Sad News

I like to keep this blog positive as much as possible. I started it because I wanted to share all of the gluten-free options my husband enjoys. When his family comes to town we enjoy sharing some of our favorite things with them.

A few weeks ago they were here for the Irish Fair. While the guys went to another concert on Saturday night us girls ran some errands. We decided to go to Michello's to get some gluten-free pizza and pasta. Nate was okay with this as long as we brought home some carrot cake for him. When we pulled up the restaurant we were disappointed to see that Michello's was closed - for good. We were still in the mood for pizza so we drove to the next gluten-free pizza place we could think of.

When we arrived at Cabina we discovered that it had been replaced by a new restaurant. Feeling extremely discouraged we tried one last time for pizza. As we walked in to ZPizza we were excited to see that they were open and hoped that they wouldn't tell us they were out of gluten-free crusts. Finally we were able to enjoy dinner.

When we made it back home I didn't want to be the one to tell Nate that Michello's had closed. I told Detamara she should tell him the news. I figured he might take it better if it came from his little sister. He took the news better than expected but was disappointed that he would no longer be able to enjoy the carrot cake.

It is sad to see such a great family owned restaurant go out of business due to the economy. They provided great options for the gluten-free community and worked hard to perfect their recipes. They have posted their recipes for farmhouse buttermilk bread and pizza crust. Nate is just waiting for them to post the cake recipes.

Gluten- Free Clearance Finds at Target

Nate and I ran to Target to pick up some basic items and purchase a gift for an upcoming wedding. As we were running through the frozen food section I noticed frozen broccoli on clearance. We eat a lot of broccoli at our house so I grabbed two bags and noticed they had a lot of other frozen items on clearance.

I scanned a couple more items as Nate looked for the Starbucks ice cream that we had a free coupon for. I yelled, "Nathan!" He quickly turned assuming he was in trouble. (I think the lady next to him thought he was in trouble too.)

We were shocked to see French Meadow Bakery Gluten-Free Fudge Brownie on clearance. I grabbed four boxes considering that you keep them frozen until you use them and then we noticed they also had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Both the brownies and cookies were marked down from $5.99 to $2.98. With two gluten-free guys in the house I'm sure these won't last long.

When we got home Nate made a box of the cookies. They are preformed so you just need to preheat the oven and place them on a tray. It couldn't get much more convenient than that. They are done in 10-12 minutes.

I could have made this an even better deal if I printed some of these coupons from their website.

This was a great reminder to check clearance for gluten-free products!

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Mix Coupon

We haven't been cooking much lately since Nate was sick for a week and half and by the time he was feeling better we went out of town. Nate worked out an agreement with his coworker where we could stay at his family's cabin if we did some tiling while we were there. We kept things pretty simple and now that we're back home we're trying to catch up on things that have been neglected. I have some pictures to post once I find the cord to our camera.

Here's a great deal to take advantage of. We still haven't tried any of the Betty Crocker Gluten Free baking mixes yet but aunt tells me they are pretty good and that's coming from someone who can eat gluten. I'm planning on ordering a few from Coborns Delivers while they're on sale for $2.50 this week.

Call General Mills at 1-800-446-1898 and choose option 4 to speak with a representative. Tell them you are calling regarding the gluten-free coupon. They will ask for your name, address and 2 simple questions. It's that easy, just remember to call during normal business hours.

Jamba Juice Coupon

My sister Christi just shared this BOGO Jamba Juice coupon with me. Hurry, this deal ends July 12th.

Jamba Juice

Are you looking for a cool gluten-free treat? Ice cream and smoothies are a weakness at our house.

I assumed that most of the drinks at Jamba Juice would be gluten-free but wasn't exactly sure. It turns out all of their smoothies are gluten-free except for Pomegranate Heart Healthy. You can also enjoy all of the boosts except for Daily Vitamin, Energy and Heart Healthy.

Enjoy Life Products 10% Off

Now until June 30th you can save 10%off your favorite Enjoy Life Products 10%. Click here to take advantage of this offer through Peanut Free Planet. Then enter the code Enjoy10off when you check out.

Enjoy Life Products are free of the top 8 allergens. We love their Snickerdoodles.

