Better For You Bakery

Happy Monday!  I'm really excited about tonight's post!!  However, I have to be completely honest and tell you how intimidated I have been these past couple of years by the thought of gluten free baking.  I haven't had trouble adjusting to gluten free cooking, but gluten free baking is another animal altogether!  This weekend I had the opportunity to turn my kitchen into a test kitchen for some new gluten free mixes on the market and was reminded how much I love to bake.  Not only am I excited because they were delicious and easy to make, but I am REALLY excited because they are made and marketed by a local, dedicated gluten free commercial bakery called, Better For You Bakery LLC.  Owned and operated by Tina Meseck, Better For You Bakery is located in Jefferson, Iowa.  The recipes and products have all been developed by Tina, herself.  

Tina Meseck (used with her permission)

I'll give you some more information about Tina's business and her new website later in this post.  First, let's talk about food - a favorite subject of mine, as my waistline will attest.

I received the four mixes Tina currently is marketing, French Bread, English Muffin, Multi-Grain Bread and Chocolate Cake - all 100% gluten free!  While Tina, herself, does not have Celiac Disease, she states that she does have a food allergy and preservative/chemical sensitivity, thus, her products are also free from preservatives, which is another major plus in my book.  Tina is a firm believer in *"offering products that include more gluten free whole grains and flours versus all starches, very little whole grains or a lot of sugar."

I invited my mom over to help me on Saturday and it brought back good memories having the two of us working in the kitchen together.  We started out with the French Bread mix.  I don't have a traditional French bread loaf pan, but that's not a problem, because you can use regular loaf pans - or the dough can be used for pizza on a round pizza pan!  I love the versatility of her mixes.  This isn't the only mix that can be used multiple ways.  All of the mixes were really easy and fun to make.  I actually had almost all of the extra needed ingredients in my own kitchen already!  The texture of the French bread was a bit more dense than what I think of French bread being, but the taste was exquisite!  I used a packet of gluten free dry Italian dressing seasoning (yes, Italian in French bread!) with the mix and the flavor exploded in my mouth!  Very good served warm with a tab of real butter.

Next up was the one I was looking forward to the most - the English Muffin mix!  I LOVE English Muffins!!  I couldn't believe that there was a gluten free English Muffin mix available!  Tina told me that she did some checking and hers is the only gluten free English Muffin mix on the market.  There are frozen gluten free English Muffins available, but hers is the only mix.  It can be made into English muffins or baked in a loaf pan.  I chose to try to make them into muffins.  I don't have an English Muffin pan, so I made them according to the directions on baking parchment paper on cookie sheets.  This worked just fine.  The taste and texture of these English Muffins did not disappoint at all!  They were perfect!  I've been eating them every morning for breakfast since I made them - almost gone :-(  Looks like I'll have to get some more!  Next time I'm going to try adding cinnamon and raisins!  Mmmmmm...

 I used some homemade jam that I bought at our local Farmer's Market from my favorite booth - C. Brown Gardens

Don't you wish you had some???

My stand mixer has a short in the cord and doesn't work very well, so we had to use my hand mixer for everything.  The Multi-grain was not easy to do this with, as it is a thicker dough that needs mixed for a longer time - Mom and I took turns to get it completely mixed together as needed.  The result was so worth the effort!  This gluten free multi-grain bread is so soft and the flavor has a mild sweetness due to the added ingredient of honey.  Oh my!  I've been eating it without even putting anything (not even butter) on it - the flavor is that good!

After all that baking on Saturday, I decided to take a break and finish it off on Sunday with the Chocolate Cake mix.  Tina is a woman after my own heart!  One of the added ingredients for this mix - COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh yeah!  This girl is a happy camper!  The additional ingredients also included unsweetened applesauce. Per Tina's suggestion, I also added coffee to the frosting I made to go with the cake (frosting ingredients are not included in the mix - you make your own, or - maybe don't!  The cake is that moist and good!)  My non-GF hubby (who doesn't even care that much for chocolate cake, unless it is German Chocolate) enjoyed a slice last night.  He said it was really good.  That's saying a lot for him!  :-)  I took the rest of the cake (after a slice for me, my mom and another friend) to share with my co-workers today.  I also took samples of the French Bread and Multi-Grain Bread for them.  The cake was gone!  It was a big hit with my non-GF co-workers, who also enjoyed the two breads.  No, I did not share any of my English Muffins - mine!  All mine!!!!

