How was everyone’s week?  I hope it went well.  🙂  Things were a little crazy in our family this week.  My sister delivered twin boys on Wednesday!!  Welcome Baby Wyatt & Baby Jack!!  They were premature, so they will be in the NICU for a while.  They just need to grow!  Congrats to Kelly, Greg & Noah!!

Baby Wyatt

Baby Jack

I have a bunch of small things to chat about, so I thought I would lump them into one post. 

–Lara Bar Tropical Fruit Tart – One of the 3 new Lara Bar flavors.  I tried this the other day while running errands and was almost instantly transported to a tropical paradise (in my mind).  😉  LOL!  What a nice treat this bar is!!  A definite favorite here.  I can’t decide what my favorites are now….LOL!  I am loving the PB & J Lara Bar, too! 

–Clif Shot Bloks – as my long runs increase, I need some kind of portable food to fuel me during my run.  I have tried the Gu Gels and while I liked them, I can’t handle the caffeine in the Gu.  I don’t drink any caffeinated beverages & the addition of these Gu gels was wrecking havoc on my whole day.  Clif Shot Bloks & Shots don’t have caffeine unless you specifically buy the ones with the caffeine in them.  I tried the Cran Razz Shot Blocks this AM and they worked great!!  I took 3 before my run and 3 during my run.  There are 6 in a pack for $2/pack (but there are 2 servings in a pack, making them comparable to the gels).  I also bought some of the Clif Gels to try out next week. 

–Chipotle update note:  I had mentioned the other day in my review that the chips, taco shells & one salsa were not gluten-free.  This is NOT the case.  Everything is gluten-free except the flour tortillas!!  Going to get my chip on here in the next few days!  Go Chipotle!!! 

-Let’s talk okra for a minute.  I have grown up loving okra.  When I was between the ages of 4-8, we lived in Texas & my Dad grew okra in our garden.  Then my Mom would make fried okra.  Pure heaven.  Moving to New Jersey in 3rd grade was tough as it was with a Southern accent.  Then add to that that you can’t get fried okra anywhere and you have torture!  LOL!  I remember loving going on vacation anywhere where I could get some fried okra.  Enough about my childhood.  Since I have grown up, I have grown to like okra without it being fried.  I love it sauteed, as you can see here in my okra medley.   The other day I was reading some blogs on my Google reader (thanks to whoever recommended that…it rocks!) and saw a few eating whole, raw okra dipped in ketchup.  I had to try this.  So, for lunch yesterday in addition to my deli wrap, I had raw okra dipped in ketchup.  It was awesome!!  So crisp & crunchy!!  Why haven’t I tried this before?  Naturally gluten-free, too!!

–Cherbourg Bakery is now in 2 new locations in Columbus!!!  See my Examiner post for more info.

Upcoming posts:

• Zucchini Bread (YUM)
• Udi’s product review (amazing!)
• Menu Plan Monday
• So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream Review

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!  Any special plans?  Aaron & I have date night planned tomorrow night!  Dinner out & we are seeing The Hangover.  I can’t wait!

Today was a day of fun for the kids and I.  This was officially the last day of summer.  I had planned out a fun day for us all.  This morning we had pedicure time for the divas:

Then we headed out to Chipotle for a super yummy lunch!  This was the first time that we have eaten there gluten-free and I was very impressed.  You can read more on The Examiner in my new article.  I will tease you with a picture of my yumminess…..

The gluten-free boy is in heaven (see our bottle of Ortega Taco Sauce that we brought?):

Hannah not liking her cheese quesadilla (not gluten-free) so much without ketchup.  Note to self:  bring ketchup next time, too!

After our awesome lunch, we headed over to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert.  The kids each got love it sizes (way too much, but I had a buy 1 get 1 coupon from the entertainment book) with 4 mix-ins.  Hey, it was a special day. LOL!  I myself stuck with the smaller like it size and should have chose the kids size instead….that was still too much.  I had to have the dark chocolate with Heath bar mixed in.  So rich & satisfying! 

I had a great time today with the kids and I hope they had as much fun as I did.  🙂  I think we just started a new tradition. 

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Heidi over at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom had a wonderful post that I have to talk about today.  She made her own GF Happy Meals!  What a brilliant idea!  Jon is a little old for this idea, but I know a lot of others have young kids that are gluten-free and can’t have the Happy Meals.  I wanted you all to see what Heidi came up with.  Please head over to her blog & read her amazing idea!  WTG Heidi! 

