This blog is normally all about living life gluten-free, but today I am going to stray a bit. Not much, though, as healthy eating has always been one of my main focuses whether it be gluten-free or not. I have been questioning for years the menus that are served by the schools to our children. I started to notice this problem when Jon was in preschool and the school made a big deal about lunches that were packed by parents. The lunches had to have the correct servings of meat, dairy, carbs, fruits & veggies, even if they came from home. I had no problems with that. My concerns started when Jon chose to start buying lunch a few days a week. Tater tots & potato chips were considered “veggies”. I was in disbelief that anyone could consider a tater tot a veggie. Not only that, but how dare the school question the quality of the food I was choosing to feed my child all while serving the types of lunches they were serving.

I noticed the trend continuing as Jon entered grade school and then Hannah later on. I always just shook my head and then chose to pack their lunches most days of the week and let them buy once a week, as a treat. I never spoke up before because I knew I was just one voice in a sea of thousands. However, after Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. I had lunch with Hannah at school yesterday (I ate before I went as I knew that eating gluten-free would be hard) and was so upset by what I saw. I decided that now was the time for a letter. Will it make any difference? I have no idea, but I will never find out if I don’t try, right? Here is the letter I sent:

To Whom it May Concern:

I had the pleasure of eating lunch with my 2nd grader at school today. I enjoyed her company, as well as the other children. However, I was appalled at the food served in the cafeteria.

Also having an 8th grade son in the district, I have questioned the menus over the years, but never bothered to speak up, until now. I have often wondered how fries, tater tots and hash browns are considered vegetables and how fruit flavored sherbet, juice bars and fruited gelatin are considered fruits. After watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I can’t keep quiet any longer. This man went on a crusade that I have been preaching in my house for years. Kudos to him for doing what he is doing. What I wonder is why aren’t more schools across the country doing this already or making changes to implement healthier food in our schools?

While eating lunch today I observed a lot. Out of my daughter’s class, one child had white milk and the rest had chocolate & strawberry. The flavored milks have more sugar than a soda! Would you serve the children a soda for lunch in school? I think not. It is no wonder these kids can’t sit still in school! It is no wonder they can’t focus. I also caught sight of some red flavored, Kool-Aid like liquid being sold in a bottle. The meal consisted of fish shaped nuggets (processed & high in sodium, no doubt), “chips”/French fries, Goldfish crackers and lime flavored sherbet. There was no fruit or veggie in that meal. In addition, children who opted for the “meat-free” version received Trix yogurt (loaded with sugar), string cheese, graham crackers & lime flavored sherbet. There was no fruit and not even what the schools classify as a veggie in that meal. Several children ate the main course (fish nuggets), left the rest & then went back for seconds of the fish nuggets. There was no supervision over the eating. Nothing besides reminders to quiet down and get silverware, napkins or ketchup for the kids.

What saddens me most about this is that a lot of this children don’t have a choice. They eat what is served to them. Either mom or dad doesn’t pack their lunch for whatever reason and the children end up depending on the school to nourish them, and I use the term “nourish” loosely. The menus show pictures of whole apples, broccoli, carrots, corn & strawberries, yet they don’t seem to be a staple on the menus. The menu states “Students must select at least three of the meal components daily, but are not required to take all five”. So, what stops a child from taking the Hot Dog, Baked beans & Frito Lay Snack or the Waffle Sticks, Sausage & Donut Hole? I didn’t see anyone checking the children’s trays. It has been reported that children often have to try a food 10 – 12 times before they like it. If a switch were to be made to healthier choices, the children may balk at first, but they will adjust and most likely be a lot healthier in the long run.

I am sure that I am not the only parent that has brought this to your attention, but on the off chance that I am, think about this: “Our mission is to facilitate maximum learning for every student”. I am not sure how the district’s mission statement can be upheld when children aren’t being offered proper nutrition in the lunchroom.

I will make sure to share any follow-ups that I receive. I am not holding my breath, but rest assured, this will not be the last time I will address this. The health of my children, the children of the US, our future teachers, doctors and leaders are at stake.

By the time this posts, I should be in the middle of running my first marathon! YAY!!! I will update later with a recap.

