Sandwich Petals

Gluten Free Sandwich Petals

Flat breads and wraps are all the rage on restaurant menus and cafes. Usually these wraps are off limits for gluten free individuals. Sandwich Petals have made it possible to enjoy healthy wraps again. Corn tortillas are naturally gluten free but they are often dry and break easily. Sandwich petals are made from 10 gluten free whole grains making them not only tasty but nutritious. They come in three flavors Agave Grain, Chimayo Red Chile, and Spinach Garlic. 

 I have used the Agave Grain, warmed in the microwave, spread with peanut butter, sprinkled with raisins, cinnamon and sliced banana for a filling breakfast.

The Spinach Garlic has been the star of my daily lunch box, I usually spread the wrap with hummus and top with applegate farms turkey, avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes. The wrap holds all those hearty ingredients without cracking and is not soggy by lunch time!

I haven't open the Chimayo Red Chile flavor yet, but I am sure they will be just as great as the other two.

These wraps could be used as a thin pizza crust, breakfast burritos, tacos, enchiladas, or various other ways.. Can't wait to experiment more. You can order the tortillas from http://www.sandwichpetals.com/ for $25 for 36 tortillas this also includes shipping. These would be a great addition to your lunch or your child's gluten free lunchbox.

Sandwich Petals Perks:

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   21-22g of low glycemic carbs
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  Omega 3's
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  Prebiotics
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  High fiber
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  Slow digesting
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  Dairy, egg, peanut, wheat, and animal product free

FiddleCakes

A co-worker of mine was just diagnosed with celiac disease (is it bad that makes me happy to have a partner in crime?!) We decided to have lunch to celebrate and to share some tips with her on the diet. FiddleCakes is a fairly new cafe'/ bakery in Nashville that offers gluten free sandwiches, salads, soups, baked goods, and whole loafs of bread (special order). This seemed like the perfect place for a lunch date!

FiddleCakes makes their own gluten free baked goods in house, and is very aware of cross contamination. I ordered a gluten free turkey sandwich, and my friend ordered a gluten free chicken salad sandwich. We both were very impressed with the sandwiches, and what a treat to have a normal sandwich in a restaurant!

The sandwiches were too filling to try out the vast array of gluten free desserts FiddleCakes was offering that day. Although, I am sure planning to go back to try a gluten free cookie, scone, or muffin. FiddleCakes is a dream come true for those with celiac disease!

Breads from Anna

I recently conducted a cooking demonstration on how to make gluten free bread. The generous people at Breads from Anna donated a few bread mixes for me to demonstrate in my Cusinart bread machine. These mixes taste great, and as an added bonus are also nutritious! Breads from Anna uses a nutritious gluten free flour blend that includes chick pea flour, pinto bean flour, navy bean flour, and montina flour. This is a pleasant change compared to many gluten free products that are made of starches and white rice flour. All 50 people in the cooking class were blown away by the flavor of this whole grain bread. Breads from Anna mixes are available on line for purchase and at some health food stores. Click the link above to visit their website to order yours today!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

One of my favorite things to eat is a banana with peanut butter, or let’s face it anything with peanut butter! It is most definitely a problem. I have at least switched to the natural kind.. that makes it healthy right? So when I saw this recipe for gluten free peanut butter banana bread on a blog called Gluten Free With a Purpose, I had to try it. I did make a few substitutions.I used this recipe as a demonstration this past weekend at the Nashville Celiac Support Group because it is quick and easy. Here is the recipe I used:




1 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Smuckers Natural)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup mashed bananas (3 ripe bananas)
2 eggs



Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf or muffin pans.
Combine the Bob's Red Mill mix with the sugar. Cut in peanut butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until just blended. Spread evenly in pan or muffin tins.
Bake muffins 25 minutes or 1 hour for the loaf.

Udi's Gluten Free Products

If you have not heard of Udi's gluten free products.. Please check out their website. I was so excited to receive a sample package of their delightful products. I had heard numerous reviews about how Udi's  gluten free products taste like the real thing and the products did not disappoint! I am in charge of a local celiac support group and wanted the chance to share these products with the members. The kind people at Udi's sent me white and whole grain sandwich bread, blueberry muffins, and pizza crusts. I will give a review of the products I have tried. The pizza crusts and white sandwich bread are in the still in the freezer. I am stretching the products out as long as I can because they are not offered locally.. However, you can order on line.

The whole grain bread tastes great right out of the package, if you have tried many gluten free breads they all require toasting. Most gluten free packaged breads taste like sawdust un-toasted. This bread does not need toasting. It is great for sandwiches and morning toast. It is made of a healthy flour blend and comes in at 160 calories for 2 slices.
Here are the ingredients Water, Tapioca Starch, Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Canola Oil, Egg Whites, Sugar, Teff Flour, Flax Seed Meal, Yeast, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Bicarbonate, Cornstarch, Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Cultured Dextrose, Ascorbic Acid (Ascorbic Acid, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Corn Starch), Enzymes

This is a great bread for lunch boxes, both children and adults would love opening up a lunch box to a "normal" sandwich.. it beats rice cakes, thats for sure!

Blueberry Muffins

You can see from the picture the texture of these muffins are light and fluffy. They are sweet, but not overly sweet, which makes them an ideal breakfast treat! A lot of muffins have so much sugar they will spike your blood sugar and lead you to a "crash" within a few hours of eating. There are 4 muffins to a container, and they are huge muffins!! They are great right out of the package or for a fresh baked flavor you could toast them in the oven for a few minutes.

I will report back when I try the pizza crusts and white sandwich bread but after trying these products I have complete confidence they will not disappoint.. Check out their website.. and order your tasty products today. http://www.udisglutenfree.com/products

Nature's Path New Sunrise Cereals

Nature’s Path Fan of the week!!!

I am a huge fan of Nature’s Path. They really have it figured out when it comes to quality gluten free products. I was privileged to be their fan of the week on Facebook a few months ago. If you have a Facebook account, become their fan and send in a picture of yourself enjoying their products and you might be lucky enough to win!

It is hard to find a gluten free cereal that packs much of a nutritional punch. Many gluten free cereals are made of refined gluten free flour and sugar. Nature’s Path has come to the rescue. Natures Path cereals are made with with whole grain, organic ingredients, and natural sweeteners. Not to mention, they are so tasty! I knew I already loved their Whole O’s, Panda Puffs, Mesa Sunrise, and Crispy Rice cereals. So I was anxious to try the new Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise.

The Crunchy Maple Sunrise: This cereal is a combination of corn, rice, flax, quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth. Talk about super grains, this cereal is loaded with nutritious ingridents! Just the right amount of maple and molasses create the perfect amount of sweetness. The texture is wonderful, the cereal contains flakes like that in the Mesa Sunrise, crispy rice, and corn puffs similar to the Gorllia Munch cereal. I usually like to mix my cereals so this just saves me a step.

The Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise:I love vanilla, and this cereal did not disappoint. It reminded me of an adult version of the gluten filled Rice Krispy TREATS cereal. Which to me is a really good thing! It contains the same good combination of whole grains and a sweet vanilla flavor. This partners well with fresh blueberries, bananas, almond slivers, and soy milk.

Neither of the new sunrise cereal’s are available at my local Whole Food’s yet but I have requested them. I will definitely buy these when they are available in my market area.