Gluten Free

5/12 ~*~*~*

Little Bubba decided he wanted to make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies with mom. He loves these treats, since he does not get them often. And, after you look at the pictures....please note that even though he has a dirty face and shirt, he did wash his little hands.

Ok, these are the simplest cookies EVER! I always double the recipe, because even those with big fingers that are not GF, still like to sneak a few from the cookie jar.


Here it is...'doubled':

 2 cups Peanut Butter, 2 Eggs, 2 Cups Sugar and 2 tsp Vanilla
And in case you are wondering....nope, no mistakes here. This recipe has absolutely no flour.



 Wash your little hands and grab your ginormous spatula


 Measure all your ingredients


 Mix all together


Until well blended and creamy


 Place tablespoon amounts onto cookie sheet and shape with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for only 10 minutes. No longer, or you will get burnt bottoms. Set on cooling rack to cool, and enjoy!





4/23/12 ~*~*~

Made a trip to the Health Food store this weekend with my little man (Kaidin, age 10...otherwise known by me as little Bubba, and known by Daddy as little Squid). We went with the intentions of picking up Gluten Free bread, so that he could once again enjoy a sandwich...since it has been 3 years since he has sank his little petite teeth into one. We never quite found a good tasting bread in the past, so he went without sandwiches in his diet. Anyway, I gave him the option to pick out other items as well. I began thinking that I should take him shopping with me more often. Not only did he and I make it in and out of a shoe store, with a couple purchases, in a matter of 10 minutes, we made it through the Health Food store, paid and out in about 5-10 minutes. He knew exactly what he wanted, so we gathered the items (even offered him more again, but he was ready to go). Well, I have to say that since this past Saturday, he has delightfully enjoyed a GF donut by Glutino, GF bread by Udi's and a GF bagel from Udi's. He LOVES Udi's products! I even tried a bite, and have to say...this is the best GF bread! YUMALICIOUS! (Is that even a word?) Now maybe we can get our little bubba/squid to gain some weight and grow!




4/21/12  ~*~*~

I found a great worksheet for keeping track of gluten-free foods for your taxes. Very simple and user-friendly. Special thanks to the Celiac.org for sharing this on their website. They have a great deal of information for those living with Celiac Disease, as well as for caregivers of those will Celiac.

                        http://www.celiac.org/images/stories/PDF/Tax_Deduction_Worksheet.pdf

                            
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4/17/12 ~*~*~

504 Plan...What is that you ask?

Well, today I was able to experience the use of a 504 plan. My youngest son has Celiac Disease. He has missed several days of school due to this disease. I happened to receive a friendly upsetting letter from the school today regarding his absences. I guess they forget that he needs some special accommodations. Well, with the thoughtfulness behind the letter they mailed, I decided it would be best to have a 504 plan in place. This way, we have no confusion regarding his absences. A 504 plan is put in place in order to notify schools that a child with a chronic illness, may need special accommodations, as well as excused absences. It guarantees the child an education without being discriminatory. If you are having concerns regarding your child's health issues and how they are affecting there education or equal learning accommodations, you can search 504 plan to find out more.

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A Gluten Friendly Kitchen.

Our son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago. If you have a family member with Celiac, here are some things you may want to consider. You will need to come to terms, that the days of using one knife to spread anything, are over. Have you ever looked in someone's jelly, peanut butter, or butter jar? It's sort of disgusting. The point is that there are crumbs! Gluten containing crumbs.  Unless your family is 100% gluten free, you need to start purchasing separate 'spreadables'. Some products now come in squeeze containers, which eliminates having to dip the knife and re-dip, however you still have the issue of spreading the item. If you are not a 100% gluten free home, you will need to get in the habit of making the gluten free versions first, and then the gluten-containing versions second. This will help eliminate the possibility of any cross-contamination.

You really need to purchase a separate toaster for gluten-free items. Think of all those bread crumbs in bottom of your toaster. Those crumbs come from the sides of your bread touching the heating coils. There is almost no way to stop the cross-contamination here. Be safe, and purchase a second toaster.

Another recommendation is to have separate containers, designated shelves or drawers for gluten-free foods and treats. By having this 'safe' area, your children will always know where their 'safe' foods are, and it will help when you have guests or babysitters. A great idea, is to label these containers with a GF, this also will help to decrease any chance that a guest accidentally gives your child something with gluten.

 Remember if you are using the same pan & utensils for gluten-containing and gluten-free cooking, you need to make your gluten-free version first. Always wash dishes and utensils in very hot soapy water, to avoid any possible cross-contamination. If you are able to purchase separate pans for GF cooking, it is recommended. Our family purchased some red pans and red utensils, which match our kitchen decor, and everyone is aware that the red is for GF foods.



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                                                                 RECIPES



Buckeye Bars
1 stick butter softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup Graham crackers or GF vanilla flavored cookies crushed
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 of an 8 oz tub of cool whip - do not thaw
3 squares of bakers semi sweet chocolate

Line 8 inch square pan with foil so ends extend over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Add graham cracker or cookie crumbs and mix well. Gradually add sugar mixing well after each addition. Press into bottom of pan. Microwave cool whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds or until chocolate melts with stirring. Pour over peanut butter layer and spread evenly. Refrigerate 2 hours. Use foil ends to lift dessert from pan before cutting.

**I made a 9 x 13 pan and just doubled everything. They are very sweet but yummy.

This is a KRAFT foods recipe, in which I substituted with the GF ingredients.

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