When I'm not Eating Cupcakes

As I was writing about cupcakes the other day I realized that according to my blog I only eat cupcakes, burgers, and lasagna.  While this is generally true, when I'm not eating cupcakes and burgers I do try to eat relatively well and exercise a few times a week.  Today I walked 6.5 miles and then made the delicious lunch above.  It is super easy to make and naturally gluten free.  That's sauteed kale, a small sweet potato that I cooked in the microwave for 4 minutes, half an avocado, two fried eggs, a little bit of cheese, and salt and pepper.  Now I will try not to eat a cupcake and/or a burger for the rest of the day.  No promises.

Gluten Free Philly

Besties

I just got back from a weekend in Philly with my best friend.  She's in a five year doctorate program and is half way through.  We try to get together once a month either in Philly or New York.  That means I've been to Philly a whole lot in the last few years and I should obviously tell you about two of my favorite gluten free spots there.

For breakfast, lunch, or coffee/tea time we often go to Pure Fare on 21st Street between Sansom and Walnut.  The entire place is gluten free and they have great frittatas.  They also have sandwiches on gluten free bread, salads, smoothies, and some baked goods.

Choosing a dinner spot is always much more of a debacle for us.  We've been to El Rey a few times though and went again this weekend.  It's a pretty good Mexican restaurant with a large gluten free menu.  I recommend the nachos and pitchers of margaritas.  It's a fun place to go with friends but they don't take reservations so go early or plan to wait.

Anywhere else in Philly I should be trying?  I have at least 2.5 more years of hanging out there.

Fresh Restaurant Toronto

 

I went out to eat twice when I was in Toronto and both times was to Fresh.  That's right, I liked it so much the first time I went back the next morning for bunch.  View the menu here.  Saturday afternoon we went for lunch and I had the Baby Buddha on brown rice and a smoothie.  Sunday morning I had the gluten free vegan blueberry pancakes served with real maple syrup.  These people really know the way to my heart.

Bunner's Vegan and Gluten Free Bakeshop - Toronto

As I mentioned in my post about visiting Toronto last weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving, Amanda's sister was nice enough to bring gluten free stuffing and pumpkin pie for me.  She got the goods from Bunner's.  Bunner's is a vegan and gluten free bakery in Toronto.  The stuffing was perfect with my Thanksgiving meal and the pie was perfect for dessert.  I was extremely thankful.

Not only did she buy the stuffing and pumpkin pie, but she also got a cinnamon bun.  Her husband sampled the bun in the car on the way to Thanksgiving dinner and deemed it uneatable.  I sampled it when she arrived and deemed it heaven on earth.  With all the amazing food available I kept craving this cinnamon bun and taking little pieces off of it throughout the night.  I then suavely put it in my purse to take back with me to Padmini's apartment.

When we got home Padmini and I laid on her couch in our lounge clothes and kept talking about how full we were.  The next morning we woke up and had pie for breakfast.  To accompany our pie Padmini had a carrot cake cupcake and I had the remainder of the cinnamon bun warmed up in the oven.  Did I already mention it was heaven on earth?  Let me tell you, it's a good thing there isn't a Bunner's in New York or I would be in big vegan gluten free cinnamon bun from heaven trouble. BIG TROUBLE.

I haven't been to the Bunner's location, but if you are ever in Toronto I highly suggest you stop by for a treat.

Cereal Envy

I don't know about everyone else, but I really love cereal.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, it doesn't matter the time of day.  Pre-gluten free I ate a lot of cereal: Kix, Cheerio's, Grape Nuts, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Smart Start, Chex, Frosted Mini Wheats, Granola, and the list of delicious cereals goes on and on.  Gluten free me sometimes just stands in the cereal aisle at my local grocery store dreaming and reminiscing.  That sounds creepy, so just kidding (not kidding at all).

One of my favorite cereals was Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds.  You know what the Honey Bunches of Oats site says about it's cereal?  "Bunches of Love".  I want bunches of love!  Instead of feeling badly for myself about not having delicious bunches of love, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  You know what they say, "When life hands you Celiac, make your own Honey Bunches of Oats".  Or something like that.

