I just learned from the Gluten-Free Examiner, Jennifer Harris, that there will be a gluten-free expo on Saturday, August 7 from 12-4, at the Buckhead Whole Foods.  There will be demonstrations and gluten-free vendors so you should definitely check out this GF event.

Whole Foods has been a very successful grocery chain, with mixed reviews.  Some criticize it for pushing out smaller, local, natural food stores while others applaud it for bringing quality ingredients to communities and supporting some (not all) local farms.  A January article in the New Yorker entitled, “Food Fighter” featured Whole Foods’ founder and CEO, John Mackey.  This article provides an interesting perspective on the store and Mackey.  It’s worth the read.

Whole Foods' CEO John Mackey

Despite the controversy associated with this high-end grocery store, I always appreciate Whole Foods’ large selection of gluten-free foods, and random ingredients like quinoa, almond flour, bean sprouts, and every nut you can imagine.

Here are some of my favorite things about Whole Foods:

• Great selection and prices on wine (10% off if you buy in bulk.)
• Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse Pie Crust (Great for Tomato Pie & Quiche)
• Each item in salad bar is clearly labeled with ingredients
• Amazing cheese selection
• The best store bought gluten-free cupcakes, ever.
• People say Whole Foods is expensive (and it is) but there are good deals to be found.  Cedar’s hummus is often “Bo-Go” and Lara Bars are often the best price in town.  (You get an extra 10% off if you buy the whole box.)
• Whole Foods meets all of the shopping needs for the contestants on Top Chef.  (Sometimes the tilapia’s frozen or one contestant buys out all of the lamb chops before his opponent can get to them, but for the most part Whole Foods has everything.)

Thoughts on Whole Foods?  Favorite Saturday splurge when wandering the aisles?

On Wednesday night, I finally went to my inaugural Atlanta Braves’ game with our friends Ross and Jen.  Thankfully, the weather cooled off nicely and we got a great lightning show in the background of the game.

Not only was the game fun (and the Braves won), but I got to try out the gluten-free food stand, located at section 106.  I ordered the hamburger, which comes with a bun made with tapioca and rice flour. It’s hard to believe that in the same week, I got to eat hamburgers with gluten-free buns at two different places in the ATL.  Ridiculous.

While my burger wasn’t anything fancy, it was ballpark cuisine and it’s fun to enjoy greasy, made 2 hours ago, food at a baseball game.  It’s all part of the experience, right?  And we, celiacs, should be able to partake in the experience, and enjoy a cold beer (Redbridge) if we’re feeling parched.

The total cost for a Redbridge beer and a GF hamburger was $13.  So just like everyone else at a professional sports event, I paid too much for my food, but it could have been worse, considering we’re used to spending more money on gluten-free food.  All part of the ballpark experience!

Other items on the menu include: hot dogs, chicken sandwich, popcorn, potato chips, macaroons and even cupcakes made by American Gra-Frutti.

Make sure you get to Turner Field this summer and keep the gluten-free stand in business.  Hopefully even more professional sports teams will serve gluten-free options at their concession stands.  Do you know of any others?  Please share!  Here’s a list of some of the other professional sports teams I’ve found:

Washington Nationals: Gluten-Free Pretzels & Redbridge Beer at Noah’s Pretzels in Sections 106 & 318

Minnesota Twins: Angie’s Kettle Corn – Sold on Target Plaza and vended in the stands

• Farmers market – Section 141: Whole fruit, Carrots with Ranch dipping sauce, Gluten Free Nut snacks
• Veggie Kabobs – Section 133
• Shrimp Skewers – Section 133
• Turkey Leg – Sections 133,311
• Pork Chop on a stick – Section 133
• Fruichi Smoothies – Vended in the stands
• Talenti Gelato – Sections 141, 302
• Red bridge Beer – Sections 116, 124, 325
• Bunless Grilled chicken – available throughout Target Field
• Bunless Hot Dogs – available throughout Target Field

Philadelphia Phillies:

• Gluten free snacks and gluten free hotdogs and buns (South Philly Market behind section 128)
• Red Bridge Beer (concession stand by section 139 – near the Schmitter, behind section 204 on the Pavilion Level, behind section 323 on the Terrace Level, and Brewerytown stand on Ashburn Alley)
• Bull’s BBQ food (Ashburn Alley): All meat product, Bull’s barbecue sauce, cole slaw, beans

Colorado Rockies: Gluten-Free Concession Stand at Section 147 serving hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, chips, cookies, brownies and Redbridge beer.

