Local Product Spotlight: Happy Tummy Baking Company

It's my pleasure to introduce yet another awesome local company that caters to those eating Gluten Free (or some type of other allergen-free) – the Happy Tummy Baking Company. We first met Raleigh resident Maria Hopper last summer as she was researching the possibility of starting a new company that would make pizza crusts. You can see previous posts here about the Allergen Free Pizza Crusts she has been working on. After many months of researching, polling potential customers and developing the product, Maria is now ready to launch.


Allergen-Free means Happy Tummy pizzas are free from the big eight allergens (wheat, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy) but they are also Gluten Free, Yeast Free and Vegan as well. Wow! This truly is a product that everyone can enjoy. There are not too many companies out there doing the totally allergen-free thing (I can think of Enjoy Life and a few others but that's it), so kudos to Maria for going this extra step. The ready-to-bake frozen pizza crusts (add your own toppings) contain the following ingredients; water, white rice flour, tapioca starch, sorghum flour, Xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, cane sugar and canola oil. A simple recipe that has received rave reviews during several product tastings over the past few months.


Maria's motivation has been her own diagnosis with Celiac Disease as well as her daughter's Celiac and yeast sensitivities. It's also pretty common for Celiac's to have multiple other food sensitivities as well. This product fills the void that most other Gluten Free pizzas do not. Happy Tummy pizzas are currently made during off hours in a commercial kitchen owned by another company. Due to the fact that this kitchen does have other allergens present, Maria takes extensive measures to test her products. Maria employs Gluten testing daily to make sure her crusts are < 10PPM. She also brings all of her own dedicated pans, equipment and ingredients to the facility so that no shared items are used during the preparation or baking process. For these reasons, Gluten Free Raleigh did not need to perform any other testing per my new Product Testing Policy. There are plans in the future for Happy Tummy to move to their very own dedicated facility and to introduce additional products. We'll definitely keep our eyes on that.

Please see the pictures to the left for what the product packaging will look like.


The new Happy Tummy pizza crusts will be available in the Raleigh Whole Foods beginning in March. I'll provide another update/reminder as that time approaches so we can all support a local company.

Local Product Spotlight: Custom Choice Cereal

This post is a little overdue so I apologize but I'd like to finally introduce you all to an awesome brand new local company called Custom Choice Cereal. Custom Choice Cereal debuted last summer and has since received a ton of press. See here & here & here & here & here & here & here & here... well you get the idea! I could go on, there are > 50,000 Google search results.

The company offers Gluten Free consumers a unique breakfast option, you're very own customized-exactly-to-your-preferences cereal. As of now there are over 165 million different combinations of custom cereal you can come up with - talk about custom. The company is always looking to expand the offerings of cereal bases and add-ins which would just create that many more choices. The point - a Gluten Free cereal EXACTLY the way you like it! Let's admit it, there is only so much Chex you can eat, right? There are some other custom cereal companies out there, but Custom Choice Cereal is the only one who caters directly to GF consumers by producing the product in a dedicated Gluten Free facility. And luckily for us, it's in our backyard!

I recently had the pleasure to meet the company's founder - Hajo Engelke - a German born transplant inspired by the hugely popular MyMuesli German-based company. Hajo is a recent graduate of the MBA program at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. The business plan is quite simple: through an intuitive online platform, you can choose a base mix and add any combination of your favorite dried fruits, nuts, and seeds to your cereal.

I had the opportunity to see the cereal mixing facility and witness the hand mixing customization magic first hand. I actually sat in Hajo's office and used his laptop to create my very own custom cereal so creatively dubbed "Gluten-free Raleigh mix" using the company's Web site. The entire process took about 2 minutes.

Through 3 simple steps, you're custom cereal is created.... 1) Choose your cereal base of either cinnamon granola, corn flakes or good morning flakes 2) Add in any number of dried fruits (apples, apricots, banana chips, blueberries, cherries, goji berries, cranberries, pears, pineapple, raisins or strawberries) and 3) Add in any number of nuts or seeds (almonds, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or walnuts) and voila. A nice touch is the instantly updated ingredients listing and nutritional statement right on the Web site as you add/remove ingredients.

The Gluten-free Raleigh mix shown above included the Corn Flake base with banana chips, cherries, blueberries and pistachios added in. An absolute delight of a snack and cereal option. I pretty much ate about half of the 12oz. bag on the way home from meeting with Hajo, I had missed my normal lunch time and this really hit the spot. The remainder of the bag was munched on by my family that evening and then polished off the next morning at breakfast (actually in a bowl with milk - happy to report no soggy-ness either). Hajo told me that I wouldn't have to worry about the bag lasting very long and he was right. Although it's nice to finally have a resealable bag for cereal - this product honestly doesn't last long enough to need it!