In the meantime, I got an email about some gluten-free sales at Amazon.com. Make sure to check them out! 25% off and more! Add in another 15% if you use the “Subscribe & Save” program and there are some great deals!

Catch ya later! 🙂

I received some frozen entrees from CedarLane to review a couple of weeks back. While I was excited to try the products, all 6 of the entrees had onions in them, so I passed them along to a friend, Lindsey to sample & review. These reviews will be in Lindsey’s words. Lindsey started her gluten-free journey just about a year ago. Here is some background on Lindsey:

“I remember my GI symptoms starting in high school. The doctors wrote this off as IBS over several years and chalked it up to me being stressed. About a year ago, my problems got exponentially worse. I found myself in the hospital 3 times with Gastroenteritis. The doctors gave me pain medicine and IV’s and I wasn’t allowed to eat solid foods for a few days until my stomach lining repaired itself. I got to the point where almost every time I ate, I was sick. I ended up trying to eat as little as possible so I could avoid the stomach pains and the other issues! In less than 3 weeks, I lost 18 pounds. I had seen my family doctor, my Ob-GYN and was then referred to a GI specialist. He too said my problems were merely stress induced and gave me some medicine to basically slow down my digestion so my body had a chance to absorb some of the nutrients in my food. Well that obviously had no effect and did nothing to help! After talking to Aaron and Megan about my symptoms, even the ugly ones :, they both recommended that I get tested for Celiac. I asked my doctor and he did a blood test which was inconclusive and sent me to a different specialist for an endoscopy and colonoscopy – ugh no fun! They found evidence of gastroenteritis but did not positively confirm Celiac as the two are apparently similar “looking” in the intestine. He did suggest trying a GF diet to just try it as it could just be an intolerance or allergy, not Celiac, especially since none of the other meds he tried had worked. So I gave it a shot (but was a little skeptical about trying something that they didn’t actually diagnose). But at this point, I could barely get up to go to work so I had to try anything I could! I was miserable.

I messed up a LOT at first but have gotten much better at grocery shopping and eating out. I have YOU to thank for that – I have learned so much from you and following your blogs and reading your Examiner articles. I don’t know where I would have even started if it weren’t for you and Aaron. Now, I have no IBS, my Iron is back to normal and I feel like absolutely, totally, 100% a new person. I actually have energy and don’t need a nap every day after work. I always felt like why am I always tired and my friends and family would have to drag me to do stuff because all I wanted to do was nap – and be within eyeshot of a bathroom! Now, I feel totally free! Even if I’m never diagnosed as Celiac, eating Gluten Free seems to be the best, healthiest decision, I’ve made.”

Garden Vegetable Enchiladas: I picked the enchiladas because when I tried the Amy’s brand, I was really grossed out by the weird smell! So I thought these might be similar…but I was pleasantly surprised. It was really good. I heated it in the microwave and it actually looked very similar to the picture on the outside (which usually doesn’t happen!). The inside was great with crunchy veggies and melted cheese. I think the part the impressed me the most is the sauce on the outside. It had a great flavor but wasn’t too strong – and it didn’t smell strong either. I’m especially impressed that the sauce was so rich & flavorful since it’s low fat!

Three Layer Enchilada Pie: This was the three layer dip. I brought in some tortilla chips and made a lunch out of it and it filled me up. This would be good for a meal or a snack. You could even put it on corn tortillas and make a little enchilada out of it. But I liked it as the dip on chips. The only thing about this that wasn’t appetizing was the overload of refried beans. I can’t usually eat a lot of them any way but I felt like there was a LOT in this. Some people may like it more than me but it seemed overpowering. The cream cheese was a really nice touch to the traditional cheeses and salsa. It was very tasty and Mexican! Just the right amount of green chiles too. Very good flavor. 🙂 I did this in the microwave and when it was done, the edges had burnt. This is the only one that really burned so much. I’m guessing putting them in the oven would be a good way to prevent that!

Egg White Omelette Spinach & Mushroom:I had this for lunch and it was really good. The best way to describe it was like spinach artichoke dip with egg whites. There was a bunch of cheese which really complimented the taste of all the spinach. They really packed it full of the “filling”. The mushrooms were good too – they had a nice texture despite being microwaved. I was super impressed with this one. I thought it would be hard to beat the enchiladas but I think this might be my favorite. I didn’t think to compare the calories but this one “felt” more healthy : Delicious – definitely one I will buy on a regular basis!!

