Every Celiac for Herself? Why we still need to read labels.

Don’t get fooled by the familiar packaging!

Sometimes it’s very easy to not read the whole label. Sometimes it’s long, you’re in a rush, and you’re so grateful to find something with “certified GF” image on it that you skim over the ingredients.

Here’s the sticky: we still have to read labels. Even though the FDA is trying to help us out, they aren’t really our friend. Their requirements don’t require an absence of gluten, only for products to be below a certain level of gluten-contamination. This means that if you see a GF label on a product that you know has a gluten ingredient listed, you shouldn’t trust it. Trust yourself and your own knowledge, because you’re the one putting your health (and your digestive system) at risk.

Why am I writing this now, you may wonder? I’ve been eating Promax protein bars for breakfast every morning at work, and I dig them; they have 20g protein and actually keep my full till lunch. I buy them in boxes from Amazon, so they’re cheaper, and today a couple boxes arrived at my house, one of them the nutty butter crisp variety. Upon examination, I looked past the GF label and saw that barley malt was listed in the ingredients list.

For a moment, I thought I might be mistaken, perhaps barley was not always gluten? Alas, I was right, though with barley I seemed to have stumbled into a bit of a controversy. There have been other products with this ingredient labeled GF, and consumers made a (deserved) fuss. Vans (the waffle folks), for one, decided to remove the ingredient completely. Removing barley malt was the step Chex took before labeling their cereals GF.

Apparently barley malt can sneak under the FDA radar, though any web search or Celiac site will set you straight that people with gluten intolerance should not eat any barley or malt-type flavorings. This only adds to my upset – one would think that a health and fitness company would be a little more vigilant in their ingredient use.

I will still be eating these bars, but only the varieties I know are safe. And I hope that in the future, the FDA will get its act together and make sure that foods labeled GF are actually gluten-free.

So the moral is: Sometimes we don’t get labels, so we have to trust. But when there is one, always read it!

UPDATE: Read more here!

Holiday Photo Overload!

Gluten-Free Rum Balls

Gluten-Free Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

The Before

Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie

    Gluten-Free Checkerboard Cookies

Recipes coming soon!

An Especially Tasty Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole

I spotted this recipe on Oh She Glows, one of my favorite food blogs, last holiday season, and little did I know what an impact it would have on this year’s Thanksgiving! Seriously, it turns regular yams/sweet potatoes into magic.

It’s sweet, but not too sweet to be a side-dish, and the topping is crispy and delicious. It’s also pretty darn easy to make. Perfect for breakfast the next morning too!

While you can make this while your turkey is cooking, I baked it the night before and reheated it at 350 while the turkey was resting; it took around 30m - just keep an eye on it. You don’t have to add the pecans, but I firmly suggest you do; they lend a very tasty pecan-pie flavor.

~* Gluten and Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Casserole *~

(Vegan Too!)

adapted from Oh She Glows

Oven Temp: 350, Pan Size: 2 quart casserole dish

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp fine grain salt
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and boil sweet potatoes/yams until tender. Drain and mash the sweet potatoes with Earth Balance until smooth – leave a few chunks to keep it “rustic.”

Whisk together the maple syrup, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; add to sweet potatoes. Transfer mixture into a lightly-greased (with canola oil) casserole dish.

Using a fork (or your fingers), mix together the topping ingredients until well combined; it helps to have softened butter. Add pecans last. Sprinkle topping over sweet potatoes and bake for 50 minutes, checking to make sure topping does not burn.

This dish is ridiculously versatile; it works for breakfast, brunch, potlucks, dessert. Dessert especially if you are someone who likes their desserts without overwhelming sweetness. Something about the twice-cooking/baking of the sweet potatoes really improves the sweet potato texture too.

And if, when shopping, you get confused about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, usually what is labeled as a yam is actually a sweet potato. The USDA now requires the “yam” label to always be accompanied by “sweet potato.” It’s very unlikely to find a real yam here in the U.S. Bottom line is to look for the ones which dark orange flesh and reddish-brown skin.

Product Review: That's It Bars

That's It Bars are pretty new to the market, but they are also pretty awesome in their simplicity. They only have two ingredients: apple and whatever other fruit is on the package (apricot, pear, and cherry). They all have around 100 calories and 3g of fiber. They're also gluten-free, vegan, and kosher.

What I like about these especially is that they're like those fruit leather strips I love, but not so compacted, so they make for an actually-filling snack. They;re also pretty big for 100 calories. They remind me a bit of lara bars, which I love but are sometimes too high in cals for the amount you get, but without the nuts.

Just a little photoshop fun :)

My favorite so far is the apricot; oddly my least favorite is the cherry, which is interesting because dried cherries and I have a relationship. Perhaps it's because they aren't suing sour dried cherries, which are by far much tastier (lara uses them in their cherry pie bars). I've never had dried pears before, but the flavor is growing on me.

I've been taking these to work with me and eating them during my evening commute; they do a nice job of tiding me over till dinner. I also found that they make a good pre-workout snack that give you energy without side-aches; I think it's probably due to the sugar/carbs from the fruit.

Someone kept sneaking into my photos...

So give these guys a try. [psst: if you want to order them try amazon because it’s almost always cheaper than grocery stores, and click the box below :^) ]

   

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie (No Corn Syrup Needed!)