First on the agenda…I had to choose 2 new winners for the Fiber One Yogurt contest b/c 2 of the 3 winners did not contact me & left me no way to contact them.  The new winners are:

Krysten H of Brunch at Tiffany’s.  Krysten said “My favorite snack is a toss up between Pamela’s GF brownies (from the mix) and Tropical Source dark chocolate rice crisp bars. I cannot control myself with those bars & they break into triangles, not squares, so when I eat the chocolate I wind up getting it on my face since it’s at an angle. Very attractive.”

Carri of The Five of Us.  Carri said “Cheese nachos. Particularly – the Blue Garden of Eaten (not baked) chips and Sargento Mexican Blend cheese…….now – don’t you want to go and make some???”

Carri & Krysten, I am sending emails to you.  Please get back to me with your addresses ASAP so I can get them to My Blog Spark to send out your prizes!!

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Found some amazing deals at Meijer today on gluten-free goodies.  Glutino pasta: $.72.  We bought all 8 boxes.  Glutino Pizza Breadsticks: $1.19.   Bought the only one they had.  Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes: $.72.  Bought the last 2.  Perky’s Nutty Rice cereal: $72.  Bought the only 1 they had.  HUGE savings!!!  We have no idea why they were marked that low.  The other flavors of the same products were there and marked at normal prices ($4.79 for the Nutty Flax Cereal).   

The time has come…..school starts this week!!  WOOHOO!!!  Not all of us in the house are doing the “Back-to-School Boogie”….Jon would prefer to keep right on going with his summer vacation.  Sorry, Charlie!  While I have enjoyed the summer with the kids, I am excited to get back into more of a routine.  The school supplies have been purchased and the backpacks are packed.  Now all we need is for Wednesday to get here! 

This week  Asparagus Thin is hosting the gluten-free menu swap.  She chose grapes as her ingredient theme of the week.  I love grapes!  My new favorite grape is the champagne grape, which I have been using on my salads!  YUM!!  I talk about them here.  I plan on continuing to use them in my salads this week.  I also have some seedless red grapes that I am probably going to freeze for fun snacks this week. 

I have some news that really disappointed me today.  I had written a while back  that I was so excited that Meijer’s Rotisserie Chicken was gluten-free…the original only had 4 0r 5 ingredients on the list, all clearly gluten-free.  Well, today I went to buy our Sunday night chicken and went to check the ingredients like I always do and what do you know, they changed them!!  Now there was a huge list for the “spices” and wheat flour was the 3rd one on the list!!  WHY????  What was wrong with the way it was??  If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!!  I was trying to find a manager on duty, but decided it would be best to email after Aaron convinced me of it.  So, that scrapped our dinner for tonight.  I did buy a roasting chicken so I could make my own this week.  Close in price, just more work for me.  Oh well.  I should be used to it by now.  This just goes to show you why it is very important to check the labels on everything you buy & eat every single time. 

Sunday ~ Chicken Parmesan a la Aaron.  🙂  Spaghetti, green beans & salad on the side

Monday ~ Kim meeting friend at Whole Foods; leftovers for the family

Tuesday ~ Filet mignon, broccoli, sweet potatoes & salad

Wednesday ~ Tacos or Mexican Pizza, beans & salad

Thursday ~ Apricot Glazed Pork Loin, parmesan potatoes, asparagus & salad

Friday ~ Breakfast for dinner (pancakes or omelets)

Saturday ~ Out

Baked Goods

Haven’t gotten this far yet!  HA!!  I would love to make some more chia muffins or banana bread this week. 

Don’t forget to check out Orgjunkie for lots more menu ideas. 

Hope you have a great week!!

Last night I met up with a bunch of other Celiac/gluten-free people in Columbus.  These are all people that I have met online, either through the blog world or Twitter.  It was so great to put faces (and voices) with names and to meet some of their friends and/or family members.  Jay at The Gluten-free Post was nice enough to organize this function with Z Pizza for us. 

Once we all said “Hello” and sat down, we were given the gluten-free menu to browse over.  I was very impressed by the selection of items that were gluten-free.  Almost every style of pizza on the menu could be modified to be gluten-free.  Heaven!!  Also, they offered 2 different gluten-free beer choices!!  They had New Grist and Bard’s Tale. 

I started off with a Greek salad.  I was so excited about all the choices, I totally forgot to take a picture of it!  HA!  Aaron stayed home with the kids and I brought a co-worker of his who also has Celiac, Lindsay.  Lindsay has only been gluten-free for 4 months, so she had yet to experience gluten-free beer.  Lindsay & I decided on 2 different pizzas to share.  We ordered the Moroccan. (basil, eggplant, mozzarella, feta cheese, pesto & pine nuts) and the Mediterranean (mozzarella, feta, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, Greek olives, pili pili oil, and oregano. 

