Celiac Disease Awareness Night with the Ottawa Senators

I was super excited to learn about this Celiac Awareness Night with the Ottawa Senators. My Canadian family is obsessed with hockey, it's in their blood. Also, the Canadian Celiac Association was the first national organization that my family joined because my grandma lived in Canada. The CCA was also a wonderful host for me this summer in St. John's, Newfoundland at their national conference. So when I saw they were having a celiac hockey fundraiser night, I knew I had to share the news.

Please read below about the event in March and buy your tickets!

We are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with the Ottawa Senators to organize a Celiac Disease Awareness Night on Saturday, March 4th at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Your purchase will not only entitle you to enjoy some exciting Saturday night hockey, but the Ottawa Senators will donate a portion of your ticket price to the CCA to help support our important awareness, research and restaurant training programs.

It’s on a Saturday night, so bring the whole family and have a great time! You’ll watch the Sens face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canadian Tire Centre is proud to offer gluten-free food and beverage options.

You can choose from the variety of pricing options. To browse and buy, with part of your ticket price being donated to the CCA, you MUST visit this page:
www.ottawasenators.com/CELIAC 

Be sure to use the promo code CELIAC when you complete checkout.

The Canadian Tire Centre is easily reached, as it is situated right beside Ottawa’s Highway 417, the major thoroughfare of the city. We encourage you to stay for the weekend and enjoy all that Ottawa has to offer! You can easily get to the arena from any downtown hotel – there is direct bus service with OC Transpo.

Please email cca.communications@celiac.ca if you have any questions. See you on the ice!
 

Restaurant Spotlight: Panne Rizo

Panne Rizo Bakery Cafe
http://www.pannerizo.com/
1939 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J

Last September, I took a wonderful trip to Vancouver, BC. I had never been in the Pacific Northwest before so I traveled out to Seattle and Vancouver before I started my new job. Seattle was nice, but I LOVED Vancouver. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The juxtaposition of the mountains, water, and city made for some really gorgeous scenery. I went hiking, biking, and shopping. I also managed to seek out at least two gluten-free venues while I was there. There was one bakery in Northern Vancouver that was non-existent, I probably should have called ahead. On my last day in Vancouver, I wanted to go to Kits Beach and I knew there was a gluten-free cafe in that neighborhood.

From before I even walked into Panne Rizo, I was impressed. Right in their front window was a sign for a monthly Celiac meeting hosted by the restaurant.



I knew I was in a "safe" place when the next thing I noticed when I went inside was the Gluten-Free Premises sign.



This place definitely was a place I could dine without worry. Their menu is small but enticing. All of the items on their menu are 100% gluten-free. On the menu that day was chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, grilled paninis, soup, and sandwiches made on their rice bread.



I chose the goat cheese with pesto and pine nuts sandwich. The goat cheese was creamy and the rice bread was toasted, an almost must for gluten-free breads. I thought the bread was typical gluten-free bread in terms of a slightly crumbly texture, but the flavor was nice. The goat cheese actually held the open-faced sandwich together pretty well and the pesto added a nice flavor to the whole sandwich.



In addition to the lunch menu, Panne Rizo also has a wall full of gluten-free products including cookies, breads, and locally produced gluten-free flours and mixes from the Sweet Rice Baking Company.



Since I was leaving Vancouver to drive back to Seattle to catch my flight, I thought I would get some goodies for the road. I picked up two gluten-free carrot muffins. I am a sucker for sweet cream cheese frosting, so this was a good choice. It was just the right amount of sweet nice with nice bits of carrot throughout the muffin.



If you are headed to Vancouver any time soon, I highly recommend stopping here to pick up lunch before hit Kits Beach which is only two blocks away. Kits Beach was empty the day I went, but it has one of the most beautiful views of the city and mountains while sitting on the beach!