Being a big fan of deli meat myself I was delighted to pop into Safeway and pick up ten packs (I know, a little excessive) of my favorite gluten free meat. All of the Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Meats are gluten free, low calorie, high protein and delicious! And for $5 a pop you get a pretty decent amount of meat. My favorite is the Shaved Honey Ham and the Shaved Chicken Breast. Although, I am yet to try any kind that I dont like! Also would be great for kids lunches and snacks on the go! Check out the Oscar Mayer website to see all brands and where to buy locally. These meats are an absolute staple in my fridge and a great quick, easy and healthy food!
I have to say, I was skeptical at first….I was given a package of Ooey Gooey Chocolatey Chewy Brownie Mix a few months ago and finally decided to make them and….WOW they are awesome! Not only did I make them in a smaller pan so they were thicker but they tasted amazing. This mix is also wheat, gluten, dairy, nut and egg free. I thought that with no eggs or dairy these brownies were sure to suck a big one but to my surprise they were great. I even served them to non celiacs who thought they were delicious too!
I would HIGHLY recommend these for anyone looking for some good, all natural, gluten free treat! They would be amazing with icing on them as well because they are not too sweet. Im excited now to try more products from The Cravings Place. They have a wide range of baking mixes and if their other products are as good as their brownies then Im sure they will be delicious. Im also curious to try their Peanut Butter Cookie Mix which apparently does not contain any nuts of any kind…I wonder how they pulled that one off. Their Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix sounds good as well….as long as the cookies are soft and chewy. But then again, I already made some pretty damn good chewy and gooey chocolate chip cookies that I am yet to see someone beat (check old posts for recipe). Regardless, this brand has my vote and my cash, I would absolutely buy their products again!
The Cravings Place products can be purchased at Gluten Free Mall- www.glutenfreemall.com (although mine came from Fred Meyers)
So I found myself throwing a dinner party last week and decided to keep a completely gluten free menu despite the fact that I was doing a summer Greek/Mediterranean menu. I served everything in two courses but more of a big appetizer platter where people could pick off what they wanted. So on the menu?
We started with:
- Mediterranean layer dip
- Goat cheese and feta stuffed mushrooms
- Fresh cut veggies
- Hummus and roasted red pepper hummus (okay, those were store bought)
- Tomato, mozzarella, roasted red pepper and basil stacks drizzled with balsamic vinegar
- Dips were served with gluten free french peasant bread and corn tortilla chips
Followed by:
- Roasted lamb and chicken skewers with onion, red and yellow peppers
- Garlic and butter grilled shrimp
- Greek salad
- Greek roasted potatoes
All of these things can EASILY be made without gluten and they are sure to please all, thought I would share some of the recipes for the stuff that isnt common. The recipe for the French Peasant Bread (which is AMAZING and better than any bread I have ever bought in stores/bakeries will be coming soon…)
Mediterranean Layer Dip (huge crowd pleaser)
In a shallow dish layer cream cheese on the bottom, followed by hummus, then tatziki on top. Then finely chop cucumber and red pepper, combine with crumbled feta cheese and sprinkle over entire top of the dip. People LOVED this. Its the Greek version of the Mexican layer dip but a LOT healthier. You can change whatever veggies you like to put on top. Also great for summer because no baking is required.
Goat Cheese and Feta Stuffed Mushrooms
Take large mushrooms and remove stems. Cut any excess out of the mushroom that you can without breaking the cap. In a bowel mix 1 part feta cheese for equal parts goat cheese. Mix in a few scoops of cream cheese (just to keep a smooth consistency). Take green onion and mince (about half a cup for 3/4 cup feta and goat cheese). Then add some garlic salt. mix all together in a bowl. Once mixed stuff each mushroom cap and sprinkle a bit more minced green onion on top of each mushroom. Place in baking dish (not cookie sheet, the mushrooms will leak a bit) and bake at 350 until just browning on the top. They should take about 15 minutes to be done.
