TODAY @ 4pm - FDA Speaks to YOU on Gluten Free Food Labeling

Gotta love Blogger sometimes, the copy/paste function isn't working out well for me... Let's try this again!!!

TODAY, at 4pm, FDA is having an announcement regarding the proposed rule on gluten-free labeling of foods

WHO:

• Michael R. Taylor, J.D., Deputy Commissioner for Foods, FDA
• Michael M. Landa, J.D., Acting Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA

HOW: 

• The teleconference will be held Tuesday, August 2, 2011 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET. The toll-free number is 800-369-1976 (inside the United States) and 312-470-7298 (international). The password is CFSAN.

A replay will be available one hour after the teleconference ends until September 2, 2011. To hear the replay, callers can dial 866-415-8391.  International callers will need to dial 203-369-0700.

Mini Pops - Gluten Free With NO HULLS!!

Mini Pops was kind enough to send me samples of their product to try. For those of you, like me, that hadn't heard of Mini Pops, no, its not popcorn, its popped sorghum!

Mini Pops has a column on its bags dedicated to educating its customers about what Sorghum is! If you can't read below, sorghum is the 5th most harvested cereal grain on the globe. In the USA, over 8 million acres of land is devoted to sorghum farming which happens to require far less water to grow than corn.

Paquitos - Tasty Gluten Free Mexican Food in North Miami Beach

Paquitos, authentic Mexican food exists in North Miami Beach.  I've been craving delicious nachos for some time, and have no time or energy to make anything myself lately... hence the reason for this blog - and the many gluten free accommodating restaurants I've found and love to share with you.

Pizza Fusion - Now on South Beach!!

Pizza Fusion FINALLY made its way to South Beach!!!!  I'm a HUGE Pizza Fusion fan, and was definitely depressed to learn of the closing of the North Miami Beach location - so I'm thrilled to know Pizza Fusion is now in my back yard!  Best of all - they have NEW menu items!!! 

Zuma - Miami's Upscale, Gluten Free Accommodating & Delicious Cuisine

Zuma, a modern Japanese cuisine style restaurant is your place if you're in need of an exquisite dinning experience (warning, it is pricey so make it a special occasion!).  Zuma is already in London, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Dubai, and has now blessed Miami with its presence. Zuma is inspired by the informal Japanese dinning style called izakaya.  

Let me set up my Zuma experience for you.  We called ahead, as I typically try to do when dinning in a new place - to make sure I'll have some options with my gluten free diet.  They were honest and told us weekdays are much better for accommodations then weekends, when they are slammed.  It's a perfect date night place, so my personal chef and I decided to go for our date night, i.e., Monday night (have to have something to look forward to on dreaded Monday's).  

Miami Beach's BEST Gluten Free Steakhouse

Red the Steakhouse is home to one of my favorite filets.  The certified Angus beef prime and perfectly seasoned beef make for one the best filets. If you're a meat eater like I am, you've had a good steak before, but, there's just that extra umph with Red that takes it to that next level, its not just a good steak, its orgasmic.

Thankfully steak and potatoes are great for my gluten free self!  My last trip to Red, I had the special side of the day, sweet corn.  I love corn and eat it often, but, never thought of gourmet corn until trying Red's.

It's smothered in butter, and deliciously creamy.  I'm ready for another!

The mashed potatoes ($8.90) are a staple side for us as well, creamy, rich, tasty, buttery and soo yummy.

Next up, the best part of the meal, the 8 oz. filet ($39).  I've been to Red at least 5 times, and the filet is always consistent.  You can taste the fact that its plain and simply great quality meat, and perfectly seasoned on the outside.  Add perfectly cooked and you have yourself a perfect steak!

THUMBS UP FOR RED!

Popcorners! A Healthy, Tasty Gluten Free Snack

Popcorners, all natural, and all gluten free! I've recently found these delicious treats, and must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. As you know, finding delicious gluten free snacks can be a difficult feat. Popcorners comes in 5 flavors, white cheddar, kettle, butter, sea salt, and cheesy jalapeno. Thus far, I've tried the kettle and sea salt and do love them both. I was thrilled to receive Popcorners as an option on a Jet Blue flight, and am equally excited to see that AM theatre's is now offering a healthy snack option, including Popcorners, a bottle of water, a trail mix bar and fruit chips.

As you'll notice, every package notes that it's Gluten Free right on the front of the bag!

It's like a popcorn and a chip united and a popcorner was born. It's like no other chip you've tried. Closest to a corn chip, but, so much tastier.

Addictive, and thankfully, healthier than alternative chips. Try them and let me know what you think!

THUMBS UP for POPCORNERS!!!!

BITE Allergy Friendly Bakery on Miami Beach Continues to Impress!

SAD SAD NEWS.  BITE IS NOW CLOSED, and MARIE IS NOT WORKING FROM HOME...  Keeping this post up for us as a real reminder... When we have AWESOME stores dedicated to making our lives with food allergies better, we NEED to support them!!!!


As an alternative, check out Bunnie Cakes - my post for them is here. 
....

I rarely, if ever, write about the same place twice... But, this is deserved. I continue to be overly impressed with BITE (click to see my first post), where every person with an allergy deserves a bite of some delicious dessert! For those of you challah lovers, BITE now makes delicious gluten free oat challah every Friday, as well as all sorts of amazing pastries (last week were the BEST cinnamon rolls I've ever had (didn't even think they were gluten free!!! and neither did the NON GF folk I was nice enough to share them with)). I was lucky to try the lemon bars, and chocolate bars, both fabulous. Also worthy to note, BITE has a great selection of KATZ's gluten free products, (click on Katz's to see my favorite picks).

