Gluten Free Product Giveaway

Read more about the Gluten Free Product Giveaway of Chocolate Tortilla Chips and more at the new A Gluten-Free Guide site.

Gluten-Free Lasagna and More!

Food Matters Gluten-Free Italian, originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.

Find out more about where you can get gluten-free lasagna at A Gluten-Free Guide.

New York Gluten-Free News

GF Beer Bread with Butter, originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.

Living gluten-free in NYC is becoming just a little bit easier. Lilli and Loo recently launched a gluten-free menu, GourmetLand reintroduced their gluten-free menu and now some of my favorite gluten-free products are available in health food stores in the city.

Le Garden GF Beer Bread Prepared

Le Garden Gourmet Gluten-Free Bakery in upstate New York now has products available at two Manhattan stores:

Food Liberation on Lexington and 89th 212-348-2286
The Health Nuts, Inc. on Second Ave and 64th 212-593-0116

I love their hearty artisanal gluten-free breads and their melba toasts can't be beat.

Le Garden GF Beer Bread Mix, originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.

I tried their gluten-free beer quick bread mix a couple months ago, using Redbridge gluten-free beer.

It was absolutely delicious on its own, but paired wonderfully with my hearty turkey chili recipe.

EveryBody Eats Garlic Bread

Everybody Eats, a gluten-free bakery in Brooklyn, now has store hours on Saturdays AND is selling their products in Manhattan at Food Liberation on Lexington and 89th 212-348-2286.

Kelly at the CeliacChicks, announced last week that gluten-free lasagna, baked ziti and more will be available by delivery from Food Matters. The company is the brainchild of Vanessa Phillips, the woman we also have to thank for the ever-expanding gluten-free menu at Lilli and Loo and now a gluten-free menu at PizzaBolla in downtown Manhattan.

For those of you who live outside NY, don't fret, you can order products from Le Garden GF Bakery, Everybody Eats, and Food Matters. The shipping fees can sometimes be expensive, but trust me it's less than NYC rents.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Pie , originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.

Oh Whole Foods, I already loved you but now you truly have my heart. Why am I expressing such love for a grocery store? Well, aside from all of the wonderful gluten-free products that Whole Foods has carried for years, they recently added frozen gluten-free piecrusts to their Gluten-Free Bakehouse line.While in general, I prefer to make things from scratch, a flaky, gluten-free pastry crust is not that easy. I used the Gluten-Free pantry mix to make crust for a delicious gluten-free pumpkin pie last year. But when the Delphi Celiac Forums started buzzing about the Whole Foods frozen piecrusts, I knew I had to find a pie recipe to try them out. The results were incredible, the Chocolate Pecan Pie and the crust were a huge hit at my holiday soiree this year.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Pie (adapted from Karo Syrup Recipe Collection)

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
5 ounces semisweet gluten-free chocolate
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
1 1/2 cups raw pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen deep-dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate and set aside to cool slightly. If you don’t have a double boiler, set up a large pyrex bowl over a saucepot with simmering water.

In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with a fork. Add sugar, Corn Syrup, chocolate, margarine and vanilla; stir until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until center of pie appears barely set. Cool on wire rack.

To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.

TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is overbrowning, cover edges with foil.

It will be messy when you cut into it - but that's just part of the fun of pecan pie! And if you can't find the frozen crusts and are too overwhelmed to make the crust yourself, you can always try Cassandra's Easy Crustless Pecan Pie.

Forget Disneyland – visit “YES Land” in Denver

Debys Gluten Free Montage, originally uploaded by A Gluten Free Guide.

I spent Labor Day weekend eating my way through Denver. During my first 24 hours in the gluten-free mecca, I may have consumed more calories than I typically eat in a week. I found “YES Land” (also known as Deby’s Gluten-Free Café and Bakery) on my first full day in Colorado.

Haven’t you been told NO enough? That is the mantra employed by Monica and Doug Poole, owners of Deby’s Gluten-Free Café and Bakery in Denver, CO – hence the name “YES Land.” And trust me, for anyone living gluten-free, Deby’s is a wonderland of food worth a trip to the Rocky Mountain State.

Deby’s Gluten-Free Café and Bakery opened about two years ago. Named after Doug and Monica’s daughter, Deby, they initially offered 175 gluten-free products. They have since expanded to more than 400 different gluten-free items. They have everything from bread, muffin and cookies to ravioli, chicken nuggets and lasagna. While the location is a little off the beaten path from downtown Denver, visitors from every single United State (including Alaska and Hawaii) and seven different countries have made the pilgrimage to Deby’s. The less traditional location for a restaurant and bakery keeps rent low and enables them to keep prices affordable, especially compared to typical gluten-free baked goods.

