New Gluten Free Finds

My fix for dinner, recipe to be posted soon, required a stop at Oak Street Natural Market and I found some new goodies that I've seen online but hadn't seen in our area yet. I felt like it was Christmas morning, but this warm weather pulled me out of that mind frame.

I couldn't wait to try the chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels so that was the kids' snack and I had some, only a few of course. They both are good but I liked the flavor of the yogurt ones best, the salt really popped with those. My boy preferred the chocolate and my girl preferred the yogurt, not quite what I expected.

The cinnamon rolls were breakfast and they were a little on the dry side but very delicious. The kids gobbled them down and really not much for complaints.

We haven't tried the Kinitoos, I'm waiting to open them later when I'm not the main person eating them, I love chocolate too much and can't always contain myself.

Cholesterol Fighting Green Monster Smoothie - Gluten Free & Dairy Free

I know Green Monster smoothies are all over the internet but this has been our breakfast for the past few weeks and I love it, so I decided to share it. This Green Monster specifically fights cholesterol with the spinach, flax seed meal, blueberries, kefir, and avocado. I based it for my Hubby but I can always use help keeping my cholesterol down too. Hubby is not a big vegetable fan but this is an easy and delicious way for him to get the benefits of the veggies without having to eat them in the traditional manner, and you don't taste the spinach. You can add any fruit or leafy vegetables you like and I do mix it up now and then but this is our standard.

Cholesterol Fighting Green Monster Smoothie

2 C spinach leaves

1 T flax seed meal

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

1 medium banana, sliced

1/4 medium avocado

1 C Vanilla Coconut Milk Kefir (DF milk and regular milk work also)

Ice, I use two handfuls

This is the DF Kefir I get, they also have strawberry and plain. It adds a creaminess to the smoothie.

Put the ingredients in a blender in the order above. Blend well until smooth, drink, and enjoy! This makes two servings and is about 210 calories per serving.

Even my boy loves a Green Monster in the morning.

Hiking Snacks - Meat and Cheese Rolls

It has taken forever for summer weather to get here but now that it is we are finding ourselves going on hikes almost every weekend. I love that my boy states "this is great" everytime we go on a hike and what better way is there to spend time with the family?

We always do a small lunch once we get to our destination and this is our favorite food on the menu. It's quick to throw together, doesn't take up much room, and hits the spot perfectly. My girl and I have ours with cheese while my boy doesn't like cheese (it's all in his head) and Hubby can't have it.

Meat & Cheese Rolls

lunch meat slices (I use Hormel Natural Choice since it's free of gluten, MSG, and nitrates & nitrites)

cheese slices or sticks

mayo

mustard

toothpicks

Spread a small amount of mayo and mustard on each slice of lunch meat. Place a cheese slice on each slice of meat. If you're using cheese sticks cut them in half length wise and place it on one end. Roll the cheese and meat then stick with a toothpick to hold. If you can't have dairy omit the cheese it's still a really good snack.

Some of our other favorite hiking snacks are granola bars, crackers and peanutbutter, and fresh fruit. What is your favorite hiking/picnic treat?

Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding

My family loves them some Jello pudding cups, it's a good incentive some nights to get the kids to finish their dinner. I felt bad when the kids were enjoying their pudding and Hubby couldn't have any. I'm such a sucker. This motivated me to search for a dairy free pudding recipe and the hardest part was waiting for it to cool. I couldn't wait to sample it when I got home yesterday and it was divine! So thick and creamy, much better than those Jello cups. There's nothing like homemade.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 can coconut milk, I used the full fat but you can use the light

3 T agave nectar

1 dash salt (4 squeezes from my grinder)

1 small heaping teaspoon cornstarch

3 T cocoa powder

1/2 C DF/GF chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Tropical Source)

1 t vanilla

Shake the can of coconut milk to mix the milk and cream portions then pour 1 1/4 C in a saucepan. Add the agave and salt then cook over medium heat until it simmers. While this is heating mix the remaining coconut milk, corn starch, and cocoa powder.

Once the milk mixture simmers turn the heat to medium-low and slowly add the cocoa powder mixture while whisking the whole time. Continue whisking until it thickens a bit, I went for 5 min though the original recipe called for about 1 minute. If you go with 1 minute it may not turn out quite as thick if that's what you'd prefer.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk an additional minute to let it cool a bit. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour into serving bowls then chill in the refrigerator.


If you are looking for coconut milk don't wander around like an idiot, like I did, wondering where the heck it's kept. It will be in the Asian section at any grocery store.

My girl couldn't get enough of this and I'm pretty sure she liked it better than the Jello pudding because she finished the whole thing, usually there are a few bites left.

