Mirracole Morsels - Cranberry Pecan Gluten Free Granola

Are you feeling a little left out these days because you just want a crunchy and healthy treat on the go? Well, I think I found it!

Gluten Free Granola by Mirracole Morsels made in Washington.

The other day I happened to go by one of my favorite coffee drive-thru cafes – The Cup & Muffin in Kingston about 1/2 mile west of the ferry. I had a quick chat with Amy the owner about Gluten Free treats and she told me about Nicole Matheson, the owner of Mirracole Morsels, who is now making Gluten Free Granola. Nicole also just recently opened a location in Kingston across from the ferry. So I quickly ran up the street to investigate!

New location for Mirracole Morsels at the Old Kingston Hotel

When I walked into to the lovely store located at the Old Kingston Hotel – 25931 Washington Blvd., the aroma of freshly baked granola and cookies greeted me.  I met with Nicole and chatted with her about her business. She explained to me that she started the company in 2002 because she was a single parent and wanted to stay at home with her 2 children – Mirra Cole (now 16 yrs.) and Eddy (now 15 yrs.). So the obvious answer to the name of the company comes from her daughter’s name – Mirracole. The idea started out on somewhat of a whim, she said, around that time when she would make the granola as gifts. A friend suggested that Nicole should make it, market it and sell it! So with a little hope and lots of prayers she started out at the local Kingston Farmers markets, and the local grocery store and it took off! Now with eight years and several grocery stores selling her products from Bainbridge Island to Bellingham as she is expanding her products into cookies and the Gluten Free products market.

So I asked her more about the Gluten Free Granola and if she had Celiac Disease or if she was Gluten Intolerant. She said no, neither.  To my surprise, I asked her why she decided to offer Gluten Free Granola?

Her answer just delighted me because she realized that after talking to people at the Farmer’s Markets and in the grocery stores, a significant number of people would say, “I wish I could eat the granola but I can’t have … wheat …. or gluten … ”

This really puzzled her so she looked into creating recipes without wheat. Additionally as she learn a bit more about Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance she created Gluten Free Granola with Certified Gluten Free Oats. Nicole wanted to keep to her original vision for her products by creating and offering a good wholesome and tasty product that is preservative free, chemical free and no GMO oils. She originally wanted her children to be able to read the list of ingredients and hasn’t strayed since. So a few months ago she decided to have a dedicated Gluten Free commercial kitchen in Suquamish, the original kitchen and now bakes the regular products out of the Kingston location, where she also sells all of her products.

2 oz. bags of Gluten Free Peanut Butter Crunch ... perfect to grab and go!

Mirracole Morsels now offers 2 varieties of Gluten Free Granola in 2 oz. and 12 oz. bags – Cranberry Pecan and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk. You can purchase them at the location in Kingston or on her website at http://www.MirracoleMorsels.com and soon to be at several local grocery stores and cafes. For more info you can email – customerservice@mirracolemorsels.com

Nicole also told me that she hopes to offer additional Gluten Free products in the near future! So I will stay in touch with her and let you know more as soon as I do. In the meantime, try Mirracole Morsels Gluten Free Granola and support a local company!

Enjoy!

Lisa

For more info about the GLUTEN FREE FOODIES events or to chat with me via email glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com  I look forward to hearing from you!

Mike's Four Star BBQ Ribs ... howdy!

Just a reminder that the Gluten Free Foodies will be in Port Gamble eating some absolutely delicious Mike’s Four Star BBQ … Gluten Free meats and sauces … just order it naked! (This picture is a three-way – choice of 3 meats -without the bun, BBQ beans and coleslaw included.) 

Ahhh…. just the thought of a rack of ribs, tender and smoky beef brisket or pulled pork and chicken is making me really hungry!  The absolute best is the sausage that Mike makes daily… hopefully he will make extra for us!  Don’t forget the sides – Smoky BBQ Beans and Carolina Coleslaw … sweet and tangy without mayo!  I love the slaw! … Mike is even going to make us some fresh crispy Old Mill Chips and French Fries if we order them!

Do I have your Gluten Free appetite revved up yet?

I hope to see you  at  Mike’s Four Star BBQ – 4719 NE State Hwy. 104 Port Gamble, WA , in the historic service station located next to Gamble Bay Coffee. Parking is available next to the building on both sides and just across the street.

Bring your friends and family to meet other Gluten Free Foodies.  No Fee for the event other than the cost of the food.  We will each pay as we order.

We will be there between 1 PM until at least 3 PM.  If you have any questions or would like to let me know that you are attending please email me glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you at Mike’s Four Star BBQ!

