Ask the Coach: Teleconference Workshops?

I've started to let people know about the four-part series, "Going Gluten Free," that I am putting on along with my colleagues, Susan Engle and Dr. Amanda Tracy. The question that I've been getting asked subsequently is...

Q: What about coming to my area? We need workshops about food allergies, celiac disease, etc. in ___________ [fill in the blank with name of town, state]!

A: I would love to travel to all corners of the world, but something tells me this isn't going to happen in the immediate future, so something that has been on my mind is to offer workshops on a variety of topics via teleconference. This means that, where ever you are, you would be provided with a phone number to call in to and an access code. We could all chat live! I have many colleagues in the medical field in addition to parents and other folks who have lived with dietary restrictions for a long time. The teleconferences would bring formal and informal experts on the topic together with people who need information. Perhaps your specific questions can be submitted beforehand upon registering?

I could see doing these both as individual workshops and as a part of an ongoing "coaching" group that meets regularly.

So, what do you think? Interested? What kinds of topics?

Ask the Coach: What exactly is personal coaching?

Being that I am a personal coach, I get this one a lot...in emails, when I meet people, at speaking engagements:

Q: What exactly is a personal coach?

A: Coaching is a powerful, ongoing relationship which focuses on clients making important changes in their lives. Coaching uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to build a client’s level of awareness and responsibility, and provides the client with structure, support, and feedback. The coaching process helps clients to both define and achieve personal and professional goals faster and with more ease than would be possible otherwise. In coaching, the focus is on designing the future, not getting over the past.

The field of coaching is booming and there are many coaching niche areas. Business coaching for executives and teams has become quite popular. Coaching children and teens to help them excel with academics is on the rise, as is parenting coaching. Many small business owners higher coaches to help them increase revenue.

Coaching usually occurs in the context of a long-term relationship, where the client’s goals, dreams, and vision drive the action. The belief is that there are multiple paths to reach a goal, and that the client knows the way (though they might not realize it at the time). The coach assists the client to become a “change master.” To this end, coaching and adjustment to dietary changes go hand-in-hand.

How does coaching work?

Generally, most coaches have a structure that includes three to four sessions each month, with quick check-ins by phone and email in between. Coaching sessions can be either one-on-one, in small groups, or a combination of both. They can be in-person, via phone, or a combination of both throughout the month, which allows for financial and logistical flexibility. In-person sessions can include shopping, practice with advocating, and cooking.

A coach will encourage clients to set goals that they truly want, ask them to do more than they have done on their own, help them focus in order to produce results more quickly, and provide the tools, information, support, and structure to help them accomplish more. It’s like having a personal trainer to assist you with making adjustments to improve your life.

Who should consider hiring a personal coach that specializes in dietary restrictions?

Since coaching is all about helping others to make big life changes, it marries well with the niche of food allergies, intolerance, and sensitivities. You may want to consider hiring a coach if:

• If you are feeling unsure as to how to adjust your lifestyle around your food challenges
• If you are feeling limited by food allergies/intolerance/sensitivities
• If you are not sure where to go for information or are overwhelmed by all the information you are finding
• If you are restricting yourself from enjoying going out to restaurants, parties, etc.
• If you are having difficulty sticking to your intolerance- or sensitivity-specific diet
• If you are having difficulty getting your child's school to "get it"
  

It’s important to find someone that you “click” with. Most coaches offer a free initial session to help get to know them, and to answer any questions you might have about the coaching process.

Ask the Coach: What is a blog carnival?

This question came from some fellow bloggers as well as a few readers:

Q: What is a blog carnival?

A: A blog carnival is like a virtual magazine, where several different authors contribute to the same issue. Issues have an overall topic, and some editions of the issue will be of a certain theme. Issues are generally posted weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly. Often, the same series will be "hosted" by different bloggers each time it is published. This helps to introduce readers to various blog sites, opinions, etc.

Check out the blog carnival website to find topics you are interested in. There are blog carnivals for almost everything! One carnival I participate in on occasion is Living With Food Allergies, currently being hosted at Rational Jenn. Check it out!

I noticed that there wasn't a carnival specific to the gluten free lifestyle, so I'm starting one. The first edition will be posted tomorrow, August 1st, right here at the The Food Allergy Coach. We'll be publishing monthly on the first of each month. If you are a blogger that would like to contribute an article to the next issue, click here. Be sure to check back tomorrow for some great tips, product reviews, advice/support, and, of course, recipes!!!! ...and FYI, the September 1st issue will be hosted at Gluten Freeways.

Also, I contribute to Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free - this is not so much a carnival but more of a recipe roundup around a certain theme. The current theme (which will be published later today) is Make Me a Happy Camper! Check it out at Gluten Free Easily.

Hope that's helpful!

Ask the Coach: Gluten Free on a Budget?

Happy Friday everyone! I've been asked this question both via email and in person many, many times...

Q: How can you eat gluten free on a budget?

