9.26.2012

Birthday Cake 2012!

Yesterday was my birthday!

A birthday is not official without a birthday cake!  In fact, I think it's one of the most important parts.
This year, I ordered my cake from Katz Imaging Custom CakesWow! I've been getting gluten-free birthday cakes for 7 years now... and this one beats 'em all!
I was originally going to get a vanilla white cake with pink icing until I saw a picture online of maraschino cherry flavoured cake with white icing.  What a novel idea!

I asked Kathy if this could be done.  "Of course!"  She was up for the challenge and it turned out amazing! 

What I didn't know while biting into this cake last night was that it is not only gluten-free, but it is also free of dairy.  (I found this out on her Facebook Page.)  Amazing that she was able to do this without dairy and no gluten!

Super moist cake, really flavourful and yummy fluffy icing!  Just like a birthday cake should be :)

Cherry not your thing?  Not to worry - Katz has over 50 flavours available!

Do you want your very own birthday cake?!  (Or other special occasion cake, for that matter.)

Contact Kathy from Katz Imaging Custom Cakes.

She is based in Cambridge and the cakes are available to Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.  They also have a second location in Mississauga that serves the GTA.  Special orders can be delivered all over Ontario with proper notice.
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Before I forget... my decision to go with Kathy's cake this year is because I got some Hostess-style cupcakes a few months ago and posted about how yummy they are.  Since they were so good, I knew I couldn't go wrong with a cake.  Here's a picture of my Hostess-style cupcakes this time around :)
I left two cupcakes for my parents.  My mom messaged me this morning saying, and I quote, "That cupcake is freakin awesome... I have to stop myself from eating the second one before dad gets home."

Yup.... they are that good.

9.22.2012

Uh oh - Glutened! Now What?

.  Glutenized  .  Glutened  .  Poisoned by gluten  .
 .  Death by gluten  .  Gluten bombed  .

Whatever you call it, I'm sure you can relate.  It's not fun.  I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy.

So... what do you do to help relieve the symptoms of being glutened?

My usual remedy when my stomach isn't feeling too happy, is to stick with plain foods like rice, mashed potato, apple sauce... and stay away from dairy or anything that requires a lot of digesting (like raw veggies).  I also like to add in a probiotic and L-glutamine to help repair the intestinal wall.

I posed this question on my Facebook Page last December when I accidentally glutened myself and got a ton of great advice.  I have removed the names for privacy.
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Ginger Chews or ginger root tea. Feel better!
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 ginger tea! made from actual ginger root simmered in water for 20 min - the stronger the better!
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 I would add probiotics but you probably already do that.
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 club soda and rice dishes help me the most....feel better!!!
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 For me what works is the BRATY - banana, brown rice, apples, applesauce, well toast but I don't eat white toast and a  probiotic yogurt
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 http://glutenfreeeasily.com/honor-your-body-how-to-recover-after-being-glutened-gluten-exposure/ Here is a good link and  check out all the comments too. I need a heating pad when I do to myself.
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 Try Konsl... it will help clean your system out, which is what is needed. It is gluten-free. Put a hot water bottle on your  stomach and try to relax.
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 Just toast, jam. Plain bland food. Lots of little meals. Heating pad. Sorry to hear since it isn't fun.
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 Yes Ginger tea...not peppermint tea. I agree with Selene, get a ginger root and cut thin slices into a tea infuser or the  bottom of a tea pot and let it steep. My doctor once told me to boil some rice and separate the water into a container and  drink it and save the rice to use another time. Hope you will be feeling better very soon.
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 When I get glutened, my comfort food is potato. Mashed potatoes.
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 I am doing congee plain day one... with ginger, garlic and kale day 2...day 3 tomorrow will be the same...ahhh the  holidays...
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 sleep, water, pepto, and peppermint tea for me. But my symptoms are usually stomach and generally feeling  run down. Guess it depends what's bothering you the most!
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 Probiotics for me, fresh fruit, and if necessary, gravol  suppository. Be well.
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 move/exercise as much as you can - you have to work it out. Sweating is good. Pepto Bismol (liquid) helps if you can  tolerate it. It is a quick fix for the stomach upset feeling, might straighten things out enough so you can sleep. Lots of  water, chicken broth, hot water is good too. Exercise as much as you can, and really limit what you are putting in your  mouth.
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 Drink lots of water, take digestive enzymes before you eat anything for the next few days, just eat soft foods that are  easily digestible.
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 Bland diet and Immodium if you need it! Praying you feel well soon!
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 I always keep a few homeopathic vials on hand with me (in my make-up bag). I use Nux Vomica (also called Colubrina) as a  general upset stomach remedy and also Apis (also for digestive issues but also for the allergy-like symptoms I sometimes get  - and yes I know this is NOT an allergy ;-) ). In fact I often take a dose of apis before I go into a situation where I think  X-contamination may be a problem. And if I take it immediately after eating (or as soon as possible after being contaminated)  then I get relatively few problems. Works for me.
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 I find niacin (not the non-flush kind; the "flush" seems to be part of what makes it work) and B12 (preferably sublingual)  work for the neurological symptoms (brain fog, muscle weakness, etc). For the gastro-intestinal distresses I find heavy  starchy foods to help (seconds on the mashed potato!)
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 Probiotcs always help me a lot. Lots of water too
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 Gravol, Gatorade.

