Gluten Free Mom

Our Gluten Free Halloween Menu

Are you ready for the big night?  I am not Claire from Modern Family - no haunted house or Little Bo Peeps here (although my husband does remind me of Phil).    But I do try and invite the neighbors over and cook something yummy to offset all that sugar!   

And I do have a great costume:

 

As to the menu:

We are starting at 5:00 with killer Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites,

Hummus with Food Should Taste Good Chips, and 

Woodinville Red Wine.

Armed with our Gluten Free Candy list (and an umbrella) we will go trick or treating with our neighbors.

Then we will come back for Hot Apple Cider and a big pot of Lentil soup and the trading will begin. 

This will be our 8th year being gluten free and the easiest way to deal with all the candy we can't eat because it is not GF, is to trade it!  

The kids dump all of their candy on the floor, sort the good from the bad, and then trade the bad with their friends or with me for some cold hard cash (honestly, I'd rather give them $5 than have them eat most of that candy anyway).  We have done this for the last several years and everyone is happy in the end. 

What are your plans? 

Plentils by Enjoy Life - Surprisingly Satisfying and On Sale NOW

Just a quick post to share about a new product that I ran across Monday while shopping at my local PCC Natural Market and that happens to be  This Week's Gluten-Free Deal! from Gluten Free Saver.

 

The new product is Plentils by Enjoy Life Foods.  My kids saw the label and said "really mom, now you are serving us chips made of lentils," but I actually think these are a really good "better for you chip" and I sample a lot of products.

 

I have to admit from the start that I crave crunchy, salty snacks.  Before the word "gluten" became a regular part of my vocabulary, my husband was astounded by the fact that I did not like pizza and beer.  He thought I was crazy when I would order a salad while he ate pizza.  Of course, it was because the pizza and beer made me feel awful. 

But at the same time, I could down a bag of Lays chips in one sitting and it would not hurt my stomach.    Of course, now I know it was because the gluten in the pizza and beer were killing me and the chips, while not healthy, were at least gluten free.

I was at PCC on Monday walking down the salty section and spotted a foil bag containing a promising new salty snack that is made in a dedicated gluten free facility and free of the 8 most common allergens.  I had to try it.

I found Plentils very satisfying.  They are lighter and less greasy that a deep fried chip.  They are more like a Pop Chip than a Lays.  Because of this, they leave you feeling less greasy and bloated. 

They have a really nice flavor too - not so strong that you have to use a breath mint after eating them, but strong enough to satisfy that salty flavorful craving.

Even though they are light and crunchy, they held up well as a dipping chip.  I tried them with hummus and they held up great.

If you want to try them Sign Up for Gluten-Free Saver.  Membership is FREE and Plentils are this weeks Deal of the Week  -40% Off A Variety Pack of Enjoy Life Foods' Brand New Plentils!

 

Finally, don't kid yourself.  This is not health food!  Even a chip made from lentils is still a chip.  But definitely easier on the fat side of things than a traditional Lays chip.  Interesting that they have a much higher sodium content than Lays. 

The Nutrition Info for Plentils:

The Nutrition Info for Lays:

Gluten Free Brownies (easily adaptable for casein free)

It feels like fall to me!  Time to put away the swim suits and flip flops; pull on the fleece and Ugg slippers and dig into some good old fashioned comfort food.

 

Elliott Bay Marina

 

Of course, ours will be gluten free (and dairy free if I want to eat it), and quick and easy.

There are plenty of good gluten free brownie mixes.  The Betty Crocker mix is very easy and satisfying, and we really like the King Arthur mix.

But gluten free brownies are the easiest thing to cook from scratch.  You can mix these together in under 15 minutes.   The scratch brownies taste so much better! 

 

Recipe for Gluten Free Brownies

 

 

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free

• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped  (I used Sunspire Foods, Organic 100% Unsweetened Baking Bar, 12/4 Oz

• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters (For casein free replace with 6 tbsp Earth Balance and 2 tbsp Coconut Oil)

• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder (Hershey's is gluten free)

• 3 large eggs

• 1¼ cups sugar

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 cup  Gluten Free Flour (this recipe is very forgiving so any GF flour mix will work)

• If the GF flour does not contain xanthan gum, add 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum to the GF flour

Directions:

 Preheat the oven to 350° F and oil  an 8-inch square baking dish.

You can prepare the warm chocolate mix in two ways.  The traditional method would be in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter (or butter alternative), stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool. 

My busy mom method (which works just fine for me) is to add the two kinds of chocolate and butter (0r butter alternative) in a microwave proof bowl and microwave 20 seconds, stir and microwave another 20 seconds.  Repeat if the chocolate is still not melted.  Then stir in the cocoa powder.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined. 

Stir in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated (try not to lick your fingers).

Then stir in the GF flour (and xanthan gum if needed) until just combined.  

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bounce it a couple of times on the counter to spread it evenly.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it.  

