Happy Valentine's Day!

Andy wanted some mini Valentine's cakes to decorate. He must have seen some on TV cause otherwise I have no idea where he got the idea. So, being the good mother that I am, I made him some.

I kept it simple.

I mixed up two Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mixes and baked them in a sheet pan.

I lined the bottom of the cake pan with wax paper so it would be easy to remove from the pan.

After the cake was cool I cut out mini cakes using a heart shaped cookie cutter.

I sliced the cakes in half and filled the centers with strawberry jam.

Then I pour icing over them (I had them on a wire rack with wax paper underneath to catch the drips).

And then I let Andy decorate them.

Next time I think I will make them smaller - and cut them into squares so there is no wasted cake.

I put the cut away cake in the freezer. I think I will make it into cake balls.

Finally a really good gluten free bread!

This egg salad sandwich is made with a prepackaged gluten free bread. It is soft and untoasted. It was wonderful. I never thought I would ever eat a sandwich with untoasted bread ever again. Now, it has been six years since I had regular bread, but this is most definitely what I remember it being like.

So, what is this wonderful bread? It is Udi's.

I have been hearing talk for some time now about this wonderful bakery in Denver that makes gluten free bread that tastes just like the real thing but it wasn't available here in my area. My local food co-op just started carrying it so I picked up two loaves yesterday. They sell it frozen, but once thawed you store it at room temperature and it is so much like real bread it is nothing short of amazing. They were out of the white sandwich bread so I got the whole grain. I need to go back and get some more because one loaf is almost gone already.

I may never bake bread again. My loaf pans are going to be used a whole lot less for bread now and more for meat loaf and maybe pumpkin bread. And my life is going to be much easier.

My son Andy couldn't wait to try a sandwich - he was so young when we pulled gluten from his diet that he doesn't remember soft bread. He ate the entire sandwich and didn't leave any crusts like he does when he eats toasted bread.

My husband doesn't believe it is gluten free. He is afraid that we will hear that, like the recent scam in North Carolina, that it was all false and the bread really has gluten in it. I don't believe that is the case at all. This bread is baked in a dedicated gluten free bakery that people can actually visit - not like the one in North Carolina where no one actually had an address for the bakery (he delivered only).

If you haven't tried Udi's yet - you really should. Ask your stores to carry it if they don't. You can also order directly off their website. I can't wait to try some of their other products. I have heard that the pizza crust and muffins are equally as good.

Andy Makes his First Pie!

I just have to share these pictures of my 10 year old son making his first pie!

He keeps bugging me that he wants to actually learn to cook and bake, not just help out. He figures if he is going to survive in a gluten filled world without his mommy, he'd better learn!

Today I asked him if he wanted to make a pie (thinking we'd make something fairly easy like Raspberry) and he very excitedly said yes! But it had to be a lemon meringue pie!

He did a really good job. I had to read the recipe to him and I had to walk him through it - and I took it in and out of the oven - but this pie is 98% all his! I am super proud of him.

Rolling out the dough. I had frozen pie dough in the freezer so that part was pretty easy - no mixing. This is the mix from the gluten free pantry.

Squeezing lemons.

Measuring corn starch

Breaking an egg

Stirring - he was mad that I asked him to turn his head so I could see his face!

Beating the egg whites into meringue.

Putting the meringue on the pie. He really liked that part.

Spreading the meringue all the way to the edges so it doesn't "weep"

And there is my proud baker with his finished pie cooling on the stove top!

I'll post my recipe later - just wanted to share the pictures with you right away!

Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice with Mixed Berries

As many of you know, getting breakfast into my child before school is difficult. Really really difficult. He just does not like to eat before 10am and since school starts at 7:45 that is a problem. I found the best way to get him to eat breakfast is to rotate the different foods that I offer him. This is one of his favorite cereals in our rotation.

Erewhon makes several gluten free cereals. Their cereals are also healthier than most and sweetened with things other than high fructose corn syrup. This cereal is sweetened with brown rice syrup and honey. The dried fruits in it (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) are REAL fruit! And most importantly, it TASTES GREAT!

For more information on Erewhon cereals, visit their webpage. A list of their gluten free cereals can be found here.

If you can't find Erewhon cereals in your local store, glutenfree.com carries them here.

Enjoy Life Crunchy Rice and Crunchy Flax Cereals

I am a huge fan of Enjoy Life Foods. It is so comforting to be able to see their logo and know that I don’t have to read the ingredients – I know when I see their products without a doubt that there is no hidden gluten or dairy – it just isn’t there. People who don’t deal with food allergies or intolerances have no idea how freeing that is. The one time you don’t read the label may be the one time that the formula was changed and a food previously safe is no more.

So I was quite excited when Enjoy Life contacted me a week or so ago and asked me if I would be willing to try their new cereals. All they asked in return was that I personally try the products and to give my unbiased opinion so that is what you are getting here.

I received the two free boxes of cereal yesterday. One box of Crunchy Flax and one box of Crunchy Rice.

As usual, my son Andy was super excited to be getting something new to try. I thought these cereals might be a little too grown up for him but he wanted to try them. We opened both boxes and sampled a little right out of the box.

Andy immediately asked for a bowl of the Crunchy Rice with vanilla almond milk. I just gave him a small bowl of it since I didn’t want to waste any and I thought he might be expecting it to be lighter – more like a crispy rice cereal instead of so crunchy. He finished it and had a second bowl right away!

