Gluten free in Denver

I recently had the opportunity to vacation in Denver Colorado. It was my first vacation where I didn’t have access to a kitchen where I could designate a gluten free section and manage my own food. Needless to say that made me nervous.

If you’ve been to Denver recently or live there, you probably know that I had nothing to fear! I ate like a gluten free queen!

The Mercury Cafe had an nearly an entire menu that could be made gluten free. Not to mention dancing! I shouldn’t have eaten Elk Bean and Cheese Enchilada’s before a night of east coast swing but it was worth it! We loved our waitress who was also great entertainment. What a fantastic dancer! She was cute. We tipped her well.

Denver’s gluten free treasures had only begun that night. The next day for lunch, my friend took me to Udi’s, a bakery with a dedicated gluten free facility. Woo HOO! I ate a huge sandwich on bread that was to die for. It was so exciting I took a picture.

The fries are made in a dedicated vat and everything tasted amazing! Going gluten free only cost an addition $1. Not bad especially after you’ve taken a bite. Udi’s is a must if you are in Denver.

For the grand finale we ate chinese at PF Changs who, since my glutening experience, have been forgiven. I talked with the manager and have seen all the precautions they take in assuring their gluten free guests are safe and can confidently say, they are one of the few places I trust implicitly. NOW.

The trick is, look for your food to be served on round plates with the PF Changs label. I got glutened by eating an appetizer on the plain square plate, which the server neglected to recognize. Purely human error.

Now I ask a lot of questions and am never afraid to say, “How do I know this is gluten free?” or “This is something I’ve never seen before, what’s the breading on the chicken?” That “breading”, by the way, is potato starch.

Have you been to any great gluten free digs lately?

Some more sneaky sources of gluten

There are a few things that I occasionally still forget that contain gluten. Mostly its because they are things I don’t usually eat but at a grad party this week I encountered them and thought I’d share.

Imitation Crab – sushi rolls on an hors d’oeuvres tray peaked my interest but thankfully my sister remembered about the crab.

Soy sauce – this one doesn’t usually sneak up on me but you’d be surprised how often, rice that looks like plain white rice is cooked in small amounts of soy sauce.

Crumbs – I just about cut open a watermelon on a counter that someone before me cut bread on. I didn’t realize it at first and was surprised how many crumbs came up  on the dishcloth!

Be safe out there kids…

Want another cheesy idea?

Or… how to make a grown up rice cake lunch.

Without bread, I find it amazingly difficult to come up with things for lunch. Rice cakes are one of my quick solutions to that problem. If you get tuna in the bag package, this lunch can be easily eaten on the go. Yay!

What you’ll need…

• tuna
• gluten free rice cakes
• cheese slices
• cilantro (if desired)

The drier the tuna the better because those rice cakes will desintigrate with the smallest amount of water. If you want to amp it up a bit, sprinkle red pepper flakes or paprika on top.

The cilantro and pepper flakes make this lunch all grown up! I bet this is pretty healthy too for anyone counting calories.

Best way to make pizza rice cakes.

One of the hardest things for me is coming up with lunches that are simple, fast, kid pleasers. Simple and fast rarely goes along with gluten free. Not only that but the words cheap or inexpensive are almost a joke. But I’ve got no choice. With three boys and myself all eating gluten free, budget wise is a must!

Here is one of our simple meals using regular groceries (not specialty) that also saves precious time during the middle of our school day.

It doesn’t seem that there should be a science to making rice cake pizza’s but by trial and error I have come up with some helpful tips.

One – NEVER EVER put the sauce directly on the rice cake. Unless of course you like soggy food. Experience has taught me that the sauce can melt a hole right throught the middle and cause quite an interesting anomoly. Donut shaped pizza!

Two – Don’t ever let the boys make their own pizza rice cakes using cheese sticks! If you haven’t ever tried to microwave a cheese stick I am here to tell you, do not attempt!

