Tag Archives: celiac

Gluten free veggie burger review: Amy’s Bistro Burgers

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Good gluten free veggie burgers are something that I’m still on the hunt for, since I can’t seem to find my old stand-by Franklin Farms burgers anywhere in DC.

Usually Amy’s products are reliable, so I was excited to see their “Bistro Burgers” in the freezer at Whole Foods. For $5.49 for a box, they’re not cheap, but also less expensive than some of the other veg burgers in the case. (Note to self: attempt to make veggie burgers in your new food processor).

The burgers had a lot of flavor to them, which is sometimes lacking in veggie burgers. They also crisped up really nicely on the stove. I brought one to work and just microwaved it, and it ended up just falling apart into a kind of floppy patty. That sounds really gross, but it didn’t taste bad, it was just messy to eat. It’s also kind of worth it since the burgers don’t have soy protein in them, but instead have natural ingredients like beans, brown rice, and tofu.

These are best served with some kind of sauce – I made a wrap with hummus and it was super tasty.

Some burgers I’ve had that are not so tasty?

The Yucky List

  1. Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers – I just don’t get why these products are so popular. I find the veggie burgers to be kind of rubbery? Or gritty? Also, will someone please tell them to update their packaging? It looks like the cover of a nutrition book.
  2. Sunshine falafel burgers – these things are the worst. As dry as the desert. They’re also 230 calories each, which is just stupid.

Do you have any recommendations, or non-recommendations on gluten free veggie burgers? I’m always trying to find a better one!

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36 Hours in NYC – Chinese food and Terri love

Posted on October 1, 2011 | 4 comments

Over the last week I’ve been in and out of NYC for work, and tried to visit as many of my favorite places as I could. I didn’t quite get everywhere that I wanted to go, but here are a few highlights:

Terri Vegetarian – Flatiron

I’ve raved about Terri before, and since it’s right by my office I went there twice. They also recently created a menu that has all of their sandwiches reworked to be gluten free (just ask for it, they have it behind the counter). It’s basically just replacing any other fillings with their soy “chicken” strips, but still helpful to have.
I got the “Chicken” “Cheddar” “Ranch” wrap (so many quotation marks!) one time, and the Buffalo “Chicken” wrap the other.

I know that it weirds some people out, but I love Daiya cheese. It tastes like Velveeta to me, and I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. And the “ranch” dressing is really good, there’s a ton of flavor in it and I think I like it more than the bottled stuff.

Lili’s 57 – Midtown

This was a new one for me – gluten free General Tso’s shrimp! I haven’t eaten Chinese food like this since I was diagnosed, so it was a real treat. I can’t say that I really miss eating food like this, because it’s really heavy, but it was definitely delicious. And a side roll of sushi made it feel a bit healthier. They also carry Redbridge and have a full gluten free Chinese food menu.

Bluedog Cafe – Chelsea/Flatiron

I wouldn’t say that Bluedog caters to gluten free diners really, but they do almost always have a really yummy gluten free salad of some kind. This one was roasted carrots, butternut squash, and chickpeas. Holy Vitamin K.

Not pictured gluten free eats included a piece of cake from Mozzarelli’s, a bag of cookies from Babycakes, and a salad from the Birreria at Eataly, and a surprisingly fabulous bag of gluten free animal cookie from Duane Reade.

Being back in NYC sure did make me miss having all of my favorite gluten free places right around the corner, not to mention skylines like this:

I think that I can manage with my new DC skyline though. Nothing beats looking at this on your way to work every day.

Where would you go with 36 hours in the Big Apple? What are your “must-go” places in NYC?

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DC Veg Fest

Posted on September 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

This Saturday was DC Veg Fest, on the campus of George Washington University. Usually vegetarian/vegan events are gluten free-friendly, plus I love vegetables, so I was pumped.

Right away the tent for Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant caught my eye.

They had spring rolls and tiramisu that were marked gluten free. Unfortunately, by the time I walked around and got back to their tent, they were out of tiramisu. So sad.

