I said I would hit the pantry and give you the low-down on what foods/ingredients I keep on hand to feed the hungry hoards here. Well, my pantry is a mess, so what better opportunity to catalog it and post it than right while I am moving things around. So I will finally give it a go:
Florida's Natural Au'some Nuggets (fruit snacks)
1-2-3 Gluten Free roll-out & cut Sugar Cookies
Farmer's Market Organic Sweet Potato Puree and Pumpkin puree(canned goods)
Namaste Chocolate Fudge Frosting Mix
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
Archer Farms Fruit Bars (some are organic, some are not)
Bob's Red Mill Cornstarch
Various brands of organic beans
Olives
Orville Redenbacher's Natural popcorn, the salted variety
Almond Butter (pick your brand, depending on whether your child is really sensitive to things produced on the same equipment)
Got to get back to schooling a boy, will edit this later to add in more foods.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The turkey we ordered came in!
It is a huge, 25lb bird that I hope will supply much meat and broth for the coming months. The boys wanted to eat it right away, but I explained that we had to cook it first.
I pulled out our Christmas tree today. Wesley's first reaction was "Christmas Tree, are you back?" I guess he will be one of those like me who was blessed with early memories. He remembers stuff all the time that tells me he will recall a lot of his early childhood. I was the same way.
I will soon catalog the items in our pantry to give ideas to the folks having trouble figuring out what to get to stock up a pantry.
I pulled out our Christmas tree today. Wesley's first reaction was "Christmas Tree, are you back?" I guess he will be one of those like me who was blessed with early memories. He remembers stuff all the time that tells me he will recall a lot of his early childhood. I was the same way.
I will soon catalog the items in our pantry to give ideas to the folks having trouble figuring out what to get to stock up a pantry.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Sweet Stuff - chocolate candy on the gf/cf diet.
This was an older recipe from Facebook, and now that I understand the nature of melting things for candy better, I think I will have a better idea of HOW to properly melt it and not get the sticky-melty effect. I usually store my candies in the freezer. Even if I never get the hang of melting the chocolate properly to retain a confectioner's-like crispness to the outside, it tastes great and does hold together to eat it. It is not really messy, just not as neat as "store bought" candy.
I have two candy recipes I made a Christmas that were hits at school. These are gluten free, casein free, and soy free. If you haven't figured it out yet, Trenton is allergic to soy and wheat, and their doc wants the dairy out too.
1) chocolate sunbutter cups (think reeses)
2) chocolate covered pretzels
In both cases, melt the bag of chocolate chips in a double boiler or one smaller pan sitting inside a larger pan filled with water. It is easier to melt with less burning this way.
Recipe #1 (their teacher's favorite)
1 bag Enjoy Life choc chips
1 container of sunbutter or peanut butter, or other peanut butter substitute
paper candy liners (easy to find at a Michael's craft store or other place with a lot of baking specialty items)
Melt the chocolate.
-Put the paper liners out on a cookie sheet or in a tray sized to hold the cup-shaped liners.
-When the chocolate is melted, "paint" the chocolate on to the liners in the shape of a cup, leaving plenty of room in the middle for filling.
-Freeze or chill the chocolate until it hardens. This usually only takes a few minutes, so you can keep your remaining liquid chocolate soft on low heat.
-Fill the middle with your peanut butter or other peanut butter subsitute (in our case, sunbutter tasted very good in these candies). *
-Chill the candies again for a few minutes.
-Pour or smooth on remaining liquid chocolate to completely cover the filling.
* I have only made this once, and I am thinking that I need to mix the sunbutter with something that will thicken it a little bit, like a cornstarch. - Followup note: Mix sugar and a thickening starch or something into the filler. It does work really well. Another followup note was to freeze the filler after rolling it out and flattening it into discs. Unless you have a lot of cooking tools, it is hard to pour centers. It it easier to set semi-hard centers into the chocolate cups and pour more chocolate on top.
Recipe #2
1 bag Enjoy Life Choc chips
1-2 bags Wylde's pretzels
Using melted chocolate,
-mix it and the pretzels together in a pan until the pretzels are all nicely coated, but not too coated.
-put large paper cupcake liners on a cookie sheet.
-using a spoon or tongs, put the pretzels, as clusters, into the cupcake liners.
