Going Gluten-Free

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

I made gluten free Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday and I have to say, it went pretty well.  Of course we will all be going to my mom's on the actual Turkey day, but since there is a lot of gluten involved in the traditional meal, Maddie and I will be unable to truly stuff ourselves.

For our mini Thanksgiving I made a half turkey breast, stuffing (made with gluten free bread), mashed potatoes, gravy and fresh cranberry sauce.  The turkey cooked in about 1 1/2 hours and was quite moist for being just white meat, and the stuffing was reminiscent of my mom's stuffing, although not as good.

As for the cranberry sauce -- make your own if you have 10 minutes to spare.  Really, that's all it takes and I think it's quite a bit beter than that canned stuff.  Here's what you do... get a bag of cranberries, boil a cup of water + a cup of sugar.  Add the cranberries, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.  The cranberries will pop, so may I suggest one of those spatter screens.

One bag of cranberries resulted in this much sauce -- enough for our mini gluten free Thanksgiving, a small jar for the freezer and another jar to take to my mom's for Thanksgiving.

Oh, and remember that lemon curd I made?  I made some mini gluten free scones and we ate them this past weekend too.  Super yummy!

Pinterest -- Gluten Free Recipe File

Do you know about Pinterest?  It's a great way to save recipes from around the web.  I have already created a gluten free board with some great recipes.  Check it out!

New Online Gluten Free Magazine -- Easy Eats

There's a new online magazine for all of us with Celiac Disease -- Easy Eats.  And while I had a bit of trouble with the first recipe I made from the magazine -- read all about it over at my blog -- I'm still recommending it becasue the donuts I made, while quite a mess, were delicious.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies -- Gluten Free!

I found this recipe circulating around the internet in various forms.  Give it a try -- it's super easy and really delicious!

(Gluten-Free) 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes about 2 dozen)

1 C. Peanut butter -- I used an organic, all-natural variety

1 C. Sugar -- I used 1/2 C. organic brown sugar and 1/2 C. minimally processed organic granulated sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 C. Chocolate Chips

Add all ingredients to a mixer in order, mixing after each addition.  Roll into 1 in. balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Flatten in criss-cross pattern with a fork.  (Mine were a bit crumbly, so I just pushed them back into shape if they fell apart upon flattening.)

Bake at 350º for about 11 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.  Let sit on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Gluten Free Donuts!

I recently purchased Babycakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles becasue of the cover, basically...

We have been eating and enjoying Kinnikinnick donuts since going gluten free, but I wanted to try my hand at baking donuts at home.  After getting the book, I read through all the recommended ingredients and purchased those too (I ordered the deodorized coconut oil because I couldn't find it locally) and then I tried out the basic recipe. 

I have to say that I really liked the cinnamon sugar coated plain donuts.  The vanilla glazed were a favorite with my daughter, but I didn't like them nearly as much.  I definitely had  to bake the donuts longer than the recipe suggested and I think I'll add some spices to the batter next time (a little nutmeg and cinnamon will make them taste more donut-like, I think.)

All in all, a great recipe to start with.  I'll be making more donuts for sure!

Aurelio's Gluten Free Pizza

It's been a while since I posted here, but I'm determined to get back on track.  I have lots of product reviews that I want to share and some news too. 

I got back my blood work results, and it appears I have celiac disease too.  In addition, although Maddie has gained about 10 lbs. in the last three months, her numbers were still high upon re-testing -- indicating possible cross-contamination.  As a result, we have decided to go completely gluten free in our home. 

But on to the pizza review! 

Over the weekend, I had a craving for pizza and while I knew it was no longer an option to get a pizza from my favorite local place, I had heard that some pizzerias did offer a gluten free crust.  A little web search later and we discovered that Aurelio's had a gluten free option that was rated pretty highly.  Their GF pizza comes in only one size -- a personal pizza -- so we each got our own.  As you can see from the photo, the pizza was loaded with toppings, and it was baked on its own piece of foil -- which I'm sure helps to eliminate any cross contamination. 

The pizza was a bit more expensive than the non-GF option, but well worth it in my opinion.  It was delicious, fresh and the crust was tasty and had a nice texture.  We'll be ordering this whenever we have a craving for carry-out pizza.

 

Gluten Free Holiday Baking

Are you joining in the festivities at Gluten Free Girl?  We are, and after a trip to Whole Foods, we have all the flours and starches we need to mix up some Gluten Free AP flour.  Let the cookie baking begin!

In other news, I went in for my blood work today and should know very soon if I also have Celiac disease.  Maddie had her follow up test, and while we see that she has gained weight, we are hoping that this test confirms that her antibody levels are back to normal.  Fingers crossed!

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Here is the loaf of banana bread that gave me hope.  Since Maddie was diagnosed with celiac disease, I have attempted a few mixes for baked goods, but haven't made gluten free baked goods truly from scratch.  Maddie has been on a banana kick and asked for banana bread, so I bought some gluten free AP Flour, some Xanthan Gum and decided to give it a try.

Let me say that this was easier than I thought it would be.  Luck was with me in that the Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour that I purchased had a recipe for banana bread right on the package and, other than Xanthan Gum, all the ingredients were things I already had. 

The banana bread is tasty and rose beautifully and now I have the confidence to alter recipes so as to make them gluten free. 

If you are interested, the recipe for the Banana Bread is available at the Bob's Red Mill website.

Some Clear Evidence that a Gluten Free Diet Works

Yes, changing your diet can make a huge difference and in a very short time.

Before:

After:

Maddie has gained about 8 pounds in the last 6 weeks.  Can you even believe the change?

Gluten Free Medication -- Total Frustration!

So today my daughter went to the orthodontist and when she came home her teeth were hurting.  Usually a dose of children's Ibuprofen will take care of the discomfort she is feeling, so I went to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the bottle we had gotten from Jewel/Osco a while back.  I looked at all the product information, but it didn't say the medicine was gluten free.  So I called the number on the bottle -- what a mistake!

After listening to the automated menu, and pressing buttons until I got a real person, I asked if the product was gluten free.  The "customer service" person asked for my Jewel Osco card number.  What???  Finally I gave him my phone number since I wasn't about to go searching for my card.  Then he wanted to confirm my address and he asked for my email.  At this point I said "No" quite firmly and told him I just wanted an answer to my question.  Why he needed all my personal information, I do not know.

Then he tells me -- get this -- he doesn't have that information!  Why, then did he waste my time, asking me for this other info? 

His solution is to call the local Jewel.  The pharmacist there had absolutely no idea which products were gluten free, but said, "It doesn't say gluten in the ingredient list."  Well, as you can imagine, that was no help. 

His final solution?  He could "put in a case" and possibly have an answer in 24 hours.  At this point I said thanks, but no thanks.

I looked online and found that Walgreen's had gluten free children's ibuprofen, so I headed out the door.  I knew I wanted to pick up dinner -- which was next to a CVS, so I stopped in there first.  I couldn't find any information on their gluten free medicines and the pharmacist looked at me like I had two heads when I asked her if she could point me to a children's gluten free pain reliver.

Finally I went to Walgreen's -- and lo and behold!  right on the package I see the words "Gluten Free" right below the ingredients.  Thank goodness for Walgreen's.  They have my business from now on.