Eating Gluten Free in Winnipeg

Last week I spent five days back in my hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba visiting with my elderly grandmother in a care home. When there, it's usually up to me to choose where my family and I eat, since I'm the one with the food restrictions.

So I did a bit of research and came up with a few places near our hotel in the Fort Rouge / Osbourne Village area. Here are a few places I came up with, and my thoughts on them:

Traveling Gluten Free in Rome - #3 in my traveling GF on a budget series

Rome is one of my favourite cities, and I've been there twice, so it's fitting that it be #3 in my Traveling Gluten Free on a Budget series. I've also been through a few other cities in Italy, including  Bologna, Milan, Venice, Ravenna, and Ferrara. Most recently, though I was only in Rome, so these pictures are all from there.

Italy in general has much to offer foodies, and believe it or not, there are tons of gluten free options. I was there for the first time four years ago and then again three months ago, and things in the GF world have changed A LOT there. Italians usually know what it means to be celiac, and you might be shocked to find that you can actually get gluten free pizza, pasta, and bread in a lot of restaurants. To the extent that you'll return and be disappointed about the lack of options in North America.

I was ecstatic this time and ate my face off. Here are some of my recommendations for food and restaurants, as well as self-catering.

Traveling Gluten Free on a Budget in Greece - #2 in my traveling GF on a budget series

So as many of you know, I was in Europe for a month from February to March. During that time I spent two weeks in Greece. It was my second time there, and this time around we rented a car and traveled through several different towns, from almost the northernmost tip down to the the centre of the Peloponnese.

Greece is great for budget traveling right now, and so it seemed fitting that I start with Greece as the first city in my Traveling Gluten Free on a Budget  series. If you're looking for general tips on traveling gluten free on a budget, be sure to check out the first post in the series

Review of Sweet Debbie's Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes from the Famous Los Angeles Bakery

Sweet Debbie's Organic Treats

I was recently offered the chance to review a copy of Sweet Debbie's Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes from the Famous Los Angeles Bakery and jumped at the opportunity because I was really excited to give some of the recipes a try.

There's a lot to like about this cookbook, particularly if you want to make some stylish sweet snacks that are really quite healthy. And while yes, much of it is focused on sweet stuff, there are some breads and bars to try also.

This past week I made a couple of the recipes in the book and wanted to share my experiences and thoughts on the book with you so you can decide if this book is right for you.

GF Fusilli Stuffed Acorn Squash, Fusilli Stuffing + Catelli Gluten Free Pasta Review & Giveaway (Canada Only)

I'm back from a long holiday hiatus with a giveaway ! 

Part of my hiatus was induced by a long Christmas month spent in Vancouver, BC visiting family and friends, as well as multiple trips to the doctor for back and ankle pain, followed by a couple of x-rays, followed by a bout of some sort of stomach bug most likely courtesy of my fellow x-ray patients at the hospital. I guess gastrointestinal distress is a small price to pay for the benefits of Canada's health care system, namely that I was able to get the x-rays in the first place!  Now here's hoping that sprained ankle heals and the mysterious back pain is revealed through the power of medical imaging...

One of the other benefits of being in Canada was that I was able to review some Catelli Gluten Free Pasta, and I'm passing that benefit on to you (well the Canadians) with a coupon and giveaway.

A giveaway of 24 boxes of Catelli's gluten free pasta. Yup. 24 whole boxes of pasta.  Sorry, the giveaway is now closed.

For the rest of you non-Canadians, I'm sharing two pasta recipes from Catelli that look wonderful (including the photo above, which I wish I could claim as my own creation, but can't at all) -  GF Fusilli Stuffed Acorn Squash and GF Fusilli Stuffing.

Eating Gluten Free in Chicago on the Cheap

Huevos Rancheros from e.leaven in Chicago

Last week I spent 3 days in and around downtown Chicago, IL.  After the ridiculously tall buildings the second thing one learns pretty quick about downtown Chicago is that it ain't cheap. 

So I thought I'd share how we managed to eat gluten free on a budget in downtown Chicago! 

I've got some tips, restaurant reviews, a list of some sources I found helpful in finding locations, and some of the wonderful suggestions you, my resourceful and helpful readers, provided before and during my trip.