- chill/freeze and enjoy.
I have only made both these recipes once, but I love them. I prefer to keep them stored in the freezer.
I am going to try it with maraschino cherries for some choc-covered cherries.
Oh, I have a new one now!!!! It is a spin on the pretzel recipe, only a chopped them up in the blender roughly, and threw in about 2 dozen mini candy canes. It takes almost like having a girl scout mint cookie.
I have made knock-off Almond Joy with this chocolate, sugar, coconut flakes, and almonds.
I have two candy recipes I made a Christmas that were hits at school. These are gluten free, casein free, and soy free. If you haven't figured it out yet, Trenton is allergic to soy and wheat, and their doc wants the dairy out too.
1) chocolate sunbutter cups (think reeses)
2) chocolate covered pretzels
In both cases, melt the bag of chocolate chips in a double boiler or one smaller pan sitting inside a larger pan filled with water. It is easier to melt with less burning this way.
Recipe #1 (their teacher's favorite)
1 bag Enjoy Life choc chips
1 container of sunbutter or peanut butter, or other peanut butter substitute
paper candy liners (easy to find at a Michael's craft store or other place with a lot of baking specialty items)
Melt the chocolate.
-Put the paper liners out on a cookie sheet or in a tray sized to hold the cup-shaped liners.
-When the chocolate is melted, "paint" the chocolate on to the liners in the shape of a cup, leaving plenty of room in the middle for filling.
-Freeze or chill the chocolate until it hardens. This usually only takes a few minutes, so you can keep your remaining liquid chocolate soft on low heat.
-Fill the middle with your peanut butter or other peanut butter subsitute (in our case, sunbutter tasted very good in these candies). *
-Chill the candies again for a few minutes.
-Pour or smooth on remaining liquid chocolate to completely cover the filling.
* I have only made this once, and I am thinking that I need to mix the sunbutter with something that will thicken it a little bit, like a cornstarch. - Followup note: Mix sugar and a thickening starch or something into the filler. It does work really well. Another followup note was to freeze the filler after rolling it out and flattening it into discs. Unless you have a lot of cooking tools, it is hard to pour centers. It it easier to set semi-hard centers into the chocolate cups and pour more chocolate on top.
Recipe #2
1 bag Enjoy Life Choc chips
1-2 bags Wylde's pretzels
Using melted chocolate,
-mix it and the pretzels together in a pan until the pretzels are all nicely coated, but not too coated.
-put large paper cupcake liners on a cookie sheet.
-using a spoon or tongs, put the pretzels, as clusters, into the cupcake liners.
- chill/freeze and enjoy.
I have only made both these recipes once, but I love them. I prefer to keep them stored in the freezer.
I am going to try it with maraschino cherries for some choc-covered cherries.
Oh, I have a new one now!!!! It is a spin on the pretzel recipe, only a chopped them up in the blender roughly, and threw in about 2 dozen mini candy canes. It takes almost like having a girl scout mint cookie.
I have made knock-off Almond Joy with this chocolate, sugar, coconut flakes, and almonds.
Shredded Chicken Fajita Nachos - I cannot rave on this one enough!
Shredded Chicken Fajita Nachos - crockpot recipe - Gf/Cf/Sf
2lbs thin chicken cutlets
Juice of two limes
2 Tablespoon coriander (finely ground, may have to ground coriander yourself and sift)
2 Tablespoon Cumin
Salt and Freshly Ground black pepper
1/2 - 1 cup Beer (we use Redbridge, it is a sorghum beer that is Gf/Cf) or some rum/tequila
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3-4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (optional)
3-4 medium bell peppers, seeds removed and diced
1-2 large onions, diced (I prefer a sweet onion because I make pico de gallo for the toppings with red onions)
2-4 Tablespoons oil
Taco seasoning recipe
6tsp Chili Powder
5tsp paprika
4 1/2 tsp cumin
2.5 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 - 1tsp sugar
Combine the first ingredients, from the chicken to the tomato paste, in a crock pot.
Let it cook until the meat easily falls apart, which probably will take at least 2-3 hours.
Combine the ingredients listed under the taco seasoning recipe. You will not be adding all of it to the meat, I just knew that I used portions of this that I already had made up to season my meat.