Guest blogger, Lucy Glaize, used her first hand experience to respond to the points I made in my earlier post, Dorms, Tailgating & Cafeterias: Gluten-Free College Advice.  Lucy continues to make the most of her college experience, and does not let celiac get in the way of enjoying University of Vermont.  I am amazed by her positive attitude and the proactive way she embraces her gluten-free life.  From leading the UVM celiac group to running marathons, Lucy doesn’t let anything stop her.

Be Prepared: I always keep a simple and easy snack like rice cakes and peanut butter in my room.  They are easy and tasty!  I bring rice cakes with peanut butter to class with me when I do not have time to sit down for lunch on campus.  I also like to mix it up and top this snack with raisins, chocolate chips, banana slices, etc.  Cereal is also a necessity to have on hand in the dorm room.  My favorite cereal combination is Nature’s Path Whole O’s mixed with Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise.  I also enjoy the GF Cinnamon Chex when I have a sweet tooth. I keep milk in my mini-fridge for when I want a full bowl of cereal, but also take dry cereal with me sometimes as a snack.  My roommate and I also have two “food baskets” in our room- one gluten free and one for her gluten-filled snacks.

Late Night Snacks: This is one of the harder parts of being gluten free at college.  Watching friends devour late night snacks like pizza definitely requires self-control!  My all time favorite “late night snack” to have on hand in my dorm room, is the Thai Kitchen instant soup.  It is essentially the gluten free version of Ramen.  There is a microwave in the common room on my hall that I use to make the Thai Kitchen easily in just minutes.  There is also a pizza place in downtown Burlington called Mr. Mike’s that is open late night.  Mr. Mike’s serves all sorts of sports-pub food and appetizers along with their pizza, including the tastiest sweet potato french fries.  I have been there during slower hours to discover that they fry their potatoes and their battered foods in separate oils at a decent distance from each other in order to keep the french fries gluten free!

Make Friends With The People Who Make Your Food: This is one part of having Celiac that I am good at doing!  It may be hard at first, but being confident about what you want to (and, more importantly, what you can) eat is very important.  The good news is most people now know a good bit about Celiac Disease or have at least heard of it.  Whenever I come across someone who doesn’t know too much about it, I take the opportunity to teach him or her about celiac in a way that makes them eager to help me out. I briefly describe gluten intolerances, explain in detail what exactly gluten is, and I add a couple examples of foods that unexpectedly contain gluten, such as soy sauce.  When I was a freshman at boarding school, I even printed out some info about Celiac for the cooks in the dining hall to post.  After establishing a good friendship with the people who cooked my food, they wanted to feed me exactly what I was comfortable eating.

The University of Vermont does an amazing job supporting a gluten-free diet.  Each dining hall has a gluten free section.  There is gluten free cereal, bread, frozen waffles, bagels, and cookies.  There are also separate jelly bins and a separate toaster reserved to be 100% gluten free.  The other dining services at UVM serve special gluten-free foods like falafels, soup, sandwiches, and corn tortilla quesadillas and tacos.  The people in the deli line are required to change their gloves and have a clean surface to prepare the gluten-free meals.  I also made friends with the man who makes sautéed vegetable wraps at one of my favorite places to eat.  He knows me now, and understands the importance of replacing the wrap with rice or quinoa then serve it all piled together on a plate.

If dining services at other colleges or boarding schools do not have these options, I suggest speaking directly to the chefs during slow hours, not at mealtime.  In high school, the chefs let me keep my own gluten-free bread and cereal in the dining hall.  The most important part to me about making friends with the people who cook your food is to get them excited about making gluten-free options available.  After exploring different places to eat on campus, you will find steady gluten-free options that you trust.  You should have the same opportunities to eat on campuses that other students do!

