Tag Archives: celiac

Breaking News: Most people on a gluten free diet kind of think it sucks

Posted on July 3, 2011 | 1 comment

I was reading this article on jacksonville.com by Mark Basch (The Gluten Free Glutton) about how “43 percent of people on a gluten-free diet rated their satisfaction as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor,’ with 35 percent rating it as ‘average.'” So that’s 78% of people on a gf diet that kind of think it sucks.

How sad is that?

Then I got to thinking about how I would rate my satisfaction with my diet.  And I think I’d say “above average”.  Or maybe “average”?  It’s such a weird question.

On the one hand, I still get to eat things like this massive Thanksgiving sandwich from Terri Vegetarian in NYC.  And I’m very satisfied.

But on the other, sometimes I have to buy the one gluten free veggie burger in the grocery store, which ends up tasting dry and looking like a dirt patty, and I have to slather it with hummus to make it edible.  Then? Not so satisfied.

How would you rate your satisfaction with your gluten free diet?

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Redemption for Sticky Fingers Bakery – Cookie Win

Posted on June 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

After a less than impressive trip to Sticky Fingers Bakery for a cupcake, I decided to give them another shot this weekend.  This time I had a laser focus on getting a chocolate chip cookie.

When I got there, however, there were none to be found in the case.  Only those darned dry cupcakes.   But then I asked the nice girl there if they had any, and she quickly retrieved one from the back room (not sure why they weren’t out…)

So I forked over my $2.25 and headed out to peruse the farmers market. Nothing like looking at rows and rows of vegetables while eating something made of 80% sugar and butter 😉

This cookie provided redemption for any wrong that Sticky Fingers could have done in the past.  It was more crispy than I usually like my cookies (which is just a bit more baked than straight-up dough), but the flavor was great.  Chock-full of brown sugar and so buttery it immediately greased up the brown paper bag (yum?).  Plus it reminded me of those giant bakery cookies that are sold at Panera or Starbucks that I usually drool over.

I ate a big chunk off, and saved the rest for when I had coffee in hand later, for the dunkability factor.

Now I will give Sticky Fingers my stamp of approval.  Steer away from the cupcakes, but crash head on into the cookies.

Sticky Fingers Bakery

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Cocomama Quinoa Cereal

Posted on June 24, 2011 | 1 comment

Before I moved to DC, I splurged on a bunch of non-perishables from G-Free NYC, including a packet of Cocomama Quinoa Cereal.  In the days when I was moving in, convenience was paramount for meals.  So this was a great option, as you basically just tear open the packet, nuke it, and squish it into a bowl.  I got the Banana Cinnamon (with a hint of Maple) variety.  But they also have Orange Cranberry, Honey Almond, and Wild Blueberry to choose from.

Now, whoever was the photographer for the pictures on their website must be a regular Ansel Adams, because mine did not end up looking anything like theirs.

Their pic:

My pic:

Mine looks about five shades darker, and I also just squirted it out right from the package, so it doesn’t have that nice fluffy-looking texture.

As far as how this stuff tastes – it is VERY rich.  It must be the coconut milk and maple syrup, but it sticks in your mouth and gut like peanut butter.  You’ve got to have a big tall glass of cold milk on hand to have with this.

I do like that they have found a way to make quinoa into a sweet dish, since I haven’t seen that done successfully.  They use simple ingredients, and have also kept the consumer in mind by making it extremely easy to prepare.  For those mornings when you don’t feel like dirtying dishes or doing prep work, these are a great solution.

Buy Cocomama products ($20 for a six pack of pouches)

Visit their awesome website

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Mike’s Lite Hard Lemonade – do I dare?

Posted on June 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

I just read this updated post on Gluten Free Gobsmacked about Mike’s Hard Lemonade Lite.  Surprisingly enough, I had never heard that this version of Mike’s was gluten free.  I always assumed that it was in the “malt beverage” category, and therefore off limits.  However, they claim that the lite version is gluten free on their website (and in a long Facebook message with Kate), meaning that they had it tested a bunch of times and it came back as being less than 5ppm gluten, which is far below the 20ppm limit you have to be under to be considered gluten free.  Read more about it on their site.

This used to be one of my favorite summer drinks, as it’s low in calories, refreshing, cheap, and kind of corny. Plus you can almost do that “bros icing bros” thing with it.

However, Kate at Gluten Free Gobsmacked had a reaction when she drank it…which makes me hesitant to sprint out the door right now to buy some, as I had originally planned on doing.

Do I dare?
I never could really resist a dare, or anything alcoholic mixed with lemonade, so I’ll probably give it a try.  I don’t have severe reactions like many others do, and I can’t imagine that a big company like theirs could be claiming the product to be gluten free still if many people are getting glutened from it.

If it IS gluten free, then this calls for a celebration!  If it turns out to NOT be gluten free… Mike himself can expect a strongly worded letter from yours truly.

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Teaism DC – Fool me once

Posted on June 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last weekend I had a lovely dinner and a movie lady date with a friend.  Dinner was at Teaism in Penn Quarter (they also have locations at Lafayette Park and Dupont Circle).  I was initially excited because they have a menu for dietary restrictions, some great reviews from a decade ago, and they were featured on Rachael Ray’s “40 Dollars a Day”.