Lisa – Gluten Free Foodie

There seems to be a common theme building in my mind these days. What exactly am I eating and where did it actually come from? I spend so much time looking at food and questioning it on a daily basis while reading labels, but for some reason I am not satisfied by the easy answer. I feel as though I need more information. I want details like location of the ingredients somewhat similar to a bottle of wine and knowing it’s vintage. I want to know if I eat a piece of fruit that it has good energy from growing on a sunny tree. I want to know that it passed through only a few gentle hands, gracefully, preferably locally and above all organically. I need to know this information so that I can become more personally connected to my wellness via my food.

Maybe it is the new year and talk of resolutions that is feeding my appetite for this additional food knowledge. The one thing that I do know about myself is that I get somewhat impatient this time of year if I don’t have a plan as to my hopes and wishes for the coming year. I also get frustrated as to the cold hard and painful fact that I still don’t feel well. So it makes me want to go back to the source. What am I putting into my body? What is the response of the food that is going into me?
So I am digging deeper and into “My R&R Mode” – reading and research mode. I have been reading some very interesting articles and books about the food we eat. One article in particular is embedded in my mind that was posted recently -

Dr. Mark Hyman’s article – “Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You” posted on the Huffington Post on January 2, 2010

I have seen it posted at least a dozen times on Facebook and yet it doesn’t seem to have caught other people’s attention like it did mine. I think it might have to do with timing but whatever was in the news that day or a few days to follow may have allowed it to just not make the top of the list. Well, it has been on the top of my list of discussions with everyone that I talk to these days.
Dr. Hyman shares some very important information about a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association from 1969-2008. The study proves that Celiacs are not the only ones that have to been cautioned about consuming Gluten. It states that all forms of Gluten Sensitivity and Intolerance are affected but in disguise as other chronic illnesses i.e., IBS, autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease just to name a few. Dr. Hyman also questions the cause – Gluten – Why are we so sensitive to this “staff of life” the staple of our diet?

I actually think there is more to it. I think there are more foods that we should question because the more people that I talk to that know they are Celiac or Gluten Intolerant, the more I am finding that they too have multiple food allergies. The FDA’s list of the top 8 Food Allergies – Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Fish and Shellfish. I find it frustrating that Gluten is not on this list. Don’t you? (I think the list should be updated to add – Gluten; which includes wheat barley, rye, spelt, kamut, malt, and oats. Corn, Rice and Yeast because they are also high on the food allergy list as well.) I really want consistency of information.

My hope this year is to create a deeper dialogue between the Gluten Free Foodies so that our voices are heard and we can give support to each other. I want to create more awareness about the risks of undiagnosed Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance. I want us to be able to find healthy Gluten Free Food anywhere we go. My wish is for all of us to be well and eat good, healthy food so that we can do the things we love and live a balanced life.

What are your thoughts? I want to hear from you. I want to know what foods are on your list of additional food allergies. Please email me at glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com and share your thoughts with me.

I look forward to chatting with you!

Lisa

For more information about the GLUTEN FREE FOODIES  events or to chat with me via email glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com .  I look forward to hearing from you!

That was the wrong way to go because it made for many set backs and temptations.  If I didn’t have a plan I would somehow make excuses or try to convince myself that the “easiest and  fastest” option was actually GLUTEN FREE and it probably wasn’t.  Oh …. I paid for it royally!   My pain would last for days and little did I realize that I was actually doing more damage than good.  So please, take my advice and make a plan.  Make a menu as to what you will eat for the first few weeks.  Have a few options that will allow a little flexibility in your routine.  Here are a few examples as to what I keep on hand at any give time.  My pantry is actually a recycled locker. I repainted it a matted silver and cleaned it out several times. (It is 10 ft high by 3 or 4 ft wide) … old school … I know but it is fun to use it and reminds me of all the lessons that I have learned through this process.

 1) Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes with cream cheese and jelly
I also like these with peanut butter and jelly or any sort of Nut Butter and Jelly.

2) Hot Cereal like Cream of Rice with dried fruit like blueberries or cranberries and coconut.
This really helps me on days that I really want Oatmeal.  The other thing you can do is use leftover brown rice and add some of your favorite milk, coconut milk, almond milk or soy and heat it up in the microwave.  Add the same dried fruits, walnuts, pecans and coconut.

3) Eggs any way you like them, Frittata, Omelett, scrambled  or over easy … I like them all ways but I must have hot sauce!

