Caesar’s Kitchen Gluten-Free Pasta Meals

Caesar's Kitchen recently sent me free samples of their brand new gluten-free frozen pasta meals. Caesar’s Pasta, the New Jersey-based pasta expert with 50 years of experience, launched this new Certified Gluten-Free line of fresh-from-the-freezer gourmet pasta meals just a few months ago. The new meals include Gourmet 3 Cheese Herb Rigatoni & Meat Sauce and Gourmet Buffalo Style Chicken Mac & Cheese with Cheddar and Blue Cheese Sauce, both of which are gluten-free.

Caesar’s Kitchen features:

• Convenient single-serve meals
• Amazing taste – you won’t believe its Gluten Free!
• Free of rBST hormones and antibiotics
• Zero preservatives, artificial flavors or trans fats
• Great solutions for anyone in the family (work lunches, play dates, sleepovers, off to college or any time)

I first tried the 3 Cheese Herb Rigatoni with Meat Sauce and was pleasantly surprised at the yummy real cheese in this pasta meal. It didn't feel gritty or watery like some cheese-based pasta sauces do in frozen meals. I also liked the way the pasta cooked up in the oven. It gave it more of a baked ziti type of taste and texture. The only downfall is that I don't have a microwave and preparing this dish took much longer than I would have liked. I set the timer for 20 minutes as indicated on the box, but it took almost 45 minutes to heat and eat and I had to bump up the cooking temperature to over 400 degrees.

Next, I tried the Buffalo Style Chicken Mac & Cheese for lunch one day. Blue cheese is not my favorite so I didn't love this meal but I ate it because I was hungry. It does have a kick to it, so if you like spicy you will probably enjoy this dish. I had the same problem with heating this meal and had to cook it for 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Keep this in mind if you aren't using a microwave!

Overall, I enjoyed the 3 Cheese Herb dish the best but I probably won't buy it any time soon since I don't have easy access to a microwave. If I was traveling and saw these at the store and my hotel had a microwave, this would be a good option for a quick non-restaurant, gluten-free meal.

Thank you Caesar's Kitchen for the opportunity to try your new products.

3 Cheese Herb Rigatoni & Meat Sauce

Buffalo Style Mac & Cheese

Nutritional panel from 3 Cheese Rigatoni 

Find Caesar’s Kitchen (caesarskitchen.com) at select retailers, including Whole Foods, Wakefern and ShopRite. The price for these gluten-free pasta meals ranges from $4.49 - $5.99.

You can learn more about Caesar's Kitchen from their social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.



Please note, I was sent free product from Caesar's Kitchen but this does not influence my review. Opinions are my own. 

Celiac Disease Foundation Gluten-Free Expo

CDF Gluten-Free EXPO

Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, CA

June 3 & 4, 2017

For a limited time, you can buy discount attendee tickets to the Celiac Disease Foundation EXPO. Now you can purchase $16 adult tickets and $8 children tickets with THIS LINK.

Attracting thousands of foodies in the gluten-free community, the CDF Gluten-Free EXPO features more than 100 leading companies from across the country that showcase their newest and best gluten-free products and services.

EXPO Hall Times:
Saturday, June 3 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday, June 4 10:00 am  – 4:00 pm

Discounted EXPO Pricing
$16 for adults
$8 for children

This year's EXPO will feature gluten-free beer tasting, cooking demos, raffles, book signings, photo booths, and more!

The first 500 attendees entering the EXPO Hall each day will receive an official EXPO Swag Bag
filled to the brim with more than $100 worth of gluten-free goodies!

For more information, visit celiac.org/cdf-conference or email info@celiac.org

2nd Annual Celiac Disease and Gluten Related Disorders Family Education Day

The Pediatric Celiac Disease & Gluten Related Disorders Program at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City is hosting their 2nd Annual Celiac Disease and Gluten Related Disorders Family Education Day on May 21, 2017. I was honored to be a speaker at their first event last year and happy to see they are hosting this event again. This event is perfect for both parents and kids. There are informative speakers for the grown-ups and gluten-free activities for the kids.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

10:00am-2:00pm

Natural Gourmet Institute

48 W 21st St #2, New York, NY 10010

To register, please contact Kenza.Hill@nyumc.org. Space is limited! All adults are welcome but children should be ages 7-12.


To learn more about the Pediatric Celiac Disease & Gluten Related Disorders Program, visit:

http://nyulangone.org/conditions/celiac-disease-in-children

Celebrating Snacky Hour with Enjoy Life Foods

Last week, I was invited to a girls night happy hour at my friend Anita's house. I knew Anita's daughter had celiac disease so I decided to bring along some Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chip cookies for us to enjoy. I figured if I wasn't eating anything else at the party I could safely eat, at least I would have some cookies. Let the Enjoy Life "Snack Hour" begin!

As I drove to the party, I couldn't help but laugh when I looked over at my pocketbook sitting on the passenger seat. It was one of those "You know you are a celiac when..." moments. Some people smuggle booze and cigarettes in their bags. Apparently, I smuggle gluten-free cookies.

When I arrived at my friend's house, I was greeted warmly by friends I haven't seen since my wedding. I was handed a glass of wine and was also shown to the "safe plate" in the kitchen. Like I said, my friend's daughter has celiac so she knew the importance of keeping a plate separate for me. My plate already had dips scooped out from uncontaminated bowls and carrot sticks cut ahead of time. As my friend brought out new dishes to the party, she always served me first before anyone else could contaminate the dip with gluten. To say this was a relief was an understatement. I wish every hostess could be as kind and understanding as Anita. She went above and beyond to feed me deliciously and safely that night and I am so grateful.

My "safe plate" kept away from contaminants!

Anita fed me so well that night, that we never made it to the Enjoy Life cookies. I was stuffed from all of the yummy gluten-free appetizers she fed me at the party. I am sure that one of her four kids dove right into the cookies as soon as the grown-ups left and hope her celiac daughter managed to wrestle them away from her brothers!

While I didn't eat any Enjoy Life cookies at the party, I did eat some over the weekend and had time to really appreciate the extra steps my friend took so I could #EatFreely at her house.

Enjoy Life's recent "Snacky Hour" campaign is their way of giving us permission to #EatFreely by breaking up the normal, everyday routine. It's time to take a break and find enjoyment in our daily lives with delicious snacks that are free of allergens and worry. And more importantly, it is a reminder to Enjoy Life!






Disclosure: I received free Enjoy Life product in exchange for writing a review on this blog. There are no affiliate links in this post. 

Celebrating Celiac Awareness Month with Gluten-Free Cake

Happy Celiac Awareness Month everyone! 

It's been a very busy few months for me as I planned my gluten-free wedding. I have a big post about how I pulled that off, but first we need to celebrate. This is a month to focus on the positive, spread awareness about celiac disease, and help our community grow.

How do you plan on celebrating celiac awareness month?

Me? I am going to eat the rest of my gluten-free wedding cake from By the Way Bakery in New York City! We only had a small part of the top left and it was too good to save until our first anniversary.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all May long as I celebrate my 35+ years of living with celiac disease!