Believing that the gluten free life style can be fun and fulfilling is a lot like believing in Santa Claus. Some days are harder than others. I hope you're enjoying a wonderful and 'safe' holiday season

Today I enjoyed gluten free oatmeal cookies made with oats packaged by Trader Joes. I enjoyed the cookies very much, but that is not what I want to write about. My wife was very pleased with the price of the cookie mix. When I took the package to write this review, I found out why.

Yesterday I listed six more establishments on our "Gluten Free Bakeries" power page. Please check them out, particularly if you are residents or frequent visitors to Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Minnesota, New York or Oregon. Power Pages will play an increasingly important role on my website in 2012. Our power pages will include Gluten...

"I'm overwhelmed with the number of options [available to persons looking for a flour mix for making gluten free bread] and since they're all pretty expensive, I hesitate to try them all." I got this note in response to the article I posted yesterday promising a survey to determine the best gluten free all-purpose flour...

The ‘taste and feel' of baked products is determined in large measure by the flour(s) used to prepare them. American's are accustomed to baked foods made from wheat flour. Most recipes are written on the assumption that wheat flour will be used. No single flour mimics the ‘taste and feel' of wheat flour and recipes...

Host your own New Year's Eve party. Making everything gluten free is the surest way to keep everyone on their gluten free diet. Serve dishes that are delicious by anyone's standards. I feel awkward publishing this article during the week before Christmas when all of attention is focused elsewhere, but — let's face it —...

Try these "Five Easy Gluten Free Kwanzaa Recipes". If you need more ideas, here are five more recipes provided by Triumph Dining. When I began researching this article, I had heard of this celebration but really knew almost nothing about it. I discovered that it is one of the few holidays young enough to have an

Today I added new material to our "Gluten Free Pizza Restaurants" power page. We now list nine national pizzeria chains plus at least 55 individually owned restaurants in at least 24 states. Eventually, we will enable everyone in the nation to enjoy a gluten free pizza in a 'safe restaurant'. When I was writing this article,...

Gluten free bakeries are wonderful places and the joy of eating a bakery product still warm from an expert baker's oven is a pleasure that people who live gluten free can enjoy. We do need to know where to look — most bakeries are small independently owned establishments. Today I added five new names

"Christmas time is here by golly…disapproval would be folly." So would wasting any more of your valuable time as Christmas descends upon us. I too used the internet to deal with several issues that I need to resolve before I hang up my stocking. I'd like to share a few of the things I discovered

Dried fruit is almost certainly OK on the gluten free diet. I found nothing to suggest a problem. Of course, dried food is a food that has been processed at unsafe ingredients may have cross-contaminated the fruit. Fortunately, the dried fruit probably comes in a container with an ingredients list. Read that list, and —

Be prepared for a challenge this Christmas, particularly if this is your first gluten free holiday season. You'll be surrounded by family and friends that you have not seen since prior to your decision to go gluten free. Here are a few ideas that may help: Feel free to use the term ‘allergy', even though it

Here's some ideas about how to show hospitality to your gluten free guests this holiday season: If you are using computer search engines to plan your meal, use the terms ‘holiday', ‘Christmas', and ‘Thanksgiving'. As far as meal planning is concerned, you will get more relevant information but most of that information will apply ...

Rising Sun Farms produces gluten free cheese snacks and spreads that taste great and are packaged well enough so that they can be displayed on any gluten free table. I particularly enjoyed their pesto and cream cheese torta and their artichoke cheese torta. There are lots of spreads and dips that would look fantastic on

Christmas mixes in a jar make unique gifts in that they are relatively inexpensive, help gluten free children decide which of their favorite foods are worth sharing with friends, and are a joyful experience for gift makers young and old. Young gift makers can learn more about how to identify a recipe that is gluten

Cafe Press is a fun place to shop. People who live gluten free, and everyone else for that matter, can see thousands of different artwork and slogans embossed on thousands of different products.? Since there are six million plus options available, let me walk you through the steps of how to get started. ? Use the

Amazon (dot com) offers a tremendous variety of gluten free gift basket. This article shows you 19 baskets that I would love to give or receive. If you want to do some more electronic window shopping before you decide, try The Gluten Free Palace or The Royal Basket Company This firm is currently offering a

A kitchen makeover (or partial makeover) is a wonderful Christmas gift and a very practical one in homes that have recently gone gluten free. Here are four articles that may give you ideas: Seven Helpful Tools for Gluten Free Cooks Frugal Gluten Free Cooking Tools that Stretch Your Budget Does

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake was one of the biggest hits at our annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Even a few of my gluten-wary friends (the relatives who eat gluten free food only to placate me) seemed to be enjoying it. To the best of my memory it is the first angel food cake I've had since

Cookbooks are welcome gifts for people who cook gluten free food. Click on the title of each book to read my thoughts on each book. If you decide to order the book for Amazon (dot com), click the graphic on the review page or the click on the book cover pictured below. The books I

Your first question is probably "what's flammkucken?" It's a German delicacy, a bit like pizza but made with cheeses, bacon, and many other ingredients but not involving tomato paste. The term flammkuchen translates "made in flames". Here are three recipes for flammkuchen. Each recipe includes photos for the benefit of those have not yet had the...

