A Gluten Free Traveler

So I have to say...this girl was a little nervous about traveling in a while since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I am going to be out of my comfort zone of knowing where I can eat, where I can't , blah blah blah. My routine is thrown officially off of the norm to continue my lively gluten free adventures. The day came when I traveled for my job since being diagnosed. Thoughts racing through my head...betting everything I have that I will accidentally eat something that is contaminated and become ill and endure the airplane ride with a gluten filled stomach.

I ate at a WONDERFUL, must I say again WONDERFUL restaurant called Fogo de Chao in Indianapolis http://www.fogodechao.com/ Brazilian Steakhouse. After sitting down, I interviewed the waiter with great determination expecting a blank stare back at me. To my surprise, the waiter stated that everything on the menu was gluten free with the exception of just about three things. I jaw dropped open...and then the moment came..."Miss, the rolls that I just served to the table are actually gluten free, made from fava flour." Thud.....I think my jaw hit the floor hard at this point. I have never eaten so much in my entire life, as steak after steak was brought out in small helpings. Protein overload is what my body experienced.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about and for those of you that do can relate, it has been almost ten years since I have gone out to eat and have bread with my dinner. I actually felt like a norm.

Fogo de Chao is a chain with several locations across the country, even one here locally in Kansas City. I say it is a must for anyone with Celiac Disease.

On the trip back, we had a quick layover in Denver and as I was sprinting through the Denver airport out of the corner of my eye amongst all the other over priced airport cafes and restaurants  I see "Udi's Grill and Cafe". After coming to a dead stop, probably causing the people who were walking right behind me to curse at me, I took a quick left and was like a mosquito to light. I had a few GF chocolate chip cookies to tie my hunger over until my plane landed in Wichita. Again for those of you that don't know, Udi's makes in my opinion the best GF products in the market today. I  forgot Udi's was based out of Denver.

So bring on Indianapolis and Denver any day, I am ready for a new gluten free adventure...

Udi's Gluten Free Hamburger Buns at Red Robin?

I recently found out that the Red Robin's in the southern parts of the US are carrying Udi's Gluten fre Hamburger Buns.  I absolutely LOVE Red Robin and I wish they would build one on the northwest side of Wichita, as I know it would be a hit in that area.  Their fries are gluten free and I love the Royal Red Robin Burger, which has bacon, cheese, and a fried egg.  I always get it without a bun of course, but you can get it wrapped in lettuce.  I really hope that this trend of Udi's buns at Red Robin moves it's way north a little :) Their website is wonderful for those who have allergen questions.  www.redrobin.com.

Only a few more weeks until Christmas!

Udi's new items for 2012 announcement

Great new items coming this next year from Udi's.  I am not a big fan of there current cinnamon rolls and they are redoing them this next year :)  Also new will be muffin tops and frozen pizzas! 
http://udisglutenfree.com/blog/social-media-snippets/announcing-our-new-gluten-free-products-v1
Great, more reasons for me to snack at night while watching mindless reality television.....

Oh I also forgot, a shout out to my crazy friend Jennifer, whom I told I would mention in today's blog :)  Everyone should know that she is a Twilight fan and I make fun of her for it almost everyday......She almost made me go to that horrible movie....But I do have to say that she attempted to make me gluten free chocolate chip cookies the other day, so nice of her, not too many people attempt such a feat (I know, she knows how to try to con me into going to that stupid movie.. )

Chocolate GF Goodness-Do I Need to Say More...

Towards the end of a rainy, yet well rested weekend, I ventured to Dillons to get a few things that I needed to complete outp pantry. As I walked towards the bakery section, which is usually the place that I just skip altogether in any grocery store setting, I happened to glance at the clearance rack. My anxious eyes leared towards the bottom of this rack and to my surprise I found Udi's Double Chocolate Chip Muffins on sale, not just any sale, a "let's mark these down cuz they are about to expire and we need to get them off our shelf" type of sale. Now let me tell you how excited I was to find these on this rainy Sunday night. I appreciate any kind of sale on GF food items, since they rob you blind. Normally these chocolate muffins would run your $6.99 for four. They were marked 50% and I snatched those bad boys and guarded them with my life as I gathered the rest of my items and moved my way to the front of the store to check out.

It is always interesting to see how some cashiers react when you purchase GF foods. I am talking about the types that seem to examine EVERY item that comes down that moving belt to the scanner...And talk about every item and let me know if they have tried it or not. I find it humerous when a get a cashier that, when ringing up a gf pizza, states "Oh, I heard about this gluten free thing, I need to try it. I need to start eating healthier". Well, yes, I think to myself, it is healthy in ways, but you can still get fat eating GF double chocolate muffins...Then you get the cashiers that state, "You eat gluten free? No wonder why you are so skinny." First of all, I am not that skinny. I have curves and I like them thank you very much. And secondly, some gf flours that are found in GF items actually have a higher fat content than wheat flour. So no, in not all ways am I eating healthier, just different than you. And I don't have a choice....I wish I did, I would be a little poor when grocery shopping every other week.

When I returned home from this wonderful shopping trip, I was unloading my paper sack full of groceries that were the ones intended for the trip. The last thing that I unloaded was those wonderful muffins and my husband states, "Now I know what took you so long at the store." I just looked at him with those lustful eyes of mine and stated "It was so worth it"......