Needing to taste as much as I possibly could – my friend Sean and I shared a rather extensive brunch: an omelet with hash browns and cinnamon raisin toast, a breakfast burrito with green chili sauce, dollar pancakes, an English muffin, glazed donut holes, french toast, a biscuit, a pumpkin spice muffin, a salad with croutons and two diet cokes. For all of that food our check totaled a mere $24. Seeing a gluten-free muffin that costs only 85 cents and tastes just as good as a “glutened” version, was almost enough to inspire Ms. GF Guide to move to Denver.

Monica and Doug are two of the warmest people I have ever met. They are passionate about bringing good gluten-free food to everyone and are working in the community to make it easier for restaurants to cater to gluten-free customers.

Before leaving, I ordered a few items to-go, a luscious lemon bar, a decadent chocolate brownie with german chocolate cake frosting, a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and two of the new muffin flavors (buy one get one free!). These were all consumed before I managed to get any good photos – a sign of some delicious vittles.

After our huge brunch, Monica and Doug gave me a tour of their kitchen complete with pizza oven, waffle maker, bread slicer – (ah, the comfort of crumbs that won’t make me sick!) massive amounts of gluten-free flour, and more. Monica and Doug are zealous advocates for the gluten-free lifestyle after seeing dramatic improvements in their health when they eliminated gluten from their diets. Monica has been gluten free for over 8 years, since being diagnosed with Celiac disease. Today the entire family, Doug, their 13 year-old daughter Deby and their twin 11 year-old boys are all on gluten-free diets. They are all feeling significantly stronger, healthier and eating better than ever.

While I highly recommend making the trip out to Deby’s in person, you can order from a huge selection of items to be delivered straight to your home. Not getting to taste EVERYTHING during my trip to Denver, I ordered two boxes to be shipped back to my apartment in NYC. In fact, I hosted a gluten-free tasting/dinner party at my apartment this week. (I’ll report back soon on how all of my gluten-glutton friends enjoyed Deby’s offerings and more culinary highlights from my trip to Denver. )

If there is anything you have been craving since going gluten-free, call/email/visit Monica and she will find some way to tell you "YES." She recently developed a tempura batter - yes, I had a gluten-free onion ring! What have you been missing?

Deby's Gluten Free: address 2369 S Trenton Way, Suite M Denver, CO 80231-7628 phone: (866) 473-2155 email: info@debysglutenfree.com

Enjoy Life on Food Network

In case there was any doubt, more media coverage this week shows Gluten-Free is going mainstream. Enjoy Life Foods, whose products I featured in a mixed-results review a few months ago, was featured on this week’s episode of the Food Network’s “Unwrapped” with Marc Summers (all you old Double Dare fans can now reconnect with Marc). This is actually one of three recent pieces in which gluten-free food has been highlighted on Food Network. Alton Brown baked gluten-free chocolate chip cookies on "Good Eats" and "Dinner Impossible" featured a mission requiring Chef Irvine to create a gluten-free dish.

The PR team at Enjoy Life is doing a great job of spreading the word. In addition to the coverage on Food Network, they recently sent me two of their new gluten-free cookies to sample.

Emily, my faithful gluten glutton taster, and I were both pleased with the results. They even changed the packaging that we complained about in my first review!

The happy apple cookie was tasty and didn’t have any of the “health food cookie” taste I normally associate with apple flavored cookies.

The lively lemon cookie was definitely the standout during this tasting. The citrus “spice” of the lemon is light and refreshing in this soft and moist cookie.

Thanks to Enjoy Life for making allergen-free goodies that even gluten-gluttons gobble down with relish.

The Impossible Dream - A Gluten-Free Croissant

Gluten Free Croissants III, originally uploaded by A Gluten Free Guide.

Croissants and ravioli are two foodstuffs I wrote off after being diagnosed with Celiac. I have vivid taste memories of the fresh croissants I ate while visiting friends in Paris and the plates of perfectly dressed ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese I enjoyed for years. I didn’t see ANY gluten-free prepared alternatives and the amount of effort required to make my own seemed unwarranted. So I went along my merry way, only briefly mourning the loss.

