Gluten-free pies

I tried Fabe's gluten-free pumpkin and apple pies over the holidays.  Even with my limited culinary skills, I can make a pumpkin pie when armed with a pre-made pie crust.  However, over the holidays, sometimes you just need to grab a pie from the store.  It is nice that there are options for pre-made gf pies and that these pies are vegan too but I think they could be better.  The pies are pretty small, maybe 4 servings, really 3 servings per pie.  They run about $8 each at Whole Foods so they are not cheap given the size.  The pumpkin pie was okay, it was a little soggy in the middle and a little heavy.  The apple pie was a little heavy on the crust and light on the apple.  Overall, these pies are good in that they present a gluten-free pie option but I think they could be better.  If they were larger and had better filling, I would be more likely to repurchase.

They are available at Whole Foods and Sprouts.

http://www.fabesnatural.com/pies.php

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found these Tate's Bake Shop Gluten Free Chocolate Chip cookies at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  They are really light and crispy with nice big chocolate chips.  If you like crispy cookies, these ones are for you!  They have a good texture and I don't think they come across as "gluten-free" as some packaged gf cookies can do.  They are also big cookies which of course didn't stop me from eating multiple cookies at one time.  I would definitely buy these again.  At Bed, Bath and Beyond, I think they were $3.99 a bag of about 12 cookies (similar to a pepperidge farm bag of cookies).  You can also buy them in bulk at the Tate's Bake Shop website:
http://www.tatesbakeshop.com/

page featuring the cookies:
http://www.tatesbakeshop.com/p/product-cookies/GPCky6PackGFCC.html

Legends Bistro at La Costa Resort

Legends Bistro is a casual restaurant within the La Costa resort.  I went with a friend and was expecting to eat plain salad or something similar from their regular menu.  When we sat down, I mentioned that I was gluten-free and they brought me a whole menu.  It was a professional menu that looked exactly like the regular menu and wasn't something they just printed out that day.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  What was even better was that the selections on the gluten-free menu sounded a lot more interesting than the regular menu.  I ordered a chicken pasta dish that was made with rice pasta.  It was very tasty with lots of veggies.  They also had vegetarian and vegan selections on the gf menu.  The entrees were price between $10 and $18 for lunch.  I would definitely go again.  The strange part though is that they don't advertise their gf menu at all.  It's nowhere to be found on their website and if I hadn't mentioned I was gluten free, I would not have even known they had a gf menu.

http://www.lacosta.com/legends-bistro.aspx

La Costa Resort and Spa

2100 Costa Del Mar Road

Carlsbad, CA 92009

Call 800 854 5000

GF bread with protein!!!

I tried Julian Bakery's bread after getting a recommendation for it from an employee at Whole Foods. I had seen it in stores but hadn't really paid any attention to it because it is a little pricey.  However, now I am a convert!!

I stopped eating bread for the most part after becoming gluten free.  Although there are some good tasting gf breads out there (Udi's & Rudi's), they lack a lot of nutritional value, i.e. not much if any protein or fiber.  Julian Bakery offers two different gf breads.  The one I tried is the Smart Carb Gluten Free #3.  It has 1g of fat, 10g of protein and 7g of fiber in each slice.  That is amazing for bread!!

It's not a soft supple sandwich bread but it is great toasted with butter and whatever you want to put on it.  If you go to their bakery store in La Jolla, a loaf costs $7.  Online it is $7.99/loaf.  It is also sold at Whole Foods and Sprouts but I'm not sure which loaves they sell at those stores.  They make 4 different gluten free loaves!!

Julian Bakery
5621 La Jolla Blvd.
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ph. 1-800-982-7323

http://www.julianbakery.com/bread-product/smart-carb-gf-3-gluten-free/

I like cupcakes!!!

I finally tried the gluten free cupcakes from Sprinkles in La Jolla and I loved them!!  They only come in one flavor, red velvet, but they are available every day!!! (which is not the case with many other bakeries around town).  The gf cupcakes are kept in the back separately from the other cupcakes and they have a little Red candy G on top to differentiate them from the other red velvet cupcakes.  They do have a lot of frosting on top but the frosting is creamy and yummy and the cake part is moist and delicious.  I will definitely be back.

