Arizona: Gluten-Free Good Eats: Part 2

I love when I find a small, privately owed gluten-free restaurant that makes good on their promises. Cafe 8 is one such restaurant.

I went online to find a gluten-free breakfast place, I felt safe eating at in Mesa. As many of you know, that can be a difficult task. I read some great reviews about Cafe 8, so I checked out their menu. We were meeting my brother there, who does not have food restrictions, so I wanted to be sure he would also enjoy his meal. And I am glad I did, the food is excellent!! Check out the menu. 

Cafe 8 is tucked away in the corner of a strip center in Mesa, Arizona.  We got there soon after it opened, so we were able to visit with Alex and Tracey, the owners, for a while. As you might guess, I had lots of questions, and they were happy to answers them all.

They opened Cafe 8 in 2013, after moving from San Francisco.  As they were remodeling  the place, people would stop by to talk with them. They soon discovered the need for a gluten-free menu in the area. They already used organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed beef, and excellent quality food so taking the next step to including gluten-free food seemed logical. Tracey was well aware of celiac disease, as her aunt suffers from it, so she began exploring the best way to include gluten-free food in their menu.

Cafe 8: Gluten-Free Breakfast

During her research, she began to put 2 and 2 together, and realized that her young son, might also be suffering from celiac disease. He had been suffering from bully distention, brain fog and some of the classical symptoms of celiac disease. After 4 months of eating gluten-free, her son went from straight D's in school to straight A's and he physically felt much better.

Cafe 8: Gluten-Free

Tracey converted her home to a gluten-free zone and soon did the same for the restaurant. They carry regular bread but don't make it in the restaurant so that there is no cross contamination. The only flour used in the restaurant is gluten-free.

Tracey bakes all the desserts and on Saturday's she makes gluten-free and dairy-free desserts.

Cafe 8 Gluten-Free Desserts

This restaurant is a "must visit" if you are in or near Mesa,  Arizona.

Picazzo's in Arizona: Great Gluten-Free Eats

The car ride to Arizona is a continuous view of desert scenery. A stunning blue sky goes endless forward and so does the dry, arid desert. The desert is sprinkled with cactus and other burly looking growth with a few occasional mountains.  At first the view is interesting but after a few hours it becomes hypnotic, which can be a problem when you are driving.

It is the occasional oddity that makes the drive fun.

On the road to Arizona

These "ladies" traveled along side us for a few hundred miles. They must have been wearing a lot of sunscreen to stay so pale.

What made the drive even more tolerable was the knowledge that Picazzo's was awaiting our arrival.

Picazzo's: Gluten-Free and Allergen Free

We eat at Picazzo's both nights we were in Arizona, even though it was 25 minutes from our hotel.

95% of the food at the restaurant is gluten-free. They offer a  choice of gluten-free pizza crust or regular. Everything else including all the pasta is gluten-free. 

My favorite thing was the Apple Cobbler with Coconut Ice Cream - Amazing!!!!!!!

Picazzo's Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Apple Cobbler

The first night we had Spicy Thai Peanut Fusilli and  Spicy Uncle Louie Linguine,  which were both delicious. After 6 1/2 hours of driving, I was very hungry and forgot to take a photo before devouring 1/2 th plate.

The second night I had Bianca, (Linguine, Chicken and Vegan Alfredo Sauce). Richard (who eats dairy occasionally) decided to order the Baked Mac's and Cheese.  He was in heaven.

Picazzo's is always a great gluten-free oasis.

What's New at the Expo

Here are some of the headlines from the 2016 Natural Products Expo West:

New Products are on the way. 

