Update to Gluten Free Store List

It has been way too long since I last updated the Gluten Free Store list, the Gluten Free Restaurant list, the Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain list, or the Gluten Free Bakery list.  I have updates for all four, but today I'm starting with the stores.  I haven't been to all of the stores below but they each have a good number of gluten free / dairy free product offerings.

Bonterra Market (3112 Fire Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234) – I haven't been.

Great and Gluten Free (431 US Highway Route 22 East in Bishops Plaza, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889) - I haven't been but some of their brands are listed on their website: 1-2-3 Gluten Free, absolutely gluten free, BiAglut, Bold, Canyon Bakehouse, Celiac Specialties, Enjoy Life, Glutenfreeda, Glutino, Gillian's, Immaculate Baking Co., Joan's GF Great Bakes, Katz, King Soba, Kinnikinnick, Schär, Starfish, Three Bakers, and Udi's.

Nature's Harvest in Blairstown, NJ

Green Life Market (1388 Rte. 23 North, Butler, New Jersey 07405) – I haven't been here yet, but I'll try to check them out soon.

Jack’s Health Food Country (1107 Inman Avenue, North Edison, NJ 08820) – I haven't been yet.

Nature’s Harvest (28 Main Street, Blairstown, NJ 07825) – they offer Amy's, Ancient Harvest, Bell and Evans, Bella Lucia, Bionaturae, Bob's Red Mill, Canyon Bakehouse, Cherrybrook, Deboles, Ener-G, Enjoy Life, Envirokids, Foods by George, Foods for Life, French Meadow, GF Cafe, GF Pantry, Glutenfreeda, Go Raw, Glutino, Kind, Kinnikinnick, Nameste, Pamela's, Rudi's, Schär, Thai Kitchen, Tinkyada, and Udi's.

Organico (495 North Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey, NJ 07446) – I'm listing this one more than once as they are a health food shop but also a lunch counter / juice bar as well.  They carry a small selection of gluten free products including some by Ancient Harvest, Bionaturae, Bob’s Redmill, Food for Life, Glutenfreeda, Go Raw, Kind, Kinnikinnick, Oskri, Pure!, Tinkyada, and Udi’s. [They are one of the few places to get Pure!’s cookies outside of NY.] Click here for my review of Organico.

Pamela's Health and Harmony (8508 Ventnor Ave., Margate, NJ 08402) – I have never been.


Be sure to check out the full list of Gluten Free Stores in NJ!

Restaurant Review: Muscle Maker Grill (Multiple NJ locations and AR, CA, FL, IL, MO, NY, OK, PA, TX)

Over the past couple of years, I've been seeing more and more Muscle Maker Grills popping up. Recently, I was out with some friends and we needed somewhere to grab a quick bite. There was a Muscle Maker Grill nearby so we decided to give it a try.

Gluten Free / Dairy Free at Muscle Maker Grill

They have an in store Nutrition and Dietary Guide pamphlet which contains a fairly brief gluten free menu (three entrees, three salads). The staff however was able to identify which sides were gluten (and diary) free and also pointed out that all of their salad dressings are gluten free. They also offer four different 100% fruit smoothies.

Being both GF and DF and not being able to digest lettuce left me with the grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice. [Although, I probably could have gotten The Godfather entree without the cheese.]

Overall the food was good . . . as good as grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice can be. It was also well priced for the large portion size. I certainly like the option of healthy gluten free quick serve food and would stop back again if I found myself somewhere near a Muscle Maker Grill without a plan and in need of a quick meal.




Other Gluten Free Quick Serve Restaurants I've reviewed:

Gluten Free at Energy Kitchen

Gluten Free at Chipotle Mexican Grill

And don't forget my full list of Gluten Free Quick Serve Restaurants.

Gluten Free Baking Tips / Dairy Free Baking Tips

Baking is not an art; it’s a science.

I recently put together a list of baking tips for someone on a forum who was having some trouble getting started in GF/DF/egg free baking. Since I do all three (although not 100% on the eggs) I was able to provide some good insights and past lessons, so figured I’d share here as well.

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Biscuts

Baking isn't an art; it's a science. The more you deviate from a recipe (subbing out butter, milk, egg, etc) the less likely it will work out without major modifications. Therefore, my primary tip is to seek out recipes that were written to be free of a particular item. These recipes will most likely contain tips and strategies for getting a good result. If you make the substitutions below to other recipes you may not have the best of results and/or you may need to further modify to get things to come out right.

