I Got Some Cool Products!!

This week I got a shipment from one of my new blog fans who sent me products she had received from her local food bank and did not need. Here's what we got!

So, right now I'm going to eat the granola she sent, and get to the flour and cake later on. Thanks for the stuff! ;) Look for my reviews a little later on.... Off to eat some nom nom nom.

Foolproof Gluten Free Spaghetti a Kid Can Make!

Hey, sorry for being gone so long! I'm back from a busy week of middle school. If you've been following, I've talked so far about eating out and breakfasts. Now on to DINNER.

Today, I'm making spaghetti! I love spaghetti night, and first off I will recommend the best gluten-free spaghetti out there, that doesn't mush or have a bitter taste. Trust me, over the last 11 years, we've tried tons of brands. Some have been pretty awful.

If you can't read the brand name, it's Tinkyáda Brown Rice Pasta. We use fettucini because it is thicker and holds up better with the sauce. For us, we're fortunate to find it at WalMart for about $4.00 per package. 

Also, here is the meat we use:

We like to use this Italian sausage, but you can use ground beef if you want. By the way, here are the ingredients: PORK, WATER, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: CORN SYRUP, SALT, SPICES, SUGAR, PAPRIKA, GARLIC POWDER.

We usually mix two packages of ground sausage, one Italian and one Hot, and there are other varieties, like Country and Sage. This is about three pounds of sausage, but we have 5-7 people to feed and they eat a lot.

So, to start off, get a big pot and fill it about 2/3 of the way, with a little bit of salt. Put it on the stove and put it on a high temperature.

 

So, while you have this on the burner, start working on the sausage. By the way, you want the water to be at a rolling boil (remember?) before you put the pasta in.

 

For the sausage, get out a large pan. We use a non-stick skillet. Put your meat into the pan on medium-high (between high heat and medium heat). 

 

Split up the sausage into pieces with a spatula. My sister splits it up into very small pieces, but I like to split it up into bigger pieces, like small meatballs. 

 

Once the meat is partially browned, turn you burner down to medium heat.

If your water is boiling right now, put the spaghetti in. This brand calls for 11 minutes. MAKE SURE TO STIR OR ELSE YOUR SPAGHETTI WILL BE REALLY CLUMPY! 

Back to sausage. If you're sausage looks 95% browned, turn the heat down to the lowest heat you can without turning it off. Then add some pasta sauce (we use the HUNTS below because it has really great flavor). We add two pounds (two cans) of sauce, but, again, we have at least 5 people and three pounds of sausage. This 2:3 ration between sauce and sausage is really good. The sausage will cook 100% done with the sauce while your pasta is cooking.

 

 

Once your pasta is done, dump it into a strainer for a minute to drain completely, separate the noodles with a pasta spoon, then serve with sauce and enjoy!

What have you tried cooking gluten free this week? Have you had good luck or bad luck with pasta?

{This recipe was included in the Gluten Free Wednesdays Carnival here:}

Breakfast Part 2: The Scary Part, Eating out in a Restaurant (and Eating Out in General)

      Today was Mother's Day, so we went out to eat breakfast at a restaurant. It was a small, local diner, that seated less than 50. It was clearly a family run joint, with Mexican running through the theme. 

     We don't eat out very often, but when we do, there are some rules I follow depending on what kind of restaurant it is. For example, at Chili's, they have a separate printed paper Gluten Free Menu, which I ask for right away when I'm seated. The menu changes so I don't count on the fact that something I ordered last time will still be gluten free this time. Other restaurants might have a whole section already dedicated to gluten free options (but you still have to tell the waiter/waitress you have Celiac as gluten free is not the same as Celiac Friendly, which I will cover later). In rare, cool instances, you might find a restaurant dedicated to gluten free, like Fireside Pizza, where we like to eat when we are in Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, or some restaurants in Bend, Oregon, like another gluten free pizza restaurant. You can also check online before eating out for Allergen Menus, which not only mention wheat or gluten, but also dairy, soy, nuts, and other common allergens. You can print it out and take it with you. Some places like Boston Market have the Allergen Menu as a brochure near the cash register.

