Gluten Free

Perfect Bars Are A Gluten Free Tasty Treat

This post is sponsored by Perfect Bars

The Story

In the mid-1960s, the Dad of this family, Dr. Bud Keith, opened one of the first gyms — Healthouse Gym and Juice Bar in Mission Beach, San Diego, CA. Knowing that what we eat has a direct effect on how we feel, he worked with Jack LaLanne to help change the way people viewed health and fitness. His belief was that “whole foods are the only acceptable source of nourishment for your body.”

What Makes Them Perfect

1. They are Non GMO

Perfect Bars use foods that are Non GMO and they test the finished product to make sure there are no GMO’s in them

2. Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates ensure your energy levels last. Their vegan flavor uses low glycemic organic dates as the sweetener. And they use NO refined sugar… ever.

3. Protein

All of their bars are made with high quality whole food protein, which is necessary for muscle repair and recovery.

4. 20 Super Foods

More than 20 nutrient-dense organic whole foods are great source of vitamins and minerals on-the-go. With ingredients such as kale, spinach, alfalfa and celery, you can tell your Mama that you’re eating your vegetables!

5. Gluten Free

No Gluten in any of their bars. Nothing more needs to be said.

6. Good Fats

They use nut butters in their bars that are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are the good fats that your body needs.

The Products

All of the Perfect Bars contain no preservatives, so the first thing you will notice about them is that they are found in the refrigerated section of your store. When you get them home, you need to store them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh for as long as possible.

These bars are made with peanut butter, almond butter, honey, and other natural fruits and ingredients. My favorite was the Cranberry Crunch:

The Cranberry Crunch Perfect Bar was delicious. It tasted fresh. Because I have dentures, it is difficult for me to eat nutrition bars that have nuts in them. These are made with nut butter, so there was no problem with that!

The Cranberry Crunch Perfect bar has 200 calories, and 19 grams of carbohydrate, so it makes a good breakfast on the go or midafternoon snack for someone with diabetes.

The other flavors available from Perfect Bars are:

Carob Chip, Fruit & Nut, Almond Acai, Almond Butter, Almond Coconut, Peanut Butter, and Mini Peanut Butter and Mini Almond Butter.

What is your favorite flavor?

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New Gluten Free Walker’s Shortbread Cookies!

Karen · 3 Comments

Walker's Gluten Free Shortbread — Walker’s Gluten Free Shortbread

Before I started eating a gluten free diet, Walker’s Shortbread was one of my favorite cookie snacks. It tasted so buttery good that I bought it quite often. Now, for the first time in the 116 years of the company’s existence, they have produced Gluten Free Shortbread. Not just one, either, but three different flavors of Walker’s Gluten Free Shortbread. They sent me a box of the plain shortbread to taste, and I have to say, it is as close as it can get to the regular plain Walker’s Shortbread. The flavors are :

Gluten Free Pure Butter Shortbread: The classic pure butter gluten free shortbread offers a crumbly “melt-in-your-mouth” texture and all butter taste.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Shortbread: A generous helping of chocolate chips provides a rich and luxurious complement to this classic shortbread.
Gluten Free Ginger & Lemon Shortbread: This crumbly shortbread combines the best of traditional Scottish baking with the exotic tang of Lemon and Stem Ginger.

You’ll be able to find Walker’s Gluten Free Shortbreads in your local grocery stores soon, or you can buy them online: http://us.walkersshortbread.com/.

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Holiday Fun Recipes With Way Better Snacks

Karen · 14 Comments

This post is sponsored by Way Better Snacks

Eating gluten free used to be disappointing, but let me tell you, it has never been better than now! Way Better Snacks taste great, whether you are snacking while watching a movie on TV; or you are having a party, inviting all your friends, and getting dressed up. They are good with savory as well as sweet toppings and spreads. Here are a couple of recipes I made to go with my Way Better Snacks.

CHUNKY GUACAMOLE

3 Avocados
1 garlic clove minced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
juice if 1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper
salt to taste

Peel avocados and remove pits. Mash with a fork, leaving some lumps. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.

