Pacific Soups

Broths

• Organic Chicken Broth

• Organic Chicken Broth Low Sodium

• Free Range Chicken Broth

• Organic Vegetable Broth

• Organic Vegetable Broth Low Sodium

• Organic Beef Broth

• Beef Broth

• Organic Mushroom Broth

Creamy Soups

• Organic Creamy Tomato

• Organic Creamy Tomato Low Sodium

• Organic Creamy Butternut Squash

• Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Low Sodium

• Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato

• Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Low Sodium

• Organic French Onion

• Creamy Roasted Carrot

• Cashew Carrot Ginger

• Buttery Sweet Corn

• Curried Red Lentil

• Spicy Black Bean Soup

• Tuscan White Bean

Hearty Artisan Soups

• Organic Spicy Chicken Fajita

• Organic Spicy Black Bean with Chicken Sausage

• Organic Savory White Bean with Smoked Bacon

• Organic Split Pea with Ham & Swiss Cheese

• Organic Savory Chicken & Wild Rice

Amy’s

• Amy’s Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable Soup

• Amy’s Light In Sodium Lentil Soup

• Amy’s Organic Cream of Tomato Soup

• Amy’s Black Bean Vegetable

• Amy’s Black Vegetable Lentil Soup

• Amy’s Organic Tuscan Bean and Rice Soup

• Amy’s Organic Chili with Vegetables

• Amy’s Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup

photo credit: *Noema*

Potato Soup

• 2 ham bones
• 6 cups GF chicken stock
• 4 potatoes peeled and diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 twists on the pepper grind

1. Start by cooking your ham bone in the broth for at least 30 minutes.
2. Remove the bone from pan and cut up the left over meat into bite size pieces. Add ham pieces back into soup.
3. Add the rest of your ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. If soup seems too thin add 2 tbl of tapioca starch to thicken. Serve with a fresh piece of hot bread.

Peanut Butter Layer Bars

Peanut Butter Layer:

• 2 cups cookies crumbs  finely ground (I use GF gingersnaps)
• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter)

Chocolate layer:

• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tbl peanut butter

1. Mix together butter, crumbs, sugar, and peanut butter until blended. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 pan.
2. Pour chips into microwave safe bowl and add the peanut butter. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. Spread over 1st layer and chill for at least 1 hour.

Warning: You will be lucky if these bars last more than a few days. They are very addictive!

Drunken Noodles

• 1/2- 16 oz box of Notta Pasta Wide Rice Noodles
• 1 lb of either venison, beef, buffalo, chicken or pork
• 1/8 cup Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce
• 1/3 cup GF soy sauce or Tamari
• 4 tbl minced garlic
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cups frozen green beans, thawed
• 2 tbl lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Marinate meat in garlic pepper sauce and soy sauce for at least 2 hours.
2. Saute meat with the marinate. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until slightly brown. Add garlic, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and carrots. Cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat.
3. Add drained noodles, beans and brown sugar. Cook until noodles are tender. Do not over cook. Serve immediately.
4. If noodles don’t have enough spice feel free to add more garlic chili pepper sauce. Just be careful because a little goes a long way.

Cook’s note: Noodles are great reheated the next day if you have any left.

photo credit: love?janine

Campbell Soup Company

Swanson Broth & Stock (Aseptic)

• Natural Goodness Chicken Broth

• Chicken Stock

• Chicken Broth

• Beef Stock

Swanson Broth Canned

• Natural Goodness Chicken Broth

• Chicken Broth

• Vegetable Broth

• Chicken Broth with Garlic

Manischewitz

Daily Only (Not Kosher for Passover)

• Ready To Serve Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth

• Ready To Serve Chicken Broth

• Ready To Serve Beef Broth

• Hearty Bean Cello Soup Mix

• Split Pea Soup Mix With Seasoning Cello Soup Mix

Kosher For Passover and All Year Round

• Condensed Clear Chicken Consomme

• Condensed Clear Chicken Broth

This list if very thorough . Please make sure you double check with the manufacturer. Companies are now required to list the top allergens but gluten is not on that list, just wheat for our requirements. I plan on continually giving you small sections at a time so feel free to visit back on Gluten Free Listfull Tuesdays.
photo credit: VirtualErn

Tuesday: Tuna casserole

Wednesday: Nachos (kids cooking day)

Thursday: Chicken Fajitas

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Chicken Nachos

Sunday: Leftovers

GF Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 1/2 cups sorghum flour mix*
• 4 teaspoons guar gum
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cups cold butter, diced into small chunks
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Place the first six ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until blended.
3. Sprinkle the butter cubes evenly over the flour mixture, cover, and pulse until the mixture become crumbly.
4. Pour the buttermilk evenly over the mixture. Pulse until the dough becomes a moist clump. Make sure all of the flour mixture from the bottom is mixed properly.
5. Using a cookie scoop, scoop up 18 biscuits and place on cookie sheet. Dip a glass cup into flour and press the biscuits down slightly.
6. Bake 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush tops of biscuits with butter. Enjoy!

