Dollar Tree offers gluten-free travel friendly snacks

The last time we took an int'l Delta flight, in 2017, my gluten-free meal was mostly inedible.  So for a recent international trip, I packed enough food to get through the 8+ hour long flight.  There was a snack, dinner and breakfast being served and I was given all but the snack.  The flight attendant actually apologized for that, and mentioned that her own daughter has celiac.  She was the most thoughtful such employee I've encountered on the subject in over a decade.

When you have to make a meal out of snacks (assuming you won't have access to a microwave), it's a good idea to include some protein, fat and limited carbs.  Crackers and pretzels don't really satisfy if you're in need of a proper meal.  While I packed some items I got at Trader Joe's (trail mix snack bags, for instance), I also found some worthwhile items at the Dollar Tree store.  You know...the place where everything is literally a dollar.  Who knew such a place would offer some interesting gluten-free snacks which are perfect for traveling?!

Even though I had a bag of bacon jerky (you can find many gluten-free jerky options these days), I also picked up a mini pack of pepperoni.  It was real pepperoni, not turkey, so it's fairly greasy. However, it will provide some much needed protein in a pinch.

Lay's Stax chips, which are labeled gluten-free, are also a good option.  You can remove some of the chips from the can, and put baggies of other things inside, under the chips, if need be.  My husband isn't a fan of Stax chips so a whole canister is a bit much to pack for just me.

Jiff peanut butter 3-pack is a great value for only a buck and I still have two containers left over for future adventures.

The only gourmet type item I found at Dollar Tree were seasoned olives.  I'd first discovered GAEA olives in Montreal or Victoria, Canada...I really can't recall for sure...but the pack didn't cost anywhere near a $1 at the airport...lol!  There were just two flavors of the GAEA brand olives at the discount store, including my favorite - Lemon & Oregano.  As always, the olives were delicious!

There are some nuts, seeds and such available at the Dollar Tree as well.  There are obviously many items that travel well, but not many I've found in regular grocery stores are a good value. They're  convenience items and you pay for said convenience.  But not at Dollar Tree...everything's a dollar...convenience item or not ;)

Safe and happy summer travels to all!

    

Genius bread comes to the ATL!

The "real" Genius gluten-free bread hits the ATL!  Well, it's great news in a way, but like many things, it's not as great in the US as in other countries.  The Genius bread (not the Glutino version which was previously available here) is now sold at Earthfare stores.  I only found this out because I wanted to buy the bread in Spain.  It's not sold there, according to the store finder on the Genius site. Anyway, sure enough, the bread is in the bakery (ships/stored frozen, before being put out) at Earthfare.  I bought the multi-grain and white versions and though they were quite tasty, they are NOT the same as in Scotland.  I'm not sure if the ingredients are the same, but the loaf is at least 50% smaller.  That might be related to why the crust is "tough"... Also, the slices are about 1/3 thinner which could also be affecting the taste.  I still like the bread, but it's not mind-blowingly delicious like the first version I had.  It's definitely not worth the drive to Earthfare for it, when I can buy Canyon Bakehouse bread, that's almost as good, at Sprouts. 

The version of Genius bread I found in Scotland is still the best gluten-free bread I've had in over 12 years.  If you missed my post about it, you can find it here.

King BBQ closes at Avalon

On our last visit to Bantam+Biddy Avalon, we found out they were closing that location and rebranding the place as a BBQ joint.  The same owners would be in charge so I'd hoped there would be decent gluten-free menu options.  And after a brief stint without chicken fingers, continued complaints of that fact online helped to bring them back to the menu.  That's why we went in to try the place months after it reopened as King BBQ.  My husband really liked the BBQ he ordered and I loved the chicken fingers and cornbread as usual.  Two months later, in December 2018, we stopped by for an early dinner only to find that King BBQ had closed down.

