Sugar, Sugar Everywhere!

The most surprising thing so far being on the GAPS diet is that there is sugar in everything.  I knew that we'd be giving up the obvious sweets such as cookies, cakes, and candy, but sugar is added to pretty much every packaged, pre-made food, dressing, or condiment.  I spent a couple of hours at Whole Foods one morning reading labels trying to find some alternative sauces, dips, and/or dressings because my kids love to dip their food.  Frankly, I didn't have too much luck.  No ketchup!  I tried making some, but it wasn't very good.  How was I going to get them to eat?

About the only thing that I did find were Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressings. They use a sunflower oil base and are sweetened with honey and fruit concentrates. I originally bought some to try thinking that it was just for my husband and I to use for salads. I guess that the kids missed dipping because they wanted to try it with their carrot sticks that day. They loved it! They now dip pretty much everything in these dressings. Just about every day they eat a bowl of carrots, cucumber slices, and spinach leaves that they dip in dressing. They also like to dip cutup meat, chicken, and turkey. Our favorites so far are Lemony Herb, Blueberry Basil, and Pomegranate Pear.

It is very difficult to eat out on the GAPS diet, but when we do we usually order salad.  Unfortunately, we haven't found a restaurant yet with any dressing without added sugar.  Even balsamic vinaigrette typically contains sugar!  We have just started bringing our own dressing with us.  This Evriholder Dressing to Go Salad Dressing Container is great for packing lunches or bringing your own dressing with you to restaurants.

One other thing that I was able to find that day at Whole Foods was some spaghetti Sauce.  Yes, most of the canned sauces have added sugar, but the Whole Foods brand 365 Organic Everyday Value Pasta Sauce is sugar free.  I simply brown a pound of grass-fed beef to add to the sauce and serve it over baked spaghetti squash for an easy meal which has become one of the kids' favorites.  Not all of the Whole Foods sauces are sugar free, make sure that you check the labels to find the right one.

I was able to find a couple of other sauce recipes that have worked out well for my family.  I made this Soy-Free Soy Sauce to serve with stir fry.  I made this BBQ sauce recipe for ribs. My family loved it!  I tried to save some of the extra sauce for the kids to eat later that week, but it had a strong vinegar taste by the next day.  It's a great recipe for a special meal, but it doesn't keep well.

Sneaky Meatballs (Grain Free, Paleo and GAPS friendly)

The GAPS diet focuses heavily on soups and stews made with homemade stock.  Since my little ones' diets consisted primarily of finger foods before beginning the diet, getting them to eat soup was a bit tricky.  I also needed to hide the veggies in order to get them to eat cooked vegetables.  I started making them Sneaky Meatballs packed with veggies that I could serve in homemade stock to get them to eat.  These meatballs could also be eaten alone or served with your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Simply combine 2 lbs of ground meat (beef or turkey), 1 large carrot shredded, 1 zucchini shredded, 1 yellow squash shredded, and 1/2 a large onion shredded.

Just form them into balls and bake on cookie sheets for about 30 minutes.

They are great right out of the oven.  I typically make extra and freeze some for later use.  In order to freeze them, you'll need to first transfer the cooked meatballs onto a clean cookie sheet to freeze.  Once frozen, then transfer them to a large freezer bag to store.  Then you can pull out as many as you want at a time for a snack or meal for the kids.

Easy, Kid Friendly Dinner

We had guests over yesterday afternoon, and I didn't have time for any preparations for dinner.  I needed a quick, fix for dinner.  Voila! In a just a few minutes, dinner was served.

 Just a few simple ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa cooked with 2 cups of water in a rice cooker
1 lb cooked ground beef
Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil seasoning to taste (or only other preferred seasoning)
2 cups of frozen peas (Or any other vegetable that you have available that the kids like)

First, start the quinoa in the rice cooker so that it can cook while you prepare the ground beef and peas.  Brown the ground meat and add seasoning (It would also be great with some onions as well).  Then just combine all the ingredients in bowls to serve.

Any suggestions on what to call this dish?  It's similar to the hamburger hash that I had as a kid just with quinoa instead of potatoes.  Not sure, but the kids love it!

