It's Girl Scout cookie time....

Its that time of year again...when the gluten intolerant cannot enjoy the delicious Girl Scout cookies that are are every Dillons and Walmart entryway...Until this year that is....

Girl Scouts have rolled out two new gluten free cookie lines this year, Trios and Toffee-Tastic. The Trios cookie is a peanut butter oatmeal cookie and Toffee-Tastic is a butter cookie with small toffee bits. I have to say that I was not a fan of the Trios (sorry Girl Scouts), they seemed almost stale to me and are very small, bite size. Toffee-Tastic were my favorite, the rich butter cookie almost melts in your mouth. I have to admit that the Toffee-Tastic I had to order from a seller on Amazon. I was told by a local troop that they each only received two cases of the GF options, not knowing how they would sell, so I could not find Toffee-Tastic locally. You can order them online through the Girl Scouts, but you have to order a whole case (which is a strong possibility since I enjoyed them so much).

Thank you Girl Scouts for including us Celiac friends in your cookie lineup! It's much appreciated

Aldi's is catching on....

In the past few months, Aldi's here in Wichita has been having some special buys that include gluten free items such as baking mix and frozen gluten free pancakes. The baking mix was about half the price as the Bisquick brand that I usually purchase, so obviously I stoked up quite well on this product before they took it away. It was really good, couldn't tell the difference between the Aldi and the Bisquick brands, same texture, consistency, and look. The GF pancakes were good as well, they come three in a pack and there are four packs to a box for about 2.00. They were good, but the actual pancakes were quite small. One person could easily eat two packages for breakfast. So check your local Aldi once in a while and they products come and go as they get them  in as special buys. It will save you a lot of money.

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...

Bj's Brewhouse-Wichita location

So excited that Bj's came to Wichita! Good news for my fellow GF friends. I ate at one of these in Norman, OK when traveling to Dallas. Such a great GF menu. http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/sites/default/files/GlutenAllrgnMenu0811_Brnch_R3.pdf
Pizza, soup, and dessert are even on the menu for us :) The Pazooki is to die for, a large warm GF cookie topped with ice cream....um yeah...not too many places that we can go and find that one on the menu.

Picasso's Pizzeria-Any takers?

I am still waiting on a chance to go try Picasso's down in Delano. I have gone down there one time to give it a try and of course, with my luck, all the ovens were broken so they had the whole place shut down for the afternoon. Yes, this IS my kind of luck....I think I was born with it..ho hum.
Anyways, if anyone has been here. let me know what you thought and if you had the gf option or not? I heard there sandwiches are pretty good as well.

Wichita Eagle Thank You

Thanks to one of my friend for bringing me a copy of the FRONT PAGE of the Wichita Eagle the other day. And thank you to the Wichita Eagle for putting a story on gluten free living on he front page :) So exciting to see this!  I have yet to try the deli at Food for Thought, but it is on my list on places to visit.

Wichita All About Her Expo

Last weekend I attended the "All About Her Expo" at Century II in downtown Wichita.  As you all probably know by now, if you have Celiac, you are just out of luck when it comes to sampling some of the vendors fine foods that are offered at these types of events.  I would like to thank the wonderful lady who owns the company Brands Fine Foods.  She has wonderful pepper jelly and she sells it at several local stores such as Food for Thought, Green Acres, Kay Wiggins, and Wild at Heart along with others.  She kindly asked if I would like to sample her jelly and I obviously knew I couldn't sample being she was giving samples on non gf crackers.  I told her I am sorry and that I had Celiacs and guess what happened next?  She reached down and grabbed a box of some gf crackers and gave me a sample.  I want to thank her SO much!  I wish more vendors would take this into consideration when at these events.  She just made a new customer out of me :)

A 100% gf cafe opening in WIchita? Whoooohooooo!

I am so excited!  In one of my favorite stores Food for Thought, on E. Central, they are opening an all GF cafe called Delish.  How wonderful to walk in somewhere knowing whatever I order will be gluten free!  Delish is opening this next Monday :) 

Chick-fil-a wonderful gf menu!

