Cape Cod Gluten-Free Vacation - July 2013

It's September already and I haven't had a chance until now to tell you about our Cape Cod vacation! 

The Cape is a great place to visit, not only for it's wonderful beaches, quaint little villages, shopping and fun activities, but it is a GREAT place to go for delicious gluten-free eats!

Without further ado, here are some of the meals I gobbled down while on our vacation this summer!

Chatham Fish and Lobster Company

 

Fried Clam Strips and French Fries.

 

Fried Scallops, French Fries, Fried Shrimp and Onion Rings.

 

 

I am NEVER disappointed at Chatham Fish & Lobster.  They are awesome!  Most all of their fried seafood is gluten-free.  We always plan on visiting here at least twice during the week.

 

 

BZ's Mexican Pizzeria

 

 

Arizona White Gluten-Free Pizza

 

 

I still say that this is the best gluten-free pizza I have had so far.  A fun place to go with the kids.  Free Wi-Fi is always a bonus.

 

 

Hearth 'n Kettle

 

 

 

 



Seafood Medley

 

 

 

Loving that Hearth 'n Kettle has a new and improved gluten-free menu.  I've never had a problem eating here, even though they do have the standard warning about cross-contamination on their menu.  Please use your own judgement when it comes to this. 

 

 

 

Sam Diego's

 

 

 

Gluten-Free Mushroom and Spinach Quesadilla

 

Gluten-Free Chips and Salsa

 

 

Sam Diego's is a fun, fun place to go for Mexican food on the Cape.  They have a great gluten-free menu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box Office Café

 

 

 

The "Rocky" Sammie on gluten-free flatbread.

 

A very neat place to visit!  A yummy gluten-free menu.  Lots of interesting sandwiches named after movies!  Almost all of their regular sandwiches can be made gluten-free, just ask!

 

****UPDATE 1/1/15:  The Box Office Café closed as of 1/1/15.  According to their website, it will reopen under new management in April 2015 as "The Talkative Pig".  Hopefully they will still offer a gluten-free menu.

 

 

We had a great week and looking back at all of these yummy meals makes me want to drive right back there this week!  Oh, if only I could!

 

 

As always, if you go to these restaurants (or any restaurant) and you have an allergy, celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, please check with your server and make sure they understand before you order!

 

 

We are still hosting reviews and great giveaways over at www.stephanieodea.com, so come on over and check it out!

 

 

Have a great gluten-free day!  :-)

 

 



 

Here it is. My Thoughts on the Hoda/Today Show/Gluten-Free Joke Debacle.

Have you ever had one of those days when you wished you hadn't read your Twitter feed or opened up your Facebook?

Today was that day for me.

I knew as soon as I saw a tweet that said something like "Today Show Makes Fun at Gluten-Free Again".  Then there was a post about how Hoda Kotb had joked about not wanting to date a man who is gluten-free and a "picky eater".  What followed was a lot of name-calling and hatred being hurled in Hoda's direction.

Then, I saw it happen.  This tweet being retweeted in all forms on Twitter.

Then came the comments.  More people calling Hoda "stupid" and "ignorant".

I turned to Facebook.  Yup.  More of the same.

Ok.  I get it.  She shouldn't have said it.  But honestly, does she deserve being called "worthless" and "sad"?

No.

No more than those of us who have celiac disease deserve to be called anything.

Hoda is someone's daughter, sister, friend.  Just like we are.

Does getting angry and calling someone names make anything better?  Absolutely not.

Does educating that person and asking them to stop?  Maybe.

I admit that I watch the fourth hour of "Today".  Not every morning, but pretty regularly.  Hoda and Kathie Lee are pretty silly and goofy and most of the time make me laugh.  Some days I really need a good laugh.  Lots of people don't like them or watch the show and that's okay too.

I honestly do not believe that Hoda is stupid or worthless or even uncaring or uncompassionate.  She is a cancer survivor and I can bet has had other struggles in her life.  I think she was trying to be funny.  It is very unfortunate that she chose "gluten-free" to pick on.

