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IBS and Central Seattle GIG Support Group

The Food Allergy and Intolerance Foundation sponsors a support group meeting at the IBS Treatment Center. It is open to the public and usually held on the first Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8PM. Meet other people with IBS, food allergies, and/or gluten intolerance at these fun and educational events. Dr. Wangen attends most meetings. For more information, please call 206-264-1111. The Food Allergy and Intolerance Foundation also sponsors a google group online for this support group. To join us online, go to http://groups.google.com/group/IBSCSSG!

The Next Meeting is on Tuesday, November 1st

Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 1st from 6:30 to 8 PM.

The next meeting will be held in the IBS Treatment Center clinic space in the Northgate Pointe Building.
Remember that the clinic entrance and the garage entrance are both found at 11301 Pinehurst Way NE Seattle, WA 98125. Look for the IBS Treatment Center signs!

The Support Group on Google Groups.
GlutenFreeDr on Facebook (our new page on Facebook)
IBS Treatment Center on Facebook
Our Twitter Feed

Location: IBS Treatment Center, Northgate Pointe Building - the entrance is at 11301 Pinehurst Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125 (this is not the mailing address)
Phone: 206-264-1111 View driving directions

Past Meetings

The October meeting benefited from samples and information from Thrive! restaurant. Owner Monika Kinsman brought in a lovely pie (gluten, dairy, egg, and sugar free!) that we all enjoyed. Ms. Kinsman provided information about the raw foods diet and about how her restaurant provides great options for vegetarians, vegans, and those with allergies.

The September Meeting was classic support group. Great meeting. Nice to see new faces.

The May meeting saw faces both new and old. Jean shared some excellent recipes. Wendy brought samples from a new gluten-free shop in the Greenlake area. Phebe Rossi of Dolce Lou brought more samples!

The April meeting was the scene of several great announcements. Phebe Rossi of the new gluten Free bakery Dolce Lou stopped by with some samples. We heard about The Trumpeter Ale House in Mount Vernon. And it was announced that Snappy Dragon - the well known and longtime favorite chinese restaurant in in Maple Leaf now has a Gluten Free menu!

The March Meeting had a lively discussion and sampling of foods from French Meadow Bakery and from Shabtai Gourmet. Both had gluten free offerings. Shabtai Gourmet provided Flourentine Lace Cookies and Vanilla Creme Chocolate Bon Bons. Both were free of eggs, dairy, peanuts, soy, and corn. The group enjoyed them. The brownies from French Meadow Bakery were excellent. They do contain eggs, but are gluten and dairy free.

The January and February meetings had good roundtable times and a focus on Montana Gluten Free Processors products. In February several members brought breads make with MGFP mixes. They were quite tasty and well received.

The December meeting had both a sharing/informational roundtable and a sampling of Katz Gluten Free baked goods. We raffled off a $25 coupon for Katz Gluten Free products.

The November 2010 meeting included both a normal support group session with time for everyone to share info and ask questions, and a presentation by the esteemed Sharon Gray, MS Lac. Back by popular demand, Sharon shared some techniques to address digestive health according to traditional Chinese medicine. She had some practical hands-on acupressure techniques to help treat a variety of common discomforts (including bloating, constipation, upset stomach and more). Sharon practices in the North Seattle area, combining acupuncture, acupressure massage, and Chinese dietary therapy, specializing in digestive health. You can learn more about Sharon and her practice at TheArtOfNourishment.com.

The October 2010 meeting was an open discussion. We talked quite a bit about the immune system's involvement in digestive symptoms. It was a great meeting with several new faces. We hope to see you again!

The September 2010 meeting was an open discussion. Several people shared some great restaurant tips including new places to try. Katz Gluten Free provided samples of sweets, bread, marble cake, cookies, and rolls. Welcome to those who attended for the first time.

The May 2010 meeting featured a presentation by Sharon Gray, MS, LAc. Sharon demonstrated a simple and delicious way of preparing gluten-free whole grains that only taste like you spent hours in the kitchen! Sharon has been using and teaching this "one-pot" cooking method for nearly 15 years, and never tires from the endless variations. She also announced that she is working on a book based on this style of cooking and would love your help. See the google site for the support group at http://groups.google.com/group/IBSCSSG for more info.
Ms. Gray offers a unique combination of acupuncture, acupressure massage, and nutrition therapy, specializing in digestive health. You can learn more about Sharon and her practice at TheArtOfNourishment.com.

