Gluten free chips

Frito Lay make a whole lot of chips in the United States. Lay’s! Ruffles! Tostitos! Fritos! Cheetos! Doritos! and many more. The great thing about these chips is that you can find them pretty much anywhere in the US so if we know which of these chips are gluten free then we can always find a safe bag of chips no matter where in the country we are. This is important information for any gluten free traveller.

So which of these chips are gluten free and safe for celiacs?

I was happy to discover that Frito Lay provides gluten free product information on their website. They provide a list of products ‘not containing gluten ingredients.’ This is a pretty substantial list. They also provide a list of ‘US gluten free products’. This list is smaller but still has a good variety of different chips on it. These ‘gluten free products’ are those which ”Frito-Lay has validated through analytical testing that the following products contain less than 20 ppm of gluten” The list was last updated on May 15th, 2012.

BAKED! LAY’S® Original Potato Crisps
BAKED! RUFFLES® Original Potato Crisps
BAKED! TOSTITOS® SCOOPS!® Tortilla Chips
CHEETOS® Puffs SIMPLY NATURAL™ White Cheddar Cheese Flavored Snacks
DORITOS® Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips
FRITOS® Lightly Salted Corn Chips
FRITOS® Original Corn Chips
FRITOS® SCOOPS!® Corn Chips
LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips
LAY’S® Deli Style Potato Chips
LAY’S® Lightly Salted Potato Chips
LAY’S® SIMPLY NATURAL™ Sea Salt Flavored Thick Cut Potato Chips
LAY’S® STAX® Cheddar Flavored Potato Crisps
LAY’S® STAX® Mesquite Barbecue Flavored Potato Crisps
LAY’S® STAX® Original Potato Crisps
LAY’S® STAX® Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Crisps
LAY’S® STAX® Sour Cream & Onion Flavored Potato Crisps
LAY’S® Wavy Original Potato Chips
RUFFLES® Original Potato Chips
RUFFLES® Reduced Fat Original Potato Chips
RUFFLES® SIMPLY NATURAL™ Reduced Fat Sea Salted Potato Chips
SANTITAS® White Corn Triangles Tortilla Chips
SANTITAS® Yellow Corn Rounds Tortilla Chips
SANTITAS® Yellow Corn Strips Tortilla Chips
SANTITAS® Yellow Corn Triangles Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® Bite Size Rounds Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® Crispy Rounds Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® Extra Thin Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® SIMPLY NATURAL™ Blue Corn Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® SIMPLY NATURAL™ Yellow Corn Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® SCOOPS!® Tortilla Chips
TOSTITOS® Thick & Hearty Rounds Tortilla Chips

This information relates only to Frito Lay product distributed in the United States.

Naturally gluten free but do they contain 'traces of gluten'?

Are nuts safe for celiacs? Some of you may be reading this and thinking, seriously? Is this gluten free traveller chick really trying to tell me that I can’t eat nuts now? She’s already made me uncertain about my morning coffee and I KNOW that nuts are gluten free. In theory, YES. Nuts themselves are of course naturally gluten free but in my experience it’s extremely difficult to find any which are free from the threat of cross contamination. And if you’re celiac then this is a real concern.

Here’s what led me to write this post..

I was at my local farmers market yesterday buying tasty fruit and veggies for the week and I noticed there were various nuts for sale. I asked the guy selling almonds whether they were safe for celiacs. He told me that they are manufactured on machinery with a whole bunch of stuff and so he couldn’t confirm that they are safe. I told him that I am celiac and therefore can’t risk eating anything which may have been cross contaminated by gluten. His response was “I wouldn’t recommend that you eat any almonds at all” I’m very happy that these lovely guys were honest with me but it leaves me with a problem. Where is a celiac to find cross contamination free, gluten free nuts?

