Since I was slowly on the mend from my bout of heat exhaustion, our slower paced day in Animal Kingdom and light dinner at the San Angel Inn Restaurante in Epcot’s Mexico were a perfect fit. By the time we had made our way through all of the scenic and shaded trails of the park, hopped on a few rides here and there, and nibbled on a Gluten Free BabyCakes Donut and Flame Tree Barbecue Pulled Pork my appetite and energy level were pushed pretty close to the limit, but after a little resting at the hotel, we were on the bus again and headed over to Epcot for dinner. On our trip last fall, we had eaten at San Angel Inn and Dan couldn’t talk highly enough about the margaritas and other spicy dishes that he enjoyed. I, on the other hand, was not a huge fan of my spicy entree, even though my dear husband took a bite and swore that it wasn’t spicy at all, for my dainty little mouth it felt like there was a fire in there. So needless to say this restaurant didn’t necessarily take it all for the food for me but for the ambiance it was five stars. We loved the dark, nighttime feel, not to mention the fact that the restaurant overlooks the canal where the ride passes through.
Since Dan loves the food here and I the environment, this trip we had decided to revisit this restaurant. This dinner couldn’t have come on a more perfect day in our vacation either. At our last visit, on top of my too spicy entree, I tried the gluten free Sopa Azteca, a delicious bowl of traditional tortilla soup, hold the pepper. I knew that this would be the perfect light dinner given my sensitive condition at that point in our trip.
San Angel Inn Restaurante in Epcot’s Mexico
After checking in, we were escorted to our table nestled right along the water. It was the perfect table for our family of three with the best view in the house. Soon after being seated, the chef joined us and took my order for my gluten free soup. While we waited for our orders, our little girl couldn’t get enough of the riders passing along below us. In fact she even gave most of them an extra treat, waving and saying hello as the boats passed by, even getting lucky to get a few waves back. She is such a little sweetheart and so friendly too!
Soon enough, after only waiting a few minutes, my bowl of tomato soup with gluten free tortilla strips, avocado, and cheese was placed in front of me. It was just as delicious as I remembered and filled the little vacancy in my stomach. Sadly, I didn’t do the soup justice and left quite a bit behind, but I was incredibly glad that my stomach cooperated so I could enjoy some of it at least. Just as before, our experience here was amazing and our little girl loved every bit of it, food included, so it seems her palate may be more similar to her Daddy’s.
So, if you love spicy food, there are so many gluten free options at San Angel Inn, not to mention some pretty tasty dessert choices too. Make a reservation for this restaurant as far in advance as possible because it books up pretty quickly. Also, if you want to snag a seat like we had, try to get an earlier reservation and request a table along the water when you check in, you’ll have a better shot earlier in the dinner service I think.
Keep me posted on your gluten free selections here and any other Disney restaurant!
Do you LOVE the gluten free Chex varieties as much as I do? They are by far the best gluten free cereal I’ve had to date. From rice and corn to honey nut, chocolate, and vanilla, each is as tasty as the one before, and that’s only some of the flavors that they offer. Any and all of them make a perfect bowl of cereal for breakfast, okay lunch and dinner too if you’re like me and can eat breakfast at any meal of the day.
A little creative twist that I’ve been using Chex for ever since my early days of gluten free living are making Chex treats, a little remake of the childhood favorite Rice Kristpie treats. I remember when Gluten Free Rice Krispies first appeared on the gluten free scene at a steep $5.99 a box; the sight of them took me back to being a kid and I couldn’t wait to pour a bowl of the snap, crackle, and pop deliciousness or better yet, make those marshmallowy treats. After just one bite though, I was sorely disappointed in the yucky flavor and after taste. They just weren’t my cup of tea and didn’t live up to their regular predecessor.
Now with that nagging obsession for a rice cereal treat, it dawned on me to use my favorite Chex cereals. Hence the birth of my go to birthday party, picnic, holiday, or just because Chex treats. The regular version of Rice Chex and marshmallow have graced many an event in our family over the past few years but with the release of so many different Chex flavors, I can’t help but put a spin on my traditional dessert. With summer coming to an end, I decided to make a summery Chex treat that can be enjoyed year round. As an alternative to my Chocolate Peanut Butter and Strawberry And Vanilla versions that appeared this summer, I decided to take one of the most classic summer treats and make it in Chex form. May I introduce you to the Gluten Free S’more Chex Treat; a marshmallowy square of Schar honeygrams and rice Chex, coated with a marshmallowy sauce, and drizzled with melted milk chocolate.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boxes of Schar Honeygrams (each box is about 5 oz)
10 oz Rice Chex (about 3/4 of a 12.8 oz box of Chex)
10 oz bag mini marshmallows
4 tbsp butter (I use Smart Balance or Land O’Lakes)
3/4 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips (Hershey’s is gluten free)
Non-stick cooking spray (I use Smart Balance)
Directions:
Spray 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Add 3/4 of a 12.8 oz box of Rice Chex to a large mixing bowl. I like to crush them a bit while they are still in their bag so you have some rice krispie size pieces mixed with some whole Chex still floating around.
