96th St Steakburgers

A couple of weeks ago, I saw on the Gluten Free Indy listserv that 96th Street Steakburgers was offering Udi’s GF buns. I begged and pleaded with Brandie to try it out, and she finally relented. I got a triple steakburger with just cheese on a Udi’s bun, with a large fries and drink. It was awesome. It was like getting all the deliciousness of a Steak ‘n’ Shake burger (on a bun, no less) with Penn Station or 5 Guys fries. I absolutely loved it. Brandie was not as pleased with the French fries, but she does not love potatoes like I love potatoes. It wasn’t too badly priced either. I will have to convince Brandie to head over to the Northeast Indy/Carmel area more often, so we can be near 96th Street Steakburgers.

GF Expo in Carmel

Just wanted to remind everyone that the 'Gluten Free Living Now' Expo is coming up:

October 7-9, 2011 10a-5pm

The Fountains

502 Carmel Drive

Carmel, IN 46032

Admission is free, but they would like for people to RSVP (which you can do on their website, see link below). Ticket purchase is required for lectures and speakers include:
-Dr. Fasano of CFCR
-Alice Blast from NFCA
-Mrs. Alaska 2011
-Pam Cureton, RD, LDN, CFCR
-Dr. Vikki and Rick Petersen, DC, CCN

This should be very exciting, hope everyone can attend.
http://www.glutenfreelivingnow.org/Gluten_Free_Living_EXPO.html

Jovial Foods: Inherently Good

Another one of our finds at Angelo's was jovial cookies. Now I purchased these cookies in Tommie's absence but figured since we're both willing to try new things that we better give this brand a shot. There were two types of cookie at the store: chocolate cream filled and fig fruit filled. Now I should have purchased both, but I knew that Tommie would like the chocolate and not the fig. Of course, I love fig and if I get the chance to purchase them I will do so and let you know how it goes.

We decided to try the cookies before doing any research on the company. The box was quite informative: the product was organic, and a product of Italy. The company's catch phrase is 'inherently good' and so we were ready to taste. The cookies come two to a package, which I loved because they were already portioned and it would be easy to just through a package in a lunchbox or bag. The outside of the cookies are crispy and yummy, but then the best part is the middle - chocolate fudge!!!! Now I absolutely loved these cookies! Tommie however was a little less impressed. There is somewhat of a coffee taste and he despises coffee flat out. Of course I had no problem finishing the small box over the next month.

Now to the company: they want to revive ancient grains and entrust this to local farmers. Their company is much bigger than just gluten-free, but to my surprise their website hosts a lot of gluten-free content. The website is very user-friendly, clean, and makes me want to run downstairs and cook up some pasta. As I was reading through the website I became a little depressed, afraid that I would not find any local vendors, but alas, the Indy and Carmel gluten-free distributors are coming through. You can find jovial products at the following stores:

-Georgetown Market
4375 Georgetown Rd Indianapolis , IN 46254
317-293-9525

-The Fresh Market
5415 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46220
317.259.9270

-Whole Foods Market
14598 Clay Terrace Blvd Carmel, IN 46032
317-569-1517

-The Fresh Market
2490 East 146th Street Carmel, IN 46033
317.815.1970

-Nature's Pharm: Indianapolis
8215 US Highway 31 South Indianapolis, IN 46227
317-888-0557

I would highly suggest trying the cookies and you better believe that I will be hunting down some of their other gluten-free products!!! I am so excited. http://www.jovialfoods.com/

Angelo's

My grandmother and sister have been telling me of this store called Angelo's for a while now. "Oh they have the best deals, and there are so many gluten-free products." Grandma would buy Tommie some Mrs. Leepers and then some cookies. And slowly we realized that perhaps we should check out the store. One day I ventured to Angelo's with my grandmother and sister to see what all this commotion was about.

When first pulling up to the store, located at College and Georgia, the building didn't seem too impressive and rather small. My grandmother then threw a curve ball, "I hope you brought cash or a checkbook, they don't take debit or credit". Tommie and I are terrible at carrying cash or checks. We pay for everything with our bank card (we like it that way, it goes right out of our checking account and we get points). Luckily I had my checkbook with me and I was ready to shop.

