Gluten Free Denver from an outsider’s point of view

Last month, The Artist and I had the pleasure of meeting two Celiacs who came in from California to attend the Gluten Free Culinary Summit (which I must attend next year!).   This post is kind of a “guest” post from Sue, one of the Celiacs who researched and planned this trip for months.  Where to go?  What to do?  More importantly…WHERE TO EAT!  Their itinerary left them little time for sleep practically, as it was a busy weekend of eating and shopping.

This is what Sue wrote to me:

I wanted to share the restaurants and places we went to while in Denver – just in case some of your readers were not aware of them.  We love planning our trip to the Summit every year (it’s our third time in Denver).  Our husbands are so sweet to stay home and take care of the kids and the animals so we can enjoy a few days of being able to eat in restaurants like “normal” people and have some fun!

On Friday, we started with lunch at Fogo de Chao – their lunch is $24.50, which is a lot cheaper than their dinner, so we could afford it.  The caramelized bananas, cheese bread, mashed potatoes and fried polenta squares were delectable!  The salad bar was A+, and they kept coming to the table with carved meats (Marie is the meat eater – I enjoyed all of the wonderful side dishes!).  We stopped at Udi’s for cinnamon rolls to bring back to the Bay Area, as well as we stopped at Vitamin Cottage to buy Outside the Breadbox graham crackers and cheese crackers.  After enjoying the art galleries downtown, we had a wonderful dinner with you at Ling & Louie’s, and their Molten Chocolate Volcano dessert was so delicious!  As you and Marie know, I ate most of it!

On Saturday, we went to the Farmer’s Market at the Cherry Creek Plaza and sampled the GF Bake Shoppe’s pepperoni and BBQ chicken pizza pockets.  They so unbelievably delicious we bought some to bring back with us, as well as a tub of their frozen chocolate chip cookie dough!  These pizza pockets are great for a quick lunch or dinner!  We were staying at the Doubletree Hotel, and they were gracious enough to let us put all of our frozen goodies into their freezer.  We enjoyed walking through your Denver zoo and then had lunch at Big Papa’s BBQ.  Most everything is gluten-free on the menu, and we were so looking forward to their sweet potato casserole.  Sadly, our lunch wasn’t as good as we thought it would be.  We ordered one of their ribs/chicken entrees to share.  We didn’t like the sweet potato casserole and thought the BBQ chicken and ribs were dry.  After going to Build-A-Bear to bring a bear home to our kids, we headed to the Rio Grande for dinner to have their Nachos (I read about them on a blog).  I wanted to warn your readers that the chips they use in their Nachos have cross-contact in their fryers with floured products AND this Nachos dish is on their gluten-free menu.  We talked to the manager about how wrong this was, and he said that they talked with nurses and that it depended on how “sensitive” we were to gluten.  I guess we were sort of stunned for a few moments and he was nice enough to agree to make the chips from scratch in a pan, but we thought it better to eat elsewhere.  We headed over to Hacienda Colorado instead and shared an order of their chicken fajitas.

On Sunday, we attended the Sunday edition of the Culinary Gluten-Free Summit.  It is our fourth year attending the Summit and love their program and chefs cooking for us.  After the program ended, we headed over to Pei Wei and split their sweet and sour chicken dish.  We don’t have a Pei Wei in the Bay Area in California, so we always like to go there when we come to Denver.

Monday was quite a busy morning for us!  We shared blueberry pancakes, hash browns and bacon at Snooze, headed over to Panzano’s to pick up some freshly made g-f blueberry muffins and then to Deby’s to pick up some of her bakery chocolate cake, egg rolls and pizza rolls.  After dropping all of our goodies off at the hotel, we headed over for one last lunch at Beau Jo’s.  We always order their stuffed mushrooms and garlic cheese bread.  This year, we even bought one of their g-f sandwiches to go to enjoy on the plane coming home.

Yes, this sounds like all we did was eat, and we should have gained 10 pounds!  However, we usually split an entrée so we don’t eat as much as it sounds, and it is also a lot cheaper.

