Did you know that over time your mattress will actually gain weight? it will weigh more than when you first purchased it. Do you know why? It is because of the added weight of dust mite colonies that are living inside of it. When you consider how little an individual dust mite might way and then the number of them that have to get together in order to change the weight of your mattress, it is scary, isn’t it? Yuck. There are many things that you can do in order to reduce the dust mites, and therefore the allergens in … Continue reading →

It’s the holiday season! It is time to be merry, visit family, and sniffle. Yes, I said sniffle. Both my husband and son are fighting the sniffles and I have felt a sore throat coming on. I’d like to blame it on the weather, but I am afraid it is due to allergies, especially after seeing the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s list of 100 worst metro areas for seasonal allergies. Memphis isn’t in their top ten of worst allergy cities, although it did rank third for worst for asthma sufferers. However, Memphis seems to be centrally located to … Continue reading →

On October 30th my friend Nicole is going to be participating in the Making Strides: Breast Cancer Walk to Never Lose Hope. The team she is on is being led by her daughter. One thing I have seen is that they are having some trouble raising their funds to meet their goal. Now this is rather surprising to me I wonder if this is because of all the different cancer organizations are starting their own fundraising walks or if the financial crisis in America is keeping the money in peoples wallets instead of supporting great causes like this. I had … Continue reading →

I have heard rumors that say that people who go on a gluten-free diet, (for health reasons, or otherwise), tend to lose weight. I’ve also heard that eating gluten-free can cause a person to gain weight. Which one is true? It seems that they both are, depending on certain factors. The gluten-free diet is not another fad diet, (although there are some people treating it like that). People who have celiac disease, or who are gluten intolerant, or allergic to gluten, need to eat foods that do not contain gluten. This is purely for health reasons. If you have an … Continue reading →

It is always a bit of a gamble when you try a food that is new to you. Will it taste good? Will you like it? Or, will it be a waste of money? If you just learned that you have a gluten-allergy, then you are in for a “food adventure” for a while. Here is my review of the gluten-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars made by Bakery on Main. It is pretty difficult to find a granola bar that doesn’t include wheat, or some other ingredient that has gluten in it. This is unfortunate, because granola bars are … Continue reading →

In general, gluten-free versions of things like crackers, cookies, and granola bars are not going to taste exactly like the ones that have wheat, barley, or other ingredients that contain gluten. Many gluten-free products taste good, but different from what you might have been used to. I recommend the gluten-free crackers made by Glutino. Crackers were one of the foods that I missed the most after I learned that I had a gluten allergy. They make great snacks, they help settle your stomach, they are easy to eat while typing. Fortunately, there are several different kinds of gluten-free crackers to … Continue reading →

It is always nice to find coupons and freebies for products that are designed for people who have to stay on a gluten-free diet. Most coupon websites are not designed with people who have food allergies in mind. Once in a while, though, you can find some good deals out there on stuff that you can actually eat and enjoy. There is a company called Jules Gluten Free. They have a Back to School cookbook that is designed for kids who have allergies to gluten. This can make things so much easier for kids with gluten-allergies! The cook book is … Continue reading →

It isn’t easy to find something to eat for breakfast when you have a gluten-allergy. Toast, waffles, pancakes, and most cereals all contain gluten. What is left to eat? One option is the blueberry breakfast bars by Glutino. Here is my review of this easy to eat breakfast food. Before I discovered that I had an allergy to gluten, I used to eat a lot of granola bars. Unlike many other types of breakfast foods, granola bars, and breakfast bars, do not require a lot of preparation before you can eat them. You don’t have to thaw them out, or … Continue reading →

It isn’t easy to find foods that are gluten-free, especially if you are seeking pastries and other baked goods. This means it is time to try your hand at baking these treats yourself, from scratch. My husband and I recently made some delicious gluten-free lemon bars. Here is how we did that. We are fortunate enough to have a lemon tree in our tiny little backyard. The tree produces fruit nearly all year round, probably because we live in sunny California. Earlier this week, we noticed that there were a ton of lemons that were ripe, and ready to be … Continue reading →

It isn’t easy to figure out which of the drinks at Starbucks are truly gluten-free. The way that the baristas put together the drinks creates a huge risk for potential cross-contamination between the drinks that contain gluten, and the ones that are gluten-free. I have been trying to track down specific information about what, exactly, is in the drinks at Starbucks. This has not been easy. If you go into the stores and pick up one of their “nutritional information” pamphlets, you can find out how many calories are in the drinks. However, it doesn’t say a single word about … Continue reading →