- Good food, good company, good advice from Grandma

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This post is brought to you by Ted’s Montana Grill

Last week Fabgrandpa and I were invited to Ted’s Montana Grill in Marietta, Georgia to try the bison on the menu. We asked our friends, Elaine and Denney, to meet us there.

Denney said “She’s not taking pictures again is she?”

Ted’s Montana Grill began when Ted Turner and George McKerrow Jr. joined forces to bring a dream of creating a restaurant that would share his love of Big Sky Country and its tradition of hearty food. He also wanted to celebrate an American icon: The bison. The first Ted’s Montana Grill opened in Columbus, Ohio in 2002. Now every Ted’s serves up meals made with the ingredients and hospitality that define the Great American West while also preserving and building the bison herds in America. (from Ted’s Montana Grill website)

Fabgrandpa started out his meal with the Kale Salad. This was a delicious combination of roasted corn, anaheim pepper, vine-ripened tomato, and fresh herbs, with vinaigrette dressing. I tasted it and would likely order it next time we go. I, of course, had the Crab Cake Appetizer.

Ted’s version of Crab Cakes was pretty good. It was served with a bit of guacamole and kale salad.

Next, I ordered the George’s Cadillac Bison Burger. It was huge! The toppings on the Cadillac were BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, chipotle ranch dressing, and onion straws. To get it gluten free, ask to leave off the bun and the onion straws. I was distracted when the food was served, and completely forgot to take a picture of my meal! I just can not believe I did that. The plate was completed by french fries.

Fabgrandpa loves meatloaf. He orders it whenever it on the menu anywhere we go. This meatloaf was made with bison, and a very generous portion was served. I did not taste it, but Fabgrandpa loved it, and ate every bit. It came with real mashed potatoes, gravy, a biscuit, and squash casserole.

Checking to make sure we had everything we needed.

When I saw the squash casserole, I ordered a side for myself, and I have to say, it was the best squash casserole I have ever had in a restaurant. It tasted like the squash casserole that my Mother makes.

Elaine's Bison Meatloaf. — Elaine’s Bison Meatloaf.

Elaine also ordered the meatloaf. She told me she has been to Ted’s before, and loves their meatloaf.

Denney's Cheddar Burger — Denney’s Bacon Cheese Burger

I did get a photo of Denney’s Bacon Cheese Burger, but it doesn’t show the goodness of it, just the bun mostly. The Bacon Cheeseburger comes with cheddar or swiss cheese, bacon, and grilled onions.

Inside Ted's Montana Grill — Inside Ted’s Montana Grill

Besides burgers and meatloaf, the menu has a varied selection: fish, chicken, and meatloaf sandwiches; entrée salads such as Balsamic Blue Steak Salad, Caesar Grilled Chicken Salad; Steaks, Pot Roast, Salmon, Roasted Chicken, and more. The Desserts menu looked pretty good but we were all too full to try any. There were Strawberry Shortcake, Wildberry Cheesecake, Haagen Daas Ice Cream to name just a few.

There is a gluten free menu available, as well as a kids menu. Elaine had a cup of coffee that made me wish I had ordered it because it smelled so good!

Burgers are priced in a range of $11 to $18, the meatloaf is $16. Sandwiches are in the $11 to $13 range. We had a late lunch that was very filling, and left us with no need to have a supper later. We felt that the prices were fair for the foods that were served.

Check the locator to see if there is a Ted’s near you.

iGormet.com: The Place To Find All Your Gourmet Items Online

Karen · 25 Comments

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This post is sponsored by igourmet.com

Have you heard of igourmet.com? igourmet.com is the place to go if you are looking for exotic, specialty, or gourmet food items for your next party or special dinner. They carry everything from meats & seafood; oils & vinegars; to breads; spices & sweeteners; and more.

There are also prepared meals; gift baskets; monthly clubs; and gift cards. There are endless ideas for gifting, cooking, snacking, or finding ideas for trying new recipes and foods. Have you been thinking about trying a recipe from Greece, Thailand, Morrocco, or China? You can find items from over twenty-five countries at igourmet.com. The best part is, you can order them all in one place!

I like that there is a wide selection of gluten free items available at igourmet.com. They sent me a Gluten Free Gift Basket to try out a variety of items from their massive selection, and I have to say that all of it was delicious.

