I just had a few minutes to prep something for my daughter for breakfast that would be hearty, filling and fast. We were both pleased with this result!
1 piece Udi’s Gluten Free Raisin Bread
Flatten middle with a fork
1 Egg placed in the flattened middle
2T Shredded Cheese sprinkled on top
Spray with oil (of choice)
Bake (on Silpat) at 350 for 10 minutes (or until egg is hard consistency).
I often share cool recipes I come up with using Brooke’s Naturals Mixes. This is one of my absolute favorite mixes, since my allergies served as inspiration for her mixes. If you haven’t tried these mixes, check them out at brookescandyco.com and buy a case. They are amazing!
Once I found out my son had dairy and egg allergies, I had to change the stock recipe on the back of the package to include alternatives. I try something different each time and I think I have found a great texture in this one below.
1 package Brooke’s Naturals Chocolate Chip Cookies
5T Coconut oil (melted)
1T GF Vanilla (I use kirklands)
1/2 C Applesauce
2T Almond Milk
Mix completely and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
I use the pampered chef mini muffin pan because I don’t like my cookies to ooze to flat. This creates a nice caramelized type cookie-muffin hybrid that holds it’s shape.
Happy Baking!
The mixes are gluten and rice free, the alternatives make it dairy and egg free.
Crock pot meals are my go-to this time of year. They are ready when you need them and dump-n-run prep. Earlier this week I quickly perused the shelf in my pantry for something that I could add to chicken and settled on the items below. Yes, it was easy. Yes, it was yummy. My kids even asked for seconds!
8 frozen chicken breasts
4T oil (i used sunflower, but that is up to you)
Cover with 2 cans sweet potatoes
Cover with 1 can apple pie filling
Set on low for 5-6 hours in the crock pot.
Protein, veggie and dessert all in one.
I’m not always in the mood to bake. It truly strikes me out of the blue and I usually make several items at a time.
Having pumpkin on hand made me want to throw something together with fall flair. I tend to take existing recipes and alter them to suit my mood, ingredients on hand or traditional recipe allergy free.
I mixed the wet ingredients and added dry. Heat oven to 350 and bake in a greased (or lined/greased) muffin pan for 30 minutes.
2.5C Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
3 egg whites
1/4C Applesauce
1/4C Maple Syrup
16oz Pumpkin Puree (I used Pacific brand)
1/2C Coconut oil (melted)
1t lime juice
1/4t Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice (I like Trader Joes)
3/4t baking soda
1T Vanilla extract (I use Kirkland)
1/2C Brown sugar
When cups are filled, sprinkle with almond slices and cinnamon/sugar combo and bake.
There’s nothing more comforting than soup in the winter months. Combine it with the flavor of Mexican food and how can you go wrong? I love food to taste like something distinct. Bland food is boring. Check out this zippy taco soup that is both gluten and dairy free.
1 carton GF beef broth
1 can crushed stewed tomatoes with juice
1T lemon juice
3 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed
4oz bag frozen white corn
1T garlic
4oz bag frozen diced onions
1/2C sliced jalapenos (with juice, if you like more zip)
3 corn tortillas, fried in oil and cup in strips with pizza cutter
1/2C black bean salsa
1/2 Trader Joe’s Taco seasoning packet
Mix in crock pot and let warm for 2 hours. Top with Daiya cheese and serve.
To travel or not to travel?
This is a common question.
Newly diagnosed people may be fearful of trying it out. I would encourage you to be prepared, take snacks and go. Celiacs and those with varying food allergies should experience life, see the world and travel too. My motto is always “celiacs need sunshine” and that doesn’t often happen in the midwest in January.
There are plenty of travel friendly foods that you can pack your suitcase with, just in case. Of course, the fall back is always salad. No, it may not be ideal but it will be sustenance. I can reference plenty of travels I have had that have pleasantly surprised me with not just good but great eats and I have had those that were emotionally and tastefully upsetting. But traveling is worth the chance and in the end you will not starve.
From the overly abundant oceanside of Seattle with fresh and tasteful options for those with allergies to the hills of Tennessee where everything is breaded and fried, I still managed to eat.
