Who has some great gluten free recipes to share?

[Just Kate]

We are doing a gluten free trial for my son and I am looking for some tried and true recipes. Especially a brownie recipe...he has been begging for brownies - lol. I have good almond flour, coconut flour, and a King Arthur gluten free flour mix. Oh, I also bought Pamela's Pancake Mix, which I believe can be use in other recipes as well.

 

Also, if anyone has done a glut end ree trial, I would love to hear how you did it? Ds has been tested for celiac (blood test and endoscopy) and he doesn't have it. We decided to just give this a try to see if it helps. I'm thinking a month? Is that reasonable? And I know from my best friend whose dd does have celiac that she had to replace a lot of her kitchen utensils. What are your thoughts since this is just a trial? If we are going to do it, I want to do it right. Thanks!!!

[Spryte]

For the brownies: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix!  WalMart carries it, along with lots of grocery stores.  Prime Pantry has it for $2 plus change.  It's easy, quick, and yummy.  In fact, we like all the Betty Crocker gluten free mixes.  :)

 

[JumpyTheFrog]

Cooking With Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife is a great cookbook. Even non-gf people like the cakes in it. 

 

A one month trial is a good start, but realistically, it will take many months to learn most of the sources of gluten and cross-contamination, especially if other people in the house are still going to eat it. With that said, when I went off gluten in high school (back when the labeling laws were different and nobody had ever heard of food problems other than the occasional lactose intolerance or peanut allergy), within three days, my eight years of constant sinus congestion/infections cleared up and didn't come back (except if I cheated). Digestive problems also went away. So while we were still learning about what to avoid, I began feeling much better within days.

 

Good luck to you.

[Just Kate]

Thanks! I think my plan is to get as much gluten out of the house as possible. I already eat a pretty low carb diet, which is why I had the almond and coconut flours on hand. I do use some low carb tortillas and pitas, but I'm thinking about finding some alternatives for myself (I definitely will if we stick with this gluten free thing). For the next month, I'm not going to cook regular pasta or buy white bread. I just want the trial to be as accurate as possible, so I keep try ingot o think of how we might cross-contaminate. I'm going to scrub my counters and toaster oven. Maybe clean out the refrigerator too? Anything else?

[JumpyTheFrog]

You may need to replace some of the condiments. The peanut, jam, etc. may have crumbs in them. Also, anything made with soy sauce probably has wheat as an ingredient. In fact, you better read the labels of every bottle just to make sure because this is probably the easiest thing for people to overlook.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Clean out your oven and don't use the same toaster.

 

Pretty much give up on the idea of restaurants. Chipotle is the only one that doesn't make me feel sick. Assume everything made almost everywhere else is contaminated.

 

Don't eat food made by others than mean well. Even if they think it's gluten-free, it probably has cross-contamination or they didn't read the label carefully. In time, some of them can be trained, but for now, skip it.

 

Focus on eating foods that never had any or much gluten in them such as stir-fries. Many people sneer at the GF replacements if they try them right away. With time, the memory of how "it's supposed to taste" will start to fade and the replacements will be enjoyed more.

[umsami]

Yes, the Betty Crocker GF brownies are great.  I've fed them to non-gluten sensitive people and they love them too.

 

 

We like to "bread" chicken tenders with almond flour.  It makes a great, crunchy nugget.  We do this with and without the coconut… http://paleomg.com/crispy-chicken-dippers/

 

Trader Joe's corn pasta is good.  Barilla makes wonderful GF pasta too, but it's hit or miss for me in local stores.  Amazon carries it, though.

 

Annie's has a wide range of GF snacks, granola bars, etc.

 

We do a lot of rice, a lot of potatoes.  I agree with trying to focus on family favorites that aren't GF to begin with.  DS2 doesn't like the gluten free breads (ready made), but does like rice cakes, and using GF pancakes as bread.   He'll also make a sandwich on an English cucumber with cream cheese and turkey.   It's been almost a year, and he still doesn't like the ready made GF breads, although a friend suggested we try Canyon Bakehouse, which is available at Target.  They have a coupon on their website, so we'll probably give it a try.

