My favorite GF CF products - Part 1

1. Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread - 7 Grain, White, and Cinnamon Raisin

I love Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread. So far, I have tried the 7 Grain bread, the white bread, and the cinnamon raisin bread. This bread is amazing. My husband will even eat it and he does not like wheat free and corn free bread. Most wheat free, corn free breads are grainy and tough. It is not soft and they are a little overwhelming at times (Ex. when you make a sandwich, all you can taste is the bread, not what is in the sandwich). They have other flavors of bread, not just the three that I have tried so far. I always have at least one loaf of this bread in my home. I usually purchase this bread at Whole Foods but I have also found this bread at Super Target on two occasions.

You can find a list of ingredients for all of their items on the Canyon Bakehouse website:
www.canyonglutenfree.com.

2.  Chebe Dry Mixes - Pizza Crust Mix, Cheese Bread Mix, Garlic-Onion Breadstick Mix, All-Purpose Bread Mix

I am a huge pizza fan. I love pizza and I love bread sticks. They are my guilty pleasure. When I found the Chebe mixes after I was diagnosed with my food allergies, I was so excited. These mixes have very few ingredients but they are very good. Like the bread listed above, my husband will actually eat this stuff. He will actually ask for it! So far, I have tried the Pizza Crust Mix, the Cheese Bread Mix, and Garlic-Onion Breadstick mix, and the All-Purpose Bread Mix. All of them are amazing and they are not hard to prepare. I usually buy these mixes at Whole Foods but you can also purchase these online at www.chebe.com. You can also find all of the ingredients in each mix on their website. It is worth it, believe me!

3. Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks - Berry Patch, Pink Lemonade, Summer Strawberry, Tropical Treat

Annie's Fruit Snacks are so good. I usually carry a couple of pouches of these fruit snacks around in my purse just in case I can't find something to eat during the day. So far I have tried the Berry Patch, Pink Lemonade, Summer Strawberry and Tropical treat. There are other flavors that I haven't tried yet too! My favorite is the Summer Strawberry. I am a huge strawberry fan. I have found these at a lot of different stores, not just health food stores. I have found them at local grocery stores, Whole Foods, health food stores, and Super Target. You can find the ingredients and all of the flavors on Annie's website at www.annies.com. 

4. Pamela's - Baking & Pancake Mix

Pamela's is my favorite pancake mix. I love pancakes. I would eat them all day if I could, if I didn't get super fat. While I love Pamela's pancake mix, be careful if you are trying some of the other Pamela's mixes. A lot of her mixes contain corn derivatives. I have tried a couple of wheat free and corn free pancake mixes but these are my very favorite. I usually purchase this mix at Whole Foods. I have found them one other time at a local health food store. You can find the ingredients list and the other Pamela's mixes on the following website: www.pamelasproducts.com. 

5. Van's Crackers - Say Cheese!, Lots of Everything!, Multigrain, Perfect 10, Fire-Roasted Veggie

I love these crackers! I used to get made fun of at work because I would have a bucket of these crackers every single day. I think I have tried every flavor now! My favorite is the Say Cheese! one but all of them are absolutely amazing. I really love all Van's products -- they have a lot to offer including cereal, breakfast/cereal bars, waffles, chips -- a ton of stuff and they are all amazing. You can find Van's almost anywhere from Whole Foods to a health food store, to a local grocery store, even Walmart! For more information about Van's products, visit the website www.vansfoods.com. 

6. Bard's - The Original Sorghum Malt Beer

This is my absolute favorite GF, CF beer. I have tried a couple of others and this one is the best, by far. This beer contains no wheat, barley, rye or oats. It also have very few ingredients: water, sorghum, hops, and yeast. I usually buy this at Whole Foods and at the Whole Foods I regularly go to, I can get this beer in a 6 pack or I can buy individual bottles of it. You can visit the Bard's website for any information you are looking for at www.bardsbeer.com. 

CI Chu's Mongolian BBQ - Tucson, AZ

C.I. Chu's Mongolian Barbeque is a great place to eat with a wheat allergy and a corn allergy. You do need to careful with cross-contamination here but it you speak with the cook directly and let him/her know you have food allergies, they can cook your food on a separate grill.

C.I. Chu's is set up buffet style (see below).

When you walk in, you pick up a blow and add the raw ingredients that you want in your stir fry. There is a lot to choose from as you can see. All of these items do not have any seasoning on them so you do not need to worry about that. There is also a section of meat to choose from (you cannot see it in the picture above). There is also an area for sauces which is how you add flavor to the bowl. There are not a lot of options for the sauces if you have a wheat allergy and corn allergy. I stick with the wine sauce and the sugar sauce to be safe. I add flavor with salt and pepper once the meal is prepared.
After you have created a bowl, it need to be cooked. When you speak to the cook, ask them NOT TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL SAUCE. This is important. Also, ask them if they can cook your bowl on the separate grill that they use for people with food allergies. They usually put a bowl over your food to remind them not to cook it with the other food.
When you walk through the line, do not pick up any of the soup or the fry bread. These are not wheat and corn free. You do get to choose between white and brown rice.
Once your food is ready, they will bring it directly to your table.

