Beach Bash is made up of sunflower kernels, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and apricots.  There seemed to be more sunflower kernels than anything else in the bag.  I love dried pineapple. I don’t eve trust it from the general “bins” so I don’t buy it.  But it’s so darn good!  Overall, the Beach Bash was good, but I preferred the Mountain Mambo.

Mountain Mambo contains sunflower kernels (again, ALOT of them), pumpkin seeds (far too few), raisins, apples, chocolate chips and cranberries.  This variety was great in some greek yogurt, adding some crunch and flavor to the otherwise plain old yogurt.

While thankfully, I am only gluten free (so far as I know), these two products are free of the top 8 allergens, so they are VERY kid (and adult) friendly.  They’re also  made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites.

If you’re looking for something to add to your yogurt routine, I would suggest these.  I couldn’t see snacking on them straight from the bag, but that’s just me. I prefer more crispy/salty snacks (thank you Snyder’s of Hanover for the gluten free pretzels you produce!)

He bought it for me, and I decided to make it on a recent Friday night.

Lightly brushed with olive oil, I cooked the crust in a 450 degree oven for a few minutes to help crisp it up. I’ve found that most gluten free pizza crusts get very soggy when you don’t crisp them before you add your sauce and toppings.

Now, the instructions on the package said nothing about doing this step.  It did say to lightly brush with olive oil, but then to top and bake on the oven rack.  Seriously, who bakes right on the oven rack?  So I put it on a cookie sheet covered with parchment.

The crust started to crack when I pulled it out of the package.  Not a good sign.

Coming out of the oven after 5 minutes of crisping, it still was cracking.  Not a good sign.

I added my toppings, and baked it for 15 minutes.

And I had a soggy pizza crust.  Sigh.

The edges were quite crispy, and overall, the flavor was indeed good, but it was just soggy.  And one slice completely fell apart (the slice in the lower front of this photo).  And you’ll see how the edges of the other slices are cracked and falling apart, too.

Notice the pizza slice at 6:00. Completely fell apart, but still tasted good.

I am so tired of paying good money for inadequate gluten free products.  I’d love to find a good gluten free pizza crust or box mix.  I’ve tried Udi’s (fair).  I’ve not tried Rudi’s yet, but I’d love to know if anyone has tried Rudi’s and what they think.

Would I buy Rustic Crust again?  Yes, if it was on sale.  Otherwise, no, I wouldn’t spend the money on it.

Start with a few tablespoons of any gf flour mix (or rice flour) you have on hand.  Add garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper, and mix with a fork to incorporate.

Cut up two chicken breasts and lightly dust them with the flour mix.

Cook in a skillet until cooked through, and the light coating is GBD (TM).  GBD is golden brown delicious.  Put the chicken in a bowl and toss with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.

Add to your salad (we prefer red romaine, tomatoes and black olives).

Wishbone Ranch dressing is gluten free and makes for a great dressing.  The creamy coolness of the ranch and the spicyness of the buffalo chicken go well together.

Enjoy!

A few weeks back, I was traveling to Evansville, Indiana.  You’d think gluten free options aren’t a plenty there in terms of restaurants, but I found plenty of options.   The only options I could find were chains, and that was ok with me.  When I travel, I do like to try and eat at places I wouldn’t normally get to eat, and avoid the chains, since I have that here in Denver.  But when you can’t find gluten free elsewhere, you go where the meals are.

Before I travel, pretty much, every time before I travel, even if I’ve been to the same town numerous times, I start with the same thing – googling “gluten free” and “city” (of where I am traveling).  Most of the time, you’ll find some one off places that you wouldn’t normally go to and be suprised and delighted at what a great gluten free meal you’ll find.

But why limit yourself to that search query?  That is only going to bring up websites that have those keywords on their menu or their website.  And there are TONS of other restaurants out there that may not advertise gluten free on their site, but their menu can easily be accommodated to be gluten free, or is naturally gluten free.

So what should you do?

When traveling, definitely start with the google search mentioned above.  But after that, search for “restaurants” and then “city”.  This should give you plenty of restaurants to start with to research their websites.

Then do more research.

