Gluten-Free Living Magazine

I just received my first issue(Fall 2012) of Gluten-Free Living Magazine.  This issue features a newly re-designed, reinvigorated Magazine.  Gluten-Free Living features departments such as:  Quick and Easy - highlighting a simple recipe; Family Matters - a series covering children's issue; Savings - offering both money and time saving tips and more; and Beyond Gluten Free - featuring other dietary concerns and restrictions.  A yearly six issue subscription costs $34 a year.
As helpful as the articles and recipes are, I always like the advertisements because I'm always on the lookout for new gluten-free products!

If you don't want yet another magazine cluttering your coffee table, Gluten-Free Living is also available as a newsstand app for your iPad or iPhone.  

Agave Cinnamon Roasted Squash

Ingredients

1 large Butternut Squash

2 TBSP Grapeola Oil or Olive Oil                            
1 TBSP butter - diced
1 TBSP light Agave Nectar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t nutmet
1/4 t ginger
fresh ground salt & pepper as desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Lightly butter a casserole dish
Better yet - line your casserole dish with foil lined parchment paper!  I love the stuff!
Peel, remove the seeds and dice a butternut squash.
Place squash in a large bowl and toss with all ingredients.

Pour squash into your casserole dish.

Bake for 1 hour.  Stir every 20 minutes to ensure even roasting.

You'll love the aroma this creates in your kitchen almost as much as tasting this savory dish!

Gluten Free World

Check this out - Gluten Free World!  It's like Pintrest except it's entirely gluten-free!  How amazing is that?!  GF World provides a format for quickly and easily sharing information on gluten free products, books, cookbooks, resources etc.  Be careful - once you get started it's dangerously addictive:o)

Carmelized Parsnips with Fancy Potatoes

 Ingredients

1/2 vidalia onion

3 large parsnips

1/2 lb fancy potatoes

2 TBSP crushed garlic cloves

2 TBSP minced ginger 
2 TBSP olive oil

Peel, slice & saute the onion in the olive oil over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until the onion is slightly caramelized.

While the onion is sauteing, peel & slice the parsnips into rounds.  Add to the onions and continue to saute for another 20 minutes.

Wash, dice and boil the fancy potatoes for 20 minutes until just tender.

Reduce heat to low and add the garlic and ginger to the parsnip mixture.  Saute over low heat for 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and add to parsnip mixture.

Saute for another 10 minutes.

Season with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.

Because this recipe has a lengthy cooking time, I typically prepare it late afternoon as the kids are doing their homework.  The kitchen fills with a sweet aroma and I can supervise the cooking and the homework at the same time.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash

2 TBSP Light Agave Nectar

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil(EVOO)

1 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground nutmeg

sea salt & cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel, remove seeds and cut squash into bit sized pieces.
Place squash in a large bowl & mix with all ingredients.

Transfer to a casserole dish.

Bake for 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes to cook evenly & caramelize all sides.

Serve warm.

Enjoy all the naturally gluten-free health benefits of butternut squash!  Butternut squash is a rich source of dietary fiber, and is high in vitamin A.  Better yet, these squash contain iron, zinc, copper, calcium, phosphorous and potassium, which is important for bone health which is critical for Celiacs.

So, roast, bake, sautee or puree a nice warm, healthy, naturally gluten-free butternut squash this season.

Gluten-Free Roasted Fancy Potatoes

Ingredients

approximately 1 1/2 lbs. fancy potatoes

2-3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

2 TBSP crushed garlic

Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Fresh basil

Rinse and halve or quarter all potatoes.

Rinse again to remove excess starch and any remaining soil.

Transfer to a medium sized pot, fill with cold water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Boil 15 minutes - until just tender.

While the potatoes are boiling, chop a handful of fresh basil, line a roasting pan with foil lined parchment paper and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Drain the potatoes.

Cover the potatoes with the EVOO, crushed garlic, fresh chopped basil sea salt and cracked black pepper and stir gently to coat.

Transfer the potatoes to the roasting pan.  I love this roasting pan because it has a removable rack and handles.  

Roast for 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve warm and enjoy.

Special Diets for Special Kids

Although Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis, PHd, was not written specifically for kids with CD, it provides a tremendous amount of information pertaining to the gut, absorption and metabolization of food.  Special Diets is specifically aimed at understanding dietary intervention for children with autism. The brain-gut connection is explored in great detail and the author cites several medical studies in support of her theory for the removal of gluten and casein from the diets of children with autism to help improve behavior.
If your child has autism, Special Diets is a wonderful resource offering a deep analysis of the benefits of a gluten free/casein free diet.  An entire chapter discusses vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are often lacking in children with autism.  Since the gf/cf diet can be somewhat limiting, supplements are often necessary.  However, make sure those supplements are gf and cf.
Special Diets provides over 200 kid friendly gf and cf recipes ranging from muffins and smoothies to holiday and ethnic fare.  
We are looking forward to making the Kiddie Colada and the Panda Puff Chocolate Crisps.  We'll let you know how they turn out!

Gluten-free Sour Cream Dip

Sour Cream Veggie Dip

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup chopped mixed veggies 
                  approx: 1 scallion
                  1/2 cucumber - seeds removed
                  2 large carrots - peeled
                  1/4 orange pepper
sea salt
black pepper
1/4 fresh lemon

Prepare all veggies and place in a food processor.  Blend until just smooth.  Be careful not to puree.

Measure sour cream and yogurt into a medium sized mixing bowl.
Fold in the veggies.