I opted to get the shrimp ochazuke – a soup made with leftover brown rice, carrots, cabbage, and a big dollop of wasabi.  A pot of green tea comes on the side, which you pour over the main ingredients to make it soup.

Silly me – but I thought that there would be more to the soup than just what it looks like at face value.  But it tasted exactly like what it sounds like – brown rice with tea.  Hardly any flavor, except for the bit of heat from the wasabi – which I thought was kind of a weird addition anyway.

My friend got the salmon bento box, which looked wonderful, but sadly isn’t gluten free.  The tuna and veggie ones are though, with slight modification (no dressing on the tuna bento and no soy sauce on the veggie).  So, maybe I’ll try that next time.  Although there probably won’t be a next time, unless someone forces me.

Pic c/o wayfaringchocolate.wordpress.com

They were baking something in there that smelled like cinnamon amazingness, but none of their baked goods appeared to be gluten free 😦

Luckily watching Midnight in Paris made me forget about this forgettable meal, plus a little Pitango gelato for good measure.

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Think thin?

Posted on June 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about Think Thin bars since I watch this video on their website about why they make their products gluten free.

Gluten Free Diet Facts: Video by ThinkThin from ThinkThinTV on Vimeo.

The CEO of Think Thin has been gluten free for 12 years, and I love that the company is expanding and products are available in more and more stores.

Think thin bars also recently went through a label makeover, from this:

Old label

to this…

New label

Love the new look since it makes it much easier to determine which flavor you’re picking up; I can hone in on the blue icon to find my favorite white chocolate chip ones.

These are a great meal replacement, post-workout, or big snack option for me, since they have no sugar and 20 grams of protein.  Similar to Larabars, they are amazing frozen as well.  The Think Thin Bites are even better, since they’re half the size and usually I only want to eat a few bites of the big ones at a time.

The only thing that I have to complain about with Think Thin bars is that their marketing strategy seems off to me.  As far as I know, they are the only true gluten free protein bar (besides things like Kind bars that have natural protein from nuts in them).  But by marketing themselves as “weight management” bars, I think that they are actually a turn off to the gluten free community.  Maybe it’s just me, but I get immediately turned off when gluten free products try to hand hold with weight loss products.  I don’t want to “think thin”, I just want a dang snack that will fill me up and not make me sick.  It also seemed off to me that the CEO said that Think Thin was based off of “food that brings back her Italian heritage” and cooking in the kitchen with her grandparents? I don’t know when I ever cooked with protein blend isolate or maitol with my grandma.  But I appreciate the sentiment.

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Gluten Free Pizza Quest – DC

Posted on June 10, 2011 | 9 comments

So excited to post my first official eating out entry from Washington DC!

When I moved to DC I knew that one of my first orders of business was to find some decent gluten free pizza, since that is one of my favorite things to eat out.   In NYC I tried a ton of pizza (Risotteria, Mozzarelli’s, Slice, Naked Pizza), and narrowed it down to Pala Pizza as my favorite.  The first place that I tried in DC was Ella’s Pizza.

Pluses = they have a number of unique toppings (caramelized onions, gorgonzola and rosemary), they have gluten free beer (Redbridge and St. Peter’s)

Minuses = when you add $2 for the gf crust, it can get expensive for a 10 inch pizza, so I would recommend sharing.  But the biggest minus is that the crust is kind of bready and soggy.  I know it seems odd to describe something gluten free as “bready”, but it was.  I prefer my pizza thin and chewy though, so if you like a thicker crust you may like it.

Ella's margherita pizza

We also got the mini eggplant, parmesan and ricotta rolls as an appetizer.  These were alright, I guess.  They tasted good, but nothing that’s going to blow your mind.

Ella's eggplant rolls

Now, the second place that I tried might be the overall winner – trumping Pala Pizza in a surprising underdog victory.  What is this drool-worthy pizza?

Open City

First of all, I love that you can eat outside here and enjoy a Redbridge with a scenic view.

They also have a lot of other gf options on their gf menu that look amazing – like the Grilled Salmon with Coconut creamed corn & sautéed spinach.

And lastly, every Wednesday night they have a Gluten Free Pizza Party (squeal like a little girl).  When all of their gluten free pizzas are half priced.

The pizza is truly to die for.  It’s one of those things that make you stop and question for a second if it could really be this good and gluten free.  Then you just forget about it, push that thought out of your head, and shove another piece in your mouth.

Next time I’ll have to take a better picture…

Phone picture fail

This time I got the Julienned Vegetable pizza with zucchini, squash, carrots, pesto, parmesan & mozzarella.  I shared it with a friend and I still had a piece left over to take home.  This one was great – very cheesy and a good amount of EVOO spread throughout.  The thing that I love about this pizza is that it has that really great crust that is a bit hard to bite through, and then takes awhile to chew thoroughly.  I asked for a side of marinara to dip in, and next time I think I’ll get a tomato based pie.  Plus then I can take a better quality picture 🙂

Update (8/2/2011):

I went back to Open City with the Gluten Free Grazer, and got a traditional cheese pie with broccoli added. Even though it was no doubt a healthier alternative, I still preferred the greasy and cheesy julienne vegetable one 🙂

 

Ella’s Pizza

901 F Street NW, Washington DC

Gallery Place, Chinatown Stop Yellow, Red & Green Lines

Open City

2331 Calvert St. NW

Woodley Park, Red Line Metro

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