GF Easter dinner

We had a ham. I normally don't like ham, but the Costco Kirkland spiral sliced ham is pretty delicious. And even with the glaze, it is GF!

For my signature mashed potatoes (shhh, don't tell) I do 2 packages of instant mashed potatoes, a huge container of sour cream, sharp shredded cheddar cheese & lots of real bacon bits (costco). Yummers! Use an oversized pot, because after you add all of the extras, it is a lot!

For a veggie, we normally have "green bean casserole". The cream of mushroom soup is NOT GF! So I have another secret recipe. I sauté green beans in olive oil wit a lot of garlic, and a fair sprinkling of Penzy's Northwoods Fire seasoning. It's pretty awesome.

For the family I made Pillsbury canned crescents rolled with cheese

We also served fresh pineapple with dinner.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter 2013

PDX Gluten Free Fair!

Can I get a "what what"? GF fair you say? Here in Portland?? Um, yes please!

Here are the details:
May 18, 2013
11:00am-3pm

Mittleman Jewish Community Center
6651 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland OR
(ID required for entry to the venue)
Free parking and overflow parking available

Enjoy samples of gluten-free foods & products from over 60 gluten-free companies, all in one place!

New Season's GF tour

I went to a New Season's GF tour today & it was actually pretty fun! My husband went with me because he is awesome & I wanted him to learn more about GF food choices. We went to the store in Happy Valley, OR. It was pretty sweet because it was just me, my husband & 1 other person!

Our tour guide, who was one of the district nutritionists was pretty entertaining. She was very animated & literally bounced down the isles. It cracked me up. She was very very nice though. The tour was scheduled for 1.5 hours, but ours took 2, which wasn't a problem for us. It wasn't boring at all, she kept it interesting & opened a lot of products for us to try. She also was honest about what products were good & which weren't so great. I appreciate the honesty. Of course we did some shopping along the way.

My husband is apprehensive about any product that is altered in any way. He found he liked most of what we tried!

Being gluten free isn't cheap. And New Seasons probably isn't the cheapest place to shop (pre-packaged products were cheaper there than at Bob's Red Mill) You can't beat New Season's customer service. I've been in for just regular shopping trips & employees offer to open products for you to try all the time. BTW if it's your first visit to New Seasons, tell the checker. They give you $5 off!

The bonus to the tour was not only all the info and samples, but she have us a few 10% off coupons. Check the website of your local New Seasons and look at their calendar. They have several tours they do. They recommend calling and making a reservation just in case.

Sassy's Family Restaurant in BC, Canada

I love breakfast food, however I am always worried about cross contamination. While searching my handy mobile page http://www.theceliacscene.com, I found a place called Sassy's. The page said they had GF options, so I called to ask questions. They assured me they were very informed about Celiac Disease & told me their website, so I could look at the menu. They had items marked with a (C) for celiac friendly!

 http://www.sassys.ca/

We went to the restaurant & everyone was SO friendly. The place was really cute. I ordered a GF meal & also informed my server that I had Celiac. She said she would make sure no cross contamination occurred. They had a GF toast option and it was the best bread I've had. It was of a normal size & was white. Yum! They had peanutbutter and jelly on the table so I made myself a PB&J sandwich for later.

My non-celiac family loved the food too.  It's nice that I can find a place where we can compromise.

I highly recommend Sassy's! Gotta love a place that tells you what wine goes with eggs Benedict!

Vancouver BC Aquarium

Overpriced crap food at the aquarium. However, they had a GF bun option. Sweet! After more investigation, I find their hamburgers have flour in them & the chicken for their chicken sandwich is marinated in a soy sauced based marinade. Luckily they had hummus with veggies! It's offered with flat bread but I told them I can't have that. At the register they also had GF chips. Not the best meal ever, but I realize I can't be picky while traveling. So far I haven't gotten sick & that is enough for me!!

Despite the food options, we had a great time! Very enjoyable way to spend the day in Vancouver BC!

A little piece of Canadian heaven

So far, in the States, most GF bread products I have found are frozen. A store in Canada called Superstore had a variety of fresh GF products, including these chocolate chocolate chip muffins.

The brand is "The President's Choice" which is a Canadian company. Do they even have a President in Canada? I am so confused. All hail the queen!

Anywho, I had to try these muffins. My kids got to them first. Aaron, 17 & Nolan, 13 asked for one. They both loved them and didn't notice any difference. (please note this package originally had 6 muffins but they boys got to them before I could take a photo) A while later, I tried one. It was delicious! Taste wise & texture wise I noticed no difference than with wheat based baked goods. I may have to buy some more for to take home. They also had blueberry muffins & fresh bread. Yummers! I may have to move to Canada, eh!