Meet the people we go to for advice - folks who provide facts, support, humor & help in Gluten Free life.
Kyra Bussanich is the founder and Executive Pastry Chef of Kyra's Bake Shop located in Lake Oswego, Oregon. A self-confessed "dessert girl," Kyra was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder when she was 20 years old, which meant switching to a gluten-free diet in order to stay healthy.
As a professionally-trained Le Cordon Bleu pastry chef, she uses her expertise to take gluten-free baking to the much-needed next level.
Kyra prides herself on using superior-quality ingredients to produce light and fluffy pastries that taste even better than any dessert she had eaten prior to becoming gluten-free, which keeps the customers lining up for more.
Stella Parks is the culinary delight of Bravetart, along with her dynamic Food Photographers Rosco and Sarah. Stella makes every element of her desserts by hand, from the sprinkles on the cupcakes to the peanut butter cups stirred into banana ice cream. In February 2012, Food & Wine magazine named Stella one America's Best New Pastry Chefs, then promptly dipped her in chocolate sprinkles.
Alison Needham is a recipe developer, mom to three great kids, and a celiac. She has always loved a good challenge, so right after her positive endoscopy she got straight to work in the kitchen, developing gluten free versions of all her old favorite recipes. Out went the wheat flour and in came a parade of strange sounding ingredients, ancient grains, and new, never-been-touched-by-gluten kitchen equipment.
She’s excited to share her recipes with you on her website A Girl Defloured! So come on in to her kitchen where the music is playing, the coffee is hot, the wine is flowing (and the kids and dog are underfoot). It's a little bit crazy, and a lot messy…but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Sarah Hornacek, Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats It all began with a little girl, wanting to be right by her mom's side...in the kitchen. For as long as Sarah can remember, she has had a love for baking. In the summer of 2010, her baking journey came to a crashing halt when her husband found out that he has celiac disease. In the process of that journey Sarah realized that both she and her son have gluten allergies. Being a determined baker, Sarah set out to convert her recipes and find new ones to satisfy her love of baking. Her kitchen is now 100% gluten free, but it most certainly isn't cupcake or cookie free!
Chrissy Kelly: Chrissy is a writer and photographer, but most importantly- a Wife and Mother. She lives in the Central Valley of California and is passionate about her 2 precious little boys, Parker (1) and Greyson (3). Greyson has what she affectionately calls Super Powers– also known as Autism. Both boys are on a Gluten Free Diet, and Chrissy works hard to ensure they aren’t deprived of many childhood favorite foods. She writes a blog call "Life With Greyson and Parker" about their inspiring journey and is trying to change the way the World views all kinds of different. Her positive outlook and joy for life are contagious.
Rachelle Himmelman, Gluten Free Baking by Rachelle, has lived with Celiac disease since childhood but was finally diagnosed in 2009 after living many, many years very sick. She has loved to bake since she was a child but after her diagnosis didn't know where to turn for gluten free baking. Rachelle finally became so determined to get back into her love of baking that decided to begin experimenting and teaching herself. So, here she is after years of educating herself on being Celiac; now she wants to educate other people how to bake gluten free as well. Rachelle is a married mom of 4 children, 2 have Celiac disease and 2 are gluten intolerant.
Mary Fran Wiley was formerly known as "FrannyCakes" and blogs at Even Curiouser, and is a self-declared cupcake therapist. She has been gluten-free since 2005 and has learned from repeated trials, flops and successes how to make desserts (ok, and real food) that even the most ardent gluten-lovers will fall for. She serves up recipes with a healthy dose of inspiration and positivity as she uses food and writing to find health and happiness in the gluten-free kitchen.
Krysten is the founder of The Daily Kale. She is a Health Connoisseur. Dreamer. Believer. & Lover. She believes we can change our lives, moods, & future, through eating the right foods, and treating ourselves right and she wants to help you take care of yourself!
Taylor, Gluten Away, is a 16 year old with Celiac Disease, POTS, and a rare type of Adrenal Disorder. His goal is to help educate parents, teens, and kids all about the gluten-free lifestyle to help make your lives a little easier. He wants to help, inspire, and show that living gluten-free doesn't have to be a hard thing!
Tina, Just Putzing Around the Kitchen, is an attorney, a lover of reality and food-related television, a stress-eater, a voracious reader, and an unabashed fantasy/sci-fi dork. I grew up with parents who are awesome cooks, and as a result I love to eat, and I love to cook.
April Peveteaux is the creator and cook behind the popular blog, Gluten Is My Bitch. Before the one-two punch of moving to Los Angeles and being diagnosed with Celiac disease, April worked as an editor and writer in New York for publications both online and off including RADAR, Nerve, True/Slant, The Stir, and Babble. Most notably, April was part of the award-winning editing team of Babble.
Erica Dermer was diagnosed in 2009, although the medical community thought she had many other things besides celiac at first. Turns out she’s a full-blown gluten-hating celiac with a sprinkling of gastroparesis and osteopenia and many other things that make having an auto-immune disease a daily guessing game. She’s a busy lady, and she knows how hard it is to cook every day with a food allergy/autoimmune disease. Being a celiac shouldn't be hard, and it shouldn't be tasteless either. She’s here to find gluten-free products and review them for you. She knows it's difficult to live in a world full of wheat, so she’s here to make it a bit easier. On her site Celiac and the Beast, she blogs about packaged food, recipes she’s tried, and living a gluten-free life.
Brandy Wendler, Mrs. Northwest International 2013, is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at a local hospital in Anchorage, Alaska. Before obtaining her master's degree from Emory University, she worked in one of the top cardiovascular ICU's in the nation. She is married to the love of her life, Capt. John Wendler, a pilot in the United States Air Force. Together, they live in Eagle River, Alaska with their two beautiful dogs.
Brandy was diagnosed with Celiac Disease four years ago and has been honored to represent her platform "Against the Grain: Raising Awareness for Celiac Disease" for the past three years. She created a website, to support Alaskans on a gluten-free diet and organized the only support group in Alaska to encourage those living a gluten-free lifestyle. She also designs gluten-free menus for restaurants and has a personal blog,www.brandywendler.blogspot.com. You may remember her as Mrs. Alaska International 2012, a title she proudly held will promoting Celiac Disease awareness through her platform.
Dr. Stephen Wangen is a state licensed and board certified physician. After graduating with honors with a pre-med degree from Pacific Lutheran University he received his doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine from the internationally renowned Bastyr University. Dr. Wangen continues his association with the university as an Affiliate Clinical Faculty of The School of Naturopathic Medicine. He specializes in digestive disorders and food allergies and has first-hand experience with food allergies, having been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance in 1996 as well as a dairy allergy.
After many years of profound improvements seen in his patients after identifying chronic underlying food allergies, in 2005 he founded the Center for Food Allergies along with the IBS Treatment Center, where he serves as the Chief Medical Officer.
His extensive clinical research into the relationship between food allergies and health has led to groundbreaking work on many conditions. He continues to investigate these issues as the Research Director of the Innate Health Foundation, a nonprofit agency dedicated to the advancement of health and health care.
Dr. Wangen also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Gluten Intolerant Group of North America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for people with gluten intolerance. His enthusiasm for quality health care is the result of a lifelong interest in human potential.
Through empowerment, education, advocacy and advancing research, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) drives diagnoses of celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders and improves the quality of life for those on a lifelong gluten-free diet.