Drop Sugar Cookies (Gluten and Dairy Free)

I wanted something sweet today that was easy to make and didn't require a trip to the store. I also wanted to try out a new gluten free flour blend that I found at Costco recently. I simply modified an old drop sugar cookie recipe to make it gluten and dairy free.

1 1/3 cups gluten free flour (Namaste Perfect Flour Blend)
3/4 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp gluten free vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. 3. In large bowl, beat coconut oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla until light and fluffy. 4. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. 5. Drop by rounded teaspoon on ungreased baking sheet. 6. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Fun GF Pasta for Kids

I found this pasta for the kids last night at the store.  Quick, easy lunch today with some prepared pasta sauce.  They loved it!  They had lots of fun finding letters, spelling some words, and eating all of their food.

GF Bread that Kids Will Actually Like

Udi's gluten free bread varieties score big points for convenience, but the taste is definitely far from fresh baked bread.  If you're looking for a bread that might please some of your pickiest eaters this one may just work:  GF White Bread for Bread Machines.  Not only does my family love this bread, but it receives rave reviews from my gluten eating guests.  I have made a couple of adaptions to the recipe since my family does not eat dairy or soy.  I use Silk Coconut Milk instead of buttermilk and substitute sorghum flour for the soy flour.  We love sorghum flour!  It tastes great in baked goods and adds a nutritional boost with an abundance of fiber, protein, and minerals.  Check out the health benefits of sorghum.  Just like most gluten free baked goods, this bread has a short shelf life.  With a family of 5, a loaf is typically gone within 24 hours.  If you want to keep it longer, then I would suggest slicing it and freezing it until ready to eat.

Pizza Sticks

Pizza party anyone? Sounds great unless you're a teen on a gluten and dairy free diet. Eating pizza is an important social aspect of the teen years, so I had to come up with a safe alternative for my son. Cheese substitutes could be a possibility, but he frankly isn't too excited about that particular option. I've gotten fairly skilled at making gluten free bread, so I figured breadsticks could be a good alternative especially if I added some pepperoni to morph them into pizza sticks. I used a double batch of these Gluten Free Bread Sticks as my base and added one package of Hormel Turkey Pepperoni.

 

I used kitchen shears to cutup the pepperoni into small pieces, and then mixed it into the dough before squeezing out the breadsticks.  I did have to make a slightly larger hole in the ziploc bag to accommodate the  pepperoni pieces resulting in thicker breadsticks that needed an additional five minutes of baking time. I was actually only able to make 8 large breadsticks out of a double batch of dough.  The little kids each ate one breadstick, but my teenager ate three to give you an idea of portion size.  I served these with Prego Veggie Smart Pizza Sauce for dipping which is gluten free according to the Campbell foods website.

Dairy Free Icecream

What's summertime without ice cream? Now that my family is both gluten and dairy free this suddenly became a bit more difficult.  My kids love the SoDelicious brand Coconut frozen dessert varieties, but at $6+ a pint that can be a bit too pricey for a family of five. I decided to pull out the ice cream maker attachment from the bottom of the deep freezer in the garage and try to make my own.  All of the recipes that I found online called for the full fat, canned coconut milk, and I didn't have any on hand so I thought that I'd give it a try with the lighter coconut milk that I already had in the refrigerator.  The result was more of an ice milk type treat, but still delicious and satisfying without the extra fat.  I simply
mixed together 6 cups of Coconut Milk (such as Silk brand - not the full fat kind), 1/2 cup of sugar (This is a slightly sweet treat, but you can add more sugar if desired), and 2 tsp vanilla to make the ice cream mixture.  Then froze the mixture in an ice cream machine and served immediately as a soft-serve treat.  I have the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment that I use to make it, but a traditional ice cream maker should work fine as well.

Banana Flax Pancakes (Gluten and Dairy Free)

These are definitely not traditional pancakes, but very delicious nonetheless.  I've made these a couple of times, and each time my kids devoured them served with almond butter.  I will admit that they are a bit difficult to flip, and some of mine looked pretty messy.  You definitely need to keep them small, use lower heat than traditional pancakes, and cook them a bit longer after they start to bubble before trying to flip them over.  Otherwise, they fall apart.  Very simple recipe though with only five ingredients:  eggs, bananas, ground flax, cinnamon, and coconut oil. 

http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2013/03/19/5-ingredient-banana-bread-pancakes/

Since my family is now dairy free as well as gluten free, I've been working to include alternative sources of calcium in their diet.  Almonds and thus almond butter contain a surprising amount of calcium which makes it a great topping for these gluten and dairy free pancakes.

