Green Earth Vegetarian Cuisine

Last weekend, I made my first visit to Green Earth, a vegetarian restaurant which offers mostly vegan dishes. The menu is pretty extensive, offering mostly pan-asian food with a few random burritos and burgers tossed in for kicks.

I actually had a pretty difficult time ordering here. The menu is not very descriptive and they use the word “protein” to describe meat substitutes in their dishes. This is a bit deceptive for people avoiding gluten. Does protein mean tofu, beans, nuts or fake meats? The concern here is that fake meats all contain gluten. At least, I certainly haven’t found one that doesn’t. They are a mixture of soy protein, wheat gluten, flavours, fats and chemicals that come together to look and taste like meat. A lot of people confuse fake meats with tofu, which is just plain soy bean curd and does not contain gluten (unless it is flavoured with soya sauce or processed in some glutenous way).

I asked our server what exactly “protein” meant on their menu. She explained that it was fake meat, which meant I couldn’t have any. I explained the issue to her, and she offered to talk with the chef to double check whether there was gluten in their fake meats. When she returned from the kitchen, she assured me that their fake chicken didn’t have any gluten. WOW! Oh my! I actually got pretty excited about trying it out! But, then I got suspicious, and asked to see the packaging label so I could check the ingredients for myself. Sure enough, wheat was at the top of the ingredients list. BOOH! I explained this to our server, but she tried to tell me the label didn’t say “gluten”, so it was ok. Um, no. That's not how it works. Where there is wheat, there is gluten. I did my best to explain this, but she didn’t seem to believe me.

Don’t get me wrong here – the staff was actually very kind, caring and attentive. Just totally clueless about gluten. Too bad.

In the end, I ordered a sweet and sour stir-fry with plain tofu instead of their “protein”. They graciously agreed to do this without a problem. The meal was ok. I found it to be on par with the low price. The flavour was good and the presentation wasn't exceptional, but it was cheap, so you can overlook a few things for the price. For dessert, my buddy and I shared a banana split made with tofutti ice cream. It was really delicious! I should mention that there is some debate whether this ice cream is indeed gluten-free. The ingredients don’t contain gluten, but the company has stated there is a risk of cross contamination. But, I threw caution to the wind and ate it anyway! It was easily the best part of the meal!

Green Earth is certainly a decent clean and friendly place for an inexpensive meal. But, I’d advise caution if you plan on eating GF here. The staff was just a little too untrained in the hidden sources of gluten for my comfort. With sadness, I must give this place one thumb down.

Green Earth Vegetarian Cuisine 
354A Preston Street
Ottawa, ON
(613) 563-2784
Map

Spring Thaw Craft Sale

Three Cheers Cupcakes will be featuring gluten-free key lime cupcakes at the Spring Thaw Craft Sale this weekend. Swing by and admire some great local arts and crafts while munching on a little something sweet.


Get there early - GF cupcakes will sell out FAST!

The details are as follows:

Date: Sunday, March 28, 2010
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Routhier Community Centre
Street: 172 Guiges ave.
City: Ottawa, ON

Over 30 vendors offering paintings, crafts, clothing, accessories, jewellery, beauty products, and yummy treats!! $2 entrance fee for a chance to win door prizes from all vendors. Tickets will be drawn every hour!!

Hope to see ya there!

Bakery Goodness

Last Wednesday, I had the best day. The sun was a-shining, and I guess the infusion of vitamin D just put a bounce in my step and a smile on my face.

I usually avoid bakeries because I know my luck is pretty bad there, but I felt so good that day, I decided to look around a bit. Just to see if I might, possibly, maybe find something sweet for myself. I wandered onto Elgin street with high hopes, in search of the prized sweet treat. My first stop was Brown Loaf Bakery. It was also my last stop.

As soon as I stepped foot inside, I was welcomed by the aroma of freshly baked goodies. Mmmm! I started to look around. Croissants – nope. Turnovers – nope. Pies – nope.

But wait!

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a little hand-made addition to the label for macaroons that read “gluten-free”. Success! Then, I started spotting gluten-free goodies everywhere! Date squares, mini cheesecakes, plus regular and chocolate-dipped macaroons. Whoa! After some deliberation, I settled on a chocolate-dipped macaroon. I was eyeing those date squares mighty bad, but they were too big for me to handle after my filling lunch.

