The gluten free menu has been expanded and favorites have been added back to it. I can’t wait to head over there! Today, get 15% off your bill with their Tax Relief Savings special!

The expanded Gluten free Menu features new dishes as well as two former favorites*:

• GF Vietnamese Crab Salad
• GF Crab Fried Rice
• GF Asian Tomato Cucumber Salad
• GF Lemon Scented Brussels Sprouts
• GF Caramel Mango Chicken
• GF Dali Chicken*
• GF Philip’s Better Lemon Chicken*

Where once we measured value when we shopped, Walmart trained us to see only price.

Not this girl! I’m so glad to have broken that habit. I used to shop that way. I’d buy things on clearance because, hey, it’s cheap. I’d go for the cheaper item because, hey, it’s saving money. In the end, that money saver would need to be replaced much sooner than the pricier, well made counter-part.

Since 1995, the number of toasters and other small electro-thermal appliances sold in the U.S. each year increased from 188 million to 279 million.

Well of course! You can get that cheap-o toaster and when it breaks and you replace it, you’re still spending less than the more expensive one. Sadly, in this day, you can’t guarantee that the higher priced item is going to last any longer than the cheaper one. How sad is that?! And it’s all due to Walmart and the other stores that have had to stoop to their level just to survive.

Walmart is also a master at getting shoppers to buy more than they came for.

Think about it. You know you leave that store (and a few others, Walmart is not only at fault) with way more than you go in there for. Interesting little study in the Journal of Marketing.

I saw the light, I guess you could say, and I’ve broken my buy cheap, buy more habits. I wish that more companies would refuse to give in to that way of thinking. I’m currently in the market for a stand mixer. I could run to Target and buy a cheap one, but I want a more expensive one that will last me several years (I’m thinking KitchenAid, even though the quality seems to be less than it used to be or Cuisinart). I wish more people would wake up and stop trying to spend less and get more and go back to valuing their hard earned dollars and spending that money on items that truly have value. How about you? Do you shop for price or value?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9cSPearFDU

I like reading Natural News, but I also know that things are often blown out of proportion over there. But, in the end, Agent Orange or not,  genetically engineered food is not natural and is not what our bodies need in any proportion. I just briefly scanned this article, got irritated and wanted to vent  ;)

Dow seeking deregulation of GE corn resistant to 2,4-D, a major component of Agent Orange by Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com

Then along comes Facebook. A friend posted about a cookie recipe she had seen previously and one of her friends linked to the Melted Snowman cookies. How cute?! Finally living in a decent house with a great kitchen that I can actually use, I just had to give this a try. I looked at few recipes and then remembered that pink box. Seemed like a good time to bust it out huh?

I’m sooo glad I did. Maybe I’m becoming immune to that gluten free aftertaste or maybe it just (as I hope) doesn’t exist with this recipe. Either way, this is one to keep and reuse and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

UPDATE: Be sure to read the comments. We made our own little version of this tonight for dinner and while 3 of the kids weren’t exactly thrilled, it was really good and we will be making it again. You just can’t beat a quick and easy dinner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBOZxAQvoyM

At home, I know my local restaurants, I know what I can order and I know the chance I’m taking. But when traveling, I don’t know what restaurants are available, I don’t know how gluten free they are or what they have to offer. I’m the type that likes to know what I’m getting into. I want to know ahead of time if the restaurant can accommodate us and what they have to offer.

Sure, a lot of places can put something together, but just as many can’t or won’t. I hate needing “special service”, I don’t like drawing attention to my dietary needs. Please! If you run a restaurant, be it a chain or a just a simple local place, put your allergen menu online! Having it there at least lets us know that someone in your kitchen is aware of allergens, but it really helps in deciding where to go. If I have another “naked” burger I may scream! I don’t want to have to settle for the same stuff over and over, advertise what your gluten free options are online and with a special menu. I don’t mind asking for a gluten free menu, I love that, I hate having someone come out and rattle off a list to me. My brain does not handle that and I’ll forget everything I was told.