     So, today, we were at this cafe, and I was given the menu below. This restaurant did not have an online or paper Allergen Menu or gluten free menu, so I had to make my choices following this process:

Here is how I decided what I wanted to order:

• I first looked at all the sections and eliminated what for sure I couldn't eat. 
• If I did not understand an ingredient, I asked my mom, and then eliminated from there (like the Benedicts, which I found out have english muffins (EVIL wheat) and the sauce is thickened with flour (EWWY). 
• Once I figured out what I COULD have, I then decided what to eat. In this case, I decided between the two Mexican dishes: Huevos a la Mexicana and Huevos Rancheros (I like chilis (the spicier the better) and Mexican food. Many Mexican foods are tasty and can be gluten free, like tamales.)
• Then I begged my mom 
  
  for a large Chai Tea Latte to finish off the yumminess. I was EXREMELY full afterward, but it was yummiliscious.
• When I placed the order, my parents made sure to mention that I have Celiac and that nothing could touch wheat or gluten when preparing my meal. The waitress understood and affirmed it would be safe to eat (sometimes they don't what Celiac is and will go and talk to the chef directly first). 
• When my food came, I looked over it and made sure it was what I ordered and was safe to eat and what was described. 

So, to recap, when you eat out, first eliminate any items you know you can't eat, then ask questions if there are any ingredients or menu items you do not know, next narrow it down to a couple of things you might want to order, and finally ask the waiter/waitress/chef if they are safe options, and place your order once you verify it is gluten free.

The tortillas were wrapped first and then heated to avoid contamination.

If they bring you an order where they included bread, toast, contaminated fries, etc, don't be afraid to send it back. (Another good side note: don't ever assume french fries are gluten free. They often fry them in the same oil as chicken tenders and other breaded items, and some fries like curly fries contain wheat! :( ) 

Tomorrow is a school day so I will be back blogging again if I have free time from studying during the week or for sure on the weekend. And try eating out using the tips, and, if in doubt, ask ask ASK! Remember, gluten free is cool!

1: That IS how I held my mug, 2: My eyes are NOT red :)

(All these photos were taken on my HTC One phone, are not edited in any way, and uploaded to Dropbox)

Oatmealliciousnessism (or Oatmeal Gluten-Free recipe)

     Hey guys. Today I'm making some breakfast. GLUTEN FREE oatmeal. Why did I do gluten free in all caps? Well, normally oats are produced on contaminated equipment, so you have to get oats that are from a safe company (and don't order oatmeal in a restaurant -- it will almost always be cross contaminated oats). 

Here is how to make the brand I like.

Here's the package of my Bobs Red Mill oats:

(Notice the part where it says whole grain?

This is the good stuff since a lot of gluten free

products are made with starch and flours.)

Here's my empty pot. It's handy because it has

measurements on the inside of the pot, but any

good size pot will do:

 

Make sure if you're in a kitchen where gluten-containing stuff is made 

that you clean the counters thoroughly first to avoid any

accidental contamination. Better safe than in pain.

 

First, pour water in your pot—for my brand of oatmeal, 

it calls for 4 cups (a quart):

 

On a high temperature, boil your water. For those of you who don't know a lot about cooking, here's a term for the boiling you want: a rolling boil, a constant amount of large bubbles. Oh, and steaming is normal. (add rolling boil to your list of cooking

terms now)

 

Now add in your Gluten Free oats. In my case, I add in 2 cups,

or if you are modifying the recipe, keep in mind the ratio is

2:1 (water to oats) -- ratio is another good cooking term.

 

For my oatmeal, I cook it for about 20 minutes.

MAKE SURE TO STIR OR ELSE YOU'LL GET A PAN WITH A

LAYER OF GLUEY, UN-SCOOPABLE OATMEAL AT THE BOTTOM.

(yeah, that's happened to me before and my mom

makes me scrub the pot -- I just learned that by the way).

If your pot looks like this:

 

it's boiling over (this is another phrase to add to your list of cooking terms).

Ok, so back to this pot: if it looks like this turn it down or remove

it from the heat for a moment.

Once your oatmeal is ready, take it off the burner and SERVE! 

Don't take a ton though, because, trust me, GF oatmeal is pretty filling.

 

If you want to add stuff to your oatmeal, you can add loads of things,

like nuts (almonds right now, but usually I have glazed pecans),

sugar (or stevia or other substitutes), fresh fruit, milk...use whatever! ;)

 

OMNOMNOM! Oh, and nutritious!

