Still talking about pizza...

I've finally found a frozen crust that the whole family likes.  I bought it at Save On but have also seen it at Superstore.  It's a Flax Crust that has a flat-bread/pita like vibe,  made by O'Dough's.

It's pretty good value for your dollar as far as gluten free fare goes.  Under $10 gets you 4 individually wrapped crusts and 4 packets of pizza sauce!  Easy to make for one person or a small crowd.  And the flax thing makes me feel like I'm being healthy.

Pizza

I'm on a quest to find decent tasting gluten free pizza.  The crust really does make all the difference. 

I've tried frozen crusts to which we add our own toppings.  Judy G's are just ok, and are Egg free so my little guy can have them.  Udi's are a little better - thin and crispy, which I like.

I tried the Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix which is supposed to be "the best" gluten free pizza mix, but no one in our family liked it.    I found a mix at Home Sense made by Gallo Lea that I plan to try next time the craving strikes. I will update with the results.

As for eating out/delivery we have tried:

Boston Pizza - sweet, doughy, bread-like crust.  Not my favorite. $8.89 for an 8" pizza.

Panago - square crust, not as thick as Boston Pizza, but chewy.  Not bad.  Medium Size only, $4 extra (so $14 for a medium pepperoni)

Pizza Delight (Fort Saskatchewan) - thin crispy crust, fresh toppings and they have a good selection of other GF items on their menu including Garlic Cheese Fingers (you can add bacon!)  They came in 10" size but I can't remember the cost.

Pizza 73 - we tried this last night and it was decent.  The crust is round, thin, and crispy.  Comes in cheese, pepperoni, hawaiian, vegetarian.  I ordered online and it was delivered 20 minutes later, fresh and hot. $9.99 - $10.99 for a 10".

I am optimistic more restaurants will begin putting out GF pizza's, and I can only hope the recipes will get better over time!

Has anyone come across GF pita shells?  We used to love making homemade pita pizza's for lunches but I've yet to see GF pita's.

What's for breakfast?

We love breakfast in our house.  Our 5 year old son is ready to eat the second he rolls out of bed in the morning. In fact some mornings I wake up to find him on the couch with a bowl of cereal and the TV on.

Eating gluten-free can really limit your breakfast options.  Suddenly the old stand-by's of toast, cereal, waffles, pancakes, etc. all got a little more complicated.

Our 6 year old daughter loves waffles.  In the old days before GF we would buy Eggo's, or I would make waffles/pancakes from scratch on the weekend and throw the extras in the freezer to reheat for weekday breakfasts.  Sadly to date I have not found a GF waffle/pancake mix that I really like (nor have I come up with a decent recipe - I will keep searching).   In the meantime, our favorite GF substitute is Van's Original Waffles.  I used to buy them for our Son as they are Egg-Free/Dairy-Free as well, but now the whole family enjoys them.  I stock up on them at Save-On Foods when they go on sale.

I recently bought a package of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix .  I haven't tried making pancakes from it yet, but I did make some drop biscuits which are very yummy with jam on them.   Just add milk and shortening (I subbed in butter for the shortening as that's what I had on hand). 

Our Son is a cereal man - he will eat it for breakfast, snacks (and lunch and dinner if we let him).  His current GF favorite is Nature's Path Gorilla Munch.  They are a better version of Corn Pops.

My Husband told me "If you are going to blog about something, blog about Bakery on Main Granola.".  So far it's the only GF cereal that he's really enjoyed.  We've tried the Apple Raisin Walnut and the Nutty Cranberry Maple flavours.    I find it a bit rich so instead of eating it by the bowlful,  I sprinkle it on a yogurt/fruit parfait.

I seem to crave protein in the morning, so I might have a waffle or a piece of toast, but it has to have peanut butter on it, or yogurt/cheese on the side.  I do like eggs but can't be bothered to make them on a weekday morning.  I'm too rushed trying to get the kids to school on time.  A lot of mornings I just nibble on some fruit and cheese while packing the kids lunches.

One thing we all enjoy is a breakfast smoothie.  My standard recipe is 1 cup of frozen fruit, 1 cup of fruit juice, 1/2 a cup of yogurt and a splash of milk to thin it out if needed.  I often add vanilla protein powder to mine to make it a meal.

What is your go-to breakfast?

The Sawmill

I was craving a steak something fierce last week so we headed out for a family dinner.  I normally would choose Original Joe's if it was just the Hubby and I, but because we were taking the kids with us we headed to The Sawmill.

The nice thing about The Sawmill is that they are well-staffed, the servers seem knowledgeable and they clearly label the menu items that are "Gluten Friendly".  Here is a link to their dinner menu.

The restaurant was as busy as I've ever seen it on a weeknight, so our server was kept hopping.   We ordered prime rib and fries for the kids to share and the hubby and I each got a steak.  I had a baked potato and green beans with mine and the hubby had green beans and a spinach salad. 

The server brought out the kids prime rib without the fries because they had to oven-bake them to ensure they were gluten free and I guess that took longer than expected.  When they did finally arrive they were delicious but by then the kids had cleaned their plates and complained a bit about being hungry and having to wait for the rest of their food.