I came across this cereal at my local health food store:

Perfect!  Then I made half a batch of this granola without the pumpkin and cranberry parts.  Then I just mixed it all together.      I was a bit weary of it dry, but with milk this morning it was pretty good.  Not the same of course, but I felt good about it.  Next time: more honey.

Healthy Living Market and Cafe

I was in Vermont again last weekend.  This time I went for work.  I had to sit at a table in Burlington for several hours and hand out information about my company.  Not my normal job, but I'm always willing to help out when needed...especially when it means I get to go home for free.

Knowing that I was going to be sitting at a table for the majority of an afternoon, I wanted to bring lunch with me.  I went to the trusty Gluten Free Travel Site and searched Burlington, VT.  It was there I stumbled upon a review for Healthy Living Market and Cafe across from the University Mall.  It was a perfect quick stop before I headed downtown for an afternoon on the waterfront of Lake Champlain.

At the risk of sounding like the dorky gluten free person I am, Healthy Living Market was amazing.  They have an entire gluten free section when you first enter the store.  I don't mean a small section of an aisle.  I mean a whole mini store within the store.  It gives G-Free NYC a run for it's money.  Here's a low quality picture I took in my excitement:

You can't really tell how amazing it is from the picture, but they have everything.  What you see here are mostly the dry goods.  There is a row of freezers all along the left hand side with only gluten free stuff.  To the right before the food there is a section with gluten free magazines and books.  In the middle there is beer and behind that fresh baked goods and bread.  Nearly every gluten free product I've ever seen was here.  I even saw (and purchased) the new New Planet beer everyone's been talking about.  I also got the Bakery on Main instant oatmeal I've been wanting to try.  Seriously, this store has everything I could ever want for my gluten free needs.

But that's not all!  That only covers the market part.  They also have a cafe with lots of gluten free goods.  I got a gluten free raspberry muffin that was great.  And then... I was able to order a sandwich from the deli for the first time since I was diagnosed with Celiac 2 years ago!

For those of you that don't know me, this is very exciting.  I miss sandwiches and being able to order them for lunch.  We had to play an icebreaker with the summer interns at my job in June.  Everyone had to write down a t-shirt slogan that describes them and then other people have to guess who's slogan goes with who.  Mine said "I miss sandwiches."  I hate icebreakers.

I wish I could tell you I loved my sandwich, but I wasn't that happy with the bread. I did really really appreciate it though.  They have a hot bar with lots of gluten free options and I hear they even have gluten free pizza sometimes.

If you are gluten free and live within an hour of this place you have to go.  Or, if you are visiting lovely Burlington, VT, make sure to stop by.  Honestly, it's better than Whole Foods.  That's right, I said it.

Bloom's

There is a diner two blocks from my job that has gluten free pancakes.  I've never been because diner food, in my opinion, is for weekend brunch or late night burgers.  Neither of which usually happen near my office. But, tomorrow is my 26th birthday and I thought I'd treat myself to some gluten free pancakes for breakfast this morning.  I didn't have high hopes, but these were pretty good.  They were light and fluffy and everything pancakes should be.  My only qualms were the $10 price tag and the fact that they didn't have real maple syrup, but most diners don't.

Bloom's is on 39th and Lexington in Midtown Manhattan.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week.  Their extensive gluten free menu includes gluten free pancakes, french toast, and gluten free toast to go with egg dishes in the morning.  Sandwiches are served on gluten free bread and burgers are served on gluten free buns.  They also have salads, entrees, and desserts typical to diners.

Joan's GF Great Bakes

I've been hearing about Joan's for a long time now but hadn't had the chance to try her products until recently.  Not only was I able to finally give her products a try, but I was able to meet Joan in person at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  I was there for a book signing, but there were also a lot of gluten free vendors around the store giving out free samples.  Joan was one of them and Erin, the leader of the NYC Celiac Meetup Group and author of Gluten-Free Fun, told me I had to go try some of Joan's products.  I'm glad I did!