 

For restaurants, PF Chang's is really good about trying to be GF.  They have a separate menu, use special plates, etc.

 

McDonald's, Burger King, Chik-fil-A, Five Guys…all will give you a hamburger in a box with the toppings.  But there may be cross-contamination issues.  Still, DS is fine with that…and it helps him feel "normal."  Watch out for sauces, though.

 

DS likes California Pizza Kitchen's GF crust.  We haven't tried the one at Dominos.  Chuck E Cheese will do a separate GF individual pizza and cupcake.

 

There are lots of GF, paleo, and low-carb recipe boards.  Some will be sugar free.  Some will be dairy free…but I find I can adapt them pretty well.  One that we recently found (and like) is satisfyingeats.com    Elana's pantry is popular.  Google "Paleo kids" or "GF kids" and you should find  a bunch of Pinterest boards and such.

 

 

Favorite cookies of DS1 are http://www.bakerella.com/chewy-chocolate-meringues/

 

and http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipe?RID=192&radio=1 (we use regular almond extract, no bitter almond)

[Um_2_4]

This is a great GF muffin (just buy gluten free oats to make it): http://www.pinterest.com/pin/329677635193883916/

 

They are fast and everyone likes them. You can add lots of different things to them to mix it up a bit.

[TrixieB]

We are doing a gluten free trial for my son and I am looking for some tried and true recipes. Especially a brownie recipe...he has been begging for brownies - lol. I have good almond flour, coconut flour, and a King Arthur gluten free flour mix. Oh, I also bought Pamela's Pancake Mix, which I believe can be use in other recipes as well.

 

Also, if anyone has done a glut end ree trial, I would love to hear how you did it? Ds has been tested for celiac (blood test and endoscopy) and he doesn't have it. We decided to just give this a try to see if it helps. I'm thinking a month? Is that reasonable? And I know from my best friend whose dd does have celiac that she had to replace a lot of her kitchen utensils. What are your thoughts since this is just a trial? If we are going to do it, I want to do it right. Thanks!!!

 

Brownies - I use the recipe on the Namaste flour bag (Costco).  Yum!!  Also I use the pancake recipe from the bag.  Yum!!  Maybe that will be this morning's breakfast.  :drool5:  Everybody except me is sleeping late today. :)

 

Bread - my kids like Udi's.  Green label for sandwiches, blue label for toast, red label (cinnamon raisin) for snacks.  I sub the green or blue label for regular bread in meatloaf and it works perfectly. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Do you have an Aldi?  We love their brownie, baking/pancake, and chocolate chip cookie mixes.  Only 2.99 a box  :D  They have a yellow cake mix but we haven't tried it yet.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Also, Udi is the best bread...hands down.  We've tried them all.  It is usually in the freezer section.  I used to bake my own bread but I've had no luck making a GF bread that tastes good.

 

Very few restaurants will claim to be gluten friendly, but Chipotle does.  They say as long as you avoid the flour tortillas you are safe.  Moe's, Q'doba, etc will not make that claim.

[umsami]

Oh, I forgot to add, when we did a trial for DS2, we did not get separate utensils or a new toaster or anything like that.  Honestly, after one or two days, it was obvious, because he said his stomach wasn't hurting after he ate anymore.  As a family, we're probably 75% GF at home, so I haven't really felt the need to do that.  I make GF pancakes for everybody.  I make GF cookies, brownies, etc.  For sandwiches, I do DS2's first…so the knife isn't contaminated….and then the other kids.

 

If he was still complaining, I'd probably look into it, though.  If we had gone the biopsy route, and he had tested positive, I'd also probably be more strict.

 

Be aware of cross contamination, of course, but for us, it hasn't been necessary…yet. :)

[Kareni]

Be aware that some items such as soy sauce or vanilla contain gluten.

 

I have a friend who eats gluten free who will not accept foods cooked in my kitchen due to the fact that we make wheat bread here frequently.  I suspect she'd say that you need to replace all of your wooden utensils and cutting boards.