Egg White Omelette – Turkey Bacon, Vegetable and Cheese: I was not super impressed with this meal. The bell peppers were overpowering compared to everything else, and I typically like peppers. The egg whites and potatoes were very bland which would have been better if the pepper wasn’t so much. And the turkey bacon was kind of chewy/tough. I think the dish would be better either with some other flavors/veggies (or no veggies at all) just because the peppers were all that you really tasted. I didn’t even finish the whole thing – which is highly unlike me!! 🙁

Egg White Omelette – Green Chile, Cheese and Ranchero Sauce: Ok – they did MUCH better on this one. It had lots of flavor (good flavor)! The egg whites were fluffy and the filling was the perfect mix of cheese with chile and cheeses…gooey and yummy inside. The ranchero sauce was very good! Pretty similar to the enchilada I had the other day. This was like a little Mexican breakfast for lunch. There were quite a bit of chiles in there but surprisingly they weren’t overpowering. This was so much better than the turkey bacon omelette! Maybe I’m just a sucker for Mexican dishes…??

Five Layer Enchilada Pie: I liked the way they stacked up the layers – it seemed more hearty than a regular enchilada for some reason. I put a little bit of sour cream on top and loved it. The sauce tasted different than the enchiladas but I’m not sure if it was that, or the different ingredients that made it taste different. I loved the black beans and the green chiles. I’m a little leary of frozen tomatoes for some reason usually they just have no taste but these were really good and actually had some flavor. I think the only thing that wasn’t great was the tortilla got a little mushy. I think that could have been my fault for heating in the microwave though. I’m guessing if I did it in the oven, it would have baked more evenly!

Thank you Lindsey for such a wonderful & thorough review of CedarLane products! For my readers – Lindsey is a frequent taster/sampler for some of the products I receive or food that I bake or cook. Megan, who I have also mentioned in the past, also works with Lindsey & Aaron and has been gluten-free for 12+ years. I will have to see if she would like to share her story here, too. Megan also has 2 sons with Celiac Disease.

Thank you CedarLane for the products! Lindsey thoroughly enjoyed them! CedarLane products can be found by entering your zip code here. Cedar Lane is having a contest right now. Enter here to win free CedarLane food for one year for your family!

I had the pleasure of sampling 2 of French Meadow’s gluten-free products that I had not sampled previously. I love their brownies and cinnamon raisin bread, so I was really excited to try the blueberry muffins and pizza crust.

The blueberry muffins are life-changing. Seriously. I would not lie about something of this magnitude. I thought Jon was just gushing per usual when he tried a new product that he liked, but then I took a bite. I almost fell out of my chair. I could not believe how moist & fresh these muffins tasted! I got up to read the ingredients because I really did not think that these could be gluten-free. I assure you, they are, and they rock!

Now, check out the inside:

I love that there are so many blueberries in these babies! Another hit from French Meadow Bakery!

Now, the pizza crust. I loved the individual size. The package says that there are 3 servings per small pizza at 130 calories per serving – making the crust just under 400 calories. I added Prego Three Cheese (which now says “gluten-free” on the side) and mozzarella. I followed the baking instructions and it came out fantastic!

The crust comes on a foil pan, which is what you actually bake the pizza on. Very simple and quick. Jon really enjoyed the pizza & crust. I also snuck a bite and was impressed.

French Meadow is having a recipe contest! The Grand Prize is a one-year supply of French Meadow products and a $250 grocery gift card! The Runner Up prize is $100 grocery gift card. Some more details:

Send us your best gluten-free recipes featuring French Meadow Bakery Gluten-Free products for a chance to win one of many great prizes. Whatever your preference, sweet or savory, we’re looking forward to tasting your favorite recipes.

We’re searching for the best Gluten-Free recipes and need your help. Simply send us your favorite Gluten-Free dishes featuring French Meadow Gluten-Free products for a chance to win one of many great prizes.
Entries will be judged by French Meadow Bakery’s chief culinarian, Chef Mark. The contest will be judged in two categories: sweet and savory, with recipe scoring based on taste, nutritional value, ease of preparation and originality.

