Gluten Free Treats in Larchmont Village, Los Angeles

When I saw the sandwich board on the sidewalk outside of The Larchmont Bungalow today I nearly fell over. It read "Gluten Free Desserts" and something about a new vegan menu. Of course I had to run in and check out the glass encased sweets.

I stood there on the wide plank wooden floor of this fabulous eatery that screams seaside village joint on Cape Cod. I peered into the dessert case to find creamy white frosted cupcakes with bright pink and yellow sprinkles on them next to a sign reading "Gluten Free Cupcakes". That was fine but not nearly as decadent and tempting as the mini chocolate bundt cakes situated to their immediate right. Oh, now you're talking.

So were they any good? What was the texture like? The flavor? Ok, you're going to think I'm a seriously lame blogger when I tell you that I did not order either of the aforementioned treats. I was just way to sugared out from Christmas and my own sickeningly delicious chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies to try something new.

The point is, and I do have a good one, THERE ARE GLUTEN FREE DESSERTS IN LARCHMONT!!! Go try them for yourself and see what you think.

For information on living a Delicious and Healthy Life, check out my website at http://www.deliciousandhealthy.com/

To get one of my books, now available in Whole Foods Markets in the Los Angeles area, click here.

The Best Raw Snacks Ever!

I was in the kitchen at Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood, California preparing to teach a class when an angel floated in. She bestowed two huge bags full of her culinary gifts for me to sample, gave me a heartfelt hug and left. I was excited. I love food and presents and she had delivered both!

The angel in the kitchen was Susan O'Brien, the owner of Hail Merry raw food products. It's a Dallas, Texas based company with some of the best products I have ever tasted in the gluten free, raw, vegan world of foodstuffs.

Her "Grawnola" is scrumptious! She dehydrates the nuts (after soaking them in filtered water to release the enzymes), seeds and gluten free oats then mixes them with pure cane sugar and cinnamon. This is a great morning cereal or snack to take with you where ever you go.

Other treats she provided included gluten free macaroons, chili spiced pecans and lemon thyme pecans. All were extremely well balanced in their flavors. She certainly knows what she is doing in the kitchen!

The most impressive of all her gifts to me were her gluten and dairy free Merry's Miracle Chocolate Tarts. I have had numerous raw food chocolate desserts and have made many of them myself. These were, by far, the best I have tried. In fact, her tart won in the Natural Foods Expo West for best new product out of, are you ready for this? - thirty six hundred entries! Yeah, they are that good!

Now available in most Whole Foods Markets around the country, you can get her delicious treats too. Or, order online by clicking here.

Many thanks to Susan O'Brien and her angelic treats. Even if you are not into raw foods, try them. They are far better than most cooked foods I have had!