*Sorghum flour mix: 2 parts sorghum flour to 1 part tapioca flour

No-bake Cookies

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 cups GF oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, margarine, milk, and salt to a boil for 1 minute.
2. Add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.
3. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Cooks Note: Sometimes I use my instant oatmeal mix in place of the plain oats. With the cinnamon it gives the cookies a slightly Mexican hot chocolate taste which my family loves.

We all know there is nothing healthy about a good sausage gravy.

Give this recipe a whirl and let me know what you think.

Sausage Gravy

• 1 lb of sausage

• 2 tbl of butter

• 2 tbl of GF flour

• 1 can of fat free evaporated milk

• 1 cup of chicken broth

• salt and pepper to taste

Brown your sausage until nice and crispy. Add the butter and swirl in the flour. Once mixed, add the milk and chicken broth. Let boil for 5 minutes and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper before serving. Pour on you biscuits and enjoy!

GF Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups Pamela’s pancake mix
• 2 tbl sugar
• 1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco
• 2/3 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine flour and sugar. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the shortening until crumbly. Add buttermilk all at once and stir until mixed. Dough will be very moist.
3. Using a floured counter and hands pat dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 12 biscuits with a sharp knife dipped in flour.
4. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, until the tops are brown.

I did change the recipe completely except for the amount of buttermilk. Next time I am going to try them a little thicker. The texture was great and the pan performed excellently!

Give this alternative recipe a try. I have read great reviews on it and I will be trying it next.

This is coming up fast and I want everyone to be prepared.  You will be surprised how many candies you can eat. Just remember, everything in moderation and always double check labels!

MARS and WRIGLEY

• Starburst
• Skittles
  
• Skittles Sour
• Lifesavers Hard Candy fruit flavors
• Lifesavers Pops
• Lifesavers Gummies

PURE FUN

• Lollipops
• Cotton Candy
• Hard Candies
• Chocolate Meltdowns

SPANGLER (may contain traces of soy oil)

• Dum Dums
• Chewy Pops
• Saf-T-Pops
• Circus Peanuts

SURF SWEETS

• Gummy Worms
• Gummy Swirls
• Gummy Bears
• Fruity Bears
• Jelly Beans
• Sour Worms
• Sour Berry Bears

TOOTSIE

• Dots
• Bat Dots
• Candy Corn Dots
• Ghost Dots

WELCH’S

• Fruit Snacks

WONKA

• Bottlecaps
• Everlasting Gobstopper
• Chewy Gobstopper
• Runts (not Chewy),
  
• Fun Dip and Fun Dip Sour
• Pixy Stix
  
• Sweetarts (regular)
• Tart N Tinys
• Nerds

YUMMY EARTH

• Lollipops
• Candy Drops
• Gummy Bears
• Gummy Worms

For a more complete list please visit Sure Foods Living. Make sure you let Alison know how her hard work has helped you.

photo credit: Danielle Scott

Remember all of these recipes are Gluten Free.

Monday: Crockpot Buffalo, potatoes, carrots

Tuesday: Spaghetti, salad

Wednesday: Shepherds Pie (kids cooking day)

Thursday: Steak, mushrooms, baked potato

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Hamburger and grilled potatoes

Sunday: Leftovers

Some might think this would warrant them not to use this product.

I will not hesitate to eat this soup! Before the laws were changed we were all forced to read labels. In order for a company to label their food GF it must either be naturally GF (such as eggs, they would all be GF) or they must test the end product. I have a feeling many companies cannot afford to switch to testing all of it’s products so we must still rely on reading labels and calling the company. Progresso will be sending me some recipes to use and they also asked if they come out with new GF lists (or other relevant such items) if they could send me new information. Unfortunately, they can only send via snail mail but at least they are willing to send something.