Click here to enter your recipe!

Thank you to Mary Eva for the complimentary samples! We really enjoyed them! We still have Italian rolls to work on next week! I will make sure to review those once I get them tested.

There was some question about the dairy status of the Light Frappaccino mix brought up in the comment section of my post on Starbuck’s the other day. To get clarification, I emailed Starbuck’s and this is the response that I received:

Hello Kimberly,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

None of our Frappuccino bases contain dairy as an ingredient. However, the Light Frappuccino Syrup base contains a milk allergen warning on the label because dairy is used as a processing aid during manufacturing. There are no dairy proteins in the Light Frappuccino Syrup base.

There is gluten in the Coffee Light Frappuccino Syrup base. There is no gluten in the Coffee Frappuccino Syrup base and the Crème Frappuccino Syrup base.

If you have any further questions or concerns that I was unable to address, please feel free to let me know.

Warm Regards,

Jennifer I.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company
800 23-LATTE (235-2883)
Monday through Friday, 5AM to 6PM (PST)

Just wanted to make sure that I pass along any information that I have.

Brace yourselves for a post full of oohing, aahhing and gushing over a product. I was sent a complimentary sample of Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels by Mambo Sprouts last week. It didn’t take Jon and I long to dig into this product.

Glutino just recently debuted Chocolate Covered & Yogurt Covered Pretzels. I found them available for purchase on glutenfreemall.com, but after paying the $5.99/bag price, the shipping is $12! I decided to bide my time and wait until they hit local stores. Mambo Sprouts surprised me and came to the rescue with a sample box of gluten-free foods, which just happened to include the chocolate covered pretzels. I used to eat yogurt & chocolate covered pretzels growing up, so this was such a nice treat.

I can’t even begin to describe how good these pretzels were! I even had family & friends sample them at our Mother’s Day function and they were a huge hit! There was no telling that these were gluten-free. The chocolate complimented the salty pretzel perfectly! Jon was a little irritated that we got into “his” pretzels. LOL! I did allow him to finish them off – that, my friends, is real love. You know, the kind of love a mother has for their child.

The only bad thing about these pretzels, aside from the price and there not being more in the bag, were that they were kind of melted together from shipping. This didn’t alter the taste one bit, or didn’t seem to.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the yogurt covered pretzels now. Perhaps $12 in shipping doesn’t seem so bad now. 😉

Have you tried the yogurt or chocolate covered pretzels? If so, where did you find them?

As mentioned in my review on Crunchmaster Crackers, I received some complimentary samples courtesy of Mambo Sprouts to review for Celiac Awareness month. Glutino Strawberry Breakfast Bars were next on my list to sample.

I had tried the breakfast bars a couple years back and was not impressed with them in the least. I think I may have had a hard time even finishing the Blueberry Breakfast Bar. However, there have been some major improvements to this bar. I was suspired when I first bit into this bar. The bar was reminiscent of a Nutri-Grain cereal bar! The outside was soft, thought not as soft as a gluten-filled cereal bar. The filling was flavorful and does not contain HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), as Nutri-Grain bars do. Jon and I fought over the remaining bars in the box. Notice I used the past tense. They are all gone 🙁 These were a huge hit! The ingredient list:

Strawberry filling (sugar, glucose, apple powder [calcium stearate], white grape juice concentrate, water, strawberries, glycerine, canola oil, citric acid, pectin, sodium citrate, fruit and vegetable extract for colour, calcium chloride, flavour), chick pea flour, corn flour, fructose, pear juice concentrate, raisin paste, inulin, canola oil, tapioca starch, white rice flour, water, cinnamon, sodium bicarbonate.

If there was a negative about these bars, it would be the price. $6.19/box of 5 bars is pricey. However, when compared to purchasing individual Lara Bars (Usually at least $1.29+/each), the cost is comparable. Each bar contains 160 calories, 3 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. Glutino Strawberry Breakfast Bars can be found in grocery stores around the US or online here.

