It's been way too long since I've posted!

Hello my GFCF friends.

I am sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I really don't have much new to share - I've really been into eating locally lately - eating from my garden and my CSA - just making meals that are naturally gluten free.

The recipes that I have perfected and shared I continue to use but I haven't come up with any new ones in awhile. If I do, I will be sure to share them with you.

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. My family and I are still GFCF and thriving. I will try and check in more often.

What's on your Thanksgiving Menu?

I have become quite the slacker on blogging lately. I apologize for that.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year!

My menu this year is simple.

Turkey

Stuffing (made with Udi's gluten free bread this year)

Mashed Potatoes (from scratch)

Gravy (from scratch)

Cranberry Orange Relish (one of my favorites - I grew up in cranberry country and it just isn't Thanksgiving without cranberries!)

Brussells Sprouts (from my garden)

Veggie Tray

Cranberry Fluff (My son Andy's all time favorite)

Raspberry Pie (My husband Dan's favorite - made with frozen raspberries from my garden)

For those of you who aren't familar with Cranberry Fluff, it is so easy to make. Just mix together one can of drained crushed pineapple (the bigger can, not the flat one), one tub of Tru Whip , one package of mini marshmallows (one of the very few times I allow corn syrup in this household is to make this once a year), and cranberry orange relish. Chill well before serving.

What is on your menu this year? Please leave me a comment and let me know what you are eating.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

$10 off - no min. order at allergysuperstore.com

My friend Sharon alerted me to this deal. I just ordered 2 boxes of Panda Puffs and only paid shipping ($3.99). Great deal.

Go here to start saving.

AllergySuperStore.com is part of drugstore.com.

Just click on the gluten free tab to see what gluten free foods are available. Not a lot to choose from, but $10 off no min. purchase is a really good deal.

Coupon for Udi's bread available!

If you love Udi's bread like I do, you will be excited to know that they have a printable coupon on their website for $1 off any product! This is a bricks coupon so you will only be allowed to print 2 per computer - but every little bit helps.

Prints are usually limited so hurry and print your coupons now before they run out of prints.

If you are new to printing coupons, do not copy them - they each have a unique number on them and the store will not get reimbursed for copies.

The link to the coupon is HERE.

We are losing one of our GF Bakeries in the Twin Cities

I know we are still blessed to have Bittersweet Bakery in Eagan and Madwoman Foods in Minneapolis but I am still sad to hear the Cooqi in St. Paul is closing on April 30, 2010.

It is not all bleak news. It sounds like their new products will be more affordable to those of us struggling to afford gluten free foods.

Here is the info from an email that I received from them yesterday:

April 2010 Cooqi News
Dear Friends
I'm sorry to say this is not my usual upbeat email.
We at Cooqi are very sad to announce that Cooqi Gluten-Free Delights will be closing its doors, as of April 30, 2010.
While it has been a joy to provide fresh baked goods to you for the past three-and-a-half years, our retail bakery business model is simply not sustainable, despite our countless loyal customers and the tireless dedication of my employees.
So, heartbreakingly, the bakery is closing.
Yet... the GOOD NEWS is that the Cooqi mission will live on!
Cooqi 2.0 will now be parlaying its most successful products into high quality, whole-grain gluten-free baking mixes that will be available for purchase online and from area groceries and coops within the next couple of months.
Our initial line of mixes - bread, pizza crust, cakes, pancakes, muffins, and baking flour - reflect the most popular items in our bakery. Not only will Cooqi's baking mixes allow you to continue to have the things you love from Cooqi, but you'll be able to make them easily (and more economically) yourself.
I will even show you how to DIY, as I plan to post demonstration videos on our website, taking you through step-by-step how to achieve bakery-quality results. This is all in keeping with my larger vision of providing access for all to delicious, healthy food.
Please watch for our upcoming line of baking mixes, coming in the late-Spring/early-Summer of 2010. I will certainly keep you updated.
In the meantime, stop by the bakery in the next 2 weeks to say goodbye and stock up on your favorite baked goods one last time. We'll try to keep supplies up for this. In addition, I will be sending out an additional email to alert you to last-week liquidation specials.
My deepest thanks for your support and my deepest regrets for any disruption Cooqi's closing may create in your culinary routines. It has been a gratifying and thrilling three-plus years, and we thank everyone who has made Cooqi a part of their life. We are honored to have served the gluten-free community delicious and nutritious fresh baked goods, and to have helped restore the enjoyment of food to people eating gluten-free.
I wish you all good health and good food - and look forward to staying in touch as Cooqi launches anew.
Love and Peace, Judy

Bourbon Chicken ala Kathi

This dish is a new favorite in our household. I make it at least once a week.

All of the ladies on a bulletin board that I belong to were raving for weeks about Bourbon Chicken so I had to try it also and I'm so glad I did. The original recipe was gfcf except for the soy sauce - which is easy to substitute wheat free soy sauce for - but like every recipe, I tinkered with it and made it my own.

