Betty Crocker Cake Mixes

I apologize if I'm feeding the rumor mill here, but it appears that Betty Crocker will be offering gluten free cake mixes this summer.

While Betty Crocker's website hasn't been updated yet, the same blog that talked about gluten free Corn Chex has a blurb about it, and you can check here for product pics and sneak-peak reviews.

If this is true, I can't wait to try it out! (Why couldn't it be available now for my hubby's birthday tomorrow!?)

More gluten free cereals!

Well, it seems that I've been behind on my gluten free blogging. This morning I saw on Lisa's blog that gluten free corn chex is not only here, but available locally in some places! After further Googling I found that gluten free Honey Nut Chex, Cinnamon Chex and Strawberry Chex will be widely available starting this summer - in addition to Corn Chex and the Rice Chex that has been gluten free for some time now.

What wonderful news! My husband in particular is thrilled - Corn Chex was his favorite cereal and every time we go to the grocery store he looked at the label saying "WHY can't it be gluten free? It's corn!"

While the Chex website hasn't been updated with this information, it looks like the new gluten free Chex varieties will be released into the mainstream on June 1st. In the meantime, I scooped up two boxes of gluten free Corn Chex this afternoon at the Clifton Park WalMart! (Note: Old Corn Chex boxes are still on the shelves - you can't miss the new boxes, they say "Gluten Free" in huge letters on the front.) Yay, General Mills!

Gluten Free on the Road

My husband recently attended a conference in New England. He drove, and while the conference organizers promised to accommodate his dietary needs (they didn't, but that's another topic) and he packed a Price Chopper bag full of gluten-free snacks for the hotel room, he was virtually guaranteed to have to eat on the road at least once.

With that in mind, I compiled the following list of "safe" foods (accurate as of March 2009) from various fast food restaurant websites. I guess I'll say first that this is not a complete list - I did not bother looking up food that I know he won't eat. Secondly, yes, fast food is terrible for many reasons and you can never guarantee against cross-contamination, but with those risks in mind, we're the type of people who get extremely irritable when our blood sugar levels get too low. :)

I thought Wendy's had the best information - and choices - of any fast food chain. They have a PDF you can print out, available here.

Here are the rest:

Boston Market

Entrees: Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Turkey Breast, USDA Choice Roasted Sirloin

Sides: Butternut squash, cinnamon apples, cranberry walnut relish, creamed spinach, fresh fruit salad, fresh steamed vegetables, garden fresh coleslaw, green beans, sweet corn


Taco Bell

Entrees: Tostadas, Fiesta taco salad (chicken instead of beef, without the shell and without the red strips), Express taco salad (chicken instead of beef), Zesty Chicken Border Bowl (without zesty dressing and without the red strips) , Southwest Steak Bowl (without the creamy jalapeno sauce)

Sides: Mexican rice, pintos and beans


Subway

Salads: Chicken & Bacon Ranch (includes cheese), Cold Cut Combo, Ham (Black Forest), Italian BMT, Roast Beef, Roasted Chicken Breast, Tuna, Turkey Breast, Turkey Breast & Ham, Spicy Italian, Subway Club, Steak & Cheese, Veggie Delite.

Sauces and dressings: Chipotle southwest sauce, Honey mustard sauce, Light/regular mayo, mustard (both yellow and deli brown), oil, ranch, red wine vinaigrette, sweet onion sauce, vinegar


Burger King

Breakfast: Egg omelet (bacon, ham and sausage all OK)

Sides: French Fries (cooked in a dedicated fryer), BK Fresh Apple Fries


McDonald’s

Salads: Premium Bacon Ranch Salad (without chicken), Premium Caesar salad (without chicken), side salad

Salad dressings: Newman’s Own Creamy Southwest Dressing, Newman’s Own Creamy Caesar Dressing, Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, Newman’s Own Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing, Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing

Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Triple-Thick Shakes

Gluten Free Update

Many apologies for the delay in posting. Work and an intensive coursework load forced me to go on hiatus from updating this blog -- fortunately, I'm wrapping up my final research project for this semester's class and I'm looking at having much more free time! (It's funny how "only" working full-time seems relaxing after you start going back to school).

Anyway - some news and updates:

• Sherry Lynn's Gluten Free Bakery is now open in Latham! The new location is right on Route 7, about a mile west of the Latham Circle. I didn't get to make it to the grand opening (schoolwork) but my husband and I plan to check it out this weekend!
  
• Wednesday March 2th (tomorrow) the Saratoga County Food Allergy/Sensitivity Support Group will meet at KD's fish fry (418 Geyser Road, Ballston Spa). Dawn of KD's and DAFFI fame will host the free meeting and provide samples of her food. Please contact Sue at thfarm@nycap.rr.com for additional information.
  
• Price Chopper will be hosting a gluten free food festival next month at the Great Escape Lodge. It's April 28th from 6 - 8:30 and will include vendor samples and a cooking demonstration from Elizabeth Barbone. (To register, call 518-379-1617). I am considering attending though it's a hike for me. Has anyone been to one of Price Chopper's gluten free food festivals before? Is it worth an hour's drive each way?

Thanks for your patience and please look for new posts this week! :)

Skinny Bitch

I recently purchased and completed two books, Skinny Bitch and the sequel, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. (I'll be honest, I bought the two as a boxed set in Target, and though I'll admit that the pop-culturist inside me was morbidly curious after seeing Victoria Beckham photographed with the book, I was more interested in the recipes). What really spurred me to buy the books, though, was the fact that one day when I was Googling where to buy Bionaturae pasta online, I saw that Skinny Bitch gave a shout-out to Bionaturae. Hey, I thought, cool! There might be some good gluten-free information!