Tomato, Mozzarella and Roasted Red Pepper Stacks
These are very easy to make and go over VERY well. Stack a slice of tomato, on top of that a thin slice of mozzarella, then layer one basil leaf, then layer a thin slice of roasted red pepper followed by another thin slice of mozzarella and finally topped with one more slice of tomato. Mix together some balsamic vinegar and add some olive oil and drizzle over each. Voila! Little stacks that everyone loves to dive into. You can also use any other veggies you may like, such as replacing the roasted red pepper with roasted eggplant. Its the idea of stacking with the basil and cheese and then drizzling with dressing.
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Get large russet potatoes and quarter them length ways. In a bowel mix a cup of lemon juice, garlic salt, half a cup of olive oil and whatever herbs you like. In a baking pan lay out potatoes and pour all ingredients over top. Best to let them sit there in the lemon juice for a while. Then bake in the oven on 350 for an hour or so until soft. Then broil them until desired level of crispiness ( I like mine to be pretty crispy and brown…but BE CAREFUL not to burn, once they are cooked and you move them to broil your asking for some burning if you arent careful, I learned that the hard way). These are delicious! I started them first because they take the longest and you dont want them burning!
Greek Salad, not that it is hard but this one turned out very well so I thought I would share
Slice up red, green, and yellow peppers. Add red onion, roma tomatoes, a few Kalamata olives (I use them more for the juice), and cucumber. Then create a dressing with olive oil, white vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour dressing all over veggies and then add in as much feta as desired. Toss and your done! Very easy, people love the vinegar in the dressing because it keeps things tangy!
We finished off the meal with a flourless truffle cake and fresh cut strawberries. It was amazing!
I promise to post the bread recipe soon as well, it is absolutely amazing and SO worth making. Ill also post the flour-less truffle cake recipe as well, its absolutely worth making as well!
It’s not easy to find a mainstream brand that offers a lot of gluten free products, especially when it is Asian food which always includes a lot of sauces. But I have to admit I am extremely impressed with the range of products offered by the Thai Kitchen. Someone at the top of that company must have Celiac Disease because not only are they amazing at making all of their allergy info perfectly clear but they also have made sure that they have removed the gluten from almost all of their products….amazing. They offer a wide variety of Thai noodle dishes that come in kits you can make at home or in ready-to-heat packs that you can take for lunch.
What always bothers me is that Pad Thai in its original form is in fact gluten free, however, restaurants and other food manufacturers always manage to add some soy sauce and instantly contaminate the dish. Using the Thai Kitchen products is a great way to make the Asian food you like without the gluten though. Even their line of sauces that they sell are gluten free, making it much easier to create your own dishes at home.
If you check out their website and go to their allergy information page you will find that the only products they have that are NOT gluten free are:
- Thai Peanut Take Out Box
- Tangy Sweet & Sour Take Out Box
- Garlic & Roasted Pepper Take Out Box
- All Stir Fry Sauce Pouches
- Sweet and Sour Seasoning Mix
- Sesame Teriyaki Seasoning Mix
- Fried Rice Seasoning Mix
- Hunan Broccoli Steamers
- Szechuan Green Bean Steamers
Their allergy information page also lists each product and then indicates whether or not the product contains gluten, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soybeans or milk. It also indicates whether the product is vegan and organic.
For a company that makes 67 products the fact that they only have 9 that are not gluten free is pretty good I think. I am absolutely a fan of their Original Pad Thai and look forward to trying more of their products. Its just nice to have a company that is so thorough with their allergy information and makes it so clear. Im definitely going to experiment further with their products and see what kind of dishes I can come up with.
I have started to collect a nice little list of sites relating to celiac disease that I believe offer quality information. As most know, there is a plethora of crappy information regarding Celiac Disease out there and many many sites with horrible misinformation. I try to keep this list as fresh and current as I can but sometimes sites that were on my favorite list sadly get removed due to crappy information and negligence (cough* celiac.com *cough – someone decided it would be fun to use a dated “Gluten Free Approved Easter Candy List” instead of doing the leg work and updating it for 2009. As a result, I will never look at mini-eggs the same again and I’m sure American children with celiac disease are equally as devastated). Having said that, there are some really great sites out there that do offer great information and resources. I thought I would give you a quick list of sites that I commonly reference. Please feel free to suggest any others as well. Im always interested to find new quality information.
