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Gluten Free Santa Barbara Support Group

7 Sep

Since I have moved back to Santa Barbara about a year ago, I have noticed so much progress for those who have to eat gluten-free. However, one thing still missing is a place for those who are GF to come together for information, guidance and support as you or your loved ones navigate a life without gluten. I am excited to announce that one of our local dieticians at Cottage Hospital and myself are starting such a group to be used as a resource for our community. There will be more information coming your way, but for now, mark your calendars. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, October 3rd at 5:30 PM at Cottage Hospital. If you are interested in updates regarding this group, please visit https://www.facebook.com/gfsantabarbara and like us! Please also RSVP for our event so that we can ensure that there are enough GF goodies to go around!

Have a fantastic Friday!

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Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba

7 Sep

When we sat down to eat at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Chicago, I was given a gluten-free menu. It turns out that this restaurant is part of the Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant Group, just like Mity Nice. Is this a gluten-free friendly company or what? I started with the Summer Market Vegetable Salad.

I loved that there were beets in this salad. It was lightly dressed with lemon and olive oil. I then had the fried green peppers and coarse salt.

Our waiter assured me that these were made in a pan to avoid cross contamination in their typical frying oil. The last thing I ordered was the shrimp with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes.

I loved the fact that there was so much garlic and oil in this dish. I made sure to put it all to good use with the gluten-free bread that I was given!

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Lou Malnati’s

7 Sep

Get a good look at that deliciousness. When I hear “Chicago”, I think deep dish pizza. Then I remember that as a Celiac, it is unlikely that I will get a taste of that goodness. We visited Lou Malnati’s while in Chicago, and saw that they have a gluten-free option! Instead of a flour based crust, they use sausage! I really enjoyed the bulk of the pizza with the thin layer of sausage and then heaps of cheese and sauce. The edges were a little too much for me though with tons of sausage.

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Riccardo Trattoria

6 Sep

The first night we were there, we dined at Riccardo Trattoria with my cousin and her soon-to-be husband. The brother of the owner used to own a restaurant in NYC that we always went to, so we were excited to try this place. I called ahead of time to let the know that I was coming and to ensure that they would have GF pasta on hand. We all shared a couple of dishes to start. The first was the Fava Beans with black truffles and Tuscan pecorino cheese. We then had the Eggplant and Zucchini Timbale au gratin Parmigiana.

After our waiter assured me that there were no breadcrumbs in the preparation of this dish, I dug in. I am such a sucker for dishes that are gooey and cheesy. I then had the arugula salad which was prepared with artichokes and shaved Parmesan.

This was simple and light with a lemon vinaigrette. For my main dish, I had their special pasta dish which had lobster meat in a spicy tomato based sauce.

The flavor on this dish was so wonderful. Our first dinner in Chicago was a success!

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Mity Nice

5 Sep

For the past few days, my husband and I were visiting family and friends in Chicago and exploring all that the city had to offer. I was so excited by all of the great GF options that we came across. Our first meal there was at a restaurant called Mity Nice. It was located in Water Tower Place alongside the most amazing looking “food court” as another option for dining. The food court was known as foodlife and had different stations that clearly labeled “G” for the GF items. As soon as I started explaining my needs to our waiter at Mity Nice, he brought me over a GF menu. He then brought us a basket of their bread which happened to be GF. In this basket were the tastiest popovers still warm from the oven. Seriously… how can we get these popovers to Santa Barbara ASAP?! I ended up ordering the grilled chicken sandwich which came with lettuce, tomato and a chipotle mayo.

Served on a GF bun, this chicken sandwich was quite satisfying. Our whole experience at Mity Nice was really great.

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Flavor of India

1 Sep

We were in the mood for Indian food, so we decided to try Flavor or India. I started with a salad that came with raita dressing. We then shared a few dishes. The first was the Benghan Bharta.

This eggplant was cooked with onions, tomatoes and fresh spices. I asked for it spicy which added a lot of heat to the dish. We also split the Saag Paneer.

This was fresh spinach cooked with homemade cheese and seasoned with aromatic herbs. To diffuse the spiciness, we also ordered the Pilao Rice.

This basmati rice was mixed with peas and seasoned with turmeric. I found it easy to dine here. Our waiter was familiar with what I could and could not have.

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New Grill = Burger Night

29 Aug

Today was a big day for us since we bought our first grill! We clearly had to break it in, so we took a night off from dining out and fired it up. We made veggie burgers using the Sunshine SouthWest Burgers. The buns were Udi’s Hamburger Buns. After seasoning the corn with some salt and cilantro, we put that on the grill too. I had a New Planet 3R Raspberry Ale to wash it all down. If you have any good, EASY recipes to use on the grill, throw them my way!

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Product Review: Chia/Vie

27 Aug

This week, I was sent a bottle of Chia/Vie to try. This is a new addition to the bottled smoothie market with the added benefit of being packed with ground chia seeds. I wasn’t too familiar with the benefits of chia seeds so I did a little googling. Apparently they are packed with fiber, omega fatty acids, calcium, antioxidants and protein. Additionally, they are known to curb your appetite, making it the perfect snack! So on to this smoothie… it was very comparable to other packaged smoothies taste wise. However, it was much more drinkable then other drinks with whole chia seeds as it was much smoother. I can definitely see myself drinking this as a breakfast-on-the-go or as a midday snack! Want to try Chia/Vie and live in the Santa Barbara area? They are available at Lazy Acres and Whole Foods!

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Feel Good Foods Popup Brunch

25 Aug

While we lived on the East Coast, we always made sure to visit Friedman’s in NYC. They always had the best gluten-free brunch items. When the owners sold the restaurant to focus on their gluten-free company, Feel Good Foods, we knew their products would be amazing (and they are!). This weekend, the team behind Feel Good Foods held a popup gluten-free brunch in Los Angeles. It was absolutely worth the drive. We started by sharing an order of the fried green tomatoes.

I can’t remember ever having these (pre -diagnosis), but I definitely should have. I was surprised by how flavorful the breading was. For my main dish, I had the fried chicken with cheddar waffles.

The chicken was so crispy and yummy that I would have ordered a second portion of this had it not been so filling. The consistency of the waffle was great as well. The hubs ordered the blueberry pancakes which I helped myself to.

These were nice and fluffy, which isn’t always the case with gluten-free pancakes. I attempted to order a gluten-free biscuit but they had sold out of them for the day. If you are within driving distance of Los Angeles, try to book a table for tomorrow’s brunch… you won’t be disappointed!

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Tinkuy Buffet Restaurant at Machu Picchu, Peru

22 Aug

During our two days at Machu Picchu, we had lunch at the Tinkuy Buffet Restaurant which was located at the Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel at Machu Picchu. As a celiac, when I see the word buffet, I usually run in the other direction. However, at this one, there was a sign greeting me.

After presenting our spanish travel GF cards, a manager showed us what we could and couldn’t have. When we saw that we couldn’t have the salad, he told us that they would prepare fresh ones for us.

I loved the fresh slices of avocado that came with this. I also put together a small plate of items from the buffet that I was able to have.

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