This was a very generous gift basket that retails for $99.99. Inside, there were crackers, cheeses, meats, spaghetti sauce and gluten free spaghetti noodles, and even a cheese knife. Here is the list of things in the basket:

La Veneziane Gluten-Free Italian Pasta: Any gluten-free gift needs to start with a gluten-free pasta. Here we have included one of the best corn-based examples from La Veneziane of Italy. (8.8 oz)
Vino de Milo Pasta Sauce: An all-natural, no-sugar-added, gluten-free tomato sauce to pair with the pasta. (16 oz)
American Provolone by BelGioioso: All BelGioioso cheeses are gluten-free and can be enjoyed with confidence. Their American Provolone is an excellent pasta topper as well as a wonderful all-around performer. (7.5 oz)
Cabot Vintage Choice Cheddar: Cabot’s best cheddar is called “Vintage Choice.” Each block of Vintage Choice is hand-selected by Cabot’s president. Aged undisturbed for 18 to 24 months, limited edition Vintage Choice is complex, opulent and full of nuances. (7.5 oz)
Gluten Free Crackerthins Australian Potato Crackers: A twist on our best-selling Crackerthins, these premium gluten-free crackers uses potato starch for a distinctive crunch and buttery flavor. These gluten-free crackers are great with the fine cheese included here. (5.3 oz)
Sopressata by Creminelli: People who follow a gluten-free diet tend to snack on meats rather than wheat-based snacks like pretzels. Creminelli meats are handmade under the supervision of master artisan, Cristiano Creminelli. Cristiano insists on using choice cuts of meat from select breeds, fed with organic white grains and raised on small family farms. Organic spices are employed cautiously in the European tradition to complement and not overwhelm the flavorful, well-marbled natural pork. (7 oz)
Vermont Smoke and Cure Pepperoni: Unlike other pepperonis that have smoke-flavoring added, these sticks are slow-smoked in Vermont. A delicious blend of pork and beef raised in the US and Canada, this pepperoni is perfect for pizzas, lasagnas, hors d’oeuvres, or just as a quick snack. (7 oz)
igourmet Signature Knife: The perfect versatile knife to use for the included meats and cheeses.
Aged Parmesan Gourmet Wafer Crisps: These crunchy, handmade gluten-free crackers are actually made by baking a slice of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. They are an excellent gourmet snack all by themselves, or can be enhanced with sliced meats, bean dip or salsa. (3 oz)
Chocolate-Covered Wine Grapes: From Bissingers of St. Louis, the chocolate treats are the coming together of two of our favorite flavors. (3.5 oz)
Gift Presentation: Hand assembled in a keepsake wooden gift chest, finished with an elegant dark brown ribbon.

Is there a specialty item you have been wanting to try? Or do you need a Father’s Day gift of a particular cuisine that Dad loves? Find it at igourmet.com. What would you like to try from igourmet.com?

Could Your Prescription Medication Be Making You Sick: Follow Up

Karen · 29 Comments

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I told you about how Fabgrandpa was feeling off balance for over a year last week. The day I showed him the website I found with all the side effects of the prescription drug he was taking, he quit taking it. We made a little video six days later to show how he was feeling. See for yourself:

We both think that everyone should know about this. Question your doctor, question your pharmacist, find your own evidence, but above all, trust your own instincts. LISTEN to your body when you have unusual symptoms. It is trying to tell you something. LISTEN to what it is trying to say.

Double Down Casino Is Free To Play Every Day

Karen · 2 Comments

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This post brought to you by DoubleDown Casino. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Fabgrandma.

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When you enter the lobby of Double Down Casino, you see so many different ways to play! You can play a different game every day of the week, and still not play them all. It never gets boring to me. I can try out the table games that I have never played in a real casino, to get a feel for what it is like to play them. They have more than 50 authentic slot games, Daily Slot Tournaments, Poker, Game King™ Video Poker, Bingo, and Blackjack and Roulette. That’s a lot of different ways to have fun!

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Have A Sweet Holiday With Sweetworks Candies

Karen · 75 Comments

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This is a Fashionista Event and a promotional item was provided to me by Sweetworks. Hosts for this event are Still Blonde after all these Years and ModlyChic.

Oh, my goodness! I love my UPS guy most of the time, but I really really loved him this week. The day he delivered my Sweetworks package, Fabgrandpa came into the bedroom, where I was still snoozing, and woke me up to say “I think someone sent you a box of bricks.” It turned out to be 21 pounds of candy! Now, if you are like me, you get excited over candy, even in small amounts. And if that candy includes chocolate, well, then the excitement level only escalates in direct proportion to the amount of chocolate included.

So, because I know that Fabgrandpa and I couldn’t possibly eat all that candy, I decided to give most of it away. So, I started counting out how many children I could make happy that day. There were my 6 grandchildren: Parker, Spencer, Amelia, Owen, Sarah, and Michael. My nieces children: Stella, Kyleigh, Brodie, and Kathryn. And my neighbor’s children: Abi, Brady, Timmy, and Gracie. I threw in a bag for my sister as well, because it is her “birthday month”, and got to divvie-ing up all the candy. I wound up with 15 quart zip lock bags of Sweetworks Candies, including Sixlets; Gumballs; and Foil Wrapped Chocolates.

15 quart bags for the candy fairy to deliver to all the good boys and girls!

