Gluten Free Pizza at The Chateau

Having Celiac as a kid can be hard when going to friends parties. Some of my daughter's friends will go put of the way to get gluten free pizza and cake. But we always make sure she has something to eat with the other kids.

Last week we were in a rush to find a Gluten Free pizza place near Westborough. We needed to bring a gluten-free pizza to a pizza party at Laser Craze that we were attending.

After a quick brainstorming, we thought that we would give the Chateau a try. We have eaten there in the past and enjoyed their food.

Placing the Order

When we called them, we asked if they had a gluten free pizza, and they said they did. Then they asked if it was for an allergy. We said it was, and the person that took our call asked us to wait a minute. She came back to the phone and said that they could do that.

We placed our order in Natick and arrived 20 minutes later at the Chateau in Westborough.

Excellent Pizza

My daughter really liked the pizza, which is all that mattered. She had 2 slices and said it was good.

To me the pizza looks like it was slightly under cook. When I tasted a slice it was actually very good.

The pizza was on top of a foil pizza tray. Which was a clear sign that they were preventing any cross contamination in the oven.

I think the slightly discoloring that I saw was a result of cooking on the pizza tray. It looked like it was undercooked but the pizza was nice and crunchy.

Gluten Free Pizza at the Chateau in Westborough, Massachusetts.

Overall Good Experience

The whole experience was excellent. The Chateau in Westborough is right off of Route 9, which made it an easy stop on our way to a birthday party.

Its nice to know of an another good quality pizza place nearby. Now we have options go to another party in the future. More importantly, we can let her choose which place to get her pizza from.

What about Desert?

We were running a bit early, that we had time to stop at Gerardo's European Bakery to get some gluten free brownies.

They didn't have any gluten free cupcakes but the brownies were a great substitute. We got one for one of her friends too. The brownies were delicious and more chocolatey than a typical brownie.

Getting to the Chateau

The Westborough Chateau is located just off of Route 9 - Westbound. It's the second exit after 495 and 9 interchange.

The Chateau has lots of gluten free options, it not just a pizza shop. Check out their online menu.

May is Celiac Awareness Month

May is Celiac Awareness Month. The purpose is to bring attention to the autoimmune disease that damages the small intestine.

Manufacturers to Watch

Here are some companies to watch this month. They will most likely offer coupons and deals. Be sure to subscribe to get any coupons!

• Schaer
• Udi's Gluten Free
• Vans Foods
• Snyder
• Tates Cookies

Got Celiac?

If you're a Celiac, spread the word on how delicious the food is! Some people might be afraid to try Gluten Free foods.

Udi’s Gluten Free

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When it comes to bread there are a couple of major companies, Udi???s Gluten Free and Schär.

Best Hamburger Roll

If you're looking for the best gluten-free hamburger rolls, try Udi???s Gluten Free. We have tried all sorts of different brands and found Udi???s Gluten Free are the best tasting rolls.

Best Sandwich Bread

When it comes to sandwich bread, Schär is better tasting. Udi's bread is good if you toast it. Overall, we prefer Schär as it taste close to regular bread than anything we tried.

My daughter is picky when it comes to sandwich bread, and really likes the Schär bread. We have found that other bread types will have large holes in some slices. But the Schär is perfect with every slice.

Limited Availability

Both Udi???s Gluten Free Hamburger rolls and Schar bread are hard to find. Evidently, the word is out that these are the best bread to get. Our local Stop & Shop does carry it.

We usually end up going to Wegmans in Northborough and stock up on our supplies.

Udi???s Gluten Free Hamburger rolls is located in the freezer section. The Schar bread is in the Gluten free aisle.

What do you think?

What is the best hamburger roll? Let me know if there are any other brands that are worth checking out!

OatMeal - Straw Propeller Brand

If your looking for some delicious gluten free oatmeal I would highly recommend the Straw Propeller brand.

My daughter recently had some when she visited my office. They were in the Leanbox refrigerator that we have at work. Not only did she appreciate the convenience of the instant oatmeal, but she really enjoyed the taste.

In fact, as soon as she was done with the Blueberry Blitz one, she asked for the Apple Crisp one. This is something she never does for a snack as she usually satisfied with a small snack.

It cost $2.68 (including tax) via LeanBox. They keep it in the refrigerator, but I don't think it needs refrigeration.

Clearly this is a hit and she'll have it again when she comes back to visit my office.

About Leanbox

LeanBox is an awesome office supply food service. They installed a customized LeanBox refrigerator stocked with all sorts of healthy goods. Simply swipe your credit card and then scan your items.