Next, chop or crumble 1 1/2 packages of Schar Honeygram crackers. Make sure you have big enough pieces throughout to really give you that s’more feeling.
Add your crumbled graham cracker pieces to the large mixing bowl of cereal and mix together.
Rice chex mixed with honeygram cookies.
Melt 4 tbsp of gluten free butter in a microwave safe bowl (about 30-60 sec).
Add 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows to melted butter and stir to coat.
Melt marshmallows in microwave (about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes). Keep an eye on these in the microwave, as they do expand and can overflow the bowl easily.
Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir melted marshmallows until smooth.
Pour melted marshmallow onto crushed Chex and graham cracker mixture and stir to combine, making sure all cereal and cookies are coated with marshmallow. This is going to be very sticky; I like to use a spatula and spray it with a little non-stick spray when needed.
Scoop sticky marshmallow cereal/cookie mixture into baking dish and use a spatula or spoon sprayed with non-stick spray to press into an even layer.
Press marshmallow cereal/cookie mixture into baking dish.
Melt 3/4 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave chocolate chips in short intervals to prevent chocolate from burning. I like to microwave in 20 second intervals and stir after each.
Once all chocolate is melted, drizzle over rice treats.
Drizzle melted milk chocolate onto rice treats.
Allow mixture to cool and then use a knife (sprayed in non-stick spray) to cut into squares.
Enjoy!,
Gluten free graham crackers and rice cereal swirled together with melted marshmallow, all topped with a drizzle of sweet, melted milk chocolate. Just one bite and you’re instantly transported back to a warm summer night around the fire pit where you can hear the chatter of cicadas and smell the deliciousness of grilled favorites. This dessert combines two of my favorite sweet treats, a s’more and Chex treat, and creates a snack that can be enjoyed year round. They’re delicious and so incredibly easy to make! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
1 1/2 boxes of Schar Honeygrams (each box is about 5 oz)
10 oz Rice Chex (about 3/4 of a 12.8 oz box of Chex)
10 oz bag mini marshmallows
4 tbsp butter (I use Smart Balance or Land O’Lakes)
3/4 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips (Hershey's is gluten free)
Non-stick cooking spray (I use Smart Balance)
Instructions
Spray 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Add 3/4 of a 12.8 oz box of Rice Chex to a large mixing bowl. I like to crush them a bit while they are still in their bag so you have some rice krispie size pieces mixed with some whole Chex still floating around.
Next, chop or crumble 1 1/2 packages of Schar Honeygram crackers. Make sure you have big enough pieces throughout to really give you that s'more feeling.
Add your crumbled graham cracker pieces to the large mixing bowl of cereal and mix together.
Melt 4 tbsp of gluten free butter in a microwave safe bowl (about 30-60 sec).
Add 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows to melted butter and stir to coat.
Melt marshmallows in microwave (about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes). Keep an eye on these in the microwave, as they do expand and can overflow the bowl easily.
Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir melted marshmallows until smooth.
Pour melted marshmallow onto crushed Chex and graham cracker mixture and stir to combine, making sure all cereal and cookies are coated with marshmallow. This is going to be very sticky; I like to use a spatula and spray it with a little non-stick spray when needed.
Scoop sticky marshmallow/cereal mixture into baking dish and use a spatula or spoon sprayed with non-stick spray to press into an even layer.
Melt 3/4 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave chocolate chips in short intervals to prevent chocolate from burning. I like to microwave in 20 second intervals and stir after each.
Once all chocolate is melted, drizzle over rice treats.
Allow mixture to cool and then use a knife (sprayed in non-stick spray) to cut into squares.
Enjoy!
By Gluten Free Mom To Be
Gluten Free Mom To Be http://www.glutenfreemomtobe.com/
I’ll be honest, I’m one of those people that loves receiving mail, well the happy kinds, not bills and junk mail. Letters, cards, packages, it’s truly a lost art of communication but one that I love. I mean who doesn’t love coming home and finding a little brown package sitting on their doorstep, especially one with Canyon Bakehouse in the return address. I lugged little one, the diaper bag, and the brown box of gluten free love into the house and couldn’t wait to tear into it. A beautiful site laid before me in the form of three fresh loaves of gluten free focaccia.
It’s no mystery that I’ve fallen for Canyon Bakehouse’s Gluten Free Focaccia. In fact, for only $5 a loaf, you would certainly be able to find a loaf at all times in my cabinet if it were available at my local grocery store everyday. So every now and then I’ve been able to enjoy the specialness of the gluten free focaccia. So far I’ve put together these Caprese and Spinach Artichoke Garlicky Focaccia Bites, adding two of my favorite appetizers to toasted garlic focaccia bread, which by the way my family and I loved. This time around with my box full of sample focaccia, I was craving a pizza. Yup, it was that time in the week for a homemade pizza and I figured why not use the focaccia for a pizza crust.
