April 23, 2012

Gluten-Free Menu Swap-Mint

The theme is mint and Heather at Celiac Family is hosting the menu swap this week. I guess I got my week done early. Three of the recipes I tried from Simply. . . Gluten-free Quick Meals used mint last week. Mint in the peas, in the Asian Ragu and to top the Mango Sticky Rice. There’s a little mint leftover and I’ve been letting it dry out to use in herbal tea. I actually had to buy a bunch of mint for the recipes because I ripped out most of the mint that was threatening to take over the garden. I always heard it was impossible to get rid of it, so I was thinking it would return this year in a more modest patch, but I guess I managed to get rid of all of it. Too bad my efforts with the lemon balm weren’t so effective. Now, that stuff is persistent. Any mint family plants will be corralled and contained if they get into my garden again.

My menu plan is influenced by the deals at my local grocery stores this week. Here are the deals and the menu.

Coupons Online:

Foods Should Taste Good $1.00 off

Rudi’s $1.00 off

Aldi this week:

Pineapple $1.59

Kiwi .69

Bananas .44

Oranges $1.49

Kroger

Canned Salmon on sale

Broccoli and Cauliflower 3/$5

Berries on sale

Giant Eagle

Food Should Taste Good Chips 2/$5 use coupon

Folgers 7.99

Muir Glen Pasta Sauce on sale

Wholesome Agave Buy One Get One Free

olive oil on sale

chicken leg quarters on sale

ground turkey on sale

Menu:

  • Chicken Adobo in the slow cooker from Simply. . . Gluten-free Quick Meals with rice and roasted veggies
  • Bean and Veggie Chili also from Carol’s book
  • Shepherd’s Pie, slaw
  • Turkey Meatballs and Sauce over Tinkyada Spaghetti
  • Salmon Cakes with broccoli and roasted carrots
  • Bacon, Spinach and Mushroom Egg Pie with green salad
  • leftover meatballs for subs

I’m linking up to the Organizing Junkie Menu Plan Monday and be sure to stop at Heather’s to see the rest of the gluten-free menu plans. don’t miss my giveaway of a lovely, gluten-free Mother’s Day gift box from So Lucky Gifts. and if you missed it, The Spicy RD shared her gluten-free kitchen and Amie of The Healthy Apple gave us some Quick N’ Clean Eats ideas last week.

Have a great week and visit my archives for more gluten-free menu plans.

 

 

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April 22, 2012

Simply Gluten-Free Quick Meals Review

You can probably tell from my review of Carol Kicinski’s last cookbook that I am a big fan of her recipes, her blog and her style. Somehow, she makes it all look so elegant and fancy, yet she knows how to make it easy and without that drudgery in the kitchen. Sometimes being gluten-free feels so labor-intensive  having to make things from scratch to make it affordable and I love that Carol’s new book is full of time-saving tips that cut corners without adding to the budget or sacrificing flavor.

I spent a week cooking from Simply. . . Gluten-Free Quick Meals with delicious results, a few good laughs and some new skills. Carol had her publisher send me a copy, but my opinions are not influenced by free cookbooks or knowing Carol personally. Really. Part of why I like her so much as a person is her humor, generosity and sense of fun and this is all reflected in her books and recipes too. She shares strategies that get food on the table in a hurry for each recipe and these are worth the price of the book alone. Getting organized and having a plan of attack at dinner time is one of the things an experienced cook can teach and Carol does it well and with a sense of humor. I found myself laughing out loud when she shared the story of her husband announcing he’d invited guests for dinner on very short notice. Carol casually mentions she dashed around clearing clutter and dusting (with hubby’s favorite shirt) before the guests arrived and then goes on to give advice on how to throw an impromptu dinner party.

Much of the book is organized into full dinners with sides and desserts and a step-by-step approach to getting it all put together quickly. The rest of the book has quick meal ideas under ‘Pantry Raids’ and using the slow cooker to make short work of dinner with ingredients on hand. I tried two menus this week. We had the ‘Spring Fling’ menu with Potato and Herb Crusted Cod, Skillet Potatoes and Smashed Minty Peas and the ‘Asian Ragu’ dinner.

The cod was so simple, yet so elegant, just what I expect from Carol. The moist fish had a delicate, crispy crust and looked very restaurant-worthy on the pile of Skillet Potatoes. Just following Carol’s serving and plating suggestions made me look like a better cook than I am. Using frozen peas for the Minty Smashed Peas took them to a whole new level from the humble frozen peas I toss into soups, stews and stir fries. I will say we weren’t crazy about the minty part and I didn’t expect we would be. We’re kind of funny about mint here. But we all agreed that smashing the peas like that was a nice change and worth exploring other ways to flavor the peas. They were also a gorgeous green on the plate.

The Asian Ragu menu was an Asian-flavored take on spaghetti with meat sauce and the step-by-step instructions and ‘Quick-Cook Strategy’ really takes the fear out of Asian cooking. It can seem complicated with all the ingredients and flavorings, but Carol makes it seem easy. This entire menu was a hit for my family. The Thai Carrot and Cucumber Salad tasted more complex than the simple ingredients would suggest and balanced the pork and asian spicy sauce on the noodles in the Asian Noodles and Meat Sauce.

Dessert was a Quick Mango Sticky Rice that my son practically devoured and licked the pan. We both wanted more the next day, but all the mangoes were gone. I decided to try it again, but with pineapples as the fruit and it was just as good. It was a coconuty, lightly sweet, fruity rice pudding that my son who never got my love of traditional rice pudding is now saying is one of his favorite desserts. Carol says it’s great for breakfast, but I doubt we will ever know about that.

This week I’ll be adding her Chicken Adobo to the menu plan, as well as the Bean and Veggie Chili.

Carol is sharing a recipe for Asian Inspired Salmon and Rice and giving away a copy of her book at The Balanced Platter. Alta at Tasty Eats at Home has a review of Carol’s book and tried the Vegetarian Curry and Spiced Basmati Rice with Cashews.

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April 21, 2012

Gluten-Free Mother’s Day

I got the So Lucky Gifts surprise treatment from my blog sponsor this week. I’ve shared my daughter’s gluten-free college surprise package and I asked Candice and Janelle to try out the goodies, but I hadn’t gotten to see the real thing.

