We’re Open Late!

Our new hours are:

Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday  10:00-6:00

Tuesday, Wednesday  10:00-8:00

Sunday  12:00-4:00

*** Hours will be 10:00-3:00 pm on Halloween, Sat., Oct. 31th. ***

New / Returning

Halloween Candy from Nut free, dairy free and egg free facilities – Vermont Nut Free Chocolates, Amanda’s Own, Divvies.

Sweet Ali’s — Pumpkin, Blueberry, Banana Muffins & Brownies sold as $1.96 individuals.

Stashu’s Pan Pizzas –Pepperoni, Cheese and Meatless Spinach.

Andrea’s Gluten Free Fine Foods – Pumpkin Mini Loaves and Chocolate Chunk Mini Loaves are delicious and an outstanding value at $3.29. 

Mixes from the Heartland – Various bake mixes and 10 different soups and stews that make 10 person servings.

Zico Coconut Water — With high potassium and electrolytes, this light and naturally sweetened beverage is an excellent sports drink.

Sales (until 10/23) — They lower the price, we pass it on!  (Pay more elsewhere for bragging rights.)

Glutino Pretzels, Twists and Sticks (14.1 oz bag): $6.82 — lowest price anywhere… period.

Udi’s Gluten Free Bread — $5.75

Celiac Specialties Double Chocolate Donuts: $5.78 – most who try these think they are better than that other brand. 

Follow Us on Twitter! for Instant Updates.

New Orland Park Celiac / GF-CF Group

Jen Cafferty of the Gluten-Free Cooking Expo has started an Orland Park chapter of the Gluten Intolerance Group of Greater Chicago.  The group meets the 2nd Monday of each month 6:00-7:30 at Free From Market, 14482 S. LaGrange Rd. Orland Park for informal gatherings, cooking classes, guest speakers, new product demos, shopping discounts, dinner outings and various other activities.  The group is open to all who eliminating gluten, dairy and other foods from their or their family’s diet.  Join this community of the newly diagnosed and experts. 

November 9th meeting will feature samples, product review and Jen Cafferty leading a Thanksgiving cooking demonstration that is GF / CF, and presents solutions for other restrictions too. 

December 14th meeting will focus on surviving the holidays with a great Holiday cooking demonstration.

Anyone may attend and members receive a shopping discount on meeting days.  For more information e-mail Jen Cafferty, or call 847-217-1317.

Children’s Memorial Food Allergy Study (last time)

So you have seen this blurb in the newsletter about the Children’s Memorial Food Allergy Study before, but you think “yea, sure, what’s in it for me.”  Here are the top 5 reasons why you should participate (inspired by E. Garrow-Majka):
 
#5.  The whole family is tested for top allergens — for free, people! — using the CAP-RAST test, plus your parking and gas are comped in the form of $25 Target gift cards, 1 per family member.  Heck, you need to get this expensive test yearly anyway.  Do you suppose you should be paid?
#4.  You wonder if your kid’s allergies have changed since your last test.
#3.  You wonder if your kid’s allergies were properly diagnosed.
#2.  You want to show your kid what a leader looks like.
#1.  You want a cure … period.  This study is a necessary precursor to a cure and it is advancing us closer in that direction than any other initiative out there.

The goal of the study is to answer fundamental questions that have eluded researchers: What are the causes of food allergy?  Can it be predicted or prevented? Are there better treatments?  To qualify for the study, a family must include both biological parents and one or more food allergic children under 21.  The entire family must be tested.   This is easy, people, do it. 

Call 888-573-1833 and leave a message or e-mail.

Celiac Disease and Bone Loss

Researchers from the University of Edinburg reported this week in the New England Journal of Medicine that 20% of the Celiac patients they studied produce antibodies that target osteoprotegerin, a protein that maintains bone health.  The result is rapid bone destruction and severe osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is a well known complication of Celiac disease, and previously it was thought that some Celiacs were more susceptible to bone loss because they had difficulty absorbing calcium and vitamin D, two nutrients that are critical for developing healthy bones.  The new study shows that some with Celiac disease do not have a problem with absorption, rather their own immune systems also attack their bones. Consequentially, the team found that although this group of 20% did not respond to the standard treatment with Vitamin D and Calcium supplements, they can be treated with drugs that prevent bone loss.  See another synopsis of the article here.

In another study, conducted by the School of Public Health at Sao Paolo University and reported this week in Nutrition Reviews, researchers found that staying on a strict gluten free diet resulted in a rapid increase of bone density, particularly among children before puberty.  Among adults in their study, however, bone remineralization was slower and they recommend calcium and Vitamin D to increase bone density.

Community

October 24, 7:00 pm.  The Annual Food Allergy Initiative Chicago Benefit will be held at the River East Arts Center, 435 E. Illinois Street, Chicago.  The Food Allergy Initiative is dedicated to nothing less than a cure for food allergy, and they are uniquely positioned to do it.  Last year the first FAI benefit alone raised $1.2 million for food allergy research and community education.  FAI Chicago’s 2nd Annual Benefit aims will be hosted by Charlie Trotter’s.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 312-553-2000.

October 26, 7:00.  Gluten Intolerance Group Meeting of Oak Park, at the Oak Park Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL.

October 31, 1:00-4:00 pm.  Halloween Boo Bash Fund Raiser in Lindenhurst.  There will be Music, games, face painting, crafts, 8 allergen-free treats, costume contest, raffle and more.  The event will help raise funds for Kate, a 3-year old girl with life-threatening food allergies, so she can purchase an Angel Service Dog.  These extraordinary animals sniff out allergens and warn their masters to stay away from potentially dangerous situations, but they are not cheap.  Halloween can be a tricky time for the food allergic, so please join us for a zero-stress fun event.  The event will be Sat., Oct. 31 1:00-4:00 pm at the Hastings Lake YMCA, 1995 Grass Lake Rd., Lindenhurst, IL.  For more information about the event or Kate, visit her website.

November 9, 6:00-7:30 pm.  Gluten Intolerance Group of Orland Park meets for GF/CF Support at Free From Market, 14482 S. LaGrange Rd., Orland Park, IL.  Agenda: Jen Caferty gives a Thanksgiving cooking demonstration and product review.  

November 9, 7:00-9:00 pm.  MOCHA (Mothers of Children Having Allergies) meets at Highland Park Hospital, 777 Park Avenue West, Highland Park, basement, meeting room #2.  Guest Speaker: Donnell, MD, of Chicago Family Asthma & Allergy.

Recalls 

Nuts – Oct. 2, 2009  Affy Tapple is recalling “Limited Edition, Classic Candy Flavors” two-pack candy apples because the label did not bear the advisory statement “manufactured on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts.”

Shell Fish — Hannaford, Taste of Inspirations Vegetable Springrolls for undeclared shrimp.

Visit the FDA recall website for more information or to sign up for live updates.

Tags: celiac disease, FAI, fda recalls, food allergy, Food Allergy Initiative, Food Allergy Study, GIG, gluten free, gluten free bread, gluten free foods, Gluten Intolerance Group, Udi's Bread, Vermont Nut Free Chocolate

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 8:36 pm and is filed under Featured Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.