Mar 5, 2015

words

Good morning! I'm writing this the day before it's scheduled to post, which is weird for a conversation post, but there's a good chance I won't actually get to finish this entry in one sitting. I'm a little all over the place this morning (it's 10:30am) - my tea is too sweet, I'm sniffling thanks to whatever cold front is blowing in, I'm kind of exhausted after being up until 2am researching gluten free options in downtown Dallas (and how to get there without a car or walking crazy far in the cold), and I desperately need to pack.
Also, wash my hair.
I want to give you a little heads up, my dear reader, as to what's coming. I went to the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest last weekend, so that super fun post will go up... soon. It's mostly written as of now, but I just have to get the pictures where they belong and that takes a bit of time.
I've got BPA State this weekend (I leave the day this goes live), which I will write about. However, I have two exams next week, so studying is going to have to come before blogging.
The exciting part is the week after that is my spring break, so depending on the weather, I'll either be inside or at the beach. I'm sure you can figure out which one would be more productive...

I also have a couple recipe posts I want to share, as well as some product reviews. I'm thinking about doing a personal finance series because 1) I need a more fun way to study for the class I'm taking about it, and 2) it's really good information. Let me know if you have thoughts on that, or just hang around. It may show up soon(ish).

I used to write for my local GIG branch's newsletter (almost every month for six and a half years), and when we disbanded (almost a year ago), I stopped writing. I miss it, so in order to get back in the swing of things with that regard, I'm going to post some of the articles I wrote. Not every single one is good or relevant - several were simply meeting reminders and some were time sensitive, but I can think of a handful off the top of my head that I'd like to share. So, those will show up every now and again (starting sometime after spring break).

Let's see. I still have some tea left. What else is there to say?
I'll most likely try the gluten free Pizza Hut pizza in Dallas. It'll be the first time I've ever had a pizza delivered. I'm so excited and really nervous.
I found out last night that someone in one of my grad classes also has celiac. I'll have to start watching what he snacks on in class... I'm pretty sure he's not as careful about the diet as I am, which worries me. Guys, just a reminder, health comes first. Don't chance things. Come on.
I bought the Baymax movie (Big Hero 6) a few days ago and watched it again with Bruce. He agreed that it was good. (Tissue warning.)
I went to call the hotel this morning and accidentally clicked on the iPhone favorite of my house phone. I'm IN my house. I decided to wait until I was a little more coherent to call the hotel. Sigh.
I have a laundry list of things to do today, so I'll leave this as it is and go deal with life. Have a great day! (:

Mar 4, 2015

product review: Smart Flour Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

I'm probably an even bigger fan of pizza than I am of mac 'n cheese. That's a strong statement, but it's true. I could eat pizza for long periods of time and be a happy little penguin. I've tried so many kinds of pizza, and only a handful do I go back to repeatedly. I might make a whole post ranking my favorite pizzas. That would be a very fun post. I would also get very hungry. Anyway. Here we go.

Last year, Miranda and I went to a Gluten Free Allergy and Wellness Fair and they had a zillion samples... and one of them was Smart Flour pizza. I'd never had it before, but had heard wonderful things about it. I tried a slice, and it was wonderful. Cut to this month, where I finally saw Smart Flour pizza. It came home with me. This was it right out of the package:
I added extra pepperoni, a little bit of cheddar cheese, and some Boar's Head ham... because why not. This is normally how I eat my pizza (but to be fair, usually I have more cheddar cheese, and it goes under the pepperoni and stuff... but since this one already had the giant pepperonis, I just added on).
I had it in the oven at 400F for about 16 minutes and then on broil for maybe two or three. That was a few minutes over the box's recommendations, so just make sure to cook it to how you like it.
The very edges are crispy, but the rest of the crust isn't. It's not quite chewy, either, but a happy medium. I didn't really cut the slices thin enough to have them try to fold down like "regular" pizza does, but I'm pretty sure it would, given the chance.
I really enjoyed it. REALLY. It was somewhere between 7 and 9 dollars (I'm not sure because I bought three different kinds of pizza in one felt swoop and I can't find the receipt right now. Sigh), so that's not TOO bad. It's definitely a little more of a treat because it's pre-made, and there are cheaper options that I like as much or more... But I will repurchase it, and I give it five stars

 Have you tried this? What do you think? AND what pizzas should I try?



Mar 2, 2015

February favorites

It's weird sitting here on one of the last days of the month, trying to figure out what I enjoyed most the past twenty-something days. I'm going to go with the hope that this will get easier as I do more of them (someone from the future, tell me how December's looks).
Top of my list has to be the trios gluten free girl scout cookies. They're pitched as "chocolate chips nestled in a gluten free peanut butter oatmeal cookie". They live up to their name. I really enjoy them with a cup of tea. They do get a little crumbly, so eat over a plate (or stuff the whole cookie in your mouth) and have something to drink with them.
Next up, but not loved any less, would be the glutino gluten free wafer bites. I'm particularly fond of both the hazelnut (pictured) and the chocolate covered flavors (the other option is lemon, and I haven't tried it, but I would bet it's good as well). They're cute little cookies and I enjoy eating a zillion of them at a time. That's a teacup saucer they're sitting in, by the way.
I've fallen in love with the Peach Pleasure Smoothie from Jamba Juice. I'm a little late to the Jamba party here, but Meagan wanted a smoothie and I figured I'd try one... mine's on the left (in case you didn't get that by the whole PEACH thing :p). Guys, it's good. They have gluten free information on their website, so that's cool!
The next one is a longtime favorite - Pamela's Pancake & Baking mix. I LOVE these pancakes. They're so dang good and easy to make, and just remind me of childhood weekends. I've tried other brands and sure, there are other good ones, but I always come back to Pamela's.
Last, but certainly not least, for this month is the new gluten free Special K cereal. I have NEVER been a big cereal eater. You take the fun kid cereals away from a five year old, and they're not too thrilled with crispy rice or slightly tasty peanut butter cereal (okay, the peanut butter puffs one I DID like, but not for long periods of time and always without milk). Cut to now, with Chex having gluten free options, Fruity Pebbles being labeled (shhhh they're good), and now Special K... I'm starting to enjoy cold breakfasts again. ALSO, Cheerios are slated to be gluten free this summer, so I'm SUPER pumped about that.
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That's it for this month's favorites! One of these days, I'll get around to including things that aren't food :p Happy March!