Mmmmm…

Today is the last day to enter to win San-J cooking sauces and tamari.  Don’t forget to head over and enter to win!

I talk about how stressful weeknight meals are on a regular basis.  Some weeks I do better at planning in advance than others.  When I am having a particularly busy and stressful week we end up with more takeout than I would like, but with these recipes from Carol Kicinski, I hope to avoid that all together.  Kicinski has created some new gluten-free stir-fry recipes with some of my favorite San-J sauces.  These recipes can be made in a matter of minutes using 6 simple ingredients.

TOFU & GREEN BEAN STIR FRY
Created by: Carol Kicinski
Ingredients
1/4 cup San-J Gluten-Free Tamari
2 tablespoons gluten free sweet chili garlic sauce
1 pound extra firm tofu
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons oil, use divided
1 pound green beans, cleaned trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
Directions
Combine the San-J Gluten-Free Tamari with the chili garlic sauce, set aside.
Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes, pat dry with paper towels and put into a mixing bowl with the cornstarch, toss to coat.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it starts to shimmer, add half the tofu in an even layer in the pan. Cook the tofu undisturbed for 2 minutes. Gently flip and stir the tofu. Continue to cook and stir until the tofu is lightly golden brown on all sides, 3 – 4 minutes. Remove the tofu to a plate and set aside. Heat 1 more tablespoon of oil in the pan and cook the remaining tofu the same way. Remove from pan.
Reduce heat to medium; add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the green beans. Cook the green beans, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of water and continue to cook the beans for 3 minutes or until they are bright green and crisp tender. Increase the heat back up to high, add the reserved sauce mixture and boil for 1 minute or until it reduces slightly. Add the tofu and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish.

STIR FRY NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Created by: Carol Kicinski
Ingredients
1 pound rice noodles (sometimes called rice sticks or Bahn Pho) or gluten free fettuccini
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
7 ounces shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and sliced into Ľ inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and deveined and thinly sliced
6 green onions, cleaned trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup San-J Thai Peanut Sauce
Directions
Cook the noodles in salted boiling water according to the package directions, stirring often with a fork to keep the noodles separated. Drain and rinse well under hot water.
Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet or wok until it shimmers. Add the mushrooms, peppers, and white part of the green onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the drained noodles, green part of the green onions, and San-J Thai Peanut Sauce. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes or until the noodles have absorbed most of the sauce. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.

KUNG PAO PORK
Created by: Carol Kicinski
Ingredients
1 pound pork tenderloin
1/4 plus 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, use divided
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 Thai chilies
3 green onions, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/4 cup San-J Szechuan Sauce
Preparation
Trim the pork tenderloin of all visible fat and cut into 1 inch cubes. Roughly chop 1 tablespoon of the peanuts and set aside for garnish.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the pork and cook for 4 minutes turning frequently to brown on all sides. Add the remaining 1/4 cup peanuts, chilies and 2 of the green onions, cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the San-J Szechuan Sauce and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Serve immediately garnished with the chopped peanuts and remaining green onion.
Serves 4.

ORANGE SHRIMP
Created by: Carol Kicinski
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 green onions, cleaned, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces on the diagonal
5 Thai chilies, whole
1/3 cup San-J Orange Sauce
Preparation
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and put into a mixing bowl with the cornstarch, toss to coat.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it starts to shimmer, add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, until they turn pink and start to curl, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions and chilies and cook for 1 minute. Add the San-J Orange Sauce, cook for 1 minutes or until the sauce is heated through. Serve immediately; don’t eat the chilies unless you can tolerate really spicy food.
Serves 4.

San-J products are available nationwide at Whole Foods Market or your local natural food store. For more information, visit www.san-j.com.

