If you are currently living on a gluten free (g-free) diet or thinking about switching over, Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn is a must read. Danna has been researching celiac disease and living g-free since 1991 when her son, Tyler, was diagnosed with celiac.

Don’t be discouraged by the length of this book—it is filled with recipes, and is a very quick read, especially in large print! I am 23 years old and have nearly perfect vision, but let me tell you, reading this in large print (16pt to be exact) was such a treat. Anyone who has read g-free books knows that some can be very dense and overrun with technical terms, making them hard to get through. However, Danna is upbeat, passionate, and funny in this book, and Living Gluten-Free for Dummies is a very easy/quick read. Danna describes living g-free as a lifestyle, and a happy, healthy, easy one at that. Her book is not about surviving on a diet and constantly wishing you could eat foods ‘full of gluten’ (as some would say). Danna talks about how easy and stress-free shopping can be (did you know that buying g-free products can be tax deductable?). Living Gluten-Free for Dummies is not a book solely for g-free people. If you have anyone in your life that is g-free or you simply want ideas for a healthier diet, this is a great book for you.

I learned a lot of things from Living Gluten-Free for Dummies that I have not read in previous g-free books. For example, for those of you who thought sushi was g-free as long as you avoided tempura and brought your own g-free soy sauce, watch out, imitation crab contains gluten! Spelt bread, which is often labeled in restaurants as a wheat alternative, is not actually g-free. Despite its name, Buckwheat is in fact g-free (and as a side note, it is not actually a grain, it’s a fruit!). I always thought plain oats were safe, but there is actually no way to confirm that they have not been contaminated in the facilities they are manufactured in. Actually, chances are, they have been, so if you want to be safe and g-free you should take them out of your diet. My sister recently had a baby, so I am involuntarily tuned into all g-free facts about babies, pregnant women, etc. If you breastfeed for at least six months you reduce the chance of your child having celiac or a gluten intolerance. Did you know that Play-Doh has gluten in it? I know it’s not food but really, who has not tasted Play-Doh before? Luckily, Danna explains that there are g-free recipes for Play-Doh as well.

If you are reading this, then this is probably not news to you, but celiac IS GENETIC. So if you have either celiac or a gluten intolerance, please encourage those related to you to be tested. You may save them from discomfort and tummy aches for the rest of their lives! Plus, on the selfish side, you may find someone else whom you can share g-free recipes with (aside from me).

Danna provides us with tons of her favorite G-FREE Recipes in Living Gluten-Free for Dummies, so if you are not much of a reader but are looking for recipes, you should STILL read this book! Danna even explains which sections to skip if you are bored or only interested in reading about particular topics. Now, have you ever read a book where the author did that?

Here is a list of websites that Danna recommended, and that I have found helpful as well: www.gfdiet.com, www.celiaccenter.org, www.celiac.com, www.bardsbeer.com (as a 23-year-old and a relatively new gluten-freer having a website to locate g-free beer in your area…well let’s just say, its bookmarked on my computer), www.gluten-freesources.com, www.glutensolutions.com, www.gluten-freemd.com, www.gluten-freemall.com.

This week, I will be making the following recipes from Living Gluten-Free for Dummies: Coffee Cake; Homemade Tortilla Chips; Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothies; and Rice Salad with Red Peppers, Garbanzo beans, and Feta. Check back to see how I liked them and for the recipes and photos of each dish!

The following g-free titles will soon be available on the ReadHowYouWant website @ www.readhowyouwant.com: Gluten-Free Italian by Jacqueline Mallory, and for our Australian readers, 4 Ingredients Gluten Free (a cookbook of recipes that only involve 4 ingredients!).