Sunday, November 6, 2011

Nov. 2 meeting summary, Plans for next!

Hello Everyone. No takers on the Allergy Chefs talk. Disappointing. For a group so interested in eating out, is there any feedback? We had a very small informal meeting, see details below. 

Read all the way thru please, as details for Tapas & Tinis, dinner Round Two will follow, as everyone recently enjoyed an informal social gathering there!

We just had a very small, informal meeting since there wasn't enough interest in our Allergy Chefs speaker. For the time being, we're going to be a small informal group for socializing/swapping ideas, maybe book review (I'm now taking a look at Wheat Belly)... We'll see about getting Elisa Labs to come present... Everyone's time is limited, but a small core of us seem to agree that the issue of celiac disease and gluten intolerance needs to be taken seriously, and that we need to support each other. We'll come up with ideas as we go, but we do agree we like to eat. Thanks so much to Debbie and Lloyd for the amazing baked goodies, to Peggy for the awesome stuffed peppers, and to Olivia for roasted veggies, stuffing, and more. A major oink-fest for me, as I was admittedly stress-eating, but it was yummy! You do not have to be deprived eating gluten free!!!!!

The UU Fellowship has a vegetarian/vegan potluck the first Sat. of every month. All you gotta do is bring a dish with all ingredients listed enough to serve I think it's 6-9 but can find out, a serving utensil, and your appetite. Anyone wanna organize?

There's a Gluten Free expo in St. Pete next March. Anyone wanna go? Details:

Gluten-Free for Life Expo

What: The Gluten Intolerance Support Group of Largo, Florida, presents 1st annual Gluten-Free for Life Expo .  This is an Educational, Experiential Expo for the general public, food industry, and health professionals.  The goal is to help those within the Gluten-Free Community gain knowledge, research, and resources, while providing opportunities for families with related diseases to bond with one another.  This event aims to increase the awareness and diagnosis of Celiac Disease and help those with Gluten-Intolerance.
When: Saturday, March 24, 2012; 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: St. Petersburg Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Information: For more details, go to Gluten-Free for Life Expo or email.

At our last meeting, we talked about the UF butcher, where we at least have some knowledge of how our meat was raised/fed... I inquired once. They are given trace amts of antibiotics when they are young, but at least we have some ideas about where it comes from. My husband says it's by the Vet School off Archer Rd. They are only open certain days and I can never go due to my schedule, but their meat is often cheaper than the grocery store, and if you visit, i'm sure could learn more: 
Department of Animal Sciences
P.O. Box 110910
Gainesville, Florida 32611-0910
Phone: (352) 392-1981
Fax: (352) 392-7652

Amazon.com apparently has an autosend feature where you can regularly order GF goods. I need to check it out. Let us know if you use it!
Lastly, everyone enjoyed the Tapas & Tini's dinner, and would like a repeat. Everyone seems pretty well set on having Thanksgiving not be a crisis, so let's plan on another informal  dinner between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Consensus is Thursday works, so I'll call to find out if we can be accommodated on Thurs. Dec.1. Please mark your calendars tentatively and I'll call and let you know.
Lemme know if you have ideas/need anything!
Janet