Healthy Foods to Have on Hand During COVID Pandemic

Whether you call it stay at home, self quarantine, or as we’re told in New York: PAUSE, many of us have had to hunker down in our homes for the long haul. Now, more than ever, it’s important to eat healthy. You need to have healthy foods on hand in order to eat healthy.

Bean Dish with Canned Tomatoes

Make your essential trips to the grocery store efficient by planning ahead. Buy items that can help you put together healthy, nutritious meals. Here is a list of foods for your stay at home:

  • Brown or White Rice, Quinoa, Gluten Free Oats
  • Canned or Dried Beans, Lentils- any variety
  • Plain Frozen Vegetables of any kind
  • Fresh Vegetables that are multipurpose: carrots, onions, celery, white/ sweet potatoes, cabbage
  • Frozen unsweetened fruit
  • Fruits that keep longer in the refrigerator such as apples, pears, or oranges
  • Gluten free pasta
  • Canned or pouch tuna
  • Eggs or carton egg whites
  • Milk, yogurt, shredded cheese, sliced or block natural cheese
  • Lean meats,  chicken breast, whole roaster chicken
  • Whole grain gluten free bread

This list foods for a stay at home is not all inclusive. Depending on where you live, some of these items may be in short supply. What’s most important is maintaining a core of “go to” ingredients that form the basis of a healthy meal.

  • Try to keep your trips to the store to a minimum. One or two trips a week helps to reduce exposure to other people.
  • Have a complete shopping list in hand so that you can get through the grocery aisles quickly as possible.
  • Realize that there may be limits on certain food items or, they may be out of stock altogether. This difficult time requires flexibility and being able to improvise when needed. Have alternate food items in mind in the event of shortage.

Stay well!

Prevent Gluten Cross-Contamination in Your Kitchen

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to give your kitchen the once over and prevent gluten cross contamination. Cross contamination of foods can happen easily, especially when there are other family members who do not follow a gluten free diet. Here are a few easy steps to keep foods safe from gluten cross-contamination.

  • Designate a space in your kitchen to store gluten free foods. If you have other people in your household who are not gluten free, be sure to separate all packages of gluten-containing foods from any gluten free food.
  • Have separate containers of gluten free foods and label them “gluten free”. Focus on foods that are likely to get cross-contaminated. Foods combined with bread or crackers are the likely suspects: peanut butter, fruit spread, jelly, jam, mayonnaise, mustard, butter, spreads.
  • Set up your kitchen cutting boards to prevent cross-contamination. You should have a separate cutting board for all gluten free foods. Use only the designated cutting board for gluten free meal preparation. It may be helpful to have a color coded or  labeled gluten free cutting board.
  • Most kitchen utensils and pots and pans are easy to clean.  It is not necessary to have completely separate items. However colanders, strainers, and flour sifters have a lot of small holes or screens, making them especially hard to clean. It is usually best to replace these  or have separate “gluten free” colanders for use in the kitchen.
  • Learn more ways to may your gluten free lifestyle easier with my e-book “The Quick Start Guide To a Gluten-Free Lifestyle”
    Gluten-Free E-Book

Gluten-Free Holiday Leftover Recipes

Now that Thanksgiving is over what do you do with all the leftover turkey or ham?  Can you recycle some of the side dishes to make them appetizing again?  Every cook has holiday fatigue and family members may not want to each just regular leftovers again!

What to do, what to do? The answer is clear… you need some gluten-free holiday leftover recipes.  Following are some of those we like the best and if you do some research you’ll find many more on the internet.  Enjoy!

Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Gluten Free Leftover Turkey Casserole
Broccoli and Ham Frittata
Ham & Swiss Puffs with Smokey Honey Mustard

Happy Gluten-Free Thanksgiving!

gluten-free thanksgivingThanksgiving comes around every year but it’s not too late to add a new gluten-free dish or two to your holiday table.  These recipes will also work for your Christmas festivities.  These are a few of our favorite holiday gluten-free recipes.

Roast Turkey with Polenta Stuffing
Vegan and Gluten-Free Gravy
Gluten Free Stuffing
Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Crustless Apple Pie
Honey Glazed Carrots

All Purpose Gluten Free Flour vs. Cup for Cup Flours

With holiday baking just around the corner, you may be wondering about the right gluten free flour to bake with. Fortunately for gluten free bakers, there are now a few good options to choose from.

First, there is the option is to make your own gluten free baking mix. This involves mixing specific ratios of 2 or more different gluten free flours together along with a starch to make the mix. Making your own mix may be the most economical option. However, not everyone has the time to weigh out and mix multiple flours together for this purpose.

Besides homemade mixes, there are commercial gluten free all purpose flour mixes to meet most baking needs. These are very satisfactory options for many recipes. All purpose flour mixes are good for recipes using yeast or baking powder/baking soda for the leavening. In most cases you will also need to use Xanthan gum. Xanthan gum helps  bind together  dough or batter for best texture.