Enjoy Life: Always Gluten-Free    
                                                         ProBurst Bars:

Enjoy Life

    Cinnamon Spice Chocolate
    Cranberry Pomegranate
       Cocoa & Roasted Sunseed Butter
       Mango Habanera
Crunchy Cookie Mini Cookies:
  Chocolate Chip
Double Chocolate
Vanilla Honey Graham
Sugar Crisp
      Soft Baked Mini Cookies:
Chocolate Chip
Double Chocolate Brownie
Snicker-doodle

Ian’s:

Ian's

Gluten-Free Organic Tempura Style Sweet Potato Sticks
Gluten-Free Organic Tempura Style Green Beans
Gluten-Free Organic Crispy Potato Puffs
Gluten-Free Ancient Grains Bread Crumbs








King Arthur: Recap

King Arthur 

King Arthur is changing its gluten-free packaging this year so be on the lookout for a blue box with bold white lettering saying. “GLUTEN-FREE”.

Gluten-Free New Products:
Measure-For-Measure Flour
Sugar Cookie Mix
Cornbread Mix
Pumpkin Bread Mix
Pie Crust Mix


Kinnikinnick:

Kinnikinnnick

Gluten-Free Soft Donuts with Vanilla Icing
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts







Snyder’s:

Snyder's Gluten Free

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Bite Size Sandwich Cookies










Pamela’s: All products are Gluten-Free

Pamela's

Nut Flour Blend
Grain-Free Pancake Mix
Buckwheat Pancake Mix
Protein Pancake Mix
Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Non-Dairy Pancake Mix
6 Grain Pancake Mix





Van’s:

Van's

Gramwich: Chocolate and Graham-Style Sandwich Bars (Gluten-Free)
Banana Bread: Chewy Baked Whole Grain Snack Bars  (Gluten-Free)







Check out ezglutenfreelife.blogspot.com for information of some of Marian’s favorite up and coming new gluten-free products.

King Arthur: New Set Of Clothes

                                                             

King Arthur's New Look

King Arthur not only had new gluten-free products at the Expo, they had a whole new look. Coming in the Summer of 2016.

The boxes for their gluten-free products will soon look that boxes in the photo. Personally, I liked the old look better but change is inevitable and as long as they haven't changed their cake and pancake recipes, I am happy. 

Unfortunately these are the only pictures of the new products I have, so let me tell  you what's new.

Gluten-Free New Products:

Top item: Measure-For-Measure  Flour

Left Top: Sugar Cookie Mix

Left Bottom: Cornbread Mix

Right Top: Pumpkin Bread Mix

Right Bottom: Pie Crust Mix

I am very excited about the Measure-For-Measure Flour, if it is as good as King Arthur's other Gluten-Free products, it could save us a lot of time using individual flours and starches.

I tried the pie crust at the Expo and I was impressed. It was light, buttery and flaky 

I look forward to trying all the new gluten-free products when they hit the stores.

BraziBites- Yum

Cameron and Junea found a way to share their favorite food memories from their homeland, Brazil and share it with us. 

Cameron and Junea Founders of BraziBites

Junea shares:    The Family Recipe

It’d been four years since I’d moved to the U.S. to be with my husband Cameron, so I called my mother in Brazil and asked for our family recipe. She was excited and quick to share the family secrets that made “the perfect cheese bread.” Cameron and I made our first batch in our home kitchen that summer.

BraziBites: Gluten-Free

My husband came with me to the Expo one day. We had been there for several hours and it was hot and crowded. He had begun to regret his decision to come see what all the fuss was about, when we stopped at the BraziBites booth. One "bite" of these amazing treats and all doubt was gone. He turned to me and said, "These made the whole day worth while."

Go to the website at Find Us to see if BraziBites are selling near you. 

BraziBites are naturally gluten-free, non-GMO , sugar-free,100% natural, no trans fat but do contain dairy. They can be found at Whole Foods, so next time you are there, give then a try.

You may have seen this product on Shark Tank last November, I know I did. 

You Can Have Your Cookie Dough and Eat It Too!

As a child, my favorite part of homemade cookies was getting to eat the raw dough. BUT then we found out that it was not safe to eat raw cookie dough and the end of cookie dough eating began.

Eating Raw Cookie Dough is  back!