I am so glad that I tried this gluten free pizza out, the focaccia was a perfect substitute for your traditional crust, kind of like a deep dish pizza. But instead of my normal pizza toppings I decided to try out my gluten free burrata cheese that I snagged at our local Italian specialty store. I first was introduced to burrata cheese at Disney actually. Epcot’s Tutto Gusto makes this gluten free pasta pomodoro and tops it with a soft and creamy burrata cheese, it’s divine! Burrata is basically a creamy version of mozzarella, a little ball of fresh mozzarella that’s filled with a creamy center. With burrata cheese, focaccia, a fresh tomato from our garden, and pesto in hand, I decided to throw it all together for a clever new pizza. It was delicious and certainly a new family favorite! Need a sneak peak of the end result, here you go, a Burrata and Pesto Gluten Free Focaccia Pizza!
Burrata And Pesto Gluten Free Focaccia Pizza
Note: If you don’t have any or can’t get your hands on burrata cheese just use fresh mozzarella as a substitute, it’ll be equally as tasty.
Ingredients:
16 oz loaf of Canyon Bakehouse Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia
1/2 cup pesto sauce, fresh or jarred (My favorite gluten free jarred pesto is Wegman’s brand.)
8 oz gluten free Burrata cheese, fresh mozzarella with a creamy center (Lioni states gluten free on the label.)
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut your 16 oz loaf of Canyon Bakehouse focaccia lengthwise so you have two large halves of focaccia.
Focaccia loaf cut in half lengthwise.
Add about a 1/4 cup of fresh or jarred gluten free pesto to each loaf and spread into a thin layer. I used a basting brush to make sure the layer was super thin just to give a hint of pesto flavor. Just make sure all of your loaf is covered, add a little extra if needed.
Thin layer of pesto sauce.
Slice 1 large tomato into thin slices and fill each half with tomato. I had a large plum tomato and had enough to add six whole slices to each and fill some gaps with the remaining tomato pieces.
Add tomato slices on top of pesto layer.
Top your focaccia pizzas with 8 oz gluten free burrata cheese (4 oz per half). The burrata cheese comes as a tight ball similar to fresh mozzarella. I sliced the mozzarella and added the cheese with the creamy center on top of each tomato slice.
Top with burrata cheese.
Before cooking, I dusted each half with a little bit of garlic salt.
Ready to cook!
Cook pizzas for 20 minutes until cheese has melted and begun to brown.
Gluten free focaccia pizza anyone?
Let pizzas stand for 1-2 minutes and then slice with a pizza cutter into 6 squares, smaller pieces even if you’re using these for appetizers. Depending on your pesto sauce you may need to season with a little salt but this is optional. Enjoy!
This focaccia bread is an amazing alternative to your traditional gluten free pizza crust. It gives you a thicker crust, just like a deep dish pizza, that crisps up along the edges but keeps the soft and light texture inside. The combination of the pesto sauce and creamy burrata cheese is amazing and a great alternative to using red sauce and shredded mozzarella. You absolutely must try this, it makes for a perfect week night dinner or appetizer for a dinner party. Just make sure you grab enough slices for yourself because they will certainly go quickly. I was only lucky enough to grab a handful before my husband got his hands on the rest! Enjoy!
16 oz loaf of Canyon Bakehouse Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia
1/2 cup pesto sauce, fresh or jarred (My favorite gluten free jarred pesto is Wegman's brand.)
8 oz gluten free Burrata cheese, fresh mozzarella with a creamy center (Lioni states gluten free on the label.)
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut your 16 oz loaf of Canyon Bakehouse focaccia lengthwise so you have two large halves of focaccia.
Add about a 1/4 cup of fresh or jarred gluten free pesto to each loaf and spread into a thin layer. I used a basting brush to make sure the layer was super thin just to give a hint of pesto flavor.
Slice 1 large tomato into thin slices and fill each half with tomato. I had a large plum tomato and had enough to add six whole slices to each and fill some gaps with the remaining tomato pieces.
Top your focaccia pizzas with 8 oz gluten free burrata cheese (4 oz per half). The burrata cheese comes as a tight ball similar to fresh mozzarella. I sliced the mozzarella and added the cheese with the creamy center on top of each tomato slice.
Before cooking, I dusted each half with a little bit of garlic salt.
Cook pizzas for 20 minutes until cheese has melted and begun to brown.
Let pizzas stand for 1-2 minutes and then slice with a pizza cutter into 6 squares, smaller pieces even if you're using these for appetizers. Depending on your pesto sauce you may need to season with a little salt but this is optional. Enjoy!