I sampled Joan's Corn Toaster Muffins, English Muffins, and Double Chocolate Muffins.  They were all amazing.  I ended up going home with the Corn Toaster Muffins and Multi Grain English Muffins.  The English muffins make a great addition to breakfast and the Corn Toasters are a nice evening treat.  Next I'd like to try Joan's pizza.

Not only were Joan's products really good, but she was very nice herself!  Overall, a winning combination.  Nice work Joan, and thanks for the great products!

4 Ingredients Gluten-Free Cookbook

I was at Whole Foods this week for a cooking demo and book signing by Kim McCosker of 4 Ingredients.  Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham started their cookbook series 4 Ingredients a little over 4 years ago.  The concept is simple: hundreds of recipes with four or less ingredients.  Recently, Kim and Rachael realized the need for a gluten free version and voila, here it is.

I love the concept of this book.  The recipes are pretty basic, but sometimes that's just what you need to get dinner going.  There are over 400 recipes in the gluten free version including condiments and dips, breakfasts, appetizers, light lunches, sides, mains, desserts, drinks, and recipes for kids.

It was fun to meet Kim at the event.  She was very nice, engaging, and gave lots of tips.  I was able to try her BBQ beef stir-fry, guacamole, chocolate covered marshmallows, and another dessert I don't remember the name of.  I'm looking forward to trying the Chicken Tikka Masala made with just chicken, tikka masala paste, condensed GF tomato sauce, and plain yogurt.

The only question I had in the book was about the ingredient gluten free self rising flour.  Apparently, this is something they have in Australia where Kim is from, but not really in the US.  When I asked her about it, she told me to just add a teaspoon of baking powder to a regular all purpose gluten free flour blend to make it "self rising".  Easy.

I've been in a bit of a cooking rut lately and I hope this book is just the jump start I need.

Oh Hi

Sorry I've been missing.  I've been pretty busy with stuff I'm not quite ready to share with you yet.  It's big though, just you wait.  I have been cooking and baking up a storm though.

There are two things I'd like to recommend you make.

First, I made this chicken salad last Monday from With Style & Grace.  I mixed it with greens and had it for lunch every day last week.  It was a nice change from whatever it is I usually eat for lunch.  Next time I'll use grapes instead of raisins.

From With Style & Grace

Next, this weekend I made blueberry scones.  I had never made scones before, but I really like them.  Scones often get a bad rap, but they are perfect with a cup of tea.  They are also, as you may remember, a large part of the reason I got fat in college.  Oops.

From Celiac Teen

Lauren used currants, but I don't like currnts so I used blueberries.  This recipe was another reason I needed a food scale.  If you don't have one, I'm sorry, because I have no idea what this would be in cups.

Ok, back to my busy life now.

Bob's Red Mill

Bob's Red Mill is my favorite overall company for GF products.  Bob has all types of flour, gluten free oats, and baking mixes galore.  His products are available all over the place making them not only good, but very convenient.  And he looks so nice, how could you not love Bob?

You may have noticed that I use Bob's All Purpose GF Flour Mix for most of my baking.  It has done pretty well by me thus far, but I think I'm just about ready to branch into trying my own flour mixes.  For Christmas this year I have asked my mom to get me all the gluten free flours I'm too cheap to buy myself - which is basically all of them except rice flour.  I finally want to try baking with almond, coconut, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, etc. flours.  Bob has them all.  I'm very excited.

Bob also has gluten free oats for my winter breakfasts.  In case you don't know, oats in of themselves are considered safe for people with celiac to eat, but because they are usually grown on the same fields as wheat in alternating seasons, they are deemed too cross contaminated to eat.  Bob gets his from fields really far away from wheat.

And now for the mixes.  Sometimes you want homemade products but don't know exactly how to make them.  Bob makes it easy with his gluten free pancake, biscuit, bread, corn bread, brownie, cookie, cake, and pizza dough mixes.  I've tried several of them and they are all really good.

So head on over to Whole Foods or your local health food store and stock up on Bob's.  Then let me know which your favorite is.

