Gluten-free = the way to be?

Last week my team and I plotted and schemed to bring together a surprise snack table for our team leader for being so incredibly amazing this year. She was so thrilled when she saw everything put together, especially because everything that was contributed was Gluten Free.


I knew that she was could not have gluten (wheat products) but had never actually done a whole lotta lookin into what gluten really was. There's been so much hype about it lately, it started to seem like a big health fad. Is it really "healthier", though?

What's the big Gluten deal!?

"Gluten" refers to the storage proteins found in all grains. "Gluten free" refers to the storage proteins that damage the small intestine in people with celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis. People who follow gluten free diets avoid the storage proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye.
You can get a blood test from your doctor to screen for celiac disease, but a small bowel biopsy is required to confirm any diagnosis. (Even if the test is negative, your doctor may still feel that you are gluten intolerant). There are no medical tests to confirm or deny gluten intolerance, and it has not been well researched at this time.
*Wheat allergy and Gluten intolerance are different!*


Please visit the Gluten Intolerance Group for more information than you will ever need!
There are some helpful links HERE as well. 


I volunteered to make the gluten free cupcakes, and honestly thought I would make them from scratch...... eeehhhh, wrong. It doesn't look difficult, it's just that I just don't happen to have the ingredients for gluten free cupcakes lying around in my cupboards. Go figure.
So I stopped at my local HEB and picked up a Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix by Bob's Red Mill. Read the ingredients for this mix and you may see why I didn't just have everything I needed.... :-)


Not guna lie: when I made the batter for the cupcakes, it tasted pretty bad. I was worried. Real worried.
Luckily, the cupcakes tasted awesome! Seriously deeeeeelicious! Not super oily-moist like a lot of the boxed cake mixes tend to be, but still moist and just sweet enough. I ate the first cupcake with no frosting at all and loved it!

Bob's Red Mill

Everyone on my team liked the cupcakes as well. I swear they do not taste any different than "gluten-full" cupcakes! Are they "healthier"? Hhmmmm, perhaps a tad lower in calories and fats, but that has nothing to do with the gluten and more to do with the fact that the package required no oil but instead a 1/2 cup butter and the sweetness comes from evaporated cane juice instead of white sugar...... so you decide.

*Bob's Red Mill did not provide me with any materials or ask me to do any review of their product- I just thought sharing the information might be beneficial to some folks, so I did some research for your benefit and mine. There was no reimbursement whatsoever.....trust me.