Friday, October 29, 2010

Frozen dessert tasting event at Whole Foods in Duluth

The owner of Almond-licious Ice Supreme contacted me last week about his tasting event at the Duluth Whole Foods tomorrow (Oct. 30th). The event runs from 1-4 pm. The company makes a non-dairy dessert that is gluten, dairy, rice and soy free. It's also vegan and raw. The product contains nuts and the company is local so if you're at the Duluth Whole Foods tomorrow afternoon, be sure to give Ice Supreme a try. I have not tried it yet so I can't comment on how it tastes, but here are some comments from very satisfied customers of the nut based frozen treat.



   

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Katz Gluten Free arrives at Ingles!

Katz Gluten Free is a company that someone from Chattanooga told me about via a comment about gluten-free bread on Celiac-Disease.com.

Eventually, the company ended up sending me a goodie box of many different things to try, but the only thing I needed from the line were the Challah rolls. It turns out that they work great as a whole wheat type hamburger bun!

The mini Challah - or dinner rolls - in the line are as delicious as the larger size. They are the same thing of course, just smaller. The smaller rolls work great for sliders if you're into eating small burgers. Anyway, for whatever reason, Katz Gluten Free items have been missing at Atlanta stores - until now. Leah, the Ingles dietitian, tweeted about the dinner rolls being on the way to Ingles stores here a while back. I went into the location nearest us to look for them but they'd not arrived at that time.

Finally, last week I found out the Katz rolls were at the Ingles near us so we headed there that evening. There were only four packs and I didn't want them to sell out before I arrived since I only had one Challah roll in the freezer (not one bag - one roll!). The Katz dinner rolls are in the freezer next to Udi's bread (which is only $3.98 with your Ingles card or $4.39 without it!) and I bought three of the four packs left. The small rolls are a perfect dinner roll, but they also make a mean pb&j sandwich. Yes, it's a weird combination but trust me - it's really delicious!

Ingles is the only mainstream grocery store in this area that acts swiftly to satisfy their gluten-free customers requests. The smaller a company, the faster change can come about and that is very evident when looking at Ingles. In fact, it's surprising how fast they can change with the times. On the other hand, when I asked Publix to bring in the gluten-free cookie dough from Immaculate Baking (which Publix already orders from), they brought in four other cookie dough flavors in the line, but not the gluten-free option. Special thanks to Ingles - a company that truly understands how profitable the gluten-free market can be. It's a win-win situation for them and us!  

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Reformulated Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mix at Publix

Ever since I found out about the reformulation of the Devil's Food gluten-free cake mix from Betty Crocker, I've been on the lookout for it. I finally found it over the weekend at Publix, but was surprised that the soy flour is listed last in the ingredients. I doubt that change could have improved the cake a lot, but when I need to make a chocolate cake, I'll give it a try and find out. There don't seem to be any other changes except the addition of soy flour.

At this time, General Mills reports that no other ingredient changes are in the works for the gluten-free Betty Crocker line. However, when I called to confirm the change in the Devil's Food cake mix, the rep. I spoke to was surprised that any change had taken place. After putting me on hold for quite a while, she returned to confirm the change re: the soy flour in the gluten-free Devil's Food cake mix.

The Devil's Food cake mix was fine at it was - it just wasn't spectacular. The new cake mix from King Arthur Flour and the one from Pamela's Products are both exceptional chocolate cake mixes.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Download Thanksgiving e-book from Jules Gluten Free!

Before I met Jules Shepard at her recent cooking class in Atlanta, I knew what a genuinely nice person she was. The fact that she can bake a gluten/dairy free cake that you'd be proud the serve the most obnoxious gluten-free food avoider you know is just...well, icing on the gluten-free cake!

My fourth gluten-free holiday season was last year and even I was able to learn something of value from Jules' Gluten-Free Thanksgiving e-book. More than recipes, there are tips that will make your holiday smoother overall. Who wants to insult Aunt Sally who is famous for her gluten pumpkin pie? Food can be a tricky subject in some families and learning how not to step on the feelings of others is a key component to enjoying the holidays yourself.