Now for the fun part – San-J has offered to give on lucky reader 6 Asian Cooking Sauces and Gluten-Free Tamari (2 varieties)!  How cool is that?  All you have to do to enter is follow the directions in the Rafflecopter box below.  Continue reading →

Hooray!  The groundhog did not see his shadow yesterday!  Why is it something so silly (Come on you know it is!), gets so many people, so excited?  I mean, come on, it’s a groundhog predicting the weather/arrival of spring.  As I was running down the Olentangy Trail yesterday with my MIT group, I was chatting with a fellow runner about it.  We are putting our faith in a rodent to tell us when spring will come.  Not only that, but we then get ecstatic when we hear there is an early spring despite it being 15 degrees with 15 mph winds and snow cover on the ground.  Have you ever wondered about the accuracy of Punxsutawney Phil, or your local groundhog (ours happens to be Buckeye Chuck).  What if their opinions differ from one another?  I did some research and the accuracy of the groundhog is roughly 39%.  Sounds to me like that is right in line with the local meteorologists’ accuracy.  Haha!  Just joking!

P.F. Chang’s is offering 20% off online orders for “The Big Game” today.  Simply order online and enter “KICKOFF” in the promotion code field.  Enjoy!

Word on the street is Glutino has a toaster pastry (think Pop Tarts, but gluten-free) ready to hit the shelves at Whole Foods.  This could make a lot of gluten-free children very happy, especially if the child has experienced the gluten-filled version.  New gluten-free products make me happy.  Not so much for myself, as I aim to limit replacement products, but for kids who feel left out.

I also read Trader Joe’s has a gluten-free all-purpose flour on their shelves!  This is exciting news, as the price is lower than some of the other versions on the market at $3.99 for 1lb.  It is important to note that the blend does not contain xanthan or guar gum like some of the other blends on the market.

Sunday – Appetizers, including chicken fingers, and such for “The Big Game”

Monday – Spaghetti and meatballs, salad

Tuesday – Easy enchilada bake and salad

Wednesday – Italian grilled chicken, coconut baked brown rice, snow peas and salad

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner and fruit salad

Friday – Gluten-Free Sonoma Flatbread pizza and salad

Saturday – Take-out

Week in Review:

Gluten-Free Food Tax Deduction information

Did you win the Pacific Natural Foods giveaway?  Click on over to find out!

NFCA Webinar: Sex and the Celiac: A Focus on Reproductive Health

Alert: Good Seasons Italian Dressings Packet Change

Recipe: Pulled Pork & Roasted Veggie Salad

Have a great week!

Today is the day – the day footballs fans have been waiting for – the big game!  I am not a football fan, so today is more about the cool new commercials or the fun food than the game itself.  The half time show is always entertaining as well. 

Are you hosting at your house for the game or will you attend a party someplace else?  If you are going to a party you may be concerned about gluten-free options.  I always like to bring a dish to share that is gluten-free so that I know I will have something safe to eat.  Here are some of my favorites:

• Vegetable tray & dill dip (homemade or purchased)
• Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Cocktail Wieners (package of Lil Smokies and bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce)
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Cheese & Crackers (there are many great gluten-free crackers now)
• Queso Cheese Dip (Velveeta cheese and a can of Rotel tomatoes)
• Chips & Salsa
• Chicken Wings (Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Wing sauce is gluten-free)

Another fun option is Sweet & Sour Swedish Meatballs using gluten-free Cooked Perfect meatballs*.

Sweet & Sour Swedish Meatballs

Yield: 36 Meatballs

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

36 1-oz Cooked Perfect gluten-free Italian-style meatballs

12-oz jar gluten-free sweet & sour sauce

11-oz can of mandarin oranges, drained

6-oz can diced pineapple, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat meatballs in microwave on high for 2 minutes (heat half the meatballs first, followed by the second half of meatballs). In a large mixing bowl combined all the ingredients, then pour into a casserole dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

*It is important to note that not all meatballs made by Cooked Perfect are gluten-free.  They will be clearly labeled on the front of the package.

Make sure to serve yourself first or bring along a single-serve dish for yourself to avoid cross-contamination. 

Do you have plans for the big game?  Have any fun recipes to share?