Next logical choice? Mung bean pancake from Cafe Green. Just kidding, it was no tiramisu, but it was fine. I wasn’t really expecting mung beans to blow my mind.

Now, not to be a hater, but there were a few things about the VegFest that irked me.

  1. There were hardly any vegetables. There were cupcakes, Indian food, mac and cheese, and nachos. I swear if someone was selling cups of cut up vegetables they would have sold like hot cakes. As my friend Kaitlin says, there’s a difference between vegetarians and people who love vegetables.
  2. Equating vegetarianism with animal-loving. I mean, who doesn’t love animals? But it’s not the sole reason why people are vegetarians. And I wouldn’t really call myself an animal lover – they can do their own animal thing, and I’ll do my human thing, and if we happen to be together we’ll have a good ole time. At one point a speaker said that vegetarians are the “kindest people in the world”. Really? I know many a bitchy vegetarian that would prove otherwise.
  3. No balloon animals or games. It’s a festival people! Aside from one guy dressed up like a giant carrot, it was kind of a serious festival. We missed the cupcake eating contest, but if I’m going to a festival I’m expecting there to be a bean bag toss, or a magician or something. (Also, isn’t a vegan cupcake eating contest a total oxymoron?)

And that concludes my VegFest rant. I think I should stick with my gluten free peeps from now on.

 

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Cookshop: NYC

Posted on September 24, 2011 | 2 comments

One night in NYC, my boss took our team out to dinner at Cookshop in west Chelsea. Their menu looked great online, but I was even more impressed that they had a Meatless Monday special! Even though that menu wasn’t gluten free, I still appreciate the effort. I wish someone would start a Gluten-less Sunday or something.

I split the vegetable salad with my manager (sweet corn, cauliflower, fennel, carrots, radish, cucumber,lemon,mint). I don’t know what those little green things were on top, but I loved them.

The scallops seemed to be the favorite choice for an entree, so I went with them. Long Island sweet corn pudding, cherry tomatoes & arugula salad.

I love that restaurants in NYC can spin “Long Island sweet corn pudding” into being something trendy.

Really delicious. I could eat an ocean of scallops. Cookshop was a great choice for a mixed crowd of dietary restrictions – two of us don’t eat gluten, one doesn’t eat dairy, and there were plenty of choices for everyone.

Cookshop
156 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

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Vic’s Bagel Bar: NYC

Posted on September 23, 2011 | 6 comments

This week I was back in NYC for work, and was determined to fit in as many gluten free eats as possible. Even though Vic’s Bagel Bar was out of my way, the idea of being able to pick up a single bagel with cream cheese at a bagel shop, like any other “normal” person, was just too much of a lure to pass up.

And boy was it worth it.

That’s a gluten free everything bagel with about a tubs-worth of cream cheese.

Vic’s has a really cool concept for their shop – you pick a bagel, then pick a spread, then pick mix-ins. They custom make your spread, then make you a sandwich. They also have these neat looking things called “flagels” (flat bagels) that look like giant bagel chips.

I got a Vic’s Special – plain cream cheese mixed with smoked salmon, tomatoes, and scallions.

Talk about splurge. See that oozy cream-cheesy goodness? This bagel was something that I couldn’t believe I could eat. It was just like any other bagel I remember.

The gluten free bagels are kept on the counter in their own special area far from the regular bagels. It seems like their regular bagels are a hit too, since there were a few groups of cops that came in while I was there. And cops know a good bagel when they see one.

I got a plain bagel to take home with me, and it’s nestled safely in my freezer for a special birthday bagel breakfast coming up soon.

All of those varieties are gluten free: sesame, poppyseed, plain, and everything. I wish they had a cinnamon raisin one – que sera sera though. Carbo loading is sometimes necessary.

Vic’s Bagel Bar
544 3rd Avenue (Cross Street 36th St)
New York, NY, 10016

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Mrs. Crimble’s: when gluten free goes wrong

Posted on September 18, 2011 | 3 comments

Last week Mrs. Crimble’s cheese bites were on sale at Whole Foods. And since I’ll buy pretty much anything on sale and gluten free, I figured “what the heck?” and threw them in my basket.

