But I eated it.
Lemon Dream Gluten Free Cookie packaging. Not Pictured: Delicious Cookie.
This cookie, from Alternative Baking Company, was so good. It held together well and had great mouthfeel. I was a little shocked that it didn’t just fall apart on me. It is a soft cookie, but, as I keep saying, held up until the end like a “real” cookie.
I would totally eat this again. And again.
Ingredient list for delicious cookie
Here is my GF Hotel Lobby Breakfast: a package of gluten free oatmeal from glutenfreeda + empty paper coffee cup + water from the thing full of hot water next to the coffee + free plastic spoon. Breakfast to go and it didn’t cost $12.95.
I felt kind of silly the first time I did it, but I was very happy with the results. A hot alternative to the usual Lara/Kind/Think Thin bars. And, you don’t get accidentally glutened at the buffet!
On the right sidebar, we have a link section for people that are new to being gluten free. Some of these sites helped us during our transition to being gluten free. Others have been added later. All are good and give great tips on dealing with such topics as “Are you kidding me, that has wheat in it, too?”, “Cross-Contamination? That doesn’t sound good.” and, of course, “OMG, please give me some food that doesn’t taste like crap.”
Seriously, please check out these sites and/or add them to your blogroll. These are in alphabetical order.
As you can see, there are resources from all sorts of people; bloggers sharing their stories, accomplished chefs showing you how to cook delicious meals, community sites and some medical professionals. I hope to keep expanding on this list. If you have a resource that you used when you were starting GF or come across a new one, please leave a comment here or let us know on Twitter (@glutenfreecity).
Update (12/21/11): New entries will be bolded for a while after they are added.
S’MAC (Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese) is an East Village restaurant that specializes in very tasty Macaroni and Cheese. It’s pretty simple. If you like Macaroni and Cheese and are in New York City, it really becomes a requirement that you eat here.
I had heard about this place prior to my visit a couple of months ago, but didn’t realize they had gluten free options. As always with a place that isn’t dedicated GF, there is a chance of cross-contamination. I didn’t get glutened here and would gladly go again.
Well, I would if I could fix my gut and eat dairy again.
I still miss cheese.
The picture is a cell phone shot of the “Alpine” (nosh sized — see prior post – I had just eaten a whole pizza two hours earlier!). Sorry about the partially eaten quality, I had started to dig in and remembered that I wanted a picture.This was made with the Brown Rice flour macaroni, gruyere cheese and bacon. I actually could not finish the whole thing, but I did make a valiant effort. I hope to be able to eat there again someday.
Other glowing GF blog reviews of S’MAC:
Gluten Free Mac and Cheese in NYC – A Gluten Free Guide
s’mac – Forgiving Martha
S’MAC – Another Gluten Free Blog
What? Another pizza review? You must seriously like pizza!
Yes, yes I do.
I only get to Manhattan once or twice a year and my last two visits have been while I was eating gluten free, but before I cut dairy from my diet.
I miss cheese.
Anyway, on my last trip, I only had about six hours during a really long layover and decided to check out Keste in the West Village. I had read about it on “Gluten Free Gourmande” and decided to give it a shot. They make authentic Neapolitan pizza all week and offer a gluten free crust on Mondays and Tuesdays. I was very glad that I was there on a Tuesday!
There are no reservations, so I got to wait outside for about 20 minutes. It wasn’t a hassle and I got to scope out Risotteria, which is a gluten free Italian restaurant across the street. I will have to hit that next time I am there.
Once seated, you can see the dough being prepared and the frantic staff turning tables at an amazing rate. I got a huge bottle of sparkling water ($4) and the Gluten Free Margherita Pizza ($18). It cut cleanly and tasted like a real pizza. Seriously, not one bit different from a normal pie. I didn’t take a pic of the bottom of the slices, but it was obviously a gluten free dough. I am guessing it is the rest of the ingredients along with being cooked in an extremely hot oven, right on the stone.
I would definitely recommend Keste Pizzeria. I am eager to see what a “no cheese” pizza there would taste like.
Here is another review from Another Gluten Free Blog who wasn’t as taken as I was with Keste, but she still recommends it.
Coming soon: What happened after I walked across town to S’Mac for some gluten free Macaroni and Cheese.
Did I mention that I miss cheese?
Gluten-Free Banana Nut Bread Recipe and a very spirited and personal note about being gluten free at Gluten Free Goddess. One commenter called it “stunning.” I have to agree.
I have read the post several times. I can’t say that I only read Gluten Free Goddess for the articles, though. There are some gorgeous food pictures, too.
Thanks for your perspective on being GF.
Against the Grain Gourmet is a celiac owned family bakery that produces some excellent frozen GF food. They aren’t in a lot of stores, but they are worth searching for. I do have to give a hat tip to someone I work with for the info about this company. Thanks, Tony!
Their Three Cheese Pizza is what we will talk about today. As a connoisseur of pizza, this measures as one of the best gluten free pizzas, but also compares very well to “normal” frozen pies. The cost, however, is where there is a major difference. My 12-inch pizza cost over $14 from Whole Foods. Totally worth it, but I feel you should be warned.
You can see from the pictures I took above that the crust comes out very flaky, but not crumbly and that the slices cut cleanly and didn’t break apart. The dough is tapioca starch based and the cheeses are very good. I must confess that I ate the whole thing in one sitting. I am not ashamed!
If you are eating dairy free as well (which I, sadly, am doing now), they offer a country roll and bagel, but everything else has milk and/or cheese.
Not pictured is the second pizza I cooked a few days later so I could test how well it tasted cold from the fridge and if it could survive the microwave. It was good both ways.
As I mention on the About Us page, I (and everyone around me) suffered from anxiety for years. Once I started eating Gluten Free, the anxiety started to go away. I cannot even believe how I used to live day to day, let alone work at a high pressure job. Now that I have been GF for about 9 months, my anxiety has been reduced to episodes that are over very quickly and it keeps getting better.
This article at Gluten Free Works, Anxiety and Celiac Disease, Causes and Response to a Gluten Free Diet, talks about the connection between gluten and anxiety. It is nice to see that this is something that has some science behind it.
Did you notice a reduction in anxiety in yourself or a family member when you went gluten free?
Should We All Go Gluten Free? is a very detailed article from today’s New York Times. I am always heartened when I see the mainstream press covering Gluten Free living without turning into a freak show. This story only had a little bit of freakshow and a lot of explanation of how mainstream gluten intolerance and celiac disease has become. It is hard to believe that just more than a decade ago, we had so little knowledge of this issue in America.
The point of view of the writer, who has celiac disease, was very much appreciated. I had, of course, heard the stories of the tennis champion, Djokovic going gluten free and feeling great. I had not heard his quote that after the season was over he was going to eat a lot of gluten. I share the authors dismay at this.
Gluten-free foods — none of which taste like cardboard — fill my kitchen cabinets and those of millions of other Americans. A niche market is going mainstream. Long before General Mills unveiled its first official gluten-free product, consumers had made their needs known in phone call after phone call to Minnesota. The global trend data were there, laid out before the marketers, and so was the science — until, finally, it was clear: These customers needed to eat, too, and there was money to be made in feeding them. “It’s millions of people,” Alcocer told me, “with nowhere to turn, but us.”
The above quote, from the end of the article, is from the guy who runs http://www.glutenfreely.com. It is the General Mills GF website. I haven’t gone through that site yet, but look forward to reading it. Those GF Chex cereals are tasty…
Emeril makes Gluten Free Pizza Dough on Planet Green. I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks like it might be good.
More Emeril Gluten Free Videos at How Stuff Works.
