Starbucks: Their Latest Gluten Free Options!

One of the great things about Starbucks, is that whenever you have a question about the gluten free status of one of their drinks, you can just dial 1-800-235-2883, speak to a representative and find out if the drink is gluten free.  It's extremely easy and convenient!

The other good news is that many of their drinks are gluten free.  However, recently Starbucks decided to change one of their products.  The new Coffee Light Frappuccino Syrup base contains gluten.  Thankfully, the regular Coffee Frappuccino Syrup base and the Creme Frappuccino Syrup base still do not contain gluten.  So, when ordering a Frappuccino now remember there is a heightened risk of cross-contamination.  Starbucks protocol instructs that baristas wash blenders between drink orders but you may also want to notify your barista about your allergy and the importance of this crucial step when making your drink!

As far as the gluten free food options at Starbucks, there are a few choices.  Starbucks was the first and only mainstream coffee shop to offer a gluten free pastry option with their Aztec Ancho Chile Brownie introduced into the NY market in April 2007 and then this was followed by the Orange Valencia Cake introduced nationally in May 2009.  Unfortunately, both items were discontinued shortly after their introduction.  

Although, we no longer can look forward to a delicious pastry at Starbucks as everyone who does not follow a restricted diet can, we still have some new snack options.  The following items are now offered at Starbucks for those on gluten free diets and are all 220 calories or less:

*Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips = $1.50

*Lucy's Cookies (Chocolate Chip, Sugar, and Cinnamon) = $1.50 (Grab & Go Packs) and $5.95 (Box)

*Kind Bars (Mango Macadamia, Almond Cashew, Fruit & Nut Delight, Cranberry & Almond)  = $1.95

*Peeled Snacks (Organic Much-Ado-About-Mango, Apple-2-The-Core, Cherry-Go-Round) = $2.00

*Stretch Island Fruit Company (Harvest Grape, Autumn Apple, Summer Strawberry) = $0.75

*Two Moms In The Raw (only the blueberry and gojiberry flavors that are labeled gluten free) = $3.95

Hopefully, Starbucks will soon reconsider offering gluten free pastry options, but until then we have some healthy snacks to munch on.

Nestle: Tons of Gluten Free Options!

I recently contacted Nestle to find out the gluten free status of one of their items and not only did they write back to me stating that the item I had inquired about was gluten free but they also provided me with a list of all of their gluten free products + 3 gluten free recipes!


Currently, Nestle's gluten free options include:


Confections -
*Baby Ruth
*Bit-O-Honey
*Butterfinger (NOT the Crisp and Stixx varieties)
*Milk Chocolate
*Goobers
*Nips (Regular and Sugar Free)
*Oh Henry!
*Raisinets
*Sno-Caps


Wonka Products - 
*Pixy Stix
*Laffy Taffy (Rope and Fruitarts Chews)
*Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip
*Spree


Coffee and Teas -
*Mountain Blend Instant Coffee
*Nescafe Classic Instant Coffee
*Nestea (All Flavors)
*Nescafe Ice Java Coffee Syrup (All Flavors)
*Nescafe Taster's Choice Instant Coffee (Flavored & Non-Flavored)


Coffee-Mate - 
*Liquid (Flavored & Non-Flavored)
*Powder (Flavored & Non-Flavored)


Nesquik - 
*Ready-To-Drink Milk (All Flavors)
*Syrup (All Flavors)
*Milkshake


Juices - 
*Juicy Juice (All Flavors)
*Juicy Juice Harvest Surprise (All Flavors)


Baking - 
*Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
*Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
*Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chunks
*Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Mini Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Swirled Morsels
*Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate & Premier White Swirled Morsels
*Carnation Evaporated Milk
*Carnation Low Fat Evaporated Milk
*Carnation Fat Free Evaporated Milk
*Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk
*Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk


Once you gather your baking ingredients, you should check out some of the gluten free recipes they suggested by clicking on the links below:


Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites


Flourless Chocolate Cake


Lite 'n Easy Crustless Pumpkin Pie


Nestle products are available at grocery stores everywhere and at Ms. Celiac's Market!


Happy Baking!

Enjoy Life Is Not Nuts!

Enjoy Life is one of my favorite gluten free brands.  I love so many of their products and enjoy the fact that their products are free of the 8 most common allergens!


They have recently introduced the Not Nots Nut Free Trail Mix in 2 flavors:  


*Beach Bash (sunflower kernels, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and apricots)


*Mountain Mambo (sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, chocolate chips, and cranberries)


They sent me a 6 oz. package of each of these treats of which both varieties I enjoyed!


