The Little Bay Baking Company

The Little Bay Baking Company is a baker of gluten-free and casein-free products.
Little Bay Baking Company was started with one simple idea - to produce a gluten free casein free line of products that provide celiacs and others with a gluten or wheat intolerance with foods that "taste like you remember".

I have been on the celiac gluten free diet since the spring of 1980 and have spent the last 28 years reinventing my family's favorite recipes so that I could cook once and we could all enjoy it. After attending a national celiac conference with my adult children and tasting many of the gluten free products, they encouraged me to put those recipes "in a bag and make them available to other celiacs". I am now pleased to share our family favorites with you in the form of baking mixes so that you can enjoy that just baked taste.

Since many of us also have sensitivities to lactose and casein, all of our products, when made according to the package directions, are free of casein and lactose. For those of you who do not have a dairy issue, regular milk can be used in place of rice milk and butter can be used in place of the dairy free margarine.

Little Bay Baking Company is a member of the Gluten Intolerance Group and the Celiac Sprue Association of America. We are proud to be a member of NH Made, the official statewide organization that promotes the quality, variety, and availability of New Hampshire products and services, products made with Yankee pride.

We moved into our new larger production facility in Dover New Hampshire in November 2008 and continue to produce our products in a dedicated gluten free dairy free environment.

You may have to live without gluten but you don't have to live without foods that "taste like you remember".

Helen Sanders
Little Bay Baking Company

They also have an interesting DVD:

GF Cooking from Scratch DVD
Gluten Free Cooking from Scratch is an easy to follow DVD. With tips and tricks for setting up a gluten free kitchen, GF Baking Mix recipe and 8 gluten free, casein free recipes like mini coffee cakes, chicken nuggets, flourless chocolate cake and more... . INCLUDES RECIPE CARDS
New Price - $15.95

Parents Need to be Cautious About CFGF Diet

There is still no new news on the medical front about the effectiveness of using a casein-free, gluten-free (CFGF) diet to help children with autism. The big report that is scheduled to be released by the University of Rochester Medical School has not yet appeared.

The CFGF diet, though, continues to receive more than its share of attention in the popular press, mostly due to the widely publicized efforts of actress Jenny McCarthy, who has published books on helping her children with the diet. See my post Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet for Autistic Children Still Controversial for more details.

Doctors are having to respond to parents' questions and demands because of this, no matter how little they may think of the diet from a medical perspective. Tralee Pearce wrote a fascinating article on this issue for the Toronto Globe and Mail.

A few years ago, when Vancouver autism specialist Vikram Dua faced a parent's query about a trendy alternative therapy for a child, he wasn't the best listener.

"I used to rail against it or argue with parents," he recalls of the discussions about restricted diets or the use of supplements.

The result: He tended not to see those families again. "And it didn't help the kids very much."

Now, Dr. Dua is less combative. He explains that of the more than 1,000 treatments out there, one or two might, indeed, work. He just doesn't know which ones work and for which kids.

...

In her practice, [Wendy Roberts, a developmental pediatrician who specializes in autism at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and at Bloorview Kids Rehab] warns parents that she's never seen diet make a difference in a child who is not among the 20 per cent of autistic children with stomach and digestion issues. And she says the link between these issues and brain function remains unknown.

If parents do want to forge ahead, she advises a very gradual approach, with a huge amount of documentation to chart any changes. And, like most doctors in the field, Dr. Roberts says, she will also emphasize continuing with behavioural therapy.

Some doctors embrace alternative medicine more than others, of course. And these doctors are encouraging the GFCF diet. Even here, though, the good ones use a very careful and cautious approach, with lots of caveats.

Chatham, Ont., pediatrician Wendy Edwards, who has experienced some success with a gluten- and dairy-free diet for her 8-year-old son, says parents considering the diet seek her out or are referred by other doctors who are open to the idea. "Doctors are starting to realize this is becoming huge and you can't just brush it off any more."

But she finds herself managing the expectations of parents thrilled to have found an ally. She is careful to tell parents that their child may not improve on the diet. And like her more conservative peers, she is a firm opponent of chelation therapy (a metal-detoxification process) and oxygen chambers.

And Dr. Edwards warns that temporary improvement doesn't mean a cure. The next developmental stage may trigger a new round of symptoms.

I strongly advise any parents who are considering the GFCF diet to work very closely with their doctors, to chart symptoms and behaviors before as well as after the start of the diet, to be as objective as possible and not see any change as a potential cure, and to expect that time will be needed before any positive effect can be said to be lasting, assuming any appear.

