According to Dr. Peter Green, author of “Celiac Disease: a Hidden Epidemic,” nearly one in every 100 people are affected by Celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the small intestine, which can lead to the malabsorption of nutrients. The damage is due to a genetic intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. However, 97% of people with the disease remain undiagnosed!

I am Gluten Free. Not only am I gluten free, but soy free, chocolate free, partially-hydrogenated-oil free, high fructose corn syrup free, Splenda® free, aspartame free AND caffeine free! One might ask…..How? Why? One might comment…Impossible! Ridiculous! Too much work! I am here to tell you the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’, and why it is all worth it! I truly believe you are what you eat. I believe that food is the best medicine of all. I believe that healing starts from the inside out. I believe that you can feel better if you put good foods into your body. I hope I can change a life, make someone feel better, make someone think about what they eat, make someone stop feeling so bad. My goal is awareness. There are so many people who are not even aware of this disease or how it can affect them. I would like to help people understand that this is a very real disease, that everyone should get tested and if they are diagnosed, even with a sensitivity for gluten, that it is easy to live a gluten free lifestyle (whether kosher or not) and they will feel better because of it!

In the 18 months that my family has been gluten free, I’ve experimented with many recipes, for every-day use as well as for Jewish holidays.  As you can imagine, I bake my own gluten-free challah, as well as hamentashen and even matzoh. If you have questions about eating gluten-free, please leave a comment. Here’s one of my family’s favorite recipes. Try it and let me know how you feel after!

Lisa’s Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup Natural Peanut Butter OR Almond Butter (The more liquidy the better!)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 T Flax seeds with ¼ cup hot water
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
2 T Gluten Free Flour (Bob’s Red Mill’s is good and sold at Costco)
½ cup carob chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Form into balls about 1″ diameter, and press with a fork.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Makes about 30 cookies. Try to let them cool before eating.