The Tav

 We went to Ellensburg last week to celebrate our 9 year anniversary (it's where we met) and Kevin was dying to go to The Tav, on old college favorite. I assumed I'd be having some lemonade and watching him eat one of their famously amazing burgers. MUCH to my surprise they had gluten free buns, fries (made in a dedicated fryer) and gluten free beer (and they make them in a dedicated part of the kitchen to avoid cross contamination). To say I was in heaven was an understatment. It was hands down the best gf bun/burger I'd ever had. We will be going back to eat here for sure! 

Junior Mints

Noticed this on the back of the Junior Mints box the other day. Gotta love a gluten free facility! 

Gluten Free in Honolulu

 We just back from 5 days in Honolulu and I was very impressed with how gluten free friendly the city was. The first night we went to Margaritaville and the chef came out and talked to us and was so knowledgable and helpful. 

 I used my "Find Me Gluten Free" app (if you don't have it, get it- it's free and so helpful!) and we found this place called Roy's (I guess their used to be one in Seattle but the server said he thought it was closed, I may have to investigate that one). It was amazing!

 The server & kitchen were so knowledgeable and caring about eveything. Even the runners that brought the food out made sure to explain each item to me and how it was altered to be gluten free. We had 4 different sushi rolls and a delicious flourless lava cake and it was all heavenly! I highly recommend Roys!

The third night we ate at Duke's and they were knowledgable and helpful but didn't have a lot of options- just plain grilled fish with rice. But it was still very good. I was glad I had brought a few of my little gluten free soy sauce packets (found them at PCC) so I could add a little flavor to the rice. 

Our last night there we ate at the Hula Grill and it was pretty great. They had an actual gluten free menu which was nice and I had an amazing coconut mango ceviche. Then for dessert they had this creme brulee that was almost too pretty to eat but so yummy! (Obviously not dairy free but it was worth it:))  

I feel like traveling is getting a lot easier now that more restaurants are on board and the app is so helpful. 

Aloha! 

Tropical Strawberry Shakeology

 I recently received a few samples of Shakeology's new Tropical Strawberry shake. I was really excited to try it since I was a big fan of their chocolate shake but prefer fruity flavors in the morning. I mixed the powder with a handful of frozen strawberries, 1 frozen banana, and 8 oz of Almond Milk. I LOVED it, it was so tasty and satisfying and really did keep me feeling full and energized until lunch time, which is awesome. If you are looking for a tasty & healthy meal replacement shake I would definitely check this one out. It is Vegan & Gluten Free*, which is fabulous! 

Here is a picture of the shake I made. My husband used one of my samples and he just shook the mix up in a water bottle with some water and he said it tasted great that way too. I personally prefer some substance to my shakes so I like to add frozen fruit, but nice to know it tastes good with just water too! 

If you are interested in trying Shakeology for yourself check out my friend Nickie's website: 

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/nickiecarrigan

*Shakeology Shakes are gluten free. They do contain wheat, barley, oat, & kamut grass, but it is picked before it matures. Here is the statement from their CEO about if Shakeology contains gluten :The quick answer to this question is no, Shakeology contains no gluten. Gluten allergens come from the “protein” found in wheat, barley and other grains. The protein develops once the grains mature. The wheat grass, kamut grass, barley grass and oat grass used in Shakeology are gathered just as they sprouted, BEFORE the wheat matures. These fresh sprouts are collected PRIOR to the development of any wheat protein (gluten). It’s true that mature wheat and barley grains contain gluten. However, the freshly sprouted young grasses used in Shakeology are certified gluten free. Shakeology is tested for gluten by an independent lab in order to receive the “Gluten Free” certification.

Trumpeter

Kevin & I went up to see the Tulips in Mount Vernon the other day. We were looking for a new place to eat lunch so I used my "Find Me Gluten Free" app (I LOVE it!) and it pulled up this place. The app said it had it's own GF menu so we thought we'd give it a try. We were BLOWN AWAY! Almost every single thing they serve is gluten free. They make everything from scratch, nothing with gluten goes in their fryer. Their crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, calamari are all naturally gluten free! Practically unheard of. And on top of that- the food was amazing! Kevin (who eats gluten regularly) said the crab cakes were hands down the best he'd ever had. We can't wait to go back.

Check them out here: 

http://trumpeterpublichouse.com/

It is kind of a pub like feeling but kids are welcome. They even have gluten free chicken strips. We will definitely be taking Lauren soon. She will think it is so cool to order whatever she wants! 

Oh and fyi- they have a strict no cell phone use rule in the restaraunt. There are signs everywhere.  That is why I didn't take any pics of the food:) Had to be a rule follower!

Bulk!

 Do you think I have enough sauce?!? My kids LOVE this teriyaki sauce and I use this soy sauce in marinades, so with grilling season coming up I figured why not order a lot! On Vitacost.com you can get a lot of gluten free items for less than the grocery store. Shipping is free if your order is $49 or more and first time customers get $10 off (at least I did, I'm assuming the promotion is still going on). 

I've also been ordering my flours through Amazon Subscribe and Save. It is the cheapest way I've found to get them (we order a handful of gluten free products this way). Our pantry kind of looks like a grocery store right now, but it's nice to know we are stocked up and for a good price:) 

GIG

My friend & I just signed up for the Gluten Intolerance Group's Annual Health & Wellness Experience. It's at Sea Tac on June 16th and it looks like it will be pretty interesting. At only $15 for the day I couldn't pass it up! Here is the link if you want to check it out: 

http://www.gluten.net/conference/

Gluten Free at Disneyland!

