Gluten Free Choices

I found another resource for gluten free items: GlutenFreeChoices.com. You can sign up for email notifications (coupons and such), they have recipes, articles, and so on. The site is run by Hain Celestial, and features the brands they manufacture. It's good to see that the manufacturers are realizing the need for information. I haven't received any coupons from them yet, but hopefully they'll send some soon.

Outback Steakhouse

We like Outback Steakhouse, but it's expensive enough that we rarely eat there- maybe once a year, though it's actually been a couple years since we last went. We try to go for our birthdays, which are two days apart.

Since going gluten free a year ago, I've researched which restaurants have the best gluten free options, and I have to say that Outback definitely makes an effort to help those with gluten issues. If you go to their website, they even have a gluten free menu, where they tell you which items are safe, and how to order them (no seasonings, substitute this for that, etc).  Such a difference from Applebees! I ate a delicious dinner, and didn't have any issues with cross-contamination.

Since Mr S is on a trip and will be gone for our birthdays, we had an early birthday dinner at Outback. We'd been planning this for a couple weeks, and the week before we went to Outback we got a coupon in the mail. It was for a free appetizer, 1/2 pound of crab legs, or dessert with purchase of an entree. We don't normally pay for dessert when we eat out (they're way overpriced), but if we go the day between our birthdays we can each get free birthday brownies. (At least that's what happened the last time we went, which was like, 3 years ago. Do they still do this?). Since it's not yet our birthdays, we opted to use the coupon for a free dessert.

We ordered the chocolate thunder down under, which just happens to be a flourless brownie. Score! Those things are so huge that the three of us shared it without feeling like we got gypped. It was yummy, but a little thick on walnuts.

We've learned the hard way not to order a separate meal for LMS. We rarely eat out, but on the occasions that we do, we always wonder 'should we get anything for her, or just share?' The times we order a meal for her, she doesn't eat it, and the times we don't order anything for her, she decides she's hungry.

This time we compromised by ordering her a side dish of steamed veggies (she loves broccoli), I shared my dinner with her, and it all worked out well. She ate till she said she was full, and when we mentioned that she didn't need dessert then, she said 'I have some room in my left ear' :)

Gluten free graham crackers

Last week I made gluten free graham crackers using the recipe found in Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone. 

They didn't taste exactly like graham crackers, which is too be expected, but the edges definitely had a nice cracker-y crunch. I hadn't realized how much I missed that. I didn't roll them out as evenly as I should have, so I need to work on that next time for more even cooking.

I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top right after I pulled them out of the oven, which added a nice touch. LMS loved them. I think she ended up eating most of them while I was busy doing something else. She keeps asking for more graham crackers. Guess I'm going to have to make them on a regular basis. They're pretty easy, so that won't be a problem.

Store-bought gluten free crackers are expensive and rarely taste good enough to justify the money spent on them. While gluten free flours aren't cheap, I'm much more willing to to bake a cracker that I know will taste good than waste money buying a cracker that tastes like grainy cardboard.

I've only made a few of the recipes in this cookbook, but I've had good results with all of them and look forward to trying more of the recipes. It's nice to be able to eat 'normal' food again :)  As I searched for a link for the cookbook, I found that Elizabeth has a blog- I'm so excited! I can't wait to go through her past posts and try the recipes she's posted.

More posts will be coming soon

I've had to take a break the last week or so as I've dealt with some gluten problems. I'm feeling better now, and am gathering materials to start working on some projects I've been wanting to do.

Some of my projects:
Refinishing a cabinet for my craft and sewing supplies
Building storage cubbies for LMS's toys
Building storage and work space for my craft and sewing supplies
Reupholstering some chairs
Decorating LMS's room

I have other projects in mind, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself :)

Organic Coupons

I recently found out about a new organic coupon site- Mambo Sprouts. You can sign up for coupons to be emailed or snail mailed to you, and they have giveaways, recipes, articles, and so on.

May is Celiac Awareness Month, so they are having a giveaway for several gluten free products. Head over here to check it out.

I'm always looking for coupons for gluten free products (they tend to be rather scarce), so I'm happy to find another source.

Gluten Free Granola

I can't eat most store-bought granola, as oats are frequently contaminated with gluten. I've tried several varieties of gluten free granola, but I haven't loved any of them, and they are expensive.

I found a recipe in Baking with Agave Nectar by Ania Catalano for granola and decided to try it since I only needed to make slight adaptations. There are no wheat ingredients, and while it does call for oats and oat bran, you can find gluten free versions of both.

I bought gluten free oats and oat bran, which aren't cheap but do last awhile. Since it's the first time I used this recipe and I wasn't sure of the results I halved the recipe. I wanted to put it on top of yogurt with some fresh berries, so I didn't go the orange flavoring route, though now that I think of it that might taste really good. I also left out the dried currants.

