Sun In Bloom (The Sweets)

Lemon-strawberry cupcakes. You want one.

Some days, you just need a cupcake. Meeting that need when you're gf? Not so easy. I will admit to baking up a tray of cupcakes from a mix when I'm desperate - and then eating way too much, of course. (Even if I just want ONE, I over-indulge; my sweet tooth doesn't have an off switch.) Or schlepping to an out-of-the way (verrrrry out-of-the-way) gf bakery, only to overindulge yet again because, I trekked ALL the way there, dag nabbit. And (whimper) doesn't little 'ol gluten-free me deserve treats?

Pathetic, I know.

But those days, they are over - thanks to Sun In Bloom (yes, the "I" is capitalized here), a Park Slope eatery that has gf cupcakes every single day, so I can get just one - and get my fix. My favorite is relatively new, the lemon-strawberry pictured above: lemony cake with lemon frosting and fresh sliced strawberries. (I like it best after it's been refrigerated, as it hardens the frosting.)

Want a sweet, but (strangely) not in the mood for a cupcake? They also offer muffins, chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and banana bread (with or w/o chocolate chips) - all gluten-free! 

Carrot cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

For all my goings on about their sweets, should mention: Sun In Bloom is a full menu organic vegan and macrobiotic eatery, with the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus available all day. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, and the menu changes weekly, with a gluten-free pancake item offered every week. (A recent brunch menu included pancakes with caramelized bananas and fresh strawberries. Nice.) Oh, and: All items are vegan, most can be made gluten-free, and some are raw. (Gluten-free, vegan, raw cheesecake, anyone?) I can't offer savory recommendations, as I haven't sampled them yet (will post an update when I do) - but sweets? They all rock.

Cookie sandwich? Yes, please.

The restaurant space itself is gorgeous and comfortable: farm tables, loads of natural light, and high ceilings. The staff is delightful to a fault, even when presented with surly pre-caffeine, low blood sugar me some mornings. You should go there. You will like it. Open 8am-8pm every day, Sun In Bloom is located at 460 Bergen St. between 5th and 6th Avenues and can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/suninbloom

Bagels and Pizza and Noodles - Oh My!

Boston cream donut...

It's usually just a random longing here and there - ping! Doink! Zzzzzzzzzzzzing!

Dumplings. Cannoli...

Fleeting thoughts that I immediately tuck away like shoving a sock back into an overflowing drawer. Just. Shove. Back. In. Hmph.

Pizza, bagels, Chinese foooooooooooood!!!  

Pizza, bagels, and Chinese food equal this Brooklyn girl's holy food trinity. I am absolutely done for if cravings for them kick in. During my years away at school in upstate New York, I would long for those three "food groups" - and plan where and how to consume all three within the first 24 hours back in Brooklyn. With venues for all three within two blocks of my house, executing that plan was not difficult. Ignoring that need was not possible; it is deep and primal, an innate need.

Now that I am gf? Totally screwed. 

Most of the time, I am able to just block out the existence of gluten-y foods. After years of being gluten-free, I instinctively avoid walking by venues that sell the foods I love and miss - the pizzerias, bakeries, and bagel shops that emit the loveliest of smells.This, in turn, helps keep thoughts of them out of my brain.

But 2-3 times a year, I lose it. I am just unable to stop the flood of food longings from washing up on the shore of my mind. Normally, I can't accurately report why this happens, what triggers them. This time, I have an inkling.

Two words: Street fair.

(More) back story: I am in the process of packing up the majority of my belongings and - housing situation uncertain - moving them into storage. Given that I am in Manhattan and the particular "man with a van" I contacted wanted a minimum of $200 to move my mere 10 boxes, I opted for three crosstown cab rides (at $10 a pop, a $170 savings, thank you very much) instead.

On my second trip, the two streets leading to the storage facility were blocked off by a street fair. After unloading my things, I decided to walk through the fair en route home. I grew up in Bay Ridge, home of the 40-block Third Avenue Festival, Ragamuffin Parade, and innumerable smaller street events held year 'round. (A Norweigan Day Parade? Sure, we have one of those. St. Patty's Day Parade? You betcha).

So I like a little street fair - reminds me of my youth, of home. I decided to walk through, take a look at the jewelry, the $10 dress selection, the shish kebab stand, the sausage and peppers truck, the...

That was it - the sausage and peppers did me in! Another old school iconic food that I miss like nobody's business. It was a quick trip from there to obsessing over the pizza, bagels, Chinese food, and everything else I can't have. En route home I cursed as I spied the chocolate glazed donut of a Dunkin' Donuts ad on the side of a phone booth, whimpered as I passed it.

... and then? It was over. A couple of days of feeling the lack and loss, but then - like the stifling heat - it broke.

How do you deal with the cravings?

I Can't Be Trusted (Carb-y Treats Edition)

I am like Seinfeld when it comes to cereal - the box may as well have a nutrition facts panel that says "Servings: 2" because I can easily inhale it within twenty-four hours. These sad circumstances apply to other carb-y/grain-based processed foods such as bars, baked treats, and squishy bread. It is so bad that I have ceased to buy them.

Wish I could say that this is a product of going gf, that because I am restricted, I go bonkers with grain-based foods. Alas, have always been this way. Though I suppose it is possible that my cravings have increased while my willpower has decreased. Having gone gf over 7 years ago now, it's tough to accurately remember life "B.C." (before celiac). 

What I am sure of is that when I (a) accidentally pass through a cereal/baked goods aisle or (b) intentionally walk straight towards cereal/baked goods (masochistic streak?), I invariably stand in front of the shelves, shake my head and say to myself: "I can't be trusted", leaving the coveted item(s) on the shelf.

Lately, I have had the absolute worst heartburn - going on three weeks now. From consulting with an RD and tracking my symptoms, I have come to the realization that it is likely stress-induced. Having graduated with my master's degree in early June, the inability to find work has been wearing on me. The daily grind of churning out cover letters and editing appropriate writing samples? Affecting the, um, grinding and churning within. (I promise this will end up food-related and less stressy!)

So en route home from the gym this evening, I stopped by the local health food store to pick up some more crystallized ginger, aka the ONLY thing that gives me relief from the heartburn, other than exercise. Tired, hungry, and already thinking of how I should get another job application in before bed, I exercised option (b) from above, and took a looky look at the gf bar/cereal/yum section.

Ten minutes later I was walking home, ginger procured, unwrapping a second Enjoy Life caramel apple flavor chewy bar, as I tucked the first wrapper into the box. Yum. Really, I can't be trusted.