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.

Whole Foods GF Calendar - November

I'm a slacker, I know. This information is kind of last minute, I apologize:

Sunday, November 23rd
Gluten Free Thanksgiving
1-3pm FREE
Sandy Haney will be dishing up gluten free foods while you shop. This month enjoy a sampling from her Thanksgiving menu including Gluten Free Stuffing, Namaste Spice Cake and Pumpkin Pie!
*Note - this is at the Nora location (86th & Michigan)

Wednesday, November 19th
Value Tour
6-7:30pm FREE
Eating great food doesn't have to break your budget. Join Sarah Smith for some valuable tips on stretching your dollar and getting the most for your money at Whole Foods Market. Enjoy samples too! Meet at the front of the store. RSVP to reserve your space at Carmel: 569.1517. Leave a message for Sarah Smith.
*Note - this is not particularly a GF event, but can be very helpful. This is at the Carmel store.
Personal note - Sarah is awesome!!! For those of you who use to go to the GF classes at the Nora store, you understand how much Sarah helps the GF community with her positive attitude and vast amount of knowledge.

November 2008 Celiac Central Newsletter

I was reading my November 2008 Celiac Central Newsletter when I decided to speak about this wonderful organization on my blog. I have a link to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness under the link list section of my blog, but I wanted to stress how great this organization and their website actually is.

By just signing up for the monthly e-mail, you can keep up to date with all aspects of the gluten-free lifestyle on a national and international level. The e-mail isn't long and the organization isn't going to fill up your inboxes or give away your information to other groups. I have spoken about a lot of things on my blog and some of those items I have heard about by this group.

Some of the topics you can read about this month:

-At-Home Celiac Test Coming Soon to U.S. Market

-2G of Canada Offers Breakthrough Take-Home Test for Celiac

-2008 South Florida Gluten-Free Cooking Spree

When you visit their website you can also learn about how to donate or sponsor this wonderful cause. As a member of the gluten-free community, I highly recommend subscribing to this newsletter, it is very informative and definitely helps newcomers to the lifestyle.

To find out more information about this foundation, you can click on the link at on my blog, it will direct you to their website: http://www.celiaccentral.org/

A BIG THANK YOU to Georgetown Market...

Even though GF products are now being carried in more mainstream stores (i.e. Target, Walmart, Kroger, etc.), there are only a couple of stores that have always tried to support the GF community and Georgetown Market is one of them. Not only does the store offer competitive prices and a large quantity of GF items, they really try hard to be a great member of the GF community.

Tommie and I have been to many GF cooking classes at Georgetown Market and have always left with a positive attitude, new recipes, and a full belly. The employees at Georgetown have always been there to educate us on products as well as introduce us to the first GF bakery (at least that we knew of) in the Indianapolis area. A couple of years ago I bought Tommie a birthday cake from Georgetown and it was fantastic. It had great texture and yummy caramel icing. We have also purchased GF pizzas from their deli - yum yum!

Last year we went to their annual 'birthday' weekend celebration and signed up to win a GF basket full of goodies - and we won! We were given a large grocery bag full of Pamela's mixes (as well as other mixes), cooking utensils and even some pot holders. This year we made a point to toss our names into the running and we won again! This year we were given a grocery bag full of natural and organic health care items. There were probiotics, natural throat care sprays, pomegranate concentrate, and other great items.

Tommie and I have three main stores we shop at for our GF products and Georgetown has always been on our list. In a day when you get lost in oversized stores, Georgetown is a locally owned smaller store that guarantees great products for great prices and a helping hand along the way. Georgetown Market, we appreciate all that you do for the community - keep up the great work.

If you would like to learn more about Georgetown Market you can visit their website at:

http://www.georgetownmarket.com/

One more thing: Georgetown Market has a Rewards card that is free to sign up for. Just have the cashier swipe the card everytime you make a purchase and when your purchases total up to $250, you get a $10.00 coupon. Now I hear what you're saying, "$250! thats a lot of money," true, but hey, you're gonna spend that money, might as well earn some rewards. Besides- their product prices are cheaper than most other stores and you're not going to earn any rewards at the other places.

Product Review: Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix

Tommie and I had one of those weeks - a stressful week full of 'have to's' and 'need to's' - so we decided to treat ourselves to a yummy breakfast of pancakes in our p.j.s. Well, this weekend we searched in the pantry and decided to make some Pamela's pancakes. Now we are big fans of Pamela's brownies - they're delicious and last longer then most GF brands. Plus Pamela's is one of those staples that you can find at most local stores (including Georgetown Market, Whole Foods and some of the Krogers and Meijers among others). I can't tell you why it has taken us so long to attempt Pamela's pancakes but believe me when I say we'll be eating them again.