FRESH MOZZARELLA & CALIFORNIA FIG BITES

1 container of fresh mozzarella cheese balls, any size
1 jar Orchard Choice California Fig Spread
1 bag Way Better Snacks (I used Multi Grain but you can use any flavor)
Green leaves from lettuce, chard, or kale for plate decoration

Cover your serving platter with greenery from lettuce, chard, kale or any you have on hand. If you have the little mozzarella balls, flatten them out between your fingers, and put them on a tortilla chip. Top with a teaspoon of fig spread. Place atop greenery on serving platter. Refrigerate covered with plastic wrap until serving.

Way Better Snacks with fresh mozzarella and fig spread

WAY BETTER SNACKS come in several flavors, all gluten free,

all with the goodness of sprouted whole grains and seeds. Way Better Snacks Corn Tortilla Chips come in eight different flavors like Multi Grain, Sweet Chili, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean. Way Better Pita-ahhh Chips come in Pinch of Sea Salt and Smoked Harvarti, and Toasted Garlic.

The ingredients list for Way Better Multi-Grain Tortilla Chips are sprouted brown rice, sprouted daikon radish seeds, sprouted flax, sprouted quinoa, sprouted broccoli seed, sprouted chia seed, stone ground non GMO corn, sea salt, and sunflower and safflower oils. Find the ingredients for all their delicious flavors on the website.

You can buy Way Better Snacks on their website, or click here to find a location near you.

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New For The Holidays From Glutino!

Karen · 10 Comments

Have y’all seen what Glutino has done for us Gluten Free people for the holidays? If you haven’t then you are going to be all YUM! and Where Can I Get Those? I have to say, that the bag of Holiday Peppermint Yogurt Covered Pretzels never made it into the photo! Those babies were gone about ten minutes after the delivery guy left. So, here’s the line up:

NEW! Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Gooey Chocolate Merry-Mint Brownie Mix.

NEW! Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Snowflake Pancake Mix.

NEW! Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Snowman Buttons. Warm chewey sugar coolies with red and white sugar toppings.

NEW! Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Twinkle Sprinkle Cakes: Fluffy cupcakes with holiday sprinkles.

Glutino Gluten Free Pantry Sugar Cookie Mix.

Glutino Peppermint Yogurt Pretzels. OH are you gonna love em!

Glutino Corn Bread Stuffing. Use it straight from the box, or add your own goodness to it for your own special stuffing. Either way, it is some good eating in that box.

Where to get them:

The Glutino Online Store. Order now before they run out.

You can find some at Amazon.com

Or, go to the Where To Find section of Glutino’s website, and find a retailer in your area. If they don’t have these holiday products, ask them to get them for you.

I’m gonna be busy baking now. Which of these products do you think you would like the best?

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Gluten Free Brussels Sprouts With Honey Lime Sauce and Bacon

Karen · 5 Comments

This is such a simple and good recipe that I can not believe I never thought to make my Brussels sprouts like this before. I was looking at recipes online for another project and saw one similar to this, but I did not have the ingredients called for in that other recipe. So, I made this one up using what I did have.

Gluten Free Brussels Sprouts With Honey Lime Sauce and Bacon

1 lb fresh Brussels Sprouts

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup honey

3 T olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/3 lb bacon

Trim Brussels sprouts and cut in half or thirds. Place in a microwave and oven safe baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water, cover with plastic wrap, and steam in microwave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fry bacon until crispy, then crumble it. Mix the honey, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk until blended, about 1 minute.

Take the Brussels sprouts out of the microwave. Drizzle with the honey lime sauce, sprinkle with salt. Crumble the bacon over the top. Place in 350° oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

gluten free recipe brussels sprouts — Brussels Sprouts With Honey Lime Sauce and Bacon

What is your favorite way to make Brussels Sprouts? If you try this recipe, please come back and let me know what you thought.

[egg id=”8″] Put another egg in your basket here.

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Oven Ready Turkey From Jennie-O and a Giveaway

Karen · 56 Comments

This post is sponsored by Jennie-O

Have you ever been that cook who forgot to put the turkey out of the freezer to thaw out at least two days before Thanksgiving? I have, and let’s just say we did not have turkey that year on Thanksgiving Day. Now, though, you are still in luck if you bought a Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey. Yes, you heard that right. You can take this big girl from the freezer straight to the oven, and it will turn out perfect! No one will ever know you forgot!

Jennie-O is not a newcomer to the turkey business. They started growing turkeys in Minnesota in 1940, and have over 1500 products including whole turkeys, deli meats, and ground turkey. Their mantra is “eating well shouldn’t come at the cost of taste.”

