The interwebs is of course overrun with blogs, and thankfully, the gluten-free community has a robust presence with recipe blogs, review blogs, regional gluten-free blogs, informational blogs, etc etc etc. We met a couple of gluten-free bloggers at the GiG Health and Wellness
Experience, and I wanted to take a moment to highlight their blogs.
CC Gluten Freed
I admire CC of CC Gluten Freed. She's a young person who has taken her Celiac diagnosis by the horns and actively promotes awareness of the gltuen-free lifestyle. I especially appreciate her information for young people and parents, especially her encouragement to stand up and live proud. She states, "My goal is ease the paths of my fellow Celiacs and gluten free people by finding ways to safely and gracefully navigate our gluten-filled world." Amen, sister! Her blog is filled with helpful information, calls to activism, and reviews.
Angela's Kitchen
Angela of Angela's Kitchen was at the GiG Experience running the Attune Foods booth. After sampling some of their excellent Erewhorn cereal samples we chatted with her about her blog. Her blog is one of the longest running gf, dairy free blogs on the net and is filled with wonderful recipes. In addition, she has scads of weekly menu plans. Seriously, her menu plans are amazing and so helpful! Here's her plan for the week after the GiG Experience to give you a sample: Menu Monday: Nov. 11, 2013. Yummo!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Oatmeal (Review from the GiG Health and Wellness Experience)
Our family went to our local GiG chapter's Health and Wellness Experience
at the beginning of November. I will be attempting to do a series of
reviews and informational posts about what we saw (and tasted!) there.
These are all unsolicited reviews, and we're receiving no compensation
for them (beyond some excellent samples from the GiG Experience). As
always, be sure to read the ingredients before trying any product.
Technically, oatmeal is a gluten-free food in that oats do not contain any gluten protein. The problem with oatmeal is it's often cross-contaminated with wheat, barley and rye at the field or processing level. Because of this, for many people with gluten issues, it's imperative to find a gf source of oatmeal. And in our fast paced lives, it's nice to have a variety of oatmeal that won't take ages of slaving over the stove to prepare. We had the opportunity to try to quality, just-add-hot-water oatmeal products from Gluten Free Oats and Glutenfreeda.
Canyon Oats comes from Gluten Free Oats, a family owned company in Wyoming. This is the only gf oatmeal company that controls their oat production from seed to finished product to ensure quality and the highest levels of gluten-free. They generously sent our family home with several different varieties of their oatmeal to-go cups. They were all amazing and so quick and easy to make. What we liked best about their product was the quality of the oats. So often with instant brands, the oatmeal is shredded to help it cook faster which can give the oatmeal sort of a funny texture. Canyon Oats uses whole pieces of thick oatmeal which gives it a perfect oatmeal texture. In addition the flavor of each variety was delicious with just the right level of sweetness. My favorite was the cherry cranberry and walnut, youngest liked the maple, and oldest liked the sweet honey cinnamon. The husband liked them all.
Glutenfreeda is another fantastic Northwest company making stellar gluten-free products. We've been big fans of their instant oatmeal for years but were really excited to find they've introduced oatmeal in a to-go cup. Glutenfreeda really puts the effort into making quality products which includes extensive testing and using the best ingredients. We brought home several samples and found the flavors for their oatmeal cups to be delicious. About the only strike against them would be the fact they use more of the shredded oats instead of the full oat which makes the texture not quite as good as the Canyon Oats brand. But beyond that, a yummy product that's easy to make and handy to take with you when you're on the go.
Technically, oatmeal is a gluten-free food in that oats do not contain any gluten protein. The problem with oatmeal is it's often cross-contaminated with wheat, barley and rye at the field or processing level. Because of this, for many people with gluten issues, it's imperative to find a gf source of oatmeal. And in our fast paced lives, it's nice to have a variety of oatmeal that won't take ages of slaving over the stove to prepare. We had the opportunity to try to quality, just-add-hot-water oatmeal products from Gluten Free Oats and Glutenfreeda.
Canyon Oats comes from Gluten Free Oats, a family owned company in Wyoming. This is the only gf oatmeal company that controls their oat production from seed to finished product to ensure quality and the highest levels of gluten-free. They generously sent our family home with several different varieties of their oatmeal to-go cups. They were all amazing and so quick and easy to make. What we liked best about their product was the quality of the oats. So often with instant brands, the oatmeal is shredded to help it cook faster which can give the oatmeal sort of a funny texture. Canyon Oats uses whole pieces of thick oatmeal which gives it a perfect oatmeal texture. In addition the flavor of each variety was delicious with just the right level of sweetness. My favorite was the cherry cranberry and walnut, youngest liked the maple, and oldest liked the sweet honey cinnamon. The husband liked them all.
Glutenfreeda is another fantastic Northwest company making stellar gluten-free products. We've been big fans of their instant oatmeal for years but were really excited to find they've introduced oatmeal in a to-go cup. Glutenfreeda really puts the effort into making quality products which includes extensive testing and using the best ingredients. We brought home several samples and found the flavors for their oatmeal cups to be delicious. About the only strike against them would be the fact they use more of the shredded oats instead of the full oat which makes the texture not quite as good as the Canyon Oats brand. But beyond that, a yummy product that's easy to make and handy to take with you when you're on the go.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Bakeries! (Review from the GiG Health & Wellness Experience)
Our family went to our local GiG chapter's Health and Wellness Experience at the beginning of November. I will be attempting to do a series of reviews and informational posts about what we saw (and tasted!) there. These are all unsolicited reviews, and we're receiving no compensation for them (beyond some excellent samples at the GiG Experience). As always, be sure to read the ingredients before trying any product.