My main bit of advice is this: Keep a sense of humor! I can’t tell you how many cakes I’ve eaten as ‘brownies’ because they flopped, or desserts I’ve had to eat with a spoon when they fell apart. Usually the flavor is still there. Enjoy it, take notes on what went wrong and try again!

I’ve started with some general baking tips in case you are already following an allergen specific recipe and having issues, then moved on to specific Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Egg Free tips.


General Baking Tips:

• Check the date on your yeast or proof it before adding to confirm it is still good.

• Check your pans, dark pans require a different temperature than light pans. (You'll have to look this difference up if needed, most recipes are written for light colored pans.)

• If your recipes aren’t working out, get an oven thermometer to confirm the temperature of your oven.

• Add ingredients at room temperature unless the recipes notes otherwise (yes this means allowing any refrigerated items (flours, non-dairy milk, etc) to sit out a bit before baking).

Gluten Free Baking Tips:

• Measure your ingredients carefully and investigate if the recipe’s author has a particular technique (spooning vs. scooping, etc.). This can make a difference in the final product and throw off proportions of flours in a blend. The absolute most accurate method is to weigh your flours but very few recipes are written this way.

• If you are using rice flour, make sure it is finely ground. I can taste the difference between Bob’s Red Mill and Authentic Foods. Authentic Foods is much less ‘gritty’.

• Baked goods made primarily of rice flour tend to shrink and harden rapidly. The less rice flour in the recipe the less noticeable this is.

• Bean flours, soy flour, teff flour, quinoa flour and amaranth flour all have strong flavors and can easily over power a baked good. I use them sparingly or not at all. (Yes, I realize for the most part they are more nutritious.)

• Garbanzo bean flour (chick pea flour) quickly develops an aftertaste. I find baked goods are ok the first day but each progressive day the leftovers take on a more and more bitter taste. (I live alone and it takes me quite some time to finish a tray of brownies, etc.)

Dairy Free Baking Tips:

• Use almond, coconut, or help milk rather than rice milk. Dairy milk in a recipe provides both liquid and fat, rice milk doesn't have much fat. You may still need to add extra fat to the recipe depending on what it is.

• Don’t use soy milk. Unflavored soy milk has a distinctive taste that is very difficult to conceal when baking.

• Only use butter replacements that are formulated for baking. Butter replacements that aren't specifically for baking generally have too high a water content to work correctly.

Egg free Baking Tips:


There are a number of egg free methods and I’ve listed them below:

• I only ever tried the flax seed method once and it didn't work for me. If you’d like to try it is recommended to use golden flax as the color will be lighter. Basically, grind up flax seeds (pre-ground will go rancid faster so it is best to grind your own) in a coffee or spice grinder. Combine 3 tbsp of water per tbsp of ground flax seed (hot water will work faster) and set aside. The mixture will eventually (10 minutes or so) take on the texture of a raw egg which you can then use. Note: you will get some flax taste and grittiness from the ground up seeds in your final product. 3 tbsp of this mixture = 1 egg.

• Ener-G makes an egg replacer powder which I've had very good success with.

• I’ve used both whipped tofu (tofu run through a blender until smooth) and plain soy yoghurt successfully. 3tbsp = 1 egg. [Obviously these are out for those following a soy free diet.]

• I’ve heard of people using apple sauce as an egg replacer but I’ve never tried it. I would think this adds more liquid than the recipe calls for and one may need to adjust accordingly.

If you don't want to do your own baking, check out this review of Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mix.  They're gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free and egg free.  Best of all, you just add water and bake!  

Restaurant Review: Gao Thai Kitchen (Ramsey, NJ)

I recently had dinner at (or more correctly, ‘from’) Gao Thai Kitchen (63 West Main Street, Ramsey, NJ 07446). I had gone with a friend for dinner but there was quite a wait (it was a Saturday night and they were packed) so we decided instead to get take out.

Gluten Free Massaman Curry at Gao Thai Kitchen

Their menu flags which items are gluten free and like most Thai restaurants there is very little dairy anywhere on the menu. The gluten free options include an appetizer, two soups, three salads and eleven entrees! The sides, drinks and desserts aren’t flagged but I suspect most are or could be gluten free as well. (Not sure how many of the desserts are/could be dairy free though.)


We got both the Massaman curry and the Panang curry. Due to a throat issue, I’m trying to avoid spiciness currently (I know, Thai really shouldn't have been my choice) and while the Panang would have been perfect before, I ended up favoring the Massaman as it was closer to mild. Both dishes were quite good and easily as good as any meal I had gluten free in Thailand.

Gluten Free Panang Curry at Gao Thai Kitchen

The food was excellent and I’d definitely go again, especially once the weather gets a bit warmer and one can sit out on their back patio area!