Another nice feature is that you get to name your custom creation and the name is displayed right there on the package. You also are provided with a Mix ID which is a unique number given to your custom mix that you can use again in the future to recreate the exact same cereal with minimal effort. Another thing to note, the cereal actually has a shelf life of 3 months unopened which provides a nice addition to your Gluten Free emergency kit (how many of you have one of these?) Imagine what the Red Cross or some food shelter could provide a Gluten Free consumer in an extreme time of need? Water maybe?

I'd like to also mention that the product can be shipped anywhere in the USA and that each incremental bag purchased costs only $1 extra per bag ($4.50 for the first bag). Luckily for us, Hajo allows for customer pick up days at the facility (located at 4220 Apex Highway, Suite 160, in Durham, North Carolina 27713. Exit 278 on I-40) each Thursday from 1PM to 5PM. This way you can save a little cash and pop in on Hajo and say hello.

Custom Choice Cereal also has a product testing policy which involves the rigorous testing of cereal ingredients using EZ Gluten testing stripes. Samples of each incoming shipment of each ingredient are tested and Hajo works hard with his suppliers to gaurantee Gluten Free ingredients. I feel very comfortable eating this product safely after seeing the testing process and the facility with my own eyes. Gluten Free Raleigh did not need to perform any other testing per my new Product Testing Policy.

There is also a 20% off your entire order Coupon Code available for GFR readers! Hajo has agreed to discount all GFR reader orders by 20%. All you need to do is email me with your entry in the GFR T-Shirt Design contest and I'll respond to you via email with the 20% off coupon code. This discount runs from now until the end of the T-Shirt design contest at the end of February. Custom Choice Cereal is also partnering in that project and will also provide the winner of the design contest with a $15 gift certificate for free cereal. Thanks Hajo!

Information
Web site - http://www.customchoicecereal.com
Blog (somebody who writes almost as much as me) - http://customchoicecereal.com/blog/about/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/customchoicecereal
Twitter - http://twitter.com/CustomCereal

Local Product Spotlight: Moonlight Bakery

Allow me to introduce a brand new Gluten Free Bakery to the Raleigh market; Moonlight Bakery. I've recently been in contact with the bakery's owner; Raleigh resident Shanah Wade.

The brand new bakery will feature Gluten Free baked goods like Banana Nut, Chocolate Chip Nut, Carrot Cake, Blueberry muffins along with other delicious treats.

Shanah is a long time Celiac Disease sufferer, in fact she informed me that she was diagnosed in 1986 and was only the third person to get a Celiac diagnosis in the entire USA. Needless to say, she's got a ton of experience successfully eating Gluten Free and has had a lot of time to perfect her baked goods recipes.

Moonlight Bakery is planning their launch to the public this weekend September 26th at two events. The first is from 8am to 12pm at the North Hills Farmers Market located off of Six Forks Road and I-440 Beltline and the second is the Earthfare Harvest Fest in Brier Creek shopping center from 2pm - 6pm. Stop in and see Moonlight Bakery this weekend and welcome them to the Gluten Free marketplace. As a bonus, you'll have the chance to sample their products before you buy! You'll be able to catch Moonlight at a Farmers Market on a regular basis and they plan to deliver products out of their state inspected home-based kitchen the remainder of the time.

At the time of this post, their Web site is currently under construction so check back soon for more information.

Local Product Spotlight: 8th Sin Coffee Company

8th Sin Coffee Company is a local Raleigh based coffee roasting company. As we all know, pure coffee is already Gluten Free but sometimes the added flavoring can be suspect. I checked in with Greg at 8th Sin for more information about their flavored coffee. Below is his response about the flavoring they use in their coffee.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: Coffee Question
To: glutenfreeraleigh@gmail.com
Hello Zach

As I'm sure you're aware, Coffee itself is gluten free, so the only thing you need to worry about is with flavored coffees.

We realize that our customers have many different dietary needs, and have often received questions about the content of our flavored coffees. To help our customers understand what is in our product, we post a Allergen Statement at the top of our flavored coffee page, http://www.8thsincoffee.com/flavors

We hope this answers your questions.

