All Natural Mom: GFCF Recipes

1. In a large zip lock bag, combine flour and spices. In batches, add beef to flour mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a plate. In a large non-stick pan, heat the oil at medium-high heat. Cook beef until browned all over. With a slotted spoon, transfer beef to crock pot.

2. Add 1 cup of stock to pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits. Transfer stock mixture to crock pot. Add carrots, potatoes, celery, onion, remaining cup of stock, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley to crock pot. Mix well to combine.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours, until vegetables are tender and stew is bubbling. Remove bay leaves and discard.

4. Add peas. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can thicken with a mixture of cold beef broth or water and about a TB of tapioca starch.

This dish can be made up to 12 hours in advance of cooking. Follow directions and refrigerate overnight in the crock pot. The next day, place stoneware in slow cooker and cook as directed.

Chicken Fajita Seasoning

Combine all of the ingredients in a zip lock bag. I use about 1 ½ to 2 TB of seasoning mix for every 4 chicken breasts. Use more or less depending on how spicy you want it.

This tastes kind of like a taco seasoning mix. I cut some chicken breasts into chunks, then place in a hot pan with about a TB of olive oil. Brown chicken, then add seasonings and about 2 TB of water to mix. I make this with Spanish rice and serve on top of rice and lettuce. Can also serve with corn or rice flour tortillas.

This is one of our favorites. I quadruple the above recipe and keep in a jar for when we make these.

*I got this recipe from Kim Z. from the Feingold board.

1 ½ lbs organic ground chicken (Whole Foods & Woodman’s has organic)

½ cup onion, diced small

1/3 cup green pepper, diced small (optional)

¼ cup ketchup (I use Hunt’s with No Corn Syrup)

¼ cup brown rice crumbs (I use Erewhon rice krispy cereal crushed)

½ tsp garlic powder

¾ tsp cumin (can use less if you want it less spicy)

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix, then add the ground chicken and work the mixture through. Using your hands, create 1 ½ inch meatballs. Place on a 9x13 greased baking dish (may need two). Bake at 400 degrees until moist and golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Freeze any leftovers.

I double this recipe b/c ground chicken comes in 1 lb packages and I hate doing math. J

I really like this recipe, but my kids say it’s too spicy. My 15-month old likes them though. We dip in ketchup. I prefer it without the green pepper, but it tastes good with or without.

Chicken Nuggets

3 cups of rice cereal (I use GF Erewhon brown rice cereal in the blue box)

2 TB GF flour blend (w/o xanthum gum)

1 tsp sugar (I use organic sugar)

½ tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

4 boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor or blender. Place a portion of the crumb mixture in a shallow bowl. (I put at least half of the crumb mixture into a zip lock freezer bag and save for later use.) In another bowl, put the oil. Cut chicken into chicken nugget size cubes. Dip chicken in oil, then in crumb mixture.

Place nuggets on a pan lined with unbleached parchment paper (from WF) that has been brushed lightly with oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. I usually do 20 minutes. These reheat nicely (400 degrees for about 10 minutes). Let any leftovers cool, then freeze in a zip lock freezer bag and reheat in the oven when ready to eat.

I double the above recipe and keep the crumb mixture in a mason quart jar to save time when I am making chicken nuggets. These are a staple in our house.

*Adapted from a recipe from “Special Eats” by Sueson Vess.

Chicken Piccata

4 chicken breasts (I use Trader Joe’s Organic – about $2.50 each)

½ cup GF all purpose flour (I use Carol Fenster’s mix)

½ tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Sea Salt)

¼ cup of Madeira wine (I got this at Trader Joe’s)

3 TB fresh squeezed lemon juice

Mix the flour with paprika, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into mixture and shake off any excess. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and brown chicken on both sides. Remove and keep warm.

Add the wine and water to the pan. Add lemon juice and stir until sauce thickens slightly. Return chicken to the pan and meld flavors of the sauce with the chickens. Serves 6-8.

I make this for the adults. My kids can’t do grapes and wine is a big yeast feeder, but I really like this one. Goes well with thin spaghetti and marinara or alfredo sauce (for those not GFCF).

*I got this from Special Eats cookbook by Sueson Vess.

Chicken Stew

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes (I use organic from TJ’s)

29 oz. chicken broth (I use one container of Pacific or Imagine and save 3 oz for mixing corn starch at the end)

3 cups cubed peeled potatoes (I just usually use about 2 potatoes)

1 cup chopped onion (I usually just use one onion)

1 cup sliced carrots (I use at least 2 b/c my daughter likes carrots)

1 can (6 oz. no salt added) tomato paste (we use Tropical Tradition)

¼ cup cold water (or I use the rest of the chicken broth)

3 TB of tapioca starch (or corn starch)

In a crock pot, combine first 11 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Mix tapioca starch and broth until smooth and stir into the stew. Cook for another 30 minutes.

I usually use 4 chicken breasts in this but you could add more depending on how many you are serving. I make this recipe a lot. My daughter really likes this. It has more of a beef stew taste to it, as opposed to a chicken pot pie. I send it in for lunch for my daughter in a thermos.

I put my onions in the freezer for about 10 minutes before slicing and then run under cold water while peeling the skin. Otherwise, my eyes are watering big time. Also try to breathe through your nose and close your mouth while cutting.

1 to 2 lbs of meat (I order from www.grasslandbeef.com)

1 large bell pepper, chopped (any color - I used red)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 to 2 jalapenos (I use 1), take out the seeds

2 - 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes

2 – 15 oz cans of beans (I used black and kidney, or use navy,etc.)

1 TB of chili seasonings (see recipe below)

1 TB of corn meal (or 1 TB of GF flour for thickening)

Cooked noodles (optional). I cook Tinyada noodles and throw in at the end.

In a large pot, brown meat. Add chopped onions, peppers, and jalapenos and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer at least 20 minutes on low, stirring often to prevent the bottom from burning. Cool and freeze any leftovers.

Chili Seasoning Mix:

1 TB chili powder (if you want it hot instead of mild, use 2 TB)

½ tsp garlic powder

Mix all the ingredients and store in an airtight container or glass jar in a cool, dry place. If you like this chili, double the above seasoning recipe and store for later use.

10 hot dogs (We use Applegate Farms.)

1 cup masa corn flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder (I use Rumford Aluminum Free)

½ tsp dry mustard (I used regular French’s mustard)

1 cup rice milk or water (Pacific Rice Milk)

½ cup vegetable oil, divided

1. Rinse hot dogs with water and pat dry. I usually cut into 3 pieces and make mini corn dogs.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the masa flour, cornmeal, honey, egg, baking powder, dry mustard, milk, and 2 TB of oil.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan until hot. Dip a hot dog into the batter and coat well. Shake off excess. Fry a few at a time and cook until golden. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and drain.

4. To freeze, let come to room temp, then wrap in foil or wax paper and place in a heavy-duty zip lock bag. Freeze up to 1 month.

Fried Chicken

2/3 cup all purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour)

½ tsp poultry seasoning

1 egg, beaten (optional – I now just dip in rice milk, then the flour mixture)

½ cup rice milk (I use Pacific Rice Milk)

Vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

In a large zip lock bag, combine first five ingredients. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and milk. Add the chicken to the bag and shake to coat. Dip into egg mixture and shake again. Remove from bag and let stand for 5 minutes.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until golden brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium and cook until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees; about 15 minutes. I’ve needed to place the chicken in a baking dish once they are browned and put in the oven at 350 for a 10-15 minutes to finish cooking the inside (so that the outside doesn’t get too crisp). I leave in until it reaches 180 degrees, or is cooked through.

My kids love chicken legs.

*I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com.

Honey Garlic Buffalo Wings or Legs

3 lbs of chicken wings (or 10 chicken legs)

¼ cup of lemon juice (I use fresh)

1/8 cup hot sauce (I used 365 brand)

3 TB of ketchup (I use Heinz Organic)

1 TB of CF butter (ghee or soy free Earth’s Balance)

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

Dash of each: pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika

Combine the above in a saucepan. Heat to boiling and simmer for 5 minutes. Place the wings into a 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over wings. Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator to marinate for about 2 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, turning once half way through. If you use less than 3 lbs of chicken wings, just watch the chickens to make sure they don’t burn. You may need to cook for less time.

I now make these with chicken legs b/c that’s what my kids prefer. My kids all loved these. They weren’t spicy, but sweet.

Garlic Lime Chicken

1 tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real sea salt)

½ to 1 tsp pepper (I use ½ for low oxalate, but recipe calls for 1)

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ cup chicken broth (I use Pacific organic)

4 TB fresh lime juice

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

In a bowl, mix together the seasonings. Sprinkle mixture onto both sides of the chicken breasts. I use about ¼ tsp of the seasonings on each side of a large organic chicken breast. How much you use depends on how spicy you want it. I like it spicier, but then my kids won’t eat it. 1/4 tsp on each side, seems to work. In a skillet, heat butter and oil over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Turn down the heat and remove chicken and keep warm (put a plate over them). Add the lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Keep cooking a few minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat with mixture and serve. I like to serve with rice and drizzle some of the lime juice mixture over it. If you don’t have limes or chicken broth handy, you could skip the last part. I double the above recipe, and keep the seasonings in a jar for when I make this. We make this often.

*Adapted from a recipe on www.flylady.com.

