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.

Happy Celiac Awareness Day!

Hey folks.  It's Celiac Awareness Day!  To celebrate, Mallory and I are offering 10% off all gluten free cookies from our super cool online bakery: Mile End Bakery.  Use the discount code CELIAC2012 at checkout today only.  Enjoy!

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.

Total Noms Smores

This post isn't about me.  It's about my super cool friend Mallory.  Mallory is co-owner of Mile End Bakery with me and author of the food blog total noms.  She has a cool day job, created our whole website, and takes great photos. To add to her overall coolness, her photo (above) from her post about smores was featured on Food Porn Daily today!  I am so proud.

1) I love smores.
2) Like Mallory's post on smores, I love summer camp.

Smores alone are amazing.  But adding the nutella?  Yum.  She even said it's supposed to have an oreo on there too.  I think that might be putting it a bit over the edge for me, but hey, in the name of research and expanding my horizon (waist line?), I'd give it a try.

Don't worry folks, there are plenty of gluten free grahams and faux oreos out there to make this dream a reality.  If anyone tries it with the oreo let me know your findings!

GLUTEN for Sale

"Gluten Free" is so hip these days.  It's on everything.  You know what's not normally advertised?  Gluten.  Pure gluten.  Except in Queens.

I was walking down 30th Avenue in Astoria this weekend and passed a Thai restaurant. I picked up one of their takeout menus to check out just for fun.  They have silly sayings next to some of their dishes such as "You got to love this dish" and "The sweet chili paste still rock".  It wasn't until later that I noticed they offer Gluten as one of their topping additions.  You know, like Pad Thai with tofu, veggies, chicken, beef, shrimp, or gluten.

Huh?  What does that even mean?  How do you put "gluten" on top of Pad Thai?  I was feeling a bit sassy so I called to ask.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Lady: Yajai

Me: Hi.  I picked up your menu today and I'm wondering what the "Gluten" is you offer.

Lady: Huh?

Me: It says I can get Gluten on some of your dishes.  What is that?

Lady: You want Gluten?

Me: No, I'm wondering what it is.  It says I can have Pad Thai with Gluten.  What is the Gluten?

Lady: You want Pad Thai with Gluten?

Me: No.  What is Gluten?

Lady: Oh. Uhhh. I think tofu and beans...

Me: Oh...

(Ladies talking in background.  Seems to be some confusion.)

Lady: Oh uhhh...it's wheat.

Me: So you put wheat on the Pad Thai?

Lady: You want Pad Thai with Gluten?

Me: No thanks.

This left me a bit confused but it later occurred to me what they probably meant.  They have mock duck on their menu and I figured it was made out of Seitan.  Seitan is used to make a lot of the "fake meat" products out there and it's basically just a big hunk of wheat protein (wheat gluten).  I.E.: DANGER.

I think it's pretty funny that Gluten is so proudly displayed on their menu.  Has anyone else been offered "Gluten" before?  Are people starting to eat pure gluten just to spite us gluten free folks?

Georgetown Cupcakes

Georgetown Cupcake was started by two sisters in DC who quit their corporate jobs and started a cute cupcake shop in 2008.  For that, I am eternally jealous.  The shop was so cute, and their cupcakes were so good, that they got their own show on TLC.  I've seen the show a few times and they did one episode where someone wanted to special order GF cupcakes.  The sisters didn't offer GF cupcakes at the time, but they stayed late after the shop was closed and all the utensils were cleaned and made a batch of GF cupcakes.  Everyone was very happy.

Fast forward to now.  I was walking in SoHo with my brother recently and walked past a Georgetown Cupcake.  Apparently they just opened a location in NYC.  Remembering the show and how they didn't normally offer GF cupcakes, I didn't bother going in.  A few days later I happened to read somewhere that Georgetown cupcakes does in fact offer a GF flavor: Gluten Free Lava Fudge.  Clearly, I had to try it.

Coincidentally, I was back in SoHo with my brother on Monday.  It was his half birthday (yes, that's a thing) and we decided we needed some cake.  A perfect time to try Georgetown Cupcake!  Let me tell you, the store is adorable and the gluten free cupcake was amazing.  Not only was it amazing (top 3 GF cupcakes I've ever tried), but the staff was so considerate.  They asked if I was ordering the GF because of an allergy. When I confirmed that I was they changed their gloves before handling it and put it in a separate box than my brother's.  Between the cute shop, the delicious cupcake, and the conscientious handling of my cupcake, these people win big time.  Go try them.  Immediately.

Wow Baking Company

I was at LaGuardia Airport last week and came across some gluten free cookies from Wow Baking Company in the Cibo Express. They had individually packaged chocolate chip, peanut butter, ginger molasses, and snickerdoodle cookies. I had a hard time deciding between the chocolate chip and the peanut butter but finally went with the peanut butter because it looked so soft and chewy. It was really good.  Surprisingly good for a prepackaged cookie.

When I got home and looked this company up I found they use all natural ingredients with no hydrogenated oils or refined sugars. In addition to individually wrapped cookies they have bags of cookies, cookie dough, and cake mixes.

This was a great gluten free treat to find in the airport. My only problem with it was it was marked as being two servings. Who, besides my dad, eats half a cookie? Other than that, if you see these cookies in the airport, or elsewhere, I suggest you give them a try.

Celiac Awareness Month

May is Celiac Awareness Month.  Good work on making yourself more aware by reading this.

If you think I've been really lazy and haven't been posting lately, you are correct.  I could make up a bunch of excuses, but really, I have none.  I have been writing for other people's blogs though!  In honor of Celiac Awareness month I did a guest post for Gluten Free Globetrotter about my Pennsylvanian travels.  Check it out.

Also for Celiac Awareness Month, Mile End Bakery is offering 10% off all orders by entering the code CELIAC2012 at checkout.  If you haven't ordered cookies yet, now is the time.

Ok, off to the airport now.  Vermont, here I come.

peacefood cafe

Located on Amsterdam and 82nd, peacefood cafe is a vegan restaurant with many gluten free options.  They describe themselves as having healthy and delicious food with seasonal and locally grown ingredients when available.  I've been a few times and agree that they have healthy and delicious food.  I'll take their word on the seasonal and locally grown part.

I like getting the vegetable plates.  They have japanese pumpkin, chinese eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, choyote squash, kale, and baby boy choy.  You can choose two or four.  Or you can get two with a cup of soup.  Last week I had some butternut squash soup with zucchini and brussel sprouts.  It was really good and I felt good eating it.

Other gluten free options include fluffy quinoa salad, raw lasagna, raw pizza, raw sushi, potato salad, chickpea fries, and vegetable tamales.  There is also a case of desserts with several gluten free options including cookies, pies, and cheesecake.

This bustling casual restaurant has a really friend staff and the kind of owner that will give you samples of smoothies while you sit at the counter reading a book and eating some butternut squash soup.