Gluten Free Awareness Day

Gluten-free cherry brownie bites

Today is Celiac Disease Awareness Day.  I don't know for sure if I have celiac disease.  The tests that were done were inconclusive and further testing has not been done.  What I do know -- absolutely -- is that certain conditions have cleared up and I feel much better eating gluten free (GF).

What I like about eating GF:  Fewer food choices.  It's easier to read a menu and navigate through a grocery store or pick something from a cookbook.  It's a relief, actually.  I am a fan of limitations.

What I don't like about eating GF:  Social occasions, parties and church dinners.  The challenging thing is being perceived as "difficult" &/or "special needs" even though I can always find food to eat. 

What not to ask someone with a health-related dietary restriction:  "What happens if you eat it?"  In my particular case, the answer is not so much gross as it is technical.  Either way, it's not the best dinner conversation to have.

My favorite GF meal:  Enchiladas, baby!  Divine providence spared my favorite soul food because it's naturally GF, when GF sauce is used.  I want to experiment with making my own sauce from scratch with dried red chiles.  For dessert:  Gluten-free Cherry Brownie Bites (photo above) from Carol at Simply Gluten Free.

Some of my favorite finds:

• Betty Crocker GF cakes and brownies ~~~ My chocolate birthday cake was delicious, but I had trouble finding wheat-free icing.  I kid you not.  Semi-sweet chocolate chips melt well onto a warm cake, I discovered.  I am looking forward to trying gluten-free Bisquick, too, but I haven't seen it yet.

• Bob's Red Mill ~~~ They have an extensive selection of GF ingredients, mixes, and flours.  I recommend the  GF hot cereal to anyone who is bored with the same old same old.

• Larabars ~~~ Nuts, fruit, and spices made into a delicious to-go bar with two to nine all-natural ingredients.  My favorites are the coconut cream pie and the cinnamon roll, but I have liked all of the flavors I've tried. 

• Gluten-Free Goddess ~~~ Karina won a contest for budget recipes at Whole Foods Market with her Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas.  That's just one of the reasons we call her a goddess.

• Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef ~~~ Her tagline:  Food. Stories. Recipes. Love.  'Nuff said.

I'm glad to know:  In the blogosphere, there are many, many kindred spirits ready to share their world of living with a galaxy of life circumstances, even if that circumstance seems, at first, like a limitation.  

And that reminds me of Becky's blog about the Blob, which is not GF but more FG (fun and games).   Enjoy!

What's For Dinner

I enjoyed something easy, easy, easy and delicious for last night's dinner.

Searching the grocery aisles for dinner inspiration yesterday, I found something called "Recipe Inspirations" .  That's what McCormick calls its packet of premeasured spices enclosed with a recipe card.  The presentation is appealing and it I decided to plunk down $1.99 for the "Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes."  I normally would consider that too expensive for small amounts of spices that I could combine myself, except that I didn't have the rosemary.  When I added up the cost of the packet, the chicken and the potatoes, I spent slightly less that I was going to spend on a ready-made roasted chicken with no potatoes.  And I made it myself!