Pure Fun Candies

Pure Fun candies come with a pile of "no"s.

NO GMO'S, NO FD&C Colors, NO Casein,
NO Gluten, NO Dairy, NO artificial flavors,
NO dyes, NO Chemicals, NO Pesticides

They have a no's for news, apparently, because they sent out a press release about the company.

Pure Fun Confections offers an unusually wide choice of candy items for a healthy, ethical lifestyle. They make organic, natural, eco-friendly candy products that will satisfy your sweet tooth without any chemicals or additives!

The company is located at 490 Midwest Road in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada with distribution capabilities throughout Canada, U.S.A., U.K., Europe, Australia, Israel, and Asian markets. They work with state of the art QA labs, maintain in-house R & D, and hold many certifications including organic and kosher.

Pure Fun™'s comprehensive range includes organic, kosher and vegan candies made primarily from brown rice syrup organic cane juice for the wellbeing of children and adults. The lollipops, candy canes and hard candies are made in Canada or the U.S. under strict supervision of organic certification bodies.

What do they use?

Pure Fun™ 's low GI (Glycemic Index), Certified Organic Brown Rice Syrup is one of the best alternatives to tame the roller coaster ride of your blood-sugar levels while continuing to pamper your sweet tooth. These are organic natural sweeteners produced by steeping brown rice with a special enzyme preparation. Following this method the broken whole grains or brown rice are converted into a smooth-flavored and pleasantly sweet liquid extract. Organic Brown Rice Syrup is quite healthy and mild with a buttery flavor and delicate sweetness, which makes it an ideal choice for making Pure Fun™ Organic candy.

Pure Fun™ Organic Evaporated Cane Juice is a healthy alternative to refined sugar. The term Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (OECJ) denotes that it is a "first crystallization sugar" made directly from fresh organic juice that is extracted within 24 hours of harvesting. Organic cane retains more of the original flavor and nutrients of sun-sweetened sugar cane.

Check their website at www.purefun.ca/.

No More Rice & Veggie Cream-Cheese Alternative

Dairy-free foods are a niche market, always a precarious place for any company to find itself in. Over the years I can't begin to estimate how many dairy-free foods I've seen disappear from store shelves.

Another pair has bit the dust. They're Rice Cream Cheese Alternative and Veggie Cream Cheese Alternative. Both are brand names from the big name in cheese alternatives, Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Inc.. Other brands include Galaxy, Veggy, Vegan, Rice Vegan, and Wholesome Valley. They used to distribute under the name Soyco, but that's apparently been spun off or sold off to an Australian firm.



Products distributed under the Rice brand name are made from organic brown rice and are dairy-free. They contain casein, so they are not suited for those with dairy allergies. However, the Rice Vegan products are casein-free, as are the Vegan brand products.

Veggie products are soy-based and lactose-free but not casein-free.

You can search for the several cream cheese alternatives that remain on the Nondairy Milk Alternatives - Cheeses and Cream Cheeses page in my Product Clearinghouse.

Arico Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Cookies

I found another vendor of gluten-free, dairy-free, everything natural, even Kosher-certified snacks, Arico Foods. (Not vegan, though, because they contain eggs.) They use brown rice quinoa flour in place of wheat.

Arico says about itself:

Arico Products are free of: gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, trans fat, refined sugars, preservatives and colorings.

They have three lines.

Arico gluten-free casein-free healthy bars are available in four flavors: Almond Cranberry, Chocolate Chunk, Double Chocolate, and Peanut Butter. Each sleeve of Arico Bars contains twelve individually wrapped 1.4 oz cookie bars, made for the grab-and-go convenience. Arico: ingredients for mindful snacking.

Each of Arico gluten-free casein-free family-pack of cookies weighs 4.8 oz. Order is per case, and each case contains six family-packs. The re-closable pack ensures freshness and highest quality before and after opening. Arico: ingredients for mindful snacking.

Arico gluten-free casein-free cassava chips are available in four flavors: Original, Sea Salt Mist, Barbeque, and Ginger on Fire. Each case of Arico Cassava Chips contains twelve 5 Oz. bags. Originally consumed in ancient South American civilizations, cassava is a root plant that grows like potato. From the Amazon basin, its cultivation spread to greater Latin America, Asia, and Africa thousands of years ago. Today, cassava is a staple food consumed by more than 500 million around the world. With twice the fiber and 40% less fat than the leading potato chips, Arico Cassava Chips offer a light, crispy addictive crunch that will delight your senses.