Shame On Me - Gluten Free Salads

So I'm a slacker, maybe just too busy, but nonetheless a slacker.

I will now tell you an adventurous story about my eating habits, well, non-adventurous maybe.

Next to sandwiches, salads are probably one of my favorite things to eat.

Now I know most of you gluten haters out there probably already eat more salad then you would want to honestly admit. (Probably because everyone thinks you're a vegetarian when you tell them you are allergic to gluten.)

Rachel and I do up salads right.

Now I'm not one of those weird vegetable (which names you can't pronounce or when you look at it, it reminds you of an animal that was run over on the side of the road) type eater.

I like my salad with flavor, but not too much.

Our typical salad is as such:

• Lettuce (Of Course)
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Bacon
• Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Ham
• Salami
• Turkey
• Ranch / Balsamic Vinaigrette

And that's pretty much it!

Do you have a salad that you can't live without?

Tell us about it! Add some pictures so we can all enjoy!

Vegetarian?  Hold the meat! :)

Gluten Free - BJ's Restaurant - Never Fails!

Ok, I guess first I should put a little disclaimer.  BJ's Restaurant, never fails on taste, BUT they do often fail with getting the order right.  I say this not to complain, but to warn people with allergies to be very careful. Always double check your order and your food when you get it.  Make sure your gluten free options are indeed gluten free.  You never know when there's going to be an onion ring on your gf pizza (true story).

Now to the pizookie.  All I gotta say is, tried it, loved it...going back next week!

Thanks to our wonderful friends Robert and Vita (who are expecting their first baby soon, yay!) for suggesting we dine at the wonderful BJ's restaurant with them.

I can't believe I even suggested CPK (not that I have anything against them, but HELLO, I just wrote a blog about BJ's new gluten free pizookie).  I would have been a fool...glad they set me straight! :-)

So, like I started off with, tried it and loved it!  This pizookie was amazing!  They have their new 2 for $20 deal, so Crosby and I ate like royalty for half the price of what it normally costs us.

We got our own salads, his with extra everything, literally! I love how he orders salads, makes me giggle.  But oh, he's got some insight with that extra cheese! :-)

Then we split a delicious pepperoni, bacon, and pineapple pizza.  Again, Crosby was the pepperoni and pineapple guy, I always got ham.  Man, his choice is way better, so now I follow suit.

So we had our wonderful pizza and then....DA DA DA...wait for it...ohhh....DESSERT!!!!!

A warm, gooey pizookie that I could enjoy!  Imagine people, the taste!?!?!  So soft and chocolatey with a heap of cold, vanilla ice cream on top!  I was already full before this sucker arrived, but I didn't care.  I made room! :-)  SOOOOOOO worth it!!!

Did I mention we're going back next week!?!? Beyond excited!

Dr Oz Discusses Gluten- Plus, Gluten Free Diet Plan

 

Dr. Oz is featuring the gluten free diet today!!

Check it out or if you miss it, there's more on his website.

Here's the link to part of the show. :)

Also, if you're interested in more gluten free information.  Check out this interesting link from Dr. Oz that features a gluten free diet plan.

Gluten Free Diet Plan-Dr. Oz

If you do check this out...let me know what you think.

Homemade Gluten Free Tuna Melt

Simple gluten free at it's finest!

I need to start by saying I have the best husband ever!!  He takes care of me when I don't feel good...makes me food and everything!  Granted, if he could just run down the street to Del Taco and grab me a quick bite he probably would! :-)  Ohh, my fellow Celiacs, do you remember the taste of those yummy chicken soft tacos and chili cheese fries!!!  Mmm...mmm...oh my taste buds! Ha, how easily I forget the upset stomach that was sure to follow (probably undiagnosed Celiac and certainly not the quality of Del Taco's food!).  But, I digress, back to the wonderful man I'm married to.

Crosby made me this delicious Tuna Melt sandwich. It was so tasty and yet so simple!  He made the sandwich on Udi's Gluten Free hamburger buns, such a wise idea!  Having the sandwich on the buns rather than regular bread was so nice, especially since it toasted so well.

How to make the Tuna (all from Trader Joe's)

1. 2 cans Tuna (we like the Albacore)
2. 2-3 T organic mayo,
3. 1-2 T organic mustard
4. 1 T organic sweet pickle relish
5. Dash or 2 of pepper

Crosby simply mixed all of the above together (feel free to add/subtract ingredients as you like, tuna is so fun to experiment with), topped it with some grated cheese, put everything into the bun and toasted it in the toaster over.