Boston's The Gourmet Pizza

Seriously, more pizza?

Yes, Boston's The Gourmet Pizza now carries a gluten-free pizza crust. Since they are known for their pizza they wanted to make it easier for everyone to enjoy. (Supposedly, it is the same crust that they use at Unos.) You can choose from 13 different kinds of pizzas made on a gluten-free crust. The gluten-free pizza is only available in small and is about an additional two dollars.

Boston's also offers a Healthy Hits menu for those who are looking for a healthier option. All of their locations should carry the gluten-free crust. If you have a large group they recommend calling ahead. Click here to find a location near you.

Luckily we have a BBQ planned for tomorrow night but I'm sure we'll try it soon and let you know what we think. Has anyone tried it yet?

Free Pizza for a Year?

Uno Chicago Grill is having a sweepstakes to win free pizza for a year. Translation: Free pizza for a year is one pizza a month. Click here to enter. Gluten-free pizza is available in cheese, pepperoni and veggie.

You must be an "Insider" to enter. If you are not an Insider you can still sign up to become one and be entered in the sweepstakes.

I have a separate email address for sweepstakes and things I don't want to go to my regular email. My family and friends know that I am obsessed with Sweepstakes. Someone is going to win, why not you?

Gluten-Free Pizza in Austin, TX

We seem to be finding gluten-free pizza all over the Twin Cities and while we've seen some chains adding it I've been wondering if other places are seeing the same trend. Since Ann and Becca are in Austin visiting Kristy and Kasja. They all eat gluten-free and Ann and Becca live in a small town so it is pretty rare for them to enjoy gluten-free pizza out. I began to wonder if there was gluten-free pizza in the Austin area. A couple of months ago Kristy and I were talking about it but I never found out of she found gluten-free pizza.

After a quick search I found a couple of options for them. Brick Oven on 35th has gluten-free pizza as well as a gluten-free menu that includes meatballs, pasta and flat bread sandwiches. I've read a couple of reviews and it sounds like the pizza is definitely worth trying. They do charge a little more for the gluten-free crust but that is pretty common.

Marye's Gourmet Pizza has also started offering gluten-free pizza. I haven't found any reviews on it so I am curious if anyone has tried it. We obviously haven't tried either of these yet but next time we visit them I'm sure Nate will want to fit that in.

My Gluten Free Bakery

Have you been looking for a dedicated gluten-free bakery in Missouri for a birthday cake or special occasion?
LaVerne saw a need for a gluten-free bakery in her community and opened My Gluten Free Bakery in Jefferson City, Missouri. LaVerne understands people often have other diet restrictions and takes special orders based on specific intolerances. She keeps customer cards on file with their allergies. Check out her website to see all she has to offer.

My Gluten Free Bakery
LLC312 W Dunklin St
Jefferson City, MO 65109
phone: 573-634-3733

Skosh Monahan's in Costa Mesa, CA

Nate's sister Marissa lives in California so I'm always keeping my eye open for restaurants in California that will accommodate a gluten-free diet. Especially with Marissa's wedding coming up everyone wants to know they can eat safely while traveling. Although this isn't right where we'll be I was impressed with the gluten-free menu and we'd gladly make an excuse to drive somewhere for gluten-free pizza.

Skosh Monahan's is a Steakhouse and Irish Pub that offers a gluten-free menu and a GFCF kid's menu.
Their gluten-free menu includes appetizers, soup, salad, pizza, and entrees.

Godfather's Pizza offering Gluten-Free Pizza

A couple years ago we said just wait, some day you'll be able to get gluten-free pizza at one of the regular pizza places. We just didn't think some day would be so soon.

According to the Press Release the gluten-free pizza is available at select Godfather's Pizza locations in:
Omaha, NE
Topeka, KS
Overland Park, KS
Blue Springs, MO
St. Cloud, MN
Burnsville, MN
Sioux Falls, SD

Employees at these locations have received special training. I spoke to an employee who said they also sell frozen take and bake pizza if you don't feel comfortable with them baking it. Use the Store Locator to check if the gluten-free pizza is available at the location nearest you. The gluten-free pizza is available in a 10-inch size and you can enjoy cheese, pepperoni, beef, sausage, classic combo and all-meat combo. We were very excited to hear that the gluten-free pizzas are priced in line with the other pizzas.