The beautifully and carefully packaged gift impressed Shelby and I have to agree. The So Special Mother’s Day Collection was a gift I was thrilled to open, layer-by-layer to get to the gourmet, gluten-free goodies inside.

Everything is protected and wrapped tastefully. Unwrapping is part of the fun. Glass jars and delicate pizzelles all arrived in Ohio in perfect condition.

The Harney & Sons Mother’s Bouquet tea bags were a real treat in their tin that will be reused and the delicate bags were full of red rose buds, yellow chamomile, blue cornflowers and orange peel. The tea is pleasantly orange scented with more chamomile and faint floral notes, so don’t be frightened by the flowers. This is very subtle and nice, not perfumey tea.

I am a pizzelle lover so this was exciting. These gluten-free pizzelles from Bella Lucia would fool any gluten-eater. The package does say they are made on dedicated equipment in a facility that also uses wheat if that matters to you. For the record, I ate a lot of them with no signs of gluten exposure. I’m coming to the realization that it’s the reputation and protocols of a company that matter.

Peach marmalade from Emily G’s was a  new and tasty twist on marmalade with peach, orange and ginger and the plump Tillen Farms cherries made a beautiful topping to the marmalade and were decadently good right out of the jar. I visited the Emily G’s site because the marmalade jar promised recipes and I spent some time browsing their other jam flavors and noting some creative recipes to try.

It was a cold, rainy morning and after feeding the horses and cleaning out their stalls, I came home and had a cuppa with my treats and the newspaper. Now that’s a special treat for a mom. So Lucky Gifts is giving away one of these special Mother’s Day boxes to a lucky reader to give to your gluten-free mom or to treat yourself to some gourmet gluten-free goodies. Here’s how to enter:

Comment below about your favorite Mother’s Day gift that you received or one that you gave.

 

I’ll pick the winner using a random number generator on Saturday, April 28th at midnight so there is plenty of time to get this package to the lucky mom. Sorry, US residents 18 and older only.

This giveaway is closed. Congrats to the lucky winner, Debbie in Wisconsin. Your box is on its way!

 

 

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April 20, 2012

In My Gluten-Free Kitchen with EA Stewart, The Spicy RD

 

Greetings from my family kitchen!

I was delighted and honored when Wendy invited me to share my kitchen with all of you.

After designing and overseeing a complete kitchen makeover over 10 years ago (the cabinets were being installed while I was going in to labor with my daughter) and then a whole house remodel 3 years ago, I’ve often thought that if I weren’t working in the nutrition field, interior designer/architect would be in the top ten on my “Dream Job” list.

And, not only do I love creating happy spaces for myself and my family, but I also enjoy peeking in to everyone else’s kitchens as well, so Wendy’s blog series “In My Gluten-Free Kitchen” has been a real treat for me to follow!

The only problem I had with this assignment, was that I had to tidy up my kitchen a little…

You see, if you have visited my blog before, you might have surmised that “tidiness” is not my strong suit. If you want more details, just check out this post here-My Dirty Little Secret. Don’t worry, its rated “G.”

No worries though…

I managed to get my kitchen in sparkling condition for today’s tour, so let begin!

The first thing I want to point out about my kitchen that I love (besides the coffee maker, Vitamix, and Le Creuset Dutch oven you will see in the photo), is that it is an “upside down” one. No, I do not stand on the ceiling while I am cooking, but rather the kitchen and main living area of my house is on the second floor, to take advantage of the views to the mountains in the East.

I love wide open spaces, and the kitchen is a great vantage point for not only the Easterly views, but also for viewing my kids when they are in the backyard, and making sure they are not being TOO mischievous, especially when they are with friends in the pool!

Even though I live in (mostly) warm and sunny San Diego, it’s fun to see the occasional snow on the local mountains in the winter and spring.

I also love the large kitchen island where the kids do their homework and art projects; where we eat the majority of our meals; where the kids and I bake with their friends (Check out this Gluten-Free Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Crisp recipe from my blog that my kids love to bake with me!); where I take many of the photos for my blog; and where our adult friends hang out with us for a glass of wine.

As for the gluten-free aspects of my kitchen, even though I am the only one in our household following a gluten-free diet, pretty much everything we eat (except for the regular bread I buy for my kids and husband) is gluten-free. It works well for us, and no one complains. After all, they know that if they complain, they’re going to have to start cooking for themselves.

Here’s a peek in to my gluten-free baking drawer…

As you can see, it’s filled with a wide assortment of my favorite gluten-free grains, flours, and mixes…

And, here’s my “somewhat” organized pantry…

Oh, and just off my pantry in the Great Room, is a partial collection of some of my cookbooks…

Some other favorite things about my kitchen are the glass front buffet for storing all my china and knickknacks; the built in desk for storing homework and art supplies, plus all my recipe clippings from over the years; the photo I took that hangs on my wall of the spot where my husband proposed in Montreaux Switzerland almost 13 years ago; and my husband’s wine rack that he seduced me with on our first date. You can read more about that here if you want to.

And, last, but not least, I thought it would be fun to share a photo of my constant kitchen companion (and furry vacuum cleaner), Harry, the loveable labradoodle.

Thank you so much Wendy for asking me to share this happiest room in my house!

EA Stewart is a registered dietitian (RD) and Nutritionist specializing in wellness nutrition, weight management, celiac disease/gluten intolerance, FODMAPs diet therapy, and LEAP food sensitivity testing for adults and children.  In addition, she is  passionate about utilizing nutrition therapy to help treat autoimmune conditions, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.  She’s “been there, done that” and is living proof that nutrition therapy can play a major role in helping to treat these conditions.  Please take time to visit her website and learn more about her nutrition services.  

Visit EA’s blog for creative gluten-free recipes and menus.

If you’ve missed any of the gluten-free kitchens in the series here’s the post with list of previous kitchens and the lineup for the rest of the year.

