Enjoy Life Foods and Delicious Living collaborated and created a fantastic ‘free from’ guide, Find Your Freedom, showing people how to identify and manage food sensitivities and allergies.

Both companies believe, as do I, that the key to living a happy and healthful lifestyle includes understanding how the food we eat affects our bodies. I truly wish this type of guide was available when I was diagnosed with celiac disease. It would have helped me identify other potential allergens, like dairy and soy, that my body cannot process. If I had stopped eating them about 10 years ago, my health would be entirely difference than it is now.

Restaurants can also learn a thing or two from this guide because it identifies the top eight allergens, which not all of them are aware of or prepared to handle. Learning how to keep the kitchen allergen friendly and how to stock an allergen-friendly pantry will also come in handy when accommodating guests with food allergies, sensitivities, or intolerances.

The Find Your Freedom guide is free to download and explains how to: 

• Differentiate between food allergies and sensitivities
• Identify the top eight food allergens
• Identify and eliminate problem foods through diet
• Stock an allergen-friendly pantry
• Turn the kitchen into an allergen-friendly zone
• Select allergen-friendly beauty products
• Statistics about food allergies and how they affect children
• …..And there are eight sweet and savory allergen-friendly recipes

Click on the image to download a free copy!

Well, it has finally come to an end. After writing 1,392 articles on Examiner.com (since 2009), the site has gone dark and all of my content has vanished. I spent hours saving articles (which I will try to post to my website soon) that made the whole process bitter sweet. I owe a lot to Examiner.com because it pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and start a blog. I can’t thank them enough for giving me a platform to help others while also allowing me to spread my journalist wings. We were only notified a week before they took the site down and by that time we were no longer able to post content. I feel poorly for my followers who don’t know how to find me and I have no way to let them know where to find me.

For the last year, I wasn’t able to donate a lot of time to the site and started posting a roundup on Fridays. These roundups were well received by the gluten-free community and now have a permanent home on this blog. I will do my best to get an article posted each Friday, but I can’t promise I won’t miss a Friday or two. I work full time, so there isn’t always time to get one put together, but I will do my best to stay current.

   4th & Swift closed its doors for good last weekend. According to Eater Atlanta, Jay Swift is going to focus his efforts on Noble Fin, which opened in Peachtree Corners at 5260 Peachtree Parkway in May.

Dixie Vodka has launched its first-ever citrus varietal blend flavored with lemon, lime and tangerine. Produced by Grain & Barrel Spirits in Charleston, S.C., the 80-proof spirit’s ingredients are sourced within the South and available in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Tennessee.

Double Zero will host its last day of service in Sandy Springs on Saturday, August 6, before moving into its new location in Emory Village the first week of September. Double Zero anticipates a short transition between closing its Roswell Road location and reopening in Emory Village, but there isn’t a set date for its reopening.

Farm To Ladle has opened its second location at The Avalon in Alpharetta. Right next door to Lotta Frutta, this restaurant serves both lunch and dinner and clearly marks gluten-free options on the menu. Choose from soups, salads, entrees and sides. Do a little shopping for locally made products while waiting for your food.

Juicy Jenny closed July 4th weekend due to the rising costs of organic ingredients. Look for their organic juices and vegan/gluten-free baked goods to become incorporated into one of the Souper Jenny locations in the not too distant future.

According to ToneToATL, Long Horn Steakhouse at Toco Hills is slated to open August 8th. The freestanding restaurant was largely destroyed in a June 2014 fire and its reconstruction was  delayed multiple times for a variety of reasons.

Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails is hosting the second Whole Hog Hootenanny in its summer series of barbecue events. The event starts at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 31, on the patio and front lawn of the restaurant with an all-you-can-eat selection of roast pig, pulled pork, ribs, smoked chicken, barbecue sides, sweet treats and more. Purchase tickets online through Eventbrite for $35 per person (plus service fee; includes gratuity).