Today I called Target to find out about the gluten free status of their Archer Farms raw mixed nuts. The lovely woman on the phone told me that whilst this product contains no gluten ingredients it was made on shared equipment with gluten containing products. She also said that the company does have procedures in place to try to prevent cross contamination but she couldn’t tell me what those procedures are. ‘Procedures in place to try to prevent cross contamination‘? Is this really the best we can hope for?

It appears that very rarely are nuts safe from possible cross contamination. I know that in Whole Foods for example all of the nuts I looked at carry a label which says ‘may contain wheat.’ or ‘made on shared equipment with wheat.’ Trader Joes have their ‘No Gluten ingredients’ symbol but again this doesn’t mean the product is free from cross contamination. And then what about the places that aren’t openly warning us about this risk? The farmers market I went to yesterday is a prime example. Many of the products there carry no labelling but they may still have been produced in a way that makes them unsafe for us celiacs. I’m sure many celiacs have bought these nuts without even considering possible cross contamination. What are we to do in situations like this? The same could be said for many other products. Dried fruit? Dried beans and lentils? And the list goes on..

I’ve recently discovered that Blue Diamond almonds are apparently produced on gluten free lines to prevent cross contamination. This sounds a lot better. But what if I want peanuts? walnuts? cashews?

Where you do find your nuts? Perhaps you don’t eat nuts or perhaps you’re buying them without knowing for sure? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this…

Any gluten at all equals

“I can’t find anything gluten free”, “Gluten free food tastes awful”, “Being gluten free is too expensive”, “Nothing happens when I just eat a tiny but of gluten.” Have you said any of these things? Have you had heard someone say any of these things? Read on..

Recently I’ve been hearing a whole lot of excuses from some celiacs about why they don’t stick strictly to their gluten free diets. I’ve actually had diagnosed celiacs try to make excuses for cheating right to my face. It always annoys and frustrates me. Of course we should all have the right to choose how we live our lives and what we do with our bodies even if we are hurting ourselves but please, if you have celiac disease and you’re planning to stop your gluten free diet or even cheat and eat that muffin you’ve been craving please take 5 minutes to read this. Just give me a few minutes to try to convince you not to do it.

I get really hungry and can’t find anything gluten free to eat. How can you justify eating something which will make you feel so awful when there are so many safe options available. There are thousands of naturally gluten free foods to choose from. If you’re at home you have access to plenty of gluten free food (because why would you buy gluten containing food if you’re celiac?) If you’re out and about you should always be prepared by having some just in case food with you and even if you forgot a gluten free bar this morning picking up something naturally gluten free like fruit or natural yoghurt to keep you going until you find something more substantial is easy.

Nothing will happen if I just eat a little bit of gluten. Not every celiac will get the typical nasty symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, gas, fog and muscle pains when they consume gluten but all celiacs who eat gluten are damaging their bodies. Please do not let yourself be fooled by a lack of symptoms!

Gluten free products taste awful. There may have been some truth in this 20 years ago but nowadays there are plenty of amazing gluten free products out there. Some of the best muffins, cakes, cookies and sandwiches I’ve ever eaten have been gluten free. Get out there and see what the gluten free community have to offer. You will be pleasantly surprised!

But gluten just tastes so good! Seriously? This is not a very good excuse. There are so many gluten free products that you wouldn’t even know were gluten free.

I can’t stop eating carbs. Not all carbs are filled with gluten. Did you know that grains such as rice, polenta, quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat are naturally gluten free? Additionally, if it’s pasta you miss then you can get gluten free pasta,noodles and spaghetti pretty easily.

It’s too expensive to stay 100% gluten free. Whilst it’s true that many specially made to be gluten free products are often more costly than their glutenous counterparts, eating naturally gluten free isn’t any more expensive. By sticking to naturally gluten free foods such as gluten free grains, eggs, meats, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds you shouldn’t be paying anymore for your weekly groceries than you did before.

