Soups On!

Great I live in the Northwest where you can almost eat soup year round. Soup is such a versatile food that is easy to adjust to whatever food allergies you have. I have made two gluten-free soups this week.

This one was born of desperation and turned out super tasty - 5 minutes start to finish!

4 cups chicken broth

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 cup cooked ground beef (I had some in my freezer)

1 cup frozen corn

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper to taste

This was really yummy!

So Delicious Dairy-Free Soy-Free Yogurt

I tried a Turtle Mountain So Delicious yogurt made with coconut milk. It was awesome! The flavor I bought was Passionate Mango. The flavor was so good and it was very rich and creamy.

I'd like to try some of the other flavors. This is the only dairy-free yogurt I have liked.

And according to their website, it is also certified gluten-free.

Best Foods (Hellmann's) Mayonnaise Update

When I looked at Best Foods Canola mayonnaise previously, it was not soy-free.

I took another look today at the Best Foods Canola Mayonnaise and it appears they have removed the soy! It is also clearly labeled as Gluten-Free. This is a lot cheaper than the Spectrum Brand I have been buying so I am very glad they made the change.

Soy has taken over the world!

Has soy always been so pervasive or is it increasing at a rapid rate???

I typically make our own bread but lately have been in situations where I needed to buy bread products. It has been a challenge to find bread that does not contain soy flour.

When visiting my mother recently, she wanted to make a casserole with Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup in it but that contained soy protein. I looked later at the store and all brands and all varieties of Cream of X soup contained soy protein.

And finally today, the glaze packet that came with our Christmas ham contains soy flour. Agh! Good thing it will be a simple thing to come up with on the fly since we won't be able to use the glaze packet!

Gluten-Free Cornbread

Last time I made cornbread, I used a mix. This time, I made my old cornbread recipe which calls for half flour, half cornmeal and substituted brown rice flour for the all purpose flour.

This turned out so, so good! I think the texture may have been even better than when making it with regular flour. I liked this gluten-free cornbread a lot and I am sure it comes out cheaper this way than buying a mix.

Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom Bar

This is a dairy,gluten, nut and soy free chocolate rice-milk bar. I like that they are very safe - without the 8 common allergens and tested to be sure they are safe.

The flavor was very good, tasted like a chocolate bar. The texture was not as great. I bought mine a few months ago, so I thought it may be a bit old, but there is not a "use by" date on there so I am not sure. The bar is just really hard to bite and there is no creamy or melt in your mouthness to the chocolate.

It sure does satisfy that chocolate craving though.

Yummy Rice Chips!

I found a really tasty GF snack chip. These are really really good! Not as hard and dry as rice crackers. More like the texture of a light Triscuit or Sun Chip. And they have lots of flavor.

Allergy note - contains sesame seeds and dairy

Diet Changes

Well, I have been mulling over this post for quite a while trying to figure out exactly what I want to say about my diet, and my journey for health over the past year. But I guess I am not feeling very introspective today, and I definitely have very little clarity and confidence in my next steps. So this will be short.

Basically, I am not longer following a gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free diet. I don't believe it improved the way I felt at all and did not resolve the problems I was trying to address when I made the big change. It is frustrating and I am confused about what to do with all the information and diagnosis I received from my naturopath. I just couldn't find the motivation to keep it up when I still felt badly.

My son is still allergic to several foods, so I may continue to post some related items here. Besides that, I doubt I will be posting much for a while so I can go and figure out my next steps.

Thanks to everyone I met in the GF community who was so helpful and willing to take their time to help me. I really do appreciate it.

Taco Recipe Online!

I just realized that the black bean taco recipe I use almost every week is actually online! It is so good.

Black Bean Taco recipe from Vegetarian Times

Give it a try! Our family loves it.

Kinnikinnick Brownies

I posted a while back about how I had bought brownie squares from Kinnikinnick and then discovered they contain soy lecitin. They have been sitting in my freezer since then.

I am eating soy now (long story!) so I figured I would pull them out and give them a try. I hate food to go to waste.

They are not bad. My reigning favorite is still the Namaste brownie mix. Unfortunately I was not able to do a side-by-side taste test so it is hard to do a good comparison. The texture of the Kinnikinnick ones are good and there is no weird flavor or chalkiness. It is denser that the Namaste one, maybe more fudgy than brownie like. I prefer the Namaste texture and the flavor as well.

I'd say if you can't get the Namaste ones, these are a good thing to have!

Cooking Light June 2008 Recipe - Greek Lamb Pilaf

I was excited when I saw this recipe as I have both parsley and mint growing in my herb garden and I am always looking for ways to use them. This was pretty good but not that great. I don't eat lamb very often and usually only when dining out. The ground lamb did not really stand out in the dish, in fact, my husband thought it was ground beef until I told him. One thing I would do differently is to drain it after cooking the lamb, as I thought the dish was a bit greasy.

Oh well, better luck next time.

think Organic bars

Tried another bar for when we are on the go...

Not as happy with this one. I tried the apricot coconut one. It just wasn't very interesting.

I like the Boomi Bars and Lara Bars better. Plus this was really expensive where I bought it - like $2.50!

Cooking Light June 2008 Recipe - Chipotle Salmon Burgers

I really enjoyed looking through the June issue - and I flagged a lot of things that happened to be GF, or could be with minimal effort.

These salmon burgers are GF as long as you leave off the bun. It was easy to whip up in the food processor. We liked them pretty well but did not think it was particularly exciting. I might increase the cilantro and green onions in the future.