There's not a lot of oil, and the applesauce makes it a lot moister than my pre-gluten free granola recipe. I like crunchy granola, so I left it in the oven an extra half hour. It got more crunchy as it cooled though, so I may not have needed to do that.

Taste verdict:
I liked it. The pecans are nice touch, but I really like pecans. I think it would make a good granola bar because of the moisture content. I need to do some experimentation and try different flavor combinations. Hmmm.... orange pecan cranberry, lemon blueberry, dark chocolate cherry, apple cinnamon.... yummy!

Saving Money by Decorating Your Own Cakes

Little Miss Sunshine just celebrated her fourth birthday, and like the previous few years I made her cake. I could have spent a lot of money buying one, but why? Now, I don't claim to be a professional at all, but I do enjoy it. I'm learning new things and saving money.

For LMS's second birthday, I made a Finding Nemo cake.  That was a lot of fun, but all the icing work made my hand cramp.

Last year I made a castle cake to go along with the Cinderella theme. This one got away from me a bit and didn't turn out quite how I originally planned, but it still turned out well. I was planning and preparing a birthday party and a graduation party at the same time, so I had to know when to say when. That's something I'm working on- trying to squash my perfectionist tendancies and not stressing when things aren't exactly how I planned.

We had a graduation party for Mr S the same day we had LMS's birthday party. I made a cake for that one also. We had a lot of cake after these parties....

I also made these little chocolate hats out of Reese's cups, Ghirardelli squares, mini Reese's Pieces, and a dab of frosting. So easy, and so yummy!

I really like how fondant-covered cakes look, so this year I decided to give it a go. I made a simple purple polka dot cake and was encouraged by the result. I made a marshmallow fondant, then colored it with different amounts of purple coloring. I really like how the cake turned out- the only thing I'd change is to buy a small round metal cookie cutter to cut the polka dots. I used a knife and traced around a pill bottle, which got the job done, but wasn't as precise as I'd like. I love the shades of purple- so pretty!

One draw back of the fondant is that it doesn't taste good. I keep seeing people say that marshmallow fondant tastes better than regular fondant, but I wasn't impressed with the flavor of the marshmallow fondant. LMS ate half the fondant on hers, Mr S and I peeled it off. If anyone knows of a fondant that actually tastes good, let me know! I think I'll try adding some flavoring to the fondant next time.

While I did spend money on the materials and supplies, they cost less than a store-bought sheet cake, and significantly less than a specialty cake like the ones I've made. Are my cakes perfect? No. But just because a professional makes them, doesn't mean they look professional. Don't believe me? Check out Cake Wrecks.

Since we're now gluten free, the cake I made was gluten free. While gluten free bakeries are popping up all over, their products aren't cheap. By making my own gluten free cakes I save even more. My birthday is coming up in June and I'll be able to do some more experimenting. I'll try some flavored fondant, more precise cake shaping, and cookie cutters for shapes. I love learning new things!

Strawberry Shortcake

Last night I made gluten free pound cake (using the recipe I found here). The recipe called for a bundt pan, but I don't have one, so I used a bread pan and the 6 mini springform pans I found at Target at the after Easter sale.

Cute little pans

The texture wasn't quite the same as regular pound cake, but it still tasted good.

Yum!

Mr. S made the comment that these springform pans would be good for making hamburger buns too- they're just the right size. And I can make cheesecake in them. And little birthday cakes. And brownies. So many options. At half off, I think I made a good investment.

I didn't find anything else at Target at the after Easter sales, but that's because I wasn't in the market for leftover candy, Easter baskets or stuffed animals. I wasn't even sure the pans were half off, but they were in the Easter section, so I did a price check and sure enough, they were half off. I had similar luck after Valentine's day- finding baking stuff half off. Guess you never can tell what you'll find.

Frugal Eating: Noodles & Company

Noodles & Company
I used to love their mac & cheese, which is definitely not mac & cheese from a box- it's sooo much better. However, since going gluten free, I haven't eaten there since I didn't think they had any options for me.

I recently found out that they do have a couple gluten free options! Their Pad thai, Sauteed beef, Braised beef, Sauteed shrimp, Cucumber tomato salad and Tossed green salad are all ok for me to eat.

They don't have any Noodles & Co restaurants near where we moved, so I decided to try out the pad thai before we moved. While we were out running errands, LMS and I stopped in for lunch. I checked with the guy at the counter before ordering and he confirmed that the rice noodles are cooked separately from the other noodles, so I ordered the pad thai with sauteed beef, and it was sooo yummy! I always ask for an extra plate and split the order with LMS (two for one!). I've done this with their smaller size and their regular size and it works well both ways. It had been so long since we were last there that I forgot about the portion sizes. I ordered the regular size and had a hard time finishing, even after giving LMS a decent amount.

