Happy Easter from Euforia

Hello again, Readers,

     This Sunday, April 20, 2014 is Easter Sunday!  Easter is a Christian holiday commemorating the rise of Jesus Christ from the tomb and end of the Lent Season.  Nowadays, there are so many Easter traditions, I wanted to take today's special Easter edition and find out where some of the more popular Easter activities come from - dyeing eggs, Easter Bunny, and eating all the candy (specifically, what's a Peep?)
     The Easter Bunny is kind of like Santa Claus on a smaller scale -The legend originates from German Lutherans, the Easter Bunny (or "Oschter Haws" as he was called) would deliver colored eggs to good children who would leave nests or baskets for the eggs to be placed.  Later, chocolates, candies, and small gifts would also be left in the nests.  Why a rabbit?  Rabbits are traditionally symbolize new life, with the new life being the Resurrection.
     Decorating eggs is a tradition that has been around since around the 13th century.  Eggs represent the tomb from which Jesus rose, and for centuries, eggs were dyed red to symbolize Christ's blood.  The Easter egg hunts and Easter egg rolls that are so common don't seem to have religious meaning, they're meant to just be fun.  The White House has held the Easter egg roll every year since 1878 on the Monday following Easter Sunday.
     Easter candy started becoming popular in the 1800's.  While it's the most recent of the standard Easter traditions, it has become the second biggest candy-selling holiday (Halloween is first).  Originally, chocolate eggs were a way for chocolatiers to sell their goods at Easter - the egg being such an important symbol and the popularity of chocolate growing.  Mass production techniques of the early 20th century hit the candy industry, allowing novelty Easter Candy to become popular with everyone.  Because of this, candy moved from the chocolate egg to the now popular chocolate bunny.  Jelly beans became associated with Easter around the 1930s.  The "Turkish Delight" (a jelly covered in powdered sugar) was a popular treat and as they became mass-produced, the low cost and the egg-shape made the jelly bean a hit as an Easter candy.
     If you're looking for a sweet treat that's a little more sophisticated than the jelly bean or the chocolate rabbit, try our delicious Triple Delight Cake!  You can order one any time of the year, and as always, they're delicious, all-natural, and gluten-free!

Thanks for reading!
Euforia Confections

Gluten-Free News and Article Round-up - April

Hello again, readers!

In this post, we are gathering up some of the most recent news and articles relating to gluten-free living to pass along to you.  There's always new information coming out related to celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and gluten-free living, and we want to put this information in one easy-to-find location.

• A recent study has been released suggesting those with celiac disease are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart disease as those who don't have the autoimmune disease.  The study uses information from over 22 million people, including 24,000 people who have been diagnosed with celiac disease.  Read more about this study here (from WebMD 3/29/2014)
• The Celiac Disease Foundation (Southern California chapter) is hosting a gluten-free Food & Wine event on April 27th in El Segundo, CA.  Tickets start at $65, and for more information, click here (from Celiac Disease Foundation)
• For those of you in the Allentown, PA area, Coca-Cola Park (Home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs!) now has a gluten-free food stand!  Offering gluten-free beer, pulled chicken and pork sandwiches on gluten-free rolls, a baked potato bar, and other foods, the park hopes to reach out to all baseball fans, even those with gluten intolerance.  More information here! (from Lehigh Valley News 4/8/14)
• With the amount of people diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and wheat allergy on the rise, grocery stores are responding.  The amount of gluten-free products on shelves is rising, which is awesome, but the cost of gluten-free products can be 2-3 times more than non-gf foods.  Read more here!  (From Fox Business 3/19/14)

Here at Euforia, we're excited to announce some gluten-free news of our own!  We are about to release a gluten-free pound cake!  For those of you who like to do your own baking, we are about to release a gluten-free flour perfect for baking at home!