When the meat easily flakes, you will take the meat out and put it in a skillet with the oil, diced peppers, and onions. *
*You are going to have a good bit of left-over paste and liquid, which you will want to save aside for either future batches of this stuff or for chili. I did not add this excess to the peppers and onions, but I needed the liquid to help make sure the chicken cooked evenly and was moist enough to fall apart.
Add (to taste) the taco seasoning mixture.
Add the sugar.
Serve over chips. Really good with Pico De Gallo (basically, combine red onions, diced cilantro, diced tomatoes, lime juice).
I hope I remembered it all, I did not write it down right away. I am notorious for not doing that. If I remember anything else, or have to change what I wrote here, I will post again.
Meatballs - on to my non-Thanksgiving recipes
Before I fall asleep, I will go ahead and post some of my recipes from Facebook.
Here it is - the meatball recipe I adapted to be gluten, casein, and soy free. It was originally (the non gf/cf/sf recipe) on recipezaar.com as Kittencal's Famous Italian Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meatballs.
These are very moist, though not mushy, and have plenty of flavor.
The only adaptations I need to make since the last time I made these is to remove the garlic and real eggs. It is GF/CF/SoyF in its current form.
I tripled the recipe, so the triple batch is what I am listing:
4 lbs ground meat (I combined 2lb ground beef, 1lb pork sausage, 1lb breakfast sausage links, ground)
3 large eggs, slightly beaten, or egg substitute
1 package Namaste Say Cheez cooked noodles and seasoning, medium to rough-chopped in blender*
3-6 T fresh minced garlic, or 1T garlic powder
1-2T salt (or to taste, original recipe suggested using seasoned salt)
1T fresh ground black pepper
1 - 1.5 cups rice or unsweetened coconut milk
1.5 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 6T dried parsley)
2 large containers pasta sauce (I use the big Prego containers, not sure the ounces in those containers)
1. Chop and mix all ingredients in a bowl. A potato masher works good, I found out.
2. Shape into small meatballs (though I did make moderate to large ones, and they held together just fine). You can place them on a jelly roll/baking sheet and freeze to cook later, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to store for up to 24 hours before use, if you want. They cook just fine when cooked immediately after forming meatballs.
3. Heat pasta sauce to a simmer, either in the oven or on the stovetop. I recommend the oven for a large batch of meatballs, because you can use a roasting pan, with more room for the meatballs to spread out and cook evenly.
Stovetop directions: Drop meatballs into simmering pasta sauce and cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT STIR for at least 20 minutes, this allows the meatballs to cook enough that the meatballs maintain their shape. Cook for at least another 20 minutes, until the meat is cooked. This time is based on the original recipe, so you may need to cook longer for this batch)
Oven Directions: Meatballs may be cooked at 350 degrees F in the oven for 25 minutes (though with this bigger batch, I cooked at least between 40 minutes and an hour.
Serve over Rice Noodles.
* as a note, I do use ghee with my kids, and in place of some of the oil in the Say Cheez pasta dish, I use ghee
This batch provided about six frozen family servings of meatballs and one non-frozen meal.
Here it is - the meatball recipe I adapted to be gluten, casein, and soy free. It was originally (the non gf/cf/sf recipe) on recipezaar.com as Kittencal's Famous Italian Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meatballs.
These are very moist, though not mushy, and have plenty of flavor.
The only adaptations I need to make since the last time I made these is to remove the garlic and real eggs. It is GF/CF/SoyF in its current form.
I tripled the recipe, so the triple batch is what I am listing:
4 lbs ground meat (I combined 2lb ground beef, 1lb pork sausage, 1lb breakfast sausage links, ground)
3 large eggs, slightly beaten, or egg substitute
1 package Namaste Say Cheez cooked noodles and seasoning, medium to rough-chopped in blender*
3-6 T fresh minced garlic, or 1T garlic powder
1-2T salt (or to taste, original recipe suggested using seasoned salt)
1T fresh ground black pepper
1 - 1.5 cups rice or unsweetened coconut milk
1.5 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 6T dried parsley)
2 large containers pasta sauce (I use the big Prego containers, not sure the ounces in those containers)
1. Chop and mix all ingredients in a bowl. A potato masher works good, I found out.
2. Shape into small meatballs (though I did make moderate to large ones, and they held together just fine). You can place them on a jelly roll/baking sheet and freeze to cook later, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to store for up to 24 hours before use, if you want. They cook just fine when cooked immediately after forming meatballs.