By Gluten Free Mom To Be
Gluten Free Mom To Be http://www.glutenfreemomtobe.com/
With years of hopping between grocery stores just to find a loaf of bread that I could eat, I now can happily just grab a loaf of gluten free bread and toss it into the cart with the rest of my groceries on my bi-weekly trip to the store. It took awhile, but now my Shop Rite stocks a pretty wide selection of Schar gluten free products, from rolls and breads to cookies and crackers. Now when I grab my husband and daughter’s loaf of bread, all I have to do is turn around and see four or five shelves of yellow packaged products with Schar’s signature red label and a red “gluten free” plastered on them.
At the beginning of my gluten free adventure, I, like many others, struggled to find just the right bread that I could eat on a daily basis. Most, if not all, of the options out there were frozen and kind of bleh, but when I came upon Schar, and found it right there on the middle of a non-refrigerated grocery store shelf, I just had to try it. A quick toast later and it was ready to enjoy and boy did I ever enjoy it. I’ve turned to Schar ever since for my sandwiches and miscellaneous bread consumption, among other sweet and salty gluten free snacks. While I’m always on the lookout for new gluten free breads, especially those that don’t require a little pre-toast before eating and might even be available in my local store, for now, I’ll stick with Schar who I know I can grab at my Shop Rite and enjoy without too much prep.
I always like to keep a pretty close eye on some of my favorite brands, just in case they release any new products. Just recently, I was clicking along on Schar’s website and came upon their very own gluten free bagels, plain and cinnamon raisin. I was elated with this news! While I’ve had great gluten free bagels from Katz and Sweet Note Bagels, neither of which have made their way into my local grocery store yet, leaving an online order as my only option for now. Since I’m an avid fan of both brands, especially Katz’s everything bagels and Sweet Note’s cinnamon raisin, this isn’t too big of a deal, but it would certainly be nice to have additional bagel options on hand at all times when you’re just in the mood for a bagel.
For those in-a-pinch, bagel craving moments, I’ve always turned to Glutino bagels. They’re in the frozen section and a package of 4 or 5 is priced at $5.99. A quick defrost and toasting later and you have your gluten free bagel fix. Now, sitting next to Glutino in the freezer case, you can find Schar’s bagel options, coming in a pack of 4, you can get plain and cinnamon raisin varieties for only $2.99 at my Shop Rite. They’re a bit bigger than the Glutino options but very similar in taste. Just like Glutino, these taste more like a Lender’s type bagel that have a bread kind of texture. So far, I’ve enjoyed Schar’s plain bagels toasted with butter or cream cheese, both of which have been quite good, but one of my favorite uses for a gluten free bagel is a breakfast sandwich.
Schar Bagel Breakfast Sandwich
For pregnant me, one of my favorite pregnancy breakfasts was a gluten free bagel, either with butter, cream cheese, or an egg, bacon, and cheese combo, along with fruit on the side. It was substantial enough to hold me over for more than a half an hour and filled that nagging craving for one of those huge bagels from that small bagel shop around the corner from me, well kind of. At the time I only really had Glutino bagels and later on Katz varieties to choose from for my bagel craving, but now and next pregnancy I have so many to choose from, kind of exciting isn’t it.
With the Schar bagels on hand, I decided the other night to do a breakfast dinner, yolky egg sandwiches with pork roll and cheese. These are so simple and tasty and really perfect on any gluten free bagel. They’re certainly a must have during a pregnancy for me, but of course with a fully cooked yolk center or just a scrambled egg instead.
Ingredients:
1 Gluten Free Bagel (I love Katz, Sweet Note Bagels, Schar, and Glutino)
1-2 slices of Pork Roll, use either pre-sliced or in a roll, pre-sliced is easier (Case’s is gluten free)
1 egg
Cheese of choice (I like American or shredded colby jack on my sandwich.)
Directions:
Begin toasting your gluten free bagel.
While your bagel is toasting, slice your pork roll if necessary and add the slices to a warmed skillet (medium heat). The key with cooking pork roll is that you put four 1/2 inch long slits at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 around the circle. As pork roll cooks it begins to puff up and the circles will buckle, so with the slits it keeps the circles lying flat.
Cook the pork roll a few minutes on each side, just until they brown a little.
Cook your egg to your liking, making sure you have a fully cooked yolk center if you’re pregnant.
When all is done cooking, just add your slice of pork roll to the base of your toasted bagel, then your egg, top with some shredded or a slice of cheese, and finally cover it all with the top of your bagel.
Either let your sandwich stand for a minute to allow your cheese to melt or microwave the sandwich for a quick 10-20 seconds or so to melt the cheese.
Enjoy!
Porkroll, egg, and cheese on a toasted Schar bagel.
This sandwich is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I could really eat any breakfast option at all times during the day, but especially a breakfast sandwich. The Schar bagel was a perfect size for the sandwich, large enough for the egg and pork roll to not hang over the sides. Better yet, the signature falling apart of a gluten free sandwich was non-existent with this one. From start to finish, each bite held together perfectly thanks to the fantastic Schar bagel.