Each cupcake costs $3.50

www.sprinkles.com

8855 Villa La Jolla Drive  
San Diego, CA 92037
(858) 457-3800

Secret ingredient

I just started using Bob's Red Mill Textured Vegetable Protein ("TVP") as a substitute for meat in a lot of recipes such as in pasta sauce, sloppy joes, tacos etc. and it is great!!  It is basically just dried soy protein.  You rehydrate it for a few minutes and just add it to whatever you are making.  It is fat free and has lots of protein per serving.  It doesn't really have a flavor so it just takes on the flavor of whatever you are making.  It has a subtle texture that you don't really notice.  It is very healthy, easy to use, a great way to add protein to your diet and inexpensive.  I bought a bag of it from Whole Foods for under $4 and you can buy it in bulk online for about $3/bag.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg._protein.html

Buca di Beppo's GF menu

My family and I went to Buca di Beppos over the holidays because I knew they had a gluten-free menu.  The caprese salad was really good and tasted very fresh.  As an entree I had a chicken dish that is no longer on their menu (gf and regular) but they made for me anyway.  It is grilled chicken in a tomato sauce with capers.  It was served with mashed potatoes and it was an individual portion as opposed to their typical family style sized dishes.  It was good but I wish they had some pasta options.  Gluten free pasta is so cheap and easily obtainable that it is unfortunate that an italian restaurant cannot manage to offer it.  There were also no gluten free offerings for dessert which was also a little disappointing.  They could at least have berries and cream.  However, the sangria was really yummy!  Overall, I'm grateful they have a gf menu but I wish they would expand the gf selections.

http://www.bucadibeppo.com/

Quinoa Macaroons

I really wanted to like Mrs. Denson's Gluten Free Quinoa Macaroon cookies because I love macaroons and quinoa is really good for you, but I just didn't. They had sort of a strange flavor, a little apple saucy maybe.  Just didn't love them.  Not worth the calories:)  I bought them at Sprouts (aka Henry's) for about $4 per box.

http://www.mrsdensonscookies.com/

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens

Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido has a beautiful setting with a large indoor atrium and a garden where you can sit and have a glass of wine or gluten-free beer.

They offer a gluten-free menu for lunch and for dinner and their menu changes daily depending on what is fresh and available.  However, their gluten-free menu on the day I went had plenty of delicious sounding options... I even got to have dessert!

It is a great place to go with friends or visitors from out of town.  It is a little drive to get out there even if you live in Escondido, but it is definitely worth the trip.  There are even some trails nearby if you want to pre-burn your calories.

My only reservation about going there is that I have heard a couple of stories about mistakes with gluten-free orders.  I would definitely take the time to make sure the waitstaff understands your needs and checks directly with the chef about any questions or concerns you may have.

http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/

1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido, CA 92029 - GOOGLE MAPS

tel 760.294.7866

Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 11 pm
Friday & Saturday: 11am - midnight
Kitchen closes at 10pm every night

My new fave restaurant: STACKED

STACKED is a new restaurant that has a location in LA and one right here in San Diego in Fashion Valley Mall.

It is a new restaurant concept where you order from an iPad on your table. You can completely customize your burger, sausage, pizza, salad, side or dessert. They have gluten-free buns for the burgers and gluten-free crusts for the pizza.

I had the gluten-free pizza with my choices of veggie toppings. They have multiple types of sauces, cheeses and toppings. I don't know how they deal with cross-contamination issues but myself and my GF friend had no troubles after eating there.

It's a cool concept because whenever you need something, you just press the "help" button on your iPad and a waiter comes over - no more trying to flag down a distracted waiter. The food also came really fast after ordering.

I'm looking forward to trying another menu option next time I go.

http://stacked.com/STACKED_menu/

STACKED

Fashion Valley Mall

7007 Friars Road
San Diego, CA 92108
suite #356
619-225-7900

New GF options in South Park

For those of you who aren't familiar with South Park, it is just south of North Park, which means that it is directly east of Balboa Park. It's a great little neighborhood with tons of cute craftsman homes and lots of independent restaurants, bars and retailers.