3. Heat pasta sauce to a simmer, either in the oven or on the stovetop. I recommend the oven for a large batch of meatballs, because you can use a roasting pan, with more room for the meatballs to spread out and cook evenly.
Stovetop directions: Drop meatballs into simmering pasta sauce and cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT STIR for at least 20 minutes, this allows the meatballs to cook enough that the meatballs maintain their shape. Cook for at least another 20 minutes, until the meat is cooked. This time is based on the original recipe, so you may need to cook longer for this batch)
Oven Directions: Meatballs may be cooked at 350 degrees F in the oven for 25 minutes (though with this bigger batch, I cooked at least between 40 minutes and an hour.
Serve over Rice Noodles.
* as a note, I do use ghee with my kids, and in place of some of the oil in the Say Cheez pasta dish, I use ghee
This batch provided about six frozen family servings of meatballs and one non-frozen meal.
Good Gravy - recipes for Thanksgiving
This is going to be simple. Okay, maybe not so simple. I will post the recipe link and ingredients here. You can find the directions in the links. Since they are all adaptations of other recipes, I want to be sure to give credit to the original source.
I still have not decided how I am doing the potatoes. I will probably see how it works to simmer down some unsweetened coconut milk into a thicker "cream" and add it along with some other seasonings.
We are also having organic Cranberry Sauce from a can, bread rolls for the non-gf/cf folks, and a Pecan Pie. Pecan Pie is easy to adapt, but I am not sure how using rice syrup will go, so I am holding off on putting that one out here.
The Turkey
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
Gravy
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/gluten-free-gravy.html
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 cups chicken stock (or juices from the roasted turkey)
salt and pepper to taste
Dutch Apple Pie
http://www.food.com/recipe/dutch-apple-pie-43990
Pie Crust
http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-pie-crust-134808
Chicken Stock
http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-stock-7689
Opal's Pumpkin Pie
http://www.food.com/recipe/opals-pumpkin-pie-102073
Green Bean Casserole
http://christmas.food.com/recipe/fabulous-dairy-and-soy-free-green-bean-casserole-340534
Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cornbread-sausage-stuffing-14200
I still have not decided how I am doing the potatoes. I will probably see how it works to simmer down some unsweetened coconut milk into a thicker "cream" and add it along with some other seasonings.
We are also having organic Cranberry Sauce from a can, bread rolls for the non-gf/cf folks, and a Pecan Pie. Pecan Pie is easy to adapt, but I am not sure how using rice syrup will go, so I am holding off on putting that one out here.
The Turkey
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
- 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 gallon vegetable stock (I plan to use my chicken stock)
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
- 1 red apple, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- Canola oil
Gravy
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/gluten-free-gravy.html
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 cups chicken stock (or juices from the roasted turkey)
salt and pepper to taste
Dutch Apple Pie
http://www.food.com/recipe/dutch-apple-pie-43990
- 1 your favorite homemadepie crusts or 1 ready-made pie crust
- 5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced cooking apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons flour of choice, though for thickening I think we may have used Zanthan Gum
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Topping
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup palm oil shortening, room temperature
Pie Crust
http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-pie-crust-134808
- 3/4 cup rice flour
- 3 teaspoons honey (You may have to go higher, it needs to be sweeter, and I have already upped the honey amount in this recipe)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/3 cup palm oil shortening
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Chicken Stock
http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-stock-7689
- 4 lbs fowl
- chicken giblets, chopped
- 1 onion, stuck with 2 cloves
- 2 leeks, halved lengthwise
- 2 carrots (removed for my son)
- 1 stalk celery, halved
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 parsley sprigs
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 clove garlic, unpeeled (removed for my son)
- 1 bay leaf
- chicken neck, chopped
Opal's Pumpkin Pie
http://www.food.com/recipe/opals-pumpkin-pie-102073
- 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin (or fresh cooked equivalent)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 well beaten eggs' worth of egg substitute
- 1 cup evaporated coconut milk (I am going to attempt cooking down coconut milk to make it thicker without using the canned stuff. I think the canned stuff has a more coconut flavor to it that is not always welcome in all dishes)
- 1 cup heavy cream (I have a couple options for this one, but I think I am going with the coconut coffee creamer that I found in the cold section, it is sweet and creamy in just the right way).
