Two more new mixes!

I am certainly not feeling deprived for sweets!  In fact, I think my body is not sure what to do with all these treats all the time.  I may have to detox later, but I must continue these experiments of gluten-free mixes for now.  This is the 5th week of my six-week experiment. What I do in the name of science! :)

Judy, my mother-in-law, got us a sampling of the King Arthur Flour mixes to try.  Over the weekend, we decided to try their brownie mix and muffin mix.  They are both very good, and come the closest to my memory of the texture of wheat. The flavors are also really good.  As those of you following this blog can already guess, I added about two tablespoons of applesauce to each mix while preparing them.

The brownies came out moist, just the right texture, and super yummy.  I thought they tasted a little cake-like, but it could also be that they just had a more "wheat-like" texture and feel.  And, I know they're good when Geoff is also eating them, rather than "saving" them for me.   Geoff helped me with test the batter too, and said it was the best batter so far.  His comment was that "King Arthur's done their homework."

I also made the muffin mix.  Wow.  Really good.  They are nice and light.  Again, the texture reminds me of my memory of wheat.  Alexander also likes them, not surprisingly.  I added chocolate chips, to  make them more dessert-like.

Judy also got us some of the King Arthur's gf flour.  I'm planning to use it in my next gf recipe experiment. Thus, over the weekend, I also did the shopping prep for the Triple Ginger Tea Loaf listed in Annalise Robert's cookbook.   After all this research, I think that I may finally be getting over my fear of "the gums" (xantham gum, guar gum, etc.).  I realized that the Co-Op has xantham gum in bulk, so I don't have to commit to buying a lot at a time.  And, the one critique I continue to have of mixes (ALL mixes) is that I can't control the sweetness.  Mixes tend to be sweeter than I like, so that may also be moving me towards flours rather than mixes.

While at the co-op, I also got some Teff (a gf Ethiopian grain) so I can try the breakfast recipe in the Whole Life cookbook.  Stay tuned!

Work Functions With Food

This continues to be an issue in most cases. The good news is that people are often now aware it is an issue. And, the consistent gold standard for good gf options seems to be meetings where food is prepared by either University Housing and Dining Services or the Cultural Meals Program. Those groups tend to ask if there are dietary restrictions and provide gf options.

Our International Programs events are also getting better. Cindy and Amelia did a tamale luncheon fundraiser for the OSU annual food drive, and the tamales were homemade, gf, and delicious. Cindy and Marion just did a Stone Soup Fundraiser (also for the food drive) where both soups were gluten free and delicious. I brought in the gf cupcakes, so there were even desserts. And, there was also recently a taco bar luncheon and a baked potato bar luncheon, which are great for gf options. I think Rachel FM, Renee and Cindy were coordinating those ones.

It was an issue on Friday when there were bag lunches with sandwiches. I can take off the bread and add my own gf bread, but I am feeling the fact that the sandwich insides were touched by wheat!

And, it will be an issue again on Monday when a "pizza party" is being provided by an outside source. Pizza parties are such a standard American way of providing food to large groups. Pizza parties are also obviously problematic for people with lactose/casein intolerance. Though it was checked, there are no gf pizza options at 11 am in Corvallis.

Good looking Cookbooks

As I eat my rice cereal for breakfast, I am reading about much more interesting meals. I tried the Bob Red Mill's Creamy Rice hot cereal, and think perhaps I'm not a creamy rice cereal kind of girl. It's not that it's bad, but rather that even with yogurt and flax seeds, it's not very interesting.

I got two recommended cookbooks from the public library this week. They are:
The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre (recommended by my cousin, Sarah), and
Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts (recommended on the GF RN's blog).

They both are filled with a lot of good sounding recipes. The Whole Life Nutrition one has gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free recipes. The Baking Classics is gluten-free but not vegan.

What is striking my fancy this morning are recipies like the Triple Ginger Tea Loaf, Lemon Poppyseed Tea Loaf, Lemon Squares, Biscotti (from the Baking Classics) and Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls (with whipped potatoes as well as rice flour! - from the Whole Life Nutrition). The Whole Life Nutrition book has a whole section on breakfast foods. In fact, one of their recipes inspired me to invent a salad smoothie this week (with lettuce, carrots, apples, a banana, and cranberry juice). It sounds a bit odd, but I wanted to use up some salad from the night before, and i was curious to see how it worked to purée lettuce. I think I need a more powerful blender to do it really well, but it was pretty good! The flavor was great even though the texture was a bit odd. They also have a recipe for teff porridge. Teff is a high-protein, high iron gf grain that Nadine recommended during her Intro to GF class, and I have been curious to see how it is

I'll have to plan ahead and try some of these things out!

Stress, staying healthy, and still eating well

It's another long, stressful week at work, and it's only Wednesday morning. Times of stress mean, of course, that I need to be more intentional about eating well and eating healthy foods, not less. But, when it's stressful, it is easy to want to focus on ease, comfort, and treats. Monday was not so healthy, so yesterday I made an effort to bring fruits and veggies for lunch and snacks. I also left to go on a walk downtown at lunchtime. And, to fill that part that wants "treats," I stopped at the gf Living Earth bakery. I have to say that it is a wonderful thing to be able to walk to a bakery where I can eat anything in the store. In addition to some treats for this week, I also got their great flax & millet bread.

The walk was great, too. It was a beautiful Spring day-sunny, crisp, and blue skys. Walks always help to clear my head and put things in perspective. My friend Chelo and I call them "thinking walks" after a Winnie the Pooh magnet we found in London. I need to remember to do this all week.

Starbucks has gotten on the gf bandwagon

I went out with my friend, Julie, to a Starbucks in Portland. Like her local Starbucks, this one had Lucy's gf cookies. The cinnamon ones were really good.

Three gf mix reviews

It was Alexander's birthday and then a St. Patrick's day event at work,so I took this opportunity to try out three different mixes that we had at home. They were the WOW Gourmet Yellow Cake Mix (as cupcakes), the Arrowhead Mills gf Vanilla Cake Mix (as a two layer round cake), and Bob's Red Mill gf Chocolate Cake Mix (as cupcakes). I wanted to see how the first two were as directed on the box. I also made the Arrowhead Mills one vegan (no dairy) and low fat (1 egg, 1 egg white) so that my dad could have it. The WOW mix was not vegan or low fat, though I did add only two eggs plus egg whites rather than 6 whole eggs. With the Bob's Red Mill one, I made it as directed, but added the secret weapon, applesauce (around 3 tablespoons).

The Results:

The Arrowhead mills one had a very nice flavor, but it did have the gritty texture that rice flour can have. I would definitely use applesauce with this one if I made it again. I may also try adding hot water (110 degrees) instead of cold, as suggested on the Bob's Red Mill mix, to see if that helps reduce grittiness.

The WOW mix was preferred by those who had it at the birthday. The cupcakes were spongy and with a nice flavor. And, I'm sure the cream cheese frosting helped, too. They were a little heavy, however, so I would try applesauce with them, too.

The Bob's Red Mill ones were the biggest hit. The were light, flavorful, not gritty. And, since I did use applesauce with them, they weren't completely as directed, but did confirm the benefits of applesauce. :)

That was great pizza!

Geoff and I tried Papa's gf pizza last night to celebrate Alexander's 1 year birthday. That was very good pizza! Geoff, who does gluten, thought so, too. I got the one called Mt. Bachelor. It was definitely on the expensive side, but it is nice that the gf and "regular" pizzas cost the same amount there.

And, they deliver, so I got to feel like a "normal" person who can get pizza in a cardboard box from a delivery person. :)