Menu Plan ~ July 5, 2009

Welcome to the first full week of July!!  Now, let’s hope we can get some July weather to go along with it.  This rain & cold weather has got to go!!  Yesterday, on the 4th, I was in jeans, tee & jacket for most of the day & added a sweatshirt to watch fireworks at night!  BRR!  I really feel bad for the girls at swimming lessons.  Their lessons are at 9:45 AM and it certainly hasn’t been warm out.  The pool is heated, though, so it was like bath water the other day.  Makes it hard to get in the swing of Summer when it is so cold! 

This week is going to be a busy one.  Mary, my mother-in-law, is recovering nicely from her ankle surgery, but still needs lots of help.  She is still not allowed to bear any weight on either foot, so walking is out.  We will be preparing several meals to help this week and spending lots of time over there as well.  We are happy that we are able to help out during this tough time.  Hannah also has ice skating starting back on Wednesday nights again, making that night busy, busy!  Jon will have tournament baseball games this week.  Schedule is not up yet.  Nice, huh?

Sunday ~ Rotisserie Chicken (Meijer’s House brand is gluten-free!), baked potatoes, peas & salad

Monday ~ Shrimp Scampi over penne pasta, broccoli & salad (Mary & Mack’s house)

Tuesday ~ Grilled Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce, roasted butternut squash, asparagus & salad (Taking Enchilada bake and salad over to Mary & Mack’s)

Wednesday ~ Mary & Mack’s Cheese Ravioli with marinara, broccoli & salad (Not GF…Aaron will take over to Mary & Mack’s; Hannah & I will eat on the run after ice skating, perhaps Chiptole?)

Thursday~ Bourbon Chicken, brown rice, green beans & salad (Taking BBQ pulled pork to Mary & Mack’s).

Friday ~ Mexican Pizzas, black beans & salad

Saturday ~ Leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Baked Goods

Betty Crocker Yellow Cake/Cupcakes

Pamela’s Bread

Hope you all had a happy & safe 4th!

Here is a video from the finale that Aaron & his buddy set off last night:

Cheryl from Gluten-Free Goodness is hosting this week’s GF Menu Swap.  The ingredient of the week is garlic.  I use garlic in most of my cooking in some form.  Sometimes it is fresh garlic, sometimes it is garlic powder.  I season potatoes with it, I season burgers with it, I add it to tomato dishes.  YUM!! 

Also, don’t forget to check out Orgjunkie for other great menu ideas. 

LiveJournal Tags: menu plan

Helpful Tip: Lara Bars

Jon went to a Cleveland Indians game on Wednesday night.  I packed him a dinner to take in (Progressive Field allows you to bring in small, soft sided coolers or lunch boxes).  He had plenty to eat & didn’t have to chance eating something that might make him sick.  He went to get a drink and noticed that there were Lara Bars by the cashier in section 160 (lower bowl)!!  How exciting is that!?!  He didn’t see how much they cost, unfortunately.  He didn’t get one because I had packed him plenty to eat, but it is nice to know that there is something there that is good for you & gluten-free if you are hungry or just want something to snack on!  Jon said that they have tons of flavor options, too! 

Speaking of Lara Bars….I had 2 new flavors (well, new to me) the other day.  Coconut Cream Pie, which I thought was good, but not spectacular.  The other flavor was Chocolate Cherry and that, my friends, was spectacular!  Wow!  I can’t even tell you what my favorite flavor is now.  LOL!!  If I had to rate my top 10, this is how they would go:

1. Peanut Butter Cookie
2. Chocolate Cherry
3. Pecan Pie
4. Cashew Cookie
5. Lemon
6. Coconut Cream Pie
7. Jocalat Chocolate Coffee
8. Gingersnap
9. Cinnamon Roll
10. Jocalat Chocolate

Now, I haven’t yet tried the Key Lime Pie or the Chocolate Coconut, so I can’t say that one of those wouldn’t replace one or more of the ones listed above. 

So, if you live in Cleveland or go to Progressive Field for any event, seek out those bars! 

LiveJournal Tags: lara bars,gluten-free,bars

Happy Birthday America!

We have a busy day planned today, but I wanted to take a minute to wish you all a safe & happy Fourth of July!  I hope that you all get to have fun in whatever you do today.  Enjoy all that fantastic Fourth of July food!  I think the corn-on-the-cob & watermelon are my favorites!

We are going to a brunch at Mary’s (mother-in-law) today to celebrate Nathan’s (brother-in-law) & Emily’s (sister-in-law) birthday!  Their birthdays are 2 days apart! 

