Filed under: gluten-free | Tags: gluten free dinner party, gluten-free guest
When those of us who are gluten-free find ourselves in social situations that can be awkward. For example, you are newly gluten-free and you are invited over to a friend’s home for dinner. Or you have a company function to go to that involves food. Or the holidays are coming and the highlight of the meal contains gluten. It can get tricky to navigate while not starving or “gluten-ing” yourself.
When I was initially diagnosed as gluten-free I was told by my doctor to see how much gluten I could tolerate. Initially I could tolerate small quantities of bread or soy sauce, but the longer I went without wheat in my diet, the more it affected me when I did have it. So now I am almost 100% gluten-free. The times I get gluten are purely accidental and I can tell by my body’s reaction within 24 hours.
Let me clarify that for those with Celiac they need to be 100% gluten-free (not “almost” as I said I am). The places I am the most likely to get exposed to gluten are from cross-contamination (the restaurant uses the same prep space for a sandwich as for my lettuce wrap; a fellow guest puts the humus directly on their pita pieces and some bread crumbs end up back in the humus) or from small quantities of gluten in a dish that you wouldn’t think would have wheat in it (enchilada sauce frequently contains wheat; a little granola mixed in a yogurt parfait; nutritional yeast in vitamins or food). For people with Celiac, they must be extremely careful l to not allow even the smallest amount of gluten into their diets so they need to be extra careful when eating at someone’s home.
When you have a dinner invitation to someone’s home, I suggest the following:
- Tell them right up front, “I have a serious food allergy, would you mind if we connected on the menu to make sure I know ahead of time what I will and won’t be able to eat?” I have never had a host turn me down on this request, they always ask for more information.
- Try not to overwhelm them. You are giving the “Cliff’s Notes” for ONE meal, not so they can cook gluten-free for the rest of their lives. I never ask a person to have an entirely gluten-free meal (some friends choose to out of love, interest, and empathy, but I never ask). I just try to make sure that there will be enough food there that I can eat without drawing attention to myself.
- Give simple suggestions and focus on the menu the host is planning on: Have all the ingredients for the salad separate so each person can put what they want on their serving and the croutons won’t contaminate the rest of the salad; Prepare my non-marinated chicken in the pan first (or on a separate dish) so it doesn’t get cross contaminated; Let me give you a bottle of some gluten-free soy sauce that you can use; Do you mind saving the packaging from prepared foods that I can look at before the dinner to check ingredients?; Could you put the cheese and crackers on separate plates? On a side note, just because someone says, “I know all about gluten-free cooking because…”, still clarify your own gluten-free needs. A friend once glutened me with spelt noodles because she thought gluten-free people can tolerate spelt.
- Offer to bring a dish, especially one that usually has gluten. If you have a bread recipe you enjoy, offer to bring bread. I often bring dessert too because so much dessert has gluten in it.
- Eat before the dinner party. Even the most considerate hosts make mistakes and I find it better to arrive to a dinner party with a semi-full belly and eat less there than to be starving and get there to find croutons ON the salad and that all the meat got marinated in regular soy sauce.
It is important to be proactive and gracious. We don’t want the host to go through a bunch of extra trouble for us but hosts want all of their guests to have a great time. So speak up and help out the next time you are invited to someone’s home for dinner.
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who often uses the protein shakes as a pre-dinner party snack. You can find the “Cinch” shakes and more at: www.DonnaCopeland.MyShaklee.com
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition, gluten-free | Tags: cooking at home, creative cooking
Have you ever opened your pantry door (and your fridge) and wondered what you were going to make for dinner because nothing was leaping out at you? (I guess food leaping out of the pantry would be bad anyway.) That was me last night so I thought if I shared with you my thought process you may be motivated to try to make something out of nothing for your next dinner.
To start with I considered what I had. I had stopped by a veggie stand earlier in the day and bought some really great looking green and yellow peppers along with corn on the cob. I decided to have some of the fresh peppers chopped with Blue Cheese Dressing for dip and to boil the corn on the cob. I also knew I had some brown rice to use up. (If I didn’t have the fresh veggies I probably would have gone into the freezer and used broccoli or peas and steamed them.)