Urban Gourmet Food & Market is a neighborhood store that sells organic and gluten-free groceries (plus regular stuff too) and also makes fresh sandwiches, salads and smoothies for dine-in or carry-out. They offer gluten-free sandwiches every day plus other gluten-free treats! The prices are very reasonable including buy one sandwich, get the second half-off on Mondays.

Check out the store and check out the neighborhood!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-Gourmet-Food-Market/224051650941970

Urban Gourmet Food Market

1947 Fern St, San Diego, CA 92102

619-237-1177

M-F: 6:30am - 8pm

Sat: 8am - 8pm

Sun: 8am - 7pm

A useful APP that can help you find GF options on the road

Here is a new App available on itunes for your iPhone. It lists a lot of chain restaurants and some local options too and tells you which menu options are available gluten free... which is a lot faster than trying to read PDF menus on your phone and navigate non-mobile websites on your phone. It has everything from Buca di Beppo to Burger King to Chick-fil-A to Outback to Ruby Tuesdays etc. It's useful when you are on the road and don't have time to plan your dining in advance. You can also request that they add your favorite restaurants to the App.

It is available through iTunes for $4.99.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glutenless-dining/id468307836?mt=8

Another GF cupcake!

Sprinkles in La Jolla is offering a gluten-free cupcake daily - their Red Velvet Cupcake, which happens to be my favorite flavor - Yay!!! I have not tried it yet but I hear they are good. They cost $3.50 each or $39/dozen.
Sprinkles Cupcakes - La Jolla

8855 villa la jolla drive
la jolla, california 92037

phone 858. 457 3800

monday - saturday 9 - 8
sunday 10 - 7

http://sprinkles.com/

Frozen GF burritos - yummy & healthy!

I love Amy's new(ish) Gluten Free Burritos. Before I became GF, I used to eat Amy's frozen burritos all the time. They are organic and much healthier than your typical frozen burrito, not to mention delicious! Whole Foods carries them for $3.69 each but if you keep your eye out, you can get them on sale for 2 for $4! AND Whole Foods always gives you a 10% case discount and a case is only a dozen burritos. This burrito makes for an easy, healthy, low-cost lunch.

http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/gluten-free/000353

Terra Restaurant is in a new location

From a reader:

Hello, just wanted to let you know that Terra American Bistro, in La Mesa, also caters to celiacs and other special diets.

My sister took me to lunch there last week and it was fabulous! Fresh and everything seasoned to perfection. I had the (GF) Seafood Chowder and the Farmer's Salad with Grilled Salmon. I've never had a fresher salad in my life! All vegetables were garden picked and the salmon was cooked liked I'd never tasted before; moist and flavorful! I cannot recommend the restaurant enough. Chef/restaurateur Jeff Grossman, graciously went around greeting his guests and was most personable. I cannot wait to go back! I'm sending you the link.

http://www.terrasd.com/

7091 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
phone: (619) 293-7088

New Gluten Free Pizza Place in SD

If you like New York style pizza, Long Island Mike's Pizza Corporation is the place for you! Their gluten free crust is thin and floppy (as it is supposed to be) and tastes really good! Unlike a lot of gluten free pizza crusts, it does not have that mysterious sweet flavor. You also get a lot of pizza for your buck. The gluten free pizza is a good size with six large slices and only costs about $15 for a one-topping pie.

The only mystery is why their gluten free pizza is not mentioned on their website. I only found out about it because they were kind enough to bring free GF pizza to our CSA meeting. I have since visited their restaurant, which also doesn't feature GF pizza on their menu. It's like an insider secret that you have to ask for!


Long Island Mike's Pizza Corp.
5250 Murphy Canyon Road
San Diego, CA 92123-4367
(858) 5NY-PIZZA

http://www.longislandmikespizza.com

I tried Old Spaghetti Factory's GF pasta!

