Trader Joe's Corn Cracker

I have found my new favorite cracker and of course it's only at Trader Joes. Lucky for me my parents live near the one in Des Moines, so I can get them fairly frequently. They are $2 a box. They are flavored with onion. They are amazing little crackers are good with dip or just alone by themselves. They are listed on the gluten free list that Trader Joe's has readily available. If you get there and don't know what to look for, ask an employee they are awesome with gluten free patrons! I think it's even worth a road trip, but that could be the two buck chuck (wine) calling for the road trip.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Brownies

I was so excited to try these brownies. I love the Betty Crocker GF brownies, so I assumed they would be similar. I was wrong. I was severely disappointed! They smelled good, but fell flat in taste. They are definitely GF...so much so, you can taste it. YUCK! I hate it when I can taste that a product is gluten free. It leaves a funky after taste. My 5 year old didn't mind them, but he will eat anything, they are edible, but beware, there is the aftertaste we have all grown to hate left behind!  I will skip buying this next time I'm at Trader Joes and keep on buying the good ones at my local Hy-Vee. Thank God for Betty Crocker!

 

 

My new best friend

Spending much of the holidays surrounded by glutenous goodness, I have found a new friend. Alka Seltzer, the simple little discs dropped into water deliver an almost instant release after their plop plop fizz fizz routine. I have found if I accidentally ingest some gluten and it gives me the normal stomach ache, I can find some relief by taking Alka Seltzer, realize I am not celiac. I still get very sick, but I have found this at least makes the whole process of the gluten moving through my system easier. It eases the stomach ache a bit and help coat my stomach making the rest of the uncomfortable elimination of gluten easier. I have found it tastes best dissolved in cool water, not warm or cold. I keep them in my purse at all times. They are cheap. I don't know why I never tried them til the last month. I highly recommend trying them if only for minor relief!

Mj's Has Sushi!!

MJ's in Davenport has awesome sushi. They still have all their full Asian food menu too. I love sushi. I have found I prefer MJ's to the other local sushi joints because they use pieces of fish in the spicy tuna/salmon rolls instead of a "fish paste". They do put a dark colored sauce on top, I am fairly certain its made with soy sauce, but its so tasty, I usually just suffer through, but I'm not Celiac. I just suffer for a few days and I'm over it. They have lots of specialty rolls too, we have yet to find a roll we don't like. I wouldn't say they are a gluten free restaurant, but you can definitely find something to suit your needs. They are located on West Locust near Happy Joes. I find there is a language barrier most of the time, but the people who own/work it are very nice and just want to please their customers!! If all else fails, you could always get sashami.

Tasty Bites

The company, Tasty Bite sent me several items to taste test and blog about! All of the food is indian cuisine, which is cool since I have never really tried indian food. I made the Rice in the microwave by following directions. It was flavorful and tasted like rice. No big surprise there! The entree of choice tonight was Jaipur Vegetables. It was easy to make. I left it in the sealed package and put it in boiling water for 5 minutes. It wasn't quite as piping hot as I like it so I microwaved it for another 30 seconds. It wasn't bad. It was a tiny bit spicy, but not overwhelming. It looks like stew. I liked it. I would probably try to find ways to put meat in it, I am a meat eater! My gluten eating son tried and said it wasn't bad. For a fast meal it was decent. It has the ability to be made all in the microwave and the calorie count isn't too high, 320 calories per package.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I made this recipe to take to my work Christmas party today. It was fabulous. I used Newman's Own Ranch since they don't add msg to their dressing. I used Louisiana Hot Sauce. I used Bette Hagman's version of gluten free cream of chicken soup. I added shredded cheese and additional sour cream to my bowl when I ate, it was so good. It's spicy, give it a try!!!

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Gluten Free Cream Soup mix

Easiest Dessert EVER!

I had these once at work and couldn't believe how much they tasted just like salted nut rolls. I found that all the peanuts at the store have MSG in them to help with "flavor". That isn't helpful those of us who are sensitive to MSG. I found that Trader Joe's has them without MSG. I bought 3 bags when I went to the Trader Joe's in West Des Moines a few weeks ago. Here is the recipe. It's fast and easy!!

Salted Nut Roll Bars

3 cups (1lb jar) dry roasted peanuts

2 cups peanut butter chips (more than a 12 oz pkg)

1 can eagle sweetened condensed milk

3 cups mini marshmallows

Butter a 9X13 pan - line with 1 1/2 cups nuts

Melt other ingredients in a double boiler and spread over nuts.  Top with the rest of the nuts and lightly press nuts into top of mixture.  Chill and keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

When ready - cut and eat.