Garlic Lemon Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ TB fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems (or about ¾ TB dried)

½ TB grill seasoning blend (like Montreal Seasoning) or Kosher salt and black pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth (I use Pacific brand from Woodman’s)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut up chicken and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Add garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and seasonings to the dish. (I use salt and pepper. I fill ½ TB with about ¼ pepper and ¾ salt.) Toss and coat the chicken, then place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add the lemon juice and chicken broth. Return to oven and turn the oven off. Let stand for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. I serve this with rice. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken and rice and serve. This makes about 4 servings.

I’ve only made this with fresh rosemary leaves, as I had this growing in my garden this summer, but I think it would taste OK with dried as well.

*I adapted this recipe from a Rachel Ray recipe.

Hamburger/Steak Seasoning

2TB Kosher salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

Combine all ingredients and store in a small Tupperware container. Use about 1 TB of olive oil to moisten the meat and keep it from sticking to the grill. Right before grilling, sprinkle the seasoning over hamburgers or steaks on the top side only. I usually use about 1/8 to ¼ tsp per hamburger. This is the seasoning they use at Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants.

We usually eat hamburgers without buns and dip in ketchup or use Ener-G tapioca hot dog buns cut in half – warm up in the microwave.

Use McCormick spices as they are GFCF. Some spice companies add flour to make their spices free flowing. I use the organic ones in the glass bottles.

Honey Lime Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 ½ tsp of garlic salt

1 TB cooking oil (I use olive oil)

1 can (20 oz.) sliced pineapples

3 TB of lime juice (I use 2-3 fresh limes)

2 TB soy sauce (Can use San J Tamari Organic Wheat Free Soy Sauce)*

2 tsp tapioca starch (or corn starch)

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken in oil. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add ¼ cup juice to skillet and set remaining juice aside. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 6-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, combine honey, lime juice, soy sauce, corn starch, and remaining pineapple juice. Remove chicken and keep warm. Pour honey mixture into skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add pineapple and heat through. Pour over chicken and serve.

I make with rice and sprinkle soy sauce over rice. This tastes kind of like Chinese food. It’s sweet, and my kids actually eat it.

*If you are soy free, you can combine 4 oz of molasses, 1.5 oz of balsamic vinegar, and sugar to taste, to make a soy substitute. Use 1 to 2 TB of this instead of soy sauce. I then use the juice from the skillet to drizzle over the rice.

I got this recipe from Taste of Home 30-Minute Cookbook; soy sub from www.taca.org.

Italian Chicken

½ cup chopped onion

1 & 1/8 tsp paprika, divided

3 tsp olive oil, divided

1 ¼ cups of chicken broth (I use Pacific organic)

½ tsp Italian seasoning

¼ cup gluten free flour (I used white rice flour, or use any GF flour blend)

½ tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp dried oregano

1 ½ lbs chicken breasts cut into tenderloin sizes

1 ½ tsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)

In a small saucepan, sauté onion and 1/8 tsp of paprika in 1 tsp olive oil until tender. Stir in chicken broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large zip lock bag, combine the flour, parmesan cheese (if using), salt, garlic powder, oregano, and remaining 1 tsp of paprika. Add chicken and shake to coat. In a separate skillet, cook the chicken in 1 tsp of oil until cooked through. Remove bay leaf from tomato mixture and pour over chicken and serve.

I make this with Tinkyada GF spaghetti and sauce on the side. Tastes a little like parmesan chicken.

Lemon Mustard Chicken

1 TB minced fresh rosemary (or dried)

1 TB Dijon mustard (I use 365 brand from WF)

1 TB fresh lemon juice

2 tsp fresh minced garlic

1 TB kosher salt (I used Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

1/2 tsp ground fennel seed (I grind up fennel seed in a small clean coffee grinder)

4 chicken breasts (I use Organic Smart Chicken brand from Woodman’s)

Combine all ingredients in a large zip lock bag. Let sit for at least 1 to 2 hours in the fridge or overnight. Grill or cook on stovetop with a TB of olive oil. (I cook mine on the stove.) Serve with rice. I make the lemon herb sauce below and drizzle it over the rice and chicken.

1/2 cup chicken stock (I use Pacific Organic Chicken Stock from Woodman’s)

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 TB fresh lemon juice

2 tsp chopped mixed fresh or dried herbs such as basil, parsley, and/or oregano

Dash of salt and pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Add the other ingredients and heat through. Use a whisk to stir up the ingredients. Serve atop chicken and rice.

Third time’s a charm. After three failed attempts at making egg free meatloaf, I finally found a winner. I combined and adapted a few different recipes to come up with this one. If you can do eggs, I don’t think it would hurt to add one in to help bind everything together, but it’s not necessary.

1 lb of ground beef (I order grass fed beef from www.grasslandbeef.com)

½ cup rice milk (We use Pacific Original)

½ cup bread crumbs (I use Glutino)

¼ cup chopped onion

1/8 tsp garlic powder

½ cup ketchup or BBQ sauce for the top (I use U.S. Wellness’ BBQ sauce from the same place I order beef above. It’s really good.)

Combine all the ingredients (except for the ketchup or BBQ sauce) and mix with your hands until well combined. Place in a loaf size baking dish (9x5 or so). Top with the ketchup or BBQ sauce. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. I cooked mine for an hour because grass fed meat usually needs to cook a little longer. Cut in slices and serve. This doesn’t hold together quite like regular meat loaf with eggs, but it’s much better than other recipes I’ve tried. We dip in ketchup. Goes well with mashed potatoes.

Pot Roast

1 boneless beef roast, about 2-3 lbs (I use Eye of Round roasts)

1 medium onion, sliced (I usually use Vidalia or yellow onions)

¾ cup of beef broth (I use Imagine brand from Woodman’s or Whole Foods)

3 to 4 cups of cut up vegetables (carrots, celery, parsnips, potatoes, etc.)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 to 2 TB cornstarch or tapioca starch to thicken

I cook this in a crock pot. Brown roast on all sides in a large skillet with about 2 TB of olive oil. I place about half of the cut up onions on the bottom of the crock pot and place the browned pot roast on top. Add the other half of the onion, vegetables, seasonings and broth. Stir to distribute spices and until all ingredients are well coated with liquid. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

To make gravy - After the roast is done, strain the cooking liquid and thicken with arrowroot starch. (Blend 1 to 2 TB arrowroot with ¼ cup cold water or beef broth. Stir to dissolve, then pour into hot liquid.) Cook liquid until clear. Add more starch to achieve desired consistency.

*Adapted this recipe from “Special Eats” by Sueson Vess.

Pulled Pork

My mom makes this for birthday parties. She uses a pork shoulder and cooks it in the oven, but I used a pork loin roast from Trader Joe’s ($8 for 2 lbs.) and threw it in my crockpot. Both tasted the same. This is really good all by itself, or add barbeque sauce and put on a bun. I did find that a 2 lb roast didn’t make very much (served about 3-4).

3/4 tsp garlic powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Rinse pork and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off any fat. In a small bowl or large zip lock bag, combine seasonings. Rub onto pork on all sides. Cover and marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cook pork in a crockpot on high for 4-5 hours (or on low for 10 hours), or in a 350 degree oven for 5 hours, tightly covered with tin foil. You’re not supposed to need any liquid (it will create it’s own while cooking), but I usually add ¼ to ½ cup of beef broth to the crockpot. When done cooking, strain out the fat in the crockpot drippings. Then pull parts of the pork off to make shreds of pork and place in a large bowl. If you’re not using BBQ sauce, add some beef broth to moisten the pork, then put it all back into the crockpot to warm the broth.

We use BBQ sauce from U.S. Wellness, which is where I order our grass fed meat from. (www.grasslandbeef.com)

Optional: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of BBQ sauce and 3 cups of beef broth (I use Pacific). Stir over pork in crock pot and cook 1 hour more on high. You can also just add broth to the pork and let people add their own BBQ sauce, or leave it off. Serve with buns or alone. We use Ener-G Tapioca hot dog buns from the health food store.

Total Cost: $10 for the pork roast.

Rotisserie Chicken

This recipe is for a whole rotisserie chicken (about 3-4 lbs). Remove any neck and giblets (they’re usually inside the chicken in a bag if they include them), rinse the whole chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure the legs of the chicken are on top when you place the chicken in the dish and rub the herbs on.

1/4 cup butter (I use Purity Farms Ghee, melted or Earth Balance Soy Free)

4 TB chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp dried crushed rosemary

2 tsp fresh garlic, minced (about 2 cloves)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the herb rub ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Rub half of the mixture onto chicken, both on the outside of the skin and just under the skin, on the top of the chicken. With the other half, mix with 6 sliced carrots, 6 red potatoes (peeled and quartered), and 3 medium onions. Place vegetables around the chicken in the pan. I drizzle some olive oil over the whole chicken to allow for more liquid for basting. Bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into inner thigh reaches 175-180 degrees. You do not need to wrap in tin foil. Cooking time depends on the size of the chicken. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

The fresh parsley gives it a good flavor. I bought a plant of parsley ($1.99) this summer and planted it outside and I had fresh parsley all summer. Just cut off what you need, and more grows back in a couple weeks.

I save whatever’s left when we’re done eating (the bones, etc.) and throw in a large zip lock bag in the freezer or fridge to use later for making chicken stock (see recipe). It’s a bone broth recipe. I use Organic Smart Chicken brand from Woodman’s.

Spicy Pork Tenderloin

1 to 3 TB chili powder (I use about 2)

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground thyme

¼ tsp pepper

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each (I get mine from Trader Joe’s)

Combine the first 5 ingredients. Rub over tenderloins. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Grill over hot heat for 15 minutes per side or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Make sure you turn often to prevent the outside from burning.

This is really good.

Total Cost: $9 for the pork tenderloins. Serves 5-6.