The Moroccan:

The Mediterranean:

The pizzas were amazing.  There is nothing like beer & pizza.  Lindsay said she was “in heaven”!  Lots of good sounds coming from the table at Z Pizza last night. 

As we were finishing up our chatting & dinner, the staff brought out some cookies for us.  We all looked around like wondering if they were gluten-free and sure enough, they were!  Coconut Macaroons & Peanut Butter cookies.  OMG…they were amazing!!  I asked where they got them from and turns out that they make them there!  This place just kept getting better & better.  This is a definite repeat visit place.  THANK YOU Z PIZZA & JAY!!!

After dinner some of us walked a few blocks down to Jeni’s Ice Creams.  I have never seen so many unique flavors!!  I had to sample several before I made up my mind.  I sampled the Sweet & Salty Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Lemon & Blueberries and a Pear & Riesling Sorbet.  They were all amazing, but the Dark Chocolate was amazing…so smooth & rich!  I got a kids size cup because I was already stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey.  I seriously could have done without the salad, but I had to have it! LOL! 

This was a great night!  Great company, conversation & food.  It was so nice to meet everyone and I hope to see you all again at the next dinner or get together. 

Last night 2 of my BFF’s and I went out for our monthly dinner at Marcella’s.  Marcella’s is one of the many restaurants in the Cameron Mitchell Restaurant group.  We try to choose new places or ones that we don’t dine at frequently for our monthly dinners.  It is a great way to stay connected to each other; life is too short to not spend good times with your friends. 

Upon arriving, I asked the hostess if they had a printed gluten-free menu or if  the manager would be able to go over the menu with me.  While they didn’t have a gluten-free menu, the did have gluten-free pasta!!!  WHAT?  OMG!  I have  never eaten in a restaurant that serves gluten-free pasta.  I almost fainted right there and think that I did actually jump up & down and maybe even let out a little shriek.  I hope that I didn’t scare the hostess too much! LOL! 

Check out the menu:

I looked at the menu for a long time.  I couldn’t decide what to have.  I was told that they could pretty much modify anything on the menu to be gluten-free (with the exception of the breads & fried stuff, obviously).  There were so many choices, which is odd, because normally there are only a handful of things that are gluten-free on the menu.  The pasta is penne style and is also soy-free.  I wanted to eat pasta because I had never had pasta out since going gluten-free, but the Seafood Risotto was calling my name.  Additionally, I had just had a tuna pasta creation for lunch because I was not expecting to have pasta as an option for dinner.  I settled on the Seafood Risotto.  For an appetizer we ordered the prosciutto & melon and then a chopped salad, too.

The melon was perfect…crisp & flavorful and the proscuitto was the perfect pairing. 

The salad was made up of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, gorgonzola & a yummy house vinaigrette. 

Here is my Seafood Risotto:

Do you see the big, succulent pieces of shrimp & lobster?

The Seafood Risotto has lobster, shrimp, white wine, parmesan reggiano and tomatoes.  Completely & totally amazing.  Super creamy.  Gordon Ramsay would be proud of this risotto!!  (Hell’s Kitchen fans will catch that reference.) 😉

Dessert offerings for the gluten-free crowd were a few flavors of gelato, including pistachio and chocolate.  Unfortunately I was too full to enjoy any.  Yes, I, Kim was too full.  That is not something that occurs frequently with me.  LOL!  I did finish all of my salad and most of that large bowl of risotto, though.

Marcella’s is definitely a place that I will be dining at frequently.  I can’t wait to go back now!  Only problem is that I want to have that risotto again, but I also want to try a bunch of other stuff! 

Once again, well done Cameron Mitchell, well done.  🙂  Now if we could just get some gluten-free pizza there, I might just eat all of my meals there!  HA!  😉

I saw this on another blog today and thought it would be a lot of fun to share here and to learn about some of my readers.  I feel like you guys know a lot about me or more about me than I know about you.  I would like to know more about my readers.  🙂  So, I will start with this list and then you can copy & paste your answers in the comments section.  🙂

I Am – a strong woman, wife & mother
I Want – to have completed a marathon by this time next year.
I Have – two beautiful children & a loving husband.
I Wish – the economy was in a better place.
I Hate – cancer
I Fear -death…dying before my kids.
I Hear – the news…storms are on the horizon
I Search – for new gluten-free foods all the time!
I Wonder – what the world will be like in 25 years.
I Regret – some of the things I did 15 years ago.  If I went back to change them though, my life would be different today.
I Love – my family
I Ache – for those in pain
I Always – kiss my kids & hubby good night before bed.
I Usually – talk to my sister at least once a day
I Am Not – the type of person to be late..punctuality is one of my biggest OCD habits!  LOL!
I Dance – with my daughter
I Sing – whenever the mood strikes me.
I Never – say never