- 2 unbaked 9-inch pie shells
Green Bean Casserole
http://christmas.food.com/recipe/fabulous-dairy-and-soy-free-green-bean-casserole-340534
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 tablespoons coconut oil or palm oil shortening
- 10 button mushrooms
- 1/2 red onion
- 3 tablespoons rice flour and/or zanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 16 ounces frozen green beans
- 6 ounces French-fried onions (I am going to make these over the weekend, so I will let you know how that goes and what ingredients to use)
Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cornbread-sausage-stuffing-14200
- 1 lb sausage (I use Beeler's sausage chubs)
- 1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
- 5 cups dry, day old bread, cut in cubes (I can do with with Megan's stuffing, as she can eat Udi's gluten-free breads, but if egg is a problem, you may have to rely on the cornbread).
- cornbread, crumbled (one 8" pan unless ^ is your problem too) I am using Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix.
- 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 -3 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or palm oil shortening
Coming Next: Our Thanksgiving Menu
So, for a preview of the recipes I will adapt (or already have adapted):
The Turkey has been ordered from Mary's Turkeys, a natural/organic turkey grower, and I plan to adapt the Alton Brown turkey brine recipe.
Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing - this is a recipe I am adapting from a recipe I found on www.food.com.
Make My Own Mashed Potatoes – no acceptable recipe for this one due to the garlic allergies.
The Gravy recipe will come from another blog entitled Gluten FreeGirl and the Chef.
I have already made Chicken Stock from a recipe on food.com.
Opal’s pumpkin pie is the BEST recipe EVER!!!! I am adapting this one from food.com.
The dairy free green bean casserole recipe is another adaptation from food.com.
Some of us are having cranberry sauce and rolls, but I cannot adapt one for my son due to his cranberry allergies and the rolls are too darn hard.
I am also going to make a pecan pie, and I made Dutch Apple Pie about three weeks ago and froze it.
So we are having a pretty good feast.
As a side note, in the past week I have adapted a Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe and Beef Stroganoff.
I have to go and take care of some stuff, but I will be back on later to post the actual recipes I plan on using.
Substitutions
First lesson in cooking: knowing what the heck to substitute for the common no-no items in regular recipes. So, let me give a few examples of ingredients that need changing and what to use in their place:
1) Butter. Ah, the infamous hurdle in all good recipes. And it depends on the recipe. On popcorn, for example, coconut oil is almost indistinguishable from butter, provided that you salt it. For icing, crusts, or other baked goods, you may want to try palm oil shortening. This works amazingly well in cake icing. I know that sounds a bit gross, shortening in an icing, but it makes for a tasty and wonderfully-textured cupcake or cake icing. Some people in my house can tolerate ghee in place of regular butter, but since my son cannot, I only use it on occasion. Ghee is clarified butter.
2) Milk. This one is relatively easy. For soups and other cooked goods, get unsweetened coconut milk (preferably the stuff in a carton, not a can, at the health food store or at Kroger affiliate stores). You can also use rice milk, but I prefer the taste and texture of coconut milk. It does NOT taste like coconut, BTW, when it is in cooked goods. It adds the creaminess without the dairy. This can also be used for a base to make a creamy beef stroganoff.
3) Garlic. This is an uncommon allergy, but I have found that the best seasoning to fill the gap of garlic in a recipe is celery seed. While it doesn't taste exactly the same as garlic, it adds a flavor that always seems to work well in recipes that called for garlic.
4) Wheat. Okay, I admit, this is one of the hardest. I buy my daughter's bread, Udi's gluten free bread, because bread does intimidate me. Given that I cannot use egg or wheat for my son, I pretty much avoid breads. However, you can substitute many flours or starches for wheat. This will be a thing of preference for any person who is looking to substitute another grain or food for wheat.
5) Ice Cream. Go for coconut ice cream. It is the best. I think I will be using this more during the holidays to attempt making gf/cf/sf/ef "egg nog."
There are other substitutions out there, but these are the ones I mostly seem to come across.
