Aldi

When it comes to grocery shopping I don't stick to just one store. I'll shop the standard Cub, Rainbow or Super Target and buy some things in bulk at Sam's Club. For the more specialty gluten-free items I'll go to Fresh and Natural Foods. Occasionally if I just need a few things I even shop at Aldi. I used to just get the basic produce and milk when I didn't want to run into a large store. As I looked at more labels I noticed there they carried more gluten-free items than I thought. I know a lot of people that say they can't shop at Aldi because they don't have much for a gluten-free diet. Let me show you that you actually can shop there.
Notice that standard produce and pantry items as well as some treats. Aldi is one of few places where I can find gluten-free meatballs and they are very reasonably priced.
It is difficult to see in this picture but this chipotle pepper hummus says "gluten-free" right on the lid! I love to have options and not be tied to one particular store.

On a side note: Today gluta-baby is 6 months old. I have also been eating gluten-free for 6 months now since I decided I would nurse him. Surprisingly it has been much easier than I have thought and I haven't felt deprived. I believe the combination of nursing and eating gluten-free have been major factors in helping loose the baby weight as well.

Hamburger Helper & Asian Helper

I'm sure you heard they were coming but have you seen them yet? I found the Chicken Fried Rice and Cheesy Hashbrowns at our Super Target (they didn't have the Beef Fried Rice yet). Make sure you check each box because they still had some of the old ones that aren't gluten free. These were on sale and I was also able to use a hamburger helper coupon on them.

We tried the Cheesy Hashbrowns one night while Nate mowed the lawn and I took care of the baby. It was nice to have a different option besides our typically lazy meals. They were good (not great) but I've never been much of a Hamburger Helper fan. My mom always made better things from scratch and I couldn't help but add onions, peppers and garlic to it. We won't be making this all of the time but it is nice to have an inexpensive and convenient option.

Gluta-baby Arrived

I've been a little distracted lately since Gluta-baby (as Nate's cousin affectionately refers to him) has arrived. Broderick Christopher was born on April 11th weighing 7lbs 5ozs at 21 1/2 inches long.

The day before Brody arrived Nate's grandma was telling us how gluten is passed on through breast milk. Since we decided I would be nursing I would be best if I ate gluten free due to the high prevalence of celiac disease in the family. I have been eating gluten free for 3 months now. It actually hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would. Part of it is probably because we pretty much ate gluten free at home.

However, I was more concerned about returning to work. My coworkers have been pretty supportive of it as well. My boss baked a cake using the Betty Crocker cake mix so I could celebrate a coworker's birthday with everyone and she bought ice cream for my anniversary.

At our weekly team meetings we're always trying different restaurants so I've had to ask questions regarding my meal. I have discovered new places I'd like Nate to try that we have been hesitant about before. I have a ton to post about it's just finding the time with the baby.

Cooqi Gluten-Free Delights

When we find ourselves in St. Paul during the day we try to stop in Cooqi for a treat. My favorite is a brownie while Nate enjoys the blondies or pumpkin bars. Unfortunately Cooqi Gluten-Free Delights will be closing their doors on April 30th.
The good news is Cooqi will be selling their baking mixes online and in local grocery stores.

Cooqi supplies pizza crust to many local restaurants that offer gluten-free pizza. Madwoman Bakery will be stepping up to continue to supply gluten-free crusts to these restaurants. Thank you Madwoman for helping keep this option available for us.

If you live in the Twin Cities stop in this weekend to pick up your favorite treat.

Snikiddy Coupon

Have you tried Snikiddy yet? We haven't either but you can get a coupon by signing up for their newsletter. In February they launched a new line of "baked fries." The parmesan garlic baked fries sound good and for ketchup fans there is a classic ketchup version.

Gluten-Free Pizza at Birchwood Cafe

Starting Friday, March 12th Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis will be offering gluten-free pizza. The pizza will be on pizza crust made by Cooqi. If you have a chance to check it out let us know what you think.

Ginger Hop

Last week I went out to dinner with my friend Amy for Restaurant Week and we decided to try Ginger Hop. As we sat down to look at the menu she thought I knew of this restaurant because they have gluten-free choices on the menu. I was quite surprised as she pointed out the gluten-free symbol at the bottom of the page.

Gluten-free items are marked with a star next to them. Since it was Happy Hour we tried the chicken satay and eggplant satay which both happen to be gluten-free. One of the specials for Restaurant Week was the Sweet Green Curry which we both got with chicken.
Towards the end of the meal I thought I should check if Nate wanted me to bring something home for him. I was feeling a little guilty sitting at a restaurant with gluten-free choices while he was working in the garage which means he probably forgot to eat. I called him to double check that he'd want the Thai fried rice. I listed off some of the other menu items to see if anything else stood out and he mentioned the Pad Thai with chicken.

