Helping victims of domestic violence with a gluten-free holiday dinner

 

Making A Difference…..The Gluten Free Way

 

You might ask yourself, who is Jaquy Yngvason? Maybe you have not heard of her yet but she’s a woman with a vision.

That vision includes improving people’s lives by inspiring them to eat healthier. Jaquy is a vegan, gluten-free chef based in New York who has worked with Bobby Flay and was recently featured on “Chopped.”

She has been working hard on her docu-series, that documents her travels and gluten-free adventures where she gets to commune with people who like herself are on a gluten-free diet or impact the gluten-free community in some way.

With a strong passion for food, Jaquy is inspired to heal people through food and help empower others like herself that have multiple food allergies and sensitivities…..so if you don’t know her now, keep your radar on, I truly believe she will be one of the next big food stars! Her website http://www.tastyfreedom.com

Jaquy and friend in the kitchen area at the Beacon Of Hope Dinner

After being a guest speaker at our Gluten Free Living Expo in October, Jaquy recently contacted me (Shelia Cafferty) about doing something meaningful here in Indy. She had a vision where we were serving women and children a gluten-free holiday meal.

I mentioned that I knew Terry Moore of Beacon of Hope, an Indianapolis-based organization that helps empower women and children affected by Domestic Violence. What does domestic violence have to do with gluten free?  Well as it so happens, Terry the Founder of BOH is gluten intolerant, as well as some of the women and children she has helped through her organization. We worked with Beacon Of Hope to plan a  Holiday dinner for Dec. 7^th at a Church on the West side of Indy.

Part of the Crew For The Gluten Free Holiday Dinner

Jaquy came up with the menu which included items like vegetable pasta, mashed potatoes, lentil-curried soup….but it wasn’t all vegan. Organic, free-range turkeys were also on the menu. And Josh whipped up a gluten- free gravy and turkey pate.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pies

 A Lovely couple at the Beacon Of Hope dinner, showing off my gluten-free ginger-bread cookies

The dinner benefited 20 families and I felt privileged to be a part if it by making the gluten free stuffing, fruited cranberry sauce, gluten free cookies and gluten free pumpkin pies. And yes….staying up until 4 am baking gluten-free pies in my tiny townhouse oven was well worth it! Some even mentioned my gluten-free pumpkins pies were the best pies they ever tasted! What a nice compliment!

You will notice that there are not many pictures of the families and children at this dinner. This is to protect the privacy and safety of the women and children affected by domestic violence. Pictures you see presented are board members and workers of the BOH team.

 

Jaquy’s other half Josh filmed the event for Jaquy’s docu-series and helped with making a medley of gluten free items…it truly was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds!

Josh striking a pose and there’s my husband Ken coming in for some pumpkin pie.

    

The Gluten-Free Spread was dwindling down as people came up for seconds

We had the best time with Josh and Jaquy, they are two of the nicest people on the planet! Jaquy worked her magic in my kitchen for breakfast the next day…..enjoy the pics of these two hamming it up for the camera.

            

             Jaquy’s Gluten Free Parfait  and  Ken and Jaquy enjoying breakfast

Special thanks to Nature’s Pharm for donating all the organic, free-range turkeys, pumpkin puree, gf flours and gf stuffing mix, Schar rolls, Earth Balance Vegan butter and fruit for the fruited cranberry sauce (their Greenwood location has fresh produce)

 Special thanks also goes out to Marsh and Kroger for the gift cards donated to purchase the rest of the food needed to make this event happen.

For more information on our organization please visit: http://www.glutenfreelivingnow.org or contact me at Shelia@glutenfreelivingnow.org

Happy Holidays everyone! Here’s to super heroes like Jaquy and Josh that strive to make the world a better place!

          

 

                     

Donatos is now offering three great options for their gluten-free customers!