Tailgating:  To be honest, UVM does not have tailgating.  (In fact, it is the only Division I state university without a football team.)  However, I do like tailgating when visiting friends at other schools.  My mom also knows I enjoy events like this.  For example, at the Apple Blossom Festival parades in my hometown of Winchester, VA, all of the parade route yard parties have all sorts of delicious, open container snacks and hors d’oeuvres.  At Apple Blossom in 2004 (just one month after being diagnosed), my mom brought a bag of Lundberg gluten free rice chips with an attractive serving dish to some of the places we were invited.  The bowl of chips was set aside where no one else would contaminate them.  At first I was embarrassed to have a bowl set aside for my “special” snacks.  I quickly got over that, though, and was thankful not to have to carry my own snack or just not eat anything at all.   Keeping snacks off to the side or in my own bag is a discrete way of going about having gluten free treats at an event with lots of grab-and-go foods without having to ask or worry about cross contamination from foods I assumed would be gluten free.

Weekend Activities:  Whenever my friends and I take weekend trips to go skiing, hiking, etc., I always get a little apprehensive about meal times.  It is definitely necessary to bring my own breakfast.  It is easy to pack a box of cereal, and usually fruit and milk during a grocery store trip can be communal and remain uncontaminated during the weekend.  If we will not be cooking or if the group is too big to cook an entirely gluten free meal, I bring my own instant gluten free dinners.  Although they are not the tastiest, frozen Amy’s entrees and instant Thai Kitchen soups do the trick.  Of course for outdoor activities, fruit and nut bars are the perfect travel size snack packed with lots of energy.

I came along another bump in the road regarding easy, gluten free energy bars when I ran my first marathon in October 2009.  I definitely needed a little something to raise my blood sugar level during the race.  I do not prefer the small packs of energy “goo,” and of course could not have someone handing me bite size pieces of a peanut butter sandwich that would not crumble in a quick hand off.  The best option I came up with was having my sister pass me bite-size pieces of the gluten free bar made by Clif Bar called Clif Nectar. (I prefer the Lemon Vanilla Cashew flavor.)  It is much easier to chew (less crunchy) than the normal gluten free fruit and nut bars, but is still packed with lots of nutrients and energy!

Lucy, enjoying a Clif Nectar Bar, during her marathon

Adjusting to the gluten free college life definitely takes time, and doesn’t happen instantly.  Initially, I was very anxious and hesitant about eating food that I did not prepare or that was not clearly labeled “gluten free.”  I started off just eating simple, low ingredient foods like salad until I fell into the groove of my schedule to figure out when and where I needed to eat.  As increasingly more people discover gluten intolerances, more and more gluten free options become available.  Living gluten-free only gets easier each day, even for college students!

When I heard Anne Palmer, program director for Johns Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future, speak at the Georgia Organics Conference a few weeks ago, she showed photos of all of the random places that sell food.  Think about it for a second…why does Petco sell soda?  Why does Office Depot offer an array of M&Ms and Starburst?  No one ventures out to Staples looking for a Diet Coke.  These items placed carefully at the front of the store are what we refer to in the Metcalf house as ‘impulse buys.’

I must say though, I enjoyed seeing Palmer’s photos of brightly packaged food in the oddest places.  I loved picturing her carrying her camera everywhere, waiting to photograph a random shelf of ‘food.’  I couldn’t help but think about my endless searches through stores for any gluten-free products.  In my own travls, or just around town, I scour any food store, airport, bakery, or restaurant for a possible GF treat.  Anyone who has traveled with me knows that I’m more interested in shopping at natural markets than clothing boutiques.

When my friend, Anne, sent me the photo above, I was also reminded of Palmer’s photo slide show.  Of course I’m much happier about the shelf of food displayed in the picture because it’s all gluten-free.  No, Anne didn’t find this plethora of GF items at Pet Smart or 7-Eleven, but she did find it at…Target!  The Atlantic Station Target now sells quite the selection of gluten-free products, including my favorite pretzels by Glutino, Bob’s Red Mill GF oats, and the Betty Crocker baking mixes.  I can’t wait to go stock up.