No one else I know is celiac. When you are first diagnosed with something so life changing it feels like you’re all alone and that no one understands what you’re going through but there are a whole bunch of people who do and we are the gluten free community. Join Twitter and meet us. We will help and support you in your transition into gluten free life.

I learned too late in life to go 100% gluten free. It’s never too late to make changes to your diet, especially changes which will stop you suffering from all those horrible symptoms. If you are celiac going gluten free will make you feel heathier, younger and you will get your energy back. It’s also likely to add to your life expectancy as your body will no longer be damaging yourself as it was whilst you continued to eat gluten.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Do you know celiacs who cheat? Have you heard similar excuses for not keeping to a gluten free diet? Perhaps you are a celiac who cheats and you don’t agree with what I’m saying? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below..

Tea and sunshine helps a little...

As celiacs we are all (hopefully!) on a strict gluten free diet but even when we are as careful as we can be sometimes we make mistakes.

Not all celiacs feel the same way when they are accidentally glutened. Some feel like they’re dying, others basically just like crap and some, nothing at all. Whether loud or silent, accidentally eating gluten isn’t good. As a follow on from yesterday’s So You Accidentally Ate Gluten Post I thought it would be interesting to see how you deal with one of the most horrible parts of being celiac, being glutened (or glutenated as I prefer to call it).

We all do different things to make ourselves feel better. Yesterday I asked my Twitter and Facebook followers ‘What makes you feel better after you accidentally eat gluten?’ Some of these things I do already and others I will try IF (I’m perhaps being a little over confident here) I ever accidentally get contaminated by evil gluten again in the future. Hopefully it will give you some ideas to try too. I’m yet to find a magical cure which takes away the symptoms I suffer after accidentally eating gluten but I have some things that I do which ease the aches and pains. This is what you said.

• Rest, rest and more rest.
• Go to bed and sleep it off
• Drink plenty of fluids!
• Relax with a hot water bottle
• Rehydrate with coconut water
• Aloe Vera juice
• Peppermint tea
• Eat lots of fruit and veggies
• Anti spasm and anti nausea meds
• Ginger tablets
• Stick to food I’m 100% sure is safe
• Lemonade/7up to reduce stomach pains
• Redbull to get some of that lost energy back.
• Coke to give energy and also help to burp out some bloatedness

These are my methods of reducing/coping with post glutenation aches and pains…

I do my best to relax. I try not to push myself to do more than I have to. When I feel as terrible as I do after being accidentally exposed to gluten I don’t need any additional stress. As someone who LOVES running I find it really difficult to take more than a day or two away from at least a short run I try to tell myself I’ll be better off and I’ll heal faster if I just relax. Once I’ve convinced myself I’ll sit on the couch and watch a few episodes of House with a cup of tea. I’m also very lucky to have a wonderful, kind husband who will cook my gluten free dinner for me when I feel like this.

I get extra sleep. When I accidentally eat gluten I suffer from extreme fatigue and tiredness so sometimes the best thing to do really is to just go to bed and sleep it off. I’ve been known to be out cold for 12 hours after being glutened but I often feel a lot better after an extra long sleep like this.

I drink lots of water. Getting extra fluids after eating gluten can only be a good thing. Water helps rid my body of toxins and keeps me as refreshed and alert as I can be in my foggy state.

I only eat food I’m 100% sure about. It’s not that I risk things normally but there are often more risks than there should be when it comes to eating gluten free. I’m 100% sure that fresh fruit and veg, potatoes, etc are gluten free so these are what I”ll eat when I’m getting over being accidentally glutenated. I’ll also continue to eat the products I’m used to eating which I know are produced in a completely gluten free facility.

I drink tea. When I have achy muscles and a sore stomach a lovely warm cup of tea is my drink of choice. Drinking something warm, especially if it’s herbal like Chamomile or ginger, can help settle my stomach and eases muscle pains. Breakfast tea with ginger or honey is also good.

I’m all about coconut water. I’m a huge fan of coconut water these days. It’s great post race for getting all those vitamins and minerals back in and it’s great post accidental gluten consumption for many of the same reasons.