1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

1 medium carrot, sliced

¼ cup chopped onion

1 small zucchini sliced

1 cup snow peas, thawed

½ medium sweet red or green pepper, cut into strips

1 can pineapple juice (6 oz)

3 TB ketchup (I use Organicville)

2 TB lemon juice (I use fresh)

2 TB soy sauce (if soy free, use soy free sub listed below)

1 can (8 oz) of unsweetened pineapple slices cut up or chunks

In a skillet, cook chicken, carrot, and onion in oil until chicken is browned. Add the zucchini, snow peas, and green pepper. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp tender.

In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, pepper, and pineapple juice until smooth. Stir in ketchup, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Pour over chicken mixture. Add pineapple and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over cooked rice.

Combine 1.5 oz of balsamic vinegar, 4 oz of molasses, and 1 to 2 tsp of sugar. Store in the refrigerator.

Taco Seasoning

½ tsp crushed red pepper

¼ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp tapioca starch (or corn starch)

½ tsp garlic powder

Use corn or rice flour tortillas (we use Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas) or corn chips like Xochitl (Woodman’s or WF) or Green Mountain Gringo. Tostitos have cross contamination issues, but the scoops are ran on a different line, so are probably better than the regular Tostitos, but we just avoid them because they also contain soy and GMO’s (genetically modified ingredients).

*Use McCormick spices as they are GFCF. Some spice companies add flour to make their spices free flowing.

This recipe is from Silvana Nardone’s cookbook, “Cooking for Isaiah.” Kind of like a healthy version of onion rings. A little messy to eat, but they’re really good.

4 sweet onions such as Vidalia, stem and root trimmed, halved crosswise

1 cup rice cereal crumbs (I use Erehwhon)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ TB Dijon mustard (I use 365 or some other brand from Whole Foods)

1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling

2 TB olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet (I use olive oil). In a small bowl, combine the cereal crumbs, garlic, mustard, 1 tsp salt, parsley, thyme, and olive oil. Place the onions, cut side up on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and then drizzle with olive oil.

Top with the cereal mixture, then drizzle generously with oil again.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes or until topping is toasted and crisp.

I double or triple the above recipe and then keep stored in my freezer. My daughter loves these. I like to make these when we are coming down with a cold or flu because onions help kill germs in the air, and they are good for you. I make these on a Friday though, because after my daughter eats 4 whole onions, her breath is not so lovely the next day. J

Baked Potato Skins

4 medium to large baking potatoes, baked

¼ tsp garlic powder

4 green onions, sliced (optional)

Cook bacon. You can cook in the oven on a baking sheet that has sides, at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes, depending on the crispiness you desire. Blot bacon with paper towels and allow to cool, then crumble into bits. Set aside.

Cook the potatoes. Wash potatoes and dry with paper towels. Put in oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Take out and pierce with fork 3 or 4 times. Put back in the oven for 30 more minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes).

Cut baked potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving a ¼ inch shell. Place potato skins on a greased (I use melted butter) baking sheet. Combine oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper. Brush over both sides of skins. Bake at 475 degrees for 7 minutes; turn over. Bake until crisp, about 7 more minutes. Sprinkle bacon inside skins. If you want to add some parmesan and cheddar cheese for other members of your family, add these, then bake 2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and green onions (optional). Serve immediately.

(I usually need to double the seasoning and oil recipe but I think it depends on how big the potatoes are.)

I sometimes use Hormel All Natural bacon from Woodman’s when I can’t get out to Whole Foods.

6 apples, peeled and sliced (once sliced, cut slices in half)

2 tsp organic cornstarch

1 cup brown sugar (Domino Light Brown Sugar)

1 TB of flour (any GF blend)

4 tsp butter (I use Ghee or Earth Balance Soy Free butter)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the water and cornstarch. Then add the flour, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and butter. Place the sliced apples in an 8x8 baking dish. Pour the cinnamon mixture over the apples. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Sometimes I set the timer for the first 10 minutes, so I don’t forget to stir them. Serve alone or over ice cream (Purely Decadent Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream) or on top of pancakes.

I freeze any leftovers in single servings. I make this for holiday gatherings sometimes. Just double the above recipe.

Bruschetta Bread

2 tomatoes (I like using Roma), seeded and diced

1 TB fresh oregano (or ½ TB of dried)

2 TB chopped fresh basil (or 1 TB dried; tastes better using fresh)

2 tsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

½ tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ of a sweet onion or shallot, chopped (optional)

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional; if dairy free, can use Daiya mozzarella cheese)

Combine all ingredients except for the parmesan cheese in a bowl.

If you are gluten free, I like to put this on top of Anna’s gluten free bread or their herb bread from Whole Foods or your local health food store. It’s a bread mix. One of the best gluten free breads out there. Cut in slices. I toast the bread in the toaster oven first to warm, then add the tomato mixture and warm again just until warm. If you put the tomato mixture on first, the bread tends to get too soggy.

If you are not gluten free, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sliced French or Italian type bread on a baking sheet and spread tomato mixture on top, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I like to use make this in the summer because I grow basil, parsley, and roma tomatoes in my garden. You can use as much or little of the above ingredients as you like. I just use this recipe as a starting point, and adjust to personal taste. I don’t usually add the onion or cheese. If you’re making this recipe for a party, you will definitely need to at least double the recipe.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters or eighths

4 to 5 garlic cloves

5 cups of water (or enough to just cover potatoes)

Butter (Ghee from Whole Foods) to taste

Bring potatoes and whole garlic cloves to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. I remove the lid slightly to let steam out. Watch carefully or it will boil over. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the cooking liquid. Mash the potatoes with a masher. Add 2 TB oil, 1 tsp of salt, and a pinch of pepper, and the reserved 2/3 cup of liquid. Stir until smooth. Yields 4 to 6 servings.

I also add about 3 TB of butter and if you want to add rice milk, use a little less water

*I got this recipe from a Taste of Home Cookbook 1997

Potato Wedges

My mom makes these for holidays and everyone always asks her for the recipe. She just laughs. It’s very simple! I just saw a similar recipe in The Duggars’ book, “20 and Counting.”

Several organic russet or other white potatoes (about 1 per person)

Salt (We use Real Sea Salt)

Pepper (We use the grinder kind that grinds out fresh pepper)

Wash potatoes thoroughly. You can peel the potato skins, but the last time I forgot and left them on, and they turned out really good! One less thing for me to do, so next time, I think I’ll leave them on again, or do half and half, as my toddler needs the skins off.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and then one more time. (Depending on how big the potatoes are, I’ll cut them in fourths or eighths.) Place potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with olive oil, and mix until all the potatoes are covered in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. I haven’t measured this out. I just kind of guess. Place on a pan with sides (this is best as the darker pan will help get the potatoes brown and crisp), or I’ve been just using a glass 9x13 baking dish. It’s best not to let the potatoes touch too much or they will end up soggy instead of crisp. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until tender and lightly browned. I stir up the potatoes once or twice while cooking.

The Duggars’ add chili powder and garlic powder as well.

Seasoned Red Potatoes

8 small to medium red potatoes

½ tsp crushed rosemary

½ tsp garlic powder

2 TB melted butter (or as much as needed) ( I use Ghee)

Wash potatoes and cut into quarters or eighths. Melt butter and add olive oil. Then add all the seasonings. Toss potatoes in mixture. Place in a 9x 13 baking dish. Cook uncovered at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir potatoes about half way through cooking time.

I’ve made these with just salt, pepper, and paprika before too, so if you don’t have one of the spices, just omit it. The oil and butter ratio can be whatever you want. I’ve used more or less of both and it always turns out fine.

I double the above recipe and keep in a glass jar and then use about 3 tsp’s per 8 potatoes, or to taste. Red potatoes are healthier than white potatoes, and I always try to get organic in potatoes.

*Use McCormick spices.

2 TB olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups white rice (I use Uncle Ben’s 5-Minute Rice)

3 cups chicken stock (I use Pacific brand or homemade)

1 heaping TB of tomato paste

1 tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

In a large saucepan, start to heat chicken stock to bring to a simmer.

Cut up your onion and garlic (I throw mine in my food processor). In a large skillet, brown rice in olive oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion and rice mixture, stirring frequently (garlic tastes really bad if it gets burned), about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

Once your chicken stock has come to a simmer, add tomato paste, oregano, and salt. Then add the rice to the broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover and lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes (I usually do 15), depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the box. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. (if you use a different rice, you will need to adjust water and cooking time.)

I make this when we’re having chicken fajitas. I sometimes make regular white rice and mix it with the Spanish rice to stretch it farther.

This one takes a little long to make for a side dish, but it is SO good and goes so well with the chicken fajitas. I did find that if you use a different kind of rice, you have to adjust cooking time and amount of chicken broth.

With the rest of your tomato paste, you can make chicken stew, or save it in 1 TB portions in the freezer for use the next time you make Spanish rice.

Spicy Red Potatoes

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

3 ½ lbs large red potatoes, cut into wedges

Here is another way to season red potatoes. In a large bowl, combine first eight ingredients. Add potatoes and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on greased baking sheet (I use oil to grease). Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning once. We prefer the other red potato seasoning mix, but this one is good too.

