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.

Tate's Bake Shop

Tate's cookies have been sold at gourmet markets in the city for as long as I can remember.  Mostly, I remember because my brother loves them.  He's tall and very thin, yet he has been known to eat an entire package in one sitting.  I recently got to try Tate's because they introduced a gluten free line and I saw them at a market in Astoria.  They have chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, ginger zinger cookies, and brownies.  I tried the chocolate chip and they were delicious.  All are baked in a dedicated gluten free facility.  I hope to see the brownies around sometime because I'd love to try them!

The Sandwich Bar

A few weeks ago I met a friend for lunch and we decided to check out Ditmars Boulevard.  I've lived in Astoria for over 5 years and have only ventured over to Ditmars twice.  We were walking past The Sandwich Bar and I stopped to look at the menu and briefly mourn the lack of sandwiches in my life.  Then I saw they can make their sandwiches on gluten free bread.  I was pretty excited.  I was even more excited when I saw they have a lunch special and hard cider on tap.  I got the pulled pork and cheddar pressed sandwich with a salad and a pint of hard cider.  I love pulled pork.  And cheddar cheese.  And hard cider.

The Sandwich Bar is located on Ditmars Boulevard at 33rd Street, off the Ditmars N or Q stop.  Go.

Crumbs Gluten Free

Cupcakes, as a rule, should be delicious.  I think we can all agree that cupcakes are the world's compromise on what kind of cake to eat.  Why choose one flavor of cake for a gathering when we can get a few of these, and a few of these, and a few of those?

However, as another harsh slap in the face to those of us with Celiac, sometimes gluten free cupcakes are down right bad.  A bad cupcake may sound like an oxymoron, but let me tell you, it's possible and they are lurking out there.  Even on the glossy streets of New York City.  I won't name names, because that's not my style, but they are there.

Crumbs cupcakes, also as a rule, are decadent and delicious.  But until this week, they were way off limits to those of us with Celiac as they were basically baseball sized hunks of gluten rolled in sugar and pretty colors and fairy dust.  Lucky for us, on October 3rd Crumbs opened it's first dedicated gluten and peanut free store.  Crumbs Gluten Free is located in New York City at 37 East 8th Street between Broadway and University.

I went on Thursday and was really impressed.  They had samples and I was able to try the vanilla coconut, red velvet, and some chocolate something or other.  I got a small carrot cake cupcake to take with me and it was really good.  So were the samples.  They have all their regular flavors and some other baked goods available that I did not try.

Thanks for making this happen Crumbs.  I'll definitely be back.

Fruit Bliss

The latest product I was able to try was dried fruit from Fruit Bliss.  Fruit Bliss was founded on the basic principle of all natural, pure, and healthy snacking.  I love these products, especially the "on-the-go" size which were so convenient to take with me on the run and to keep at my desk for an afternoon snack.  Fruit Bliss has figs, plums, apricots, dates, and a fruit medley.  I love dried fruit, and I especially loved these.  They are soft dried, preservative free, and have no added sugar, making them an on the go snack I can feel good about.  Thanks Fruit Bliss!

tummy drops

Photo from enteralhealth.com

Have I mentioned how much I love trying new products?  I was recently approached about trying tummy drops from Enternal Health.  When the package arrived with ginger and peppermint drops I tried them both immediately and liked them.  They are kind of like cough drops but designed to help with upset stomachs.

Ginger tummy drops are meant to help with motion sickness, morning sickness, nausea, and general upset stomachs.  The peppermint drops are designed to help with cramps, bloating, nausea, and upset stomachs.  The ingredients are all natural, gluten free, kosher, fat free, and each drop only has 10 calories and 2 grams of sugar. They also taste great.

I was interested in seeing if they actually work but hadn't had a stomach ache since receiving them a few weeks ago.  My mom was in town visiting last weekend and she randomly said she was feeling nauseous.  I promptly told her about the tummy drops I had received and she opted to try the ginger.  Not only did she like it, but she said it actually helped.  When the nausea came back a few hours later she popped another one and was good.  I now keep some in my purse in case I, or someone I know, has a stomach ache, or if I need a little treat.

Sweet Christine's Bakery

Awhile back I received a box of samples from Sweet Christine's Bakery in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Summer is the crazy busy season at my job so I am quite late on writing this post.  In fact, things have been so busy that I haven't even been able to try everything I was sent!  In early August Sweet Christine's sent me: a loaf of bread, a baguette, 6 small pizza crusts, a cookie, and a brownie.  The day I received the package I immediately opened and shared the cookie and brownie with my stressed co-workers.  The brownie was good and as I sit here writing this I wish I had another (ignore the fact that it's 9 am).  The cookie had the taste and consistency of what I remember Chips Ahoy cookies tasting like, which isn't my preferred cookie, but for a prepackaged cookie is pretty good.