4) Grilled Chicken – always great to have as a hot meal with veggies, wrap for lunch, in a salad or a bowl with rice and sauteed veggies.

5) Amy’s Refried Black Beans (low sodium)  or Traditional – This is just a great side dish or main meal at 3 g of fat or 7 g of protein.  Sometimes I have a scoop of beans and a corn tortilla with my eggs to make Huevos Rancheros.

6) Corn Chips or Corn Tortillas – I really like Mission Style White Corn Chips but if I am in the mood for something a little heartier I will get Tostitos or Fritos, the scoop style.  I use them in place of croutons in a salad if I just want more of a crunch.  I also mix them with my eggs and top with salsa.  The obvious way to eat them is as nachos or with a dip - bean or guacamole.

7)  Pacific Food Natural Broth - This is just great to use as a base for homemade soup or to use in place of  water for brown rice, quinoa or mashed potatoes to add more flavor.

Any of Pamela’s Products – Cookies or Biscotti – really all of her mixes and products because they are all so versitile and easy to make! 

9) Equal Exchange Dark Chocolate with Almonds Bar - It is Dark Chocolate without SOY and Almonds which are good for you … need I say more?

10) Instant Potato Flakes – I like to have these on hand at all times to make the obvious mash potatoes.  I also like to use these as a “breading” to coat chicken  or pork chops. If I the rare chance that I am out or low I will also use crushed up plain potato chips, which add an extra crunch!

I hope you find this helpful and in honor of Gluten Free Awareness Month -

I just started to read this book by Dr. Stephen Wangen, “Healthier Without Wheat”. I had to put the book down because I thought it was so important to tell you about this book. It is an excellent book that helps to explain some very confusing information about Wheat Allergies, Celiac Disease and Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance. I heard about this book at theGIG Conference that I attended earlier this year. Stephen had participated or responed to some of the questions during the various seminars that were offered. He mentioned his book several times. Ironically, after my ONE BITE episode, I picked up the book and began to read. I wanted to know if he had any further information as to why I was feeling so bad. I must say that some of the information I already knew but it was presented to me in a way that made me feel more empowered to stay motivated and get past this bump in the road.
Contact your local library, favorite bookstore orAmazon.com and get the book! Get a few copies of the book for your family and friends. Everyone must read this book just to be educated about the underlying causes of most illnesses.

The book is easy to read and beautifully organized to help you understand why we have so many problems with wheat, gluten and diagnosing problems associated with the sensitivities. Some of the information is hard to understand but once you read the book and then go back to certain sections it will make more sense as to why it is very important to take your intolerance, sensitivity or allergy to wheat or gluten very seriously.

Although living without wheat is hard to convince yourself to do, and may seem somewhat drastic, when you start to feel better and healthier it will be easier to understand. This is a great book that I will keep in my library to remind myself why I work so hard. It will continue to keep me motivated to plan gluten free meals, talk to grocery stores about offering more gluten free products, talking to restaurants and cafes about adding Gluten Free menus and talking to people like you who are trying to be healthier without wheat. I hope you find this book as helpful and informative as I do.
Enjoy!
Lisa

I am not sure what set this off in me but suddenly I have to have PIZZA!          I think it is because it is the one thing that we all crave and want the most. So I have spent the past few days investigating, shopping and searching to find the best tasting, easiest and least expensive way to get the ULTIMATE GLUTEN FREE PIZZA … (Oh and not having to travel via ferry all the time to Seattle.)

It was OK for a quickie pizza in 10-15 minutes but I needed to add spices to it wake up the flavor. Look for it in the freezer section. It is small so if you are feeding a few people and in a hurry you might want to grab one per person and have a big salad.

Next … I will be trying a frozen Brown Rice Pizza Crust by Nature’s Hilights $5.99 for 2 crusts in one box. Look for an update in a few weeks  … I have to go walk now before I turn into a pizza!

In the past few weeks I have heard “rumors” about new pizza places that offer really good gluten free pizza – all over WA state.  Feel free to contact me glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com  with any and all info.  Stay tuned as more reviews will follow … in the meantime, enjoy the suggestions above to get you through those rough patches or sudden end of summer blues  … and join me on the

ULTIMATE GLUTEN FREE PIZZA CHALLENGE!!!

(This was orginally posted on the Gluten Free Foodies blog on August 18, 2009.  I just want to make sure that the newbies don’t miss the VIPi aka Very Important Pizza info!)

For more info about Gluten Free Foodies events and other Gluten Intolerant resources go to http://www.glutenfreefoodies.blogspot.com