Broccoli Soup

4 TB butter (I used 3 TB of Ghee and 1 TB of olive oil)

1 ½ lbs of fresh broccoli (I used about 4 cups of fresh broccoli florets)

1 large onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped (use big carrots, not baby carrots)

1/8 tsp of salt (I use Redmond’s Sea Salt from WF)

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

4 TB of all-purpose flour (I used a Namaste GFCF flour blend)

4 cups low sodium chicken broth (I used homemade or use Pacific brand)

Chop up your garlic, onion, and carrot and cut broccoli into florets and wash. Melt butter and oil in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat. Add your broccoli, onion, carrot, and seasonings. Saute until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the 4 TB of flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour reaches a blonde color. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes. Pour in coconut milk. Transfer soup to an immersion blender in 2 batches. (I used my food processor. I’m assuming you could use a blender too.) Puree the soup. I had to add about 2 TB of tapioca (or corn) starch blended with some chicken broth or water in order to thicken it slightly.

This made about 4-5 servings. I double this recipe and freeze individual portions (about 2 cups). I freeze my soups in glass mason jars. Just leave enough room at the top for expansion and take out the day before you want to eat it.

(Baby carrots are dipped in chlorine and are made from the deformed carrots.)

*I adapted this recipe from www.foodnetwork.com.

Chicken Soup

8 cups of homemade chicken broth/stock (see recipe)

1 cup diced celery (about 2 celery stalks)

1 cup diced carrots (about 3 carrots)

½ to 1 onion, chopped (optional)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp ground thyme

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Chicken meat from a rotisserie chicken

In a large pot, saute onions, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 10 minutes in olive oil. Try to add the garlic during the last 5 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the seasonings. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the cooked chicken pieces and parsley and heat through. Season to taste and serve. (I usually add a dash of pepper and sea salt.)

My daughter likes chicken soup without noodles but you could add noodles or rice to this.

I freeze this in single portions (about 2 cups). ). I freeze my soups in large glass mason jars. Just leave enough room at the top for expansion. The only problem with using these jars is you have to remember to take one out the day before you want to use it, or else you need to run it under hot water for a while to defrost it enough to get it out of the jar to reheat in a saucepan on the stove. Be careful, b/c a quick change in temperature can cause the bottom of the jar to break off when defrosting. It’s not good to put hot soup in plastic containers. They leach chemicals into the food.

Chicken Stock

Bone broths are full of minerals like zinc and magnesium. Because the stock is food, the minerals are more easily absorbed than any supplement. Chicken soup has the ability to calm, feed and repair the GI lining in the small intestine. Chicken stock will heal the nerves, improve digestion, reduce allergies, relax and provide you with strength. Chicken soup is truly a miracle food. Chicken stocks should always be made from organic chickens.

1 whole organic chicken (see Rotisserie Chicken recipes)

4 quarts filtered water (16 cups)

2 TB Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar (optional – I leave out b/c we avoid apples)

1-2 large onions, coarsely chopped

3 organic carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

4 organic celery stocks, coarsely chopped

1 bunch organic parsley

2 TB unprocessed sea salt i.e., Celtic, Himalayan etc.

1 TB organic coconut oil

1-2 TB fresh ginger (optional)

Two or more meals are gained from this recipe. You first have a roasted chicken to serve and can then cook the bones for stock, and then make soup.

As you are eating, save the bones for making stock in a large pot or freeze the bones in a large zip lock bag if you want to make it later. Regardless of when you’re preparing the meal, add all of the ingredients (except salt) and let it sit for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and scrape the scum that rises to the top. Simmer for anywhere from 6-24 hours. You can add more water if it cooks down too much. Add the parsley about 10 minutes before you are finished cooking the stock. This will add more minerals to the stock. Add salt to taste. When the stock cools, strain and put it in the refrigerator to further cool. When you are ready to use the stock, scrape the fat off and save it for later use, such as sautéing meat or vegetables.

*Adapted from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon

Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup

4 lbs boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 cups chopped onions

1/4 cup butter (Ghee)

4 quarts of hot beef broth (I used Imagine brand)

4 cups sliced carrots

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes

1 cup chopped celery

6 + cups tomato juice (I’m not sure on the brand.)

Brown beef and onions in butter in batches; drain. Add the water, vegetables, and seasonings. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add tomato juice. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes longer or until the beef and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves. Yields 20 servings (8 quarts).

You could easily cut this recipe in half. My mom made this for me and she combined all ingredients in some huge thing (no idea what to even call it) and cooked it at 350 degrees for 5 hours, covered with tin foil. It’s really good soup. My daughter loves it. Kind of tastes like a minestrone soup. My mom also said she used a lot more tomato juice than the recipe called for because my daughter loves the broth of soups.

Minestrone Soup

2 cups chopped onions

1 ½ cups sliced celery

2 cups sliced carrots

1 to 2 tsp dried oregano

1 to 2 tsp dried basil

6 cups of water or stock (I used 4 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water)

3 cups cooked pinto beans or 2 cans (15 oz each, rinsed and drained)

4 cups stewed tomatoes (or 2 cups tomato puree and 2 cups water)

2/3 cup chopped green bell peppers

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 TB fresh lemon juice

1 tsp agave nectar or honey

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cups cooked macaroni noodles (I use Tinkyada) or brown rice

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until soft, but not brown. Add the oregano, basil, and chili powder. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the water or stock, beans (I omit the beans), tomatoes, and salt. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the peppers, parsley, lemon juice, agave or honey, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add noodles and serve. Makes 6-8 servings. Cool and freeze any leftovers in 2 cup portions. Can freeze for 1-2 months.

*I got this from “The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook” by Marjorie Hurt Jones.

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

1 ¾ cups quinoa flakes (from the health food store or Whole Foods)

1 ¾ cups GF all purpose flour (I used Carol Fenster’s blend)

1 tsp baking soda (I use Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free)

½ cup shortening (I used Spectrum)

1 cup Sucanet or brown sugar firmly packed (I used Domino light brown sugar)

Form dough into balls using a cookie scooper, or approximately 2 TB’s, and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. I like to use parchment paper (not the same as wax paper). Very easy clean up and prevents cookies from sticking. Flatten the cookies slightly.

The quinoa flakes gives an oatmeal kind of taste to them. Quinoa is high in protein. I made these after my kids had been on the diet for a while, and they liked them. I think they’re pretty good. Good store bought ones are by Gluten Free Pantry. They’re pre-made in the frozen food section (I found at Woodman’s). You just stick them in the oven. They do have corn syrup, but they’re really good.

(OK, if you really want to know why I now buy organic sugar – I read that they make sugar bright white by running the sugar through the bone char of dead animals. That’s why they are not kosher. Yuck! No thank you. Some companies use bleach and chemicals on top of that. We’ve cut way back on sugar anyway, so the increased cost in buying organic doesn’t affect us as much.) I got this recipe from Sueson Vess’ Special Eats cookbook.

Heat butter in a large saucepan. Add Ricemellow Crème and peanut butter and stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Add cereal to the pan and stir to coat. Pour mixture into a greased (I use butter) 9 x 13 pan and press down. I put this in the freezer while I’m making the topping, otherwise it is hard to spread the topping on.

*I got this recipe off of Suzanne’s Specialties’ web site. They have a few other recipes but we haven’t tried those yet. They used to sell this at Whole Foods and the health food store but they stopped for some reason so now I have to order online. I got from www.vitacost.com for $4.31 each. I also use this on chocolate chip s’mores pancakes.

Chocolate Frosting

1. Combine shortening and cocoa in a mixer and beat until creamy.

2. Add one cup of powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and two tablespoons of rice milk. Mix until creamy. Gradually add the remaining 3 cups of powdered sugar and rice milk.

3. Add more rice milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach the desired consistency.

I like the book, Vice Cream by Jeff Rogers. It gives good instruction on how to prepare dairy free ice cream and has a few good recipes. However, a lot of them use cashews and water as the base, and I’d rather use coconut milk, so I adapted recipes from this book. We did make chocolate ice cream using cashews, that my kids loved, but I thought it was a little nutty/grainy tasting. We just tried a vanilla coconut one and it tastes very similar to Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream found at Whole Foods (for $5.50 for a small pint). So, maybe try the store bought one first, and if your kids like it, make your own. Chocolate always goes over well and masks the taste of the coconut if that’s an issue.

2 vanilla beans (or 2 TB of vanilla. Do not use vanilla with alcohol in it. It will impede the freezing process. I have Authentic Foods vanilla powder, but you then need to use ¼ of it in recipes when it asks for 1 tsp. So you’d use ½ TB here.) For the beans, cut them up into small pieces, then grind them to a fine powder (or as best you can) in a clean coffee bean grinder.)

Combine ingredients in blender until smooth. Leave in blender and place in the freezer for a couple hours to get a little harder. Some recipes call for 6 hours. (Just check on it. It should thicken slightly before you transfer it.) Then transfer to your ice cream maker if you have one. If you use an ice cream maker, it takes about 25 minutes for it to mix the ingredients around as it hardens. If you want to add anything to the mix, do it towards the end of mixing. Ie. Chocolate chips, small brownie chunks, etc. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, just freeze in your blender cup till it hardens (several hours), stirring every hour or so. Then transfer to Tupperware and store. I store in several smaller containers so that we can just take out what we’re going to eat. You usually need to let it sit out for about 5 minutes or so to let it thaw before eating because it will be harder than regular ice cream. If you leave a lot of air in a big Tupperware container, that makes it more susceptible to freezer burn. We top with Ah!Laska chocolate syrup sometimes (Whole Foods or HFS). Coconut milk is very good for the digestive tract and helps fight yeast.

Note: You will need the following: Candy thermometer & Kitchen Aid Mixer (optional, but helpful), or a hand held electric mixer. Most store bought marshmallows have blue dye. My kids love making these. They do have LOTS of sugar though obviously. These don’t work in rice crispy treats though for some reason.

