The Anti-Gluten Gut

For some of us, living gluten free is not about following the new diet trend- it's about survival. 

[kajeirsten]

11 Make-Ahead Gluten-Free Breakfasts

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WebMD reports on how to find gluten when it's not obvious on food labels, if you're trying to go gluten-free.

Key words to look for

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23 Brilliant Ingredient Swaps You Should Really Try

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"Despite skepticism of gluten-free diets, Americans are consuming gluten-free foods more than ever before. New research from Mintel reveals that nearly half (47 percent) of consumers agree that gluten-free diets are a fad, compared to 31 percent in 2013. What’s more, one quarter (25 percent) of consumers report that they consume gluten-free foods, a 67 percent increase from 2013.

I hear about this debate ALL of the time!

[kajeirsten]

16 Gluten-Free Dishes You...

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17 Gluten-Free Beers That Don't Suck

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Almond Breeze Is Being Sued for Containing Almost No Almonds - Expand your Consciousness

Turns out that almond milk you’ve been diligently adding to your morning coffee instead of full-fat, grass-fed, delicious cream actually contains almost no almonds. Like me, you are probably pissed off because you thought you were being all healthy and told yourself that, all the while thinking: “this stuff tastes like dirty water,” but it’s …

So, my doctor told me that once you are diagnosed with being allergic to gluten that you have a very high chance of developing allergies to nuts, soy and dairy eventually. Since I had colon surgery I have not been able to process dairy the same anyway, so I have switched to drinking unsweetened Almond milk. For you lactose intolerant people, or those who just prefer to drink milk that is non-dairy, here’s an interesting article for you. 

[kajeirsten]

19 Ways To Stay Gluten-Free This Holiday Season

[kajeirsten]

The Christmas Candy Man

As I am decorating the house for Christmas and unloading my boxes of Christmas decorations, I came across my basket that I like to put on my entry way table and I like to fill it with candies. I started to think, “what candy is even gluten free?” 

I had looked a little into it for Halloween, but some of my favorite CHRISTMAS candy is those minty M&M’s and those Hugs and Kisses. Oh! And let’s not forget the Reese Peanut Butter Cups shaped like bells! 

After I stopping thinking about chocolate that I love, I started to think about Candy Canes. I love stirring my hot chocolate with Candy Canes. But wait! What about the hot chocolate? Is that even gluten free? 

Here is what information I found to help me with my dilemma: 

Check out -

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreeholidaymenus/tp/Gluten-Free-Candy-Canes.htm for the list of gluten free candy canes. 

I also found out that the minty M&M’s are gluten free. I was kind of depressed that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are gluten free EXCEPT for the holiday shaped ones. I wonder why that is....?

Check out the following website for additional information on gluten free candies: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreefoodshopping/a/GFcandies.htm

Now... as far as my hot chocolate goes, there are several known brands like Swiss Miss and Hershey’s that makes gluten free. DO NOT BUY NESTLE. I was super bummed when I made the mistake of buying Nestle hot cocoa mix. I love putting hot chocolate in my coffee to make a mocha. After I would drink my coffee I started to feel sick all of the time. Turns out that the Nestle hot chocolate had gluten. No wonder I felt sick! 

Here is a link that gives you a little more info on the hot cocoa:http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/Gluten-Free-Beverages/a/Gluten-Free-Hot-Chocolate.htm

[kajeirsten]

Have left over Turkey? Recycle it... Make a POT PIE!

We always have way too much Turkey left over after Thanksgiving and after Christmas. I always freeze what we have left over into freezer bags and recycle it. Pot pies are one of my favorite ways to recycle left over turkey or chicken. 

Ingredients

-2 tablespoons butter or margarine

- 1 medium onion chopped

- 1bag (12 oz)  frozen mixed vegetables

- 1 1/2cups cut-up cooked Turkey (or chicken)

 -1 3/4 cups  chicken broth

- 1teaspoon seasoned salt

- 1/2teaspoon dried thyme

- 3/4cup milk

- 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Topping

- 3/4cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix

- 1/2cup milk

- 1egg

- 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

- 1tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1 Heat oven to 350ºF. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in vegetables, chicken, chicken broth, salt and thyme; heat to boiling. In small bowl, mix 3/4 cup milk and the cornstarch with wire whisk until smooth; stir into chicken mixture. Heat just to boiling. Pour into un-greased 2-quart casserole.

2 In small bowl, stir all topping ingredients except parsley with fork until blended. Drop topping mixture by small spoonfuls over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with parsley.

3 Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of topping comes out clean.

