Another idea I came across on Pinterest while wracking my brain for a dinner idea that will fit into the kids, especially the littlest ones, diet restrictions. I think it came out good, and all 3 kids and the hubby ate really well with very little prodding. Score!
The recipe I found called for a mashed cauliflower topping instead of mashed potato's, but seeing as I didn't have that much cauliflower on hand and I doubted my kids would fall for that, I used mashed potato's. This version has a ton of flavor thanks to the addition of a pound of bacon! Yep you read that right, a. pound. of. bacon. Yum!
Paleo Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients:
1 pound of Turkey or Pork Bacon, chopped
1/2 - 1 yellow or brown onion
1 1/2 C chopped carrots
1 1/2 C chopped celery
1 pound ground beef (organic if you can afford it)
1 8oz can of tomato sauce (Hunts Roasted Garlic is my fav)
Dash of salt to taste
Dash of pepper to taste
Dash of paprika
Mashed potato topping (6-7 servings)
Daiya cheddar cheese (optional)
In a large frying pan or pot, fry up chopped bacon until almost cooked through, add in onions and saute for about 5-10 minutes or translucent. Add in carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add in ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add in tomato sauce and cook mixture until thoroughly heated through.
Previous to this I made up a large batch of instant mashed potato's following the package directions. I set these aside until I needed them. The brand I use is gluten free as well as free of dairy and soy. Make sure to check your package.
Spray a 13x9 in baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour ground beef, bacon, and veggie mixture into pan. Top mixture with mashed potato's.
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Top with Daiya cheddar cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Gluten Free Creamy Spanish Rice and Chicken Casserole
So the other night I wanted to try my hand at making Gluten Free pizza for the littlest one, but then discovered that I am almost out of the gluten free flour mix I would need to use. So I needed a plan B ASAP! A friend was posting pics on Facebook of a casserole that included chicken, corn tortillas, cream of mushroom soup, and chopped green chili's and of course smothered in cheese! It looked so yummy and made me wish we could eat it, but sadly we can't. I thought about trying to tweak it to work with our current restrictions, but didn't really want to bother. But the Mexican food theme was now stuck in my head so I needed to come up with something. So I started making stuff up! I have a recipe for Spanish rice that we all love, which just so happens to be Gluten Free, as well as all the other intolerant foods we are avoiding free, so I used that as my base. I made it creamy and it turned out GOOD! One of the twins cleaned his plate and so did the littlest one!!!! Of course I had to have one kid who wasn't a fan but even the hubby ate two helpings! So here you go.
First off you will need to make the Spanish Rice.
Spanish Rice
Ingredients:
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1/4 Medium Brown or Yellow Onion chopped
1 1/2 C Rice
3 Cloves Chopped or Minced Garlic
2 1/2 C Chicken Broth
1C (8oz) Tomato Sauce (I like the Roasted Garlic from Hunts)
In a medium sauce pan heat oil. Saute Onion for a few minutes, til its translucent. Add dry rice and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the rice looks golden brown. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add broth, slowly, directly into the rice, not onto the hot pan. Stir in tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
You'll also need to make up a batch of Cream of Mushroom Soup. Check out my recipe here: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1400178794632799190#editor/target=post;postID=453508138891568566
To make the sauce:
Ingredients:
1/2 C Soy Free Veganaise
Dash of Lemon Juice
Pinch of Garlic Salt
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or use one batch of homemade version)
1 small can of chopped Green Chilies
Mix all ingredients together well, or blend them together in your blender.
Now onto assemblying your casserole!!!!
Spray a 13x9in pan with non stick cooking spray (I use Olive Oil spray). In a large bowl, or right in the pan, mix together rice, sauce, and shredded chicken (use about 1-2 chicken breasts or one can of chunk chicken) Place in the pan, bake in the oven at 350* for 20-25 minutes. Top with Daiya cheddar and jack cheese's and bake for additional 10-15 minutes.