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April 18, 2012

Quick n’ Clean Gluten-Free Daily Eats from Amie Valpone of The Healthy Apple


 Amie Valpone, HHC, AADP, author of The Healthy Apple is a Manhattan based Culinary Nutritionist, Personal Chef, Professional Recipe Developer and Food Writer specializing in simple Gluten-Free ‘Clean’ recipes for the home cook.

Let’s face it; not everyone has time to create three homemade meals each day but with a little creativity you can easily whip up a few batches of hearty n’ healthy food that you can stock in your fridge for the week.  So, when Thursday night rolls around and you arrive home from work- ravenous- you can simply open your fridge, toss a few ingredients together and dinner is served.

Some days you may feel like you’re strapped to your computer from sunrise to sunset and can’t find the time to put together a healthy meal to keep you energized and productive.  While we have good intentions to stop and eat a homemade meal- on busy days we’ve got to prepare ourselves with quick and easy ‘conveniently healthy’ foods such as a mixture of nuts, seeds, dried fruit and gluten-free cereal or you can make your very own grain-free granola.  If you’re yearning veggies, how about filling up a bag of sliced zucchini with hummus. Why not try to make a batch of guacamole on Sunday night- toss it into 5 containers in your fridge and grab one each morning to have with your lunchtime salad or afternoon crudités.  You can even enjoy hummus atop your gluten-free crackers such as Crunchmaster, which are my favorite.

I like to purchase a ready-to-eat prewashed package of mixed greens. I simply toss in some Cider Roasted Brussels Sprouts or broccoli, some homemade guacamole or hummus and a scoop of quinoa for extra protein.  Another option is cooking up a batch of lentils and chickpeas over the weekend and tossing them into a food processor to create a pate with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil.  Again, this can be enjoyed as a dip, dressing or spread on sandwiches, eggs, wraps, pizza and salads.  It’s easier than you think to combine a few of these add-ins to your boring lunch salad or evening rice dish.  Why not toss in a few handfuls of cashews, ground flax seeds and pesto for a savory bite or if you’re feeling sweet you can add a drizzle of honey, balsamic vinegar, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and grapefruit zest.  You can even toss in a cup of air-popped popcorn, chili powder and Barlean’s Flax Oil for a fun spin on gluten-free croutons.  Looking for another fun salad idea? Try my Gingersnap Dairy-Free Caesar Salad with my Green-Tea Pear Soup.  Leftovers will be perfect for lunch tomorrow!

My latest lunchtime obsession is cooking up split peas by soaking them in water then draining, heating them with olive oil on the stove top until golden brown and crunchy for about 10 minutes- top with sea salt and pepper and serve atop a mixture of baby spinach, arugula and cabbage with some freshly sliced strawberries, fresh tarragon and hummus. Now if that isn’t a perfect lunch I don’t know what is. Am I right? I just added these toasted split peas to my favorite Arugula and Moroccan Mint Salad last week and it was delish.  My life is all about thinking outside the box and creating unique and flavorful recipes that taste delicious without eating anything processed or packaged. That’s right: I call it Clean Eating and it’s fairly simple to do. It just takes a bit of planning and some weekend prep- a meal plan strategy to last you the next 7 days and a positive attitude that you can do this.

Now that spring is rolling around, why not whip up a batch of fresh spring rolls with jicama, bell peppers, avocado, carrots, kiwi and fresh ginger? You can wrap them beautifully in rice paper and dip them into a fresh nut butter and soy sauce dressing.  See how simple it can be?  Can’t find rice paper in your local food store? No worries- try using a pretty yellow or orange bell pepper and stuffing it with these ingredients.

If you’re one of those people who’s always looking for a sweet snack- why not roast some blueberries in your oven, toss them into a container and sprinkle with stevia and cinnamon for a nice treat atop dairy-free yogurt?  And who said sweet potatoes were just for Thanksgiving? Try roasting them and creating a sweet potato hummus in your food processor with pine nuts, fresh oregano, sea salt and almond butter- this is perfect atop those Crunchmaster crackers, a green salad or served alongside a chicken breast or fillet of fish.  Not in the mood for a hummus? Try tossing those sweet potatoes into a Kale and Almond Sweet Potato Soup for a refreshing springtime meal.

If you can’t keep your family away from the potato chips- why not introduce them to beet chips? Slice up fresh beets into disk-like circles and pop them into the oven at 375 for 20 minutes- then you can serve them to your family with the sweet potato hummus for a naturally sweet treat.  Another fun dip for these chips is a corn dip made from corn kernels, rice milk, silken tofu, sea salt, cherry tomatoes and fresh marjoram.  This can easily be served with my homemade Eggplant Fries or the pretty red beet chips from the recipe above.

So, the next time you’re thinking about reaching for a package of the pre-made version- no matter what it is- think again. You can save money, a ton of extra sodium and unwanted additives by making all your meals and snacks at home in your very own kitchen.  That’s my philosophy- eating clean – nothing processed. I assure you- you’ll feel so much better, have more energy and your digestion will improve immensely. Just ask my clients- they’re all happy as clams and now that they’ve gotten the swing of prepping their own clean meals- it’s a cinch!  And if you’re yearning for a bit of creativity in your pantry- feel free to drop me a line and take a look at my Services as I’m happy to help in any way I can.

Bon Appétit.

Thanks to Amie for joining me in my series. A must-read post from The Healthy Apple is about her journey to recovering her health.

 

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April 16, 2012

Gluten-Free Menu Swap-Garlic

Hosting the  Gluten-Free Menu Swap means I get to choose the theme this week and I picked garlic. It is ever-present in our kitchen with the braids I purchase from Farmer Fred at the farmers market in the summer to the Christmas gift braids I get in the grocery store after the holidays when they are on sale. They decorate my kitchen with ropes of red chilies I string on dental floss with a big tapestry needle every summer when the pepper crop comes in and they are sold by the brown lunch-bagful for pennies at the farmers market. I like my garlic to do double duty and be a decorating accessory and a flavorful addition to meals. But garlic does more than double duty as I swear by it during cold and flu season and add extra to soups and stir fries. I’ve been known to rub a raw clove on the sole of a wriggling child who can’t seem to kick a cold. Food as medicine is not a novel idea for those on the gluten-free diet. It is the only treatment for celiac disease and when weighing the cost of the food versus the cost of prescriptions and other medical intervention of other autoimmune diseases, that makes it a cost effective way to manage a disease that when left untreated can lead to cancer and damage to the immune system that opens the door to other diseases and health problems. I try to choose naturally gluten-free foods in my menu plans that keep the nutrition high and the cost down. I add in gluten-free pasta or a prepared pizza crust on occasion for the sake of convenience during a busy week or to avoid monotony, but use them sparingly.