Chex Cereal

Corn Chex was one of the few "approved" cereals in my house growing up.  Deprived from the sugary goodness of most breakfast cereals, we spent our mornings eating Cheerio's, Kix, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Grape Nuts, and Rice or Corn Chex. Once every few months my brother and I were allowed to pick a sugary cereal and a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Rice Krispies Treats Cereal was devoured within hours.  Honestly though, I liked all those "healthy" cereals and was probably better off for it.

Fortunately for my now gluten free self, Chex has five gluten free varieties: Rice, Corn, Honey Nut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon.  I haven't tried the Chocolate or Cinnamon, but the others are good.  Sometimes I buy myself the Honey Nut Chex and feel slightly rebellious against my sugar free cereal upbringing.  I know, I know, I'm pretty wild in my old age.

One of the great things about Chex is that it's available in most grocery stores so you don't have to go out of your way for cereal.  What's your favorite cereal?

Breakfast in the Airport

This morning when my alarm went off at 6 am for my 9 am flight to Vermont for Thanksgiving, I had no breakfast in my house.  I figured I would find something at the airport, although airports are notoriously bad for their gluten free, or healthy, options. Until recently. Some organic health kick has become mainstream and airports have jumped on board. This morning, right across from my gate, stood CIBO Express Gourmet Market. It was full of lots of organic things. I skimmed the cereal selection with no real hope of finding anything gluten free. And then it jumped out at me - Gorilla Munch cereal! I love Gorilla Munch. Ok ok, it's made for kids, but it's gluten free and delicious. It kind of tastes like Kix, one of my childhood favorites. I've bought Gorilla Munch a few times in the last year.

I got the cereal, soy milk to put in it, some strawberries to put on top, and an ice tea. What a great gluten free breakfast, especially for an airport. I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until I was checking out and they charged me $16.32.  I may have gotten a good breakfast, but the airport got me.

Relish

*I have learned that Relish is now closed.* - March 2013

I found Relish on the Gluten Free Travel Site and made a point of going when I was in Allentown, PA.  They have so many gluten free options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that I was sad I only had the time to go once.

For such a casual place, the menu is pretty impressive.  For breakfast they have pancakes, french toast, waffles, omelets, and eggs benedict.  For lunch they have numerous salads and sandwiches.  At dinner they add on some appetizers and entrees.

I was bound and determined to get the mac and cheese, and seeing as it was only a side dish, I got the Thai Cobb Salad to go along with it.  The salad had mango, coconut, peanuts, snow peas, and carrots on a bed of lettuce.  It was different and fun.  The macaroni and cheese, unfortunately, wasn't as good as I was hoping for.  It consisted of globby gluten free pasta with some cheese on it.  I was expecting more of a bechamel cheese sauce, but I guess I was just hoping for my mom's mac and cheese and that's not really fair.  For dessert I got some amazing cheesecake to go from Moondance Desserts.

Despite not loving the mac and cheese, there are so many other things at Relish I want to try: blueberry pancakes, eggs benedict, asian pear salad, fresh grilled chicken wrap, southern pulled pork sandwich, pizza, mini potato pancakes, crab cakes, mozzarella sticks, tropical tilapia, pork chops, gluten free ravioli, and pretty much everything else.  I can't wait until my next meeting in the Allentown area.  I'll definitely be stopping by Relish again.

Crustless Quiche

What is the difference between a quiche and a frittata?  Honestly, I had to Google that and I'm still not sure I know the answer.  Especially when the quiche is crust-less.  But what I got from Google is that quiches have a bunch of milk in them and frittatas don't.  Either way, they are both good.

Worried about the gluteny crust on a quiche?  Don't be, you can just make it without a crust!  I found this recipe in The Gluten-Free Bible and tried it out last night.  I'll definitely be making this, and variations of it, again in the future.

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced asparagus (1/2 inch pieces)
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons rice flour
4 eggs
1 cup cubed ham
2 tablespoons dried basil (fresh if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350.  Combine asparagus, bell pepper, onion, and 2 tablespoons water in a microwavable bowl.  Cover with waxed paper, microwave on high for 2 minutes, drain the excess water.