So, how do you cook a frozen turkey? Just watch:

After the Thanksgiving meal is over, you can use your leftover turkey in one of the many recipes on Jennie-O’s website. They have five really easy menu plans for great Thanksgiving meals so if this is your first time hosting, or the thirtieth, you can find inspiration for delicious side dishes and desserts. Just look at the photo from their Gluten Free Menu Plan:

jennie-o gluten free turkey menu — **Can you believe this is all gluten free?**

And here is the nutrition and ingredients list for the Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey. Gluten Free, y’all!

Buy It: You can find Jennie-O at Wal-Mart, or find a store near you here.

Win It: One lucky reader will win $15 in coupons to buy a Jennie-O Turkey! To enter, use the Giveaway Tools Entry Form:

Entry -Form

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Gluten Free Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Karen · 29 Comments

gluten free cornbread dressing

I developed this recipe for Gluten Free Cornbread Dressing because I wanted something that tasted like what my mother used to cook for the holidays. I am a southern girl from Georgia, and in the south, we make our dressing using cornbread. I looked over the ingredients of my Mama’s cornbread dressing, and made gluten free substitutions. This gluten free version is almost as good as Mama’s, and is exactly right for the holidays, or for a Sunday family dinner. Enjoy!

For the cornbread:

1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 package (12 oz.)of Pamela’s Gluten Free Cornbread Mix (or your favorite brand of gluten free cornbread mix)
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or water

(I have had a lot of questions about the 3 eggs and 1 cup of buttermilk versus following the directions on your favorite brand of gluten free cornbread mix. So, to try to clear this up, let me say that I have only used Pamela’s Gluten Free Cornbread Mix when I make this dressing. I use the mix, 3 eggs and 1 cup of buttermilk, and the rest of the ingredients listed for the cornbread. It works for me. If you have a different brand of gluten free cornbread mix, make it like you always do, adding whatever amount of eggs and milk/buttermilk/water that is shown on the package for that brand. Add in the onion, celery and butter to the mix and bake it like you always do. I promise you that it will turn out ok. And, I like the fluffiness of my cornbread when I use 3 eggs instead of just one. I can not speak for all gluten free cornbread mixes because I have not used them.)

For the dressing:

4-5 slices of gluten free bread (I used 3 Udi’s Gluten Free Hot Dog buns. I like the way they taste but I don’t like hot dogs. You can use your favorite gluten free bread for this recipe)
3-4 cups gluten free chicken broth or stock (I used Swanson’s because it says on the container that it is gluten free)
4 eggs
3-4 tablespoons poultry seasoning (more or less to your taste)
1 tablespoon sage (more or less or none depending on your taste)

Preparing the cornbread:

Saute´ the onions and celery in the butter until onions are translucent.
Meanwhile, prepare the cornbread mix according to the directions on the package, or, if your have your own way to prepare the cornbread, use your method.
When onions and celery are done, mix them into the cornbread batter.
Bake in a 375° oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely.
I usually make my cornbread the day before.

Preparing the dressing:

When cornbread is cooled, crumble it up into a large mixing bowl.
Tear or cut up the bread into small pieces, add to the bowl.
Mix in seasoning, eggs, and broth, a little at a time, until mixture is like a thick batter.
You are actually making a savory bread pudding. You don’t want it to be too thin, or too thick. Usually about three cups of broth is enough.
Pour dressing into a greased 9″ X 13″ pan or casserole dish.
Bake at 400° until set and browned, about 30-45 minutes.

This gluten free cornbread dressing is delicious and almost tastes like my Mother’s gluten full version. Served with giblet gravy, it is heavenly! If you make it, please let me know what you think of it. Also, check out this list of my favorite gluten free products.

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Welcome To My Gluten Free Kitchen

Karen · 18 Comments

Most of you know that I have been eating gluten free since 2006. But, newcomers to my blog won’t know that when I started eating gluten free I lived in a 32 foot travel trailer with a tiny kitchen.

I had a tiny stove with three burners, a tiny oven that was give or take 50 degrees off from what the dial indicated, and a tiny refrigerator with an even tinier freezer. And did I mention that for the last 5 years that I lived in that travel trailer, I was a park ranger at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which was 85 miles from the closest town with a grocery store. Whew!

Female Park Rangers need a girls night out too!

