News & Notes: March 30, 2018

Grainful has reformulated its frozen entrées by incorporating a new gluten-free grain blend of whole oats, quinoa and sorghum and layering on more vegetables, proteins, and sauces. Grainful also transitioned to using a bowl in the packaging. They come in eight varieties, including Tuscan Bean & Kale, Unstuffed Pepper, Vegetarian Chili and Porcini Mushroom Chicken. The revamped products have already started hitting shelves at leading retailers across the nation including Wegmans, ShopRite, Safeway, HEB, Giant Eagle and Whole Foods. The entrées will also be available for purchase online on the Grainful online store and at Amazon.com this month.

Nona Lim’s new instant noodle bowls come in three non-GMO, gluten-free varieties: Thai Coconut Lime, Chicken Pho and a vegan Green Curry. Each 14.5-ounce bowl is cold-shipped for freshness and sold in the refrigerated aisle for a suggested retail price of $6.99.

Kidfresh will introduce its first gluten-free product, a new White Mac 'n Cheese, later this spring. Kidfresh offers a line of children's favorites enriched with hidden vegetables and without any artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. The line of frozen meals is nationally distributed and available in over 10,000 stores.

Truly Spiked & Sparkling has debuted its newest gluten-free alcoholic sparkling water: Truly Wild Berry, with a hint of natural juiciness and sweetness from California strawberries, raspberries and Marion blackberries. Truly Wild Berry will be sold in six-packs and featured in a new Berry Variety Pack with two other exclusive flavors, Blueberry & Acai and Raspberry & Lime, along with Pomegranate.

Locally, Bridget's Steakhouse in Ambler (8 W. Butler Pike, 267-465-2000) notes gluten-free options on its dinner menu, as does the refreshed Bar 1929 at Woodcrest Country Club in Cherry Hill (300 E. Evesham Rd., 856-439-4300).

Not only is the all-gluten-free Real Food Eatery planning to open a second Center City location this spring at 1700 Market St., one in the Fairmount section (4040 City Ave.) is coming soon.

Chickie's & Pete's opened its newest sports bar this week in Marlton (25 Rt. 73 S., 856-452-5126). The bone-in wings and Crabfries are gluten free, prepared in separate fryers from breaded items.

Pasta Pomodoro, the longtime gluten-free-friendly Italian restaurant in Voorhees, has lost its lease. Elsewhere, the Rittenhouse Square outpost of grilled-cheese and shake purveyor MilkHouse has closed, but it's business as usual at the Suburban Station and 30th Street Station locations.

Have a great holiday weekend!

- Michael

With the updated Gluten Free Philly app for iOS and Android devices, find more than 1,600 area gluten-free-friendly businesses on the go, search by cuisine or neighborhood, make reservations and more!

News & Notes: March 18, 2016

Before I get to this week's news, I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all of Gluten Free Philly's readers and followers. This past Tuesday marked the 7th anniversary of my very first blog post. Way back in March 2009, as a parent of a child with Celiac Disease, I figured others were going through the same challenges. Creating a blog was the best way to share our family's experiences and information we had gathered. I get immense satisfaction from hearing from readers when they tell me they loved a new product I've written about here or a gluten-free-friendly restaurant that didn't know about until I mentioned it. I appreciate your continued support and kind words.

Rita’s Italian Ice has debuted All-Natural Italian Ice in time for the 2016 season. The new Italian Ice line extension is made with natural ingredients and comes in four flavors: Pineapple, Strawberry, Banana and Orange. Each of the new flavors are made fresh daily without artificial coloring or artificial flavors and are - like the rest of Rita’s fruit-flavored ices - free of trans fats, cholesterol and gluten. Get a free Italian ice at your local Rita's location on the first day of Spring - this Sunday - from noon to 9 p.m.