The menu this week that pretty much includes garlic in every recipe:

  • Black Bean Soup is in the slow cooker right now- with quesadillas and guacamole-Avocados ripe and on sale this time!
  • Kale Turkey Burgers and Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Diane’s Spicy Slaw
  • Spring Fling Menu from Carol Kicinski’s new book-Potato and Herb Crusted Cod, Skillet Potatoes, Smashed Minty Peas.
  • Asian Noodles and Meat Sauce, Thai Carrot and Cucumber Salad and  Quick Mango Sticky Rice-also from Carol’s book. Can you tell there will be a review soon?
  • Turkey Cutlets with Chipotle Mustard Pan Sauce, roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots
  • Cauliflower Fried Rice to use up all the bits of veggies
  • Leftovers and Carol’s Broccoli with Garlic Chips.

The schedule for our Gluten-Free Menu Swap is at Heather’s Celiac Family. We are always happy to include new gluten-free menu planners. I’ll have the rest of the menus up later today for this week.

Heather at Celiac Family is another garlic fan and her menu proves it. She has Easy Garlic Shrimp Pasta, Baked Salmon in a Balsamic Glaze, and her Chicken Vindaloo that all rely on garlic. Hamburgers, BLTs and Corn Dog Muffins round out the week for her family-friendly gluten-free menu plan. Heather was quoted in another article in the Washingtonian last week.

Paige of Not Missing a Thing is back from a successful trip with safe gluten-free meals and has a slow cooker pulled chicken, a pot pie, hamburgers and Shrimp Scampi on the menu.

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen just got home from the Nourished Food Blogger Conference in Chicago(see what blogger, Ricki Heller had to say), but had plenty of freezer meals to make that re-entry back to momhood easier. Judging from the tweets from the gluten-free and special diet bloggers in attendance, they were having a lot of fun and learning a lot too. Angela may need a little rest. Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken, Turkey Sloppy Joe’s, Fish Tacos, and Spicy Sweet Glazed Chicken are on the menu at her house and she this posted over at Once A Month Mom’s blog.

Emily of Our Frugal Happy Life is making Pioneer Woman’s Buttermilk Chicken Strips, Cheeseburger Meatloaf and planning lots of grilling.

Over at Debbi Does Dinner there’s Egg Roll Stir Fry, Butternut Squash Gratin, and Tuscan Chicken.

Renee at Beyond Rice and Tofu has a favorite garlic guy at the farmers market too. She’s making Veggie Burgers with Kale Salad Wraps and I have to say I made Lexie’s wraps twice and they are fantastic!! Two exclamation points good. Now I want some too. Renee is also making spicy Buffalo Chickpea Salad and tamales.

Garlic Tomato Soup, Oven Baked Chicken, Smothered Pork Chops and Cheesy Chicken Chowder are on the menu at Rachel Cooks. Rachel has been on the road with her family too.

Laura has hundreds of menu planners joining her at Organizing Junkie every week and Laura always includes helpful tips and recipes that can be adapted to be gluten free in her Menu Plan Monday roundup.

Heidi has a dose of fun and silliness, a menu plan and some serious good science stuff at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom. She is also up for a Foggy Award for Personality of the Year in the gluten-free community. Heidi gets my vote after meeting her twice and reading her blog for several years, she never fails to make me laugh out loud and enlighten me at the same time.

Have a great week!

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April 13, 2012

In My Gluten-Free Kitchen with Iris Higgins of The Daily Dietribe

Welcome to my kitchen! As a graduate nutrition student, I share a house with four other students, all of us studying holistic healing in one form or another. With one vegan in the kitchen, two of us being gluten-free, and two other women who love to cook healthy meals from scratch, our kitchen is one busy place! A friend of ours likens it to a dance when we’re all trying to cook dinner at the same time. And dance we do, doing our best not to drive each other crazy when we’re all rushing to eat before heading to class.

 This cozy little nook only fits three, but is a nice spot to sit and enjoy breakfast, especially if we’re having a rare sunny Seattle day. Although there’s no photo, imagine a big backyard with a greenhouse, something my housemate built this past year, and which has been keeping us all nourished with greens throughout the winter.

And here you see our coveted counter space, the spot we all fight for when it’s time to start chopping vegetables. In the background is one of my favorite appliances, the Breville Juicer. Between the five of us, it gets a major workout in the summers! My favorite drink to make is the Carrot Cream Soda, a healthy take on the classic drink.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Cuisinart, which I truly could not live without! I use it at least every other day. As you can see from this photo, only the stand is there. The rest is in the dish rack since I just used it to make brownies.

But this is not really where the magic happens.

This is.

Originally just the dining area, this room has become my baking lab. When I began writing The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guides with Brittany Angell last summer, it quickly became clear that my housemates were going to kill me for taking over the kitchen. So they allowed me to set up shop in the dining room, and the dining table basically became off limits to anyone but me for about six months. My housemates are amazing! While it looks clean now, during the recipe development process, it was a constant mess of gluten-free flours and various other ingredients.

I stored the majority of my flours here, although there’s a large stock in the fridge and freezer as well. Because I only live a few hours from Bob’s Red Mill, I did a bulk shopping trip at the beginning of this process, so what you see here is actually a highly reduced amount of flour!

This is my pantry over here, which is mostly filled with baking ingredients. The top shelf has NuNaturals stevia, Simply Organic spices, and my various supplements. The second shelf from the top has food I eat on a regular basis, and the bottom two are strictly for baking. Most of what I eat stays in the fridge, so I don’t need much space in the pantry. You might also notice I have my own gluten-free waffle iron, separate from the rest of the house. I love waffles and make them regularly, which is why you’ll see a lot of waffle recipes on my blog, including this one, which allows you to choose your own ingredients. I have my own colander as well, and a few other baking necessities that I like to keep separate from gluten-containing ingredients. I find this saves me the stress of having to worry if something has been washed thoroughly.