You do have to be cautious, be prepared and use cool apps like “Find me GF” as a source of reference (please note, all restaurants listed are not necessarily gluten free). But with proper planning and a whole lot of communication, you will get to experience something new and feel even more accomplished because of the allergies.
Recently, I took my twelfth cruise. I have had varying experiences on ships as this travel seems to be among the most challenging, due to the confinement and lack of resources outside the norm. I must say Norwegian was not my favorite. They were equipped with gluten free options but frankly, unwilling to get creative. On my first day I located a Sous chef that was willing to make fresh and tasty waffles for the whole family. Sadly, thereafter he was told not to make special arrangements for us and sent us to the dining room. There they were unwilling to make anything from scratch.
Alas, I saw more of the world but I ate eggs and bacon every day. Dinners were better as we took the specialty dining option and paid up to try specialty restaurants where they took good care of me but general dining, as well as room service was a disappointment. For the record, my trips on NCL, Regent, and Holland America fared better in the dining department. Six food allergies is a lot to plan and prepare for. But with the creative culinary expertise they have on ships, it seems they would have been far more accommodating.
Regardless of the degree of culinary satisfaction, I encourage everyone to travel. Occasionally you will be overwhelmed with the warm, understanding expertise of a chef that considers it an honor to prepare something with a challenge and you will be delighted you stepped out of that comfort zone and tried something new.
When pots of coffee and fifteen minute power naps just aren’t enough, I steal away for an hour of me time.What do I do for myself?
Given that I don’t tend to even have bathroom trips alone (it’s just easier to leave the door open than try to interpret my children’s muffled request for snacks through the door) an hour of me time usually only takes on one form, massage.
With the onset of inexpensive options, outside of spa settings, I can do this for as little as $30 and as late as 8pm. Most people don’t realize that those little dives sandwiched between the local liquor store and pub, with names about feet are actually legit.
Equally surprising are the massages. They are not all about feet (although I would be fine with that). These full bodied, fully clothed massages include a foot soak and massage, dim lighting and music varying from asian chants to Kenny G.
Let me just answer the obvious: Is it relaxing in a room with other people? Yes. I’m guaranteed to take a power nap with a recharge capability of a small car battery. Has anyone ever offered services that were, uh, unexpected? Although this relaxing retreat makes me very happy, No, not one of them has ever created an awkward situation offering a happy ending.
I will say they are stealthy, disguised with names like “foot or feat” retreat, finesse, shop, fancy, spa, euphoria, quest and more. They are actually offering a relaxing massage without referring to themselves as a massage parlor.
Massages are great for circulation, detoxing, relaxation and a myriad of benefits related to the reflexology (or foot love). This is a wonderful way to enjoy a luxury service for an affordable price. For the love, of feet, check it out!
Regardless of what low calorie, sugar free, celery based, clean living, I-hope-to-poop-again-someday diet that I decide to go on, I have trouble passing up a bakery if they pass my allergy free muster.
Of all the adventures my family and I have been on, the one scouting for the best gluten free donut shop was my favorite! Most cities are lucky to have one within a hundred mile radius. Chicago has about a dozen within the city limits. After visiting them all and taking a sampling, we landed on Do-rite as our donut home of choice. Now, every time we visit we buy a dozen (or two) and freeze them. Yes, it’s worth $29.95. Yes, I will pay for delivery to my hotel. Download their app, it makes it that much easier.
From the halls of hotels in Nevada to the shores of Maui, we find our countries allergy free baked goods in the air, on land and sea; first to find and right our tummies, and to find their bathrooms clean. We are proud to claim the title of eating allergy free. (Maybe not as noble as the Marines, but our plight is fought and won with much determination.)
Yes, we eat out. Yes, we eat when we travel. I’m not that big fan of a protein/granola bars and my son is allergic to peanut butter so when we venture out, we tend to use the “Find me Gluten Free” app. It has been pretty reliable if you take into consideration the reviews of patrons and I know there are others breaking into the market like “Gluten Free World” app. The more resources we have, the better so log on, download them, use them and make sure to give feedback for others.