About Straw Propeller

Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods uses only real food ingredients, with no additives or preservatives. They are located in Redmond, Oregon.

They currently have 15 different flavors including Apple Crisp, Banana Bread, Blueberry Blitz, Cherry & Chia, Hemp N' Oats, Man!, Maple Oats, Oh My Pumpkin Pie, Orange Cranberry, Patrioats, PB & J, Peaches & Berry Bramble, Pineapple Cocon-Oats, Indian Curry, Moroccan Spice and Tuscan Herb.

You can order a 12-pack of Straw Propeller for $39, which comes out to $3.25 a meal.

Ice Cream Maker (Soft Serve)

No trip to Disney can be complete without a taste of everyone's pineapple treat - Dole Whip. It's a delicious pineapple soft serve treat - perfect anytime.

Luckily you don't have to wait to go back to Disney. You can enjoy the exact same treat at home! All you need is a Soft Serve Ice Cream maker and the Dole Whip mix. Both of these are available on Amazon.com. (Not really a surprise!)

Ice Cream Maker

We have a Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker. It works really well, the key thing to remember is that the main container needs to be frozen for at least 12 hours before you use it. We kept ours in the Freeze at all times, that way when we need to make ice cream, we can do it and not have to think 12 hours ahead of time.

We recommend getting an additional ice cream maker freezer bowl. That way you don't have to wait an additional 12 hours if you want a different treat on a hot day.

Each batch of Soft Serve ice cream makes 1.5 quarts of delicious soft serve ice cream.

The Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker can make all sorts of delicious treats. We made a chocolate soft serve ice cream for our neighbor and he told us that it was the best he ever tasted. It should be since there are no added chemicals to preserve the ice cream.

Dole Soft Serve Mix

A 4.4-pound bag of Dole Pineapple Soft Serve mix cost $24.59 and will make about 89 1/2 cup serving.

In the parks you get at least a full cup serving. That means each bag will make 45 delicious pineapple treat.

In the parks, the treat cost $4.95. Which means the single bag will produce about $225 worth of treats.

Each Dole Whip serving is Fat-Free, Lactose-Free, Dairy Free, Cholesterol Free, and Gluten Free.

Just like the Park

We made a batch shortly after coming back from Disney and can verify that, as long as you follow the instructions, it will taste exactly like the one in the park.

Perfect for any small kids party - that has a Disney theme.

The good thing is that you don't need any extra ingredients.

If you keep the Ice Maker in the freezer, you can make your favorite Dole Whip whenever you want.

Catholic Church's Holy Eucharist

The Catholic Church is very strict in the Holy Eucharist that is used at Mass, and using a rice-based Eucharist will not work.

According to the Code of Canon Law, The Rites And Ceremonies Of The Eucharistic Celebration (Can 924):

1. The holiest eucharistic sacrifice must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water must be mixed.
2. The bread must be only wheat and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling.
3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.

The Catholic Church is very strict that Communion is to be made of wheat and a small amount of gluten because of the belief that Jesus used wheaten bread at the Last Supper.

Viable Solution

Fortunately there is a valid solution by the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. They were able to manufacture a Communion Host that is not only approved by the Catholic Church but also approved by the Gluten Free Community.

The Communion that the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration manufacturer is made from wheat starch. This starch has most of the gluten removed. It was tested by the Office of the Secretariat and has been approved to be used at Mass in the dioceses of the United States with the appropriate permissions.

The Communion was also tested by the Center for Celiac Research, where they found that the .01% gluten content is well below the 10 milligrams safe number.

Ordering the Low-gluten Communion Bread

You can order the Low-gluten Communion Bread from the Alter Breads BSPA website. Currently it's $5.35 for a 30 wafers.

At Church

The best way to safely receive the Communion is to work with your church. It's important that there is no cross contamination. Several options:

• You could receive the Communion Host from a dedicated Eucharistic Minister
• You could be the first person to receive the Communion Host
• You could always receive the Communion after the mass completed

Uncle Cheung's Restaurant

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Uncle Cheung's Restaurant is a nice small family restaurant located on Route 9 in Framingham, Massachusetts. They are the ???home of authentic Chinese Food.???

This is my daughter???s favorite Chinese restaurant, and the owners know us so well because we order the same dish every time.

What Makes this Place Special?

There are a lot of Chinese Restaurants in the Metro-West area. In fact, there are about 20 in an 8-mile radius of downtown Framingham.

So what makes this place better than all of them? Ming Cheung

Ming, the son of the owner, is a dietitian at Beth Israel Hospital who specializes proper care of gluten free foods. On weekends you may find Ming waiting on tables at the restaurant. He has raised over $12,000 for various marathons.