I wasn’t going to blog about this. I was simply going to tweet, post on my FB page and move on. But, the more I think about it, the more it angers me. Starbucks removed dairy from their Frappaccino Light base mix, but then added gluten in place of it. So, it is dairy-free now, though still not considered vegan due to potential cross-contamination. I didn’t drink this specific drink before, so it is not going to affect me personally, but it will affect many others. This from a company that rolled out a gluten-free cake last year, though it was short-lived, and carries numerous gluten-free snacks. It just doesn’t make sense to me, though I am sure it makes sense to someone at Starbucks.

According to Starbucks, gluten-free customers can still order a regular frappaccino and ask for non-fat milk to make it light. However, there is potential for cross-contamination. Seems the reason for the change is to make the drinks more customizable, like other Starbuck’s drinks. There is now the option of using soy milk instead of cow’s milk. More information on the change can be found here.

I was already less than pleased with Starbucks due to them charging for wireless when most places offer it for free. As if their coffee didn’t already cost enough, please, let me pay for wireless while I am drinking my liquid gold. And, not only do you have to pay for the wireless, but if don’t have a “Starbucks card or account”, you can’t just sign up from the store. You have to do it in advance because they send a confirmation to your email, which you can’t access without wireless.

Okay, vent over. Thank you for allowing me to get that out. I will be patronizing coffee shops that care about their customers (ahem, Caribou), not chase them away.

I received a wonderful package full of gluten-free products to sample the other day courtesy of MamboSprouts. Included in this package were crackers made by Crunchmaster.

Crunchmaster Crackers are crunchy oven-baked multi-seed crackers. Unfortunately I can not eat these due to the sesame seeds, but that didn’t stop my family from sampling the crackers. I served the crackers along side of some Trader Joe’s Hummus at our Mother’s Day party on Saturday. They were a huge hit! Aaron refused to try them at first and then apparently snuck over to try them when I wasn’t looking (per my Mom – thanks Mom!). He loved them. He was quick to confiscate the unopened packages & claim them for himself. Sorry Lindsey, Aaron took your crackers. A side note – I will be introducing you all to Lindsey later this week or early next week. Lindsey works with Aaron and has been gluten-free for the past 9 -12 months. She is one of my samplers and seems to be enjoying the “job”. I did manage to take a small bite of the cracker and really wish that I could eat them! Darn sesame seed sensitivity! They reminded me of “normal” crackers. Crackers like the fancy seeded crackers that you would serve with brie or pate.

More from Crunchmaster:

Our Story

It’s a long way from the rice fields that surround Niigata along the coast of northern Japan, where the art of handcrafting, aging, baking (on open grills) and perfecting rice crackers has long been passed down from generation to generation.
At Crunchmaster, we’re committed to fusing the tradition of the East with the tempting taste sensations of the West to give you authentic, all natural snacks that not only taste great, but are better for you.
Using our exclusive, proprietary rice baking techniques, we craft our baked rice crackers in the “Usuyaki” style (that’s Japanese for thin and flat) tradition, using pure, all natural ingredients. The result? Great tasting crackers with an incredible crunch!
Crunchmaster is brought to you by your friends at TH Foods, Inc. For more information on our company, visit www.thfoods.com.

Grown for You

Our crackers are made in the USA at our baking facility in Loves Park, IL using only the highest quality ingredients.
We use only pure, GMO-free, California grown rice. The sesame seeds used in our products are grown in the U.S. with a special hybrid that was developed to fit the climate in Texas and Oklahoma. Our quinoa and amaranth seeds are sourced from the Andean region in South America. And our flax seeds are grown in the plains of the upper Midwest and Canada.
Each of these seeds are known for their unique, nutritional benefits. Quinoa is sometimes called the “mother of all grains,” since it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete food. Several studies have shown that amaranth seed, like oats, may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that among other benefits, the sesamin in sesame can lower total and LDL cholesterol and raise tocopherol levels. Flax seeds contain high levels of lignans and Omega-3 fatty acids and may help lower your cholesterol levels.

Crunchmaster Crackers come in 3 different types – multi-seed, multi-grain and rice. All 3 are certified gluten-free, cholesterol free, low in saturated fat, low sodium and all-natural. There is a $1 off coupon at the bottom left of this screen on the Crunchmaster site. To find Crunchmaster Crackers you can enter your zip code on the same site where you find the coupon or you can order from the online store.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Crunchmaster Crackers. Thank you MamboSprouts & Crunchmaster for the complimentary samples.