I don't have a picture of this because I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out when I was throwing it together, but I will take one the next time I make it because I know I will be making it again!
First off you will need to make the Spanish Rice.
Spanish Rice
Ingredients:
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1/4 Medium Brown or Yellow Onion chopped
1 1/2 C Rice
3 Cloves Chopped or Minced Garlic
2 1/2 C Chicken Broth
1C (8oz) Tomato Sauce (I like the Roasted Garlic from Hunts)
In a medium sauce pan heat oil. Saute Onion for a few minutes, til its translucent. Add dry rice and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the rice looks golden brown. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add broth, slowly, directly into the rice, not onto the hot pan. Stir in tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
You'll also need to make up a batch of Cream of Mushroom Soup. Check out my recipe here: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1400178794632799190#editor/target=post;postID=453508138891568566
To make the sauce:
Ingredients:
1/2 C Soy Free Veganaise
Dash of Lemon Juice
Pinch of Garlic Salt
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or use one batch of homemade version)
1 small can of chopped Green Chilies
Mix all ingredients together well, or blend them together in your blender.
Now onto assemblying your casserole!!!!
Spray a 13x9in pan with non stick cooking spray (I use Olive Oil spray). In a large bowl, or right in the pan, mix together rice, sauce, and shredded chicken (use about 1-2 chicken breasts or one can of chunk chicken) Place in the pan, bake in the oven at 350* for 20-25 minutes. Top with Daiya cheddar and jack cheese's and bake for additional 10-15 minutes.
I don't have a picture of this because I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out when I was throwing it together, but I will take one the next time I make it because I know I will be making it again!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Its been a while since I posted any recipes so thought I'd better get on that. Here is one of the ones that I am working on today.
Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
For this recipe you will need to use your favorite gluten free flour mix (not baking mix). I used Jeanne's Gluten Free Flour Mix. I think it tastes pretty good and is pretty easy to assemble. Here is her recipe:
1 1/4 C Brown Rice Flour
1 1/4 C White Rice Flour
1 C Tapioca Flour/Starch
1 C Sweet Rice Flour (sometimes known as Mochicko in Asian markets)
2 scant tsp Xantham Gum (I use Authentic Foods allergen free xanthum gum, it is grown on cabbage and not corn)
Mix all ingredients together and store in a cool dark place. I keep this flour mix and all my gluten free flours in the refrigerator.
Now onto the bread: (adapted from http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/)
Ingredients:
3 C Gluten Free Flour Mix
2 1/2 tsp Xanthum Gum (Authentic Foods Allergen Free)
4 tsp Grain Free Baking Powder (I use Hain Featherweight)
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbls Sugar
2 Tbls Active Dry Yeast (I use Red Star, I have found this amount to have a very yeasty smell and flavor so I have reduced to 1 1/2 Tbls)
1 1/2 C Warm, but not hot Milk Alternative or Water (I use water as we currently have the littlest one on Coconut milk and don't want this to have a coconutty flavor)
2 tsp Vinegar
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs
Preheat oven to 375*. Oil and flour your pan with a little Olive Oil and Tapioca Flour.
Place your warm milk or water in a bowl and mix in 1 Tbls Sugar and your Yeast. Mix well, cover with a towel and set aside in a warm, draft free place for 10mins to proof.
In a med/large bowl mix together flour, xanthum gum, baking powder, salt, and the remaining 3 Tbls sugar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, which I don't have, beat eggs, olive oil, and vinegar to combine with a paddle attacthment. I don't have a stand mixer so I used my trusty hand mixer. Add in the yeast mixture and beat for a few seconds to combine. Then add the liquids to the flour mixture and beat on med/high for about 3 mins. If you don't have a stand mixer you will need to stop every time the beaters get clogged with the dough, scrape back into the bowl and beat again. I scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and then roll and smoothed it into a log shape, about as long as the loaf pan. then unroll and drop into the prepared pan. Use the plastic wrap to smooth the top down, try to make it as even as possible. Gently cover the loaf with the plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 mins in a warm spot. Keep an eye on it and don't let it rise to much above the rim of the pan.
