Spring Break

Blog friends, it's spring break in our house so there will be no post this week. Next week I'll share some of our fav GF meals. So until then, Happy Easter and be blessed!

Where to Eat?!

Now that is the question... for this week!!! Last week we talked about where the big G could be found in your home. Now we're going to talk about where you won't find it when eating out! So as usual, read on, share, and be blessed!

I get asked all the time, "So are you like cooking allllllll the time? You must never eat out? Right?!" Yes and no is the answer. We do eat out a lot less and I do cook more than I used to and being GF is a part of that, but it doesn't mean we never eat out. It helps save money and I believe it also teaches our kids that eating out is a privilege and special treat, not something they should come to expect!

Here are a few tips on eating out before I share some of our favorite places.

• Be prepared to ask questions, a lot of questions! (ex: ask if the tacos your ordering come on flour or corn tortillas. Ask if the side of rice and beans are GF.) Basically when ordering, ask what's in it?, just like you'd read a label before buying it at the grocery store!
• Don't be embarrassed to ask said questions!!!
• Go online and see if the restaurant you're planning on going to has an allergy menu online to view. A lot of restaurants are doing this these days and being prepared before you go saves you any risk of being embarrassed by asking tons of questions and makes the ordering process a lot faster (and keeps the wait shorter which is helpful when eating out with kids)!
• Ask if the restaurant has a GF menu or substitutes. A lot of places have a GF equivalent so you're not having to leave a lot of things off what you would normally order. (ex: regular pasta dishes can sometimes be served with GF pasta.)
• Be prepared to pay a little extra at some places for the GF substitute.

Now here are some of our favorites:

Fast Food:

• Chick-fil-a: We order the grilled chicken nuggets and french fries. If you are sensitive to cross contamination (we're not) I would order their fruit bowl or small salad as a side instead of fries.
• In-N-Out: We order our burgers protein style (wrapped in lettuce) and they're fries are safe from cross contamination since it's the ONLY thing they fry there and they are freshly cut, so no G to preserve them.
• Wendy's: A friend who is GF orders their cup of chili. (We haven't yet, just because the kids won't eat it.)
• Chipotle: We get the burrito bowl, salad, or tacos with brown rice, black beans and all they veggies and salsa. No cheese or sour cream since we're DF too.
• Qdoba: Basically same as above.

Dine-In:

• True Food Kitchen
• Jason's Deli
• Indulge Burger
• Picazzo's
• Macaroni Grill
• PF Chang's
• Flo's
• Butterfield's (the only breakfast place we've found so far with GF pancakes!)
• Pita Jungle
• Mayo Clinic Hospital's cafeteria (they're food is good and my parents work there, so we often go for lunch dates with Gammy and Poppie)

Pizza:

• Barro's
• Domino's
• Chuck E. Cheese's
• Sauce
• Picazzo's

These are just some of the places off the top of my head that have SPECIFIC GF menu's/items. Most of the regular places you eat have GF items without knowing it. For example, if you go to a restaurant and order a steak with roasted veggies and mashed potatoes, the meal is most likely GF. Like I said before, just ask what's in it! If there's a gravy on those mashed potatoes, you'll want to ask if it's GF because gravy is made either with corn starch (GF version) or flour (not GF).So most likely, you don't have to give up eating at your favorite places!

Are you getting the picture?! When eating out, use your mouth and not just to eat, but prior to your meal arriving to ask a simple question, "Does this have gluten in it?" or "Is this Gluten Free?"

I promise that it's not as overwhelming as it sounds and that you can enjoy dining out when on a GF diet. But just in case you're not that ambitious yet, next week I'm going to share a few of our favorite and "on the reg" GF meals. So you'll definitely want to come back next week. Until then, be blessed!

The Gluten Free Pantry

This week we'll talk about what staple items in your pantry/cupboards have Gluten in them and the different names of Gluten you need to look out for when shopping for ingredients. I hope you are enjoying the different topics here and am so grateful that you have stopped by this week. Read on, share and be blessed!

There are many things in your pantry that you may not even realize have Gluten in them, but that's what I am here for, to tell you! How many of you keep soy sauce in your fridge for those nights you order Chinese take out or make your own stir fry? Well, be ware that you're most likely using a soy sauce with gluten in it. Our favorite GF soy sauce is the Low Sodium Tamari brand found at most grocers. If your soy sauce has the big G in it you can bet that your pre-made Teriyaki Sauce and Peanut Sauce have it too. If the sauce has soy sauce as an ingredient it's probably not GF, but the Tamari brand has some yummy pre-made Asian sauces that are GF.