Three – Well, I guess there isn’t a three. So here is a lovely picture of one of the Thinglets’ favorite lunch meals. Enjoy!

Borrowed Breakfast Idea – Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole

Here is another delicious borrowed meal. A Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole complete with fresh pork sausage from the hogs we raised last year! Mmmmm!

Brian at Fire and Salt comes up with some of the heartiest, tastiest gluten free meals you’ve ever had. Not to mention he has tons of great desserts!

My husband took this to a staff breakfast and it was a hit! Sorry I didn’t get a picture, it was devoured before I could find my camera!

Borrowed Dinner Idea – Mexican Hamburger and Potato Casserole

At Linda’s “What can I eat that’s gluten free carnival”  I spotted a recipe that is just right for our large family.

I’d like to share it with you so check out Gluten Free Greenie’s Mexican Hamburger and Potato Casserole.

I’m adding a new category on the side to show linked recipes because my ideas are by no means the end all and be all.

For great recipes from other bloggers click the category XYZ Blog Friends’ Recipes

One of the easiest meals I can come up with.

Most days I just need a no brainer when it comes to feeding myself. The Thinglet’s “go to” power meal is rice cakes and peanut butter. How is it that kids can eat PB&J until it comes out their ears and not get sick of it?

When you need something decent and have only about 10 minutes to prepare you can cook this easy, naturally gluten, milk, nut, egg and soy free meal in a snap. Even I can do it!

Steam some brown rice. Costco has a package of precooked organic brown rice that has a sweet (not earthy and dry) flavor. It is a little spendy for rice but a great quick lunch especially if you need something gluten free to take to work.

Cut up one large chicken breast, toss in balsalmic vinagrette (always double check ingredients with dressings) and cook in a skillet over medium high heat until done. Serve with the rice and a bit of cilantro. Wa-la!

For an on the go meal, refrigerate or freeze the bite size chicken in meal portions and grab the Costco rice bowls to go.

Health-ier banana split – breakfast treat

allergy free, biggest looser, food, gluten free, breakfast, banana split

Here is a yummy and somewhat healthy breakfast treat that a friend introduced me to from the Biggest Loser Club.

Biggest Loser or not, we all enjoyed it as you can see!

You need bananas, yogurt, chocolate syrup and nuts (if desired) and/or granola (for a NON-gluten free version). I left the nuts and granola out due to food allergies.

Chex Snack – puppy chow

My thinglets love this snack. With Chex now gluten free, it ‘s great to whip up when the sweet tooth hits. I snuck a batch last night after the thinglets went to bed so I didn’t have to share! Evil MOM

Here is the original recipe from the Chex site.

What is your favorite 15 minute, gluten free snack. Healthy is great or not so healthy works for me too!

Best Gluten Free Cookies Review and Pictures!

Gluten free/ allergen free sugar cookies, oreo imposters and the pictures to prove it!

It’s cookie time and I finally have access to the pictures on my rogue computer.  

The Big Batch Gluten Free Sugar Cookies at Karen Joy’s blog Only Sometimes Clever are my all time favorite. 

They cook up just like regular cookies and tricked even my “cookie connoisseur” dad who does not eat allergen free.

The boys had a blast decorating loads and loads of sugar cookies.  Too bad I can’t mail them to everyone but surely they will all be eaten before the week is out.  I might have to make them again when the inlaws come.

Another recipe I came across recently that was to die for are these Gluten Free Homemade ”Oreo’s”  by Kate Chan at Gluten Free Gobsmacked. 

My husband remarked while eating one of these, “The only thing wrong is they are better than the original!”  Haha!

The only thing I did differently is leave the cookies to fluff up instead of squashing them flat so they would be more authentic. I just couldn’t help it.  They were such an incredible texture, chewy and delicious.  But if you desire you can make the cookies thin and let them sit on the counter to dry slightly for a perfect oreo replica.

Please visit Linda’s  “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free” and don’t forget to check out the other great recipes this week!