Bake at 375* for approx 20mins. Check at the 20min mark, if the top is getting too brown tent with foil and bake an additional 10mins, so that total baking time is 30mins.
Remove from oven and let cool. Turn onto rack to continue to cool. Slice once cool and store with wax paper between each slice in the freezer in a large zip top bag. This will make it easier to get just one or two slices out without having to break the loaf. You can toast a bit once its thawed.
I previously made this without the eggs, but we are starting egg reintroduction with the littlest one and the GI doctor wanted me to start out baking with eggs first. I used a variety of egg replacement methods with pretty good results.
For some reason that I dont' understand my loaves look good right after I take them out of the oven, but then the center collaspes. Hmmmmm...........
Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
For this recipe you will need to use your favorite gluten free flour mix (not baking mix). I used Jeanne's Gluten Free Flour Mix. I think it tastes pretty good and is pretty easy to assemble. Here is her recipe:
1 1/4 C Brown Rice Flour
1 1/4 C White Rice Flour
1 C Tapioca Flour/Starch
1 C Sweet Rice Flour (sometimes known as Mochicko in Asian markets)
2 scant tsp Xantham Gum (I use Authentic Foods allergen free xanthum gum, it is grown on cabbage and not corn)
Mix all ingredients together and store in a cool dark place. I keep this flour mix and all my gluten free flours in the refrigerator.
Now onto the bread: (adapted from http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/)
Ingredients:
3 C Gluten Free Flour Mix
2 1/2 tsp Xanthum Gum (Authentic Foods Allergen Free)
4 tsp Grain Free Baking Powder (I use Hain Featherweight)
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbls Sugar
2 Tbls Active Dry Yeast (I use Red Star, I have found this amount to have a very yeasty smell and flavor so I have reduced to 1 1/2 Tbls)
1 1/2 C Warm, but not hot Milk Alternative or Water (I use water as we currently have the littlest one on Coconut milk and don't want this to have a coconutty flavor)
2 tsp Vinegar
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs
Preheat oven to 375*. Oil and flour your pan with a little Olive Oil and Tapioca Flour.
Place your warm milk or water in a bowl and mix in 1 Tbls Sugar and your Yeast. Mix well, cover with a towel and set aside in a warm, draft free place for 10mins to proof.
In a med/large bowl mix together flour, xanthum gum, baking powder, salt, and the remaining 3 Tbls sugar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, which I don't have, beat eggs, olive oil, and vinegar to combine with a paddle attacthment. I don't have a stand mixer so I used my trusty hand mixer. Add in the yeast mixture and beat for a few seconds to combine. Then add the liquids to the flour mixture and beat on med/high for about 3 mins. If you don't have a stand mixer you will need to stop every time the beaters get clogged with the dough, scrape back into the bowl and beat again. I scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and then roll and smoothed it into a log shape, about as long as the loaf pan. then unroll and drop into the prepared pan. Use the plastic wrap to smooth the top down, try to make it as even as possible. Gently cover the loaf with the plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 mins in a warm spot. Keep an eye on it and don't let it rise to much above the rim of the pan.
Bake at 375* for approx 20mins. Check at the 20min mark, if the top is getting too brown tent with foil and bake an additional 10mins, so that total baking time is 30mins.
Remove from oven and let cool. Turn onto rack to continue to cool. Slice once cool and store with wax paper between each slice in the freezer in a large zip top bag. This will make it easier to get just one or two slices out without having to break the loaf. You can toast a bit once its thawed.
I previously made this without the eggs, but we are starting egg reintroduction with the littlest one and the GI doctor wanted me to start out baking with eggs first. I used a variety of egg replacement methods with pretty good results.
For some reason that I dont' understand my loaves look good right after I take them out of the oven, but then the center collaspes. Hmmmmm...........
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Just an update
The littlest one had his follow up with the kids GI doctor yesterday. We travel over 2 hours each way to see the kids team of specialists, worth it, but with gas prices the way they are right now its killing our budget!
