Cooking

Candy canes can make any cake or cupcake turn into a magical winter treat. All you need to do is take some gluten-free candy canes (click here to see my favorite brand) and crush them up.  Sprinkle them on top of your favorite frosted treat and you will end up with a beautiful creation that looks like it is from a bakery.

Some of my favorite ways to use the candy canes:

1.  Make a vanilla cake from your favorite mix.  Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the batter.  Bake and allow to cool.  Frost with frosting (I like the Betty Crocker canned frostings).  Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Read More »

Fruit Cake seems to be one of those things that you either love, or you hate. Personally I also find them really hard to bake and not have them dry out, so this year was a double challenge to make the perfect gluten free fruit cake without it drying out. Like most recipes it’s a personal taste on what you’d like to add, obviously if you have a nut allergy you can exclude those. If you like your cake frosted with frosting you can also do that too.

Enjoy!

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Welcome to Monday, December 12, 2011.  Only 13 days until Christmas!  For all of you out there (this includes me) who haven’t finished your shopping, it is time to get busy!   Right now I am out running 8-10 miles to help motivate myself to knock out the rest of my shopping later on today.  Not sure yet if that will include in person or online shopping – it depends on how I feel.

With Hannah home sick with the stomach flu, I had plenty of time to catch up on all things online.   I found some great gluten-free tidbits and plan to share one of them now with you guys! Are you ready? Ta-da….

Kinnikinnick is now offering some new mixes just in time for the holiday season.  These mixes include: Read More »

The holidays are fast upon us, and not only do we have to plan the Thanksgiving meal, but the Thanksgiving leftovers as well. Usually in my house there are lots of turkey and maybe some potatoes, the stuffing is almost always the first thing to go. But after so long, cold turkey sandwiches and turkey and gravy tend to get a bit bland. I came up with this recipe last year when all I had left after the dust has settled was turkey, enjoy! Read More »

This is a great way to start the day on a sweeter note, without the sugars found in more traditional sweet morning fare—something that works great for those following a gluten-free–and even grain-free–lifestyle. It is packed with fiber, Vitamin A, protein and healthy fat. Use sweet potatoes or winter squash that has been pre-cooked to make preparation fast and easy–there should be plenty on hand, either before or after a Thanksgiving feast!  This is a dish that pleases young and old alike.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked Sweet Potatoes or Winter Squash, skins removed

• 2-3 raw Eggs

• ½ cup unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk

• ½ tsp. ground Nutmeg

• ½ tsp. ground Cinnamon

• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract Read More »

Gluten-Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I look forward to the holiday season – visiting family, friends, the exchanging of gifts. And of course there’s the food. When you aren’t hosting your own thanksgiving, it can be stressful to make sure you aren’t getting any gluten in your diet.

I had to call my boyfriend’s aunt to make sure that the turkey was okay for me to eat, and ask about other side dishes being made. But when it comes to dessert, I don’t expect everyone to cater to me, so I will be bringing my own this year.  Normally I make a pie or cake or some sort.  This year, I’m making a simple but delicious favorite: chocolate chip cookies.

These cookies are good for those who are on a gluten free diet or even those following a paleo lifestyle. Most paleo peeps don’t eat grains or Read More »

Thanksgiving can be the most depressing holiday for a celiac. It’s a whole day that centers around food. And no one wants to feel left out of the festivities. Part of being a celiac isn’t just the food, it’s the psychology of standing out in a crowd. I’ve found that I hate being pegged with the “special meal.” I want to fit in and eat the same food as everyone else. Thus, the most comforting thing for me is being invited to the home of someone who is aware of the simple steps that can be taken to make a gluten-free Thanksgiving that’s delicious for everyone.

It’s not necessarily about making gluten-free alternatives of “regular” food. It’s about finding regular food that happens to be gluten-free. You don’t need to spend a fortune at a specialty grocery store; most of Read More »

We discovered during the past year that my 4-year-old son Ronin and my 21-month-old daughter Ellie are both gluten and dairy intolerant. My husband John is gluten-free too. The good news is that changing Ronin’s diet has helped his anxiety-related sleep issues decrease immensely. He used to have night terrors every night, but now only has them on the rare occasions we miss cutting out the gluten.

Since John has been gluten free for a while, I came up with this stuffing recipe a few years ago for Thanksgiving. And its always been a huge hit. This year I’ve modified it to also remove the dairy for the kiddos.

It. is. SO. Yum. If I do say so myself!

MANGO CASHEW CORNBREAD STUFFING (Modified Gluten & Dairy Free)

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Recently I made a loaf of bread using a bag of Namaste Foods Gluten Free Bread Mix. I bought this on sale at some point, and it subsequently sat in the pantry for a while. I’m not sure how long, but there’s another 8 months to go until the use-by date, so I’m not worried. I like to have stuff like this on hand because sometimes I get in the mood to eat bread, and that usually means I have to make it myself. This time, I was also in desperate need of clearing out some pantry space, so making this mix was the easy answer.

This is the third loaf of gluten free bread I’ve made from a mix (Pamela’s and Bob’s Red Mill were the other ones I tried), and it did fairly well. It rose way more than I thought it would, but it was still heavy and moist the first day, only to very quickly dry out by the third day after baking.

The bread mix consists of a flour blend made from brown rice flour, Read More »