The Seasoned Vegan

The Seasoned Vegan is a restaurant located in NYC's Harlem neighborhood that serves 100% organic and vegan cuisine.  They also have a wide selection of gluten free food items.

Two of the gluten free dishes that I tried were the Zucchini Mac (zucchini noodles w/ cashew "cheese") and the Burger (two pumpkin seed cremini mushroom sliders with dehydrated onions, raw tomato sauce, sliced avocado, cashew "cheese"and dry herbs on homemade flaxseed bread.  Both items not only looked delicious (see photos) but tasted so, as well.

For more information, visit the Seasoned Vegan at 55 St. Nicholas Avenue or at their website at www.seasonedvegan.com.

Pala Pizza

One of my long time favorite restaurants is Pala Pizza.  Pala Pizza is located on Manhattan's lower east side and has a ton of gluten free options and many of these items are also vegan.  Their gluten free menu includes appetizers, salads, pasta, pizza and dessert.  They have 3 types of gluten free pasta that you may choose from:

• Spaghetti (corn and quinoa flour)
• Fusilli (brown rice flour)
• Penne (rice, potato and soy flour)

One of my favorite dishes is the Uvetta pizza.  This is topped with butternut squash, red onions, raisins, red bell pepper, daiya cheese and rosemary.

The desserts are also amazing.  My favorite is the gluten free vegan carrot cake.

For more information, please visit their website at www.palapizza.com or check them out at 198 Allen Street.

Dirt Candy!

Recently, I was finally able to get a reservation at Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant located on Manhattan's Lower East Side.  The entire menu is vegetarian with many vegan and gluten free options.

I notified the waitress that I was gluten free upon being seated and they quickly brought out a plate of gluten free crackers for me to enjoy while waiting for my meal.

For dinner, I ordered several plates (they recommend ordering 4-7 dishes for a table of 2).  The first dish I tried was the "Mushroom."  This included portobello mousse with sauteed asian pears, cherries, and truffle toast.  Next, I had the curried fries.  And finally, I had the "Cauliflower" which included Cauliflower dumplings (made out of corn starch and cauliflower).

Overall, the dishes were inventive and satisfying and the presentation was amazing.  For more information, please visit www.dirtcandynyc.com.

#EatFreely

One of my favorite gluten free brands, Enjoy Life, has a great product for you to try, it's their Seed and Fruit Mix.  This makes the perfect snack to bring anywhere (i.e. work, school, etc.).  And it contains no nuts!  So, it is safe for those with nut allergies.

In fact, in addition to being gluten free, Enjoy Life products are free of dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, casein, potato, sesame and sulfites!

The two varieties that their Seed and Fruit Mix are available in are Beach Bash and Mountain Mambo.  Both flavors are delicious but I especially love the Mountain Mambo which is sprinkled with mini chocolate chips!

Beach Bash contains sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, dried pineapple, apricots and cranberries while Mountain Mambo contains sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, raisins, apples, and mini chocolate chips.

For more information, please visit their website at www.enjoylifefoods.com or check them out at your local health food store.

Eat Well Embrace Life

I was recently sent a bunch of hummus from the brand Eat Well Embrace Life.  I must admit I was
not familiar with them at all so I was excited to try out their varieties of hummus.  I love hummus and have tried several different types but this brand had by far the most exotic flavors of hummus I have come across.

Their varieties include:

• Black Bean Hummus
• Spicy Red Lentil Chipotle Hummus (Ms. Celiac's Favorite)
• Edamame Hummus
• Wasabi Edamame Hummus
• Tuscan White Bean Hummus
• Spicy Yellow Lentil Hummus
• Zesty Sriracha Carrot Hummus
• Beet Hummus

All of their products are gluten free and they even use a gluten free soy sauce in any of their products containing soy sauce.  

To find out where you can purchase Eat Well Embrace Life Hummus, visit their website at eatwellembracelife.com.

Enjoy Life - Now with New Packaging!

Enjoy Life products have long been one of my favorite gluten free brands and their crunchy cookies are some of my favorites!  They recently repackaged the cookies.  Below is the new look!

These delicious cookies contain nothing artificial and in addition to being gluten free are dairy free, soy free and nut free!

The cookies are available in the following varieties:

• Chocolate Chip
• Double Chocolate
• Vanilla Honey Graham
• Sugar Crisp (vegan)

For more information, please visit their website at www.enjoylifefoods.com or check out their Facebook page.

Gluten Free Mojo

The Cliff Bar Company recently released a new line of gluten free bars, known as the Mojo bar.

These fruit and nut bars are available in 5 different varieties.  The flavors are as follows:

• Coconut Almond Peanut
• Cranberry Almond
• Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt
• Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond
• Wild Blueberry Almond

Not only are they gluten free, but they are low glycemic, as well.  And they use many organic ingredients!

So, look for them at your local health food store or visit www.clifbar.com for more information.