Also feel free to bash any crappy sites that you come across. Because dumb-asses who dont know what they are talking about and then post misinformation resulting in people getting sick should not be allowed to blog about celiac disease. So lets be sure and give a shout out to a few of those as well!
Enough negative, here are some really great sites that I enjoy reading:
GLUTEN FREE BLOGS
- Celiac Chicks: these girls are great. They are smart, funny and very well informed when it comes to managing the gluten free lifestyle. While their site is NYC based you dont have to live in NY to gain a wealth of information and tips on living gluten free. Added bonus? They run contests all the time with new products!
- Gluten Free Girl: another great blog featuring gluten free recipes. Maybe its the calming almost tranquil gluten free food photos that do it for me, but Shauna’s blog always gives me good food ideas that are also healthy. I get so sick of the whole “its gluten free so you must eat it” thing. Maybe I dont want to eat the entire gluten free cake, cookie, biscotti, brownie, pie, etc. Maybe I just want a salad. Gluten Free Girl get it, she always delivers healthy, fresh and safe food ideas.
- Gluten Free Food Reviews: this one is a newer favorite of mine. Basically it just reviews all food that is gluten free. Dont underestimate the quality of a blog such as this, if you had any idea how much money I have wasted over the years “trying out” gluten free food that ended up tasting like total garbage you would be astonished. You have to really appreciate blogs like this that offer some guidance on the taste factor. Personally, I cant wait to try the new gluten free chicken nuggets that were just reviewed as being very tasty and received a 5 star rating!
Applegate Farms new gf chicken nuggets as reviewed by glutenfreefoodreviews.com
RESOURCES
- All Recipes.com: I’ll admit it, this site is set as my home page. Its pathetic. It just so fun to see what cool recipes pop up there everyday. I cant eat any of them of course, BUT it is amazing motivation to try and alter recipes and create my own gluten free recipes. This site gives me a TON of inspiration. AND they do have a great bank of gluten free recipes already posted to the site. Its well organized and absolutely worth spending some time on if you need some fresh cooking ideas.
- The Celiac Disease Foundation: just a great place to direct people to get a nice comprehensive overview of the disease and a nice list of resources including where the FDA is at in terms of demanding that gluten be labeled on food (how that has not been done yet I dont know….) and new product news. Basically the site is really great for catching up on all things celiac disease and current. Like the CNN of celiac.
- Mayo Clinic.com: I wold have to say these guys are my most trusted online medical resources. Mainly because the Mayo Clinic doctors are among some of the best in North America but also because they present their information in such a nice clear and concise manner, it makes it helpful for those who have no prior understanding of the disease. This site is a good place to start if you are just learning and compiling information about celiac disease
BUYING GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS
- GF MEALS: okay, this is a cool concept. So you can order all of these pre done, gluten free meals that look pretty healthy and actually good. Im not speaking from experience but it is a very cool concept for those that have a celiac in the family and want to make sure they always have a meal, or, if your like me and on-the-go and dont always have time (and have learned the hard way that a Dairy Milk bar is NOT a substitute for dinner) they could be great. Someone please let me know if you have ever tried these….Im very curious!
- Gluten Free Mall: the site, a little crappy looking I must admit. BUT I have ordered from them before (when I needed a whole host of food for Thanksgiving, and back up food for the first few failed attempts) and their stuff was great! They delivered on time and everything went very smoothly. I would absolutely order from them again next time I need to stock up on rare gluten free items. Although, Im a little ballsier in the kitchen now then I was then so maybe I wont need quite so much back up this year.
- Gluten Free Plaza: now, I have no experience with this site, it just looks pretty. Seriously, so many “buy gf” sites out there are such crap and so disorganized that I thought this one should be mentioned simply based on the fact that it has an organized system and is not total visual crap. Having said that, their products do look pretty good. Someone will have to test this one out and let me know how it goes for them. They seem to carry pretty great products though. My only complaint is what dumb ass graphic designer chose to put a nice wheat stock in their logo? Not your typical over-done wheat stock with a strike through, like the anti-smoking campaign of all grains, but just a nice pretty wheat stock through the text? Idiots.
like wtf is with the wheat?
