Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Coke ad insults the gluten-free community

Remember back in January of this year, when Party City ran an incredibly offensive ad regarding gluten-free food - and the people who eat it?  Well, it looks like Coke missed that one and their current ad commenting on the topic is just as bad to me - if not worse.

It's not legal for me to tape the ad on my TV and post it here, and I'm not able to find it online.  I found a long version of it, but the point is missed if you only watch that one.  The one that is unacceptable is a short version which goes something like this.  Various customers are talking about how they like/want their pizza and one woman says "it has to be gluten-free" and joe shmoe behind the counter says "that's not pizza" very gruffly.  Again, the long version of the commercial doesn't take a swipe at gluten-free consumers - but the short version most definitely does.  This is an epic fail for Coke and they should NOT be playing the short version...ever....period.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Let's talk about gluten-free fritters!

For someone who used to avoid going to the grocery store at all costs, it still amazes me that I can entertain myself at even a regular grocery store - if I have the time for it.  You've probably noticed all the gluten-free signs popping up at even the basic grocery stores, not to mention Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's and Earthfare.  And you've probably also noticed that there are products with those tags that are not gluten-free and many more items that are gluten-free with no such tag.

The only way to find something new when at the store is to be looking for it, to pay attention and lots of it, so that you don't miss anything exciting!  This brings me to the how I found gluten-free apple fritters when I had no idea they existed.  While I love many Katz products, all of which are gluten-free, I have honestly been cutting way back on processed carbs like bread, waffles, bagels, pizza and pasta.  So while perusing the freezer at Sprouts, actually looking for the amazing small gluten-free apple pie from Katz, I spotted their apple fritters.  I also found their mini pies which I decided to try as well.  For some reason, the mini pies weren't for me....they're nothing like the small pies from the same line.

*Image courtesy of Katz Gluten-Free


The apple fritters are shockingly delicious.  One might even say they're magically delicious!  Amazing, unbelievable, scrumptious, incredible - these things are the absolute "bomb"...lol!  For best results, you need to heat them minimally - it's very important not to overheat them - in the microwave.  If you get it right, you'll think you just dumped the fritters out of the gluten-free fryer!  If you like ice cream, adding a dollop of vanilla to the fritters take this treat to a whole other level!

   

       

Friday, June 8, 2018

REVIEW: Jersey Mike's

This post is very late in coming, but my Jersey Mike's was one of the last in the area to roll out their gluten-free bread.  After I heard about some locations testing it, I started calling locations near me each month.... and each month they informed me that still didn't have the bread.  I got tired of asking so when I remembered months after I'd given up to check again, I delightedly found out they had the gluten-free bread.  That day I had a gluten-free Philly cheese steak sandwich and have been enjoying them regularly ever since.

The staff seems well trained on preparation for gluten-free customers which is not always the case.  The bread is from Udi's and it's very good!  In fact, it's so good that I didn't think I'd gotten a gluten-free sandwich the first time around.  It's soft and really not very gluten-free tasting at all!  While I enjoy amazing gluten-free items at home, I find many restaurants serve sub par items which is why I rarely heat pizza or pasta out anymore.  If it's not amazing, I'm not going to overpay for it when dining out, period. 



Jersey Mike's offers two sizes of gluten-free sandwiches, but the regular is large enough for two meals for me.  With the disappointing gluten-free bun at Chick-Fil-A and the now discontinued "not good at all" sandwich at Starbuck's, its so nice that Jersey Mike's got it right! 

  

   


   

Monday, June 4, 2018

Summertime gluten-free highs and lows

It should be noted that for summer functions, I've had both great and horrible experiences over the years. For a Scientific Atlanta event many moons ago, I contacted the caterer who literally scoffed at me when I inquired about what, if anything, was gluten-free.  I think his reply went something like this - "uh...of course the hamburgers, hot dogs a BBQ pork are gluten-free...you can't have the bread, buns or cookies" In fairness to this extremely ignorant person, he did have to ask me what gluten-free meant, before he could answer.  Anyway, after pressing him for more info (well over half the hot dogs available at that time contained wheat), he finally said he'd "look into" the menu ingredients and get back to me.  What I didn't expect was for him to call me back and tell me that the hamburger patties, hotdogs AND BBQ meat - sans the sauce - did in fact contain gluten.  For some reason that I really can't remember now, we went to the event and I had a soda and some chips and nothing else.  We left fairly quickly and went out to eat.

As mentioned above, I've also had amazing experiences at corporate functions in the summer.  At an outing at Six Flags, in what seems forever ago, they rolled out the red theme park carpet for me.  I'd been informed ahead of time to ask for a certain person when I was ready to eat lunch (lunch was served in a certain time frame for the group we went with).  Thinking we should try to eat on the earlier side of the allotted time, we asked for the "contact" and she quickly got to the business of getting my meal delivered to the pavilion where the group was eating.

To my great surprise, a tray loaded down with food was set before me on the picnic table.  There were TWO fried turkey legs (yes, cooked in dedicated fryer), French fries and salad - all meant for just me.  I was impressed, to say the least!  My husband ate one of the turkey legs and half the fries, in addition to his very soggy BBQ sandwich which he was not the least bit impressed with.  What was really hysterical to me was the fact that several co-workers came up to our table to say hello - and then asked where we found the turkey legs...lol!  It was probably the only event I've been to where I know for sure my food was hands down better than what the rest of the crowd was served.  To end the lovely meal on a high note, the ice cream treats offered as dessert included some gluten-free options.  What a simply glorious day at Six Flags Over GA!

It's been ages since we went to a large corporate event during the summer, but my guess is some of them are great and others are not.  Just as is the case at any not specifically gluten-free event.  If you need to attend one, you need to ask the right questions, educate the ignorant folks you might encounter, and do the best you can.  That's all you can do in the "still far behind when it comes to gluten-free knowledge" USA.
  

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