Gluten-Free
After decades of severe issues and no satisfactory doctor diagnosis, I went on an elimination diet and discovered I needed to go gluten-free. I will share what I have discovered as a gluten intolerant person (not celiac) in State College’s restaurants and grocery stores, and I will share some of my own recipes.
A key to going gluten-free is realizing that almost ALL of creation is naturally gluten-free. Focusing on all the good food out there that is available on this diet helps fight the depression that accompanies what seems to be an overwhelming life change.
RESTAURANTS
(This is my experience from eating at restaurants. I am not celiac and I can tolerate tiny amounts of gluten so I don’t know how much gluten contamination there is in these foods.)
The Field, Toftrees: Gluten-Free roll. This is the best gf roll I’ve had in State College and their burgers are great as well as the steak sandwich. They have good fries and homemade potato chips.
Dolce Vita: Fabulous gf cupcakes. They often have other gf sweets to chose from. They also have sweets made with wheat flour so you can pick-up something for everyone. Must try: pumpkin apple muffins (they are probably seasonal)
Sakura: I love the hibatchi and pad thai. They are probably made with soy sauce and not tamari, but I don’t have a bad reaction to either.
Carver Deli and BBQ: Great bbq - very smokey. Great sauces. They have a couple gf sides like potato salad and cole slaw.
Mercato Mio: There’s a couple good gf choices.
Snap Pizza: They have a gf crust and a gf cauliflower crust. Both are good and its my favorite gf pizza in town.
Jersey Mike’s: You can get nearly any sub on a gluten-free sub roll. It’s quite nice. The roll is a bit dry so I always get vinegar & oil or mayonnaise, or both, on my cold subs. They do a great job of cleaning their work space and changing gloves before making a gf sub.
GROCERY SHOPPING
GF Bread and GF everything bagels on the fresh isles at Trader Joes. Best of both that I can find in the area.
Katz gf apple pie. Fabulous. Cannot believe the crust is gf but the filling runs a bit sweet. Found it a couple times at the Giant on South Atherton.
GF egg fettucine pasta, Trader Joes. The best noodles I can find anywhere and they’re fresh in the refrigerator section. I divide the package into meal size and freeze what I don’t use. Takes only 3-4 minutes to boil whether they’re fresh or frozen.
GF Pork Dumplings, Wegmans. Freezer section with other gf foods. Fabulous. Comes with tamari dipping sauce. There are other flavors too.
GF mozzarella sticks, Wegmans. Freezer section with other gf foods. I dip in my own marinara sauce.
GF Red Lobster cheese biscuit mix, at most grocery stores, definitely Giant. Delicious. Alongside other muffin and cake mixes that aren’t gf in baking isle.
Krustees GF cinnamon swirl coffee cake mix, at most grocery stores, definitely Giant. Also delicious. Alongside other muffin and cake mixes that aren’t gf in baking aisle. I often chop a large apple into small pieces, simmer in a pan with a little butter, some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, and add some of the packaged sugar mix; then add this apple mix to the middle layer of the cake before baking.
Pamela’s GF corn muffin mix. I found it in local grocery stores but ended-up ordering some on-line. Very good but a little sweet if you add all the sugar.
Trader Joes Pumpkin Muffin Mix, seasonal. Fabulous.
Trader Joes Pumpkin Pancake Mix, seasonal. Pretty good.
Recipes
Krusteaz Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake mix (with apples)
I follow the instructions on the box (1) except for the middle layer (which would normally be half of the cinnamon sugar mixture). For the apple filling: (2) peel then dice one-and-a-half Fuji apples into approximately 1/4 inch cubes. Melt about 2 T butter in pan over low heat and add the apples, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning. Cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Turn-off the heat and add half the Krusteaz sugar packet. Mix well. Prepare the coffee cake as directed on the box using the apple mixture as the middle layer (3). Bake as directed (4). (In my oven, the baking time and temperature instructed on box work perfectly.)
Krusteaz GF Coffee Cake mix with fresh Fuji apples