Over the past few years I have had occasional bouts of low ferritin stores and/or anemia.  Historically I don’t do well with iron supplements, so I try to focus on getting my iron from the foods that I eat.  Those with Celiac Disease can be at risk for anemia, in addition to women being at higher risk due to heavy menstruation.  During my physical last fall I discovered that my ferritin stores were once again low.  This time they weren’t below normal, but they were at the very bottom side of normal.  This concerned my physician because he said they see a higher incidence of stress fractures in women with low/normal ferritin stores.  Crap!  I have been down that path and I don’t want to go down it again! 

I immediately began taking an iron supplement, one that was previously okay with my stomach, only to find out that it was causing diarrhea.  After consulting with my physician, we agreed to try a diet full of iron-rich foods for 2 months and then recheck my blood work.  In addition to eating more read meat, I added in more beans and citrus with my spinach salads, tried tofu stir-fries and did all of the above consistently.  Where I had been in the habit of getting only protein or beans at Chipotle, I began getting steak and black beans.  I added raisins to every salad.  I really worked hard to avoid having to take supplements that were sure to make me sick.

The results are in…

November 2012:

• Ferritin – 14
• Hematocrit – 38.8
• Hemoglobin – 13.2

January 2013:

• Ferritin – 16
• Hematocrit – 41.8
• Hemoglobin – 13.9

Now the key is maintaining that improvement.  I should send myself a reminder with a link to this post to read once a week so that I keep on top of it. 

Have you ever been anemic?  What are some of your favorite iron-rich foods?

I have some great information to share with you all regarding gluten-free food tax deductions.  I have never used this, but I have had many people ask me about it. 

Please continue to read below for information from the NFCA:

Things You Should Know Before Filing for a Gluten-Free Food Tax Deduction

It’s no secret that gluten-free food packaged food is oftentimes more expensive than its gluten-containing counterparts, but did you know you might be eligible for a tax deduction to help make up the difference?
If you have never filed for a tax deduction for your gluten-free food purchases, there are some important things you should know before you do:

1. You Need an Official Diagnosis to be Eligible
Many people are eating gluten-free for a variety of reasons, but only those with an official diagnosis with a gluten-related disorder will be eligible for a tax deduction. You’ll need a prescription from your doctor for a gluten-free diet as your treatment option as well.

2. Keep Track of Your Food Purchases the Entire Year In order to receive the tax deduction, you’ll have to calculate the difference between the cost of gluten-free alternatives vs. the cost of gluten-containing foods. For example, if you purchase gluten-free crackers for $4.50 and traditional crackers cost $2.50, you’ll only be able to claim the difference: $2
This will need to be done throughout the year as you purchase gluten-free food. Since you will have a lot of purchases to keep track of, some have recommended using a spreadsheet to help keep track of all of the figures.
Everyone rule has exceptions! Visit the Tax Deduction Guide for Gluten-Free Products from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) to see which types of gluten-free food are eligible for a full refund.

3. Refunds are Only Given if Medical Expenses Exceed 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income IRS rules dictate that refunds for medical expenses will be granted only if they are over 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) (the total gross income, minus specific reductions). Turbo Tax gives a great example for determining if your medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your AGI.
Once you figure out if you’re eligible for a tax deduction, the last step is moving forward and filing

Have you ever filed for a tax deduction for your gluten-free food purchases?  If not, do you plan on doing so this year?

I get lots of emails daily that contain recipes.  Some catch my eye, others?  Not so much.  Monday morning the puppy woke me up at 3:30 AM to go outside and play pee and I had a rough time falling back to sleep.  That left me laying in bed reading my email on my iPad.  I came across an email titled “Best Ever Banana Bread”.  How does one ignore that?  Yeah, you don’t.  As I was reading the recipe I realized that I had two bananas on the counter that were past their prime, so perhaps this would be a great way to use them!  I bookmarked the page and came back to it later to see how easy it would be to modify the recipe to be gluten-free. 

Fortunately I only had to make one substitution – the flour – to make the recipe gluten-free.  I used an all-purpose baking mix that already contained guar and xanthan gum, so adding extra wasn’t necessary.  The only other issue I ran into was not having any buttermilk.  I recalled that there was an easy way to fix that, so after Googling, I found that all I had to do was add 1 TBSP of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. 

