Tuesday To Do List — what to buy, spy, and try! (or sometimes cry about)

Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list…

 

TWO weeks in a row. *applause*

This week’s to-do list should keep you busy until next week. 😉

 

• Pretty please try this mustard from Mustard Girl.  I’m putting it on sandwiches, pretzels, and everything in between. Made in Wisconsin for bonus points!

• In the very near future you’re going to be able to buy gluten-free Cheerios. And things might get a little confusing — you see, they are using mainstream oats in these Cheerios, (not certified gluten-free oats that we’ve been told are the only ones safe to eat) using a mechanical sorting process. They have spent a great deal of money on this project and my fingers and toes are crossed that they come off the production line indeed testing safe for us to eat.There are many opinions on this matter, if you’re interested in learning more about gluten-free Cheerios, you can click on any of the links below. Take the time to do your research before deciding to buy.  (the picture below is from Instagram — she found them in Ohio)

• Gluten Dude talks GF Cheerios.
• April from Gluten is My Bitch weighs in.
• Gluten Free WatchDog is watching closely and will be testing them once they hit shelves — stay tuned for these results, that will be my big deciding factor.
• UPDATE 7/23/15: latest information from Gluten Free WatchDog — PLEASE READ before purchasing and stay tuned for her test results!CLICK HERE: https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/…/gluten-free-cheerios-…/

 

 

 

• I spy, with my little eye… RASPBERRIES! They are the “berry of the week” here at the Nielsen household. I would have to stop eating them every morning right off the bush if I actually wanted to make something with them. (I don’t see this happening.)

 

 

• If you haven’t already tried Canyon Bakehouse’s gluten-free deli rye style, add it to your grocery list now. THE best rye-style bread I’ve had.

 

• Want to try some new gluten-free dessert recipes? Add http://www. allglutenfreedesserts.com to your bookmarks. More gluten-free recipes than you’ll know what to do with!

 

• Think Mr. CITC will read this and buy me a subscription to Bon Appetit? The August issue cover has me drooling and dreaming of all things tomatoes! (just click the link and join me in tomato dreamland)

 

• Traveling this summer? Be sure you’re following Anna from Gluten-Free Jet Set for all things gluten-free travel. I check her site first after booking flights. She’s in the middle of producing some awesome gluten-free travel guides that you’ll want to buy. (I used many of her recommendations in Paris and London…can’t wait to see her NYC guide!)

 

• Every try making your own dairy-free coffee creamer? I had leftover canned coconut milk, so I decided it was the perfect time to match them up with some dates in the freezer and go for it.

 

GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE COFFEE CREAMER

Puree 4-5 dates (remove pits) with ¼ cup hot water to form a sweet paste. Add half a can of coconut milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Feeling fancy? A few dashes of cinnamon. Blend for several minutes. Done.

I wanted mine super smooth so I poured the creamer from the blender through a very fine strainer into my bottle to store in the fridge. EnJOY!

 

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Somehow summer is slipping away fast… hope you are enJOYing it as much as we are!

xoxo

As much as I wish I were getting paid big bucks to add these links to my page, I’m not. They are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing to share. 

Rallying the Gluten Free Community — Support gfJules (formerly Jules Gluten Free)

I recently attended the Gluten Free Living Conference in Orlando — and as much as I want to share all of the fun photos from that weekend, there’s something else we have to talk about first.

If there is one thing I know about the gluten-free community is that when we need each other for support, people come together like I have never seen before. We rally behind those in need, give them a voice, or just allow their voice to be heard loud and clear.

So that’s why we’re here today. To clear the air. To let you know what’s been going with my friend Jules from Jules Gluten Free, now gfJules.

I know some of you are already big fans of her flour mix — it was one of the first flour mixes I experimented with when going gluten free in 2008. She is also one of the founders of the 1 in 133 campaign. Because of her hard work, the gluten-free labeling standard has passed and will go into effect in August! (She has helped everyone who is GF!)   I have had the chance to get to know Jules through her annual GF Cookie Contest and finally got to meet face to face in Orlando just weeks ago.

Here’s a brief history of how Jules started and how we got to where we are today:

• She started her company in 2006 after publishing her first book, set out to learn all things related to running a GF business and started selling her products in 2007.

• Her business was booming and as we all know, “it takes a village” to get things done, so she took on business partners (investors) in 2008 to help run the daily operations — unfortunately in recent years it became quite clear that her vision (as a member of the GF community that she advocates for, educates, and holds near and dear to her heart)  and the vision her business partners had for the company were not the same.

• Things went downhill from there with her partners behaving in a way that makes my blood boil and would take an entire blog post to discuss, (not paying her for her work, preventing her from communicating with OUR community through her business, and canceling the order for flours for her own wedding cake in just a few weeks) but instead of focusing on all of the negative (Jules wouldn’t want that!) I am here to rally our community to focus on the positive…

 

Jules is starting over…

• She has resigned from her old company and is starting a new company, gfJules. 

• Plans are in the works to bring her products back (and much more!) as quickly as possible, but as you know, this will take time and money. (I cannot even imagine the funds she has already put into this legal battle.

• She’s a FIGHTER and is NOT giving up! See that smile on her face in the photo? That’s the one she wears every single day, even when times get tough, even when people she trusted turned into something they should be embarrassed of themselves for, even when it would have been easier to just call it a day and give up — not Jules, she’s more dedicated than ever to the gluten-free community!

• The community was confused as to what exactly happened, which is why we need to rally together and get the word out about her new company, gfJules — and we need to come together to support our friend when she needs it most!

 

How we can help:

• Go check out her new site: www.gfjules.com

• Sign up for email list HERE. 

• While you’re there, read the amazing comments of support and love from our community!

• If you can, give a gift to Jules to help her rebuild her business and continue to do what she does best — GIVE to our community. There are gifts for giving  or maybe something more creative. I’m giving and hope you can too, any amount helps!

• If you are interested in giving as a group, I for one would LOVE to see a recipe for our GF Get Together Group, something Milwaukee-style — I’ve raised over $4,000 in the last four years for the Celiac Disease Foundation, so I KNOW we could get together the $300 for this gift… if you’d like to join in the fun for this gift, let me know!
• SHARE this post. Even if you are unable to give at this time, please considering passing this post along to others who may be able to help.

• Send Jules some gluten-free-style love — your kinds words of support are what is keeping her going!

Not only will I be giving to her fundraising efforts, but I’ll be shouting about it from the rooftops — I can honestly tell you that she is a kind person with the most generous heart. After being on the expert panel at the conference, she made time for each and every person who waited in line to talk with her. I snuck in for a quick hug goodbye before I hopped on my plane, and there she stood, holding the delicate hands of an elderly woman, listening to her tell her stories of learning to bake gluten-free. It was the most touching moment. She’s the real deal, my friends. She loves this community and would do the same for each and every one of us.

Let’s rally!

Honored to be part of this gluten-free world! From left to right: Andrea from Rockin’ Gluten Free, Anna from Gluten Free Jet Set, Chrissy from Glam Without Gluten, (me!) Amie from The Healthy Apple ,(in front) Johnna from In Johnna’s Kitchen, THE lovely Jules from gfJules, Linda from The Gluten-Free Homemaker , and Shirley from gluten free easily.