My review of the Gluten-Free Grocery Shopping Guide by Matison

My Marine's mother gave me this guide as a gift. She is a retired teacher and seems to think we need lots of guides...and guidance, wink, wink. He's an only child. Need I say more?
I appreciate the gift as I'm too cheap to have purchased the $25 item myself. It is the size of a thick paperback and we wondered if it would be more useful than the gluten free iphone apps we have tried and rarely use (they usually lack in quantity of products or are outdated). We usually just use our phone to do a web search to verify whether or not a product is gluten free as we stand in the aisle in the store (our home is gluten free and Seth eats gluten free at home--however, occasionally he'll reheat a gluten-laden leftover in the microwave).
We have taken the book to the store with us a couple of times. Since we are familiar with many of the usual suspects on our grocery list, I mostly used it to find stuff I am normally afraid of trying, or brands that were questionable, unknown, or cheaper. It did help me find cheaper microwave popcorn, another brand of chicken, chicken broth, and another brand of breakfast sausage. (I discovered there are many brands of chicken broth gf, but the beef flavor of same brands aren't gf.) However, I noticed that some gf items must be excluded, because the hot cocoa I usually purchase was not listed. Although it includes many store brands, it didn't list Harris Teeter, our store.
In sum, I'll probably keep it because when we move to Atlanta we will have the joyful experience of finding new grocery stores and even old faves, like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods carry completely different products in each store. So, I'll get new store lists from them. And life will be good again. Gluten free good!

Devil Dog and Celiac Move to Atlanta! (Home search and gluten free diet and dining research in full swing!)

That's right! As you know, after 13 years of living la vida del sol, teaching in Southern California, and purchasing my home there, I met a dashing and debonair Marine Corps Officer who promptly got transferred to the East Coast. Surprising all my friends and family, after dating this ginger-haired gent less than a year, I took a leave of absence from my established career, rented out mi casa, and set out for the D.C./Virginia area with him to see how we'd get along once reality set in.
After ten months, reality didn't bite, but the love bugs did and now we've put each other in the "For Keeps" bucket. There aren't many Marines in Atlanta, and I'm not sure how many celiacs, but we're excited about the move. In Feb., we enjoyed a romantic house-hunting mission with a realtor who'd been a military wife and a teacher (she spoke BOTH of our languages, and gave us a book on how to speak Southern!). We didn't match with a home, but the sun was out, we rendez-vous'd with our old middle/high school pals, and got a feel for the area.

The inevitable gluten free diet issue came up as his friends insisted on taking us to their favorite rib joint, D.B.A. Barbeque, but it turned out to be serendipity! We had less luck getting gluten free pizza at Mellow Mushroom, but better luck at Buckhead Pizza Co. And mes amis picked us up for lunch and I handled/dodged my celiac issue by texting her that I need a gluten free diet nowadays, and she just did a search on her phone and chose Jason's Deli, which turned out delightfully well for all.
Since then, I have been researching gluten free dining in Atlanta and have some places I'm dying to try on my next house-hunting expedition: Fresh2Order, Saba, Urban Pl8, Yeah Burger, Ecco, The Brickery, and Metro Fresh.

Gluten Free Easter Cupcakes

Make Gluten Free Easter Cupcakes

I wonder why I've been plumping lately...? Who can resist the bimonthly gluten free potluck? I made these and only ate one, but they were pretty good. I also indulged in strawberry shortcake someone made, along w chicken and cauliflower. Its always nice to chill with gf peeps, not the marshmallow ones!