The woman I spoke to also started to tell me about the Betty Crocker GF mixes that they carry. I absolutely love the convenience of buying them in a regular store. She is sending me some recipes specifically for their GF mixes.  They don’t offer any coupons that they can send in the mail but they do offer a newsletter where you can print coupons. Give it a try! If you click the link on the left side of that page it will bring you to a sample newsletter. I personally love all of the recipes and coupons!

I almost forgot. I was told that all of their soups are going to be reformulated without MSG. The process will take some time but they are starting to recreate their soups without it. That is a bonus because so many people are sensitive to MSG (myself included).

So in the end I would recommend calling General Mills for any of your GF questions!

photo credit: Special*Dark

Halloween Safe List: A-J

This is coming up fast and I want everyone to be prepared. When I was first diagnosed I purchased some mini Milky Way bars and it wasn’t until a few years later that I realized my mistake. I totally overlooked the malt! You will be surprised how many candies you can eat. Just remember, everything in moderation and always double check labels!

AIRHEADS

• Airheads Pops
• Whistle Pops

ANNIE’S

• Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks
  

CADBURY ADAMS

• Swedish Fish
• Sour Patch Soft and Chewy Candy Kids

CE DE CANDY

• Smarties
• Bubble Gum Smarties
• Candy Money
• Smarties in a Pouch
• Tropical Smarties
• X-TREME Sour Smarties
• Smarties Parties
• Smarties Double Lollies
• Smarties Mega Lollies
• Smarties Pops

ENJOY LIFE

• Boom CHOCO Boom Dark Chocolate Bar
• Boom CHOCO Boom Crispy Rice Bar
• Boom CHOCO Boom Milk Bar

FARLEY’S AND SATHER’S

• Super Bubble and Super Bubble Blast (manufactured in a facility that manufactures products containing traces of eggs)
• Rain-Blo Pops (manufactured in a facility that manufactures products containing traces of milk and peanuts)
• Atomic Fireball (manufactured in a facility that manufactures products containing traces of milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein)
• Smarties
• Sweetarts (manufactured in a facility that manufactures products with traces of eggs and soy protein)
• Jujyfruits and Friends (Heide candies)

FERRARA PAN

Some packages state: “this product was manufactured in a facility where peanuts, almonds, milk, cashews, macadamias, pistachios, soy and egg are used in the production of other products.”

• Chewy Atomic Fireballs
• Lemonhead
• Red Hots
• Chewy Lemonhead and Friends
• Applehead, Grapehead, Cherryhead
• Jawbreakers

HERSHEY

• Jolly Rancher Hard Candy
• Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Sticks

JELLY BELLY

• Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

JUST BORN

• Mike & Ike
• Hot Tamales
• Peeps Pumpkins and Ghosts

For a more complete list please visit Sure Foods Living. Make sure you let Alison know how her hard work has helped you.
photo credit: abdelwahab alhajji

Monday: Chicken Fried Rice

Tuesday: Soup and sandwiches

Wednesday: Shish Kabobs (Kids cooking day) (leftover rice from Mon)

Thursday: Chicken Stuffed Shells (leftover chk from Mon)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Grilled Chicken and Potatoes (Chicken was marinating in the leftover shish kabob sauce)

Sunday: Leftovers

She is starting to feel the overwhelming  stress that many of us feel when we were first diagnosed.

I want this transition to be as easy as possible. While researching local stores for her we remembered that when I visited two years ago we went shopping at a Harris Teeter store. Just out of curiosity I went to their website. To my delight, I found they have a system where you can enter your desired items online into a list and pick them up at your local store. I searched through their groceries and found many GF items. This was a long process but once you have the list made it couldn’t be easier. I created a username and password for her and now she has access to an entire list of GF products at a store she can go to at her convenience. I don’t have a Harris Teeter anywhere near me but this is a great resource for her living in North Carolina.

1. Sweet dreams are made of these.

2.  Nice quiet bed especially for me.

3. Silliness equals happiness.

4. Kori will be 10 months old for this Halloween.

5. Outstanding or not I needed to leave that job.

6. Sleep is what I want right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sleep, tomorrow my plans include hosting another garage sale and Sunday, I want to take some beautiful pictures of our fall colors!

Either way those of us who will be following this diet for the rest of our lives will reap the benefit of this fad. More and more mainstream manufacturers are creating a gluten free version of easy made products. Thank you to Betty Crocker and General Mills, just to name a few!

DFW NBC – Buzz Word

Video from VodPod

Gluten Free Spiced Instant Oatmeal

• 8 cups GF rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups dried apple or raisins

Combine all in a large bowl. Mix with a wire whisk until evenly distributed. Pour into a sealed glass container.

