Where am I these days?

Some of you are aware of my work on the website Examiner.com. That site offered me a great platform to enter the world of internet writing. If you pay attention to detail you probably know that I am not a trained writer by any stretch of the imagination.



I started this blog in 2007 when I could not find one that helped people learn how to eat out and travel and live "normal" lives gluten-free style. Today there are a zillion such blogs and I'm thrilled to be a part of the group that knows how to live full and tasty gluten-free lives. I love spreading helpful info news to the masses - or the gluten-free masses anyway...lol!



Because of my readers on Examiner.com, I was able to transform my hobby and love of helping others live delicious gluten-free lives into a new career. So, if you followed me there I owe you a huge THANK YOU!



If you want to follow my work these days you can find my author page on Celiac-Disease.com here. Or you can follow The Essential Gluten-Free Blog on the Triumph Dining website here. You can also subscribe to feeds on the sites listed above. In print you can find me in the current issue of Delight GF magazine.



If you have news you think my readers can use please e-mail me at makemineglutenfree @ yahoo (dot) com. I apologize that I can not reply to every note personally these days but I do read them all.



Thanks for being a part of this interesting gluten-free journey with me. It means more than I can put into words...remember I'm not a writer by trade - just a gluten-free advocate who thinks that together we can really make a difference in this gluten filled world of ours!

Gluten-free Fan Night at Turner Field!

Calling all gluten-free Atlanta Braves fans to come out and support the team and ARAMARK's brand new gluten-free concession stand. This Saturday - October 19th is gluten-free fan night at Turner Field. At least that is what the local gluten-free dinner club has dubbed it. The group members are going out in support of the gluten-free food stand (behind section 106 at Turner Field) this Saturday night!

The goal is that if enough fans show up to thank ARAMARK for this great effort on their part, we will be able to have the new gluten-free food options next year as well. It is wonderful that they have Redbridge gluten-free beer at the park but last week they actually rolled out their new gluten-free concession stand - complete with hotdogs WITH buns!

If you get out to a game before the end of the season, you'll have LOTS of great gluten-free food options for the first time in Atlanta Braves history. Check out the details here!

NOTE: The Atlanta Braves, ARAMARK and Turner Field are not affiliated with the Atlanta Gluten-Free Dinner Club, nor have they endorsed this event in any way.

In Memory of David Marc Fischer

Last month I posted some terribly sad news about the death of a true advocate in the gluten-free community. David Marc Fischer wrote the blog Gluten-Free NYC and helped countless visitors to the Big Apple enjoy amazing gluten-free adventures there - myself included.


Since that sad day I've wrestled with thoughts about doing something special in memory of David. David and I both had Cafe Press stores which offer gluten-free slogans on merchandise. Because I didn't care if someone bought a shirt from my store or someone else's, I added David's and the Celiac Chicks store links to my Atlanta Examiner.com page when I started it. The point of my store - and most gluten-free products stores there - is to spread awareness. If you are familiar with Cafe Press you know that the company is making most of the money off the sales - not the shop owners.




The New York City Celiac Meetup group is hosting a dinner on Sept. 14th in honor of David. If there was any way possible for me to be there I would be. Erin Smith is the Organizer of the Meetup group up there, and she's planning a very special event for David's gluten-free friends at one of David's favorite restautants - Lilli and Loos.



Recently, I awoke with the idea of how I could honor David. From Sept. 1st to Dec. 31st 2009, all my profits from my Cafe Press store will be donated in David's name to The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. December is my biggest month by far at the shop so that is why I'm going to extend this donation promise through the end of the year.

If you don't like anything in my shop, check out David's shop. David was all about spreading awareness in the world about celiac disease and living gluten-free. The point is to help spread awareness in any small way you can. David was a generous, witty and wonderful person and those who knew him in NYC - or from the online gluten-free community will miss him dearly.


Special thanks to Erin Smith for putting together this special event in honor of David.

Erewhon gluten-free cereal winners!

OK - the winners of the new cereals from Erewhon have been selected! Due to computer issues (thanks AT&T...) these winners will be announced next week on my Examiner.com page, when we have all five addresses needed for the company.