And that’s it! It’s simple, but it allows me to create healthy gluten-free meals that are quick and easy!

More recipes from The Daily Dietribe:

Baked Fruit Pockets

Vegan, Yeast-Free English Muffins

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

Be sure to read the interview Iris posted this week with actress, Jennifer Esposito about how a celiac diagnosis changed her life and motivated her to start a blog and a business.

Visit all of the kitchens in the ‘In My Gluten-Free Kitchen‘ series.

 

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April 11, 2012

In My Gluten-Free Kitchen with Amber of The Tasty Alternative

Thank you, Wendy, for inviting me to share my gluten-free kitchen!

Hello, I’m Amber from The Tasty Alternative, and welcome to my gluten-free kitchen.  I must admit though, this isn’t technically my kitchen.  We are currently renting this house, so this is a temporary placement, but I’ve made it my space for the time being.  Two years ago we rented out the home we own (in the nearby city of Sacramento) and moved to the wonderful town of Davis.  And I’ll be honest, moving to a much smaller and much older home was a bit of an adjustment with a family of four (and saying good-bye to my custom built kitchen) but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  The move was for our children, and we are extremely happy here in this progressive, bike-friendly, gardening community.  My dream kitchen will come with the next house we purchase, but until then, I’m grateful for a roof over my head and honestly, any old kitchen will do for me.  So today I will be sharing some of the more positive aspects of this kitchen, our cooking philosophy and my personal mission to keep my kitchen green by decreasing waste.

Why we are gluten free?

In 2004, at the age of 26, my health quickly changed.  Along with other forms of inflammation, I was also diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.  This is where my interest and now passion in alternative cooking started.  Currently, my healing approach with food is now moving into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, yet another attempt to use food as my source of healing so our kitchen is quickly becoming grain free.  As an infant my son suffered from full body eczema and he has been on an allergy-free diet since birth (mommy was very careful about what she ate while breastfeeding too).  And now at almost three years old, he’s doing much better, but still suffers from skin flares and remains on an allergy-free diet.  My daughter who will be 6 in July does not have any known food allergies or sensitivities, but follows a healthy, allergy-friendly diet.  So we are proud of our gluten free (and now grain free) family and  kitchen.

And here we are in the kitchen:

Here are some of our favorite things to cook in our gluten free kitchen

*Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies (grain free, dairy fee, egg free, soy free, cane-sugar free

*Banana Teff Pancakes, my son’s favorite (gluten free, dairy free, egg free, cane-sugar free, soy free, nut free)

*Split Pea Soup, my daughter’s favorite (gluten free, dairy free)

Here are some features I like about this kitchen:

It has some nice bottom storage drawers.

The top drawer holds all my glass storage,

and the bottom drawer holds all my baking odds and ends.

 

I like the big, tall cabinets too!

 

And I love this nice big space for prep.

This is where my kids help me, so it’s a special place.

 I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a clean freak and I LOVE organization.  This tendency toward the methodical has worked very well for me in life.  I run a clean and orderly home and this certainly transfers into my kitchen.  Everything has its place.  And yes, even my “junk drawer” is organized.  Don’t get me wrong, I won’t wake up in a cold sweat if a knife is out of place.  Quite simply, I don’t let things build up, you know, clutter.  You won’t find any mail piles in my kitchen. We all search for (and hopefully find) our balance, our peace, and for me, it’s being organized.  Plus, I’ve moved (what feels like) a hundred times growing up and so I know how to purge, I’m not a pack rat.  If I don’t use it, it’s out.

How I organize my countertops:

I love having all my fresh fruit and veggies right there at my fingertips.  I found this big gorgeous green tin tray at a thrift store for like 2 dollars and it’s perfect for holding my sweet potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, etc.  And my cutting boards are right there for me as needed.

I use baskets to hold things on my countertop, so everything has a home.

And I LOVE this magnet strip for my knives.  So handy.

 

 

And my cupboards:

I don’t have a pantry, so I use a large overhead cupboard to store my beans, coconut sugar, starches, and gluten free flours.  Nuts and coconut flour can be found in the fridge.

Here’s a cabinet right next to the oven

that holds my spices, oil/vinegars, and glass pitchers

for homemade nut milks.

 

Our cooking and kitchen philosophy is centered around being environmentally mindful.  We are proud to eat 100% organic food that we purchase from local farmers at our beloved Natural Foods Coop.  We also grow an organic garden each growing season.  But being environmentally mindful is more than that, it’s making concerted efforts toward decreasing everyday waste.  So for example, in our kitchen we don’t use paper towels, paper napkins, plastic bags, Ziploc lunch bags, plastic wrap, foil, I make what I can from scratch (from marinara sauce to nut milks) and I take glass Pyrex when I purchase my deli meats from lunch meat, ground meats to chicken breasts.  This didn’t happen overnight, trust me, I had a serious addiction to paper towels that was hard to give up.  But if you’re interested, you can read more *link: about my tips to decreasing kitchen waste.

 We take pride in our organic garden. Such a fantastic way to get kids excited about food.  Really nothing better.

Here are some of my favorite things to use to help decrease waste in our kitchen:

reusable grocery bags, ceramic coffee cups, stainless steel lunch storage, glass water bottle, BPA free plastic cup for smoothies, cloth napkins, care bags (for produce), glass storage (for deli meats), glass/stainless steel straws, microfiber cloths (in place of paper towels), silicone baking mat (in place of parchment paper), little glass storage for bulk spices, cloth pouches for sandwiches, chips, etc.

Here are some of my favorite kitchen gadgets:

Immersion blender, ice cream maker, dehydrator, microplane,

digital thermometer, and juicer.

And here are two of my ultimate kitchen helpers!

My red and green Dutch ovens – I love you!

I’ve so enjoyed sharing our gluten free (and green) kitchen and family with you today.

And thank you to Wendy for connecting us all with your fun kitchen series.