This weekend I made the pancake mix as directed by the package - I didn't make any of my own changes. The directions are easy to understand and you only need the basic GF additives - an egg, oil, water, etc. The pancakes cook up quickly, like gluten-ful pancakes and the texture was spot on.

There were slight (absolutely minor) details though and here are my suggestions on how to get the best pancake out of the mix:
1. add a little salt to the mix - the pancakes were a little bland and some salt would bring out the flavor of the flours more
2. the mix is pretty thick so don't just plop some batter on the griddle - you'll need to move it around; the mix will not thin out and the inside of your pancake will not be cooked while the outside is.
3. do not apply syrup and let the pancakes sit - I would wait to put syrup on them until you're ready to eat, especially if you add a bucket of syrup to your pancakes like Tommie does. The pancakes will start to dissolve and you're left more with a syrup-pancake puddle.

Other then that - I give Pamela's pancakes a 4 out of 5! They're easy and yummy. If you add some salt, I bet your breakfast guests wouldn't even know they were GF. Price: this product can run anywhere from around $4.00 - $6.00 depending on where you shop. If you would like to learn more about Pamela's brand foods you can visit their website at: http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html

Georgetown Market GF day!!

Friday, November 7th Gluten-free Day

Gluten-free samples all day
Gluten-free hot bar
Your favorite gluten-free vendors

Join Georgetown Market as they celebrate 35 years of business in the Indianapolis community!

http://www.georgetownmarket.com/

The Measuring Cup

The Measuring Cup is a fantastic place to buy quality GF goods in the Indianapolis (and greater Indianapolis area). Pam and Chris have been working so hard and it is definitely paying off. Their goods are top rate and they are definitely the place to go for GF baked goods. I can think of no other place that even comes close to what they can do with GF flours. Now you can access all of their weekly menus and information on their website:

http://gfmeasuringcup.com/index.html

Congratulations Pam & Chris and thank you so much for all of the hard work you do for the GF community.

GF cough relief with Cold-EEZE

My husband doesn't normally get ill, as a matter of fact it is odd how little he gets sick, even in the cold and flu season. Well, right now he is dealing with the common cold and the symptoms that come along with it and because we rarely have to deal with him being sick, we hadn't spent too much time on locating a GF cough suppressant. Well, after searching for about 45 minutes yesterday and speaking with various companies, I had a 'ah ha' moment. First, let me say that I wasn't even aware of all of the many cough drop and sore throat lozenge brands - I'm a Halls girl and never once thought to check the ingredients since I don't have CD. Well, I was amazed at all of the different brands that popped up once I googled 'cough drops'.

I went through the usual frustrating phone calls with companies - "sorry mam, we just don't know if our product is gluten free" - "mam, I can read you the ingredients, well...actually I can spell them for you because I'm not sure how to pronounce them". I was so angry!! But, I realized that I had to calm down and keep a positive outlook, people with CD get colds and it would be impossible in today's world that not one company made a GF product. So, I counted to 10 and kept searching. It was when I came across Cold-EEZE brand that my luck changed. I didn't even have to call the company because in big bold print, under the FAQs section, they stated that all of their products are gluten-free and safe for those who have CD. Woo hoo!!! And, I was able to print off a $1.00 off coupon - even better!

So last night, Tommie and I went to CVS and he purchased a pack of sore throat lozenges. I have already spoke with him this morning and he is doing much better. He told me that the back of the package also says Gluten-Free so I guess I would have had a better chance searching for a GF product in the store then online, but hey - you live you learn.

The Cold-EEZE website is: http://www.coldeeze.com/

Don't forget to download your coupon!

Product Review: Trader Joe's GF Pancake & Waffle Mix

Tommie and I love Trader Joe's for many reasons but in particular, they offer great products for a great price. On our last visit we found this mix and decided to try it after we were pleasantly surprised with their brownie mix. The pancake mix is around $3.00 - making it one of the cheapest on the market - and it simple and quick to prepare. The mix makes a large amount of pancakes and they are delicious!!! Just follow the instructions and you'll have no problem - there are no tricks to this mix. Ther is a recipe for coffee cake on the side and we'll definitely have to try that next - we'll let you knowI give this product 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. Trader Joe's hasn't let us down yet. In the case you do buy the mix and don't like it - Trader Joe's will give you your money back - just make sure you keep the receipt.