1) Butter. Ah, the infamous hurdle in all good recipes. And it depends on the recipe. On popcorn, for example, coconut oil is almost indistinguishable from butter, provided that you salt it. For icing, crusts, or other baked goods, you may want to try palm oil shortening. This works amazingly well in cake icing. I know that sounds a bit gross, shortening in an icing, but it makes for a tasty and wonderfully-textured cupcake or cake icing. Some people in my house can tolerate ghee in place of regular butter, but since my son cannot, I only use it on occasion. Ghee is clarified butter.
2) Milk. This one is relatively easy. For soups and other cooked goods, get unsweetened coconut milk (preferably the stuff in a carton, not a can, at the health food store or at Kroger affiliate stores). You can also use rice milk, but I prefer the taste and texture of coconut milk. It does NOT taste like coconut, BTW, when it is in cooked goods. It adds the creaminess without the dairy. This can also be used for a base to make a creamy beef stroganoff.
3) Garlic. This is an uncommon allergy, but I have found that the best seasoning to fill the gap of garlic in a recipe is celery seed. While it doesn't taste exactly the same as garlic, it adds a flavor that always seems to work well in recipes that called for garlic.
4) Wheat. Okay, I admit, this is one of the hardest. I buy my daughter's bread, Udi's gluten free bread, because bread does intimidate me. Given that I cannot use egg or wheat for my son, I pretty much avoid breads. However, you can substitute many flours or starches for wheat. This will be a thing of preference for any person who is looking to substitute another grain or food for wheat.
5) Ice Cream. Go for coconut ice cream. It is the best. I think I will be using this more during the holidays to attempt making gf/cf/sf/ef "egg nog."
There are other substitutions out there, but these are the ones I mostly seem to come across.
First Post
Someone asked me if I had a blog or something where I posted some of the recipes I have tried for my kids.
But before I put the cart ahead of the horse, let me introduce myself. I am Elissa, and four years ago I found out that my oldest child, Megan, was to be diagnosed with autism. Two years later, my middle child, Trenton, was also diagnosed. Just before his diagnosis, I finally broke down and saw a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor. I was convinced to see one when I saw the difference in my kids and their behavior following the removal of soy from their diets. Megan was talking more, and finally they were starting to have a little less trouble with digestive issues. My daughter was still having poo accidents, but I believe she had finally stopped having problems with wetting herself. I wondered if the changes we saw from the removal of soy might also be further enhanced by going gluten- and casein- free.
Shortly after removing gluten and casein (and beginning some basic supplements), Megan was finally fully potty-trained at the age of five. She had a MAJOR communication boom. She was connecting thoughts that, prior to removing those problems foods, would never had been expressed so well.
Trenton continued to have some problems, though he was noticeably better. We had him allergy tested by several different labs and methods. He turned out to have a laundry list of allergies and sensitivities. They are as follows:
Garlic
Egg Yolks
Egg Whites
Soy
Dairy
Whey
Cranberries
Oranges
Lemons
Lentils
Beans
Peanut
Garbanzo Beans
Carrots
Eggplant
Wheat
Sunflower
Broccoli
Peas
Megan is only gluten-, casein-, and soy-free. Trenton is a whole other mess, as you can see.
Then comes my husband, Nate. He found out that his ADD symptoms are primarily caused/triggered by dairy products. For those with ADD/ADHD, this triggers the brain fog so characteristic of ADHD. We figured that out about a year ago. Even slight contact with dairy (as in eating something that touched a dairy product) causes brain fog and makes it hard for him to follow multi-step directions. At one point he was taking 10-15 mg of an ADD medication. Now he is med-free and doing better than when he was on the meds. He is currently about two months into an elimination diet, and so far we suspect tomatoes and possibly eggs.
That leaves me and my youngest, Wesley. Wesley appears to be neuro-typical. He is so different from the other kids, and is not on any special diets. I am likely an undiagnosed Aspie (person with Aspergers), but dietary changes did little-to-nothing for me.
Anyway, I figured from the get-go that we would have to come up with some great foods to make the kids feel more "normal" around their peers. Thankfully, I discovered early on some staple ingredients in my kitchen for dealing with their allergies. Things that I had never heard of prior to switching to this diet. Coconut oil, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, and Cherrybrook Kitchens took the place of butter, Toll House chocolate chips, and Betty Crocker, respectively.
