Life Without Orange Squared (The Gluten Free Diaries)

Wow... our little world has exploded.  Mr. Cheerful has been having massive stomach pains for quite some time that have exponentially increased recently.  In a moment of sheer desperation, I posted about it on Facebook to find that two of Mr. Happy's siblings and a nephew have an issue with gluten.  While we wait for the Pediatric Gastroenterology appointment (seriously, if you are having massive pain your first appointment shouldn't be a month and a half away!), Mr. Cheerful has gone gluten free and massively reduced on milk intake.  Amazingly the pain also seems to have subsided.  Who'd have thought?  I guess it is pretty common place though if you have one allergy to be plagued by other similar sensitivities too.  So... as we travel down this gluten free life, I will add tidbits of good (and bad) that we find along the way.

First of all, the most amazing good in all this is the mom of one of Mr. Cheerful's friends that is just absolutely amazing.  She took me on a VIP tour of our local store, has given me advice, food mixes, and recommended products/stores for gluten free living.  So, first and foremost - find yourself a gluten-free buddy as it makes charting these waters so much less scary!

Gluten-Free Products Mr. Cheerful LOVES:

• Vanilla Muffin Mix and Pancake Mix from Really Great Food Company (http://www.reallygreatfood.com/)
• Pancake Mix from Pamela's (http://pamelasproducts.com/)
• Pancake Mix from Bob's Red Mill (http://www.bobsredmill.com/) 
• Vanilla Glazed Donuts from Kinnikinnick (www.kinnikinnick.com)
• AmyLu Sausages and Meatballs (http://www.atkfoods.com/our-brands) in particular the Kickin' Cranberry Chicken w/Jalepeno
• Oh Udi how we love thee!  Breads, bagels, english muffins, pancakes, waffles, cinnamon rolls, cookies, mufifns and oh so much more!  (http://udisglutenfree.com/product-catalog/)
• Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour and Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust
• Natures Earthly Choice Quinoa Penne Pasta (we get it at Costco)
• Many products at Trader Joe's (http://www.traderjoes.com/lists/no-gluten.asp)

Dairy Free products Mr. Cheerful drinks:

• Chocolate Soy from Silk (http://silksoymilk.com/products)
• Original Soy from Silk
• Coconut Milk from Silk
• Vanilla Almond Milk from Silk

As a side note, our usual trouble finding Egg Nog that doesn't use Annatto is not any easy with reduced dairy as Silk uses Annatto too!  Guess this is one place dairy will remain as Polka Dot Dairy () is the only Egg Nog we've found without Annatto.

Gluten-Free Products we thought tasted awful!:

• Cinnamon Raison Bread Mix from Bob's Red Mill 

Local Gluten-Free Spots we've checked out and LOVE:

• Pizza Luce in St. Paul (http://pizzaluce.com/)
• Bittersweet Bakery in Eagan (http://www.bittersweetgf.com/)
• Helpful tool when on the go: http://www.glutenfreeregistry.com/

Blogs I've written about dining out Gluten Free:

• http://lifewithoutorange.blogspot.com/2012/11/local-spots-are-gluten-free-and.html