After I got all the candy counted out (yes, equal numbers in every bag because the Candy Fairy KNOWS that kids will argue if there is even 1 more nut in the bag the other kid got), I still had tons of candy left. What to do? Well, make a cake, of course!

My Patriotic 4th of July cake, decorated with Sweetworks Candy

This cake was so easy to do! Just use your favorite brand of cake mix, and prepare it according to package directions. (If you use Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix, you will need two boxes of mix if you want a two layer cake.) Use two tubs of your favorite ready to use white frosting, and generously frost the cake. After you spread on the white frosting, use 10 packets of red Sixlets, and 10 packets of blue Sixlets to make rings around the bottom of the cake. Then, Sprinkle one package of Star shaped candies on the top. Easy! And you have a cake for your 4th of July celebration! Or, use your imagination and any combination of Sweetworks Red, White, and Blue candies to make your own version of a sparkling cake.

My 4th of July Cake decorated with Sweetworks Candy

You can buy Sweetworks Candy at their online store, or check here to find a retail store that carries them. To get your imagination going, Sweetworks is giving away $1250 worth of candy! Yes, 25 bloggers (I’m one of them) are each giving away $50 worth of Sweetworks Candy. Here is a sample listing of what your winning package could contain:

Item Description Qty Value
Royal Blue Sixlets 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Shimmer White Sixlets 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Royal Blue Gumballs 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Red Gumballs 14oz Stand-Up Bag 1 $ 5.00
Red & White Peppermint Crumble Jar 1 $ 3.00
Blue & White Vanilla Crumble Jar 1 $ 3.00
Red, White, Blue Sixlets Small Peg Bags 2 $ 2.00
Red, White, Blue Pearls Small Peg Bags 2 $ 2.00
Red, White, Blue Stars Sweet Shapes 2 $ 2.00
Red Foiled Milk Chocolate Hearts 1/2 lb $ 6.00
Royal Blue Foiled Milk Chocolate Balls 1/2 lb $ 6.00
White Foiled Milk Chocolate Balls 1/2 lb $ 6.00
Total Package Value $50.00
Sweetworks could decide to make substitutions, but the total value of each giveaway will remain $50.

Use the Giveaway Tools form to enter the giveaway here at Fabgrandma. You can also enter the 24 other giveaways! That gives you lots of chances to win. Scroll past the Giveaway Tools entry form to find the linky with all the giveaways!

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My Garden This Morning

Karen · 8 Comments

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The Geranium hasn't bloomed yet. — The Geranium hasn’t bloomed yet.

I used to love to grow flowers and vegetables in my yard, but now I am not able to bend over or dig, so I have had to find new ways to do this thing that I love. Last year, I planted my garden in chairs, something I found on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. Let’s just say it was a Pinterest fail, because it did not work.

Fabgrandpa's Moss Rose with a cute birdie. — Fabgrandpa’s Moss Rose with a cute birdie.

This year, I am trying a new approach. When my closet organizers were delivered, some of the pieces of it were eighty-four inches long, and were on a pallet at least that long. I asked my neighbor, the one who cuts our grass, if he would gather up the concrete blocks from various places around the yard, and stack them up two high, and put that piece of pallet on them so I could put my plants on it.

Once my little raised platform was completed, I started potting up my plants. I have three different kinds of tomatoes, two different kinds of cucumbers, three kinds of peppers, and an eggplant. It took me a long time to get these all potted up.

When I got up this morning, it was foggy and drippy outside. The saucers under the planters were overflowing, so I went out there to empty them so that the plants wouldn’t be too soggy.

All of my plants are doing really well in this improvised raised bed. It is just in front of the front porch, so that I can water it from the porch if it doesn’t rain. I can also enjoy looking at it when I sit on the porch.

My eggplant. I think eggplant plants are beautiful. They have purple flowers when they bloom.

A couple of days ago, I planted some green bean seeds in several of the pots. I am hoping that they sprout before they rot. It has been very rainy here for the past couple of weeks. Too much water is just as bad as not enough when it comes to a garden.

This is a sweet potato plant that my daughter, Becky, gave me for my birthday.

Becky and Rafe gave me this lovely plant for my birthday. When I got it home and looked at the tag, I found out that it is a sweet potato plant. I can’t wait for it to bloom. I have never seen sweet potato flowers before, so it will be interesting to see what color they are.

I also have basil, parsley, and oregano growing in my garden. I love basil! I love the way it smells, I love the way it tastes, and I love the way it looks growing in a garden.

Are you growing a garden this year? What do you have planted?

Traveling Gluten Free With Glutino

Karen · 13 Comments

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This post is brought to you by Glutino Gluten Free

Now that summer is here, we are all ready to hit the road. Whether it is to the beach, to the mountains, or to Grandma’s house, getting there is so much better when you know you are going to have some gluten free snacks on hand for when the hunger pangs start.

