Just Desserts: Now Available for Pre-order

February 13, 2023 — Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to announce that my new cookbook: Just Desserts: 40 Step-by-Step Gluten Free Dessert Recipes is now available for pre-order exclusively through Hipocampo Children’s Books.

This cookbook has quite literally been 10 years in the making ever since I started this award-winning website in 2012 while living in Nashville, TN. I could have never fathomed all the places food blogging and content creation would take me, the people I would meet, and the community that would evolve from this journey.

This cookbook features my collection of 40 mouth-watering, classic, and easy-to-prepare dessert recipes that are entirely gluten-free and 100% delicious. I am forever grateful to YOU my community, and all the creative collaborators that are helping bring this project to life. My cookbook features gorgeous full-color photography by my brother Adam Eaton (who shot the cover) Sarah Fredenburg, and Emily Baker for every recipe. I also thank Tiffany Nicholas for the amazing illustrations, and everyone in my Gluten Free Rochester online group, beyond that, have taste-tested, edited, test-baked, and cheered me online, and in person.

My cookbook includes a generous selection of plant-based desserts that are egg-free dairy-free and nut-free, easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes with standard and metric ingredient measurements, and nutrition information for each recipe. Just Desserts is the ultimate gluten-free baking guide for anyone interested in learning how to bake no fuss yet classic gluten-free desserts and sweets.

Your pre-orders are instrumental for me as an author — and help support a local Latino-woman-owned bookstore. I plan to make this cookbook available only to small local women-BIPOC bookstores in Rochester and this preorder campaign is one step in this surreal process for me.

Thank you to everyone that continues to support me, I truly cannot believe this vision has come to life, and I am humbly grateful to my entire community for your continued love, encouragement, and support.

Pre-order now

Gluten Free Product Review | Naked Whey by Naked Nutrition

December 11, 2017 — Leave a comment

Disclaimer: “Compensation for this post was provided by my friends at Naked Nutrition. Opinions expressed in the review are my own.”

It wasn’t until the folks over at Naked Nutrition contacted me about trying their brand new Naked Whey protein powder that I realized how little I actually knew about whey protein. This realization was ironic since I’ve been using a variety of whey based and plant based protein powders for the past six years. I never really realized that up until now I had only been basing my selection on the grams of protein per serving and not much else.

So, I’m happy to be enlightened and better educated on not only whey protein but the greatness that is Naked Nutrition’s all natural whey protein powder; Naked Whey.

What Is Naked Whey

According to Naked Nutrition’s website: “Grass Fed Whey Protein comes from dairy cows that have a 100% grass-fed diet. The milk from the cows is non-GMO, with no rBGH or rBST, and non-denatured. The resulting whey protein is soy free, gluten free, and grain free. Grass-Fed protein is used to build lean muscle and aid recovery.

Naked Nutrition’s patented process creates a non-denatured whey loaded with essential amino acids, glutathione, and clean protein. There are no additives like artificial flavors or sweeteners and they work directly with the farmers.

What Makes “Naked Whey” Different

What immediately struck me about Naked Whey is that unlike most whey protein powders that I’ve used it is free from a bevvy of hard to pronounce artificial ingredients, binders, and fillers. In fact, it contains only one ingredient: Grass Fed Whey Protein. That’s it! With 25 grams per serving (two scoops) you can’t get anymore natural than that.

The flavor is definitely very smooth and when combined with smoothie ingredients gives a very thick milkshake like texture. Still I like the overall flavor and mouth feel of Naked Whey. It doesn’t have a chalky or “fake” taste that other whey protein powders add to smoothies.

What Makes Naked Whey Better

Pure taste. Minimal ingredients and a commitment to keeping it clean. Naked Whey is the whey protein that you need in your life if you are someone looking for a standout whey protein powder. What’s even better is that Naked Nutrition has an extensive line of different protein powders and supplements that are a cut above the rest. There’s even two all vegan powders: Pea Protein & Rice Protein that I cannot wait to review very soon.

REVIEW

5/5

P.S: If you like me need a bit of schooling on “whey protein” check out my article: The Truth About Whey here

Photo credit: Naked Nutrition

A Comprehensive Vegan Guide to Halloween Candy (DEBUT)

October 24, 2017 — Leave a comment

Our first ever Comprehensive Vegan Halloween list to help you navigate your vegan candy giving needs. This list comes courtesy of Runners World with the most common vegan gluten free Halloween Candy. Did your favorite confection make the list? Let me know in the comments.

