http://www.pannerizo.com/
1939 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J
Photo Friday: 100% Gluten-Free Bakery and Deli, Vancover
http://www.pannerizo.com/
1939 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J
Category: Canada
http://www.pannerizo.com/
1939 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J
Healthy Creations: A Specialty Bakery
Every time we go to Port Stanley, ON, my mom and I make a trip to the beautiful Woodland Cemetery to visit my grandmother. You may think it is morbid to call a cemetery beautiful, but this one really is quite peaceful and calming. Located on Springbank Drive in London, Ontario, this cemetery is still very much within the city limits. Shockingly, there are deer in the cemetery. I love when my mom tells me how much my grandparents would be thrilled to know there were deer there.
After visiting my grandparents plot, my mom and I were pleasantly surprised to see a huge “GLUTEN FREE BAKERY” sign across the street at a strip mall. My grandma used to live less than 2 miles from this storefront and I know she would be beyond excited to know that it is now there, just a short walk away from her hosue. Even with more than 500 miles between us, my grandmother joined a local Canadian Celiac support group to learn all she could about Celiac Disease.
As we entered Healthy Creations, I was excited to learn that they were only open a few weeks. Not only do I love going to new gluten-free places, but I love when I am one of the first ones there. After talking to the owners, though, I realized I wasn’t one of the first people there. Apparently only a few days before our visit, the A Channel was there and by the next day the gluten-free stock of Healthy Creations was almost sold out! The shelves were a little bit bare, but my mom and I still managed to buy a loaf of sorghum bread, peanut butter, cranberry lemon, and chocolate chip cookies, blueberry and chocolate chip muffins and a package of wraps. I told you we eat a lot on vacation!
Healthy Creations London is actually the bakery’s second location. The original location is in Windsor, Ontario, which originally opened in 1998 as a made-to-order buisness. Chris Brecka, the founder of the bakery, has a son with Celiac Disease. As I feel my diagnosed saved my life, Chris also felt her son’s diagnosis saved his life. Two years after Chris’s son was diagnosed, so was her youngest daughter. I always feel like the best gluten-free products are baked out of love and Healthy Creations was a true testament to my belief!
Both the London and Windsor locations are 100% gluten-free so there is no need to worry about cross-contamination at either bakery. In addition to gluten-free products, Healthy Creations also has some products that are sugar-free, low sugar, nut-free, corn-free, egg-free, yeast-free, and casein-free. Lucky for me I am only gluten-free, so I was able to enjoy everything that we purchased that day.
Out of everything I tried, I loved the cranberry lemon cookie the best. I wish I bought more than one. I also really liked the wrap which resembled more of a pita bread than a wrap. Unfortunately, those got crushed in my bag on the way back to New York City so I only enjoyed two full wraps while in Canada. My sister and her kids try to avoid many grains, but the all enjoyed the sorghum bread. Overall, we really enjoyed the Healthy Creations assortment that we picked up that day. We will definitely go back on our next visit to London, ON.
Healthy Creations: Gluten Free Bakery
502 Springbank Drive
London, Ontario N6J 1G8
519-472-0111
Healthy Creations: Gluten Free Bakery
333 Dougall Square
Windsor, Ontario N9G 1S7
519-250-4272
Gluten-Free in Port Stanley, Ontario
This summer I had the pleasure of vacationing in one of my favorite places in the world, Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada. There is something special about Port Stanley. It isn’t a fancy resort town, I slept in a bunk bed all week, and the shower was about 3ftX3ft. Yet, I have been coming here for years and I love it more each time I come here. My mom grew up vacationing in Port Stanley every summer with her three sisters and my grandmother had a house up on Front Street until she could no longer live on her own. Even after my grandmother passed away 10 years ago, we continued to come up to Port Stanley as a family simply because Port Stanley is very special to us.
Port Stanley is in Southwestern Ontario, about 25 miles south of the beautiful city of London, ON. It is on the north shore of Lake Erie and our cottages are less than a block from the beautiful sandy beach. For those of you who have never been to a Great Lake before, the sheer size is awe-inspiring. It looks (and even acts) like an ocean.
A big part of our vacation to Port Stanley is doing a whole lot of nothing. We walk to town, we walk to the beach (it’s right on Lake Erie), we nap, we read, and we eat. A lot. As with all of my trips, I do my research before getting to my destination. I remember from my last trip to Port Stanley in the summer of 2008 that my mom found a small shop in town that sold a few gluten-free desserts. Although I can’t remember if it was the same place or not, there is a small cafe in town that sells gluten-free food.
Killer Desserts has gluten-free bread available for sandwiches as well as a few sweet treats. The selection isn’t big, but it is a nice place to stop and pick up something before heading to watch the drawbridge go up. Yep, that’s a highlight of our week in laid-back Port Stanley. Fine with me.
Killer Desserts
291 Bridge Street
Port Stanley, Ontario N5L 1C2
Telephone 519-782-9987
Gluten-Free Vancouver: Panne Rizo
Panne Rizo Bakery Cafe
http://www.pannerizo.com/
1939 Cornwall Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J
In September 2009, 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!