Then I got to the hard part…what to do about protein? Keith and I had both been working hard in the yard and we needed protein. As I perused the shelves, I noticed a small can of black bean soup, maybe big enough for one person. But, I realized, I can stretch that can of soup into plenty for two people and serve it over the rice. I grabbed the can of soup, an extra can of black beans, and an extra can of diced tomatoes.
I sauteed one onion and 1/2 each of the green and yellow pepper. When they were soft I added the soup, beans, and 1/2 can of diced tomatoes. I added some spicy season salt and simmered to blend the flavors. I decided to serve it over the rice so I thickened it a bit with some cornstarch.
As I had been finishing my yardwork earlier I noticed one of our apple trees still had a few apples on it. I picked four that looked relatively good (but they still had some suspicious spots on them) and brought them inside. I knew I had a gluten-free pie crust in the freezer so I pulled that out and my original plan was to fold the pie crust on itself and bake it so it would be more like a turnover. When I started working with the crust it was obvious it was too fragile for that so I left the crust on the cookie sheet, sliced up the apples (after peeling, coring, and cutting out all the bad spots), mixed the apples with some sugar, cinnamon, gluten-free flour, and apple pie spice, then poured them onto the flat pie crust.
I used a spatula to push up the edges of the crust to make an edge and then dotted the top with a few dollops of butter then baked it at 350 until the apples were soft. What a yummy dessert!
Hopefully the next time you are standing, uninspired, in front of your pantry try to think of how you can stretch what you already have and make something out of nothing for dinner. The results can be very tasty!
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who enjoys cooking and experimenting with food. One of Donna’s favorite meals-on-the-go is Shaklee’s Cinch Shake, vanilla with frozen strawberries blended in and soy milk. You can see more at: www.DonnaCopeland.MyShaklee.com
Filed under: Healthy Nutrition, gluten-free | Tags: gluten-free bread, flaxmeal, skillet bread
One of the things that is difficult for many people who are new to gluten-free living is finding tasty bread. Many people complain about the density and moistness of the rice breads that are relatively available (they really need to be toasted) and they lack flavor.
The other challenge is that many folks in general do not know how to cook or bake so the concept of making bread is intimidating. I am here to tell you that if you have ever made a box mix of brownies or cake, you can make this bread.
It has a consistency that is like a cross between a muffin/biscuit/bread. It works well for both sweet (like jam) or savory (like sloppy joes) applications. You can either slice it like a loaf of bread or make larger pieces and then slice them horizontally (this is what I do for sloppy joes or other sandwiches). In short, this is a very versatile bread and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I came across this “Flaxmeal Skillet Bread” recipe in Jacqueline Mallorca’s “Wheat-Free Cookbook” and found it to be quick, easy, and tasty.
Start by pre-heating the oven AND a well-seasoned cast iron 8 and 1/2 inch skillet (or double the recipe for a larger skillet) at 450 degrees.
Combine together the dry ingredients:
1/4 cup flaxmeal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Add to the dry mixture:
3/4 cup buttermilk OR plain yogurt (if you don’t have either in the house, take the milk of your choice and in the measuring cup, put 1 teaspoon of vinegar then fill with the milk; allow to sit for a few minutes and you will have a buttermilk substitute)
1/4 cup milk (cow, goat, soy, etc)
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
When all the ingredients have been combined (it will have a consistency similar to cake mix), open oven and pull out skillet (be careful it will be quite hot. Add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet and coat the bottom and sides.
Pour the batter into the skillet and replace in the oven.
Bake until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Pull out of oven and let sit for a few moments, run a knife around the edge to separate the bread from the skillet.
Turn out onto a cooling rack. Serve plain or with condiment of your choice. Refridgerate leftovers. Toasts well. Pat yourself on the back for creating a delicious gluten-free bread (no one needs to know how easy it is).
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who enjoys helping others to lead a healthy lifestyle. She has been gluten-free now for several years and she appreciates the gluten-free supplements that are available through Shaklee. You can see more at: www.DonnaCopeland.MyShaklee.com
Filed under: gluten-free | Tags: gluten-containing products, gluten-free living
The question of “What is not gluten-free?” gets tricky for people new to gluten-free. To begin with, gluten shows up in more than simply “wheat” (so know that wheat-free does not equal gluten-free). To further complicate matters, wheat has a variety of names so you need to know all of them for appropriate label-reading.