So there you have it my friends, the ten sites related to celiac disease that I either visit or have caught my eye. I will be sure and update if I come across any more that I think are decent. And please, feel free to suggest any other great sites, and feel more free to put down any bad ones….they deserve it.
Okay, so although I recently posted on Independence Day BBQ friendly food I thought I would do a little follow up piece on exactly what kind of burgers and dogs (meat or veggie) celiacs can have. This past weekend I was tempted by hot dogs that most certainly contained gluten and it got me thinking that I should know off the top of my head at least a few mainstream brands of summer meats that are in fact gluten free. It makes life much easier when your on a boat for 8 hours with nothing but a banana. So here we are, a short quick reference list of brands of summer meats that are sure to be safe for everyone to eat. And if you bring the meat then you really dont have to worry about the whole cross contamination factor.
HOT DOGS:
- APPLEGATE FARMS, perhaps my FAVORITE of all brands because they are all natural and organic, why clog your body with all the extra preservatives and crap if you dont need to? Their beef hot dogs are all gluten and dairy free, so are their turkey, chicken and big apple hot dogs. Check out their site for more product info. I highly recommend these products. I used to buy a pack of chicken dogs to keep in the fridge to have on hand when I needed food quickly.
- WELLSHIRE FARMS, another good mainstream brand that should be easily accessible at any grocery store, they offer gluten free turkey franks, deli franks, beef franks, chicken franks and cocktail franks. All their products are again all natural and free of preservatives and nitrates.
- FREYBE, this brand is unfortunately only available to the US by online orders but for all those Canadians out there you should have no trouble getting your hands on any of the FREYBE products. And guess what? They’re all gluten free! Thats right, you can chow down on the bacon, breakfast sausage, brat worst, ham or what have you without having to worry.
VEGGIE BURGERS — although I am not a vegetarian (I pulled a brief vegan stunt back when “Skinny Bitch” came out and was promptly reminded by my nutritionist that as a celiac cutting out meat is a recipe for malnutrition unless I was willing to put some SERIOUS time and effort into my diet…I wasnt. So I decided to commit myself to eating the cleanest meat I possibly can) I LOVE veggie burgers. And when I was diagnosed with celiac disease my veggie burg days came crashing down on me when I realized 99% of all brands contain wheat and or gluten. ALAS, my sister introduced me to the Sunshine Burger. They are DELICIOUS! They come in multiple varieties including original, garden herb, and south west. They are again all natural and amazing! Highly reccomend them even if you are not a vegetarian.
VEGGIE DOGS — Im not a big fan of these. Mainly because I avoid soy at all costs (come on, its highly processed and full of hormones, why dont I just snack on a pack of birth control pills instead?) Anyways, I feel I would be doing a disservice to all those out there who may enjoy a soy packed veggie dog so I thought I would list a few gluten free brands but then as I began researching I only found one brand of gluten free veggie dog and that appears to the TOFU PUPS….Im not going to lie I have not heard promising things here. Regardless, if thats what you are into then give them a try. OR if anyone knows of any other good gluten free veggie dog brands (preferably that are not soy based…long shot, I know) then let me know!
Hope this info helps a few of you with your summer meals. I know it can be a serious pain in the ass to try and figure out what brands of what are gluten free so I find it MUCH easier just to memorize a few and then you will know with absolute certainty that you are eating/serving something safe!
HELPFUL HINT FOR I-PHONE USERS
So among my many useless i-phone applications, including a “flashlight” (yes thats right, it’s just a light on your screen) and a “tip calculator” (because I am just that mathematically impaired) application I actually have found one application to be somewhat useful. ESPECIALLY when I am grocery shopping and wanting to buy something that I am pretty sure contains gluten but feel the compulsive need to check every additive just to make sure I cant eat it. Mind you, this is rare for me. I am not the girl to go buy potato chips, soda, sugary drinks, and other high calorie crap. I prefer my calories from more straight up fat like flourless truffle cake. Regardless, this application can be very helpful, especially if you are a non-celiac and doing some grocery shopping or cooking for the glutenized.