Find a restaurant that looks interesting?  Call them. Don’t rely on email.  Call them.  By having the conversation over the phone with either a manager or chef, you’ll be able to ask them direct questions and hear direct responses.  Too often when I’ve called restaurants, and asked if they “have a gluten free menu, or can accommodate gluten free options” I get the response of “gluten what?”  That gives me the answer I need. 

And some of the searches will bring up message boards, blog posts, yelp and other information about patrons who’ve had gluten free meals, both good and bad.  But do not (let me restate that – DO NOT) solely rely on that information.

Sure, I’m a blogger relaying information – but it is up to each and every person to take their own health into their own hands and feel comfortable about where they dine.

So for me, when I traveled to Evansville, I felt safe eating at Biaggi’s (twice!) and Bonefish Grill.  I shared all my meals with co-workers, who know how important it is for me to eat gluten free, and insisted I pick the restaurant to be comfortable and safe.

And that’s what makes me love traveling to where I travel to.

I was excited to try this bread, since Glutino does have some really good gluten free products on the market.  In fact, they have more than 100 gluten free products out there available.

The bread is frozen, and can be found in the frozen section of the store.  The bread arrived partially defrosted which was fine, and the first thing I noticed that it was a full size loaf of bread.  Not one of the smaller loaves that other companies mass produce.  The first slice I had – well, I was dissapointed.  The top half had crumbled off and the slice was dry.  Sigh….another dry gluten free bread I thought.   I decided to just wrap the bag back up, keep it at room temp and see what happened the next day.

This was the slice of bread from when I first opened the package. Not a good start.

The next day, I tried another slice.  This slice did hold up very well, and tasted much fresher than the first piece.  I had some higher hopes!  Over the next few days, I did keep it at room temperature and the bread did start to dry out quickly.  I ended up lightly toasting the slices for sandwiches.

I froze the rest to “save it” from drying out too much.  However, that seemed to shrink the bread down to the smaller loaf size.  And it definitely didn’t taste as fresh.

So dilemma – how to be honest on this review?  I think the bread is a good sized loaf, had decent texture for gluten free bread (it comes in “white” and “multigrain”).  Would I buy it?  Probably.  The suggested retail price is $5.49.  And that’s what gets me every time.

I am not a cheap person. Frugal at times, maybe.  But I can’t stand having to pay that much money for a loaf of bread.  I realize the supply/demand and cost of goods and shipping and manufacturing is all added in, but someone has to figure out how to reduce costs so that it’s not that much money, without sacrificing tastes/ingredients.

So bottom line – the Genius by Glutino bread is good.  Nothing worth rushing to the store for right now, but if you see it, give it a try and decide for yourself and let me know what you think.

It’s easy to make, and I’ve not met anyone who doesn’t love it.  It was shared with me by family when I moved to Denver about 13 years back.  Aunt Bernice isn’t even really related to me (she’s my cousin’s wife’s aunt – you may need to whiteboard that to follow along?!).  She moved to California a few years back, and we all have fond memories of her living here in Denver and miss her.

The saying around here is – what makes it so good?  “It’s the butter”. You really have to use real butter for this one, folks (Sorry dairy free folks).

Aunt Bernice's Caramel Corn - served in small plastic cups so everyone doesn't have to stick their hands in the bowl

April, who manages and runs the restaurants is gluten free herself, so she knows what is safe, what isn’t safe and had TONS of recommendations.  And made us very happy with her delicious food.  Now, not all of the menu is gluten free, but there are plenty of options.

The Artist had these super soft wide rice noodles – quite possibly the best wide rice noodles I’ve ever eaten.  I used to love the Chow Fun noodles at P.F. Chang’s pre-Celiac days.  These noodles kick butt compared to P.F. Changs.

We also tried fried coconut shrimp skewers.  I’ve not had fried coconut shrimp in 5+ years.  They were a hit!  I ordered the sesame beef for my main dish and scarfed every last bite.

I can’t even remember what everyone had as everything tastes so good.   It’s definitely a place that is worth a visit to if you’re in the Portland area.  And they had a ton of gluten free macaroons for dessert.  Lots of different flavors of french macaroons that were delicious.

Jade Teahouse is located at 7912 SE 13th Avenue, and can be reached at 503-477-8985.