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 If I have had gluten I usually find fasting for a couple of days always helps me. Drinking lots of green  tea.
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 take digestive enzymes and drink green tea with Kombucha -one made from Yogi -- i  tell my clients to do this and it works as I have done it myself as well :)

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 Gluten Defense? I've yet to try it but here's some reviews of the product:  http://www.glutenfreegab.net/2010/04/glutenflam-or-gluten-defense.html
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 For me, gravol and major pain meds as needed. Bloody stools, you bet. Clear fluids and the Boost type of  drinks with non low fat milk. I can be off food for weeks if I get into gluten. It sucks!

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 i always feel like i need a serious cleanse so i take Dr. Millers Wholy Tea lots of starch and plain foods once  the serious symptoms are minimal after my breakfast and dinner i take a shot of apple cider vinegar with some baking soda -  tastes unpleasant but feels like an instant cleanse. I hope you feel better soon! Hang in there :)
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 activated charcoal 2 every 30mins until alleviates a bit then less often, lectin lock (vrp.com), histaminium  30CH, liquid O2 in water, ortho·sleep (AOR) to calm ajd stay asleep through as much of the agony as possible
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 Gatorade and probiotics plus gluten digest
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 Oh my gosh. I feel your pain. I just did this to myself last week. Even when the stomach issues had passed I  felt bad. All the old aches and the brain fog. I didn't feel better for a week. Hope you feel better soon.
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 I get bogged down also and take Advil as I find it reduces the swelling. Also eat an apple a day plus  drink gatorade. Once I start to feel better I try to walk a lot.
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 I usually stick with natural things  like fruits (bananas are good for bulking you up again) because there is less chance of cross contamination with natural  foods..and in my case, lots of imodium.
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 I could not live without pepto bismol, advil, water, gatorade, and a heating pad on my lower back.
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 for me its water lots of it and  imodium never go any place without it. Bananas and rice mashed patatoes. And PLENTY of REST hope you feel better soon. And  blood is NEVER a good sign but you know what to look for. If you can please give us tips on how to avoid the devil gluten  over hte holidays its going to be everywhere we go.
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 take a great supplement called Gluten Defense...although it's meant to be taken before you eat gluten it works  just as well after
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 Someone told me a bit of vinegar in a glass of water drink it down quick , it has helped me

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 Probiotic and liquid aloe, soothes your insides, just a little or it goes right through
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 Just did this last week with some lovely (?) homemade soup. Used Bovril beef bullion not realizing that it had  barley yeast in it! My heating pad is my best friend and apple sauce and potato (baked, mashed) and banana go down good. No  roughage such as salad tho'

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 When I eat gluten and react, which causes hugest stomach cramps and the need for easy access to the  washroom, I always want something really sweet (chocolate does wonders for me), then I curl up in a ball with a blanket on  the couch in my front room, read until I fall asleep and sleep for many hours. This is what helps me the most...my family now  knows if they see me in that position (which hasn't happened in a few months now) then I need to be alone! I guess I am lucky  enough that the longest my reaction has ever lasted is 8 hours and I sleep through most of them.
I also have found that the older I get the more sensitive I am getting to foods so I have to be really careful around this  time of year when people say "you should be able to eat it because I didn't put anything like that in there" but then realize  that there is something little in there that can make me react.
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 Rabeprazole. They're pills. They help. :)

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 papaya enzymes
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 my quick fix is Quick Disolve Immodium  and not sure how to deal with the "black cloud" that overcomes me for a few days afterward..... I have experimented with  Activated Charcoal as well - didn't work as well as Immodium though
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 Lots and lots of water (10 - 12 glasses/day) to help wash the stuff out of my system as quickly as possible
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 A really good probiotic and slippery elm... you can take it as a tea or capsules..... feel better soon! :)