You certainly can’t beat buying a pack of four gluten free bagels for $2.99, especially when they’re as big and tasty as Schar’s are. Finally, we can enjoy a regular everyday item without breaking the bank. Now, if we could only bring the price of breads down I’d be a happy camper. Thanks Schar for adding yet another great bread product to the gluten free market! Now hurry up and grab your gluten free bagel today and make one of these sandwiches, just don’t forget to send one over to me too!
Sincerely,
Lindsay
Gluten Free Pork Roll, Egg, And Cheese Bagel Sandwich
1 Gluten Free Bagel (I love Katz, Sweet Note Bagels, Schar, and Glutino)
1-2 slices of Pork Roll, use either pre-sliced or in a roll, pre-sliced is easier (Case's is gluten free)
1 egg
Cheese of choice (I like American or shredded colby jack on my sandwich.)
Instructions
Begin toasting your gluten free bagel.
While your bagel is toasting, slice your pork roll if necessary and add the slices to a warmed skillet (medium heat). The key with cooking pork roll is that you put four 1/2 inch long slits at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 around the circle. As pork roll cooks it begins to puff up and the circles will buckle, so with the slits it keeps the circles lying flat.
Cook the pork roll a few minutes on each side, just until they brown a little.
Cook your egg to your liking, making sure you have a fully cooked yolk center if you're pregnant.
When all is done cooking, just add your slice of pork roll to the base of your toasted bagel, then your egg, top with some shredded or a slice of cheese, and finally cover it all with the top of your bagel.
Either let your sandwich stand for a minute to allow your cheese to melt or microwave the sandwich for a quick 10-20 seconds or so to melt the cheese.
Enjoy!
By Gluten Free Mom To Be
Gluten Free Mom To Be http://www.glutenfreemomtobe.com/
After hibernating a bit the day before, I woke up to feel a tad bit better on our Animal Kingdom day. I managed to get down a few bites of breakfast and we were off to walk the wonderfully shaded trails of Animal Kingdom, certainly a great choice in my book for this day in particular. We moved a bit slower and found quite a few benches but we still managed to see all that we had hoped.
With fastpasses for some of the more popular rides, we headed straight back to Dinosaur where our riders barely had to wait. I was hoping to maybe get on this ride this trip as I hadn’t yet been, but instead, I happily sat out with my little non-rider and took advantage of a few more minutes of rest. Once all of the group was out of the Dinosaur ride, we made our way back to the safari for our fastpasses.
Our favorite Animal Kingdom photo spot, great angle for the tree.
In route to Asia, we passed the Allergy Kiosk, you know the one I raved about last trip, that stands conveniently towards the front of the park by the Bug’s Life show. Since this time I was totally not my usual hungry self by mid-morning I wasn’t really in the mood for anything BabyCakes, but since we had some snack credits to use and I hadn’t eaten but two bites of toast that morning I decided to pick up a gluten free chocolate glazed donut like last time (check out my review here from before). Throughout the morning, I nibbled on the donut and managed to eat most of it, that’s how you know the donut was that good seeing as I had zero appetite but managed to convince myself to eat most of the sweet treat.
BabyCakes Gluten Free Chocolate Donut, Spring Disney Trip
Soon enough we had arrived at our destination and hopped on board for the morning safari ride. Our little girl was so tuckered out already that she decided on an early nap for herself (little did she know that Mommy would’ve gladly joined her). The animals were all out and about, grazing along happily and giving us some great picture worthy moments. When the safari came to a close, in the transition from arms to stroller little one woke up after her cat nap and was ready to explore the Pangani Forest Trail, one of our favorite things to do in Animal Kingdom.
Nap time and a safari.
The trail let out near Camp Minnie and Mickey where we decided to stop in since the line was on the shorter side. After some hugs and pictures we were off to experience the Kali River Rapids. This was another ride that I hadn’t been on yet, so Dan and I were excited to maybe get to go on this one together while little one was out with her cousin, Aunt, and Nanny. It’s no surprise that we managed to get ourselves in the wet seats, Dan more so than me, but it was certainly a welcomed cool down since it was so hot. This really was a great ride and I can’t wait to take our little one on here someday.
Another trail walk later and we found ourselves in a rain shower under the awning at Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch. While Dan managed the ordering, I headed down to snag tons of dry seats for our group under some coverings along the river overseeing Expedition Everest, a view that the kids loved. I was kind of disappointed that one of my favorite lunch spots in Disney happened to fall on a day that my stomach was still not right but don’t worry I did manage to squeeze in a little bit of my favorite barbecue dish here. That day I decided to order the pulled pork, sans bun, with the usual accompaniments. The pork was deliciously tender and juicy, just how I remembered, and hit the tiny pang of hunger that I was starting to feel (Sorry no recent picture on this one either, I certainly didn’t want to even look at food let alone take pictures of it.). To give you a little reminder though, here’s a picture from our last trip that certainly portrays just how tasty the pulled pork is.
