Fall; The Season of Abundance

The fall is a beautiful time of the year to be Gluten Free. It might not seem that way when starting out but it really is. All of the best veggies are ready for harvest and for the most part, the big family get-togethers focus on turkey and chicken now that it is cool enough to get the oven going.

Thanksgiving and Christmas both have an abundance of options as long as you stay away from the stuffing and the dessert table. Many Gluten-Free breads actually make the best stuffing because of their texture.

Fall is also zucchini season and there are soooo many things you can do with zucchini. I slice it into strips and use it in place of pasta noodles in sauce. Sometimes I take a large zucchini to the mandolin slicer and cut into large "noodles" for lasagna. Just keep in mind that they do not soak up liquid like pasta does so keep it a little drier.

In the fall/winter I make a full roasted chicken at least once a week. I love the smell in the house while it roasts and since I am only feeding Jonny and I, we have lots of leftovers. I am able to make enough chicken salad for the first part of the week and broth to last the full week. The day after we roast chicken, I like to make a giant Chicken Caesar Salad or Greek Salad even! Jonny gets a full breast and a leg for his lunch on Monday with leftover veggies. It really works out perfect!

The time is almost here for me to get out my canning supplies and get started. Last year I canned tomato sauce, peaches, spicy beans and jalapenos and I learned so much along the way. This year I plan to do things a little different. First off, I am going to dehydrate more items. I love dried fruit as a snack and it takes up far less space than the jarred kind. I am not going to can any jalepenos as I made way too many last year.  It was also and extremely painful process when the heat started coming through the gloves!

Fall is upon us! Feel happy as it signifies more than the oncoming winter. It is harvest, one of the most abundant times of the year for produce! Keep your chin up and a smile on your face because all your favorite foods are ready for you to create into a culinary masterpiece!

Happy Almost-Fall Everyone! :)

Avocado Salad Dressing

So, now that I am on the hunt for salad dressing, I have come across a few more.

I absolutely love the taste of avocado and use it whenever possible. I would grow it if I could but I do not think my climate lends to good growing conditions. (Although I am going to look that up now :) )

Avocado is an amazing healing food and should be incorporated into your diet at least a couple times per week. When it is in season and at a good price, I eat as many as I can!




1 avocado, pitted and peeled
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped or squished
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 lemon, juices
1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste

Put all but the olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Then add the olive oil while the processor is still running on low.
If you need to thin it out, add a little water. Pour over a salad of fresh greens and enjoy!

Garlic - This ingredient is a fantastic candida fighter but only when consumed raw. Not only does it help to kill off candida in your system, it helps to balance the natural flora of your digestive system. Dressings are a perfect way to get raw garlic into your system.

Green Onions - These have anti-fungal properties and help to kill off candida in your system. Green onions from the store that come with roots attached |(most do) can be used and regrown in your windowsill or garden. I have a post about this which you can see here.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Soup

In the fall I was making a batch of pumpkin seeds at the end of the season. The woman who worked the local pumpkin farm told me to take all the pumpkins I could handle... for free! The trick is going a week after Halloween to do your pumpkin shopping! My intention was to gut a few to roast the seeds and throw the flesh to the chickens. But once she helped me fill up my trunk I knew I had way too many. I took the flesh out of them and put them in freezer bags for later use.

All winter I was sneaking pumpkin into chili, pasta sauce and soups. It has a wonderful texture and makes soups smooth and creamy and adds a ton of extra vitamins. Here is a recipe I found for pumpkin soup. Sometimes I season it a little different to suit the meal but this is a great recipe just the way it is!







Ingredients:
1    small pumpkin (about 3 cups pumpkin pulp)
2    Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
4    cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg


To Make Pumpkin Puree:
1) Preheat over to 375F. Wash pumpkin, cut in half and remove the insides. Place cut-side-down on the baking sheet or oven rack and bake for 40 minutes or until soft.
2)Scrape out the insides and puree in the blender.

To Make the Soup:
1) Saute the onions in the butter in a soup pot until onions are translucent.
2) Add the stock, spices and pumpkin. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot with some GF crackers or bread.

Gluten Free Pear Bread Recipe

I found this recipe just today and had to make it right away. I found it on another great gluten free blog site called Simply...Gluten Free. I knew I needed to share it with you all right away!

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2    cup tapioca, corn or potato starch
1       tsp baking powder
1       tsp kosher or sea salt
2       tsp ground cinnamon

2       eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2    cup grapeseed or canola oil
2       tsp vanilla

2       pears, peeled and grated
1       cup walnuts

1) Preheat over to 350F. Grease a 9x5 pan and dust lightly with brown rice flour.
2) Mix together rice, tapioca, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3) In another bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Add the pears and walnuts and mix lightly.
4) Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with homemade butter :)


Follow @YesNoMabee

Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Cinnamon Popovers

This is a recipe I found on Glutenfreeda.com when i was looking for ideas for Easter breakfast. It is very simple. It uses a GF flour mix and I have included the GF flour recipe at the bottom.