I drink ginger beer. Back to the idea that ginger can help settle aches and pains, sometimes I’ll have a ginger beer or ale…as you can see A LOT of fluids are on my post glutenation menu.

I eat fruit and veg. I tend to feel better when I eat healthy, fresh foods in general so it makes sense that fruit and veg are some of the things I eat a lot of when I find myself accidentally glutenated. I also like that I can get addition water and stay hydrated from fruits.

I take a hot bath or shower. This helps me to relax and again also helps reduce those nasty muscle aches and tummy pains.

I go out for a walk. I’ m a big believer that going for a walk can be a great help in clearing your head and personally getting some fresh air helps me to heal faster. It also gets me out and about and thinking about something else rather than feeling sorry for myself.

I remember that the fog will clear. When I accidentally eat gluten I feel awful. When I feel this way sometimes it’s hard to see past the fog but one of the best ways to get through the nasty symptoms is to remember that in a few days or so the symptoms will fade and I’ll feel like myself again.

What do you do to feel better after you’ve been glutened? Have you found something which helps? Many celiacs are looking for answers or at least new strategies to try! Please share your ideas in the comments below..

Ladies/Gents/Scotsmen

…and now you feel like crap! If you’re feeling stupid for making a mistake, please don’t be hard on yourself. It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault at all. We all make mistakes and this gluten filled world in which we live doesn’t make it easy sometimes.

The lack of consistent gluten free labelling in some countries doesn’t make it easy either. The company who labelled their product as ‘glutenfree’ but then made it on equipment shared with wheat, it’s their fault, not yours. I’m talking to myself here too because I always get down on myself when I accidentally eat gluten. How could I have made such a silly mistake when I’ve been at this celiac thing for years now! Luckily this doesn’t happen too often but when it does it’s usually down to a product which has been contaminated in manufacturing/production. I know it’s not my fault and that I’ve been as cautious as I could be but it always gets me down.

I was diagnosed as celiac three years ago now and over the years the symptoms I experience after being glutened have gotten worse. My body is so used to feeling great and healthy without gluten that it pretty much freaks out with even the tinniest amount of cross contamination. These are the symptoms I experienced prior to being diagnosed as celiac. What I experience nowadays after accidentally eating gluten is different. Some symptoms are the same, others are different, but it just hit me and knocks me off my feet.

Last week I felt awful. For the whole week I felt completely out of it. Brain fog surrounded me, I felt so fatigued that I was sleeping for 11 hours a night, I was getting aches and twinges all over the place. I wasn’t myself at all. My bathroom visits weren’t the healthiest, my anxiety came back as did my palpitations. Being glutenated is a horrible experience. I’m sure you can relate.

It is my hope that this post will help both newly diagnosed celiacs and more experienced celiacs like myself who get caught out by evil gluten every now and again as well as those folks who think gluten free is a fad diet. This is why I don’t eat gluten. It makes me feel a little more than yucky!

I should probably add that what I THINK got me on this occasion was ice cream which was labelled as ‘gluten free’ but then when I checked their website said ‘Made on share equipment with wheat.’ Unfortunately because I’d also added a couple of other new things to my diet that weekend, a sunflower seed butter and a new toothpaste, I’m staying away from both of these for a week or so too until I can figure out for sure who dunnit! Oh the joys of celiac and trying to figure out what made you sick so that you don’t eat it again!

Check back in tomorrow for my take on How To Cope With Being Glutened and let me know if you’ve found anything that works, or at least helps ease the symptoms.

How do you feel when you accidentally eat evil gluten? Can you tell right away that you’ve been caught out? How long do symptoms normally last? I’d love to hear what accidentally eating gluten feels like for you. Share your experiences in the comments below..

