Oooh! I just had to share that there is a give away over at Rosey Rebecca’s blog for Oikos!! I have a new found love for this Greek Yogurt and just had to share! 🙂 The honey is especially tasty, but I like the vanilla, too. I am hoping to win so I can try the blueberry next. Another tip? Kroger had these BOGO in the past week. Not sure when the sale ends, but I hope it is still going on! 🙂

After looking high & low, I finally found BC’s Gluten-Free Devil’s Food Cake at Giant Eagle.  Yes, Amazon had them, but you had to buy them by the case (6 boxes to a case) and I didn’t know at the time if they were “case-worthy” or not.  Those of you who used to watch Seinfeld when it was on will understand the “worthy” reference.  After baking the cake yesterday & diving in for dessert last night, I can definitely say that this cake is “case-worthy”.  Not only that, but if you sign up for Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save” plan, the case is only $20.26 and your shipping is free!  You choose the frequency of your shipment and can cancel at any time.  I think Amazon should pass along some commission to me as I refer all kinds of people to them.  Hmmmm.  Anyway, I digress. 

This cake was so easy to make.  All you need is 1 stick of butter (half a cup), 1 cup of water & 3 eggs.  I was going to add some sour cream or Greek yogurt for extra moistness, as I had heard reports of the cake being too dry, but I decided that I needed to follow directions exactly as the box read the first time I made the cake so I could accurately review the product.  Much to my surprise, the cake was very, very moist and delicious.  No need for the sour cream or Greek yogurt.  One thing that I think really helped is that I set the timer for 8 minutes under the lowest recommended baking time.  I then checked on the cake every 5 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.  I took the cake out right after that.  I can see where this could easily be over baked if your oven was not calibrated properly or you weren’t keeping a close eye on it.  I used to have an oven thermometer, but it fell on the bottom of my oven and then stopped working.  I really need to get a new one as proper temperature is everything when you bake. 

I let the cake cool on a rack, in the pan, for about an hour or so.  I was pressed for time, so I probably should have let it cool for longer, but I was still able to frost it without any consequences.  I carefully inverted the cake (8-inch round) onto my hand and then back onto my serving surface.  I then frosted with chocolate frosting (I used the recipe off of the Hershey’s Cocoa Can).  Here is the frosting recipe from the Hershey’s site:

“PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Perfection!! 

I served this cake last night to my Dad, Step-Mom, Christy & Regan (little sister).  They all loved it!  My Dad doesn’t even like chocolate cake & said it was good!  Now, that is saying something!  So, Betty Crocker, you are 3 for 3 so far.  The brownies, cookies & Devil’s Food Cake have all been hits.  Now, I have one last mix to sample:  The Yellow Cake Mix.  I hope to make the cake this week.  Maybe I will do some cupcakes with that mix!  The kids will love that! 

I want to apologize to those who are signed up to receive email updates with new posts. There was a glitch with Windows Live Writer uploading my Trader Joe’s Edamame Cracker’s review the other day and you may have received multiple emails. While I really do like that product, I didn’t mean for it to post that many times! LOL!

Sorry and thanks for reading Gluten-Free is Life! 🙂

Last time I was in Trader Joe’s I was getting the kids a sample of some biscotti (not gluten-free).  The nice man who was manning the “kitchen” area where they make the meals & samples asked if I wanted some biscotti.  I told him that I had to follow a gluten-free diet and he directed me to several new products!  These mini crackers were one of those products.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with these crackers, but they are really good.  They have a great crunch to them and they don’t crumble.  They are seasoned, though I can’t put my finger on what they taste like.  Definitely tasty, though.  They would be great dipped in hummus, ranch, dill dip, crumbled on a salad, with soup, the possibilities are endless!  I also picked up a Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant that I will be reviewing soon that they are great dipped in!!  If you have a Trader Joe’s close by, give these babies a try!  There are a couple other cracker thins they have that are gluten-free as well.  Gotta love a store that really goes above & beyond for those of us who have to follow this diet.  🙂 

While out running our errands this morning, we stopped into the Holiday Baking Company.  I had first happened upon this place back in March when driving to the library & stopped in to check it out.  I had never been into any bakery that made gluten-free products until that day.  Jon had a couple dollars burning a hole in his pocket, so he wanted to pop in and get a nice gluten-free treat.  He chose an amazing Cappuccino Chip Muffin.  YUM!!  While we were there we found out that the bakery is going completely gluten-free in early July!!!  OMG!  This is so exciting!  Lisa, the proprietor, told me that one of her employees was just diagnosed with Celiac.  I noticed that the selection of gluten-free baked goods way outweighed the non-gluten-free options.  They now have 12-inch gluten-free pizza crust & foccacia bread.  They will have hamburger buns starting tomorrow.  I can’t wait to go back in next week to give those buns a try!  🙂 

If you are in or near the Columbus (Worthington) area, make sure to check this place out!!

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”

That just about sums it all up. 🙂

I finally found a product I have been searching for for a while.  I kn0w I could have ordered it online, but I despise paying shipping costs, so I was patient and waited like a good girl. 😉  I know I have a nut butter obsession, but I really don’t plan on doing anything about it anytime soon, except feeding it.  😉

I have heard about the Naturally Nutty Products for a while now.  I had emailed them a while back to check on the gluten-free status of their products & I got an email from Katie Kearney, the president of Naturally Nutty Foods, Inc herself:

Thank you so much for your inquiry.  Yes, all of our products are completely gluten free.  We are slowly adding that to our labels! 