I don’t know about you, but I dislike corn syrup (those commercials claiming “corn sugar is the same as cane sugar” are such bull). I know that it’s unavoidable in some recipes, or when you’re making candy, but I don’t dig it. I have a problem believing that something is not horrible for you if there’s corn syrup in it – and yes, sometimes I do believe pie is healthy.

Beyond that, I never have it in the house. But lucky for me, and you, there is no corn syrup in this recipe! And I swear on all that is sweet and tasty, you will never miss it. You will not even notice it’s not there.

I discovered this pie last year, and it quickly became a holiday favorite. (And by favorite, I mean we can’t get out of the December without eating two one.) It’s perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and is super easy.

Also, the original recipe posted on allrecipes has 34,888 saves and over 1,000 positive reviews. Enough said.

~* Gluten-Free, Corn Syrup-Free Pecan Pie *~

 

For the crust (makes 2 crusts, either freeze half of the dough for later or halve the amounts)":

• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup Earth balance buttery sticks
• 6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon sorghum flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare crust; see directions here. (Note that the types of flour in this recipe are a bit different than in the link .)

In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Add in the sugars and flour, mix well. Finally add the milk, vanilla, and pecans.

Pour into the pie shell, and place pie in the oven. Once the pie is in, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes. The top will crack slightly.

Enjoy with whipped cream/cool whip, etc!

I’m off to the gym to prepare for future pies – that’s why everyone works out, right?

19 days till Christmas!

Life Update and a Product Review: Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies

Oh, I am a bit behind here. It seems that, in life, you are either behind in work/things that need to be done, or behind in everything else. I think this falls into the "everything else" category. My apologies. As some of you may know, I finished grad school in May and since I started working full-time (real-job time!) I haven't had much time to write.

Also, in an effort to um, er, downsize, I have enacted a moratorium on baked goods, excepting those on Thanksgiving and Christmas (upon which there will be baked goods. I'm very excited to show you them). I did manage to sneak some pumpkin bread in there but I figure, if it's made in the bread machine it can't be all bad. And pumpkin is oh so good for you.

And since I didn't technically bake these cookies I'm about to review, they don't count - yep, I'm pretty sure they don't. Plus, they were sent to me gratis, and therefore can't be wasted.



So for the stats: these cookies come in four varieties: double chocolate, chocolate chip, vanilla honey graham, and sugar shortbread. They are indeed lightly crispy, and quite large for the typical boxed-cookies, which makes me happy, at about 100-120 calories a pop for two.They are free of all the allergens, as Enjoy Life products are.

(Tip: if you like your cookies less-crispy, open the box and come back in a few days; they will soften up a little)

These make a lovely snack, dessert, coffee-partner. I just tried the sugar version yesterday and even though the chocolate ones are very good, I think the big sugar crystals on these won me over. (Very bad tasty with Nutella.)

However, with the holidays coming up, I am confident that these cookies would be a great ingredient in recipes that call for a cookie crust/cookie crumbs, etc.  Their texture is very well suited for grinding, and firm enough to stand up in baking.



Another related tangent that I need to share: my grandma makes the best rum balls. Ever. In all creation. Every year she makes a whole batch of them and then they sit out in a big tin on the counter, getting better each day, as rum balls do. Since her house is about 10 feet from mine, I used to furtively sneak into the kitchen - when people were conveniently elsewhere - and shove a couple in my pocket for good measure.

If you aren't familiar, they are basically crushed Nilla wafers, rum, powdered sugar, and walnuts. They are German, as am I. Many recipes call for cocoa powder, but I think they're better without it. No need for baking, which keeps the alcohol...intact. They are amazing little spicy balls of cookie dough, and of course off-limits to me now.

As yet I haven't tried to recreate them gluten-free, but this year I really want to. And I think I might have to try it with the vanilla honey graham version here.

Has anyone tried to make some sort of unbaked cookie with gf cookie crumbs? Let me know!

One week till Thanksgiving!

Gluten-Free Gingerbread-Orange Scones

 

So I haven’t been around here for awhile, not because I’ve stopped eating/cooking/baking but because I’ve started working. Yes, folks, there is hope for those with a Master’s degrees in the humanities.

And now that I’m working, Sundays become something rather special to me, likely because they’re the last respite before the work-week begins.

These scones are great to whip up in the morning, and they are sturdy enough to munch on during your morning commute! I made them in wedges, but next time I might try using a round drop-scones method, because these don’t rise an extraordinary amount. Orange extract is not in the original recipe, but it ended up being very tasty, especially in the glaze. I also added a dash of cloves and nutmeg.

~* Gluten-Free Gingerbread-Orange Scones *~

adapted from here

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold Earth Balance
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup soy milk (try using unsweetened)
• 1 tsp orange extract
• dash of cloves, nutmeg (if desired)
• 1 egg, separated
• sugar

In a large bowl or food-processor, combine dry ingredients; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl combine molasses, orange extract, soy milk, and the egg yolk; add into dry mixture until just moistened.

Knead dough gently on a floured surface about 8 times. Pat into a round circle and cut into wedges, or drop batter into mounds. Place on a parchment-covered or greased baking sheet. Beat egg white until frothy; brush over scones and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooled, drizzle with icing or a glaze. Whip up a glaze by combining about a cup of powdered sugar, and a dash of soy milk, and orange extract.

~ Happy Sunday! ~