April 2010 Meeting's Guest: Tom Malterre. Tom Malterre is a leader and driving force in the northwest community of healthy nutrition. He uses the best available science to drive healthy eating choices with special attention to food allergies and integrating healthy eating into your whole lifestyle. His excellent book (along with his wife) is Whole Life Nutrition. He spoke about nutritional deficiencies with food sensitivities, the latest science on immune system reactions to gluten, cross contamination, supplements, and how to make great tasting food that is great for your health. He provided samples of an excellent brown rice and lentils dish from page 223 of his book.

The March 2010 Meeting featured Sue Gauen, author of Celebrating Food: 121 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthier You. Ms. Gauen provided samples from 4 gluten-free recipes from her new cookbook. All were very tasty! Her book also gives options to prepare the recipes free of dairy, eggs, corn, soy, nuts, food-dyes, and shell fish. She explained how to make the baking mix recipes in her book, and how the needs of a friend gave her the impetus to do all the experimentation to find these great recipes. For information on her book or baking mixes, please visit her website at www.celebratingfoodglutenfree.com. Her book is reviewd in the IBS Treatment Center Newsletter October 2009 issue. To contact Sue, please e-mail her at susan.gauen@charter.net

The February 2010 Meeting as an open forum. After hearing from our support group attendees, we have decided to make the February meeting an open forum with special emphasis on breakfast. It was a lively discussion and many tips were shared. Thanks to all who attended and shared their best breakfast info!

Karen Robertson was our special guest in January. She talked about making easy quick make-ahead meals for your family and brought a sample gluten-free pizza crust/focacia bread. Ms. Robertson's children were diagnosed with celiac disease in 1997. She served as a board member and volunteer for the Gluten Intolerance Group, has taught gluten-free cooking classes at national conferences and at PCC Natural Markets, and is the author and publisher of Cooking Gluten-Free! See her website at CookingGlutenFree.com and she blogs at GlutenFreeFoodAndWine.blogspot.com.

Our December 2009 Meeting featured Reginald Beck, of Fearless Bread. Mr. Beck brought some gluten-free focaccia bread for us and talked about gluten-free baking methods. He teaches classes in the Federal Way area and in other parts of the Puget Sound. Check out his website for tips on making gluten free breads.

The November 2009 Meeting featured Robin Maynard-Dobbs of www.awareeating.com.
Ms. Maynard-Dobbs is a Certified Hypnotherapist, Bodyway Personal Coach, and Licensed Facilitator of Eating Awareness Training. She addressed dealing with family and friends who may not understand your need to avoid certain foods. Thanks to all who attended!

The October 2009 Meeting featured Kathy Hoffman from Ener-G Foods! She provided a great array of samples and information about this legendary Seattle-based company.

The September 2009 Meeting featured David Ingalls, noted nutritionist and co-founder of Zing Bars. He spoke about gluten free nutritional counseling and about how it motivated him to develop the Zing Bars.

Tom A Malterre, MS, CN, MS Nutrition, Certified Nutritionist was our June 2009 guest. Tom is co-author of the Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook www.wholelifenutrition.net and author of the recipe blog-www.glutenfreewholefoods.blogspot.com. Mr. Malterre is a well known nutritionist and shared lots of great insights while making 2 excellent dishes for us. First was a quinoa dish with cilantro, red pepper, lime juice, and etc. It was excellent light fare for a warm evening. Then his masterpiece - chocolate truffles. The truffles were amazingly simple, free of most allergens containing just 4 ingredients (no sugar!!). They tasted fantastic. You can listen to an audio recording of the conference call using the link below. This is a big file (over an hour) suitable for Ipod or any MP3 player.

Beverly Kindblade MS RD CD spoke to our May 2009 meeting. Her primary topic was nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, and the best foods to meet your needs. Beve is a nutirionist with many years of both university-level teaching and private practice experience. Ms. Kindblade can be found on the web at http://www.seattlenutrition.com/. You can listen to an audio recording of the conference call using the link below. This is a big file (over an hour) suitable for Ipod or any MP3 player.

The April 2009 meeting featured Julie Starkel, MS, MBA, RD as our special guest. She spoke about how she helps people make practical choices, find alternatives, and otherwise do the nitty gritty things they need to do to change their diet. In her practice she focuses on IBS and digestion issues as well as autoimmune disorders, food allergies, weight issues, and sports nutrition. As a partner in Greenlake Nutrition Ms. Starkel helps people make the real changes they need to reach their goals.

The folllowing are MP3 format recordings of the support group meeting conference calls. These recordings may be played on an Ipod or on your computer's media player, e.g. Windows Media Player, etc.

June 2009 Support Group Meeting Conference Call Recording - Tom Malterre, Speaker

May 2009 Support Group Meeting Conference Call Recording - Beve Kindblade, Speaker