I Rarely – watch TV during the day or summer.
I Cry – too much! LOL!  I am very emotional.
I Am Not Always – the most organized, though I try.
I Lose – my keys in my large purse all the time
I’m Confused – when I have to help my son with his algebra! LOL!
I Need – a good massage from my hubby.
I Should – get up & change my laundry.
I Dream – of opening my own gluten-free restaurant/bakery one day.
I hope– that my kids have a good school year…they start next week.
I feel– for my sister….she is having a rough pregnancy with twin boys.
I appreciate-all my friends, family & readers.  🙂

What lessons have you learned this year? I can do anything that I want to do if I put my mind to it.  Attitude is the key.  A positive attitude can change your whole experience.  Why be miserable when you don’t have to be? 

Now, here is a blank copy for you to cut & paste.  You can fill as much of this out as you want or as little.  I can’t wait to read more about you all!

I Am –
I Want –
I Have –
I Wish –
I Hate –
I Fear –
I Hear –
I Search –
I Wonder –
I Regret –
I Love –
I Ache –
I Always –
I Usually –
I Am Not –
I Dance –
I Sing –
I Never –
I Rarely –
I Cry –
I Am Not Always –
I Lose –
I’m Confused –
I Need –
I Should –
I Dream –
I hope-
I feel-
I appreciate-

What lessons have you learned this year?

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Notes:

I finally found the very elusive PB & J Lara Bar!!!  WOOOHOOOO!!!  Thanks to Raisin Rack for having it in stock, as well as every other Lara Bar flavor.  They rock!!  As a matter of fact, I have all 3 new flavors in the house right now!  I will try them all and then report back. 

I am going to dinner tonight at a new restaurant.  This place is new to me, not new.  They supposedly have a gluten-free menu.  I am super excited & can’t wait to report back to you guys! 

2 of the 3 winners of the Fiber One giveaway have not contacted me.  Elissa & Marybeth, please email me at kbouldin@insight.rr.com to claim your prize!  If I don’t hear back by midnight on Friday, I will choose 2 more winners. 

When I went into my daughter’s school today, I saw a Celiac.com print out sitting on the desk in the office.  I asked the secretary if she has Celiac.  She told me that she didn’t, but  a student does.  Also, they think her daughter may have Celiac.  She is in college & has been having all kinds of issues.  I told her a little about the testing & gave her the link to my blog. If you are reading, I hope your daughter can get to feeling better!  Please let me know if I can help!

Have a great night. 

Just a quick alert for all my gluten-free readers out there.  I got this from the news this morning:

Van’s International Foods Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Wheat, Gluten, Milk and Egg in Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes

VERNON, Calif., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ — Van’s International Foods has issued an allergy alert and is voluntarily recalling the following product: 12.4 ounce package of frozen Van’s Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes with the lot number listed below because they contain undeclared wheat, gluten, milk and egg in the product.

People who have allergies or sensitivities to wheat, gluten, milk or eggs may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

The 118 cases of recalled Van’s Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes may have been distributed in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Idaho and Hawaii, through retail outlets that include but may not be limited to Whole Foods, Wegmans, Giant Carlisle, Sprouts and Martins. The distributors and the retail customers involved have been notified.

The product comes in a 12.4 ounce package which is beige with an orange stripe on the top and a triangular blue gluten-free call-out in the upper right-hand corner with the lot number 200060629B1 located on the side flap of the box. The “Best if used by” date is March 30, 2010 also printed on the same flap.

    Package UPC           Description -     Lot #             Best if Used By
                           Retail Label                        Date
                           Weight
    ------------          -------------     -----------       ---------------
    0-89947-60604-9       Van's All         200060629B1       March 30, 2010
                          Natural Wheat
                          Free Homestyle
                          Pancakes, 12.4
                          ounce
    ---------------       --------------    -----------       ---------------

“Our customers have trusted Van’s with their special dietary needs for more than 20 years, and their health and safety are our first priority,” said CEO of Van’s International Foods, Eric Kufel. “Van’s has immediately implemented advanced quality procedures above and beyond what we already have in place to ensure the continued safety of our products.”

The voluntary recall was initiated immediately after a packaging operator error, limited to one shift, was discovered. The company has immediately reinforced its Quality Assurance and Packaging procedures and believes that the problem was a one-time incident. Consumers who are allergic to or have sensitivity to wheat, gluten, milk or eggs, should not consume this product. Consumers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund or send the box top with the printed lot number to the address below to receive five free coupons for any Van’s waffle, pancake, or French toast stick product 12.4 ounce or smaller.

