Tu-Lu’s Bakery, located on Sherry Lane near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Preston Road, sells a wide assortment of cupcakes and cookies. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

You’ve heard when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

So if life gives you gluten allergies, why not open a gluten-free bakery?

That’s exactly what SMU alum Tully Phillips did after receiving her diagnosis for gluten intolerance three years ago.

After graduating from SMU with an art degree, Phillips enrolled in culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin.

Her studies focused on savory cooking, and from there she moved to New York City to continue on in the culinary field.

In New York, Phillips worked with a couple of upscale catering companies and continued her culinary studies at NYU.

In 2008, when Phillips discovered her gluten intolerance, she began to search for gluten-free alternatives for her favorite foods. Phillips quickly came to find that “there weren’t many options for gluten-free baked goods, and what was out there didn’t taste the same as non gluten-free options.”

Using her years of culinary training and love of cooking, Phillips experimented at home to develop recipes that tasted just as good as their wheat counterparts.

Through trial and error Phillips eventually put together a collection of muffins, cookies and cupcakes that were up to her standards.

In February 2010, Phillips decided to take her recipe collection public. She opened Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery in East Village with the hopes of giving New Yorkers a product they wanted in a fun environment they wanted to be in.

Her bakery was well-received and quickly became a New York favorite.

When Phillips moved back to Dallas last fall because of her husband’s job, she wasn’t quite ready to let her bakery go.

Though she initially had no intention of opening another bakery, it was only a couple of months before she began planning for a second branch of Tu-Lu’s. Once Phillips “got a feel for the mood in Dallas” she saw that “there’s a need for quality gluten-free baked goods here too.”

On March 7, Phillips second Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery opened in Preston Center.

Not only does the bakery offer sweet treats like cupcakes and cookies, but Tu-Lu’s also serves up paninis on their homemade sunflower bread. The best part? Nothing tastes like it’s gluten-free.

One of the bakery’s most popular items is the raspberry almond crumble muffin. Each bite is moist, flavorful and couldn’t be farther from the dry and bland stereotype often associated with gluten-free items.

Those interested in even more indulgence can look to the fudgey and rich dark chocolate brownie. Or, if you’re looking for a savory snack, the white cheddar jalapeno corn muffin doesn’t disappoint.

In addition to being gluten-free, some choices are vegan or dairy-free such as the pumpkin loaf, cinnamon sugar donuts or vegan agave brownie. Top your snack off with a coffee or a raspberry iced tea and you’re good to go.

With such a wide array of delicious treats on the menu, SMU couldn’t be happier to welcome its former Mustang back to Dallas.