It's a toss up between pizza and Dunkin' Donuts. Pizza was always my favorite food. While you can make your own gluten free pizza at home, I've never had much luck with some of the pizza dough mixes. I always get a nice crispy outer crust, but a raw center. Some of the frozen pizzas you can buy in the grocery stores are actually really good. Glutino makes smaller, personal sized pizzas (the spinach and feta pizza is great) and a store in New Jersey called Trader Joes makes their own brand that I like as well. Additionally, restaurants and pizzerias are starting to make their own gluten free pizzas. While I commend them on their efforts, it's really not the same!! It's just no match for pizzeria style pizza. Being that I grew up in New York and now live in New Jersey, we're pretty famous for our pizza up here. The fluffy, doughy crust is something I crave from time to time, and it's really not possible to have that gluten free.

I'm very much a dessert person, and I really miss any type of pastry. Again, being in New Jersey, there is a Dunkin' Donuts about every 200 feet down the road. A boston cream donut, chocolate glazed or french cruller would really make my morning sometimes, and I really do miss them. I did hear about some Dunkin' Donuts testing out some gluten free donuts in the Boston area and some south Florida locations. Let's hope this all works out and they make their way across the country.

It's pizza and french bread for me!

Like probably everyone, I've always loved pizza. Since I am both gluten-free and casein free, that pretty much rules out pizza. I've snuck in the occasional piece, hoping that somehow I could get it past my digestive system without it knowing. Well, it's obviously on high alert and will have none of that since the battle starts within the hour, or sooner, of the first bite. I've thought about gluten-free pizza, but the cheese is half the good stuff and I've not had any good cheese substitute, so for me, it's like what's the point?

Oh, and I love a good piece of french bread with butter. Yummy! But that's out too. Of course I've had gluten-free bread and margarine, but most of the time it's not even close.

Lesson learned: appreciate it while you can and don't take anything for granted!

Depending on whether or not you ask my son or me which foods we miss the most, our answers would differ greatly. When my son was diagnosed with autism, at the age of 3, one of the first measures I decided to take was to put him on a strict gluten-free, casein-free (GF/CF) diet. I had heard so much about it in the news, and had begun to connect with other parents who had success with this diet amongst their children.

When I made the decision to put my son on a GF/CF diet, I initially opposed it. After all, his favorite foods were pizza and ravioli- a gluten and casein ridden extravaganza! People proposed the thought of diet alterations in the past, but I opposed. "My son would starve!", I emplored. Then, I left working full-time to dedicate my time to helping my son break out of his autism. Time and time again, I was directed to the GF/CF diet.

I kind of gave it away before, but it was completely obvious that my son missed ravioli and pizza the most. He ate both of them almost every single day! I worked my tail off to find comporable alternatives, but at the time, I didn't do the best job. He simply had to live without his two favorite foods. By now, I have learned to work with Namaste Pizza Crust Mix- I make him pizza with it, as well as tiny fried dough portions he now calls "ravioli". It's definitely not like the ravioli he used to eat, but he's thrilled to eat it and devours it consistently!

Me, I wasn't so attached to typical foods... bread, pizza, grinders. I was always somewhat "against the grain". Without hesitation, I declare falafel as my favorite food in the universe. The tangy garbanzo mixture, paired with the toasted pita and crisp lettuce and tomato... heaven to me. I've been eating falafel for over 20 years now. Never have I encountered a Middle Eastern restaurant that's gluten-free.

Although my son and I have very different tastes, we both faced a challenge when we eliminated gluten from our diets. Less bloating, better sleep, better health... all very valid reasons why neither of us would ever decide to go back!

I have to echo most people here and say that the one gluten food I miss the most is pizza. I've found a pretty decent dough recipe that works, but it just hasn't been the same. I think the biggest thing I have learned about being gluten-free is to not try to find replacements for gluten foods, but to live a gluten-free lifestyle all together and discover the foods that are amazing naturally without gluten. With that being said, I still gotta have my pizza.

There are numerous pizza places that offer gluten-free pizza options, but truthfully I've gotten sick every time I've tried to have any. It's very easy to cross-contaminate in a gluten containing environment, but even more so where dough is made onsite. The best gluten-free pizza I've had I made with this recipe from the gluten-free goddess:

Ingredients:

1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup GF millet flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons organic light brown sugar
1 and 1/4 cups warm water (between 110 - 115ºF)
1 teaspoon organic light brown sugar - for proofing the yeast
1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup beaten organic free-range egg whites (or egg replacer for two eggs)
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions:

Grease two 12-inch baking sheet or pizza pan and dust lightly with gluten-free cornmeal or rice flour. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the GF flours and dry ingredients.

Proof the yeast in 1 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar.

Add the proofed yeast and water to the dry ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and vinegar.

Beat the dough until smooth and sticky. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water if you need to. The pizza dough should be creamy smooth and not too thick- it's not sturdy like typical bread dough. It almost borders on batter.

Using a silicone spatula divide the dough in half. Scoop each half onto the center of a prepared pizza pan. Using clean, wet hands press down lightly and flatten the dough to create a thin, even pizza shell, with slightly raised edges. You'll have to rinse your hands more than once to do this. Take your time to smooth out the dough with wet palms. Have patience, Bubela. You will be rewarded with a lovely crust. Promise.

Set the pizza shells in a warm cozy spot to rest and rise a bit- about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

When the oven is hot, place the two pizza pans side by side on the center rack (if your oven is too small to accommodate both pans on one rack, you'll need to use two racks; rotate the pans half way through baking time to avoid overcooking on the lower rack).

Bake for ten minutes till golden.

Remove from the oven. Preheat the broiler.

Brush the pizza shell with extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and fresh garlic.

Sprinkle with Italian herbs.

Top with your choice of fresh vegetables and herbs (and sauce, cheese, cooked meat etc). Drizzle extra virgin olive oil all over the top.

Broil briefly to melt the cheese, 4-5 minutes. Don't over cook

Makes two medium thick 12-inch pizzas or baking sheet style rectangles (a thinner crust makes a larger size).

This is the closest thing to a real pizza I've had. Remember to make sure all of your toppings are gluten-free! There are also numerous "par-baked" pizza crusts that are gluten-free available. Whole Foods has a great selection of choices, as well as Udi's.

On a different note, I made some delicious GF fried chicken the other night (another of my missed "gluten" foods). Here's my batter break down if any of you would like to give it a try. It's pretty much spot on with KFC if I do say so myself. It was epic.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of Sorghum Flour
1 cup of Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 cup Potato Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic and Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Cayenne
1/8 tsp Thyme

I like to use a buttermilk dredge, but plain milk or an egg will work just as well.

- Katrina