Though the closing is disappointing for those of us who like to order gluten-free chicken fingers every so often, we can't say we were surprised.  Like Yeah! Burger, King had the order-at-the-counter set up.  Unlike Yeah! Burger, there wasn't a place for people to stand in line while they ordered.  My husband even mentioned on our only visit there that he couldn't imagine they would be able to keep the order-at the counter process at King.  At least it wouldn't be feasible without them moving some tables and other things around to accommodate that set up.

*Apologies for the tardiness of this post - I literally thought it posted a while ago!

Citizen Soul makes the gluten-free grade!

After coming home from France and Spain recently, I sadly settled back into the reality that gluten-free specialty items such as bread, pastries, etc. are all MUCH better in other countries (including Canada!) than here at home.  I'm not sure why that is...but store bought and bakery stuff is just not anywhere near as good here as in several countries we've visited in the 12 years since my celiac dx.

Please don't misunderstand - the new hip eatery in downtown Alpharetta, Citizen Soul, doesn't currently offer gluten-free bread.  But...they offer something even more exciting - gluten-free fried chicken!  It's amazing...flavorful and tender!  The sides with it (currently grits and green beans) are also wonderful!  We shared the stonefruit salad which was so fresh and flavorful we thought we might be back in Barcelona ;)  The chocolate cake is huge and scrumptious...enough for 2 or three to share...for reals...lol! 

Service was lovely and not rushed even though the place is usually packed.  Parking is easy in the close by free parking deck.  Great cocktails as well....Citizen Soul is a wonderful addition to downtown eateries.  In fact, as of now, it's THE best place down there for my money!   

Gluten-free fried onions

This post should have gone up in December, but I found myself overwhelmed during the holidays.  Everyone probably feels this way, but a kitchen remodel thrown into the mix really took it's toll on my holiday spirit and energy level ;)

   
For many years, I made homemade fried onions for my traditional green casserole.  I'd found a few gf brands of onions, but none were good enough to buy twice.  Last year I finally found a decent tasting shelf stable fried onion - Loeb's - at Publix.  They were packaged in a bag and are now in a plastic jar.  Either way, the onions were a suitable substitute for the French's brand of fried onions many of us grew up with.

Then, last month, an email from findmeglutenfree announced the availability of several brands of fried onions just in time for the holidays!  I noticed that the Sprouts brand was listed so that's the product I decided to try.  They are possibly the exact product from Loeb's as the ingredients are exactly the same (onion, buckwheat, vegetable oil and salt).  However, for some reason I can't pin down, I prefer the taste of the Sprouts product.  Aldi has a similar product which I'll probably try eventually.  So far, nothing tastes just like the French's brand, but that's okay.  That product has a form of sugar in it which, like many people, I can do without.


PRODUCT NOTE:  buckwheat is in fact, not related to wheat - nor is it a grain.  It's plant based and is completely gluten-free.       

Best gluten-free "Ritz" style cracker!

I'm a cracker person....always loved Saltines and Ritz crackers with cheese, or spread or even plain old butter!  So when I had to give up gluten crackers, I went on the hunt for "real" tasting crackers.  Twelve years later, I'm still on said hunt.  There are many really tasty crackers available today.  Absolutely Gluten-Free, Crunchmaster and Schar all offer some really good options that gluten eaters can also enjoy.  However, until recently the Ritz style cracker has eluded me. 

In the past, I've often ended up with six or seven boxes of crackers in my pantry at one time.  Clearly, no one needs that many crackers so I took a break from trying new brands for a while for a couple of  years.  That break ended two weeks ago when I decided to check out the tiny GF section in a Publix that is not our normal store.  Low and behold, there was a product from Lance (you know - the company that makes the silly-small peanut butter and cheese sandwich style gf crackers) marked "NEW" and the photo on the box look exactly like a Ritz cracker.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try them so into my basket they went!  I ended up getting to try them for almost nothing due to a random act of kindness.  The person in front of me in line gave me a gift card worth over $3 (what was left after they checked out) and the crackers were maybe $3.59.

