This revelation comes from research just completed by an Australian team.

You can read more here:  http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/07/22/separating-wheat-from-chaff-in-celiac-disease.html

Gluten-free diets are all the rage among some celebrity circles right now. They supposedly assume that avoiding gluten will help them stay slender or lose weight. However, there is no evidence to suggest that eliminating gluten from your diet causes weight loss.

Also, many products that are labeled gluten-free are high in sugar, fat, and salt. It pays to read the label.

The message seems to be that avoiding gluten if you don’t have Celiac disease is not only unnecessary but it could potentially backfire if your ultimate goal in doing so is to lose weight or improve your health.

One of the products on sale is Betty Crocker Gluten-Free chocolate chip cookie mix. I haven’t had a chance to try it, but the reviews look pretty good. Why not whip up a batch and celebrate?

Here’s a copy of their gluten-free menu for the Washington, D.C. restaurant:

Gluten_Free_Menu_Washington_DC

½ cup rice flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
¾ cup potato starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon xantham gum
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk
3 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup sugar
¾ cup raisins (optional)

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon milk

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, xantham gum, salt and 1 Tablespoon sugar. Sift to remove lumps (not sure if that’s 100% necessary) In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil and ½ cup milk. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Spray a piece of waxed paper about 20” long with vegetable spray (I used saran wrap and sprayed it really well, as I didn’t have wax paper and it worked fine.) Scoop the dough onto the waxed paper. Spray a spatula with vegetable spray and carefully spread the dough out to a 10” x 14” rectangle. The dough will be extremely wet. Drizzle the melted butter over the dough. In a bowl, mix the cinnamon and ½ cup sugar together, and sprinkle the mixture over the buttered dough. It should be able to absorb it all. Sprinkle the raisins evenly. Lift the long side of the paper and roll the dough over. Continue to roll the dough until a log is formed. Spray a knife with vegetable spray and cut into 6 pieces. Put cinnamon rolls into a muffin pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (These expand a lot, and I cut them into smaller pieces – probably about 10 and that still made good sized rolls) Bake for 15-18 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk for the icing. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls after they come out of the oven and are still warm.

Recipe submitted by GFN member glutenfreesteve

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
Zest of two medium lemons
Juice of one lemon
2-1/2 cups gluten free flour mix ( I used Bette Hageman’s Featherlight Flour Mix)
1-1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

TOPPING:

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In another bowl, mix sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Combine gluten free flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, soda, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream mixture to creamed mixture, about a third of each at a time. Stir in blueberries. Dough will be fairly stiff. Spread half in a greased 9 x 13 x 2-inch glass baking pan. Combine topping ingredients, sprinkle half of topping mixture over dough. Carefully spread remaining dough on top of topping. Sprinkle with remainder of topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done.

Recipe submitted by GFN member glutenfreesteve