Saturday November 26 has been declared "small business Saturday", and many gluten free food related enterprises are small — sometimes very small — businesses. There are so many of them that listing them would be absolutely impossible but are a few ideas: most of the places mentioned on our ‘Gluten Free Pizza Restaurants‘ and...

Recipes for gluten free desserts are available on the internet. You're only problem will be TMI (Too Much Information). Have a look at these three sets of recipes and you will find a total of 30 choices. (There may be some duplicates.) Click here and/or here and/or here to explore. I've posted at least seven articles

Holiday dinners inevitably have leftovers. Here are a number of ideas that may be useful. After all, we don't want to waste food, spend any more money on food than we have to, and enjoy relaxed post-holiday meals. Browse through these suggestions. Click here and/or here to find ideas that I added recently. I have written

Tiramisu is a traditionally popular Italian dessert. Here is Betty Crocker's recipe, which can be served as a parfait, as cupcakes, as tiramisu bars, or in the familiar cakes using lady fingers as a base. Gluten free lady fingers are available from Dr Schar or from the Gluten Free Pantry. They are probably avail where you

In all the recipes that I examined, most suggest using alcoholic beverages of some sort but specify that this is optional. Also, all the recipes require flour but I see no reason why gluten free flour mixes could not be used. Here are three more recipes for gluten free fruit cake. In all three of these,

Rice Krispie Treats and snack mixes made with Chex cereals are wonderful holiday snacks. However. this year they present challenges for people who live gluten free. There are now two types of Rice Krispies, regular and gluten free. I enjoy Rice Krispie treats, but I won't be able to eat them unless they are clearly

Eggnog is available to everyone, including those who live gluten free and those who need casein and/or dairy free foods. Even people who cannot tolerate eggs can join in this holiday tradition. Liquor is listed in many recipes, but always with the statement that these ingredients are optional. Gluten free eggnog will probably in the dairy

Cranberry sauce is almost certainly gluten free. Ocean Spray assures us in the FAQ section of its website that cranberry sauce is 'safe' or at least that all its suppliers claim that their cranberry sauce is gluten free. Fortunately, cranberry sauce is very easy to prepare at home and virtually anything that is homemade tastes better...

Turkey is the most popular choice for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, but ham, duck, or goose are also possibilities. Here are links to several You-Tube demonstrations that may interest you: ? Ham. Watch this honey baked ham demonstration or this video explaining how to create a brown sugar and honey crusted ham. ? Duck. Here is all

Gluten free beer can be used prepare a 'safe' batter for almost anything that is deep fried. The writers of these articles don't recommend a specific brand, so I guess it is up to you. Here is the recipe for (gluten free) battered fish fry and this recipe will allow you to enjoy gluten free beer-battered

This frozen pizza is made from tapioca starch, milk, whole eggs, tomato paste, citric acid, and non-GMO canola oil. Thus, it has the only pizza crust that can described as ‘naturally gluten free'. The pizza is also yeast, corn, soy, rice, and sugar free. The facility is dedicated gluten free — employees are not even

Clara learned to cook during the great depression, learned the art of cooking while living in a home without electricity, and was in her 90's when she wrote down her recipes and made a series of video demonstrations of her cooking. Obviously, cooking during the depression was ‘cooking on a budget'. Clara did not set

First of all, this is not a food blog, It's a personal finance blog devoted to "large living on a small budget". However, at least one of the bloggers has a gluten free spouse and there are a number of articles that meet our needs. "I am a very frugal person. So when my husband

Here's how to equip a gluten free kitchen. The article was written by a person who takes care of a gluten spouse and also writes a blog on frugal living. What a combination!! !! The article is titled "Frugal Gluten Free Living: Kitchen Tools that Stretch Your Budget and Your Time". Obviously, gluten

Here are four links to coffee creamers that indicate that their products are gluten free. The FAQ sections of these manufacturers indicate that their products are safe for us: Coffee Mate, International Delight Coffee Creamers, Rich's Coffee Creamers, and Bailey's Coffee Creamers. I looked at several more sites and got no indication that coffee cre...

As some of you know, my wife Patty suffered a heart attack in March and required double-bypass surgery. Her recovery has been miraculous. She has more energy and enthusiasm (and quite probably a longer life expectancy) than during the past year when the heart problem was festering. Hallelujah. Thanks