One thing to note is that we were out of lemon pepper, or that would have been our choice over regular pepper.  Nonetheless, deliciously satisfying!

Gluten Free Baked Potato With Chicken Alfredo

So Rachel calls me around 12 p.m. and asks what sounded good for dinner so she could go to the store and get some stuff... (oh the joys of being a teacher and getting to spend your summer days leisurely prancing around town doing random things.)

Anywho, so we decided to chow down on some baked potatoes with chicken and Alfredo sauce.

Now we've gone to restaurants and have had this meal before, but for some reason we like making it ourselves. We get to choose the quantity of each item, rather than just being given a huge slab of everything and having horrible tummy aches from all the fattening goodness that we consumed. (We like to make our own Alfredo sauce... but for this one we cheated and just went to the store and bought some).

We opted for Classico's Alfredo Sauce and it's Gluten Free!!!

We also added some diced corn, green onions and tomatoes to the menu to add some "vegetables" hahaha... at least that's what I call them because I'll actually eat 'em...

So this is one of the easiest meals to make.

I like to oil up my taters with olive oil and sea salt, gives the skin a nice flavor (for those of you who like to eat the skin of the potato).

Roll up the potatoes and cobs of corn in foil and chuck it on the grill... (cobs of corn, corn on the cob... whatever!!!).

Give the potatoes about 45 min to an hour (you can check it with a fork to your desired tenderness).


I let the corn go for about 20 min, turning the corn every 5 minutes or so until you're happy!

The chicken took about 20 minutes to cook because We wanted it a bit crispy.

Throw those onions on last or you will end up with a big black stringy looking thing.

We shaved the kernels from the cob of the corn and then Rachel made a mixture of what I will call Heaven in a bowl!

Basically she throws in tomatoes, corn, onions, olive oil, pepper and some balsamic vinaigrette into a bowl and voilà! Your side dish is done.

Now heat up that Alfredo sauce, chop up that chicken and put it all together and you are set!

Gluten Free Pizookie!

BJ's Restaurant and Brewery has unveiled a gluten free pizookie!

I'm sure this dessert will guarantee a sugar rush, but I'm also sure it will be well worth it.  My husband and I already eat at BJ's far too often (almost once a month), but this will likely give us even more reason to go there for a nice date!

I love when we find somewhere to eat out that's tasty, but it's even better whenever I can order dessert.  It's not that I'll even want dessert every time, it's just so incredibly nice to have the option.

I was reading on allergyeats.com that BJ's is running a special August 7-September 30 that is a "party for two" deal.  It consists of two salads, one gluten free pizza, and one gluten free pizookie for $19.99!  That price definitely encourages us to go try it.

Mmm...just looking at the above image makes my mouth water!

PS-Gluten Free Ville just tested this yummy goodness out!

Gluten Free Girl Scout Cookies Petition

Could you imagine gluten free samoas?!?!?!?  Oh my goodness, I would be in heaven (with a small headache from sugar overload!). :)

 

Cookie petition and complete article

Change.org has a petition for gluten free and allergy free girl scout cookies!  They started the petition May 8, 2011 in honor of Celiac Awareness month and Food Allergy Awareness week.  Go them!

From the site: "The cookie manufacturers and Girl Scouts have indicated that when they see enough of a need, they will consider manufacturing such a cookie.  If you or a member of your family have a food allergy and you have not been able to buy Girl Scout cookies because of this, please sign this petition letting the Girl Scouts know that they have lost out on your business but you would buy a box of cookies from them if they made a delicious cookie that is free from the top eight food allergens."

Please, please, please, please, please sign!!!!!!  

Ruby's Diner - Gluten Free Buns

Thanks to my awesome Udi's newsletter (you should add them to your email!) I just learned that Ruby's Diner California locations are now carrying Udi's gluten free hamburger buns!

From the menu -
Our Classic Burgers are made with the highest quality fresh ALL-NATURAL USDA CHOICE BEEF grilled to perfection and served with fresh, sliced tomato,
crisp lettuce and RubySauce on a traditional or whole wheat bun (cal 270).  Substitute a Gluten Free bun (cal 190) for an additional charge.  Substitute a lean Ground Turkey or Gardenburger® patty at no additional charge. Substitute a lean grilled Chicken Breast.

If you haven't tried these buns yet (please refrain from the jokes!) you should definitely grill up some burgers tonight to test them out. And then go to Ruby's and let me know how their burgers fare. :-)

So great to hear of more and more places accommodating the "princess" diet! Made me smile!!

Happy Monday everyone!