Yes. I mean it. A GDSYWP-free cookie that is AMAZING. I know I said no more desserts for a while, but this is SO worth it. I promise!
THANK YOU Gluten Free Goddess aka Karina!
You MUST try her Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies today!
Be warned though, I am not kidding when I say that they are amazing. I had like 5 the first night I made them. Maybe I should be ashamed to say so? Nah, they are just that good! ;)
Seriously. I mean it. I've made 5-10 loafs of bread since I went GDSYWP-free and all of them have either been gross or just ok. But not this one. This one is AMAZING!
Gluten-Free & Dairy Free Buckwheat Bread created by Mike over at the Gluten Free Blog.
I made just a few changes: It does call for soy milk, which I just replaced with Oat Milk (NOTE: the one I used is not labeled as gluten free, I have yet to find one that is, but I have not had an adverse reaction to it yet). I didn't have Glutinous Rice Flour, but read online that Sweet Rice Flour is a good replacement, so that's what I used. And finally, the recipe calls for Light Buckwheat Four, but all I had on-hand was regular Buckwheat Flour, so I just used it. I also didn't use the oven, but instead made the loaf in my bread machine and it came out a bit dense (as all breads in my bread machine seem to), but wonderfully neutral tasting - no icky rice-y flavor here! Hubby and I ate half the loaf as soon as it came out of the bread machine - happily burning our fingers and tongues! Next time I make it, I will try the oven and see if it comes out less dense.
I tried the bread with tuna salad, pesto sauce and then, a canola butter. It tasted best with that. The one I used, I found at Trader Joes (NOTE: The canola butter does have soy proteins in it and has a milk derivative of some sort, but I am trying it out to see what my reaction is - and I use very little of it).
If you do decide give this loaf a try, please be sure to leave a comment on their blog here and let them know how much you enjoyed it - I already did! :D
That's right, Lactose Free DOES NOT equal Dairy Free!
Okay, sorry, I know I'm mostly preaching the choir here. But, it's just so annoying. I can't tell you how many times I have had this conversation or one just like it:
"I'm sorry I can't eat that item/dish, I have a dairy intolerance."
"Oh, I understand. - my (insert type of relative) is lactose intolerant too. There is this product called Lactaid that was made for people like you. You can even find it in the regular old (insert name of local grocery store). You should try it."
"Thank you for information, but I'm not intolerant to lactose, I am intolerant to casein. Lactose is a type of sugar in milk, casein is a type of protein found in milk."
"Well, my (relative) can't have milk either - and they can have Lactaid - and he/she really likes it."
At which point I realize that I won't get anywhere, so I just stop arguing and change the subject.
I really, truly applaud the lactose free community for educating the public so well about their concerns. I'm hoping that it will pave the way for other food intolerances, but I am just so overthis. Why do so many people assume that being dairy free means you lactose intolerant? People choose to be dairy free for lots of reasons. Yes, it's true that some people are intolerant to lactose, but others (like me) are intolerant to casein, and still others are intolerant to anything from a cow but can have goat products. Furthermore, there are Vegans who do not consume any animal meat or any animal byproduct by choice and then there are people living Kosher who have strict rules about dairy. And there are probably others that I am not thinking of right now ...
So, if you are not dairy free, please keep in mind that just because someone is dairy free, does not necessarily mean that they are lactose intolerant. Again, I know I'm preaching to the choir. Probably 99% of you who are reading this are well aware of this, maybe even more so than I am. So, for those 99%, I apologize for this post, but for the other 1% who are here that don't know, maybe this helps clear a few things up about dairy.
Oh, and while I'm at it, real BUTTER IS DAIRY! There are a few types of margarine that are dairy free (mostly made of soy), however, most butter that I have come across contain at least whey and/or casein. Therefore, BUTTER (and usually margarine, too) IS DAIRY and therefore cannot be used in food for a dairy free person!
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest, please return to your angry free life ...
For as long as I can remember, I have *always* been a potato chip fan. I like 'em, I love 'em, I want some more of 'em, I try so hard, I can't rise above them ...