The recipe I used for inspiration comes from Taste of Home, but isn’t gluten-free as written.  Here is the recipe with the changes I made and notes in italics.

Best Ever Banana Bread

• 1 3/4 cups flour – I used Mina’s Purely Divine All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Mix
• 1 1/2 cups sugar – This can probably be cut down by 1/4 to 1/2 cup for less sweet banana bread
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of buttermilk – see above directions if you don’t have any on hand
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts – I omitted and added 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1.  Heat oven to 325 and grease 9 x 5 inch bread pan

2.  Mix dry ingredients together and set aside

3.  Mix wet ingredients together and add to dry ingredients, mix well.

4.  Fold in walnuts or chocolate chips.

5.  Bake for 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

This banana bread certainly does live up to its name!  Wow!  The inside is so moist and flavorful, while the outside layer is like a thin, crisp crust.  When I was a child my least favorite part of the banana or pumpkin bread was the crust; not with this bread! 

Mina’s Purely Divine All-Purpose Baking Mix has a combination of gluten-free flours and includes guar and xanthan gums, so the addition of any extra is not necessary.

Ingredients: Organic rice flour, potato flour, organic cassava starch, organic sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, teff flour, xanthan gum, guar gum

The baking mix can be used in recipes in place of non-gluten-free flour. Simply use the same amount of baking mix as you would flour. The baking mix can be purchased directly from Mina’s Purely Divine website. A 1lb. bag is $5.34 and a 5lb. bag is $18.95 or $3.95/lb.

This, my friends, is how you make a cold, rainy Monday better.  Get busy!

**The baking mix used in this recipe/post was sent to me free of charge for review purposes.  The thoughts and opinions shared here are mine and have not be influenced by anyone or anything.

Good things come to those who wait…

Click on over to check to see if you won the Rudi’s Gluten-Free Tool Kit to help find “Soft & Fluffy”.  If you didn’t, no worries, you can still enter to win the win a soup kit from Pacific Natural Foods!

Good gluten-free pizza was once hard to find.  These days options are sprouting up all over the place and we finally don’t have to settle on a mediocre pizza just so we can have pizza.  I have friend that works for Donato’s Pizza that I run with in MIT.  I have been asking her for a while when they were going to start offering a gluten-free pizza with a crust and knew that it was being discussed, but wasn’t sure exactly what would come about.  Donato’s has offered a “No Dough” pizza for as long as I have been gluten-free, but I was never overly fond of it, though Donato’s was once my pizza of choice before I began the gluten-free diet.  Jon used to eat the “No Dough” pizza, but once other local and chain establishments began to serve gluten-free pizza with a crust, it was hard to order the “No Dough” pizza and feel satisfied.

Just last week I got the word that Donato’s had indeed made a gluten-free pizza for their “Take & Bake” line to be carried in Kroger stores.  The regular line has been in Kroger stores for years and now will offer three different gluten-free options.

These flatbreads and pizzas utilize contemporary flavors and simply honest ingredients. We use only rBST-free cheese, as well as nitrate-free and preservative-free ingredients. Simply delicious!

Jane’s Dough, a subsidiary of Donato’s Pizza, mass produces pizza dough and pizza products in the Columbus area.  More about Jane’s Dough:

Named after Jane Grote Abell, Jane’s Dough Foods was established in 2008 to mass produce consistently excellent dough and pizza products. Having recognized that the pizza manufacturing industry was focused on speed first and quality second, the company instead built on its history and culture to deliver better tasting products with quality as the primary concern. Sharing its headquarters with its parent company, Jane’s Dough Foods is growing rapidly as it expands in retail supermarkets, membership clubs, c-stores, food service, and contract packing.

Jane’s Dough contacted me to see if I would be interested in sampling and reviewing the new gluten-free Sonoma Flatbread pizzas.  Of course I jumped at the offer and was thrilled when the package showed up on my doorstep late last week on a particularly stressful day.  At least I could solve my dinner problems easily on that day!