If your comment is listed below, you are a winner and will recieve two boxes of FREE cereal from Erewhon! Please click on my profile on this page, click on e-mail and e-mail me your FULL and complete shipping (or mailing) address. This information is being sent to Erewhon and once they confirm they have it, all addresses will be deleted from my records for good.


Thanks to all who entered the contest! There will be another exciting offer next week so be sure and follow me on Twitter (ATLglutenfree) and read my page on Examiner.com.

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Kim said...
I would love to try these cereals! I have been looking all over & can't find them!


http://samkaine.com/ said...
I've been feeding the regular brown rice version of this a 'finger food' to my baby since we don't know if he inherited my celiac or not. I'm so excited there's a chocolate version. That box will be all mine!


Katie said...
They sound great! I'm fairly new to the gluten-free world, and it's very helpful to read reviews of products before spending lots of money trying new things. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Jamie P said...
I would love to try them! The Strawberry one reminds of me Special K Strawberry...

dionne said...
I can't find these cereals anywhere, but would love to try them (especially for free!).


Special thanks to Erewhon for helping my readers get to taste these great new cereals for FREE!

Huge loss for our community

Today I received some very sad news via a celiac listserv post. One of the nicest gluten-free bloggers (Gluten-Free NYC: http://glutenfreenyc.blogspot.com/ ) around who helped untold visitors to NYC enjoy their gluten-free visits immensely through his blog posts, passed away from a sudden illness. David Marc Fischer was a joy to know - even if only through the internet. Recently he and I had begun corresponding via e-mail. He had a great sense of humor and a generous spirit and rarely did I not get a laugh out of something he included in his e-mails.

I am deeply saddened by this news and I'm certain that many others who knew David in any way feel like I do. The gluten-free world was better off with him in it. He will be missed greatly. Hopefully we can all take a lesson from David and live our lives to the fullest and not let a dietary restriction get in the way of that goal.

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From the listserv post : "David will be greatly missed, and remembered for his friendliness, intelligence, and sincere contributions to the celiac community. His family would like people to know that any donations in David's memory can be made to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. This can be done either online or by mail.

Online: https://giving.columbia.edu/giveonline/Use the "Select a School or Division" drop down box, and select Celiac Disease Center. You will be able to specify on the next page that the gift is in memory of David Marc Fischer, and a note will be sent to the family.

By mail: Checks payable to: Trustees of Columbia University. Please note on the memo line that the donation is in memory of David Marc Fischer, and a note will be sent to the family. Mail to: Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Harkness Pavilion, 180 Fort Washington Avenue, Suite 934, New York, NY 10032"

FREE gluten-free cereals from Erewhon!

Recently I had the chance to try one of the two new cereals from Erewhon - the Strawberry Crisp. I'm not a chocolate cereal fan so I didn't try the Cocoa Crispy cereal but I've heard it was great. I found the Strawberry Crisp to be the best strawberry cereal I've had regardless of ingredients. The gluten eater in the house thought the cereal was excellent as well, which is important since he eats cereal every day and he's very picky about what cereals he eats.

In order for more people to get to try these fabulous new cereals from Erewhon, they are donating 2 boxes (one of each new version) to five of my readers. For your chance to win, please leave a comment below that you want to be entered. It's that simple. The five chosen people will be e-mailed and asked for their shipping or mailing address. Winners will be notified early next week and announced on August 14th on my Examiner.com page.

The cereals will come directly from Erewhon - not me. Special thanks to the team at Erewhon for making such great gluten-free cereals and donating some of it to my readers!

UPDATE: Winners have been chosen and will be posted on this site later today. Once I have every winners address for the company, winners will be posted on my Examiner.com page.

If you missed my reveiw of the cereal you can read it here.

Welcome to the gluten-free world!

No matter why you’re here or how much you already know about the gluten-free lifestyle, my goal is to help you love this way of living as much as I do. When I say I’m glad to be gluten-free, I truly mean it! Sure, it took me a while to get here and I had a lot of trouble with doctors – and ate a lot of bad tasting food in the process. However, today I love my life (and diet) more than ever and I certainly eat better food than I did when I was a glutenoid!

