Not Your Average Joes (Westborough)

This past weekend we stopped into Not Your Average Joes in Westborough. We haven't visited here in a long time.

Not your Average Joes has a separate Gluten Free menu. You will need to ask for it when your host takes you to your seat.

Not Your Average Joes Bread

Part of the attraction of going is their bread with the cheese/pepper oil dip. It's very yummy.

Fortunately they do have a gluten-free bread, you will have to ask the waiter for it.

It took a while for our bread to arrive at the table, I believe the waitress forgot that we requested it. Once we reminded her, she brought five slices of a gluten free roll to our table. What's nice is that she brought another dip dish so that there would be no cross contamination with the other dish at our table.

Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

My daughter is a Mac and Cheese lover - which kid isn???t? She was excited to find that they have gluten free mac and cheese.

We ordered the meal and let the order taker know that she has an allergy.

When the order came out, it was delivered by the manager, a clear sign that they take their gluten free food seriously.

My daughter loved the Mac and Cheese. When I asked if she liked the one here or the one at Maggiano???s Little Italy from last weekend. She said that she liked this one better. I think she said that because of the bad experience we had.

In any case, she was very happy to enjoy the dipping bread and Mac and Cheese. We all enjoyed our meals, and will be back sometime soon.

Not your Average Joes - Westborough

The Not Your Average Joes in Westborough is located on the westbound side of Route 9. ( 291 Turnpike Rd, Westborough, MA) It's near the intersection of Route 9 and Otis Street. It's directly across the street from Herb Chambers Ford of Westborough. Every time that we have eaten at this particular location it hasn't been that busy. This is a good location if your heading to Wegman's to do your daily shopping, or if your thinking of doing a dinner and a movie as Regal Cinemas of Westborough is within a 1/2 mile from the restaurant.

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Maggiano's Little Italy

This past weekend we saw Annie at the Boch Center (Wang Center). After the show we headed over to Maggiano's for an early dinner.

Since we arrived after a sold out show the restaurant was very busy. In addition, there were several nearby graduation ceremonies. We planned ahead and had reservations. However, we still had to wait 20 minutes before sitting down at our table.

Some Things I Learned While Waiting

• There is an elevator to the restroom downstairs - it's located just beyond the stairs.
• There is a small waiting area near the elevator with a couple of chairs
• It's very difficult to hear the table announcements from the chairs.
• The bar is the best place to be to hear the table announcements.
• There is a plug by one of the chairs by the elevator, and someone was using that to charge their phone.

Service Was a Bit Weird

While the food was great, We did have a problem with our waiter. While we were waiting for our order, my daughter was getting hungry. There was bread on the table, but it wasn't gluten free. The waiter told us that the didn't have any gluten-free bread.

We asked if their soup was gluten free, he seemed a bit unsure. We then asked if he could get cucumbers for her as an appetizer, he then told us that he was "too busy to get the cucumbers."

We were shocked that he would say that and asked to see the manager. We were afraid that this would turn into the experience that we had last year at the Cheese Cake Factory.

Thankfully the management did step up and made our experience enjoyable. They were out of the way to make sure that the table service was very good.

When we placed our order, we did request the kid's meal to be served the same time as the appetizers. Turns out that less than 30 seconds later that the meal arrived at our table. The original server, who had no time, could have simply checked on the status of the meals.

Gluten Free Options

My daughter order the Fettuccine Alfredo with gluten free pasta, basically fancy Mac & Cheese. She loved the meal and ate most of it. There wasn't enough leftover to take home, which she usually does.

For desert, she had Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with some chocolate sauce. It was excellent!

Gluten Free Fettuccine Alfredo

Will we go Back?

Yes! Despite the initial poor quality of service. We will certainly go back. We did enjoy the food and had a good time after watching Annie.

Getting to Maggiano's Little Italy

Maggiano's Little Italy is located at 4 Columbus Ave near the theater district. We parked at the Motor Mart Garage, which is located just upstairs. It cost $28 to park at Motor Mart Garage, which is the same price as the garage next to

The restaurant is located about 3 blocks from the Boch Center - Wang Theatre.

If you are going to a show, make the reservations at least 30 minutes after the show ends. That will give you time to leave and walk over to the restaurant.

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Gluten Free Cupcakes at Cupcake Charlie's

Last Year, I posted that Cupcake Charlie's carries some gluten free goodies. They have a delicious selection of gluten free pudding cakes and cookies.

On a recent visit, we were surprised to find that they carry gluten free cupcakes. It turns out that they have a very limited supply and they get their shipments on Fridays.

When my daughter took a bite into her cupcake, she was pleasantly surprised to find a chocolate fillings. She loved it and can't wait to get another one.

Natick Cupcake Charlie

Cupcake Charlie's is located on the second in the middle of the Natick Mall. Your best parking options would be to park at the third level in the garage near Lord and Taylor. Then it's a simple walk to the Mall and head towards Neiman Marcus.

Make sure to stop by on Friday, as we have visited the store numerous times on the weekend and didn't know that they had gluten free cupcakes.

You can eat in or take it home. Tip: Take it home so that you can enjoy the delicious treat.

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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.

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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.

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Udi’s Gluten Free

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!

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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.

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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.

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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

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Uncle Cheung's Restaurant

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.

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