new site in the works

Hello readers! You may have noticed a gap in our blog posts recently. Robyn and I have been very busy with our families, jobs, etc. We are working behind the scenes planning a new look to the blog and website which we hope to have live in about a month. We will be adding more helpful content and features, and it will also be a responsive design, which means it will format to any device like an iphone, or tablet.

For now, we encourage you to follow us in instragram as we post photos dailiy of great gluten free finds around the city, in addition to recipies, and gluten free products. You can find us here, or follow us at gfvancouver. Our pinterest page also has a lot of great recipe pins, we are also gfvancouver there too.

The weather has been amazing recently here in the city hasn't it? The spring flowers and blossoms have been spectacular. See you back here very soon! Andrea and Robyn.

spring in vancouvercampfire cupcake from lemonadehomemade yogurt popsiclespanini from the gluten free epicurean, coffee from matchstick

my gluten free valentine

photo credit: www.bestofthislife.comHappy Valentine's Day! We hope you are surrounded by the ones you love today. If you are looking for some sweet ideas that you can indulge on your sweetheart, or on yourself, we have some great gluten free Valentine ideas for you.

Beta 5 Chocolates

Who does't like getting chocolate? Beta 5 makes chocolate look as beautiful as it tastes. Check out some of what they offer:

• salted chocolate caramels
• polygon bars
• hot chocolate sticks
• aerated rocks
• valentine's seasonal gift box

photo credit: gluten free vancouver

Beta 5 chocolate is gluten free, but a few chocolate items are not: Bar - Crunchy, Filled - Crispy Praline and Whisky, Pebbles - Malt Balls. Beta 5 also makes cookies and desserts which are not all gluten free, so the kitchen is not dedicated. Please purchase with your discretion. You can shop online or visit their Vancouver shop at 413 Industrial Avenue, they are open until 6pm today.

Gifts and Baking

We have put together some of our favorite baking and gift ideas on a special Valentine's board on our Pinterest page. 

photo credit: gluten free vancouverLook at these cute owl Valentine's card printables! Just add your favorite gluten free candy like Yummy Earth suckers.

photo credit: http://www.rookno17.com

Look how easy these would be to make, just follow our gluten free rice krispie square recipe, and use a heart shaped cookie cutter, and you have a perfect valentine's treat for your little valentines!

photo credit: http://lisakisch.typepad.com

I always get a little more time to pull my Valentine's baking together since my husband's birthday is the day after Valentine's day. So I usually spend this day baking with my daughter Pilar. She loves baking, especially for dad. Last year we made gluten free Nutella Buckeyes.

Today I am going to attempt this beautiful rainbow cake. It looks so pretty. I haven't decided how to make it yet, from scratch maybe, or if I am running out of time, I will use Betty Crocker cake mixes and frosting and add gluten free food coloring to achieve the color gradiations. (who am I kidding, I don't have time, so Betty Crocker it is!)

photo credit: call-me-cupcake.blogspot.ca

What will you do for your sweetheart(s) today?

Happy Valentine's Day!  Andrea.

winners of the gluten free favorites giveaway

photo credit: gluten free vancouverWe had so much fun participating as an exhibitor at the Vancouver Gluten Free Expo this year, and really enjoyed meeting many of our readers who stopped by our booth! While we were not surprised by the volume of attendees at the Expo, we were disappointed to hear that so many of you either waited in line for hours, or were simply turned away from the event. 

We received 500 entries to our giveaway, which included a series of gluten free products and gift certificates to our favorite gluten free bakeries and restaurants. Thank you to all of the gluten free product companies and local businesses that donated so generously to our giveaway packages! 

And now, here are the lucky winners!

1. Gluten Free Body 

• Heidi Gravel
• Teena Smith

2. Gluten Free Top Ten

• Jen Kostenchuk

3. Local Gluten Free

Soirette - 6 macarons and two premium teas (1 total)

• Erika Thomas 

The Juice Truck - $25 gift certificate (1 total)

• Leannah Riefman

The Parker - $25 gift certificate (8 total)

• Kelly Trach
• Laura Hillier
• Robert (ibobxtraz)
• Angel Lavoie
• Brandi Leeson
• Kate Bennett
• Annalynn Prince
• Gillian Hobbs

Quejo's - $25 gift certificate (2 total)

• Chris Fretwell
• Cathleen Dyer

Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery - $25 gift certificate (1 total)

• Nicole Calla

Panne Rizo - $100 gift certificate (1 total)

• Christy Donnelly

Cartems Donuterie - gift certificate for a dozen gluten free donuts (1 total)

• Jennifer Young

Earnest Ice Cream - gift certificate for a jar of ice cream (2 total)

• Jeff Thorlacius
• Leah Gobin

Wallflower Modern Diner - $25 gift certificate (1 total)

