If you’re in Northern California, there’s a sweet new addition that needs to be added to your Passover this year- Flourless (and GF!) Fudgy Cupcakes from Kara’s Cupcakes.

This cupcake is available all month long at any of Kara’s shops, or by order online for pickup or delivery. It is made with Scharffen Berger cocoa powder and sprinkled with C&H confectioners sugar and a festive blue fondant Star of David.

The texture and taste of the Flourless Cupcake is spot on, incredibly moist, light (for a GF cupcake as we all know they tend to be more dense) and a great chocolatey flavor without being overly sweet or overly chocolately. These make a great addition to any Passover dinner, or even as just a treat for any day. Click to continue reading »

I’m getting excited about cooking (and eating) at Passover because of all the new products in the local grocery store. This year there is gluten-free panko, gluten-free matzo, matzo crackers, matzo meal and a variety of dessert mixes.

This is a big deal. When I first went gluten free, Passover was a difficult holiday to deal with. The menu all contains matzo and therefore gluten. There’s gluten in the matzo ball soup, the kugel, the gefilte fish, the brisket, and the dessert. We don’t eat bread or certain grains at this holiday but the items I mentioned above are all made with matzo or gluten. Click to continue reading »

Paris in the springtime. Who can resist? Who can resist Paris anytime of the year, actually?!

In a city known for its pastries, Noglu is a gem, conveniently located in the 2^nd. Click to continue reading »

I just got a new blender and as much as I’d love to make a smoothie before I head out the door for work each morning, it’s not going to happen. The mere act of pulling out the blender and all its components in the morning is more than most of us have time to do.

Now, instead of grabbing my standard yogurt and granola as I head out the door there’s a new option –grabbing a Rush Bowl.

Rush Bowls are individually packaged cups of frozen, blended fruit with a packet of gluten-free Udi’s granola included on the side. They manufacturer doesn’t use any artificial sweeteners, additives or preservatives and the bowls are non-GMO. Flavors include options that are vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and certified gluten-free. They come in three sizes: 12 oz meals, 4 oz snacks or 4 oz naked (without granola) in a variety of fruit blends. Click to continue reading »

Next up for our gluten-free airport series is one of the busiest airports in the US: JFK in the New York City Metro area.

French Meadow Bakery Café (Terminal 2) – French Meadow Bakery is a Minneapolis-based bakery and restaurant, known best for their vegan and gluten-free foods. In Terminal 2 they have a coffee-shop-style quick service station that serves up organic, healthy, quick meals for great prices, even if they don’t have a large selection. The bakery has gluten-free Italian Rolls, Tortillas, Sandwich Bread, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Pizza Crust and Multi-grain Bread that they use to make to-go sandwiches and wraps. They often have gluten-free brownies, cupcakes or cookies available as well. There’s a substantial breakfast menu for early morning flyers. According to their website, “all of our gluten-free products are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group.” Click to continue reading »

Is it just me or is it getting easier to eat gluten free away from home? When I went gluten-free I’d pour over menus and ingredients at restaurants trying to determine what was in there. I’d explain that I couldn’t eat the croutons because I’m gluten free and they’d say, ‘great’ then offer me cookies for dessert. Clearly clueless.

Lately, though, that seems to be changing. Now I can ask for a gluten free menu and the staff is educated enough to inquire about how sensitive I am. I had a conversation with the host at McCormick and Schmick’s in Illinois about which items on their gluten free menu were below the 20 PPM as designated by the FDA. I’ve had the chef come out from the kitchen to tell me (unsolicited) that the soup should be avoided because it started with a roux. I learned that butter cream frosting at a bakery that my family likes is gluten free but only for certain flavors. Click to continue reading »

Let’s just tell it like it is – it’s not every day that a few bottles of vodka show up at the office, albeit sugar-free, gluten-free ones. So while reviewing these tall pretty bottles of beverage is a definite hardship on me, I’m going to do it for you.

Of course celiacs safely drinking vodka, in and of itself, is controversial. Many experts, including the National Institutes for Health, claim that the distilling process that creates vodka from gluten-containing grains renders it gluten-free. That’s up to you to decide for yourself. Click to continue reading »

Welcome to the 2014 Best of Gluten-Free Awards! Voting begins today and continues through the end of April so please cast your votes now!

As mentioned before, we have 17 great gluten-free categories this year and the nominees in each category are below. Hopefully your favorites have been nominated and if not, please feel free to write them in. If we see that a certain product is getting over 5% of the write-in votes, we will give them their own nominee listing in the survey.

Click to continue reading »

Traveling on a gluten-free diet is a lot easier now that restaurants have been amending their menus. As mentioned in my previous article, this is the first in a series of options currently available in the most frequented US airports. First up: SFO.  Click to continue reading »

In the midst of Spring Break and convention season, airports become an unavoidable obstacle for many gluten-free eaters. Even with the advancements that airlines are making, airports have always been a hub for food that comes in a wrap, between slices of bread or with another form of the looming danger of cross contamination. Click to continue reading »