News & Notes: July 10, 2015

Center City Philadelphia workers and residents will soon have another gluten-free meal option. Come August, Milk House will open a second location near Rittenhouse Square formerly occupied by Matyson (37 S. 19th St.). Just as at the original spot in Suburban Station, Milk House will offer gluten-free grilled cheese sandwiches (prepared on a separate grill), soups, fries, tots and ice cream.

SweetWater Bar & Grill in Cinnaminson (10 Rt. 130 N., 856-829-7458) offers guests a gluten-free menu. (Thanks Tina S.)

Cheeburger Cheeburger locations in Chalfont (4275 County Line Rd., 267-477-1110) and Oaks (122 Mill Rd., 484-392-7005) serve burgers on Udi's buns.

Lean On Me

If you've walked through the frozen section of the supermarket and noticed more gluten-free options lately, you're not alone.

One of the country's largest and well-known frozen-meal lines, Lean Cuisine, recently introduced new meals as part of a brand makeover. In addition to its Mornings breakfast meals, the brand's products are divided among four other categories: Marketplace (trendy meals), Comfort (comfort-food standards), Favorites (popular dishes), and Craveables (finger foods).

News & Notes: July 3, 2015

If you like cereal, you're in luck this week. First off, General Mills announced this week that the change the company made in its cereal production facilities that allows five varieties of Cheerios to be gluten free now means Lucky Charms is joining that list. Lucky Charms will use the oat flour being made for gluten-free Cheerios.

The company announced the news about gluten-free Cheerios in February and how it developed a way to sort out the small amount of wheat, rye and barley in its supply of whole oats that are inadvertently introduced at the farms where the oats are grown, or during transportation of the whole oats to the mill. This sorting ensures that the oats used – for the five Cheerios varieties and Lucky Charms – allow the company to meet the FDA’s guideline for gluten free.

You should be able to find Lucky Charms, labeled gluten free, on store shelves in September (with national distribution by October). Check the side panel for “GLUTEN FREE” at the bottom of the nutrition information. The five varieties of Cheerios going gluten free will be in stores soon in some areas of the U.S., and by September across the country. They are Original Cheerios, Honey Nut, Multi-Grain, Apple Cinnamon and Frosted.

Incidentally, General Mills recently stated that it is aiming to eliminate the use of artificial colors and flavors in 90 percent of its cereals by the end of 2016.

Books & Cooks

What's the newest national chain to offer gluten-free fare? It's not Wendy's (at least, not yet). The in-store cafés at Barnes & Noble bookstores have expanded their menus, which now include two gluten-free options: baked chicken tenders and rice crispy treats.

The baked Applegate gluten-free chicken tenders ($6.95) are coated with milled rice and corn and are served with sweet potato chips and a dipping sauce of either barbeque or honey mustard. Request that orders be prepared with new oven liners and clean utensils.

Reading, Pennsylvania's own Sweet Street Desserts supplies the certified-gluten-free Chewy Marshmallow Bars ($2.50), made with brown rice crispies, brown butter and sea salt.

Take note that the new Chocolate Oatmeal Chunker cookies ($2.50), the recipe for which comes from Pastry Chef Johnny Iuzzini's Sugar Rush cookbook, are prepared with oat flour. As of this writing, it's unclear whether gluten-free oats are used; the in-store shelf tag indicates that the cookies are "wheat free," though a banner on the B&N website states they are gluten free.

News & Notes: June 26, 2015

Back in December, I reported that General Mills would be debuting gluten-free snack bars under its Food Should Taste Good line. The Real Good Bar products launched this week in two varieties: Hazelnut Sea Salt and Macadamia Chai. Hazelnut Sea Salt features a combination of honey, Turkish hazelnuts, California almonds, Madagascar vanilla and orange zest, while Macadamia Chai offers a blend of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice and is made with whole almonds, chopped macadamia nuts, slivers of coconut, Fair Trade Certified Cocoa and a dash of Chai. The suggested retail price for each bar is $1.65.

The area's second b.good location opened yesterday in Wynnewood (280 E. Lancaster Ave., 484-417-6345). Burgers from this New England- based fast-casual chain can be served on gluten-free buns, and all fries are prepared separately. Several shakes and desserts are also gluten free.