Category: General

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, bless your little hearts, you may have seen this post last week.

But I also wanted to share it with you, my wonderful app family.

This may be a bit of a rambling post, so bear with me.

Yesterday was a win. Well…a win-win actually.

A win for everyone who was able to get lifetime access to my app within their budget. I’ve said since day one, I never want money to be the reason someone cannot use the app. If you want the app, regardless, I’ll make it work. 🧡

But it was a needed win for me too. Let me explain.

It’s been a long year. I mean a real long year.

I knew rebuilding the app from scratch would be a challenge. And it was. A labor-intensive, exhilarating, expensive, creative, hair-pulling challenge.

When it launched early February, the feedback was awesome, but I was spent.

And though people love the app and it has a 4.8 rating on the app store, the fact is, not enough people were subscribing to support it.

The economy stinks, the world is on fire and I think people are subscriptioned to death. Yes…I just made that word up. 😁

I understand it is not an app people will use every day. But when you need it, you really need it.

So I tried something different this week. Pay what you can for lifetime access.

And you showed up. In a big way.

I won’t share the exact numbers, but I will say this: it genuinely changed my outlook on where this is all heading.

The app is going to be just fine. And so am I.

Thank you. Seriously. 🧡👊

This community has carried me more times than you know.

Scott

Chocolate…good. Protein…good for you. The perfect combo for a healthy, yummy treat.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 20 brownies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate non-dairy = two 100% cacao baking squares — Ghirardelli or Baker’s Unsweetened
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips dairy or nondairy, like Enjoy Life®
• 8 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative (like Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
• 3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut palm sugar lightly packed
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs or egg substitute of choice see Vegan Egg Substitutions Post for suggested substitutions
• 1/4 cup gluten free protein drink like OWYN Cold Brew OR may use brewed black coffee or chocolate milk
• 2/3 (90) cup (grams) gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (static).
2. Arrange a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil in an 8 x 8-inch baking pan, pressing to cover the bottom and up the sides. If using aluminum foil, lightly spray with cooking oil. This step will make it easier to remove the brownies from the pan by pulling up on the paper or foil and leaving behind a clean pan.
3. Prepare a double boiler or a medium-size pan filled with 1 inch of water, with a slightly smaller pan sitting on top of the pan with water. Boil the water in the bottom pan, then cut the flame back to low-medium and add the chocolates and butter to the top pan over the simmering water. Stir and remove from heat when melted.
4. Add sugars and stir while the mixture is hot.
5. Add vanilla, eggs and protein drink or coffee, stirring to integrate.
6. Whisk in gfJules Flour and salt, continuing to stir until all lumps are smooth.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with only a few wet crumbs (not totally clean, or they’ll be overcooked!).
8. (As a rule, brownies are much better on the un-done side, as opposed to the overdone side.)
9. Cool brownies in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Lift the brownies from the pan by pulling up on the paper or foil.
10. Completely cool brownies on a wire rack. Cut into squares with a clean plastic knife or pizza cutter and serve.
11. Yield: approximately 16–20 brownies, depending on size cut.

Link to full recipe on Jules’ site.

Not many people are talking about Cheerios anymore and whether they are really celiac safe. Which is a shame. Cause it’s really important to understand the history behind the launch of the gluten-free Cheerios and how f***ed up it was.

So I thought I’d do a quick recap for you.

• In March of 2015, I was invited to the General Mills corporate offices to discuss the new, upcoming Gluten-Free Cheerios. Hated the trip. Appreciated their passion. Came away so-so on the validity of their methods (using contaminated oats and mechanically sorting them to remove the wheat and the barley). You can read about it here.
• Fast-forward to September of 2015 and many celiacs have complained about getting sick on the Gluten-Free Cheerios since they’ve been out. I questioned why some celiac bloggers were celebrating Cheerios when so many were getting sick. Take a gander here.
• Let’s jump now to October of 2015 (yeah I know…time flies when you’re getting glutened). I had a back and forth with the management team at Cheerios regarding why my fellow celiacs were getting sick. They insisted, and I quote, “Cheerios are safe – and they are gluten free. But celiac disease is a complex condition, and dietary changes for people with celiac disease often require the assistance of a trained physician. Blah, blah, blah.” Got that? We were NOT getting sick from the Cheerios. Couldn’t be.
• And what happened a few weeks later? Cheerios had to recall 1.8 million boxes of Gluten-Free Cheerios because…wait for it…they contained gluten due to an error in the production process. And guess when the error occurred? In July of 2015, when people were claiming they were getting ill. And why did they wait so long before announcing the recall? Because testing wasn’t done at that production facility at that time. No…really. You can read this staggering info here.
• And lastly, we’ll move right along to August of 2016 (yes, we’ve all just aged a year) when the Canadian Celiac Association formally announced that they “recommend that people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity DO NOT consume the gluten-free labeled Cheerios products at this time because of concerns about the potential levels of gluten in boxes of these cereals.” Peruse the juicy details here.