Visiting Great Smokey Mountains National Park

It doesn’t matter if you are a toddler, a teen, a Mom on the go, or a Fabgrandma like me, if you get hungry you want something to eat RIGHT NOW. In the beginning, when I first started eating a gluten free diet, it was hard to walk into a convenience store looking for a snack or into a restaurant looking for a meal. Well, it still is, but now I have some ammunition in my arsenal to help fight back hunger, gluten freely.

A salad is a good choice when nothing else is on the menu gluten free.

There are more and more restaurants that offer a modified gluten free menu. While the choices are not that great, they are still options. Two of my all time favorite restaurants offer almost everything on the menu in a gluten free version. Those are Pizazzo’s Italian Kitchen in several cities in Arizona (OH! How I wish they would come to Atlanta!) and Mellow Mushroom, with several locations around Atlanta.

Grilled Ka-bobs with chicken, bell pepper, onions, and tomatoes. A gluten friendly meal on a stick.

And if you go into a restaurant and there is no gluten free menu, there are still some choices in most places. For instance, if there is nothing else on the menu, I can get a Chef Salad, hold the croutons and cheese. Boiled eggs and grits makes a filling meal until you can get where you’re going. I have also been known to order “a la carte” tomato slices, bacon, and a fruit cup. Sometimes getting creative with what is already on the menu is your weapon against hunger. I often order a hamburger with no bun, or a hamburger steak with a side of sliced tomatoes or vegetable of the day. Use your creativity and think outside the menu. I have found that most places will cook something I request, even if it is not specifically on the menu, but from looking at the menu I can see that all the parts are there.

Glutino Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix--Bake some up to take on your next road trip! — Glutino Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix–Bake some up to take on your next road trip!

Finally, while traveling, stock your car with lots of snacks that are totally gluten free. Apples, bananas, and grapes are good choices. So are any of the products from Glutino. Muffins made from the Gluten Free Muffin Mix travel well, and are so easy to make. Put together some peanut butter and banana sandwiches on Glutino Gluten Free Cinnamon Raison Bread or egg salad sandwiches on Glutino Gluten Free White Bread before you leave home. There are also Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, Animal Graham Crackers, Vanilla Creme Cookies, and more! Take a look at all the Glutino Gluten Free goodness at their website!

What is your “go to” gluten free snack for taking on the road?

Could Your Prescription Medication Be Making You Sick?

Karen · 33 Comments

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Back in February of 2010, Fabgrandpa was going to the VA in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, getting all of his health checkups and tests done. One of those tests was a colonoscopy, done by a private doctor outside of the VA. They did not have a doctor who does colonoscopies at the Tuscaloosa location.

The doctor who did the colonoscopy also did an endoscopy, looking down from Fabgrandpa’s throat into his esophagus and stomach. Dr. Brown diagnosed him with Barret’s Esophagus, and prescribed Prilosec, or omeprazole, for acid reflux to prevent the Barret’s Esophagus getting worse.

Fabgrandpa and me at our grandson's graduation in May 2015 — Fabgrandpa and me at our grandson’s graduation in May 2015

As you all know, unless you are a brand new reader, Fabgrandpa started feeling off balance last year, and finally started going to a series of what seems like never ending doctors appointments, trying to find out what has been causing him to be off balance, walking like a drunk man, looking like he may fall any minute. His other symptoms include muscle cramps all over his body; ear pain without ear infection; sore throat; trouble swallowing; tingling in his feet, hands, face; headaches; anxiety; depression; just to name a few.

We saw the primary care doctor; and ear, nose, and throat doctor; a neurologist; and a vascular surgeon, who operated for an ulcerated carotid artery that was found while looking for the cause of the off balance feeling.

After all of those doctor visits, and tons of money out of pocket for the doctor visits and tests that were done, there has been no cause found for the off balance feeling, or any of the other symptoms.

Every now and then, when I can’t sleep, I search for causes by googling Fabgrandpa’s symptoms. Now, in all this time, I have only googled one symptom at a time. And with my google searches, I have ONLY focused on diseases that may be associated with the symptoms that Fabgrandpa has been having. There are many many different diseases that COULD have one or two or three of the symptoms, but I have not found any that could have them all. Things like Parkinson’s Disease; Multiple Sclerosis; to Ear Infection, to Toxic Shock Syndrome. But, he does not have any of these things.

Last night, I was googling yet again trying to find out what is wrong with my husband. I decided to type in this search: “off balance, muscle cramps, tingling, numbness, ear pain, anxiety“. The 4th search result was for this:

PRILOSEC: Side effects, ratings, and patient comments. After nine months of doctor visits, tests, and googling symptoms looking for a DISEASE, I found evidence of the problem being a reaction to a common prescribed medication that my husband takes. I’ll let you be the judge. Read the pages and pages of patient symptoms and notes from taking this drug. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think.