So what is this wonder app? Its the “Food Additives Quick Guide”
Not only does it divide additives and categorize them by different allergies, food intolerances, etc but you can search the additive by name, risk level (although that means nothing to a celiac, all gluten is high risk), symptoms (like skin allergies or asthma triggering) or by kind of additive (animal derived, bacteria derived, etc).
How is it useful for the celiac? Well, I keep mine on the “symptom” setting, scroll down to gluten, and am given a nice concise list of 25 additives that contain gluten. Further, you can click on one of the additives, and you are given additional information about the origin of the additive, its function and its product uses.
The application then offers a safety warning rating. For example, the additive “amylasses” is a flour treatment agent used to break starch down into sugar. It is regularly used in bread making and is rated as “POTENTIALLY UNSAFE”
I find that I avoid all of the additives on the gluten no-no list because you never know how each additive is used and always better to be safe than sorry.
Although using the app can be a bit of a pain in the rear end it is ABSOLUTELY worth having around with you if you are shopping and questioning the food you are buying (NEVER buy anything you are not 100% sure about)
There are other celiac applications out there (I have also purchased Gluten Smart List 2009 and it is NOT that good — took me $13 to figure that one out, not a great product list, and so-so software) but I think The Food Additives Quick Guide is your best bet.
XANTHAN GUM…..WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT DO? (pronounced Zan-A-Than)
You may have read it on different food labels (you better have, because if you are not reading food labels then you have way bigger problems than not knowing exactly what xanthan gum is) and you may not know exactly what it is but let me tell you it may just become your new best baking friend.
Xanthan gum is essentially a stabilizer/emulsifier (gluten is the ultimate stabilizer, were aiming for a good replacement here). It is not quite as good gluten obviously but when making a gluten free bread or cookie I have found that adding a tea spoon per one cup of gluten free flour (even if the flour already contains xanthan gum) is a good rule of thumb. It can make a big difference in how your food turns out. And it is also 100% vegan which is very key to some people out there. It can be a bit expensive but a little big (like one tea spoon) goes a LONG way towards your baking efforts.
I am a big believer in knowing what you are eating when reading a food label (come on people, ignorance is NOT bliss and you have to be responsible for knowing what goes into your body) And there are a lot of hidden sources of gluten out there in additives that you would NEVER think about. You can thank the FDA for not demanding that food manufacturers label gluten on their products…really helpful.
I reccomend getting Xanthan Gum made by Bob’s Red Mill. It comes in a small bag and will last you a long time, absolutely worth keeping in the cupboard!
BBQ AND SUMMER EATING GLUTEN FREE
So as Independence Day (and Canada Day) approaches I understand that most people will be eating lots of summer food and will no doubt be bbq-ing and picnicking their way through the celebrations. However, odds are that most people will be attending a bbq/picnic/dinner/lunch/beer pong tournament and will not have that much control over how the food was prepared much less how it is cooked. So I thought I would point out a few things for people to watch out for when enjpying all the summer food.
BBQ’s — beware of not only steak sauce or marinade…I shouldn’t have to point that one out. A1, HP, Diana Sauce…its all GONE. Dont eat it! Same goes for steak seasonings. Although seasonings seem harmless (a little salt and pepper etc) they are not. They are FULL of gluten, I know, I was surprised too. Some good alternatives are made by Thai Kitchen, they offer a good Teryaki sauce that can be smothered over all sorts of things. Beware of steak especially, people tend to season those without the knowledge of others and it will come back to bite you in the ass. My suggestion (as Im not a big sauce person myself) is to check out Whole Foods or any other specialty grocery store. I know that they do have gluten free sauce options. I read a review on Mr. Spice Honey Gluten Free BBQ Sauce so I would suggest picking up something like this.
