Panera Bread Changes Menu Again
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Jul 29 2010

Panera Bread Changes Menu Again

When I heard earlier this year, in March or April, I believe, that Panera had changed their menu and added a Mediterranean Salmon Salad to their menu, I was thrilled! I love salmon and put it atop a salad and I am one happy gal! I kept meaning to get into Panera to give the new salad a try, but life is busy, so I didn’t get there until this past weekend. I was very disappointed to see that it was no longer on the menu. I understand that menus change seasonally, but would think that seafood (salmon) would be something that would remain on the menu through the summer. On the flip side, I have noticed in the grocery store lately that the price of salmon has gone up, so perhaps that had something to do with the change.

I emailed Pat, Panera Bread Customer Comment Coordinator, and got the most current gluten-free menu to share with you all. As you can see, the salmon salad is still listed on this menu.

GLUTEN FREE LIST – Panera Bread **

**Although we try to meet your special requirements, we cannot ensure that these items have not come into contact with gluten in our bakery-café.

** Gorgonzola and bleu cheeses are commonly made with mold incubated on wheat. Some may choose to avoid these cheeses for this reason and you may substitute another cheese if you prefer. Items containing these ingredients are indicated below with (G) or (BC).

Salads: (including the salad dressing)
(source of modified food starch is corn)
Greek Salad
Fandango Salad (G)
Caesar Salad (without croutons)
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (without croutons)
Mediterranean Salmon Salad Salmon Caesar Salad (without croutons)
Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (without Won Ton noodles)
Classic Cafe Salad
Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with
Chicken Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (G)
California Mission Chicken Salad
Orchard Harvest Chicken Salad (G)
Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad (G)
BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad Tomato,
Mozzarella & Basil Salad (without croutons)
Fruit Cup: all watermelon
Fruit Cup: mixed fruit with watermelon, cantaloupe, red seedless grapes, and strawberry

Salad Dressings: (source of modified food starch is corn) Balsamic Vinaigrette Caesar Greek Poppyseed Raspberry Vinaigrette Asian Sesame Vinaigrette White Balsamic Vinaigrette Roasted Garlic & Meyer’s Lemon Vinaigrette BBQ Ranch

Soups:
Low Fat Vegetarian Black Bean
Cuban Black Bean and Lentil
Vegetarian Roasted Red Pepper & Lentil
Vegetarian Butternut Squash
Creamy Tomato (without croutons)
Low-Fat Vegetarian Southwest
Tomato & Roasted Corn
Turkey Chickpea
Chili Summer Corn Chowder
Low-Fat Chicken Tortilla Soup

Beverages:
Coffee
Juice, both apple and orange
Lemonade
Milk
Soda, fountain and bottled
Tea, regular and Chai Tea
All lattes & Frozen beverages
Strawberry Smoothie
Hot Chocolate
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Gingerbread Latte

Panera Bread Potato Chips

This email may contain information which is privileged and/or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately via return email, then delete this communication and all copies. Please do not copy, forward, or disclose the contents of this email. Thank you for your cooperation.

Since I had emailed Pat before heading to Panera, I brought along an Udi’s gluten-free bagel with sundried tomatoes & cream cheese in case they really didn’t have the salmon. I was convinced that they would have one, lone piece of salmon for little ole me. Yeah, not so much. I did end up ordering the Greek Salad and was very impressed. The salad was a wonderful mix of greens, tomatoes, feta and kalamata olives. Perfect compliment to my bagel. Before ordering I asked to speak with the manager to ensure that the person making my salad changed their gloves and there was no cross-contamination. I appreciate the options that Panera offers.

The most important lesson that I am trying to get across (and keep in mind myself, too), is that it is absolutely necessary to keep up on changes in restaurants should you choose to dine out while eating gluten-free. Ingredients, suppliers and recipes change. Something that may have been gluten-free at one point in time may not be gluten-free any longer or vice versa.

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Article Written by:

Kimberly Bouldin is a gluten-free wife, runner & blogger with two children in Columbus, Ohio. After her celiac diagnosis in 2006, she has made it her mission to embrace an entirely new approach to nutrition in a gluten-free world, exploring options that run the gamut from "made from scratch" homemade bread to sampling and reviewing the gluten-free prepared foods that are continuously being introduced to the market. While navigating the waters of becoming gluten-free, Kim shares her experiences and passes along valuable product reviews in addition to helping other moms of celiac kids develop healthy menus that are kid-friendly and palatable. Kimberly is a valuable resource for those who are newly diagnosed, as well as for the more seasoned gluten-free veterans. Follow @KBouldin on Twitter

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  • http://www.gluten-freeatlanta.com Tiffany

    Yes Kim – this is a very important thing to remember! Things change often and sometimes I forget that. We went to the farmers market near our home recently and planned to have lunch at a place in the area that has some gf salads (tuna, egg, etc). We walked down the street from the farmers markets and went into the restaurant without even noticing the name had changed because the old placed had closed down. Luckily, the woman who made the salads at the old place worked for the new owner so she confirmed all the recipes were the same for the salads and I could still enjoy them.

    I really enjoy Panera’s soups in cooler weather. Thanks for posting the menu update ;)

  • Lynda

    Hi Kimberly – if you could point out to the restaurant who is quoted in your post that a full study was done in Canada and published Internationally regarding the mould containing cheeses and that they are fine for people who are on a gluten free diet that would be great. This restaurant is just perpetuating old information that has since been proven in 2009 that when digested by a Celiac there is not a significant amount of gluten digested. This was done by the researcher for the Canadian Celiac Associaton’s Professional Advisory Board. Here is her study link: http://www.celiac.ca/bluecheese.php

    Thanks for passing on the correct information so that this restaurant can passed it on to those who eat there.

    As I live on the water in Vancouver, I would also be disapointed without salmon being on a menu as I love it on salads or cooked anyway too! However we have a big problem here in BC with the Atlantic Fish farms and the impact to the salmon native to the Pacific Coast as the Atlantic salmon are diseased in their tanks and the diseases are being passed onto the native fish in BC which is sad and our salmon runs are definately down, such as 75% over the last 6 years. So you are correct, there is definately less salmon out there unless you like Atlantic salmon which is not as flavourful..

    Lynda

  • http://www.glutenfreeliving.com Amy

    Panera’s Strawberry Poppy Seed salad is one of my all time favorites. At our local Panera, the greens are always crisp, the strawberries and blueberries fresh and abundant, the pineapple and mandarin oranges refreshing. My daughter, who has celiac disease, loves it too. It’s so filling you don’t really even need the chicken!
    Oh and I agree with Lynda on the blue cheese. Gluten-Free Living has researched this topic and found blue cheese to be ok on the gluten-free diet. We were not surprised by the results of the Canadian study.

    • Karen

      I read a study online that blue cheese gets it’s “Blue” from bread that is added to the cheese. As the bread breaks down, the bread molds and creates the blue color. I researched it after getting very sick and hospitalized after eating blue cheese.

  • Jen

    I am *so* sick right now. Had a g/f box lunch at
    from Panera on Saturday. Guess the wheat-
    rich environment makes this too much of a risk
    for me. Had chicken tortilla soup and salad.
    Never again for me. Celiac, beware!
    Also, the cheese issue is not a given. Each
    cheese must be checked. No blanket statement
    fits here. Some do, some don’t…. Cuidado!

  • Karen

    This list of GF options at Panera is very helpful. Do you know if the new dressing, Vidalia onion, that comes with the spinach salad is Gluten Free as well?