Gluten Free

I read an article that said, 1/3 of Canadians are eating gluten free. It is not because they have been diagnosed with Celiac, it is a choice they are making for better health. They have a variety of reasons; I believe the main one is that they feel better without gluten. 

I went gluten free once. Not sure what the reason was, but it lasted 1.5 days. I went all in and bought the gluten free bread and some mixes for treats. The bread was horrid and the mixes equally as bad. I don't usually give up so quickly, but there had to be a better way, such as starving. I don't think at that point in my life, I was ready to understand gluten-free, let alone eat that way. 

I recently had a wonderful house guest that chooses to eat gluten free. She was ever so kind as to tell me to make what I wanted, not to worry she knew what to stay away from. When I have guests my go to foods are "solid carbs". Bread, buns, cinnamon buns, cheese buns, cookies, cakes and the list goes on. Oddly, I didn't feel lost in all of this. I knew that if I didn't pull my flour container out, it was a good start to serving gluten free food. I also knew I was not serving food to someone with Celiac, that would be a whole other issue. They have to be so very careful with gluten. I was looking forward to the challenge. 

When I have company, I always pre plan my menu. I don't have a lot of food in my house so this step is a must. I thought breakfast would be the hardest meal to prepare without gluten. So, the new menu consisted of baked eggs and potato pancakes, vegetable omelet and bacon, skillet stir fry and lastly, it is always good when the guest prepares her oatmeal/banana pancakes. They are lovely topped with jam or peanut butter.

 

Our lunches and snacks were at "Lady of the Lake", Souris's bakery and "Farmhouse 50" in Minnedosa. I love how the restaurants cater to gluten free, for those that choose to eat that way. The gluten free brownie at Lady of the Lake was indescribable. I think when you want to lick the plate nothing more needs to be said.  

Gluten free suppers consisted of a charcuterie board, cobb salad, roast chicken and vegetables. It was probably the easiest meal to prepare. 

Since I always feel deprived if I can't eat dessert, I dove into finding dessert recipes. I was determined not to feel deprived, so I made a chocolate Rice Krispie cake, no bake oatmeal monster bars and rice pudding. 

You can only imagine how much I appreciated the chance to be almost gluten free for more than 1.5 days. The amazing part here is I wasn't looking for toast at breakfast or a sandwich for lunch. I have to admit, the massive apple fritter from the Souris bakery, was a great carb fix. Let's keep it real, I love bread, and I have come to realize bread is easy. There is nothing quicker or simpler than toast or a sandwich. It is also my comfort food. Gluten free eating is more work, or so I thought. For some reason I am not a fan of cutting up fruits and vegetables. It is certainly more time consuming than throwing a piece of bread into the toaster. 

I actually had fun with the change in menu. I realize this is not a new way of eating for many, but for me it was. I broke my record of 1.5 days and that is remarkable. I think what might have worked better for me would have been to start with small changes. Plunging into something is never a good idea. 

To close this post out, I thought this would be a good time to share some of my recipes. So here goes: 

No Bake Oatmeal Monster Bars

Combine: 6 tbsp of margarine, 6 tbsp white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup peanut butter, vanilla, salt. Add 6 tbsp of pulsated oatmeal and 1 1/2c of oatmeal. I used quick oats. Add 1/2 cup of M&Ms. Press into 8X8 pan. 

Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with 3 tbsp cream or milk. Pour over cake. 

You can top with more M&Ms or I used coconut. 

Banana Oat Pancakes

2 ripe bananas, 2 eggs and 1 cup of oats.

Mix well and fry like a pancake.

Serve with pancake syrup, peanut butter or jam.

Rice Pudding

Combine in a saucepan:

2/3 cup Minute Rice, 3 1/3 cup of milk, 1/4tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3c sugar, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of raisins.

Bring to a boil over medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. When nearly done, mix some pudding with an egg yolk and add to saucepan to cook the egg. Ready to serve.