Does your Target sell gluten-free items yet?  Feel free to send me any of your discoveries of unlikely spots where you find GF items.  We all need a little guidance as we navigate the gluten-free world!

Target at Atlantic Station – 1375 18th Street – Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Check out this great Recipes IPhone Application that David recently discovered.  Created by Whole Foods, you can search for recipes and there are many filters and categories you can use while searching.  Of course I love it because you can search for only gluten-free recipes.  Other dietary related filter options include low fat and vegetarian.  You can search ‘quick & easy,’  ‘make ahead,’ and ‘budget.’  Best of all, it’s free!

If a friend invites you over for dinner and they want to cook a gluten-free meal for you, this app is a great starting point and helpful guide to offer them.  Some of the recipes listed even include gluten-free chocolate chocolate chip cookies and cranberry banana quinoa bread!  Let me know if there are any recipes you plan on making courtesy of the ‘Whole Foods Recipes.’

My apologies for the delay in writing this post.  I love my subscription to Bon Appetit and usually I devour the material the minute it arrives.  When my January issue arrived, I was wrapped up in my favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver’s, new book, The Lacuna, so I held off on diving into Bon Appetit.  Of course when I was ready to start reading this month’s issue, I couldn’t locate my copy.  Fortunately, David found it yesterday on our coffee table, and I immediately started scouring its contents.  Even though Bon Appetit doesn’t create recipes that are labeled ‘gluten-free,’ they have many recipes that are naturally gluten-free, and the ones that aren’t GF, I simply modify to make gluten free.

To my surprise and excitement, Bon Appetit’s Conscious Cook selected her “Top 3” brands of gluten-free pasta.  While I’m not a huge pasta person in the first place, I will say the editor was smart to select pasta brands that use a combination of flours, such as corn and quinoa, as opposed to just rice.  She selected Riso Bello Spaghetti al Riso, Ancient Harvest Supergrain Quinoa, and Rustichella d’Abruzzo Organic Corn Spaghetti.  Cooking gluten-free pasta can be a little tricky because it gets sticky pretty easily, but I find that good brands don’t taste too different from regular pasta.  Bon Appetit’s attention to gluten-free items is another example of the rising prevalence of celiac and gluten intolerance in the U.S.  This only affirms my belief that you can be a gluten-free foodie.

What gluten-free pasta brand do you prefer?  Do you have a favorite pasta dish?  I enjoy tossing homemade pesto with chicken and pasta.  While fresh basil is not seasonal right now, it makes me excited for warmer weather ahead.  We’re not too far from spring, right?

I just learned from my gluten-free buddy, Jennifer Harris of the Gwinnett Gluten-Free Examiner, that select Starbuck’s are going to start offering new snacks on January 12^th that are 220 calories or less per serving and 8 of the 9 items are gluten-free!

What great news!  After the gluten-free orange Valencia cakes flopped last spring, I’m excited that Starbuck’s is giving gluten-free products another try.  I hope that this attempt will be more successful.  I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely more likely to buy these new snacks than an orange cake. (If I’m eating cake, I want to to be chocolate!)  All of these snacks are pre-packaged so you don’t have to worry about contamination AND there is such a variety so you can satisfy your sweet tooth or your salt craving while enjoying your tasty, hot beverage.

This list of new products include some of my personal favorite gluten-free snacks, including:

Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips: I discovered these this summer and they are delicious.  As you know, I love all things sweet potato and these are great with hummus or plain.

Lucy’s Cookies: These cookies are also dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free. The woman who created this line is from Norfolk, Virginia, my birthplace and home state.  I love these cookies because they actually taste like real cookies and I have always enjoyed eating them with coffee or tea. Perfect for Starbuck’s!  I prefer the cinnamon variety.  My gluten-eating mom enjoys these cookies with her tea too.