Alpendough- Vegan and Gluten-Free

Alpendough has created a Gluten-Free and  Vegan (no eggs) cookie dough that tastes amazing. These cookies were by far my favorite cookies I tried at the Expo. They are soft and gooey. The flavor is fabulous and the raw cookie dough was so much fun to sample.  

I came home from the Expo feeling very good about the future of gluten-free products. There are many new and innovative companies bringing quality products to the market. 

Gluten-Free Klippy's

Every once in awhile, I meet someone that I can tell is special and a person I want to get to know. Laura Klipp, the creator of Gluten Free Klippy's, is one such person. I met Laura the 1st day of the Natural Food Products Expo West. Her booth was surrounded by people clamoring to try her delicious cookies. 

Laura Klipp

I got to talk to Laura for a few minutes.  It was while she was working as a pastry chef, at a French Restaurant, that her health started to fail. She later discovered that it was the exposure to flour (gluten) that was making her so ill. Laura's health issues and love for baking eventually led her to develop the fabulous gluten-free products that she sells. For more details about her journey, go to www.glutenfreeklippys.com

The products are certified gluten-free, made in a dedicated facility, and contain only non-GMO ingredients.  These cookies are delicious and well worth trying. 

Klippy's has 3 basic catergories:

1. Gourmet  Frozen Cookie Dough- Gluten Free

Gluten-Free Klippy's Frozen Cookie Dough

 
2. NEW - Fresh Baked Cookies: Gluten-Free, Egg Free, Vegan, Dairy-Free, and Nut-Free

   3. Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
   

Gluten-Free Klippy's All Purpose Flour

Let's show Laura that we appreciate her dedication to bringing the gluten-free world fabulous baked goods, by trying her products. 

Toosum

Toosum-GlutenFree Oatmeal Bars

I meet Peter Guyer, founder and chief executive officer of Toosum,at the Natural Products Expo West. As we talked, he asked me if I would blog about his company. I responded, "If I like your product I will." He gave us samples and off we went. Unfortunately, they contain sunflower seeds, which I am allergic to, so I had my sister's family try them out.

Well, the Toosum bars got their seal of approval and then some. Even my teenager niece enjoyed them.

It is nice to have a 100 calorie gluten-free bar available that tastes great and has many health benefit including:

Low in sugar and no refined sugars
Certified gluten-free
Non-GMO
No artificial anything
Gluten-free rolled oats—heart-healthy fiber has been shown to lower cholesterol
Chia seeds—full of omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce risk of heart disease
Cashew butter – monounsaturated fat to help improve cardiovascular health
Chicory root—another protein-packed, fiber-rich ingredient to help your digestive system
Sunflower seeds—packed with vitamin E and antioxidants
Coconut—loaded with fiber to improve digestion and stabilize glucose levels
Banana—high in potassium to help lower blood pressure and tryptophan to help boost your mood
Acai berries—high in powerful antioxidants to help boost the immune system and slow the body’s aging process.
Cranberries—loaded with antioxidants and proanthocyanidins, polyphenols that keep bacteria
Cherries—an excellent source of potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure by getting rid of the excess sodium
Plums – a good source of fiber that helps normalize blood glucose levels by slowing the absorption of sugars
Blueberries—high in powerful antioxidants and vitamin C to help boost the immune system and brain function.
Greek yogurt—loaded with probiotics to support healthy digestion

Finally a Gluten-Free Pretzel Without a Weird Aftertaste!

Snack Time Gluten-Free Pretzels

Snack Time Mini Pretzels Crisps are the best gluten-free pretzels I have eaten. Most gluten-free pretzels taste good for the first couple of bites but quickly the aftertaste sets in. Not these crisps.
These little treats have a great crunch and a buttery flavor. The bag is only 110 calories and 1 gram of sugar, which adds to their appeal.

Gluten-Free Pretzel Crisps

Enjoy these pretzel crisps by themselves or use them with dip. 