But we got great news, the Top Allergen Elimination diet we are currently following with the littlest one is working! He has gained 1 pound and grew 1 inch in height! Amazing, seeing as this kid hasn't grown or gained anything since right after he turned 2, almost a year ago. He will be 3 in December.
So we will keep him at his current level of restriction for another week or two, then I'm supposed to start making his gluten free bread with eggs, like the recipe calls for, though I've been replacing the eggs with various egg replacer methods. He's supposed to eat the bread containing eggs for one week and then if he has no reactions, I'm to start to feed him scrambled eggs, one of his favs, for another week. If still no reactions we move onto the biggie, in my book at least, Wheat!!!!! If he passes the wheat reintroduction that will be huge for my cooking and baking!
After wheat, the doctor left it up to me as to what foods in what order I reintroduce next. But I'm to leave the reintroduction of dairy, soy, and corn for last. Since we know for sure that those foods cause him issues 100%. I worry about the reintro of those, just because I know it will be very, very rough, but the GI insists that this be done as scientifically as possible. So that means I have to take my personal feelings about how food affects my child out of the equation, which as a mom is super tough to do! So I will slap on my scientist lab coat and pretend that none of this bothers me, just to "prove" what I already know. Oh the life of a mom of a food intolerant kid!
But we got great news, the Top Allergen Elimination diet we are currently following with the littlest one is working! He has gained 1 pound and grew 1 inch in height! Amazing, seeing as this kid hasn't grown or gained anything since right after he turned 2, almost a year ago. He will be 3 in December.
So we will keep him at his current level of restriction for another week or two, then I'm supposed to start making his gluten free bread with eggs, like the recipe calls for, though I've been replacing the eggs with various egg replacer methods. He's supposed to eat the bread containing eggs for one week and then if he has no reactions, I'm to start to feed him scrambled eggs, one of his favs, for another week. If still no reactions we move onto the biggie, in my book at least, Wheat!!!!! If he passes the wheat reintroduction that will be huge for my cooking and baking!
After wheat, the doctor left it up to me as to what foods in what order I reintroduce next. But I'm to leave the reintroduction of dairy, soy, and corn for last. Since we know for sure that those foods cause him issues 100%. I worry about the reintro of those, just because I know it will be very, very rough, but the GI insists that this be done as scientifically as possible. So that means I have to take my personal feelings about how food affects my child out of the equation, which as a mom is super tough to do! So I will slap on my scientist lab coat and pretend that none of this bothers me, just to "prove" what I already know. Oh the life of a mom of a food intolerant kid!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
One Whole Chicken, Four Recipes
The other day while scanning the sale ads for all the local grocery stores I found that one store had whole chickens on sale for $.79 per pound. Sounded like a good deal so onto my list it went. I like to pick up a whole chicken or two when they are on sale because I can get more than one meal out of just one chicken. So this is what I made with my one, on sale, whole chicken:
Oven Roasted Whole Chicken
Take your whole chicken out of the wrapper and pull out the junk they put inside (neck, liver, giblets, etc.) My mom always finds something to do with those, but really, I don't want to know! Next rinse your bird in cool water inside and out, then drain it. Pat it dry with paper towels and set onto a plate. Grab your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pour a little onto the bird and massage it into the skin on one side, next rub in your seasoning. I use a homemade seasoning salt mixture, repeat on the other side as well. Next grab your Reynolds Oven Bag* and prepare it according to the directions that come with it. You'll need to put a tablespoon of flour in and shake it around, I used Tapioca Flour, then you'll place your prepared bird into the bag and seal it. Then cut 6 one inch slits into the bag so that it doesn't explode while its in the oven!!! Cook according to the directions that come with the bag. Serve with a side and you've got dinner!