Many people have told me that if I could bottle up my enthusiasm about living gluten-free and sell it, I’d make a fortune. Since I don’t know a way to bottle an attitude, I instead focus on working with others in the gluten-free community to change things in this gluten filled world of ours. Thanks for sharing the crazy gluten-free journey with me. Together we really can make a difference!

Melt in your mouth (gluten free) Cinnamon buns!

When I could eat gluten I didn't eat Cinnamon buns on a regular basis. But when you can't have something, you want it even more than you did when you could have it. So, I set out over three years ago to find a decent gluten free Cinnamon bun. I didn't set a very high standard because in my mind, there was no such thing as a 'Cinnabon' type bun made without gluten.

After many online purchases for different versions of so-so tasting gluten free Cinnamon buns I finally gave up. I was surviving without gluten free Krispy Kremes (doughnuts) so I added Cinnamon buns to the short list of things I could not find a decent - or better yet delicious - gluten free version of.

Luckily my list changed when I read rave reviews (on various blogs) of the Cinnamon Sticky Buns from Everybody Eats in NYC. The price for their product was steep so I thought long and hard before placing an order for them. Since I'd read a rave review on Catherine's blog about their French Baguettes, I ordered those and the Deli Rolls, in addition to the buns.

Upon request, someone from Everybody Eats e-mailed me detailed instructions about how to store, thaw and heat the buns for the best possible taste. As the buns were warming in the oven, the smell wafting through the kitchen reminded me of walking past T.J. Cinnamons in the mall. But smells can be deceiving - especially with gluten free baked goods - so the ultimate test would be the taste test.

Finally after about twenty minutes in the oven, the Cinnamon Sticky Buns were ready. They seemed very dense in the package but after heating they were light and fluffy, yet still substantial feeling. It was strange actually, that such a transformation took place, but gluten free baking is a science that I really don't understand (and probably never will).

I'll doubt I'll ever forget tasting the incredibly decadent, gooey buns for the first

time. It was truly gluten free nirvana. I was just looking for a decent Cinnamon bun made without gluten. It never occurred to me that I'd find the best tasting version I'd ever eaten, including those made with gluten. My husband actually said 'are you sure these are gluten free?' with a very concerned look on his face. I explained that Everybody Eats is a dedicated 100% gluten free bakery and they did not mess up and send us products made with gluten.

It's embarrassing to admit but when people who can't eat gluten first taste something that is at good or (better) than the gluten version of the food they used to enjoy, they generally tear up. I can't explain why this happens. It just happens to women and men alike - and it certainly happened when I first bit into the Cinnamon Sticky Buns from Everybody Eats. It still happens actually, because we rarely have them. Due to the calories, fat content and price, we use them mostly for special occasions. The memory of them alone sustains me until the next time we can think of something to celebrate.

After months of nagging every health food store in town to bring in the Everybody Eats line (so I could avoid paying shipping charges to enjoy them) finally Return to Eden saved the day. They now stock the Everybody Eats French Baguettes, Deli Rolls and my favorite gluten free treat in life - Cinnamon Sticky Buns. The Deli Rolls and Baguette prices were just reduced but even before that happened, we thought the products were worth every penny - and then some.

My husband routinely asks if we can take the Everybody Eats breakfast treat on visits to see his family. He says the buns are good enough to share with the glutenoids we're staying with. I agree but the family can eat $1.99 'pop and bake' gluten buns, which by the way don't hold a candle to the Everybody Eats version. Obviously the answer to my husband is, and will always be, NO!

*To heat 'Cinnamon Sticky Buns', remove plastic bag and wrap the bun tray entirely (top and bottom) tightly in foil. Heat in 400 degree oven, until very hot and soft. These buns are not overly sweet so I make a glaze consisting of milk, powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla to pour over them (after removing them from the oven). Enjoy!

