Wow - such a long time.

Life has been busy and evidence of that is the fact that I haven't posted a blog in a long long time. A lot of great GF products have been introduced to the new market and I'll be posting reviews shortly.

Also - Suzanne Stocklin held a great meeting at Clarian North this past Sunday discussing GF option in international cuisine. Her presentation was fantastic! My hats off to both Susanne and Clarian North for hosting such a great event.

Earth Hour

Saturday, March 28th
Earth Hour
8:30-9:30pm FREE
Earth Hour is a worldwide climate change initiative in which people across the globe turn off their lights for one hour to save energy and show their support for environmental protection. You can take part without sitting home in the dark! We too will turn off some of our lights, and we invite you to shop in a more relaxed setting. The first 75 customers shopping this hour will receive a free flashlight. To learn more, visit earthhourus.com

Ah,...what would we do without Whole Foods?

86th St. Store: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/eightysixthst/storecalendar.phpSunday, Tuesday, March 17th
Gluten Free Store Tour
6-7:30pm FREE
Are you living the gluten free (GF) lifestyle and not sure what to eat? Join Sarah Smith to learn about all of the great GF products available in each department, learn how to label read, find out what resources are available & enjoy samples too! RSVP to reserve your space at Eighty-Sixth St: 706.0900. Leave message for Sarah Smith.


Sunday, March 29th
Gluten Free Sampling
1-3pm FREE
Sandy Haney, gluten free food enthusiast, samples gluten free foods while you shop! Stop by and get product recommendations & tips from someone who lives the lifestyle. This month enjoy samples of Pesto Pasta Salad, 365 Gluten Free Chocolate Cake & Gluten Free Non-Dairy Ice Cream with a Berry Sauce. (Drop in sampling event. No RSVP needed.)


Carmel Store:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/carmel/storecalendar.php
Wednesday, March 18th
Gluten Free Store Tour
6-7:30pm FREE
Are you living the gluten free (GF) lifestyle and not sure what to eat? Join Sarah Smith to learn about all of the great GF products available in each department, learn how to label read, find out what resources are available & enjoy samples too! RSVP to reserve your space at Carmel: 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Thursday, March 19th
Superfoods: Easy Recipes
6-7:30pm FREE
Superfoods are nutrient-dense and help to fight disease. Join Kathie Gullick for this presentation to learn about various superfoods and enjoy samples of Avocado Salad, a Fresh Veggie Juice, a Blended Soup and a Hemp Protein Shake. Please RSVP at 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Sunday, March 22nd
Gluten Free Cooking
1-2:30pm FREE
Get gluten free cooking tips each month from someone who lives the lifestyle & loves to cook! This month Sandy Haney comforts and warms you with Spicy Bean Soup, Homemade Teff Foccacia and 365 Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Berry Sauce. Please RSVP at 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Wednesday, March 25th
Shopping on a Budget
6-7:30pm FREE
Eating great food doesn't have to break your budget. If you think higher quality always means higher price, think again! We offer real food, free of artificial ingredients and hydrogenated fats, at the best possible prices. Take our store tour for an overview of the great values we offer everyday as well as some valuable tips on stretching your dollar. Enjoy samples too! Meet at the front of the store. RSVP to reserve your space at Carmel: 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Noodles and Company

Tommie and I LOVE Noodles and Company!!! Most of you in the community know about their great pad thai noodles and how willing the staff is to work with you on preparing a gluten-free meal. Well, I wanted to make sure that everyone knows about their birthday club. Tommie has this habit of signing up for the birthday club coupons for every restaurant we go to (Texas Roadhouse, Coldstone Creamery, etc.). And the great thing is, every year on his birthday he has about 3-4 free entrees at to select from. This year we decided to go to Noodles and Company and you gotta love getting free meal just for being born! If you love this place as much as we do, you should definitely sign up, it is totally worth it.

You can sign up for a 'noodlegram' by going to their website:
http://www.noodles.com/

Tommie's 34th!!!

Tommie's 34th birthday is Monday, the 16th and we had a chance to celebrate this milestone with his family. Here is Tommie on the 'birthday saddle' at Texas Roadhouse. He enjoyed a great GF dinner, followed by a ride on the wild side. Happy birthday sweetheart!!!

Oh Maggiano's!!!

In December, my mother-in-law celebrated a milestone birthday and as a surprise, we threw her a party at Maggianos. Although I was unable to attend (I had a nasty Advanced Physiology final with my name on it), my husband sang Maggiano's praises that entire weekend and he brought home extra food.

Maggiano's did a great job of not only throwing a wonderfully catered party, but they also spent time to make sure the celiacs in the group had a satisfying meal. I was a little skeptical when I heard that the party would be at Maggiano's because I'm partial to another local Italian restaurant, but let me tell you - Maggiano's is definitely at the top of list when it comes to gluten-free eating.