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 probiotics definitely. Sleep and hot water bottles. Take care and get better soon
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 I was looking this very thing up a little while ago and came across this website. It may have some things not  yet mentioned in these posts, for those who want to look further. http://glutenfreeeasily.com/honor-your-body-how-to- recover-after-being-glutened-gluten-exposure/
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 It's gonna sound really weird, but what works for me is Kao Pectate. Also Ibuprophen for pain!
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 I hope you feel better soon. When i get glutened i'm sick for about three days. I will eat plain tostitos  chips, yogurt, and drink a ton of water and peppermint & ginger tea. As well, make the bathroom a comfortable place.
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 I am atypical. I use gas-x, mint and fennel tea, cider  vinegar, and extra b-vitamins for the mood issues and a hot water bottle. If someone has inflammation and blood, heat is  contra-indicated. Also, dairy and homeopathics which are in a dairy base may aggravate someone who is lactose intolerant.  Painful and excessive runs - I have used slippery elm successfully.
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 When my son "gets glutened" we give him a lot of water and tell him 3 bananas per day  for three days and send him to bed. He feels better after a long nap but it seems to take three days to completely recover.  He is already off dairy in addition to gluten, but I also eliminate nightshades, nuts and citrus for about a week or two  after he has been "poisoned by gluten".
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 Everyone does react differently - just make sure that you are drinking  a lot of water to help flush it out and make up for your water loss. I get severe brain fog and joint pain so what works for  me won't necessarily work for you.
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 Gingerale, mints, mint tea, ect. and curled up on the couch with a blanket until it works it way through my system. Nothing  else you can do unfortunately...especially when pregnant!

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 A drink of cold water helps some of the  pain.. Kefir for breakfast with my cereal is a great way to start the day. Even french fries can be cross-contaminated, so I  keep on having the "does this contain flour" conversation whenever I eat out.

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 Fresh Papaya shakes help because they contain bromein which breaks down the gluten in your system and settles your stomach
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I take chamomile tea (: If I don't feel better I either have diet coke, gingerale, or gatorade. You should start to feel  better. DON"T EAT WHEAT. 

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 I have just taken extra digest enzymes and quercitin.
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 Tonica Kombucha!
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 We do the cider vinegar and warm water shots ;) it works well .
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 there is a non-essential amino acid called L-glutamine, which is the primary source of fuel for our intestinal cells. you can buy it in a powdered form and put a scoop in water and drink it on an empty stomach to help heal your angry intestines and re-balance your immune system.
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 Extra water with lemon seems to help.
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 I get extreme fatigue the next couple of days after ingesting gluten. Any suggestions on combatting that? I could sleep standing at certain points!
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 I just take Pepto Bismal
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 I find to help calm my stomach sometimes whether it be glutened or just feeling bloated in general peppermint tea does the trick! Sometimes in conjunction with Imodium or pepto though in harsh times
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 Our family take Papaya tablets. It is a digestive enzyme.
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 Peppermint tea and essential oils for digestion, like majoram, but the only thing that can get me up off of the ground is medicinal marijuana.*
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 Natural ginger gravol
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 I find drinking kombucha helps move my digestion along...
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 Happy im not the only one that finds that marijuana helps me to get back to normal after being glutenized ... Often within about 5 mins*
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 I go to sleep. I can't feel any pain once I'm sleeping. I just hope that it goes away by the time I wake up.
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 I chew fennel seeds. I know it sounds odd, but it's one of the best things for me. I got that trick from my German grandma. Also fennel tea and lots of water. And a hot, hot bath, to relax the muscles that go all crazy tense in my stomach.
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 I use a heating pad for cramps and Advil but my sister has Buscopan (anti spasmodic) and Dicetel to stop the cramps and says they really help.Still has the diarrhea tho'.
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 I find chai tea or rooibos tea very helpful,Since they relax me and really help with the cramping...Advil works for the pain, but it is always my last resort. I also take probiotics or digestive enzymes(both if I can find them)and they seem to minimize the severity of the attacks when I have been "glutenized" Hope these tips can help someone else :)
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Gluten relief digestive enzyme capsules!
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 Tostito chips, water, and presidents choice peppermint ginger tea.
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 I find Davids Tea Organic Detox Tea
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 I drink a gingerale! The carbonation helps be burp up the gas! And the ginger soothes !
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 I take probiotic and an ayurvedic pill called triphala and then drink lots and lots of water to flush the poison out of my system.... Then just wait for the pain to stop!!
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 i get really severe reactions severe pain, vomiting, shaking, rapid heartbeat, cold sweats etc that lasts for about 4 hours and find that i can't eat without pain for a month if not longer afterwards...does anyone else get like that? cause gingerale and tea definitely do not help my situation haha i'm desperate for something to help the healing process along
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 I have celiac disease and a gluten allergy on top of it.
For me, I just have to ride it out. When i stop throwing up I drink Gatorade to get my electrolytes back up, sleep as much as possible, and gradually eat what I can until back to "normal". Much like getting over the flu (but far more painful). This only lasts a few days -a week tops, depending on the severity. If its lasting a month, you may be suffering from trace gluten somewhere else ( shared butter, mayo, PB, etc are common culprits). I'd check out possible avenues of low-grade, consistent Gluten poisoning in your daily environment.
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 Organic coconut water. Hands down.
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 hot water and gas-x: works for me
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 Glutamine supplements to help recover after getting gluten bombed. Recommended by my naturopath and it helps me a lot!
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 I find that taking goldenseal really helps
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 yes, the pain is beyond anything that can be described, so I'm not going to try. There's no way I could sleep or get up off of the ground to pour a tea. Medicinal marijuana is the only thing that makes the pain lessen enough for me to get up and be able to even stand on my own 2 feet. A gluten contamination is beyond the worst pain I've ever felt and I have a lot of painful illnesses. I could not survive without medicinal marijuana. I can't stand having to use it and never use it for anything else other then that case of an emergency, but I have no choice, it feels like I'm going to die otherwise.*

