Well, we didn’t reach our goal, but we made a decent showing. We gave away $1000 to charities, including the Celiac Disease Foundation, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America, and the Celiac Sprue Association. Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts. It’s good to make a difference.

The $10k Challenge has officially ended. In the month of August, we gave away just over 1,500 free dining cards.  We fell quite a bit short of our initial goal of 15,000 cards, but it was an impressive showing nonetheless.

As you may have read in blog posts and updates on support group websites recently, the decision to define the term ‘gluten-free’ for labeling is potentially delayed.  Check out the American Celiac Disease Alliance for more information on this.  For now, gluten-free is still not an agree upon labeling term.  While celiacs wait for the decision to be passed down by the FDA, the Gluten Intolerance Group’s Gluten-Free Certification Organization is working to make shopping a bit easier for the gluten-free consumer.  If you’ve seen the GFCO’s mark on products, here’s some information about their certification process that might be useful as you continue to eat gluten-free while awaiting the FDA’s ruling.

GFCO’s certification involves inspections on-site, product tests, and ingredient reviews.  The inspections and reviews are done by representatives from Orthodox Union (OU), a kosher certification company.  (The GFCO was made in cooperation with the Food Services Inc, which is an auxiliary of OU.)  Products certified as gluten-free by the GFCO contain less than 10-ppm gluten and like proteins found in rye and barley; right now, there isn’t a method for measuring to zero.

The GFCO is not planning to change their standards after the FDA’s conclusion on ‘gluten-free,’ saying they will meet or go beyond the decision.  “As a global program, the GFCO uses the highest standards for gluten-free ingredients and a safe processing environment based on a continual review of the current scientific and testing methodologies, existing global standards such as Codex, WHO, and Canada, balanced by reasonable application by the manufacturer,” the GFCO explains on their website.

While I mentioned in the past that Stonyfield Farm makes some products that are certified as gluten-free by the GFCO, some other companies that have certified items are Country Life and Gluten Free Creations.  All the information here was found on the GFCO’s website and if you’d like more info on the GFCO’s certification, it can be found there as well.  So don’t get too discouraged while the FDA continues to mull over their gluten-free labeling decision.  The GFCO is picking up the slack.

We’re pleased to announce the first-ever $10k Challenge!

Triumph Dining is giving away FREE American Dining Cards until the end of August. There’s absolutely no purchase necessary; simply follow this link to get a FREE American Dining Card from Triumph Dining.

And, here’s the best part: We’re doing this to raise money for Celiac Disease Awareness! If we get 15,000 people to sign up for free dining cards, Triumph Dining will make a $10,000 donation in support of a national celiac disease awareness campaign. When we hit our goal, we’ll ask the gluten free community to help us decide which non-profit(s) receives the donation.

Together, we can build awareness on two fronts: With 15,000 more dining cards on the street, we’ll be educating more restaurants about the gluten free diet faster. And, with $10,000 funding behind a national campaign, we can diagnose and educate more Celiacs.

We’re working hard to give away as many dining cards as possible, but we’ll need your help to get to 15,000! Please sign up for a FREE dining card now and tell your friends about this offer.

Check back here for regular updates on the progress of our goal to give away 15,000 dining cards.

The FREE dining card offer is available at http://www.triumphdining.com/freediningcard.aspx.

With surging gas prices deepening those ever gaping holes in our fraying, blue jean pockets, it’s comforting to know that the economy retains some bright patches.

According to the news site, eNews 2.0, the market for food allergy and intolerance products is enjoying an uptick, with gluten-free items contributing to the rising tide.

The market might exceed $3.9 billion this year with gluten-free beverages and munchies topping off at $1.3 billion before decade’s end. This figure is up from $700 million in 2006.

New York based National Association for the Specialty Food Trade predicts that more than 250 of its 2,800 participants provide at least 7,000 no-allergenic products. Five short years go only about 50 members did.

So, while this news brief might do little to solve your gas woes, it garners yet another gold star for gluten-free living.

The temptation waits for you. It’s there. It’s ready. It’s hungry. Fast food chains, which offer what none of us needs, whether we live gluten-free or not, advertise celiac untouchables. Smells, chock full of cholesterol, waif through Pizza Hutand Subway sandwich doors. Rightly, you ignore these scents because you know alternatives exist, some as good or even better than what the fast food chains offer.

Just take a second to imagine a different scenario. See yourself eating such grain filled, white flour containing treats as deep dish pizza and double fudge brownies without fear of stomach cramps, weight loss or bloating.

According to a recent article published on ABC’s Phoenix affiliate’s website, an experimental new drug seeks to halt celiac symptoms before they begin. The pill, developed by Dr. Alessio Fasano, inhibits Zonulin, a protein that regulates the absorption of nutrients in the gut. It simultaneously widens and tightens spaces between closely packed cells that line the small intestine, thus admitting vital nutrients while effectively shunning harmful proteins like gluten.

Doctor Anthony DiMarino, M.D, currently heads a study on the new drug, which is tentatively titled a-t-1001.

The study’s results have been largely positive.