I know my boy though and I knew the true test would come this morning. He often times eats something new really well the first time he has it but then decides he doesn’t like it after all. And it is almost impossible to get breakfast down him before school! So, this morning I asked him what he wanted for breakfast and without hesitation he asked for the *new* crunchy rice stuff. He finished the entire bowl and went to school with a full tummy – let me tell you that doesn’t happen very often. I hope this continues! I don’t care how expensive it is if he will eat breakfast every day.

I ate the Crunchy Flax sprinkled over my soy yogurt and it was really really good. I was surprised. Regular readers of my blog know that I am not just into things being gluten and dairy free but also very into health and nutrition. Flax is such a good food for you – but not one that I consume regularly because I simply don’t like the taste. I have tried to like it but it has to be hidden in foods for me to enjoy it. This was great – the crunchy flax bits were just the right size for yogurt – I sometimes have granola (Enjoy Life brand of course) over my yogurt and I find the granola pieces a little too large and a little too soft. The Crunchy Flax was perfect. I’m not sure if the rest of my family will eat the Crunchy Flax but I most certainly will.

Enjoy Life sent me a press release with the products and now that I have shared my personal opinion with you, I’ll share some of what they have to say about their new products.

It appears that these cereals are new to Enjoy Life but they are not new cereals. Perky’s Nutty Flax and Perky’s Nutty Rice have been around for 25 years. They are now transitioning under the Enjoy Life brand, becoming Enjoy Life Crunchy Flax and Enjoy Life Crunchy Rice. Personally I think crunchy is a better name since there is no nuts in either of the cereals.

Both products are made in a dedicated nut-free and certified gluten-free facility ensuring the quality, integrity and purity of the products. All Enjoy Life products are certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) and are allergy-friendly. All Enjoy Life products are free of the eight most common allergens (NO: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish).

Crunchy Flax is 100% natural, sweetened with fruit juice and honey, and has 50g of whole grain, 425 mg of Omega-3’s and 6g of fiber per serving. WOW! Tasty and nutritious!

Crunchy Rice is 100% natural, sweetened with fruit juice and honey and is low fat and low sodium.

I haven’t had the opportunity yet to check my local stores for these cereals, but I do see that glutenfree.com does have them.

If you want to ask your local stores to carry these – or any Enjoy Life product, Enjoy Life does have a letter on their website that all you have to do is print, sign and give to your local grocer – just as easy as that.

If you are a coupon shopper like me, Enjoy Life also has a printable coupon on their website for 55 cents off any product.

Try these new products yourself and then post a comment and let me know what you think of them.

A successful GFCF Birthday Party

Andy turned 10 yesterday. How is that possible? It seems like just yesterday we got a call in the middle of the night that he had been born and we rushed to the hospital to hold our newborn.

We had a very successful birthday party - here are some pics!

The party was held at a climbing wall. Here is a group shot of the birthday boy with all of his guests.

Before the party, the day was started out with the birthday boy's favorite breakfast - raspberry pancakes (GFCF of course). I'll post the recipe below.

GFCF Yellow cupcakes - I used the new Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix to make these. Andy does not like chocolate so I made these for him.

And I also made chocolate cupcakes - again they are the new Betty Crocker gluten free mix - the devils food flavor. All of the children ate the cupcakes and no one said anything about them tasting funny so I don't think they could tell they were GFCF.

We only did snacks since the party was from 2 to 4. Andy picked the snack menu. The most popular item was the fruit kebobs.

Andy helped make the snacks. Here he is making Ants on a Log (probably the second popular snack).

We also served deviled eggs and a home made trail mix.

GFCF Raspberry Pancakes

2 eggs
2 cups original flavor Almond Milk (or use any milk sub)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted (or use any shortening or salad oil)
2 cups GF flour blend (I used Bobs Red Mill GF Blend)
2 tablespoons raw sugar (or use brown or regular sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries.

Beat eggs

Add remaining ingredients and mix

Pour batter onto hot greased griddle or frying pan.

Turn pancakes when they are puffed up and full of bubbles.

Makes 20 4-inch pancakes

Individual Breakfast Quiches

Here is a yummy breakfast that has become a big hit in my household -

Individual Breakfast Quiches

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:
7 eggs
1 cup Almond Milk (or any milk or milk substitute)

Your choice of fillings – I used:
9 ounces Al Fresco Chicken Sausage – Maple and Apple flavor (12 oz package – use 3 of the 4 links to get the right amount) – removed from casing and crumbled into small pieces – I used a knife to cut them up really small.
1 small can mushroom pieces (or use fresh and sauté first)
¼ cup sliced red onion (or use leeks or scallions or whatever you have on hand)
¼ teaspoon pepper

You could also add cheese if you aren’t dairy free (or use a cheese substitute if you have one you like – I think these are great just the way they are) – or bell peppers or really any fillings you would put in an omelet.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees – making sure the rack is positioned in the center of the oven.

Generously coat a regular muffin pan with cooking spray.

Whisk the eggs and milk in a medium bowl.

Cook the sausage over medium heat until nice and brown. Add mushrooms, onions and pepper and cook another minute or two.

Divide the egg whites equally between the muffin cups (about ¼ cup each).

Spoon a heaping spoonful of filling into each muffin cup.

Bake until they are solid in the middle and the tops are starting to brown – time varies with the type of muffin cup you are using – mine take about 45 minutes to cook – I would start checking after 30 minutes to be safe.

Cool for 5 minutes and then turn quiches out.

These can be made ahead and reheated for a quick weekday breakfast.