Since I'm always working ahead with my online writing, I didn't have time to post the special deal from Jules when other gluten-free bloggers did. Kim Bouldin over at Celiac-Disease.com explains what the book covers here. Jules sent me a code for the free download that expires on October 21st. If you haven't already downloaded the great e-book from Jules Gluten Free, I recommend you do it now. Click here and enter the code thanks10CD (case sensitive) at checkout. Enjoy!  

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gluten-free find of the week! 10-12-10

This may not be a new product, but it is new to me. While picking up turkey pepperoni to use for pizza at home recently, I flipped over a bag of turkey mini sausages and saw the term gluten-free on the package. Unlike the the product that was demoed at the recent vendor fair by Johnsonville (which my husband loved!), the Turkey Snack Bites from Old Wisconsin are free of MSG!

For those of you that are newbies, MSG is gluten-free in the U.S. Once I went gluten-free, I found out that the additive MSG (not in it's natural form) bloats me up like a balloon so I have to avoid it. In fact, I can't even stand up straight if I inadvertently get into it when dining out. I'll try the sausages soon with some gourmet mustard sent to me from a company out in Cali and write up a proper review for both items. That will post on www.Celiac-Disease.com late next week.  

These Snack Bites were at Publix and most every item I checked from Old Wisconsin was labeled gluten-free. I just love it when I can buy something new at the regular grocery store and lately, there have been too many new things for me to purchase and try. Yes, it really is a great time to be gluten-free!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Pamela's gluten-free baking contest in GA next week

Don't forget - the gluten-free baking contest for Pamela's Products at the GA National Fair is October 16th. This is a great idea and I hope everyone in and around the area will participate. You can gain free entry to the event with your gluten-free dish. Take the Pamela's bag to show you used a Pamela's baking mix in your recipe. Find other pertinent details about the event here.

Whether or not you can attend this fun event, be sure to join the Middle Georgia GIG support group if you are in that area of the state. Carol Hinton runs the group and she does a great job spreading gluten-free awareness in that community. If you do enter the contest - GOOD LUCK!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Wonderful gluten-free doughnuts

OK - I know that most people seem to really like the gluten-free doughnuts from Kinnikinnick. I can't say that I like those at all...not even the chocolate one that someone told me was like great chocolate cake if you warmed it up. I think KK's waffles are fab as are their K-Toos cookies, but I can't tolerate the taste or texture of their doughnuts.

For some reason, I've recently encountered several people that share my opinion about KK's gluten-free doughnuts. They all want to know where they can find really good (or possibly great) gluten-free doughnuts. I have two answers for them - Island GF Bakery in Sarasota (sorry they can't ship doughnuts as they are fried and only good the day they're made) and Celiac Specialties. The latter bakery makes killer powdered doughnut and doughnut holes, in addition to other types. The powdered variety tastes as good (or better than) the kind stocked on an end cap at the grocery store. The difference is that the gluten kind is full of fake ingredients.

Shipping powdered doughnuts in warm weather isn't advisable, but now that the weather has finally cooled, it's time for me to take orders from my friends (that also love the offerings from CS) and get our order in. When you order together, you save a lot on shipping and even though most of the food that is shipped to me is free, I just don't like paying to ship food in if I can avoid it.


   

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Yes - I worked the ATL gluten-free vendor fair

The recent gluten-free vendor fair was definitely the best event we've ever had in Atlanta. Because I worked the show, the only speaker I got to see was Cynthia Kupper from GIG. She spoke before the show started and was amazing. We were so lucky to have her attend the event this year!

To those of you who looked for my table and never found it, I apologize that my table location was out in the hall. Some vendors even asked me after the show why I didn't work the show since they could not find my table in the main ballroom. One of the exit doors dumped out right in front of our space, but some people went in and out the other door and never got down to our side of the hall. I sincerely apologize to anyone who thought I didn't show up. Wild horses could not keep me away from the wonderful event!