A: I find that, when people are first diagnosed, the focus is to try to find "replacement" foods, like cereals, pasta, cookies - things that are processed, quick, easy, and tasty. This was where my thoughts were at 9 years ago. I soon noticed that the GF versions of my favorite things were costly - in some cases, 300 to 400% more than the non-GF counterpart. That wasn't going to cut it for me. Additionally, I learned that, just because something is labeled gluten free, it doesn't mean it's healthy. Keeping these two lessons in mind, I got creative and started to think outside the box.

My article, The Coach's Top 23 Tips for Eating Gluten Free on a Budget on Celiac.com details many years of being gluten free while also being budget conscious (my financially-minded hubby wouldn't have it any other way!). Check it out, and please share your ideas!

Hope this was helpful.

Ask the Coach vol 3: What do I do with all that left over juicer pulp?

This question has come from many folks in person and via email. It's something that I wondered about myself when I first got my Champion Juicer - so much so that I wouldn't use it until I found ways of not wasting all that fiber-y goodness in the pulp!

Q: What do I do with all that left over juicer pulp?

A: In order not to waste the pulp, I freeze it by putting it in a freezer bag and mashing it down to form a 1" disc (so that I can break it off as I need it). When juicing things, like cucumber, that I don't want to use in a cooked recipe (did that once - not so good), I juice it last to keep it's pulp separate and freeze it in a different bag for raw use. Here are some ideas, many of which I have tried. Let me know what you've done and how it worked!

The Coach's Top 18 ways to use juicer pulp:

1. Add 1/2 C into soups - any soups. It makes a nice thickener!
2. Add 3/4 C into chili - it disguises nicely.
3. Add 1/3 C into your crab cake mixture then fry 'em up!
   
4. Add 1/2 C into your homemade sausage.
5. Add 1/2 C into your meatball mixture.
6. Carrocado Mash = 1 C juicer pulp, 1 pepper (diced), 1 large avocado, 2 t salt. Mash all together.
7. Use cucumber and/or fruit pulp to make delicious frozen drinks - add a little rum when it's the weekend! Cucumber and watermelon and/or cantaloupe are particularly refreshing.
   
8. Compost it to add nutrients to your garden.
9. Add 1/2 C to homemade or store bought marinara sauce.
10. Make winter salad by adding pulp to some grated horseradish.
    
11. Add 1/2 C to your meatloaf recipe.
12. Make basil crackers: carrot or vegetable pulp from juicing (about 5 cups), 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 cup basil, chopped or dried handful cilantro, chopped, 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup (or more) sprouted and crushed nuts (almonds, sesame, sunflower...etc.), sea salt, dulsebraggs to taste. Use a spatula to spread over teflex sheet in dehydrator or pan in oven and dehydrate for about 8 hrs or until completely dry. Wonderful with guacamole or other dips! You could also do these in the oven - they just won't be "raw" or
13. Mock tuna salad = pulp, mayo, cumin, diced celery, scallions...
14. Make fruity coffee cake: in a 9x12 casserole dish, layer juicer pulp (add fruit if it's not fruity enough) then spread a simple coffee cake recipe batter over the top sealing in the edges, topped with the crumbly topping and nuts and baked.
    
15. Muesli Bars - Soak rolled oats in water (do not make them soggy) - if using quinoa flakes, you can skip this step. Add to them pulp (preferably a sweeter pulp). Then add a combo of chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, linen seeds, and sultanas (whatever you can tolerate) . Add honey or agave to taste. Mix thoroughly together and then put and flatten into a baking tray. Bake at 350 F until nice and dry.
16. Make pulp muffins:

2 cups flour (for GF, a rice flour based mix works best)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2-1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup lightly packed juicer pulp
1/2 cup juice or (non-dairy) organic milk
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave
1/4 cup oil (canola, sunflower, safflower...)
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add juicer pulp, juice or milk, apple sauce, maple syrup and oil. Mix just until all the flour has been absorbed. (If you had beets and carrots in your pulp the batter may look a little like salmon mousse. Don't worry, the colour will change when baked.) Pour in cider vinegar and mix quickly, just until evenly distributed through batter. Spoon into a lightly oiled or paper-lined muffin tray. Sprinkle tops with a little bit of nutmeg and sugar (optional). Bake for bout 20 minutes. Test with a skewer. Makes a dozen muffins. (If you were gonna bake it as a loaf it may take around 45 minutes to bake at 350 F.)

17. Carrot pulp marmalade:

3 oranges
4 cups of water
3 cups of carrot pulp
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 cups of honey
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 package of store-bought dried pectin

Peel all three oranges and cut the rinds into very narrow slices. Cook the slices in four cups of water until they're tender ... then let 'em sit at least seven hours (or overnight).

Once the peelings have had a chance to stand for seven (or more) hours, add the carrot pulp to them and boil for 10 minutes. Next, chop the oranges into a bowl and remove all seeds. Then introduce the oranges, lemon juice, honey, and ginger to the pulp/peelings mixture and boil for 20 minutes more.

If—after 20 minutes-the marmalade has begun to jell on its own ... terrific! Pour the mixture into hot, sterile canning jars and seal. Otherwise—if the jam hasn't thickened-you should stir in the dried pectin at this point. (I don't know why, but sometimes you'll need the pectin and sometimes you won't. All I can say is, when in doubt . . . use the pectin.) Boil the pectin-enriched marmalade for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, but continue to stir for an additional seven minutes. Finally, pour the marmalade into hot, sterile canning jars and seal.