Sometimes you are just in the mood for pasta and there are very few gluten-free pasta options out there so I am glad that the Old Spaghetti Factory has a national gluten-free menu. I had the gluten-free pasta with the Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter. It was really good and there was enough that I could take home half for another meal. Your meal comes with a side salad (kind of lame iceberg lettuce salad) and a scoop of ice cream for $10, which is good value these days. And the miracle is that the they DO NOT charge extra for gluten-free pasta! Where else have you seen that? To be honest, I wasn't that crazy about the Old Spaghetti Factory before I become gluten-free but now that they have a good selection of GF items, I will definitely be back.

http://www.osf.com/menu/menu.html

Bucca di Beppo FINALLY has a GF menu!

Finally Bucca di Beppo has a gluten free menu! This restaurant is a fave for many people and it was always frustrating that all I could eat was a lame salad. Although they still don't have gluten-free pasta, at least you can order chicken or fish entrees prepared in a gluten-free fashion. Hopefully GF pasta will come soon!

http://www.bucadibeppo.com

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant

I have been wanting to try Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant for some time and now that I know they have a gluten-free menu, I'm more likely to try it soon. They currently have a $35 prix fixe menu.

http://www.roysrestaurant.com/cuisine/local_menus.aspx

Yummy GF Cheesecake

Last night I saw these single-serving cheesecakes at Henry's. They are made by Pamela's Products and are gluten free! They come in several flavors and I tried the New York Cheesecake one. It was so good. The cheesecake was good and the crust was good too - with a cinnamon flavor. I don't think anyone would know it was gluten-free! They are on sale right now at Henry's for 2 for $6.

http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html

SAGE Grill in Encinitas

A reader recommends SAGE Grill in Encinitas for those of us with gluten issues. Their menu notes which items are gluten free and the Owner is aware of the importance of avoiding cross-contamination since his daughter also has food sensitivities.

1506 Encinitas Blvd
Encinitas, CA 92024
760-943-7243

Open daily 11:30am-1oPM
Sunday brunch: 10am - 2pm

http://www.sagegrill.com

Gluten Free Soup

I tried Kettle Cuisine's Grilled Chicken Corn Chowder recently and it was really good. It's more of a meal than a starter since it's thick and hearty. All of their soups are gluten-free, even the chicken and noodles, and the chicken is antibiotic-free and raised on a vegetarian diet.

The only bad part is that each soup is $3.99 at Whole Foods, which seems a lot for a soup. Of course, if you treat it as a meal, it's not so bad.

http://www.kettlecuisine.com/Our-Soup.aspx

Really Good GF Crackers

Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers are really good. I tried the Original Flavor and they were crunchy and very tasty. I think they have a lot more flavor than typical rice crackers.

I bought a bag for $2.49 at Fresh & Easy. I think you can also buy them at Costco.

http://www.crunchmaster.com/home.aspx

Gluten Free Challah Bread

Katz Gluten Free Company sent a bunch of free samples to our San Diego Gluten Free Group and I was lucky to get a loaf of their Sliced Challah Bread. Challah bread is what I used to think of as egg bread as a kid. The bread is really tasty and does not need toasting, it's delicious right out of the bag. However, I would not want it as my everyday bread since it does contain 6 grams of fat (2.5 grams of saturated fat) for every 2 slices... although it does include 3 grams of protein too!

I am also looking forward to their cinnamon rolls. If they taste anything like the bread, you wouldn't know they are gluten free!

In San Diego, you can buy it online only. Their online vendor search did not show up any stores in the local area. A loaf of the challah bread online costs $5.79 which seems to be average for gf bread.

http://www.katzglutenfree.com/

IKEA - a great place to eat!

When you think of IKEA, you typically don't think of food. You think of large boxes of furniture that you can spend many hours putting together. I know because I have spent many hours putting their pieces together....

Anyway, whenever I go to IKEA, I get the gluten free almond torte in the cafeteria. It's almond cake with really good creamy vanilla frosting and it's only $1.29/slice! They also have it for sale downstairs in the freezer section along with about 5 other flavors that are labeled gluten free. YUMMY!!

I also get the salmon entree that is stuffed salmon with vegetables and potato-broccoli cakes. I don't know for sure that they are certified gluten free but I've eaten this meal many times without any problems. Also, you can have a large entree, a salad, a dessert and a drink for less than $10 - who can beat that? And it's healthy too!