Unfortunately, when I opened the bag of crackers, the small size of the round disks was a shock.  I shouldn't have been surprised since the above mentioned sandwich crackers are also way too small.  The good news is that this new plain cracker pretty much taste like a Ritz cracker!  There is a very slight sandy mouth feel which is the only sign they're not a "regular" cracker.  Due to the buttery flavor and perfect crunch, I can get past that sandy feature.  I would prefer they cost twice and much and be twice the size they are...but I'm probably alone in that wish ;)

If you like Ritz crackers, but can't have the real thing anymore, the Lance brand is definitely worth trying.  I've only seen them at Publix, but they're apparently sold at Target as well. 

No omelet for brunch...seriously?!

When visiting in-laws recently, we went to brunch in Chattanooga, TN.  Since brunch is typically pretty easy to manage gluten-free (I've always been able to order an omelet and grits, hashbrowns or fruit), I wasn't concerned about the place we were going.  And, for the record, it came up on the list of gf friendly places on Trip Advisor anyway.

We arrived to a bustling restaurant and had to wait about an hour to be seated.  Since we had time to kill, I asked the hostess about gf options.  She was nice enough, but clearly knew nothing about what I could and could not order.  She said she'd get back to me and after asking her again later, I was finally told they can't do an omelet (yes - they serve eggs).  OK - I'll have to order scrambled eggs and I'll just ask for cheese and bacon in it.  At least I won't starve to death.

The server takes my order and he's pretty knowledgeable.  He knows I can't have b'fast potatoes and isn't sure about the grits.  I tell him I'll have scrambled, well done eggs with bacon and cheese mixed in.  And, if I can't have grits - I'll have fruit.  Nope - they don't have fruit. The poor server looked so concerned as he continued to try to help me find something suitable to eat.  By now, everyone in our party of six was on the verge of being "hangry"...lol!

I'm told before the food comes out I can have the grits.  Well, that's good news, at least.  Then the food is delivered and my plate looks fine (no unwanted toast on it).  For reasons not explained, the bacon is on the side - not in the eggs.  And the scrambled eggs are very runny...and have to go back for more cooking.  I ate the grits (very good) and bacon and eventually my eggs. 

My food was fine, if nothing special.  Being spoiled in the ATL is great as long as you're in the ATL!  I wasn't expecting to order gluten-free pancakes or a cinnamon bun, like we can easily do here, after all.  The rest of the party really enjoyed their food, though my husband thought his sandwich was small for the price.  If you're wondering where we went - it was the Flying Squirrel.  In their defense, they have pretty decent gf reviws for dinner - not brunch.  My bad.

The good news is that if you want an omelet for brunch or lunch when in Chat, you can have an amazing option at Frothy Monkey (the same chain as in Nashville).  The gf bread and muffins there are nothing to get excited about, but they're decent enough.  They do bake those in house so please keep that in mind before ordering.  Either way, the omelets are amazing there!

GF food for thought:  don't assume you can order an omelet at brunch...apparently, not everyone can make one ;)


              

The best gluten-free bread on the market is not sold in USA

Anyone who loved bread when they could have gluten might still be looking for that perfect, normal tasting, I-can't-believe-it's-gluten-free-bread...and hoping the next brand they try will be it.  Over the years, I'd pretty much given up ever finding the all-elusive perfect gluten-free bread.  Carbs are really not my friend these days so I didn't feel I was missing anything.  Recently, with the discovery of Jersey Mike's amazing sandwiches and my favorite freshly baked scones from Seven Sisters, I've enjoyed bread items more than in recent years.  However, I still find myself letting sliced bread sit in the fridge too long....until it's almost petrified and has to be thrown out.  Throwing out food of any kind is terrible and I try very hard not to ever do it.  So, I rarely buy bread, but do splurge on bagels every now and then.  Those freeze well and can be taken out the night before you need one and for me, that means much less waste than sliced bread.

For my birthday last year, we went to Scotland for the first time.  To say the trip was amazing is an extreme understatement.  We went in the warm season - July - making sure to pack like it was winter in the ATL.  Yes, we needed gloves, hats, coats, scarves and of course - heavy duty umbrellas! More about the trip later.  The point of this post, which is dragging on unnecessarily, is to share the best gluten-free find I've had - EVER!