Boy, was I wrong.

I mean, the book starts out with good, albeit strongly worded, sensible advice. You want to be skinny? OK, avoid sugar, refined white flour, alcohol, etc. etc. etc. Yes, brown rice pasta and other popular gluten free varieties are healthier for you (go us!).

Then, my opinion and that of the authors diverge. They start talking about the meat industry, the horrible conditions - written in a way that would make any PETA lover proud - and touting not only the moral righteousness of veganism, but the fact that you will never, ever be skinny unless you completely abstain from all animal byproducts. Ms. Freedman and Barnouin, you probably won't ever read this blog entry, and are laughing all the way to the bank, but please - I know that horrible things go on in industrial agriculture, slaughterhouses, and the fact that a large portion of our food industry is corrupt and awful. You want to write an expose on that, be my guest - and I'll probably be one of the first people in line to read the book. But preaching radical veganism under the pretense of dieting and losing weight is just a little too much for me.

Still, I soldiered on and read all about the horrible conditions of the meat industry - after all, I've been reading Fast Food Nation, etc. and this is just more fuel for the fire - and when I got to the part about recommending fasts and purification I decided that having an IQ over 100 means that I am not part of their target demographic. Sorry for the harsh words, but there you have it.

So, I've been sitting on Skinny Bitch in the Kitch for a few weeks now trying to muster up the stomach to actually pick the book up and read it. It's a cookbook full of vegan meals that are all reasonably healthy - a huge emphasis on good carbs and veggies. Not all the recipes are gluten free - they consider whole wheat and barley among the allowed, "good" grains - but most of them are pretty simple and could be modified to be gluten free.

I'll be honest - most of the recipes didn't really look that appetizing to me. The only one that I'd consider making with minimal modifications was the "Spicy Sushi Rolls with Avocado and Cucumber;" pretty self-explanatory. Most of the recipe titles were enclosed in quotes - e.g. "Chicken" sandwiches, "Cheese" dishes - since I'm not a vegetarian, I'd rather have the real thing than a substitute.

Overall - I wouldn't recommend the book. I plan on giving both books to my formerly vegan (and now vegetarian) girlfriend with the instructions to keep it if she thinks the recipes are useful and to donate it otherwise.

Review: Kinnikinnick Frozen Pizza Crusts

Last Sunday my husband and I spent Superbowl Sunday - at least before the game - in the kitchen. We'd picked up Kinnikinnick frozen pizza shells a couple months beforehand, and decided that Superbowl Sunday was the best time to try them out - along with wings and nachos. The package came with four 7 inch pizza shells. This was a good thing because we burned the first shells we tried cooking! (I blame a combination of no cooking directions on the package, and distracting SuperBowl ads).

The shells looked amazing - the crusts browned quite nicely in the toaster oven and they looked just like personal pizzas. We tried the pizzas, and....

Well, in a few words: the shells were just not good. Now, we're fans of New York-style crusts which admittedly is about a quarter of the thickness of these shells. But these were definitely not pizza shells - the crust was incredibly dry and just didn't taste good. it was the equivalent of eating pizza toppings on dry pita bread.

I ended up eating the olives off of my pizza and leaving the rest of it. My husband ate his pizza, but asked me not to buy these shells in the future.

Oh well - we'll still use other Kinnikinnick products in the future - their rolls have been palatable in the past - but for pizza, I think we've learned the lesson to stick with either making the dough from scratch or buying pizza in a restaurant like Uno's or Nunzio's.

Mari's Japanese Cuisine

Mari's Japanese Cuisine in Schenectady is my favorite Japanese restaurant in the Capital District.

My husband, parents and I went there this past weekend. We've gone there several times over the years - I know the owners very well and I have nothing but the best things to say about their entire family, their food, or the atmosphere of their restaurant.

Obviously, I'm not alone - in 2008 Mari's was voted "Best Sushi" in the Metroland with the following statement:

Last year’s winner for Best Japanese is now this year’s winner for Best Sushi. Twenty-three years of artistry by the assured (should be insured) hands of sushi chef Jiro Omiya add up to exactly what it’s meant to be—simple, fresh and consistent. Rolls, sushi and sashimi are traditional, and the presentation is tastefully minimal, letting the banquet before you speak for itself. Try a Dragon Roll, a Union, or a refreshing Salad Roll, just to name a few. If it’s pieces you’re into, the Hamachi (yellowtail) is always buttery and on point. And if you’re lucky enough to visit the friendly family and staff on days when they happen to have Shiro Maguro (white tuna) or Bonito (a seasonal—early fall—small tuna seared and accompanied with a touch of ginger and scallion), you can consider yourself on cloud nine.

If you needed yet another reason to go there or try their food - they carry gluten free soy sauce available on request. How awesome is that? I mean, I don't mind bringing along a bottle of soy sauce but it does make it hard to go out on the spur of the moment - at Mari's, you don't have to worry about that, and can enjoy Jiro's wonderful sushi.

(Full disclosure: I worked there during my undergraduate college years - and I'm still a devoted customer and fan. However, they're not encouraging me to plug for them, I just think that they're that good.)

Here's their contact information:

Mari's Japanese Cuisine
2049 Van Vranken Ave
Schenectady, NY 12308
(518) 381-4881