Not Nuts Nut Free Trail Mix is certified gluten free, as well as, being vegan and kosher.  The trail mix contains no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, casein, potato, sesame, and sulfites.


And even better they are made in a dedicated nut and gluten free facility!


You can purchase Enjoy Life products at your local health food stores or in the health food section of your mainstream grocery store.  Their trail mix is available in 6 oz. resealable packages.  You can also purchase these products at Ms. Celiac's Market.




For more information, please visit www.enjoylifefoods.com.

In Need Of A Gluten Free Ingredient? There's An App For That!

Have you ever been in the middle of preparing a delicious meal when you realize that you're missing a key ingredient?  Well, when you're on a gluten free diet fixing this scenario can be more difficult than a quick trip to the local grocery store.  You may need to visit several grocery stores before you can find a gluten free version of this ingredient. 

Thankfully, My Grocery Master has created an app that will help alleviate this problem.  All you have to do is enter your zip code and the product that you are looking for and it will scan its database of the top 100 grocery store chains in the country to find the nearest store that carries the item you are searching for.  And not only does it work for those of you on a gluten free diet, but it also works for other specialty diets such as a kosher or lactose-free diet and upcoming updates will include searches for vegan, organic, and diabetic-suitable diets.

The application is relatively cheap at $4.99/year with free updates as new products and brands are added.  And this application is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad.

I decided to give the app a try on my iPhone.  I entered my zip code and decided to run a "gluten free" search for "cake."  The following 2 products came up:  Flourless Chocolate Cake and New York Deli Style Baked Cheese Cake.  Both of these items were availabe at the Trader Joe's around the corner from where I live.  And for added convenience you can also save your searches in case you're looking for the same item again!

For more information, please visit MyGroceryMaster.com or the App Store at the iTunes Store!

Let's Bake Some Corn Muffins!

Today I decided to try out a recipe for corn muffins and alter it so that they were gluten free.  


The muffins turned out to be delicious!  


For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:


*1 cup cornmeal
*1 cup brown rice flour
*1/3 cup sugar
*2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp salt
*1 egg (beaten)
*1/4 cup canola oil
*1 cup soy milk


Now, all you have to do is combine the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Once thoroughly mixed, spoon onto a paper-lined or greased muffin tray.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  


Enjoy!

FREE CONE DAY AT BEN & JERRY'S!!!

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 23rd) is Free Cone Day at select Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Stores!  And you don't have to get your ice cream in a cone either!  You can eat it in a cup and enjoy a nice gluten free dessert!


Currently, Ben & Jerry's has an extensive list of gluten free flavors that includes:


*Banana Split
*Berried Treasure
*Berry Berry Extraordinary
*Black Raspberry
*Butter Pecan
*Cherry Garcia
*Chocolate
*Chocolate Macadamia 
*Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
*Chocowlate Chip
*Chunky Monkey
*Coffee
*Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz
*Coffee HEATH Bar Crunch
*Creme Brulee
*Dulce Delish
*Everything But The...
*Jamaican Me Crazy
*Karamel Sutra
*Lemonade Stand
*Mango Mango
*Mint Chocolate Chunk
*New York Super Fudge Chunk
*Orange & Cream
*Peanut Brittle
*Peanut Butter Cup
*Phish Food
*Pistachio Pistachio
*Strawberry
*Strawberry Banana
*Strawberry Kiwi Swirl
*Triple Caramel Chunk
*Turtle Soup
*Vanilla
*Vanilla Caramel Fudge
*Vanilla Fudge Chip
*Vanilla HEATH Bar Crunch


As always, be sure to check the ingredient list that is provided at Ben & Jerry's stores to make sure the ingredients have not changed and are still gluten free.


Enjoy!

Let's Go To Caracas Arepa Bar!

Have you ever tried an arepa?  Do you even know what one is?  Well, it's a gluten free bread that is very popular in both Columbia and Venezuela!  Typically, it is made out of ground corn, water, and salt.


If you are in the New York area then you are in luck because Caracas Arepa Bar has a location in NYC's East Village and in Brooklyn where they serve delicious gluten free arepas!


The selection of arepas that they have to choose from is rather extensive.  I tried the De Pollo (photographed above).  This arepa is filled with a grilled chicken breast with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese.  It was amazing!


Just make sure to not get the arepas that contain fried items or the plantain chips as they are fried in oil that is also used to fry wheat products!


Caracas Arepa Bar is open everyday from 12 noon to 11 pm.  On the weekends, there is usually a wait.  However, you can always choose to order takeout/delivery instead of waiting for a seat.


For more information, please visit www.caracasarepabar.com or visit them at:


93 1/2 East 7th Street
New York, NY 10009
212-529-2314


or


291 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-218-6050