Kinnikinnick Hamburger Buns

We had hamburgers a couple of nights ago and I wanted to have a bun like everyone else. I toasted up my Kinnikinnick Hamburger bun. It was pretty good. I liked the flavor but it did sort of fall apart when I was trying to eat my burger. At least it was edible - I have had to thrwo out more than my fair share of GF bread.

And more telling was the fact that when I had a leftover burger the next day, I chose to eat it without a bun. I will try these again as I still have the rest of a package. I have a veggie burger recipe in mind to try in the next week or so.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta Shells

I adjusted one of my usual recipes for Broccoli Raab Pasta to be gluten, dairy and soy free. My recipe is based off of this one that I found when surfing around. We have had Broccoli Raab 3 out of the last 5 weeks in our CSA box and this is what I have made each time.

Today I used a new-to-me type of pasta. The Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta Shells are actually a corn and quinoa blend pasta. I thought it turned out really well. I was really worried about overcooking them so I tested them every 1 minute after 6 minutes to be sure that did not happen.

These have twice as much fiber in them as the Brown Rice pasta I have been using and they were not pasty at all. I may not have cooked them the perfect amount of time as the texture was not perfect but I thought it was nice and my whole family ate it without complaint.

I guess my only real complaint is that the box size was very misleading. The box is the exact same size as a typical 1 pound box of pasta but it actually only has half as much pasta in it. I don't generally mention the price or cost of gluten-free foods as I feel like I just need to expect that it is more expensive. But it frustrated me because I feel like they designed it to mislead. I was shocked to open the box and discover it half-empty.

I have been looking for corn spaghetti noodles but have not found those yet.

Another Mistake - This time with Kinnikinnick's JB Brownie Squares

I decided to break out the Kinnikinnick brownies I bought for a little afternoon snack today. I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison to the brownies in my freezer from the batch I made last week .

Fortunately, I looked at the label again before opening them up. There is an ingredient on the list called lecithin. It does not say soy lecithin, just lecithin. That made me suspicious enough to pull up their website again and sure enough it says it contains soy. Oops.

I don't want all these goodies to go to waste. it is so frustrating to spend so much money on things that I can't eat.

Pizza with Kinnikinnick Crust

We eat pizza at our house about once a week. It is a great way to use up whatever leftovers we have. We typically eat veggie pizza with whatever we have that needs to be eaten. Before going off gluten, I would make the crust myself and I typically have cheese on hand so it was such a convenient meal to work in as needed.

A while back, I tried to make a gluten free pizza crust and it did not go very well at all. Tonight I tried the ready-made Kinnikinnck pizza crust. It was really good. I made my pizza with leftover spaghetti sauce and some leftover sauteed vegetables on a thawed crust and cooked in directly on the rack at 450 for 10-15 mins. It was crispy around the edges and really tasty. It was only slightly crumbly. I will definitely be having these again. What a handy thing to have around!

What I am Having For Dinner

I made big batches this week so I could have the same thing more than once for dinner, as well as having leftovers for lunch if needed.

1. Black Bean Tacos (on Corn taco shells) and Roasted Asparagus
2. Homemade Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce on Brown Rice Pasta and Salad
3. Same as above but served on polenta and Roasted Veggies
4. BBQ Chicken, Quinoa and Spinach

I think I discovered the "secret" to Quinoa. Well, it is not such a big secret but I did not realize that it tastes much better if you rinse it very well and then toast it before cooking. Very yummy.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats

Pooh! I was going to splurge on some of these when I went to PCC yesterday but they were all out. There was a little sign up that they were out of stock due to a problem at the factory. I can't remember what it said, but it made me think the machine was broken or something.

I was going to use them to make myself a batch of granola. Anyway, I really wanted that for breakfast today so instead I had Gorilla Munch. It is fine in a jam but not much to it and I got hungry really soon after.

Larabars - Excellent Snack Choice!

I love Larabars. I can't believe I haven't written about them before. They made such a good, simple, on-the-go snack. I actually found them even before this gluten-thing. I get very cranky when I am hungry. I was finding that I would be out with the kids and get hungry and either continue to be grumpy or stop for a Snickers bar or fast food. That ended when I started carrying Larabars. I have one of those instead.

I just love the short ingredients list. I am so thankful that i already was eating a snack I could continue to eat.

Here's what I have been having for Breakfast

1.
Peach-Strawberrry "Smoothie" with Rice Milk
Trader Joes Gluten Free Cranberry Maple Nut Granola

*Note - I still have some Lifestream Waffles in my freezer from last time I went GF but I realized this morning that they contain soy (the item I am adding to my restrictions this time). Luckily I found a bit of granola to eat.

2.
Bobs Mighty Good Breakfast Cereal
Eggs over easy
Lots of salt and pepper

*I served these together in a bowl and tried to use the egg yolk to mask the fact there was no butter!

3. Kinnikinnick Waffles

* I had these for the first time this week. I was not very excited. I hate to say it but I think I may like them better when gluten is a more distant memory. Anyway, I will finish off this box so maybe I will grow to like them. I did think they were better than the other gluten-free waffles I have tried.

Frustration

I am so frustrated with myself. I do such a poor job reading labels. I guess I redeem myself slightly by reading them over and over again so I always realize my error before eating the wrong thing.

After realizing my Mary's Gone Crackers weren't going to work, I realized I also have a box of Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins in my pantry. Right after I cut open the bag, I read the ingredients list for the 3rd or 4th time and discovered it contains milk - says it plainly right there on the package.

So frustrating that I have a whole stack of food that I can't eat -- and I am so hungry!