My key items I look for when traveling are #1 exclusive gluten free, this way I know they didn’t take chicken and rake the sauce off to create a menu therefore it’s more likely yummy. #2 vegan offerings because my little man needs dairy and egg free too. #3 is it open? Duh! This may seem like a no-brainer but I wish I had a pair of Louboutin’s for every shop I’ve gone to that had a three-day-a-week schedule with weekends and full moons off. #4 What is the star rating? And read comments since some people think that the wait staff needs to be “impressive” for it to be worth eating there. (what does that mean, anyway?) #5 does it have a “safe for celiac” rating?
Don’t be afraid to eat out with allergies. Just don’t be afraid to ask questions. And be confident enough to let the server, manager and cook (if necessary) know that you are not on a fad diet and this is necessary for your health. There are so many amazing restaurants, bakeries and pastry shops out there just waiting for you. Be safe but be adventurous!
It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me.
It is admirable, not to mention understandable when people start food companies out of necessity for their (or their children’s) allergies.
What you don’t seem to find is people starting companies to bring phenomenal tasting, quality products to the market when they don’t have a personal need for that product. Shy of the big box companies creating mirror products because they already have millions of users they can tap into for sales, of course.
Let’s be honest, Cheerios did not go gluten free because the board members at General Mills were emoting in the form of food, it was all about market share and returning some of the love to home base. And since my household has consumed about 18 boxes in the last three months… I’m ok with that.
The wow factor is based in companies that have little to no understanding of the need for an allergen free product, who are not looking at the market share, but rather see a group of people that could hugely benefit from their gifts.
When I first sat down with my friend Brooke and began explaining my bizarre eating habits she gave me a crazy look, wrinkled her nose like I’d done something foul and said, “what on earth is gluten”? This lead into a long discussion on what it is, where it comes from, what food it’s hidden in and why some people can’t eat it.
Having the gift of candy making and having started a company of her own, she returned home to do research. Intense research. Amazing research. When we met again, she told me what she had learned, what she was focusing on and what an exciting challenge this was to her.
What? You care? I was so floored. How could someone who can eat anything care so much about what I can’t eat? No one else had.
She began an exhaustive overhaul of what she had been doing and eliminated all gluten containing ingredients from her facility. She revamped some of her recipes to include ingredients that were gluten free. And then… she started mixing. She started creating. A waterfall of tears streamed down my face when she came up with a mix for brownies that was both gluten AND rice free. My allergens.
It was like having a little chocolate coated candy angel come from heaven to make yummy treats. Just. For. Me. (ok, so they weren’t just for me, but it felt like it)
She flew into high gear with her sampling team (her young boys who have no allergies) and before long created a chocolate chip cookie mix, banana bread, carrot cake, white cake, and chocolate cake mix. If it wasn’t good to them, it wasn’t good enough for us. Yes, it was actually important that it tasted good too. Novel thought, and it worked.
Suddenly she was in multiple top retail outlets! Last week she opened a new store front. I’m so excited for Brooke and her family. This venture was truly from the heart and from my heart I say thank you. Brooke’s really does Send the Best.
Visit @brooke.sendthebest http://www.brookescandyco.com pick up one of their mixes (or chocolates! at a local grocer) or go visit them at their new shop in Terre Haute, IN at 10 N. 5th Street.
Just when you think no one wants to hear about your freakish inability to eat… normal. (Whatever that is). You run onto someone who hugs you out of sheer desperation to feel normal.
As my son asked to borrow a red solo cup and was denied due to its adult contents, I assured the bearer there was no harm since he was gluten free. Instantly she looked at me like her grandmother had descended from heaven in the form of a dove.
There I stood waist deep in the pool while a very friendly woman, near to tears, hugged it out with me. We had just met. And no, I don’t look that good in a swimsuit.
You see, that woman was having a conversation about the difficulties of being gluten free in a world where it’s not considered a priority, or understood. While some say peanut allergy and people run in four directions to find an epi-pen, there is a look of confusion and dis-concern with gluten.
This woman was desperate to find someone she could relate to and talk with. Sometimes it’s just worth mentioning you have Celiac, you never know who might benefit from hearing the words that make them feel like they aren’t floating alone on an island.
Tifs Celiac Travels 