gluten free finds: banana leaf malaysian cafe {vancouver, bc}

While I was in Vancouver with my brother and his family, we ate at a little Malaysian cafe before biking along the coast. Banana Leaf Malaysian Cafe is a beautiful restaurant located about 5 minutes from Stanley Park. 

I ordered the Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood and Chicken. It was the most affordable option on the gluten free menu. That, and I love pineapple so it was kind of a no brainer for me. It's fried rice mixed with seafood, chicken, egg, raisins, corn, and sunflower seeds, served in a half pineapple boat. It was surprisingly a little bland, but adding salt brightened the flavors a bit.

Ryan and Bethany's meals were sadly not gluten free. Ryan ordered the Malaysian Spicy Papaya Seafood Soup (Malaysian soup made with tamarind juice, chili, ginger, and lemon grass with tomato, cilantro, and fresh seafood). He said his soup was also a little bland but after adding some Sriracha, he loved it. Bethany's was deemed the favorite. She had the Singapore Laksa (rice noodle in coconut soup base made of dried shrimps, chili, garlic, lemon grass and turmeric with bean sprout, cilantro, tofu, egg, chicken, fish-cake, squid and shrimps) along with an appetizer plate. It was a special they had going on that afternoon, so unfortunately I don't know if it is still available.

Overall, we really enjoyed the cafe! I wouldn't say it's somewhere you've got to go when in Vancouver, but if you're gluten free and want somewhere tried and proven, head there.

In other news, Bethany got me obsessed with this easy, gluten free snack. Vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries. You might be thinking, that's a parfait Bri, but no. It's so much better than a parfait. Why? The frozen blueberries are why. When you combine your yogurt and blueberries, the yogurt begins to freeze, making it, well, frozen yogurt. There's just something about it friends. It's so, so good. 

ohh canada

A few months ago, I spent a weekend in Tennessee with my family, enjoying time with my brother and his family before they moved to Vancouver for a business internship. This summer, they are moving to Central Asia to become English teachers and I couldn't be more excited for them!

The day before they left for Vancouver, all 4 of them came down with a nasty stomach bug. We had planned to spend that day together, but being that it was so contagious, I couldn't risk going. I was scheduled to leave for flight attendant training the following week and couldn't afford getting sick right before leaving. We quickly made plans for me to visit them in Canada before they headed overseas.

I arrived in Vancouver around 12:30pm and waited for Ryan at the airport. When he got there, we hopped on the train and headed to their apartment. Halfway through the hour long ride we had to switch trains, so we decided to stop off and grab lunch then. Located just outside of the train station is a street corner with a bunch of food trucks, so we had plenty of options to choose from. The best gluten free meal I could find was from Korean Mama Express. I ordered a beef rice noodle bowl crossing my fingers that there wouldn't be any gluten in it. Ryan opted for the Kaboom Box ordering the Salmon "Salmwich" with a side of Poutine. My dish was a little bland, but I still enjoyed it.

Sadly, when I got there, this little guy was sick. As the days passed, he only got worse and Josiah ended up catching it too. Evidently my timing is terrible when it comes to this family getting sick.

Later that day, we walked to a nearby park, talked, and played with the boys. It was wonderful.

The following day, we slept in, ran some errands, and headed into the city. Ryan and Bethany have had a few visitors in Vancouver since they've lived there so they quickly learned the best places to take me.

I can barely handle Isaac's face in this photo.

Vancouver has an abundance of bike trails along the coast, so we rented some bikes and set out on an absolutely stunning ride through Stanley Park!

I was feeling a little sick myself at this point, so I rented an electric bike to make the ride a little easier on me. Seriously, that thing was a rocket.

I've been dying to go biking for a while now. Clearly, by this ridiculous photo, you can tell I was stoked.

The view was incredible. Mountains and the ocean? Probably my favorite nature combo.

At one point, Bethany pointed towards the ocean and said she saw a sea otter. Ok. Those of you who have known me for a while know of my LOVE for otters. I nearly dove into the water to go find the little guy. Thankfully, he recognized my voice, popped up for a minute, waved to me, and went on his merry little way. It was bliss. God bless otters.

I don't know the story behind this so I did a little googling. To my surprise, I discovered that rock stacking has been around for years. Artists will stack them, oftentimes leaving no signature, allowing us to enjoy the artistry until wind or water knocks them down. Crazy huh?

Being that the boys were feeling poorly and the weather for the next few days wasn't the best, we stayed inside a good bit. I loved every minute of it. We talked and caught up the majority of the time but of course squeezed in a couple games of Carcassonne after the boys were asleep.

I am beyond thankful that I was able to go and visit them before they headed overseas. Our time together is so precious and sanctifying. I'm excited for their move and can't wait to visit them across the pond!

gluten free finds: reading terminal market {philadelphia, pa}

I was recently on a layover in Philly and as promised, here's a look at some gluten free food I found at Reading Market. From what I could tell, there weren't a lot of substantial meal options, but the market is huge so don't completely give up on a good meal at Reading.

