Juniper Foods

Gluten-Free Bread Contest

Kathleen — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:33:48 +0000

Meadowsweet customers have voted, and the results are in for our first-ever gluten-free bread contest! As part of our Gluten-Free day celebration, Meadowsweet Market asked our customers to taste and vote for their favorite gluten-free breads. We had such a large amount of samples for people to try that we divided the contest into categories. The categories were determined by type of flours used in the breads. In the Brown-Rice-flour category, our freezer section breads proved to be the most popular. The Kinnikinnick brand edged out Food for Life to take the prize as most tasty Brown-Rice-flour bread, according to our customers. The frozen Kinnikinnick bread was also the clear winner in the Tapioca-flour category, receiving over twice as many votes as the Ener-G brand varieties. The White-Rice-flour category was the largest, with the Cause You’re Special bread mix being voted the winner.

Thanks to all who voted!

Gluten Free Day a Success!

Kathleen — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:51:03 +0000

Meadowsweet Market would like to extend a big Thank-You to all of our wonderful customers and vendors who made our very first gluten-free day celebration such a success. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was so nice to be able to give away all those samples, door prizes, and goodies! Everyone really appreciated being able to try new things, and the best part was that so many people got to meet and share information and experiences.

A special Thank-You goes out to Carol W, a Meadowsweet customer who maintains a strictly gluten-free kitchen for her husband, who has severe allergies. Carol baked gluten-free cookies, two cakes, and brownies using ingredients and baking mixes from Meadowsweet Market/Juniper Foods. Everything tasted delicious and we really appreciated Carol sharing her baking talent with us.

If you missed Gluten-Free Day, be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter, to receive information on all of our upcoming events and sales.

Going Dairy Free

Kathleen — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:40:05 +0000

Here at Juniperfoods.com, we are pleased to offer a wide variety of foods that fit your healthy, allergen free lifestyle. If you are considering going dairy free, please visit http://www.godairyfree.org/. They cater to milk allergies, lactose intolerance, vegan living, and gluten-free diets with a wealth of health information and useful tools. We found a lot of intresting information presented in a fun personable way. Find recipes, share stories and investigate all things dairy free at godairyfree.org!

Gluten Free Food Shipped Nationwide

steve — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:14:57 +0000

In the ten years that we’ve been open, it’s happened many times. Someone will come in and say, “I’ve just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance. What can I eat?” or “My child has to eat dairy free, corn free, soy free, and peanut free. What can they have?” In the early years of business, we showed people our colored dots that were posted under the foods they could eat. Yellow dots meant gluten free, blue dots meant dairy free, etc. so they would look for the dots to find their food choices. We had so many people shopping for gluten-free and other allergen-free food that we decided to move all the selections together. At first, we had a few sections of gluten-free groceries. Customers would make requests for new items, until those few sections expanded to fill an entire wall. Then the wall was not big enough, and we had to expand onto shelves. We’ve had customers come in from South Dakota (of course), Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. Relatives of people living in other states would purchase items and ship things to them. Then we decided it was time to get all of our allergy-friendly foods on-line so people nationwide could take advantage of our selection. Some of the states we have shipped orders to include New York, Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Kansas, Arizona, Alaska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, California, and Texas, just to name a few. We hope you take advantage of our on-line shopping site. Please e-mail us if you have any product requests or suggestions. We appreciate our customers!

Living Well Dairy Free

Kathleen — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:23:23 +0000

There are many reasons why people choose a dairy free diet. Dairy Products are one of the 8 most common allergens in the US. True milk allergy is a reaction to the proteins casein and whey in milk. Allergic reactions include hives, swelling of the lips and face, gastrointestinal distress, and eczema.

Even more common is Lactose Intolerance, an inability to digest milk sugars due to a deficiency in the enzyme lactase. Between 30 and 50 million people (that’s more than 1 in 10) in the US are lactose intolerant. Symptoms are all gastrointestinal and include diarrhea, gas and bloating. Taking a supplement of the lactase enzyme helps some people digest dairy products more easily.

Lactose Intolerance is a common side effect of Celiac disease. People who are newly diagnosed with Celiac are often instructed to avoid dairy products until the villi of the small intestines has healed. For costumers dealing with multiple food allergies, Juniper Foods website allows you to filter grocery items for multiple allergens, just click on ALL the ingredients you want to avoid on the right hand side of your screen.

Chronic intestinal conditions such as Chron’s disease and IBS can also cause lactose intolerance. Other people avoid dairy voluntarily as part of a vegan lifestyle, or to help alleviate the upper respiratory symptoms of seasonal allergies. If you are contemplating dairy alternative products, visit our new product review category of our blog for insightful product reviews. Then let us know what you think!

Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened Almond Milk

Kathleen — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:28:48 +0000

In my quest to find something to put on my cereal and in smoothies, I have tried probably around 20 different dairy alternatives. Years ago, soy was the only choice, but I have also tried different brands of rice, hemp and oatmilk products. After years of trial and error, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened Almond Milk is the BEST all purpose milk substitute I have found. Made from almonds, this product is free of lactose and is casein free (it is ALSO gluten free). It has a subtle taste of almonds and better consistency than other almond milk products I have tried. It is very smooth. With less fat per serving, it is thinner than cows’ milk but still has a slightly creamy taste. I tried it because it was the first milk substitute product I found that had no added sugar. Cows’ milk itself contains around 9 grams sugar per serving. Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened contains 0 grams sugar and is a low glycemic index food. Almonds are packed with nutrition, and Almond Breeze contains 20% of the RDA of Calcium, and 25% Vitamin D. Best of all, it has only 40 calories per serving, less than half the calories of a glass of skim milk.

