SPRING is a great Gluten Free time!

I've have a renewed excitement in cooking, baking and living gluten free! I consider myself to be a pretty good cook (and yes, my family would agree...I hope!) I was getting into my winter cooking blahs, but now that Spring is here...watch out!


I'm not one to follow recipes exactly. I'm a busy Mom, and I "fidget" recipes to work for me in my day. I like to experiment, and sometimes my creations work...sometimes they're not requested again, but this is how I run my kitchen and I like it this way. Some of my family's favorites have come from me combining two different recipes, or just experimenting with ingredients. I also lack the desire to actually write down my recipes, which drives my husband nuts! He thinks I should have a book of recipes that the kids love, but I say, "Who has time"?? All of my cooking knowledge is in my head, which can be a pretty chaotic and scary place, depending on the day. Some days my chili has a tad more cumin than others, but this is okay in my world...my time is too precious to worry about the small details - ha-ha


This new blog format will serve multiple purposes. It will allow me to share my everyday cooking experiences with you, and it will also make my husband happy because I will actually be documenting my recipes for future use...blah blah blah. I'm joking, because I am really excited to share my trial and errors with all of you and document my successes so I look like a really good gluten free cook! :)


This is one of my creations that I used to accompany my fruit salad on Easter day.

HEALTHY GLUTEN FREE FRUIT DIP/TOPPING
Ingredients:
1 8 oz package fat free cream cheese
6-12 Strawberries (dependant on your taste- I told you that I fidget recipes!!)
1 banana
Approx. 1 cup low fat Cottage cheese
Approx. 1/2 cup fat free Plain yogurt
Honey - as much as you need for sweetness
1/2 teaspoon Gluten free vanilla


Add the first 3 ingredients into a blender and slowly blend until slightly smooth. Slowly add the remainder of the ingredients, watching for consistency. You don't want your mixture to get too runny, so if you need to cut back on the yogurt and cottage cheese, please do so. Blend all the ingredients together, and serve with any fresh fruit you have on hand.


Simple, easy, healthy, and it is delicious. I'm not a big fan of adding extra calories, especially to fruits and veggies, but this is a nice healthy alternative to get cottage cheese and yogurt into my kids' diets.


I will be posting more fabulous gluten free recipes everyday, so check back!


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

Travel & Leisure

Starbucks has Gluten Free Items

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am a full coffee addict!  I can't live without it, and I don't understand people that do. I Like the smell, the taste, the feeling it gives me, and there is nothing better than walking into a coffee house and getting your hot cup of joe and a delicious treat to enjoy with it.  Only problem is, until recently, every time I walked into Starbucks, I only could get my hot cup of coffee.  Sad that I couldn't pick one of the treats from that forbidden case that I always drooled over.  Now I CAN!  Starbucks has an Orange Valencia Cake that is gluten free.  They also offer a gluten-free Amaretti Cookie that you can purchase. I know that there is a Starbucks in every town and city...probably on every corner, so it's nice to know you can pop in, sip your hot cup of goodness and get a gluten free snack on the side. 

Check out the link below, which is the Starbucks blog link to answer any questions you may have:

Gluten Free Starbucks

Go out and get some caffeine!!

Regards,

The Celiac Shack

Making gluten free fun one day at a time!