Loyal readers may remember that I recently had the opportunity to eat delicious gluten-free ravioli from Everybody Eats. Well, now my gluten-free options are once again expanding. That’s right – I ate a gluten-free croissant!

I had heard rumors for two years about gluten-free croissants existing in France. But no one had actually ever seen or eaten the elusive gluten-free delicacies. Well, recently Amazon.com started offering gluten-free food items imported from France, including the heretofore impossible to find gluten-free croissant. With shipping, my order totaled $14, but the mere possibility of enjoying a croissant was worth the risk.

I invited my steadfast gluten-eating friends Emily and Carlee to help me taste the baked goods. Our final analysis – not bad. Now these are not something I would buy if suddenly I could eat gluten again, but they definitely satisfied a craving that had been lingering.

The croissants come five to a package, vacuum-sealed for extended freshness.

They are not as light as a fresh croissant, but they are pretty similar to Pilsbury crescent rolls in consistency and size.

Once heated, you can really see and taste the butter used to make them flaky and rich. These are not a low-calorie treat by any stretch of the imagination.

They won’t make it onto my regular shopping list, because my waistline and pocket book couldn’t withstand the hit. But I am glad I tried them and will order again when the craving strikes.

Gluten Free Ravioli - Do my eyes deceive me?

I am a creature of habit. This has been true for as long as I can remember. When I was in grammar and junior high school my family would go to a local Italian restaurant called “Carmine's.” I always ordered the cheese ravioli served with butter, parmesan cheese and garnished with Italian parsley. The ricotta filling and delicious pasta never disappointed.

As I have traveled around the world and moved across the country, I have become much more adventurous with my food choices. (Celiac disease has even facilitated my experimentation.) But sometimes I still miss the “comfort food” of my childhood. I had written off ravioli as a food I would never enjoy again with my gluten free lifestyle. Sure, there were gluten free ravioli recipes that looked amazing, but I lacked the ambition to attempt such a project when there were so many other recipes to try.

Lucky for me, Everybody Eats, the bakery in Brooklyn who created the canvas for my garlic cheese spread, also makes gluten free ravioli! (And not just cheese, but chicken and beef ravioli too.) I decided to try the spinach-ricotta filling in order to hearken back to the Carmine’s ravioli I savored as a child.

Unlike most gluten free pastas that have a slightly different flavor or texture (not necessarily bad just distinctive), Everybody Eats’ ravioli is indistinguishable from “regular” pasta. It is expensive, but for those special occasions when you just need to feel normal, it’s a worthy splurge. You can top the pasta to your tastes, but the sauce below flattered the flavors perfectly.

(I also used this sauce on some brown rice spaghetti from Trader Joe’s. I wanted to make sure my guests had plenty to eat in case I devoured all of the ravioli by myself. The brown rice pasta was good. Some of the strands stuck together and had to be thrown out but all in all it is a great option for a low price.)

Kalamata Butter Sauce for Gluten Free Pasta (serves about 4)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic sliced
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped italian flat-leaf parsley
½ cup diced kalamata olives
1 cup roasted red peppers, torn into bite-sized pizza

Heat a skillet with the olive oil and add the garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes to infuse the oil with the garlic flavor. Add the butter, parsley, olives and red peppers. Cook until the butter melts and the olives and peppers are warm. Toss the sauce with your pasta and top with a good grated parmesan or romano cheese.

These amounts are approximate. Play with the ingredients and amounts to fit your tastes. It’s not low fat, and I certainly couldn’t eat such rich buttery goodness everyday, but I enjoyed every last bite!

Eating Sushi is a Gluten Free Dream

As soon as I started eating out “gluten free” I discovered the simplicity of going for sushi. I could order a plain platter of sashimi and bring my own gluten free soy sauce. I still ask for my fish to be prepared on a clean surface, double check that no sauces are used on my dish and check the ingredients of the wasabi and ginger. But, there is a certain level of transparency with sushi that you don’t find with other cuisines and cooking techniques.

Sushi quickly became the easy restaurant option; I didn’t need to do as much research upfront and I knew there would be SOMETHING I could eat (even if it was just steamed edamame). When I was first diagnosed I would carry a bottle of soy sauce with me to the sushi restaurant. It’s a little unwieldy to keep a bottle of soy sauce always at the ready in my purse so I needed some advanced notice to get a "quick" sushi lunch or dinner. Last year Kari-Out came to the rescue and launched gluten free soy sauce packets. Now I can carry these handy packets in my purse and always be ready for a last minute meal.

