Bread, Cheese, and Fruit (Lather, Rinse, Repeat)

I've always been one to bring emergency rations with me, even before celiac. I'm one of those people that just does not do well when hungry (MASSIVE understatement, as family and longtime friends can attest to). Over the years, I've become really good at making sure I have something - anything - to snack on, even if it's just a bar or some nuts and dried fruit. Now that I have celiac, this is imperative - especially with summer here, and so many daytime outings on the roster. I always make sure I eat a decent meal before heading out, and then pack an appropriate snack. This past weekend I went to the Renegade Craft Fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a friend. This is what I packed:

Carbs, fruit, and utensil.

Many years ago, on my first trip to Europe, I learned that - in a pinch - fruit, bread, and cheese can sub for any meal, any time. A little savory, a little sweet - with some fat, fiber, and protein - and you're good until a hot meal can be found. The bit of advice works beautifully with my GF life. When I'm going to be out for more than a couple of hours, I pack a fruit (in this case, grapes), crackers/bread, and usually a utensil. This day in age, you can usually find individually wrapped cheeses (string, Cracker Barrel, etc.) or even some cottage cheese at most delis, bodegas, grocery stores. If I find a decent deli (i.e. one that carries Boar's Head products), I'll get a scant 1/4 lb of meat and/or cheese if I need something solid.

My go-to list for the fruit and carbs are:

Fruit:
*Fresh grapes or berries, in tupperware and secured in a plastic shopping bag, to prevent leakage.
*Unsulphured apricots from Whole Foods. (Their store brand of Turkish apricots is amazing - and cheap!)

Carbs:
*An Udi's bagel (Doesn't need to be toasted. Serves as a sandwich base or a great dipping carb for hummus, etc.)
*These Italian crackers that I recently bought at G-Free NYC:

Bravo! Molto bene!

They are THE most delicious GF cracker I have ever encountered. Think saltine, but less dense. Like a butter cracker, but less hearty. They are just so good. They come in packs of four and have, thus far, traveled very well in my purse.
*Sesame crackers from Trader Joe's. About $1.69 a sleeve and very flavorful. Only downside: that flavor comes with a strong sesame odor that has made heads turn in subway cars and cabs. Kind of an open-air-only snack.

To be honest, I also usually add something sweet, especially when I'll be with friends who are likely to consume sweet treats at our outing. A hunk of good chocolate is my go-to. This weekend, I grabbed one of these from Sun In Bloom on my way to the subway:

Yes, they ARE that good.

What are your on-the-go essentials?

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

GF in Park Slope

After months of job/housing uncertainty, excellent (if unexpected) solutions have recently come to pass. On one count: just moved to Park Slope and am over the moon about it. Am busy getting settled and working (a lot!) but just wanted to share Neighborhood Gluten-Free Discovery #1: Sun In Bloom http://www.suninbloom.com/ at Bergen St. and 5th Avenue has delicious gluten-free baked goods. They have generous samples - I tried carrot cake with coconut frosting and banana chocolate chip bread (yum to both). While some items are pricey ($5.50 for a whoopie pie), others - like muffins at $3.75 each - are on par price-wise with other gf baked goods but exceed their counterparts in terms of quality.

Having a gf bakery in my neighborhood? Never thought I'd see the day. I was ahead of my morning schedule this past Friday, so stopped for coffee at Gorilla and then moseyed to Sun In Bloom to pick up one of the carrot muffins. Not a bad way to start a Friday, eh?