My only request for the improvement of this product is to use certified organic almonds and offer an organic Almond Breeze product. I still use a thicker soymilk creamer in my coffee, but for everything else, I use BD original Unsweetened Almond Milk and sometimes have a glass of it on its own, the true testament to any milk alternative product! Let me know what YOU think of this product.

Celiac Sprue Association Press Release

steve — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:29:35 +0000

Celiac Sprue Association Welcomes Corporate Benefactor Member Meadowsweet Natural Health Market The Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) announces the addition of Meadowsweet Natural Health Market as its newest Corporate Benefactor Member. Through their generous support, CSA Corporate Benefactor Members further the CSA mission of helping individuals with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis and their families worldwide through information, education, support and research. Meadowsweet Natural Health Market, located at 3801 W. 34th Street, in Sioux Falls, SD, provides online access to over 500 allergy-friendly products through its website http://www.juniperfoods.com/ . A wide array of gluten-free and allergy-friendly foods are offered in a convenient format that allows the shopper to select from a variety of baking ingredients and mixes, convenience meals, salad dressings, condiments, soups, snack foods, and other items. Detailed ingredient lists, nutrition facts, allergen coding and facility information are included for each product. Discounts for case ordering are available, and orders are shipped via the United States Post Office. Meadowsweet Market also offers in store shopping and local delivery to the Sioux Falls area. For further information about Meadowsweet Natural Health Market, visit their website http://www.juniperfoods.com/ , or contact Meadowsweet by phone at 605-361-5526 or by email at service@juniperfoods.com . For further information about the Celiac Sprue Association Corporate Benefactor Member Program visit the CSA website http://www.csaceliacs.org/ or contact the CSA office toll-free at 877- CSA-4-CSA, or e-mail celiacs@csaceliacs.org

A Satisfied Little Customer

patty — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:57:25 +0000

The round ritz-style Glutino Crackers are very popular with our customers. Sometimes they are in short supply as they are made in Italy, and then have to be imported to the U.S. A mom was having trouble locating them for her daughter until she found them on our website. This was her e-mail reply after receiving her shipment:

Patty, Thank you so very much! We received [the shipment] of the [Glutino] crackers today and she got to have her Peanut Butter & Jelly on them and then later she had a buttered cracker We will DEFINITELY be ordering with you again. You have been wonderful! Thanks a ton. She had been asking for them everyday with the limited diet that she eats it was breaking our hearts. Suzee~

Sioux Falls Area Celiac Support Group

laurie — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:36:31 +0000

Sioux Falls Area Celiac Support Group

Veterans Administration Hospital

2501 West 22nd Street

Sioux Falls, SD

Meets the second Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m.
Sign up for e-mail notice of any changes at GGVL@aol.com (Subject–support group meeting)
Phone contact

June 605-528-6189

Grace 605-582-7194

No Cooking Tonight! Eating Out Gluten-Free

laurie — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:34:39 +0000

Living with celiac disease is challenging on many levels. One such challenge is eating out. There can be a lot of anxiety around being able to eat out and not be sick afterwards. In response to the needs of those requring special diets, the National Restaurant Association has taken steps to train restaurant personnel in proper food handling techniques for allergy-sensitive individuals. Some restaurants are making a concerted effort to accommodate people who have special dietary needs. This includes cleaning the grill prior to cooking the food and taking measures to ensure that no cross-contamination of food ingredients will occur. Even so, eating out continues to be challenging for those with celiac disease.

Some tips for having a more successful gluten-free dining experience include choosing restaurants according to the type of food generally prepared in the establishment. For example, avoid places that would tend to have a lot of flour in the air. It also helps to call ahead and speak to the manager or chef. June, from the Sioux Falls Area Celiac Suppport Group, says that she has the best results if she calls the chef the day before she plans on visiting a restaurant. She explains her dietary needs and then faxes the chef a list of acceptable foods. There are many tips and additional resource information in a downloadable article, by Pam Cureton, RD, LDN, titled “Gluten-Free Dining Out: Is it Safe?” One tip provided by Cureton is to bring your own packets of salad dressing to the restaurant, and crackers to snack on while waiting for your dinner. A tasty cracker choice is Glutino’s gluten-free ritz-style cracker.

The following Sioux Falls, SD, restaurants have gluten-free menus:

Outback Steakhouse
Chili’s Bar & Grill
Chevy’s Fresh Mex
Timber Lodge Steakhouse

This list is provided by Grace, from the Sioux Falls Area Celiac Support Group. Grace notes that not all wait staff are familiar with gluten-free menus, and suggests that you inquire with the kitchen manager or the chef regarding the availabilty of the menus. I invite you to add to this list, if you are aware of other eating establishments that accomodate those needing to eat gluten free. Eating out gluten free continues to be challenging, even within restaurants that are striving to accomodate the demand for gluten free meals. Please also share your tips for a successful gluten-free dining experience.

For those who are interested in attending a local support group, the Sioux Falls Area Celiac Support group meets at 7:00 p.m., on the second Monday of every month, at the Veterans Administration Hospital, in Sioux Falls, SD. The Veterans Administration Hospital is located at 2501 West 22nd Street. Please call June at 605-528-6189 or Grace at 605-582-7194 for further information regarding the group.