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August 18, 2021

D Ellis Sugarloaf

Excellent Gluten Free Sandwiches

Last week my daughter was on vacation near Sugarloaf, Maine. One day while playing Disc Golf, she was looking for a lunch place that had Gluten Free.

Via the "Find Me Gluten Free App" she found D'Ellis Sugarloaf.

Dellies Gluten Free

Four Things We Learned

  • D'Ellis Sugarloaf is only open for breakfast and lunch - great place to go to get energy for skiing.
  • very sandwich can be made with Gluten Free bread - or no bread.
  • They don't have a dedicated toaster - so you can't toast your gluten free bread.
  • My daughter says that the sandwich was good, and certainly would go back if ever in the area again.

Finding D'Ellis Sugarloaf

D'Ellis Sugarloaf is Located at: 5 Village West, Carrabassett, ME 04947 (207) 237-2490

Specific Location on Google Maps.

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August 11, 2021

J.P. Licks

Great Ice Cream - Good Gluten Free Options!

Earlier this Summer my daughter had a birthday party in Newton Center. I dropped her off and walked around the area.

About an hour into the party, she texted me that she wanted ice cream. Apparently, there were no gluten-free deserts at her party. So I told her that I would stop at JP Licks to get a sundae for her.

jp licks Gluten-Free  Newton

Four Things I Learned

I just got a plain chocolate ice cream with some hot fudge topping. The person behind the counter was accommodating and hand washed a scoop and make sure to use a new ice cream container.

JP Licks has gluten-free cones. I didn't order as a sundae would be best eaten in a cup.

The ordering board identified ice creams that were not gluten-free - which made it easy to figure out what to order. My daughter is simple, as basic chocolate was good for her.

I saw some gluten-free oreo cookies by "My Dad's Cookies"- that I thought would be good to get for the ride home.

Great Ice Cream

We loved our ice cream and we'll be back. We don't frequent Newton Center - but we have a good reason to come back!

J.P. Licks is a local chain with 17 locations throughout the Boston area. The nearest one to us would be the Wellesley location - about a 22 min drive from home or 10-mins from her dance studio. (Might be a good treat after the dance!)

You can see all their Gluten Free ice cream options on their website.

As of today for Ice Cream they have: Chocolate, Coconut Almond Chip, Coffee, Maple Butter Walnut, Mint Chip, Pistachio, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate Chip. Frozen Yogurt: Coffee Chip, Mint Chip, Peanut Butter Chip, Vanilla.

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August 4, 2021

The LookOut

Great Place for Apple Picking and Burgers!

Last weekend, we visited The LookOut - which is a fairly new restaurant at Lookout Farms. We had heard that they have good gluten-free options, so we decided to check it out.

How would you describe your experience? "It's kind of like going to a restaurant and ordering take-out to eat there."

The Look Out- Desktop
The Look Out- Mobile

Five things I Learned

There's plenty of tables. We were there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and there were plenty of tables available.

The dining area is temporarily located near the train waiting area. You go up to the gazebo and they will direct you to a table to sit at. Once you arrive at the table you scan a bar code that opens up a menu at toast.com. After you place your order, a waiter will come to your table with your food.

We found the toast website to be tricky to work with. We found that we had to scroll a lot to add items to the cart. If you are stuck - ask someone at the gazebo.

They have gluten-free buns for their sandwiches - including the hot dog! The menu does describe the allergy ingredients so its easy to make the right choices.

The food was excellent! Juliana ordered the cheeseburger - no surprise! She ate most of it. The bun looks to be Udis Classic Hamburger Buns. The hamburger came with a side bag of Cape Cod potato chips.

We'll be Back!

The food at the Lookout was good, and it felt nice to be sitting outside on a mild summer day. We had a very good experience - minus the whole food ordering thing.

The ordering wasn't all that bad, just weird that that you simply scan the bar code - no instructions on ordering or specials.

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July 28, 2021

Gluten Free Oreos

Americas Favorite Cookie

One of the downsides of being a celiac is not trying some of the popular cookies. Sure there are alternatives - but it's not the same. It's kind of like being at a birthday party. You can only drink Walmart brand soda while everyone else is drinking Coke-Cola. It might be good, but its not the same. (Try the store brand challenge and see for yourself!)

This is how people with celiac feel. They do feel a bit left out. Earlier this year, there was some good news on the snack front.

In January 2021, Nabisco started shipping Gluten Free Oreos. Yes, the same Oreos that everyone loves, is now available Gluten Free.