As I was walking through the market, I asked around to see if there was anything gluten free there. A few employees told me about a bakery toward the back of the market. I immediately headed that way and found Flying Monkey Bakery. They sell flourless chocolate cake, cookies, and macaroons. While the sign only advertised 'flourless', I talked with one of the employees and he confirmed that they are in fact gluten free.

I opted to try the macaroon and chocolate cake.

In my opinion, Flying Monkey Bakery is a little overpriced for the size and quality of the product, but when options are limited, you go with what you can find. Thankfully, the guy gave me a discount. Holla. Both desserts were good but I definitely preferred the chocolate cake!

There is also a PA General Store in the market that has lots of touristy items, but if you look hard enough, you'll find some gluten free treats hidden in the back. Keep your eyes peeled at all times, you never know what you'll find.

As I said before, I'm sure there are more gluten free options at Reading Market but this is just what I stumbled upon during my last trip. Next time I'm there, I'll let you know if I find anything else. And as always, if you've been to Philly and know of any gluten free places to eat, let me know! I would love to try them next time I'm in the area!

crowded markets, cheesesteaks, & cannolis

I recently had a long layover in Philadelphia, PA and as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I indulged a bit. In the gluten. Due to my terrible decision to succumb to the gluten, I was sick the rest of my layover. So, if you're gluten free, reading this, and planning to go to Philadelphia...do not follow my example. It-was-not-worth-it. But, fear not gluten free friends! I found a handful of options there that you can read about here :)

We stayed at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown which was within walking distance of Reading Market (pronounced Redding). Another flight attendant that used to live in Philly recommended I go to there since it happened to be pouring rain when we arrived. The entire market is inside so I was still able to enjoy Philly and stay dry at the same time! (Unlike that one time in Miami) 

I love Reading. It is a crowded market filled with an assortment of local restaurants and shops selling fabric, herbs, homemade honey, etc.

One of my favorite parts was the produce section. There was a variety of options to choose from and I love that it was all locally grown.

Anndd...here comes the gluten. I had never tried a Philly cheesesteak before so I convinced myself that it was worth trying since I was actually in Philly! I was wrong. Gluten is bad. Cheesesteaks are delicious.

While I was thoroughly enjoying my cheesesteak, I became friends with one of the employees there, Kate. After chatting for a while, she insisted that I try a cannoli from another cafe in Reading. I figured I had already had some gluten, what would a little more hurt? Answer: a lot. It hurt a lot.

Ohh Kate. Thanks for the cannoli. It was insanely good.

At that point, Kate and I left Reading, chatted as we walked to the bus stop, and parted ways there. I headed back to the hotel to spend the rest of the evening in misery from my irresponsible gluten consumption. But overall, I had a great time in Philly (aside from the previously mentioned agony). There is so much to explore and I hope the next time I go the rain holds off so I can go out and see more of the city!

Until next time...xoxo

gluten free finds: chocolate chip banana bread

Prepare yourselves. This is one of my holy grail recipes. Ridiculously easy. Super quick. And insanely delicious. It's life-changing people. Well, if you like banana bread.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

     Ingredients:

     · 1 box gluten free yellow cake mix

     · 1 cup ripe bananas (mashed)

     · 1/2 cup butter (softened)

     · 3 eggs

     · semi-sweet chocolate chips

Begin by heating your oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, mashed bananas, softened butter, and eggs.

To mash the bananas I simply peel them, place them in a bowl, grab a fork, and mash away. I always use two ripe bananas and that's typically plenty. This time I used two and a half because I had a little leftover from a protein pancake recipe (recipe coming soon).

Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. 

One great thing about gluten free baking is that it's nearly impossible to over mix your ingredients. You may have seen "mix until combined, don't over stir" on recipes before. That warning is given so you don't activate the gluten which can toughen your bread/cake/treat. And since you don't have that issue in gluten free recipes, you shouldn't have a problem with the batter becoming tough. That being said, mix your heart out!

And this is what makes it so good. Chocolate chips. I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a bag in my loaf. It does end up being pretty chocolatey but that's how I like it. Part breakfast food, part dessert. Mmm. Of course, you could skip this step or substitute the chocolate chips for something else like nuts and still have delicious gluten free banana bread. But, don't skip this step. That would just be silly.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch loaf pan and pour in your batter.

The next part I learned through trial and error. You want to place foil over the pan the entire time your bread is baking to prevent overbrowning.

Bake a 9-inch loaf 55-60 minutes or if you're using an 8-inch loaf, bake for 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. I use a 9-inch loaf pan, baking it for 55 minutes, and it comes out perfect every time.

Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan. Voila.

Oh my gosh it is so good. If you make this recipe, let me know what you think!! Or if you substitute something for the chocolate chips, tell me what you used!

Bon appetite.