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.

Muddy Buddies

Their picture was prettier than mine.

I love the Super Bowl. Mostly for the food, drinks, commercials, half time show, and feeling oh so very American. And did I mention the food?

I had the usual nachos and veggies with dip at this year's super bowl extravaganza, but I also made muddy buddies for the first time. I've been wanting to make these for a long time but I knew, without a doubt, I was not to be trusted with these myself. I don't think I've even had muddy buddies since middle school, they certainly never made an appearance at my house growing up, but I just knew I would love them (and eat excessive amounts of them).

Well, I was right. And for good reason. Muddy buddies are delicious, and addicting. I copied the recipe right off the corn chex box. I omitted the vanilla because I didn't have any on hand. I also used the whole box of cereal, because really, why not?


These are a great snack, especially for kids, or adults like myself that are basically kids.  One party attendee said she wanted to pour some milk on them and eat it like cereal.  This is honestly not a bad idea.  However you eat them - enjoy!


Chex Muddy Buddies

9	cups Rice Chex®, Corn Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2	cup peanut butter
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1	teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2	cups powdered sugar

.

1.	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2.	In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3.	Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

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?