If Hoda were my BFF, I would have kindly told her about celiac disease and why it isn't appropriate or funny to try to make a joke about it.

I did tweet @KLGandHoda and asked them to please stop making fun of people who are gluten-free.  When she apologized, I sent another tweet thanking her.  Then I let it go...

I know about being angry.  I am angry I have celiac.  I am angry about my other undiagnosed health issues.  I am angry about terrorism and natural disasters and the economy.  I have been angry about things people in the media and elsewhere have said about many things.

Here is what I have personally decided for myself.  Anger helps NOTHING.  The only one it hurts is me.  Sitting and stewing for days about something someone said does not make me feel better.  In fact, as someone with health issues, it makes me feel so much worse.

Does it make you feel better?  My guess would be that it doesn't.

And how do you think others view a bunch of angry, name-calling, gluten-free folks?  As just that.

Instead, why don't we turn all of that anger into something positive?

Educate, people!  Isn't that what Celiac Awareness Month is all about anyway???

Oscar Night and White Chicken Chili

It's Oscar Night!  We will be watching the festivities with a little more interest this year.  Unlike past years, we have actually seen many of the nominated pictures.  Most just in the past week!  We saw Lincoln, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Skyfall!  We saw Les Mis, Brave when they came out in theaters.  The hubby saw The Hobbit, which I will see when it comes out on DVD.

Of all of the movies we've seen, I definitely liked Les Mis the best.  I'm a sucker for musicals of any kind and this one just blew me away.  I know it was panned by many movie critics, but I loved it anyway.

I do think that Daniel Day Lewis did an excellent job playing Lincoln.  I found his portrayal eerie at times.  He was just as I imagined Lincoln to be.

So here are my official Oscar Movie Rankings!  I am not a professional movie critic by far, but I know what I find entertaining!

1) Le Mis...Powerful!  This movie sucked me right in.  Tissues required.
2) Lincoln...Excellent.  Good history lesson for middle school and up children, although they may fall asleep.  ;-)
3) Argo...Very intense.  Had to calm hubby down halfway through the film.  Nail-biter!
4) Skyfall...Good action movie, but it needed more spy gadgets!  LOL!
5) Brave....Nice, Family Movie
6) Beasts of the Southern Wild....MEH...wasn't my kind of movie, I find any movie where there's right-out child abuse hard to watch.


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Those of you who know me, know that I've been having shoulder issues for the past five months.  An MRI showed that I have bursitis, tendonitis and bone spurs in my right (dominate) shoulder.  It is very painful to do even everyday tasks like showering, getting dressed, cleaning the house.  So if you see me sitting around in my dirty house, in my jammies, you will understand!  I've been doing PT for two months and have an appointment with the orthopedic in a couple of weeks.  Surgery is starting to look like the only option to get my range of motion back and hopefully get rid of some of the pain. We'll see what the doc says...

I've been trying to clean up my diet, limiting sugar and carbs, to try to combat some of the inflammation in my body, but it's been a real struggle.  It's definitely a work in progress.  I do love my sweets.

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I haven't really made a Meal Plan for this week, but I am making a crockpot full of White Chicken Chili and a casserole dish of Mac n' Cheese today and I am planning that there will be plenty of leftovers to carry through the week.

I may eat some of the chili and mac n' cheese, but I'm really focusing on eating more fish and vegetables this week.

Several people have asked for my White Chicken Chili recipe.  It is delicious and my hubby LOVES it.  It is very, very easy.  You don't need to make it in a crock pot, you can use a big pot on the stove.  Unfortunately, I can't take the credit for creating it!  The recipe came from a Rachael Ray show I watched.   Of course, if you are gluten-free, make sure you use gluten-free ingredients.  Boxed chicken broth can contain gluten, so it is important to find a brand that doesn't, such as Progresso or Pacific brands.  You can find the recipe here:


Mandi Forester's White Chicken Chili from the Rachael Ray Show

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Have a great week!