Several years ago cup for cup flours were developed as another gluten free baking option. Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Baking Flour or King Arthur’s Measure for Measure, are examples of the newer flour mixes. You can substitute “cup for cup” flour in place of the regular flour in a traditional recipe. Now you can make Grandma’s favorite holiday cookie recipe using the cup for cup flour. The cup for cup flours already have the Xanthan gum added. This flour mix works best with recipes using baking powder or baking soda.

Gluten Free Banana Teff Muffins

Gluten Free Muffins

I was a bit skeptical of the cup for cup flour, however I tried it with two of my favorite  traditional recipes: a fruit cobbler biscuit topping and pumpkin muffins. The results were very good! For yeast breads or homemade pizza doughs, I will stick to the all purpose mixes or homemade flour mixes.

Your choice of gluten free flour mix comes down to taste preference and what you plan to bake. Happy holiday baking!

Gluten-Free Recipes Summer Roundup

We all associate summer with picnics, 4th of July celebrations, office picnics and more.  Look through any magazine available now and you’ll see dozens of summer recipes.  Unfortunately, most of those recipes include gluten making them off limits to anyone suffering with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities.

You might have to look a little harder but you can find free recipes that are gluten-free.  We’ve done the work with you and chosen some summer recipes that you can sink your teeth into!

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad
https://www.seasonalcravings.com/watermelon-feta-and-cucumber-salad/

Sweet Potato Toast with Egg
https://www.seasonalcravings.com/sweet-potato-toast-with-egg/

Easy Gluten Free Sweet Corn Spoon Bread
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/easy-gluten-free-sweet-corn-spoon-bread/

Grilled Chicken Salad
https://www.noshtastic.com/grilled-chicken-salad/

Gluten Free Buns for Hamburgers and Sandwiches
https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-buns-hamburger/

Easy Salmon Salad Recipe
https://www.primaverakitchen.com/easy-salmon-salad-recipe/

Cajun Salmon with Strawberry Salsa
https://www.primaverakitchen.com/cajun-salmon-with-strawberry-salsa/

Easy Cucumber Salad
https://downshiftology.com/recipes/cucumber-salad/

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables
https://cookieandkate.com/mediterranean-quinoa-salad-recipe/

No Crumble BBQ Black Bean Burgers
https://www.whereyougetyourprotein.com/no-crumble-bbq-black-bean-burgers/

Grilled Cilantro, Lime + Paprika Corn on the Cob
https://www.blissfulbasil.com/grilled-cilantro-lime-paprika-corn-on-the-cob/

Grilled Moroccan Vegetable Skewers
https://natashaskitchen.com/grilled-moroccan-vegetable-skewers/

Grilled Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
http://withsaltandwit.com/grilled-summer-vegetable-quinoa-salad-with-lemon-basil-vinaigrette/

The Ultimate Grilled Portobello Burger
https://www.theroastedroot.net/the-ultimate-grilled-portobello-burger/

Keep Your Exercise Plan Going Strong

Although managing celiac disease or gluten intolerance focuses on diet, staying fit with routine exercise is an equally important aspect of self care. Getting and staying motivated to exercise is a real challenge many people face. If you have this challenge, there are a few simple things that you can do to keep the momentum going.

Think about the best time of day a short session for exercise could work for you. Perhaps first thing in the morning, or sometime during  a mid-day break. The best time to work out is different for each person. Find times that easily work into your day, and that will be your best time.

Start out small with what you do or how long you do it. Starting out with a 15 or 20 minute brisk walk seems less daunting than a full intense workout for an hour at the gym. It’s nice to know that those short exercise sessions help improve fitness and for busy people, are easier to work in each day. If things go well, you can always add time to your session later.

Consider participating in activities that you enjoy. Perhaps it’s walking outdoors or a game of tennis with a friend. Becoming more active is easier when you choose physical activities that you actually look forward to doing.

If you have been exercising for a while it may be a good idea to explore new ideas for activity. Make a short list of possible activities that may work for you, then try out those ideas to see how they might fit into your plan.

It’s likely that over time your workout plan will need to be tweaked. Staying motivated to exercise often means making things more interesting. By changing up the frequency, intensity or type of activity, you can make your plan evolve into something that not only holds your attention, but keeps you healthy and fit!

Remember, having a solid exercise plan is essential for the person with celiac or gluten intolerance, regardless of whether you need to lose, maintain, or gain weight. .

Gluten-Free Magazines

There are several magazines that focus on gluten-free living and we’d like to introduce you to them! We aren’t affiliated with these magazines so we can’t recommend them to you but you can do your own due diligence before you sign-up for a subscription.

Allergic Living debuted in 2005 and includes articles, tips and advice from leading experts in the fields of allergy and immunology, dermatology, celiac disease, gastroenterology and nutrition. The magazine aims to help people with food, environmental allergies and asthma. They work closely with national allergy and celiac groups, and also with support groups dedicated to helping families deal with day-to-day issues.