Okay, sorry ... anyway. I grew up snacking on Ruffles with French Onion chip dip (Yes, you can see that my parents were only into the healthiest of foods for their growing daughter... thanks Pop!). When I went GDSYWP-free, I was just so thankful that potatoes were still okay for me to have. I will eat a potato just about anyway you make it ... baked potatoes, julienne fries, wedge fries, shoe-string fries, mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, grilled potatoes, home fries, hash browns, and, of course, potato chips!
My current favorite potato chip, and another constant in my kitchen, is Regular Wavy Lays from Frito-Lay.
They are much less greasy than my childhood staple Ruffles, but still have that delicious potato-y, just-salty-enough flavor and wonderful crunch. And, I love the ingredients list: potatoes, sunflower and/or corn oil and salt. That's it! 3 plain, normal things make these beauties. Don't you just love it when life is simple?
And, as brought to my attention by J.J. over at Giving up the Gluten, Frito-Lay is a friend to us food-intolerant people! They have an entire list of ingredient concerns and their products. They seem to be wonderfully educated about gluten, soy, dairy, casein, egg, onion, nuts and other intolerances! I was pleasantly surprised at their knowledge and desire to help educate their consumers!
Okay, my mouth is seriously watering now ... must go find my bag of Wavy Lays ... like ... now ...
I think it's time we had a non-dessert post, right?
Today, I am going to share with you one of my all-time favorite GDSYWP-free soups: Organic Black Bean Vegetable Soup by Amy's Kitchen.
This soup is high in fiber (10 grams for the whole can) and low in fat (3 grams for the whole can). And, it is one of the tastiest soups I have ever had (and I'm a big soup person!).
This soup is a constant in my kitchen - it makes a great quick lunch when paired with a sandwich wrap, the frozen Chicken Tamale Meal that I talked about before, or even just by itself!
As an added bonus, I usually can find it in the health-food or organic section of the "regular" grocery store, making it easily accessible when traveling.
As Rachel Ray would say, "Yum-O"!
When I used to be on Weight Watchers, looking at the nutritional information on the packages of foods was something I *always* did. Online somewhere, I had found the approximate equation for calculating WW points. Hubby, being a mathematician, could give me the approximate point value of any product. So, I was constantly looking at the nutritional information of any food that I was considering buying to determine if they would be all-around good for me. And, I knew all the tricks, too. Like, for example, the nutritional information would say that the calories for, I don't know, say, some cookies was only 50 calories ... then to find out that the serving size was like 1/4th of a cookie ... or a box of crackers or a bag of chips would have like 1,000 mg of sodium ... in 2 pieces! I also knew that the list of ingredients was listed in the order of amounts. So, for example, in a cereal, if the list would start with Wheat, Sugar, Oats, etc., I would know that wheat made up the highest percentage of that product, the sugar, than oats. So even if a product *looked* healthy, I could tell if it really was by just looking at a few places on the box. Anyway, you get my drift. I was nutritional information chart savvy, I was on the look-out for low-point, healthy foods - I was on a mission to only fuel my body with good foods. Until I found out that I was GDSYWP intolerant.
So, here's my confession: I stopped looking at the nutritional information ... altogether. Seriously!
Not a glance or thought went into the nutritional information - just what ingredients were used. I take a long look at the ingredients list, look at it again, check the fine print, just to make sure that there isn't any GDSYWP hidden ingredients in there. If there isn't, and it looks pretty good, it goes into the cart. I'll even admit that sometimes, I don't even look at the price! The only thing that mattered was the ingredients and visual appeal. But, I'm learning to not do that anymore, $10.00 for a small box of cookies isn't good - no matter how intolerant-friendly they may be.
And now, I have learned that I must start reading the nutritional information again.
