Goldbaum's

A few weeks ago I received a box of samples from Goldbaum's.  I have to admit I had never heard of Goldbaum's, but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety I received from them.  They sent me: fettuccine, french onion flatbread crisps, two flavors of quinoa crisps, onion & garlic pop potato chips, ice cream cones, and chow mein noodles.  Ice cream cones and chow mein noodles?  You guys are already the coolest.

Last weekend I worked the New York City Wine and Food Festival.  It was a really fun few days but also long hours and very hectic.  These Goldbaum snacks really saved me.  I brought the flatbread crisps for lunch with some cheese and let me tell you, these crackers are delicious.  I would definitely buy them.

I also really liked the multigrain quinoa crisps.  They are only 100 calories a bag and come in barbecue, sea salt, and onion & garlic.  They are prefect for on the go snacking.  They also have popped potato crisps if that's more your thing.  The brown rice fettuccine came in super handy for quick dinners.

It isn't exactly ice cream season in New York anymore, but I can't wait to try the ice cream cones.  And I'm really not sure when I'm going to use the chow mein noodles, but believe me, that will happen.

Thank you Goldbaum's.  This box of goodies was a very pleasant surprise.

Thanksgiving 2012

I didn't take any pictures while I was home.  This is from the summer.
But it is the view from my backyard.  Vermont is lovely.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It's all about food and family.  I like it so much that this year I went to Canada for Canadian Thanksgiving just so I could celebrate the holiday twice.  Around Thanksgiving time most food bloggers post all sorts of new recipes for the holiday.  I didn't because we eat the same thing every year and I love it.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Last year we had to adapt Thanksgiving to be gluten free.  With the experimenting last year, this year was a breeze.  My mom even made me homemade gluten free stuffing this year using Udi's bread since I've never tried a packaged GF stuffing I've enjoyed.  I bought a mini GF pumpkin pie at the local co-op since I really didn't need an entire full size gluten free pie laying around.  It was pretty delicious.  We also had the creamed spinach, sweet potatoes, and mashed cauliflower again.  This year we added brussels sprouts to the menu, which I love.  I also had Almond Nut Thins around for all the cracker and cheese appetizers.

I spent six days at home laying low, eating good food, and visiting with family and friends.  What could be better?

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.

I've Missed You Too

From my backyard in Vermont.

I've been missing recently and it's because of a few different reasons.  First, this was my very busy season at work.  And let me tell you, it was a crazy summer.

Second, well, my brother and I have just about eaten our way through most of the gluten free restaurants in New York City.  Sure, there are some I haven't reviewed.  Some that I had nothing nice to say about.  And a few out there I'm still hoping to discover.  I've also been trying to avoid packaged foods because generally they are not as good for you, and while I'd love to eat them all, I'd also love to  fit into my "skinny" pants again.  The world is full of tough decisions.

Since May I've been to DC, Vermont five times, Montreal, Connecticut twice, Pennsylvania, a boat cruise around New York City at night, Long Island for a day at the beach, two weddings, and a baby shower in the Bronx where the mom had gone into labor the night before and missed her own shower.  I've also had my work emails synched to my phone and basically been working 24/7 since mid June.  There was also a small incident of not having a job and then having a job again a few days later.  Not only is life full of tough decisions, but it's also quite unpredictable.

But here we are again and I assure you, I have been eating all this time.  The nice man overseeing the food at the wedding I went to was able to get me a gluten free plate.  My parents make sure to have gluten free pasta and bread on hand when I get home to Vermont for the fresh pesto from the garden and sandwiches made with lettuce and tomato picked right in the back yard.

I went to my boyfriend's 5 year college reunion in Connecticut.  A college I also went to and then transferred from.  It was a lot of fun and my dear boyfriend called ahead to make sure they would have gluten free food for me.  It was about the nicest thing.  And sure enough, they did.  For every meal there were gluten free options, including a box of these on the table of snacks for the drunk people:

KinniKritters Animal Crackers

Acting like I was in college again, I proceeded to indulge in alcoholic beverages and then steal this box of animal crackers off the table meant for everyone and carry them around all night because I decided they had been bought special for me.  I'm sure they had.

Fast forward to this last weekend and said boyfriend took me on a picnic.  I've been asking him to go on a picnic for the last four years and Friday he suggested we go.  It was great.  I brought sandwiches made on Udi's bread, veggies and hummus, a fruit platter, cool ranch dorrito's, beverages, and more KinniKritters Animal Crackers.  This time I tried the graham style animal crackers, you know, to switch it up. 

Our picnic spread looked like this:

The graham style animal crackers looks like this:

I thought they were good but my boyfriend said, "These are different.  Most of the time your gluten free stuff tastes the same.  But these are different."  I disagree.  In my animal cracker expertise, the KinniKritters Animal Crackers are more like the animal crackers that used to come in tubs:

while the KinniKritters Graham Style Animal Crackers are more like the ones that used to come in the box with the handle:

See?  They each have a different taste.  Both are good, depending on your mood.  Phew, I'm glad I cleared that up.  And thank you for not mentioning that KinniKritters actually call their animal crackers "cookies".  I've been trying to ignore that.

Ok, enough for now.  As I write this I'm sitting on my front porch in Vermont.  I'm wearing long pants and a sweater.  Fall in definitely in the air.

Le Pain Quotidien

You wouldn't expect to find gluten free options at a place called Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread).  But, you also wouldn't necessarily expect gluten free cookies to taste great and they can (more on that later).

Last weekend I was meeting a friend for a quick lunch before a movie and we decided to go to Le Pain Quotidien near the movie theater.  I hadn't been in years, and I wasn't expecting anything other than a salad, but lo and behold they have a few options for us gluten free folks after all.  I tried the chicken curry salad tartine served on gluten free crackers instead of bread.  It was pretty good.  They also have a six-vegetable quiche served on a gluten free buckwheat crust that I would be interested in trying.  Their salads are also safe without the bread and I bet if you asked really nice they'd give you some of those gluten free crackers with it.  Maybe.

With several locations in New York City, and in other places around the county and globe, Le Pain Quotidien provides another good light lunch option.

Almond Nut Thins

These are my favorite gluten free crackers at the moment.  I even brought a box home to Vermont over Thanksgiving so I had something to eat with all the cheese at my house.  Blue Diamond, the almond people, have several other flavors of gluten free crackers as well.

What are your favorite gluten free crackers?