Gluten-Free Baking Made Easy by BELLA Gluten-Free

I am ready to share the treasures I discovered at the Natural Products Expo West now that my feet stopped aching and my head has cleared from the dull sound of 65,000 people talking all at one time. I approached the Expo very differently this year. 

Every year I race to find out what new products the big GF companies have and during the exploration, I find some new GF companies. This year I decided to reverse the process and seek out the new, up and coming GF companies. I love the GF world and really want to focus on helping it grow. 

I uncovered some great finds, which I will blog about this week. I went with my sister, who is also GF, and we have some favorites. Since my sister and I are also dairy-free, we couldn't try everything,but many companies were kind enough to send us home with mixes,etc,so we could test them. 


We were fascinated with BELLA  Gluten-Free Cup-To-Table in Minutes. 
Mary Capone. the owner and creator of the company has ingeniously come up with a way to package spectacular testing GF baked goods so that we can bake with ease. 

Cup-To-Table In Minutes

With a few simple steps you can have wonderful tasting baked goods!
Skip the measuring of multiple flours and dry goods and just add butter of choice, milk of choice and an egg and you are on your way to eating great treats. 

Bella Gluten-Free

The company was started in 2010 by Mary Capone . Her story below is from their webpage

Diagnosed with celiac disease, our founder, Mary Capone combines her gluten-free mastery with her love of the kitchen to create scrumptious gluten-free, allergen-free cuisine. Mary is a cookbook author, and nationally known instructor of gourmet gluten and allergen-free foods. As a celiac chef with celiac kids, Mary has designed mixes that not only have great taste and texture but include plenty of healthy ingredients as well.

Bella Gluten-Free™ is created in a dedicated gluten-free facility.
                                                         products are 100% natural
                                                         non-GMO
                                                         allergen-friendly baking mixes 

Look What I Found Inside My TV.

I consider myself a clean person. I have even been known to spend hours detail cleaning things that no one else would consider dirty. BUT never did I imagine I would spend 3 hours cleaning the inside of my TV.

Samsung TV

Our Samsung TV has been acting weird for awhile. Sometimes when it is turned on, it has pixel-ed lines running vertical through it. I can see the picture behind these lines but it is blurry. Then it goes black for a few seconds and a normal screen appears. 

The fun part is when it decides to add a high pitched squeal to these lovely lines. The sound would wake the dead and there is no way to stop it. We just have to go wait it out. My favorite time for this to happen is when my husband can't sleep and decides to turn the TV on. FUN

We started by having AT&T send us a new U-verse box, hoping it was that. It work for a few days and then back to the lines again. We called Samsung and they did a few tech. things via the phone to no avail. So we went to the internet and got some advice.

The suggestion was to take it apart and clean out the back. We figured there was nothing to lose, so we did just that and here is what we found. DISGUSTING

Inside Our TV- REALLY

Though it didn't fix the problem - it was a lesson learned.

Who Would Have Guessed My Celery Allergy Is Known in the U.K.?

In addition to not being able to eat gluten and dairy, I am deathly allergic to CELERY and all it's by products. Most people in the United States, including doctors, chefs, and educators have never heard of a celery allergy. Truthfully, this uncommon food allergy has made it very uncomfortable and awkward when I am eating anywhere but home. I often get the same reaction from people, "I've never heard of that before" as if they don't believe me.  It usually leads to a conversation at the table, which is the last thing someone who is trying not to obsess about their food allergies needs. This fear is escalated when I am traveling and have to eat out often. 

I am planning a trip this summer to Ireland and Scotland and decided to research how difficult it would be to eat there. The U.K. is known for its Celiac (Coeliac) Awareness and from everything I read eating gluten-free, in both countries, will not be a problem. 

According to the Food Standard Agency in the U.K.
The European Commission compositional and labelling standards (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 41/2009) establish levels of gluten for foods that makes a claim to be either 'gluten-free' or 'very low gluten'. These levels are:
'gluten-free' – 20 parts or less of gluten per million.
'very low gluten' – 100 parts or less of gluten per million. However, only foods with cereal ingredients that have been specially processed to remove the gluten may make a 'very low gluten' claim.