I love hearing about other’s travel experiences to Denver, and even sharing travel experiences overall when managing gluten free dining. Sue and Marie – David and I had a blast meeting you both, and dinner was great!  Let us know when you’re back in town.

GFS

Zing is good. Zang is bad.

ZING BARS REVIEW

Years ago, I had a coworker who if would describe bad food as “It had a zang to it.”.  If it was good, she’d say, “Oh it had a zing!”.  So Zing was good.  Anything with a zang we shied away from.

How fitting that the nutrition bar I sampled last week are called Zing.  Zing was kind enough to send me free of charge a sample of all five of their bars:

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (Wheat Free, Gluten Free) - uses Certified Gluten Free Oats!
• Chocolate Peanut Butter (Wheat Free, Gluten Free)
• Cranberry Orange (Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
• Almond Blueberry (Wheat Free, Gluten Free)
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Here’s what the Zing brochure reads that accompanied my samples:

• Created by Nutritionists/Registered Dietians
• Optimal balance of protein, carbs and fats
• Certified wheat & gluten free
• Sweetened with low glycemic organic agave
• High protein and good source of fiber
• Healthy fat from nuts
• No trans fats or palm kernel oil
• No artificial colorings, flavors or preservatives
• No artificial sweeteners or corn syrup

So basically, the brochure is stating – these are good for us!  And not only are they good for us, they taste good.  Too often I’ve tried protein bars that have that funky “zang” to it. But Zing Bars are good tasting, packs a great amount of protein, a good amount of your dietary fiber and are great for snacks on the go.

These bars are perfect for me for work, for throwing in my backpack for my commute home on the train/bus and just for stashing in the car for a day long running around of errands and whatnot.

They are not wide spread yet in retail store locations, but you can check on their site to see if there is a store near you, or you can order online, like I will be doing!

Thanks, Zing.

GFS

Udi’s Gluten Free on local CBS affiliate this morning

Udi’s gluten free on local CBS affiliate this AM! Dee hits it right when she says food is emotiional. For those of you that don’t have Celiac, just stop the next time you’re out on a Saturday afternoon running errands and just think,… “Oh I’ll pop into wherever to grab a bite.” We can’t do that and it is hard and emotional trying to figure out where you can go with your friends to eat, or how to travel through airports with long layovers or long flights.

I admit life is hard as a Celiac, but with Dee, Udi’s and an amazing Celiac community made of people I’ve met personally or became friends with through blogging, we’re not alone.

http://cbs4denver.com/video/?cid=116

GFS

Surf Sweets Candy – gluten free gummies and more

NOTE: I have not tried these candies, but I did receive info via email from them (the press release below). Since they are gluten-free, I want to pass this along since I know many moms are always looking for gluten free gummies for their kids (or heck, so are us adults!  So if you are looking for the candy, please click through to their website for their retail outlets.

Naturally Sweetened, Totally Delicious Surf Sweets Candy
Now Available Nationally, AND It’s Corn Syrup-Free

Kids and moms love the all natural, Vitamin C-rich and fruity taste of Surf Sweets

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, IL, October 6, 2009 – Kids want candy.  And when moms want to indulge them, they’re challenged to find all-natural candy with high quality ingredients that’s free of corn syrup and tastes great.  Now that Surf Sweets naturally sweetened, totally delicious candy is available in stores throughout the U.S. , they need not look far.

Surf Sweets offers seven unique varieties of its mouth-watering organic and natural gummy candies and jelly beans, all of which are made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners:

• Gummy Bears
• Gummy Worms
• Organic Jelly Beans
• Sour Worms
• Organic Fruity Bears
• Gummy Swirls
• Sour Berry Bears

“Surf Sweets uses only the highest quality organic and natural ingredients for our candies, and they’re all free of artificial colors, flavors and GMOs,” says Bert Cohen, President and Founder of TruSweets, LLC, a socially responsible company dedicated to building, delicious sweet snack brands like Surf Sweets that are better for our families and our planet.