They can be ordered here, along with plenty of other travel sized packets of salad dressing, mustard, or even steak and BBQ sauce all great for gluten free travel.

Everybody Eats Gluten Free Garlic Bread

It had been a LONG time since I had made garlic bread. Growing up we would buy “pre-made” frozen garlic bread or use a garlic spread and sprinkle it with Kraft parmesan cheese. (It almost seems blasphemous to this “born again” foodie.) When I went gluten free, it seemed like a waste to hide a freshly made gluten free loaf under a cheesy garlicy paste. And I had yet to find any pre-made gluten-free French bread that passed my strict taste standards.

A few weeks ago I received a package from a gluten free bakery based in Brooklyn, NY called “Everybody Eats.” They were included in the Gluten Free Pizza Party round up, but at the time I hadn’t had the chance to actually try any of their products. A few people I met mentioned that their bread was great and I read some positive reviews, but the price and shipping costs were quite hefty.

Well, their crusty French baguette was so good, it didn’t seem possible that it was gluten free.

The crust is chewy but the inside is light and airy. With so many gluten free bread options that could be used as a door stop, it is a marvel what chef's Pedro and Bruce have achieved.

The flavor and texture are unsurpassed by any light gluten-free bread I have purchased up until now (though I still recommend this artisanal gluten-free loaf).

The deli rolls offer a similar taste and texture as the French baguette, but the baguette will make a perfect canvas for this fresh Garlic Cheese spread. I chose pecorino romano rather than a parmigiano reggiano because it has a slightly stronger kick to it. If you like a more subtle flavor any good quality hard parmesan will do.

Gluten-Free Cheesy Garlic Goodness
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1 gluten-free French baguette, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

Cream the butter, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and half of the cheese in a small bowl using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Spread both halves of the bread evenly with the garlic butter and top with the remaining grated cheese. Place the bread halves on the prepared baking sheet, cut sides up, and bake until fragrant and lightly golden around the edges, 8 to 15 minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn’t burn. Cut crosswise on the diagonal into1 1/2-inch slices. Serve hot.

Gluten Free Pizza Party - Dig in!

Gluten Free Pizza, originally uploaded by A Gluten Free Guide.

As previously announced, we are having a gluten free pizza party. With more than 20 recipes and tastings you will have a whole new set of skills and products to add to your gluten free pizza repertoire.

Gluten Free Pizza Recipes:

Shauna never fails us with her gluten free recipes, her crunchy, slightly nutty pizza crust will surely delight. Of course the chef also put his gluten free pizza skills on display with this slice embellished with heirloom tomatoes, caramelized onions and rosemary.

Jean in Washington, shares a whole grain pizza crust recipe that makes use of flax seeds.

Mike, a gluten free cookbook author and blogger extraordinaire, gives us a traditional thick crust recipe using teff and millet flours.

The Gluten-Free Gastro-Gnome specializes in putting sorghum flour to work, but her gluten free pizza crust uses bean and tapioca flour.

Ellen who has five kids to please with her cooking made a fantastic roasted vegetable gluten free pizza on her first try.

Gluten a Go Go in Westchester County, NY has two gluten free crust recipes to add to your lists, once again you have to trust a pizza that can stand up to the toughest critics - children.

Wheatless Bay tops her gluten free pizza with mushrooms, caramelized onions and canadian bacon.

Mrs. GF makes a foldable pizza crust - the NY-style pizza lovers will love this.

Sheri made a BBQ pizza for the round up and uses garlic and herb cheese spread instead of red sauce on another pizza creation.

The impossibly cute Suzi of Gluten Free Living gives us five versions including one with roast lamb to create a gourmet gluten free pizza.

The indomitable Lynn of Free to Eat puts her "Lovely Loaf" to the pizza test.

Flamenco Mom in NYC gives you the tools for making a gluten free/casein free pizza.

Julie in Boulder, CO tempts us with his and her pizza photos but doesn't share her recipe that is still being perfected.

Gluten Free Pizza Reviews:

Rob and Diana give top marks to the Glutino gluten free pizza but their reviews don't stop there.

Jennifer Ate gives us a taste of three different options when it has to be pizza.

Sheri gives her thumbs up to the Arrowhead Mills mix.

Gluten Free Pizza Fun:

David of Gluten Free NYC keeps us laughing with Gluten Free Pizza a la Sedaris.


My additions to the party include a Zucchini Crust Pizza and a round-up of other gluten free pizza resources.