 Food Standard Agency  has an interactive page, called In The Restaurant,  where you can go in and take a test on what is in certain restaurant foods. (Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Deli) It was fun! 

What surprised me was the information I found about celery allergies. 

Celery Allergies

The first website I found was  www.anaphylaxis.org.uk. The UK considers celery one of the top 14 allergens and they even have a fact sheet for Celery Allergies.

Here's some of what they had to say: 

Celery is one of the 14 major allergens that under European Directives 2003/89/EC and 2006/142/EC must be declared whenever they are used, at any level, in pre-packed foods."
The inclusion of celery on this list, approved under EU law, is based on the view that celery allergy is a serious problem in certain European countries such as France, Germany and Switzerland. Based on our experience, celery allergy would appear to be rare in the UK. However, reactions to celery, when they do occur, can be severe for some people.

So everything I eat, whether packaged or at a restaurant, is required to have any celery ingredient on the label or after the item on the menu. 

The U.K. has Strict Allergen Labeling Rules

I will let you know how it goes after we visit Scotland and Ireland. If you been there recently, please share your experiences and favorite food places. Thank you.

Thank you U.K. for looking out for me!

References:
https://www.allergyuk.org/common-food-intolerances/common-food-intolerances
http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/english/in-the-restaurant/
http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/english/default.aspx
http://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/knowledgebase/celery-allergy-the-facts/
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/food-allergy/pages/causes.aspx

Simply Real Foods Market

 I have been hearing a lot of talk about online healthy food markets and decided it was time to check them out. I have friends who have recommended food sites but I have not used them yet to review their services. 

I am one of those people who likes a hands on approach to shopping but saving money and easily finding products intrigues me.  I am also lucky enough to live in a community that is surrounded by wonderful healthy food store options but that is not always the case for so many communities, where healthy food options are difficult to find. And finding allergen friendly foods can be even more difficult in some places. So shopping online at stores created specifically for healthy foods has a great appeal. 

I spent  quite a bit of time searching several sites. They carry a good variety of products and brands.The idea of paying a fee for the privilege of spending my money on an online food site, such as Thrive Market, doesn't sit with me well.  I found that no food site had all the items I use but between them all I could find what I was looking for.  I checked out several other sites and liked  Simply Real Foods Market the best. It had the majority of items I was comparing and also appeared to have the best pricing. 

SimplyRealFoods,com

Simply Real Foods is the kind of business that makes you feel "at home" immediately. The warm and easy to use website does a good job of represented the care and understanding this company has. This company was started by a dedicated mother and business woman, whose daughter has special dietary needs. After years of shopping at multiple stores and online sites to fill her grocery list, she decided to take charge of her families "Food Destiny" by creating an online site that is visually beautiful and easy to use. 

Simply Real Foods sells natural and organic, non-GMO foods at wholesale prices, and delivers them directly to your doorstep. 

1. The website is easy to find and even easier to move through. 
2. There is NO Membership fee. It is a member services organization. 
3. Prices appear to be 15%-20% lower then the local stores and even lower when an item is on sale. 
4.  Simply Real Foods has sliding scale prices for shipping, below is an example. 
    
Orders $150+ = FREE
Orders $100 - $149 = $4.95
Orders $50 - $99 = $9.95
Orders less than $50 = $19.95
5. Check out the Facebook page for sells and promotions. 

Please check it out and help this wonderful woman, help us, make food shopping a fun and easy experience. 
PLEASE give feedback in the comment section and share your experiences with these online food sites, if you have used them. 

Your Key-Less Car Fob Can Be Easily Hacked.

As the Holiday Season becomes a distance memory, I have been reflecting on how I want to expand topics for this blog. Gluten-Free issues will always be my passion and therefore in the forefront of this blog yet there are so many other topics I would like to touch on.  I may stray off the topic now and then. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion of this idea. 

