guandalini at the Gluten Intolerance Group's conference in Orlando last year, and he is recognized as a leader in celiac research.
Research into celiac disease is growing, and the formation of this organization is a positive development. I'm very hopeful that within the next decade, we're going to see some form of medication that will allow celiacs to eat anything they want.
You can find more information the group at http://www.nasscd.org/

My great gluten-free pizza experiment

I've found several good places for gluten-free pizza around Jacksonville, but unfortunately none are conveniently located near my home. Since I don't always feel like taking a drive to satisfy my pizza cravings, I decided to take drastic action.
I decided to try making my own pizza.

My own freshly-made gluten-free pizza

Cooking generally scares me and for some reason, I thought pizza would be very complicated. But once I actually researched how to do it, I found it extremely easy.
I started by buying a pizza stone at Target. I don't know if this is absolutely necessary, as opposed to a regular pan, but I wanted to give this my best shot.
So I put the stone in the oven while it preheated and prepared the pizza. I went as simply and cheaply as possible with the ingredients. I bought an Udi's prepared gluten-free crust, Publix pizza sauce, Publix shredded mozzarella cheese and Hormel pepperoni.
I spread the sauce and cheese on the crust, not really sure how much I was supposed to put on. And then I smothered it in pepperoni and put it in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes and....
It worked! I had pizza that was actually pretty decent.
My great pizza experiment worked. If I can do this, anyone can do it.

Heartland a good gluten-free spaghetti option

Long ago, I recommended a gluten-free spaghetti brand called Heartland as the best brand around. It's one of the few spaghetti brands I tried that cooked and tasted like regular spaghetti. And unlike other gluten-free brands, it's reasonably priced. You can buy it at Jacksonville area Walmart stores, in the pasta aisle.
Heartland Pasta put out a press release today encouraging people to try its products. It's offering a 55-cent coupon if you "like" Heartland on Facebook.
If you haven't tried it, here's a good opportunity. I highly recommend it.

Celiac Support Group of Jacksonville meets this Saturday

The monthly meeting of the Celiac Support Group of Jacksonville will be held this Saturday, Feb. 18, at 11 a.m. at Sunrise Assisted Living of Jacksonville at 4870 Belfort Rd. It's just south of JTB, past the Borland-Groover Clinic (where many of us have gone to get tested for celiac).

The support group meets on the third Saturday of every month at Sunrise. For those of you who haven't been there previously, it's a very informal gathering that lasts for about an hour. We discuss the trials and tribulations of the gluten-free diet and share any tips that can help others. We sometimes have guest speakers and also sometimes have free gluten-free goodies to take home.

Please join us.

Check out my column

In case you missed it, my new monthly gluten-free column debuted today in the Times-Union:

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/455301/mark-basch/2012-02-08/recently-diagnosed-celiacs-have-it-better

And in an interesting twist in the print edition, after my column on page 1 of the Taste section, there's a story extolling the virtues of barley on page 3! Oh well.

A gluten-free Super Bowl

That was a great Super Bowl, and not just because the Giants won. It was also great because I was able to enjoy it with wings and beer.
Last year, as a newly diagnosed celiac, I had no where to go because there were very few places that served gluten-free beer and I couldn't find any place that served gluten-free chicken wings.
But I was able to spend this year's Super Bowl at Time Out Sports Grill, which has Redbridge beer and also has a few gluten-free offerings on the menu, including chicken wings and french fries.
I do take some credit for Time Out's gluten-free menu because I was the first one who first brought it up with them about a year ago. But I give all the credit to manager Claudia Starus who took an interest in gluten-free possibilities and ran with it. She put a separate gluten-free fryer in the kitchen to handle wings and french fries. And she also added a few other items, like flatbreads with a gluten-free crust.
I don't know of any other sports bar in Jacksonville serving gluten-free wings. But with the growth in gluten-free menu items in restaurants over the past year, hopefully we'll have even more choices next year...when the Giants repeat!

An awkward situation with gluten

I hear a lot about the problems celiacs encounter at events where food is served. I've somehow managed to avoid them in the 13 months since I went gluten free. But I found myself in a situation this week that I didn't know how to handle.
I was attending a business luncheon at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Jacksonville branch. I went to one of these last year where they served a buffet featuring lasagna, which I couldn't eat. But I just helped myself to a large portion of the salad. So I went to this luncheon anticipating I'd do the same thing.
But when I went up to the serving line, I found it had a large salad bowl with croutons already mixed in. Grrrrrrr. Maybe it's more common that I thought, but that's the first time I've ever seen that. I wasn't sure what to do or who I could complain to. I mean, when I order a salad in a restaurant I make sure to say "no croutons." And if the salad then comes with croutons (which hasn't happened to me), I would send it back.
But what do you do in a buffet line? I really wasn't about to make a fuss in the middle of this luncheon. So I picked at the big salad bowl to try to get around the croutons. But I'm sure I must have gotten gluten contamination.
Anyway, just wondering, what should I have done?