 

Regards,

Kareni 

[pehp]

You have to be very stringent/strict and like Kareni said, many items you wouldn't think contain gluten...do!  So be sure to check out a comprehensive list--I think celiac.org has one. 

 

My son has been GF for 5 years.  Brownies I make simply using the recipe I used to use but modified--

 

*Melt 2 sticks butter & 4 oz unsweetened chocolate in pan (stovetop)

*Beat 4 eggs and 2 c sugar (I usually use 1-1.5 c sucanat, b/c I don't find 2 c sugar necessary)

*pour the chocolate/butter mixture into the egg/sugar mixture and beat well

*Add 1 c. rice flour + 1 t xanthum gum (or not; I omit the xanthum gum at times). You can definitely use any all-purpose GF flour mix. I don't use them, but they should work just fine. And you can add 1 t vanilla if you'd like.  Mix it all together until well combined.

 

Bake at 350 in a greased 9x13.  I never time anything, I just bake until it is just-shy-of-done.  I like soft brownies. 

 

As for bread, I use Bob's Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix in my breadmaker. Udi's tastes pretty good, but it gave us major GI issues for some reason, so I don't buy it. 

 

I have cookie recipes, gingerbread, cornbread, biscuits, pancakes, waffles...the list goes on. If you are interested in any of them just PM me. (I am not super reliable about checking threads where I've posted, so that's why I say to PM me! Otherwise I may never know!) 

 

Good luck with it!

[Ann.without.an.e]

Oh, I forgot to add, when we did a trial for DS2, we did not get separate utensils or a new toaster or anything like that.  Honestly, after one or two days, it was obvious, because he said his stomach wasn't hurting after he ate anymore.  As a family, we're probably 75% GF at home, so I haven't really felt the need to do that.  I make GF pancakes for everybody.  I make GF cookies, brownies, etc.  For sandwiches, I do DS2's first…so the knife isn't contaminated….and then the other kids.

 

If he was still complaining, I'd probably look into it, though.  If we had gone the biopsy route, and he had tested positive, I'd also probably be more strict.

 

Be aware of cross contamination, of course, but for us, it hasn't been necessary…yet. :)

 

 

I could have written the bold part.

 

Just in case no one has mentioned it, most people will not test for celiac if they have had gluten removed for more than a few weeks.  Just know, you might need to reintroduce for 6-8 weeks in order to get an accurate test result.  We had to put DS back on gluten to test.  It was a difficult decision after seeing so much positive from being GF. 

[umsami]

This is a nice (free) fast food guide:

http://celiact.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ultimate_Guide_to_Gluten-Free_Fast_Food_2014.pdf

 

I've actually been surprised at how far many restaurants and waiters are willing to go to help.  There's definitely more awareness.  

[Just Kate]

I could have written the bold part.

 

Just in case no one has mentioned it, most people will not test for celiac if they have had gluten removed for more than a few weeks. Just know, you might need to reintroduce for 6-8 weeks in order to get an accurate test result. We had to put DS back on gluten to test. It was a difficult decision after seeing so much positive from being GF.

Just to clarify, we have tested ds (both blood test and biopsy) and he doesn't have celiacs. This is what has made my decision to do a gluten free diet so difficult.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just to clarify, we have tested ds (both blood test and biopsy) and he doesn't have celiacs. This is what has made my decision to do a gluten free diet so difficult.

 

 

Sorry, I didn't re-read and I forgot about that part.  Has he been tested for Crohn's?  Did they also do a colonoscopy?  

 

It is good that you had the endoscopy already....you can go gluten free and not have to worry about reintroducing for testing purposes.  I think you should give it a shot.  It can't hurt and if it doesn't help it will only be a short trial :)

[Grover]

black bean brownies are yum!

[celticmom]

Dd loves the Namaste brownie mix. I love the blondie mix(I cannot tolerate chocolate). One thing to keep your eyes open for is behavior changes. Dd's behavior improved dramatically when we went gluten free and when we challenged gluten the results were very dramatic in the opposite direction.