Where Have I Been?

Sadly, I've found out that not only am I allergic to gluten but that I am also allergic to corn.

This has put a serious damper in my testing and reviewing. So many GF foods contain corn in some form. Whether its corn syrup, corn starch, corn flour, etc.

Hold tight GF peeps. I'm searching and trying to find stuff that now accommodates my new allergy. But trust I will continue to bring you reviews of awesome GF stuff.


xoxo

GF Yummy

Nature's Path Whole-O's

I have recently been on a cold cereal kick and as often happens a family member "gifted" me this box of Whole O's. I'm always excited to try something new and even more excited to try it when I didn't have to pay for it!

What I really love about this cereal is that its feels like a grown up whole grain O cereal. It's organic, sweetened with cane & pomegranate juice. The flavor of this cereal is amazing. It doesn't taste bland it tastes subtly sweet and I'm guessing the awesome flavor comes for the pom juice. These are really crunchy and stay crunchy in milk. Unlike a lot of GF cereals this crunchy is not "rock tough" crunchy this crunchy is pleasantly crunchy.

Verdict? Yummy

Lucy's Cinnamon Thin Gluten Free Cookies

Let's be honest.

The only reason I picked up this box is because 1) it's pink and 2) its adorable. That Dr. Lucy knows exactly what's she's doing :)

I put the box in my cart because of Dr. Lucy's "bio" on the back of the box. She's just a mom (and an MD) with a kid with a severe allergies. Tired of all the bad tasting gluten free food out there she decided to make her own tasty cookies. Definitely something I can get behind. Plus Jules was just a woman who decided she was tired of bad tasting flour mixes and her flour mix rocks. So really? Dr. Lucy had my vote.

When I got home I checked out the ingredient list. I'm always curious what blend of flours people use - its weird but I think its interesting. Lucy's uses bean flours - which had I noticed at the store I may not have purchased the cookies since I normally do not like the outcome of bean flour. I was now extremely skeptical and Lucy's needed to win me over - since as we all know my opinion and will is what makes or breaks a company /sarcasm.

I held my breath and tasted. It tasted...good. Lucy's also used gluten free oat flour which I think hides the bean flour flavors. The cookie taste like something I ate gluten full but I can't place it. The flavor is good in the cookie and I really like the cinnamon taste. They are light and crispy and I imagine I will be enjoying them again with a nice cuppa.

Verdict? Yummy!

Disappointed

So last week I traced out my saga with Five Guys with you guys.

The horrible event ended on a high note - the District Manager was having a meeting and he promised to follow up with me about the meeting - including whether Five Guys was going to start allowing gluten free bread in their stores.

Well - its been almost a week and I've heard nothing. Nada. Not a peep. I feel like they went out of their way to placate me and planned on absolutely zero follow through.

At this point I have to say that I don't believe that Five Guys takes those of us with food allergies seriously and they have lost my business. I will be removing them from the "Safe Fast Foods" list and I recommend that others avoid the Five Guys restaurants in South Jersey.

My Dad's Cookies Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies are my ultimate, all time favorite type of cookies. My grandmother used to make them every single Christmas and they were divine. She would do raspberry, strawberry and apricot filling in the Linzer cookies. I would steal as many as I could before the grown ups got into the cookies. Lucky for me my grandmother was good about spoiling her grandchildren so no one ever told me no :)

Since I was diagnosed with celiac I have not had a single linzer cookie. It's been nearly 7 years since one of those lovely cookies has crossed my lips. 

So you can imagine my joy and surprise when I came across these cookies at my local health store. (sidenote: Seriously, if you live in Southern New Jersey you absolutely have to go to Natural Health in Blackwood - its like Gluten Free mecca.) I had vaguely remembered a friend of mine in NYC telling me about this bakery and I figured if she was happy with the cookies they were absolutely worth a shot. 

As soon as I got home I ripped open the box and tried one. They were good but I felt let down and here's why. I think I've covered this before - a lot of the issues with gluten free foods is that we all have a taste memory of something that we ate before we were diagnosed with celiac/gluten intolerance/wheat intolerance. I believe this makes us more apt to immediately dismiss a gluten free product as "bad" since it doesn't taste anywhere near as good as what we remembered. That was my issue with this cookie. 

I had warm and gorgeous memories of this buttery, jam-filled cookies from my youth. I had to shake myself from that warm memory and review the cookie based on what it is not on what I want it to be. The cookie was good, it was firm and had a good crunch. I do wish that the cookie was more buttery but the filling was delicious. All in the cookie was pretty good. 

Verdict? Yummy

Five Guys Makes It Right

Okay, I am supremely impressed.

The District Manager from Five Guys called me and said that he will be sitting down with the franchisee and management team at the Deptford, NJ store tomorrow and making sure that everyone understands how they treat their customers.

I'm bowled over. What an amazing response and what quick action. I sincerely hope that this helps management understand how important it is to help those of us with celiac or gluten intolerance.

I'll keep you guys up to date about what happens next.

xoxoxo

GF Yummy

Avoid Five Guys in Deptford, NJ

I have previously suggested Five Guys as a place safe for celiacs.  After my experience this past Sunday I have to retract that statement.

I have never in my life experienced such rude and surly behavior from someone, let only someone who is a store manager.

I have been told repeatedly that I can bring in a gluten free roll to Five Guys and that they would happily build my burger on it - except for condiments which they would put on the side. When I was first told this I was very happy because anyone who has taken home a Five Guys burger sans bun knows what happens - the burger ends up tasting like aluminum foil by the time you get it home. Not exactly appetizing. I have had many easy transactions with Five Guys with the gluten free bun until this past Sunday.

I went to store 316 which is in Deptford, NJ. I placed my order and pulled my gluten free roll out of my purse in its ziploc bag and handed it to the cashier. I said and would you please place my burger on my gluten free roll. He looked completely confused turned around and looked at a large man and he said "NO." I looked at him, totally confused and said but its gluten free...the only thing you are allowed to accept over the counter is gluten free rolls. Again he says no and asks where I heard this from. I told him at this location from the manager, he says impossible I am the manager. I said well clearly not for all that long and you obviously don't know you're own company policy. He said that company policy was that every single burger had to be put on a Five Guys bun - that was company policy.

I blinked a few times and felt my face getting red. I asked if there was an owner I could speak to, nope. Well then how do I get in touch with corporate? They provided me with corporates number. I asked if this meant that they were not allowed to make my burger without a bun - yup thats what it meant. However, they would make an exception for me. I asked if they would keep the foil open so I could the bun on myself and they agreed. When my food was ready my burger was literally flung at me. I put the bun on and closed the foil. The rest of my food was laid at for me and I had to pack it up. I'm sure if the kitchen wasn't open the manager would've spit in my food.

I am completely appalled at the way I was treated. While it may not be the same at every Five Guys I have to advise anyone near Deptford, NJ who is celiac, gluten intolerant, etc to avoid this Five Guys location.

That all being said, I would be delighted to teach the staff how to handle meal requests from those with gluten allergies. Clearly the staff at store 316 needs some education. Five Guys you can reach me at glutenfreeyummy@gmail.com