I try not to use too many corn products because I get migraines from corn. I was using seasoned salt on everything I cooked so I developed a homemade version which I like even better plus it is corn free.

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.

When cooking Gluten Free, fresh spices are always best but sometimes not realistic. I use what I can from my little herb garden and then I purchase the rest.

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. [Read more...]

I love my local organic food store. It took many many years for us to get anything like it in our rural area. I have to say the owner of Millie Hill Market has had her hands full with me. She is constantly ordering new GF items for us to try. To her delight most of them end up selling right off of her shelves. This is the type of relationship you want to have with your local store. If they are supportive it can make your life a ton easier.

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.

Yes, this might seem scary. Before your first trip I want you to make a list of things you need. Cross reference them from the Gluten Free Safe List and find out what items you need to find an alternative for. Below I will give you some brands that will be good substitutions. Some items that you will need to replace will be:

• 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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Apples seem to be the theme this time of year.  Why not live it up on the GF diet also?

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