2 TB Knox unflavored gelatin (2 envelopes)

Powdered sugar for rolling (I use organic – some add flour)

1. In a Kitchen Aid mixer, combine gelatin (2 envelopes) and cold water (1/2 cup) and let sit.

2. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of hot water. Stir till blended and then do not stir anymore. Boil to a soft ball stage (236-238 degrees). This takes about 20 minutes or so. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. Once it gets close to the 236 degrees, watch it carefully, because it will rise in temp very quickly and could burn.

3. Add the sugar and hot water mixture to your Kitchen Aid with the gelatin. Then add a pinch of salt. Beat this together until stiff and white. Takes about 20 minutes or so.

4. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Beat into the mixture.

5. Pour into an 8”x8” pan that has been oiled and dusted with powdered sugar. I dust the top with powdered sugar a few minutes after pouring into a pan. Allow to sit until stiff enough to hold its own shape. Some recipes call for letting them dry out for several hours or even overnight before cutting, but we usually can’t wait that long. At least a couple hours is good.

6. Cut into squares. I oil a sharp knife before and during cutting to make cutting easier. Have kids roll in powdered sugar in a bowl. Let marshmallows dry out some before storing in a zip lock bag.

7. If you are using for roasting, add an extra envelope of gelatin to the recipe.

*I got this recipe from the Feingold blue book.

Nilla Wafers

1 cup butter (Or ½ cup butter and ½ cup shortening - Spectrum)

1 cup sugar (I use C&H or you could use xylitol)

1 egg (let sit at room temperature for a bit, or put in a bowl of warm water)

2 tsp powdered vanilla (I use Authentic Foods brand)

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup potato starch/flour

1. Mix together the butter and sugar.

2. Beat in egg and vanilla. *

3. Add the flour and starch and cream for 1 minute. Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

4. Roll dough into ½ inch balls (note – this is pretty small). Place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in a covered container. Use a good baking pan. I use an air bake silver pan. If you use a dark pan, you will have to shorten the cooking time, and lower the temp by 25 degrees. Freeze any leftovers in a large zip lock bag.

½ cup peanut butter (I use Whole Foods brand to avoid soy)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (I use organic sugar)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar (Domino’s Light Brown Sugar)

1/3 cup butter, softened (I use Ghee)

½ tsp baking soda (Bob’s Red Mill to avoid aluminum)

½ tsp baking powder (I use Rumford to avoid aluminum)

1 egg (egg substitute won’t work well here)

*4 cups of Envirokids Panda Puffs cereal (or Gorilla Munch)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stir peanut butter, sugars, butter, baking soda and powder, and egg in a large bowl until well mixed. Stir in cereal and chocolate chips. Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. These will spread some. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove to wire cooling rack and cool completely.

This is the first GFCF treat I made. I had to first get over the fact that I was cooking cereal! These are pretty good, but very crunchy. The kids love them. Make sure you let them cool long enough and transfer to a cooling rack carefully. They’re fragile!

If you are peanut free, use cashew butter or almond butter and Gorilla Munch cereal. Both these cereals have soy and peanut cross contamination issues if your child is sensitive.

CC (Cody’s Comments): They fall apart really easily.

1 cup peanut butter (we use Whole Foods brand to avoid soy)

1 cup white sugar (we use C&H cane sugar)

We usually freeze our smoothies into popsicles. We make smoothies with coconut milk (So Delicious - about a cup), a few pieces of frozen banana (about 1/2 banana), and Dole canned pineapple that I have frozen (I freeze in single portions of 2 slices with some of the juice). Sometimes we add a little bit of frozen mango or cantalope. Add a little bit of water if needed. I then sneak in a little bit of flax seed powder/meal. They don’t even notice. The above smoothie recipe is stage 1 Feingold.

The fun of popsicles is in the popsicle shape. My kids fight over these. The ones they like the best are called Jokari Cool Cones. I got them from Amazon, or Bed, Bath, and Beyond usually has them. They are meant to hold ice cream but they like them as popsicles. They resemble push-ups. You cannot put liquid in these very well though because they sometimes leak a little bit. Smoothies are fine though.

We also have some baby popsicles that are great for babies. Just the right size. Now she can have a popsicle along with her siblings. I fill my daughter’s with fresh pears and frozen blueberries that I put in my small baby food processor. She loves them! If you have a teething baby, you could even just freeze water for them to suck on.

If you look on Amazon, there are a TON of fun shapes. They have some really cool shapes that resemble ring pops (Tovolo).We have some of the Orka swirl shaped ones that my kids love, but the plastic is cheap so be careful not to drop the holder on a hard floor. I just ordered some soft serve ice cream cone looking popsicle holders, and some silicone ones that are similar to Go-Gurt push up tubes. We’ll see how those work.

1 envelope of Knox unflavored gelatin (at any grocery store by the Jell-O)

2 cups of fruit juice (I use Sir Strawberry juice from Trader Joe’s)

Soften gelatin in ½ cup of fruit juice. Put remaining 1 ½ cups of juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add softened gelatin, stirring until completely dissolved. Pour into mold. Chill until firm. Makes 2 cups.

My kids don’t like this one too much for some reason, but you can use any juice. We’ll have to experiment. I think it tastes pretty similar to the real thing but with more of a cherry taste.

*I got this recipe from the Feingold blue book.

Here’s another one below I found online but haven’t tried yet:

Soften gelatin in grape juice. Boil the water and add the juice/gelatin mixture. Stir until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Chill. Cut into squares when firm. Refrigerate leftovers. If you want these softer like jell-o, instead of a jiggler, just use less gelatin.

Triple Berry and Apple Pie

You can buy a pre-made pie crust from Whole Foods but it will have eggs. Below is the filling and topping. “Pamela’s” brand makes a wheat free bread mix that you can make a pie crust out of that is supposed to be good.

1 cup granulated sugar

5 tsp of quick cooking tapioca (found in the canning section)

4 cups frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)

2 or 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into small slices

For a crumb topping: (If you use this topping, you don’t need to dot top of pie with 2 TB of butter in #3 above).

1 cup of flour (I use my Carol Fenster mix for everything. See banana muffin recipe.)

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed (Light Brown Domino Sugar)

½ cup of butter (1 stick)

Combine the above ingredients. Blend until crumbly, then sprinkle over fruit. Bake as above. Allow pie to cool for a while before cutting. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

This was a favorite before going GFCF. I haven’t made it GFCF yet. These contain all non-yeast feeding fruits if you sub pears for the apples (It does contain a lot of sugar though.). For the topping, make sure you refrigerate your Ghee first (I normally leave my Ghee out). I think you could easily get by with using less than ½ cup of Ghee for the topping.

Triple Berry Peach Crumble

1 can (15 oz) of sliced peaches (I use a jar from Costco)

¼ cup brown sugar packed

2 TB cornstarch or tapioca starch

2 cups of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (Trader Joe’s has a frozen bag of these)

1 package of Enjoy Life Snickerdoodles (I usually use one and a half packages)

3 TB of shortening (I use Spectrum)

1 tsp vanilla extract (I use organic or homemade to avoid corn syrup)

1/3 cup brown sugar packed

To make the fruit filling, combine the juice from the peaches, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan, and stir. Add the fruit and cook on low until mixture thickens.

To make the crust and topping, combine ingredients in a food processor or blender until mixture resembles flax meal. Place half of the mixture in an 8x8 greased baking dish. Pour the fruit mixture over top of the crust. Then sprinkle the remaining topping over the fruit mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the topping is golden and fruit mixture is dark purple and thick. Let cool 30 minutes before cutting.

This is really good. My kids call it pie. It’s a little runny. Seems like it should hold together better. I think I’m going to experiment with adding some tapioca to thicken it or use less of the peach juice. Goes well with ice cream too. We get So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream or Breyers Natural Vanilla.

I got this recipe from “Enjoy Life’s Cookies for Everyone!” cookbook.

Vanilla Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar (I use organic)

3 TB CF butter (ghee or soy free Earth’s Balance in a tub)

3 TB rice milk (I use Pacific)*

¾ tsp GF vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a mixer and beat until smooth. Add rice milk slowly. Add more or use less to get the proper consistency.

I use this recipe for the frosting on muffins to use for birthday treats. I add it to banana or pumpkin muffins.

You can use a zip lock bag to frost. Fill the bag with frosting and cut a small triangle off of one corner. Then squeeze out onto the muffins starting from the outside and working your way around in a circle till you get to the middle. We sometimes add sprinkles. India Tree sells naturally colored sugar crystals (Whole Foods or health food store).

To freeze, place frosted muffins on a plate and place in your freezer for 30-60 minutes or until the frosting is hard, then store in a large zip lock bag. Take one out as you need them. Takes about an hour or so to defrost.

*If you want to color your frosting, use less rice milk. You can add a pale color using the juice from frozen strawberries or other berry. It will add a very slight flavor as well, depending on how much you use. My kids don’t care about the color any more, but like to add sprinkles. India Tree makes natural food coloring, but it’s very expensive, makes pretty ugly colors, and has a bad taste. I have found that Maca Powder (by Nativa Naturals) colors really well. We used it to color lemonade. It is a berry though so would be Feingold stage 2. It makes a violet color. It’s also an antioxidant.

¼ cup of simple syrup (see recipe below)

½ cup brown sugar (Domino light brown sugar)

½ cup butter (1 stick) (Ghee or soy free Earth’s Balance)

¼ tsp baking soda (I use Bob’s Red Mill to avoid aluminum)

10-12 cups popped corn (We use a hot air popper with organic kernels)

1. Place popcorn in large microwavable bowl.

2. Make simple syrup (combine ¼ cup of sugar and 1/8 cup of water and microwave for about 30 seconds till sugar is dissolved).