Check out a list of nondairy calcium sources:
http://greatist.com/health/18-surprising-dairy-free-sources-calcium

Berry Coconut Smoothie

We are in the middle of a dairy-free trial elimination, and the kids wanted smoothies for breakfast this morning.  Oh what to do?  Get creative!  I had some leftover coconut milk on hand that I had purchased for another recipe.  It has a higher, fat content and thicker consistency than regular milk, so I thought that it might work to replace the milk and yogurt combination that I typically use for smoothies.  I just blended up 2 cups of coconut milk, about a cup of frozen mixed berries, three tablespoons of ground flax, and a bit of honey. Success!  The kids loved it!  My daughter was also thrilled that it was purple like her shirt.  Shh!  Don't tell them that the smoothies had flax in them.  It a adds a great nutritional boost since it is high in  Omega-3 essential fatty acids and fiber.  Check out the many benefits of flaxseed.

Just a side note about the dairy elimination trial if your curious...

I have been reading Cure Your Child with Food: The Hidden Connection Between Nutrition and Childhood Ailments by Kelly Dorfman.  My youngest frequently has a runny nose and both kids are still touchy and irritable some days, so I'm trying to figure out what is remaining in their diet that might be irritating them.  Dairy intolerance and/or allergies can be related to congestion and eczema, so we are taking out the dairy for a couple weeks to see if we see any changes.  If you are struggling with chronic health and/or behavior issues with your kids, I highly recommend this book.  Dorfam guides you through case studies of families that she has worked with to find nutritional solutions to common childhood illnesses and concerns.

Strawberry Shortcake

It's strawberry season!  We always had a strawberry patch growing up, and I have fond memories of strawberry picking.  I ate most of what I picked as I went and ended up with strawberry juice all over my face and shirt.  Another tradition was homemade strawberry shortcake.  My mom typically made a spongy, yellow cake to serve as shortcake.  While I live in the suburbs with my kids, there are still strawberries to pick at grandma's house, and they love buying fresh strawberries at the farmer's market on Saturday mornings.  I searched the Internet for a shortcake recipe that might allow me to share my memories of my favorite desert growing up with my own children.  I found this recipe that not only tastes great, but it also very easy to make with simple ingredients.  No trip to the specialty food store necessary.  I wasn't sure about the pinch of nutmeg, but it gave the cakes a great flavor.    

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/gluten-free-strawberry-shortcake/

Although the coconut milk topping sounds great, I just used pre-made TruWhip.

Incredible Disappearing Banana Bread

My kids love banana bread!  Whenever I make it, it's gone within a few minutes.  Here's the gluten/dairy free recipe that I used this time.

Gluten, Dairy Free Banana Bread Deliciousness

The recipe calls for gluten-free all purpose flour.  I made my own blend with 3/4 cup of brown rice flour, 3/4 cup of sorghum flour, 1/4 of potato starch, and 1tsp xanthum gum.  I also found that it takes much longer to bake, probably more like an hour. 

No Fuss! Gluten Free Lunches for Kids

Now that the weather is nice, my kids prefer to be outside as much as possible which doesn't leave much time for meal preparation especially at lunchtime.  Here's a list of some simple ways to get the kids fed this summer.  I let my kids pick a fresh fruit or vegetable from whatever we have on hand to make each of these a meal.