Here is a list of both names of wheat and common ingredients that I have found that fall under “gluten-containing”:
| ¨ Wheat
¨ Kamut ¨ Semolina ¨ Triticale ¨ Bulgar ¨ Orzo (looks like rice) ¨ Emmer |
¨ Einkorn
¨ Graham ¨ Spelt ¨ Rye ¨ Matzo ¨ “Multi-grain” bread/chips/crackers |
¨ Durum
¨ Faro/farro ¨ Barley (in any form) ¨ Malt (including malt vinegar) ¨ Couscous ¨ Groats |
NOTE: Some people may call themselves “gluten-free” and still eat spelt or rye products. Those with Celiac should never consume anything on this list above.
The following items most likely contain wheat or gluten, do not consume unless you are certain they are gluten-free:
| ¨ Beers, ales, lager
¨ Breading and coating mixtures ¨ Communion wafers ¨ Croutons ¨ Marinades ¨ Thickeners (roux) ¨ Creamed soups ¨ Oats/oat flour (unless certified gluten-free) ¨ Granola ¨ Deli dips (i.e. spinach/artichoke) ¨ Food Starch |
¨ Cereal products
¨ Flour/baking mixes (including cornbread) ¨ Imitation bacon ¨ Imitation seafood ¨ Energy bars ¨ Meal/diet bars ¨ Ice cream toppings or mixes (i.e. cookie dough) ¨ Gravy/sauces ¨ Granola bars ¨ “Grain sweetened” chocolate (likely barley) ¨ Tamari Sauce |
¨ Vegetarian proteins
¨ Pastas ¨ Soy sauce or soy sauce solids (in a spice mix) ¨ Teriyaki sauce ¨ Dressing/stuffing ¨ Candy (especially licorice, malted milk balls, etc) ¨ Spiced/coated corn chips ¨ Crackers ¨ Barley syrup (always contains gluten)
|
This list MAY contain gluten:
| ¨ Supplements (nutritional, herbal, and vitamin/mineral)
¨ Brown rice syrup ¨ Potato chips ¨ Brewers or Nutritional Yeast ¨ Envelope adhesive |
¨ Marinades
¨ Soup bases ¨ Canned soups ¨ Salad dressing ¨ Chocolate candies ¨ TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) |
¨ Processed luncheon meats
¨ Processed cheese/cheese spread ¨ Shortening ¨ Stabilizers ¨ MSG |
Always keep in mind that “wheat free” does not equal “gluten-free”. Manufacturers can change ingredients so it is important to read labels every time before purchasing a food. It is also simple to be reading labels and then at the last minute decide on one item and put the wrong (gluten-containing) item into your grocery basket. Double check before you check out.
The world of gluten-free living doesn’t need to be horribly complex but it does involve a new language and a new way of relating to the rest of the world. Living gluten-free can be a wonderful adventure full of tasty new foods and grains you may not have otherwise experienced. Please contact me for additional information about making a “Delicious Gluten-Free Transition”.
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who is also gluten-free. She enjoyes sharing tips and recipes and loves that most of Shaklee’s supplements and meal-replacement products are gluten-free. You can find out more at: www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland
Filed under: gluten-free | Tags: ann arbor gluten-free bakery, depression, gluten-free
Julie Rabinovitz was once told by a doctor that he refused to test her for Celiac because it was such a “rare” disease and it was “impossible” that her mother had been diagnosed. Believe it or not, this was within the last ten years.
Julie was eventually diagnosed as having Celiac (by another doctor) although she admits to putting off the diagnosis. I think many of us can relate to the “I don’t want to know because if I know then I will need to change how I am living” mentality. But when that gets weighed against the risk of digestive cancers, not to mention continuing to live with the day-to-day symptoms, it is better to know and change then to not know and suffer.
Julie’s symptoms were not the usual digestive issues. Her mother had pretty classic symptoms including serious weight loss and it took about a year for her to get diagnosed. Julie’s symptoms were more around depression, fatigue, and a daily headache. She just figured that was what she would be living with, “each day I’ll have a headache;” when she went gluten-free her daily headaches went away.
