The Connection Runners

Gluten Free Life and I'm getting FASTER!

Thankfully I do not have any food intolerance's or allergies. I do not eat gluten free, but I know many of you do. I have also read several blogs where people are thinking about going gluten free for various reasons. I thought I would share some basic information as well as a wonderful company I have found.

According to Wikipedia: "Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some grass-related grains, notably wheat, rye, and barley. Gliadin and glutenin comprise about 80% of the protein contained in wheat seed."

Many people have an intolerance to gluten. The most common gluten intolerance is celiac disease which is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. Individuals with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten.

In children symptoms may include things like abdominal pain and diarrhea and in adults things like depression, anemia, dermatitis, joint pain and fatigue are attributed to celiac disease. Find out more HERE.

You can have gluten intolerance's without having celiac disease.

If you are concerned about gluten intolerance's, please see your physician. This post is NOT to be considered medical advice, it is simply a very brief overview on gluten.

In the past those with wheat allergies or gluten intolerance's have had difficulty finding products that cater to them. Luckily more people are aware of the prevalence of this problem and the food industry has responded by making dedicated gluten free product lines.

Gluten Free Life is a 100% dedicated gluten free bakery. They use free range eggs and all natural ingredients. The lovely Amy at Gluten Free Life was kind enough to share some samples with me. Let me give you a quick excerpt on what she said about their products, it was very touching and a great example of the concern and pride they put in their goodies. (Hopefully she doesn't mind me sharing part of her email.)

"Our products are geared toward people who cannot eat wheat or gluten. These people can never indulge their sweet tooths in a donut or pancake, even if they want to because they are allergic to the main ingredient. We do not pretend to be a weight loss tool, we are not. We do aim to create products that allow a child who cannot have a cookie with his class on someone's birthday a new lease on life... the ability to be "normal" and enjoy foods, in moderation, that "normal" kids get to enjoy."

I had the absolute pleasure of trying one of their muffins recently. Having never eaten a gluten free baked good I wasn't sure what to expect. Let me tell you--I was blown away. It was so moist and fresh tasting. The texture and flavor were simply divine. I split the muffin with my son (who gobbled it right up), and its a good thing I did because I would've easily eaten the whole thing! It completely blew my preconceived "gluten free" taste notions out of the water. They make a variety of products which can be found at health food stores or CLICK HERE to find out more and order online.

Weekend overview:

We went to a Christmas Jubilee this weekend. My son got to make Christmas ornaments, meet Santa and see "snow". (Which is something we Floridians pay to have brought in lol)

RUN RUN RUN:
On Sunday Charles and I went for our traditional weekend run together. It's been a few weeks since we tackled 6 miles and we thought we'd give it a shot again. The last time it took us 1 hour and 5 minutes.(ok... so I'm not too speedy) This time we did the 6 miles in 56 minutes. I was super happy with our improvement!

COLD--ISH
It finally made it out of the 80s here in South Florida. In fact, the overnight low was in the mid-40s! Can you hear the excitment in my voice? :) It's actually starting to feel like Christmas.Here is my adorable son modeling he "winter" PJs.

(check out this great giveaway HERE. I hope I win!)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Do you practice gluten free eating?
What did you accomplish this weekend?