I have supplied the link to Maggiano's and I would definitely suggest it the next time you are out and about or the next time you are throwing a little bash.

Hoorah for Whole Foods!!!!!

86th St. Store: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/eightysixthst/storecalendar.php
Sunday, February 15th
Gluten Free Sampling
6-7:30pm FREE
Sandy Haney, gluten free food enthusiast, samples gluten free foods while you shop! Stop by and get product recommendations & tips from someone who lives the lifestyle. This month enjoy a comforting & warming food samples: Spicy Bean Soup, Homemade Bread & chocolate desserts.

Thursday, February 19th
Gluten Free Store Tour
6-7:30pm FREE
Are you living the gluten free (GF) lifestyle and not sure what to eat? Join Sarah Smith to learn about all of the great GF products available in each department, learn how to label read, find out what resources are available & enjoy samples too! Meet at the front of the store. RSVP to reserve space at Eighty-Sixth St: 706.0900. Leave message for Sarah Smith

Carmel store: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/carmel/
Sunday, February 8th
Gluten Free Cooking
1-2:30pm FREE
Get gluten free cooking tips each month from someone who lives the lifestyle & loves to cook! This month Sandy Haney comforts and warms you with Spicy Bean Soup, Homemade Bread & many chocolate desserts in honor of Valentine's Day: 365 Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, Brownies & Chocolate Bars. Please RSVP at 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Monday, February 23rd
Gluten Free Store Tour
6-7:30pm FREE
Are you living the gluten free (GF) lifestyle and not sure what to eat? Join Sarah Smith to learn about all of the great GF products available in each department, learn how to label read, find out what resources are available & enjoy samples too! Meet at the front of the store. RSVP to reserve space at Carmel: 569.1517. Leave message for Sarah Smith.

Hooray for Whole Foods and Sarah Smith!!!!!

Hows everyone doing?

I just wanted to give everyone an update: I am currently working fulltime and going through nursing clinicals - so I haven't had much time to update this site. However, my wonderful husband is going to start writing some articles. I know he has some info on Uno's restaurants and their GF pizza as well as some recipes and other things. Hopefully he'll have some of the articles up within the week.

I hope everyone is having a great 2009 and that they're living and loving the GF life.

personal update

Some of you may know that I am a nursing student, well I've been extra busy this month with finals and family obligations. I'm hoping to make a good amount of posts next week and this is my last week of the semester.

I hope everyone is doing well and that the holiday season finds you well and healthy.

Best regards,
Brandie

Nature's Path Organic Whole O's

So I got this email a while back asking if anyone was interested in a new Nature's Path product. Me, interested in trying something gluten-free and possibly delicious? Heck yeah!!! Now this is the same great company that brings us EnviroKidz cereals, among other great products so Tommie and I were pretty excited.

Well, last week we received a package in the mail which contained a box of Whole O's cold cereal. We quickly opened the box and both grabbed a handfuls.

Response - well,...I liked it, but I kind of figured I would. Here's the thing though - I really liked it. There was this hint of sweetness at the end that really intrigued me. This wasn't your usual everyday 'over-processed-help me I need milk-sugary taste'. Nope - this was a lightly fruity sweetness. A hint of natural sugar if you will.

Then I heard Tommie - 'mmm, this is good'. What? Am I mistaken? Tommie actually likes a GF cereal. See, Tommie has tolerated GF cereals in the past. We'll buy a box and then I have to force him to eat the entire box before he can try something else. He gets tired of eating cereal very quickly - now in all fairness, he does work with limestone all day and does a lot of heaving lifting - sometimes cereal just doesn't cut it. However, he also gets tired of the tastes quickly. So we'll have to see if he can stand eating an entire box of GF cereal without my help.

I figured, ah, he just liked it initially - then I noticed he kept cramming mounds of cereal in his mouth. He mentioned to mumble an occasional word, but it was mostly chewing. I just smiled and realized that when a person with CD finds food that they like and actually want to eat - well the experience is like Christmas and Santa knew exactly what you wanted. In between chewing, Tommie did mention that it was sweetened with pomegranate! That was it, that was the sweet taste I was getting. You can't beat that, a light pomegranate after taste - sign me up.

So, my rating for this product - I'm going to have to give it a 5 out of 5 for taste. I also have to give a shout-out to the company in general - I am really impressed that you offered up a free taste of your product. You are a vital part of the GF community and we appreciate not only your products, but also your earth-friendly attitude and integrity.

I'm not sure how much this cereal is going to cost or where you can purchase it, but you can definitely stay up to date on all Nature Path's products at http://www.naturespath.com/

Enjoy!

Nature's Path Organic Whole O's, is a gluten free blend of organic whole grain corn and rice with pomegranate juice for a delicious flavor.