Looking for other Asian Restaurant Reviews in NJ?

Gluten Free at Pandan Room

Gluten Free at Bangkok Kitchen

Gluten Free at A Taste of Asia II

2013 Colin Leslie Celiac Disease Walk on Hiatus Until 2014

Colin Leslie Celiac Walk will be back in 2014!



Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness

I heard this week that my favorite Gluten Free event of the year, the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness, has been canceled for 2013.  Unfortunately, according to their website, the Rye High School which has hosted the walk every year since the walks inception, is undergoing renovations. With the large number of gluten free vendors, the organizers of the walk were unable to find another venue with both enough space and a scenic walk. 

The good news is, the walk will be back in 2014!  In the mean time check out my gluten free event calendar for some other GF event options this year including: the 2013 Gluten Free Fair and Expo (Hauppauge, NY), the Mid-Hudson Walk for Celiac Disease (Poughkeepsie, NY), the Seashore Celiacs Annual Picnic (Brick, NJ), and the Gluten and Allergen Free Expo (Secaucus, NJ).

Product Review: Gluten Free 'Pop Tarts' (dairy free too, contains egg)

I was fairly excited to hear that Glutino would be producing a gluten free toaster pastry (gluten free 'pop tart') and even more excited when I saw them at my local Whole Foods.  (Yes, Eco Planet makes a 'pop tart' style gf toaster pastry as well but I've yet to find them nearby.)  Due to trademark issues, Glutino can't call them a pop tart (since that is Kellogg's brand name) but it is obvious from the shape of the pastry and the box that that is what these are meant to replace.

Glutino's new gluten free toaster pastry - apple cinnamon

While I ate Kellogg's pop-tarts as a kid, I had long lost interest in them before I went gluten free.  I did however sometimes still have a Pillsbury Toaster Strudel.  I mention this because I found that Glutino's gf/df toaster pastries were a nice cross between the two.  They were actually quite a bit more flakey than a poptart but firmer than a toaster strudel.  The kid in me missed the hard icing on the outside (or the icing bag that comes with toaster strudel) but I suspect Glutino was going for a 'healthier' product.  (There is added sugar but it is quite a way down the ingredients list.)

These gluten free toaster pastries come five to a box (individually wrapped) and were $4.99 which price-wise isn't bad for a gluten free product.  They offer both strawberry and apple cinnamon.  The box recommends toasting on the lowest setting (the crust will brown quite a bit if you don't) or microwaving for only a couple of seconds (didn't try the microwave yet).

Overall, they were quite good and I'll definitely buy them again!

Update 5/1/13 - if you can't find them locally, these are now available in cases of six at amazon.com: Glutino Toaster Pastries(but they are quite expensive and require paying for shipping).


If you're looking for other Gluten Free Product Reviews try:

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Donuts

Gluten Free Rice Krispies

Gluten Free Thailand [Gluten Free Cambodia too]

We can make it that way, but it won’t be very delicious!

I spent two weeks in Thailand in December with a friend of mine. I had an amazing time, but this was primarily due to the things we saw and did, not the dining options.

Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

Before heading to Thailand I did a couple of internet searches on eating gluten free in Thailand (and Cambodia where we went for a couple of days) and really didn’t find much in the way of places to eat or advice. The two articles I did find, suggested that as long as you could say ‘no soy sauce’ and ‘no oyster sauce’ you would be fine. Sadly, this really isn’t true.

Traditional Thai food is indeed primarily gluten free and dairy free.  However, cuisine is not static and recipes shift with outside influences. Chinese soy sauce can be used quite a bit in Thai cooking and I even encountered the western custom of breading and frying meats in more than one restaurant. One night, I successfully avoided a dish that had hidden soy sauce (the waitress double checked) only to order and receive a dish smothered in western style gravy! Overall, there is an almost non-existent awareness of food allergies.

On the upside, Southeast Asians do really want to be helpful. This can have its downsides (see the second tip below) but it means that if you can find someone you can communicate with they will go out of their way to accommodate you. One night in Cambodia, our waitress was more than happy to have my dinner prepared without any type of sauce but she is the source of the quote at the start of this article: “We can make it that way, but it won’t be very delicious!” Ah, the story of my life!

Sunrise over Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Breakfast was the hardest meal for me (as it usually is when traveling). In addition to dairy and gluten, I can’t have pork (so bacon, sausage and ham were out) nor can I eat a lot of egg (so fried eggs and Thai Fried rice (which contains quite a bit of egg) were out). That left me with very little to eat in the hotels that had included breakfast and even at restaurants when trying to eat breakfast out. I had brought a couple of breakfast bars but these were mostly for the flights (I relied too heavily on the afore mentioned reviews and wasn’t as prepared as I should have been).

