Pizza

I am often asked what product I use for various foods on the Gluten Free diet. As more and more people are needing to go on this diet for various medical reasons, they are looking for substitutes for their favorite foods. Tastes are varied, so what one person raves about, another will hate. But, I though I would start writing some posts on foods we have tried and liked.

Today, I was asked about pizza, so I will share about that.

While some dishes we will all eat gluten free, pizza is one of those things that Jessica gets GF and the rest of us eat gluten. At home, I will make a pizza with a whole grain crust for us and I will grab a Kinnikinnick frozen crust out of the freezer for Jessica and add toppings like I do for our pizza, being careful not to have any cross contamination from our crust to hers. That means putting the sauce and cheese on her pizza first. She has her own toaster oven that is strictly Gluten Free and I will cook it in there while our pizza bakes in the oven. This works out well and she likes the crust. A box comes with four personal size crusts.



Occasionally, we will go the quick route and eat a frozen pizza. We usually all eat some version of an Amy's Pizza as she uses natural ingredients with non of those nasty additives we avoid. Jessica gets the rice crust pizza. Occasionally we will share one of these and everyone likes it. For frozen pizza Amy's is pretty good.



Eating out can be a challenge. There are a few places that make a gluten free pizza. Francesca's in St. Peters makes a pretty good GF that Jessica likes. We have eaten there occassionally, but since we prefer Imo's we often grab her a pizza at Francesca's or make one at home and then take it with us. Not the most ideal situation for her.

Uno's Chicago grill makes awesome pizzas and had a Gluten Free version that was really delicious. That was a great place to go where the whole family could eat. But, with it not being as close and being a bit pricey, it was a special occasion place. Unfortunately, both St. Louis locations recently closed.

Most exciting for us is that three local Cecil Whittaker's started offering GF pizza recently. One of them is located in St. Charles near Jessica's school. This is great because we love the St. Louis style pizza and this offered us an opportunity to all eat as a family. The pizza is good and, best of all, CW does not charge an arm and a leg for it as many places do. Jessica and I often stop there for a pizza between her club meetings at school.

There are a few other places that offer GF pizza's around the city. Pi makes gourmet pizza that I have heard rave reviews on. Given that Jessica is happy with the standard cheese pizza, we have not ventured there.

Andrea's Fine Foods makes a great GF pizza and sells frozen crusts as well. I have bought them occassionally, but they are a bit trickier to cook and since Jessica really prefers a plain cheese pizza, I found that Kinnikinnick works well for us. But, if you like a more gourmet type pizza, Andrea's makes them pretty good. I am always tempted by her Spinach Artichoke Pizza, but since Jessica wouldn't eat it, I rarely buy it.

Andrea's is a great source for GF free foods. Her food is DELICIOUS! You can't tell it is gluten free. They are a dedicated Gluten Free, Nut Free bakery, that also carries some egg and dairy free items as well. Most of her items also meet our Feingold standards as well, with no artificial additives. We can buy her plain cupcakes, but not the iced ones.

Several companies make a GF pizza crust mix. But, I find it easier not to deal with gluten and GF flours all at the same time. Rolling dough out can cause a cross contamination nightmare and with pizza it's just easier to grab her crust and get it in the oven before I start messing with our dough. That's just me.