To make: pour 1/2 cup boiling water into a bowl and add 1/2 cup of mix.

Note: I have used this mix for my apple crisp recipe and even no-bake cookies. If you follow a low salt diet feel free to eliminate.

My daughters always remind me when the container is getting low and it only takes minutes to make weeks worth of breakfasts.

photo credit: sleepyneko

Here is the breakdown in price for store bought versus homemade GF pure vanilla:

• $7.17 for a 2 ounce/59 ml bottle of organic GF vanilla
• for 750 ml of this kind would cost $93.21

Versus

• $30 for Idol Grape Vodka – high quality, distilled 7 times and filtered 5 times
• $8 for 2 vanilla beans bought from Walmart (half the price I would pay for 1 bean at other grocery stores)
• Total cost for 750 ml of homemade vanilla would be $38

This recipe is easy to make but be sure to give it time for the flavor to blend.

• 1 bottle of Idol Grape Vodka – 750 ml
• 2 vanilla beans

You will have to pour out just a tiny bit of the vodka for the beans to fit without over flowing. Cut up the beans into small pieces. Make sure you use all of the bits that fall out. They are the most important part of the flavor. Add to the vodka and cover. Let sit for at least 1 month. The coloring will be very light, almost clear. The longer it sits the better the flavor and the darker it gets. I just used up the last of my bottle and it was very dark and flavorful. It had been sitting for almost a year.  The vanilla will last indefinitely. Whole vanilla beans that have been used in sauces or other liquids can be rinsed, thoroughly dried, and stored for reuse. I always transfer my beans to the next bottle and just add a new bean along with the old.

Try this recipe when your vanilla is done. Browned Butter Frosting Enjoy!

photo credit: stevendepolo

Super Seasoned Salt

Developed by Brenda Wilkey

• 2 tbl sea salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp tapioca starch, arrowroot or potato starch

Mix all of the ingredients with a wire wisk and pore into your favorite shaker jar. We use this on almost everything except when I am using my garlic pepper mix. This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled. I usually make enough to fill my shaker and I have a refill container in the cupboard so I never run out.

I have to say I tend to use more dried herbs because it is easier to show my children what to use and not having them chopping herbs up yet. They do a lot of cooking and if I add fresh herbs to the mix I think they will start to get confused. They remember onion, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chives that is about all they can handle right now.

When purchasing dried herb mixes, I recommend going organic.

The prices are not that much higher and you are getting a better quality product. They are also more clearly labeled from what I have seen.  I do purchase such items like garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and pepper from my local grocery store. I have never had a reaction and they are pure ingredients. Meaning nothing is mixed in the product.

Really it is the mixes you have to worry about the most. Here is what I recommend keeping in your spice/baking rack for cooking:

• Sea salt
• Pepper/pepper grinder
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Basil
• Oregano
• GF soup base
• Arrowroot or Tapioca starch for thickening
• Cornstarch
• Olive oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Canola oil
• GF soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Balsamic Vinegar
• White Cooking wine
• Cinnamon (great sprinkled on fresh fruit)
• White pepper
• Homemade seasoned salt
• Chives
• Celery Salt

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Find out who is in charge of organic foods at your local grocery store.

They are always looking for feedback on what to carry. They want to know what will sell and if you can give them some items they might be more willing to carry similar items.  If they seem hesitant just keep on building that relationship with them. Have other friends or family come in and request the same items. Usually if they get enough requests they will try out the product and watch the sales of these items.

I had been trying to get our local store to carry the Tinkyada noodles because they were my favorite. My uncle is a manager at this store and I had him ask his supervisor. After about a year of asking I lucked out one day. I was shopping and the store had managers from another store visiting and setting up displays. I asked them if I could talk with them for a minute and they were willing to listen.

I explained that the GF noodles they carried were not selling because they turn to mush when cooked. I also told them I had a much better quality noodle that would sell a ton faster. Let’s just say in a few short weeks my store had 4 different shapes of Tinkyada noodles and they have been selling like crazy. Now all I usually have to do is ask my uncle if they can carry an item. If they are able to order it they usually will. They had the Betty Crocker GF mixes almost imediately after I asked. This whole process makes grocery shopping a lot easier on us and our budgets.