Later this afternoon/evening, we will be making the trek to right outside of Cincinnati to watch fireworks!  Can’t wait! 

I hope you all enjoy your day!

LiveJournal Tags: Holiday

Banana Ice Cream….You have to Try this!

When I first read this post over on Gena’s blog, Choosing Raw, I just knew that I had to take the bananas I had sitting out & place them in the freezer to make this “ice cream”.  I took two, perfectly ripe bananas, peeled them, cut them into large chunks & place in the freezer.  I kept them in the freezer all day (about 6+ hours) and took them out after dinner to make my “ice cream”.  I placed the frozen bananas in my food processor and let her rip.  A word to the wise (hopefully wiser than me)….hold onto the FP!  Those frozen banana chunks will have that FP hopping all over the place!  I think I nearly scared the pants off of Hannah & Aaron!  LOL!!  I pulsed for a few times & then let it run for 5 minutes.  What I was left with was an amazingly smooth & creamy soft-serve like treat. 

I topped my creation with chocolate chips (kind of defeats the raw part of this, but oh well, I am going for gluten-free for the time being, maybe raw down the road ). 

For all those out there who have to be dairy, lactose or casein-free, this is the perfect dessert (sans chocolate chips).  Just top with some fruit or maybe coconut or savor alone.  YUM!! 

LiveJournal Tags: ice cream,gluten-free,desserts

Review: Ruth’s Chia Goodness

I have been hearing about chia seeds all over blog land and finally picked some up the other day at Whole Foods.  The chia cereal that I bought is Ruth’s Chia Goodness made by Ruth’s Hemp Foods.  RCG comes in 3 flavors…plain, cranberry ginger or apple almond cinnamon.  I only saw plain at WF, so that is what I bought.  I was very impressed by the nutritional stats on the label: per 2 TBSP this cereal contains 140 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber & 6 grams of protein!  Certainly packs a punch! 

Upon looking into the bag, I was a little scared by the look of the cereal.  It looked like seeds.  LOL!  Considering the only ingredients are Chia (Salvia hispanica), buckwheat, hulled hemp seeds & Celtic Sea Salt, I shouldn’t have been shocked.  I decided to make a bowl for my morning snack.  I combined 2TBSP of Chia Goodness with 4 TBSP of Almond Milk, stirred and let sit for 5 minutes.  After the 5 minutes was up I added blueberries & blackberries.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised!  Perfect for my snack!  The taste was slightly sweet (most likely due to my unsweetened vanilla almond milk).  The texture was slightly chewy, but nice & hearty.  I have to say thumbs up on this stuff! 

From the package:

Marketed under various names, the modest chia seed (Salvia hispanica)is quite possibly the most nutritious seed ever.  Lactose free, chia contains more than 5 times the calcium of milk.  it is a good source of fiber, and contains no gluten.  With lots of essential fatty acids, trace minerals and protein, it is an all-around superfood.  We’ve combined the goodness of chia with other wonderfully nutritious seeds: hemp & buckwheat, to help you power up in the morning and keep you feeling great all day long. 

If you have been waiting to try chia seeds or cereal, wait no longer!  You can also sprinkle Chia Goodness into your yogurt, oatmeal or granola.   It will thicken it a bit after a few minutes.  There are also recipes on the site for muffins & pancakes. 

LiveJournal Tags: ruths chia goodness,cereal,gluten-free

Review: Cold Stone Creamery

It’s hot! What is one of America’s favorite pastimes in the summer? Trips to the ice cream shop! There are ice cream shops all over the place these days, but what do you do if you have to follow a gluten-free diet? Cold Stone Creamery, that is what! Cold Stone Creamery has lots of options for those who have to follow a gluten-free diet.

Cold Stone Creamery offers a variety of gluten-free flavors that you can choose from. Once you have selected your flavor, then you select your mix-in. Mix-ins range from candy pieces, to nuts, to fruit & all kinds of fun stuff. Once you have chosen the mix-in, the employee will scoop your ice cream & place it on a marble slab. Then your mix-in is place on top of the ice cream and the mixing begins. Cold Stone includes 1 mix-in with the price of your ice cream and then you pay for each additional mix-in. Cold Stone is very careful about cross-contamination and is more than happy to get clean ice cream scoops from the back or wash one. Also, to ensure that your ice cream doesn’t come in contact with any kind of crumbs/bits on the marble slab, you should ask the employee to mix your ice cream & mix-ins in a large bowl instead of on the slab.

