Easy Gluten Free Living

Posts Tagged ‘Celiac Disease’

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune, malabsorption disease of the small intestine.  When people with Celiac Disease eat gluten, Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that we are about to celebrate a new year’s arrival.  I feel like 2010 just flew by.

This is always the time when I start making my  New Years Resolutions. 

One of my biggest resolutions this year is eating more healthy.  Although I try to eat a well balanced diet everyday Read the rest of this entry »

Well after much baking, cooking, and measuring, my new cookbook is finally for sale.  As you can probably figure out from the title of this post, it is called Gluten Free Get-Togethers and you can find it for sale at Easy Gluten Free Foods. 

Now let me give you a little background on how this cookbook came to be.  If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you know that I have been a Celiac since 1987.  For a very long time I “did without” all the goodies that I had loved before my diagnosis.  But then I started missing all the great party foods and lets face it,  the “Parties” too.  So I decided that I would take all the foods that I had loved before Celiac Disease and make them gluten free.

Now, I have been making the gluten free recipes in this cookbook for well over 15 years, but anyone who cooks a lot can tell you that you can get so familiar with a recipe that you stop measuring the ingredients and that’s pretty much what happened with me.  But then I went to a live internet marketing event that totally changed my life.  This cookbook is the direct result of that event. 

Now let me tell you a little about the cookbook.  I think the title says it all.  When people get together for any reason, parties, picnics, potlucks, everything revolves around the food.  But when you’re a celiac or gluten intolerant, you have to worry about everything surrounding food.

In Gluten Free Get-Togethers I show you exactly how you can be a part of the party scene again without worrying so much about things like cross contamination when attending a party, how to host a party without fear of your condiments being contaminated, and most importantly, how to host a party and have food that you can safely eat, but your guests will never guess are eating gluten free.

This cookbook has a variety of foods from appetizers to casseroles to breads, desserts, and muffins.

This was a labor of love for me and I hope you find it helpful too.  Especially right now as we head into the most food oriented time of the year.

Linnea Wiedeman says:

December 13, 2010 at 12:25 am (Edit)

I have been allergic to gluten since I was 9 almost 20 years and I have a gluten free diet I am strict about. Recently my hair has been falling out Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that here in the United States Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away.  I have so much to be thankful for this year.  A loving husband, adult children that are also our friends, 3 healthy, beautiful granddaughters, ages 6, 3 and 2 months.

I thought that today I would share a recipe for a nice moist turkey without all the time it takes to roast a whole turkey. 

                                                  Tender Juicy Turkey Breasts  Read the rest of this entry »

Hi Mary,
I have been gluten free for 8 months. what I wish someone would have told me is: The bodies reaction concerning probiotics, the good bacteria in our bodies that are fed by wheat. I am having a harder time finding an inner balance bacteria wise. I am taking probiotics now and I am searching for something to replace the wheat (prebiotic) in my diet. Any ideas would be helpful. Also, everything I know so far I have learned on the internet, do you know what kind of dr would be helpful to the celiac or wheat intolerant?

Jodie Nielsen

Hi Jodie,

Good question.  I’m going to briefly touch on what probiotics are and then go into prebiotics. Read the rest of this entry »

 Hi Mary,  Newbie celiac here with a question.  Other than really not liking the gf breads from the supermarkets, the transition has been fairly easy.  I never liked bread anyway, but I do miss pita bread.  I haven’t been able to find a gf pita bread anywhere, even though my town has three major markets with gf sections and several gf bakeries.  Do you have any suggestions for a recipe or a source?  (Vegan too if possible – that would be beyon heaven.)

Phyllis

Hi Phyllis. 

I know what you mean about the storebought breads.  Believe it or not they Read the rest of this entry »

Barbara asked me last week, “What do you do to make good bread?”.  Bread is probably the hardest thing to make gluten free and still taste good.  I have yet to find a good store bought loaf.  Most of it tastes like cardboard or a dried out sponge.

Barbara also asked if I’d be willing to share a recipe.  So I decided that I would share a bread recipe from my new gluten free cookbook, A Gluten Free Holiday, that will be available within the next month.

A Gluten Free Holiday E-book Cookbook is filled with recipes and tips for getting together with family and friends.  It has the kind of food that you will be able to serve your guests or take with you to pot luck dinners and no one will guess that they are eating gluten free.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe.

                              Better Than Store Bought Gluten Free Bread 

• 3   Extra Large Eggs, beaten
• 3   Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 1/2   Cups Warm Water
• 1   Cup Sweet Rice Flour
• 1   Cup Rice Bran
• 1 1/2   Cups Brown Rice Flour
• 2 1/4   Teaspoons Xanthan Gum
• 3 1/2   Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2   Teaspoons Salt
• 1/2   Cup Powdered Milk
• 2 1/4   Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sift all dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate large mixing bowl, mix all wet ingredients until well blended.  (I use my electric stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.)  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time while mixer is mixing and beat well, until dough is thick but not too stiff.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. 