More info: If you live in the NYC area, you can also enjoy handmade gluten free Ravioli from Everybody Eats. It's better than gluten versions we had in Italy. The French Baguettes, Deli Rolls and Egg Challah are exceptional as well. I'm not really a cookie person but the Everybody Eats Chocolate Chip Cookies are my husband's favorite gluten free cookie.

Need a gluten free wedding cake in Atlanta? No problem!

Over the last few years, we've had some ups and downs in our options for gluten free cakes in this area. Actually, for a while we had no options locally. For a short while, one bakery here made several flavors of gluten free cakes and then the head baker left. She apparently took her amazing recipes with her, since they started offering only vanilla and chocolate cakes and neither was anything to get excited about. It shocked me that so many brides were ordering their wedding cakes from this place - even though the cakes are not very good. I set out to find something better for not only Brides (and Grooms), but for anyone needing a gluten free birthday cake.......or any other special occasion cake for that matter.

Finally, after much searching and investigating, I found THE place to go for 'out of this world' gorgeous AND wonderful tasting gluten free cakes in Atlanta! Mark Fitchpatrick Designs offers both cakes and floral services for weddings and special occasions in the Metro Atlanta area. Though this shop is not a dedicated gluten free space, they understand cross contamination and do everything possible to keep your gluten free cake truly gluten free. And your choices don't include boring vanilla and chocolate only. You'll be blown away with your options...maybe the Italian Creme Cake is the way to go....or Carrot....or Coconut. Want a cake with a filling inside? There are several of those to choose from as well. There are too many great flavors and options for me to name here - just contact Mark and he'll help you figure it out!

Whether you prefer a traditional look, or something more contemporary and cutting edge, Mark can create a masterpiece for you. And the best part is that anyone who likes great cake can enjoy it - gluten free guests and glutenoids alike!

For two decades, Mark Fitchpatrick has been creating beautiful cakes and memories in Atlanta. Why settle for less when you can have the best? Order your next gluten free (wedding, grooms, birthday or special occassion) cake from Mark Fitchpatrick Designs.

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Here are a few comments made by some of Mark's happy clients:

"I was amazed how yummy the gluten free groom's cake was and it was decorated so beautifully, too".

"I did not know that gluten free cake could be so good. I have been searching all over town and had decided there was no such thing as good gluten free cake until I tasted yours".

Mark says that he has found that ANY cake can be made gluten free. He did a Red Velvet cake for a baby shower recently and received rave reviews. The expectant Mom was so excited to have found Mark, since Red Velvet is her life time favorite. She'd resigned herself to the fact that she'd never be able to enjoy it again. Thanks to Mark Fitchpatrick Designs she won't have to do without her favorite cake again!

Wisteria - a gluten free gem in Atlanta!

During a recent GF Dinner Club outing at Wisteria in Atlanta, we dined on some pretty incredible food and most amazingly, most of it was on the 'regular' menu. I had the Crab Bisque with a goat cheese and calvados creme fraiche to start and others enjoyed the scallops and gourmet salads. As most of you know, it's almost impossible to find a gluten free version of any kind of bisque in a restaurant. And Wisteria's version is probably the best in town, even compared to gluten versions I ate in the past.
Entree choices included :
Molasses-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin over sweet potato soufflé topped with a Vidalia onion, apple and walnut relish - Jumbo Shrimp and Grits with sauteed peppers and onions in a spicy shrimp broth - North Atlantic Skate Wing seared with lemon brown butter and served over stone-ground corn grits and roasted asparagus spears - Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb served over whipped potatoes with roasted asparagus, wild mushrooms and red wine jus - Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut with summer citrus and arugula salad with apples, walnuts, and fennel and a Chardonnay beurre blanc.

I ordered the Pecan crusted Salmon but in fact, the coating contained gluten so I really just got salmon. But I wanted it for the coating....so easy to do gluten free but I wasn't paying attention to the menu which clearly noted that the salmon would need modification to be made gluten free. I'll pay better attention next time around.

As the gluten free dessert choices there are limited, they were kind enough to bring in a gluten free chocolate ganache torte just for our event. It came from Southern Sweets in Decatur. I passed on it but everyone raved about it so much that I'll likely order it from the bakery for a special occasion when I don't feel like making dessert myself. Southern Sweets has two different chocolate desserts they make without gluten, though this is not indicated anywhere on their website.

