Eating out ...

It's inevitable, the day will come that you don't feel like making a meal - you just want to eat out...you want to sit down in a restaurant and be waited on.  It used to be such a carefree and easy experience - decide what you're hungry for, find the closest restaurant that fits the bill, get a menu and pick what sounds the best!  I will admit eating out has me...it's hard to sit in a restaurant and smell the wonderful aroma of gluten laden foods...it's hard to watch the food go by and even harder to sit down with others and watch them order something that just a few years ago I too would have never thought twice about ordering.

I must say, we don't eat out much at all any more.  I'm sticking with my theory that when it comes from my house, and I've been in control of the ingredients we are all going to feel much better.  However, I do enjoy the social aspect of eating out and have such fond memories of great food - and so therefore do venture out on occassion to find the best GF options out there!

Here's what I've found:

• Mexican food is generally a great starting point.  Be sure to avoid flour tortillas and you will likely find a nice variety of menu options.  I have eaten at many different places and never had a problem.
• Google 'gluten free restaurants ____' fill the blank in with the city you are eating in.  I have found that big chains - BJ's, Red Robin, PF Changs, The Outback Steakhouse and such are coming around with decent GF menu options.
• Check with your favorite quaint little places ahead of time.  Amazing what a simple phone call will provide.  Just this past weekend I was headed up to Anacortes with some friends.  My favorite deli resides on Commercial St. in Anacortes.  A quick phone during the week allowed me to give them a heads up, and in turn they made sure to have GF bread on hand.  They were great and knew which menu items were safe and which to avoid.

Once you are there be sure to tell everyone who will have any remote contact with your food that you are gluten free.  I tell the person seating us, the wait staff and ask again when my food comes 'is that gluten free?'.  Recently, I had an experience where the wait staff was certain a food was GF, and then upon the manager bringing my salad and I asked again about the bbq sauce dressing being GF - she hesitated, said she was unsure and then back my salad went...not going to chance it.

I really do think there are lots of places open to the idea of serving GF menu options and I think that as time goes on we will see that really they have no choice :)

You are what you eat :)

My friend, Jenn, has asked me to share with you a few food ideas!  Now, mind you, this is the Jenn that in high school I sat and ate a sleeve of chocolate covered hostess donuts with...and I finished them off with a diet coke!  I've come a long ways since then and have found a much better way of living.

I preface this again with the knowledge that we live in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area where health food stores, small markets and the like are readily available with a quick 20 minute drive.

So, what do I eat for lunch?  Good question!  Most days a simple GF sandwich...the great thing about GF bread, is the serving size is realistic - no 'super size' sandwich here.  I load it with whatever organic veggies I can squeeze in there and then add a slice or two of  lunch meat (Trader Joe's or Columbus from Costco) and some fresh cheese.  I also love a little goat cheese, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and rice crackers.  Often I will make some sort of broth based soup for dinner and I enjoy having that around for lunch too, I freeze it in single serving containers and pull one out in the morning before leaving with the kids.  Again, I find the key to avoiding what I shouldn't eat in preplanning!  Making sure that when I grocery shop my house is full of foods that are organic, protein rich and tasty!

How about snacks?  How do I keep us energized through the day while keeping 'convenient' foods out of my pantry?  Some days that's easier than others :)  I'll be the first to admit - there are dye free lollipops, tortilla chips and other 'treats' lurking in my pantry --- but control is everything here.  Our biggest snack options is a  fruit plate - simply slicing up a variety of fruit I have on hand and putting it out with some cheese or yogurt for dipping.  My kids also adore popcorn, that is a favorite to put along side a sliced apple (no butter, of course).  I also make homemade granola, that my kids toss on top of greek yogurt (a new found favorite) --- little do they realize it's got healthy oats and almonds hiding in there :)  And if they are really hungry, I've always got the makings for bean and cheese burritos on hand...homemade beans, tossed in a corn tortilla with a bit of cheese - great protein snack!

My kids are known for grabbing an apple or orange on the way out the door knowing they might get hungry while we are out.  We all also love smoothies.  I invested in a VitaMix about 4-5 years ago...truly one of the BEST investments I've ever made!  We pick/freeze fresh chemical free fruit in the summer, freeze it and voila yummy smoothies year round!  I've been known to 'hide' a handful of heart healthy almonds, or spinach in there and they suck them down like crazy!  Our current favorite is an 'orange cream' smoothie.  Take two fresh peeled oranges and toss them in with a banana, two spoonfuls of vanilla/plain greek yogurt and a little ice...blend and there you go!

Hope that gives you some ideas of where to start!  Start with what you know and look a little further beyond there.  Enjoy your weekend and your family time!