• Kathryn Ryan

High Crow - $25 gift certificate (1 total)

• Mark Ainley

Guanaco Truck - gift certificate for pupusa platter (2 total)

• Jeremy Parkin
• Melanie Sereda

The Gluten Free Epicurean - organic quinoa granola (1 total)

• Jarret Winn

Nesters Market

$25 gift cards (8 total)

• Kate Davies
• Lori Potter
• Marlene Chater
• Erika Olson
• Amy Fernandes
• Marcus Wild
• Melissa Rougeau
• Megan Clark

$100 gift cards (2 total)

• Jocelyn Pettit
• Sherri Winter

Thank you to everyone who entered into our giveaway! If your name is listed above, please contact us at info[at]glutenfree-vancouver.com by January 21st to arrange delivery of your prize!

Robyn + Andrea

vancouver gluten free expo

photo credit: gluten free vancouverWe are really excited to participate at the Vancouver Gluten Free Expo this year! The Expo will be held on Sunday January 13th at the Vancouver Convention Centre - East from 10:00 - 5:00. There will be many fantastic gluten free companies and local businesses in attendance and we can't wait to interact with everyone! We have been designing our booth and planning various activities for a few weeks now, and are happy to share a few of them with you in advance of the show.

Here is what you can expect at the Gluten Free Vancouver booth:

• An interactive chalkboard wall where you can sign your name and comment on various gluten free topics we will have on the board during the day.
• Surf our website, includes our blog and gluten free forum.
• Meet us and talk about celiac disease and gluten free living in this wonderful city of ours.
• We will also have custom made canvas bags for sale for $10 each, limited quantities so arrive early!

photo credits: gluten free vancouver

As you may have seen from our social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we have put together a series of giveaways, our biggest ever! Keep reading to learn about all the amazing prize packs that we will be awarding to many lucky winners who visit our booth. Here are the three categories:

1. Gluten Free Body

We have two of these gift packages of gluten free personal care products for kids and adults including:

• Kiss My Face Orange U Smart Whale Soap for kids
• JASON Kids Only toothpaste
• Green Beaver lipbalm
• Hugo Naturals Vanilla & Sweet Orange travel kit
• Desert Essence Organics facial scrub and hair care sample packs
• Quest Kid's Daily One chewable multivitamins and minerals
• Nature's Harmony Vitamin D 400IU tablets
• Kyolic Cholesterol Control

2. Gluten Free Top Ten

One lucky winner will win this prize pack which consists of our 10 favorite gluten free products, including: 

• GoGo Quinoa Spaghetti
• Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Baking Mix and Icing
• Annies Homegrown Rice Mac & Cheddar
• Surf Sweets Gummy Bears
• Cloud 9 Specialty Bakery All Purpose Baking Mix
• Kinnikinnick Pancake and Waffle Mix
• Martins Marvelous Naturals Crisps
• Goldbaums Ice Cream Cones
• Enjoy Life Mini Chips
• Mum's Originals Super Foods 

3. Local Gluten Free 

There will be a lot of winners in this category! We have many gift certificates to our favorite local restaurants and gluten free bakeries, each will be drawn separately:

• Soirette - 6 macarons and two premium teas (1 total)
• The Juice Truck - $25 gift certificate (1 total)
• The Parker - $25 gift certificate (8 total)
• Quejo's - $25 gift certificate (2 total)
• Lemondade Gluten Free Bakery - $25 gift certificate (1 total)
• Panne Rizo - $100 gift certificate (1 total)
• Cartems Donuterie - gift certificate for a dozen gluten free donuts (1 total)
• Earnest Ice Cream - gift certificate for a jar of ice cream (2 total)
• Wallflower Modern Diner - $25 gift certificate (1 total)
• High Crow - $25 gift certificate (1 total)
• Guanaco Truck - gift certificate for pupusa platter (2 total)
• The Gluten Free Epicurean - organic quinoa granola (1 total)

and...

• Nesters Market - Woodwards Food Floor has generously donated $400 in gift certificates! We will be drawing 8 $25 gift cards, and 2 gift cards valued at $100!

The entry ballots will be at our table (booth 23) and we will draw all of the prizes at the end of the show. Winners will be announced on our blog on January 14th....www.glutenfree-vancouver.com/blog

We are really excited for the expo and find it truly amazing to see how the gluten free community has grown in Vancouver. When we were first diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005, we had never heard of gluten, and we felt like we were the only ones facing this challenging lifestyle. How things have changed!

