starbucks valencia orange cake - gluten-free!

alright everyone, here it is: the gluten-free cake promised by starbucks. for the record, the spring st. soho starbucks was out of them when i wandered over at 11:00. my valiant coworker and i trekked on in the rain to soho's number 2 starbucks on broadway and broome. victory! the cake was proudly displayed in the pastry shelf. at $1.95, it seemed like starbucks was dishing out bargains. ahem. i mean, valencia orange cakes.

it seems that this gluten-free cake stemmed from what i will call starbucks' grassroots marketing attempt. the site provides a forum for customer feedback where one of the hot topics became gluten-free offerings. the site introduced a voting option and it seems that this spread around the gluten-free community like wildfire!

the ingredients are pretty simple: eggs, orange pulp, almonds, sugar, orange peel, gluten-free baking powder, and orange oil. at 290 calories, 140 calories from fat and 16g of fat, this is certainly not any healthy alternative. HOWEVER, i am hoping that since almonds are one of the main ingredients, this is the type of fat you can feel good about. riiiight....the cake does come individually wrapped "for gluten-free goodness" as declared on the package. "you wouldn't even know it's gluten-free!" i exclaimed, overtaken by the cute cake's moist and spongy texture. "yes, yes you would," sighed my valiant coworker. we agreed that the cake had a texture rather corn bread like (not necessarily in a bad way) but after my initial excitement wore off, i was slightly disappointed by the cake's lack of flavor. the moral of the story here is that i'm not expecting everyone to go crazy over this cake but it's pretty awesome that this is a readily available starbucks product.

starbucks = gluten-free

news alert:

OH SNAP, you can have your cake and eat it too. i'm putting may 5 in my calendar, everyone. taste test to come...

back to the oatmeal thing...

there's nothing quite like oatmeal on a 12 degree morning. that's why I decided to use my $1 jamba juice oatmeal coupon earlier today. i realize that to an outsider it may seem that i'm a bit obsessed (see oatmeal post 1 and 2) but seriously everyone, oatmeal is great and jamba is kicking starbuck's ass on this one. these steel cut oats taste like just that. cooking them with soymilk gives them an additional creamy taste. and the topping! i'm usually not a fruit compote fan but in this case, my apple cinnamon topping had the perfect balance of tart apples and a sweet sauce. my vote is to omit the brown sugar topping. not only does it have wheat in it but the topping was sweet enough for me.

what's that? you want one of those coupons? okay, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. you're welcome.

jamba vs. starbucks
jamba oatmeal (plain)
180 calories
3g fat
5g sugar
topping options: bananas (50 calories), berry compote (70 calories), apple cinnamon topping (70 calories), brown sugar crumble (40 calories)

starbucks oatmeal (plain)
140 calories
topping option
3g fat
0g sugar
toppings: mixed nuts (100 calories), brown sugar (50 calories), or dried berries (100 calories)
price: about $3

airport breakfast

Eating wheat-free can be hard enough. Traveling and eating wheat-free is even harder. Eating wheat-free breakfast on-the-go, while traveling can be nearly impossible.

I always travel with food but sometimes I rather die than eat yet another granola bar from my purse or am just in the mood for something different. Who would have thought that STARBUCKS, out of all places, would be the place to save me the other day in the airport at 7:45 am. With oatmeal! Genius! (Although beware, not gluten-free.) Starbucks now offers oatmeal, with a choice of toppings (brown sugar, dried berries, or nuts). Thanks to the friendly midwest attitude, my barista gave me all 3 toppings. The plain oatmeal is instant and poured into a cup with hot water. At less than $3, you can't really go wrong. For the record, I do not conceptually support Starbucks but they are the only place I can rely on for almost guaranteed soy milk stock (and now oatmeal, too!) Think of all the trips I can go on without worrying about bringing breakfast supplies!

Even though it's instant, the oatmeal tastes pretty good. It doesn't get that gloppy, overcooked consistency that you might find in oatmeal that has been stewing for hours. The dried fruit and nuts are a welcome accompaniment, especially compared to your standard raisin topping. It made waiting for an early morning flight positively pleasant--not an easy thing to do.