Gluten Free Mixes and Crusts:

Gillians Foods frozen pizza dough was the canvas for the pizza pictured above. Kinnikinnick sells GF/CF pizza crusts and Chebe makes an OnTheGo Gluten Free Pizza Dough. And have you heard of Dad's Gluten Free Pizza Crusts?

Frozen Gluten Free Pizzas:

When you are too tired to do any of the work - there are a number of options available to satiate your gluten free pizza cravings. EveryBody Eats, a gluten-free bakery in Brooklyn makes three different styles of NY-style pizza that can be mailed directly to your door. If you have to have it that night look at your local grocery store for gluten pizza options from Amy's, Foods by George, or Glutino. (Van Harden is a new gluten free pizza to market, using a cheese crust similar to the currently unavailable Comfy Cuisine.)

Some of you may even live in areas lucky enough to have restaurants that serve gluten free pizza:

Arizona:
Picazzos, 7325 Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd (Scottsdale Promenade) (Cross Street: N Scottsdale Road) Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: 480-990-2212

California:
Maurizio's Italian Restaurant, 135 North Maryland Avenue, Glendale Phone: 818-247-5600. Call a day ahead and order the gluten-free pizza

Connecticut:
Frascati Restaurant 581 Newfield AvenueStamford, Connecticut Phone: 203-353-8900

Illinois:
Lou Malnati's has multiple locations in the Chicago area that serve a crustless gluten free pizza (the "crust" is made from sausage)

Massachusetts:

Boynton Restaurant 117 Highland St Worcester, MA Phone: 508-756-5432

New York:
Cafe Baldo, 2849 Jerusalem Ave Wantagh, New York 11793 Phone: 516-785-4780
Mama's Italian Restaurant, 1352 Montauk Highway Oakdale, New York Phone: 631-567-0909

Mozzarelli's Pizza 38 E 23rd St, New York 10010 Btwn Park & Madison Ave Phone: 212-475-6777
Risotteria, 270 Bleecker St, New York 10014 Btwn 6th & 7th Ave Phone: 212-924-6664
Slice, 1413 2nd Ave, New York 10021 Btwn 73rd & 74th St Phone: 212-249-4353

Pennsylvania:
Jules Thin Crust, 78 South Main Street Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901 Phone: 215-345-8537
Manny B's Pizzeria, 3820 Freemansburg Avenue Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania Phone: 610-866-8864

Let me know if I missed any good recipes or pizza offerings!

Gluten Free Bread That's Too Good To Be True

The box full of "Gluten Free Goodness" I received last week was from a little bakery in upstate New York called Le Garden Gourmet GF Bakery. I first discovered them at the Gluten Free Cooking Spree, when their Melba Toasts were my favorite part of the goodie bag. I had high hopes after enjoying the melba toasts so thoroughly, but I had been down that road before and was also prepared for disappointment.

After looking at their Web site I decided to try a couple loafs of bread, the sugar cookies, the flour mix and breadcrumbs in addition to ordering more of the magical gluten free melba toasts. It is a small family-run bakery that just launched last year. They have an entirely gluten and nut free facility. The woman I spoke to was kind and informative.

I was a little worried when I found out that they use guar gum instead of xanthan gum as a stabilizer. My stomach doesn’t handle guar gum particularly well, so I decided to forgo the flour mix until I had a better sense of the rest of their products. (My Mom and I both had a bad experience with guar gum when we over-indulged on gluten free bread during our trip to Scotland.)

I chose the Whole Grain and Country Seed gluten free loaves. They have a sampler pack but I wasn’t ready for that level of commitment.


I placed my order on a Thursday. Because they do all of their shipping on Wednesdays, I didn’t receive my box until the following Thursday. For my entire order, the overnight shipping was a mere $7.

My gluten-eating friend Emily helped me taste the bread and cookies. (She was brave after experiencing some less than tasty gluten free granola.)

Her reaction was just as emphatic as mine. We were both blown away by the taste and texture of the breads and cookies. All I can say is WOW and THANK YOU Ina Garden. The bread did not disappoint. (As with all gluten free breads, it must be warmed in the microwave or toasted before eating. I did have a small hope that it would taste fresh and soft without the microwave, but hey I’ll take it.)

The loaves are heavy, artisan style breads; they are wonderful sliced thick and spread with butter or preserves. Emily preferred the Country Seed, though I keep going back and forth. I have been eating them both all weekend. This is the first time I have actually craved a gluten free bread that wasn’t homemade.

