I have experimented with all of the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes now.  I love or like them all.  Not only are they super convenient, but they taste good.  Good enough to satisfy those who don’t have to eat gluten-free, too. 

I got out my stick of butter to soften to make the chocolate chip cookies yesterday around lunch time.  Come 3 o’clock, I had no desire to make them.  Figures.  Well, I decided to make them, but instead of forming into individual cookies, I pressed the dough into a glass Pyrex dish (9 x 11 approximately) and baked.  They did take a bit longer to bake, but I just made sure to keep a close eye towards the end.  They turned out great!!

Jon was whining at first that he only liked “cookies”.  I told him that he didn’t have to eat these if he didn’t want to.  LOL!  Funny, I caught him moaning & groaning over one after dinner.  Guess he didn’t like them. 😉 

This is a great treat to make for a potluck or child’s class party.  Quick & easy. 

I had the pleasure of trying out some of the So Delicious/Purely Decadent Coconut Milk frozen treats & ice cream. I received some coupons in the mail and set out to choose my treats.  🙂

I selected 4 different frozen treats to sample.  I will go through them and share my opinion on each one.

So Delicious Coconut Almond Minis – These were amazing.  A++++  Basically it was coconut ice cream on a stick that was coated with chocolate & almonds.  Heaven!  Dairy free and sweetened with agave.  The only con about these treats?  Not enough of them in the box!  LOL!  There are only 4. 

Purely Decadent Mocha Almond Fudge– This ice cream is coconut milk based and had a great flavor.  Big pieces of almonds throughout and a decent amount of fiber per serving (5 grams).  I would definitely purchase this again.  Dairy free. 

Purely Decadent Coconut Ice Cream-  A great coconut flavor ice cream.  Perfect for using as a topping for brownies, cakes, pies or cookies.  Also good to add fruit to for a boost in nutrition.  Creamy texture.  Dairy & soy free. 

Purely Decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream– This ice cream reminds me of a Reese’s Cup!  YUM!!  Big chunks of peanut butter throughout the chocolate ice cream.  Wonderful taste & texture.  A great way to finish off your day.  Dairy free.

I am also interested in trying the Coconut Milk and the Coconut Milk Yogurt, but was unable to find them in my store (or I was looking the wrong spot). 

Great products from Turtle Mountain.  A little on the pricey side, but you can get some coupons from their site.  Just go to their home page by clicking on the link above and then click on “rewards”.  You can get to the coupons from there. 

Just wanted to post a quick teaser for you all….I have been chatting with a nice woman from Accent Furniture about reviewing & giving away some great cookware/bakeware from their website.  I am so excited about this, I can’t even begin to tell you.  I can’t tell you what the item(s) are yet, you will just have to wait & see! 

Yesterday I talked about comfort foods for fall breakfasts and that really got my mind working.  I could do nothing but think about the bowl of oatmeal I was going to create for breakfast.  I made sure to partially prepare my oats before I went to bed last night.  Soaking the oats overnight allows the cooking process to move along much faster in the morning.  Here is how I did it:

1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Oats

1/2 cup water

I stirred the above together & placed in the fridge overnight.

This morning I was able to make my breakfast in about 5 minutes.  Perfect!  I took the oats out of the fridge and added 1 mashed banana and 1 TBSP flaxseed meal.  I microwaved for a minute, then stirred.  I then microwaved for another minute & stirred and then repeated 1 more time.  I removed the oats from the microwave and added the following:

1 TBSP Trader Joe’s Almond Butter

1 TBSP Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter

Cinnamon

1 TBSP of Perky’s Nutty Flax for some crunch

Sprinkling of raisins

OH.MY.GOD!  This bowl of oats was so warming & super filling.  The perfect breakfast for such a cold morning – it was 32 here this AM!  I can see this on the menu more & more now.  I can’t wait to start adding canned pumpkin!  YUM!!

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I am submitting this for Linda’s Blog Carnival this week.  Make sure to stop by & check out some great gluten-free breakfast ideas!