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara was the final stop on our gluten free Southern Californian road trip this Spring. Santa Barbara is another lovely town and I’m happy to report I managed to find somewhere celiac friendly to enjoy a gluten free meal. I also came across a few other restaurants offering gluten free options so if you’re planning to travel to Santa Barbara for work or just for fun, there are safe options waiting for you!

We ate at Silvergreens (on 791 Chapala St) in downtown Santa Barbara. They have a menu which explains how to order gluten free. They offer gluten free pasta, salads, soups and sides. Whilst they make gluten containing dishes in their kitchen, they have procedures in place to avoid the chance of cross contamination. Gluten free customers can also eat some of their burgers and sandwiches if they are ordered with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun. Similarly, they can do a gluten free breakfast bowl which is basically a burrito without the tortilla. Smoothies, shakes and frozen yoghurt are also celiac friendly. After filling myself up on road trip food (I’m all about gluten free jelly beans when I’m on a road trip!) I was looking for something light when we arrived in Santa Barbara so I went for the tomato basil soup and a fruit salad. It was very tasty. One thing I found a little bizarre yet interesting about this place is that your receipt comes with the nutritional facts of what you ordered. Not so strange for California I guess. Silvergreens also has another restaurant in Isla Vista.

Backyard Bowls (on 331 Motorway) is a restaurant that serves healthy, interesting and delicious sounding Acai bowls, breakfast bowls and smoothies. As everything they serve is natural much of what they do is gluten free and you can make substitues for the things you like best and ingredients which are safe. Their Hot Quinoa Bowl sounds like a wonderful breakfast option for this gluten free traveller. Quinoa, home-made cashew milk, cinnamon and raisins, topped with walnuts, strawberries, blueberries, & agave nectar. Wow! Backyard Bowls is a breakfast and lunch place as they close at 5pm every day so I didn’t get the chance to try it out on this trip but I’ll certainly be checking it out on my next visit to Santa Barbara as it looks pretty similar to Lean and Green in La Jolla, San Diego which was fantastic!

Pizza Guru  (on 3534 State Street) serves gluten free pizza in two different sizes, personal and medium for an additional $2 and $2.75 respectively.  They also carry gluten free beer.

The Savoy Cafe (on 24 W Figueroa St) does gluten free cakes if you’re looking for something savoury.

For gluten free grocery shopping in Santa Barbara, Lazy Acres Market (on 302 Meigs Rd) carries a whole bunch of gluten free products. They have a large variety of baking products, bars, bread products, crackers, soups, ready meals, cereal, pasta, candy and lots more celiac friendly goodies.

What are your experiences of gluten free travelling in Santa Barbara? I’d love to hear what you found so please share in the comments below..

Tasty gluten free soup!

Silvergreens

Beautiful La Jolla

La Jolla is a lovely place, located 12 miles north of downtown San Diego and I’m so glad we stopped by for a visit. I enjoyed a really tasty gluten free meal here in La Jolla and came across a bunch of other celiac friendly locations too.

We ate lunch at Lean and Green, which as you can probably tell from it’s name is a natural, organic cafe. They do a variety of things including breakfast options, salads, wraps (on rice tortillas), rice and quinoa bowls as well as shakes, smoothies and juices. As everything they serve is natural, much of what they have is gluten free. I had a black bean and miso rice bowl which was super tasty! So tasty in fact that it inspired me to make a similar dish at home as soon as I can find miso. John went for a gluten free wrap which was really good too.

Tasty rice bowl!

Gluten Free Wrap

Other places I came across in La Jolla with gluten free options include a Mexican street food place called Puesto (on 1026 Wall Street). Everything they serve is fresh and naturally gluten free so it’s a celiac friendly place. I went in to speak to one of the staff and she told me that all of their food is naturally gluten free. When ordering you choose either tacos, guisado bowl or salad bowl. You then choose your meat, fish or veggies and toppings, your choice of dressing or salsa and any sides. It’s simple and everything sounds really tasty. Prices aren’t quite like they were when I was in the wonderful Mexico City a few years back but hopefully they taste just as good as Mexican street food is some of the best there is!