Kind Bars: if you’re in need of an energy boost while on the go, these fruit and nut bars have lots of protein, fiber and all natural ingredients.  I prefer the ‘Fruit & Nut’ variety.  I really enjoy the texture and crunch of these bars.  If I’m traveling I always carry Kind Bars and Lara Bars in case I’m caught without a food option on the plane or on a layover in the airport.

For a full list of Starbuck’s new products, check out Jennifer’s post on the Examiner.

As I write this post, I’m at the Starbuck’s on Howell Mill Road in Atlanta’s Westside and I just asked them if they’ll be carrying this new line of snacks starting tomorrow and they said, ‘Yes!’  They told me they’ll actually have them out this afternoon.

These treats are great whether you’re gluten-free or not and much healthier than the tempting baked goods behind that glass wall.  Let me know what Starbuck’s locations are offering these new snacks.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been wanting to experiment with seasonal, holiday recipes.  One of my all-time favorite holiday desserts is apple pie.  Apples are currently in season so I decided to experiment with a recipe borrowed from my celiac buddy, Anne, who made this delicious pie a few weeks ago.  She and I both used the Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse pie crust which is so yummy and saves lots of time.  I keep vowing that I’m going to start making pie crust from scratch, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet.

I used fresh, north Georgia apples for my apple pie.  I didn’t stick to just one variety either.  You do want to use more tart varieties of apples when baking with apples, as opposed to golden delicious and red.

I tweaked Anne’s recipe a little bit, by adding some lemon juice to keep the apples tart, using a combination of flours and, adding more apples.  I can’t get enough apples in my apple pie!  The component of Anne’s recipe that I liked the most and made this pie unique was the use of chopped pecans on top.  The pecans add great texture and flavor to this dessert.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 3-4 lbs. large apples of different varieties (you can see from the photos that my pie was quite tall because I used a lot of apples)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon white rice flour
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Let Whole Foods pie crust get to room temperature.  Preheat oven to 350.

Peel, core and slice apples into ¼ inch slices and put in a bowl.  Add the other filling ingredients to the bowl and stir.  Put filling into pie crust.

Mix topping ingredients together, making sure that the butter starts to mash with other ingredients.  You can use a mixer if you’d prefer.  I didn’t but it might have made it a little easier.  Evenly spread this mixture onto the top of the pie filling.  (It will seem like a lot but it’s really not, as it will cook down.)

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, then turn down heat to 325 and bake for another 40 minutes.  Serve warm and with vanilla ice cream.  You can make the pie earlier in the day and even go ahead and bake it.  Just reheat it when ready to serve.  David and I found the leftovers to be even better than the first time we ate it.  Enjoy!

Not enough time in your day to prepare a delicious, healthy dinner?  No fear!  The Dinner A’Fare at Northlake creates fresh, nutritious meals and they will go out of their way to make sure gluten-free people can safely enjoy their services.  The ingredient lists are simple with minimal ingredients, so it’s easy to know whether or not your meal is ‘safe’ to eat.  The Dinner A Fare provides an economical and fresh alternative to take out for the busy family.

I contacted Carol Rice at the Northlake Dinner A Fare about six weeks ago to see if they can accommodate gluten-free customers.  Carol immediately informed me that they have gluten-free soy sauce on hand and that they want to make their meals ‘gluten-free friendly.’  I have since been in contact with Carol multiple times about various meal options, hidden gluten and even the best gluten-free flours.

So how does Dinner A Fare work?  Dinner A’Fare creates a new menu each month and you can purchase meal packages depending on the number of people you need to feed and how many meals you want.   Each month there are about 15 different options, ranging from Kung Pao Chicken to Argentinian Grilled Flank Steak with Black Bean Vinaigrette.  You pick up the meal at their Northlake or Northside Drive location and it comes in bags with instructions for how to cook the meal yourself.  This makes your food taste fresh and you get to enjoy part of the preparation process.  All of the ingredients are there; you just put it together and bring it to your table.

