Gluten Free Chili Mac to die for!

Here is another one of my recent creations that was a huge hit with my kids. I used to make a cheesy, gooey, absolutely delicious chili Mac that leaves my mouth watering. I had to come up with a VERY close runner up to that recipe to fill my chili Mac void, so here is my gluten free substitute: (Keep in mind that I try very hard to keep all of my food low fat and healthy, but if you're one of those lucky people that don't need to watch their calories or fat intake, then please feel free to buy regular items ~ and don't even think that the rest of us calorie/fat counters are secretly hoping you get fat one day...HA-HA) joking


Gluten Free Chili Mac ~
From the kitchen of Susan Jones (The Celiac Shack)


2 lbs Ground Turkey ( I use the 85/15 blend because I find turkey breast is too dry for my taste, but you also can use ground beef if that suits your fancy)


2 cans diced tomatoes
1 large onion (chopped)
1 green pepper
4 tablespoons oil
1 16oz fat free sour cream
2 cans unseasoned black beans
2 cloves of garlic to taste
Chili powder to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
Cumin powder to taste ( I use a lot of cumin!)
1 family sized bag of gluten free noodles ( I really like Tinkyaya noodles, but I use whatever I have on hand)

Cheddar cheese to taste


Brown the meat, chopped onions and green pepper in a large pot with a little oil. I add my cumin powder, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper at this point. Once this mixture is nice and brown, add to tomatoes and black beans. Simmer until everything has melded together. Add seasoning if needed to your taste and add the sour cream.


Cook your gluten free pasta noodles according the package instructions and drain.


Add the noodles to the chili mixture (I heard that you should always add noodles to sauce and not sauce to noodles...not sure if it's true, but it's what I do now)


Top with the cheddar cheese and serve with a nice salad or gluten free bread.

Delicious, easy to make, and completely gluten free. Hope you guys enjoy it, as this recipe makes enough for my family of 6 and I always have leftovers for lunches the next day. Cut it in half if you don't have an army to cook for ;)

Susan :)
The Celiac Shack ~ Making gluten free fun one day at a time!

Health & Wellness

Going the Distance Fundraiser

I heard about The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center through an acquaintance. She had received a Celiac Care Package from them when her son was diagnosed, and I began researching them online. I think they offer such a positive message for all of us, and I wanted to share some info about them and their annual fund raiser, which is so important as they are a non-profit organization.


The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center is dedicated to raising awareness and diagnosis rates nationwide and meeting the critical needs of people affected by celiac disease through education, research and advocacy. The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center is the first center of its kind in the nation, offering a comprehensive approach to the disease: including reliable and accurate patient and professional education, expert diagnosis and treatment for both children and adults, ground-breaking bench and clinical research and active leadership in advocacy efforts. The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center is a 501-c3 non-profit organization, completely funded by donor contributions.


Going The Distant Fund Raiser Info


Going the Distance for Celiac Disease is easy...this is a do-it-yourself fundraiser! Just sign up for an organized event or make up your own. Walk, run, swim, bike, jump rope--whatever your fancy-- to help support the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center and raise funds for Celiac Disease Education, Research and Advocacy! Download your "Fundraising Kit" here to get started or for more information, call 773-702-7593


It's a really great cause and something fun to do with your kids. Teaching your kids not only how to eat gluten free, but also how to be active and to how to give back to the community is the best wisdom you can offer up. Check it out and let me know what you're going to do for your activity. We should start a contest to see who can raise the most money - wouldn't that be fun??


Regards,
Susan
The Celiac Shack
Making gluten free fun one day at a time!

Gluten-Free Product Info.

Gluten-Free From A Mainstream Company

If you are like me, it is hard to always make it out to specialty stores for my gluten-free food. Though I prefer to use certain brands, I compromise on occasion when I'm in a pinch. Though there are many companies with large offerings, I am going to concentrate on Hormel Foods. This is a familiar name that we all have used or seen over the years. I know what you are thinking, meat that has been processed to the hilt or canned for use in fallout shelters. That is not necessarily the case. Many brands fall under the Hormel umbrella of products. Brands such as Chi-Chi's, Lloyd's BBQ, Spam, Jennie-O and more. I wouldn't fill my cupboards with these products on a regular basis, but it's good to know when you need something to fill a hole in your daily menu. Click on the link below for a complete list of the gluten-free items offered by this brand. (Hormel Foods Gluten-Free List)

Hormel's disclosure about the list:

We are providing the following list of products as a general guideline for those presently produced and distributed in the United States with formulas that do not contain gluten in the form of wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Although our products are labeled in compliance with government regulations, it is always necessary to read the labels on the products to determine if the food product meets your required needs. Parents and individuals with food allergies and/or food intolerances are responsible for reading the label of all products they intend to use regardless of how the product is represented on this site.

Hope this information is useful in your everyday gluten-free lifestyle!

Regards,

The Celiac Shack

*Note: In no way is The Celiac Shack receiving anything from Hormel for this blog.

What can you eat?

I keep getting questions about Celiac disease from almost everyone I encounter during my day. From other Moms and Dads, to kids and even family members that don't fully understand what Celiac is and what it effects. So I have a "canned" answer as to what Celiac is and what happens to people with it when they eat gluten, but I thought I would write here what awesome foods you can in fact eat when you're celiac or gluten intolerant.

I tell everyone that I use this list as a guide and am able to add to it with other gluten free items. We really can eat almost anything we want, with a few modifications, and as an extra bonus, we eat healthier, and live a healthier lifestyle in general because we're not eating a lot of the fast food, overly processed foods and foods loaded with preservatives that we used to consume. We all feel better and it's kind of a thrill to go one day at a time on a quest to eat only gluten free foods. Sure, it takes a little more planning in the beginning, but overall, it is the best thing we ever did for ourselves.

Take a look at all of the foods on this list, and if you have questions about what you can add to it, or use for substitutions, please let us know and we will help you out in any way we can.

Gluten Free Foods

Fresh meat
Fish and shellfish
Poultry and game
Vegetables
Fresh herbs
Fruit
Dried fruit
Nuts
Eggs
Cheese
Cottage cheese (not cheese spreads)
Milk (when newly diagnosed you may be lactose intolerant)
Dried beans, peas and pulses
Vegetable oils, sunflower oil, olive oil
Almonds, ground or whole
Rice, ground, long or short grain
Rice cakes/crackers
Rice flour (and other gluten free flours)
Yeast
Cream of tartar
Bicarbonate of soda
Sugar
Dried peppercorns
Cornflour (from the maize plant
Tamari soy sauce
Marmite (only if made in the UK)
Yoghurts (without crunchy bits)
Cider vinegar
Wine vinegar
Distilled vinegar
Sago
Tapioca
Millet
Quinoa
Flax seed
Corn Tortillas
Corn tacos
Popcorn (check any coating)
Homemade soups (not roux based)
Jelly (jello)
Jam
Marmalade
Honey
Golden syrup
Black treacle or molasses
Tea (check herb teas first)
Fruit juice
Fruit squash (not barley water
gluten free beer
Wine
Xanthan gum (replaces "elastic" quality of gluten)

The Celiac Shack ~ Making gluten free fun one day at a time

Sign up for our newsletter, The Pipeline for more great gluten free information and recipes!