So with all the news of chick-fil-a opening in Wichita today, I thought it would be best to take another look at thier website and their gluten free menu.  Wonderful choices, including there waffle fries, and their grilled chicken nuggets.  I posted the link for you all to take a look at if interested.

http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Gluten

Picasso's Pizzeria-new to Wichita

So excited that there is a new pizza place in town that has a gf menu!  Picasso's Pizzeria has just opened in Delano and sounds fabulous.  It has pizza by the slice, sandwiches, etc.  I am excited to see what is included on the gluten free menu....If anyone has been there and knows, please let me know :) Here is a link to some more info on the new pizzeria...

http://blogs.kansas.com/dining/2012/03/06/now-open-picassos-pizzeria/#disqus_thread

El Monterrey Grill- Wichita

Don't waste your time going and eating gf.  I kindly asked the waitress on what was gf and she went and asked the manager.....came back with a response if "The only thing that is gf is the chips and salsa".  Enough said....I really think that they had no idea what i was talking about, but definately wasnt going to take the chance.  I would think that more restaurants would be more knowledable of food allergies this day in age. 

Granite City East Wichita

Had a wonderful gf pizza today at Granite City....but a word of advice...call before you go to make sure they have some gf pizza crusts on hand.  on their menu, you can switch out any of their flatbread pizza menu items with a gf option.  It was only 7.00 on the lunch menu also.  fabulous pizza for a wonderful price.

Natural Grocers in Wichita, KS

So excited for the new grocery store, Natural Grocers, to have opened here in Wichita.  There is also one that opened in Lawrence. I believe that this store is a chain that is huge in the Colorado area. A new place to shop for your gluten free items!  Maybe they will have those yummy Against the Grain baguettes that I talked about in a previous post....wishful thinking.  Will definitely be making a trip this week.  I will follow up on what I think :) Here is the link to their website
http://www.naturalgrocers.com/store-info/wichita

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!

My favorite dessert crust

During Thanksgiving, I made a chocolate cream pie that was wonderful.. It didn't make it 24 hours before my son and I devoured it.  I knew there had been several regular gf pie crusts out there, but I was looking for a dessert crust.  I found these graham style crumbs to make a crust at Food 4 Thought in Wichita.  http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.home/productcategoryid/7
Simple to make and delicious!

This crust is also dairy free AND nut free, perfect for those with those intolerances as well :)

Chick-fil-A--Gluten Free? A Big Fat Yes!

As soon as I heard that there was a Chick-fil-A coming to the NW side of Wichita, I was wondering if this would give me another option for lunch on that side of town.  I like their website, as it simply has a gluten free info link that guides you to their gluten free menu :)  http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Gluten
Their charbroiled chicken is gluten free (which is rare in fast food since the broth that most places inject in their chicken has wheat flour in it, for example, McDonalds). Just remember to order it without the bun. The big one that I am excited about it that their waffle fries are GLUTEN FREE!  I am the biggest addict when it comes to french fries and was horribly scarred for life when I found out that most restaurants have gluten filled fries.  Dear Chick-fil-A team, can you open, say, next week please?

Fitting in On a Friday Night

Fellow Wichitans....If you haven't been to Mulligans Bar and Grill on the east side, it is a must. Friday night was quite busy with the World Series Game broadcasting, but I was craving a wonderful GF pizza and a beer.  As an added bonus, Friday nights is half price pizza night.  (This includes the GF pizzas).  It has been fun going out to eat and to have a few drinks when I can actually drink something with my friends.  Mulligans has Woodchuck (which in my opinion is the best hard cider ou there).  I no longer feel left out when I want to socialize in a public setting.  Thank you GF gods!  It turned out to be a fun night with some friends and family.  I also found out that Dudley's on the west side serves Woodchuck as well, for those of you with Celiac's.  I talked to our waitress there and she actually had Celiac's as well. As far as food at Dudley's she said the only thing GF would be a salad without croutons.  Her and I kinda laughed, yeah, not really craving a salad with my nice cold beer....

October is Gluten Free Awareness Month

Lots of activities going on this weekend in Wichita!  On Saturday, there are two great natural food stores that will be celebrating gluten free awareness month.  At Green Acres, N. Rock Rd, there will be a Gluten Free Fair from 11-3 with support group info, samples, and recipies. They are also featuring Gluten AllergyTesting for only $50 this day.    At Food For Thought (E. Central), there will be a Gluten Free Baking Bonanza, although I am not sure on times with this event for Saturday.  So exccited as I love trying new foods and obtaining new recipie ideas.  See you there!  Maybe for lunch I will stop at Mulligans and get a GF pizza to go :)

Here is a link to FoodFor Thought Events http://www.foodforthoughtwichita.com/uploads/Oct11.pdf

Green Acres Link http://greenacres.com/index.php/calendar/wichita/10/2011