Key-less Car Entries are becoming more and more common and so are electronic car break-ins.  My neighbor took her children to a beach park last week and while they played someone used a device to activate her key fob (the key-less device that opens the car.) The thieves, using simple devices to override the key fob (purchased on the internet for as little as $20.00) stole all her credit cards, registration etc. The police told her that there were 10 cars in a local neighborhood that were recently broken into while the owners peacefully slept.

Key Fob

According to The New York Times. "Burglars may be using a device called a "power amplifier" to break into cars with key-less doors without leaving a trace of their entry"  I found several excellent articles about the topic. Please see references below. Forbes/Entrepreneurs  has suggestions on how to prevent theft as well as opinions on what advice not to follow. 

My husband and I use a RFID wallet to protect our credit cards from being remotely hacked and I decided to do some research to see if there was something to protect the key fob. I found some crazy suggestions like putting your key fob in your  freezer or microwave, when you are home. There were some inconvenient  though effective ideas also like wrapping it in aluminum foil when not in use. Someone suggested using an empty Altoids container which seems more practical. 

Amazon has a collection of possible holders for the key fob. For example: 

Faraday Defense

 I also found Fob Guard: It appears to work just like the RFID wallets and has good reviews. According to their web page, rental car companies having been using this for awhile now to protect their cars. 

Fob Guard

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (According to their webpage)

Interior Dimensions: 3 1/4” Width x 4 1/4” Length
Construction: Double Layer Inside Single Strip Closure
Material: Double layer conductive silver/copper/nickel RoHS compliant material protected by high durability sports nylon
Attentuation: Average shielding effectiveness of -85dB in the range of 30 MHz to 1 GHz and an average -80dB in the range of 1 GHz to 11 GHz. Material has been tested by an independent lab to Mil. STD. 285.
Suitable for: Electronic Car Keys, RFID Devices, Credit Cards

I haven't personally used any of these protects, nor do I profit in any way from any of these protects. Please do your research and the best of luck out. 
References:
http://www.fobguard.com/

Bilton, Nick, Keeping Your Car Safe From Electronic Thieves, The New York Times, April 15, 2015: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/style/keeping-your-car-safe-from-electronic-thieves.html?_r=3


Steinberg, Joseph, Vulnerability in Car Keyless Entry Systems Allows Anyone to Open and Steal Your Vehicle, Forbes/Entrepreneurs, May 21, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2015/05/12/vulnerability-in-car-keyless-entry-systems-allows-anyone-to-open-and-steal-your-car/#6af893334b7c

Weissman, Cale Guthrie, A cheap device you can buy on Amazon or Craigslist may be what's causing a huge uptick in car burglaries, Business Insider, Apr. 15, 2015, 

Reducing the Stress: Gluten-Free Holiday's

Reducing the Stress: Gluten-Free Holiday's

There are many articles, blog posts and articles about the Holiday’s and Gluten-Free Food. So when challenged with the idea of writing an article for the Holiday’s presented itself, I pondered what I should write about.

Food is an integral part of the Holiday’s, therefore being on a restricted diet during the holiday’s adds a lot of stress during an already stressful time. I reflected on my gluten-free/dairy-free journey and realized that I have come a long way. 

My first holiday was Thanksgiving and I was going to family, who was making the meal the "traditional" way. I made an entire gluten-free/dairy-free meal to bring with me, since 4 of us were now gluten-free and dairy-free.  It was a tremendous amount of work and truthfully the food was just okay.  I was tired and a little disappointed.  Not only did I have to eat food that was just average but I had to endure the unsolicited comments from one of the non- gluten-free members that tried the food and was a little unkind about the taste. It hurt my feelings and I become anxious about cooking for others. 

Five holiday seasons later, I have become a much better gluten-free/dairy-free cook and baker. When planning what I will cook/bake, I think about what foods gives me that “feeling” of the specific holiday; I am cooking/baking for. This way I am not overworking by reproducing the entire meal. For example, I don’t care about certain Thanksgiving traditional foods but I love the stuffing and gravy, so I focus on making the best gluten-free and dairy-free stuffing and gravy, I can. To me pumpkin pie is just okay but I love a good apple pie, so that is what I make. 

