There has been a bit of radio silence over here, but that’s because I am just too excited about my other blog, The Stone Wall.

Check there for more updates about life, interesting things from around the world and, of course, gluten free insights!

There have been so many things I’ve wanted to share, like the New York Times article exposing how much our poor wallets are exploited for buying simple gfree items or how Twitter has become an invaluable resource for finding local gluten free goodies. But, my friends, what I am going to share tonight is short and sweet: I.FOUND.GOOD.PIZZA.

Yes, you heard me right. I had a pizza night – and not a “have to go and pick it up myself and pay double the price of normal pizza” pizza night. Belly’s Pizza of Roswell provides an unexpected joy to those people eating gluten free in the Roswell area. Granted, Jay and I live in Decatur, but both of our families live in Roswell, so we make frequent visits.

I stumbled across it on the Atlanta Examiner discussing the creation and use of Domata brand flour. As I read down, it mentioned a small pizza place in Roswell (!!!) that used the flour to make any of their pies gluten free. I immediately called my mom and told her I was coming to visit her that weekend

First round of ordering (the deliver to a limited areas): I ordered a classic cheese, because, well, I am a purist (boring) when it comes to pizza. They went a little heavy on the cheese, which ultimately was too heavy for the very thin crust to support. I was just pumped to be eating something that reminded me of my gluten days, but I wasn’t in love.

That was, until the second round of ordering. My mother-in-law surprised me and my fellow gfree sister-in-law with a pizza night the following week. What made all the difference? She ordered the white pizza, covered in garlic and lighter cheeses. It was delicious and crispy. It must be the lack of marinara sauce that makes the texture so much better. I could have eaten the whole pie, but unfortunately I had to share

A couple minor cons: You can only order a small gfree pizza, making sharing hard. Secondly, the  to-go box for their small pizzas are very thin, which don’t provide much support for the delicate pizzas.

If you are in the Roswell area – go give this independent chain a try!

Belly’s Pizza

www.bellysofroswell.com

885 Woodstock Rd # 330
Roswell, GA 30075-2275
(770) 594-8118
Get directions

So, at the wedding of a dear friend, I tried again. Well I am happy to say it was a sucess, but only with some great gfree options that were available. When throwing a party, you should consider having this really great and creative dessert on hand in case there might be anyone watching their gluten intake.

I introduce to you, the chocolate dessert shell!

There are really great sites that can teach you how to make your own….but, you can also cheat a little and find them at your specialty grocer. Before even going gluten free, I love how customizable they were. I once made a white chocolate hazelnut mousse (I will have to find that and share!) and topped it with fresh berries. You could also add ice cream or peanut butter – really, anything can go in these little suckers.

So, no wedding cake, but life is all about compromises, right? (and by that I mean I stuffed about 5 little chocolate cups into my mouth as fast as I could ).

Enjoy!

Once I found out that the quaint Inman Park restaurant was serving a four course fix prixe GLUTEN FREE menu, reservations were promptly made.

It is no secret that Jay and I love to eat great food, so we were both pretty excited about a good, old fashioned date night to a new spot with a promising menu. I put on a cute summer dress and we headed down Dekalb Avenue to Shaun’s.

Opting to sit outside, the atmosphere was intimate. The weather was definitely on our side, albeit a bit warm (all the more reason to order a delicious bottle of crisply chilled white wine!).

The night unfolded into an evening of great food, great service and just an all around great date night!  Our waiter was knowledgeable, charming and enthusiastic about the GF menu. He informed us that Chef/Owner Shaun Doty hand selected all the ingredients for the entire menu. How cool is that?

After rushing over our bottle of wine (fresh in from Santorini), the first course was revealed. The local and organic tomatoes in the panzanella were extremely refreshing and a great start to the meal. I don’t love gluten free bread yet, so I am not sure I truly appreciated the focaccia in the salad. It was shortly followed by a warm sweet corn soup and butter poached lobster. If I were sitting inside in the AC I probably would have enjoyed this course more, but it was still a great predecessor to the main course: a grass-fed sirloin. Thinking that it was not going to be that interesting, this was actually my favorite part of the meal! Perfectly seared, the steak was incredibly juicy and flavorful. It was accompanied by a ‘stuffed’ onion. Steak. Onions. It was all good. Dessert was a tangy orange and cream soda float (what a great idea!).

More than how great the food and service was, I truly enjoyed getting to go to a restaurant and feel catered to. I didn’t have to ask a million questions or get looked at like I had a plague. I got to simply enjoy dinner and be low maintenance.

So, thank you Shaun’s for being sensitive to an increasingly growing disease. I will be back!

Gluten Allergies Becoming Increasingly Common

Allergies to gluten, the protein in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats, create a wide variety of symptoms including: painful stomach cramps, bloating, gas, increased appetite (due to malabsorption of nutrients), weight loss, fatigue, constipation, or diarrhea. Not only that but eating these foods causes damage to the villi in the intestines, affecting the body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly. It can also be fatal, so it’s really important to avoid gluten-filled foods if you’re allergic.

So why the increase in prevalence in this disease?

To find out – visit FitSugar!

Please look at this prix fixe menu!

appetizer
local and organic tomato panzanella with gluten-free foccacia

intermezzo
riverview farms corn soup, butter poached lobster

entrée
grass-fed free range sirloin, stuffed vidalia onion, cumin

dessert
vanilla soda float with orange campari sorbet

Um, delicious! The price is $45 dollars per person (which, OK, might be a little steep for just a night out, but it includes wine pairing!). Make your reservations today, I know I am!