Rumors about Genius bread surfaced many years ago, but it was the brand of the bread sold in many parts of Europe.  What I didn't realize at the time, is when it was introduced in the US, it was not (in any way shape or form) the bread that everyone who'd had it in Europe had raved about. In fact, I could not believe anyone would think the bread was any different than your standard, oddly textured, frozen bread we've all become accustomed to.  Eventually, I found out all Genius bread is not created equal - to say the least!

Fast forward several years when I walked into a Sainsbury's in Edinburgh and found Genius bread sitting on the shelf - NOT in the freezer, mind you - in the 'free from' section.  Strangely enough, because the bread was as light as a feather AND it was a huge loaf, I immediately assumed that it was regular, gluten containing bread. Seriously - that went though my mind even though the bread was in the 'free from' section.  That's where allergen-free products are found in many countries in Europe.  They don't mix everything up like so many stores here do.

OK - so there is a light loaf of bread that is labelled gluten-free. The size of the slices is "normal" making it all the more confusing.  It's hard to wrap your brain around something you didn't know could, or did, exist.  It was...well, it was a gluten-free miracle of sorts.  We picked up some basics like eggs, cereal, fruit, cheese, wine, milk and various 'free from' snacks like mini tarts (yum!) and made our way back to our fantastic Home Away apartment.  Our plane had arrived just a few hours before so it was time for lunch.  Naturally, I decided to have a piece of bread with butter on it along with a grilled chicken salad.

It was love at fist bite for the REAL Genius bread.  Even still - I literally ran into the kitchen to read the label on the bread bag again!  At this point, you feel as though you're losing your grip on reality.  How many times do I have to read a label to believe the bread, as inconceivably delcious as it is, is in fact, GLUTEN-FREE?  Enough already - get over it and enjoy it!  And that is what I did for the entire trip, even savoring the last slice at the Edinburgh airport, before heading home.  It wasn't until after I got back to reality - the one where no amazing gluten-free bread is on the shelf at my local grocery store - that I began to question why that was.  More on that another day.

For now, please know that if you are anywhere outside the U.S. that sells Genius bread - BUY IT!!!  You won't like it - you'll love it and then you'll be dissappointed that you can't find it anywhere in this country.  The only upside is that if this bread was at the store around the corner, I would have a very hard time sticking to my self-imposed low carb diet...lol!

At the time of this post, the original Genius gluten-free products are NOT sold in the U.S.  Maybe if we all request they sell the REAL Genius bread in the U.S. - by contacting the company, we'll get it here eventually ;)



   
      

    

What happened to Burger 21?

Over a year ago, we started picking up take-out from Burger 21.  They have gluten-free buns as well as gluten-free fries (regular and sweet potato) made in a dedicated fryer.  And if you dine in, they have a nice gluten-free cider.  Since the bright indoor lighting is rather jarring if you're sensitive to light, we went from dining in to picking up take-out fairly quickly.

However, over the last six months or so, our orders often haven't been made right.  Thankfully, my meal was still gluten-free, but the bacon we paid for was not on the burger.  This happened three consecutive times.  Finally, we complained (via phone) and the next time my husband went in, they gave him a free burger on our take-out order.  Unfortunately, even though my burger had the bacon ordered on it, it also had lots of condiments and other stuff I do not eat on burgers.  It was completely gross so we had to go back and exchange it for another burger.  We got more coupons for that mistake, but by then I was thinking I don't really care about saving on an order if the restaurant can't seem to prepare it correctly...over and over again.

Finally, another take-out order and again, it was prepared incorrectly.  But this time my husband knew to check the order BEFORE he left and sure enough, there was stuff on my burger which was not supposed to be on it...and the order taker definitely confirmed the other back correctly before sending details to the kitchen.  So, now we assume someone in the kitchen can't read the tickets....or they're snap chatting with someone or taking selfies...whatever kids do these days...lol!  Whatever the issue, they're absolutely not concentrating on getting orders prepared correctly.