• Turkey Roll with Cheese - Simply a slice of lunch meat and cheese rolled up.  We like Dietz & Watson Deli Meat from Costco and sharp, white cheddar cheese.
• Sunbutter Sandwich on Udi's bread - My kids love these, and it's great for picnics at the park.
• Refried Beans and Tortilla Chips - Isadora Refried Beans are great.  Yes, you guessed it.  I found this at Costco.  They come in a microwaveable pouch and are ready in 1 minute.  My kids dip Kirkland Tortilla chips in them.
• Hard Boiled egg, hummus, and crackers - My kids love roasted red pepper hummus.  Our favorite GF crackers are Crunchmaster Multi-Grain crackers.
• Quinoa and Black Beans - This a great way to serve leftover quinoa.  No heating necessary.  I just mix together some quinoa and drained, black beans straight from the can.
• Hotdog and baked beans - We eat Hebrew National Hot Dogs and Bush's Baked Beans.
• Cheese Roll-up - I just melt some cheese on a corn tortilla and roll it up.
• Rice Cake Sandwich - Just replace rice cakes for the bread in your favorite sandwich.  My teenage son loves to take these in his lunch for school.  His favorite is white cheddar cheese rice cakes with turkey and cheese.
• Seed and Nut Snack Mixes - There are many of these available for purchase, but I typically make my own since we have multiple food allergies including peanuts.  I mix together Blue Diamond Roasted Almonds (No Peanut Cross-Contamination), pumpkins seeds, raisins, and Chex Cereal.  This makes a nice portable, protein and fiber source.
• Greek Yogurt sprinkled with Chia Seeds
• Cottage Cheese and Crackers

No Cooking Today!

Overall, I'm not a fan of processed food.  I guess that's a good thing because it usually contains gluten anyway, but there are days when I'm just not up to cooking or grocery shopping.  Generally, my kids are pretty happy with some fresh fruit, cheese, and maybe some popcorn.  With a stomach bug making it's way through the entire family this week along with some strep throat and an ear infection, this mamma is spent.  The fridge is pretty much empty other than stuff that needs thrown out anyway.  So what is a gluten free mom to do?  I guess just pull out a few of the canned goods in the cupboards.  Today's lunch was Dinty Moore Beef Stew and fruit cups.  If you need a few shelf-stable items to keep on had for rough days or something easy to send with your kids for an alternative meal when they are away from home, then check out Hormel's List of Gluten Free items.

Gluten Free Rice Crispy Treats

At a loss for what to take to summer pitch-ins, rice crispy treats are a great gluten free option to please the kids.  We're heading to the end of the year picnic for my kid's school this afternoon, and our requested contribution is a dessert item.  Gluten Free Rice Crispy Treats to the rescue!  The gluten free version of Rice Crispy cereal is missing the malt flavor of the original, so I add a teaspoon of vanilla to the melted butter/marshmallow mixture before adding the cereal.  Just make sure that you use gluten free vanilla.  I purchase mine from Costco, and it is clearly labeled gluten free.  With this simple addition, nobody will be able to tell these are gluten free.  I typically do label my items gluten free though for pitch-ins just in case other guests need gluten free options as well.  It's also safer to pre-cut the treats, and put them in individual baggies or wrap them in plastic wrap to prevent cross-contamination as serving utensils tend to migrate from dish to dish at pitch-ins.

Frozen Fruit Pops

Now that the weather is getting nicer, the kids are constantly asking for popsicles.  While we often buy Welch’s 100% Juice Ice Bars from Costco, I wanted to try to get the kids to eat more actual fruit so I decided to make homemade frozen fruit pops.  I already had a ripe cantaloupe and some fresh strawberries, so I decided to use these as my ingredients.  I simply put the cantaloupe slices in my Ninja prep blender to make a puree.  Then I poured the cantaloupe puree into the popsicle molds and froze them for about three hours.  I also added some sliced strawberries to some of them.  My 2 year old preferred the ones without strawberries as they were a little bit easier to eat; otherwise, they were a hit with all three of my children as well as a couple of the neighbors.  Next I plan to try making them with watermelon puree, but you could make them with just about any combination of fruit and juices.  Leave a comment and share your favorite combinations for others to try.

Here's the popsicle molds that I used, but you could also make them in dixie cups with craft sticks.  I liked that the holders on these catch the juice as it melts and have a sprout for sipping it out of the holder.  Much less mess!