Flame Tree Barbecue, gluten free pulled pork, Spring Disney trip
After eating some of the pulled pork, enjoying a nice cold drink, and waiting out the rain, we wandered around the park a little while more checking out wait times on other rides and shopping a bit too. After a busy morning I for one was ready to head out and rest a bit before our dinner that night in Epcot’s Mexico. It was a fantastic day in Animal Kingdom, and even though I wasn’t feeling the best, I’m so glad I decided to not stay in and miss out on some great memories. It was just the kind of day I needed to get going again without baking in the sun all day. And may I just say, seeing as the first real bites of food that I managed to squeeze down in my sicky state were at Animal Kingdom, I think it’s safe to say that the gluten free eats that I’m able to get here, from the BabyCakes treats at the Allergy Kiosk to the Flame Tree Barbecue pulled pork, are some of my favorites by far.
Even though I’m technically just gluten free and not dairy free, I do try to limit my dairy intake where possible. Since having my little girl, I’ve really be drawn to the health benefits of coconut and almond milk. I’ve loved using both in my smoothies, gluten free baking, or just grabbing a glass to drink. One of my favorite brands is Silk, a gluten and dairy free staple that has graced my family’s presence for a number of years since my little food allergy nephew was born. While I’ve bought and served my nephew Silk on a number of occasions, I myself hadn’t actually tried it until a couple of years ago. Now, I love the stuff, especially the coconut, almond, or combination of both varieties. One of my favorite flavors to drink by far though is the Dark Chocolate Almondmilk. If you haven’t added Silk Soymilk to your gluten free life you absolutely should try it, but make sure you print this coupon first. Enjoy!
As the fourth morning of our summer vacation rolled around, we were up and raring to go for our first full day in Magic Kingdom (well at least most of us, I on the other hand was still a little run down). Our Magic Kingdom days are really some of my favorites. Almost everything we do is for our little girl, from rides and character meet and greets to parades and even special dining, each moment spent here is all about our little one. Just as we had on our previous days, we had our fastpasses all planned out ahead of time with a Be Our Guest lunch reservation smooshed in the middle. To say we were all excited would be an understatement.
Little ones headed the line to the Pirates of Caribbean.
The buses were packed on the way over but thankfully this tired and slightly ill mama, with baby in hand, snagged a seat so I could enjoy just a few more minutes of some blasting cold air. Soon enough though we were pulling up at our bus stop and unloading for our very busy day. Since we had morning fastpasses planned for some of the busier attractions in the new Fantasyland we decided to not follow the herd of people in that direction and head over to Adventureland first to hop on Pirates of the Caribbean. This was such a great idea, especially since we were able to go on it twice in a row with no line each time.
Afterwards, the rest of our group of thirteen decided to talk a walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse; while Dan and I love doing this too, walking up tons of tiny steps holding our antsy toddler, or worse her insisting to do the steps herself, did not sound like very much fun. Instead, we decided to catch a ride on a magic carpet, something we’d yet to do since the line for this ride is always insane during the day and very much so in the sun. Not this morning, we waited a grand total of 5-10 minutes and were flying high in the sky. Little one loved this ride and actually put her arms up, I think someone’s been watching her Daddy on rides.
She wanted those gemstones stuck in the ground so badly.
Just as our magic carpets were landing, we spotted a small line forming for Jasmine’s first meet and greet so we decided to scoot in line. We waited only about 10 minutes in the shade and our little girl just loved the queue, with all of the gemstones and other miscellaneous treasures embedded in the ground. And we were up, it was her turn to meet Jasmine, to whom she ran up and gave a huge hug to. Did I mention how much she loves almost every character in Disney World?
By the time we had finished the sweep of Adventureland, in such a short time may I add, it was time to make our way over to Fantasyland for the first of our fastpasses. The plan to start in Adventureland was such a great idea; if you can avoid Fantasyland with fastpasses for the main attractions, especially first thing in the morning, please do, and try to hit some of your other favorite rides elsewhere in the park, you’ll be thankful you did when you’re walking straight onto rides. Anyway, we had arrived in Fantasyland and had a little bit of time before our early Be Our Guest lunch reservation so we took advantage of our first fastpass and met Anna and Elsa and then went over to Dumbo for a quick ride.
A little pre-lunch Dumbo ride.
Finally, it was time for our lunch at Be Our Guest. Even though it was on the early side we had all done so much already that day we were certainly hungry and ready for it. Ordering at the kiosks is pretty easy if you have a food restriction but for me I always ask to speak with a chef, it just makes me feel more comfortable in what I’m eating. I ordered the gluten free Turkey Sandwich that I’ve ordered in the past and you can catch a review of here. We picked out our tables in the Rose room and waited patiently for our orders to arrive.
Gluten free turkey sandwich from our spring trip to Disney.