Stop by Noble Fin beginning August 5th and every Friday thereafter for Oyster Happy Hour. Starting at 5:00 p.m. and running until 6:30 p.m. in the bar area only, oysters will be a ‘buck a shuck’ served a top a bed of ice. Come hungry and bring a friend or two to unwind after a long week.

Publix has added Frontier Snack’s new fruit & nut bites called Frontier Bites to its offerings. Available in three flavors, these bites are made from simple ingredients and nothing artificial. Sweetened with honey and brown rice syrup, they are low in sugar, fat and calories and they taste fantastic. They aren’t overly crunchy or sticky, and really hit the salty/sweet spot. My favorite flavor is the macadamia pineapple coconut (more pineapple please), followed by almond blueberry lemon and pecan cherry cinnamon.

The Spence, the Midtown restaurant that opened in 2012 with celebrity chef Richard Blais, closed at the end of June. According to Eater Atlanta, the team behind The General Muir will open a “micro-food hall” called The Canteen at 75 Fifth St. NW. The new venture will include second outposts for Fred’s Meat & Bread and Yalla, which Johnson and her husband Ben, along with Shelley Sweet and chef Todd Ginsberg, opened at Krog Street Market in November 2014. A couple of new concepts will take up residence at the space too: a spinoff of The General Muir called TGM Bagel and a watering hole called Square Bar. Renovation of the Georgia Tech-adjacent space is expected to take six months, and ownership hopes to open The Canteen in early 2017.

Venice Bakery is partnering with Uno Pizzeria & Grill to create a new gluten-free raised edge pizza. Uno Pizzeria & Grill has more than 130 restaurants in 21 states, the District of Columbia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Have a lovely weekend!

I was one of the 12 lucky food bloggers invited to a Discover Gourmet Event at Leaning Ladder in Woodstock. Friend and fellow food blogger, Melissa Pelkey-Hass of The Front Porch Gourmet teaches cooking classes at Leaning Ladder and put together a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Juan of Chez Montier. Chef Juan went above and beyond to create a gluten-free meal for me. In doing so, he ended up modifying one of the courses to be entirely gluten-free and no one knew the difference.

The entire event was so well organized featuring printed menus, a media list with information on our hosts, guests, sponsors and social media tags for all. We even received a printed invitation in the mail. What a nice touch and kudos to Melissa for being the hostess with the most-est.

Chef Juan, his lovely wife Judith and his son Austin served as hosts for a four-course Asian themed menu featuring Saketinis cocktails and wine parings from Southern Vines Distribution. All of the proteins for the meal were donated by TK Gourmet, Sprouts Farmer’s Market provided the groceries, and Astor Chocolate, Gimmee Jimmy’s Cookies (not gluten free), and Leaning Ladder created fun gift bags.

Chef Juan has been a staple in Atlanta’s gourmet food community for more than 20 years preparing meals for Diana Ross, Usher, and Steve Harvey. His work has been featured on The View, Atlanta & Co, Atlanta Plugged In and on radio including the V103 Morning Show.

Chef Juan admitted he had to challenge himself when he learned a celiac was attending the event especially for an Asian-theme menu where miso was being used. Miso paste contains gluten, so he used a gluten-free version and actually liked its lower sodium content and clean taste more than traditional wheat-filled versions. I was thrilled that Chef Juan felt the same and so did the other attendees.

I really had no idea of the depth of Chef Juan’s talents when I arrived, but after the appetizers were served, I knew I was in for an unforgettable meal. Curried shrimp with raisins, chives and onions served as the amuse-bouche and paired nicely with the Saketinis cocktails garnished with lycee fruit and honey ginger balsamic vinegar. I am not embarrassed to say I ate three and loved the flavor texture combos with the melt-in-your-mouth shrimp.