Email Godfather's Pizza at glutenfree@godfathers.com and let them know where you would like to see gluten-free pizza.

An Attitude of Gratitude Award

Kim at Gluten-free is Life nominated me for an Attitude of Gratitude Award.

Nate has been gluten-free his whole life so we never had that "adjustment" period that so many of you write about. I try to look at it as a way for us to eat healthier. We cook a lot more because I'm not married to a guy who lives off of pizza. (However, that's starting to change as gluten-free pizza places keep popping up.)
When we first saw gluten-free menus appearing in restaurants we were very eager to support them. I saw it as a challenge to find more and make life easier for us, our family and friends.
When people hear that my husband cannot eat gluten they assume it is difficult and ask what he can have. I enjoy proving them wrong and showing them all that he can enjoy gluten-free. They are very surprised to hear that he can now take me out to an Italian restaurant.

The instructions say list 10 blogs that show an Attitude of Gratitude. So many great blogs have already been tagged and are going to continue to be tagged instead I'm just going to list one that I think does an excellent job of having a great attitude about being gluten-free when many people would have a difficult time.

Katie - Katie is a college student who does a great job of staying gluten-free. She bakes treats that look amazing! Someday she would like to open a bakery, I know we would all like to support that.

Your instructions are to:

• put the logo on your blog or post
• nominate at least 10 blogs that show an an attitude of gratitude
• link to your nominees within your post
• comment on their blogs to let them know they’ve received this award
• share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award
• tell us how you’ve come to have an attitude of gratitude

Ben Pao "Bailout" Special

Ben Pao Chinese Restaurant has a special offer during the month of May. Stop in for dinner Monday through Thursday and on one of those nights they will ring the Golden Gong once a week. When you hear the gong every table in the restaurant will receive $50 off their bill.

Nate and I went when we were in Chicago and definitely recommend it. Ben Pao is part of the Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants and offers a Gluten Free Menu. We really enjoyed the chicken fried rice and sesame chicken.

Ben Pao
52 West Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 312-222-1888

10 Things You Were Dying to Know - I've Been Tagged

Ann at Cheaper by the Dozen and Get One Free tagged me.

1) What is your current obsession?
Concerts - Alkaline Trio was in town a couple of weeks ago, awesome concert! Last night Nate heard Cursive was playing at First Avenue so we thought why not? Nate, my sisters and I saw Fun play with Manchester Orchestra tonight. Next week I'm going to see India Arie with some friends from High School. I want to see Amber Pacific when Ian (my brother-in-law) is in town so we're hoping he's up for it. Also looking forward to the Irish Fair and Warped Tour this summer. Luckily most of these concerts are pretty inexpensive and some are free! I even won tickets to see Jackson Browne at the State Fair and Nate won Warped Tour tickets. - Yeah I'm even more obessed than I thought.

2) Which item of clothing do you wear most often?
Earrings, I rarely leave the house without earrings. They just seem to complete any outfit.

3) What's for dinner?
Tonight we had pizza and salad.

4) What are you listening to?
The Offspring and Katie (my sister) talking to Ashley on the phone.

5) Say something about the one who tagged you:
Ann loves getting a good deal and teaching others how to bargain shop. Ann is gluten-free as well as 6 of her 11 children are gluten-free.

6) Favorite vacation spot?
Alaska, I keep asking Nate when can we go back. I love the scenery, history, wildlife and peacefulness.

7) What are you reading right now?
The Gluten Effect which I won from Carol at Simply...Gluten Free.

8) Four words to describe yourself?
Practical, Optimistic, Quiet and Emotional

9) Guilty pleasure?
My Bravo shows: The Real Housewives and The Millionaire Matchmaker

10) First Spring thing to do?
Clean - I'm trying to motivate myself to be more organized and donate things I don't need anymore so I ask myself "What would Kristy say?" "Just get rid of it!"

I'm going to tag Erin at Gluten Free with a Purpose.