Like I said earlier in this post, my Sister really liked my Fruit & Nut Blondies and wanted the recipe. I told her that she could probably follow the recipe that I had made but just use a "regular" blondies mix instead of my fancy GDSYWP-free Namaste Brand one. Then - get this - she said she liked it as it was and wouldn't mind using that one if she could find it (by-the-way, SCORE! GDSWYP-free really CAN taste good!). Anyway, she asked if it was low calorie. I was dumbfounded. The thought had never even entered my mind. I told her that I honestly hadn't looked about it and had no clue. As soon as we hung up the phone, I decided to look it up on the Namaste website. Blondies - 170 calories. Cool. What's the serving size? 33 per box! Whoa! 5,610 calories in the box ... the box makes a 13x9 pan of blondies ... 12-16 squares from that ... so, at best, 350 calories (for 16 servings) ... EACH ... and that doesn't even take into account the nuts, coconut, prunes and other items that I added in! Whoa. What about the awesomely moist chocolate cake that I talked about in this post? How would that one hold up? 230 calories, 20 servings. Urg. Again, 1 bag makes an 13x9 pan, so again, 12-16 servings, so at best, 287.5 calories for 16 servings. But, I KNOW hubby and I have WAY more than 1/16th of that cake. I start to feel sick. Now I know why I balloned back up to my pre-weight-watchers-weight. I think, okay, blondies and chocolate cake are a dessert. I bet the muffins, a breakfast staple, should be better, right? And, well, they are. They are 140 for 12 servings, which is how many muffins I made, so 140 calories each. Phew. And, the muffins come in a sugar-free version.
Now, I'm not saying that I won't be buying Namastes products anymore, I totally love them and will continue to be a happy customer for all the reasons I have already mentioned in other posts, but I just feel a bit more aware now. I won't be making these desserts as often. I will seek out other products or homemade recipes that don't have as many calories. This is a good wake-up call for me. Nutritional information still matters - even when your GDSYWP-free!
Okay, I can't stop with the desserts! What can I say?
Seriously though, when I first went GDSYWP-free, I didn't eat a lot of desserts. I had tried a couple that just tasted awful. I didn't know where to find good ones and certainly didn't know how to make good ones. Seven months in now, I think I'm finally learning.
Ya know how yesterday I said that I love to prove to people that GDSYWP-free foods can taste really good? Well, I think I may have one of the best examples of that right here.
Remember this post where I raved about the PBS cooking show, "Everyday Food?" Well, I have yet another recipe from there that I LOVE. It is also GDSYWP-free, no adjustments needed, all on it's own. It is an AMAZING dessert. You can find it on their website here, but I've also listed it below as they don't have a print version of the recipe.
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Almond Torte
from "Everyday Food"
Serves 8
Nonstick cooking spray
1 ¾ cups sliced blanched almonds
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
4 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon almond extract
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Cut a piece of wax or parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan. Coat pan with nonstick spray, place prepared paper round in bottom of pan, and spray paper. Sprinkle evenly with ¼ cup almonds.
2. In a food processor, process remaining 1 ½ cups almonds with ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar until finely ground; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar and beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Beat in almond extract. In three additions, gently fold in ground almond mixture.
4. Evenly spread batter into prepared pan, tapping pan on counter to expel large air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and firm in center, 40 to 45 minutes; cool completely in pan. Invert onto serving plate, and remove wax or parchment paper.
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Am I like a walking ad for Namaste Foods, or what? I tell ya, I heard nothing but good things about their products before I was able to find them, and I'm here to back those claims up even further.
I made Namaste Foods' Muffin Mix the other night and they turned out fabulous! Really, they did! Says me, my Hubby (who had three that night, by-the-way) and even one of my non-food-intolerant neighbors. He even took one to go they were so good! Boy do I love showing people that GDSYWP-free foods can actually taste good - really good!
I made the mix as described, then stirred in a couple of sprinkles of cinnamon, a dash of nutmug, and a pint - minus a few - of blueberries - freshly picked by Hubby and myself, if I may add!
I put liners into the muffin tin and filled the liners up all the way with this mix. Then, as a nice final touch, I added a couple of the reserved blueberries to the tops of each one and sprinkled the tops with Turbinado sugar, as described here.
Beautiful, delicious and GDYSWP-free to boot! Now that's what I'm talking about!