And of course, the million dollar question is why did the Celiac Disease Foundation put their logo on every single box? You know and I know what the an$wer i$. Becau$e it’$ alway$ the an$wer. Here are the top sponsors of the CDF:

Yep…they are all General Mills companies. Now look, the CDF is non-profit and I know they need sponsorship. But I figured there must be something else there. It can’t just be about the money. So I reached out to them. Here’s the convo:

A few point of interest here:

• I just love how they note that the recall was “voluntary”. Like it was some kind of humanitarian effort on GM’s part. Please.
• The FDA has indeed received complaints from the celiac community about the Gluten-Free Cheerios.
• Instead of “Until such time that General Mills no longer wishes to support the celiac community, their gluten-free products will continue to bear the Celiac Disease Foundation logo.”…shouldn’t it be…“Until such time that General Mills can prove 100% that their gluten-free products are safe, we will remove the Celiac Disease Foundation logo.”

Also note that the CDF was promoting the Gluten-Free Cheerios BEFORE the product even came out. Here is what they posted on their Facebook page on March 25, 2015, during the GM meeting that I was at when we didn’t even know what their protocols were:

“CDF’s CEO is currently at the Gluten-Free Summit to learn about the new process to remove gluten from oats. This development was three years in the making! Which flavor of Cheerios are you most excited for?”

You got that? Even though we all had NO IDEA whether they’d be safe, they were already telling their large audience, with no hesitation, to get excited.

That. Makes. Me. Sad. Their top priority should be to protect the celiac community.

That should be the priority of every celiac organization and influencer.

So there you have it.

Has anything changed in the past several years? Nope.

Proceed with caution.

The holidays are almost upon us and while some may find it corny to give ‘thanks’ at this time of the year, I think it’s important. Many studies have shown that being thankful leads to a happier life. And heck…who doesn’t want to be happier??

So what am I thankful for in 2025?

• For the GF community, who has been so supportive of my journey and have embraced me since I became ‘Gluten Dude’ in 2011.
• For celebrating 14 years as a celiac advocate. My how time flies when getting glutened having fun.
• For the NY Giants, who have been so bad for so long, my Sundays are now free.
• For sushi, coffee, eggs and tequila.
• For everyone who has supported this app in one way or another. It takes an insane amount of energy (and money) to run it and I could not do it without you.
• For my health. I went to a new doctor recently and he read over my health history and he said “who did you piss off so badly?” Yeah…I’ve had my  share of health issues throughout my life but I’m hanging in there and feeling good.
• For my incredible wife Mrs. Dude, who from day 1 of my diagnosis (heck…since day 1 of our marriage) has been a rock star in my life.
• For my wonderful two dudettes, who were quite young when I was diagnosed with celiac (and are now 27 and 30!) and are now both GF themselves. They are simply the best!

I could go on and on because, even though the world is a mess, there is still a lot to be grateful for. But I have gluten-free stuffing to prepare!

Happy Thanksgiving folks and yeah…I’ll say it again…thanks!

Well this is ugly. The Spectator magazine, around since 1828 with a paid circulation of 72,000 and a popular website, recently ran an article by one Melissa Kite titled “The dietary obnoxiousness of the Catholic Church”, with a lovely byline that reads “Gluten-free Eucharist? I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Pope gave in to dietary fads.”

Now first…let’s start off with some good news. I used to write these kinds of posts all the time. If you go back to my diaper blogging years, I was constantly calling the media out for crap like this. But recently? Crickets. Meaning the media has mostly moved on or our efforts are making a difference. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction.

But you know what they say…one step forward and two steps back. And this article is a major step back. I should have known it was a sh*t publication when I saw another article on their site titled “If only Bruce Springsteen could write as well as he sings.” I think Bruce will be the first to tell you that he writes better than he sings.

“Remember all the movies, Terry, we’d go see?/ Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be/ And after all this time to find we’re just like all the rest/ Stranded in the park and forced to confess/ To hiding on the backstreets.”

Nobody puts Brucie in the corner.

Ok…moving on…let’s break the article down, Dude-style.

Melissa Says: A few moments after saying the communion rite, the priest looked at his congregation and uttered easily the most disturbing thing I have ever heard said in a church: ‘If anyone wants a gluten-free Eucharist, please queue up on this side.’

Dude says: Two points: 1) If that sentence seriously disturbs you…I think it’s time to reevaluate your life a bit; and 2) If that is one of the most disturbing things you’ve heard in church EVER, consider yourself pretty blessed.

Melissa says: I have been going to mass off and on like the bad Catholic I am all my life but I have never heard anything so ludicrous.

Dude says: Don’t limit your badness to just being a Catholic. It seems to me like you are full of badness.

Melissa says: My boyfriend whispered to me ‘They’ll be offering halal communion next.’

Dude says: For the record, Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible.” In terms of food, it means food that is permissible according to Islamic law. So you’re ok dictating what Catholics should and shouldn’t eat, but not other religions? Ok…got it.

Melissa says: I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Pope gave in to food allergies. He won’t allow divorce, extra-marital sex or birth control but wheat intolerance? The might of Rome is no match for wheat intolerance.

Dude says: Thanks for the reminder of why I haven’t been to church in 30 years. And by the way, celiac disease, which you fail to mention in the ENTIRE article, is not a food allergy. But I get the feeling you really don’t care about accuracy. Just clicks.