“Where most candy is sweetened with corn syrup, Surf Sweets is not,” Cohen adds.  “They’re naturally sweet because they’re made with real organic fruit juice instead of corn syrup, and provide 100% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of antioxidant Vitamin C.”

Additionally, Surf Sweets candies are gluten free, casein free, and allergy friendly, meaning that they contain none of the most common food allergens (wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish).

All Surf Sweets candy is produced and packaged in a dedicated nut-free facility.  And Surf Sweets has many delicious options for vegans and vegetarians as four of its candies are vegan (Fruity Bears, Gummy Swirls, Sour Berry Bears, Sour Worms) and five are vegetarian (Fruity Bears, Gummy Swirls, Jelly Beans, Sour Berry Bears, Sour Worms).

Each Surf Sweets 2.75-oz bag of candies contains only 120-140 calories per serving depending on the variety.

Surf Sweets also offer two .9-oz snack-size packs of its candy – Gummy Bears and Sour Berry Bears — that are perfect for on-the-go snacking or school lunches.  Each   .9-oz snack-size pack contains only 80 calories per package.

Unlike other candy brands, Surf Sweets proudly makes its products in the USA .  They’re currently available in mainstream grocery and natural foods stores, online and at specialty retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada .  Suggested retail price for 2.75-oz Surf Sweets is $1.99 and $.79 for its .9-oz snack-size packs.  For more information on store locations, visit http://www.surfsweets.com/buy.php.

About Surf Sweets

Surf Sweets is the country’s leading maker of naturally sweetened, totally delicious gummy candies and jelly beans made with organic and natural ingredients and without any artificial colors and flavors.  Surf Sweets is owned and operated by Prospect Heights, IL-based TruSweets, LLC, a socially responsible company dedicated to building delicious sweet snack brands that are better for our families and our planet.  The company was founded in 2008 by Bert Cohen, an entrepreneur with a successful track record of building businesses in the natural foods industry.  Surf Sweets currently offers seven unique varieties of mouth-watering gummy candies and jelly beans that are available at mainstream grocery and natural foods stores, online and at specialty retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada . For more information, visit www.surfsweets.com

GFS

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken

Many of us bloggers receive samples from the same vendors to test and blog about.  And it seems like we all receive them around the same time, and get our postings online.  I admit, it’s fun to get new gluten free products to review and sample.  But what I want to do with the samples I receive is spread the wealth of info a bit, so our readers aren’t all overwhelmed with “Product X” reviews all within a short time frame.

A few months back, the good folks over at POM Wonderful sent me some POM juice to sample and blog about.  I was not paid for sampling or reviewing the juice.  Just want to get that out into the open.  Many of the gluten free bloggers all did their posts, and I’ve just been waiting for a different time to post my info.

It’s great juice, great sized bottles for the train ride in the morning and super full of good stuff for you.  The juice is tart, sweet and according to their website, all of their juices:

- contain no added sugars, preservatives or colors
-  are a good source of potassium
-  are gluten-free (yeah!)
-  are flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients
- are certified kosher

So what more do you need?!  Maybe a good recipe to go with the juice?  I admit, this recipe isn’t mine, but comes from Martha Stewart, so you know it’s good.

Enjoy!

Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken

* 2 cups pomegranate juice
* 1 cup orange juice
* 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 3 garlic cloves, smashed
* coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
* 4 bone-in chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack in top third. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside.

2. Make glaze: In a large skillet, combine juices, rosemary, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes, stirring and scraping down sides of skillet with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a liquid-measuring cup; stir in vinegar. Reserve cup glaze for serving.

3. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper. Place, skin side up, on prepared baking sheet; bake 15 minutes, then brush chicken with glaze. Continue baking, brushing with glaze every 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part, avoiding bone, should register 165 degrees). Let rest 5 minutes; drizzle with reserved glaze. Serve.