I'll never win any cake decorating contest, but when the cake tastes like this - who cares?!

I asked Tina for some information about her goals with Better For You Bakery LLC.  She told me, "All the mixes are made from NON GMO sourced suppliers, however not every ingredient in my bakery is non GMO, just every ingredient in the mixes."  She went on to say, "I'm a dedicated gluten free facility.  My business is not a traditional retail storefront because commercial locations in our town are not a viable or sensible investment when I was looking and still aren't so I bought a house and it's my bakery location only I don't live there.  I use a lot more gf whole grains in my baking and make changes to traditional sugars and fats to adjust the amount to less and swap out other options.  I wan't people to be able to eat gluten free in a better and more inclusive way so when they take something of mine or make one of my mixes their gluten loving friends are still as excited about sharing it with them as they would if it were gluten version."  That certainly was my experience today when I shared with my co-workers.

Tina has been working on getting online shopping cart ordering available on her website.  She is hoping to have this up and running by Sept. 1st.  However, at this time, you can browse her "made to order" options, learn more about how she got started, get great gluten free baking tips and more.  Remember, Better For You Bakery is not a "stop and shop" storefront.  You need to place your order for pick up ahead of time.  You can learn more about Tina and Better For You Bakery at www.betterforyoubakery.net or you can contact Tina to place your order by calling 515-391-9549  You can also follow Better For You Bakery LLC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/betterforyoubakery/  

Happy Baking and Eating!

Tina in her bakery (used with her permission)

*From the "About" section of www.betterforyoubakery.net

Gud n Free in Sioux City

Gud n Free

3120 Floyd Blvd

Sioux City, IA 51108

712-226-3733

www.gudnfree.com

A little over five weeks ago, the first 100% Gluten Free restaurant opened in Sioux City, Iowa!  This restaurant has been sorely needed in this area.  Not only is it Gluten Free, but it is also Nut Free, Fish Free and has Dairy and Soy Free options, as well. The food is not only a hit with Celiacs, people with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity and people with other food allergies, but with non-gluten free people, also!  If you haven't been there, yet, what are you waiting for??  This restaurant is definitely not "fast food" - it is so much more and better than that!!  I've had the privilege of having several conversations with the owners, Mike and Brenda Orlando.  Recently, I asked Brenda to tell me their story.  Here is that conversation:

Siouxland Celiac: What led up to you learning about your oldest daughter having Celiac Disease and how long did it take to get a correct diagnosis. Many Celiacs, including myself, take years of misdiagnosis and wrong treatments before finally getting a correct diagnosis.
Brenda: Our youngest daughter had several symptoms if not all of them at age 2. We believe looking back her symptoms started as an infant with reflux. The Dr. that assisted us in getting Alyssa diagnosed was super amazing, we are forever thankful for her help. We were so relieved to have an answer. When she was diagnosed Mike and I and our oldest daughter all got tested. That is then we found out our oldest had asymptomatic celiac disease. They are 19 months apart and they had less than 2% difference in damage. We were in shock. We had a 2 and almost 4 year old with celiac disease. What do we feed them and how to we teach others to care for them? Through support of family, we figured it out. Our lives now are much better 5 years later. We have learned so much and we are still learning everyday about the gluten free life style. Our girls are very good at following their diet. We are very proud of them and their ability to care for their health. 

Mike Orlando helping a customer

SC: I am the fourth person in my extended family to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease and we've recently learned of another in the extended family who was diagnosed in the past year. Since it is a hereditary disease, do you know of anyone else in either of your families who has been diagnosed or who may have non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity?
 Brenda: We do not have any identified family members in our immediate families with celiac disease. We have a couple of distant family members with celiac. 

