Recently I had the good fortune to try Reason to Bake's "cookies with heart." These are gluten free, made-from-scratch, artisan cookies available only through the company's website. That's because they are baked and shipped fresh, without preservatives like most cookies you find on store shelves. The best thing about Reason to Bake is that they are a company with a heart-warming mission: to hire and train intellectually disabled adults...and foster entrepreneurship among them. The company was founded by Elise Sampson and her daughter Carolyn in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. There are currently 3 varieties of cookies: Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Oatmeal, and Spicy Ginger (my favorite...like ginger snaps or gingerbread). They also occasionally offer other seasonal varieties, and you can order gift boxes and variety packs. My husband, son, and I absolutely LOVED these cookies. They were so fresh, were the perfect consistency, and each variety had an amazing flavor. If you did a "blind" taste test, you'd never know they were gluten free. They are a very high quality product, too. Reason to Bake cookies are all natural and non-GMO. They ship anywhere in the U.S., so you have no excuse not to try them! I can't... Read more →
Gluten Free Bakeries
Have you ever heard of Sweet Note gluten free bagels? I hadn't...until recently. Fortunately, their distribution has expanded to include CVS, Whole Foods, Shop Rite, Dean & Deluca, MOM's Organic Market, Door to Door Organics, and Weis (but not all locations of these stores -- enter your zip on this page of their website to find the closest location to you). Their "claim to fame," so to speak, is that they have created the first authentic, New York-syle bagel that is gluten free (AND free of the top 8 common food allergens). I thought about that statement, and YES, they are right. They are authentic, in terms of look, texture, and taste. You'd never believe they were gluten free, much less free of other allergens, too. While our family buys other gluten free bagels, we have yet to find one that comes close to a traditional bagel. Some are like eating a big round-shaped piece of tasteless bread, others are tasty but not really what you remember bagels tasting like, and still others use a lot of bean flour, which I don't care for (weird aftertaste). These bagels are smaller, denser, crusty on the outside, and chewy on the inside... Read more →
Pittsburgh sometimes gets a bad rap. Our family, however, loves visiting this city (which says a lot, given that our trips there are always for hockey tournaments in the dead of winter!). We like visiting because there are a lot of fun things to do between hockey games (the Carnegie Science Center and adjacent Highmark SportsWorks complex are always a hit with kids and adults!), and there are some really great places for gluten free meals (and gluten free baked goods!). Each time we're in Pittsburgh, Gluuteny is HIGH on our priority list (just don't make the mistake of planning your visit for a Monday...we did that last year, only to find out that's the one day they're closed!). Gluuteny is a completely gluten free, dairy free bakery. While our Celiac son does not need to be dairy free (and sometimes we're not crazy about the taste of dairy free baked goods), this place nails it in terms of flavor and texture. All their baked goods -- and there are many -- are fantastic. Even the "buttercream" on their cupcakes (made with dairy free margarine) is wonderfully creamy and tasty. I had an almond cupcake with vanilla buttercream icing, while... Read more →
My son is a huge fan of Chebe bread…the Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca/cassava flour and that happens to be gluten-free (and a very popular menu item at the gluten-free camp my son attends each summer!). Recently, I had a chance to sample some similar products made by Bagelinos, a company based in New Jersey. Bagelinos has two products…a bagel and a bun. But they're not "ordinary" bagels and buns. Of course, they're gluten free. But they're different in another way, too…different from Chebe and other cheese breads. They're slightly sweet, which is why the "bagels" aren't actually called bagels, but "Breakfast Pastry Snacks." (However, for the purpose of this blog post, I'm going to refer to them as bagels!) I like to pop the bagels in the toaster or toaster oven, as I would any other type of gluten free bagel, but they can also be eaten right out of the bag. The bagels are good with some cream cheese, and I've used the buns for ham sandwiches (resulting in a nice balance of sweet and salty). They would also be good for pulled pork, turkey sandwiches, or even breakfast sandwiches with egg and sausage (using either the... Read more →