GFCF Bourbon Chicken

20 ounce package of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut in bite size pieces
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, crushed or finely minced
1 Teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated or finely minced
1/4 cup juice (original recipe called for apple juice, but I just use whatever juice I have in the fridge at the time - I have used apple, grape, orange and raspberry - all worked fine)
1/3 cup Raw Sugar or Rapadura (original recipe called for brown sugar and you could certainly use that if you don't have raw sugar)
2 Tablespoons Ketchup
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
1/3 cup Wheat Free Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
If you want some heat in this, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers to sauce.

Heat oil in large skillet.
Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
Mix remaining ingredients in a jar or measuring cup - shake or stir to combine.
Pour sauce over chicken. When sauce thickens and boils, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

For extra crunch add 1/2 cup of peanuts or other nuts to sauce right before serving.

Serve over brown rice with a side of steamed broccoli.

Serves 4

Attune Probiotic Chocolate Bars

Probiotics - I think we all know that they are good for us. Research has shown that probiotics are beneficial and even necessary for good gut health. Just google probiotics and there are tons of articles and studies out showing the importance of them.

But, have you had your probiotics today?

I don't always remember to.

And for those of us with gut issues - which is a big reason that many of us are gluten free - probiotics are more important than ever.

I was recently contacted by Attune Foods and asked if I would review their Probiotic Chocolate Bars. I had never heard of Attune Foods before - so I did some research and asked lots of questions. They also have granola and granola bars in their line - but those are not gluten free. Their only products that are gluten free at this time are the chocolate bars. And the only ones that are casein free as well are the 3 dark chocolate varieties. If you are also soy free - which I know many of my readers are - this product is not for you - all 3 of the bars I tested clearly stated that they contain soy.

They generously sent me a sample of each of their 3 GFCF bars to try.

The 3 GFCF varieties are Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Dark Chocolate, and Coffee Bean Dark Chocolate. Here is a picture of them so you know what they look like when you go looking for them in your store.

Here is the Raspberry Dark Chocolate unwrapped. It is small - just two squares. But there is a ton of nutrition and great taste packed into those 2 tiny squares.

Here is the underside of the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar - those little bumps are crunchy bits of real raspberries! Yum!

And here is a fuzzy (sorry - I really need a better camera) picture showing the inside of the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar - those red bits are real raspberries.

The bars are small, but that is good. Like most women my age I am forever trying to lose weight and chocolate is a downfall of mine. This gives me my daily chocolate craving without too many calories (80 in the Dark Chocolate, 90 in the Raspberry and Coffee Bean varieties).

Finding these in the stores isn't the easiest thing to do. They do have a store locator on their website. Whole Foods is the closest store to me that carries them. Once you locate a store with them, you need to know that they are kept refrigerated - with the yogurt. While refrigerating them prolongs the life of the probiotics, once you buy them you can store them at room temperature for up to two weeks so they are much more portable than yogurt. I suggest storing them in the fridge and just taking them out when you want to pack them in your lunch or consume them.

You can also order these directly from their website.

The taste was wonderful. I love raspberries so I tried that bar first and was not disappointed. I had the dark chocolate the second day and it was also good. I am not a coffee lover so I saved the coffee bean for the last day - and I was surprised to find it wasn't bad at all. Personally I wouldn't buy it but if it were the only flavor available I would eat it and it would be okay. If you are a coffee lover you may find you love that flavor. Isn't it nice that we all have different tastes?

These bars are also a great source of fiber - not many candy bars can say that.

These bars are to be savored and enjoyed just once a day for probiotic health.

All of the bars contain the statement that they are manufactured on equipment that also processes milk containing products, peanuts, tree nuts and wheat. I asked Annelies about that. Her response was: Our bars are made of gluten-free ingredients and every batch is tested by an independent lab to verify that our bars meet the standard of testing less than 5 parts per million of gluten. What this comes down to is that once a year one product is made in the factory that is not gluten-free, so there is very little risk of cross contamination. We put the manufacturing equipment statement on our bars as a way to not only be transparent about our practices because we know celiacs often have to hunt down the conditions in which food is manufactured, but also to help them and people with gluten intolerances make an informed choice. We are currently being evaluated for gluten-free certification. All of our chocolate bars are gluten-free. All of the equipment used to make our chocolate bars has been totally washed down. The reason we manufacture our bars on shared equipment is exactly as you stated- we are a small company and cannot afford to have multiple lines. I think that’s a great goal for us in the future though!

I feel pretty safe eating these bars with the disclaimer on them - please make your own decision based on your own health needs.

Here is a link to a coupon that you can print out for $1 off 4 bars.

Click here for Attune Coupon

If you are just looking for a chocolate bar to enjoy, these bars may be too expensive for you. If you are looking for a tasty way to enhance your health, then Attune may be the product for you.

I like that they are made from all natural ingredients.

Try them and let me know what you think.

Here's to good digestive health!