Unfortunately for me, even after such a short morning I was already run down and feeling sick again with my appetite being nonexistent, just as it had at breakfast and dinner the night before. Once my meal did arrive it looked just as wonderful as always, with two portions of the gluten free version of the turkey sandwich and fries on the side, but I just couldn’t manage to eat very much at all. What I did eat though reminded me of just how tasty this sandwich was in my past visit too, hence why it’s one of my favorite lunches in Disney. On this day though, food was not my friend no matter how much I loved a meal in the past (tear).
Quick shot on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (sorry if it’s a little blurry but it was the best we could do).
After my pseudo lunch, I knew I wouldn’t make it much longer so we headed over to the Mine Train for our fastpass time. We split into two larger groups to watch the too little little ones, which thankfully the downtime gave way to an earlier nap time for mine. Even though I wasn’t really in the shape to go on this type of ride, I decided not to miss out on the rare opportunity to wait only 10 minutes to get on this one. It was really lots of fun, fast and a bit more intense than I thought but fun nonetheless, very glad I didn’t sit out.
Finally we had come to our last fastpass of the day over at Splash Mountain. While my little girl slept, I took advantage of this time for sure and plopped my exhausted and sick butt down in some shade where I could maybe snag a great picture of our family coming down the big drop. Mission accomplished, and with picture in hand we decided since we’d made it to mid-afternoon at that point to call it and head back to the hotel for some relaxation and pool time for little one.
The rest of the day for my little family of three was very mellow and relaxing. By the time we had gotten back to the hotel I was ready to collapse, and collapse I did. I definitely had heat exhaustion and with no food in my stomach I desperately needed to just lay in the cool air. While I did that, Dan took our little girl out for some pool time, moments that I definitely didn’t want to miss but had to. We decided to skip our Mama Melrose dinner reservation that night, I never would’ve made it there, and settled on a night inside with the cool air and soft beds. Our little girl was certainly a trooper and didn’t mind too much with the downtime, thank you my princess! But don’t worry, her Daddy took good care of her and Mommy with a couple walks in the stroller, a trip to the gift shop leading to her coming back with a present in hand, and the best part, a huge Mickey cupcake that made her eyes grow ten sizes. That husband of mine even brought back a small edible treat for me too, not quite as appealing as a huge Mickey cupcake but a necessary evil for me that night, some fresh fruit and a little salad put together by the chef’s at the Landscapes of Flavor.
After 8 hours of laying in the air conditioning and a full of night of sleep to follow, the next day seemed a little bit brighter. The next morning I was still so nauseous with zero appetite and pretty darn sore too, but I certainly wasn’t going to let this heat stuff ruin any more of our vacation plans. Next up, was our Animal Kingdom day and our last dinner in Epcot at Mexico!
After a great day in Hollywood Studios we were off to Epcot for a dinner in Germany. We debated on this one for a little while. We’d been there pre-baby and loved the environment and entertainment but were so so on the food. For me, the cuisine is not really up my alley, but I’m always willing to try new places for my husband who has much more of an adventurous palate than I. Even though our first experience at Biergarten didn’t quite wow us we decided to give it a second try, just the three of us, so our little girl might be able to enjoy a little German music and entertainment.
We caught a bus to head over to Epcot for dinner that night and in route our little one dozed off for her afternoon nap. We crossed our fingers that this nap would stick and hopefully get us through a little bit of dinner, just long enough so we could put some food in our stomachs. After pulling up at the distant bus stop, we began our trek towards the World Showcase. With temperatures in the high 90s and humidity levels off the charts, the walk from the bus to Germany in the World Showcase was brutal, making me light headed and nauseous. Little did I know that this wasn’t a promising sign for the rest of our evening and really for the next few days. The heat certainly got the best of me and made enjoying our dinner very difficult. Thankfully though, my little girl helped her mommy out by continuing napping through quite a bit of dinner, allowing me to relax and attempt to eat some of my meal.
A little Germany love with my little Snow White (this was the day before our dinner in Germany, just had to share how pretty Germany is).
So back to the food. After being seated, we were told that the chef would be over to walk me through the buffet to review my gluten free options. While I waited with our peacefully sleeping baby, Dan went up to the buffet to retrieve a plate full of authentic, German cuisine. It was a busy night at Biergarten with several other food allergy diners so it did take awhile for the chef to come over, but the peaceful relaxation was warmly welcomed on my part. Once the chef appeared, she escorted me over to the buffet and reviewed the can and cannots along the line. After our quick walk through, I requested my menu choices to come from the kitchen rather than from the buffet line where gluten free items were sometimes surrounded by non-gluten free ones making cross contamination an absolute possibility. The chef was so happy to accommodate and promised to give me generous helpings of each of my requested gluten free items (In retrospect, I probably should have forewarned her that the extras might be wasted on this gal that night since I was apparently suffering from heat exhaustion.).