Mr. Spice Gluten Free BBQ Sauce
SALADS — Also another hard one. I suggest just sticking to a simple balsamic vinegarette. Beware of any Italian dressings and of course (I shoudnt even have to tell you this) stay far far away from any creamy sauce. The good news is that potato salad, if prepared traditionally, should be good! Also good is chips and salsa (just double check that the chips are pure corn chips and avoid any flavored chips)
CHEESE — Stick to hard cheeses. Softer cheeses are iffy. Many blue cheeses and softer cheeses contain traces of wheat. It is much better to just avoid them all together.
DESSERT — Fruit is always a safe option. Whip cream is another one that is okay to eat (think strawberries, blue berries and whip cream, good AND patriotic). Ice cream is generally okay as long as there is no caramel in it, cookies, or other chunks of goodness. Keep it simple: chocolate, vanilla, mint chocolate chip, etc. I also recently posted a recipe for gluten free chocolate chip cookies that are awesome and stay soft so they are perfect for taking along for a weekend trip.
SNACKS — I recently discovered that Kettle Chips are all gluten free!! Helllo?!?!?! They are delicious, where were all the other gluten free bloggers out there? How has nobody brought this to my attention?? I was away at the beach last weekend and in a kitchen ridden with 20 other people and their gluten filled food my Kettle Chips were a great addition that everyone loved and I knew I could eat them. They come in great flavors and are not too greasy. These are a must for any BBQ/picnic/weekend away.
Kettle Chips
BUNS — Yes, I too have spent many years sacrificing buns from my bbq’d food. This year I decided to head to Whole Foods and buy a bag of gluten free hamburger buns and it was TOTALLY worth it. Although they were not that great on their own, once toasted they were amazing (toasted on the cleaned BBQ of course, NOT in a common toaster). They were a perfect addition to the food and I didnt end up having totally separate meals from everyone else.
Things to remember when attending picnics, weekends away, kids parties, BBQ’s, summer get togethers….
1. Beware of the cross contamination factor, you can plan your meals and make sure you arent eating gluten but if you are not in your own kitchen or you are using a common BBQ ask that one area be reserved for your food (even if the grill is being cleaned) There is nothing worse then eating right and then getting contaminated.
2. Plan ahead. I went and did my own Whole Foods trip and bought a lot of extra food to make sure that I would be able to eat while away. Even though I didnt need all the food I bought I brought it home with me and Im still eating like Im sitting on a patio overlooking the ocean. Its worth it…
3. Ask how food is prepared/offer to cook. I also did this all weekend. Offering to run the BBQ, make breakfast, etc not only earns you major guest points but then you get to make sure that the food you are eating is not contaminated.
4. Read labels. You may buy burgers from the grocery store and know that they are okay but someone else may buy seasoned burgers that are not okay. Read the labels and when in doubt just cook your own food.
Hopefully everyone has a wonderful Holiday and manages to get out without being poisoned. I know I did, so it is possible!
Easy and Delicious Banana Oatmeal Bread
Gluten Free Oatmeal Banana Bread
As I was breazing through my kitchen last night I realized that I was about to let 3 bananas that were just about rotten enough go to waste and I thought it may be a good idea to test my culinary skills and whip up some banana bread, gluten free of course. The secret to making it taste like normal people food? (which by the way I dont even remember what real bread tastes like) OATMEAL! An amazing subsitute for for gluten and another great way to stableize the bread. So here is my made up, yet successful recipe for you all.
1 cup of gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp of Xanathan Gum (this always helps)
1/3 cup butter
3 ripe bananas
1 egg
2/3 cup of oatmeal (not quick cooking oats) MAKE SURE OATS ARE GLUTEN FREE**** (Bob’s Red Mill makes them)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
I would also reccomend a pinch of vanilla and next time I am adding chopped up dates as well. This recipe is great because you can really just throw in anything you want, nuts, dried fruit, etc.
Combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla. Then add the mashed up bananas.
Add baking powder and salt and then the oatmeal and the flour.
Spread into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees.
Pre heat over to 350 degreees and cook for 45 minutes or until a toothpicks comes out clean when stuck in the center. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on a rack with a tea towel over top for 5 minutes before slicing. ENJOY! This recipe is EASY and quick to make and is a great snack to have around.
