Whole Foods Cake Mix

I was craving chocolate cake this morning so I made some with Whole Foods' 365 brand Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix. The recipe calls for buttermilk or lowfat yogurt but since I had neither, I just used skim milk. The cake came out pretty well. It's pretty light and fluffy and chocolatey. The chocolate flavor could be a little richer, but maybe the addition of chocolate chips would help that. The box is $3.99 from Whole Foods and you have to add eggs, vanilla extract, butter and buttermilk/yogurt. Overall, not amazing, but not bad.

Morton's Steakhouse

My husband and I went here for my birthday. The service was perfect - no complaints whatsoever. The waiter was very aware of food allergies and every facet of the menu. Normally steak restaurants are pretty safe - you just have to avoid the bread and any special marinades or sauces. The food was excellent. I had the single cut filet mignon with balsamic glaze asparagus on the side. My husband had the bone-in filet plus lyonnaise potatoes. The steaks were wonderful and the Lyonnaise potatoes were amazing!! The asparagus was just okay - I would get something different next time. It was Morton's, so it was expensive, but good for a special occasion.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza offers gluten free pizza crusts for $3 extra. I haven't tried them yet, but since I love pizza, I plan to do so soon. They have locations all over San Diego County. Please comment below if you have tried their gf pizza.

www.sammyspizza.com

online gluten free goods

Tired of going to Whole Foods only to find that they are out of your chosen product? A good friend recommended www.vitacost.com and they have 223 gluten free foods. They also seem cheaper than Whole Foods and other specialty stores. I will place an order soon and see how it works out.

http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?showAll=true&Ne=6&N=32+1006114&pgSz=100&Ns=P_SoldQuantity|1

if link doesn't work, go to www.vitacost.com, then food and grocery, then gluten free food

The Pure Pantry Pancake & Baking Mix

The Pure Pantry's Pancake and Baking Mix makes delicious buckwheat pancakes and waffles. For those who miss the rich hearty flavor of whole wheat and whole grain, then buckwheat is for you. Buckwheat is not actually wheat and is safe for including as part a gluten free diet. The pancake mix is easy to use just like regular commercial pancake mix, but this one is of course gluten free. The mix can also be used for other baking needs. The mix makes great waffles and I doubt anyone would realize it is gluten free. There is also an original buttermilk flavored mix for those who prefer a more traditional pancake. The Pure Pantry is a company founded by a local SoCal resident who also lives gluten free. It is available at Healthy Creations and the Leucadia Farmer's Market.

For more information regarding purchasing the mix, contact the company's founder, Elizabeth Kaplan at: Elizabeth@thepurepantry.com

Gluten Free Dining at Healthy Creations

The gluten free dining out group had a great time making food and enjoying appetizers at Healthy Creations last night! I made the gnocchi in a vodka sauce, the Tuscan veggie pizza, the BBQ chicken pizza and the Asparagas Tomato Gouda Frittata. I know the BBQ chicken pizza is super yummy because it was one of the appetizers and I am excited to try the other things. I will post reviews as soon as I have eaten them. If anyone got different entrees, please comment below or email me your thoughts.

www.healthycreations.com

Glutino Cheese Pizza was edible...

Glutino's Due Cheese frozen pizza was edible, but that's about it. It really didn't seem to have any flavor and the crust was just like a slice of rice bread, i.e. not so good. Glutino makes lots of gluten free products and I am assumed they are named Glutino because of that, but so far, I have not really liked any of their products. It seems other companies make better foods in all the categories I have tried. Next time, I will stick with Amy's rice crust pizza gluten free pizza.

Uno's Chicago Grill

Last night I tried Uno's Gluten-free pizza. They have two gluten-free
pizzas on their menu: cheese and pepperoni. The menu states that they
have more items on their gluten-free menu. I didn't look at this so I don't know what else they offer. The photo to the right shows the gluten-free pizza at the bottom and their regular personal pan pizza at the top. The gluten-free crust is a thin crust. It actually tasted pretty good, although it was somewhat reminiscent of a pita bread crust. The toppings, however, were very disappointing. I ordered the pepperoni pizza but it was incredibly bland. The pepperoni itself was okay, but the cheese and tomato sauce had no flavor. Maybe they left out all herbs and spices in their quest to avoid gluten? Although tomato and cheese are typically hard to mess up! The pizza cost approx. $11 and was enough for two servings. Although it was nice to actually be able to order something on a regular menu, I don't think I'll be back unless they add some more flavor to their gf pizza.

A supermoist muffin!