      

The first option is a great new grocery line.  Donatos has a line packaged as Sonoma Flatbreads that is being sold in the grocery store.    This line is coming soon to Giant Eagle.  They are available in the Nature's Market sections of Kroger in Central Ohio and at Hy-Vee in Iowa and are coming soon to Nature's Pharm here in the Indy area.  Please visit the  Sonoma Flatbreads Facebook page offering a locator to find the location nearest you.  The pizza crusts are being provided by Udis and prepared in a dedicated gluten-free facility.  The Sonoma Flatbreads brand features all natural ingredients and offers a pepperoni, three cheese, and margherita option. The pizza ingredients have no nitrites, nitrates, or preservatives. Several of the ingredients are even non-GMO.

 

After a discussion with the Jane's Dough Foods, Marketing Coordinator, it is obvious Donatos is committed to doing gluten free the right way.  They understand the importance of taking precautions and protecting their gluten-free diners from cross contamination, while allowing them to enjoy a pizza with a thin crispy crust, and edge to edge toppings, that taste great.  

    

Donatos second offering to the gluten-free community is very exciting.  Gluten-free diners will have the following options:  (1)  Pick up a take and bake pizza from Kroger (if you live in the Columbus, OH area), (2) Pick one up at your local Donatos  restaurant location, or (3) Have one delivered right to your door!  

They offer cheese or pepperoni in the Donatos take and bake line.  Currently, Kroger in the Columbus, Ohio area is carrying the take and bake line and there will be an announcement soon regarding the availability in Atlanta, Georgia.  They have a safe product that not only tastes great, but can truly make life a bit easier.  It is a great option to be able to order pizza for a pizza party, friday night get togethers, or just a relaxing dinner that you don't have to make.  You can satisfy your gluten-free requirement and your friends preferences that are not gluten free at the same time.

Imagine picking up the phone and ordering your gluten-free take and bake pizza and your gluten-filled pizza from the same place at the same time.  

Picture this!  You call Donatos to place your order and turn on your oven to preheat. When the pizza's arrive, you place your gluten-free take and bake pizza in your oven, wait 11-14 minutes and voila you are enjoying your gluten-free pizza with your friends and family.  

  

The pizza crusts brown up nicely and they are loaded with cheese or pepperoni.  One of the things I have always liked about Donatos, is their commitment to quality pizza by always providing abundant fresh toppings.  The cheese pizza satisfied our hungry crowd with it's cheesy goodness and perfectly browned chewy crust. The pepperoni was covered from edge to edge with ingredients.  We could not have asked for a better gluten-free pizza experience.  The pizza's looked great and tasted even better!  

A couple words of caution when enjoying your Donatos take and bake pizzas.  They can warm these up at the restaurant, but they can not guarantee that there would be no possibility of cross contamination.  If you are a Celiac or very sensitive to gluten, it is strongly suggested that you get your take and bake pizza and cook it at home.  If you want additional ingredients on the take and bake pizza, they can not guarantee that the ingredients are completely safe from cross contamination. They are taking every precaution by leaving your take and bake pizza completely wrapped to avoid the possibility of cross contamination and we appreciate that commitment to quality.  

   

It’s a big commitment for the company, not just in the decision to turn to an outside supplier, but also in the changes to its own operations. Though Donatos is not making the gluten-free dough, it is assembling the pizzas at its production facility, a process that requires the company to go through several steps to create the proper production environment, including ceasing making its regular dough for an entire day in order to handle the gluten-free products.  

The third and final option is the offering of their four-pack Donatos take and bake pizza or their Sonoma Flatbreads line on Amazon!  So, for those of you who do not have a Donatos in your area or can't pick up the Sonoma Flatbreads line at your grocery, they thought of you too!  They have something for everyone.  

Donatos, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has more than 150 pizzerias in seven states.    We are excited to have Donatos at our 3rd Annual Gluten Free Living Now Expo on October 5, 2013. We are thankful for their participation and commitment to the gluten-free community.