Gluten-free Goodies:
The Funky Muffin Bakery Cooks up Healthy Treats
By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
With the holidays just around the corner, thoughts turn to indulging in baked goods and traditional recipes with all the trimmings.
But for the millions of people in the U.S. with celiac disease, an intolerance of the protein gluten found in wheat, rye and barley, making it through all the holiday parties and family get-togethers can be challenging.
“The first couple of years after I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I think I just did without during all those holiday celebrations. I ate turkey and plain green beans, but I knew there had to be a better way,” said Carol Key, owner of The Funky Muffin, a gluten-free bakery on U.S. 280.
When Key, who lives in Greystone, was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2003, the gluten-free food market was almost nonexistent, she said.
“I’d never heard of celiac disease or gluten-free anything. The doctor gave me this long list of foods that I couldn’t eat, and for six weeks, I spent hours at the grocery store reading labels because so many of the preservatives in pre-packaged food have wheat in them. It was a nightmare,” she said.
As she prepared to deal with her celiac disease, Key said she threw away about 15 bags of groceries from her refrigerator and pantry that she could no longer eat.
“I thought my life of sandwiches was over,” she said. “After months of checking labels and finding more things I couldn’t eat, I decided to just go with whole foods and make my diet about fruits, vegetables and quality meats.”
The simple diet plan meant Key had to spend a lot more time planning and cooking fresh meals.
“That part was hard, because I was like everyone else and relied a lot on convenience foods. I had to make time to plan and cook every meal,” she said.
Key’s simple diet plan worked well enough—until she reached her first holiday season after being diagnosed with celiac disease.
“At Thanksgiving, my mother made me a pie without the crust. It was hard to look at all the yummy breads and cakes and know I couldn’t have them,” she said.
Key said she would bring her own gluten-free dishes to family get-togethers but always felt like she was missing out on something.
That’s when she said she started getting creative.
“I thought, there’s got to be a better way than depriving myself of all the things I love, especially at the holidays,” she said. “I began experimenting in the kitchen and trying to convert my favorite recipes into gluten-free versions.”
Converting her favorite recipes took a lot of trial and error, Key said, as she educated herself about the alternatives to wheat flour and other gluten-filled ingredients typically used in holiday fare.
The challenge in baking without gluten is finding other ingredients that will approximate the effects of gluten in a flour mixture, Key said.
“I experimented with all kinds of rice flours and different kinds of flours trying to find something that didn’t taste like cardboard or ground-up cement,” she said. “It was quite an education.”
After perfecting a few of her favorite recipes into gluten-free versions, Key started thinking about other people like her who were looking for delicious ways to manage celiac disease or wheat intolerance.
“I wanted a place where those that needed or elected to eat gluten-free could come, walk in and know that they could have it all,” she said.
So, the idea of The Funky Muffin bakery was born.
The bakery opened in July on U.S. 280 behind Full Moon Bar-B-Que and next to Schaeffer Eye Center and Chuck E. Cheese.
The Funky Muffin offers its namesake muffin, along with sandwich breads, pies, cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Key said. “So many people are grateful we’re here. Recently, a woman and her child came in, and the child, who had celiac (disease), asked what he could have, and the mom told him he could have anything in the bakery. I teared up a little bit when I saw him so happy that he could have any muffin or cupcake or cookie that he wanted and not have to worry about getting sick.”
Key said she has learned that people who can’t eat gluten products really miss the simple foods the most.
“I make a plain butter vanilla pound cake that’s gluten-free and was offering samples of it at an expo recently. I noticed one woman came back for another sample and had tears in her eyes. She told me she hadn’t had pound cake in 10 years,” Key said.
Key said she has spent a lot of time developing gluten-free recipes for other favorites like graham crackers, party crackers and vanilla wafers.
“They’re not fancy foods, but they are the things you really miss when you can’t have them. You can’t have S’mores without graham crackers, and what would the holiday parties be like without a Ritz-type cracker? I have a lady that has a standing order every week for the vanilla wafers,” she said.
The Funky Muffin is also working on a new gluten-free recipe just in time for the holiday season.
“I’m developing a gluten-free cornbread dressing that I think a lot of people will be excited about for the holidays,” she said.
But those with celiac disease or wheat allergies aren’t the only ones who are developing a taste for Key’s gluten-free food.
“Everyone that comes to my house for the holidays knows that the menu will be gluten-free and over the past few years have really come to love the gluten-free desserts more than they did the old versions,” she said.
Key said she has several tips for surviving the holidays on a gluten-free diet.
“It’s all about being creative and looking at (converting traditional recipes into gluten-free recipes) as a challenge and not a chore,” she said.
At holiday parties outside of your home, Key advises sticking to fruit and vegetable trays.
“But avoid the dips and sauces and gravies, because so many of those, including anything with cream cheese, have wheat byproducts in them,” she said.
Some alcoholic drinks are also off limits to those with celiac disease, Key said.
“The safest thing is to stick with water or fruit juices or maybe wine,” she said.
Entertaining at home during the holidays is often much easier for those with celiac disease than attending events elsewhere.
“If you hold the holiday party at your own home, you can control the food and avoid possible cross-contamination between gluten-free foods and foods with wheat ingredients. Even if you don’t like to cook, you can find gluten-free products at more stores now, and that helps a lot,” she said.
And of course, Key said, you can find gluten-free holiday treats at The Funky Muffin.
“Just don’t cheat on your gluten-free diet during the holidays, because it could really harm your health,” she said. “We all want to indulge in our favorites this time of year, but there’s a way to do it without making yourself sick.”
While many people with celiac disease feel sad about their limited diets around the holidays, Key said the best bet is to focus on what you can eat.
“Think about how much better you feel now that you’re managing your celiac disease and focus on good health, good friends and your family,” she said. “That’s what the holidays are all about anyway.”
Key shared the recipe for her bakery’s signature Funky Muffin, which she said would work perfectly for a holiday brunch.
The Funky Muffin
1 box of gluten-free cake or muffin mix
½ cup of dried cranberries
½ cup of raisins
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ cup of pecans (optional)
Follow the directions on the box of cake/muffin mix. Fold the next four ingredients into the muffin mixture. Fill muffin tins about three-quarters full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container.