18. Pulp cookies

3/4 cup of water
1 cup of pulp (preferably a sweeter pulp)
2/3 cup of vegetable oil
2/3 cup of honey or agave
1 egg
2 cups of flour (for GF, a rice flour based mix works best)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/ 2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract

Add the water to the carrot pulp in a small saucepan and cook over a very low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often to keep the pulp from scorching. Meanwhile, beat the oil and honey together in a bowl, then beat in the egg. Stir in the cooked carrot pulp, the flour, the baking powder, and—if you wish-the sea salt. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts, stir, and spoon the dough out onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in a pre-heated 400°F oven.


Hope this was helpful! Happy eating (and juicing!)!

Ask the Coach: Gluten Free Sunblock?

updated 8/27/09.

While speaking at a celiac disease support group here in NH, a member posed the question:

Q: Which sunblocks are gluten free?

A: First off, let me say that there is a lot of contradictory info out there about whether or not gluten can be absorbed through the skin, and if it can cause problems for people with celiac disease. The more I read and talk to people, it seems as though that this is not the case. To my surprise, even dermatitis herpetiformis is caused by ingested gluten, not contact with gluten. A true wheat allergy is different, and people who are very sensitive do need to be concerned with products that contain wheat. Products that are likely to be near the mouth, like lipstick, are something to think about when it comes to gluten issues. I do think that, if you have an autoimmune disease, it is smart to reduce the amount of chemicals you are exposing yourself to.

As a side note, I did recently learn that I've been exposed to gluten - not through ingestion, but I've asked my doctor to run celiac blood screening test for antibodies again (last one done a while ago) to see what the numbers look like. It'll be an interesting experiment.

Anyhow, here are some sunblocks that I have received confirmation from the manufacturer stating that they are wheat and gluten free (as always, formulas can change overnight, so always check labels and ask questions of manufacturers):

* Keys Care Solar Rx Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunblock

* Carole Maggio Facercise Inc.'s Protective Sunblock

* Lavera Sunblock SPF 40

* Jason SunBrellas Chemical-Free Sun Block, SPF 30+

* SIRJJ Organics makes an SPF30 Day Cream

* I'm told by the consumer care help line that all Neutrogena adult sun blocks except for the sensitive skin SPF 30 are GF

Here in the northeast, we haven't needed sunblock for quite some time - it's been very depressing. I'm hoping this is going to change soon!

Ask the Coach Vol 2: What do you eat for breakfast????

Recently, when I was meeting with a colleague and explaining the elimination diet process in addtion to my already known food restrictions (gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, sugar, yeast, dairy, cherries, somewhat rice), she asked...

Q: What do you eat for breakfast????

A: No doubt - breakfast has been a bit tough to figure out, but I manage quite well. Sometimes I eat "normal" breakfast foods, and sometimes I deviate:

* Homemade sausage! By far my favorite.
* Sunflower Seed Butter or hummus with celery and carrots
* 2 fried eggs with sauteed peppers & onions
* Coconut yogurt topped with Hemp Seed or Millet Puffs
* Now that I can do some fruit on occasion,Corn Flakes with berries & Hempmilk
* My newest addition is muffins made with coconut flour - I will debut the recipe soon!
* Once in a while, I'll do a smoothie with a frozen banana, coconut milk, & berries
* I'm currently experimenting with creating a nutritious pancake - I'll be sure to share my findings.

That's more than a whole week's worth of ideas! Hope it's helpful.

Ask the Coach, vol 1: Gluten Free Tea?

Happy Friday! This week, I'll be starting a new series called "Ask the Coach." It will run each Friday. During the week, I get lots of emails, blog posts, website comments, and in-person fabulous questions from various folks...and I thought "hey, if this person is wondering about this, then that must mean many others are, too."

This week's question is an email from K.S., who writes:

Q: Hi Kim, Your email regarding the GF Betty C mixes was forwarded to me by a friend. I have just recently been diagnosed celiac and have not been able to find a good GF tea. I used to love vanilla hazelnut by celestial seasonings. Any suggestion? All the teas that look appealing to me have barley or some other form of gluten in them. Thank you, K.S.

A: Hi K.S., Thanks for writing. All teas by the The Republic of Tea are GF - from their website: "The The Republic of Tea is the first and only tea company in the United States to be certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), ensuring all of our full-leaf and bagged teas are free of gluten and possible cross-contamination from gluten. The GFCO, a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group® (GIG), is the first program of its kind in the world to supervise the manufacturing and testing protocol of companies that market gluten-free (GF) foods, for the purpose of offering consumers a third-party assurance of safety. This new independent food processing inspection program will verify that food products meet the highest standards for GF ingredients and are produced in a safe environment."

They have many flavors. I'm a decaf girl myself, so my favorites are Vanilla Almond and Ginger Peach. Hope this was helpful!

Keep your great questions coming!