Toy Joy: Gluten-Free ice cream cones

I had never been to Toy Joy's cafe until yesterday, when I stopped in and decided to get a tasty treat. When I started looking over the menu, they have their bubble tea's that you see advertised on their windows. But, I was in the mood for ice cream and to my surprise, they offered Gluten-Free cones!!

Yesterday's ice cream special was Peppermint. I chose to try a twist of Vanilla and Peppermint and it was Delicious!!!

Toy Joy is a widely-known toy/gift shop, this location is on Guadalupe near the University of Texas at Austin. Over the past couple years, Toy Joy expanded it's store to include this section of the location to include a cafe.

There's parking both in front and behind the Toy Joy store, with seating outside for you to sit and enjoy the many items available in the cafe.

If you can see under Soft Serve, there's a couple different options for what to eat your ice cream out of, from cups to Gluten-Free and Organic cones, there's a little something for everyone.

Toy Joy uses cones that are Gluten-Free, made WITHOUT wheat, barley or rye flours, but instead using a mixture of potato and tapioca flour. The combination tastes great, maybe even better than traditional cones. You should check out the GF cones and let me know what you think on Twitter: @melissaayala12

Check out a new flavor ice cream each week! Next week is Pumpkin softserve.

2900 Guadalupe St.
Austin, TX 78705

Gluten Intolerance Group: Thanksgiving dinner

Join the Gluten Intolerance Group of Central and South Texas at this year's Thanksgiving Dinner in San Antonio!

"Please join us for our GIG-CSTX Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, November 19 at noon. This dinner is held at our regular meeting place, Covenant Presbyterian Church at 211 Roleto Drive in San Antonio, just off Loop 410. Debbie Holladay is baking turkeys and making the gravy. Little Aussie Bakery will provide the dinner rolls. The rest is up to us to provide the salads, vegetables, dressings, and desserts. If this is your first time to attend one of our potluck dinners, we invite you to come, bring your family, and be our guest. Our members will bring a dish to share, along with a list of the ingredients included. We welcome your recipes that can be shared in our newsletter. You will need to RSVP. Call 210 340-0648 or e-mail me at annebarfield@satx.rr.com to tell me three things. 1. What dish you plan to bring. 2. How many family members will be with you. 3. If this is your first meeting, just call and tell me how many family members. This helps us plan our meal, and assures that nothing gets forgotten. Please call or e-mail by Friday, November 18 by noon."

http://www.gigcstx.org/

A Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

Gluten Free support group podcast with Anne Allen

Check out my conversation with Anne Allen, Gluten Intolerant Group of Austin Director! We talk about what GIG members can get out of membership and what it's like to be a part of a gluten-free support group. She gives out a lot of great tips on grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants around Austin and shares what her experience has been like as someone who has been gluten-free for several years. As I've shared with all of you before, my blog started out of my experience living with my younger sister who is gluten intolerant, and I share a little with Anne about my sister and how my blog came to be. I hope you all check out my podcast with Anne and feel free to leave and comments or questions you have or Anne or myself.

If you have any questions, feel free to also check out the GIG website: http://gigcstx.org/

I encourage all of you to get involved in a group with other people who have gone gluten-free! Follow me on Twitter: @melissaayala12

Gluten Free Faces, GF Social Network

     One of the reasons I chose to start this blog was to have a site where gluten-free people could go to as a one-stop-shop for resources.
Recently, I stumbled upon GlutenFreeFaces.com, a gluten-free social network.

     It's similar to other social networks like Facebook or even MySpace from a couple years back, but the benefit of it is that it's for a gluten-free community.
     The set-up is very easy:
You follow the basic "Create a New Account" that you've seen before.
You need to enter:
- a working email address
- password
- birthdate
And, then you submit your information to apply for membership.
     That's one of the features I like about the site, that membership is exclusive to approved members, but not incredibly strict.
     The next day, I got an email saying that I had been approved for membership and after that, I was able to log-in and start connecting in the community.
     Now, you can check out site, connect with any of the 10,000+ members, view GF videos, recipes and blogs.
     There are also special offers for members, like coupons discounting GF products, like this one:
     I think it's a great resource to find other members who are in the same boat as you or going through similar experiences.
     Check it out!

Today's Fox Health News article features gluten-free tips

Earlier today I tweeted about an article I read this morning from Fox Health News, giving tips for those who have gone gluten-free:

melissaayala12 Melissa Ayala
Just read this interesting article: Tips For Going #GlutenFree | http://fxn.ws/w258FS via @foxnewshealth, posting to my blog later today!

The article largely assumes it's readers know what a gluten-free diet means, which I suppose is safe to assume. However, with a health news site like this that tackles a wide range of issues, I would like to see more explanation of what Celiac Disease is and why some people have to go gluten-free, because their bodies cannot accept the gluten protein in foods like wheat, barley or rye.

But, it does explain how the gluten-free diet is trending, which I'm sure we all have noticed.

Because of the high incidence of celiac disease and gluten intolerance (it is estimated that one in every 100 people in the U.S. have
celiac disease and more go undiagnosed), tons of gluten-free products (including breads and pastas), restaurants and recipes are becoming more readily available.

But, for all of us out there, it's also good to note these tips.

However, it’s still very important to be an informed consumer. Many foods that you would never imagine to have gluten do – like bouillon cubes and soy sauce.

The article lists a lot of quick items gluten-free eaters should stay away from because of hidden dangers to your diet:

vegetables with sauces
processed cheeses
cheese blends
flavored yogurts

cheeses with vegetable gum

food starch

preservatives

Look out for these: malt, barley, dextrin, candy, some cold cuts (Applegate Farms is gluten free), gravies, imitation fish, soy sauce, teriyaki, vegetables in sauce, hydrolyzed wheat protein, rice mixes, communion wafers, chips, bouillon cubes, soups, multivitamins, play dough, lip gloss and stamps.

But, you also get some good tips on foods you can eat or should check out:

buckwheat, cornmeal, grits, millet, quinoa and rice. Other starches that can be used are legumes, and starchy vegetables like peas, potatoes and corn. If you like to bake, some gluten-free flours include: almond, amaranth, artichoke, sorghum and teff flours.

What I found really interesting were these three items they suggest you look out for: play dough, lip gloss and stamps. Especially makeup, I find, is becoming something more commonly suggested to be weary of.

I think this article points out a lot of foods you should keep on a list, print out and keep in your back pocket to have handy when out at the grocery store.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/03/tips-for-going-gluten-free/#ixzz1cfLq08x7

A Day in the Life of a Gluten-Free Shopper