“It seems to be blocking the things you want it to block,” Dr. DiMarino notes in the article. “Patients seem to be able to tolerate the gluten with minimal or no side effects.”

If successful, the new pill might effectively replace the gluten-free diet as the number one solvent for celiac disease, or at least give it a little competition.

We’ll just have to wait and see, cause I don’t know about anyone else, but I quite like gluten-free munchies, and am not quite ready to say goodbye to Glutino pretzels.

Hopefully, Obama girl won’t begrudge us her most infamous line for a post or two. We’re using it for a larger good after all.

Unlike the mini-skirt, halter top clad YouTube sensation, author/blogger Shauna James Ahern (a.k.a Gluten-Free Girl) of Seattle applies her crush to a broader mission.

A 38-year-old celiac, she shares recipes and life experiences on her blog, glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com and in her 2007 memoir, Gluten-Free Girl .

Ahern’s blog features commentaries about food and everyday life. Her entries include slice-of-life senarios and carry a conversational tone. Each post tells an engaging story infused with information, humor and a twinge of self-deprication. She covers everything from an intricate Strawberries, Blue Cheese, and Balsamic Reduction Sauce to the excitement she feels when asparagus sprouts in Spring.

Ahern recently teamed with the staff at Ritrovo Italian Foods to help promote their gluten-free artisanal products, which include rice and corn pastas.

Ahern and Ritrovo’s co-founders gave their Seattle neighbors an opportunity to visit them at Metropolitan Market throughout the latter end of April (18 - 26), where they distributed samples and fielded questions about gluten-free cooking.

They rest atop an ivory liquid surface, like mini, window-tiled pillow cases kissing the shallow end of a pool full of white-out. Half soggy and half crunchy, they hasten to or away from your silver spoon.

“Gotcha!” You silently proclaim as you capture a few on your metallic scooper. Perhaps your eyes graze this product’s package as you chomp, taking note of the bright red and blue heading: Rice Chex Simply Nutritious.

Simply nutritious. Hmmm.

Well if you eat gluten-free, the word simple assumes an entirely different meaning. What some view as a perfectly innocuous snacking experience can translate into a crash course in Delightfully Dangerous Digestion for you.

General Mills, perhaps seeking to captialize on the free-from craze, now offers a gluten free version of this crispy favorite.

Gluten Free Rice Chex cereal is no joke. It is the real deal, the genuine article, and a whole slew of other nothing like the real thing baby cliches you can imagine. The barely-malt-filled Original Rice Chex, not to be confused with Rizchecks (Thank you, Miss Ringwald), of yesteryear now faces some mean competition. Gluten free Rice Checks cereal replaces barley malt syrup with molasses, a non-threat to celiac diets.

The brand still ensures 100 Calories per serving and promises no artificial flavors or colors. You can find the product at all major grocery store chains for a suggested retail price of $2.99.

Maybe it speaks to a preoccupation with Walter Conkrite, too many cameras and bright lights, or 15-minutes-of-Andy Warhol-look-at-me, look-at-me heaven, but rightly or wrongly, people sometimes look to entertainers and TV personalities for cues on everyday living. The meaty fanbase of The Late Show host David Letterman offers little exception to this rule.

During the intro for Letterman’s April 1st program, his late night talk show’s announcer proclaimed, “And now…wheat and gluten-free…David Letterman.”

The buzz around the blogosphere has largely coalesced around the fact that Letterman’s announcer made similar proclamations in the past and so viewers should take the announcement with a salty grain of tentative truth.

It remains unclear whether or not David Letterman maintains a gluten-free lifestyle. Still, the beautiful damage remains done. Celiac blogger Suzanne Mangini asks in her April 3rd, Is Letterman gluten-free? entry, “So, is Letterman gluten-free? Even if it was a joke, it was still a mention of GF and that’s always a good thing in my book!”

I think Mangini might be on to something here.

Letterman, like most celebs, even those with the smallest followings, can tip the least known concepts.

Perhaps he can pump interest into gluten-free living with this announcement the same way Oprah Winfrey renews excitement in reading with her book club selections. (Sorry Frey “but he lied, he lied” bashers, but even in light of the controversy, A Million Little Pieces still retains its awesomeness.)

Perhaps any publicity works better than no attention at all. Gluten-free diets yield so many health benefits, even for non-celiacs.

Whether or not Letterman lives gluten-free then becomes immaterial. He, in all his superstar wonderment, has helped spread the word.

Vanessa Maltin is a rising star in the Celiac world. She’s the author of Beyond Rice Cakes (a groundbreaking book that includes first-person perspective on handling Celiac Disease as a teenager), the host of cooking show Alternative Appetites, and the director of programming and communications for the NFCA (a national non-profit focused on raising awareness of Celiac Disease).

Vanessa recently reviewed the new edition of The Essential Gluten Free Restaurant Guide. Check out what Vanessa had to say about our Restaurant Guide and learn all about the great work Vanessa and the NFCA are doing to raise Celiac awareness at Vanessa’s blog, http://www.beyondricecakes.com/blog/.

We’ll be attending the NFCA’s sold out (!) Gluten Free Cooking Spree in Bethesda, MD this Friday, and will provide updates.