Mrs Winstons - Healthy Salads, Sandwiches and Smoothies

Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery has been voted the best salad bar in Santa Monica and Los Angeles (check out Yelp's reviews), and when you go you'll know why. This health food store and lunch spot boasts high quality produce and are eco-conscious (the salad containers are made form post-consumer plastic bottles). Everyone from vegans, vegetarians and just those who want delicious, organic whole foods will love the large selection of salad bar offerings. Other salad bars can't compete!

Border Grill Los Angeles

Working in downtown Los Angeles is quite convenient when it comes to food, since there are so many amazing restaurants and food vendors to choose from, most within walking distance. But since I'm eating gluten free and currently dairy free, most of the time I bring my lunch to work. However on Fridays, I sometimes like to go socialize with coworkers, unwind with a drink and enjoy a good meal to start off the weekend.

Situated on corner of 5th and Figueroa below the Union Bank building is Border Grill, a modern Mexican restaurant that focuses on the cuisine of Oaxaca and the Yucatan. What I love most is that Border Grill uses seasonal, local and organic produce whenever possible, and the meat and dairy is raised without the use of hormones and antibiotics. And they are allergy friendly! Need I say more?

During this particular visit, I ordered the turkey tostadas. The server and manager were very helpful and took every precaution to make sure my meal was gluten free. Made with grilled turkey meat, black beans and tomatoes, roasted corn and cotija cheese atop of shredded lettuce with a flavorful Caesar dressing, the tostadas were not heavy even for a summer day. They were tangy and refreshing, as was their pomegranate lemonade!

We ate our meal on the outdoor patio overlooking the city skyline of the financial district. I especially liked their flower boxes containing brightly colored Lantanas, and their funky retro sunny pink and orange floral table cloths. It made me feel like I was a kid back in my great grandma's backyard. The ambiance set the mood for a fun lunch.

If you can't make it for lunch, check out their Happy Hour Monday through Friday - 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Border Grill also has locations in Santa Monica and Las Vegas. If you're a food truck fan, you should track down their Border Grill truck roaming the streets of Los Angeles.

Riega Foods Cheese Sauce Review and Giveaway!

Most of the time I like to cook sans processed foods. But I'll admit, there are days when my schedule is filled with activities and sometimes you want a little convenience. This is where Riega Foods cheese sauces come in. These mixes can help create a fast, delicious and gluten free meal for your family.

Recently Riega Foods sent me a complimentary box of their cheese sauces to sample.  When it arrived I found boxes of Pepper Jack, Alfredo, Yellow and White Cheddar sauces.

I noticed on the back of the package under the ingredients listing, they mention it is "made in a factory and on machinery that also processes: milk, eggs, wheat and soy."  This concerned me, so I emailed Riega to get more information.

I received quick and detailed email back that reassured me about their gluten safety procedures.

"Vanessa, Thank you for the email. To answer both of your emails I will explain our processes and how we ensure our products are gluten free. Please understand that I have family members and friends that cannot eat gluten and I understand the medical issues that can result from unintended digestion of gluten. I started this company with the full understanding of what needs to happen, and we do not just put gluten free on our products because we don't use wheat, rye or barley.

To ensure our products are truly gluten free we test after production every single batch after it has been packaged. We send this to a third party, because they have no interest in the outcome. We use the University of Nebraska FARRP Lab (CSA uses same lab). I have attached a recent report to this email, so you can see. To date, every batch of our finished cheese sauce has come back as below quantifiable levels (5 ppm) for gluten. To me that is the only way you can ever ensure a product is gluten free, whether it is made in a gluten free facility or not. As a note, not all companies test and not all companies with the gluten free logo's on their packages test every batch.

In regards to the product, the final mixing and packaging is done in a shared facility, but as you can see from our testing reports we take steps to ensure their is no cross contamination. The facility itself is a number of small rooms, which contain each individual piece of equipment. Each room can be closed off and once production is finished the entire equipment and room are cleaned. It is hard to explain without seeing the facility, but with our cleaning procedures and testing protocol there is no chance of any type of cross contamination. It is possible that from time to time a machine also handles a product that contains wheat, but again with the setup of facility and cleaning procedures there is no cross contamination. This is not a manufacturing environment like bread, cookies, or something where a machine is difficult to clean at some point. The machines used to mix and package can be broken down 100% and cleaned. Same for the room from top to bottom.

