Favorite Friday: Honeyville Almond flour

As I began to introduce more almond flour to my diet rather than rice flour, I realized almond flour was pretty expensive at the grocery store. I immediately went online to find the best price I could without sacrificing quality. I decided to give Honeyville a shot and wasn't disappointed! It was $29.99 for a 5 lb bag and the shipping is a flat $5 rate. Everything I've baked with it has been great and no - this isn't an ad and I don't get money from any of my favorite friday posts. I just really want to share some of the great things I've found.
Have a great weekend everybody!

Favorite Friday: daiya dairy free, soy free, vegan cheese

Daiya has made it so much easier to be dairy/soy/gluten free and still enjoy things like homemade pizza and omelets! I'm excited to make it my favorite friday and hopefully spread the word to some of you who've been looking for a cheese replacement that actually melts and

Meal plan for the week of June 5-11

This week's meal plan centers on the plethora of cucumbers growing in the garden. There is also plenty of corn as well! You'll find a few repeats if you downloaded last week's plan because we our schedules were pretty busy and we didn't always get to cook.
I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and spent time with the people they love. We're so lucky to have the freedoms we do and may we always remember the ones who make it possible!
Click here for a Meal Plan for the week of June 5-11

One of my favorite breakfasts: Baked Tomato and Eggs!

I'm so excited for my tomatoes to start getting ripe in the garden! I have so many green tomatoes right now... we're going to be overloaded soon!
Until that happens though, I have to keep getting my tomatoes elsewhere. I bought some organic tomatoes from a local farmer for the purpose of making my favorite tomato & egg bake this weekend. It's really simple but does take some time to do it right so save it for a weekend!

All you need is:
(for one serving)
1 large tomato
1 egg
oregano
basil
1.5 T olive or grapeseed oil
salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat to 400 degrees

2. Start by removing the core of the tomato.

3. Sprinkle it with salt & turn it upside down to drain for about 10-15 minutes. This helps level out the moisture because once you start baking, it intensifies. If you didnt drain them first, it would become incredibly soupy!

4. Bake the empty tomatoes for 10 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh or dried oregano. (we use fresh oregano from our garden)

The Melting Pot has a new Gluten Free menu!

This is great! The Melting Pot has a new GF menu and it isn't just lettuce :-) They are stocking Redbridge beer for their cheese fondue and can replace their thickening agents with cornstarch upon request. This is all thanks to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America®'s Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program™

Larabars at Costco!

Costco hasn't been as much of an asset to us since changing my diet but I was so pleasantly surprised to find out last weekend that our store in Cool Springs was carrying Larabars! You can get a box of 18 for $14.99! You get an assortment of Peanut Butter Cookie, Apple Pie & Cherry Pie.

Printable Coupons for Muir Glen, Cascadian Farms

Thanks to Faithful Provisions for this link! Click here to get up to $40 savings from Eat Better America. Coupons include Muir Glen organics, Cascadian Farms, Larabars, Greenworks cleaning supplies & Huggies Pure & Natural!

Nashville Gluten Free Restaurant Review: Boscos

It's been a while since this dining experience but it left me feeling so negatively about a place I previously loved for 10 years that I had to write about it.
My experience at Bosco's is not the worst or most uncaring service I've ever had but it was surprising. I've been going here for over a decade, ever since I moved to Nashville 11 years ago. It's one of my favorites and I've always loved their food and bar.
This was the first time I had been there since realizing I was gluten intolerant. It was a group work function for a dual baby shower of two coworkers. I thought surely, they would be a good choice and would be able to handle my dietary need. In an effort to not be the difficult one in a large group of people, I walked to the hostess stand after everyone was seated, and asked if they, by chance, had a menu marked with gluten free items. The hostess gave me a blank stare (which I am now used to, and many of you can sympathize with). From her stare I assumed she had no idea what I was talking about so I let her know what ingredients I needed to stay away from. What she said next really made me laugh. She shrugged her shoulders and said "Well... there's always lettuce. We've got lettuce so you can definitely have that!" She was really proud of herself....
I quickly gathered that she was the wrong one to talk to and ended up letting my server know of my intolerance. He had no idea what gluten was either BUT I was perfectly content when he gave me the professional answer that "I'm not extremely familiar with this but I will be sure that the kitchen is aware and I can confirm your selections with them." That's all I needed to hear. Managers need to take note: don't just train your servers on allergies... Include your hostesses. They are the first impression of your restaurant and if they get a question they can't handle about an allergy it doesn't make people feel awesome to hear "There's always lettuce". It's actually a joke now among my friends and family.
In all, the kitchen redeemed the experience even though there was virtually nothing on the menu and I did get sick later that afternoon from the salad I ate (Gorgonzola pear salad). I don't honestly expect all restaurants to be perfectly safe and completely accomodating, but I do feel that they should treat people with allergies with an awareness and respect. I wont be going back to Bosco's anytime soon and that truly makes me sad.