Add fresh ground sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Squeeze the juice of 1/4 fresh lemon.  Be careful not to add too much lemon or your dip will be runny:(

Mix, transfer to a serving bowl & garnish.
This dip works well with gluten-free chips, crackers or a fresh veggie platter!

Roasted Garden Veggies

Roasted Beets and Veggies

4 TBSP Olive Oil

2 large red potatoes

4 beets

2 carrots

1 large shallot

1/3 cup each fresh basil, chives rosemary

sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

serves 4-6
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Quarter the red potatoes.  Peel and quarter the beets.  Peel and cut the carrots into bite sized pieces. Quarter the shallot.  Chop the fresh herbs.

Put the veggies and herbs in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Line a roasting pan with foil lined parchment paper.
Transfer the vegetables to the roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil.
Roast for 45 minutes.
Stir and remove foil cover.
Roast an additional 15 minutes.

Serve warm.

Delight gluten free Magazine

The Summer 2012 issue of Delight: gluten free was the first delightful issue I have read.  Delight was included as part of the care package my little guy received from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center.  Delight is described as, "the magazine for those with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, food allergies and sensitivities".
Features in this issue include: Beer Bites, Cooking with Watermelon, and Culinary Genius: Chef Ming Tsai.  Each issue offers content categories such as: Enlighten, Indulge, Healthy Living and Travel and Leisure.
Delight's editor is Vanessa Maltin Weisbrod, author or Beyond Rice Cakes and the gloriously gluten-free cookbook.  I absolutely love the layout of the Recipe Index - a quick guide that reveals which allergens each recipe is free of!
The informational content on Celiac Disease health issues, travel information, recipes, easy-to-read format  along with beautiful photography throughout, make this delightful magazine a must-have for any CD family!

Zucchini Latkes

WOW! Nine & a half stars for the zucchini latkes according to my toughest food critic!  That's huge coming from a child who only lies to eat white bread with yellow cheese or pasta with butter!
Our garden zucchini were ripe, so, as promised, we tested the latke recipe from Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe and Guidebook for Gluten-Free Kids by the Paleo Parents.  This was also my first attempt at cooking/frying with coconut oil.  The recipe was easy to follow, only calling for a few ingredients, my favorite kind of recipe:o)

The only thing I will do differently when making the latkes next time, is using less oil.  I did find the latkes to be a bit oily.  Other than that - a huge success and my kids ate lots of zucchini for dinner!

Jason's Corn Salad

Every Saturday evening we pack up our kids, our portable grill, a bottle of wine, beach chairs and tables and head to the beach where we meet friends for dinner.  We share laughter, food, recipes and have a friendly "competition" as to who creates the best meal.  My favorite undoubtedly is Jason's Corn Salad!  Thanks for sharing Jason:o)

Ingredients

1 avocado - diced

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1/4 cup fresh cilantro - chopped

2 TBSP red onion - chopped

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup  honey

1 garlic clove - crushed

1/3 cup  olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Combine corn, avocado, cilantro and red onion in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, honey, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Whisk well until combined.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.

Chill 1 hour before serving.

Serves 4.

Optional - grill 1 pound of shrimp and toss with salad immediately before serving.

Eat Like a Dinosaur

Fascinating food for thought.  An interesting introduction to the paleo inspired diet.  Eat Like a Dinosaur, written by The Paelo Parents, has caused me to think about food differently, has caused me to question my food sources and has served as a debatable topic of conversation among me and my foodie friends.
Truly more than a cookbook, Eat Like a Dinosaur is a guidebook full of advice on kitchen tools and accessories, explanations of different ingredients such as arrowroot powder and coconut aminos, and helpful tips on how to get your kids involved in the kitchen.
However, I do not eat red meat and haven't in over 25 years so I wont be making half of the recipes in this book.  But, Eat Like a Dinosaur does offer over 10 gluten free, dairy free, peanut free and soy free recipes.  A full color photo accompanies each recipe along with helpful hints and instructions for how your kids can help.
I have bookmarked 5 specific recipes to try.  The first one being Zucchini Latkes.  I'll get back to you as soon as my garden zucchini are ready to harvest!
To connect with the paleo parents please visit them at:
paleoparents.com or paleo parents on facebook

Living Without Gluten-Free Magazine

Several weeks after our diagnosis, a friend of my mom's (who has Celiac Disease) passed along an extra copy of a magazine she had called Living Without.  I sat down and read the magazine cover-to-cover.  It proved to be a phenomenal resource full of medical information, personal stories, product information and terrific recipes.  I immediately subscribed to the magazine and even ordered several back issues.  The main focus of Living Without is living without gluten, however, each issue also offers a variety of well researched articles focusing on living without tree nuts, dairy, soy etc.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every issue.  A year and a half later and I still love this magazine.  Each issue features articles covering topics such as:  Life Stories; Favorite Products & Books; Ask the Chef; and feature articles ranging from Anaphylaxis to Flying the Friendly Skies.  Some of my favorite feature articles have been Special Diet Romance February/March 2012; Nutrients, Probiotics, Enzymes October/November 2011 and Celiac Disease April/May 2012.  Each issue also has a guide entitled Substitution Solutions to help you modify recipes to make them gluten-free, dairy free, egg free and nut free.  It's also a great resource to share with family members or friends who cook for you on occasion.

I highly recommend Living Without, despite the price($23 for 6 issues), for anyone Living With Celiac Disease.