I must say I don't love the bread.  It is a bit sweeter than I like.  I haven't tried the baguette yet but it looks great and I'm keeping it in my freezer until I cook something worthy of serving it with (I'm imagining lasagna).  The pizza crusts are interesting because it says you can use them as pizza crusts, or as wraps or quesadillas.  It suggests to use a pizza stone or right on the oven rack versus on a baking sheet.  I don't have a pizza stone and I was weary of cooking them right on the rack so I opted not to try them as pizza crusts.  First I tried them as soft taco wrappers which didn't work so well, but as quesadillas I really liked them.  I don't think I've had any quesadillas since going gluten free and these were great.

Sweet Christine's has a storefront in Kennett Square, but after doing some research on their website they do so much more.  They are partnering with schools, colleges, and stadiums to get gluten free products available in places they traditionally aren't, which I think is great.

PF Chang's

I love Chinese food.  When I first moved to the city I survived almost solely on steamed vegetable dumplings.  I've been mourning the lack of Chinese food in my life for the last three years.  When PF Chang's reached out to me recently to let me know about their new summer menu and ask if I'd like a gift card to try their gluten free options I promptly replied back with a Heck Yes.  I knew there weren't any PF Chang's in the city, but a quick Google search told me there was one not too far away in New Jersey.  Enter my good friend Mallory from over at Total Noms.  Not only does Mallory love food as much as me, but she happens to live in Jersey City and own a car.  Perfect date for some PF Chang's taste testing.

I made the venture to Jersey last week and let me tell you, it was worth it.  I scoured the gluten free menu before hand and there were so many dishes I wanted to try I had a hard time pinning down exactly what we should order. In the end we decided to order from the PF Chang's for Two Menu which is a $40 four course meal of deliciousness. We got: egg drop soup, Chang's Lettuce Wraps, Chang's Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and a Flourless Chocolate Dome for dessert.  In addition, we tried the Summer Vegetable Quinoa Fried Rice.  Everything was gluten free and each thing was better than the next.

The Summer Vegetable Quinoa Fried Rice is part of their special Summer menu and is only around for a limited time.  It was a really good accompaniment to our other main dishes.  We used this as our base instead of the plain rice they brought with the entrees.  The chicken lettuce wraps were really good and so was the spicy chicken.  The Mongolian beef though...I'm still craving it a week later.  The sauce on that is amazing.  We definitely didn't need any dessert but we had to try the flourless chocolate dome in the name of research, right?  It's a good thing we did, because it was a little dome of chocolate heaven.  Served with fresh berries, it was the perfect end to our meal.

Thank you, PF Chang's for a great meal.  I would definitely visit again at this location or any of the other locations located across the country.

Tim Horton's Gluten Free Macaroons

They sent me this handy picture to show you

Having gone to school in Canada, Tim Horton's holds a special place in my heart.  There's nothing like a hot chocolate on a -40 degree day (I wish I was kidding about that temperature).  And who doesn't love timbits?  Timbits were actually on the menu the weekend I got so ill I knew I had to finally go to the doctor regarding my pesky chronic stomach aches.

I had long resigned to no more Tim Horton's treats in my life until I was contacted recently about their new gluten free coconut macaroons.  A small package arrived a few days later with a sample of the macaroons.  They come two in a two pack and are pre-wrapped to avoid cross contamination.  So far, they are winning.  They sent me some literature with the macaroons that informed me that not only are they available in all Tim Horton's locations, but they are only $1.29 per package.  This seems very reasonable to me.  They also tasted good. So, overall nice work Tim Horton's.

I've read some reviews that complain how unhealthy they are.  But come on, you are at a doughnut shop, what do you expect?  Low cal, all natural, organic macaroons?  If you are going into Tim Horton's in the first place you aren't there for a nutritious snack.  You are there for some delicious treats.  And now you can have a safe delicious treat along with the rest of 'em.

While I appreciate the gesture of a gluten free treat from Tim Horton's, I do have one complaint: they aren't timbits.  Dear Tim Horton's, please start working on gluten free glazed timbits.  Love, Anya.

Tasty Bite

A few weeks ago I received an email from Tasty Bite asking if I'd like some free samples.  You know how much I love free samples so I promptly replied yes.  I received them quickly and unfortunately I've been too busy to write about them until now.  But here's the great thing about Tasty Bite - they are perfect for a quick meal, which has been extremely helpful in the last few weeks.

According to their site: Launched in 1995, Tasty Bite currently offers products across 4 categories: Indian entrées, Asian Noodles, rices and meal inspirations.  Our products require no cooking, have no preservatives, require no refrigeration and as our brand suggests, taste phenomenal!  You can take our products for lunch at work, use them as a side or main dish for dinner, or take them on the road while camping.

Tasty Bite has almost 30 gluten free products! They also have many vegetarian, vegan, and kosher products   I was sent the Thai Lime Rice, Channa Masala, Lentil Ginger Rice, Lentils, Vegetable Korma, and Bombay Potatoes.  On two especially busy nights I put together two quick meals: the first time Thai Lime Rice and Channa Masala, and the second time Lentil Ginger Rice with Lentils.  Each packet was ready in under a few minutes and they complemented each other well.  I was pleasantly surprised by how good and filling these were.  I can't wait to try the Vegetable Korma and Bombay Potatoes.  I'm saving them for another really busy night when I need to whip up dinner quickly.

Thanks Tasty Bite!