2 large eggs
2 cups + 1 Tbsp GF flour
1/8 cup polenta
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients but the milk and mix until well blended. Then add the milk and blend again. The mix should be cooked from cold so cover it up and put it in the fridge for an hour or even overnight.

Put a small amount of melted butter or oil in each cup of a muffin tin. Put it in the cold over and begin preheating to 400F. When the over/pan are hot, remove the pan and pour the mix evenly among the muffin cups. Put it right back in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

When they are golden brown, remove them from the oven and serve hot!


GF Flour

2 cups rice flour
1/3 cup corn starch
2/3 cup potato starch
1/4 tsp xantham gum


Follow @YesNoMabee

Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Gluten Free Items at Wendys

Here is a list of gluten-free menu items from the Wendys website. Keep in mind that these are only items that do not contain gluten, but they may have come into contact with gluten.






Meat:
Hamburger Patty**
Ultimate Chicken Grill Breast†



Condiments:

Applewood Smoked Bacon
Asiago Cheese
Bacon Pieces
Becel® Margarine
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Cheddar Pepper Jack Cheese Blend
Crinkle Cut Pickles
Honey Mustard Sauce
Ketchup
Lettuce
Mayonnaise, Lite
Mustard
Red Onion
Natural Asiago Cheese
Processed Cheese Slice
Ranch Sauce
Sour Cream
Tomato
Signature Sauce


Baked Potatoes:
Plain
Sour Cream & Chives
Bacon & Cheese
Broccoli & Cheese
Cheese*
Chili & Cheese*




Chili
Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Hot Chili Seasoning Packet
Chili Cheese Nachos*








Beverages:
Coffee
Coffee Creamer
Iced Tea
Specialty Teas
Coca-Cola Classic®
Dasani® Water
Diet Coke®
Fresca®
Sprite®
Barq’s® Root Beer
Minute Maid® Apple Juice
Minute Maid Orange Juice
Fruitopia® Strawberry Passion Awareness
2% M.F. Partly Skimmed Milk
1% M.F. Partly Skimmed Choc Milk



Frostys:
Chocolate Frosty
Vanilla Frosty
Chocolate Frosty Shake
Strawberry Frosty Shake
Vanilla Bean Frosty Shake
Wild Berry Frosty Shake
Caramel Frosty Shake
Caramel Apple Frosty Parfait
(without granola)






Dressings:
Avocado Ranch Dressing
Creamy Red Jalapeno Dressing
Fat Free Italian Vinaigrette Dressing
Lemon Garlic Caesar Dressing
Light Classic Ranch Dressing†
Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing


Salads:
Caesar Side Salad
(without croutons)
Garden Side Salad
(without croutons)
Baja Salad
Seasoned Tortilla Strips
Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
(without pecans)
BLT Cobb Salad





Follow @YesNoMabee

Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Gluten-Free at Tim Hortons

If you are anything like me, you love Timmys. The options are rediculously limited but here they are:


Drinks:
Hot Chocolate
English Toffee Cappuccino
French Vanilla Cappuccino
Hot Smoothee
Coffee
Tea
Juices
Flavour Shots
Iced Coffee
Iced Cappuccino


Food:
Hashbrowns
Vanilla Yogurt and Berries
Strawberry Yogurt and Berries
Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Hearty Bacon and Potato Soup
Chilli




Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Easy Homemade Gluten-Free Spelt Bread

I have been experimenting with many different gluten-free bread recipes. This is the best one I have come across yet. It is spongy like wheat bread and you can't tell the difference in taste at all.


Ingredients:
4    cups spelt flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 TBSP molasses
1    tsp baking soda
2   cups milk


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350F
Grease a 9x5 pan
Combine all ingredients in a bowl
Put "dough" into the bread pan
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes


Follow @YesNoMabee

Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Amazingly Simple Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:


2 cups peanut butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla


Directions:


Preheat over to 350F, grease 2 cookie sheets
In a bowl, combine peanut butter and sugar until smooth
Beat in eggs one at a time
Sgtir in baking soda, salt and vanilla
Roll into small balls in your hand and put on baking sheet, press down with a fork
Bake 8-10 minutes
Allow to cook 5 minutes before moving to a rack to cool ( or eat!)


Gluten Free Me on Facebook

Follow @YesNoMabee

New Gluten-Free Me

I have just recently found out that I am unable to eat gluten. Like many of you, i felt like life is over! I LOVE bread and pasta and all my flour-filled treats. No more pizza, subs, wraps, sandwiches, burgers...beer!

 I can admit, I have been cheating. A little timbit here or a muffin there... But now, things are going to change! I have had my "Aha!" moment and I realize that my eating habits are just hurting me. So this week, no more cheating. Its time to make the big life change and eliminate gluten completely. I know that doing this a week before Christmas is going to be tough. I still don't understand all the foods that are safe or not and I will be eating other's cooking. This might be the best time to do it though! The biggest challenge of all.

Along my journey, I am going to share my experiences which many of you can relate to. But more than that, I will be sharing my favorite GF recipes and products. I am new to this so any comments or tips are greatly appreciated!

Check out my YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/YesNoMabeeVlog?feature=mhee

Take a look at my website:
http://www.yesnomabee.ca

Follow @YesNoMabee