Epcot’s Biergarten in Germany, The Gluten Free Cold Selection
Whilst I waited for my food, the show began and caused a little rustling from inside the stroller, but thankfully our little girl continued to snooze for a little while longer. Soon enough, the chef reappeared with two full plates of almost everything gluten free from the kitchen. Had I had the appetite that I normally have after a full day of pushing around the stroller through Disney’s humongous theme parks, I would’ve been thrilled with the wide selection and overflowing plates. Sadly, the enormous amount of food was somewhat wasted that night.
That being said, I did manage to try bits and pieces of almost all of the dishes, especially since I knew they had come safely from inside the kitchen. On the cold plate above, I had a green salad with their house made dressing, tomato salad, and potato salad. I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressing on the salad so a lot of that remained. But, I really enjoyed the tomato salad which was very similar in flavor to summery tomato salads that I make at home. The real surprise on the plate though was the potato salad. This was deliciously creamy and the red potatoes were perfectly tender. Not quite as wonderful as my grandmother’s homemade gluten free version, but Biergarten’s potato salad was definitely flavorful and tasty just the same.
Epcot’s Biergarten in Germany, The Gluten Free Warm Selections
This next plate was more of a challenge for my sensitive stomach that night, so I must admit I didn’t try everything on there. Okay, so the main gluten free entrees were the German sausages and roasted pork (there was also a fish option in there too that was gluten free but I don’t eat fish). As far as the gluten free sides go, there was a warm potato salad, green beans, and roasted potatoes. I took a few bites of the roasted pork and was really disappointed because it was exceptionally dry. There was a sauce on the buffet that was intended to be paired with the pork but that was off limits to me. Meanwhile the sausages were pretty tasty, actually one of my husband’s favorites on the buffet, but I could only stomach one or two bites of each kind. As far as the warm sides, I honestly didn’t try them, by that point in the meal I was pretty well spent. However, I’m happy to report that my personal gluten free taste tester, aka my husband Dan, happened to really enjoy the warm potato salad, so I’m pretty sure I would have too.
As I had finished my nibbling, I looked to my right to see our little one sitting up in her stroller, looking around with bewilderment. It must be very strange to go to sleep in one place and wake up in a totally new one, not to mention in Disney World where you can essentially wake up in a different country. Needless to say, she wasn’t too pleased with the music and singing going on around her that caused her nap to come to an early close so she was certainly ready to go at that point, cutting our time short in Germany. Afterwards we slowly made our way back around the World Showcase, grabbing dinner for little one and stopping at the Nemo ride and Spaceship Earth to make her night a little extra special.
Hot and steamy nighttime family picture in front of Epcot.
So unfortunately for us it appears as though we were going to hit another little sickness, thanks to the heat, while on vacation. Thankfully though, this one didn’t take Mommy out of the equation for too long. Sadly, the first night of my sick days happen to fall on our Germany dinner night which left a lasting negative impression on me. While the food that I did taste was pretty good, Dan and I both agreed that it just wasn’t our favorite place for dinner in Disney, so I think the ship has officially sailed on Germany for us. However, just like every other place in Epcot, the restaurant was so perfectly authentic to the country and the food was just the same. So if you love everything Germany be sure to stop at Epcot’s Biergarten, they certainly do offer a great experience along with a large variety of gluten free foods.
Stay tuned for more Disney gluten free fun from a Lefou’s Brew to some Mickey Waffles!
So after one of our favorite dinners on our summer Disney vacation, you know the gluten free fried chicken that captured my heart, it was time for our day in Hollywood Studios. We finally survived a full day in this park after a few others in the past that didn’t quite go as planned. Check out my guest post on Sarah’s Gluten Free & Dairy Free WDW blog to hear all about our day, from the Frozen Summer event to our first lunch at Studio Catering Co.!
Glutino is of the biggest gluten free companies out there! They offer tons of different gluten free groceries that fill each and every nook and cranny of your diet. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to add a few unique items back into my diet, somethings I thought I’d never taste again since going gluten free. Some of the most unique products by Glutino, and some of my personal favorites, include their Chocolate Covered Pretzels (and a yogurt version too!), Parmesan Garlic Bagel Chips (these are perfect in my favorite appetizer, don’t worry I’ll introduce you one day soon), Vegetable Crackers, and drumroll please for the last one, Toaster Pastries, that’s right their gluten free version of Pop Tarts. (more…)
On our trip last fall, we had eaten at San Angel Inn and Dan couldn’t talk highly enough about the margaritas and other spicy dishes that he enjoyed. I, on the other hand, was not a huge fan of my spicy entree, even though my dear husband took a bite and swore that it wasn’t spicy at all, for my dainty little mouth it felt like there was a fire in there. So needless to say this restaurant didn’t necessarily take it all for the food for me but for the ambiance it was five stars. We loved the dark, nighttime feel, not to mention the fact that the restaurant overlooks the canal where the ride passes through. 