Chicken Stock
After you've cooked your whole chicken and enjoyed it you'll need to clean the bones. Save all that leftover meat! Remove all the skin and all the meat. In your crock pot place chopped celery, onions, and carrots along with the bones from your chicken and cover with water, season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic,whatever suits your taste. Turn your crock pot on low and cook for at least 24hrs. When done strain out all the bones and veggies and store in 2 cup increments in Ziploc baggies in the freezer. Use in place of canned chicken broth in recipes. I got 8 cups of broth.
Nachos
In my previous post I told you how I made nachos with the leftover chicken from the whole oven roasted chicken I made. We also had some left over Tri Tip Roast so we didn't use all that much of the left over chicken. Top your Beanitos Bean chips with your choice of toppings, we used leftover chili, chicken, tri tip, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and Daiya cheese, pop in the microwave to heat and YUM!
Easy Chicken and Potato Soup
Since I still had leftover chicken, tonight for dinner I wanted to use it up, so I made this super easy soup/stew, or as my hubby would call it "Stewp".
4 Med- Small Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Stalks of Celery, washed and chopped into large chunks
2 Large Carrots chopped into large chunks
1/2 an Onion chopped
1 Tbls Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Minced Garlic (jarred is fine)
Leftover Chicken
1 Can of Chicken Broth or 2 Cups of Chicken Stock (see above)
2 C water + 3Tbls divided
2 Cubes of Edward & Sons Not-Chick'n Bouillon Cubes*
3Tbls Tapioca Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large pot heat the olive oil over med heat, add in onion, garlic, and celery and saute until translucent. Add in broth/stock 2C of water and bouillon cubes. Add potatoes, chicken, and carrots, Stir. Cook on med/high heat until it starts to boil. Lower heat and cover pot, allow to simmer for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft. In a small bowl mix the tapioca flour and 3Tbls of water to form a slurry, mix out any lumps. Add slurry to soup pot and stir well to mix it into the soup. Allow to simmer covered for another 20 mins. Serve topped with Daiya Cheddar cheese (optional) and a side of allergen free bread or crackers.
*http://www.edwardandsons.com/ These little gems are great! They are Vegan, Gluten Free, Free of Dairy and Soy. Though not as flavorful as the regular bouillon cubes they are handy! And we've never had a reaction to them.
*http://www.reynoldsovenbags.com/ These I love because your chicken or turkey won't get all dried out in the oven and no need to baste!
Oven Roasted Whole Chicken
Take your whole chicken out of the wrapper and pull out the junk they put inside (neck, liver, giblets, etc.) My mom always finds something to do with those, but really, I don't want to know! Next rinse your bird in cool water inside and out, then drain it. Pat it dry with paper towels and set onto a plate. Grab your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pour a little onto the bird and massage it into the skin on one side, next rub in your seasoning. I use a homemade seasoning salt mixture, repeat on the other side as well. Next grab your Reynolds Oven Bag* and prepare it according to the directions that come with it. You'll need to put a tablespoon of flour in and shake it around, I used Tapioca Flour, then you'll place your prepared bird into the bag and seal it. Then cut 6 one inch slits into the bag so that it doesn't explode while its in the oven!!! Cook according to the directions that come with the bag. Serve with a side and you've got dinner!
Chicken Stock
After you've cooked your whole chicken and enjoyed it you'll need to clean the bones. Save all that leftover meat! Remove all the skin and all the meat. In your crock pot place chopped celery, onions, and carrots along with the bones from your chicken and cover with water, season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic,whatever suits your taste. Turn your crock pot on low and cook for at least 24hrs. When done strain out all the bones and veggies and store in 2 cup increments in Ziploc baggies in the freezer. Use in place of canned chicken broth in recipes. I got 8 cups of broth.
Nachos
In my previous post I told you how I made nachos with the leftover chicken from the whole oven roasted chicken I made. We also had some left over Tri Tip Roast so we didn't use all that much of the left over chicken. Top your Beanitos Bean chips with your choice of toppings, we used leftover chili, chicken, tri tip, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and Daiya cheese, pop in the microwave to heat and YUM!