Okay, off to do the dishes!

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April 9, 2012

Gluten-Free Menu Swap-Avocados

In a surprising turn of events, we decided to skip the ham after reading labels and decided a nice roast chicken would be a better alternative and then we ate our way through some serious chocolate. There’s one thing about this gluten-free life that isn’t a surprise-label reading sometimes makes you change the menu. A look at what goes into our food while looking for gluten can be enlightening. The women of the family shopped for the ingredients. The man of the house roasted and carved the chicken and made the asparagus. Our college girl made the twice-baked potatoes with chives from the herb garden and she baked a Key Lime Pie with a gluten-free graham cracker crust. Mom did the dishes and big brother complimented the meal and unloaded the dishwasher. That was a good holiday division of labor, I think.

So this week we’ll have leftover chicken and broth for soup. The past few weeks we went a little crazy with avocados because they were so inexpensive. There was lots of guacamole on tacos, omelets and salads and some raw chocolate pudding made with them too. But, sadly the price has gone up this week and our avocado madness has settled down. The best avocado dish I’ve had lately was the Avocado and Grapefruit Salad from Elizabeth Barbone’s new cookbook and I made it twice last month.

Here’s the menu:

  • Asian Chicken and Veggie Noodle Bowl to use up leftover
  • Stuffed Baked Potatoes and salad
  • Grilled Chicken Thighs with homemade barbeque sauce, steamed cauliflower and carrots
  • Beef and Black Bean Tacos with spicy slaw
  • Chicken Stir Fry with homemade sweet and sour sauce
  • Turkey Meatloaf with chard and roasted sweet potatoes
  • Salmon with baked sweet potatoes and broccoli

Heather of Celiac Family is hosting this week with more  bloggers linking up with their gluten-free menu plans. Visit Laura at Organizing Junkie for hundreds of menu plans and tips.

Don’t miss any of the kitchen snooping we do each week with the ‘In My Gluten-Free Kitchen‘ series. This week we visit Iris Higgins, co-author of The Essential Guide to Gluten-Free Baking.

Read my Diets in Review post last week about weight and the gluten-free diet.

Have a great week.

 

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April 7, 2012

Gluten-Free Birthday Ideas

 

Last month I had so many Facebook friend birthdays. One week I had 5 friends celebrating. That got me to thinking about my new sponsor’s gourmet gift boxes and how they would be a great way to celebrate birthdays. There are several gourmet boxes specifically for birthdays.

The So It’s Your Birthday-Petit box comes with confetti and candles and a box of Lily’s Bloom Chocolate Macaroons. Wouldn’t that just make someone’s day to find this gift on the doorstep.

 

So It’s Your Birthday-Chocolate will delight with gourmet chocolates and some festive confetti.

To really make a big impression, So It’s Your Birthday-Grande packs festive candles, confetti, flags, a card and gourmet goodies. I see lots of other fun ideas for gluten-free birthday surprises to show the gluten-free friends in your life how much you care without the worry of buying something that will make them sick.

For more gluten-free birthday ideas, take a look at Jeanine’s celebration link up. She asked for gluten-free birthday cake recipes and there are 18 gorgeous cakes and cupcakes lined up at The Baking Beauties.

Another great birthday idea comes from Alice Bast of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. I got a Facebook reminder that her birthday celebration involves a Facebook Birthday Wish donation to the NFCA. Celebrating with donations from friends and loved ones to a cause you care about would be a wonderful way to honor someone on their birthday.

 

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April 6, 2012

In My Gluten-Free Kitchen with Kelly Brozyna of The Spunky Coconut

Hi! I’m Kelly, from The Spunky Coconut, and this is my kitchen. In fact, the kitchen takes up one half of the living space in our house—and I’m good with that :-) When we were looking at our development, thinking about buying this house (which was not yet built) we had to choose between the model with the garage, and the model with the walk-in-pantry. Can you see where I’m going with this? haha. That’s right, I chose the latter.

I fell in love with this house mostly because of the kitchen—the pantry, the island, the high ceilings. We’ve been living here for almost four years now.

A couple years ago I saw these bar chairs at the local vintage shop, and I couldn’t believe it. They are the exact same color as our counters, and they were half what they would have cost if they were new. When we got them home we realized they were bar height, not counter height. So Andrew carefully measured and sawed off a few inches of the legs. I don’t know how he managed to do it, but they are perfectly level and you would never even know that he cut them.

 

After we moved in I installed this glass mosaic backsplash, spice shelf, and pot rack. We didn’t have the option of a fireplace, so I scooped up this electric one on clearance one spring, and it costs hardly a penny to run.

 

The hanging pot rack is just a shelf from the standing butcher’s rack we had in our apartment, that I hung from the studs.

One of the things that most amuses me in my kitchen is a set of Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury Dough Boy magnets that my mother-in-law gave me ages ago. It’s ironic of course, because we don’t eat gluten, or junk food. Kind of like having a McDonald’s magnet.

 

Have you ever noticed those jewelry dividers that they sell in Marshall’s for your bathroom drawers? I bought three in cute fabrics and they work great for organizing spices (since they don’t all fit on my shelf!).

I also took an organization idea from my husband, and put a plastic bin in the fridge to hold all our nuts and seeds. There just aren’t enough drawers in the fridge, ya know?!

 

 

A friend gave me this ceramic vase about ten years ago I think. I’ve always used it for this purpose—holding spoons, spatulas, a whisk, etc.

The orange Le Creuset (I have a small, medium and large like this) were a birthday gift from my mom about four years ago. We saw them together in Marshall’s, and she bought them for me. Thanks Mom!

Sometimes you have to eat (my homemade, dairy-free) ice cream and wear your pajamas while doing online homeschool classes in the kitchen ;-)

I hope you enjoyed looking around our kitchen. I loved showing it to you!