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Make sure to check out my new article on the Examiner.  It is about finding Betty Crocker’s gluten-free mixes in some new places!

Now that fall has officially arrived, it is time to bring back the warming comforting breakfasts.  Waffles, hot cereals (oatmeal or Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal).  I can’t wait to start making my oatmeal again.  Perhaps tomorrow AM since we have a frost warning tonight & a low of 35 predicted!  Yikes!!  I am thinking a pumpkin pie spin on the oats is the way to go. 

Another thing I love for fall breakfasts are pumpkin or banana breads.  Cream cheese or butter is the perfect topping.   I am thinking of making some pumpkin pancakes here soon, too.  I am going to add some flax & chocolate chips for extra texture. 

What are your go-to gluten-free warm breakfasts?

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Kinnikinnick is offering a pretty sweet deal right now.  Any order shipped in October will include a free sample of waffles!  You can see my review of Kinnikinnick bread here.  I love this bread!  🙂  They have a flat shipping rate of $10, so load up! 

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Speaking of comfort foods, check out Amy’s Homemade Chicken Stock post.  OMG!  I have to make this soon!! 

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Have a great night!  I can’t wait to watch Modern Family tonight!  Have you guys seen that?  What a hoot!

There are a few things I wanted to share before I forgot.  So this post will be some short & sweet notes.

First, Campbell’s has updated their gluten-free information on their site.  You can see it here.  They don’t have any gluten-free soups, but some of the broths are gluten-free.  This list does include their Prego sauces & Pace salsas.  Good to keep on hand.

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Udi’s Gluten-Free Bakery now has online ordering for all of those who don’t live close to any stores that carry Udi’s.  You can see my review of Udi’s baked goods here.

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A wonderful reader, Michelle, sent me a link to Ruby Tuesday’s gluten-free menu.  You can view it here.  I will also be placing a link in the right sidebar under “restaurants”.    Thanks for the great email, Michelle! 🙂 

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And lastly, why I am not allowed to buy anymore cereal or baking supplies:

Hehe…I have a bit of a problem.  I see a sale & buy.  I better get busy baking, huh? 

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Tomorrow is hump day!  The week is half over.  Is it cold where you live?  We went from A/C last week to needing coats today!  BRR!!!  It was down right blustery out! 

Can you believe that it is the last week of September and October 1, 2009 is Thursday?  Where in the world did this year go?  It certainly didn’t feel like fall here this week.  It was so humid we had to turn our A/C back on.  Tonight however, it is glorious out.  So cool & almost crisp!  It smells like fall! 

Update on the pumpkin shortage – I found large cans of pumpkin at Meijer today.  They were the store brand, though, not Libby’s.  I have a friend here in Columbus who found some at Kroger, but they were going fast.

Cheryl at Gluten-free Goodness is hosting this week’s Gluten-free Menu Swap with a vegetarian theme.  I have been loving my vegetarian meals lately.  Here are some of my favorites:  Honey Baked Lentils, Cocoa Coconut Chili, and the Mexican Pizzas I am making on Wednesday.  

Onto the menu.  This week is the last week before hockey starts.  Evaluations are this weekend and then the craziness begins.

Sunday ~ Rotisserie Chicken (Lemon Herb), mashed garlic potatoes (Aaron’s specialty), steamed green beans & salad

Monday ~ Burgers (beef or turkey), baked fries or pan-fried potatoes, broccoli & salad

Tuesday ~ Mexican night.  Tacos or Mexican Pizzas, refried beans, corn & salad

Wednesday ~ Spaghetti with marinara (Marinutta for me) & veggies (eggplant & zucchini) & salad

Thursday ~ Herb roasted pork loin, roasted squash, sugar snap peas & salad

Friday ~ Pizza night and salad

Saturday ~ Leftovers

Baked Goods

Pumpkin Raisin Bread

Pumpkin Cookies

Pamela’s Bread

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Information on the 22nd Annual Celiac Conference in Columbus.