Oreo 2021 Mobile
Oreo 2021 Desktop

Its a Hit!

My daughter tried it and it's a hit! She absolutely loves them. They are better than any of the gluten-free Oreo "knock-offs." (We stopped buying different brands because they weren't good.)

They were hard to find in January and February but now available in every supermarket that we visit - including Target and Walmart.

We typically buy a couple of packs just so that we have them available. She loved to snack on them.

I have tried the Gluten-Free Oreos and they are exactly like regular Oreos. There's no different taste or texture. I don't know how they did it. But it does taste great.

Five Things I Learned

  • Gluten Free Oreos were announced in November 2020 and came out in January 2021. We were able to get it on January 25.
  • They look exactly the same as regular Oreos, except they do say Gluten-Free on the cookie. (Its hard to see the words)
  • Most stores stock them with regular Oreos. They tend to stand out more because of the white packaging. I am guessing that they don't put them with other Gluten-Free foods because Nabisco comes in the store and stocks them.
  • The Gluten-Free Oreo costs about 20% more than the standard Oreo. I have noticed that they don't go on sale as frequently as regular Oreos. They were on sale early on as a promotion to get the word out.
  • Did you know that the Gluten-Free cookies segment accounted for the highest revenue share of more than 32% in 2020 (Among Baked Gluten-Free goods.) - according to the Gluten-free Baking Mixes Market Report.

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July 21, 2021

Celiac Vaccine Update

Quick Update on the Vaccine Search

Back in January, 2019, I wrote about how the Nexvax2 was in Stage 2 trials. This vaccine would help people with celiac disease to occasionally enjoy foods that may contain gluten.

I thought I would follow up on the update of the testing.

Celiac Vaccine Update

Nexvax2 Trial has been discontinued

Unfortunately testing didn't go well. Six Months into Phase 2, and the trial was stopped.

The results of the trial showed that the vaccine didn't provide any more protection from gluten when compared to the placebo.

The official statement from June 25, 2020:

The results from an interim analysis revealed Nexvax2 did not provide statistically meaningful protection from gluten exposure for celiac disease patients when compared with placebo.

ImmusanT, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing a treatment, and a set of diagnostic and monitoring tools to manage patients with Celiac disease.

Next Steps for ImmusanT

ImmusanT has closed its doors shortly after stopping the Nexvax2 trial. Any testing information is likely to be Vatera Healthcare Partners as they were the primary backers to ImmusanT.

While it's disappointing to hear that Nexvax2 didn't make it. There are plenty of other trials still in play.

Zedira Phase 2b Trial

Earlier this month, the New England Journal of Medicine featured a story about an experimental drug called ZED1227 that looks to be promising to those diagnosed with celiac disease. (A Randomized Trial of a Transglutaminase 2 Inhibitor for Celiac Disease)

According to early testing, patients on the drug showed fewer signs of intestinal damage when eating a biscuit with some gluten.

As part of the study, patients have to take a pill every morning and and once in a while they would eat a biscuit that contained a trace of gluten.

Zedira is still moving forward with the phase 2b study in Europe.

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July 14, 2021

Kanes Donuts

Awesome Gluten Free Donuts

Finding a place that makes good gluten-free donuts may seem like an impossible task. Not in the Boston area,

Kane???s Donuts is the place to go for not only awesome donuts but a great selection.

Kanes Gluten Free Donuts

Five Things We Learned

This past Spring we stopped at the Kane???s Donut shop in the Financial District in Boston. Here are some of the things we learned.

They had a large selection of Gluten Free donuts. We arrived moments after they open so we had a large selection to pick from.

Kane???s keep the donuts on a separate track from the other donuts in the shop. They will move it so you can see what is available.

Gluten Free Donuts are expensive

They taste awesome! My daughter loved them so much that we went back a couple of days later to get more. To her, It was a real treat to get delicious donuts from a donut shop. She really liked the glazed donuts.

You can order the donuts online. Order online for early morning pickup to ensure the freshest selection and variety.

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July 7, 2021

Stuffed Puffs

May Contain Wheat Ingredients

One of the hot food products this year is the Stuffed Puffs. This is a marshmallow with some chocolate inside. Making this the perfect S???more marshmallow.

I was surprised to find some at a local Market Basket. So I picked up a couple of packages.

Stuffed Puffs

My daughter was delighted that I brought some home and couldn???t wait to make s???mores.

She had a couple of them and thought they were just okay. I think she was expecting more chocolate inside.

