My First Gluten-free Restaurant Review

I had lunch with a good friend of mine who is gluten intolerant this week. I called several places that specialize in gluten-free food hoping to find a good place to eat lunch. I found a new place called New Day Gluten-free  that would be officially open  for lunch in a few days, but said they would fix anything on their to-go menu for us if we came.

They were very enthusiastic as a new business should be and offered a large selection of gluten-free food items. I thought my friend would be thrilled. As you would expect, New Day is very focused on providing foods that are substitutes for foods that normally contain gluten. There was little my friend was interested in. She has learned through the years to not crave  foods normally laden with gluten, so she usually eats salads, and plain meats and vegetables and is very satisfied ( and also very thin).

They did not offer any salads with gluten-free dressing or plain vegetables and meat. We ended up sharing an excellent gluten-free sausage pizza and each having a tasty chocolate chip cookie, but what she really wanted for lunch was a salad with gluten-free dressing. I really liked the pizza and would consider ordering it again, I would like to try the vegetarian version.

New Day Gluten-free is a made-from-scratch dedicated gluten and peanut free cafe and bakery that also supplies prepared meals to-go. They have a few tables for eating-in. They supply gluten-free pizzas and gluten-free entrees to many of the better known restaurants and pizza parlors in our area. They also carry, several pasta dishes, pies, breads, muffins, made to order birthday cakes and of course cookies. When their cafe opens later this week they will also be selling sandwiches made with gluten-free Boars Head deli meats and cheeses. New Day Gluten-free is located just outside St. Louis, in Ellisville, Missouri. Worth a visit if you crave foods normally made with gluten or have a peanut allergy.

Celiac disease is NOT a fad diet for the millions of true celiacs and gluten intolerants.

I recently heard on the Today Show that gluten Intolerance and celiac disease has become a “fad” condition. Movie stars are jumping on the celiac bandwagon to improve health and lose weight. It’s important to realize that true celiac disease and gluten intolerance are very serious condition for those who test positive. Just because gluten-free diets are popular right now and many people are trying out the fad, is not a reason to discount the true health ramifications to the many real celiacs and gluten intolerants in the world. This is a serious condition!

If the new fad followers (not true celiacs) just limit their intake of gluten laden foods and prepare all  fresh foods from scratch, all will be well. But if many new products lines are developed to fill the gap, I’m afraid that the  diets of consumers  in general will suffer another blow. Many prepackaged convenience foods that are gluten-free are also very high in sugar and fat. This reminds me of the no-cholesterol and low cholesterol fad of the 70’s and 80’s. Every product was shouting it was cholesterol-free. Many products at that time started using trans fats (which are worse for health) to fill the gap. As consumers we ended up with a less healthy diet than before.

This fad can either help or hurt true celiacs and gluten-intolerants. It may help because more money for more research will become available or it may hurt the cause, because it will be thought of as a fad and people with the true condition will not be taken seriously. What do you think about this situation? Comment on the Allergy Comfort Zone Forum below.

Easy Gluten-Free Treat for your Sweetie

Remember Rice Krispy treats when you were young? This chocolate treat goes several steps better than that and it all gluten-free.

Combine 1 1/2 cups each of Rice Chex and gluten-free pretzel sticks (broken) with 1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds in a bowl. Carefully melt 2 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave using defrost or a saucepan on low heat. Pour the melted chocolate over the Chex, pretzel and sunflower mixture and toss to coat. Spread the mixture evenly on cookie sheets lined with aluminum foil. Refrigerate until set. Cut or break into pieces and wait for compliments. This recipe came from “Living Without” magazine.