Easy Chicken and Potato Soup
Since I still had leftover chicken, tonight for dinner I wanted to use it up, so I made this super easy soup/stew, or as my hubby would call it "Stewp".
4 Med- Small Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Stalks of Celery, washed and chopped into large chunks
2 Large Carrots chopped into large chunks
1/2 an Onion chopped
1 Tbls Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Minced Garlic (jarred is fine)
Leftover Chicken
1 Can of Chicken Broth or 2 Cups of Chicken Stock (see above)
2 C water + 3Tbls divided
2 Cubes of Edward & Sons Not-Chick'n Bouillon Cubes*
3Tbls Tapioca Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large pot heat the olive oil over med heat, add in onion, garlic, and celery and saute until translucent. Add in broth/stock 2C of water and bouillon cubes. Add potatoes, chicken, and carrots, Stir. Cook on med/high heat until it starts to boil. Lower heat and cover pot, allow to simmer for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft. In a small bowl mix the tapioca flour and 3Tbls of water to form a slurry, mix out any lumps. Add slurry to soup pot and stir well to mix it into the soup. Allow to simmer covered for another 20 mins. Serve topped with Daiya Cheddar cheese (optional) and a side of allergen free bread or crackers.
*http://www.edwardandsons.com/ These little gems are great! They are Vegan, Gluten Free, Free of Dairy and Soy. Though not as flavorful as the regular bouillon cubes they are handy! And we've never had a reaction to them.
*http://www.reynoldsovenbags.com/ These I love because your chicken or turkey won't get all dried out in the oven and no need to baste!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
One of my favorite products.....
When I figured out that we had to cut corn out of the kids diets I had a personal boohoo moment, actually I got depressed and I may or may not have shed a tear or two. We live in the southwestern United States and Mexican food is a very big part of our lives. At every party and a couple of times a week we have something that includes a major staple in that type of food, corn tortillas. We eat corn tortilla chips dipped in ranch, dipped in salsa, eat them with TexMex dip, etc, etc, you get the idea. We always kept a bag of them, especially a HUGE bag of them from Costco, in the pantry. You're going to have a party??? I'll bring the corn chips! Well no more! I wanted to cry, I may or may not have. Not only did I discover that corn is in practically EVERYTHING, take a look at most ingredients labels and you'd be shocked what it shows up in (just ask my mom who was letting the littlest one drink pancake syrup out of a little cup when she was babysitting the kids for the weekend causing his latest major reaction because the pancake syrups number one ingredient was corn syrup, and she never suspected that today's pancake syrup was any different from the Maple syrup she grew up eating on pancakes. In her defence it took me a while to figure that one out as well and she gave him a little cup for dipping his pancakes in but he thought it was much better to skip the whole dipping part and just drink it instead), but I also loved serving corn on the cob whenever we'd BBQ during the summer, and it was a cheap easy veggie that the kids would eat.
Potato chips just didn't cut it in all situations where we'd need chips. We were all so used to corn tortilla chips. I figured we'd have to live without a lot of the things we loved because you just can't eat them without tortilla chips, but living without is just not me, I needed a substitute. I just happened to be in Target one day because they sell the Enjoy Life Plentils, another great chip that are allergen free, (check them out: http://plentils.com/ )
and no other store in my repertoire of stores carries them, and to my surprise on the next shelf up was these things called Beanitos: http://beanitos.com/
They are chips made from beans. Caught my interest because they looked like some of the fancy corn tortilla chips from my time in New Mexico, blue corn, etc. I picked up the bag to reminisce (yes, I reminisce about food now that so much of it is off limits, don't judge my pathetic life!) and I started to read the package. Very top of the bag said: Always CORN FREE. I was intrigued, so I kept reading, Black Bean Chips, they are Certified Low Gylcemic, Corn Free, Gluten Free, High Fiber, 4g of Complete Protein, and Non GMO Project Certified. YES! I was already in love but I had yet to turn the bag over and read the ingredients, I've been fooled by the advertising on the front of packages before. Once I did I grabbed a bag and took them home to try out with the kids. I bought two different flavors, Black Bean and Pinto and Flax. Gotta say the pinto and flax are not my fav, theres sort of a weird taste to them which I attribute to the flax. But the black bean ones are good, you could almost close your eyes and imagine they are corn chips!