It will be hot right out of the oven, but I pulled me out just as we sat down for dinner.  By dessert time, it was cooled enough that we could eat it, but oh so warm and molten.  Melted on the tongue.  Absolutely delightful!  Would be even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cut into squares as desired.  If there is any left over, store in an air-tight container.   

Click for a Printable Version of this Recipe

Recipe for Cinnamon Apple Crepes; Apple Butter; Apple Sauce - all easy to make Gluten Free

Apples, apples everywhere.  That is the story at our house, but we do live in Washington State which grows six of every ten apples consumed in the United States. 

We have a small orchard with two new apples trees that I planted and two very old apples trees which  produced hundreds of apples this year.

In lieu of sitting on the sofa and watching the Seahawks play football (a Sunday afternoon activity that is thoroughly entertaining this year), we harvested our apples and got busy in the kitchen. 

One of the silver linings of Celiac Disease is the bond formed with My Gluten Free Teen in the kitchen. 

 

 

My Gluten Free Teen making Crepes

As she gets older, I appreciate the neutral ground that our kitchen and this time together affords us.  It is a place where we can laugh and talk, and make some yummy food.  I think it is sad that so many families in our modern day hectic society have lost this source of quality time. 

 

First we made apple sauce which is so easy to make:

Recipe for Homemade Applesauce

 

Ingredients:

•   8 apples - peeled, cored and chopped (see note below on types of apples)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

NOTE on apples: Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.) Different types of apples will make a more bitter or a sweeter sauce.  We typically use Granny Smiths because they are hard and thus easier to peel.  But they are also more bitter and require more sugar, so adjust the sugar accordingly.

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If apples are sticking to bottom of pan, add more water.   If you have a potato masher, you can use it to chop up the apples as they cook.  If not, just keep cooking them until apples are soft and mash with a fork.

 

 

Then we made Slow Cooker Apple Butter, which is even easier to make:

Recipe for Slow Cooker Apple Butter

 

Ingredients:

•   5 1/2 lbs apples, peeled and finely chopped ( I use 3-4 different types of apples)
•  4 cups sugar
•  2 -3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•  1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place apples in crock pot.

Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Pour over apples and mix well.

Cook on high for 1 hour.

Decrease heat to low; cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown. We cook them overnight.

Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour to thicken the apple buttre. 

Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Cover and freeze. Or preserve with hot water canning method.

 

Finally, after peeling all of those apples, we decided to make Cinnamon Apple Crepes for dinner: 

Recipe for Gluten Free Cinnamon Apple Crepes

 

Don't be fooled by the fancy name, crepes are actually really easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (any dairy free milk alternative will work as well)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 T butter, melted ( use Earth Balance for dairy free)
• 3/4 cup gluten free flour
• 1 T brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• optional ingredients - 2 T of certified gluten free oats, 1 T flax seed

Directions:

In medium bowl, mix eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.   In a crepe pan or a medium-sized saute pan,  melt butter and then add the melted butter to the egg mixture and whisking vigorously.  Make sure the butter is not so hot that it cooks the milk and eggs.  Add remaining dry ingredients (and the optional ingredients) to liquid mixture and whisk again.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture into a crepe pan or a medium sized saute pan and swirl to coat the pan. Cook until just turning brown (about two minutes) and flip to cook the other side.  Remix with a whisk before pouring next crepe into pan.

Yields about 12 crepes.

We pulled out some of the apples in the applesauce while they were still hard enough that they looked like apple slices and filled our crepes with them.  Store bought apple sauce would work as well.  

Want to make peeling all of those apples easier?  We love our Back To Basics Apple And Potato Peeler.  Makes peeling apples a breeze!  And the kids love to help.

And now we have to worry about Rice?

I don't know about you but we eat a lot of rice and rice-based products.  After doing some research, we have decided it is time to add a little more variety to our diet and to start eating less rice.  

As I look around at my kitchen, I see the GF flour that's main ingredient is rice, the rice crackers, rice cereal, rice cakes, plain rice that we eat at least once a week, rice milk, the GF cookies whose main ingredient is  . . .  rice!  Rice has to be one of the most commonly used substitutes in a GF diet.

And now multiple reports are saying that rice may be contaminated with arsenic, which is not only a potent human carcinogen but also can set up children for other health problems in later life. I am not a doctor, or a nutritionist, or a naturopath, I am just a Mom trying to figure this all out.  And from what I have read and heard, it seems like a good time to add more variety to our diet.

As I understand the issue, there is inorganic arsenic in rice and rice products (in addition to the water we drink everyday).  Even though the FDA is not yet regulating the levels of inorganic arsenic in rice, they have released a summary of their findings to date.  

FDA’s testing of the initial samples found these average levels of inorganic arsenic in micrograms (one millionth of a gram):

• Rice (other than Basmati rice): 6.7 per 1 cup (cooked)
• Rice cakes: 5.4 per 2 cakes
• Rice beverages: 3.8 per 240 ml (some samples not tested for inorganic arsenic)
• Rice cereals: 3.5 per 1 cup
• Basmati rice: 3.5 per 1 cup cooked

Consumer Reports has also tested the amount of inorganic arsenic in several rice products.  Follow this link for their tests results.  As an example, DeBoles Rice Spiral pasta contained 6.9 to 7.5 micrograms per serving.  By the way, brown rice has more inorganic arsenic than white rice.