We were quite sad that we booked an earlier flight on our outbound trip home, as we wanted to go to Jade to get takeout for the plane ride home, but we couldn’t fit in our schedule.  Yes, it was that good.

Thanks, Alice for the delicious food – we will be back!

I’ve purchased some of Kinnikinnick’s donuts before – they come 6 in a pack, in the freezer section.  And to be honest, they’re ok.  Not great, not bad, just ok.  But I thought, it’s Autumn, and Pumpkin Spice donuts sound really good, so yes, I’d like to try them out.

I have to say, I am completely disappointed with the product.  And, if I had paid money for them, I would have taken it back to the store after one donut for a refund. (Side note readers:  We spend too much money on disappointing products.  If you don’t take them back to the store, to let the store know, then the manufacturers just think their product is doing well, since it’s a sale to them.  We need to be vocal when spending our dollars on inadequate or bad tasting products by returning the products for a refund).

Now, I’m not saying the Kinnikinnick Pumpkin Spice donuts don’t taste good.   They just don’t taste anything like pumpkin or spice.  They taste like a plain cake donut.  After I ate the second one, what came into my head was Mike Myer’s character of Linda Richman on Saturday Night Live saying, “I don’t taste either pumpkin nor spice.  Discuss.”  Because I didn’t taste either of them.

And sadly, my donuts looked NOTHING like the ones on the company’s website.  Here is the photo from their website:

From Kinninnick's website - their pumpkin spice donuts

I can tell you mine didn’t have that much frosting/glaze.  In fact, most of it was crumbled off each donut when you pull them out of the freezer package.  And when you taste the crumbles left in the package, that is where the tiniest hint of pumpkin and spice are.  That flavor is not in the donuts.

Here is what came out of the package - definitely NOT what Kinnikinnick shows on their website.

The plastic tray of six donuts was just thrown in a box, with some brown packing paper to hold it during shipping.

Here are the ingredients for this product:

Ingredients
Sugar, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Water, Sweet Rice Flour,
Pumpkin, (Icing sugar (may contain 2-3% cornstarch), water, glucose, spices),
Whole Eggs, non Hydrogenated Shortening(Palm Fruit or Canola), Pumpkin,
Fructooligosaccharide, Yeast, Pea Protein, Egg Whites, Fruit Concentrate,
(dextrose, dextrin, fiber), Xanthan Gum, Salt, Rice Bran Extract, Cellulose,
KinnActive Baking Powder, Glucono Delta Lactone, Allspice, Sodium Bicarbonate,
Nutmeg  (GFS comment -  To me, “spice” in baked goods would come from Allspice or Nutmeg, but when those ingredients are so far down on the ingredient list, they’re minor ingredients).

And the packaging/label was disappointing too. A bit blurry.  A sad little pumpkin clip art on the label. As a consumer, and a marketing guy, I want to be enticed to buy your product.  Kinninnick, take a note from Chebe, who recently relaunched their package redesign and website and it looks FAR better than it ever did.  Chebe’s packaging and photos make me want to buy their product.  It’s time to give yours an update and major overhaul.  The gluten free community is NOT the same community as it was ten years ago (or even five years ago).

Here's the package with the sad label

Overall, I cannot recommend these donuts nor would I purchase them.  It’s not worth your money, and bottom line, they taste like plain old cake donuts with a little bit of glaze.

Yours,

Tucked into a charming area in Lake Oswego, Oregon (just about 15 minutes from downtown Portland), Crave Bake Shop is up front about their mission: To bring you the best artisan-crafted cake, cupcake, cookie or cinnamon roll you have ever tasted.

And I have to say, they succeed.  And it’s not just the baked goods you’ll love.

Let me backtrack on how I came to Crave Bake Shop.

Way back in January of this year, somehow I found Crave Bake Shop online before they had a retail storefront.  I was going to try to connect with owner Kyra when I was in Oregon in January, but we couldn’t make it happen.

Jump ahead to May when out of the blue, I received an email from Kyra that she is opening a storefront.   I was surprised and glad that she kept my email all this time (and so glad she did).

