My blog is simply about Life, Gluten Free. It includes everything from some of our favorite GF products and recipes, to talking about life a as a GF Teenager.
The bags are packed, three with clothes and one with our favorite travel-able gluten free treats, and we are off to Ireland.
There have been moments when I thought this trip may be too much to take on, but we persevered through
two days of Internet searching and goggle earthing to find gluten free restaurants,
calls to the castle and hotels will be staying at to see if they can feed us, and
getting all of our laundry done so we would have clean clothes to pack, and
we are finally ready to go.
I know I owe emails to several of you - Shelly thanks for the great recipe for cauliflower pizza crust, and Libby, we have been thinking of you and all of the flooding in Iowa. Praying you are high and dry.
I have about a million things I should be doing as we are leaving next week for our first international gluten-free trip - but wanted to share with you first about the new Chebe Frozen Pizza Dough:
The Gluten Free Kid has been gone this week. This is the first time she has left Mom and Dad at home and traveled with a friend.
She went to her friend's beach house (yes - nice friends to have).
We spent a day packing her food before she left -
I sent along a copy of my dining out card (or better termed dining out memo) so her friend's parents would now what precautions to take.
She took Glutino bagels and Philadelphia cream cheese for lunch - she really did not want to take a toaster and this is the one brand that actually taste okay just warmed for a little bit in the microwave.
We packed peanut butter and Glutino pretzels for snack, as well as some home made cookies.
We also did a test run of the Chebe Frozen Pizza Dough and sent that along with some pizza sauce, cheese and parchment paper to cook it on.
We love the Chebe dry pizza and bread stick mix. It is probably our favorite pizza crust mix - it is nice and thin and has a good taste. The only down side is that it does take a little elbow grease to make it,so we were excited to try the frozen pizza dough.
This dough would be absolutely perfect if you only have one or two people in the family that eats gluten free - you just leave it frozen and cook for 30 minutes.
It is also perfect for things like sleepovers or visiting company. It is easy to pack some parchment paper and cook the frozen dough for a nice baked treat.
But after trying it, we have to give a 3 1/2 star rating - mostly because it contains diary (I really wish more GF manufacturers would also go casein free) and the relative cost.
I only tasted the pizza crust (before realizing it contained dairy) and I thought it was great. However, two of the little squares pictured come in a box, so it took 3 boxes to feed my family of five. At almost $6.00 a box that is pretty expensive convenience for us.
I did not get to taste the rolls or bread sticks, but the kids just gave them a three out of five stars. They were good but not great - rather round and hard and not nearly as large as you can get by making the same with the Chebe mix.
I am sure we will use the pizza dough again - it is especially easy for the GFK to make her own pizzas away from home. But for bread sticks and rolls, we will stick with the dry mix.
So how has it been without the GFK around?? -quiet and, in all honesty, I have spent a lot less time in the kitchen.
I am the only other gluten free member of our family, so I ate salads and leftover chili this week, and the rest of the family had a gluten fest. I actually ordered a delivery pizza for the kids one night - I had not done something like that in three years and I was almost shocked how easy it was and how cheap it was. Less than $15 for a pizza, delivered to my front door that provided two meals!! No wonder so many American's no longer cook.
Lets put away the homework, school uniforms and turn the alarm clock off.
I want to pick cherries, and raspberries and blueberries.
I want to get out the pool and slip-n-slide, and stay up at night with the sun.
I want to hike up to Denny Creek and let our toes dangle in the cold mountain spring water until they ache from the cold.
No more three ring binders, spelling tests and rain coats.
No more running out the door to carpool, sack lunch assembly lines or scheduled sporting activities.
I know that in the fall the kids will be bickering and tired of each other, the novelty of free time and unscheduled days will wear off (and I will be ready for a break),
but for now, I am so glad it is summer.
And here is a recipe for one of our favorite summer time pasta dishes. It is even better when the tomatoes are in season:
Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
1/2 pound gluten free pasta (since our favorite Bi-Aglut is not available we have switched to Glutano-it was so good, we actually pulled the bag out of the trash to make sure it was gluten free. Schar's is our second choice. You can buy both at glutenfree.com)
kosher salt
1 pound ripe tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup kalamata olives, diced (Peloponnese are GF)
In a bowl, add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.
Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture, add the basil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (I serve the cheese on the side since I am also casein free).
That simple and that good!!
This was adapted from my all-time favorite cookbook for cooking meals that are naturally gluten free. I love all of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks, but use Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family the most. Most of her recipes are derived from natural fresh ingredients that are easy to find and cook with on the gluten free diet.
Okay, so now that you know how I feel about summer. This is how my kids feel about it.
Before you watch this, remember that we have had the longest, grayest, wettest spring in 100 years!
When the sun finally came out, the Gluten Free Kid put Here Comes the Sun on the Zune - this is the rest of the story:
I received the following from the American Celiac Disease Alliance regarding school lunches:
As the school year draws to a close, we've been doing a lot of thinking about the growing number of children with celiac. How many of these kids able to get their medically required gluten-free diet at school? From what we know, not very many How does it make them feel that they can't go through the lunch line with their friends? Some shrug it off. But I expect that many, like my 10 year-old, will tell you about the special Thanksgiving lunch with tears in their eyes.
Many parents are not aware that the National School Lunch Program requires schools to meet the needs of students with special dietary needs.
The ACDA has launched a brief online survey to find out who is providing lunch for student's with celiac disease - parents, school, or a combination. This survey will help us to work with parents so that their children can have gluten-free meals during the next school year.
If you have a child with celiac disease attending school please
I am not a doctor, nutritionist or a psychologist. All of the opinions expressed in this blog are merely my own based on our gluten free lifestyle. The information provided is for educational purposes only. In no way should it be considered as medical advice. At times I do recommend products and restaurants. Always independently verify that a product or a restaurant is gluten free before trying. Ingredients are always changing and we cannot guarantee the absence of cross-contamination or misinformation from suppliers.
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the most. Most of her recipes are derived from natural fresh ingredients that are easy to find and cook with on the gluten free diet.