Shaun’s Restaurant 1029 Edgewood Avenue NE (map) | Atlanta, Georgia 30307
P 404.577.4358 F 404.577.4351 | info@shaunsrestaurant.com

I start July with a deep breath and a refocus. June was a roller coaster of eating and living habits. I even, gasp, had gluten…

You see, I love wedding cake. I am not sure what it is about wedding cake, but I love the stuff. When one of my former roommates was a wedding planner, the highlight of my week would be every Sunday morning when I would open the fridge to see what sugary confection was served the night before.

No matter what I read about the pain of eating gluten after riding it from your diet, I had my eye on the prize at a dear friend’s wedding this past weekend. I had told everyone beforehand that yes, I am not supposed to eat it, but I am going to and don’t judge me. Victory would be mine.

After the vows and the dances, it was cake time and I had Jay run in to get me a piece. It was delicious. I practically liked the plate (and I think I told everyone that gave me a side glance that ‘it was so worth the gluten’). That was, until, about 3o minutes later when that old familiar feeling came back.

Ugh! I made Jay promise not to let me do that again (as I curled up on the bed). It’s almost been a week now since the forbidden slice and I still feel a little wonky. I am in awe of the power food holds over the body. I can’t really promise I won’t slip again, but at least I will be a little more prepared for the consequences.

Have a Happy Gluten Free 4th!

Just off of Peachtree on the quaint side street of Maple, you will find Mosaic. Before I was diagnosed with Celiac’s, this would have been my kind of spot: independent, well decorated, friendly and cozy. The bummer is I can’t really comment on the food because they do not  cater to those with my sensitivities. I feel almost bad faulting them because their menu did look fabulous, complete with a sandwich titled “Buckhead’s Best Fried Green Tomato Sandwich”, but when I asked what I could safely have to our server, all I got was the option between the talapia or the greens salad.

Defeated, I ordered the lettuce. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to eat it right away, because I had to pick off all of the croutons (Ok, that one is a little less forgivable).

Jay got the Kobe Beef Sliders with Brie Cheese (jerk) and they looked great, but would probably lose the ‘burger’ feel if you went sans bun.

So, while it is a cute little gem in Buckhead, Mosaic  gets a thumbs down for the gluten free.

Without further ado….

Hola Control+Z! I’m cousin Adrienne, a big fan of Jeanette’s new blog. What’s not to love, right? We’re the kind of family that sticks together, so when Nette found out her big C news, all of the kin-folk jumped on board.

I’ve been chasing a mysterious food reaction for my whole adult life.  In college, I’d wake up in the morning with arthritis-like pain and stiffness in my hands and feet – but only on some days.  I’d get horrible migraines that would come and go.  I lived with mouth sores, and it wasn’t until in my late twenties that I realized not everyone was either constipated or running for the bathroom – all the time.  I saw doctors, allergists… but nothing ever came of it.

I’ve been everything from a vegetarian to an Atkin’s devotee – and while I’d see some symptom relief, it was never consistent or anything I could put my finger on.  As a vegetarian, sometimes I’d live on cheeze-its and Wheat Thins.  When I’d phase to the various stages of low-carb diets, I never tied my reappearing symptoms to re-introduction of grains, rather just blowing the diet.  The older I got, the worse I felt and the more weight crept up on me…some days feel like walking through mud.  But the worst part is that it took 30 months to conceive our first child, and we’re still grappling with infertility.

Around the time Jeanette was diagnosed with Celiac disease, I’d already been trying to cleanse my diet of processed foods in general and had been seeing lots of literature about Gluten pop up… but wow – eliminate wheat?  That’s a pretty big credibility chip to cash in with my husband who already thinks I’m a food weirdo. But, what if….?  What if the reason so many people respond to low-carb diets is because, incidentally, they’re cutting gluten out of their diet?  What if the reason we’re all tired, overweight, distracted and feel like crap in general is because of convenience foods? What if, for so many of us, the answer is really tucked in that loaf of bread, hiding in plain sight?

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve decided to give G-free living a go… if nothing else to say “Wow Jeanette – that’s tough. G-Free ginger snaps really do taste like dish soap!”  But a funny thing has happened – it’s not that I feel noticeably better, but if I unknowingly slip, I instantly feel worse.  Today at a  restaurant, I dove into a spinach artichoke dip with corn tortilla chips and by the second bite, the skin around my mouth started going numb with tiny little pin-pricks, swelling ever so slightly… and I knew.  I apologized to the table in advance for what was coming next, and I asked the waiter if they could find out the ingredients. Multiple managers appeared with allergy menus – Wheat was in the sauce.  Wheat was in the lemon butter sauce on my chicken.  Wheat was in… the pickles???

So this week to the doctor I shall go.  I’ve got my suspicions and now I really need answers.  In the mean time, I’m having fun in the kitchen.  I was never fond of cooking – but with parameters in place, it’s kind of a whole new challenge.  Here’s a dish I threw together in an attempt to make something ‘normal’ that my husband could enjoy with me.  The measurements are approximate – I don’t think anyone can screw this one up!

Shake ‘n’ Fake Chicken

4 medium-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Gluten-Free Rice Chex
1/2 cup Gluten-Free Corn Chex
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Add chex to food processor and chop until crumbly.  Remove to large bowl.
Add parmesan cheese to food processor and pulse until well crumbled.  Add chex mixture back into food processor bowl and add the leaves of one rosemary sprig, sage, pepper and salt.  Chop until well blended and aromatic.  Remove to large bowl.

Roll chicken breasts in mixture until well coated.  Lay in baking pan.  Sprinkle remaining mixture atop chicken.

Bake for aprox 25-30 min – until internal temp reaches 170.

Voila – enjoy the blog and wish me luck!

Adrienne Gray is a 30-something free-lance producer, writer and full-time mommy.  She lives in Mobile, AL with her husband and daughter and shakes her fist in the air at whoever thought convenience food was really a good idea.  She has a blog coming soon but she can’t tell you about it yet.  How’s that for mysterious?