Right as I walked in the door I was surprised by all of the Whole Foods and various brands that we normally pay a good amount of money for. What were they doing here? Why were they so cheap? Why I am standing here and not getting a cart?

Angelo's is a salvage and surplus store and therefore can turn around and sell these products at much lower prices than originally marked. Now that being said, some of the boxes are a little damaged and I wouldn't necessarily buy a box of crackers. There are guidelines they have to follow as to the quality of the products and whether or not they can be sold. There is a freezer section, Tommie and I have not purchased anything mainly because nothing really caught our eyes but my grandmother has and has no complaints about the food.

So what kind of gluten-free products have I found?
-Annie's GF macaroni
-GF Hamburger Helper
-365 (Whole Foods) bread mixes
-Glow
-Think Thin
-Glutino
-Mrs. Leepers
-Lundberg
-Snikkidy
-Enjoy Life
-Jovial
-Bob's Red Mill
-Ian's
-Schar
-Kinnikinnick

Just to mention some off the top of my head. The deals are amazing and there are products that aren't normally found in our regional market - which is AWESOME. Here is the thing about Angelo's: they have tons more gluten-free (and I've just been told, organic) products, they just can't bring them in until they sell what they have. Now Tommie and I have made them a mainstay of our monthly grocery shopping but we wanted to make sure everyone in Indy knew where they were and to check them out if you get a chance. It will be worth your time, promise.

Angelo's does not have a website so here is their information:
Tony Sund & Jenny Jones
201 S. College Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 317-634-6552
Fax: 317-264-3580
Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00
Saturday 8:00-2:00

Schar lady finger cookies

When sitting down to write this entry I reminded of the Meijer commercial in which a little girl is asked to eat a name brand spinach and she reacts by making a sour face and saying 'yuck'. She is then given a store brand mouthful of spinach and to our amazement she has the same reaction. Well, folks, that is my response to Schar lady fingers.

I must admit that I am not a fan of lady fingers, gluteny or not. I wouldn't pay for them, heck I wouldn't even eat them if they were free and baked by a close friend. I would even argue that if on a deserted island and they were my last means of food, I would try to catch fish before succumbing to the anguish that is lady fingers.

That being said, when Tommie saw Schar lady fingers at Angelo's he really wanted to try them; mainly because he had never had a lady finger. So, of course we bought a box. When he opened them he offered me a bite and so I tried a piece. I know, I know, you're wondering after all of that complaining I did in paragraph two why in the world I would try a lady finger. Well folks, one of two things happens when you try food. 1 - you take a bite and you like it. 2 - you take a bite and you don't like it. Either way, the whole experience is usually over with in a couple of seconds and you know at least know your feelings on a certain item.

So my reaction was much akin to the girl in the Meijer commercial. I looked at Tommie and with a somewhat sour face stated, "yep - taste like a lady finger". That is the best I can do for you with this one. They look, feel, and taste like a lady finger. Perhaps a little bit spongier so if you're going to make tiramisu or some kind of layered mouse or fluff dessert I wouldn't soak them as long, but other then that - they're pretty darn close to the real thing.

Here is the real kicker - if you do like lady fingers and want to buy this product - I'm not sure where you could get it. The Indianapolis market doesn't have a lot of Schar products and because Angelo's market reaches much farther than our own, that is where they found it. You could always call up Angelo's and see if they have more in stock and of course there is the Schar website which can give you answers on locations nearest you: www.schar.com

Hey there...

So summer has been busy. I started a new job downtown at University Hospital, we drove through the south (about 3500 miles), Tommie was in summer school and now we've settled in to somewhat of a 'fall semester' routine.

Now that I only have work (school is done for at least 2-3 more years!!! woo hoo!!), I am trying to rekindle relationships with all of my hobbies. I have quite a few posts coming down the pipeline and hopefully they'll be interesting. Look for some of them to start appearing within the week.

Hope all are well, healthy, and happy.

Brandie & Tommie