    Van's International Foods, Inc.
    Attn: Wheat Free Pancake Product Recall
    3285 East Vernon Avenue
    Vernon, CA 90058

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (303) 848-6013 or via email at customerservice@vansintl.com . For more information on this recall, please visit www.vansfoods.com for details.

The Food and Drug Administration has been notified of this voluntary recall.

    Media Contacts:
    (817) 329-3257 (24-hours)
    Suzanne Miller, spm@spmcommunications.com
    Alexandra Elliott, alexandra@spmcommunications.com
    Tracy Aiello, tracy@spmcommunications.com

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SOURCE Van’s International Foods

Do you know what kind of food I like best?  The kind that is naturally gluten-free and minimally processed.  I think chocolate fits in that category, but I am not talking about chocolate today.  Don’t worry, chocolate still holds  a place in my heart.  😉 

I have seen various posts in the blog world about the yucca root.  I hadn’t heard of it before and was intrigued.  I saw that the yucca was being cut into fry shapes and then baked in the oven.  I have posted numerous other veggies that I like to eat like fries, so why not yucca?  Yucca is also called cassava.  Yucca is actually very familiar to those of us on a gluten-free diet.  It is known as one of the most widely used gluten-free flours, tapioca!  Yucca has a mild flavor and can be used in place of potatoes in  soups, dumplings, stews, gravies & more. 

I chose to peel & bake/roast my yucca root last night to go along with my BBQ chicken breasts.  Once I peeled the yucca, I laid out on a baking sheet that I sprayed with Pam and then sprayed the root itself with Pam.  You could toss with EVOO & spices, too.  I then seasoned with just salt & pepper, as I wanted a good idea of what the yucca itself tasted like.  I baked at 400 or so for about 20 – 30 minutes, flipping after about 15 minutes and then checking every 5 minutes after that.  I have to say that this is one of my new favorite forms of fries!  Holy YUM!!  The yucca fries had a crispier outside & a potatoey (is that a word?) inside.  Super mild flavor.  I dipped them in Organic Ketchup, but they would be good dipped in all kinds of sauces…..Frank’s Red Hot, Honey Mustard, BBQ, etc. 

I can see adding yucca to my list of produce that I buy weekly now.  Very nice change of pace and delicious, too!  Interested in the other fries that I have made?  Here they are:

• Sweet potato steak fries
• Butternut squash fries
• Sweet potato fries

Let me know if you give yucca root a try & how you end up preparing it.

What is your favorite homemade fry?

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New article up on the Examiner. 

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Upcoming blog stuff:

• Lots of new product reviews.  I have some fun stuff to try out & report back to you all on.  I can’t wait!  🙂
• Interview with a gluten-free marathon runner getting ready to run her 14th marathon in a couple of weeks! 

Cheryl at Gluten-free Goodness tagged me for  “One Lovely Blog Award“. 🙂  I was very honored to be tagged for this award.  Thanks Cheryl!! 🙂  Now, it is my job to tag 10 blogs which I find are deserving of the “One Lovely Blog Award“.    These aren’t all necessarily gluten-free, but other blogs that I find informative in one way or another & really enjoy reading.

1. Angela at Oh She Glows – Angela has some awesome recipes & is a baker that hopes to be making gluten-free bars to add to her bakery very soon.
2. Andrea at Off Her Cork – Always has fun & nutritious meals to blog about.  I get great ideas from Andrea.
3. Katrina at Gluten-free Gidget – Very creative gluten-free cook.  Love the new puppy!!
4. Jay at The Gluten-free Post – Jay has great information on his blog.
5. Erin at Gluten-free with a Purpose – Erin is always making the most mouth-watering desserts!  I love this week’s “Tuesday with Dorie”….Applesauce Bars/Cake with Frosting
6. Jenn at Jenn Cuisine – Jenn is an amazing cook & photographer. 
7. Amy at Simple Sugar & Gluten-free – I love reading Amy’s recipes & learning how to cook without sugar, too.
8. Ali at The Healthy Hostess – Ali has some great healthy recipes on her site. 
9. Anna at Anna’s Eats – Anna is new to the blog world & I love reading her posts of what she eats & how she navigates her food world with allergies.
10. Heidi at Adventures of a Gluten-free Mom – Heidi always has great, helpful information on her site.  I love the post she just did yesterday….a recipe for Condensed Cream of Tomato soup.

If I have tagged you, you can tag a number of blogs yourself or just simply accept that you have “One Lovely Blog“.  🙂  I enjoy reading them all.