2149 Fenton Parkway
San Diego, CA 92108

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/san_diego

If you are in Palm Springs, Check out this place.

If you are like many San Diegans and head to the desert for a weekend or two during the year, be sure to check out Palm Greens Cafe in Palm Springs.

I have been there twice - for breakfast and dinner and both times it has been excellent. They serve GF pancakes for breakfast and have all sorts of GF options for later in the day. They also usually have GF baked goods such as brownies, cookies and cupcakes that you can eat there or take to go.

611 south palm canyon drive

Palm Springs, CA 92264

Get Directions

(760) 864-9900

palmgreenscafe.com‎

GF bread at Chargers Games!!

Gluten Not Included Bakery (http://gnibakery.com/) is supplying GF hamburger buns and GF hot dog buns plus other GF snacks to the "Gluten Free Zone" - a concession stand at the main entrance to the stadium.

Now you can enjoy the football game AND eat burgers and hot dogs along with everyone else!!

Let's support this stand so that gluten free foods become more widely available at events like these!

http://www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm/

Gluten Free, Dairy Free dessert

I love Rice Dream Strawberry "ice cream." It's so good and in my opinion, Rice Dream tastes so much better than Soy Dream. I think Soy Dream has an aftertaste. Rice Dream is also relatively healthy for a dessert and has no saturated fat. I just wish that it was available in more stores. So far, I have only seen it at Whole Foods for $3.69 for a pint.

http://www.tastethedream.com/index.php

Rudi's GF bread

This may be sacrilegious, but I think I prefer Rudi's GF bread to Udi's. Rudi's, whose name is suspiciously similar to Udi's, has a gf multigrain bread that is very similar to good whole wheat bread. And maybe it's my imagination, but the slices seem larger than Udi's bread.

I bought Rudi's GF bread at Whole Foods. It was the same price as most of the other gf breads, about $6/loaf.

http://www.rudisbakery.com/gluten-free/

Gluten Free Cupcakes in La Jolla

A reader let me know about this place and I haven't tried it yet but from the photos, it looks AMAZING. According to their website, they have several gluten free flavors - check the daily calendar for availability - including choco libre, limone ricotta, harvest, raspberry cheesecake and more!

CUPS
858-459-CUPS(2877)
7857 Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037

http://cupslj.com/

Expecting too much?

I think a gluten-free and dairy-free mac & cheese
is too much to ask for. I usually enjoy Amy's frozen
frozen entrees, but this one was an exception. I
did not enjoy the soy cheese mac & cheese at all but
I don't think it was Amy's fault. I have yet to find
a good dairy-free cheese. Most of them just taste
funky. If anyone knows a good gluten and dairy
free mac & cheese, I would love to hear about it!

Great Mexican Food in Solano Beach

From a reader:

"I live in Solana Beach and I happen to live right down the street from a great Mexican place called Tony's Jacal. Recently I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, but much to my surprise, Tony's Jacal was able to do several items gluten free. If you tell them you have a "wheat allergy" they will whisk away your chips and bring you new ones that are fried in fresh oil, and I have eaten both their carnitas plates and shrimp fajitas (with corn tortillas) and haven't been sick."


http://www.tonysjacal.com/

621 Valley Ave
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Tel: (858) 755-2274

Hours of Operation

Lunch
Monday through Saturday 11:00am to 2:00pm

Dinner
Weekdays 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Friday and Saturday 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Sunday 3:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Closed Tuesday

My new fave GF cereal

I bought Mesa Sunrise from Nature's Path after loving their delicious and addictive honey-sweetened corn flakes. This cereal is organic and gluten-free and contains flax and amaranth. It tastes really good and is good for you with 3 grams of protein and fiber in each serving. I also like the ecopac packaging because you get more cereal in the bag and there's no unnecessary cardboard. I bought Mesa Sunrise at Wholefoods for about $6/bag (one bag = a lot more than a box).

http://www.naturespath.com/

Gluten Free Cakes

I have heard from several people now that these cakes and cupcakes a really good. They come in lots of flavors and are great for a party or catered event.