Melissa says: While every poor soul in the developing world is happy to eat anything, every spoilt idiot in the western world is allergic to some perfectly innocuous foodstuff that they claim will kill them if they eat a molecule of it. No dietary assumption is too illogical or too scientifically baseless for us to trumpet it.

Dude says: I agree the Western world’s diet, for the most part, is absolute crap. But does that mean allergies don’t exist? People don’t get sick and potentially die from various food issues? Are you that wrapped up in your little cocoon to understand this? Or you do understand it but you just totally lack empathy?

Melissa says: Who are these people who have demanded their Catholic priest offer them a gluten-free Eucharist? For truly they are on a whole new level of dietary obnoxiousness.

Dude says: They are 1% of the world’s population that has celiac disease and 6% of the world’s population that has non-celiac gluten sensitivity. And if I were you, I would not be throwing around the term “obnoxiousness” so lightly. Look inside.

Melissa says: And why has the mighty Catholic Church made such an ass of itself by giving in to them?

Dude says: Because they have a heart. Because they have compassion. Because they are educated. Pretty much all of the things you aren’t.

Melissa says: What next? The priest asking parents if they’d like to see the children’s menu, where the ‘Happy Communion’ features mini Eucharists with smiley faces on them?

Dude says: No words.

Melissa says: Would not a better route have been for the church to tell those worshippers agitating for a special menu to pray for their digestive problems to be relieved? I’m sure if they have faith, their dietary burdens will be lifted from them.

Dude says: That’s right, because prayer cures everything. Dang…if I just started praying, my celiac disease would go away. As would my back pain. And I never would have gotten cancer.

This article sinks to the level of idiocy that I have not seen since the early days of my blog. But congratulations Melissa and The Spectator. You’ve clearly shown that we still have a long way to go in terms of celiac awareness. I’ll just keep on keeping on, while you keep living in a world of judgmental ignorance. So typical of today’s world. If it doesn’t affect you, it’s not important.

Ok Bruce…you hack…take me back to my happy place. Take me to the Backstreets please.

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To all of the gf influencers (🤢) out there promoting Atly… and there are A LOT of you… STOP. You are doing harm to the celiac community.

There is a pizza place by me called Pete & Elda’s. I know they do not have gluten-free pizza, but I called just to make sure. Confirmed. No GF pizza.

But when I Google “does pete and elda’s offer gluten free pizza”, guess what comes up on the first page of the search results?
Yep…Atly. I click the link and it brings me to the image you up top.

See all those red X’s. Each one is a bullshit claim by Atly.

From top to bottom:

❎ They don’t accommodate gluten-free.
❎ This is actually a description of a completely different coffee shop in Asbury Park.
❎ That 327 seems to be a totally random number as it constantly goes up and down from minute to minute.
❎ There is ALL risk of cross-contamination since they don’t carry GF pizza.
❎ Obviously not a dedicated GF place (and neither is the coffee shop I mentioned above)
❎ Trained staff? On what?
❎ CHECKED BY ATLY!

These are all concerning, but it’s the last one is the one that should really bother you. They obviously did not check it.

Which means their claim that they have vetted over 218,000 restaurants is a lie.

Will this bother you enough to stop promoting them? What is your conscience telling you?

—-

Dude Note: I know, I know…they are a competitor of my app and I should not call them out. But my priority has always been to do right by the celiac community. Yes…it gets me in trouble sometimes. No…I won’t stop. 😉

Perhaps we should talk first about what it’s not.

• It’s not a place for fear-mongering. There is already enough of that going around.
• It’s not a place of judgement. No judgement?? But it’s the internet! We can do it.
• It’s not a place to promote your brand/product/whatever. At least be discreet about it.
• It’s not a place to give medical advice. Do you want to steer someone wrong? I don’t.

So what is it then? 

It’s a semi-open forum. By that I mean that I will post something every day (Monday – Friday…Dude needs his rest) and your input is not just welcomed but extremely encouraged.

Like what I say? I’m all ears.

Hate what I say? I’m still all ears.

All input/feedback is welcome. Well…see the bullet list above for some exceptions.

And what will I be posting?

Anything and everything.

• Celiac news.
• Personal stories.
• New product announcements.
• Awesome recipes.
• Fun facts.
• Not so fun facts.
• Reader emails.
• Gluten-free tips and tricks.
• I will even repurpose some old blog posts that struck a chord.
• And lots more…

The goal is not to reinvent the wheel with every post but to educate, entertain, empower and enlighten the gluten-free community.

The same thing I’ve been doing since “Gluten Dude” became a thing in 2011.

Oh…a few notes on how to get the most out of  the Daily Digest:

• For each post, click the speech bubble icon to leave a comment.
• Click the thumbs up icon to follow a post.
• If you follow a post OR someone responds to one of your comments, you will get a notification. So please be sure to keep the notifications ON in your profile settings.
• Have a comment but want to keep it personal. Just contact me via the app. Click your profile pic in the top left and then click Contact Us. I read every dang message I get.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Scott