I hope that helps explain all and makes you feel more comfortable. Please understand that we have family members and friends with gluten issues and I take the level of gluten very seriously. It is why we disclose so much about our procedures, testing and environment. Their are ways we could build some gray areas into they reporting system, but I just will not do that.

If you still do not feel comfortable with our products, then I understand. I believe everyone must make informed choices, and I hope that we can help you do that about our products. Please just let me know.

Brad Gampper

PS. As a side note I had actually posted something about this on a facebook group earlier this morning. You can read it here."

http://www.facebook.com/groups/146942038657329/?id=249455731739292&notif_t=group_activity

I was really happy to hear that they test their products to ensure safety. And the levels have come back at under 5 ppm - less than the proposed standard the FDA is considering using. This made me feel comfortable trying their sauce mixes.

First, I tried the traditional yellow cheese sauce. Directions call for you to cook 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of your favorite pasta and mix. I prefer 1 cup pasta as I like my sauce extra cheesy. Just add some butter and a little milk (or substitute of your choice if you don't eat dairy) to your cooked noodles, and "voila!"  Mac and cheese.  It was quite good. You could add some mixed veggies, paprika ( I LOVE paprika) and maybe a little red pepper to spice it up, or just enjoy the cheese and noodles on their own.

The other night, I tried the Alfredo sauce and mixed it with some rotini rice noodles as a side dish to my favorite dish - Chicken Piccata. The sauce was creamy, with a hint of garlic and parsley.

These would be great mixes to take camping along with some gluten free noodles, or traveling to a family or friend's house where you aren't sure if there will be something for you to eat.

Another bonus to this is that you can use your preference of pasta. Some of the pre-packaged white rice pasta mac and cheeses are a bit bland to me, so I like to buy brown rice noodles for more taste and fiber.

Riega Foods website lists where you can find their products, and they also have an online store. I've seen these at Whole Foods and Fresh and Easy, and they sell for about $1.39 a package, so they are quite affordable for people on the go.

If you want your favorite store to carry this product, download this form and take it to your grocer to make a request.


Thanks Riega for a convenient... and yummy gluten free product.

******GIVEAWAY*******

To win 4 packets of each kind of sauce, (total of 16 yummy sauce packets) please enter by Wednesday August 31 to enter for your chance to win:

• Tweet and post a link to this article
• Comment on your Facebook page (if you have one) with a link to this article, and;
• Leave a comment on this blog related to this topic

I will randomly choose and contact 2 winners by Wednesday September 7th.

Good luck!!!

- Gluten Free Chickadee

Udi's Snickerdoodle Cookies

Last week I got a case of the afternoon munchies while at work. In addition to eating gluten free, I've also been on a sugar and yeast free diet. I have symptoms of what I think is a candida overgrowth and the doctors are still trying to figure this out, but it almost completely goes away when I cut all sugar and yeast out of my diet. However, I can't deprive myself forever, so I decided I deserved a treat and walked to the local Ralphs supermarket in downtown Los Angeles. I wasn't sure what this market would have for a gluten free selection, but was pleasantly surprised.

On an aisle ending, I found a gluten-free stand with crackers, pasta, and cookies. I saw the Udi's Snickerdoodles, and immediately got excited. I felt like a kid waiting for her mom to hand her a popsicle. I used to enjoy making these cookies with my mom and sister during the holiday season, and really miss these. I began to think they would probably be a let-down to the Snickerdoodles I remembered in my gluten-filled days.  I was wrong.  These cookies were soft, chewy and full of cinnamon sugared yumminess.  Oh man, these made a perfect end to my day.

If you aren't familiar with Udi's gluten free foods, you can see their products here.  They make bagels, bread, pizza crusts, muffins, and recently, came out with hamburger and hot dog buns that are really delicious (mentioned in a previous review.)