I also found Cups Lounge (on 7857 Girard Ave), an organic cupcakery which does gluten free cupcakes. Some of their cupcakes are also dairy free and low glycemic index. Each day they offer 12 different flavours of cupcakes and at least one will be vegan, one low glycemic and three gluten free. I spoke to the staff in Cups Lounge and they told me that whilst their kitchen is not 100% gluten free as they made all sorts of cupcakes in there, they do their best to eliminate cross contamination by using different utensils, baking trays, etc. Some of their gluten free cupcakes sound amazing. The Hummingbird for example – ‘Southern-style cinnamon-spiced cake with bananas, pineapple, & walnuts topped with cream cheese frosting and candied walnuts.’ All this awesomeness AND gluten free. I like the sound of that.

Celiac friendly Mexican

Gluten free cupcakes

Roppongi is a sushi bar in La Jolla (on 875 Prospect) which has a gluten free menu. Whilst a lot of Japanese food is naturally gluten free and safe for celiacs, especially when it comes to sushi, it’s pretty unique to come across a Japanese restaurant with an actual gluten free menu. This was nice to see as it shows they are aware of the importance of gluten free dining for some of us. They offer separate gluten free lunch and dinner menus with a variety of tasty sounding dishes. Tapas, soups and salads, entrees, meat dishes and sides are included on the gluten free menus. Sushi doesn’t actually appear on the gluten free menus which surprises me a little but perhaps it goes without saying that nigiri and maki are gluten free as long as there are no added sauces involved. If you choose to eat here, definitely double check that the sushi is safe and that they can prepare it free from cross contamination.

For other gluten free places to eat in San Diego check out my Gluten Free in San Diego post. I found a whole bunch of celiac friendly  places there! Are you gluten free and living in or near La Jolla? Let me know if I’ve missed anything gluten free and delicious!

Gluten free labelling!

Lean and Green

Gluten free nachos!

Veggie stirfry

San Diego is an awesome city with a bunch of celiac friendly options for gluten free travellers. Sometimes gluten free travelling is quite the challenge and celiacs have to take whatever they can find but it really wasn’t too much of a challenge at all to find safe places to eat here.

If you’re anything like me, you can’t resist stopping to look for gluten free signage as you walk by new places. Generally this activity doesn’t result in many positive discoveries but in San Diego I’m happy to report it did.

We spent a large part of our time in San Diego exploring the fantastic and beautiful Balboa Park. It’s huge and it’s awesome. The famous San Diego zoo is here, there are lots of fun trails to walk and part of it is a desert area filled with cacti and amazing flowers. We even spent some time in the park listening to a man reading ‘The Raven’ whilst a woman played eerie music on the organ. It was a really fun day. El Prado, a restaurant in Balboa Park has a variety of dishes clearly marked on the menu with ‘GF’ which can be prepared gluten free on request.

El Prado, Balboa Park

Gluten free options

We chose to eat at Lotus Cafe in the Hillcrest neighbourhood of the city (3955 5th Ave). Their menu is pretty huge and includes a wide a variety of gluten free options to choose from. They have veggies entrees, fish and chicken dishes, salads, all day breakfast and lots of smoothies, juices and shakes. They also do lots of yummy sounding desserts. I opted for a veggie stir fry and John had some awesome gluten free nachos. For dessert it was a choice between a gluten free chocolate brownie or cupcake, both of which are huge! We shared a delicious chocolate brownie covered in walnuts. It was really, really good!!

Lots of gf options!

Fantastic chocolate brownie!

Other options for gluten free travellers headed to San Diego and looking to eat out include..

Urban Solace ( on 3823 39th St) offers fun gluten free lunch, dinner and weekend blunch (more lunch than breakfast I guess!) menus. Gluten free blunch items include eggs, bacon and grits,  spiced honey yogurt with home-made granola or more lunchy things like burgers, salads or pork loin. This place is a bit pricey but their dishes sound tasty.