2) Whisk the milk and rice flour in a large bowl.  Add in the eggs.  Stir in the vegetables, ham, basil, salt and pepper.  Pour into a 9 inch pie pan.

3)  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Sprinkle the cheese over the quiche and bake for another 5 minutes - or until the center is set and the cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

The good thing about quiches and/or frittatas is that you can pretty much put whatever you want in there.  Veggies, meat, cheese.  Next time I might try broccoli.

Anyone know the difference between a quiche and a frittata?  Suggestions for favorite ingredients?

Gluten Free Pumpkin Granola

Sunday morning I woke up to a recipe for pumpkin granola posted on my facebook page from an old college roommate.  Sunday afternoon I made this granola by Lisa at With Style and Grace.  Right after the granola I made the pumpkin spice muffins.  It was a day of pumpkin.

I love granola.  An endless supply of "low fat" cafeteria granola greatly aided in making me fat in college.  Due to the fact that it is actually not as good for you as you'd like to think, and that gluten free granola is absurdly expensive, I tend to steer clear of it except every once in a while.  But I couldn't pass up the chance to make it on my own.  I could control the amount of fat that went into it and it would be much cheaper than buying it.  Win win.

And without further ado, here's the how:

Ingredients:
4 cups gluten free oats (if you aren't gluten free make this recipe using regular oats)
1 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup (as a Vermonter, I beg you to use the real stuff)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 325.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl combine the oats, almonds, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.  In another bowl combine the brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the oat mixture until everything is coated.

3) Spread the granola mixture onto the baking sheets.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, then stir to ensure it bakes evenly.  Bake for another 20 minutes.

4) Remove from the oven and let cool before mixing in the cranberries.  Store in an airtight container.

I was pretty amazed at how easy this was to make.  Lisa bakes hers in two batches and suggests you either do the same or use two sheets.  I must admit I only own one baking sheet and was too lazy pressed for time to do two batches.  It was probably a mistake because the granola didn't turn out quite as crunchy as I like, but it was still good, don't worry.  Not only was it good, but now I have a ton of it!

Speaking of having a ton of it, you might notice there is no oil in this recipe.  That's good for not making you fat.  It has a pumpkin taste, but not overbearingly pumpkin.  Who knew making granola could be so easy?  Thanks Margaret!

Bistango Restaurant

I've been to Bistango a few times now.  In fact, it was one of the very first restaurants I tried after going gluten free.  They are very aware of food allergies and ask upon seating if anyone in your party has any food allergies.  While the menu isn't huge, they specialize in Italian food and have plenty of dishes to choose from.  Just about everything on the menu can be modified to be gluten free, including the pasta dishes.

I went last night and when I told them I had a gluten allergy they promptly brought me some toasted gluten free bread with my own garlic and olive oil.  My man friend's fresh gluten filled bread looked much better, but that's ok.  On Monday nights they have a slightly different menu that is a little bit cheaper.  I like this because while their food is good, it is a little bit above my average night out's price range.  I got the Baked Lasagna with Short Rib Bolognese.  To make it gluten free they modified it by serving the same ingredients over gluten free penne.  It was really good.  My man friend had the Grilled Salmon and enjoyed his as well.  They also have fresh gluten free pasta which I think would be interesting to try.

Overall, Bistango is a pretty good choice for gluten free Italian food in the city.  They do charge $2 more for gluten free penne, but a lot of places do that.  I also just noticed they have gluten free pancakes during brunch, so I will definitely be back to try them at some point.

Vic's Bagel Bar

*Update 5/5/13: I recently learned that Vic's is now closed.

Yesterday I read on twitter about a bagel place in NYC that has gluten free bagels.  I was instantly intrigued.  I've had a few gluten free bagels in the last 10 months, but they've always been bought frozen at the grocery store and not very good.  The thought of going into a normal bagel store and ordering a gluten free bagel was oddly exciting.  My google search of Vic's Bagel Bar informed me that Vic's is only a short 4 block walk from my office.  I obviously had to go this morning.