Cold Stone changes their flavors seasonally. Right now for Summer they are offering Country Time Lemonade Sorbet, Jell-O Butterscotch Pudding Ice Cream & Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream, all are a nice, scrumptious treat! The perfect way to cool off after a hot day.  I had to have the Butterscotch Pudding Ice Cream last week with Reese’s PB cups mixed in.  OH.MY.GOLLY!  I got a kids size cup and I could barely finish it because it was so sweet.  This flavor brought back so many wonderful childhood memories!  Do you remember when Del-Monte used to package this butterscotch pudding in those little cans?  That is how my Grandma bought them.  She passed away in 1999, so this was a nice reminder of her.  The next time I went in I got the Berry Berry Tart & Tangy yogurt with coconut sprinkled on top.  Much better on the sweet level.   

Nutritional information for Cold Stone Creamery.  A 5 star rating in my book!

LiveJournal Tags: Cold Stone Creamery,dessert,gluten free,ice cream

I Scream, You Scream…

We all scream for ICE CREAM!!  Turkey Hill is celebrating National Ice Cream month by giving away free ice cream every day in July!  WOOHOO!!!  Their blog, Ice Cream Journal, has all the fun details on how to enter to win.  It is really easy to enter.  Simply join the conversation by leaving a comment or 2 on their blog & you are entered!  Does it get much easier then that?  One of the best things about Turkey Hill Ice Cream is that most of the flavors are gluten-free.  I wrote about Turkey Hill not too long ago and detailed where to find the gluten-free information for their products on their site. 

So, what are you waiting for?  Hop on over to the Ice Cream Journal & leave some comments! 

LiveJournal Tags: ice cream,gluten free

Fun & Exciting!

About a week or so ago I applied to be an independent contractor for The Examiner.  I was contacted by them on Friday and now I am the Columbus Gluten-Free Food Examiner!  How exciting is that?  I am so excited!  I love sharing all of my fun tips, recipes and finds here with you all.  This will be a great opportunity to really focus on areas of Columbus that I haven’t been able to focus on so far and share even more with you all!  I have already been brainstorming on all kinds of things to write about.  I can’t wait to get started!  Oh, by the way, I just published my first article on gluten-free grocery shopping in  Columbus, Ohio.  Stop by & take a peek!  

LiveJournal Tags: Examiner,gluten-free

More Breaking News!

Lots going on in the world of gluten-free today!  Starbucks will now be carrying Kind Bars.  If you haven’t tried these bars, you are really missing out.  Combinations of fruit & nuts, some with yogurt, too.  Most varieties are gluten-free, but watch, there is at least 1 I have seen that has oat bran.  The labels clearly state “gluten-free” on the ones that are safe for us.  I almost always have 1 of these in my purse, but it is nice to know that there is one more place I can get a gluten-free snack if I need to or want to!

LiveJournal Tags: kind fruit & nut bar,gluten free,starbucks valencia orange cake,starbucks

Breaking News: More Gluten-Free Cereal from General Mills

First, I must start by saying that I am very grateful to this fabulous company for recognizing that it isn’t necessary to use wheat starch or barley malt in every cereal that they make.  There are so many more cereals out there that could easily be converted to a gluten-free recipe if the barley malt flavoring or wheat starch were removed.  I know, reformulating is probably not cheap, but think of the increased number of consumers you could reach!! 

As I was reading my blog reader this morning, I came upon a post by Gluten-Free Philly announcing that General Mills has come out with a new version of Cookie Crisp and this one has no gluten containing ingredients!  The cereal is Sprinkles Cookie Crisp.  Probably not the healthiest choice of the gluten-free cereals available, but a choice nonetheless.  So you can add this to the list of other cereals made by General Mills that contain no gluten:

• Rice Chex
• Corn Chex
• Cinnamon Chex
• Chocolate Chex
• Strawberry Chex
• Honey Nut Chex
• Trix
• Kix (check ingredients…old boxes have oats)
• Honey Kix
• Berry Berry Kix
• Sprinkles Cookie Crisp
• The elusive Chocolate Lucky Charms
• Dora the Explorer

I have not looked yet for the Sprinkles Cookie Crisp in my local store because I just found out about them.  I will start to look next time I am in the store.  Though, I need another box of cereal like I need a hole in my head.  For those who can’t find the cereal locally, our favorite online shopping venue offers up the cereal in cases of 4. 

**Please note that the Chex cereals are the only ones that are specifically labeled “Gluten-Free”.  The others listed contain no gluten ingredients and are enjoyed by many who follow the gluten-free diet.  Both Jon & I are extremely sensitive and have had no issues. 

LiveJournal Tags: cereal,gluten free,general mills