Ian's Mac and No Cheese

I was doing my regular grocery shopping at Super Target this week and I reached into the freezer case to get an Ian's Allergen Free Fish Stick and an Ian's Allergen Free Chicken Nuggets and what did I see right next to them but this mac and no cheese. I forgot to take a picture so I nabbed this pic off their website.

Andy was with me and begged me to buy it. It looks just like the real stuff and was easy to prepare in the microwave. Andy ate it right down - he loved it. I tasted it and it was *okay* but I wasn't buying it for me, I was buying it for him.

I love that Ian's really seems to be adding to their allergen free line of items. While I still prefer making food from scratch, it is so nice to have options.

I also love that my Super Target carries many of them. My primary grocery store is still my local food co-op (Mississippi Market) but Super Target is so much cheaper on some items - Ian's being one of them.

Ian's also seems to be putting out a lot more coupons lately. You can usually find printable ones on the internet. It all helps when raising a gfcf kid.

And if you buy a lot of Ian's foods, don't forget to save the points and let your kids redeem them for fun things. You can also get points for doing all kinds of things - check out their website for more information.

Making Yogurt with Almond Milk

I am experimenting with making yogurt from almond milk. I just don't like the taste (or price) of the coconut milk yogurt and I am trying to eliminate soy from our diet.

This was my first attempt at making it yesterday. It didn't turn out too bad. It was definitely edible.

The consistency was a little more runny than I wanted. I knew it wouldn't be as firm as a dairy yogurt but I want it a little more firm.

I am going to play with it more before I post a recipe, but I really think this is going to be doable - so for those of you out there who don't do soy either, stay tuned - there will be a recipe soon.

Purity Farms Ghee

I have been using ghee in more and more of my recipes. The lemon curd I made recently tasted so good because I used ghee in it.

Ghee is butter so it tastes wonderful in all of your gfcf recipes - like real butter - because it is. I know what some of you are thinking - but butter isn't casein free. Ah, but ghee is. Ghee is butter with the casein removed.

It is fairly expensive but it tastes so good. To cut down on the expense you can either make your own or you can mix it with a healthy shortening like palm oil or coconut oil. I have been using it 50/50 with coconut oil in a lot of my recipes.

I was a little reluctant to try ghee at first because I didn't understand how it could be casein free. But after using it for a few weeks with no reactions I became hooked.

I recently contacted Purity Farms via their website and complimented them on their product and asked to be put on any mailing list they have for coupons. They responded that they are just a small company with no mailing lists or coupons but they would be glad to send me a free product. A few days later, just as promised, a free jar was in my mailbox along with a handwritten letter, a nice pen and some recipes. How nice is that? Gotta love customer service like that.

So, if you haven't tried ghee yet and you want that buttery taste in your food - try ghee. You won't be disappointed.

A New Dairy Free Yogurt

For those of you who are looking for a soy free non dairy yogurt - here is another alternative - cultured coconut milk by So Delicious. At $1.99 a cup - it is pricey but if you can't find the rice yogurt and don't want to do soy..............

Free Soy Milk

For those of you who use soy - here is a link to a coupon for $2.25 off a quart of silk soy milk: http://www.silkoffer.com/.

You should be able to print two. It tracks your IP address, but if you have more than one computer - each should have it's own IP address and you could print two from each computer.

Not all grocery stores will take internet coupons, but my Super Target does and they carry Silk.
Hope that helps someone!

Dari Free

Dari Free has changed their packaging. It comes in this nice canister now - much easier to use.

Vegan Cheese Slices

I couldn't find the Tofutti brand that we usually buy, so I bought these. No one would eat them - so the dog gets them. What a waste. They totally do not taste like cheese!

Earth Balance Buttery Sticks

This is the margarine that I am using these days. I like the taste so much better than what I was using.

Vegan Grated Topping

This is really a bad picture - this product is not blue, a lavender color! This is what we use in place of parmesan cheese these days. I'm not sure if it is a different product from the one I posted before or if it is just different packaging - but at any rate, it looks different so I thought a picture was warranted so you know what to look for in the store.

Ricera Rice Yogurt

Here's a yogurt for those of you who also are avoiding soy. I just picked these up and haven't tasted them yet. I only bought these 3 - following my old rule of not buying more of one (or one of each flavor) until you know if you like it. I haven't tried it yet - after we have tried it I will come back and edit this post and give you my opinion. This is the first non-soy gfcf yogurt I've seen.

Soy Whip by Soyatoo

Now this was a real find at the store today - fake whipped cream that tastes good! I have tried Hip Whip and a few others in the past - but they were pretty gross. This stuff tastes pretty close to the real deal (especially if you have been gfcf for awhile). The bottom picture is an "ice cream sundae" made with Soy Dream Vanilla, home made raspberry sauce (from raspberries I grew) and Soy Whip on top. Andy ate it all gone and declared me the *best mom in the whole world* for finding this stuff!

Crystal Farms Margarine Sticks

Note that they say dairy free. Many margarine sticks contain whey or casein.

GFCF Condensed Milk Substitute Recipe

From Miss Roben's website (allergygrocery.com)

Condensed Milk Substitute
Ingredients:
1 cup Dari Free powder or equivalent in acceptable substitute
3 Tbsp margarine, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
Instructions:
1. In a blender, carefully combine ingredients and process until smooth and creamy.
2. Use caution so that hot liquid does not spatter and burn you.
3. Use to replace standard condensed milk in recipes.

Soy Dream Vanilla "ice cream"

Comes in several flavors.

Vegan Parmesan Alternative

Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread

I just bought this - I was buying Spectrum Spread which is also GFCF and no trans fats, but this is much more "buttery" tasting.

Silk Cultured Soy Yogurt

Comes in several flavors.

Tofutti Better than Sour Cream

Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Chocolate Milk

This is the only chocolate milk we buy. Andy doesn't like chocolate very much so we buy this for ourselves. My husband Dan says this is the best chocolate milk he has ever had.