Ritual Tavern (on 4095 30th St) has a bunch of gluten free options on their dinner menu clearly marked by a wee star. I thought this place sounded really tasty. Gluten free mains include shepherd’s pie, local catch of the day and sirloin steak.

Deli Llama (quite possibly the best name for a deli ever!) on 3702 5th Avenue in San Diego offers Udi’s gluten free bread for sandwiches.

Local Habit (on 3827 5th Ave) offers a bunch of gluten free options clearly marked on their menu. They offer a gluten free crust for pizza, gluten free starters and salads and some gluten free sandwiches and desserts. When I found this place I wish I hadn’t eaten already because some of their pizzas sound pretty amazing. Listen to this: Homemade Andouille with Marinated Chicken, Bell Pepper, Caramelized Onion Garlic Oil and Aged Gouda. Wow!

Trails Neighborhood Eatery (on 7389 Jackson Drive) offers a full gluten free menu with lots of tasty sounding options. They serve gluten free pancakes, omelettes, sandwiches and also gluten free beer and cider if you fancy a drink! This place looks pretty cool but it’s only open for dinner wednesday through sat (and breakfast-lunch every day) so I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in San Diego.

Deli Llama offers gf bread!

More gluten free options!

Capriccios Italian restaurant (on 9349 Mira Mesa Blvd) offers gluten free pizza, pasta and bread options.

The Yard House in the Gaslamp district of town (on 1023 4th Ave) has a ‘gluten sensitive’ menu. Their menu lists gluten free options with directions on how to order to ensure they come gluten free.

Are you a celiac living in San Diego or have your gluten free travels taken you to this lovely city? Share your gluten free findings in the comments below..

Fun in San Diego

Extremely tasty gluten free lasagna!

On our gluten free Southern California road trip this Spring we spent a couple of days in Orange County. We had fun times  exploring the area with our friends who live in Newport Beach. I thought it would be easier to find celiac friendly places to eat down here than it was but I did find some. Newport Beach itself has True Food Kitchen but as we had eaten here the night before in Santa Monica we wanted to try something new.

Before we left on our road trip I had done a bit of research, as I always do, to see what I could find in terms of celiac friendly restaurants in the towns and cities we planned to visit. Ciciero’s, an Italian restaurant in the Orange County area was one of the places I found which excited me the most. They have a gluten free menu with all kinds of pizza and pasta options and it was less than 30 minutes from where our friends stay in Newport Beach so I had to try it.

I was a big fan of Ciciero’s Pizzeria in Lake Forest. It’s always difficult to tell what kind of a place somewhere is until you turn up so we were all laughing hysterically after we called to reserve a table for four and then turned up to find what is basically a take out place with a few tables if you want to eat in. Not really a reservations kind of a place The owner, who also took our order and served us, was so friendly and as we were the only people there when we arrived I got the chance to have a good conversation with him about his restaurant and gluten free options. He is gluten free himself which is why they offer so many gluten free options. He understands the threat of cross contamination and explained to me that all of their gluten free pastas are cooked in separate water with separate utensils. Only the gluten free pizza is cooked in the same area as normal pizza but steps are taken to minimize the risk of cross contamination. They are currently in the process of taking over the area next door to expand and include more of an eating in area. They also plan to expand their menu to include even more gluten free options such as kebabs.

Cicero's, Lake Forest

Ordering gluten free food

The gluten free lasagna with home made gluten free garlic bread was seriously fantastic. All gluten free dishes here cost the same as regular ones, the way it should always be but rarely is. This place was awesome. I would definitely go back for another big plate of tasty lasagna if I find myself in this part of California again.