Thankfully, I have not had to give up my favorite recipe sites. Prior to "The Diet," I was a big fan of Recipezaar, now known as www.food.com . I had found my favorite pumpkin pie recipe there, and some other "first food loves" that I was reluctant to put aside. So instead of give them up, I have decided to adapt them. It is not that hard. Okay, pastries, certain baked goods, and desserts are pretty hard if they involve a crust that holds together well, but in the end it is the taste more than the appearance. Not that I am saying my food looks gross. On first impression, it appears pretty darn normal. It is the crumbly crust problems mostly. I will keep searching for that darn elusive crust that is egg free and does not crumble.
In the mean time, my kids are getting to enjoy foods like any of their peers, only with a bit more creativity involved in finding alternate ingredients.
So if this has perked your interest at all, check back in with me. I will be back to post more stuff.
But before I put the cart ahead of the horse, let me introduce myself. I am Elissa, and four years ago I found out that my oldest child, Megan, was to be diagnosed with autism. Two years later, my middle child, Trenton, was also diagnosed. Just before his diagnosis, I finally broke down and saw a DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor. I was convinced to see one when I saw the difference in my kids and their behavior following the removal of soy from their diets. Megan was talking more, and finally they were starting to have a little less trouble with digestive issues. My daughter was still having poo accidents, but I believe she had finally stopped having problems with wetting herself. I wondered if the changes we saw from the removal of soy might also be further enhanced by going gluten- and casein- free.
Shortly after removing gluten and casein (and beginning some basic supplements), Megan was finally fully potty-trained at the age of five. She had a MAJOR communication boom. She was connecting thoughts that, prior to removing those problems foods, would never had been expressed so well.
Trenton continued to have some problems, though he was noticeably better. We had him allergy tested by several different labs and methods. He turned out to have a laundry list of allergies and sensitivities. They are as follows:
Garlic
Egg Yolks
Egg Whites
Soy
Dairy
Whey
Cranberries
Oranges
Lemons
Lentils
Beans
Peanut
Garbanzo Beans
Carrots
Eggplant
Wheat
Sunflower
Broccoli
Peas
Megan is only gluten-, casein-, and soy-free. Trenton is a whole other mess, as you can see.
Then comes my husband, Nate. He found out that his ADD symptoms are primarily caused/triggered by dairy products. For those with ADD/ADHD, this triggers the brain fog so characteristic of ADHD. We figured that out about a year ago. Even slight contact with dairy (as in eating something that touched a dairy product) causes brain fog and makes it hard for him to follow multi-step directions. At one point he was taking 10-15 mg of an ADD medication. Now he is med-free and doing better than when he was on the meds. He is currently about two months into an elimination diet, and so far we suspect tomatoes and possibly eggs.
That leaves me and my youngest, Wesley. Wesley appears to be neuro-typical. He is so different from the other kids, and is not on any special diets. I am likely an undiagnosed Aspie (person with Aspergers), but dietary changes did little-to-nothing for me.
Anyway, I figured from the get-go that we would have to come up with some great foods to make the kids feel more "normal" around their peers. Thankfully, I discovered early on some staple ingredients in my kitchen for dealing with their allergies. Things that I had never heard of prior to switching to this diet. Coconut oil, Enjoy Life chocolate chips, and Cherrybrook Kitchens took the place of butter, Toll House chocolate chips, and Betty Crocker, respectively.
Thankfully, I have not had to give up my favorite recipe sites. Prior to "The Diet," I was a big fan of Recipezaar, now known as www.food.com . I had found my favorite pumpkin pie recipe there, and some other "first food loves" that I was reluctant to put aside. So instead of give them up, I have decided to adapt them. It is not that hard. Okay, pastries, certain baked goods, and desserts are pretty hard if they involve a crust that holds together well, but in the end it is the taste more than the appearance. Not that I am saying my food looks gross. On first impression, it appears pretty darn normal. It is the crumbly crust problems mostly. I will keep searching for that darn elusive crust that is egg free and does not crumble.
In the mean time, my kids are getting to enjoy foods like any of their peers, only with a bit more creativity involved in finding alternate ingredients.
So if this has perked your interest at all, check back in with me. I will be back to post more stuff.
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