I met Julie because she recently started offering gluten-free baked goods for sale in the Ann Arbor area. It is such a treat to have a fresh-made cookie that I didn’t need to bake myself! She is currently working out of her home kitchen (it’s certified) and hoping that she will be able to have an actual bakery location in the future. Imagine how nice that will be to go someplace and be able to select any number of goodies from the shelves. For the gluten-free, that is a fantasy 99.99% of the time.
In the meantime you can try Julie’s lovely peanut butter cookies or summer fruit tarts by finding her at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market in Kerrytown on Wednesdays from 7 AM to 3 PM. On Thursdays she is at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse Farmer’s Market (near Jackson and Maple/Miller) from 3 – 7 PM.
I wanted to share Julie’s story for two reasons:
- I want everyone to know that we have this wonderful resource now so you can take advantage of getting some home-made goodies without the work (and she does have a lovely assortment of treats including a variety of cookies, fruit tarts, and scones).
- I want you to hear other examples of people who have been diagnosed with Celiac or gluten-free so if you are hearing about a friend suffering from daily headaches, fatigue, or depression, they may want to get themselves checked. It could make a world of difference in their lives.
Not only are Julie’s “Tasty Bakery” treats gluten-free, they are also organic. I really enjoy the peanut butter cookies and the lemon cookies. Which ones are your favorite?
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who enjoys connecting people and sharing resources so we can all live healthier and more enjoyable lives. You can find out more about Shaklee at www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland
Filed under: gluten-free | Tags: certified gluten-free oats, gluten-free, oats
You may not think this is such a tough question, but for a lot of people trying to figure out a gluten-free lifestyle, it is surprizingly confusing. You see, the answer to, “Are oats gluten-free?” is yes and no. Let me explain.
The “yes” part is that oats are naturally gluten-free. The “no” part is that oats get cross-contaminated almost all the time. They are grown in the same fields, or next to fields with wheat crops. They are transported in the same trucks as wheat and stored in the same silos as wheat is stored.
You might not think such levels of cross-contamination would cause an issue, but it does. My suggestion for people who are very sensitive to wheat OR have Celiac is that they avoid oats unless they are certified gluten-free (in case you are curious, the price triples or quadruples). It is worth it to pay that extra price; let me tell you my story with oats.
I am gluten-intolerant so when I was diagnosed my doctor told me to play around with my diet and do what felt good to my body. (If I had Celiac I would have instantly been on a no-gluten diet for the rest of my life…no playing around with Celiac, there are serious health consequences there.)
Initially I continued to eat oats on ocassion or use them in baking. Oat flour makes some lovely cookies and of course oats are great in fruit crisps. A little over a year ago I went on an oatmeal-for-breakfast-kick where I was eating oatmeal about four days per week. By this time I hadn’t “cheated” on my gluten-free diet (at least not knowingly) in a couple years. I noticed my stomach started being uncomfortable on a daily basis and it reminded me of how I felt most of the time before I got diagnosed.
Of course when this happens you start thinking about what you have been eating and oats were the only possible source of gluten that I was getting in my diet. You can probably guess that I have since eliminated oats from my diet with two exceptions: 1) the gluten-free oats I have in my cupboard and 2) the rhubarb crisp I ate at my mom’s this past spring.
If you know someone has Celiac or is gluten-intolerant please ask them before using oats or oat flour in a dish. I strongly suggest if they have Celiac that you refrain completely (unless they are certified gluten-free oats) and if they are gluten-intolerant ask them their preference.
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who enjoys helping people make a smooth and delicious transition to a gluten-free lifestyle. She loves the Shaklee supplements and protein shakes as almost everything is gluten-free. Contact her for more information or go to: www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland to order and read labels.
Filed under: gluten-free | Tags: gluten-free, Gluten-Free Pie Crust, Strawberry Pie
A week ago was my dad’s birthday and I toyed with the idea of making a pie but my day got busy and I decided rather than stress myself over making a pie I would wait. Well the thought of a pie just kept noodling around in my head so by the weekend I knew a pie was in my future and I had settled on strawberry, having never made a strawberry pie before. It just sounded good!
I already knew what piecrust I was going to use based on previous experience, the “Rich Cornmeal Piecrust” from Jacqueline Mallorca’s “The Wheat-Free Cook” I just had to figure out what to do for the filling. I’m not a big fan of gelatin so I skipped all the recipes in my cookbooks that suggested it and instead settled on one of my favorite cookbooks, Betty Crocker (the classic one with the red cover). The main difference was that I was using frozen whole strawberries and she (I always think of the cookbook as one woman’s creation although I know otherwise) is starting with fresh whole strawberries.