Regards,
Greg Todaro
Eighth Sin Coffee Company, Inc.
The ONE Worth Roasting For
http://8thSinCoffee.com
919-832-8898 Roasting Facility
877-569-7620 Toll Free

There you have it, looks like all their coffee products are Gluten Free!

Click for a list of their products (Certified Organic Beans, Single Origin Beans, Blended Beans, Espresso and Decaf). Looks like they also sell Gift Baskets, Gift Certifications and have a coffee club as well.

There are many ways to try out 8th Sin Coffee but the easiest may be to stop into the nearest Fresh Market grocery store. You can also pick up coffee from 8th Sin at their Roasting facility, The Bottle & Bean in Wake Forest, Common Grounds in Apex or from their Web site. 8th Sin can also provide your office with Coffee through Carolina Vending.

ENJOY

Local Product Spotlight - Bella Monica Flatbread Company

Let's kick off 2009 with a bang! I had teased this in my last post of 2008 - sorry to keep you waiting (I have been enjoying my vacation).

I'd like to be the first to introduce the Bella Monica Flatbread Company. They have been working on creating the best tasting Gluten Free Pizza around for the past several months. I have had the privilege to be one of the first people to taste the retail product and to provide my input. The pizzas are made with Domata Living Flour and made on a dedicated Gluten Free production line which is tested using ELISA to have less than 20 PPM Gluten. Bella Monica Flatbread Company is affiliated with the longstanding Bella Monica Italian Restaurant on Edwards Mill Road in Northwest Raleigh. Stay tuned for more information in an upcoming post about a brand new Gluten Free Menu at Bella Monica. I have sampled the items and was blown away. I've also had the chance to provide the owners/operators with advice on how to safely prepare the new menu items to avoid cross-contamination. STAY TUNED!

The pizzas will be available in 3 different varieties - Margherita, Spinach & Tomato and Mushroom & Herbs in a 10" size. I have had the opportunity to try them all and I'm happy to report that they blow away the competition when it comes to frozen Gluten Free Pizza. My family has also tasted the pizzas and had trouble telling the difference from regular wheat pizza.

Here is what they look like out of the box

And after

As of now, the pizzas are available in Harmony Farms Natural Foods store located on Creedmoor Road in North Raleigh. They should be available on a few GF Grocery online retailers soon. They should also be available in Whole Foods by the end of January.

The following is from Trevor Chambers about how to get the pizzas at your local grocery store...

If your local grocer doesn’t carry Bella Monica FlatBreads then please voice your desire for the product with a manager. Suggestions really work – no matter the size of the stores. Let the manager know he/she can purchase it from United Natural Foods (UNFI) – a national distributor of natural food products. You can even print off their product information sheet located here and give it to the manager.

Stay tuned for more information about additional grocery locations where you can find these awesome Gluten Free Pizzas! And also more information about the new GF Menu at Bella Monica!

Gourmet Frais Update

In October, I wrote about a new local company called Gourmet Frais, which is creating tasty gluten-free snack food items. See that post here. The French word Frais is defined as cool, crisp, fresh.

A few days ago, I received a taste testing package in the mail from the owner of Gourmet Frais, Susanna Wilde. It included the following items; Not Really Cheeze Krackers, Cherry Walnut Brownies, Cherry Walnut Hemp Brownies and Cacao & Creme Cookies.

All of the snack items made at Gourmet Frais are "Living Foods" which consists "primarily of fruits, vegetables, sprouted beans & grains, nuts and seeds. The nutritional value of the food is maintained and enzymatic activity preserved by baking below 115 °F".

I have to say that the snacks provided to me for taste testing were pretty tasty. I would recommend that we support (or continue to support) local companies who are catering to our GF needs. To see more of the products offered, click here.

More information from the Gourmet Frais Web site...

Gourmet Frais Snacks can help with:
-WEIGHT LOSS – without giving up snacks like brownies or crackers
-HEALTH CONCERNS such as heart disease or high cholesterol (& triglycerides)
-CUTTING sugar, chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors & flavors out of diet
-GLUTEN ALLERGY or CELIAC

Gourmet Frais snacks contain:
-NO Wheat
-NO Dairy
-NO Eggs
-NO Peanuts or other Legumes
-NO Shellfish
-NO chemicals
-NO preservatives
-NO artificial colors/flavors
-NO Sugar – sweetened with Dates, Raw Agave Nectar or Raw Honey

Gourmet Frais snacks are:
-All Natural & Healthy for You
-Organic (most ingredients)
-Made from “Living” ingredients from nature: Tree Nuts, Seeds, Fruits, Vegetables, Sprouted Grain (gluten free), and “Super Foods” like Cacao