3. Combine syrup, sugar, butter and salt in a 4 cup glass measuring cup. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes.

4. Add baking soda and vanilla. Stir. Pour mixture over popped corn and stir to coat evenly.

5. Cook popcorn on high for 1 ½ minutes. Stir.

6. Cook for 1 minute. Stir.

7. Cook for 30 seconds. Stir.

8. Pour onto waxed paper to cool.

This is very sweet. Use more popcorn if too sweet. Not the healthiest snack and will definitely feed yeast, but might work for Halloween. I haven’t tried this with Ghee yet.

CC (Cody’s Comments): Add a lot of caramel if you want it to taste good.

Cody’s Rating: 3 (He used to love this, but lately he doesn’t for some reason.)

*Got this recipe from the Feingold blue book.

3 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin (by the Jell-O at any store)

1/2 cup of fruit juice or pop (open the pop and let it de-fizz first)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat just till sugar dissolves. Pour into molds and refrigerate till firm (about 20 minutes or so). I sometimes grease the molds with oil to make them easier to get out. I use a sharp knife to loosen them out. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

These are really simple but you'll need at least 2 candy molds from Wal-Mart (craft section usually), or a Hobby Lobby or Michael's. I also bought a gummy making kit from Michael's. It had all the artificial stuff in it, but I threw that out and used the mold b/c it was of a worm, spider, grasshopper, and frog, and then it also had a nice squeeze bottle to fill the molds with. We got hearts, stars (these are hard to get out), and baby molds (the baby molds had bears) from Wal-Mart.

You can use your favorite juice or pop to make these. The more flavor the better. The kids like 365 Root Beer (from Whole Foods) the best. We also use RW Knudsen "pop" - raspberry, etc. Sir Strawberry juice from Trader Joe's would probably be good too.

CC (Cody’s Comments): Don’t be freaked out by the spider gummy snacks.

Cody’s Rating: 10 million

*I got this recipe from the Feingold recipe board from Sharon S.

Puppy Chow

9 cups of Crispix (this is not truly GFCF if you are sensitive)

1 cup of GFCF chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Sunspire)

½ cup of peanut butter (We use Whole Foods brand to avoid soy)

¼ cup of butter (Ghee or Earth’s Balance - soy)

1 tsp GF vanilla (if using GF vanilla powder, use ¼ tsp)

1 to 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar (we use organic)

Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a saucepan until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp of vanilla. Pour over 9 cups of cereal and mix well. Cool slightly. Pour into a large zip lock bag with 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar. Shake until well coated. I usually only use 1 cup of powdered sugar.

Salsa – Chili’s

This is a mock Chili’s restaurant salsa recipe. It does taste very similar. We love it. It is a little spicy, just like Chili’s. If you want it less spicy, use just 1 TB of jalapenos instead of 1 TB plus 1 tsp.

14 ½ oz can of tomatoes and green chilies

14 ½ oz can whole peeled tomatoes plus the juice

1 TB jalapenos plus 1 tsp (the 1 tsp is optional) (canned, diced, not pickled)

¾ tsp garlic salt, or more to taste

½ tsp cumin, or more to taste

¼ tsp sugar, or more to taste

Place onions in a food processor. Take out and measure out ¼ cup. Put ¼ cup back in the food processor and add the jalapenos and process for just a few seconds. Add both cans of tomatoes, garlic salt, sugar, and cumin. Process all ingredients until well blended, but do not puree. Place in a covered container and chill for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve with organic corn tortilla chips. We like Xochitl chips from Woodman’s or Whole Foods. Tostitos are not truly GF.

I always make this for parties and everybody loves it.

8 Roma tomatoes (or other small tomato)

4 TB of fresh lime juice (about 1 to 1 ½ limes)

1 ½ to 2 TB of fresh cilantro

1 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Place in a covered container and chill for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve with organic corn tortilla chips. We like Xochitl chips from Woodman’s or Whole Foods. (Tostitos are not truly GF.)

*I got this recipe from my neighbor, Laura.

Breakfast Sausage

1 lb ground beef (I use Sommer’s Organic from Trader Joe’s)

¾ tsp ground fennel seeds (I grind up fennel seeds in a clean coffee grinder)

1 tsp brown sugar (Domino Light Brown Sugar)

1/16 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Variations: Add a couple slices of a peeled pear diced. This will add more sweetness to the sausage.

Blend all ingredients (including the meat) in a food processor until blended. Do not over mix. (You could also just use your hands). Form into 9-12 small patties with well oiled hands. Saute patties in a large skillet over medium heat with 1 TB of olive oil for 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through.

*Adapted by Sueson Vess and taken from Carol Fenster’s Cooking Free cookbook.

1 1/3 cup GF flour blend *
2 tsp baking powder (I use Rumford Aluminum Free)
1/4 tsp baking soda (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)
1/3 cup coconut oil or Spectrum shortening*
2/3 cup sugar (I use C& H or organic)
2 well beaten eggs (I use Ener-G egg replacer and whisk really well)
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large or 3 small bananas)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life – optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients (first 4 ingredients) and set aside. Cream together coconut oil and sugar. Add beaten eggs or egg replacer and mix well. Alternate adding the mashed banana and dry ingredients until combined. Stir in chocolate chips if you are using them.
Spoon into greased or lined muffin cups and bake for approx. 25
minutes. Makes about 12 muffins. I usually leave the chocolate chips out and then sometimes add them to the top when we defrost them, and make a smiley face with them.

*I used Carol Fenster’s New Flour Blend (makes 4 ½ cups)

· 1 ½ cups sorghum flour

· 1 ½ cups potato flour/starch

· 1 cup tapioca flour

· ½ cup almond flour

*I got this recipe from Sheri from www.gfcfdiet.com board.

*I use Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil from www.tropicaltraditions.com. The expeller pressed has no odor or aftertaste and is good for cooking.

We also like Anna’s Banana Bread mix, which we make into muffins. For egg replacer, use 2 TB of ground flax seed and 7 TB of boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes. Get online at www.glutenevolution.com or at your HFS.

Chocolate Chip S’Mores Pancakes

This is from Silvana Nardone’s cookbook, “Cooking for Isaiah.” These are REALLY good! Everyone raves about them when I make them. My only complaint is that the recipe doesn’t make enough pancakes. The recipe calls for “Silvana’s Pancake Mix.” The recipe for that is in the cookbook, but it says you can use any pancake mix. I think Namaste’s Waffle and Pancake Mix would work. If you are not GFCF, you could probably use Aunt Jemima’s Original pancake mix.

2 cups Silvana’s Pancake Mix

2 TB packed light brown sugar (I use organic or Domino’s)

2 eggs (I omit and use an extra ¼ cup of rice milk)

1 ¼ cups rice milk (*If egg free, use 1 ½ cups)

1 TB unsulphured molasses

2 TB vegetable oil (I use canola or olive oil)

½ cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

1 cup marshmallow fluff (I use Suzanne’s Ricemellow Crème from www.vitacost.com)

In a large bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, salt, and brown sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, molasses, honey, and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Heat your griddle or skillet. I use Earth Balance Soy Free butter to grease. Pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake and cook until golden and set, about 2 minutes per side. To make the sauce, I just add hot water to some fluff and stir until it is the desired consistency.

*I sometimes use 1 cup of rice milk and ½ cup of unflavored carbonated water/seltzer water. This will make the pancakes fluffier.

Chocolate Energy Bars

This is a recipe from Superfood Cuisine by Julie Morris. It’s extremely healthy and tastes good too. A lot of the ingredients she uses can be found at Whole Foods (by the vitamins) or your local health food store. The brand is Navitas Naturals. Pricey, but you have to figure you’re eating your vitamins!

1 ½ cups soft Medjool dates (about 16, pits removed)

1 tsp mesquite powder (optional – enhances the chocolate flavor)

2 TB of favorite raw nuts or seeds (I used almond and cashew)

¼ cup of favorite dried fruit (I used cranberries, cherries, goji berries, and goldenberries)

Grind all ingredients except last 2 TB of nuts and dried fruit in a food processor until a coarse dough has formed (may take a couple minutes). Pinch the dough between two fingers an dmake sure it sticks together easily so that bars don’t end up crumbly. If the dough is too dry, add a little bit of water, about ½ tsp at a time and blend again. Add the last 2 TB of nuts and dried fruit and pulse several times until just a coarsely chopped, to give you a nice texture.

Place a large piece of Siran Wrap on a flat surface. I put mine in an 8x8 baking dish (or larger if you double the recipe). Pour the dough out on top of the plastic. Wrap it up tightly, then press and pound into a compact 1 inch thick rectangle. When solid, remove the wrap and cut into bars. I place mine in the freezer for about 30 minutes before cutting. Store in the fridge, or in the freezer for long-term storage.

For variation, you can add hemp protein, a tsp of freeze dried wheatgrass powder, or a bit of chlorella to boost protein and nutrition even further. I added wheatgrass and you can’t even taste it. My kids love these, and so do I.

I adapted this recipe from Silvana Nardone’s cookbook , “Cooking for Isaiah.” These taste like corn bread, in the form of a pancake. They remind me of the corn bread at Boston Market. My daughter and I love these, smothered in butter!

1 cup Silvana’s GFCF pancake mix

1 cup corn meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill organic)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 ¼ cups rice milk (*If you’re egg free, use an extra ¼ cup of rice milk or club soda)

2 eggs, lightly beaten *

¼ cup vegetable oil (I used organic canola oil)

Combine rice milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, cornmeal, and salt. Slowly add the milk mixture, eggs, and oil. Stir until combined.