Cakes vary from $55-$65 each. Cupcakes are available as a dozen or a pack of 24 bites.


2Good2B Gluten Free

http://www.2good2b.com/

760-685-2168

Waters Fine Catering - To Go

I went to Waters Fine Catering's Solana Beach location yesterday for lunch. They have a really nice selection of freshly made food. It was a Wednesday, so they had a selection of gluten-free pizzas. There are also various other safe foods, such as salmon, rice, vegetables etc. The gluten-free pizza was very good and very reasonably priced - only $6.50 for a personal size pizza. If you choose to eat at the place (they have about 5 tables inside and 2 outside), then they will heat your food for you. They have different gluten-free selections on different days, so check their website, which is updated daily with the day's menu.

http://www.waterscatering.com/

They have two locations - one in Solana Beach and one in San Diego. I have not been to the San Diego location yet.

125 South Highway 101
Solana Beach, CA 92075
858-509-9400

1115 West Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
619-276-0568

Brick Oven Pizzeria

I went to Brick Oven Pizzeria the other day when I was in Poway. The people there are very friendly and welcoming and are used to lots of us gluten-free types coming in.

Their gluten free crust is a lot like regular delivery crust - like Pizza Hut's hand-tossed crust. The gluten free pizza comes in the medium size only, which feeds 2-3 people, depending on your hunger level. They have a nice variety of toppings as well. My only complaint is that I wish their interior seating area was larger and was a little more separated from the order counter. For those of us who don't live in Poway, we would eat the pizza there, and more atmosphere would be nice.

12222 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 274-2568

Open Daily 11am-9:30pm

http://www.858brickoven.com/

Sooooo good

Omigosh, these "cookies" are so good. They taste like coconut chocolate chip cookies. The bag contains three servings but be careful, as you may eat all three servings in one sitting without noticing.

They are gluten free and nut free and raw, for those into the raw movement.

One bag at Whole Foods La Jolla was $4.29. They didn't have this flavor in the Whole Foods in Hillcrest today - they did have other flavors though.

http://www.goraw.com/

GF, nut-free granola bar

Nonuttin' granola bars are gluten free, nut free, dairy free and lots of other things "free" too! I was pleasantly surprised by the Nonuttin Double Chocolate Chunk granola bar I tried. It was pretty chewy and pretty chocolatey. I wish it had more than 2g of protein, but it is a pretty good snack for on-the-go.

I found it in Whole Foods in the GF section for $1.69.

http://www.nonuttin.com/

As close to normal as you can get

Udi's Gluten Free bread is as close to regular bread as you can get. It is soft and flexible and can be eaten without being toasted! It's good for a sandwich or for anything else that you use bread for.

So far, I've found it in the Whole Foods in La Jolla (not the Hillcrest one) for $4.99. They have it in white sandwich bread and multigrain varieties. But if you see it, buy it because they sell fast!

http://www.udisfood.com/

UPDATE: Thanks to helpful readers, it seems that Wholefoods in Hillcrest DOES carry Udi's bread - they must have been out when I went in. Also, it is available at Healthy Creations in Encinitas (along with the Udi's brand pizza crust).

I think the lesson here is to call ahead before you go to make sure your chosen store has Udi's in stock.

Move over Glutino, UDI's has arrived!!!!

Amazing GF buffet at the Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Aviara is now having a monthly gluten free buffet for $29. It is on the first Saturday of every month. The buffet includes an appetizer bar, a salad area, hot entrees, cold entrees and a fabulous dessert bar. EVERYTHING is gluten free (unless marked otherwise). When I went, there were just a couple of sandwiches that were marked as containing gluten, otherwise, everything else was gluten-free. The dessert bar must have had about twenty items on it ranging from flourless chocolate cake, to all kinds of cookies, to chocoloate-covered strawberries, to creme brulee and more! Go and bring your appetite, but not your thirst. A small bottle of coke will run you $5 with no refills!

