Be Kind!

In celebration of the upcoming National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th, KIND sent me an assortment of their healthy snacks to try out!  They will also send out a gluten free KIND Peanut Butter Cube to one of my lucky readers!

This Peanut Butter Cube includes:

• 2 Pouches of Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters
• 4 Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein Bars
• 4 Peanut Butter & Strawberry Bars

To enter this contest, please send an email to MsCeliacSays@gmail.com with "Kind Giveaway" in the subject line and your name, address, and phone number in the body of the email by Wednesday, January 23rd at 5 pm EST.  The winner will be announced on National Peanut Butter Day and will receive their prize soon after!

Now for the inside scoop...this cube is great for gluten free peanut butter lovers (those with peanut allergies - stay away!).  The peanut butter whole grain clusters are delicious and have a super strong peanut butter flavor!  The clusters are made with 100% gluten free whole grains like amaranth and quinoa!  The Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein bars are also delicious and coated with plenty of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate!  Due to my strawberry allergy, I wasn't able to taste the Peanut Butter & Strawberry bars but I've heard they taste like a yummy peanut butter + jelly sandwich!

For more information about Kind products, please visit their website at www.kindsnacks.com.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!  Good luck!

Kit's Organic Fruit & Nut Bar

A new product from Clif, Kit's Organic Fruit & Nut Bar is a delicious and healthy gluten free snack!

This nutrition bar is 100% organic and, in addition to being gluten free, is soy free and dairy free.

The fruit and nut bar is available in 4 great flavors:

• Berry Almond (dates, almonds, barberries, bilberries, sea salt)
• Cashew (cashews, almonds, dates, sea salt)
• Chocolate Almond Coconut (chocolate, coconut, almond)
• Peanut Butter (peanuts, almonds, sea salt)

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

It's a Wrap!

Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery is introducing a brand new product - gluten free tortillas!  These tortillas come in 3 varieties:

• Plain
• Spinach
• Fiesta (made with red bell pepper, jalapeño, onion, and garlic flavors)

I was lucky enough to receive samples of all 3 flavors and they are absolutely perfect for making sandwich wraps!  The tortillas are best stored frozen and then heated up in the microwave for about 25 seconds prior to eating.

Even better, these tortillas contain 5 grams of fiber per serving and are made with whole grain flours including sorghum, brown rice, corn, amaranth, quinoa, millet and teff.

For more information, please check out their website at www.rudisglutenfree.com.

Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery products are available at Whole Foods and other health and natural food stores.

Bogota Latin Bistro

Bogota Latin Bistro in Park Slope, Brooklyn is a Colombian and Pan-Latin restaurant co-owned by fellow Gallatin School alum, George Constantinou.

The restaurant has gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options clearly marked on their menus.  They also have two dedicated gluten free fryers.  Bogota Latin Bistro offers an extremely large variety of gluten free options for brunch, lunch and dinner.  For brunch, you can even get gluten free pancakes with powdered sugar, fruit and maple syrup!

So far, I've tried the plantain chips (which are on the table if you dine at the restaurant), the blue and yellow corn tortilla chips with guacamole and pico de gallo garnish, the white arepa, and the tortilla soup.  The tortilla soup is a chicken soup with a spicy chipotle broth, tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, jack cheese and cilantro.  If you order this item for delivery, they pack each of these items in separate containers so that the ingredients in the soup are not soggy by the time they arrive.

For more information, check out their website at bogotabistro.com or check out the restaurant at 141 5th Avenue and St. John's Place.

Naidre's in Park Slope

Being on a gluten free diet, I don't often have the option of running into a cafe and picking up breakfast on my way to work or school.  However, Naidre's located on Park Slope's bustling 7th Avenue between 11th and 12th streets has Everybody Eats' gluten free rolls readily available.

I've had these rolls toasted in the morning with cream cheese and have been to Naidre's for lunch and enjoyed their Turkey and Cheddar sandwich on a gluten free roll and their grilled cheese on a gluten free roll (see photograph).  Naidre's offers an assortment of gluten free options, as well as, vegetarian and vegan choices.

They also usually have some sort of gluten free bakery item such as a macaroon or cookie.

For more information, visit their website at www.naidres.com or visit them at 384 7th Avenue.

Gluten Free Italian in Park Slope

One of my favorite Italian restaurants in Park Slope, Brooklyn is Fornino, located on 5th Avenue between Carroll and Garfield Place.

They offer an assortment of gluten free pastas and pizzas.  The pasta they use is made out of corn flour and the pizza dough they use is made out of brown rice flour.  I've tried both the pasta and pizza and they are excellent!

As far as the pasta, I've had the penne pesto primavera (see photograph) and as for pizza, I've had the margherita classica pizza.

For more information, please check out their website at www.forninoparkslope.com.  Enjoy!

Stanton Social

I recently heard that the restaurant Stanton Social on the Lower East Side has a gluten free menu.  So, of course, I decided to go check it out.

All menu items are geared to be shared.  The gluten free menu has a wide variety of items so there are plenty of dishes to choose amongst.

I enjoyed the red snapper tacos with creamy avocado and spicy mango (see photograph), pan roasted chicken with corn pudding and sauteed spinach, lobster salad sliders, and grilled asparagus with smoked sea salt and lemon.  For dessert, I had the white peach sorbet.  Everything was delicious - my favorite were the red snapper tacos!

Just a word of caution, they do not fry their items using a dedicated gluten free fryer so if you have Celiac Disease you should avoid the fried items on the gluten free menu (ex. french fries).

For more information, visit their website at thestantonsocial.com or visit them at 99 Stanton Street between Ludlow and Orchard street.