Heat a skillet or pancake griddle to about 350 degrees. Grease pan (I use Earth Balance Soy Free butter) and pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake until pancakes are golden and set, about 2 minutes on each side. Makes about 12 pancakes. I usually double the recipe.

We top with Earth Balance Soy Free Butter Spread. Freeze any leftovers.

I had to explain to my kids that these weren’t regular pancakes, but similar to corn bread, although I do eat these for breakfast.

4 eggs (We use organic cage free)

2 TB brown sugar (Domino’s Light Brown)

¾ cup milk (We use Pacific Rice Milk)

1 tsp vanilla (I use organic or homemade to avoid corn syrup)

Dash salt (I use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)

Dash of nutmeg (optional)

12 pieces of bread (We use Food for Life Brown Rice Bread)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or shallow baking dish, like an 8x11 casserole dish. Dip and soak bread in mixture. Cook on pancake griddle or pan, greased with butter. I use Earth Balance Soy Free butter.

These freeze nicely. Allow to cool and freeze in large gallon size zip lock freezer bags. I try to lay them individually, not stacked so that they don’t get stuck together. Reheat in a toaster or toaster oven.

You could also cut these into strips to make French toast sticks.

If you are using gluten free bread, I usually cut the recipe in half, since GF bread is much smaller and doesn’t soak up the mixture as much as regular bread. They also say to use day old bread, so that the bread doesn’t fall apart when soaking. I usually make some GF French toast, and then use the remaining mixture to make regular bread French toast for my oldest son.

Fruit & Nut Cereal Bars

1/2 cup honey (or other syrup like cane or brown rice)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use WF brand to avoid soy)
1/3 cup brown sugar (Domino’s Light Brown Sugar)
3 cups gluten free rice krispies cereal (I use Barbara’s or Erewon cereal)
¼ cup organic raisins

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup dried cherries

1/8 cup almonds or peanuts (optional – I cut the almonds in half)
2 TB sunflower seeds
1 TB flax seeds or ground flax seeds

1. In a large sauce pan, bring ½ cup of honey, ½ cup of peanut butter, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar to a boil, stirring frequently. Stir on low-medium heat for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the cereal and then all the other ingredients and stir until mixed thoroughly.

3. Pour into a 13 x 9 greased pan (I use Organic Spectrum shortening) and use a spatula to press down.

4. Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting.

Great snack or breakfast on the go. These have a rice krispy taste and texture to them. You can make these with any ingredients you want. If you use chocolate, add about ¼ cup of chocolate chips or less. They will melt down completely. If you want them in whole pieces, wait till they cool completely, then push them on to the top. The honey and sugar will feed yeast if you are watching that.

(Don’t feed this to a baby under 1 as it contains honey and nuts.)

Pumpkin Muffins (Egg Free)

2 cups GF flour blend (I use Carol Fenster’s blend. See banana muffin recipe.)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp GF baking powder (I use Rumford)
3/4 tsp baking soda (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
3/4 tsp salt
1 can organic pumpkin puree (14-15 oz)
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 & 1/2 cups white sugar or xylitol
1 jar organic pear baby food (I used 5 oz of homemade pear sauce)

Egg Replacer:
2 TB ground flax seed
2 tsp GF baking powder (Rumford Aluminum Free)
2 tsp starch (potato, tapioca, etc.)
2 TB vegetable oil
6 TB water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins.
2. Combine the dry ingredients (first 7 ingredients) and set aside.
3. Combine the egg replacer ingredients, adding the water
last. Whisk, and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar,
and pears.
5. After 5 minutes has passed, whisk the egg replacer once more, then
add to the pumpkin mixture.
6. Add the combined dry ingredients.
7. Spoon batter into muffin tins filling about ¾ full.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

Makes approximately 18 muffins. These are REALLY good. Can’t even tell they are GF. We also use Gluten Free 1-2-3 muffin mix for pumpkin muffins.

*I got this recipe from Sheri on www.gfcfdiet.com board.

1 1/2 cups teff flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar (this does feed yeast)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups milk sub (I usually use a combination of rice milk, room temp club soda, and pear juice. If using all pear juice, eliminate the agave)
3 TB oil (can use olive oil or coconut oil melted)
1 tsp agave nectar

Preheat griddle or skillet and grease with ghee. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.

In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine the milk sub or water, oil and agave
nectar. Pour into the flour mixture, and whisk just until combined. Don't overbeat. Will thicken slightly upon standing.

Drop by spoonfuls (1 to 2 TB per pancake) onto the griddle or skillet. Cook
until the tops are bubbly and edges are brown (about 2 minutes the first side, and 1-2 minutes the second side. These are fragile. Loosen the edges all the way around first then flip carefully. Makes about 12 small pancakes. Cool and freeze any leftovers.

My kids like these, although they do fall apart. Since they are dark brown, they call them chocolate pancakes. J Little do they know, they are good for them (somewhat). Teff is high in calcium – about 40%, and high in protein. I like them too. I put fresh strawberries or blueberries on mine and Soya Too Rice Whip Cream. My kids use agave syrup.

Smoothies

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

1 cup rice milk (I use Pacific brand)

2 two-inch pieces of frozen bananas

½ cup frozen blueberries

¼ cup water (or to desired consistency)

1 scoop of ice cream (Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream - WF)

Mango Orange Banana Smoothie

½ cup vanilla or plain yogurt or ice cream

½ mango (peeled and sliced)

½ frozen banana (in two pieces). Add water as needed.

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

1 cup rice or coconut milk (I use Pacific brand or So Delicious)

3 small pieces of frozen bananas

2 frozen chunks of fresh or canned pineapple

½ cup pineapple juice

1 scoop of ice cream (Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream)

Strawberry Orange Smoothie

1 ½ to 2 cups of frozen whole strawberries (no sugar added)

2 TB sugar (can omit for kids)

¼ cup of water (or to desired consistency)

Strawberry Orange Pineapple Smoothie

1 ½ to 2 cups of frozen whole strawberries (no sugar added)

¼ cup of pineapple juice (can use juice from canned pineapple)

1 round slice of pineapple (from a can) or a couple pieces of fresh pineapple

1 scoop of ice cream (Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream)

Blend all ingredients in a blender or smoothie maker. Stir in any powder supplements or ground flax seed. Make any of these into popscicles. I bought molds at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or on Amazon. I also found ones that are like Push-Ups that they love.

Lemonade

3 to 4 cups cold water

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves or it comes to a boil. Add this to a pitcher. Add 1 cup of lemon juice (I usually use about 6 organic lemons). Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water. ( I use 4 cups.) Stir and enjoy.

You can get creative with your lemonade and add pureed raspberries or strawberries to taste. Then, throw into popsicle molds.

Vanilla Extract

You will need to buy vanilla beans. I ordered my 7-8 inch Grade A Bourbon vanilla beans from www.organic-vanilla.com. I got a 20-pack of beans for $9.00, plus $2.95 for shipping. To make it gluten free, use a potato vodka, either Teton Glacier (I found at Woodman’s for $20) or Monopolowa.

1. Split 3 vanilla beans lengthwise with a sharp knife, leaving one inch at the bottom to keep the bean in tact.

2. Place in glass jar or bottle with 1 cup (8 oz) of unflavored vodka. A one-quart mason jar works well. These are in the canning section of most stores.

3. Be sure the beans are completely covered with vodka. You’ll have to push them down some. Seal tightly.

4. Let stand in a cool, dark place for 4 to 6 months, or at least 8 weeks. It will darken to a nice amber color.

5. Shake jar occasionally during the standing time. (Once every day or so for about 30 seconds.)

1. Extract will strengthen upon standing.

2. Store in a dark colored, air-tight corked bottle in a cool, dark place.

3. Place a few drops of vanilla extract on a cotton ball. Place in custard cup in back of refrigerator to diffuse odors.

4. You can also add either 1 TB of dark rum (per cup of Vodka) to sweeten it, or some simple syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water – dissolve in microwave). Use 1 TB of the simple syrup mixture.

Most vanilla extracts contain gluten because they are made from alcohol. Read labels. If it is gluten free, it will say so. Frontier makes gluten free vanilla while you’re waiting for this one to brew. I found it at WF. Keep in mind that alcohol feeds yeast. Authentic Foods makes a vanilla powder but you need to use ¼ of a tsp when a recipe calls for 1 tsp of regular vanilla.

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TB "soy" sauce (see recipe below)
2 TB water
1 TB molasses
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir thoroughly.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 minute. Cool.
Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 3/4 cup. Shake well before using. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is GFCF but contains corn syrup and soy.

Soy Sauce A (I’ve not made this one yet)
4 tablespoons beef bouillon
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the beef bouillon, balsamic vinegar, molasses, ginger, white pepper, garlic powder and water. Boil gently until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

Other Meals That Don’t Require a Recipe

2. Mostacciolli or Spaghetti (We use Tinkyada brand rice noodles. We use homemade sauce.)

3. Steak w/ steak seasoning.

4. Hamburgers. I get from www.grasslandbeef.com.

5. Ian’s Chicken Patties or Ian’s GFCF Chicken Nuggets, Ian’s turkey corn dogs, Ian’s French Bread pizza (soy), Amy’s Soy Free and GFCF mac and cheese.