Nate was very excited for his dinner when I got home. He asked where his rice was and I explained Pad Thai is noodles and doesn't come with rice. That wasn't exactly what he was asking for. He was expecting Pad Thai and fried rice. Although, I didn't feel quite so bad when he could only eat half of it.

Amy, Nate and I were all very pleased with our choices and would definitely recommend it. Check out their happy hour specials and enjoy some of their satay with a Redbridge.

BitterSweet Bakery Now at Coborns Delivers

Coborns Delivers is now offering BitterSweet Bakery products. BitterSweet Bakery is a small family owned bakery that offers some great treats. This is a great way to be able to order some gluten-free treats and not have to worry about if they are open this Saturday or next Saturday. You can have your gluten-free carrot cake or hamburger buns delivered to your door with the rest of your groceries. I was very surprised to see that the BitterSweet Bakery items they carry are on sale this week. That's definitely a good incentive to try something new.

February 23rd Wine Dinner at Wildfire

Tuesday, February 23rd the Wildfire in Eden Prairie will be hosting a Gluten-free Wine Dinner. Enjoy a four course dinner with wine pairings for $45 plus tax and gratuity. Amy Leger, blogger at The Savvy Celiac will also be there to discuss living gluten free.

Here's a sample of the special menu for that night.
Starters: Assorted Gluten Free Pizzas
First Course: Pan Seared Ahi Tuna
Second Course: Carved Tenderloin of Beef
Dessert: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
Click here for more information.

Unfortunately we have a childbirth preparation class that night but hopefully we can attend it next time. At a time when I can enjoy the wine as well. We love Wildfire and even if you can't make this event we recommend checking it out soon. Nate loves the gluten-free bread before his meal as well as being able to eat a burger on the bun. If you go for dinner the au gratin potatoes are amazing. Our only complaint is there isn't one closer to our house.

The reception begins at 6:30 and dinner is at 7:00. Call (952) 914-9100 to make your reservation.

Wildfire Eden Prairie

3020 Eden Prairie Center

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Gluten-Free Tasting in Austin, TX

Delish in Austin, Texas is having a Gluten-Free Tasting Party this Saturday, January 23rd from 12-3 p.m. Stop in to try a free gluten-free treat.

Delish
209 W 3rd Street
Austin, TX 78701

Simply Recipes

I found Simply Recipes through a baby website I frequent. It looked like it would provide some good budget friendly recipe ideas. I was surprised to find a Gluten-Free Recipes section!
Simply Recipes was started by Elise to keep track of her family's recipes. Some of the recipes are old family recipes while others are made up or taken from magazines. They believe in using "mostly whole food ingredients and only occasionally a few things from cans or prepared foods."
I'm anxious to try the Asparagus with Lime and Mint.

Pepsi Deal at Target

I give Nate a hard time for the pop he drinks - I mean a really hard time. It's not necessarily that he drinks a ton of it, I just think pop should be a treat. Sometimes, just to be a pain I'll ask him how much water he's had to drink for the day. Now when pop is a good deal we make sure to stock up. I saw on a blog this morning that Pepsi 12 packs were $2.50 and there was a $1 off coupon which made it a great deal at $1.50 for a 12 pack.
While making our Target run we noticed it was on sale for $1.99 here in Minnesota. With the $1 off coupons we scored two 12 packs for $0.99 each. Unfortunately there is a limit of printing two coupons per computer so we used one of our laptops to print off two more coupons.

Gluten-Free Menu All Week

Sorry I haven't been posting more recently, I've been meaning to but I've been exhausted. Nate and I are expecting our first child in April so I have been preoccupied with sleeping when I can and trying to fight off colds. I haven't been as interested in cooking either although I have been obsessed with nutrition. We have been throwing together a lot of simple and quick meals especially tacos since I've been craving spicy foods.

I have some exciting gluten-free news for those that live in the Twin Cities. Starting December 1st Pizza Luce will offer their gluten-free menu seven days a week at their St. Paul and Downtown Minneapolis locations.

We are so excited to see this expand to include the weekends as well. Often times friends would want to meet up at Pizza Luce on a Friday or Saturday night and it was frustrating to know they had the capabilities and a menu but it wasn't the "right day." Although now that I'm pregnant we don't go Downtown often. Nate will just have to convince me that I'm craving Luce.

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!