Now I've just realized that they do use guar gum in them so I will be forgoing them since I'm suspecting that in my most recent allergic reaction, but the kids have all done fine with it. I suspect that the guar I bought was contaminated with another substance, I've read that guar and soy are very similar and/or they are often cross contaminated, not 100% sure what the deal was, but I will be avoiding it.
So tonight we are having make your own nachos night for dinner. I planned my weekly menu around using the leftovers for a nachos night. Earlier this week we had chili, tri tip roasted in the crock pot, and oven roasted chicken all of which I will reheat and use in the making of our nachos. The kids can choose a meat to go with the beans and Daiya cheese and chopped tomato and black olives for topping their Beanitos with and Voila! Nachos!
Potato chips just didn't cut it in all situations where we'd need chips. We were all so used to corn tortilla chips. I figured we'd have to live without a lot of the things we loved because you just can't eat them without tortilla chips, but living without is just not me, I needed a substitute. I just happened to be in Target one day because they sell the Enjoy Life Plentils, another great chip that are allergen free, (check them out: http://plentils.com/ )
and no other store in my repertoire of stores carries them, and to my surprise on the next shelf up was these things called Beanitos: http://beanitos.com/
They are chips made from beans. Caught my interest because they looked like some of the fancy corn tortilla chips from my time in New Mexico, blue corn, etc. I picked up the bag to reminisce (yes, I reminisce about food now that so much of it is off limits, don't judge my pathetic life!) and I started to read the package. Very top of the bag said: Always CORN FREE. I was intrigued, so I kept reading, Black Bean Chips, they are Certified Low Gylcemic, Corn Free, Gluten Free, High Fiber, 4g of Complete Protein, and Non GMO Project Certified. YES! I was already in love but I had yet to turn the bag over and read the ingredients, I've been fooled by the advertising on the front of packages before. Once I did I grabbed a bag and took them home to try out with the kids. I bought two different flavors, Black Bean and Pinto and Flax. Gotta say the pinto and flax are not my fav, theres sort of a weird taste to them which I attribute to the flax. But the black bean ones are good, you could almost close your eyes and imagine they are corn chips!
Now I've just realized that they do use guar gum in them so I will be forgoing them since I'm suspecting that in my most recent allergic reaction, but the kids have all done fine with it. I suspect that the guar I bought was contaminated with another substance, I've read that guar and soy are very similar and/or they are often cross contaminated, not 100% sure what the deal was, but I will be avoiding it.
So tonight we are having make your own nachos night for dinner. I planned my weekly menu around using the leftovers for a nachos night. Earlier this week we had chili, tri tip roasted in the crock pot, and oven roasted chicken all of which I will reheat and use in the making of our nachos. The kids can choose a meat to go with the beans and Daiya cheese and chopped tomato and black olives for topping their Beanitos with and Voila! Nachos!
Allergen Free Granola Bars
So I started the littlest one on his Top Allergen Eliminations Diet yesterday. I was scrambling around trying to convert one of my easiest bread recipes to allergen free using an all purpose gluten free flour mix, but I didn't know that its just not possible to swap out gluten free flour for wheat flour straight across without more adjustments to the yeast and other leavening thingamagigs. It turned out ok I suppose. I used a gluten free flour mix that you put together yourself and calls for adding in xanthum gum, well most xanthum gum is grown on corn, so its a no-no for us. So through research people with corn issues sub in guar gum. So I used that and lo and behold I had an allergic reaction to the guar! Me, not the kids! All the other stuff in the flour mix I've had before with no problems, the only new thing was the guar. So after I was able to drag myself off the couch without dying, I went into the pantry and opened the guar gum to smell it, to test my theory that it was definitely the guar, threw myself right back into the depth of another reaction! So no more guar gum! That throws a huge wrench into my gluten free plans.