 

♥, Kelly

There are so many gorgeous photos and delicious recipes over at Kelly’s blog, The Spunky Coconut, but one of my favorite things she does is her podcasts with  gluten-free bloggers. I’ve met most of them and I so enjoyed listening to Kelly’s chats with them. Thanks to Kelly for sharing her delightful family kitchen.-Wendy

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April 5, 2012

Gluten-Free Fruit and Veggie Muffins

 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes trying to find a recipe that matches the odds and ends of all the gluten-free flours and starches in my cupboards is frustrating. I never seem to have the magic combination of expensive ingredients to make some fabulous baked goodie I’ve seen online or in my cookbook collection. The past two weeks, I just grabbed a trusty cookbook that has never let me down and copied the ratio of flours and ingredients and substituted my own combination. Elana Amsterdam’s Gluten-Free Cupcakes has been used a lot in our house. We like her savory ‘cupcakes’ and that most of the recipes are not too sweet. As I was browsing through the book looking for something that had sort of the same ingredients I had in my baking cupboard, I came upon a two page spread in her ‘Warm and Spiced’ chapter. They featured coconut flour and one had almond flour too. I had a partial bag of hazelnut flour and of coconut flour that Bob’s Red Mill had kindly sent me for another project. I decided to substitute the hazelnut flour for the almond flour and see what happened in Elana’s Zucchini Cupcakes. I didn’t have walnuts or currants, so I grated a carrot and put some finely shredded coconut instead. I didn’t have 1/2 a cup of agave, but I did have local honey and I used 1/4 cup. The muffins turned out moist and perfect.

Zucchini, Carrot, Coconut Muffins

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Zucchini, Carrot, Coconut Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup hazelnut flour or meal
  • 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup grated zucchini
  • 1 small carrot grated
  • 2 tablespoons finely shredded coconut

Instructions

  1. Line muffin pan with 8 paper cupcake liners. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl and the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Combine all ingredients in the large bowl and blend gently with a spatula incorporating the mixture well. Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter. It will look too thin, but will magically turn into a muffin when you bake them for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.
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This week we wanted something bread-like and I took inventory again. I still had a bit of coconut flour and some of the hazel nut flour, but no arrowroot powder and no zucchini. The recipe next to the Zucchini Cupcakes was for Apple Spice Cupcakes. I had some nice green apples so that’s what went into the next batch of muffins. I still had that honey and used half the amount called for in the original agave measurement and I had dates in the cupboard.

Apple, Carrot, Date Muffins

So this batch was fruitier and a little sweeter.

Print
Apple, Carrot, Date Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup hazelnut flour
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 1 small green apple peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates that have been softened in boiling water and then drained

Instructions

  1. Line muffin pan with 9 paper cupcake liners or oil them lightly if you've used the last of your liners. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl and the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Combine all ingredients in the large bowl and blend gently with a spatula incorporating the mixture well. Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter. It will look too thin, but will magically turn into a muffin when you bake them for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.
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We ate these without any kind of frosting as afternoon snacks. The apple ones were my favorites, but both turned out beautifully despite my tweaking the recipes to match my baking cupboard ingredients. I’m linking up to Shirley’s March Muffin Madness over at Gluten Free Easily where Shirley is gathering all kinds of gluten-free muffin recipes and giving away a generous supply of coconut flour.

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April 4, 2012

In My Gluten-Free Kitchen with Thomas of The GFCF Experience

I am honored that Wendy asked me to share my kitchen as part of this series. Like some other bloggers, I feel a little nervous about sharing my little space – I don’t consider it to be anything special. But it is the place in my house that feels most like home to me, and is definitely the nerve center of activity, especially with four growing children who seem to want to do nothing but eat!

The kitchen itself does not have too much space, but we try to use what we have as efficiently as we can. One of the first things we did when we moved in seven years ago was make the kitchen island. In addition to adding some needed counter space and some additional seating, the island also has shelves on either side for storage. I keep most of my cookbooks and recipes on one side and kitchen essentials like towels and trash bags on the other. The island also has a large storage cabinet which is where I keep all my pots and pans and casserole dishes. I recently moved it so that it was positioned at an angle from the main cooking/work area to provide a little more room to work.

With no dining room in the house, the main dinner table is also here in the kitchen. On the far side near the corner hutch, we use a bench for more flexible seating options. When we have company it is easy to fit three of the kids there to create more room around the table. Beyond the kitchen table you can see the doorway that leads to the laundry area. This area also has closet space that is used as the pantry, and shelves hold most of the small kitchen appliances and other cooking plates and pans.

There are a few kitchen appliances left on the counter at all times just because they are used so frequently. The toaster oven is dedicated to only gluten free foods, and what is really nice is that it is simple enough for the children to use when they want to make toast or toast some frozen waffles or even cook a quick kosher hot dog. While I make soup from time to time we also buy cans of GFCF organic soup and other products, so the can opener also gets a lot of use. And then there is the coffee pot – something that, even though I have given up caffeine, I still cannot live without. The canisters hold storage for sugar and salt and, a family favorite – GFCF chocolate chips. The cabinet above the knives holds the spices, with a large shelf on the bottom for oils, vinegars, and liquid sweeteners like honey and agave. I use a lot of olive oil and canola oil, and occasionally grapeseed oil. Red and white wine vinegar are staples in the house – they are used in things like chicken salad and potato salad as well as in salad dressing.

Our other main kitchen counter space is this long counter to the right of the sink. This is mainly used for prep or the place where we use some of the appliances stored in the laundry room. It also was, up until this past weekend, the place where I stored the main GF flours I use – Bob’s Red Mill GF all purpose flour, tapioca flour, and brown rice flour. That counter space is now taken up by the new microwave we had to purchase. We opted to go for a counter top model as opposed to another over the stove model mainly due to price and convenience – having the microwave lower makes it easier for the kids to use. One of their favorites – making nachos by melting shredded CF cheese over some tortilla chips. Usually, when I make things like pancakes and biscuits, I make enough so that if the kids want a quick meal they can just pop one in the microwave for a quick reheat. As for the flours, they are now in the pantry.

Here are three kitchen appliances that I cannot do without. What I love about them is that you can use them to make plenty of food for the family but they also cut back on the amount of time you actually spend preparing food. Because as much as I love being in the kitchen, I really don’t want to spend my entire day in there!