SC: I was diagnosed as an adult and know how hard living GF and with Celiac can be for an adult, but I can't imagine what a child goes through. How does having Celiac Disease affect your daughters at school and with their friends? I'd guess they are very well educated about their health issues - more than most would be at their ages.
Brenda: Our daughters take all their own food to school each day. Honestly, they do a wonderful job at remembering given their young ages. We have only had to take a forgotten lunch box up to school a couple times over the years. They also don’t use public drinking fountains. They take their own water bottles to ensure safety of cross contamination (suggested by their school). We provide all their snacks at school and when it comes to birthday treats and specials at school. We have had some wonderful teachers over the years that have gotten snacks after consulting with us. Snack time and birthdays is how we began making our own cupcakes. We wanted our girls to be included and have a safe treat. Cake was always so hard for others to provide gluten free without cross contamination.  Many of their classmate’s parents to do check with us and provide gluten free snacks. We are grateful for anyone that thinks of our girls. 

Fresh Fruit Cup

SC: Besides two of your daughters having been diagnosed and your family living gluten free, what other motivation did you have for opening Gud n Free?
Brenda: We both enjoy helping others. We have felt this struggle for the past 5 years. We just wanted to have options for ourselves and to create options for others. We wanted to have crispy chicken, sub sandwiches, cupcakes, etc. Things we weren’t readily available here in Siouxland. We are grateful for the couple of safe options we found in the area, we know how difficult it is to create options free of cross contamination when you serve gluten. That is why we wanted our place to be free of gluten completely!

Sioux City Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting

SC: When did the process begin to really take shape and become more than just a dream?
Brenda: About a year ago, Mike and I seriously started talking about it and we began to research. We had discussed it off and on for the past 2-3 years. We just kept thinking there have to be other people out there that think and feel like we do. If there was such a place that existed others would come.  

 House Burger with Cheese Balls and Marinara

Chicken Strips

SC: How have your children reacted to having a 100% safe restaurant at which to be able to dine out?
Brenda: They love it! They are very proud of their parents. Both of them made homemade cards for us on the first day of business.

SC: What has been their favorite food (or foods) from the Gud n Free menu?
Brenda: The girls love chicken strips, the fresh fruit cup and cupcakes!  I love the Cobb Salad, chicken strips, and new vegan falafel! Mike enjoys the Crispy chicken sandwich and cheeseballs. 

 Cobb Salad

Mushroom Falafel

SC: You are also serious about being as free from other common food allergens as possible, not just gluten. What else do you offer for people who have other food sensitivities or allergies?
Brenda: We do not have any nuts, tree nuts, fish or shell fish in our facility. We also have soy and dairy free options. We have separate fryer and grill for dairy items. We do not use soybean oil in our fryers to stay soy free there. We have recently created a couple of vegan/vegetarian options as well. We have been thinking of ways to make egg free options happen very soon. We want to be able to cater to other specific dietary needs such as grain free, low carb and low sugar. It will take time. We want to provide quality safe foods and we can’t do everything at once. Our goal is to serve as many as we can. We also welcome those without allergies or intolerances to enjoy are tasty food. We have gotten great reviews across the board. 

SC: How has the response been, so far, from the local Celiac and food allergy community as well as overall?
Brenda: Amazing! We did not know that there were so many celiacs, gluten free folks and those with food allergies here in Siouxland. It has been truly amazing to witness people eating safe foods that they have never eaten or have not eaten since being diagnosed. We have seen smiles and tears of joy! We love it! 

 Crispy Chicken Sandwich

House Burger on a lettuce wrap

SC: What has been your most popular menu item so far? My vote is the amazing cheese balls and marinara and my non-GF husband would definitely say the chicken strips. He says they are the best he's ever had! Have younger Celiacs been drawn to any one particular item over the others because they can't get it anywhere else or because they've never been able to have that food safely before?
Brenda: Well so far our cheeseballs is our top seller with, cupcakes and house burger on a bun falling close behind. It has been our experience that it is so hard to find these types of items when dining out. 

SC: What would you like people to know about Gud n Free and what you have to offer here?
Brenda: Gud n Free is here for the people. We want to provide for our community. We are a business and we want to thrive. Everyone that visits our establishment is helping those that have allergies and intolerances have Gud n Free as a safe option. We have seen people travel near and far, from in state to out of state as well as make their travel plans around being able to stop and eat at Gud n Free. All to experience safe allergy free dining. Mike and I know firsthand that food plays a huge role in our daily lives, from nurturing our bodies to socializing while dining out with friends and family. We make it safe for those will allergies and intolerances to do this.

Gud n Free's owners, Mike & Brenda Orlando and their girls

You can follow Gud n Free on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/Gud-n-Free