by Melissa Diane Smith

Amidst the noise, crowdedness, and sheer size of the 35th annual Natural Products Expo West – the world’s largest event devoted to natural and specialty food and beverages, organics, supplements, health and beauty, natural living and pet products – the trends that stood out to me were:

• A growing emphasis on non-GMO and organic foods and products
• Gluten-free, while still big, seems to be narrowing in favor of many more grain-free and Paleo food product offerings
• More options of minimally sweetened products made with simple, whole food ingredients and sweetened with just fruit or small amounts of better-for-you sweeteners such as organic coconut sugar.

These are all positive developments for me, my clients and readers, and the growing number of people who shop and eat against the grain and against GMOs.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

In this age of instant access to information, it’s ironic that I sometimes run into people who say they love one of my books, but aren’t aware of, or haven’t read, any of the others. It’s time to connect the dots between my four main books—Syndrome X, Going Against the Grain, Gluten Free Throughout the Year, and Going Against GMOs—and let you know how reading all of them can give you a thorough understanding of the spectrum of nutrition-related health issues that affect Americans today. I’m so confident that reading even one of my books you haven’t read before will give you knowledge that improves your health, that I’m giving you extra incentive to do just that: Click here to learn how you can get a discount on counseling or coaching with me if you buy any one of these books through February 18, 2015.

Click here to go to my Amazon Author page.

If you aren’t familiar with my main books, here’s a rundown:

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by Melissa Diane Smith

If you eat a Paleolithic, gluten-free, grain-free, or sugar-free diet—or if you’re looking for easy-to-grab prepared foods free of most genetically modified organisms (GMOs)—I have some great news for you: Whole Foods Market now offers Paleo Specials of the Week every day in its deli case and at least one day a week in its hot food bar. Though specifics may vary in areas around the country, the Northern California region of Whole Foods started the Paleo items first, and several other regions, including Southern Pacific, have begun to carry the options. In Arizona where I live, there are Paleo offerings in both the hot bar and cold bar all day every Thursday.

“Whole Foods Market wanted to better serve our Paleo lifestyle customers, which is why we have added these unique items to our Prepared Foods Department,” says Laura Kruszewski, marketing team leader for the River Road Whole Foods Market in Tucson, Arizona.

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Ready for instant access to some quick tips and healthy gluten-free food ideas to help you during the holidays and month to month throughout the coming year? You can now get the e-book version of my book Gluten Free Throughout the Year: A Two-Year, Month-to-Month Guide for Health Eating for the super-low price of $4.99 here. I brought the price way down as a holiday gift for clients and readers of my books!

My favorite recipes for the holidays in the book are Butternut Squash with Fresh Sage, Chestnut Stuffing (I’d suggest doubling the recipe, though), Pecan-Pear Autumn Sundaes, Savory Quinoa Hash, and Savory Stuffing. There are also tips for every season of the year, partying gluten-free style, cold and flu prevention and relief, and heartier breakfasts to start your day to prevent blood sugar highs and lows.

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by Melissa Diane Smith

Adapted from information in Going Against GMOs. (A shorter version of this article appears in the November issue of Better Nutrition magazine.)

Try this streamlined four-step plan to prepare a holiday meal without gluten and genetically modified ingredients.

Diana Reeves, the founder of GMO Free USA, has celiac disease and has been eating gluten free for more than five years. Three other members of her family were diagnosed with celiac around the same time and she went searching for a common environmental trigger. After learning about disturbing research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in foods and vitamins, she began avoiding GMOs, too. She experienced what she says was a “transformational” difference in how she felt and became totally committed to eating non-GMO.

Her husband and daughters are also gluten free and have joined her in removing GMOs from their diets. Together, as a family, they are among the growing numbers of people who will be serving a non-GMO, gluten-free Thanksgiving meal this year.

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On Sunday, November 2, 2014, from Noon to 3 p.m., I will be doing book signings of Going Against GMOs, Going Against the Grain, and Gluten Free Throughout the Year at my booth at the outdoor Gluten-Free Awareness Expo at Lifegain Park on the Tucson Medical Center grounds. This event will be a great opportunity to get my three gluten-free books at special discounted prices and to talk to me in person and ask me any questions about gluten, gluten sensitivity/celiac disease, or genetically modified foods that you’d like. All three of these books are written for people who eat a gluten-free diet. (That includes my new book Going Against GMOs, which names non-GMO, gluten-free and grain-free products to look for when shopping and includes more than 45 easy-to-make, non-GMO, and gluten-free recipes!)

At this free event, you also will receive a goody bag filled with gluten-free resources, snacks, coupons, and more. Plus, there will be other booths giving away samples of food and presenting gluten-free resources, activities for kids, raffle prizes, live music, cooking demos, and gluten-free games.

View a flyer about the event here and learn additional information here. Make sure to mark the date on your calendar, and hope to see you there!

Copyright 2014 Melissa Diane Smith

Below is a reprint from a question Melissa answered in Better Nutrition magazine.

Q: What is the most common mistake people make on the gluten-free diet?

A: For people who are just beginning the gluten-free diet as well as those who have been on the diet a long time, the biggest mistake they make is over-relying on manufactured processed foods instead of eating naturally gluten-free whole foods such as vegetables and fruits.

Highly processed “gluten-free” food products set people up for health problems in three different ways. The first way is, ironically, by those products sometimes being contaminated with unwanted gluten. Even though gluten-free grains and and flours are naturally gluten free, these foods are often processed in the same facilities – and with the same equipment – as the gluten grains wheat, rye, and barley, where they can inadvertently pick up gluten.

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