The griddle. I love making big breakfasts on the weekend, and the griddle has proven to be a tremendous timesaver. Whether it’s cooking up bacon and breakfast sausages on Saturdays, or a batch of pancakes (including my favorite stuffed pancakes) on Sundays, the griddle helps get the job done in short order. The kids love using it to make some of their favorite grilled cheese sandwiches too.

The bread machine. We bought our first bread machine back when our daughter was diagnosed with autism. Last year, we purchased this model, which has increased functionality, including a GF baking cycle. I have used the machine to make homemade yeast breads and dinner rolls, but by far the most popular thing I use it for is banana bread. It is so convenient to be able to place all the ingredients in the machine and let the machine do all the work!

The slow cooker. I absolutely love my slow cooker. I have used it to make everything from baked beans to casseroles to soup. One family favorite (pictured here) is Emeril Lagasse’s Slow-Cooked chicken, which I make at least once or twice a month. Simple, and delicious.

I try to keep things simple in the kitchen. I usually don’t create my own recipes but rather adapt existing recipes to make them GFCF. I consider my greatest kitchen achievement to be having adapted some of my mother and grandmother’s favorite recipes growing up so that my kids can enjoy them too, like Swedish cookies and Jewish Apple Cake. And I feel fortunate that, in my almost five years of food blogging, I have met some wonderful people who have shared some incredible recipes.

I would like to thank Wendy for this opportunity to share my kitchen with you. I hope you enjoyed this quick look inside my kitchen, and that you enjoy the other posts in the series.

Thanks to Thomas for opening his home to us in the gluten-free kitchen series. Please stop by on Friday when Kelly of The Spunky Coconut gives us a peek into where she develops the gluten-free recipes in her cookbooks.

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April 3, 2012

Gluten-Free College Interns Partner with Udi’s to Promote Healthy Eating on Campus

This is a video done for the Udi’s internship that I recently heard about from my daughter. It combines promoting an awareness of healthy eating and helping to make college dining halls safer for those requiring a gluten-free diet. Here’s Udi’s description of their internship program and the link for more information. I do have to say that my daughter is participating in this program as part of her internship requirements for her degree in business.

“Udi’s Gluten Free Foods is one of the fastest growing companies, and the number one purveyor of gluten free foods in the united States. As a company, we seek to make gluten free living not only easy and healthy, but also enjoyable and fun. In order to further this goal, we have created the position of Grassroots Marketing Intern to help college students gain actionable work and leadership experience while promoting a healthy, active, gluten-free lifestyle on their campuses. Our interns are tasked with creating and maintaining a student organization dedicated to gluten free living, as well as working with their university’s dining services to increase the presence of gluten free options in the dining halls. This position is available for college credit, as well as potential compensation based on pre-determined goals. For more information or to apply for the Udi’s Gluten Free Internship program, please email a resume to collegeambassadors@udisglutenfree.com.”

Udi’s also sent me links to some of the successful programs their interns have created. Student intern, Sydney Cox of Texas Christian University, has created a Facebook page and organized events to raise awareness on her campus. She describes the Gluten-Free Feast event she organized:

“TCU Gluten Freedom joined forces with the TCU Dining Staff to put together a spectacular gluten free feast, including much of the food that Celiacs, especially Celiacs in college, miss the most. TCU Chefs made us some delicious gluten free fried chicken (using Rice Chex!) and gourmet mac and cheese! I was especially excited about the desserts, including creme brulee and white chocolate mousse! It was amazing to have such a nice meal prepared just for TCU’s gluten free students and staff, especially since we don’t normally get to enjoy food like that! The dinner was also a great opportunity to launch TCU Gluten Freedom, allowing members to join and voice their ideas and concerns with the Dining Staff so that we can progress as one team towards making a healthier gluten free dining experience at TCU. Udi’s also provided some amazing goodies and take-aways for us like cookies, bagels, and muffins!”

Jenna Oertle of  the University of Arizona inspired by the challenge of the diet for her gluten-intolerant sister formed a gluten-free club to support those requiring a gluten-free diet as part of her internship while earning a degree in management and communications. She has worked to replace unsatisfying gluten-free breads with Udi’s products into the campus dining hall and is compiling a list of local restaurants that serve safe gluten-free meals.

Laura Hutton of Lewis University created a Facebook page to support gluten-free students. She is working to gather gluten-free students to make changes in the dining hall on her campus.

Here’s another video from an intern showing the abundance of gluten-free choice at Notre Dame.

Read a recent blog post about an intern eating gluten free at Clemson University.

Seeing these young people being proactive and vocal at their colleges is inspiring. Rather than seeing a diagnosis of celiac or gluten intolerance as a limitation, they are choosing to use it to build skills, strengthen their resumes, and make their campuses safer for gluten-free students who follow them.

Udi’s has also partnered with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and sponsored their Great U e-magazine for gluten-free college living. You’ll even see a profile of our college girl in the magazine.

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April 2, 2012

Gluten-Free Menu Swap Easter Week

Easter circa 1998

We won’t be hiding eggs in the yard this year, but I have been put on notice that Easter baskets with plenty of chocolate are still expected despite their new independence at college. This gang also wants the same dinner every year, so no new recipes or surprises. Angela is hosting this week with the theme of Easter.

Here’s the plan:

  • Fried Rice made with quinoa instead of rice
  • Qiunoa Pasta with homemade sauce with ground turkey
  • Coconut Curry Tilapia with cauliflower rice
  • Spinach, mushroom, onion frittata with salad
  • Taco Bowls with ground beef
  • Chicken stir fry with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms
  • Easter dinner, ham, twice baked potatoes, asparagus and lots of chocolate and jelly beans

    On campus yesterday with a gluten-free home cooked meal delivery

Visit Angela’s Kitchen for the rest of the gluten-free menu swappers and Laura at Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan Monday. Did you know that my sponsor So Lucky Gifts has a blog and Carey posts her weekly menu plans there? Visit the Inner Circle Chic blog for her menus. Peter Bronski, co-author of The Gluten-Free Edge with my pal, Melissa of Gluten Free for Good, did a profile of our gluten-free athlete on his blog this week. We are so proud of our girl.

Have a lovely week and enjoy whatever family time and gluten-free holiday you celebrate.

 

 

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