I brought the macaroon back to work, with the intention of having it with a cup of tea. It didn’t last long enough for me to have any tea. It was delicious! Very fresh and moist. I think I’d probably like the plain macaroon better than the chocolate-dipped version, but that’s just me.

A couple days later, I went back for one of those date squares. It looked normal enough at first, but when I later opened up my pack to take a bite, I noticed something different. The crust was made of sesame seeds and crushed almonds. Intriguing. How is exactly is this supposed to taste good, I wondered. I skeptically took a bite and was pleasantly surprised! The date filling was thick and satisfying. The crust was sweet, crunchy and nutty. The date square was all too big for me to eat in one sitting, but otherwise, I was quite happy with it!

Brown Loaf bakes all of its goods in the same facility, so beware if you are hyper sensitive to gluten. Otherwise, I’d definitely recommend this place for a treat.

Happy snacking!

Brown Loaf Bakery
268 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Phone: +1 613 236 3255
Map 

Drinks and Dessert

By golly, Preston Street has turned into a little heaven of gluten-free surprises!

A friend and I wandered into Stoneface Dolly’s last week to sip on a drink and chat. This was not intended to be a gluten-free “prospecting” adventure, as so many of my outings are nowadays. But, it turned into a discovery nonetheless! As it turns out, they serve gluten-free beer! (La Messagère) The only other place I’ve discovered that does this is Pub Italia. Stoneface seemed pretty interested in carrying different varieties, so I gave some recommendations. We’ll see what happens!

They also always carry a gluten-free chocolate-kahlua cake, which I hear is awesome.

I didn’t ask much about the menu itself, but I assume it must be pretty GF-friendly if they have the beer and dessert to go with it! I will need to make another visit to investigate…

Stoneface Dolly’s 
416 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario
(613) 564-2222
Map

Another Gem in Little Italy

Last night was an evening of celebration. My good friend had been job hunting for a while, and finally landed a really interesting one! So, some merriment was in order!

We made our way to Little Italy and wandered into this cute-as-a-button restaurant called Il Piccolino.

My first thought: “Please let me be able to eat here!”

I asked our server whether they happened to have gluten-free pasta, and she said they usually always did, but that they were out that night. Too bad for me! But, still, I was really happy to discover another place where I could get it! Great!

I ended up having a roasted red pepper soup (delicious) and the Insalata Rustica, as the main course. The salad was topped with pan-seared zucchini, roasted red peppers, portobellos (instead of the goat cheese pour moi) and fragrant lavender dressing. Not to mention the fabulous Six Rows Shiraz we had. The entire meal was scrumptious! And, it really made me want to return for some of that promised pasta at a later date!

This place was really cute and accommodating. There was another gluten-free table next to us, and a table of vegans/vegetarians behind us, and the restaurant was happy to customize all of our meals with no problem whatsoever. Plus, the service was impeccable! I was truly impressed!

That makes another one for the list!

Il Piccolino
449 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario
613-236-8158
Map

New Developments in Fighting Celiac Disease

Canadian researchers are testing a new drug for patients who suffer from a chronic digestive disorder called celiac disease, which appears to be afflicting a growing number of people.

The disease is caused by an abnormal response to gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and other common foods. Many medicines and vitamins also contain the protein, meaning those with celiac are forced to stick to strict diets.

Common symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, bloating and diarrhea.

There is no cure for the disease, and the only way to avoid the symptoms is to avoid gluten. About one in 100 Canadians suffer from the disease, and that number appears to be growing.

The disease damages structures in the lining of the small intestine called villi, which in turn impairs the body's absorption of nutrients.

Catherine Panejko, 20, was diagnosed with celiac a year ago, and even a single drop of a wheat product can trigger fatigue, bloating, weight loss and anemia.

"I can't eat cakes, yogurts. I have to be careful with ice cream, (gluten) is in everything -- even rice crackers," she said.

Panejko is now one of the patients trying a new drug called Larazati. The treatment is designed to protect the digestive tract against the damaging disorder.

According to researchers, the drug could make life easier for thousands......

Read the full story HERE .