The server forgot to bring the toppings for my baked potato and it took awhile to flag her down.  By the time she got back I was done the rest of my meal.  The steak was perfectly cooked but I wish I could have eaten my potato with it instead of after it.

My Hubby is doing The Game On Diet with some friends and therefore is not eating processed meats. He ordered his spinach salad without bacon, but it was sent out with bacon anyways.  The kids were happy to eat it for him.

For dessert the kids each had a bowl of ice cream and the Hubby and I shared the Gluten Free Very Berry Cheesecake which was very berry good.

All in all, the food was delicious, and ordering gluten free was easy, even if all our food didn't arrive at once. 

Any recommendations for other Gluten Friendly restaurants we should try?  

Costco carries gluten free products

I have a love/hate relationship with Costco.  If I can get there on a quiet weekday with my hubby, it's heaven!    If I am forced to go on a busy weekend it's pretty much my definition of hell.   I hate crowds and people that leave their carts in the middle of the aisle while they browse.  I hate that I fall in love with a new product and then Costco stops carrying it.

For the most part though, Costco has some rocking good deals and they (sometimes) carry a nice variety of gluten-free products. Some you won't see anywhere else, and some are just a much better deal than buying them elsewhere.

My most recent gluten free purchases:

Crunchmaster Gluten Free Crackers
I have bought them in the small bags at Save On/Sobeys for around $3-$3.50/bag.  I recently bought the club size at Costco for a little under $7 and its probably equal to about 6 of the normal bags!  I love these crackers dipped in herb and garlic cream cheese.

Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips
I used to buy these before long before our family went gluten-free.  They are delicious!  We use them for making nachos or dipping in salsa (Newman's Own Mango is my fav).  $6 for a very large bag. Great deal.

Mrs. Mays Almond Crunch Bars
I find it hard to find gluten-free snack bars that taste good and don't break the bank.  These are a fairly new product that I have not seen anywhere else.  They come in a bulk pack of 3 different flavors.  I can't remember the price.  These bars are crunchy, filling and all the flavors are delicious.  They are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and kosher.

Suzie's Whole Grain Thin Cakes
I pack these in the kids lunches, we eat them for breakfast with peanut butter on them.  Yummy thin brown rice/quinoa/flax cakes.    I haven't seen them sold in Sobeys or Save On.

Silver Hills Gluten Free Omega Flax Bread
I will admit that I did not love this bread.  I have been spoiled by Udi's.  This bread is very dense and nutty tasting.  However, my son is egg allergic and can't eat Udi's products because of this.  He will eat this bread toasted with butter/cinnamon sugar or jam on it.  It comes in a package of 2 loaves for around $7.  Much cheaper than buying gluten free bread at your typical supermarket.


I really hope that Costco will continue to carry more and more gluten free options.  As we know eating gluten-free is quite expensive and anytime we can find quality products at a discount, that is a very good thing!

Boston Pizza

Eating healthy can be a challenge.  Eating gluten-free even more so.  It takes, time, energy and a lot of careful planning.  Some days you might just want to throw it all out the window.  Today I'm having one of those days.  My husband is not home for dinner tonight.  I'm not feeling well.  My daughter came home from school sick so I didn't make it to the grocery store.   My son is being a bit whiny.  I'm not in the mood to cook.  So, I stood in the kitchen and stared at the fridge and pantry hoping a meal idea would pop into my head.......

Nada....

So I ordered from Boston Pizza.  We've tried their gluten free pizza before and we don't really love it.  In a pinch it is edible.  I think the crust is too thick and every time we order it it seems to get a bit burnt around the edges.  We ordered some anyways.  Beggers can't be choosers.

This time I also ordered the gluten-wise pasta (fusilli with pomodoro sauce).  I ordered cheese baked on top and a side of grilled chicken breast.  The pasta was good!  Really good actually.  I will definitely order this again.  The downsides: the chicken breast was burnt and they sent a side of garlic toast (which I am positive is not gluten-free).

All in all we are fed with minimal effort and dirty dishes and there are even leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Don't forget Boston Pizza's disclaimer: *All of our GlutenWise items are prepared with gluten-free ingredients.  However, due to the open nature of our kitchens, where gluten is present, and the hand-made preparation of our recipes, cross contamination can occur.

Can anyone recommend a better gluten free pizza delivery?  I think we'll try Pizza 73 next time we're in a pinch.

Dining Out - Press'd The Sandwich Company

Sherwood Park has a new Sandwich shop at Emerald Hills Centre (#510, 5000 Emerald Drive).  It's called Press'd The Sandwich Company.

I am extremely impressed with the variety on their Gluten Free Menu and they made some really tasty sandwiches and salads.   They use a parchment paper around the sandwich to protect it from cross contamination when they put it on the press. 

Gluten free bread tends to come in smaller slices so the "half" size is actually 2 full slices of gluten free bread (Kinnickkinnick) and the "full" size is 4 full slices of gluten free bread equalling 2 small sandwiches.
 
I personally love the Club Press'd (Black Forest Ham, Smoked Turkey, Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo).  My daughter says the kids Grilled Cheese is the "best ever". 

The owner and staff are very accommodating.  My picky son (who has outgrown a dairy allergy but doesn't really like cheese)  gets ham instead of cheese on his "grilled cheese".

It's fresh, hot and a great place to stop if hunger strikes while out shopping!