I was so excited to learn that Rusty Bucket was now offering a gluten-free menu!  I couldn’t wait to go in and give them a try.  I was especially excited about the 2 different gluten-free pasta dishes on the menu.

A couple of Saturdays ago, I took the kids and met up with my in-laws for dinner at RB.  I ordered the Chicken Pesto Penne and a house salad; Jon ordered buttered penne and grilled chicken and my mother-in-law ordered the Chicken Penne.  My mother-in-law doesn’t have Celiac, but chooses to eat gluten-free most of the time.  The restaurant was really busy, as it was a Saturday night.  Our salads came out incorrectly and had to be sent back, though it had nothing to do with gluten.  The food took a very long time to come out.  I snapped a few pictures and then we dove in.

The meals looked great, but they were far too salty.  After speaking with management, it was determined that the pasta water was over-salted.  Apparently the gluten-free pasta is prepared per order, while the rest of the pasta is made in advance.  After waiting so long, we opted not to have the dishes re-made, but did receive a gift card to go back another time.

We went back later the following week and the restaurant was less busy.  My mother-in-law ordered the Pesto Chicken Penne and Jon ordered his buttered penne & chicken breast again.  I got the Blackened Salmon Salad.  The food still took a while, especially considering  there were not many people there.  When we finally got our food, it was cold.  🙁  My salad was very good, and as a matter of fact, it wasn’t supposed to be piping hot, but my mother-in-law’s dish and Jon’s, too, were sent back to be re-made.  A side note – Hannah’s grilled cheese sandwich was even cold.  The regional manager was there and I was able to speak with him.  I told him that I was there to review the gluten-free menu and that I want to help get the word out so that the menu is successful.  I explained that I knew they were trying to work out some kinks and only had  the menu in place for a couple of weeks, I know they are all still getting used to it.  However, slow service is not something that has anything to do with the gluten-free menu.  Our meal was taken care of and we were given more gift cards.

Well, the third time is the charm, right?  Almost.  My Mom and I went back last night for some “girl time”.  I ordered the Blackened Salmon with roasted carrots & broccoli.  My mom ordered the Tilapia with Black Bean Salsa, broccoli & tomato/cucumber salad off of the gluten-free menu.  Our food came out steaming hot (yay!), however, my salmon was not blackened, as ordered, and my mom did not get her broccoli, as ordered.  Our server did offer to re-make my salmon, but I declined.  I wanted to enjoy my food with my mom and not wait for another meal.  The salmon was cooked perfectly and was seasoned just right.  I was very impressed with this dish.  My mom’s tilapia was also cooked perfectly & seasoned well.  The black bean salsa was amazing, as was the tomato/cucumber salad (with feta cheese).  I was a little concerned that our server didn’t seem to have a good grasp of the meaning of gluten-free.  I had asked if the black bean salsa had onions in it and she told me that nothing on the GF menu has onions, implying that onions had gluten.  I explained that onions have nothing to do with gluten (and wanted to point out that the salads on the GF menu clearly state “onions”).  She stood by her “nothing on the GF menu has onion” statement.  I left it at that.

After my three experiences at the Rusty Bucket, I have to conclude that there is still some training and fine tuning that needs to be done on the gluten-free menu and perhaps service in general.  I was told by the regional manager that the staff underwent training before the menu rolled out. (He told me for how long, but I can’t recall right now).  Clearly the server we had last night either did not attend or was confused and could benefit from more training.  The kitchen staff seems to be inconsistent even when the restaurant is not busy.  While there is a new menu in place that can add confusion, the mistakes & issues we experienced did not have anything to do with getting a gluten-filled meal instead of a gluten-free meal. It was over-salted food, cold food and food that was not made to order.

I did not write a review after my first or second experiences at Rusty Bucket because I really wanted to write a spectacular review for them.  My goal is to help spread the word about restaurants that can safely feed those of us who have to follow a gluten-free diet, not write a review like this.  Will I go back to Rusty Bucket?  Probably.  I can’t say that I would add it to my “favorites list” at this point, but I would not put it on my “never go there again” list, either.