6. Hot dogs (Applegate Farms Beef or Turkey. Freeze these immediately. They don’t keep long.)

7. Soups (chicken, tomato, vegetable). Most homemade, or Imagine Tomato.

8. Sandwiches – turkey, ham, (Hormel Natural deli meats), peanut butter and jelly, bacon (Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon), lettuce & mayo (Spectrum). We use Food for Life Brown Rice bread.

9. Scrambled Eggs, Hard-boiled eggs.

Baked Potatoes, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon

Vegetables –broccoli, cauliflower, frozen green beans, peas, carrots & celery

Fruit – pears, plums, watermelon, pineapple, blueberries, bananas, apples, mango, etc. (always try to get organic to avoid pesticides)

Non-yeast feeding fruits are: pears, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, lemons and limes.

Salad (We use Romaine lettuce with Annie’s dressings (apples)

Fries or tator tots (365 brand – has apples) or Ian’s Alphatots, or Cascadian

*See my shopping lists in a post, dated March, 2012 for more products.

Pinnacle Gold Potato Chips (order from www.glutenfreemall.com)

Chee Cha Potato Puffs (order from www.glutenfreemall.com)

Gorge Delite Just Fruit Pear Bars (www.amazon.com or the above)

Xochitl corn chips at Woodman’s or WF

Green Mountain Gringo corn chips from Woodman’s or WF or HFS

Ener-G Wyle’s pretzels (corn syrup) from Woodman’s (very hard)

Orgran chocolate and vanilla animal crackers (HFS or amazon.com)

Enjoy Life products (all contain grapes, apples) but they make good

cookies, breakfast bars, etc. (WF or HFS)

Enjoy Life chocolate chips (no soy)

Fruitabu strawberry fruit leathers (WF or on amazon.com)

Sharkies gummy snacks (I ordered on amazon.com)

Purely Decadent Coconut Milk vanilla or choc. ice cream (Whole Foods)

Ah!Laska Chocolate syrup (WF)

Archer Farms (Target brand) strawberry frozen fruit bars

Cool Fruits – Cherry and Grape (frozen fruit juice in plastic, from WF)

Enjoy Life cinnamon bagels (contain grapes) from HFS

Raisins (some bulk raisins may add flour to prevent from sticking)

Craisins (these are just cranberries with sugar)

Lundberg brown rice rice cakes (Woodman’s). We add peanut butter.

Ian’s Chicken Patties (GF ones at Whole Foods)

Ian’s Chicken Nuggets (Gluten Free ones at WF)

Ian’s Alphatots “fries” (WF)

Ian’s GF French Toast Sticks

365 Shoestring fries and tator tots (contain apples) (WF)

Erewhon brown rice cereal (not the no salt added or twice rice)

Tinkyada fusilli or elbow rice noodles

Pacific Original Rice Milk (Woodman’s or WF–Rice Dream is not GF)

Imagine tomato soup (Woodman’s in a box by the broths)

Imagine beef broth and chicken broth

Ener-G Tapioca Hot Dog Buns (warm in microwave)

Food for Life brown rice tortillas (For tacos. We get at the HFS.)

Oberweis lemonade or Gerber pear juice (may have CC issues)

Food for Life brown rice bread (contains peaches).

Anna’s bread mix is one of the best sandwich breads (HFS or online). They also make good muffins. We liked pumpkin and banana.

1-2-3 Gluten Free makes good mixes too. (Online. I get on Amazon.)

Namaste makes a good pancake mix. (Woodman’s or HFS)

Agave Nectar (we use as a pancake syrup)

Organic powdered sugar (some regular ones may add flour to theirs)

Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder

Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda (keep in fridge)

Purity Farms Ghee (much cheaper at WF – use in place of butter)

Organic Spectrum shortening (WF or Woodman’s)

365 Key Lime soda (WF)

Below are foods that we used while transitioning to GFCF, but then removed after a couple months. Most contain soy or have cross contamination (CC) issues. Soy is very similar to casein and is a hormone disruptor so can affect mood/behavior.

Glutino pretzels from Woodman’s (soy, these are really good)

Fritos (CC – the scoops may be better as they are ran on a different line)

Tostitos (CC –the scoops may be better, but they also contain soy)

Lay’s potato chips (CC issues and soy)

Ting’s (CC issues) These are kind of like Cheetos. (Woodman’s or WF)

Good Karma ice cream cups – strawberry swirl or choc. fudge (soy - I like these. Rice Dream ice cream is not truly GF.)

Glutino chocolate chip granola bar (soy)

Josef’s cinnamon graham crackers/cookies (soy) from HFS

Amy’s frozen meals – Baked ziti (soy) and pizza (soy). Soy free mac-n-cheese.

Welshire Farms Dinosaur chicken nuggets (soy) from WF

Bell & Evans Gluten Free chicken tenders (soy – in the black box)

Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie mix (soy - VERY good.)

Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookies (Frozen. Good, but have corn syrup) from Woodman’s

Rice Works Salsa Fresca (Kind of like Doritos. Good, but have corn syrup. Sometimes at Wal-Mart.)

Envirokids Koala Krisp (chocolate rice krispies) (soy & peanut CC)

Envirokids Gorilla Munch cereal (soy & peanut CC)

Envirokids Peanut Butter Panda Puffs cereal (soy & peanut CC)

Envirokids Amazon Flakes (soy and peanut CC)

New Morning Kocoa Krispies cereal (CC issues?)

Other products we’ve purchased:

Dessert Essence unscented shampoo and conditioner and body wash (I order from www.swansonvitamins.com). $3 cheaper than in stores.

California Baby Unscented shampoo and body wash for kids. (WF)

Rainbow Unscented shampoo (WF, has soy).

We use Ivory Soap (unscented) for Feingold, not sure about GFCF.

Tom’s of Maine toothpaste for kids (fluoride free strawberry or orange)

Burt’s Bees chap stick (this does contain soy). Soy is in Vitamin E a lot of times.

Seventh Generation laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent

Shower and bath balls to remove chlorine from the water. I ordered on www.amazon.com.

Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil from www.tropicaltraditions.com. (This has no odor or aftertaste. Good for cooking.) I use this in a lot of muffin recipes or add it to smoothies. I also get their chap sticks sometimes.

Surf Sweet Gummy Worms and Gummy Bears (no corn syrup!) (I found these at Whole Foods and on amazon.com). The gummy worms are better and softer than the bears.

B-Fresh Bubble Gum (contains oranges), Spearmint, or Solar Moon Melon (www.iherb.com)

Xylichew gum (spearmint or Tangerine) from Whole Foods near the toothpastes. I think these have soy.

Jelly Belly Naturals (we like Tropical Fruit). Make sure you get the ones that say naturally colored and flavored. I’ve found at Whole Foods, sometimes at Border’s Books.

Yummy Earth suckers www.yummyearth.com/feingold. These are about the only suckers without corn syrup. You can get a big discount using this link. You get a bulk bag of 300 suckers for around $25 or so.

Lemon balls, lemon sticks, lemon candy canes and peppermint candy canes from www.giambriscandy.com.

There is other candy out there, but we’re not big on candy anymore. I just make them a dessert. For school, I send in lemon balls or Enjoy Life Snickerdoodles as a reward/treat if needed for the teacher to keep at her desk.

For more information on GFCF, you can go to www.gfcfdiet.org. To sign up for the online board (highly recommended), and click on GFCF Kids Forum. TACA (talkaboutcuringautism.org) has a good web site too with lots of recipes and a 10-week plan for starting the diet.

GFCF Recipes

Dinners

Beef Stew

Hamburger/Steak Seasoning

Spicy Pork Tenderloin

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sides

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Seasoned Red Potatoes

Spanish Rice

Spicy Red Potatoes

Desserts

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

Snacks

Smoothies

Mango Orange Banana

Strawberry Orange Pineapple

Miscellaneous

Lemonade

Vanilla Extract

Worcestershire Sauce & Soy Sauce

Chicken Fajita Seasoning

Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Stew

Fried Chicken

Honey Garlic Buffalo Wings or Legs

Garlic Lime Chicken

1 tsp salt (I use Redmond’s Real sea salt)

Hamburger/Steak Seasoning

Use McCormick spices as they are GFCF. Some spice companies add flour to make their spices free flowing. I use the organic ones in the glass bottles.

Honey Lime Chicken

Italian Chicken

Lemon Mustard Chicken

Pot Roast

Pulled Pork

Rotisserie Chicken

Spicy Pork Tenderloin

1 to 3 TB chili powder (I use about 2)

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground thyme

¼ tsp pepper

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each (I get mine from Trader Joe’s)

Combine the first 5 ingredients. Rub over tenderloins. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Grill over hot heat for 15 minutes per side or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Make sure you turn often to prevent the outside from burning.

This is really good.

Taco Seasoning

*Use McCormick spices as they are GFCF. Some spice companies add flour to make their spices free flowing.

Baked Potato Skins

Bruschetta Bread

Combine all ingredients except for the parmesan cheese in a bowl.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Potato Wedges

Seasoned Red Potatoes

2 TB olive oil

Spicy Red Potatoes

Broccoli Soup

Chicken Soup

Chicken Stock

Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup

Minestrone Soup

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

Chocolate Frosting

Nilla Wafers

Here’s another one below I found online but haven’t tried yet:

Triple Berry and Apple Pie

Vanilla Frosting

Puppy Chow

Salsa – Chili’s

Breakfast Sausage

Smoothies

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Mango Orange Banana Smoothie

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Strawberry Orange Smoothie

Strawberry Orange Pineapple Smoothie

Lemonade

You can get creative with your lemonade and add pureed raspberries or strawberries to taste. Then, throw into popsicle molds.

Vanilla Extract

Other Meals That Don’t Require a Recipe