Uncle Cheung???s has a special area of their kitchen where they process their gluten free foods.

Excellent Gluten Free Options!

Just about every dish on their menu can be made Gluten Free. There are some limitations, with the exceptions of some appetizers can???t be made gluten-free. (Egg Roll are not Gluten Free.) Simply let the server know you wish to eat gluten free and they will work with you.

Keep in mind that 90% of the menu items can be made gluten-free. This is what we order every time we go:

• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Vegetable Fried Rice
• Boneless Spareribs

We prefer to eat in instead of taking out. The Sweet and Sour chicken has a nice glaze on it, whereas if you do a take out they separate the chicken and glaze. It just doesn???t taste the same.

If the restaurant is very busy they may place a limit on what can be made gluten free because many of their gluten free dishes are made to order and require more attention than a standard order.

Oh, and eating Gluten Free isn???t a penalty here. You don???t pay more because your eating gluten free.

Uncle Cheung's Restaurant Location

Uncle Cheung's Restaurant is located at 266 Worcester Road (Route 9 East Bound) in Framingham, Massachusetts. They are open every day, except Monday, for Lunch and Dinner.

L.A. Burdick Pastry

If your looking for some awesome Hot Chocolate in Bostons Backbay, the best place to go is L.A. Burdick. You can find all sorts of yummy treats to enjoy on a cold day.

Nothing goes better with L.A. Burdick Hot Chocolate than their famous pastry.

Gluten Free Pastry

In the L.A. Burdick store are several Gluten Free Pastry options, including:

• Luxembourger - hand-piped meringues layered with all-natural buttercream, ganache, and fruit jam.
• The Burdick - Layers of Japonaise (Almond meringue cookie) and dark chocolate ganache with a hint of rum.
• Hazelnut-Orange Cake - A moist, flourless cake with hazelnut and citrus flavors, enrobed with a generous layer of hazelnut gianduja chocolate, topped with candied orange peel.

L.A. Burdick location

You can find L.A. Burdick at 220 Clarendon Street in Bostons Back Bay. They are located about a block from Copley Square. The front of the building has a distinct brown awning with Chocolate on the fold.

You can enjoy your afternoon treat in the store, or if its not too cold out, it's a short walk to Copley Square.

Wegmans Shopping

Looking for the best supermarket that offers the most Gluten Free products? Your best choice is Wegmans. They have the best selection of refrigerative and general grocery items than any other major food chain in New England.

In particular, we have found that the Wegmans store in Westborough has the best selection. Every time we go we find something new! Then have plenty of Van's Gluten Free French Toast, which is impossible to find at Stop and Shop. There's a great selection of gluten free bread and breakfast goodies.

Asian Bar Gluten Free Options

There are plenty of good Gluten Free options at the Asian Bar. My daughter likes the salad and some of the gluten free foods. She has never complained about the food offerings and doesn't always finishes her meal.

She likes that the store has a kids seating area with a TV that is tuned to Nickelodeon.

Store Location

The Northborough Wegman's is location at 9102 Shops Way, Northborough, MA.

We find the best time to visit is just after dinner hour on Saturday and Sundays. We would grab a bite to eat at the Asian Bar. Then we do our weekly shopping.

Immaculate Gluten Free Cookies

One of the disadvantages of eating gluten free is that you can???t make a quick batch of cookies. All the instant dough making products, such as Pillsbury Cookies, are not gluten free.

Immaculate Gluten Free Cookies

We just found out about Immaculate Gluten Free Cookies, which are available in the Gluten Free refrigerative section of Wegmans. They are exactly like the quick oven bake cookies that you find in the dairy aisle. They come in three flavors:

• Chocolate Chunk
• Double Chocolate
• Peanut Butter

They don???t have any seasonal special cookies, like Easter Eggs or Christmas trees. However, it???s awesome that we can now make a quick batch of cookies whenever we want. So if we want some cookies to enjoy with a movie, it???s super easy.

Storage Tip

The cookies are available in the refrigerative section, but the directions on the packaging does indicate that you could freeze them and bake them from frozen.

Cookies will last 6 months in the refrigerator. We put our packages in the freezer. It was very easy to break apart the dough when they were frozen. I put the bags in several Ziplock bags and back in the freezer.

So, How are they?

Cookies were yummy. It took about 17 minutes to cook. However, they appear to be slightly undercooked in the middle. Perhaps a few more minutes would have made them perfect.

In our taste test, we found that the Double Chocolate was the best tasting of all of them.

Immaculate Gluten Free Cookies are available at Wegmans, Market Basket and Target.