 We just got back from a few days at Disneyland so I thought I'd give a little report on their Gluten Free Friendliness. Overall, I was super impressed. If you stop at City Hall on Main Street you can get a 5 page print out of all the restaurants and stands that have gluten free items. It was very detailed and had a good amount of options, and it listed places in Disneyland, California Adventure, and all the Disney hotels. Downtown Disney also had restaurants with gluten free options on their menus (we ate at Naples and they had gf pasta). I was especially impressed with the fact that they had this yummy homemade gf rolls for the sandwiches. We had one each day and they were so tasty. My only complaint was that there weren't any gluten free baked goods. Lauren would've loved to have been able to have a Mickey cookie with her brother but we found a cotton candy stand and that made her happy:) 

Gluten free pasta at Ariel's Grotto

All in all I was super impressed that Disneyland was so prepared and knowledgable about eating gluten free. It's so nice to see so many places getting on board! LOVE IT!! 

Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole courtesy of Misadventures of Cooking

This past weekend my book club went away for a girls weekend and it was fabulous. We assigned the meals to pairs and just simply requested that everyone be aware of the ingredients they used (I can't have gluten, one girl can't have carrageenan, and another can't have peanuts). We didn't want to require that everyone make the meals to our specifications since that can be daunting. I planned ahead and threw in some Annie's gf burritos & Lara bars just in case I couldn't eat one of the meals. Well much to my surprise everyone made sure that all the meals met all of our needs! It was incredibly thoughtful and meant a lot to me. It was so nice to feel normal and get to eat what everyone else was eating without thinking twice (everyone showed the packaging & ingredients before they cooked). One of my friends has a cooking blog and she just posted the recipe to the delicious breakfast casserole she made- check it out: 

http://cookingmisadventures.com/2012/02/01/gluten-free-breakfast-casserole/

**the recipe does have eggs and dairy but you could probably leave the cheese out and it'd still be pretty tasty

Microwave Chocolate Cake

My friend Stacey sent me this recipe the other day (she got it from this blog) and last night I was having a huge chocolate craving so I gave it a shot. It definitely satisfied my chocolate craving but I would've liked it to be a little sweeter. My husband ate it too and we both agreed the consistency was great but it didn't have that sweetness we desired. I plan to make it again but I'll probably add a little sugar;) Sorry the picture isn't so pretty, we were getting ready to watch a movie and I was in a rush so the frosting literally got dumped on.

Here is the recipe: 

Microwave Measuring Cup Cake

Dry Ingredients:
2 TBSP Sorghum Flour (Can use Brown Rice) *see note
2 TBSP Almond Meal, 
2 tsp Coconut Flour
, 1 TBSP Flax Meal, 
2 TBSP Potato Starch, 
1 tsp Baking Powder, 
1 ½ TBSP Cocoa Powder, 
¼ tsp Xanthan Gum, 
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:
3 TBSP Organic Applesauce (warmed in microwave 20 seconds)  **see note about using egg instead, which is what I used, 
3 TBSP Coconut Oil (melted in a 2 C measuring cup), 
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, 
3 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup (Grade B is Preferred)

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.


2) Add warm applesauce, vanilla, maple syrup and the coconut oil to the
 dry ingredients.  Leave a little coconut oil in the measuring cup and
 swirl it around to coat the sides.


3) Stir together all ingredients until well blended.


4) Pour cake batter into the measuring cup with the remaining coconut oil. Smooth top with a spoon.


5) Place cup in microwave and cook on high for 1 minute 40 seconds. 
Remove cup from microwave, let it rest for 30 seconds.


6) Run a butter knife gently around the edge of the cake, invert cup onto
 a plate and tap the bottom of the cup to release the cake.


7) Let cake cool for awhile (if you can wait!).  Frost with quick microwave
 frosting recipe. (below)


*Note:To make this cake grain free, replace the sorghum or brown rice with almond meal (in addition to the other almond meal).  Also tasty! 

**Note:  If you can tolerate eggs, replacing the applesauce with 1 egg does result in a taller, fluffier cake.


Microwave frosting

¼ C GF DF Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life)
2 tsp Coconut Milk

1) Place chocolate chips and milk in a microwave safe bowl. 


2) Heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds.  Stir.


3) Heat in 10 second increments until most of chocolate is melted.


4) Stir until all chocolate is melted.


5) Spoon frosting on top of Measuring Cup cake and smooth across top
 and sides.  Now dig in!

Gluten Free Finds at Trader Joe's

 The other day I actually got to go to Trader Joe's by myself and had time to peruse the aisles. I found a few great new gluten free things (or at least they were new to me). I haven't had a chance to take pics of all of them but here is one of mine and Lauren's favorites- Mini Chicken Tacos. So quick and easy!  

I also found some gluten free chocolate chip cookies that were decent. 

I am LOVING their new corn pasta and for less than $2 a bag I'm buying a lot of it. So nice to not spend $4+ per bag of pasta. 

Our whole family is in love with the Applegate Farms hotdogs, they are actually made from real meat, have no nitrates, gluten or casein, and you can pronounce every ingredient in them (there are only 6 or so ingredients!). They are $5 for a pack of 6 but we think it's totally worth it since it's real food.