Now my husband won't go back and since he's the official take-out guy at our house, I'm kind of out of luck.  By the way, Burger 21 burgers are fine and the fries are very tasty.  But the gluten-free buns and burgers at Cheeseburger Bobby's are better.  I can't have fries there due to no dedicated fryer..hence our past tendency to get burgers from Burger 21, unless I'm not in the mood for fries. 

#burger21fail

AUGUST 2019:  Just wanted to update how this location of Burger 21 is doing.  They have now been preparing our orders correctly about 75% of the time.  My husband's order has been wrong for the most part, but he can eat anything so he just deals with it.  We've almost stopped going there completely, as I'll make baked fries at home to go with Cheeseburger Bobby's burgers - they have the better burger and gf bun anyway! 

    

Want a gluten-free Twinkie?

I didn't grow up eating Twinkies (thank goodness), but I know many people love them and for those that get diagnosed with celiac or a wheat allergy, it's bye-bye to this nostalgic ooey gooey treat.  Since I've had so few twinkies, I could not tell a real one from an imposter even if I could eat one.

Even though I don't care anything about having a Twinkie type treat, I coudn't resist the version offered by Katz Gluten-Free.  There was a vanilla creme filled cake and a chocolate creme filled cake from this line in the freezer at Sprouts.  They were on sale so I could not pass the oportunity to try at least one version up.


The first thing I noticed was how small the little cakes were...I think they're smaller than Twinkies, but I could be wrong about that.  Then you have to let it defrost on the counter before eating it.  So right off the bat, this is a miss for me.  I don't want to have to think two hours ahead of time "I think I'll have a gf Twinkie like treat today".

Eventually, the cake was ready to try.  I'm a huge fan of Katz so it was a bit surprising that this cake didn't taste very good to me.  The cake and the creme filling (of which there was very little of) were a total miss for me.  Even my husband who enjoys pretty much anything baked, including things I think are super horrid, didn't care for it. 


We'll stick to the amazing apple fritters and small apple pie (not the mini pies) from Katz from now on ;)
  

Beware of gluten-free menus - even more than before!

The amount of restaurants that now have gluten-free menus is staggering and many offer incredible options that are safely prepared (as much as is possible in a mixed kitchen).  But the number of menus that list fried items that are not made in a dedicated gluten-free fryer seems to be on the rise.  Forget chips and fries - I'm talking about even gluten-free breaded items in some cases.

The good news is that many places will denote on the menu that the items are cooked/fried in a regular gluten fryer.  The bad news is that most of us can't take the risk of getting sick, and therefore must avoid those items.  In some instances, avoiding those items will leave you with few safe choices on the menu.  And at least in my case, that's not a place I'd bother patronizing.

So when you're doing your homework, looking for gluten-free options at your neighborhood or on your dream vacation, pay great attention to the little things regarding food prep, etc.  It's not only about the ingredients.  It's not even about those and the preparation methods.  It's about the plating after everything has been done to prepare the meal correctly.  One line cook tossing a piece of bread ruins the whole darn thing.

Years ago, I watched someone throw a roll on my plate at Ted's Montana Grill.  Someone yelled "no bread gluten-free" quite loudly.  The roll was quickly removed and they brought out the plate as though nothing happened.  They had no idea I'd seen the whole thing from our table.  I explained that I could not eat anything on the plate now and I'd take just a baked potato.  We didn't have the time to wait on another steak...and I really had no trust in the place at that moment.  I think Ted's has improved greatly since then, but it's not a favorite because of the incident years ago.

What many companies don't understand is that it's hard to forget simple mistakes, because those mistakes can take us down for the count.  If you get the feeling a place doesn't take gluten-free orders, or food allergies, seriously, it's hard to shake that feeling no matter how much you'd like to.

Restaurants that don't understand how to feed us safely would be better served to do away with their gluten-free menus altogether.  And the places that do get it, and care about our business, are the places we all need to support as often as possible!.