Trust me, if you have something this yummy, you won't

feel like you are missing out at breakfast just because

you are now eating gluten-free. (I will write about

more breakfast foods in future posts)

What is this thing called Celiac?

      So, I'm guessing some people visiting this blog right now might not even know what this “Celiac” thing is or may be newly diagnosed. Here is a technical definition, along with what gluten is:

“Celiac Disease (CD) is a lifelong inherited autoimmune condition affecting children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Even small amounts of gluten in foods can affect those with CD and cause health problems. Damage can occur to the small bowel even when there are no symptoms present.

Gluten is the common name for the proteins in specific grains that are harmful to persons with Celiac disease. These proteins are found in ALL forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, Kamut®, einkorn and faro) and related grains rye, barley and triticale and MUST be eliminated.”

Source: UCLA: the villa in a normal stomach and a CD stomach

This quote if from Celiac.org, a website that tells you tons of stuff about Celiac. For kids and families, there is this on Celiac.com, and the main part of the site has cool things like what you can and can't eat, good and bad candy, and lots more! Bookmark this site, and the Celiac.org site, because it will be very useful in gluten-free life. 

       To paraphrase, Celiac is a disease you can't get rid of, and the longer you eat gluten-free, the better you'll feel. And, eventually you won't really notice you have it. Don't eat gluten EVER or else you'll get things like stomach cramps, bloating, and other really bad stuff :(. <---I got this symptom information from my mom. I wouldn't know because I've been on the right diet for so long ;). If you're another kid who has Celiac, you're life isn't over. You won't starve, because there's PLENTY of stuff to eat still. More on that in later posts.

       If you think that you're gonna be an “outcast” in school, it's not like that. Yeah, you can't eat at any more of those pizza or ice cream rewards at school and stuff like that, but from my experiences, people won't hate you if you tell them you have Celiac. In fact, everyone who I've told is nice about it. The good thing about Celiac is, at least you don't have an allergy that requires you to carry something like an epi pen. Things could be worse. If you eat right, you can have a really healthy diet, but I'll cover that more some another day. If you have questions on Celiac Disease or gluten free, comment below.

      NOTE: When people are tested for Celiac and don't have enough gluten in their system, the tests might come back negative, as in you don't have Celiac. That's OK, because if you suspect you have Celiac or gluten allergy/intolerance, try some gluten-free/Celiac-friendly food I'll be showing you how to make. If being on a gluten free diet makes you feel better, keep eating gluten-free.

Hello.

Cooking some gluten-free cupcakes with my friend and his sister.

     Hey, and welcome to my first blog. I'm an 11 year old kid who lives in Nevada. Actually, not just any 11 year old kid. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when I was 10 months old, after Failure to Thrive. After 3 days on a gluten-free diet, my mom tells me I gained 2 pounds (more than I had gained in all the previous 3 months!) We were on to something. Well, now almost 11 years later (to the day), I'm starting this blog for all those kids (and everyone else) who have Celiac Disease like me. But if you're just gluten intolerant, allergic to it, or on a diet, you still might find this a cool and useful blog.

     So, I've never had a blog before, as I've said. I can't predict exactly what I'm gonna do post to post, but I'm planning to include what specifically I'm cooking, where I got the recipe from, as well as what I thought of it and some photographs of the food ;). Also, besides some cooking, I'm going to recommend good stuff (a word my English teacher hates but I get to use here cuz its my blog :) ).  Even though this is mostly a cooking blog, I will include kid experiences too.

    On the topic of ME, I like to play games, like Minecraft, write music, play clarinet, eat, cook, jump on the trampoline, cuddle with my dogs, research random stuff, and be with my family. So you might find blog posts just about me as a kid.

    I will be cooking from some various recipes, like those from professional cookbooks and recipes off the internet. All these will be gluten-free and Celiac friendly (for the difference on this, I will be adding a blog post as it relates to important information, especially eating out with all the new gluten free menus).

    Thanks for visiting and I hope you will subscribe to my blog and hang out with me online.

That's me in the middle bottom of this photo.

 These photos are from an Iris Garden in Oregon, and are from when I first picked up a camera, in this a Canon Rebel XT. These are NOT Photoshopped or edited in any way.

This is a REAL photo of a REAL flower.

This is a close-up of a fairly small flower, though I've taken photos of much smaller.

What flower do you think this is? Leave me a comment.