Leftovers....

School lunch is one of the hardest meals to prepare for a gluten free kiddo.  There is only so much you can pack for them.  This is where your leftovers come in very handy....

Today, Alexis is having spaghetti left over from last night's dinner.  I used Tinkyada Brown Rice Noodles and made spaghetti sauce that is quick, yet gluten free.   Warmed up and put into a small thermos it will stay warm and be quite nice for lunch today.  She is also having some fresh grapes, baby carrots, an applesauce, and a gluten free chocolate and peanut granola bar.   

That is always something to remember when planning a meal for a gluten free child....FRUITS AND VEGGIES ARE NATURALLY GLUTEN FREE! 

Here's what I used to make my spaghetti sauce.  I found no indgredients that suggested gluten and Alexis didn't complain about feeling yucky after eating this.  Sometimes, it's all about trial and error.  I have cooked things that didn't look like they had gluten in them and she has bloated so badly that her belly looked pregnant!  Other times, we are just lucky!

Total Time: 15 minutes
Makes 4 servings.

You Will Need: 1 pkg. McCormick® Thick & Zesty Spaghetti Sauce Mix
1¾ cups water
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste*
1 tbsp. oil or butter (optional)
8 oz. spaghetti or other pasta, cooked and drained
Substitution: Use 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce in place of tomato paste AND reduce water to 1 cup.

STIR Sauce Mix, water, tomato paste and oil in medium saucepan until well blended.

BRING to boil; cover. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta.

Substituting Gluten

Here are some helpful hints that I have found about baking with different gluten free flours.  (excerpt below taken from the website allrecipes.com)

Gluten, a protein found in wheat flour, is what gives structure to baked goods. It traps air while breads, muffins, and cakes bake, giving them their soft spongy texture. To replace gluten, you'll need to use other thickeners like xanthan gum or guar gum in your baking.

For each cup of gluten-free flour mix, add at least 1 teaspoon of gluten substitute.

Xanthum Gum
This comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas campestris. It is formulated in a laboratory setting. This works well as a gluten substitution in yeast breads along with other baked goods. You can purchase it in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Guar Gum
This powder comes from the seed of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is an excellent gluten substitute and it is available in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Pre-Gel Starch This gluten substitute helps keep baked goods from being too crumbly. This, too, can be purchased at most health food stores.

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Homemade Mixes

Start with recipes that use relatively small amounts of wheat flour like brownies or pancakes. Gluten-free versions taste almost the same as their wheat-based cousins. These two gluten-free flour mixtures can be substituted for wheat flour cup-for-cup:

• Gluten-Free Flour Mix I1/4 cup soy flour
  1/4 cup tapioca flour
  1/2 cup brown rice flour
• Gluten-Free Flour Mix II6 cups white rice flour
  2 cups potato starch
  1 cup tapioca flour

These mixes can be doubled or tripled. You can also purchase gluten-free baking mixes at health food stores and some supermarkets.

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Potato Starch Flour This is a gluten-free thickening agent that is perfect for cream-based soups and sauces. Mix it a little with water first, then substitute potato starch flour for flour in your recipe, but use half the amount called for. It can be purchased in a health food store.

Tapioca Flour This is a light, white, very smooth flour that comes from the cassava root. It gives baked goods a nice chewy texture. Try it in white bread or French bread recipes. It is also easily combined with cornstarch and soy flour.

Soy Flour This nutty-tasting flour has a high protein and fat content. It's best when used in combination with other flours and for baking brownies, or any baked goods with nuts or fruit, which will mask any "beany" flavor.

Cornstarch A refined starch that comes from corn, it's mostly used as a thickening agent for puddings, fruit sauces, and Asian cooking. It is also used in combination with other flours for baking.

Corn Flour This flour is milled from corn and can be blended with cornmeal to make cornbread or muffins. It is excellent for waffles or pancakes.

Cornmeal Cornmeal can be ground from either yellow or white corn. This is often combined with flours for baking. It imparts a strong corn flavor that is delicious in pancakes, waffles, or muffins.

White Rice Flour This is an excellent basic flour for gluten-free baking. It is milled from polished white rice. Because it has such a bland flavor, it is perfect for baking, as it doesn't impart any flavors. It works well with other flours. White rice flour is available in most health food stores, and also in Asian markets. Look for types called fine-textured white rice flour.

Brown Rice Flour Made from unpolished brown rice, brown rice flour retains the nutritional value of the rice bran. Use it in breads, muffins, and cookies.

Kamut and Spelt Flours These are ancient forms of wheat. While they aren't appropriate for gluten-free diets, they can be often be tolerated by people with gluten sensitivities.

Cinnamon-Raisin Muffins

 This was today's breakfast!  Alexis woke up this morning and declared she was tired of cereal and oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast.  She didn't want gluten free pancakes or waffles!  She wanted a MUFFIN!  So the search was on for a gluten free muffin that wasn't blueberry.  One problem though,   I really didn't want to go to the store so we had to find a reciepe that we already had the ingredients for! We found one for cinnamon-raisin scones and changed and adapted a few things to make them into muffins!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:    2 cups Bobs Red Mill gluten free All Purpose Flour

                                                      1 tablespoon gluten free baking power

                                                      3 tablespoons light brown sugar         

                                                      1 teaspoon xanthan gum                     

                                                      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

                                                      1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

                                                      1/2 teaspoon salt

                                                      5 tablespoons gluten free butter

                                                      1 egg

                                                      1/2 cup lactose free milk or cream

                                                      2 teaspoons vanilla

                                                      2/3 cup raisins

Directions:   In a large mixing bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.  Then using the mixer whisk attachment cut in the butter.  Add in and beat to mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla.   Then stir in the raisins.

Place equal amounts of the dough into silicone or paper baking cups (spray with gluten free cooking spray) then place them in muffins pans.  Cook at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until they are set and slightly golden.                 

Serve them warm with a little gluten free butter inside!  YUMMY!!!!!!        

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookie turned out really well!  We didn't use the chocolate chunks though like the ones in the picture.   We used white chocolate/milk chocolate swirl chips made by Nestle.  They were delicious!  We plan on making some again soon.

Digital recipe card generated with Smilebox

A Whole New World...

So one year ago we found out that my youngest was gluten intolerant with an emphasis on the wheat glutens.  All of a sudden her favorite foods were her worst enemy.  I thought this would be hard on her, but in reality it's been the hardest on me!  She took to the new diet like it was her best friend!  She felt better immediately after starting her gluten free diet.  Me on the other hand....am still having a tough time with it.  All my life I cooked and baked the reciepes that were taught to me by my ancestors.  THEY ALL HAVE GLUTEN IN THEM!!!!  And you can't just substitute a gluten free four mixture either.  You have to add a little of this and a little of that.  For the past year I have been buying her gluten free items in the grocery stores and haven't learned much about the baking aspect.  Well, I finally decided that my grocery budget just can't take it anymore....It's time for me to learn about how to cook/bake gluten free.  And it's not just changing how I cook....it's learning how to cook all over again!  Thank goodness for the internet and all the other wonderful gluten free bloggers and companies that provide ideas and reciepes for me and my daughter to try out and adapt to our liking.  So read on my fellow bloggers and follow my journey into the gluten free world.