Bakeries! Ah, the smell of fresh baked bread or pastries and the melt-in-your-mouth taste of a really stellar chocolate cake. I'm especially a sucker for pies or creamy desserts - oh, bliss! Unfortunately, going gluten-free can seem to spell an end to all that glorious goodness. Thankfully, with the rise of gluten-free knowledge, there has also been a rise in dedicated gluten-free bakeries. National sources for gluten-free baked goods include Udi's, Rudi's, Schar and others. But here in the Pacific Northwest we're especially fortunate to have some beyond amazing local bakeries. There were several bakeries represented at the GiG Wellness Experience but I'm going to talk about the three at which we tasted samples.
Flying Apron Bakery
We were first introduced to the Flying Apron Bakery in the funky Fremont neighborhood of Seattle many, many, many years ago when we were training for an overseas teaching assignment. Now they have two locations - Fremont and Redmond. Flying Apron is a dedicated gluten-free and vegan bakery cranking out some of the most delectable treats, breads and baked goods around. Seriously, even if you don't eat gluten-free or vegan, Flying Apron is worth frequenting because they are that good. At the Experience we sampled brownies, chocolate chip cookies and an amazing pumpkin pie - all were fantastic! The brownie was ultra-moist, chocolatey and perfectly sweet. Youngest tried the chocolate chip cookie (it's the only thing he tried at each bakery booth) and reported that he loved it (which is high praise from my son of few words). The oldest, husband and I all tried the pumpkin pie and found it fab. I'm wishing I'd bought one to take home with me. In addition to their two Seattle-area locations, Flying Apron products can be found at several other establishments around the North Sound/Seattle area.
Julie's Gluten-Free Bakery
Located in Puyallup Meridan neighborhood, Julie's Gluten-Free Bakery offers a wide range of wonderful baked products including breads, cupcakes, cakes, cookies and seasonal baked goods as well as a menu that changes daily. They were offering samples of their amazing pink champagne cake with a luscious butter cream frosting at the Experience, as well as displaying some sample cakes which were artistically amazing (think Cake Boss). The pink champagne cake samples were light and delicious and the frosting was perfect (this coming from a non-frosting fan).
Chuckanut Bay Foods
Chuckanut Bay Foods, located in Ferndale, WA, offers amazing cheesecakes including some lovely gluten-free versions. I sampled the pumpkin version and ended up buying one to bring home (sorry, no pictures, it was eaten before I took any snaps). While not a dedicated gluten-free facility, they offer several versions of their traditional cheesecakes in gluten-free versions including the aforementioned pumpkin, plus New York, chocolate truffle, strawberry and tuxedo. There wonderful cheesecakes can be found at many retailers in the US and Canada and are especially prevalent in the Northwest.
Bakeries! Ah, the smell of fresh baked bread or pastries and the melt-in-your-mouth taste of a really stellar chocolate cake. I'm especially a sucker for pies or creamy desserts - oh, bliss! Unfortunately, going gluten-free can seem to spell an end to all that glorious goodness. Thankfully, with the rise of gluten-free knowledge, there has also been a rise in dedicated gluten-free bakeries. National sources for gluten-free baked goods include Udi's, Rudi's, Schar and others. But here in the Pacific Northwest we're especially fortunate to have some beyond amazing local bakeries. There were several bakeries represented at the GiG Wellness Experience but I'm going to talk about the three at which we tasted samples.
Flying Apron Bakery
 |
| Counter at Fremont Location |
 |
| Example of a Julie's Cake |
Julie's Gluten-Free Bakery
Located in Puyallup Meridan neighborhood, Julie's Gluten-Free Bakery offers a wide range of wonderful baked products including breads, cupcakes, cakes, cookies and seasonal baked goods as well as a menu that changes daily. They were offering samples of their amazing pink champagne cake with a luscious butter cream frosting at the Experience, as well as displaying some sample cakes which were artistically amazing (think Cake Boss). The pink champagne cake samples were light and delicious and the frosting was perfect (this coming from a non-frosting fan).
Chuckanut Bay Foods
 |
| GF Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake |
Monday, November 18, 2013
Mob 4 - The End
Here are the down and dirty numbers for Mob 4.
- 40 Cornish Cross chicks ordered, 42 shipped, 30 made it to the freezer
- 7 chicks died in the first 2 weeks which is the highest mortality rate we've had during this time period. On the plus side, we would rather have them die early vs. passing at the end after we've fed them copious amounts of expensive feed.
- Only 1 other chicken died prior to butchering (mortality rate of 19%).
- 4 chickens needed to be discarded after butchering due to fluid filled body cavities.
- Average weight was just over 4 pounds per bird.
- Total cost for feed, shavings, processing rental, etc. was $222.94.
- Final approximate cost was $7.43 per bird or $1.86/pound.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Recap of the GiG Health and Wellness Experience
The Husband:
Gorge Delights Just Fruit Bars
Erewhon Cereal
Fosse Farms Dressings & Marinades
The Oldest:
Stark Raving Pizza
Brazi Bites
Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery
The Youngest:
Dough Buddies
Glutino
La Fortaleza Chips
Me:
Flying Apron Bakery
Chuckanut Bay (cheese cake)
Harverster Brewery
There were many, many, many more excellent gf food choices and gf products, many of which we'll try to mention in the next few weeks. One of the most exciting aspects of the Experience was the number of locally made products standing shoulder to shoulder with the national companies. Seriously cool to see how many quality gf products are coming out of the Pacific NW. In addition, I'd like to give a shout out to GF Joe's Gluten Free Market since they carry many of the products exhibited at the Experience in addition to being just an all around exceptional place to get GF products in the Tacoma & Olympia areas.
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