The Margherita Pizza ready to go into the oven.  The baking instructions recommend baking directly on the oven rack.  I opted to use a cooling rack that I use for cookies on top of a foil-covered pizza pan because Aaron will place non-gluten-free pizzas on our oven racks.  The pizza was ready in roughly 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees.

After baking

Of course I had to cut the pizza the way Donato’s traditionally slices their pizzas, because how could I not?  I added fresh basil because I am addicted.

The pepperoni pizza sliced and ready to be inhaled.  Are you drooling yet?

I know you have heard it before, but this time I really mean it, this is the best gluten-free pizza we have ever tasted!  I really, really, really mean it!  The search is over!  Yes, there are some other excellent gluten-free pizzas out there in Columbus and across the United States, but having been a huge Donato’s fan before going gluten-free and being able to have a gluten-free version…this is perfection!  Jon oohed and aahed and agreed 100%!  The crust is thin, with a crisp and chewiness that we have missed.

What makes these pizzas even better is the gluten-free certification by the GFCO.  Udi’s Gluten-Free pizza crusts supply the base, and are larger than the crusts we are used to seeing from Udi’s.  These pizzas serve 4 people each!  Okay, if you have a bigger appetite, maybe only 2 people.  When I eat a pizza made with a store bought Udi’s Gluten Free crust, I typically eat the whole thing.  I only ate half of the Margherita Pizza, though my mouth wanted more.

The Uncured Pepperoni and Margherita pizzas can be found in many Ohio Kroger stores in  “Nature’s Market” (natural and organic / frozen section) starting January 2, 2013. The stores should be set by January 8. They are sold refrigerated and can be kept that way for 24 hours or frozen for use after that and retail for $8.99, which is an amazing deal for a gluten-free pizza of this size!

Do you have a favorite gluten-free pizza?  Have you found anything that rivals your favorite non-gluten-free pizza or are you still looking?  I can finally say that for us, the search is over. 

Editing to add more from the distributor:

Thank you for your feedback! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them so much! My name is Collin and I work on the sales side of Janes Dough Foods.

The Gluten Free Sonoma line is currently available in the FREEZER section of Kroger’s Nature market.

We are bringing on new local retailers everyday and will do our best to keep everyone informed..

The Anderson’s General Store(s) should have them in as early as this weekend.

Enjoy!

Collin

*These pizzas were sent to me free of charge for review purposes.  The thoughts and opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Welcome to the last week of January!  Can’t believe that this weekend marks the beginning of February!  I am just ready for the weather to warm up and stay that way.  Just in the 50s or 60s, no humidity.  I am not picky or anything.

Katz Gluten Free has been adding all kinds of new products to their line-up that I am having a hard time keeping track.  Just last week I learned they introduced a Chocolate Cake mix and the next day I see they have also added Carrot Muffins and Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins.  Holy new products, Batman!  I think I need to be placing an order this week to try some of these products out!  I have fallen in love with the plain English Muffin, so I am sure the Cinnamon Raisin is equally as tasty, if not better.

Take a look at what I saw in the grocery store a couple weeks back!  Easter candy!  I am not going to argue, because I love Cadbury Mini Eggs, but it wasn’t even mid-January when I spotted these puppies!

Sunday – Pei Wei

Monday – Turkey Tacos, black beans, corn and salad

Tuesday – Breakfast for dinner and fruit salad

Wednesday – Italian grilled chicken, brown rice pasta Alfredo and salad

Thursday – Burgers, sweet potato puffs and salad

Friday – Donato’s Sonoma Flatbread GF Pizza and salas

Saturday – Leftovers

For more gluten-free menu ideas visit Jo-Lynne Shane’s Musings of a Housewife

Week in Review:

Ends today: Rudi’s Gluten-free Help Find “Soft & Fluffy” Tool Kit giveaway

Enter to win a soup starts kit from Pacific Naturals

Review: Van’s Whole Grain Snack Bars

Review: Trader Joe’s Iced Lemon Rounds

Have a great week!