7100 Four Seasons Point - the California Grill
Carlsbad, CA 92011
(760) 603-6800

http://www.fourseasons.com/aviara/

Yummy hot GF breakfast cereal

I have missed my morning oatmeal since I became GF. I'm pretty lazy so the little packets of oatmeal that just require adding water and microwaving are perfect for me. I found eco-planet's 7 Whole Grains Hot Cereal in Apple Cinnamon flavor at Whole Foods the other day and I am so glad I did. It tastes really good and is good for you. Unlike traditional pre-packaged oatmeal, it does not have too much sugar, only about 8g per serving and it has fiber and lots of other good things.

A box with 6 packets cost $5.69 at Whole Foods. You can order it online at various stores but the online prices seemed the same as Whole Foods or more expensive!

It also comes in original and Brown Sugar Maple varieties.

UPDATE: I was in Whole Foods in Hillcrest yesterday and could not find any of this great cereal - I couldn't even find the space on the shelf where it should be - I'm really hoping they haven't stopped carrying it!

The best GF packaged cookies I have had.

Gilbert's Goodies Super Dooper Snickerdoodle cookies are the best pre-packaged gluten free cookies I can remember eating. Instead of being dry and crumbly like most GF cookies, they are moist and almost dough-like. They are wheat, gluten, nut, soy, milk and corn free!!

I got mine in a well basket (see previous post below). However, you can order them online at:

http://www.gilbertsgourmetgoodies.com/index.html

They also have other flavors of cookies plus cookie dough. Unfortunately, they are not available at stores in California YET, but maybe if we call write to them, we can get them here to SoCal.

A Great Gluten Free Gift

My friend sent me a gift basket for Christmas and I was thinking that I wouldn't be able to eat any of it, but to my surprise, the whole basket was full of gluten free goodies!! All the things are yummy and healthy too!

My basket contained chocolate-covered popcorn, low-fat potato chips (that didn't taste low-fat at all), dried fruit, granola bars, plantain chips, snicker doodle cookies and much more!

The baskets are available through Well Baskets (wellbaskets.com). They have baskets for every occasion including Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

http://store.wellbaskets.com/glfrgiba1.html

Whole Foods GF pie crusts

I bought two Whole Foods' gluten-free pie crusts for Thanksgiving and they were great. We made pumpkin and apple pie and everyone in the family ate them. They tasted just like regular pie crusts. They were $7.99 for a pack of two and are available in the refrigerated/frozen gluten free section.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

GF Vietnamese food in OB

From a local GF diner:

"Yesterday I went to The OB Noodle House. It was the most amazing gluten friendly restaurant I’ve been in. If you like Vietnamese food (especially pho or bun), run there! Even the egg rolls are made with homemade rice wrappers. Except for the soy sauce on the table (which they are working to change), almost everything on the menu is naturally GF. The service was excellent and helpful, and the food was beyond delicious. Check it out."

http://www.obnoodlehouse.com/

2218 Cable St
San Diego, CA 92107-1317
(619) 450-6868

Borrelli's in Encinitas has GF pizza AND pasta

They have yummy gluten free pizzas and gluten free pasta with a variety of sauces. Also, you can start your meal off with gluten free bread served with butter or marinara sauce for dipping. Finally an Italian restaurant with multiple GF items on the menu!

285 N El Camino Real # 108
Encinitas, CA 92024-5384
(760) 436-1501

http://www.borrellispizza.net/

Bubba's Smokehouse BBQ in La Jolla.

Many BBQ places are off limits to gluten free folks due to the gluten contained in the sauce. However, the owners of Bubba's say that their "smokin' hot" sauce is GLUTEN FREE but the sweet sauce is NOT gluten free.

I'm looking forward to checking this place out.

888 Prospect St
(between Drury Ln & Fay Ave)
La Jolla, CA 92037

(858) 551-4227

http://bubbassmokehousebbq.com/

UPDATE: I tried this place over the weekend and I really enjoyed it. You can order the meat with sauce on or on the side, then they have a self-serve sauce station with the hot bbq sauce, the mild (not gluten free), tabasco, Louisiana hot sauce and ketchup. The sides were good too. Very reasonably priced, especially consider it is located in the main drag in La Jolla.