At this point, there is no federal limit for arsenic in food.  However, the EPA has set a Reference Dose which is basically how much inorganic arsenic you can be exposed to on a daily basis "without appreciable risk of deleterious noncancer effects during a lifetime.”   They have set this standard for chronic oral exposure to inorganic arsenic at 0.0003 mg per kg of body weight per day. 

To figure out how much you can be exposed to on a daily basis, take your body weight  in pounds and divide it by 2.2.   Then multiply that number  by 0.0003 to get your  daily limit for inorganic arsenic intake from food and water. (Source:  Trica Thompson's article on Arsenic and Rice).

Tricia Thompson did it for her body weight (132 pounds) and  determined that her inorganic arsenic intake from food and water should be limited to 0.018 mg (or 18 micrograms) per day. 

Bottom line, if you take the EPA Reference Dose and compare it to the amounts listed above for inorganic arsenic in rice, you can see that it does not take much to reach this limit, especially if you factor in that you are already getting a certain amount of inorganic arsenic from the water you drink.   This is even more disturbing if you are a child who starts their day with rice cereal and rice milk, eats their sandwich on rice-based bread, has a rice-based cracker for snack and cookies as a treat, along with a side of rice for dinner.

In fact, Consumer Reports ran tests on people who consume rice regularly and found that thos people do have higher arsenic levels.  They found that "people who reported eating one rice food item had total urinary arsenic levels 44 percent greater than those who had not, and people who reported consuming two or more rice products had levels 70 percent higher than those who had no rice."  Consumer Reports

The FDA  "is not recommending that consumers change their consumption of rice and rice products at this time, but that people eat a balanced diet containing a wide variety of grains." 

Consumer Reports has recommend limiting your rice intake as follows:

 

 

A well-balanced diet will have variety and not be too dependent on any one ingredient, but I think variety is particularly hard when your diet is already restricted.  Not to mention, a lot of people get the variety in their diets from eating out and those same options just are not as easy for us.

In spite of the challenges, I believe we all need to be aware of what we eat, and given the current findings, it seems prudent to make sure that we are not eating too much rice or rice-based products.   

Here are some non-rice gluten free options: 

Tricia Thompson lists some non-rice gluten free alternatives in her article.  Here are some other ideas:

• Pasta:  Try a non-rice pasta.  We have always loved Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta.

• Side Dishes:  Eat something other than rice as a side dish.  Again, Quinoa is a great alternative to rice.  I have not seen any reports about Quinoa having inorganic arsenic yet and since it is grown in the South American Andes, I am guessing it will remain safe.  Roasted potatoes are another great side dish that are easy to make and meets those carb cravings.  Just make sure and scrub them well.  

• Snacks:  As an alternative to rice crackers, try Sweet Potato Chips by Food Should Taste Good. Or how about some organic snap peas to go with that humus?

• Breakfast:  For breakfast, try Cream of Buckwheat, or Gluten Free Whole Grain, Rolled Oats, For cereal, try Nature's Path Organic Honey'd Corn Flakes Cereal. For something totally different, try a smoothie.  My gluten free teen drinks one every morning. Or how about fried egg whites, or yogurt and some Udi granola?

• Drinks:  There are plenty of non-rice, non-dairy beverages.  Almond Milk is one of our favorites. 

• Bread:  Is a little harder - it seems like we're only recently seeing good GF bread  and now we need to worry about the rice too.  I don't know the rice content of these breads, but Udis does offer a Millet Chia bread that may have a little less brown rice.  I actually prefer this bread.  It is very tasty.  I also really like good old fashioned corn tortillas as a bread replacement (and, yes, I realize that many corn products also have GMOs so you will want to check that as well).

• 

  Baking:  As a sweet treat, try baking with almond flour.  We have used almond flour as a gluten free alternative for years, and we love it.  Rebecca Reilly has some great recipes in her cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking: More Than 125 Recipes for Delectable Sweet and Savory Baked Goods, Including Cakes, Pies, Quick Breads, Muffins, Cookies, and Other Delights. Or try these absolutely delicious chocolate cookies that have almost no flour in them.  We also love both dark and milk chocolate bars. Endangered Species Panther, Extreme Dark Chocolate are certified gluten free and many agree that dark chocolate is actually good for you.

Lastly, many are recommending that you cook rice differently than in the past.  Consumer Reports recommends rinsing raw rice thoroughly before cooking, using a ratio of 6 cups water to 1 cup rice for cooking and draining the excess water afterward.  "Research has shown that rinsing and using more water removes about 30 percent of the rice's inorganic arsenic content."

For our family, I am not panicking about this issue.  There are a lot of "bad food choices" available to the American consumer and our gluten free diet actually insulates us from many of these and I clearly believe we eat healthier than most of America.  However, we certainly will be cutting back on the overall amount of rice that we consume.