Twizzlers

Blow Pops

Gobstoppers

Sour Patch

• Sour Patch Watermelon
• Sour Patch Peach, Cherry, Raspberry
• Sour patch Fruits
• Sour Patch Kids

Courtesy of Runner’s World

Why I Went Vegan Part One | Living Vegan

October 18, 2017 — Leave a comment

If you’re an avid reader of blog then you already know that we announced (on yesterday) our brand new Facebook online community called Living Vegan. I am super excited to engage more readers across the country who are currently living a plant-based diet as well as those who may be semi-plant-based, interested in going plant-based, or anywhere in between this spectrum. Veganism and plant based living is still not the norm in our society and the ultimate mission of the platform is to engage, encourage, and support each other throughout the journey.

theglutenfreechef is transitioning as well. Plant-based living has always been close to my heart and as I dive back into the lifestyle, the recipes here will inherently be vegan and plant-based. Guest features, articles, and other content will also skew more and more towards veganism and plant-based living. This is not to say that a meat-inclusive or dairy recipe might not sneak in every now and then, but overall plant-based will become the norm. Does this surprise you?

Does this surprise you?

Don’t be surprised! Even though I am purposefully and explicitly writing more and more about vegan culture this is in no way my first time delving into the lifestyle. I lived a very strict vegan life from 2010-2013 just before moving back to Upstate NY (Rochester) from Nashville and am in a way; returning to my roots so to speak. Therefore, the purpose of this post is to:

Detail my vegan/plant-based journey and give reasons why I am coming back to the vegan lifestyle.
Educate and encourage others to understand that the Living Vegan space here on this platform is not a judgemental nor condescending space of “ You are awful because you are not vegan”.
Quite the contrary, this is a space of understanding, encouragement, motivation, and self-refection to help you appreciate that veganism is not cut and dry. There are many beneficial reasons for moving to a plant-based way of life but there are also many reasons that a person might decide to leave the lifestyle.
Throughout this post and in the future, the mission will be to keep it real, genuine, and highlight that living vegan in a carnivorous world can make it difficult to stay the vegan path. The mantra, Old habits die hard does not fall on deaf ears in this space. Most folks living vegan were not raised vegan and popular culture, peer pressure, having a family, and many other factors can sometimes make those of us that choose a vegan lifestyle feel ostracized, isolated, and frustrated to stay the course.

I am here to say I understand the struggle and I am here to show you that I was there, I get you and we are here to support each other during our triumphs and our falls. These are the aspects of vegan culture that I feel are lacking in the “online vegan community”

Bonus Lesson

For me veganism is a journey not a final destination therefore, no one will never be made to feel shame or guilt for falling off the vegan path. Understanding and empathy for everyone’s choices is how we will run the Living Vegan spaces here on the blog and on Facebook.

So without further adieu…

Why Did I Go Vegan

The year was 2009… (Post continues tomorrow) 🙂

A Tribute to Chocolate Chip Cookies | REPOST

October 4, 2017 — Leave a comment

One would be hard pressed to search the web and not find a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. In fact a simple Google search will pull up millions (literally) of recipes for the all American classic. What is it about the chocolate chip cookie that screams American tradition? A staple in just about every kitchen, every mom and grandma makes claims to have the world’s greatest. The perfect recipe. The best combination. The foolproof technique. No matter the technique, variation, or ingredient there is something nostalgic about a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. As a gluten free baker I’ve tried, retried, converted, test baked and perfected quite a few recipes. One recent baking session sparked the idea for this post. A post where I show some long overdue love to the classic chocolate chip cookie. I have compiled five of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes from a few of my favorite blogs. Most are gluten free a few are not but can be easily converted with a cup for cup all purpose flour blend. As you know Enjoy Life is my go to brand for allergen free chocolate.

How do you like your chocolate chips?