Gourmet Frais snacks are NEVER baked above 115°F
-To preserve nutritional value
-To maintain enzymatic activity and aid in digestion
-To provide "living" food for living bodies

Gourmet Frais Brownies and Cookies are made w/ Raw Cacao - a "Super Food"
-Feed your body healthy ANTIOXIDANTS which many health experts say can help prevent many diseases, such as cancer.
-Help lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol to reduce risk of heart attack & stroke
-Help raise your levels of serotonin, phenylethylamine, and anandamide (known as the “bliss chemical”) all of which can both help elevate mood, reduce depression, and reduce PMS symptoms.
-Help your body produce endorphins giving you a "runner's high" like a jogger feels after a run.

Local Product Spotlight - Gourmet Frais

I recently received an email from Susanna Wilde in Fuquay-Varina. She has started a new business called Gourmet Frais which makes Gluten Free nutritious snacks. Susanna has multiple food allergies (wheat, dairy, potato, Vitamin A) so she decided to make her own versions of snack foods which would be safe for her to eat. As I have stated before, it is my intention to spotlight local companies who exist to make the lives of those who are Gluten Free easier. Gourmet Frais fits right into this category.

Currently, you can only get these items online at the website, but Susanna is also making plans to be a part of either the Cary or Raleigh Farmer's Market next season.

Right now, Gourmet Frais is offering the following products - everything is $10.00

• Not Really Cheeze Kracker (3 oz)
• Italian Garden Kracker (5 oz)
• Fiesta Chip (5 oz package)
• Cacao Nib Brownies (5.5 oz)
• Walnut Brownies (5.5 oz)
• Cherry Brownies (5.5 oz)
• Cherry Walnut Brownies (5 oz package)
• Walnut Hemp Brownies (5 oz)
• Cacao & Creme Cookies (5 oz)

I am currently working with Susanna to get a sample of some of her products. I will do a more detailed review at that time.

Please visit and support Susanna's company by visiting her website at www.gourmetfrais.com.

You can order online for delivery or pick up the items you order.

Local Product Spotlight - Bone Suckin' Sauce

When I started this blog, I intended to discuss all GF things in Raleigh in order to help others like me living the Gluten Free lifestyle. That includes restaurant reviews (since eating out is such a pain), where to find GF products in Grocery stores (more to come on this) as well as spotlighting local products.

Here is the first of my Local Product Spotlight series - Raleigh, North Carolina's own Bone Suckin' Sauce. According to its website, Bone Suckin' Sauce was created in 1987 by Raleigh resident Phil Ford while trying to copy his mother's recipe for a western NC-style barbecue sauce (for those of you who are new to North Carolina, Western-style translates to tomato based). For the next 5 years, Phil's family and friends encouraged him to market the sauce and in 1992 it finally happened. Then in 1994, Bone Suckin' won the "NC Battle of the Sauces". Later that year, the sauce was presented to 50,000 buyers at the International Fancy Food Show in New York City. This has lead to the sauce being exported to 40 countries.

If you have not tried Bone Suckin' Sauce, I highly suggest that you do. I have used this barbecue sauce for dipping, grilling and marinating (used it this past weekend to marinate chicken breasts for the NC State football game tailgate). The simple ingredients are as follows: Tomato Paste, Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, Molasses, Mustard, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Onions, Garlic, Peppers, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, Natural Spices, Salt & Xanthan Gum (A Natural Thickener).

Bone Suckin' Sauce can be found in the following grocery stores: Whole Foods, Earth Fare, The Fresh Market, Capital City Grocery, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Lowe's Foods and more (What's wrong with you Food Lion?). Basically, if you cannot find it you aren't looking hard enough. In addition, if you're too lazy to leave your house, you can buy Bone Suckin' on the company's website and have it delivered to your house.

In addition to Bone Suckin' Sauce, the company also makes the following products which are all Gluten Free.

• Bone Suckin' Sauce: Regular, Hot, Thicker Style, Hot Thicker Style
• Bone Suckin' Mustard
• Bone Suckin' Sauce Hiccuppin' Hot
• Bone Suckin' Seasoning & Rub
• Bone Suckin' Salsa: Regular and Hot
• Bone Suckin' Yaki (Contains Wheat but has less Gluten than 5 ppm)

I have recently tried the Bone Suckin' Mustard which is excellent as well.

Click here and here to see the company's website for allergy information.

ENJOY!

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Mr. Silly approves