Brown Rice Pasta? Is there a trick?

I just can't figure it out. I have been buying Trader Joes Brown Rice Pasta. I know I have liked it some of the times I have made it but the last two times it has been not very good. Maybe pasty? Something off about it.

Anyone have any tricks for cooking gluten-free pasta?

Kinnikinnick Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Yum! Yum! My box from Kinnikinnick arrived today. I tried the Cinnamon Doughnuts. They were really good - a cakey doughnut. Maybe a bit dense but my kids and I all enjoyed them.

Looking forward to trying the other items I ordered (Not all desserts!)

Bob's Red Mill GF Brownie Mix

I had a craving for something sweet today after lunch so I mixed up a batch of Bob's Red Mill GF Brownies. When I read the directions, I was a bit stumped. I don't have any butter or margarine that does not contain dairy or soy. I ended up substituting canola oil. Not really sure how that affected the final produtct.

It satisfied the craving, but probably not something I will make again. I wasn't crazy about the overall flavor although I though the texture was pretty good. It made a big pan (good thing since this is pricey!) so I froze them individually to satisfy future cravings.

Mary's Gone Crackers Won't Work For Me

The crackers I ate last time I was off gluten were Mary's Gone Crackers - Original. In fact, I still had some left in my pantry. I pulled them out to check and see if they would work.

But no - they contain soy (tamari for flavoring) I tried to look through their site to see if any of their varieties of gluten-fre crackers were also soy-free, dairy free but it was hard to navigate through. I guess I will try to take a look next time I am in the store. Unfortunately, I still have 1.5 boxes of these that I can't eat.

Preparations - Soup and Salad

I start my diet restrictions on Tuesday so I have been busy preparing.

Today I made a giant pot of soup - the same one I mentioned before. I put some in the fridge to eat for lunch or snack or whatever and some I froze in individual servings for something quick when I am not prepared.

The other thing I am going to have on hand is salad stuff. I have lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, peas, corn, and mushrooms all ready to go. Last time, I had some frustration over salad dressing but since then I have actually been making my own (like a Good Seasons Italian type) so it is nice to be able to control that as well.

Chocolate Chips Containing Soy

When I was at Trader Joes last week, I was going to pick up some of their Semi-sweet chocolate chips. They do not contain dairy or gluten. I was just re-reviewing the ingredients as I put them in my cart and they contain soy lecithin - so back on the shelf they went.

Gluten-Free Salt Products

I was browsing around on the Mortons and I came across this information that I thought might come in handy.

Which Morton Salt products are gluten-free?http://www.mortonsalt.com/faqs/food_salt_faq.html#q2

Please be assured that the following Morton® products are gluten free:• Iodized Table Salt• Plain Table Salt • Coarse Kosher Salt• Sea Salt (Fine and Coarse)• Salt Substitute• Lite Salt™ Mixture• Salt & Pepper Shakers• Canning & Pickling Salt• Popcorn Salt• Nature’s Seasons® Seasoning Blend • Hot Salt™• Seasoned Salt• Garlic Salt• Sausage & Meat Loaf Seasoning• Tender Quick® • Sugar Cure® (Plain) • Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure®

Then when I saw Seasoned Salt in the list, it made me think to check the brand I have in my pantry which is Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Their website did not say but after browsing a bit around the internet I am pretty sure it is gluten-free. Apparently, Unilever (the parent company) is one that always declares gluten sources. Funny while I was looking, I discovered a place where someone posted the ingredients in their shaker and it contained soy lecithin. That scared me for a minute because I thought I had looked pretty closely but they must have taken it out because it is not on mine. No gluten, no dairy, no soy.

Peanut Butter

Fortunately, I am already accustomed to Natural Peanut Butter (which took me a while to adjust to, I admit) because some peanut butter contains soy.

I noticed that JIF Extra Crunchy (My husband eats this) contains soybean oil and we had the reduced fat version recently which had additional soy added, not just the oil.

I am so happy to know that my peanut butter only contains two things - peanuts and salt. Naturally gluten, soy and dairy free!

Soy-free Mayonnaise

Thanks so much for the tips on mayonnaise without soy.

Right now we are using Spectrum Naturals Canola Mayonnaise, although I got some comments for some possibly cheaper options when this jar runs out. I think I bought it at PCC Natural Markets.

So in addition to being soy-free it also appears to be gluten and dairy free. I'm thinking chicken salad or potato salad or egg salad. Maybe I can use some lettuce leaves (from our CSA) for the "bread."

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free and Soy-Free Shopping

Well I've been doing some menu planning and shopping. I am really excited about a little splurge of mine. I ordered some products to try from http://www.kinnikinnick.com/. I have heard (read) some good things about their products and I am looking forward to trying them next week and reviewing them here.

I had not previously noticed their products in my local stores and according to the product finder on the Kinnikinnick website, they did not have them at anywhere convenient. But when I was browsing at Fred Meyer today I noticed several of their products - although a couple we out of stock. Hopefully they are just really yummy and not discontineued. I did not compare prices but I will at some point.

Here is a list of the Kinnikinnick foods they were carrying at my Fred Meyer:

white sandwich bread

blueberry muffins

bagels

english muffins

Busy Preparing

I am busy preparing for a two-week trial diet. I will be avoiding gluten, soy AND dairy.

Last time I tried gluten-free, I jumped right in and found the first week or two very difficult so this time I am planning ahead - making a meal plan and researching some foods. It is much more difficult this time because last time I was gluten-free and dairy-free but this time I will be soy-free as well, and we know how many products have soy in them.