Gluten Free Birthday Party

Ahoy, Matey!  We had a pirate themed party for my daughter's 4th birthday.  Of course, she wanted a pirate cake, but I had to make the cake since finding a gluten free bakery can be tricky.  While I can bake, I am not a cake decorator, so I had to figure out a way to make a pirate themed cake with my limited skills.  Cupcakes seemed like the best option.  I printed out some Neverland Pirate characters on white cardstock paper, cut them out, and taped them to toothpicks.  Voila, fairly simple and inexpensive cupcake toppers.  I used the Neverland Pirate Playset printable activity for my characters.  To add variety, I also found this free, cute pirate ship cupcake topper printable.  With a little bit of searching and handiwork, a similar process could be used to create cupcake toppers for just about any theme.  For the cupcake batter, I used Gluten Free Carrot Cake (at my daughter's request) and Homemade Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix.  None of the party guests even suspected that the cupcakes were gluten free.  Success!  My daughter was also happy with the results of her "pirate" cake.  In fact, she squealed when she saw the display.  Other than cupcakes, we just served Pirate Booty and bottled water.

The highlight of the party was the activities.  As the guests arrived, each child decorated their own pirate hat for the party.  I purchased foam pirate hats for this activity from Oriental Trading Company.  The main event was a treasure hunt in the park.  My husband and I made clues that lead the party guests through the park to find the treasure map that had been stolen by Captain Hook.  Then once the kids found the treasure map, they followed it to find the treasure filled with chocolate doubloons and inexpensive, bead necklaces.  The kids loved the activity. 

Turn Meatloaf into a Super Food

One easy way to make gluten free meatloaf is to substitute cooked quinoa for the crackers or bread crumbs. Not only have you eliminated the gluten, but you've also boosted the nutritional value of your meatloaf by adding this super food to your recipe. Check out some of the benefits of quinoa.  For my picky eaters, I keep my meatloaf pretty simple.  I make it with 1lb ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup cooked quinoa, and a dash of salt and pepper.  Then I top it with ketchup before baking.  Sometimes I also sneak in some shredded carrots.
  
As I mentioned my teenage son is newly diagnosed with celiac disease, so this has been my first week packing a gluten free lunch for him.  He was excited to have leftover meatloaf for his lunch today.  Hopefully, the added quinoa will help keep him full for longer.

Sausage, Potatoes, and Green Beans

A gluten free diet can seem overwhelming at first, but don't forget that many of your favorite meals are already gluten free or may only need some minor adjustments to be so.  A staple in my family growing up was a big pot of sausage, potatoes, and green beans.  It's simple, nutritious, and gluten free.  The only needed adjustment may be the type of smoked sausage that you use since some processed meats have hidden gluten.

Check out this list of Gluten Free Sausage Products.

I typically use the  Kiolbassa Polish Style Smoked Sausage from Costco which is clearly labeled gluten free.

If by chance you've never made sausage, potatoes, and green beans, it's very easy.  I just peel and chop up about 5 medium sized potatoes.  You'll want the potatoes pieces to be bite-sized.  I then get the potatoes started boiling in just enough water to cover them for a few minutes while I chop up the sausage into bite-size pieces too.  I use three of the Kiolbassa Polish sausages for my family or a typical 1 lb. package of sausage.  Next add the sausage pieces and two cans of drained green beans to the pot and cook until potatoes are tender.

Eating Out Gluten Free - No Salad Please

I found out last week that my teenager also has Celiac disease.  It doesn't change much at our house, since my daughter and I were already on gluten free diets.  However, my oldest son is from a previous marriage, and I share custody with his dad.  This is where it might get tricky.  The gluten free lifestyle is completely new to his dad.  My son goes out to eat much more frequently with his dad, so I put together a list of dining out suggestions to get them started.  To make it even more of a challenge, my son will not eat lettuce or salads of any kind.  Sound familiar?  Here's some ideas for eating out:

Puccini’s has gluten free pizza and pasta dishes.

Noodles and Co. can make any of their dishes with rice noodles to make them gluten free if you ask.

Jason’s Deli has gluten free bread for sandwiches.

Chick-Fil-A – You can order a kid’s meal with grilled chicken nuggets and fries are made separately so that they are gluten free.

Wendy’s – Fries are OK here, baked potatoes, and chili

McDonald’s – Smoothies are OK, but that’s about it.  Fries and chicken nuggets are cooked together, so they both have gluten.

Chipotle – Everything except flour tortilla is gluten free.

McAllister's Deli -Baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings and several soups are gluten free.

This website is a great too for finding gluten-free friendly restaurants in your area because it allows you to limit your search to restaurants with gluten free items and/or menus:

Urban Spoon