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Hope you all have a great week!  Enjoy fall!

Nature’s Path is introducing 2 new gluten-free cereals!  We all know how I feel about cereal, so I was so excited when 2 boxes showed up on my front door step to sample & review. 

I couldn’t decide which box to open first, so I opened them both!  The Crunchy Maple has an amazing maple flavor to it.  I love the different textures & crunch going on in this cereal.  It is great right out of the box or topped with Greek yogurt, fruit or almond milk. 

The Crunchy Vanilla is just as good as the Crunchy Maple.  The vanilla is a nice flavor, but not overpowering.  The crunch & texture rocks.  I love all the different shapes.  These cereals almost eliminate the need for me to mix my cereals together!  I don’t know how much I have talked about it, but I never eat a straight bowl of cereal.  I always mix together 2 or more cereals. 

The best thing about these 2 new cereals is the nutritional content.  3 grams of fiber per serving is good for a gluten-free cereal.  Also, each serving contains .15 grams of Omega 3 per serving, which is 11% of the RDV of 1.3 grams.

A++++ for the 2 new Nature’s Path cereals!  🙂 

No, I don’t mean illegal drugs.  I mean over-the-counter & prescription drugs.  It just dawned on me today that I have never really blogged on gluten-free things other than food.  In addition to making sure food is gluten-free, Celiacs/gluten intolerant individuals also need to check any medications that they may take orally.  IV drugs don’t need to be gluten-free, as they don’t go through your digestive system.  Cosmetics are another whole category of items that need to be checked for their gluten-free status.  I am currently working on a post for cosmetics now, too. 

There is one great website for gluten-free drug information.  This site is run & maintained by a clinical pharmacist as a public service.  I have found this site to be very useful over the past several years since I have been gluten-free.  There are some newer medications that aren’t on the list yet and some generics as well. 

Walgreen’s will print a list of all of their Walgreen Brand gluten-free drugs for you.  Just go to the pharmacy & ask them for it.  It is very nice to keep on hand.  One nice thing I found at Walgreen’s – their brand of Tum’s/antacid is listed as gluten -free and the Tum’s brand contains gluten. 

Meijer (for those in the Mid-West) has a list of their brand name gluten-free medications (and food too) online.  It is fairly extensive.  I take their generic brand of Motrin/Advil & Tylenol.  Much cheaper, gluten-free and works well. 

Some prescription drugs that we have used in the past year that I can tell you are gluten-free are: Singulair (5 mg. chewables), Lexapro, Ambien CR, Fluticasone – made by Hi-tech Pharmaceuticals (generic for Flonase). 

Make sure to check your medications periodically as ingredients and/or suppliers can change. 

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Check out my latest article on The Examiner about the upcoming Celiac Conference here in Columbus in November. 

Hope you all are having a nice weekend!  GO BUCKEYES!!!  (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!)

OH.MY.GOD.  Hands down the best chili I have ever had.  Dreena has done it again with this amazing recipe.  Cocoa Coconut Chili is from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.  This is quickly becoming my favorite cookbook.  2nd recipe this week from it that is outstanding.  And, it is naturally gluten-free!

I did modify the recipe slightly.  I used mushroom instead of onions (I can’t eat them).  I also left out the agave because the coconut milk is sweet enough (there is a note in the book that suggests this).  I also added diced avocado to the top of my chili.  I served with a large salad & half of a Trader Joe’s gluten-free French roll. 

Sorry for the picture quality…it was rainy & dreary out today.  I made this full recipe and I think I am the only one in the family who will eat it.  That is fine by me, though, I froze a couple containers of this so that I will have this yummy goodness to pull out when I feel like a bowl of love.  😉  I see myself making this recipe a lot. 

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Hope you are all having a nice Friday night!  I am about to head to bed & watch Flash Forward that I DVR’d last night.  I have to get my sleep…9 miles on the agenda for the AM!