Do you own a strictly gluten free toaster?

What are your experiences owning one?

Do you have a toaster for gluten products and one for gluten free?

Did you even realize that a toaster can contaminate your food with gluten?

I ask these questions, because recently I bought some Van’s Gluten Free Waffles.  I took them out of the freezer anticipating popping them into a toaster, but realized I don’t own a toaster! hahaha.  I ended up cooking them in a skillet on the stove.

I don’t own a toaster for a few reasons:

• I don’t eat a lot of bread products.
• If I do have gluten free bread, I usually make something like a grilled cheese or breakfast sandwiches on the stove.
• I don’t want it to get contaminated with gluten.
• It would be so easy for a guest to pop a slice of regular bread in it and I would never know. 
  

How do you tackle this dilemma?

I had not tried their waffles before, so I decided to give them a shot:

I was actually impressed.  Honestly, I don’t think anyone could tell that they are gluten free… especially after putting syrup on them.

In the Costco Connection Magazine from June 2010, you will find an article about celiac disease titled “A Pain in the Gut”.

Click on the article image to read the article on Costco Connection’s website:

To me this is just another sign that the disease is become so prevalent, that even Costco is talking about it.  Costco has even become pretty good about carrying some gluten free products.

“P.F. Chang’s upholds a rigorous gluten free cooking process to ensure the dietary safety of guests with celiac disease. The restaurant’s staff takes all the necessary measures of precaution during the preparation and serving of gluten free dishes.”

I am very excited to learn that PF Chang’s has expanded their gluten free menu!  PRESS RELEASE

“The newly expanded Gluten Free Menu features the following items:

Starter:
GF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps – $7.95

Soup:
GF Egg Drop Soup Cup – $2.95/Bowl – $5.95

Noodles:
GF Singapore Street Noodles – $9.95

Rice:
GF P.F. Chang’s Fried Rice – $7.95/Combo – $9.95

Vegetarian:
GF Buddha’s Feast – $7.50

Sides:
GF Spinach Stir-Fried with Garlic
GF Garlic Snap Peas
GF Shanghai Cucumbers
Small: $2.95/Large: $4.95

Dessert:
GF Flourless Chocolate Dome – $5.95

Lunch Bowls:
GF Buddha’s Feast – $7.25
GF Shrimp with Lobster Sauce – $8.95
GF Moo Goo Gai Pan – $8.95
GF Beef with Broccoli – $8.95
GF Pepper Steak – $8.95

Entrées:
GF Shrimp with Lobster Sauce – $12.95
GF Moo Goo Gai Pan -$13.25
GF Ginger Chicken With Broccoli – $12.75
GF Philip’s Better Lemon Chicken – $12.95
GF Chang’s Spicy Chicken – $12.95
GF Chang’s Lemon Scallops – $14.95
GF Salmon Steamed With Ginger – $17.95
GF Cantonese Shrimp or Scallops – $14.95
GF Mongolian Beef – $14.95
GF Beef with Broccoli – $11.95
GF Beef a La Sichuan – $13.95
GF Pepper Steak – $13.25
GF Hong Kong Beef with Snow Peas – $10.25
GF Dali Chicken – $12.95″

I already have my next visit planned:   Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Chang’s Spicy Chicken with Chan’s Fried Rice

Who is this “Chang” guy anyway?  I need to meet him!

Title: “Pants on the Ground”

Purpose/Question: Determine if the intake of gluten effects the time spent on “The Can” for individuals diagnosed with celiac disease vs. individuals undiagnosed celiac disease.

Hypothesis: Persons on a gluten free diet will spend much less time on “El Crapper” than people who are undiagnosed with celiac disease.

Abstract/Background: I was sitting on “The Lou” and had plenty of time to think about the gluten I ate that day.

Materials: Gas mask, “Porcelain Throne,” TP, gluten.

Procedure: #2, repeat

Results/Data: The following graph from my sample population(1), shows that people on a gluten free diet, spend far less time on “The Thinking Chair” than people who are undiagnosed and “normal” people(control group).

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Conclusion:  Eating a gluten free diet reduces test scores.

From our data collected: “Normal” people spend an average of 6 minutes on “The John” vs. 11 minutes for undiagnosed people with celiac and 3 minutes for people who are diagnosed with celiac and are eating a gluten free diet.

Gluten is a wheat protein that is hard on the body to digest, resulting in more time spent on “The Potty.”  A gluten free diet usually consists of healthy and easy to digest foods, therefore less time is spent “Going Push.”

Time spent “Dropping the kids off at the pool” is usually spent reading readily available magazines, books, or labels of cleaning products.  If such mentioned reading materials or cleaning products are not within an arm’s reach, then time is spent pondering life or the common creative thinking exercise of “What do I use when when the TP runs out.”

The result of such reading, or creative thinking, leads to a greater mental capacity in the fields of current events, joke telling, chemical reactions of cleaning solutions, or secret keeping like “how did the bathroom hand-towel disappear.”  Later in life, when confronted with a standardized test or problem solving in the workplace, the subject scores higher in the reading comprehension, science, and logic portions of the test.

Despite the occurrence of what is known as “brain fog” among the celiac community, the test sample of “undiagnosed people with celiac” test scores still remained higher.

Bibliography: 1.  Sample population size of 3… me, myself, and I.

Disclaimer: This study from the College of Brain Fog is meant for humorous people only, and may be used as a thesis reference at the risk of your well-being.  I am not a scientist, do not claim to be one, do not play one on TV, but have received an honorable mention in the 2nd grade science fair of 1992.