Here is how the rest of our gourmet meal played out:

Appetizer

Crab ‘Fingers’ Tossed in Wasabi Roumalade and Drizzled with Tuscan Herb Olive Oil

Salad

Arugula, Asparagus and Whole Bamboo Shoots with Sesame Olive Oil and Ginger Dressing

Main Course

Yucca and Potato Encrusted Chilean Sea Bass with Wild Mushroom Ravioli in Miso Broth with Seared Sea Scallops, Turned Carrots and Sesame Sauteed Field Greens Flanked by a Whole Roasted Crawfish and Finished with a Drizzle of Garlic Olive Oil

Dessert

Honey Sweetened Ginger and Lemon Granita Bathed with Sicilian Lemon Balsamic Vinegar

The whole meal was wonderful and didn’t leave me feeling heavy or too full. I really enjoyed the crab fingers dipped in wasabi roumalade, but it was the gluten-free ravioli in the main course that almost made me tear up. Chef Juan created ravioli dough using rice flour and it turned out wonderfully. I could have easily eat a gallon of the miso broth that was incredibly flavorful without being too salty. I had fun teaching a number of bloggers how to take apart and eat crawfish (suck the heads people) and the scallops were seared to perfection.

The entire night was so enjoyable. We had such a lively group of bloggers that made the whole evening come together so perfectly. I know we overwhelmed Chef Juan with all of the photos we took, but his smiling face showed he enjoyed every minute just as much as we did.

Thanks to Melissa, Chez Montier, and Leaning Ladder for hosting such a wonderful event. Special thanks to the event sponsors too! Purchase tickets to an event being produced by Chez Montier and consider hiring them for your next personal or corporate event. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review. In no way did this influence my opinions and views, which are derived from my personal experience at the event.

There’s a new way to enjoy cupcakes courtesy of Create Your Cupcake, which recently opened in Sandy Spring. Founded by Barbara and Stephen Hart, they have designed a space that resembles a creative studio and has turned the traditional cupcake bakery model on its head by customizing the sweet experience.

Create Your Cupcake’s one-of-a-kind (patent pending) baking technology turns cupcakes (regular and gluten free) into hexagonal shaped shells that can be filled, topped and embellished. The cupcakes have a hollow center with a removable top that is personalized to meet the customer’s culinary cravings whether they are small, medium or large. Customers create their own masterpieces and don’t have to choose from what is available.

Barbara was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2004 at the age of 51. She grew up in a wheat-based baking family, which made her determined to create an allergen-friendly business where those following a gluten-free diet can indulge without cross contact concerns.

Keeping with the theme of doing things differently, Barbara’s  entire bakery is gluten free with a separate enclosed gluten baking room complete with its own heating and ventilation system. All wheat-based ingredients are kept in this separate room along with dedicated baking utensils and equipment. This ingenious step allows her to keep gluten-free cupcakes free from contact with gluten.

The bakery takes extreme precautions to prevent cross contact. Gloves are changed after every order, pastry and cremache tips are wiped down with food services sanitary wipes, toppings are transferred into small cups before being added to a cupcake and all staff is trained on the protocols for preventing cross contact.

They offer five gluten-free cupcake bases (banana, carrot cake, chocolate, red velvet, and vanilla) eight butter cream frosting flavors, 17 cremache flavors and more than 20 embellishments (toppings). The cupcakes, frosting, and cremache (light, creamy custard-based filling) are made with only natural ingredients.

Cupcakes are served in hexagonal containers encouraging customers to eat them like a parfait. This is truly the best way to get a bite of all the ingredients, which is why a long spoon (just like the ones traditionally used to eat ice cream) comes with each cupcake order.

Let your imagination run wild when it comes to picking out frosting, cremache and embellishments. There are almost too many choices making ordering a hard task – ha ha! Order them online and pick them up, or order them onsite using iPads. Orders can be delivered locally and shipped on the East coast. These cupcakes also make great gifts for baby showers, birthday parties, and corporate events.

Drop by and customize a sweet gluten-free treat!

The baseball season is underway at Turner Field marking the last season the Braves will play at ‘The Ted’.  Whether the Braves win or not, going to a game is a fun experience complete with live entertainment, frosty beverages, and of course food. Concessions have been provided by Aramark for a number of years, but this year the switch has been made to Delaware North Sportservices who will remain the provider when the Braves move to SunTrust Park in 2017.