Lunch and dinner were a touch easier . . . once I found someone who understood my issues. Still, I’ve put together a number of tips for anyone attempting a trip to this region (and I do really recommend that you go)!

• When arriving at a restaurant, ask to speak to someone who speaks English. I had a number of waiters flounder and not understand (even with my allergen listing in Thai) and they never thought to get someone else until asked. In one restaurant, the chef was from India and spoke English better than most Americans! We stopped at another restaurant off the highway coming back from Cambodia where the menu was only in Thai and our waitress didn’t speak a word of English. When asked, she returned with another employee who had lived in the US and spoke without a discernable accent. He was fully aware of food allergies and that was by far the safest I felt at a meal all trip.

Kayaking in Phang Nga Bay

• Don’t ask yes/no questions. I was warned before going that Thai people don’t like to say no and that I should be careful asking yes/no questions. What I actually found is that Thai people don’t like to admit they don’t know and will instead give you the answer they think you want to hear. Asking an open ended question will also allow you to judge their English ability as most wait staff had an excellent grasp of the words on the menu but wouldn’t understand if I deviated from normal restaurant words and phrases (yes, gluten and cross contamination were certainly deviations!)

• Be aware that often the meats were pre-marinated in a marinade that contained soy sauce. Again, just asking for ‘no soy sauce’ did not/would not have caught this everytime.

• By all means bring allergen cards but use them as an aid when talking with someone who speaks English. Also be aware that a number of restaurants (especially those offering non-Thai cuisine) may have staffs that aren’t Thai and therefore can’t read Thai.

• Bangkok had a lot of street vendors (including many who had large seating areas and tables) but indoor, sit down restaurants could be a bit harder to find. [I never once tried eating at one of the outdoor vendors so I’m not sure how receptive they are/would have been to my allergen cards.]

• Soy Sauce packets: If bringing your own soy sauce packets, be sure to double bag them. There is the possibility that the change in pressure on the plane will cause them to burst.

Feeding a baby tiger

• I recommend bringing at least a good supply of breakfast bars. I never once saw Gluten free bread or specifically gluten free snacks. There were ‘no gluten ingredient’ cookies in the airport duty free shops (never saw them elsewhere). And I found plenty of dried fruit and nuts (again, there were no gluten ingredients listed but these did not bear a gluten free label). [The Gourmet Market in the Siam World Mall in Bangkok did actually have two freezer cases of Amy’s Kitchen organic products (a good number of which were gluten free varieties) but without a way of keeping them and/or reheating them these weren’t useful.]

• 'Seasoning' is allowable as an ingredient. There was no notice of what it was made from. I did find some chips that were labeled as containing gluten, but again, never anything labeled as being gluten free.

• Menu tip #1: Fried. Fried is used both to mean breaded and deep fried as well as to mean stir fried as one would expect in Asian cuisine.

• Menu tip #2: Boiled. Especially with breakfast, boiled chicken / boiled shrimp is actually a soup made with chicken/shrimp, rice, and green onions. I had this twice at the same restaurant. The first time, I guess the waiter understood more than I thought he had as it came with pieces of chicken breast in it. The second day, I assumed it was safe and I ordered it again (asking just that there be no soy sauce) but this time it was chicken meatballs, not actual pieces.

• Breakfast tip: Plain rice. Even if it isn’t listed on the menu it was very easy to get plain steamed rice.

• Dessert Tip: Mango and sticky rice should be both gluten and dairy free (do double check).  It is quite good but unfortunatly out of season so hard to find in December.

That’s it for the specifically Thailand/Cambodia tips, if you are looking for some general gluten free travel tips try: Gluten Free Travel Tips (part 1) and (part 2).

Again, this trip was an amazing experience and I am glad I went. I just wish this review was the one I had read before going and I was more prepared for what I encountered. I am not very sensitive to cross-contamination so a lot of what I ran into wasn’t as bad as it would have been for others but it still could be frustrating at points.

I’ll leave you with one final anecdote that made me chuckle: On one of our day tours, I listed all of my food issues to our guide so she could help me navigate breakfast. She looked more and more concerned as I worked my way down the list. When I was done she replied with genuine sympathy, “oh, no one will ever marry you!” Sad but very true!


Update 8/21/13 - I've recently been in touch with a Canadian expat living in Bangkok. She has celiac disease and has been blogging about her experiences and gluten free finds in Thailand. Check out her blog: Gluten Free Thailand. Oh, how I wish I had had some of her advice before going!