Holiday Parties are upon us...

I thought I had prepared myself for the holiday parties I knew I would be attending. I had no problems at a wine party on Friday night, but everyone there was very aware of my issues and made big efforts to make sure I had food to eat. I went to my husband's work party last night that was catered and wasn't so lucky. I ate what I thought "looked" ok and found out the hard way that looks are deceiving. I was very sick. We had to leave the party earlier than we planned, which was a bummer. The next party I have to go to is on Tuesday, I will be taking my own food. I can't take the risk this time of year due to my bodies reactions to gluten this is a rough time of year for me. I get rosacea on my face which gets worse during the winter when its aggravated.

Hope you are finding ways to deal with parties that don't conform or even try to ease your dining needs. I want to hear from you, how do you deal with it?

Flatbread and hummus

I made flatbread to take to work today! It was so easy. It was a recipe that was brought to the Celiac Thanksgiving. I made a few adjustments of my own.

1 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1 TBS Sugar
2 TSP Xanthan Gum
1/8tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt


3/4 Cup Water
1tsp Cider Vinegar
2 TBS Canola Oil
2 Eggs

Mix all dry ingredients well in a bowl. Then add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Grease two 8inch square pans and dust with brown rice flour.  Spread half the batter into each pan and smooth out with the back of a wet spoon. Bake 15 minutes at 350 until the bread pulls away from the side.

*I added garlic powder and oregano to mine and Parmesan cheese to one of them.

I used the flat bread to dip into Margaritaville Foods Island Chipolte hummus. It was so tasty. Plenty of kick and gluten free. I tried the one with roasted garlic hummus by Athenos, but wasn't fond of the over powering garlic flavor.

Way To Go Hy-Vee

I ate the salad bar today at West Kimberly Hy-Vee and was pleased to see that they took a suggestion and ran with it. I had a fabulous salad complete with Gluten Free Dressing. I had 3 flavors to choose from that were packets placed in a basket above the other dressings. I also had a bunch of fresh fruit to go along with my salad. The food was fantastic! A great healthy alternative to eating "fast food" or other gluten containing foods when you are out and about!!

QC Celiac Group GF Christmas Cookie Exchange/Lunch December 18th

QC Celiac Group GF Christmas Cookie Exchange/Lunch

Saturday, December 18th

11:00a.m.

Happy Joe’s Pizza

201 W. 50th St., Davenport

This year our annual GF cookie exchange will be Happy Joe’s Pizza on Welcome Way in Davenport.  I will take GF pizza orders ahead of time so I can call Happy Joe’s a few days ahead of time so they can have our GF pizzas ready when we arrive.

Happy Joe’s GF Pizzas are small size pizzas (serves 1-2 people) and all toppings, except Chicken and Meatballs are GF.  To view Happy Joe’s menu online go to:
www. Happyjoes.com

I need to know what toppings you want on your GF pizza.  Non-GF attendees can get buffet or order their own pizza the day of the cookie exchange.

I anticipate a good turnout (30 or more) so plan on making about 5 or more dozen of your gluten-free cookie to exchange.  If you are bringing a special GF treat, 1 or 2 per person will be o.k.  Please bring the recipe for your cookie or treat.  I will be collecting the recipes to type up.  Don't forget to bring an empty container to take home your goodies (I use an empty gift box).  

Please RSVP to me if you plan on participating.  I need to get your pizza order by Tuesday December 14th.  You will pay for your pizza and any beverage at the time of the cookie exchange.    Any questions call or email me:   563-391-2968 or wentworth1964@mediacombb.net

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Cookie Exchange/Pizza Lunch

Name______________________________________

# attending_____  # GF Small Pizza _________________

GF Pizza toppings_______________________________________________________

Phone_______________________

Please mail to:
Becky Wentworth
6130 N. Hancock Ave
Davenport, IA 52806

Tiger's Milk Bars

I was reluctant to try these bars since I do not like Larabars. I do not like power bars. I basically struggle with any kind of protein bar more texturally than taste, but most of the time if I like the taste the texture is a no-go for me. Tiger's Milk Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter with Honey are both good. They toe the line texturally with me, they are chewy and somewhat "thick" that's the only way to describe it. They are good though for the days when I need an extra snack to get me through the day. They can be purchased in the Health Market at Hy-Vee West Kimberly in the isle with all the other protein bars, they are on the bottom shelf. They are about $1.29 each, they aren't in the same category as KIND bars, but are a good "protein type" bar.