Finding gluten-free food at The Ted became easier with the launch of a Gluten-Free Food Cart at Section 106 in September 2009. The menu at the gluten-free food cart this year is: hot dogs on gluten-free buns, salad, fruit tray, veggie tray, chips (jalapeno and sea salt), Cracker Jacks, hummus, and Angry Orchard Cider. Over the years they have offered burgers, chicken sandwiches, American Gra-Frutti’s cupcakes and snack mix, Sweet Christine’s cookies and brownies, etc. Unfortunately, the options haven’t been consistent and tend to become more limited each year.  They used to offer Red Bridge beer, but I am not sure what happened to it or if you can find it anywhere else in the park.

Trekking to the gluten-free food cart isn’t always an option, so where else can you find gluten-free food at The Ted? The gluten-free options at other concession stands include: french fries, nachos (sealed bag of chips and warm cheese), peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and popcorn, which doesn’t make for much of a meal. As always, ask questions about the preparation of anything fried to ensure it is made in a dedicated fryer or baked to prevent cross contact with wheat during preparation.

If you are lucky enough to snag a seat on the club level (level 3), guests can choose from:

• Charred and Grilled Vegetables
• Crunchy Vegetable Relish with Ginger Cocktail Sauce
• Sockeye Salmon
• Buffalo Wings
• Pickled Shrimp
• Herb Roasted Chicken
• House Wedge
• Fruit Skewers

The gluten-free options in the private suites are pretty epic and include:

• Kettle Chips with French Onion Dip
• Nachos Fiesta
• Farmers Market Vegetable Basket
• Fresh Fruit
• 7 layer Dip
• Southern Style Cole Slaw
• Potato Salad
• Bacon and Bleu Cheese Roasted Potato Salad
• Chop Chop Salad
• Peach marinated Grilled Chicken Breast
• Roasted Rosemary Garlic Fingerling Potatoes
• Oven Roasted Vegetables
• Hot Dogs and Bratwurst with Gluten Free Rolls
• Shrimp and Scallop Cocktails
• Grilled Tenderloin Platter
• Tuscan Braised Short Ribs
• Brisket
• Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin
• Ice Cream

The 755 Club has gluten-free options too:

• Smoked Chicken Nachos
• Double Play Nachos
• Fresh Fruit Plate
• French Fry Basket
• Chili Cheese Fries

If you don’t want to pay the at times exorbitant prices, or none of the options sound appealing, remember you can always bring in food (no beverages in glass bottles) and splurge on snacks and sweet treats. Dipping Dots and Mayfield ice cream can be found throughout the park. Be sure to inquire which flavors are gluten-free and ask them to clean off the ice cream scoop before making your order.

Where have you found gluten-free options at Turner Field?

Being a member of the Atlanta Food Bloggers Society is a delicious adventure because it tends to partner with some amazing brands that craft unique experiences, like sipping wine and tasting Astor Chocolate in a private suite at an Atlanta Hawks Game.

Rich Ezra, Chief Disruption Officer with Creative Chemistry, and Jackie Robertori, Marketing Manager with Astor Chocolate, put together a night of wine parings to highlight the extensive line of gourmet chocolates and truffles made by Astor. The suite had a perfect view of the court and was stocked with wine, chocolate, munchies, and chicken wings with all the fixings.

You might think you haven’t heard of Astor Chocolate before, but I bet you have eaten them without even knowing. The company has been around for more than 60 years with two manufacturing plants in the U.S. – one in Lakewood, New Jersey and the other in Napa Valley, California.

Astor Chocolate is a leading supplier of premium Belgian chocolates and truffles in the United States and they can be found everywhere from food service, catering, souvenir gift shops and gourmet retail. They are also the leading chocolate supplier in the hospitality industry with their line of turndown chocolates originally introduced in 1970. If there is a chocolate on the pillow at a hotel, chances are high that it is made by Astor Chocolate, so do yourself a favor and eat it.

