The Gluten Free Path

Archive for May, 2010

One of the first things you learn when going gluten free is that oats are something you have to give up for a time. If not forever, at least until you figure out whether or not they bother you. Then there is the whole kerfuffle over gluten free oats versus regular oats. If you have celiac disease you should not eat regular oats because they are almost always contaminated. If you are just gluten intolerant, either tested or just suspected, I’d suggest avoiding regular oats as well, at least for awhile. Follow your docs orders and your instincts that aren’t driven by hunger.

Anyway, once you know you can tolerate gluten free oats – it’s a trial process after you let your body heal – give this recipe a try. As with all my recipes, it’s just a guide. Add what you want, play around with it. There are few right or wrong ways to do something.

Note: In the picture below you will notice that the oil is safflower, not coconut. After some research I have decided to phase out safflower oil due to it’s high content of omega 6 oils. Those are the oils that induce inflammation. Neither Rick nor I need to induce anymore inflammation. Plus coconut oil seems to be much more nutritious and safer with high heat than any other oil.

What you’ll need:

1 1/2 cup of gluten free oats

1/2 cup of walnuts

1/2 cup of almonds

1/4 cup of sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons of flax seeds

3 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds

7 chopped Brazil nuts

2 tablespoons of flax meal

1/4 cup of allpurpose gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mills)

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 cup of honey

1 teaspoon of coconut oil (I use raw) oil

Heat oven to 200 degrees(if for some reason your granola starts to darken before it starts to crisp, turn the temperature down). Chop the nuts. Add all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate small bowl. If your coconut oil is cold it won’t mix as easily with the honey. It has a melting point of 76 degrees or so. You only really need to warm it a touch and it will be much easier to use. Once everything is mixed it the respective bowls add the wet to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Use a cook sheet or a broiler pan, line with foil. “Grease” the foil with safflower oil. Gently spread the granola mix over the foil. Place in the preheated oven. Turn/stir with a spatula every 15 minutes. Continue until the desired crispness or whatever is achieved!

Note: If you want to add dried fruit to the mix, add it after you toasted it. Otherwise it will burn. You can also use parchment paper instead of foil. I’ve used it and like the result.

     I’ve been making gluten free zucchini bread for almost a year. It’s wonderful! Best thing ever! I couldn’t believe that I had yet to do a post about it. Well, I was mistaken, I had done a post already, over at The Modern Hippy, my other blog. Of course! I forgot! I was arguing with myself and Rick over moving that post here, because this is a gluten free specific website. Only makes sense. I just had to let go, to be okay with taking something from my first blog, what I consider to be my “baby”. A silly project I thought up one hot summer afternoon. Finally, today I feel it is okay to take away from my “baby”. I’m not taking away, I’m repurposing a post that no longer fits over there for another blog where it will fit better – hand-me-downs if you will.
     So, without further ado. Here it is with some slight alterations.

     This summer my parents have a zucchini plant. It was so cute when I planted it. And now, all that “hard” work paid off! It has produces so many zucchinis I’ve lost count. Not wanting to waste them and having fond memories of zucchini bread, I decided to make gluten-free zucchini bread. Four or more tries later, it is still the best zucchini bread ever! It just gets better with each loaf! Even people whom are not gluten-free nuts say it’s good!

     After searching for a few minutes online, I found one recipe that seemed to be the easiest to modify. This is the end result.

     Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread Recipe:

     Set oven to 350 degrees (or 325 if using a glass bread pan).
o 2 eggs
o 1 cup sugar, unbleached
o .5 cup of oil, safflower
o 2 tsp. of vanilla, fair trade
o .5 tsp. of baking soda
o .5 tsp. of cinnamon (and a pinch of nutmeg – optional)
o .5 tsp of salt
o 1.5 cups of gluten-free flour (I use Red Mills Gluten-Free All-purpose Baking Flour.)
o Pinch of Xanthan Gum, optional
o 1.5 cups of shredded zucchini, organic if you can
o 1 cup of chopped walnuts

     Mix the first four ingredients, then add the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Carefully, (slowly if you can) add the gluten-free baking flour and xanthan gum. Then mix in the zucchini and walnuts.
     Grease and flour a loaf pan. (It isn’t absolutely necessary and I forgot to do it on more than one occasion, just makes things easier.) Pour, taste if you want and bake for up to 75 minutes, or until a knife comes clean. (I’d say tooth pick but that would be promoting disposable items which I would like to avoid.)

     Notes: Xanthan gum is optional because we don’t like the way it tastes. I’ve tried it with .5 a tsp, 2 pinches, 1 pinch, and a dusting that was so small it couldn’t be considered a pinch. People will tell you that it doesn’t have a taste. However, it does have a specific texture that it adds to whatever it mixes with – slippery, almost greasy. We don’t like it. The eggs in this recipe hold the bread loaf together well enough. It only becomes slightly more crumbly without it. So in my opinion, xanthan gum is only to be used if you don’t want to use eggs.
     Other notes: I have also substituted walnuts with almonds. It’s still good, but I prefer the walnuts. Oh and please excuse the odd bulletting, I don’t know what’s wrong with my word program, it’s temperamental.