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 good quality tonic water (Schweppes) - it works for me! The last time I was "rolling in the deep" at 2 am thank god I had some in the fridge, settled my stomach right down.
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 Someone to hug/cuddle in between extended trips to the washroom, water and Ontario Celiacs group to empathize ;)

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*Medicinal marijuana is not something I personally use.  Please speak with your doctor before trying this method.

9.19.2012

Gluten Free Expo in Toronto

mmhmm you heard right.

An expo consisting entirely of gluten-free exhibitors!!

You will get to sample foods and learn about the gluten-free diet.  And as if that wasn't enough... I will be there also :) Need I say more...?

So here's all the info you need to know!

Gluten Free Expo - TORONTO
September 30, 2012
10am - 5pm

Location - 655 Dixon Rd, Toronto, ON (DoubleTree by Hilton)
(Near Pearson Airport)

Tickets are $12 at the door or save money by purchasing online for $9 each.

Buy tickets here!

I will be at booth number F17!  Come find me :)

9.06.2012

Better4U Pizza Giveaway!

Better4U Gluten-Free Pizza is big in the US and is slowly making its way to stores near you in Ontario.

They have been touring Costco and have had great feedback about their gluten-free pizzas.  They are hoping the chain of stores will pick up their pizzas to be sold regularly at all Ontario locations in the future.

I got a chance to sample one of each of their five gluten-free pizzas (minus the pepperoni, since I am a vegetarian).  My favourite was the Mediterranean Pizza! (Pictured above.)  It is topped with olives, broccoli, feta (mmm!), roasted red peppers and spinach.  The crust was a little thicker than I normally like but tasted very good overall.

You will notice that the pizza box does have a warning that they are not from a dedicated gluten-free facility.  When I inquired about how they keep the pizza separate and ensure there is no cross-contamination, this is the response I got:
  
We completely clean and swab the equipment line prior to running the Gluten-Free products.  We schedule our Gluten-Free production for the 1st run immediately after the production lines have been sanitized and swabbed.  We swab all of our equipment and test for all allergies and we send a sample of the product out to an outside independent lab which tests for any traces of gluten.
 

Also, we break down all of our equipment when we sanitize and clean, to ensure every part of the equipment and production line is clear

We are a Certified Gluten Facility, certified by the GFCO (Gluten Free Certification Organization).  We also have routine inspections by outside, independent labs that test for Gluten, and as of last month, our latest inspection, the result was that “they could not identify any parts per million” of any Gluten.  The GFCO mandate in order to be a Gluten-Free Certified Facility is that your facility can not have more than 10 parts per million. Better4U Foods has clearly taken the steps to ensure that our Gluten-Free products are always safe, and always Gluten-Free.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Better4U Pizza!

If you would like to request for your local store to carry Better4U Gluten-Free Pizza, you can print a product request form and give it to the owner or manager.

Check out the full line up of products! (Plus the Mediterranean above)

Or better yet, why don't you sign up below to win some of your very own pizza from Better4U!

One winner will receive three pizzas of their choice!
 a Rafflecopter giveaway