We sampled chocolates from their sublime collection paired with wines from Napa Valley. Many of the almost-too-gorgeous-to-eat chocolates contained a fruit filling, like the Fruit de Passion, which is passion fruit infused ganache covered in white chocolate, and the Le Coeur D- Amour featuring raspberry gelate layered over vanilla infused dark ganache in dark chocolate. These chocolates are hearty, flavorful and pair nicely with a full bodied red wine, but it was the signature truffles that stole my heart and left me wanting more. These bite-size Belgian chocolates are addictive with Belgian milk chocolate layered over peanut butter, caramel, shaved coconut, and hazelnut infused chocolate. So rich and intense with flavor that one wasn’t enough.
Thank goodness they sent us home with a box of handmade chocolate truffles to satisfy my cravings. Order these chocolates online for corporate gifts that will knock your client’s socks off. Personalize them for a baby or bridal shower, or buy them for yourself. Just make sure you seek them out and try them soon, very, very soon.

Disclosure: The ticket for the Atlanta Hawks game was provided as a result of a media invitation. I received no compensation for this review. In no way did this influence my opinions and views, which are derived from my personal experience at the event.

The newest Sprouts Farmers Market (Sprouts) opened recently in Morningside and invited the Atlanta Food Bloggers’ Society members on a tour led by Atlanta-based registered dietitian nutritionist, Marisa Moore, MDA, RDN, LD. Sprouts is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. offering fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, packaged groceries, meat and seafood, baked goods, dairy products, frozen foods, natural body care and household items, deli, and vegan, paleo, and gluten-free items.

At the end of our tour, Marisa challenged us to create a plant-based recipe and I took that challenge to heart. I have been eating vegan dairy for years, but I still love eggs. Quiche came to mind, but how can I make it and increase the fiber and nutritients? I decided to make quiche with a sweet potato crust. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and nutrients and it turns out they are a great alternative to a dough-based crust. This quiche recipe came from Cooking Light, but I modified it and it turned out great.

Ingredients:

Venkman’s opened this past September in the renovated NuGrape Soda Factory bringing a one-of-a-kind concept to the historic Old Fourth Ward – dining and live entertainment. Nicholas Niespodziani and Peter Olson of Yacht Rock Revue, and local chef Nick Melvin are the masterminds behind the joint that serves as a restaurant, bar, and live music venue.

The schedule of entertainment rotates weekly and features a little something for everyone, with jazz, rock, and even something for the kiddos. The menu, which was updated in January, is more gluten free, vegan and vegetarian friendly with each dish clearly marked as such. The chef’s attention to detail and delicate hand keeps its customers not only entertained, but well fed and coming back for more.

Venkman’s bar program, led by veteran bartender Bradford Tolleson, offers classic cocktails, boozy slushies, Prosecco, cider and rosé on tap. Happy hour specials and half price wine bottles are a favorite of locals. The bar is split into two areas – a front and back counter with tall tables and standing room for music lovers.

Efforts to preserve the original building can be seen all over the restaurant from the handcrafted serving dishes used for mushroom lettuce cups, the rustic table tops, and the rafters. The booths that line the wall were salvaged and serve as ‘the’ perfect place to watch live performances.

Chef Nick Melvin, owner of Doux South Pickles, serves as the Executive Chef and has a playful approach to creating classic comfort cuisine. His ability to combine hot/cold and sweet/sour with unexpected texture is what intrigued me the most. This chef managed to make me not only like, but enjoy eating ingredients I normally despise, like cilantro and fennel.

My dining companion and I were treated to several dishes, each more complex in ingredients, yet simple and harmonious in flavor. The refreshing avocado salad featured cucumbers, candied peanuts, cilantro and plenty of avocado. We ate every bite and would definitely order it again. The ham plate was a special and was served on a bed of smoked cheese with fennel and pickled veggies. The salty ham balanced in flavor and texture by the crunchy fennel and veggies.