Even though it was small, I could rock the kitchen when cooking!. I made cakes, and pies, and casseroles, and potato salad, and could feed an army out of that kitchen. Ok, well at least a bunch of rangers with a gluten free chocolate fondue.

In 2011, Fabgrandpa and I decided to buy a house so that when we retired, we could settle down and act like normal people again. So, in December of 2011, we bought the little house on 5 acres, that has this big huge kitchen (well, at least in comparison to my old kitchen)

my gluten free kitchen — I had plans, Yo!

We had planned to work two more years before we retired. I also had a lot of plans for remodeling the kitchen. But, life happens, I got sick, and we hobbled back home to stay the next fall. We have not had the money to make any of the changes I wanted to make, but I am happy with my kitchen for now. We did make two changes though.

We took that beast out and threw it away.

First, when we moved in there was an old Jenn-Air stove top that did not work, and they no longer made parts for it. So, we ripped that beast out, and covered the gaping hole it left with an artfully contact paper covered piece of plywood, so that it looks like I have a marble chopping block there instead. It looks so much nicer and it gives me more counter space as well. And it cost all of $17 for the job.

I have so much more room, and it looks nicer.

The second change we made was to install a propane tank in the yard and get a gas stove. I have always cooked with gas, and I had no intention of changing in my old age. So, we now have this stove:

I love that it has a griddle in the middle.

This gas stove has a griddle/grill in the middle which I love. I can cook a big ham or turkey in that huge oven, too, which is right on the money temperature wise.

I have pretty things I love in here too.

Even though we have only lived here for two years, I already have a ton of memories in this kitchen. My father-in-law, who passed away this summer, gave me that blue pottery pitcher that he made by hand about fifteen years ago. It traveled around with me in my RV for 13 years. The canister set which was made my Michael Crocker, was given to me by my mother-in-law more than 20 years ago. The cut glass butter dish was a birthday gift from my step-daughter.

My ducks in a row key rack — My duck key rack

This little metal key rack is the first thing my husband and bought together when we were dating. I could never part with it. It is on the wall by the back door.

Yeah, that’s all my meds where I can get to them easily. My little piggy salt and pepper shakers are one of my thrift store finds in Flagstaff, Arizona. Aren’t they cute?

I have a stand mixer from Hamilton Beach, because I am an ambassador for the brand. I also have a nifty dual blender/food processor. They are on a little vintage storage cart that we found at a thrift store in Bremen, Ga. Yes, we love to thrift! Now that my house and kitchen are bigger, I can make better cakes:

And better pie type things:

I can even make better casseroles. I perfected my gluten free cornbread dressing in time for Thanksgiving in 2012. Mmmmm, mmmm. It is really good!

One of the things I love to do is re-create recipes for things we have eaten when we go out to a nice restaurant. When we were in Amelia Island, Florida, for example, we had this delicious Crabcake with Cranberry Chutney. I came home and created my version, gluten free of course!

crab cakes — Gluten Free Crab Cakes with Cranberry Chutney

We are almost done with the tour of my gluten free kitchen, but first, you have to see the refrigerator. It is huge, too, compared to the RV one. I keep it full of fresh fruits and veggies, and try to keep us fed with healthy stuff most of the time. With gluten intolerance and type II diabetes, I have to try to stick to that.

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies inside — Lots of fresh fruits and veggies

The side of the fridge — The side has an appointment calender and lists

Magnets, paper pads, and coupons — My fridge. It’s a mess most of the time.

On the outside, the front has magnets, coupons, and paper pads to make lists. There is that one gecko magnet that was a gift from a friend years ago. On the side, one dry erase board for phone messages, one for an ongoing grocery list. I add to the list when something runs out so I won’t forget it when I make my shopping list. And, the appointment calendar. On the other side of the room is the dining table and china cabinet, both bought at a thrift shop. The china was thrown in free with the purchase of the cabinet. Whooooo!

The dining table and china cabinet were thrift shop purchases.

And last, the painting on the left was done by my oldest daughter when she was in college. The fruit bowl on the table was the first gift my son gave me when he had his first job. And, the round face glass art on the wall is a souvenir from Flagstaff. I think my kitchen is pretty cozy, and just right for me. I do want to do a little more remodeling, but I can wait for the right time. For now, I’ll be happy knowing I can make my famous Mexican Seafood Soup and have room to move around while I’m doing it.

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