Last week, I blogged with much excitement about Wegmans' launch of ready-to-eat gluten free bakery items. Back in early December, they launched two types of gluten-free cookies, gluten-free frosted brownies, and gluten-free cupcakes -- now available at all their locations. They are all made using Wegmans' gluten free boxed mixes, which have been available in their stores for a while now. At the time of the post, I had not personally tried the new ready-to-eat items, but that evening, I happened to be near a Wegmans, so I went in and bought one of everything. Over the next few nights, my husband, two sons, and I taste-tested each of the new items. Here's what we thought: Gluten-Free Cupcakes -- These come four to a pack, with two vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing and two chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. Unlike the photo Wegmans had sent me, the gluten-free cupcakes in the store near us did not contain colorful "confetti" style sprinkles on top. That was actually GREAT with me, as I prefer not to give my kids things with artificial color or flavor, if I can help it. Perhaps they decided not to include these on the cupcakes after all...it... Read more →
My favorite posts to write are those in which I get the opportunity to share news about my favorite companies, stores, or restaurants introducing new gluten free items. Today, I'm thrilled to be able to share the recent news about the new gluten free bakery items avaialable at all Wegmans locations. Yes, you can now enjoy Wegmans Gluten-Free Frosted Pan Brownies, Gluten-Free Cupcakes, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies. I discovered this just yesterday, as I was perusing my Wegmans MENU magazine (free when you sign up for a Wegmans shopper loyalty card). There in the back of the magazine, on page 135 (almost missed it!), was a brief mention of their gluten free -- yes, gluten free -- desserts! What? When did this happen, and how did I miss it? I'd heard rumblings about this a long time ago, but each visit to Wegmans turned up nothing gluten-free among the amazing ready-to-eat bakery items (save for the supposedly Chocolate Dome in the bakery case, which is good, but still bears a risk of cross contamination, as it's displayed alongside everything else). Turns out, they just rolled out their gluten free cookies, cupcakes, and brownies in early December... Read more →
I have to confess...French food has always been my favorite. Since I was a young teen and my parents took me out to my first truly French restaurant, I was in love with the food, the sauces, the bread... Ah...the bread. Well, that's not typically something you'll be able to indulge in at most French restaurants (unfortunately, I've found that too few offer gluten free bread), but you can still have a terrific meal while staying safe. Here are a few tips for dining gluten free at French restaurants, whether stateside or in France: 1.) Bring your own bread. To be honest, even if gluten free bread is offered at a French restaurant, I'm always nervous about where it's been baked and cut. There are just too many chances for cross-contact with regular bread and other sources of gluten. 2.) If you forget to bring your own gluten free bread (I always feel terrible if I forget to bring our son a gluten free roll), look on the bright side...you won't fill up on empty calories and will have more room for the wonderful French specialties (and maybe dessert!). 3.) Bring a gluten free dining card explaining your dietary needs,... Read more →
Every so often, a company sends me samples of a gluten free product to try. Recently, I was contacted by My Dad's Cookies, a company I wasn't familiar with and whose products I'd never seen. I agreed to try them, and WOW...was I glad I did! These are the closest thing to traditional Italian bakery cookies I've seen (and they're gluten free, of course). The box arrived, and inside were small boxes of many of their gluten free cookie varieties: Raspberry Linser, Chocolatta, Black and White, Chocolate Sandwich, Vanilla Graham, Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Lemon Drop, and Chocolate Chip. I was so excited to put them all on a big platter to show my son (actually, both my sons...I knew the non-GF son would be just as excited about sampling as my Celiac son!). Needless to say, they passed our taste tests with flying colors! My favorite were the Raspberry Linzer, and my sons liked the Lemon Drop and Chocolatta (which reminded us of a small, round version of Pepperidge Farm's Milano cookies). My Dad's Cookies was started by Elan Malina to give children with Celiac the same cookie treats they see their friends enjoying. Because these cookies look and taste... Read more →
