Durham's Gluten Free Network

When I was a child I couldn't stand mushrooms, but as I got older, I started to crave them.  The earthy smell of them which once repulsed me became interesting and it made me curious. Now they're a favorite. Mushrooms have some unique features and if you understand how they work, you can enjoy them.  If you aren't aware of their pitfalls, you can end up with your food turning black or the mushrooms becoming rubbery at the wrong moment.  Let's explore a simple use of basic mushrooms, the homemade version of canned cream of mushroom soup - with a kick! WARNING:  Many mushrooms are grown on gluten containing media!  I am usually fine with mushrooms but today (May 15th, 2018) I was glutened by sliced mushrooms.   I thought I was going crazy or imagining it, but I wasn't.  Here is more on how that happens . General Principles when Cooking with Mushrooms 1.  If you boil them, they will be chewy, even rubbery, so keep boiling to a minimum unless you want a chewy

When an illness strikes that limits food options, cooking at home becomes essential.  Until now most of you were able to grab something in any convenience store and eat on the run. Now that you're gluten free and cooking more frequently, you might want a quick guide to healthy choices in the supermarket.  As we're heading into the next lush summer full of locally grown produce and the best of imports, let's review the choices at the store and identify where the best choices are. Some tips for how to navigate the markets, especially if you're shopping for fresh foods for the first time, or adding healthier fruits and vegetables to your cart these days. Photo by Onlyyouqj - Freepik.com Categories of Produce: Produce (no special designation) - for most of the produce available (fruits and vegetables) plain is fine and it doesn't automatically mean it's full of pesticides or devoid of vitamins.  On the contrary this is still the best choice for many items

Raise your hand if your doctor has said something like "your liver enzymes are slightly above normal, but it's nothing to worry about" (yet).  People hear that all the time.  Most people don't suspect Celiac could be the cause of it, but it can.  One of the many effects that Celiac can have on the body's organs is "Celiac hepatitis."  After the featured article are my tips for preparing liver without fuss in your diet. The article: LIVER INVOLVEMENT IN CELIAC DISEASE ( capitals are sic ) Minerva Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 Mar 4. Published in final edited form as: Minerva Med. 2008 Dec; 99(6): 595–604. PMCID: PMC3941070 NIHMSID: NIHMS554086 PMID: 19034257 Alberto Rubio-Tapia, MD and Joseph A. Murray, MD Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Rochester, MN 55905 Abstract (full article available for free online): Celiac disease is a chronic immune-mediated m