Additional Notes:
     Last year I was cooking with two Teflon-coated bread pans. I have since learned that Teflon doesn’t biodegrade, and can end up being stored in your body, which just adds to the toxic load it already has to deal with. I use glass bread pans now.
When cooking with glass you need to decrease the oven temperature about 25 degrees. So turn down your oven to 325 degrees instead. I made the mistake of forgetting that when I made a loaf a week ago, it didn’t burn, just got really dark and looked burned. Nothing wrong with that other than it looking suspicious. I’d rather my food not look burned.

Love camping but haven’t done it since going gluten free? Well, we have – twice now(it only takes twice to get ideas). Through trial and error we have come up with some good ideas. And of course, through the next camping season we will come up with more.

Often, gluten free food or unprocessed food doesn’t hold up the same as “regular” food, especially bread. So instead of mourning your favorite things, all those things you can’t have now, think of what you can have.

Baking potatoes – They are simple, just wrap in foil and throw in the fire. Turn at least once. They are amazing cooked on the fire! All you’ll need is butter, salt and pepper, and cheese if you want.

Spices – Salt, pepper, and paprika. Those are my favorite. They work with just about everything. If you want, add cinnamon to the list.

Butter – It works on potatoes, any treats you might make before hand (i.e. gluten free zucchini bread), to coat a pan for frying etc.

Fruit – Duh! Bring your favorite fruits, if left in a cooler they’ll stay nice and fresh for some time. We bring apples, pears, pineapple and bananas. Just make sure to pack them on the top so they don’t bruise.

Veggies/Salad Stuffs – Bring your favorite veggies to munch on. Also, pre-made salad can make your camping life easier!

Cooked Quinoa or Rice – Both of those grains can work for any meal. As breakfast with honey and that cinnamon I mentioned. As lunch plain or with tamari.

Eggs – Hard boiled and raw for frying. They are simple, nutritious and easy to pack around. And if you are a vegetarian, they can provide another way to get the protein you need.

Hot dogs – You can find hot dogs without all the nasty additives such as high fructose corn syrup and nitrates. If you are a vegetarian, beware of some of the veggie dogs. Often they are not gluten free.

Gluten Free Cereal – We’ve brought Nature’s Path cereals before. They have tasty gluten free options.

Fish – Yup, it’s easy to cook, usually just needs a couple of seasonings. Wrap it in foil and toss on the fire. It only needs a few minutes. Remember though, fish is delicate. Don’t wait too long in the trip to use it.

Hummus or Salsa – Both compliment camping simplicity and need only chips, which don’t need to be kept cool. I make my own. Eventually I’ll get the recipe up, so check back periodically.

Chips – You can find chips anywhere. Something I’ve noticed with chips is often they are labeled as being packaged in a facility that handles wheat etc. I’ve been reading that companies are putting that one to protect themselves, regardless if they package these “contaminants” within the same room or building. Use your judgment. Do research if you are worried. Or look for those labeled “gluten free”. If you are really brave you can just make your own.

Drinks – They make gluten free beer now. Red Bridge is one. We are not beer drinkers so we bring hard alcohol(distilled) or StrongBow Cider, and the usual juices if we want. Water, remember, the simple stuff like water does not contain gluten!

Gluten Free Breads etc – Bring the stuff you learned to make! The gluten free zucchini bread, the gluten free corn bread, or brownies. Whatever you have learned to bake, make a ton and bring them. They will taste amazing and you’ll be full of pride, because you did it! You stepped beyond your comfort zone and make a tasty treat that isn’t usually thought of as gluten free!

Trail Mix -You can find it gluten free. Or you can make your own. I look for stuff that has lots of nuts and not a lot of sweets, like chocolate. If you are very sensitive, beware of dates. They usually have oat flour in them. Oat flour is commonly contaminated and some people can’t tolerate it when it’s produced gluten free anyway.

Gluten Free Granola! – Depending on whether or not you can tolerate oats, (not every celiac or gluten sensitive person can) you can find gluten free granola. We are lucky enough to have a company right here in Bellingham that specialized in gluten free things like muffins and granola. Flax 4 Life has muffins you can order online. They recently(not sure how recent), started providing granola to some of the local co-ops. If you don’t live near here, give them a call and ask! Who doesn’t like granola while camping. You can of course, learn to make it yourself! I’ll be sharing a recipe in the next couple of months.

Tea or Coffee – Both are naturally gluten free. There are lots of lovely organic varieties out there. We enjoyed English breakfast tea and green tea. Because we advocate eating as healthy as possible, while still having fun, I won’t recommend creamers. But almond, rice and hemp milk are good options if you need something that lasts. My favorites are almond and hemp milk, hemp being the creamiest.

Hamburger, chicken, bacon, etc. – Use your imagination! You can do anything you want!

Camping is meant to be a fun experience. Don’t get too worried about the food if this is your first time. It’s just a little different from being at home. Plus, in my mind, I see camping as a way to sneak in more fruits and veggies and get away from the sugary desserts I make or buy from the co-op. If you are overly hung up on camping “traditions” like marshmallows and graham crackers, there are recipes for those(eventually I’ll get around to trying a couple), and if I remember correctly, there are store bought options as well. Though I have yet to try them. I’m not missing them too much. All the other options are so appealing I forget about some of those “traditional” camping items. Remember, don’t get overwhelmed! Go back to basics! Basics are usually things you can take with you and are easy to make while camping!