Jump ahead another few months to August, when the Denver Metro Celiac Support Group held their annual Incredible Edible Gluten Free Food Fair.  This annual event drew close to 100 vendors this year…including Crave Bake Shop!  I met Kyra’s business partner, Jamie, and the two of us hit it off like long lost siblings.  I don’t even remember how we started to talk at the event, but the next thing I knew, we were making plans to get together for dinner while I was there with The Artist.  (More on dinner in another blog post – an amazing restaurant they took us to!)

So along comes September, and our trip to Oregon for vacation. A trip to Crave Bake Shop and dinner with Kyra and Jamie was on the agenda.   And I couldn’t wait.

The storefront of Crave Bake Shop

When we arrived at the bakery, it was busy with customers, so we stood back, watched all the bakery employees making their wonderful treats until Kyra was free.  You see, I knew what she looked like from her site and from watching her videos from being on Cupcake Wars.  But she didn’t know who I was.  So when I said, “Hi Kyra, I’m Steve”, immediately I was greeted with a hug!  I loved that about her.

When you enter crave, their daily menu is posted on the wall, and there are TONS of options.  And I think they were all very reasonably priced for gluten free.  Too many times I’ve overpaid for lousy gluten free products (this morning, for example, when I bought a loaf of gf bread that is dry and stale, and is going back to the store on the way home tonight for a refund).

The menu at Crave Bake Shop the day I visited

Kyra let us sample some of their baked items before we bought. From there,  I bought a pina colada cupcake, a cinnamon roll, a chocolate chip scone, a hot chocolate cupcake and a birthday cake cupcake.

My biggest regret of my trip to Crave Bake Shop was not buying more.  The cupcakes were moist, flavorful, had great texture and crumb.  I immediately scarfed down the pina colada cupcake, so I didn’t take a photo of that one.

Kyra welcomes you to Crave Bake Shop

The other cupcakes….now, I let those sit out on the counter and ate one a day over the next three days.  Surprisingly, I didn’t eat them all in one day, but where we were staying was two hours from Portland, so I had to make my gluten free treats last.  Though I admit, The Artist and I did talk a lot about driving back to Portland just to go back to Crave Bake Shop.  Yes, it’s that good.

Anyhow, the cupcakes held up quite  nicely for sitting on the counter.   Stayed moist and didn’t dry out or crumble at all.  A true A+ in my book.  The hot chocolate one was rich chocolate cake with marshmallow burnt sugar frosting.  The birthday cupcake is basically yellow birthday cake and frosting.  Very good flavor and texture to the cupcake.

The Birthday Cake Cupcake

And the cinnamon roll. Well, that was a-may-zing.  Super gooey, flaky dough and filled with flavor in every bite.  And great frosting on it too.   The aroma of that warming in the oven will take you back to a cool Autumn or Winter morning, with the house filling with the aroma of baking heaven.

The cinnamon roll - trust me, buy more than one or you'll be sad.

You will not be disappointed in this bakery, readers.

The Hot Chocolate Cupcake - a real A+

And the scone?  You see, I’m not usually a scone fan.  They usually seem to dry and shortbready for me.  But this one was very good, and I wish I had bought more.

Jamie and Kyra are both amazing women.  We enjoyed a great evening with them (and Jamie’s hubby) and wish we had more time to talk about gluten free and just life in general with them, but we had a two hour drive ahead of us back to the coast, so we cut dinner short.  But next week I’ll post my review on the great place they took us to for dinner

Their flavors and menu items change daily, so be sure to “like”  their page on Facebook for more information.  Or heck, just stop by and stock up.  They are located at 460 5TH STREET, LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034

If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, a trip to Crave Bake Shop is a must.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $200.  Go directly to Crave Bake Shop.  You will not be disappointed.

Jamie and Kyra – you’ve got a new friend here in Denver that is ready for you to open Store #2 here in Denver!  Love you both and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Yours,

So here’s a letter (somewhat of a rant, I admit it) to everyone, and feel free to share/print/forward along to anyone you may know that needs that extra education or reminder of why we do what we do as Celiacs.

Dear Friends, Family, Coworkers, etc.:

I have to eat gluten free, but you may not really understand just why I have to eat gluten free, so I am writing this letter to you to hopefully help educate you.  For me, it’s not a choice.  I must eat gluten free as I have Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine affecting an estimated 2-3 million Americans (about 1% of the US population).  It’s a serious condition whose symptoms may include intestinal scarring, chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, and fatigue, skin rashes and other symptoms.  While there is no cure, Celiac Disease is treatable with strict lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet.  How great is that – I can treat my disease by just eating the right foods!