In addition to the items mentioned, I also topped mine with avocado which I thought was a great addition.

3 Grain Breakfast Porridge

I am still working on healthy breakfasts. I had a revelation the other day that I just need to come up with 2 breakfasts and then I can just alternate them. Then, if I am lucky and can add a third to the mix then I will really be doing well.

That will be a huge improvement from the standing at tha pantry groaning every morning.

I tried to make a porridge from millet, amaranth and quinoa but wasn't that crazy about it. I think it tasted just like quinoa and just didn't taste breakfasty, or any different from the quinoa I eat frequently at dinner.

Hmm! Maybe I will try it with just millet and amaranth....

Boomi Bars

Wow! These Boomi Bars are GOOD!

I have tried two of the many varieties

• Fruit and Nut
• Maple Pecan

and I liked them both.

Both are free of soy, gluten and dairy - of course, and both tasted really nice.

I like that in addition to fruits, nuts and seeds, they also contain amaranth, which is supposed to be a really healthy grain.

The ones I bought initially were $2 each which is of course pricey. But I ordered some from the Boomi Bar website and they were a bit cheaper than that, even with shipping. In fact they have a flat shipping rate for the first 7 or so boxes so if you could find someone to split an order with, you could get it down even further.

Since I have 2 boxes now, I am going to have to be careful to make sure I ration them out over time, but I love having an option to keep in my purse for times I get hungry unexpectedly and also to take on hikes for when I need an energy boost!

Chebe Flatbread

This Chebe bread is pretty cool. I have only tried one kind - the flatbread - but I would definitely like to try the others - like pizza crust and cinnamon rolls!

That said, I am not quite certain it turned out right, as far as texture but the flavor was good and it was so nice to have something bread-like. It was VERY easy to make and didn't seem all that expensive for a specialty item of that kind.

I'll have to do some more research...

Peach Coconut Milk "Ice Cream"

I should have known it was too easy to be good!

I ran across a recipe for Peach Coconut Milk "Ice Cream" and I thought, "great, I have all the ingredients on hand." I should have stopped when I realized that the can of coconut milk I had was low-fat but I just steamrolled ahead. When I get an idea in my head, watch out!

Anyway, basically you blend up 2 cups fruit (I used Peach), and then add a can of coconut milk and put that mixture in the freezer for about an hour (according to the directions).

No go! I think it was mainly the lowfat coconut milk - the fat content was all wrong for a good freeze. It took way longer to even resemble frozen and when it did, it was icy.

Live and learn.... I may have to splurge for some of that coconut ice cream I have recently heard has popped up in the grocery store.

Ragu Pasta Sauce

I have a bunch of jars of Ragu pasta sauce that I got at some point on a really good sale. Of course, they put SOYBEAN OIL in there. It is just becoming more and more clear that I need to make everything at home with multiple allergies to worry about. Fortunately, I had some homemade tomato sauce in my freezer I could pull out and use instead.

It is really better this way anyway, because when you cook at home:

• your food contains less ingredients (you don't throw random things like soy lecithin or preservatives in your food)
• you know what is in your food (you know the ingredients AND you actually know what it is - not some words you have never heard before)
• you can control exactly what is in your food
• you can make it the way you like it

That said, you will still see me buying some specialty allergen-free convenience food. I am still totally new to this restricted diet so I have a lot to learn about how to make some foods, especially baked items.

More Mayonnaise Drama

I may have to rename this blog "The Mayonnaise Chronicles"

Mayo appears to be my favorite topic, which is funny because I have never been a big mayonnaise fan. But for some reason I am eating more of it than usual. I think that since I am not eating bread or sandwiches, I am making more salads and some of them (chicken salad, potato salad) are mayo based.

Anyway, on my last trip to PCC I stopped in the mayonnaise section to get the Spectrum Canola Mayo I have bought before. As always, I reviewed the labeling and noticed it did not say Gluten-Free. I had a little moment of stress there in the aisle. I could not remember if I had verified it was GF or not.

I bought it anyway and headed home. At home, I checked my old almost empty jar and it says GF. Now I was really worried. Maybe they had realized they were not actually GF and removed it from the packaging. Oh no! So off I went to their website and here is what I found:

Are Spectrum's Mayonnaise products gluten-free?

All of Spectrum's Mayonnaise and Mayonnaise products are gluten free, and our new labels are marked 'Gluten Free.'

While all of Spectrum's Mayonnaise and Mayo products contain white vinegar derived from corn and rye, the gluten is removed while distilling the alcohol. The mixture of grains - the mash - that has fermented is heated. The gluten stays in the tank while the alcohol is distilled and then rectified. Due to consumer inquiries, we also had a gluten analysis done and no gluten was found in the alcohol.

from: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=15

Whew! Not sure how I ended up with one not labeled GF since the date is later than my old jar but looks like I am safe. I can continue eating Spectrum Canola Mayonnaise as a gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free choice!

Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries

I recently bought two bags of fries at the store, just to have on hand to help fix quick meals.

We liked the Sweet Potato Fries. They actually did get crispy which is very hard to do. When I have tried to make them myself, they have never done that. When I have the time, I think I just prefer to bake my own sweet potato chunks. We all like them that way too, and no added ingredients!

We also tried the Salt and Pepper Crinkle Fries. I liked these but my husband only likes skinny fries and my kids thought the pepper was too spicy!

It was handy to have these around, to complete some simple meals without gluten, dairy or soy.