• Flour – I prefer sorghum, tapioca, potato starch, and rice. I will buy others but these are the ones I use most frequently and keep stocked in the pantry.
• Pasta – I use Tinkyada for everything. Nobody ever asks questions. It is forgiving and doesn’t turn to mush real fast. Plus you can boil water, throw the noodles in, cover them and let them sit in the pan to cook without wasting energy boiling them.
• Bread – I use Ener-G light brown rice bread. It tastes great toasted, grilled and made into french toast. I know there are a million other kinds of amazing GF bread but this is what I use as a staple unless I am baking my own. The packages do not have to be frozen they are shelf stable for months.
• Soy sauce – San-J is great but you can also buy Bragg’s liquid Aminos which comes in a convenient spray bottle. My local grocer also started to carry San-J Thai Peanut and Szechuan. I purchased them today but have yet to try them. I can’t wait though!
• Cereals - Chex is one of the easiest. They make strawberry, chocolate, cinnamon, honey nut, corn and rice now that are all gluten free.
• Soups - I prefer either Amy’s Organic soups or Health Valley Organic. Between the two brands you can get your cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, tomato, lentil vegetable(my favorite), and chili. This is just a few basic soups. Do some digging and you will find many more.
• Beer - I don’t drink beer but my sister in law is a home brewer and she has tried Sprecher. She was pleasantly surprised. I might add that she is not on a GF diet. She tried it at a beer festival so she could report back to me.
• Crackers – My favorite is either Glutino (they are the closest to saltines that I can find but they also have a close taste to a Ritz) or Rice Thins. Rice thins can be bought at many regular grocery stores.
• Cake or brownie mixes – For me this is all about convenience. I have many really good homemade recipes but sometimes it is nice to just whip out a box. Betty Crocker carries cakes, brownies and cookies now that are all GF. If you have not seen them ask your grocer about carrying them. I also like Gluten Free Pantry and Namaste brands. They all produce a high quality mix that is very convenient and easy to use.
• Pancake/waffle mix – This is by far my favorite category. I love Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix! The pancakes turn out light and fluffy just like they are at IHOP. I just recently discovered this mix and I use it at least once a week. You can make biscuits, breads, waffles or just about anything else that you can make with Bisquick. I made a ton of cakes with it and they are have turned out wonderful. It is definately an all purpose mix.

Everyone is going to like different brands but these have passed the resistant child test and the husband refuses to eat GF test. This is where you will have to start buying items from either a specialty store or you can use my favorite, Amazon.

I highly recommend Amazon because of it’s convenience.

I was getting all of my bread locally. Then the gas prices shot through the roof last year and I had to look for ways to cut our bills. Of course GF convenience foods had to be one of the cuts. I searched for alternatives and this is what I found. I could get my same bread from Amazon shipped directly to my house for about $7 less a case than buying it from a store.  Then I found out that by having it set up on autoship I was able to save over $10 a case. It came to almost half the price I was paying. I have found this with many items on Amazon. Betty Crocker GF mixes actually came out to be about the same price so I pick them up when I need them rather than buying an entire case at a time. That is one downfall. You have to make sure it is something you like because you do order it by the case.

Now that we have most of the staples covered we will be moving on to starting to use these items. If you were not a baker before starting the GF life you will be now. Unless you have a lot of extra cash lying around needing to be spent.

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I live in an area surrounded by orchards.  In case you didn’t know, apple trees have an on year and then an off year. This year happens to be the on year for my dad’s trees. An off year at my dad’s house still brings in enough apples to can over 30 quarts of apple pie filling, apple sauce and apple cider.  I can’t even imagine what I will get this year. So far my 9 month old daughter has been spoiled from having only homemade canned foods to eat. Applesauce happens to be her favorite.

Give these recipes a whirl!

• Carmelized Apples If you can’t have cornstarch you can substitute by using about half the amount of tapioca starch/flour or potato starch. Remember you are thickening  so sometimes the amount is not exact.
• I think I might have found a new favorite for my daughter if she likes cranberries and much as her mama. Happy eating! Cranberry Applesauce
• And of course it wouldn’t be fall without apple pie! Old Fashioned Gluten Free Apple Pie don’t forget the crust recipe: Gluten Free Pie Crust You should have some cornstarch in the pantry and by now you should also have at least  white rice flour. Brown rice flour is usually easy to find and if necessary to cut cost you could substitute sorghum for the amaranth flour. I am always trying to limit the number of flours I keep on hand.

Give these other apple treats a whirl:

1. Miniature Caramel Apples
2. Grilled Cinnamon Apples
3. Apple and Calvados Sorbet