The cheese bites replace wheat flour with cheese, which is cool, and also looked like Bugles on the package. And my heart still beats for Bugles, so I had high hopes for these little cheesy babies.

So, let me start by saying that these, in no way, tasted like sour cream and onion. They tasted like…nothing really. With a slight aftertaste of cheese. They’re also too pointy and thin, so it’s like eating sharp cheese paper.

This video review from GFree TV seems to agree with me – they’re just not good.

They’re not salty, don’t taste like much, and were overpriced (I think about $4 for about a single-serving bag).

I also saw on Mrs. Crimble’s website that they make the chocolate macaroons that I hated. They looked just like the Girl Scout cookies Samoas, which were my favorite. But they were really dense and overly chewy. I ended up throwing out the package. And that’s saying something, considering I’m a cookie monster in training.

I would have been better off making my own gluten free Samoas with this recipe from Gluten Free Betsy.

Is it because Mrs. Crimble’s is a British company? Who knows. Just don’t buy it. Even if it is on sale at Whole Foods 🙂

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DC Celiac Meetup at Finn & Porter

Posted on September 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

After work yesterday I went to the DC Celiac happy hour at Finn and Porter. They had put together a special gluten free happy hour menu which had $5 glasses of wine and $5 Redbridge, Bard’s Tale, and Woodchuck Cider, as well as some great appetizers.

Like chips, hummus, and guacamole…

The head chef at Finn & Porter, chef Aaron Flores, came out and sat with our table and is super knowledgeable about gluten free cooking. He’s actually the National Executive Chef of the Celiac Sprue Association. He will take care of you if you ever eat there. Most of their dinner menu is already gluten free, using arborio rice and potatoes instead of other common side dishes like cous cous or pasta.

I also got the rock shrimp with sweet Thai chili sauce (and fun crunchy noodle things).

Fried goodness. It tasted like sweet and sour chicken, only shrimp. I don’t usually eat fried food, so this was a total treat.

Another benefit of the meetup (besides meeting a bunch of hilarious, nice, gluten free people) was getting some great restaurant recommendations. Now I’ve added Sette Osteria, Lilit Cafe, and Pete’s Apizza to my list of places to try.

Special thanks to Vanessa for hosting! I wish that I could go to the Bite Back at Celiac Gala that she’s a part of, but tickets are just a bit out of my price range 🙂

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Good Things Monday

Posted on September 12, 2011 | 1 comment

Starting the week off right, by celebrating some of my favorite things at the moment!

1. Pop up farmers markets

Since Eastern Market is always a madhouse, I love the smaller farmer’s markets that pop up around the city. Like the one in McPherson Square every Thursday where I sampled about ten local cheeses.

Before deciding on this yummy local havarti from Keswick Creamery. They also had a really yummy chocolate pudding, and spreadable cheeses (like Boursin).

At the pop up market on U Street I got a kind of apple I’ve never tried before: zestar. I’m so excited that apple season is here.

And lastly, there was a random bake sale across from Flow Yoga on P Street on Saturday where I got a gluten free German chocolate cupcake, and this rice crispy-type treat.

2. Nutritional yeast

I’ve heard about nutritional yeast for awhile, but haven’t tried it yet because it just doesn’t sound all that appealing. But then I heard that it was in Cafe Green’s delicious mac and cheese, so I figured it couldn’t be all that bad. I got a small bag from the Whole Foods bulk bins to give it a try.

I used it to top some roasted eggplant and it tastes remarkably like parmesan cheese, only meltier and milder. Apparently it’s full of B vitamins and other goodforyou stuff, so I will definitely use it as a parm substitute again.

3. National Celiac Disease Awareness Day is tomorrow!

Check out this list of 13 ways you can celebrate the day from Celiac Central. I’ll be doing:

#1: Share the Celiac Symptoms Checklist. I’ll be sending the list out to my friends and posting on social network. Chances are someone I know is a closet Celiac.