The folks at The Dinner A Fare, Northlake have discovered that many of their meals can easily be made gluten-free, with just a few changes.  They have also gone through all of their ingredients, looking for hidden glutens, which were found in things like beef base and some thickeners.  They’ve purchased gluten-free alternatives for those ingredients.  The Dinner A Fare at Northlake has also purchased gluten-free flour, bread crumbs and oats to keep on hand to prepare meals for gluten-free customers.  Carol is also aware of contamination, and the need to only use clean utensils and dishes when preparing gluten-free meals.  Of course there are some things on the menu, such as the calzones that will not have a gluten-free option, but most of the items on the November menu are naturally gluten-free or can be tweaked to be gluten-free.

The Dinner A Fare also created a Thanksgiving holiday package that serves eight people, comes with turkey breast and all kinds of delicious sides, including sour cream & chive mashed potatoes, sweet potato soufflé and a broccoli cheddar bake.  For the gluten-free version of the holiday package, Carol and her great staff will make a version of the stuffing using rice and the dessert will be an apple crisp using certified gluten-free oats.  Sounds delicious!

Carol nicely gave David and me one of the meals, the Steak Diane., to try last week.  Now being that I’m someone that loves to cook, I was a little skeptical about the meal and worried that it wouldn’t taste fresh or home cooked.  David and I were amazed by our meal.  The steak was so tender and the sauce was delicious.  The preparation of the meal was a breeze as the instructions were simple and easy to follow.  The Dinner A Fare provides the main dish and you can purchase sides from them, but David and I just made our own.  Mashed potatoes and roasted carrots went perfectly with the Steak Diane.  Carol went over all of the ingredients with me in the Steak Diane and she put the meal components together right in front of me so I knew exactly what was going into my food.  Check out our yummy dinner:

If you’re interested in looking into the gluten-free dinners and/or holiday meals at The Dinner A Fare in Northlake, you should contact Carol directly at the email address below.  She has worked with people with gluten allergies before and she is eager to accommodate all diners.  Feel free to ask her any questions you might have and I know that she will be happy to answer them.  She is eager to help and serve, and work with her customers to provide them with good food.  Let me know if you try any of the other meals at The Dinner A Fare.

Isn’t it nice to have more and more options in the food world?

Carol Rice: northlake@dinnerafare.com

4805 Briarcliff Road
#105
Atlanta, GA 30345
770-934-1140

Halloween is drawing near and this is the first of many holidays in the next few months.  For those of us with celiac, or those who are parents of children with celiac, there are many things we have to think about as the holidays approach.  In the upcoming months, I’ll post ideas, advice and recipes in hopes of making your holiday celebrations fun, as well as keeping your bellies full and gluten-free!

When one thinks of Halloween, candy is often the first thing to come to mind.  Here are a few of my favorite gluten-free candies:

• Reese’s Cups
• Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms (all M&Ms, except the crispy, are GF)
• Starburst
• York Peppermint Patties

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) has a great list of gluten-free candy and snacks that was updated recently, in July 2009.  Click here to download their comprehensive list.  One of the great things about candy is that as long as it’s on the GF list, you know it’s safe!  Since it’s in a wrapper, you don’t have to worry about contamination as you do with baked goods.

If your child has celiac disease and you’re going trick or treating, you might want to take along some GF candy, just in case the first few houses don’t have anything gluten-free and he or she might want something to snack on along the way.  Also, you might want to drop some GF candy off at neighbors’ homes or your child’s class in preparation for trick or treating festivities.  Be sure to go through your child’s trick or treat bag before they eat anything so that you can weed out the treats containing gluten.

I’ll be baking my monster cookies this weekend using Halloween M&Ms so that I can enjoy something sweet at the parties I’m attending.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies so you can bring them to multiple events.  This recipe includes peanut butter, M&Ms, GF oats, and chocolate chips.  Delicious and so easy!  Note: Just make sure when you bring the cookies (and other GF baked goods) to a party, you put them away from all of the crumby gluten-filled items.  Maybe ask your host if there’s a small coffee table where they can be displayed.

Happy Halloween!