Back to the Kitchen

Alright...too much time has passed since I have made my way into the kitchen...not sure what I have been avoiding, but I am ready to get back to cooking. After eating out a bit more than necessary, I realized how hard it still is, even with all the information and knowledge that now exists regarding GLUTEN.

On too many occasions restaurants seem to believe that Gluten Free meant I could not eat ANY starch including potatoes and rice. This is NOT true! So here I am back to cooking to continue my research of the best products and recipes utilizing the most efficient use of my time and money.

My goal this week is to find the best GF PANCAKES. An essential part of a nice weekend breakfast. I will be experimenting with 4-5 pancake mixes to see what product comes out on top! Pamela's, Bob's and Bisquick are just a few that I will be testing and analyzing!

By next week I will have a full report along with another project for myself to hopefully help guide the average GF lover of food!

Cheers!!

Who Likes Sausage??

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter...I am talking about the amazing and tasty food item we so often include while cooking breakfast, making pasta salads or just grilling for a game! This is also one item that was taken out of my realm when I had to go Gluten Free. Why?? As we know many sausages contain fillers...guess what these fillers are made with...GLUTEN!!

When first changing my diet to remove Gluten I thought, great, no more great pasta dishes or rolls with my meals, no more sandwich's...basically no more satisfaction when I eat! Choices were limited and I thought it couldn't get worse until I discovered even more things that contain the Gluten in hidden places!! Such as...ketchup, soy sauce, rice krispies, even things like Shampoo with wheat protein, or sunscreens and lotions! I really felt like I was on a spirally downward cycle where I would be left with an apple or lettuce and that was NO FUN!!

Well, I am here to relieve you of this feeling...there are SOOO many great options now and luckily it is easier to identify if wheat or gluten is in most anything these days! There are GF soy sauces...although I prefer Bragg Liquid Amino (a soy sauce alternative). This is great to cook with, add to rice or sushi, or even as a dressing! There are also GF ketchup's! Hunt's Natural is my favorite. Now, I am even more excited to tell you about the amazing Italian style Sausage I discovered and cooked the other day while making an alternative to Eggs Benedict!

My meal consisted of:
 2 poached eggs
Hollandaise - I make it with 2 egg yolks, I can't believe it's not butter, and fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 yellow pepper, 1 tomato and a few scallions - I chopped and sauteed them up with a little coconut oil
1 All Natural aidells Italian Style with Mozzarella Cheese Smoked Chicken Sausage
-Cook it all up and throw it all together to make an amazing eggs benedict delight!

The product I would like to mention today, as you would have guessed, is:
PRODUCT: Sausage
BRAND: All Natural aidells Italian Style with Mozzarella Cheese Smoked Chicken Sausage
PRICE: $6.49 (Krogers)
OUTCOME: They only took 8 minutes to cook and turned out amazing! I cut it up and added it with the sauteed veggies and poached eggs. I will definitely buy these again! One link is only 170 calories with 14 grams of protein! There are other kinds but the Italian Style with Mozz Cheese is all I have tried to date.

Let me know your thoughts! Hopefully these products are helping you narrow your choices when shopping and saving a little money from experimenting! :)

Gluten Free Easy Dinner - Day-to-day living!

Okay, so I am cooking dinner as I am typing! There ARE quick and easy ways to eat healthy and enjoy WITHOUT slaving away in the kitchen!! Every now and then I BUY sauce or meat from a great Italian Restaurant by me. I told this restaurant about my disease and they are actually more than accommodating. Sometimes I bring in my own GF Rice Noodles and they will make them for me with any of their menu items. You should try this too! You would be surprised at how many places will accommodate you...but be careful since you are not back in the kitchen to watch for cross contamination so make sure you trust the cooks where you go!

Today, I decided to cook a quick meal at home. I love relaxing in my living room and watching a movie while enjoying a nice glass of wine and pasta! So what's cooking tonight?? It started by me buying a quart of Bolognese from the great Italian Restaurant I mentioned above. Right now I am sauteing some hot peppers and adding the sauce with them while cooking up some Gluten Free noodles!

It is easy, tastes great and the total cost for 4 servings (and these are actually very nice servings) was $18.19 so $4.55 per person for a very nice hearty dinner!

I purchased the peppers and pasta from Krogers. The pasta I used is listed below with details!

PRODUCT: Spiral Pasta
BRAND: DeBoles Gluten Free Rice Spirals
PRICE: $2.19
OUTCOME: The pasta made the water white and creamy and the pasta seemed to go from raw to overcooked and mushy! This is obviously not ideal!! I do have other pastas that I love and come out great! But I am okay with this result since I am mixing it with an amazing Bolognese and sauteed peppers so it actually turned out fine. If pasta was the main aspect of this meal I would not recommend this. Price wise though it is amazing!

Okay - meal is done and I am off to enjoy with a nice glass of petite syrah!

Gluten "FREE"

FREE: Not obstructed, restricted or impeded; not subject to government regulation; enjoying personal freedom: not subject to the control or domination of another; made, done or given voluntarily or spontaneously.

All of the above are definitions of "FREE" from the meriam-webster dictionary online. Now anyone that is currently Gluten Free or is in the process of adjusting their lifestyle to remove Gluten, I would think we can all agree that these definitions of "FREE" do not go hand in hand with Gluten.

I decided to start this Blog because I found myself spending $50 on one bag of groceries and not even knowing what I really bought or if it was going to be any good. I can tell you that there are amazing options today that were not here even 2 years ago! This being said, I needed to create a place where I could take notes of the following in order to save when I have to spend! Does this product taste good? What can I do to create multiple meal options? How much am I spending? and Is it health conscious? I thought well I wrote my own notes, why not share them with people who are in the same boat as I am.
Gluten Free is not a choice for me, so it is pertinent that I figure out how to be a savvy shopper of products. Whether it is your choice or not I hope you find this blog not only valuable, but a good place to share any insight or suggestions you may have from experience. The whole point of this is to let you know how to save money and have fun eating Gluten Free!

The first product I would like to mention is:
PRODUCT: Pizza
BRAND: Kinnikinnick Personal Size Pizza
PRICE: $7.99 (cost in Plymouth, MI)
OUTCOME: I loved this product! It is only 496 calories per pizza crust and the $7.99 includes 4 crusts. I was able to create multiple meals with this product since I could create any pizza I wanted - healthy or not :) - as well as dessert or entree! I also found that the cost was reasonable because the cost was minimal considering it covered me for up to 4 meal! With sauce and toppings each meal was approx. $4 to $6 per meal!