Next up was the fries with pickle sauce. The fries are normally prepared in a shared fryer, but they can be baked upon request. I could go on and on about these perfectly cooked hand cut French fries that are blanched, frozen and then fried. The freezing helps keep the inside soft and the outside crisp, so they come out the perfect amount of crispy. The fries are paired with a sauce of magic called pickle sauce. Not too thick or thin and a combo of sweet and sour with fresh herbs, this sauce perfectly coats the fries. Now, you are going to need more pickle sauce than what comes with an order, so don’t be shy about asking for more because it compliments so many dishes on the menu.

The mushroom lettuce cups were up next with button mushrooms, mushroom bacon and peanuts in BBQ vinaigrette. These barbecue vinaigrette was too bold for me and overpowered the dish making it hard to get the flavor from the other ingredients.

The main event of the evening was our entrees, which were a steak salad on a bed of greens with Thai basil, fennel, and pickled vegetables and the Georgia grouper on corn hash. The buttery steak was wonderful with the bright and slightly spicy salad. The real star was the trout served with crispy skin. The corn hash features Pine Street Market’s smoky ham, potatoes and drunken tomatoes. Such a lovely marriage of textures where every ingredient seemed to be cooked individually and comes together effortlessly.

I highly recommend making a trip to Venkman’s to enjoy libations, a meal, and live music in a laid back setting. Be sure to make a reservation in advance, if you want one of the comfy booths. Tickets tend to go fast, so check out the entertainment schedule and get ready for a great time.

Venkman’s is open for dinner and brunch and is located at 740 Ralph McGill Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30308.

As a member of the Atlanta Food Blogger’s Society, I received a box of yummy samples from Seven Sisters Scones to try out their robust line of gluten-free offerings that include: sconies (mini scones), bissconies (scone/biscotti mash up), and gourmet croutons.  I received samples of sconies in: banana toffee, blueberry, chocolate chocolate chip, lemon poppy seed, mixed berry, and raspberry white chocolate chip. I also received the bacon, cheddar, and chive croutons, and apple caramel bissconies.

I have always loved scones, but finding gluten-free versions of these dense pastries in Atlanta has been difficult. When Seven Sisters Scones opened their brick and mortar store in July 2015, it seemed too good to be true. I mean, the store is not far from my house and they know enough about gluten-free products to take precautions to keep the scones free from cross contact. All of their gluten-free baked goods are made in a shared environment at the start of the day before wheat flour fills the air.

All of their products are loaded with flavorful ingredients. The scone dough, which serves as the base for the croutons and bisconnies too, is made with a proprietary gluten-free flour blend that produces light, grit-free pastries that are melt-in-your-mouth delicious with no crumbling. I actually prefer the savory flavors like fig and goat cheese and bacon, cheese and chive over the sweet ones. Weird I know, but finding gluten-free sweets is easy. Savory flavors are hard to come by.

I like the way they play with textures by adding whole fruit to the batter and topping the scones with glaze and other ingredients already in the batter like chocolate chips; however, they can be overly generous with the glaze and it is a little thick for my liking. The toppings should enhance the flavor, not distract from it. The mixed berry was my favorite of the bunch followed closely by the blueberry, banana toffee, lemon poppy seed, raspberry white chocolate chip and the chocolate chip. The croutons and bissconies are tasty and make nice gifts, but I am all over the scones.

Seven Sisters Scones serves homemade scones six days a week (Monday through Saturday) from 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Their scones (regular and gluten free) are made using high-quality ingredients and come in both regular and minis. All of the scones are wrapped individually and kept behind the counter with one of each flavor in the display case for viewing. There are usually two flavors of gluten-free scones available daily – one sweet and one savory.

The company also serves soups, salads, and sconewiches (filled with meat and cheese) for a quick and delicious lunch. Many of the soups and salads are gluten free, so ask before ordering. Coffee, tea, and soft drinks are also available, in addition to homemade croutons (regular and gluten free), bissconies, and homemade mixed berry, caramel, and hot fudge sauces. They also offer gift baskets and boxes, gift cards, and cater events.

Stop by this Johns Creek bakery and pick up a gluten-free scone and a cup of coffee. I promise you will not be disappointed.