Chocolate Pretzels

I read online about a week ago that Glutino has come out with GF chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels. They haven't hit the shelves in most places and I haven't seen them here yet but they did get me craving chocolate covered pretzels. I had to find a recipe and my taste buds were happy I did but my hips, not so much. I played with this recipe a bit and it leaves a lot of combinations. The best part is it's fast and gives a great snack both kids and adults will love.

Chocoalte Pretzels

Adapted from All Recipes

48 GF pretzel twists
1 package of Hershey's Kisses (chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel, hugs, or peppermint)
1 package of M&M's (chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, peanut, or almond)

Preheat your oven to 275 F. Lay the pretzels on a cookie sheet and then place a kiss on each one. Heat in the oven for 2-4 minutes or until the kiss is softened. Remove from the oven and place a M&M on each kiss pressing down lightly to spread the kiss on the pretzel. Cool in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes and enjoy!

Do a flavor combo of the kisses and M&M's that sound the best to you. I made two combos and they both tasted great. One was a caramel kiss topped with a chocolate M&M, this was the favorite in the house but after I made them I realized the caramel kisses have HFCS in them so until I find a HFCS free option we won' be having this combo again. Boo! These only needed about 2 minutes in the oven.

The other combo was a chocolate kiss topped with a peanut butter M&M, also a delicious duo. These needed 4 minutes in the oven.

I think these will be on the to-make list for the kids' birthday parties.

Gold Fish Crackers Recipe, Gluten Free

My boy had a gluten free meltdown at a birthday party a couple weeks ago, there were gold fish crackers everyone was enjoying and he broke down (had a complete temper tantrum) because he couldn't have them. I felt bad for him (as I removed him from the party) and motivated myself to try my hand again at gluten free gold fish crackers. The first batch I made months ago was too salty and we ended up throwing them out, they just weren't very good. This time I added some sour cream and we were all pleased with the outcome. Both kids couldn't stop eating them and my boy was a happy kid. He stated that we couldn't eat them all because he wants to take some on vacation, I'm not so sure they'll last another week and a half. I'm going to play around with different cheeses down the road but this is a basic cheddar cracker and we're all very happy with the results.

Super Gold Fish Crackers

Adapted from Yumsugar

1 C GF flour (I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond blend)

1/2 t xantham gum or guar gum

4 T cold butter, cut into small pieces

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3/4 t salt

1/2 t ground pepper

2 T sour cream

2 T water

In a large mixer combine the flour, xantham gum, butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Either use a hand blender, blender, or food processer (I need to get me one of these) to grind up the mixture until it resembles corn meal. Put it back in the mixer and add the sour cream and water and mix until it forms a ball. Add more water if needed but don't add too much, the dough will be on the dry side.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes to 24 hours. If the dough gets too cold you may need to let it warm a bit before you can easily roll it out.

Heat the oven to 350 F. Place 1/3 of the dough on wax paper and cover with a second piece of wax paper. This is the best way I've found to roll out GF dough. Using a rolling pin roll it to 1/8" thickness and cut out your desired shapes. We used gold fish cookie cutters that I found here they measure about 2 inches long and are the smallest I could find. Place the cut outs on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.

I rolled the first batch too thick and it made a flaky cracker that was chewy. Obviously the thinner you roll the crispier the crackers will be.

Gluten Free Granola Bars

I love granola bars and they really are a great invention. They’re so nice for when you’re in a hurry or on the go, just grab one and you’ve got a great snack or meal. This is my first attempt at granola bars and I was happy with it but I’m sure I’ll try some other recipes and combos to see if there’s something better out there. My boy was all over them and after eating a large dinner he still ate a whole granola bar. I was impressed since he usually snuffs granola bars. Does it make me a bad mom to want to use this as lunch options for my kids? The chocolate doesn't really make them that bad does it? The nice thing is you can make this with whatever your favorite combinations are so the sky is the limit.

Granola Bars
Adapted from All Recipes

2 C GF oatmeal
¾ C brown sugar, packed
½ C cream of buckwheat (you can get this at Lee & Dad’s IGA in the cereal aisle)
¾ t cinnamon
1 C GF flour (I used Gluten Free Mama’s Almond flour, use whatever you like)
1 t xanthan gum
¾ C raisins
¾ C chocolate chips (Use DF if needed)
¾ t salt
½ C honey or agave nectar
1 egg, beaten
½ C vegetable oil (I used melted butter without a problem)
2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl mix together the oats, brown sugar, cream of buckwheat, cinnamon, flour, xanthan gum, raisins, chocolate chips, and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well using your hands or a large spatula. Pat the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. You want the bars to turn golden at the edges but don’t overcook or they will get too hard. Cool for about 5 minutes then cut into bars while they’re still warm.

For variations you can add M&Ms, cranberries, peanuts, nuts, trail mix, coconut, or anything else you may like. There really is no limit.

ETA: Our favorite is a peanut butter granola bar, everything is the same but I add a 1/2 C of peanut butter. It will be really sticky when you level it out in the pan but it's so good.