Here's another one for you, how about taco seasoning or gravy mix, even the ever so popular french onion soup mix and bouillon cubes? Basically any of those seasoning packets, soup mixes, and even spice blends that you buy at the grocery store have gluten in them. It's used as a preservative and thickener. For gravy we make our own with corn starch or a GF flour blend. Our favorite GF taco seasoning is from Penzey's, all of the spice blends are GF and much better quality. They have great soup mixes and salad dressings as well.

That reminds me, another one is salad dressings, keep an eye out for Gluten in there as well as dairy and food coloring of course.

Who keeps marshmallows in their house on the reg? We do as special treats because we make rice krispie treats since they are (usually) GF. I say usually because some marshmallows have a light dusting of flour on the outside to preserve them, which makes them not GF (gum makers do the same thing, haven't you ever wondered what that white powder is on the gum?!). So like with everything.. READ the label!!!

So, when reading the label, what do you look for exactly? Well the first big one is WHEAT. Then you want to look for aliases like flour, bulgur, semolina, spelt, frumento, durum (also spelled duram), kamut, graham, einkorn, farina, couscous, seitan, matzoh, matzah, matzo, and cake flour. Often marketed as a “wheat alternative,” none of these is even remotely gluten-free. You need to avoid (or at least question) anything with the word wheat in it. This includes hydrolyzed wheat protein, wheat starch, wheat germ, and so on. Wheat grass, however, like all grasses, is GF. Malt, Barley and Rye are ones to avoid  as well.

A lot of labels are starting to state whether or not they contain wheat, so it's becoming easier. Another thing that gets easier is your shopping. In the beginning you will spend a lot of time reading, but once you get familiar with what products you like and know are GF, you'll be able to just grab them off the shelf and go!

Speaking of "grab and go", many of you have asked what our favorite GF fast food and restaurants are? So stop by next week and I will share where we go to eat when eating out and what we like to order! Until then, get to reading those labels, cleaning out the spice rack and as always, be blessed!!!

The Good Stuff

Sorry for the semi-tease last week, but I'm Finally going to reveal our favorites! Keep in mind we don't buy a lot of these things on a regular basis (mostly in the beginning just to get the kids buy in). The starred (*) items are a regular in our house!!! So, read on, share and be blessed!

I'm going to break things down into categories and even though this blog is mostly about being GF, I'll share our fav DF stuff too.

Store Bought Bread/Pastry/Muffins:
*Rudi's Multi-Grain Bread: Costco sells 2 loafs for $6.99 (call your local one first to see if they carry it), 1 loaf typically costs $5.99 at any regular/healthy grocery store.


Rudi's Cinnamon Raisin Bread


Glutino English  Muffins


Kinnikinnick English Muffins
Kinnikinnick Donuts



Snacks:
Glutino Pretzels


*Crunchmaster Multi-grain/seed crackers (also found at Costco with 4 bags in a box for $10.00)



Enviro Kids Organic Cereal/Granola Bars (all of the flavors are yummy)


Pirates Booty (if you're not dairy free the white cheddar flavor is the best!)
*Corn Tortilla Chips
*Organic Popcorn (we pop our own in coconut oil and top it off with sea salt)
*Hummus (be sure to read the ingredients because not all brands are dairy free)

Cookies:
Kinnikinnick Graham Crackers



Kinnikinnick "Oreos"

Kinnikinnick Animal Crackers



Pamela's Cookies (most flavors)


Flour Blends/Mixes:

Note: I have tried Bob's Red Mill, Namaste, Glutino, Pamela's, Gluten Free Creations Bakery and serveral other brands "all purpose, cup for cup" flour blends and liked most of them. The following are ones that I use on a regular basis and mostly for specific recipes. I also by my own brown rice flour in bulk and other flours (ex. tapioca, potatoe, arrowroot, garfava) and make my own blends for some "scratch" recipes.

*Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour


*Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix



*Bisquick GF Mix (I make the breaded chicken strip recipe on the side of the box and is a fav of our family!!!)


Namaste Italian Coating Mix


Namaste Brownie Mix



Dairy Products:

Amande yogurt


*Silk Almonde Milk (3 1/2 gallons at Costco fo $6.29)

Daiya Shredded "Cheese"


So Delicious Coconut Yogurt
So Delicious Ice Cream Products
Almond Dream Ice Cream Products
Rice Dream Ice Cream Products

I'm probably forgetting a few things and am always finding new things, so I will post favs again in the future. Just remember that any productyou buy, you MUST read the ingredients label!!! Next week we'll talk about the staple items in your kitchen that may have gluten in them and what to replace them with. We will also share the different names of ingredients that are Gluten so when you're reading the labels, you know what to look for! Until then, be blessed!