[kajeirsten]

Gluten Free Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Food.com

This is basically normal alfredo sauce but lots of the alfredo sauce that is canned in stores has modified food starch in it which is no good for a gluten free diet. So this is what my aunt came up with and is so delicious. Its good to add to rice noodles and chicken or put on gluten free pizza crust or in rice noodle alfredo lasagna. This really works with anything and is a good Gluten Free base. Buckwheat noodles are the best with this but I have only found them on sale once. Rice noodles are very cheap at the local Chinese market in all shapes and sizes. I also use this in rice alfredo casserol. If you come up with any more ideas let me know.

I made this GF Alfredo sauce the other night. It was really good and REALLY EASY!! 

[kajeirsten]

Vegan Gluten-free Pumpkin Tarts No Bake! Yum!!! Here is how to make them: Crust: 1 cup Walnuts 1/4 cup shredded coconut 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling: 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/4 cup almond milk 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 3/4 cup dates, pitted 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves Directions: Put the walnuts and shredded coconut in the food processor and blend until you get a walnut coconut meal. Be careful to not make nut butter. Put the mixture intona bowl and add yhr coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. Mix well and then scoop into baking cups. Press down so that it is packed then refrigerate while making the filling. Mix all filling ingredients together in the food processor until all is smooth. If the dates feel kind of hard before putting in the processor, soak them in warm water for about 10 minites, strain them, then add them to the food processor. Once smooth, scoop into baking cups on top of the crust. Refrigerate for 4 hours. #antiglutengut #veganandGF #holidaydesserts

[kajeirsten]

Gluten Free with Dairy Allergies?

So, both me and my husband work in the service industry where we get to meet lots of people. He has a regular client that is allergic to gluten and allergic to dairy. She often tells my husband that there is nothing good out there and she needs help finding some good stuff. 

Anyone have recommendations for someone with Dairy and Gluten allergies?

My husband asked that I make her something to try when she comes in for her appointment next week. Suggestions???? 

I saw this vegan & gluten free pumpkin tarts that looked really yummy. Maybe I will make them for Thanksgiving and try them out to see if they are any good. I was hoping to find some websites that have good suggestions for her so she can check them out. 

[kajeirsten]

23 Gorgeous Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Desserts

Some are vegan, some are not. All are highly likely to make people happy.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Thanksgiving is THURSDAY and I have not figured out what I am making. This site has TONS of yummy stuff!

[kajeirsten]

A healthy lifestyle can be sweet!

Oat Hash!? YUMM-O!

[kajeirsten]

Operation SF & GF starts now!

Recently, my husband and I found out that someone near and dear to us has stage 4 cancer. (This person will remain nameless because they have not yet told many people and want to wait a little longer before telling them). Anyway, after doing some further research, there are theories out there that sugar feeds cancer. This would make sense because one way they test for cancer is through giving the patient radio active sugar and taking a special scan to see if the tumor lights up. If the tumor lights up, it means that the tumor ate the sugar, indicating that cancer eats sugar. 

So, this leads to my next question... if a person with cancer were to go on a complete sugar free diet, or if they followed a diet that a good diabetic patient would follow, could that slow down the cancer growth?

What about the type of sugar intake? There is a difference between natural sugars that are in fruits and processed sugars that are in processed foods and candy. 

Then that question lead me to another. How do people who are have Diabetes and Celiac disease even enjoy their food? 

I was reading an article the other day that talked about how when people first go gluten free they turn to all of the processed foods that are prepacked and labeled gluten free because they are still learning what gluten is and trying to figure out how to cook gluten free. This is exactly why eating gluten free does not always equate to being healthier, or loosing weight. A lot of people who live gluten free and eat processed foods like that actually gain weight and are not healthy. 

While I would say that I eat mostly unprocessed foods and try my hardest to substitute my starches with more natural things like spaghetti squash, I want to try and take my diet to the next level. I will eat gluten free (because I have to) and eat clean with as little sugars as possible. My hope is that in I will better myself, but also be able to find low sugar recipes that might help those who have Diabetes and help those with cancer (that’s if the whole sugar theory is true). 

Operation Sugar Free/ Gluten Free starts now!

[kajeirsten]

Substitutions!

Have a great recipe, but need to modify it to be gluten free? Check this out:

For 1 tablespoon of wheat flour, substitute one of these:

* 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch 

*  1 1/2 teaspoons potato starch 

* 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot starch 

* 1 1/2 teaspoons rice flour 

* 2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca 

For 1 cup of wheat flour, substitute one of these:

* 3/4 cup plain cornmeal coarse

* 1 cup plain cornmeal, fine

* 5/8 cup potato flour

* 3/4 cup rice flour