Chef/Owner Jason Hill's talent shines through both the food and service at Wisteria - both are fabulous and I recommend a visit regardless if you're gluten free or not. Thanks to my Organizer Lori, who planned this amazing event, and to the staff at Wisteria for truly making us all feel very welcomed!

Wisteria / 404-525-3663

471 North Highland Avenue

Atlanta, GA 30307

Pizza Fusion hits Atlanta!

Below is a restaurant review, written by my first guest blogger - Joy Johnston. Joy has worked as a professional dining critic in Atlanta, so you may recognize the name if you're a local. She is a true writer, which is something I've never claimed to be. You can follow Joy here on twitter. Thanks Joy, for taking time to post your comments about Pizza Fusion - it's truly appreciated!

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Pizza Fusion is a growing national chain that is dedicated to being earth-friendly. The first restaurant opened in 2006 in Florida with the idea that they could fill the void of dining out organically. Hence, all Pizza Fusion restaurants are dedicated to using organic ingredients and use hybrid vehicles for delivery.

Most importantly to those with Celiac Disease, Pizza Fusion offers a gluten-free pizza crust. In metro Atlanta, our choices for gluten-free pizza can be counted on one hand, so Pizza Fusion was awaited eagerly by the Celiac community. Did it live up to the hype?

Pizza Fusion is located in bustling Buckhead (2233 Peachtree Rd. Suite M, Atlanta, GA 30309, Phone: 404-351-9334), and they also have a limited delivery area. The restaurant is located on the ground level of the Astoria at the Aramore, and the restaurant itself still carries that new shine. There’s a decent-sized dining room area and a bar area with tables as well. Patrons tend to be a good mix of neighborhood locals with plenty of families, along with those that are looking for the gluten-free pizza experience.

I’ve found service to be stellar upon every visit. They offered me another variety of gluten-free beer they had just added that wasn’t on the menu yet, and they were careful with the handling of my gluten-free order. I also feel like the staff has been properly trained about serving those with gluten intolerance. I’ve dined there several times and never had a reaction, despite the fact that they also serve wheat-based crust pizzas. From what I understand, the kitchen staff has been taught to avoid cross-contamination issues. I feel confident dining here and would not hesitate to recommend to others, based upon their awareness of the gluten-free diet.

So how is the gluten-free pizza? Well, we all know pizza is a very subjective topic. Some like thin, crispy crusts, others like the thick, chewy crusts. Well, Pizza Fusion, in my experiences, lies somewhere in the middle. It’s thick enough not to be crispy, but doesn’t quite have that chewiness that one often finds with gluten-containing pizza crusts. Since I’m flexible when it comes to crust styles, Pizza Fusion’s variety suits me just fine. I also think it heats up better the next day than the thinner crusts, which are easier to burn upon reheating. (And you will probably have leftovers, as the gluten-free crust only comes in the large size.)

What’s most important to me is quality of the ingredients, and that’s where I feel Pizza Fusion shines over competitors. The quality of cheeses and vegetables is outstanding. The organic mozzarella really does make a difference, and the freshness of the basil and other toppings adds to the enjoyment.

As I mentioned earlier, Pizza Fusion offers the Green’s line of gluten-free beers from Belgium. Most people consider these the best of the bunch when it comes to gluten-free beers. You can also get Boylan’s sodas, but don’t ask for a Coke, because they don’t offer the commercial brands.

If somehow you still have room for dessert, Pizza Fusion even offers a gluten-free brownie. It’s actually quite tasty, dusted with powdered sugar and adorned with berries. Again, this is a nice touch, since it’s very hard for us Celiacs to find something for dessert when we dine out other than sorbet!

I enjoy dining at Pizza Fusion and am happy they now have a presence in Atlanta. While I do eat gluten-free pizza from other establishments in town and am fond of them as well, I prefer the dining experience at Pizza Fusion over the competitors.

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Update: Pizza Fusion now offers a personal size gluten free pizza for lunch.