Other possible gluten free options in Orange County that I found include Z Tejas in Costa Mesa which has a gluten free menu featuring a few salads and entrees and dishes from the grill. Z Pizza has various locations across the country including many in California and a bunch in Newport Beach. They do a gluten free pizza base and many of their cheeses, sauces, meats and dressings are also gluten free. I haven’t yet eaten at a Z Pizza and would highly recommend double checking their procedures in place for limiting cross contamination.

Avanti Cafe (on 259 East 17th St) in Costa Mesa does gluten free options clearly marked on the menu. Some of their starters including tacos and soup of the day are gluten free and for the main course their roasted polenta, asian noodles with peanut sauce and stacked portobello mushroom are all gluten free. There is also the option to have a gluten free pizza served on garbanzo flat bread.

Native Foods Cafe has a location in Newport Beach (1091 Newport Center Drive) and a wheat and gluten free menu which explains how to order certain options wheat or gluten free. Many of their soups and salads are gluten free as long as you order then without bread or croutons as are a couple of their Earth Bowls. What’s a little scary is that the gluten free menu also includes a section with ‘Menu items that contain a small amount of wheat and/or gluten’ At least they are being open and honest but for some reason this type of thing unsettles me a little.

What are your experiences of living or travelling gluten free in Orange County? Share in the comments below..

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica was the first stop on our Southern California gluten free road trip this Spring. We spent the day on Santa Monica pier and wandering along Venice Beach. I was pretty excited when I came across a couple of fantastic grocery stores filled with gluten free products.

One Life Natural Foods (on 3001 Main Street) has a bunch of gluten free options. I had a wander around the store and they have gluten free bread, crackers, bars, pizza bases, pastas, tinned goods, cereals, flours, snacks, ready meals and plenty of other gluten free goodies. They also have a small take out area which offers gluten free sandwiches. If I lived in this area I would definitely be coming here for supplies.

Santa Monica Farms is another good store, also on Main Street (2015) which offers a bunch of gluten free options. They have many of the same things as One Life but not as big a selection.

Signage I love to see!

Lots of gf options!

We finished our day in Santa Monica eating at True Food Kitchen, a fantastic restaurant with a good variety of gluten free options. Celiac friendly options are clearly marked on the menu and servers are knowledgeable about celiac disease and the seriousness of cross contamination. True Food Kitchen is located at 395 Santa Monica Place, at the edge of an open air mall and very close to the famous pier. Currently they have two other locations in Newport Beach, Orange County and Scottsdale, Arizona but our server told me that the plan is to open a bunch of other locations next year, including Denver and on the East Coast.

Many of their starters and salads are gluten free, almost all of their entrees and they also do gluten free pizza. It’s great eating at a restaurant with a real gluten free selection instead of just one or two things. I went for the asparagus and artichoke pizza as I often feel there isn’t enough pizza in my life and I was very impressed. It was really creamy and tasty. Dessert was flourless chocolate cake with ice cream and caramel. Super delicious! They also have some pretty good wine choices. John was driving so I enjoyed a couple of glasses of chardonnay and giggled a lot on the drive to Newport Beach.

Amazing gluten free pizza!

I didn’t find a whole bunch of other gluten free dining out options in the area but I found a few. Interim Cafe ( on 530 Wilshire Blvd) offers various gluten free options clearly marked on the menu. Some of their soups and salads are gluten free and before midday they serve a variety of breakfast options served with gluten free bread, breakfast potatoes or gluten free french toast.

In nearby Venice is The Gluten Free Goddess, a wheat free, gluten free bakery. They have a booth at the Venice Farmers Market (on N Venice Blvd) every Friday from 7am-11am. They also sell their goods at various other locations throughout the area including a couple of stores/restaurants in Santa Monica.

In Marina Del Rey C&O Cucina ( on 3016 Washington Blvd) can substitute gluten free pasta in many of their pasta dishes.

Good selection in One Life Natural Foods

GF sandwiches in One Life

Have you lived or travelled gluten free in Santa Monica? Share your celiac friendly findings in the comments below..