I was so impressed by how moist these muffins are. And they are full of flavor and completely free of gluten! These muffins are better than most non-gluten free muffins. They have a substantial flavor and texture and are not like some muffins that are basically a cup cake without frosting! So far I have tried the ginger flavor and it was excellent. These muffins would make for a tasty breakfast or a mid-morning snack. They are available at Whole Foods but the downside is that they are expensive - I think they are about $3 per muffin. However, I am looking forward to trying the other flavors.

www.muffinphysics.com

Double chocolate chip cookies lack the second chocolate flavor!

Arico's Gluten Free double chocolate cookies contain very good chocolate chips but the cookie itself was disappointing. It was very soft, to the point that it just kind of crumbled. I bought a bag of these cookies but I only kept eating them because of the chips. These are better than some other gluten free cookies on the market but aren't great. I paid $3.99 for a bag of about 8 chips ahoy-sized cookies at Whole Foods. They also come individually packaged. Still looking for a great gluten free cookie...

A wheat-free shampoo for colored hair

My favorite shampoo for my colored hair used to be Pureology, however, I noticed that it always made my scalp very dry and itchy. I read the ingredients, and guess what - wheat protein! Ever since I stopped using Pureology, I have been searching for a good gluten free shampoo. Most of the ones I have found either take the color out or leave my hair dry and straw-like. My salon uses Bumble & Bumble but I've never really been a huge fan of their products. Most of their regular shampoos do contain wheat, however, I saw that their color support shampoo (it comes in several colors for blondes, brunettes, redheads etc.) does not contain wheat. After using it for over a month, I have found that my hair is soft and manageable and the color is actually enhanced! This shampoo is not cheap, it's about $22/bottle retail and Amazon has it for $18/bottle. However, unless I find a comprable cheaper alternative, I will probably keep using it.

A good frozen pizza

I was very pleasantly surprised at Amy's Gluten Free, Non-Dairy Spinach Pizza. I have had various gluten free frozen pizzas and typically the rice crust is not the greatest - kind of dry and spongy. However, Amy's has managed to well season the crust so you don't even notice it is a rice crust. There is so much flavor in this pizza that I wouldn't even notice it was gluten free. I was also a little wary of the soy cheese as I usually don't eat soy cheese, however, it was fine. It doesn't really melt as well, but as far as flavor, it is fine. The only downside is the "servings." Amy's claims that this pizza constitutes three servings but I had a hard time making it into two servings! It cost $9.99 from Whole Foods so for me it was $5/meal. Overall, I would buy this pizza again - it only takes 15 minutes in the oven and makes for a tasty meal.

Chicken tenders and nuggets.

Bell & Evans Gluten Free breaded Chicken Breast Tenders (they sell nuggets too) are just like regular chicken tenders, except they are baked, not fried, and they are gluten free!! They are available in Whole Foods and they are a little expensive, $8/box, but you can probably get three servings from one box, so it's not too bad. I just bake them and then dip them in ketchup.

Fish Sticks again!

Dr. Praeger's Gluten Free potato crusted fish sticks are excellent. Finally, I can eat fish sticks again! They taste just like the real thing and they are pretty healthy too. I just cook them in the toaster oven for a fast meal. They are available at Whole Foods in the frozen fish section.

Wm. K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease

A great local resource for information and testing for Celiac Disease. Wm. K Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease is located at the University of California San Diego. I have not been there yet, but I have heard good things. If anyone goes, please let me know what you think.

http://celiaccenter.ucsd.edu/

858.822.1022

More GF Pizza - Woohoo!!!

I LOVE Pizza so I was very excited to hear that UNO Chicago Grill, famous for their deep dish pizza, is now serving Gluten Free Pizzas!!! It's not at all locations, so call first, but it is available in Fashion Valley in San Diego. I am very excited to try it - I am always searching for the perfect GF pizza!


http://www.unos.com/kiosk/nutritionUnos.html

Literally the best GF brownies ever

I finally tried the GF brownies I had ordered from Healthy Creations. They come uncooked in a foil pan that you put in the freezer until you are ready to cook them. They are absolutely delicious - by far the BEST brownies I have had since I started on the GF diet!!! I have tried so many GF brownies that are just okay, but these are really really good. The only downside is the price. One order which makes about 8 good sized brownies is $10. They are expensive but for a once in a while treat, they are worth it. I cooked them all then froze most in ziplock bags for later. I am excited to go to Healthy Creations on February 12 for the Gluten Free SD dining out get together.

www.healthycreations.com