Clean Eating means that you eat whole food in it’s most natural state as possible. The magazine goes beyond the food you consume by covering the health and nutritional benefits of clean eating. Creative cooking and ways to enhance the natural flavors of any meal without compromising the integrity of your food is the aim of the magazine. When it comes right down to it, Clean Eating is not a diet; it’s real food for a healthy, happy life. 

Gff Magazine is a quarterly magazine for food lovers, GFF celebrates uncompromisingly Good Food (Forever), drinks, and destinations, and the joy of creating and sharing them with others. It’s also Gluten-Free but you’ll never taste the difference.

Gluten-Free Heaven is a UK magazine dedicated to gluten-free cooking and baking. Each issue features 101 inspiring seasonal recipes, plus essential advice, interviews with the experts, competitions and all the latest product news. If you’re following a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free or vegan diet and want to add some delicious new recipes to your repertoire, these are the magazines for you.

Gluten-Free Living Magazine includes healthy recipes for your entire family, tips and advice for gluten-free living, interviews with chefs, authors and experts and medical and research news.

Simply Gluten Free magazine
was launched in 2012 by Carol Kicinski and has an annual readership of over 4 million people. The magazine’s purpose is to educate, assist and inspire those with celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten, dairy, nuts, grains or other allergenic elements, and also assist those with vegetarian, vegan, and Paleo diet preferences.

Gluten Free Pizza Dough That Tastes Authentic

Making Gluten Free Pizza Dough

One of the foods that I’ve missed the most since going on a gluten free diet has been pizza. Yes, you can buy gluten free frozen pizzas, or make the dough from a commercial mix. I have even ordered gluten free pizza from a restaurant with dedicated gluten free pizza oven. Each of these options have helped me to enjoy something that resembles pizza; but it’s never quite what I’m looking for.

Gluten free pizza doughs tend to be dry, brittle, and crumbly.  Packaged mixes are often too sticky to handle because of xanthan gum. If you simply use a gluten free flour blend to make the pizza, the dough is too crumbly to roll out. Gluten free pizza doughs lack what I call the “chew factor.” That is, the chewy and elastic texture found in pizza doughs made with wheat.

Several weeks ago I found a seller on Etsy, who has developed and sells his own gluten free bread recipes. For a small sum, I purchased and downloaded the pizza recipe to give it a try. His approach to bread baking and pizza dough are different than other methods I have seen. The results for this recipe were excellent. The pizza dough baked up with similar chewy properties like the pizza I’ve longed for.  I also appreciated the addition of nutritional ingredients such as quinoa flour and a healthy fiber (instead of xanthan gum) in this recipe. I think the addition of the fiber in this recipe is the secret to dough elasticity.

To get this recipe and download it for yourself visit this Etsy seller.  It’s well worth the small price if you want to make your own authentic pizza dough!

Probiotics for Summer Beverages

Lately I have been getting questions about probiotics.  Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for you, especially your digestive system. There is a wide variety of probiotic supplements and foods.  Today I thought I would introduce two options for probiotic beverages. Most people know about the probiotic benefits of yogurt, but two lesser known options are water kefir or kombucha.

Water kefir is a fermented beverage made with water kefir grains. Water kefir grains are used to culture sweetened water, fruit juice, or coconut water. The water kefir grains consist of bacteria and yeast existing in a symbiotic relationship. The term kefir grains are used to describe how the culture looks, however, it does not contain any grain products at all. This is especially good news for people who have sensitivity to gluten or other grains.

Kombucha is another fermented beverage that starts with a sweetened tea along with the addition of an active culture (also called a SCOBY: Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). The tea and culture is fermented for up to 30 days.

Kombucha is often thought of as an aid to digestion, whereas water kefir is considered a general probiotic beverage. Both beverages have beneficial digestive bacteria and enzymes, and both can be used as healthy sources of hydration. Consuming one or both is a matter of individual taste.

You can purchase bottled kefir water or kombucha in the supermarket or health food store. Some people like to ferment their own beverage. With the proper starting culture, you can easily add your own sugar, juice, or tea to make the drinks. My next blog post will tell you more about making your own probiotic beverages, so stay tuned!

Here is a recipe using Kefir Water to make a refreshing “Cocktail” without the added alcohol.  I especially like serving this beverage in my beautiful copper mugs because they are perfect for are perfect for keeping drinks icy cold!

Kefir Watermelon Agua Fresca – Makes 2 Servings

1 ½  Cups cubed watermelon

4 oz. water

12 oz. Kefir Water – bottled (or home fermented)

½  oz. fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice

Mint Leaf Garnish

Add watermelon and water to blender and pulse until well blended. Place a strainer over a bowl and strain the blended melon.

Reserve the liquid.

Pour the watermelon liquid, kefir water and lemon or lime juice over ice. Garnish with mint leaves.

Refreshment and probiotics all in one!