Jovial Gluten Free Cookies - They Will Make You Happy!

 Its always a real treat when someone asks me to try their new gluten free product.   This time, a friend sent over 3 boxes of Jovial gluten free cookies.  Fig filled, chocolate cream and vanilla cream.  I first tried the vanilla cream.  It has a crunchy chocolate outside and smooth vanilla cream filling.  The filling most reminds of a delicious frosting, like the kind you'd find on a Publix cake - only this is much lighter somehow, but, not less tasty. 

As a self diagnosed chocoholic (with all who know me in unanimous agreement), I would have thought the chocolate creme filled would have won my heart and would have been a sure win first place for me.  Surprisingly, my heart and stomach are in utter LOVE with the fig filled cookies.  They have a soft cookie outside and oh so fabulous fig filling - the filling reminded me of my fig craze, where all I'd want to do is saute figs in olive oil until they were perfectly caramelized. 

This filling is that good and the soft outside brought me memories of a fig newton, but, I never fell in love with fig newtons, these are just better.  Its a light snack - I've hid them in my office drawer, and make sure to close the door before I eat them, who wants to share? :). The chocolate cream filled are just like their vanilla cream filled counterparts - harder crunchy outside with light frosting like cream inside. 

The good news is these cookies are easily accessible on amazon.com - the link and picture of the cookies can be found below.  Let me know what you think, which is your favorite??

 HUGE THUMBS UP FOR JOVIAL!!

Cookie, Organic, Vanilla Cream, Gf, 7 oz (pack of 10 )

Best Gluten Free Crepe Ever?!?!

Sometimes you are just at the right place, at the right time! It was a girls weekend getaway - celebrating my belated birthday. We decided to head to Key West, it's close (driving distance from us in Miami) and always a good time. I was worried about food options, as it turns out, rightfully so (but, I'll get to that later)...

On Saturday afternoon we decided to get pampered, and headed to a local salon for manicures and pedicures. The prior night I was glutened at Santiago's Bodega... I told the waitress I was gluten free (reviews stated the restaurant was GF accommodating) and specifically asked about 5 menu items, I am a meat and potatoes kinda girl, and asked about the lamb chops, chicken, potatoes, etc. She came back and said all were well, she confirmed it with the chef... But, whether or not she really checked is beyond me... Bottom line, if you're gluten free, DON'T order the lamb chops... And you're better off speaking to the manager to discuss menu items before ordering...

So... after my sad experience, one friend in particular decided to make it her mission to find a GREAT gluten free restaurant for me to enjoy the next day. We were discussing restaurants and menu items at the salon, and funny enough - the woman sitting next to my friend say "Are you a Celiac"? So funny how she knew from tiny tidbits of conversation that didn't even specifically discuss gluten in any way. She went on to tell us she was the owner of French Cafe Creperie and made GLUTEN FREE CREPES!!!!! I was shocked, I've longed for crepes and put them out of my mind. She uses buckwheat flour, and has Celiac friends she's made them for, hence her deep knowledge of Celiac disease and desire to cater to the gluten free community. Needless to say, I loved her instantly. She let us know we needed to "pre-order" the gluten free crepes, so of course, we did instantly. It takes her 24 hours to prepare the gluten free crepe - so ORDER before you go!

The next morning, we anxiously head to La Creperie in Key West. It is a quaint low key restaurant with a wonderful stress free key west kinda vibe. The crepes are made in front of you, if you choose to sit at the bar, there is also other indoor, and outdoor seating. Word to the wise, BRING CASH - its a cash only restaurant - but, sooo well worth it!

Here's a sneak peak at the menu items. The owner was FANTASTIC, SOOO accommodating! She remembered us from the salon and went through the menu with me and specifically discussed which would be best pair with my gluten free crepe. She was most excited to tell us about the "red velvet" sweet crepe ($8.50). It had a raspberry chocolate ganache, fresh strawberries, scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top. (For us GF folk, we only needed to subtract the raspberry coulis - which she immediately advised me). After hearing of this delicious sweet crepe, I knew this was a must.

On to the savory crepe. The owner raved about the Ratatouille ($11.25) - which has tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, red and green peppers (thankfully both are sweet), onions, garlic, herbs and melted swiss cheese. I am not a vege lover, but, onions, herbs, cheese, and red peppers sold me. I decided to be adventurous.

I started with an expresso - a single (at least that's what it was supposed to be) - it was ginormous! In a real coffee cup, strong and delicious! No way I could have finished it. A great start though.

I shared the savory and sweet crepes. We started with the savory Ratatouille.

This gives you a good idea of the yumminess inside the crepe. For someone like me that isn't in love with veges, this was a pleasure to eat. The cheese was delightful, not a sharp swiss, a savory one. The veges were not strong, they complemented the crepe and cheese perfectly - (I even ate most of them!).

Next up, RED VELVET!! Just thinking about it makes me want a return trip.

This is my half of the crepe, it is filled with delicious chocolate, covered with strawberries and ice cream. Oh my!

Since you know I am a chocoholic, I did ask for additional chocolate to smoother the crepe with, and I was obliged easily - (after I was laughed at... but, that's ok!). There's never enough chocolate!!

I had such a delightful experience at La Creperie and hope you get to make your way down to Key West to enjoy it as well. I've never had a better crepe, and will make you the same bet, you'll be hard pressed to find a better gluten free crepe!

HUGE THUMBS UP for La Creperie!!!