After savoring every bite of the bread, we opened up the Jumbo Sugar Cookie package. Again, they were astonishingly good. It is absolutely the best gluten free cookie I have had that wasn’t homemade. And they are better than any attempt I've made with sugar cookies. The edges are crispy but the center is soft and chewy. It will please your taste buds beyond measure.

I can’t wait for my next Le Garden order. I still need to try all of their other breads, cookies and flour mixes. My only worry is about my waistline…

Dancing For Celiac Research

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a benefit organized by the wonderful CeliacChicks. The Paul Taylor Dance Company donated a portion of the ticket sales for last night’s performance to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. The CeliacChicks do things in style, hosting a pre-performance reception sponsored by Foods by George.

The tables were covered with gluten free appetizers and desserts. Walking into a room filled with Pecan Tarts, Lemon Bars, Brownies, Pretzels, and Crackers, the bartender had to keep assuring the amazed guests that “Yes, it’s ALL gluten free!”

The Glutano Crackers are one of my favorites, more dense than a ritz but a nice buttery taste.

The nut and seed biscotti were my favorite sweet gluten free treat of the night. Luckily they sell them at my Whole Foods.

It was amazing to have Pecan Tarts and Lemon Bars that I could eat. (Though I would call the bars more of a “lemon cake” since it’s light and fluffy without the pastry crust I usually associate with a "bar.") Delish!

Just like the Gluten Free Cooking Spree, the best part of the evening was not the gluten free indulgences, but getting to meet others who celebrate living gluten free. I met the beautiful Juliana from Westchester who was just diagnosed 6 months ago and already has things well under control. (Juliana, let me know what you think of the cupcakes and any great gluten free restaurants you find in Italy!) The famous Dr. Peter Green was there as well. You may have seen him recently on The View. (If you missed it, check out David’s summary and analysis here. ) Then of course, there were Kelly and Alan who put the event together.

I was so energized and excited from the reception it was hard to believe that there was an extraordinary dance performance to follow. Thanks to everyone for their time and efforts.

To top off my evening, I came home to this box full of gluten free goodness. Stay tuned for more.

Gluten Free Cooking Spree - The Goodie Bag

After savoring every gluten free morsel at the Gluten Free Cooking Spree last weekend, we were given a gift bag filled with even more gluten free goodies.

My favorite discovery from the gift bag was Ina Garden’s gluten free Melba Toasts. They are crispy without being too hard or too crumbly and the flavor is great. What more could I ask? I put in an order for more Melba Toasts and bread from this gluten free bakery. I will report back once they arrive. (Ina Garden's Gluten Free Bakery is not to be confused with my favorite Food Network star Ina Garten)

The Glutino pretzels were served with the drinks at the party. These were also just as good as their “gluteny” counterparts.


Foods by George gave everyone a gluten free brownie. It had a great chocolate flavor and fantastic texture and consistency, just a little flaky and crispy on top with a soft gooey center. My only complaint here is the number of calories. The one little brownie is considered two servings – each having 210 calories and 10 grams of fat. Yikes! I guess we can’t have it all…


The Bumble Bars are positioned as a healthy power/energy bar. They are primary sesame seeds, with a few cashew or almond pieces. They are soft, just a little bit sticky and slightly sweet. It’s not something I would crave after a workout, but they make a nice sweet indulgence (they aren’t low in fat or calories either).

The hand cream by Arbonne Intelligence skin care has a lovely scent but the cream was a little too light for my dry skin. (I may give it a second try during the summer. )

The Azna Gluten Free bakery provided the delicious scones pictured here. For the goodie bag they included a Chocolate Chip Shortbread cookie. While they both tasted great, they were so crumbly I couldn’t even get a photo of the cookies and the scones were falling apart. I would guess this is due to the fact that they are using “expandex” rather than the standard xanthan or guar gums used in most gluten free cooking. I hope they figure out how to improve the consistency in future product iterations.

The SoyJoy Bars are not something I would ever buy. They tasted like old school “health food bars” that used to dominate healthy and organic foodstuffs. At least they reminded me how far we have come.

One embarrassing snafu with the gift bag occurred when “GlutenEase” was included. This is a completely unregulated health supplement that posits itself as an gluten digestion aid. Unfortunately no such pill exists and those with Celiac need to avoid gluten at all costs. Alice Bast from the NFCA apologized to the group and warned everyone not to use the product.

So this brings my coverage of the NYC Gluten Free Cooking Spree to a close. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.