I spent time researching and found one brand of xanthum gum that is allergen free, not grown on corn!!!!! But the price..... WHEW! And of course its not sold in stores and has to be ordered and the shipping costs more than the product! I ordered it off Amazon, but I really have no other choice since xanthum or guar gum is essential to baking gluten free. So, though it hurt me in the tummy to spend that much on a product, and especially the shipping, I did it because my kiddo needs bread!
Here is the xanthum gum I ordered: http://www.authenticfoods.com/products/item/31/Xanthan-Gum
After my failed bread attempt that almost killed me, thank God for Benedryl! I wanted to make safe granola bars that would fit into the littlest ones diet. Here is what he is having to avoid:
Dairy
Soy
Corn
Wheat/Gluten
Nuts
Peanuts
Fish/Shellfish
Berries
Citrus/Citric Acid
Eggs
As you can see this makes things kinda difficult. So I took the granola bar recipe I posted the other day and modified it to make it safe for him.
Allergen Free Granola Bars
Ingredients
4 1/2 C Gluten Free Regular Slow Cooking Oats
1C Gluten Free Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla
2/3 C Coconut Oil Melted (the original recipe called for melted butter but since the Earths Balance Soy Free one contains natural flavoring derived from corn I subbed in the oil, no coconut flavor at all!)
2/3 C Honey
1/4 C Agave Nectar
1/3 C Brown Sugar Packed
1/2 C Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 325*. Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips. Mix well and then add in the chips and mix to distribute them. Line a 9X13 inch cake pan with foil and spray with safe non stick cooking spray. I like Olive Oil spray. Press the mixture into the pan and using wax paper to cover your hand press down really well. Make sure you compact the mixture a lot or it will fall apart after its cooked. Bake for 20-25 mins or they look really golden brown. Allow to cool in pan and then pull out your foil and then cut into bars. I cut mine small since the littlest one is only 2.5 years old and doesn't eat too much.
I spent time researching and found one brand of xanthum gum that is allergen free, not grown on corn!!!!! But the price..... WHEW! And of course its not sold in stores and has to be ordered and the shipping costs more than the product! I ordered it off Amazon, but I really have no other choice since xanthum or guar gum is essential to baking gluten free. So, though it hurt me in the tummy to spend that much on a product, and especially the shipping, I did it because my kiddo needs bread!
Here is the xanthum gum I ordered: http://www.authenticfoods.com/products/item/31/Xanthan-Gum
After my failed bread attempt that almost killed me, thank God for Benedryl! I wanted to make safe granola bars that would fit into the littlest ones diet. Here is what he is having to avoid:
Dairy
Soy
Corn
Wheat/Gluten
Nuts
Peanuts
Fish/Shellfish
Berries
Citrus/Citric Acid
Eggs
As you can see this makes things kinda difficult. So I took the granola bar recipe I posted the other day and modified it to make it safe for him.
Allergen Free Granola Bars
Ingredients
4 1/2 C Gluten Free Regular Slow Cooking Oats
1C Gluten Free Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla
2/3 C Coconut Oil Melted (the original recipe called for melted butter but since the Earths Balance Soy Free one contains natural flavoring derived from corn I subbed in the oil, no coconut flavor at all!)
2/3 C Honey
1/4 C Agave Nectar
1/3 C Brown Sugar Packed
1/2 C Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 325*. Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips. Mix well and then add in the chips and mix to distribute them. Line a 9X13 inch cake pan with foil and spray with safe non stick cooking spray. I like Olive Oil spray. Press the mixture into the pan and using wax paper to cover your hand press down really well. Make sure you compact the mixture a lot or it will fall apart after its cooked. Bake for 20-25 mins or they look really golden brown. Allow to cool in pan and then pull out your foil and then cut into bars. I cut mine small since the littlest one is only 2.5 years old and doesn't eat too much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)