#3: Go for a run. Pre-diagnosis I felt so awful there was no way I could run. I will celebrate my health and run a bit longer and faster.

#8: Have a party. I won’t have a full-blown party (maybe next year 🙂 ) but I will be making some gluten free baked goods to bring into my office.

Are you doing anything to celebrate Celiac Awareness Day? And how psyched are you that it actually exists now?!

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Mudgie’s Deli and a Detroit Wedding

Posted on September 9, 2011 | 4 comments

My favorite meal when I was in Michigan hands down was the triple decker tuna sandwich I got from Mudgie’s Deli in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit (where the cool kids live). It was love at first site for Mudgies and me – they only serve Faygo pop, they use local ingredients, and they have Udi’s bread to substitute in any of their amazing sandwiches. Too bad they can’t find a Michigan-based gluten free bread provider – I may have to suggest one to them.

Do you want to know the last time I had a sandwich in a restaurant?

Couldn’t tell you. A year ago? Two? Never?

Enter the Sorry Charlie: tuna salad with capers, Dill Havarti cheese, cucumber, tomato and mixed greens, served with a side of honey mustard dressing. And a McClure’s dill pickle (love).

Then I got a side of coleslaw to add to my sandwich. You know, since it obviously wasn’t big enough.

Yum – I love coleslaw when it’s like this, nice and crunchy. They also have some interesting soups every day, which they update and let you know if they are gluten free on their Twitter feed.

Runner up for my favorite meal was the reception dinner at the wedding of my friend. I waited patiently as the rest of the table enjoyed the bread basket, and was excited to see an interesting salad as the first course (no ice burg and ranch dressing for this girl!). This one had roasted pears, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and endive.

My special gluten free meal was a salmon pinwheel with risotto and asparagus, in some kind of delicious cream sauce. The wedding coordinator had come around before dinner and made sure she knew who I was, so I didn’t have to worry about a thing…besides how I was going to eat all of this food and not pop the zipper open on my dress that is.

It was also great to have such a filling meal. Usually you’ll end up with a plain piece of fish and vegetables, but I couldn’t even finish my plate, which is saying something since I’m usually the chairman of the “Clean Plate Club”.

Mudgie’s Deli
1300 Porter St
Detroit MI 48226
Map

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Greengos

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 2 comments

I had so many places I wanted to try in Michigan when I went home last weekend that I had to prioritize. We’ll start with the most important meal of the day! On Saturday I decided to grab breakfast at Greengos in Grosse Pointe Park, even though their lunch menu looks so yummy. Especially the polenta souffle.

Greengos Menu

I’m actually kind of proud that a place like Greengos exists in my hometown. Detroit isn’t exactly known for its health food (as the 7th unhealthiest city in the nation, ahem), but Greengos makes everything in house and uses local, organic ingredients. They also have a ton of gluten free options.

All labeled and covered to prevent cross contamination. High five!

I picked up a pear currant muffin, and a cherry energy bar made with sunflower seeds.

But the real highlight of the trip was the latte that I got made from their homemade almond milk.


This was the frothiest dang latte I have ever had!

It was super rich and creamy, and the guy who made it for me took such care with it. I drink almond milk all the time, but this was in a class of its own. They have both raw almond milk and raw almond vanilla milk that they make in house – and just like that I have a new coffee obsession.

Additional things that I love about my hometown? That someone has this sign up in earnest as an advertisement for his law firm. Am I on the set of Gilmore Girls?

And that there are genius window displays like this one. Yes, that is a bald woman and her mannequin friend barbequeing a banana. Makes perfect sense…

I also still love the Pancake House, where I went for breakfast on Sunday. Even though I can’t eat the pancakes or crepes there that I used to love with an unsurpassed devotion, I’ve made do. Bananas with a side of whipped cream? That seems like a great idea.

More Michigan gluten free to come. I did a lot of eating last weekend…

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