Our family spent last weekend in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Presidents Cup ice hockey tournament with our younger son's Select hockey team. Despite the frigid weather, snow, and grey skies, we were reminded what a cool city this is -- and how many great "gluten-free friendly" places there are to eat. We visited some old favorites discovered on another trip to Pittsburgh a few years back...and also tried a few new places we'd found while researching places online prior to our trip. Our first stop -- literally upon arriving in town -- was Gluuteny bakery on Murray Avenue in the "Squirrel Hill" neighborhood. This gluten free, dairy free bakery is almost reason enough to visit Pittsburgh. We'd been there three years before, and we couldn't wait to go again. It just happened to be Valentine's Day, and I figured it could go one of two ways...either they'd have tons of stuff prepared for "last minute" shoppers, or they'd have sold out of most items by the time of our late afternoon arrival. Fortunately for us, there was a nice selection of items left, and let me tell you, we had a hard time choosing! So we pretty much bought one... Read more →
Nestled in a tiny town at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Rappahannock County, Virginia -- and not far from the popular Shenandoah National Park and scenic Skyline Drive -- sits a dedicated gluten free bakery called Triple Oak Bakery. If you're not paying attention as you drive along, you might miss this small cottage on the side of the road. But don't be fooled by its size. Plenty of delectable gluten free treats are made here, with lots of love and care, by owner Brooke Parkhurst. Her assortment of gluten free goodies is amazing -- custom made cakes, brownies (including cream cheese brownies) rugelach, cookies, cupcakes, scones, pies, coffee cake, bagels, babka, biscuits -- even quiche, chicken pot pie, samosas, and spanakopita. Having a party? Check out her sweet and savory party trays, too. Some items like scones, bagels, and oakcakes are now available for shipping. If you live in the DC Metro area, a visit to Triple Oak is a great excuse to take a drive out to the peaceful countryside and perhaps get the blood flowing while hiking one of the many, many trails in the area. Of course, this is more enjoyable during the... Read more →
I'd heard about the wonderful gluten free offerings at Sweet Christine's dedicated gluten free bakery in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania for years. Their reputation for wonderful gluten free baked goods has taken them from a local bakery to one that delivers nationwide and also has a thriving wholesale business. Despite good intentions, I've never had the opportunity to pay them a visit in person. Recently, however, I had some products sent to me by none other than Laura Hahn, Community Manager for Sweet Christine's and former winner of NBC's Next Local TV Chef. I met Laura last summer, while we were both volunteering at Camp Celiac in North Scituate, Rhode Island. I've been a parent counselor there for the past several years since my own Celiac son starting attending the camp. This was Laura's first summer, and she had volunteered her time to prepare the campers' gluten free meals for the week. How fortunate we all were to have Laura's talents in the kitchen! Laura has an interesting story herself...one not unlike many other Celiacs' stories of suffering with symptoms and going from doctor to doctor before being correctly diagnosed with Celiac. But her story actually began while she was deployed... Read more →
Many of you had used our mobile version of GlutenFreeTravelSite in the past, which enabled you to access our thousands of dining and travel reviews when "on the go." This mobile version will still appear anytime you enter our URL into the browser of any smart phone. However, for those of you who prefer to have a handy app on your phone, you'll be pleased to hear that the DINE GLUTEN FREE app is free and available for both iOS and Android devices. The improvements we've made make it more user-friendly than our mobile version, and there are a lot of great new features, too. Now, in addition to searching by town or zip code to access thousands of REVIEWS of GF-friendly places reviewed by other gluten free diners, you'll also be able to: Submit Your Own Review -- right from your smart phone Access a list of many Chain Restaurants that offer Gluten Free Menus -- and click through to get information about each restaurant, including links to their GF Menu, locations, coupons, Facebook page, and more! Easily use the "near2there" Reminder Service which will allow you to save "must try" restaurants and other GF-friendly businesses located in places... Read more →