C.I. Chu's is awesome because you do not need to get the same thing every time you go in. You can mix up your bowl so it is different every time you go in.

The worker's here are a plus also. They are always very nice!

What I usually order here:
broccoli, onion, mushroom, sprouts, green bell pepper, peas, carrots, chicken, wine sauce, sugar sauce, salt, pepper, brown rice

Ghinis French Caffe - Tucson, AZ

There is only one location for this cafe and it is in the amazing Tucson, AZ! I lived in Tucson for a couple of years and then moved to Phoenix, but whenever I made my way back down to Tucson, I would always visit Ghinis for brunch.

I ate at Ghinis French Caffe before I developed by wheat and corn allergies so when I found out I could not eat wheat and corn anymore, I called Ghinis to see if they had any options for me. The person I spoke to on the phone was VERY polite. She didn't know off the top of her head (and I definitely did not expect her to) but she went into the kitchen and spoke to the chef to see what I could have and it was great news. I could have all of the omelets! She also said I could have some of the salads (I would have to ask about the dressings) but I am a huge fan of omelets.

NOTE: If you are just gluten/wheat free, Ghinis has a huge gluten free menu!

I have eaten at Ghinis at least a dozen times since my food allergies were diagnosed and I and so grateful for their servers. I have had experiences where servers act like I am being annoying (and even the occasional server that says something is okay to eat and it really isn't) for ordering wheat free and corn free but I have always been treated very well and they are all very kind.

I am very grateful for places like Ghinis French Caffe and the people that work there.

What I usually order at Ghinis French Caffe:
 Latin Poor Man's Omelet (potato, onion, garlic) with sliced oranges and hot tomatoes and a regular, plain coffee

In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out Burger is a quick place to eat when you are in a bind. Sadly, In-N-Out is currently only located on the West Coast and in Texas.

When I order at In-N-Out, I let the cashier know that I have food allergies so the line cooks treat my food accordingly. In-N-Out does not have a gluten free bun but you can order your burger Protein Style. When you do this, they will wrap your burger in lettuce.

If you only have a wheat allergy, you can eat their sauce that they add to your burger automatically. If you have a wheat AND and corn allergy, you cannot eat this sauce. When you are ordering, make sure you tell them not to add the sauce. I ask them to not add the sauce and add mustard instead.

NOTE: I feel I need to put this in. When you are asking someone to take special care of you and what you are eating, please be polite. As someone that has food allergies, I know it is hard to even try going somewhere to eat because of the hassle but you are asking someone for a favor. I have had my fair share of servers/cashier be rude or even condescending when I let them know about my allergies, but it is still best to be polite. I feel that they will take better care of you and pay more attention if you are polite with them from the beginning. It is hard, especially when someone is being rude to you, but I know I would rather have my food be allergen free and get an attitude than get sick.

I have never tried eating the french fries at In-N-Out yet. In-N-Out makes their french fries in house, literally. You can even seen them cutting up fresh potatoes and putting them straight into the fryer. I have not tried eating the fries yet because on their website, they said they fry them in vegetable oil. I prefer knowing all ingredients of what I am ingesting and cannot find the exact ingredients in their vegetable oil. If you really want to try their fries, you can always ask to see the ingredients list on the bottle/box of vegetable oil. I will let you know if I try them eventually.

Thanks In-N-Out!

Here is what I order at In-N-Out:
Protein Style hamburger without sauce, add mustard

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill is amazing for someone that needs to eat wheat free and corn free. Chipotle happens to be my husband's favorite quick place to eat so when I found out that I could not eat wheat and corn, I looked into this place first to see what their options were for me.

If you visit www.chipotle.com, they have a Ingredients Statement that lists every ingredient in everything that they offer in their restaurants. After reading through all of their menu items, I found that I could not eat the corn salsa (obviously) or any of the tortillas, which was great news because that meant I could eat most of the items that they offer. I emailed Chipotle (just to verify that they really do offer these items wheat free and corn free) and they verified that all I need to do is refer to the Ingredients Statement each ingredient in each item that they offer.

I eat at Chipotle regularly without any problems. It is especially helpful because you can find Chipotle almost everywhere so when you are on vacation, it is a quick and easy place to go to. If you have not tried eating at Chipotle because of dietary restrictions, I strongly suggest taking a look at their website to see what you can try.

Here is what I usually order at Chipotle:
Chicken Bowl: white rice or brown rice, black beans, fajitas, chicken, mild salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce
Veggie Salad: lettuce, black beans, fajitas, mild salsa and/or medium salsa, sour cream, cheese, guacamole