Things I learned:
1. Mexican food is generally a safe bet for anyone with gluten sensitivities. However, with most servers speaking english as a second language, it can be hard to get your allergen across. It’s definitely taking a chance, but probably safer than some other places. However, tacos and enchiladas do get a bit tiring after awhile

2. Rudy’s BBQ in Texas is great! Just remember to say no bread as soon as you step to the counter and watch your bbq being prepared. I had to bring attention to myself (hate that!) because one server dumped brisket off a sandwich onto the cutting table and my server tried to give us that cut of meat. No go! I totally understand cross contact, and that’s a chance I take, but I saw that one and was able to stop it. Nevermind that it took 4 servers to get her to understand she can’t do that!

3. Cheddar’s (Texas), while not having a gluten free menu, did the thing I hate the most by calling out the kitchen manager. He was actually very nice, unlike others I’ve encountered, and he made sure we had a great meal, including putting together a meal especially for my son. A specific menu would have been much more to my liking, but at least I know what to order next time.

4. Graceland (Mempis, Tn) is not at all gluten free friendly. I took a chance, a big chance and thankfully didn’t react too much. It’s best not to eat at Graceland though.

5. Brixx Pizza (Tn, Carolina’s and Va I believe) have a pretty darn good gluten free pizza. They are right on par with zPizza (my favorite), but not quite as good. The pizza could have been cooked a little longer, but we were just so hungry we didn’t really care.

6. There is an awesome little cafe/bakery in Austin- Wild Wood Art Cafe. Yummulicious! If you get the chance, you must try the sweets they offer. The entire place is gluten free and the bread they bake is pretty good.

There was more I wanted to share in this post, but by now I’ve forgotten. Lucky for you, I’m making that trip to Texas again this weekend

We took a two week vacation to Texas (there’s a half written blog post sitting here waiting to be published) and upon our return, some things happened and we put some things in motion and now we’re moving back to Texas. Finally. My daughter and I left Texas exactly 15 years ago yesterday to join my husband in Florida. I’ve been waiting to move back ever since. And now we are. Wow.

Back to the land of Blue Bell. Oh how my waist will not enjoy that! But, we’ll be near family members that need us right now and we’ll be a much healthier environment than we currently are, so it’ll be worth it. Life is quite a mess right now as we sort through possession that can be kept and moved and those we need to part with, sad times and yet happy times. While we look forward to being closer to family, we are leaving some wonderful friends here. We’re leaving behind a wonderful homeschooling community that I can happily say that I had a big hand in building and an area rich in history, much that we’ve not even been able to experience yet. But, at the same time we look forward to the new opportunities that await us in Austin.

As one door closes, a new one opens. We’re sad to see this one closing, but we eagerly await the opening on the new door.

What goes with chili? Cornbread of course! I tried all of 2 gluten free cornbread recipes and fell so in love with the second one, that I looked no more. Gluten Free Mommy has a wonderful cornbread recipe, the only thing I changed was to add a little honey.

Today things didn’t quite go as planned, but that’s normal for me. Usually, an hour before we have to leave, I’m tossing things together and getting the cornbread into the oven so it’s ready when we get home. I was all happy with myself that I started the cornbread early enough that it’d be done before we head out for evening activities. But someone (nope, wasn’t me, couldn’t have been) did not set the timer on the oven as she is known to do and then began the math battle with the 2nd grader. By the time math was finally done, the smell of over baked cornbread was streaming through the house. Lovely. Oh well, the kids say it’s only “a little dark” and it’ll just have to do.

I’m so ready for a weekend break, even though we have a lot to get done, at least the husband will be here to help out!

Ok, I confess, for a moment I almost thought some one had broken in and ransacked the place!

It’s slowly coming back together though, very slowly. We’re going to have to work our way up to a full school day I suppose because we just are not getting it in at all. I do love the flexibility of homeschooling