A regular portion with protein is about $7 or so, about the same as a hamburger meal at a fast food place. Personally, I think a dish of noodles with sprouts is healthier than a hamburger and fries. The service is quick, too. Splitting a meal with LMS saves the money I could have spent buying a separate meal for her, that she would only eat a little of. She is just not a fan of fast food, other than french fries, but she does enjoy Noodles & Co. The pad thai is a little spicy, but LMS didn't complain (she's quick to say when she thinks something's too spicy), and she ate all her noodles.

If you go to their website, you can sign up to get coupons emailed to you periodically. Sometimes the coupons are for specific items, so they're not always useful for me, but you never know when you'll get a good one.

I took a picture of our lunch with my cell phone, but I guess if the lighting is too bad it causes problems when sending the picture to my email. I've tried multiple times to send it to my email, but none of them were successful. Sorry!

I've also been inspired to learn how to make pad thai at home, and hope to do so in the next week or so, once I've excavated my pots and pans from the piles of boxes that will soon be everywhere. Anyone have a good pad thai recipe they'd like to share?

Gluten free coupons

The other day I mentioned that it's really hard to find coupons for gluten free items. I have found a potential source of coupons, but I think the problem lies with the manufacturers and their willingness (or not) to give out coupons. Be Free For Me is a website that has recipes, articles, etc regarding food allergies and celiac disease. They also occasionally have coupons for gluten free items. Awhile ago, I signed up to have coupons emailed to me. So far, I've only received one coupon ($1 off Rice Works chips), which I've also seen in the Sunday circulars.

If you're looking for coupons for gluten free items, it wouldn't hurt to check out the site and sign up for their emails. Hopefully they'll be able to send out more soon.

Clipping coupons

Clipping coupons isn't terribly effective for me. I do it, but it doesn't save my tons of money. We've all heard stories of people who go into the store with a stack of coupons and come out with a cartload of groceries that they paid $2 for. That wouldn't happen with my grocery list because most coupons are for processed foods or cleaners and beauty products with lots of chemicals in them.

I'm gluten intolerant, so I don't buy most processed foods- the few that I can eat are from specialty companies that don't have coupons. If I can find them, I'll use coupons for canned or frozen goods, dairy products, and paper goods. However, even for those items most of the coupons available are for over-processed, full-of-chemicals (lots of artificial flavors and colors, unnecessary sauces, etc) items, so there's only a small fraction of coupons that I can use.

So, I buy groceries on sale, generic where possible/available, bulk when it's cheaper to do so, and cook from scratch as much as I can.

I can't use mainstream cleaners because I have lots of chemical sensitivities- so I use Melaleuca products because they are kinder and gentler and don't aggravate my allergies. I also use Melaleuca toiletry products and Arbonne face products. I love the products, but there's no coupons for them. They do cost a bit more than generic cleaners or run-of-the mill toiletry products, but they don't give me migraines, so it's worth it.

When I shop online, I always look for online coupon codes, which have saved me a lot of money, and I'm a big fan of Amazon, Ebay and craigslist (but that's another post).

Random thought

Here's something I've been thinking about for awhile:

What do people with food allergies/sensitivities do if they depend on food pantries and/or soup kitchens for their food?

Do they just not eat much, eat it anyway and deal with the consequences (if it's an allergy that doesn't result in anaphylactic shock), or what?

Are they undiagnosed, so they just feel like crap and don't know why? I can see this being the case, since even if you can afford to go to the doctor it doesn't guarantee they'll figure out what's wrong with you.

I suppose if it was just one type of food they couldn't eat it wouldn't be too bad, but if they had multiple food allergies/sensitivities it would be pretty complicated to eat. And I wouldn't think that a food pantry or soup kitchen would be able to accomodate their needs. Let's face it, most grocery stores can't, which is why so much of our shopping has to be done at Whole Foods, which is not the cheapest place to buy food.

Our food budget is higher than I'd like, but I really don't see any alternatives. The gluten free soy sauce I used to buy is no longer an option because of the soy, so my only alternative is coconut aminos, which run $6 a bottle, and it's not a very big bottle. I could just not buy it, but than our diet would be even more limited in flavor and meal options. Luckily, while I may wish we could spend less, at least we have the ability to spend the amount we do. I'm kind of glad I didn't get this all figured out any sooner, when our budget was super tight- then we really would have had to make some tough decisions about what we would be eating.

Any thoughts?