We noticed that when we cooked them over the fire that the outside would sizzle as if it had a sugar coating.

That got me thinking - what is inside the marshmallow? So I checked the ingredients and was surprised to find its more than marshmallows and plain chocolate.

There is a bit of a surprise if you are a celiac- the marshmallow contains Wheat.

Stuffed Puffs Desktop
Stuffed Puffs Mobile

Facts from Stuffed Puffs

According to the Stuff Puffs frequently asked questions:

Stuffed Puffs?? Classic Milk Chocolate and Chocolate-on-Chocolate flavors are inherently gluten-free, however, they are not a Certified Gluten-Free product. This is because while there is no wheat in the ingredient list they are made in a facility that processes wheat products.

Our Cookies &n Creme flavor does contain some wheat as it includes a cookie crumble filling.

Note: On their website, the ingredients don't list Wheat in the "Contained Ingredients".

My daughter didn???t encounter any Gluten side effects from eating the marshmallows. She said that she felt fine the next morning.

We were happy that she didn???t get sick and I felt bad that I didn???t check to see if the marshmallows were safe.

Now What?

We probably won???t use the rest of the marshmallows- out of caution. Instead, we may make our own stuff marshmallows

I think she likes making s???mores the old fashion way - with a recesses peanut butter cup instead of a Hershey bar.

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April 11, 2021

Against the Grain Pizza

Excellent Pizza - Worth a Try!

One of our favorite pizzas is the ???Against The Grain.??? While some people may shy away from it because it???s a Gluten-Free pizza - that would be a mistake.

Apparently people have this notion that gluten-free pizzas taste like cardboard. That is not the case with the ???Above the Grain??? pizza.

It???s really good and leftovers are pretty rare.

Against The Grain Pizza

Cooking The Pizza

We cook our pizza with a circular pizza pan. We cook it at 400-degrees for about 18 minutes. It???s a bit longer than the directions. We do this so the crust is nice and crispy.

Finding The Pizza

We get our pizza at Super Stop & Shop. They stock it with the other gluten-free items. Usually in a special foods section. It cost about $12 - about the cost of premium pizza that isn???t gluten-free.

You can find them at Wegmans and Roche Brothers.

It???s not available at Market Basket.

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December 31, 2019

Best Gluten Free Posts

Highlighting some of the great Gluten Free posts

Today my daughter turns nine years old. She enjoys the challenges of finding good restaurants to visit.

This year we found some great new restaurants and new breakfast foods. It was fun coming up with topics and content every week.

Top 9 Blog Posts

Goals for 2020

In 2020 we'll be going around the City of Boston looking for great gluten-free foods. We'll try to find the best hamburger and pizza place in metro-Boston.

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December 24, 2019

Erica's Ristorante

Good Gluten Free Options

Erica's Ristorante in Ashland, Massachusetts is a small Italian restaurant that has lots of great choices. The dining room was nice and quiet and we didn't have any problems getting a table at 7 pm on a Monday night before Christmas.

Ericas Ristorante

Five Things We Learned

Earlier this week we met up with friends and decided to try out the restaurant since we heard that they have gluten-free options.

We asked for a Gluten-Free menu on check-in, the host at the door said that just about anything on the menu can be made gluten-free. The waiter will give us the options. That didn't happen, the waiter only told us what wasn't available not what was available.

They do not have gluten-free pizza crust.

They do not have any gluten-free rolls. Which I felt bad that everyone at the table was munching on bread except for my daughter.

They have gluten-free pasta, so my daughter had the pasta and red sauce.

The pasta was delicious - as she ate the whole thing. Usually, she wants to bring some home, but tonight she wanted to enjoy the pasta.

Finding Erica's Ristorante

Erica's Ristorante is located on 78 Front Street in Ashland, Massachusetts. It's located next to the Ashland Public Library.

We had a good experience and certainly put it on our list to return to this establishment.

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About

This series of posts will cover some tips and tricks that I have learned about my twelve-year-old daughter's gluten-free lifestyle in the Boston area. Gluten-free eating can be challenging in any big city, but especially in Boston due to the high number of restaurants and availability of options. I've been learning what I can to make sure my daughter can still enjoy eating out, and I want to share what I've learned so that other families in the same situation can benefit.

Check out all the blog posts.

Schedule

ThursdayGluten Free
FridayMacintosh
SaturdayInternet Tools
SundayOpen Topic
MondayMedia Monday
TuesdayQA
WednesdayNew England