Andrea + Robyn

gluten free holiday indulgences

The holiday season is upon us, and we have some fantastic gluten free holiday suggestions for your family and friends, or just for you! Vancouver has no shortage of gluten free finds these days, and hopefully we are sharing a few that you may not have heard about yet. 

photo credits: gluten free vancouver

1 & 2. Cloud 9 Specialty Bakery. Cloud 9 is a dedicated gluten free specialty bakery located in New Westminster, and makes a variety of breads, muffins, scones and even delectible cupcakes. We especially love their gluten free brownie mix, and gourmet marshmallows! Cloud 9's products are available throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, click here for a complete listing of where their products are sold.

3. Cartems Donuterie. Cartems is a specialty donut shop located at 408 Carrall Street in Gastown, and they always have a few gluten free and vegan donut options available (flavours change daily). We recently tried their chocolate donut with an eggnog glaze and it was excellent! Cartems is not a dedicated gluten free bakery, however, they prepare and bake (instead of deep frying them) their gluten free donuts separately, and they are sold in a separate case. 

4. Earnest Ice Cream. This locally made all natural ice cream is seriously good! We especially like that the ice cream pints are packaged in reusable glass jars. There are a variety of unique flavors to choose from, and all are made with seasonal ingredients. Our favorites are the vegan chocolate and maple walnut. Earnest Ice Cream is made at the Woodland Smokehouse at 485 Commercial Drive, and there is a small retail outlet there as well. You can also find them at Harvest Community Foods, or at the Vancouver Winter Farmers Market at Nat Bailey Stadium. 

photo credits: gluten free vancouver

5. Soirette. We love macarons, and Soirette is one our favorite macaron and tea shops in Vancouver. Soirette's macarons come in a variety of flavours including lavender, lemon, maple, vanilla, matcha, and cappuccino. We wrote about Soirette earlier this year, and you can read our blog article here. This beautiful macaron and tea shop is located at 1433 West Pender in Coal Harbour. 

6. Small Plates and Sweet Treats: My Family's Journey to Gluten-Free Cooking. This is one our favorite gluten free cookbooks by author Aran Goyoaga, the creator of the food blog Cannelle et Vanille. It has excellent baking recipes, a good layout, and beautiful photography. 

7. Traditional German Candies. These candies make perfect little stocking stuffers, and come in many wonderfully paired flavours, either sweet, or herb. They also have the gluten free products clearly marked. The Traditional German Candy shop is at the Vancouver Christmas Market located at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre plaza until December 24th.

8. Panne Rizo. Panne Rizo is a dedicated gluten free bakery located at 1939 Cornwall and has an excellent selection of gluten free lunch items and treats, as well as a variety of breads and buns. We love everything at Panne Rizo, including these holiday sugar cookies! 

Happy Holidays!

Andrea + Robyn

lemonade gluten free bakery

photo credit: gluten free vancouverLemonade is a new locally owned gluten free bakery in the Cambie street area in Vancouver, and is arguably one of the city's best dedicated gluten free bake shops. Lemonade is the creation of Tracy Kadonoff who spent many years as the head pastry chef at Sweet Obsessions before discovering she had developed a gluten intolerance preventing her from continuting to work with gluten. Tracy uses whole natural ingredients and has dairy and egg free options as well!

photo credit: gluten free vancouver

What we love most about Lemonade Bakery is the fresh (and dairy free!) bread in five flavours, as well as a quinoa baguette! (and I also hear Tracy is adding a bread slicer to her bakery which is quite a treat for gluten free bread). Here is a list of the breads that are available:

Whole Grain Flax Sandwich Loaf

Quinoa Bread

Honey and 5 Seed

Chia Flax (also egg free)

Cinnamon Raisin

Honey Buns

Qunioa Demi Baguettes

photo credit: gluten free vancouverOur other top picks at Lemonade Bakery are: dairy free cupcakes (Campfire chocolate cupcake with toasted Italian meringue or Vanilla chiffon with raspberry Italian meringe); cookies (especially the peanut butter and quinoa chocolate chip), and the traditional Italian Tiramisu!

Lemonade Bakery is located at 3385 Cambie street.

Robyn + Andrea

winner of gluten free cookbook and flour giveaway

photo credit: gluten free vancouverThank you to everyone who provided comments, reshares and retweets on our blog, Facebook and Twitter pages! We hope you found the gluten free episode on Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag to be informative about cooking and baking gluten free. And for five readers we have a copy of the cookbook from the show, Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking along with two bags of gluten free flour from King Arthur and Bobs Red Mill! 

And the winners are...

Jeff Ojeda

Areta Wong

Vanessa

Monique

Michelle Peltier

Congratulations! Please contact us at info@glutenfree-vancouver.com to arrange delivery of your prize pack.

We really appreciate all of the positive feedback that we received about our blog and we love knowing that the information we share is helping anyone on a gluten free diet live more a enjoyable life in Vancouver and abroad! Thank you to Anna and Kristina for providing this terrific prize pack!

Robyn + Andrea