Are you familiar with the hot -- literally hot -- new trend in pizza...custom-created, oven-fired pizza that cooks in just minutes? Well now there's a chain that offers this option to its gluten free guests, too. Yep. Pie Five Pizza Co, with locations in 7 states, lets you choose your crust (gluten free), your sauce, your toppings...and voila...you have your own mouthwatering pizza! If you don't live in one of the 7 states where Pie Five Pizza is currently located (Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia), you may still be in luck. They have locations in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma "coming soon." Best of all, Pie Five Pizza's gluten free crust is made from ancient grains including teff, amaranth, and sorghum flours so the pizza isn't just gluten free...it's nutritionally superior, with more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than most other gluten free pizzas. Almost all their toppings for the pizzas are gluten free, with the exception of meatballs and Alfredo sauce, and salads can be made in to-go bowls, as opposed to their usual bread bowls (all salad makings are gluten free, too, except the Caesar dressing). Although their restaurants are not dediated gluten free... Read more →
July 2014
As you know, we have a lot of helpful content available on GlutenFreeTravelSite, our website geared to helping people with Celiac and gluten sensitivity dine out and travel with ease. In addition to the huge database containing thousands of user-submitted dining and travel reviews from around the world, we have many other helpful resources including a Trip Planning page, a Cruise page, a listing of Camps for gluten free kids, College Reviews, Gluten Free Getaways, and a section featuring Chain Restaurants with gluten free menus. Just last week, we added a 12 new "chapters" of information on gluten, Celiac disease, and gluten sensitivity to our site. These easy-to-access pages of our site cover the necessary facts both new and veteran gluten free folks need to know. For people new to the gluten free diet, we provide them with the straight talk they're looking for -- and information and resources that will help them adopt a gluten free lifestyle. But it can help those of you who've been following a gluten free diet for years, too. For example, do you have friends or family members that need to understand your diet better? Send them a link to this page for answers... Read more →
No matter which airline you choose to fly when traveling, the topic of whether you're "flying the friendly skies" when it comes to gluten free noshing on a plane is a heated one. Some people have had good luck when requesting in-flight gluten free meals (fortunately, our family is in this camp), while others prefer to bring their own gluten free snacks on board. Of course, whether you even have food service available depends on the type of flight you're taking. Most carriers now only serve full meals on international flights. Other, shorter flights may or may not have "snacks" or boxed meals available for purchase, but finding something that's gluten free can be hit or miss. I thought I'd offer some tips to consider when next hopping on board a plane: 1.) If you are booking an international flight, I'd recommend researching the airline's policy for gluten free meals. Most airlines now include gluten free meals as one of the many special request meals available, but you will need to request that in advance. Our experience on two international flights -- one to Paris in 2011 and one to London in 2013 -- was surprisingly good. With the exception... Read more →
If you're following a gluten free diet out of medical necessity (Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity), fully participating in communion at your church can be tricky. Communion wafers, or hosts, are made using wheat. Some churches even use regular bread instead. So what's a Celiac or gluten sensitive individual to do? Fortunately, you have several options. Some people choose to bring their own special chalice and only take the wine. Even for Catholics, this is considered acceptable practice, because they believe both the bread (body) and wine (blood) contain the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. You can talk with your pastor or priest about using your own chalice and having the wine in your chalice consecrated alongside the wine in the main chalice. Another option that's become available in the past few years is purchasing gluten free hosts from the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This is a group of nuns who, after many years of research, have discovered a way to offer a "low gluten" host that is approved by both the Celiac community and the Catholic Church. Why not just use gluten free bread or a gluten free cracker, you may wonder? Well, the Catholic Church, in... Read more →
You may remember my recent post about Picazzo's Organic Italian Kitchen in Arizona -- and their menu that's almost entirely gluten free. It's a favorite spot for gluten free locals as well as a fantastic discovery for gluten free travelers "in the know" who are spending time in Arizona. Picazzo's is now offering a $5 discount coupon exclusively through our website, GlutenFreeTravelSite, and our DINE GLUTEN FREE app, now through September 1, 2014 (Labor Day). You'll save $5 when you spend $30 or more any day of the week after 4 pm. You can either print out the coupon from the Print Coupon link on Picazzo's page on GlutenFreeTravelSite -- or simply show the coupon to your server on your mobile phone by pulling it up under the Coupons & Offers tab on our DINE GLUTEN FREE mobile app (which is free and available for iOS and Android). If you're viewing this post on your smart phone, you can just show the server the coupon below, too! Offer valid for dine in only at any of Picazzo's five Arizona locations (Flagstaff, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Sedona, and Tempe). One coupon per customer. Coupons may not be combined with any other offer,... Read more →