Cover and set aside in a warm location for one hour to rise.*  Once dough rises, bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until edges are well browned.  Remove immediately from pan and brush butter or margarine on top of bread.

Yield:  1 loaf (about 12 – 16 slices)

*I heat a cup of water in my microwave oven for about 1 – 2 minutes and then place my bread dough in the warm microwave to rise.

This bread is more like a whole wheat loaf of bread, rather than a loaf of white bread.

If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think of it.

I forgot to say that you want to keep your gluten free flours in the refridgerator or freezer.  Then bring to room temperature before using.    

Actually, gluten free baking works best with all ingredients at room temperature before using.

Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, my husband brought home some gluten free beer.  Two different kinds to be exact.  Bards and Redbridge.  Both are made from Sorghum.

Just as some background, I like to mow the lawn.  I have a gas powered, push mower with the big wheels on the back.  We have two acres that are cleared and the rest is wooded.  When I mow the grass, it’s my time to think, reflect, and get some much needed outdoor exercise.  And when I am   finished I always love having a nice cold beer. 

Of course that was way before celiac disease.  Now I haven’t had a beer in almost 25 years.  My drink of choice since celiac has been ice cold lemon water.  (I know,  far cry from a beer, but it quenches a thirst.  So when my husband arrived with two bottles of gluten free beer, I was really excited and just a little hesitant to try it.  Would it be as good as I remembered ice cold beer tasting?

First I tried the Bards, it was really good.  I mean really good.  It tasted like real beer.  (At least what I thought I remembered real beer tasting like.)  So I said to my hubby, “Taste this and tell me what you think.”  He said, “It’s good”.

Later I tried the Redbridge, it was good too.  More like a pale ale, than a regular beer.  I used to drink a darker beer, when I drank beer, so the Redbridge seemed a little weak to me.

My preference…..Bards.  It just tasted more like a regular beer.   Even though Redbridge by Anheuser-Busch was the first ever produced, I think the guys at Bard’s Tale Beer Company have nailed it.

By the way, there are more and more restaurants adding gluten free beer to their menus.  Outback Steakhouse for one and P.F. Chang’s for another.  If they don’t serve it yet at your favorite restaurant, keep asking.  The more they realize there are a lot of us out here, the more they will be willing to provide for their gluten intolerant patrons.

If you have tried any of the other gluten free beers, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think of them.  What was your favorite and why?

And I feel I have to say this, drink responsibly, please do not drink and drive.  The life you save will very likely be an innocent sober person.

I had a newly diagnosed reader ask me if there was any food straight off the store shelf that she could eat.  So I decided that I would post some regular food products that I use regularly.

• Meat:  Poultry, Fish, Canned Salmon, Canned Chicken, Canned Tuna, 100% Ground Beef, Pork, Turkey, Chicken
• Prego Spaghetti Sauce
• Joan of Arc Kidney Beans
• Canned Tomatoes / Dei Fratelli Seasoned Diced Tomatoes
• Hormel Pepperoni and Hormel Turkey Pepperoni
• Any and all fresh fruits and vegetables
• Frozen Vegetables (Not packaged with sauces)
• Potatoes both white and sweet
• Pure Rice – Brown, white, basmati, (Not Rice a Roni or such, it has wheat pasta mixed in)
• Corn Tortilla Shells / Corn Taco Shells
• Ortega Brand Taco Seasoning Mix
• Quaker Plain Rice Cakes (not the flavored ones)
• Salsa
• Cereals – Chex Brand, Corn, Rice (or any with the new Gluten Free Label), Cream of Rice, Grits
• Eggs
• Milk – Cow, Soy, Rice, Goat
• Real Cheese (such as mozzerella, cheddar, and such), Velveeta Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese (plain), Cheeze Whiz
• Sour Cream (not light or reduced calorie or fat free, they can contain fillers that could have wheat in them)
• Butter
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brand Margarine (there may be others but this is the only brand I know for certain)
• Yoplait, Breyers, Yogurt, (check ingredient label, not all flavors are gluten free) 
• Cracker Barrel Cheeze
• Kaukauna Cheese
• Beans and Bean Flours
• Lay’s Potato Chips
• Dorito’s Cool Ranch Tortilla Chips
• Cheeto’s Brand corn snacks
• Salted or Plain Nuts and Seeds (as long as they are not seasoned)
• Nut Flour
• Heinz ketchup
• Kraft Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
• All Vinegars except Malt Vinegar
• Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (in the United States)
• French’s Yellow and Spicy Brown Mustard
• Guldens Spicy Brown Mustard
• Pickles
• Pickle Relish
• Be Wary of Soy Sauce there are some gluten free brands but you need to check labels.
• Most of Kraft Salad Dressings

Just remember to read labels.  All labels.  If you have any favorites that are not listed here feel free to leave a comment letting me know what I’ve missed.

Just as an addendum, my husband bought a bag of Snyder’s of Berlin Potato Chips the other day.  Snyder’s of Berlin Potato chips are not gluten free.  They say right on the bag that they are processed in a factory that also processes wheat products.

So please be sure to check package labels, always.