Regardless of our table location, we ended up selling almost all our t-shirts and ran out of three sizes of them at the show.  Many kids wanted a shirt but we didn't have anything but adult sizes. All sizes are in stock at my Cafe Press Store, Make Mine Gluten Free. The new edition of the Triumph Dining Restaurant Guide has over 6500 restaurants listed and many people were excited to find out such a book exists. I would never have survived my first gluten-free year without the dining cards and restaurant guide from the line. Thanks to all who helped make it worth our while to work the show this year!

I must admit that I'm looking forward to next year when I won't be working the show. There is just too much going on for me to be stuck behind the table for most of the event. Some of the local vendors I didn't get to see asked me to come to their businesses to get samples of things to review. The products I picked up at the show will be reviewed on Celiac-Disease.com starting next week.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Natural Foods Warehouse is expanding!

My absolute favorite place to buy gluten-free products in the ATL is expanding soon! News about locations will be posted on the company's website soon. When I found out this news, I was quite surprised. In the last month, our Lowe's and my favorite fabric store closed down. Things are bad all around, and yet, this wonderful store is able to open new locations in this rocky economy....stay tuned!

We're giving away Carol Fenster's new cookbook on Celiac-Disease.com on October 12th. Leave a comment for your chance to win - starting October 5th! Next week, our give-away will be for a gluten-free magazine subscription....I'm sure you can guess which one...lol! Last but not least, later this month we'll be giving away the gluten-free Bisquick prize pack. Hey - no one can say I won't promote something I don't like. I'm pickier than most and so far, I seem to be in the minority regarding the new Bisquick. To each his own, as they say. Maybe the scones I'm trying next with the mix will come out better than the lousy pancakes.
 
Gluten-free find of the week - Green's Blonde gluten-free beer at Package 29 in Lilburn. Also, Progresso soups are still on sale 2 for 1 at Publix this week!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Remember to ALWAYS get copies of your lab work!

This post is to remind everyone that it is imperative to ask for all your lab results for every medical test you have. You'll have to sign a waiver in order for the doctor to release the paperwork (the actual copies from the lab) to you. Do that and then tell the office (and doctor) to note on your chart that you want every lab test result sheet sent to you after each visit. What most doctors do is send patients a sheet with a summary of the test results which is great unless they forget to list something important.

I had my annual exam in January of this year and at a recent appointment, I asked for my results sheets that the office said they sent in February that never arrived. Unfortunately, after reading my lab work at the doctor's office, I realized that my doctor had not noted something she should have on her appointment  follow up sheet back in January. Thankfully, it wasn't anything super important, but what if it had been? Before I was diagnosed with celiac, I had no idea how important it was to get copies of my lab results. The one time in almost five years that I didn't get them (and didn't follow up on it) was the one time that my doctor goofed. If you are not getting your lab paperwork from your doctor (or doctors), you are taking risks with your health - seriously.

While it might be a bit confusing when you don't understand something meant for a doctors eyes, it's better to get the paperwork and ask questions if you need to. Something noted on my sheet actually read quite oddly and after my doctor explained what it meant, it was actually good news instead of something that read rather negatively. It's like a sixth grader came up with some of the working for the results sheets. Anyway, please people - get your lab work - all of it - ALWAYS.

It will be a while before I write up my recap of the recent Atlanta GF Vendor fair, but just know it was by far the best event the group has ever put on. In fact, prior shows kind of look pale by comparison and last year's event was pretty terrific. Due to me having to work the event, I actually have appointments with some local vendors that I missed out on spending time with or trying their wares. Thanks to those of you who stopped by our table to buy something or just say hello. It was great to meet quite a few of my readers and the positive feedback you shared with me really warmed my heart. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much!        

Fall has finally arrived in the ATL so I'm going out to enjoy the beautiful day. Wishing all of you a lovely -  and tasty  - gluten-free weekend!
 
 
 



 




 

 

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