I used frozen strawberries because they are reasonably priced and organic. I understand that strawberries are sometime pretty heavily sprayed and I haven’t managed to find an organic strawberry farm (if you know of one…let me know please!). So I started by thawing three bags of frozen, whole, organic strawberries.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
I prepared the crust by combining in the food processor:
- 1/2 cup stoneground cornmeal (if coarse-ground, put in food processor by itself for a minute or two to make less coarse)
- 1 cup sweet white rice flour (I just use whatever white rice flour I have in my fridge)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup sugar (omit if using the piecrust for a pot pie or other savory dish)
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Pulse to combine together. Then add:
- 12 Tablespoons butter, cut in small cubes (1 1/2 sticks) – the butter should be cold and just pulled from the fridge, don’t use at room temp!
Pulse until the butter is dispearsed and small lumps are created. Then add:
- 1 large egg
Process briefly to mix then add:
- 1 Tablespoon ice cold water and process
- repeat (or use smaller quantities of water) until there is a ball of dough that barely clings together.
NOTE: Ms. Mallorca makes this recipe sound like it will only take 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of water to make the dough stick together. I find it takes more like 5 or 6 Tablespoons. Go sparingly and see what works for you. My dough still barely sticks together and there are still lots of crumbs when I pour it out of the processor.
Place a couple sheets of plastic wrap on the counter and pour out dough.
Form dough into one solid lump and separate into two equal parts.
Set one part aside.
Place another piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough that is on the counter.
Use your rolling pin on the dough (sandwiched between the plastic wrap) to roll out to the proper size for your pie plate. You might be surprized how well this works. If it gets sticky, put it in the freezer for a few minutes to get cold again. This dough works better if it is cold.
Peel the top layer of plastic wrap off the pastry.
Turn the pastry upside-down on your pie plate.
Peel off the backside of the plastic wrap (set aside to use to roll out the other piece).
Repair the crust and fix the edges (usually no water is required to fix, just mash the pieces together).
Use a fork to poke holes in the crust.
Bake until lightly golden brown. (I’m sorry I didn’t time it becuase I was working on the filling at the same time, I just kept an eye on it. It was probably about 15-20 minutes.)
NOTE: Because this recipe is a single-crust pie, I take the second lump of dough and roll it out like the first one. Instead of putting it in a pie plate, however, I roll it loosely into a tube shape, tuck the plastic wrap ends in, and place it in the freezer so I have an extra pie crust for the next time I have a hankering for a pie.
Strawberry pie filling (by Betty Crocker)
Mash strawberries to equal 1 cup (I used a fork in my Pyrex measuring cup).
In a saucepan, combine:
- 3/4 cup sugar (they said 1 cup, I bet you could use even less)
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Then add:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup mashed strawberries
Put on medium heat and stir constantly until mixture begins to thicken (mine never bubbled although they said it should) and stir for one minute more after thickening begins.
Allow to cool for about 5 – 10 minutes.
Combine mixture with thawed strawberries then pour into prepared crust.
Put in fridge to finish setting (unless you are eager like me and need to finish the next step and then try a bite before it has finished setting up).
REAL Whipped Cream (skip all the artifical ones and cans that can’t be recycled…do yourself a favor and make it the old-fashioned way, a snap if you have an electric mixer (hand or stand).
Pour one small carton of “real whipping cream” into a bowl (glass or stainless steel).
Add 1 – 2 Tablespoons sweetener (I use organic cane sugar most of the time for this purpose)
Beat until peaks begin to form (five minutes or less).
Either serve on the side or spread across the entire pie (my favorite).
Enjoy your treat! The piecrust in the freezer is earmarked for some of the black raspberries that are in season…something else I have never made!
Donna Copeland is an Independent Shaklee Distributor who has been gluten-free for close to five years now. She enjoys trying new recipes and sharing tips on living a healthy lifestyle on her blog. To find gluten-free supplements go to: www.Shaklee.net/DonnaCopeland (not all are gluten-free, consult with Donna). If you are looking for a specific gluten-free recipe, feel free to make a request.