Let me know in the comments and be sure to try one of these A+mazing recipes and share a few of your favorites.

the gluten free chef’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies courtesy of Blissful Eats

Gluten free, Dairy free Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of Silvana’s Kitchen

Date- Sweetened Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of The Sweetest Kitchen

Protein Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of The Iron You

Dark Chocolate Chunk Eggnog Cookies courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker

P.S: This post was originally featured on February 10, 2014

#PeoplewithPainMatter Campaign and Make Believe Poem | Living with Fibromyalgia

August 8, 2016 — Leave a comment

I am thrilled to be an Ambassador with the US Pain Foundation and be able to formally announce our new pain awareness campaign

People with Pain Matter

People with Pain Matter is an online community dedicated to raising public awareness of the impact of chronic pain on the lives of nearly 100 million Americans. The opioid-abuse epidemic is a tragedy, one that requires a thoughtful, national response. However, our country’s response to the opioid epidemic has had drastic, unintended consequences for people suffering with pain. We support public policy to combat opioid addiction and drug overdose while additionally recognizing the needs of people with chronic pain. Furthermore, we are committed to reshaping our nation’s dialogue on pain, strengthening the nation’s investment in new therapies that reduce the crisis of chronic pain and allowing those living with pain to maintain necessary and timely access to pain relief without labels and stigmatization. Through legislative and regulatory action, media engagement and social media mobilization, we encourage policymakers, media and other healthcare stakeholders to recognize the needs of people with chronic pain and to enact public policy that recognizes People with Pain Matter.

Visit the website www.peoplewithpainmatter.org by clicking the image below and supporting this campaign by telling congress, telling the media, or telling your personal chronic pain story. The more voices that are heard the more we as a nation can begin to repaint the picture and the faces of chronic pain in the United States.

Additionally, I was inspired to pen a poem titled Make Believe during this past weekend’s Ambassador Summit. In order to help you understand how we feel I’ve included the first stanza of the poem below:

Make Believe poem by Calvin Eaton

what could I do to me
To make you believe the pain that lives inside this body
paint a picture with the grotesque imagery
Or shots of viles , cannabis, or opiod coated candies
walk with canes, limps, or a sad face showing my aching nightmares and insomnia dreams

download the full version here

Weekend Roundup: Chronic Pain Ambassador and Advocacy Summit and Retreat In Maine| Living with Fibromyalgia

August 8, 2016 — 1 Comment

I am truly at a loss for words as I sit before my screen and type this post. My heart is so full of love, life, gratitude, and happiness. Since last Thursday, I was in the company of true angels, chronic pain warriors together in pnce place share, love, hope, peace, advice, and gratitude for the efforts of the US Pain Foundation to bring us all together for the 3rd Annual Pain Ambassadors Advocacy Summit.

We were accommodated at the gorgeous University of New England campus in Biddeford, Maine; surrounded by beaches and water that was crystal blue. This all expense paid moment was literally like no experience I have ever had. Everything was accounted for and we were encouraged to be kind to ourselves every step of the way. How amazing! I’ve lived with invisible chronic pain for over seven years now and never have I been in the company of 50 + people that fully understand what I go through each and every day. This alone is enough to make me cry tears of joy, but US Pain gave us even more. Friday and Saturday we were educated by leading experts in the field of pain education, researchers, and warriors that give their real life stories and testimony of triumph, perseverance, positivity, and endurance. We were taught about advocacy at the local, state, and national level. How to get congress to hear our collective voices, to get better treatment, better care, and for professionals to understand what we go through day in and day out. We met Senators, scientists, a beauty queen and each other.

The warriors was the best part of the entire experience. The people connections that I made in such a short time are truly priceless. Strong bonds were formed. Deep alliances made to work together in the world of pain awareness. I wasn’t sure what to expect and now I declare that the entire experience was truly one of the best of my life thus far.

I have to give a huge thank you to Paul Gileno, Shaina Smith, Casey Cashman and Lori Monaco for organizing and managing such an organized and fulfilling weekend. Each of these people live with chronic pain themselves yet each one of them was selfless and fearless in their determination to make sure that each one of us was cared for and having an awesome time. The most important fact that was reiterated throughout the entire program is that we matter; #PeopleWithPainMatter. Every single one of us. We are more than stats and stigma. More than medications. More than prescriptions. We are everyday people fighting an invisible battle. Our voices will be heard.

Check out the photos of our time together below: