Gluten Free Wilmington

Wilmington, NC Bloggers Needed

2011-08-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

Live in Wilmington, NC?

Live the Gluten Free Lifestyle?

Interested in helping others in your city?

If you have any questions or interest writing about Wilmington please email me.

Mellow Mushroom

2010-09-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Gluten free pizza is now at Mellow Mushroom in Wilmington!

We haven’t been to MM since my son stopped eating gluten and dairy, and we have missed it. We missed it so much that I neglected to take photos during all the excitement of returning to our family’s favorite spot. I would take photos of leftovers, but there are none.

Here’s the skinny:

You can get a medium gluten free pizza for $10.50 plus a dollar or so per topping. The menu lists gluten free toppings, and they even have soy cheese. Hallelujah!

I thought the pizza was great and more importantly, my son loved it. I look forward to picking up a pizza to go before birthday parties where pizza is standard fare.

Thank you MM, and we’ll keep on ‘shroomin.

Mama Fu's

2010-09-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

I’d like to share with you some other restaurants that I have eaten at safely and deliciously. My all time favorite restaurant since becoming GF is P.F. Changs. They have an extensive GF menu and knowledgeable well-trained wait staff. Unfortunately, there isn’t one in Wilmington (the closest is in Myrtle Beach, SC, if you’re up for the drive, and another in Raleigh, NC). However, Mama Fu’s in Mayfair has similar menu items (though not as extensive of a GF Menu). My favorite dish to get there is the steam bowl with chicken and either white or brown rice. They have a red chili sauce that is GF and delicious that you can order on the side. If I remember, I’ll bring my own GF soy sauce. The meal is healthy, affordable, and delicious. I’ve also had the veggie spring rolls (they use rice paper) which were good as well. The wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable and I always have a positive experience there. The corporate website offers a larger gluten free menu although I think this is new and not yet implemented in all of their restaurant branches.

For more information:

Mama Fu’s Wilmington

941 International Drive

Wilmington, NC 28405

910. 256.2620

www.mamafus.com

Happy eating,

Nina

K38 Baja Grill

2010-09-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last night I ate at K38 Baja Grill on Oleander Drive, Wilmington. This is a small Mexican-themed restaurant featuring fresh homemade soft corn tortillas. The manager and waitress were knowledgeable about food allergies and sensitive to my gluten intolerance. On Wednesdays there are $1.50 hard shell tacos (they couldn’t verify that these were GF) and $2.50(vegetarian)/$3.00(meat) soft shell homemade tacos (GF). I ordered a black bean taco and a chicken. Their special taco sauce was GF as well (the waitress pulled out the ingredient list right there at the table) and wow were these delicious! Unfortunately, the taco chips on the table were not GF but I was still so grateful for the staff’s diligence and awareness to my allergy and the quality of the food. I will definitely dine here again!

For more information:

K38 BAJA GRILL

5410 Oleander Dr.

Wilmington, NC 28403

910.395.6040

http://www.liveeatsurf.com

Happy eating,

Nina

Hello-new blogger!

2010-09-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

My name is Nina and I've been living here in Wilmington for just over a year now. I was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity about 2 1/2 years ago after having chronic stomach aches, IBS symptoms, and unexplained weight loss. Now, I feel the best that I have in many years! Although it can be a struggle to find GF options, it has become much easier with time and availability of GF products on the market. That being said, I find it pretty easy to eat gluten free when I am the cook in my own kitchen. However, it can be difficult to dine out with a safe, delicious, and affordable GF meal. I hope to blog about my experiences eating GF in Wilmington and share delicious GF recipes that I come across and try.

Happy eating,

Nina

Wilmington Grocery Stores

2010-06-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

If you are headed to the beach this summer, you might want to know if you can buy gluten-free products in our fair city.

There are two local stores, Tidal Creek Co-op, located at 5329 Oleander Drive, and Lovey’s, located at 1319 Military Cutoff Road, that stock many gluten-free items and both have fabulous salad bars.

Harris Teeter and Lowe’s are the major grocery stores that I frequent and they both stock quite a few products. Most have some type of gluten-free noodle, baking mix, and cereal. The selection varies from store to store.

I’ve found gluten-free products even in small corner markets downtown, and if you’re ok with working with what you can find, you’ll do just fine here.

Have fun at the beach and don’t forget the sunscreen.

Nicola's

2010-06-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

Our roof is being replaced and the ruckus this evening was so loud and constant that even though I had a lovely dinner planned, we had to get out of the house. It was late and the kids were cranky so we headed up Oleander, stopping at each restaurant we passed. The first had a half hour wait, the second had no gluten free options, but the third, Nicola's, had gluten free pasta and no wait. Sold!

The choices were spaghetti or ziti and the little guy picked the ziti. We asked for added salami to make it more than just a bowl of plain pasta. I should have asked if the salami was gluten free but there was a circus-like atmosphere at our table and I forgot.

I had a spinach salad and a side order of parmesan risotto. It was delicious, and really filling.

And then we got the bill. One kid size portion of mac and cheese was $4. That's pretty standard. The kiddie portion of gluten free pasta with salami was $9. Ouch.

The gluten free option at a local Italian place is great and if you don't have any other restrictions, there are nice dishes. But you might want to ask about the upcharge before ordering. There isn't a printed kid's menu and the charge for substituting gluten free pasta isn't on the regular menu; and we didn't ask about the price before we ordered. Since we are dropping several G's on a roof this week, an expensive weeknight dinner so we don't lose our minds during the process hurt less than it usually would. This would have been more fun on an evening when we could have enjoyed ourselves instead of a rushed school night, but since everyone actually liked and ate their dinner, we have no complaints.

Location and menu are on their website .

Two Guys Grille

2010-06-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hi,

My name is Jennifer and I'm a new contributor to this blog. I live in Wilmington and my son was recently diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity. We still use things processed in the same facility with gluten products and eat in restaurants where there may not be a dedicated grill or fryer for gluten free items. For now. I do not recommend this for people with Celiac Disease.

Today was the last day of school so I took the kids to their favorite restaurant - Two Guys Grille.

I emailed Two Guys a few days ago to find out if their fries are gluten free. Good news! The sweet potato fries are gluten free. The fat and skinny are not, but the sweet potato ones are the best anyway so we're happy. They also said that each restaurant cleans out their fryer on Mondays, so some people with allergies/sensitivities come early in the week.

I looked at the Kids Menu online and I thought the Doodlebug was a hot dog, but it's a corn dog. The other option was a hamburger without a bun. He settled on sweet potato fries and sharing my salad, which is probably better than many restaurant meals he's had in the past.

They have good salads and great Philly sandwiches that you can get without bread. Our waitress was happy to check on ingredients for us.

They have several locations and most of them have an outdoor seating area.

You can find locations and menus here.

Enjoy!

North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

2010-04-30T05:11:00.001-07:00

Media Release

North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

• Triangle residents can participate in a gluten-free food drive at various locations or make a monetary donation to help stock the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
• Bella Monica Italian Restaurant is hosting a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine
• A top food allergens poster is available for restaurants to download to educate their staff about these items, including gluten

Raleigh, N.C., USA, April 30, 2010 – The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog has announced Governor Beverly Perdue has declared May 2010 “Celiac Disease Awareness Month” in North Carolina. The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog and Pat Berger, leader of the North Raleigh Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) Support Group brought the petition to the Governor’s office regarding the awareness month.

Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune disease that affects one in 133 people in the United States. It interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food and can cause gastrointestinal and neurological issues, infertility, skin rashes and cancer. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is lifelong, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet.

“The Governor’s proclamation paves the way to further educate the community on Celiac Disease and helps to create a positive impact on the quality of life for people living with this condition,” said Zach Becker, creator of the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. “It’s my goal to help raise awareness so those living with this disease can safely eat out at restaurants and have easier access to gluten-free food.”

In an effort to educate, raise awareness and give back to the community, there are a number of gluten-free events scheduled during the month of May.

• A gluten-free food drive will be held on Saturday, May 8 to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Special discounts at the drop off locations may be available in exchange for your donation. Bins are set up in each of these locations to accept the packaged gluten-free non-perishable food items:
o Rosie’s Plate – N. Person St., Raleigh
o Bella Monica Italian Restaurant – Edwards Mill Rd., Raleigh
o ZPizza – Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh and Cornerstone Dr., Cary
o Mellow Mushroom – W. Peace St., Raleigh
o Whole Foods Market, Raleigh – Wade Ave., Raleigh
o Earth Fare – Moncreiffe Rd., Raleigh
o Harmony Farms/Café Harmony – Creedmoor Rd., Raleigh

• A virtual food drive will be held all month to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina with gluten-free food. The link to donate can be located on the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog.

• On Sunday, May 16, beginning at 5 p.m., Bella Monica Italian Restaurant will host a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine and Corbett Monica, head chef at Bella Monica Italian Restaurant. They will be preparing dishes from Maltin’s gluten-free cookbook entitled The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook: Spicing Up Life with Italian, Asian and Mexican Recipes. Copies of the cookbook will also be included. Tickets are required for this dining event and can be purchased by calling Bella Monica Italian Restaurant at 919-881-9778.

• The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog worked with Sofia Noble of the design firm This Is Beautiful to create a poster featuring all of the top food allergens, including gluten. This poster is now available for download in English and Spanish at the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. Wake County restaurant owners may use it to educate their staffs about these foods.

“Research indicates there are approximately three million people living with Celiac Disease in the United States and of those, only about 120,000 have been diagnosed,” said Alice Bast, founder and president of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). “It’s great to see North Carolina working to raise awareness about this disease so perhaps others can be accurately diagnosed by their doctors. Zach Becker and the entire North Carolina Celiac Disease community should be commended for their leadership and successful advocacy efforts.”

About Gluten Free Raleigh Blog
Zach Becker was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in May 2008. He founded the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog in August 2008 and has created similar blogs across the state. He has recruited writers for these blogs so gluten-free information in those communities can be shared. The blogs contain restaurant and grocery store reviews, summaries of national news as well as highlight local companies that cater to the gluten-free community. Becker is an advocate for those living with Celiac Disease in the Triangle and donates his time to educate the newly diagnosed, local restaurants and government leaders on this condition.

Useful Resources: Gluten Free Meat Products

2009-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

We all know that in going to the store if people do not have Celiacs disease they might not be aware of what Gluten is or why the product is marked that way, so I wanted to do a little research to see in a pinch what kind of web sites I could find that have gluten free meats for sale.

Here are the results:

http://www.thebuffaloguys.com/_SEO/gluten_free.asp
http://www.glutenfreeinfo.com/FoodList/fd/FD-meat.htm - this site is a bit outdated I am going to try to contact each supplier on this list to see if they have new products or an updated list.
http://surefoodsliving.com/2009/04/07/lunch-meat-gluten-free-and-dairy-free-list/ - this seemed to be a great site very good information.
http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?autocom=blog&blogid=27&showentry=143
http://www.hqm.com/Products/gluten_free.aspx

Hope that this helps. I know that I have been wondering for a long time what meat I can and can not eat this is a challenge as a lot of food is processed and you are not sure with what. I believe that ingredients are a mystery in my latest meeting involving Celiacs a lot of people had stated they would not touch a product unless it stated gluten free on the package some where or the store had it marked gluten free.
How can we help to make any of this easier the producers are not labeling the products do we call each one individually and ask them maybe. I presume that only time will tell.

Gluten Free Raleigh Special Event: GF Cooking Demo w/ Jules Shepard

2009-06-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

Click here for more information about an upcoming Gluten Free cooking demonstration with famous Celiac author Jules Shepard. The event will be held at the Earth Fare in Raleigh on July 12, 2009 @ 10am. Please sign up soon as only 40 spaces are available.

Grocery Store Review: Wal-mart

2009-06-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

As we all know Wal-mart has a vast array of Gluten Free marked products on their shelves. Great for the Celiac diagnosed person. What we need to be aware of which I am sure many of you are, is the frozen meets. Great Value frozen chicken drum sticks are not gluten free they contain the ingredient sodium phosphate which many times as we all know contains gluten.. Orieda has also made it a point to put gluten free on their fries that you can purchase making life a lot easier. If any one knows any more about any items that are gluten free from Wal-mart please feel free to add to this post.

I have also discovered the wal-mart powder brand of chocolate pudding to be gluten free it takes a total of five minutes to make and is yummy and for all of you candy lovers out there we can still eat skittles and starburst.

Happy shopping....

Wal-mart has 3 Wilmington area locations
Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #1392
5226 Sigmon Road
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 392-4034

Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #4273
1112 Newpoint Blvd
Leland, NC 28451
(910) 383-1769

Wal-Mart Supercenter Store #1348
5135 Carolina Beach Road
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 452-0944

P.S. Harris Teeter also marks there products Gluten Free and has tortilla chips that are an unbeatable price check them out.

Gluten Intolerant, Casein Intolerant, and . . .

2009-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

With summer just around the bend I've been phasing back in my morning workouts, of course with an energetic 18 month old German Wirehaired Pointer on my hands, I also get a lot of natural exercise.

But lately some unusual bloating has been plaguing me, and with bathing suit season and beautiful Carolina beaches in my very near future, I've decided to seek help in determining whether I am suffering from another, undiagnosed food intolerance.