GFS

New GF cookbook out that I recommend – Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking

Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking

My blogging buddy Pete over at No Gluten, No Problem, along with his cute wife Kelli have published a new cookbook, Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking: More than 250 Great-tasting, From-scratch Recipes from Around the World, Perfect for Every Meal and for Anyone on a Gluten-free Diet–and Even Those Who Aren’t

Pete was kind enough to let me preview the book, and it was an honor to do so (thanks, again, Pete!).  This cookbook will make you hungry, and make you want to cook.  The recipes seem easy and really don’t call for any fancy ingredients that your basic gluten free pantry may not have.

It’d make a great gift for anyone with Celiac, and with the Holidays around the corner, be sure to head over to Amazon.com for a great price on this book!

GFS

Progresso broths are gluten free

Did you know that Progresso broths are gluten free? Chicken broth, reduced sodium chicken broth & beef broth. http://www.progressobroth.com/

GFS

Caramel rice or corn cakes – anyone know of a good national GF brand?

Anyone know of a GOOD gf caramel rice or corn cake? Lundberg’s fall apart, and Quaker will never commit to 100% gf. Suggestions welcome.   Thanks.

Is two weeks too long to wait for a reply from a company on a GF question?

Two weeks ago, I sent info to GoodBelly to inquire if their products are gluten free.  They are labeled as wheat free, but wheat free does not always mean gluten free.

It took them two weeks to get back to me, and I have to say, that’s unacceptable.

Considering that there is barley malt and that the malt is “consumed by the live and active probiotic cultures throughout their life cycle, and ultimately eliminated as a detectable source of gluten as the probiotics process it” makes me shun the drink anyhow.

Here’s their response.   What do you think is a timely response for companies to get back to consumers regarding if their products are gluten free or not?  I told them that even if I had received an email along the lines of “Hey, we got your email and are looking into it and will get back to you” – I’d be fine.  But nothing.

Dear Steve,

Thank you for reaching out to us at GoodBelly.  In order to explain why we label GoodBelly the way we do, I thought I would give you a bit of the background information about our formulation.  We use oat flour as the basis for growing our probiotic culture. The oat we source is consistently tested for wheat cross-contamination, selecting only those lots which meet our standards, since we do make a ‘wheat free’ claim.  We also use a small amount of barley malt that assists the oats in the culturing process. This malt is consumed by the live and active probiotic cultures throughout their life cycle, and ultimately eliminated as a detectable source of gluten as the probiotics process it, which is likely the reason that many on a gluten-free diet are entirely fine consuming GoodBelly and experience only the benefits of the probiotics, not any adverse effects of gluten.

GoodBelly’s quality assurance team tests our finished products on a regular basis for gluten at a detection limit of 5 ppm, and do not identify gluten at that level.  As I am sure you know, the legal limit for a gluten-free claim is 20 ppm.  However, we have chosen not to mark our products with a gluten-free label at this time and chosen instead to inform our customers about our ingredients content so they can make educated decisions in regards to their individual gluten tolerance levels.

We do get requests regularly from people like you who are looking for an entirely gluten-free product (no exceptions), and are pursuing whether this might be an option in the future.  Please check back in a few months and we will keep you informed, as we would love to have an option for you. If you would like to see GoodBelly products’ nutritional facts and ingredients panels, feel free to click here for more information… about halfway down the page you will see links to this information for all GoodBelly products.

I hope this information is useful to you.   Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional information.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes Recipe Idea Share

Many of you have tried the new gluten free mixes from Betty Crocker – the yellow cake mix, the chocolate cake mix, brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

I’ve not tried the chocolate cake mix, but have a box in our pantry and someday soon, cupcakes are in order!

Now, the mixes are great to use, easy, convienent, and of course, make our gluten free lives so easy.

But here’s the challenge to you – what else have you done with the mixes besides just making them as the recipe instructed?  Maybe you’ve made a batch of wonderful lemon cake cupcakes with the yellow cake mix (I know I have!).  Maybe you’ve taken the brownie mix and made an amazing mint mudpie from the mix.

Share your ideas and your recipes here – we’d all love to know what else the mixes can do!

GFS