So what’s Gluten?
Gluten is a plant protein found in wheat, barley and rye, and foods made from those grains.   Gluten is found in so many items including salad dressings, sauces, medications and more.  Now, you may be thinking – since gluten is a protein in wheat, and wheat is in so many items, just what can a Celiac eat?   First, just because something is wheat free, doeesn’t mean it’s gluten free. And the answer to what can I eat is  – LOTS!

A gluten free diet (and I hate that term, diet, as it’s anything but), – ok, a gluten free meal means I can have all meats, fish, poultry, fruits, veggies, nuts among many, many other food items.  And thankfully, over the past four years of being diagnosed with Celiac, many mainstream food manufacturers have come out with really good gluten free items including pretzels, breads, cake mixes and even, get this – gluten free Bisquick!  There are many alternate flours out there to use in cooking and baking besides wheat flour.  Did you know that there are flours made from other grains including teff, amaranth, sorghum, corn, rice, and even flour made from peas!  I can even still have spaghetti as I use pasta made from rice.

So what happens if I eat gluten?
Many people joke that if I have even just a tiny little bit of gluten, I’ll keel over on the spot.  They don’t understand what happens, and here’s why I am writing this to you.  No, I won’t keel over on the spot, but even just a tiny bit (say a few tiny small crumbs of bread) does harm and damage my body.  My mantra is “Gluten free means gluten free”  It doesn’t mean “Oh I can have just a little”, or a tiny bite won’t hurt me.  It doesn’t mean that if I eat just a little, I become just a little gassy (trust me, you don’t become just a little gassy with Celiac).

Unlike an allergy, where an anti-body is triggered when the foreign substance enters the body, when gluten enters my digestive system, my system reacts by thinking it’s a poison, and shuts down to protect itself.  It also means damaging my villi.  Villi are the fingerlike projections we all have in our small intestine that grabs the food and nutrients as it processes through.  When my villi are damaged, they basically lay flat, instead of projecting out to get the nutrients. So my body is not absorbing any of the essential things it needs to survive.

It also means that since I am putting what is essentially poison into my body, I am putting myself at a higher risk for potentially fatal secondary complications, such as certain cancers and other autoimmune disorders.   I don’t want to take that risk.

And while I appreciate your help in trying to help me find gluten free food, to be honest, I’d rather you didn’t at times.  Just because something is labeled gluten free doesn’t mean I will always eat it.

So that is why I look at every piece of silverware no matter where I am before I use it.  Is there a dried crumb on there?  I look and inspect my food quite thoroughly when I am out before I eat.  I won’ t just eat anywhere that says they have a gluten free menu. Do they really understand cross contamination?  Or do they just have gluten free bread they can make a sandwich for me – using the same cutting board and utensils as the gluten bread?  Yes, even when I come to your house for dinner, I take a risk in my health since you don’t really understand Celiac.  But please, don’t hesitate to ask questions.  My favorite question from someone cooking for me who said they understand was “Are tomatoes gluten free?” .  You can see why I am hesitant to eat at someone’s house who says they understand how to cook gluten free and yet ask me that question.

Again, this is all part of an education process so I can help you on Celiac and my disease.

And I have to be honest with you – it does aggravate me at times that you don’t even give it a second thought any of the food you eat.  It doesn’t cross your mind at all of choosing a restaurant.   Because you can.  You don’t think twice about just going and buying a cookie at the Farmer’s Market, or sampling anything at Costco, or if your lip balm is safe.  Because you can.  And lucky for you you can, but I can’t.

While it may sound rough, I won’t lie.  It is at times.  But, there are many things worse I could be dealing with health wise so I am thankful that I can manage my health without medicine and by being smart in choosing what I eat. I know first-hand how my life changed before and after going gluten-free.  I went from dealing with chronic stomach issues and poor health and constantly feeling tired, to being able to gain weight, absorb nutrients and feel better than I’ve ever felt.

So enjoy the freedom you have for the food you can so freely eat, but please, have a little understanding, respect and appreciation for all that Celiacs go through.

Yours,