Though I have tried to please everyone in my “food issue group” it has not worked because it becomes overwhelming. If others in my “food issue group” want a certain food that I am not making, I now let them figure it out rather than trying to do it all for everyone. This way on the day of the holiday I am not burnt out and too tired to enjoy the gathering.

Family and friends now know that there are 2 sets of foods, regular and gluten-free.  The gluten-free is in a separate location that prevents any cross contamination, especially with serving utensils. Believe me when I tell you, it is heartbreaking when you have cooked/baked for days and someone proceeds to take the serving spoon from the regular stuffing and sticks it in the gluten-free/dairy-free stuffing, rendering it uneatable, for those of us who can not have any cross contamination. The first time it happened to me, I cried. 

I no longer care what others think about my cooking or my food choices. If they don’t like it then they don’t have to eat it. I have let it be known that I am not interested in a critic unless I ask for it. Setting boundaries with family and friends helps reduce the stress. It is essential for me to take charge of my food issues and stand proud that I am taking care of myself.

Instead of reproducing some already excellent information, I have listed several places for you to find gluten-free recipes and baked goods for the holidays. These are only a fraction of the options now available to us.

1. Blogs: Holiday Recipes can be found on many blogs such as:

            http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/

            http://glutenfreegirl.com/

            http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

            http://www.celiaccentral.org/holidayrecipes/

2. Magazines such as:                                                                                                                       Gff Magazine at   http://gffmag.com/                                                                                             Gluten Free Living   at http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/                                                             Gluten Free & More at http://www.glutenfreeandmore.com/                                                      Simply Gluten Free at https://simplygluten-free.com/glutenfreemagazine/

3. Pinterest: Go to Pinterest and enter gluten-free recipes in the search box and 1000’s of recipes will come up. Pinterest sites such as these have many tried and true gluten-free holiday recipes.

            eZ Gluten-Free Life at https://www.pinterest.com/ezglutenfreelif/

            The Roasted Root at https://www.pinterest.com/roastedroot/the-roasted-root/

            JustbYou at https://www.pinterest.com/justbyou/recipes-gluten-free/

Local Bakeries: Here in Southern California there are several good bakery options. When going to a gluten-free bakery please ask if it is dedicated gluten-free bakery. Celiac people should not eat baked goods made in a location that could have cross contamination.
            Cookies con Amore/ Glutenetto: Has a large variety of Italian cookies. Read my post                                                                          for further information. 

            Cloud 9 Bakers:

            San Juan Capistrano -  31654 Rancho Viejo Rd
                                                     San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
                                                     (949) 388-8311

            Sensitive Sweets:  Has 2 locations now:

            San Clemente -         362 Camino De Estrella
                                                San Clemente, CA 92672
                                                (949) 388-5764

            Fountain Valley -       Slater Plaza: 17431 Brookhurst St
                                                Fountain Valley, CA 92708
                                                (714)968-9169

Passover: Yehuda and Gefen are brands that carry gluten-free Passover items. 

Gluten-Free Matzo by Yehuda is really quite good. (I have found this Matzo at Ralphs, Whole Foods, Wal Mart etc. It can be very expensive on line so shop around.)

Amazon has an entire section of gluten-free Passover items. 

If you are up in Los Angeles there are some wonderful bakeries:

            Erin McKenna (once BabyCakes): (Great donuts)

                                                236 North Larchmont

                                                Los Angeles, CA 9004

                                                855-462-2292

            Rising Hearts Bakery: (bagels, breads, treats, etc)
                                                10836 W. Washington Blvd
                                                 Culver City, CA 90232

                                                (310) 815-1800

Cartoon via ToledaBlade.com, www.whatnext.com

HAPPY HOLIDAY'S TO ALL!