Drs. Rick and Vikki Petersen, founders of HealthNOW Medical Center in Sunnyvale, CA have been making great strides to help the gluten sensitive for over 15 years, and their recent book The Gluten Effect is making their knowledge and research of this condition readily available to the public.

Dr. Vikki has posted some brilliant articles to my site GlutenFreeFox.com and The Gluten Effect is one of the very best books I have read regarding gluten intolerance and celiac disease. So while I am still in California, I decided to pay a visit to their offices.

Thus far Drs. Rick and Vikki have discovered that I am suffering from adrenal fatigue and low thyroid function due to a deficiency of iodine, which I've now been supplementing for a few weeks. My energy levels are already up, but today I'm scheduled for a follow-up consultation during which Dr. Rick and I will discuss putting me on a modified Food Allergy Elimination Diet in order to figure out what is causing the inflammation.

I've been keeping a food journal in anticipation and am excited to have Dr. Rick's guidance through this round of the Elimination Diet. This was after all the first step that lead to my diagnoses of severe gluten intolerance and casein intolerance.

Gluten Free Bourbon and Coke

2009-05-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

A few months ago (my boyfriend) Taylor and I discovered Garden & Gun Magazine. For those unfamiliar with this unusually named bimonthly, it's a: Southern lifestyle magazine, all about the magic of the new South – the sporting culture, the food, the music, the art, the literature, the people, and the ideas. (-GardenAndGun.com)

So when we came across a mouthwatering, summer cocktail recipe centered around a specialty bourbon, we took notice. And when we read about the soaring popularity of Coca-Cola imported from Mexico, favorite amongst chefs, supper clubs and connoisseurs alike, we were simply inspired.

Could we round up some Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon and some Mexican Coke? And would I even be able to partake--would they both prove gluten free and casein free?

Well, I did a bit of research on the matter, and yes, both are safe bets for those who are gluten sensitive, and of legal drinking age!

According to Truman Cox, the Old Rip Van Winkle chemist: Our products are distilled and aged with no additives after the distillation process. To the best of our knowledge, the distillation does remove or denature the proteins and gluten associated with the starting grains.

And according to the Coca-Cola site, yes, their regular coke is gluten-free.

My first bourbon or Mexican coke in nearly a year. Mignon Faget glasses stuffed with ice, bourbon and coke sizzling with carbonated fizz, condensation running down the glass sides letting us know it was time to drink up. This was one gluten-free night that stays warmly with the taste buds.

Kinnikinnick's Gluten-Free Donuts

2009-05-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

While we're now just weeks away from our return to the south. To a quiet life in the Carolina mountains and extended stays on the beautiful beachy shores. We've been reminiscing about home, about life in the south.

For me those memories also conjure up thoughts of warm, Sunday morning donuts in New Orleans. Memories of baby donuts.

There was a small grocery-deli just blocks away from where we lived, and though they did not have bulk pricing or discounts, they did have delectable little treats like the packages of cinnamon and sugar sprinkled donuts that my mom would sometimes buy us for a weekend treat.

These small donuts--baby donuts, we called them--were not greasy or too terribly unhealthy, just small little indulgences, perfectly warmed in our toaster oven.

It was much to my surprise when I found some very familiar looking little cinnamon and sugar donuts in the freezer section (next to the g/f waffles) of my local Whole Foods Market, there was not one, but two different donut flavors, but nostalgia made my decision for me.

These little Kinnikinnick donuts are a delightful little treat--just like mom used to make, only gluten and casein free!

Review:
-slightly more sugary than I'd prefer, but if you have a big sweet tooth they're perfect, otherwise just wipe a bit off and they're fabulous!
-they did require about twice the suggested time to heat, but that still only took 30 secs. I do however wonder how they'd been if I had a toaster oven?
-they are not at all greasy, plus w/ only 4.5 g of fat, they're not too unhealthy either.
-great tasting and great texture!

Perfect for an occasional weekend treat!

New Guest Wilmington Blogger - Kristen Campbell

2009-05-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Allow me to introduce Kristen Campbell who will become a guest blogger for Gluten Free Wilmington.

See my post over at Gluten Free Raleigh about Kristen.

More to come from Kristen and her Wilmington experiences very soon!

Stay tuned.

Restaurant Review: Toscana Cafe

2009-04-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Please see the this blog post from Celiac Underground about the Gluten Free offerings from Toscana Cafe in Wilmington.