Vic's describes itself as a "specialty bagelry".  I'm not sure bagelry is a word, but it is special in that instead of having different flavors of cream cheese, they have a few basics and then you mix in whatever you want.  It's also special, in my mind, because they have gluten free bagels.  Not only that, but I was amazed to find they have 4 different flavors of gluten free bagels: plain, poppy, sesame, and everything.  This morning I had an everything gluten free bagel with low fat cream cheese.  In with the cream cheese I mixed carrots and green peppers, because I like the crunch of veggie cream cheese, and I like to pretend I'm being healthy.  I also got a medium tea.

Here are my thoughts: it is very exciting to be able to order a gluten free bagel for breakfast.  The idea of adding your own mix ins to your cream cheese is kind of fun.  But, and unfortunately there is a but, the gluten free bagel was very dense - as is the problem with many gluten free items.  Not only that, but the breakfast put me back $7.95.  Yikes.  While I appreciate the fact that they have gluten free bagels as an option, I don't think I'll become a regular at Vic's.

In Hindsight...

Growing up in Vermont with my sort of hippie parents we were rarely allowed to eat sugar cereal.  We ate cereals like plain Cherrio's and Grape Nuts.  Grape Nuts is kind of an acquired taste, but I came to really enjoy it in the summer with fresh berries.  Last summer I had Grape Nuts with strawberries and blueberries for breakfast nearly every single day, and some days for dinner too!  Mmm.

This was also around the time when my stomach was hurting every day.  I haven't had any Grape Nuts since going gluten free because I assumed they were made of wheat.  Missing them in my summer breakfast routine, today I decided to check out the ingredients to see what exactly they are made of.  It turns out there are only four ingredients: Whole Grain Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Salt, and Dried Yeast.  Huh.  Considering gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley, half the ingredients in this cereal are toxic to my system.  This being said, it's no wonder I was sick to my stomach nearly everyday all last summer.  Good to know.

Gluten Free Hot Cereal - 4 Product Reviews in 1!

You're probably sitting around wondering what I eat for breakfast.  Before this whole fiasco I ate Quaker oatmeal in the winter and Grape Nuts with fruit in the summer.  Well, that all went out the window.  Here's a fun fact about oatmeal: oatmeal is naturally gluten free, but because it is usually grown on the same fields as wheat in alternating seasons, it is considered too cross contaminated to safely eat.

But, don't worry, gluten free oatmeal does exist.  Some people grow it on special fields and then sell it for a ton of money.  I get mine from Bob's Red Mill.  Bob has a lot of products, gluten free and not, including some gluten free brownie mix that is good.  I've tried some of his other gluten free products and liked them too.  The problem with this oatmeal is that for some reason I have a hard time finding it, and when I do I'm often too cheap to buy it (most gluten free products are extremely expensive - more on this later).

One of the first gluten free things my mom bought me was a breakfast cereal from Arrowhead Mills that is basically cream of wheat except it's cream of brown rice.  It has a lame name, but I don't hold that against it.  While I like it, I can't really seem to find it in the city either.  Not that I've looked that hard.  If these people would like to send me some I'd eat it.  Just saying....

Once the gluten free oatmeal and brown rice cereal my mom sent me from Vermont were gone, I was at a loss.  I stumbled into Broadway Natural near my apartment in Astoria and was pleasantly surprised by all the gluten free products I found.  In fact, I spent almost half an hour in there just wandering around.  They started to give me weird looks, so I took some Cream of Buckwheat and got out of there.  Cream of Buckwheat?  Weird.  Yet surprisingly good!  The first day it kind of creeped me out because it has a different consistency and says it can be used as baby food on the box.  Once I got over that I rather enjoyed it.  If these people want to send me some I'd definitely eat it.  In fact, this is what I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow morning with a little maple syrup.

What I hope no one sends me are Quinoa Flakes.  Gross.  Sorry quinoa, but I don't like you.  Gluten free people seem to love quinoa.  They think it's the greatest thing ever.  It is really healthy, and I guess it's cheaper than other gluten free grains, but I just can't get used to the taste.  I attempted a few different recipes, this hot cereal, and the flour, but I haven't liked it anyway you shake it.  I'll try it again, but mostly because I still have some in my cupboard and I can't afford to throw it away.