Tag Archives: Holidays

It takes a little planning ahead to guarantee a great Thanksgiving. In many ways, it’s easier if you’re hosting, because you know what you can and can’t have. Most people hate to impose on their hosts, but it’s easier on you AND your host to ask beforehand than sit through a four-hour meal and watch others eat. Remember, nothing is more important that staying safe!

Turkey:
Though it’s always good to check, the good news is that all plain fresh turkey is naturally gluten free. However, self-basting turkeys usually contain gluten. Most gravy packets are a problem, too. As of 2011, ALL of the companies I called did have gluten-free turkeys, except Tofurky, which has gluten. Check out my gluten-free turkey list for 2011, which has manufacturer contact info.

If you’re not hosting Thanksgiving at your house, talk to your host as soon as you can. You’ll need to talk about:

* Broth used for basting
* Seasonings
* Stuffing in the Read More »

Beware… Jelly Belly Deluxe Easter Mix candies are being recalled due to the fact they were made with undeclared wheat.  The candies are falsely labeled gluten free.  The recalled product was distributed nationwide.
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Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour is giving away their .

This great resource gives you dozens of desserts, sides, breads and stuffings – pretty much everything you need to make a delicious and memorable Holiday Dinner. And while many of the recipes use , any all-purpose gluten-free flour mix should work. (Of course, they may not work as well. Tom Sawyer’s mix is absolutely excellent! We LOVE the biscuits!!)

Bread Stuffing, Grandma’s Corn Bread, Turkey Gravy, Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes, Holiday Muffins, Tom Sawyer’s Award Winning Gluten Free Angel Food Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cake Roll and Cranberry Spice Bars are just Read More »

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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It’s a season of love, joy, peace. . . and stress? For those us with restricted diets, the holidays can be a struggle, especially when we are sharing meals with those who don’t adhere to the same eating style as we do.    So how do we survive the holidays without sacrificing good times or our well-being?

It’s sad, but true, that many people who follow a specific diet (out of need or choice) opt to “check out” of holiday gatherings. Relationships are of such central importance in our lives, however, that we really shouldn’t let our dietary choices limit our interactions with others.  I’m happy to share that our family has successfully hosted holiday meals in our home for years and we’ve attended family gatherings and Read More »

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 »

We’re lucky that there are more and more recipes out there that taste just like the real thing. But for many people, it s easier to make some desserts that happen to be gluten-free, rather than gluten-free adaptations of “normal” foods.

Foods that are naturally gluten free avoid the expensive specialty flours. Personally, I am not a fan of spending a lot for specialty flours when I’m sharing with many non-GF folks. This avoids the inevitable complaints of friends or family who won’t even try GF foods just because they’ve decided they won’t like it.

There are a lot of treats which just happen to be GF, or mostly GF. You can find recipes in normal cookbooks, or maybe you have Read More »

This is my first attempt at making any type of pie, but my mom has made this pie recipe dozens of times, so I know it’s good. As with most gluten free pie crusts, you have to press the dough into the pie plate instead of rolling it out. I messed up a bit with this part because I forgot to check the depth on the bottom of the crust. It turned out way too thick… oops. Luckily, the dough tastes like a sugar cookie, so it wasn’t the end of the world. Next time I will remember to check the depth with a fork before baking the crust. Other than that slight misstep, the pie turned out great. Read More »