Woodchuck Draft Cider

Just wanted to post this very quickly. Sorry it's a very terrible picture. Anyway, Woodchuck is a very nice gluten free alcoholic beverage for those of you that do not like gluten-free beer or are not in in the mood for a glass of wine. I get the feeling that drinks might become a common theme of this blog. Though other than Woodchuck, Redbridge, wine, and tequilla shots, there are not many options. It is possible however to get creative! More on that on another day.

BTW: Woodchuck comes in like five different flavors that are all naturally gluten-free. The pear cider is amazing, though not many places carry it.

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Location:Bailey's Bar & Grille

Eco•Planet Organics Gluten-Free Oatmeal

Eco's gluten-free oatmeal, while not holding a torch to Quaker Oats, is not bad. I have tried a few other brands of GF Oatmeal, but this is the first time that I have had the opprotunity have it without having to add any sweeteners or flavor on my own. Just like the very popular Quaker Instant Oatmeal this particular brand of oatmeal comes in a box with six seperate packets. This in itself for someone who has to hurry up and go in the morning is very helpful.

The flavor that I just happened to pick up in the grocery store was "Maple & Brown Sugar". Eco also sells a "Apple & Cinnamon" as well as an "Original" flavor.

So the only negative thing I really have to say about this oatmeal is that the instructions are terribble. It says to empty the packet as well as 1/2 cup of water into a bowl and than microwave it for 1-2 minutes. I promise you that doing this will have disastrous results.

The best thing you can do is boil the water and than slowly mix it in to a bowl that already has your packet of oats in it. If you are like me however, and for some reason just have to continue to use the microwave, make sure you use more water than they tell you to. Otherwise you will be eating some extremely thick and sticky oatmeal.

Once I did manage to get the oatmeal/water/microwave/ ratios correct I found that I quite enjoyed Eco's GF Oatmeal. I did notice that the consistancy was a little different. It wasn't anything that bothered me but I decided to do some investigating. I found something very interesting.



As you can hopefully tell from this photo(click on it), Eco puts a lot more in this oatmel than just oats. There is Buckwheat, Sorghum, Brown Rice, Puffed Amaranth, Quinoa, and Millet. Of course these are all staples of a gluten-free diet, but I did not expect to find all of these ingredients in here. Of course this significantly increaes the amount of protein and dietary fiber that would be found in this box had there only been just oats. So in addition to it tasting really good, it is an excellent meal before going to the gym. It is also good for keeping your digestive system regulated.

I give Eco-Friendly Organics Oatmeal a solid B+

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Redbridge Gluten-Free Beer

So this is a pretty terrible photo as this place has pretty much the worst lighting EVER! I guess it doesn't help that the iPhone does not have a flash. But anyway, on to the beer. Honestly, this is a pretty good beer. I have had friends who have tasted it and put it in the sane category as Sam Adams as far as quality goes. It certainly is not even close to being that hoppy. It's a bit sweet, which doesn't bother me at all, due to the fact that it is made from sorghum flour. In reality it is probably the only mass produced gluten-free beer in existance. To be completely honest I have not even had the opprotunity to try any other ones but hey you have to start somewhere right. So , for the record, Redbridge is actually made by the Anheuser-Busch company. That's right, the same company that makes that abomination known as Budweiser. I am happy to report that this beer tastes 10 times better than the coldest bud!

It is very important to note that those of you who are eating gluten-free to lose weight should not drink this. This is a pretty thick, sugary beer that has a decent amount of calories, 160 to be precise. This beer is specifically designed as an alternative for those who have adverse reactions to consuming standard beers. Listen, I will be honest here. I have consumed many of these in the past year in which I have lost 115lbs. What you have to realize is this beer is literally the only "fatty" thing that is a semi-regular part of my diet. So again, to all you dieters out there who are avoiding gluten by choice, you should ptobaby just stick to wine or MGD 64. To those of you out there who love beer but it will make them uncomfortable or sick due to a gluten-allergy, this is your alternative. It is a really good alternative!!



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About Me.........

Greetings,

I would like to take the opprotunity to thank you for visiting the Gluten-Free Nation Blog. I figured that I would take the opprotunity with this first post to tell you a bit about myself and what this Blog will be about.

My name is Daniel Wright, I am 26 years old, I am a musician by trade(trumpet player), and I have been aware of my gluten-allergy for about one year now. The reason I say "aware" is because I had terrible eczema for four years before I managed to figure out what the problem was. I am sure this is a similar story to most folks that are suffering from a Gluten Allergy/Intolerance. For the record I do not have Celiac Disease but I'm sure that the information that I will be providing in this blog will be useful fo those suffering from Celiac Disease, an allergy, or those that are on a gluten-free diet.

My idea is to review gluten-free products, resteraunts(in the tri-state area), and generally use this space as a personal blog to talk about the daily struggles of living gluten-free.

As many if these posts will be coming directly from my iPhone while I am on the go, there is a good chance you will find poor grammar and spelling errors. If this bugs you I apologize. If anyone wants to be my editor for free than I guess we can talk about that. But I think that is all for now. Though I have feeling that I will momentarily be reviewing this wonderful gluten-free beer that I am currently drinking.

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