Thanks,

Katie

My first experience with the Vanilla Almond Butter was last Friday.  I spread some atop my Van’s gluten-free waffle and topped with some blackberry fruit spread.  O.M.G.  The flavors danced on my tongue!  What a fantastic combo!  The ingredients in this almond butter are so simple, yet so good for you:

Almonds, Organic Flax Seed, Vanilla Powder, Organic Hemp Seed

That is it!  It doesn’t get much better than that.  This nut butter has definitely moved up to the top of my list, just about even with my beloved Barney Butter!  I love having options! 🙂  I can’t wait to try some of the other varieties that Naturally Nutty makes.  I hope my local store starts to carry more than just the Vanilla Almond Butter.  I would love to try the Mocha Peanut Butter, White Chocolate Coconut PB and the Chocolate Butter Toffee PB!

Give this stuff a try if you find it!  A definite don’t miss!!

The other day I happened upon 3 of the 4 gluten-free Betty Crocker mixes.  Okay, so I didn’t “happen upon” them.  I have been actively seeking them out since I heard they were coming out!  LOL!  I made & reviewed the Chocolate Chip Cookies the other day and we love them!  I needed a dessert for Father’s Day dinner, so what better dessert to make than the Betty Crocker Gluten-free Brownies?  I have to say that I have a new favorite person and her name is Betty Crocker!  These brownies were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!  They were super simple to make and bake.  Before making these, my favorite gluten-free brownie mixes were made by 1, 2, 3 Gluten-Free (super expensive ~ $10.00/mix) and Pamela’s (about half the price of the 1, 2, 3 Gluten-Free mix and $1.00 or so more than the Betty Crocker mix).  I served these brownies to 7 people total and every single one of them raved about them.  Comments like “You can’t even tell these are GF” and “These are better than regular brownies!” were flying around the room.  They were rich, chocolaty, fudgy and all the marvelous things a brownie should be.  I chose not to frost them this time because I wanted a true sample of the product.  Next time I might dust with powdered sugar or frost with my Mom’s famous (okay, maybe n0t famous, but the recipe from the Hershey’s Cocoa can) chocolate frosting recipe for extra goodness. 

All you need is 1 stick of butter and 2 eggs (oh, and the mix ;)).

Mix in a bowl.

Spread into your pan.

Bake & then cool.

Cut & enjoy!

If you haven’t tried these, seriously, get your hands on some soon & dive in!! 

Summer is here!!  YAY!!!  Sure, it has felt like summer for a while, but according to the calendar, Summer is officially here.  🙂  This week starts some craziness.  Swimming lessons start today (I thought they started last week and actually took the kids!).  Baseball is in full swing, though Jon may have broken his wrist….he is going for an x-ray today.  He was playing catcher on Saturday & another player slid into him.  Mary’s surgery went well and she is at home recovering nicely.  Hope all the Dads out there had a great Father’s day!  We had Betty Crocker’s GF Brownies for dessert last night…they were TO.DIE.FOR!!  Review coming up soon!

Sunday ~ Herb Roasted Pork Loin, Rosemary Potatoes, Sauteed Asparagus, Steamed Broccoli & Salad (made over at Mary’s for Father’s Day)

Monday ~ grilled chicken, brown rice, steamed green beans & salad

Tuesday ~ Enchilada Bake, corn & salad (didn’t get to last week)

Wednesday ~ Stuffed Shells, steamed broccoli, & Salad

Thursday~ Mac & Cheese, baked beans, steamed veggies & salad (Kim out with friends)

Friday~ Salmon, Baked Potato/Sweet Potato, roasted carrots/zucchini & salad

Saturday~ Leftovers or homemade pizza (Bob’s Red Mill crust)

Baked Goods for the Week

Pamela’s Bread

Testing a new bread mix for a company that sent me a mix to sample (top secret ;))

Betty Crocker’s Devils Food Cake

Crepes from Pamela’s Baking Mix

Lilac Kitchen is hosting this week’s gluten-free menu swap.  Her featured ingredient is black currants.  I have never tried these, so I might have to seek some out this week & pay attention to the recipes! 

Don’t forget to check out Orgjunkie for lots of other menu planning fun & ideas!

Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point has started a wonderful program this week.  It is called “Operation Beautiful“.  The idea is to end fat talk one anonymous post-it note at a time.  All you need to participate in Operation Beautiful is a pen and a piece of paper (tape or post-it note).  Write down a positive message and then leave the note posted on mirrors in bathrooms at the gym, grocery stores, work, really any public place.  I chose to write down this….”You are beautiful.  Don’t let anyone tell you any different” on my note.  I left my first note on the mirror in the bathroom at my sports med doctor today.  Hannah asked what I was doing with my camera & paper in the bathroom and I told her that I was hopefully making someone’s day a little brighter.  Funny part?  A lady walked in when I was taking the picture & gave me a strange look.  Hopefully she read the note when she came out of the stall to wash her hands. 

Here is my picture:

So, get your pen & paper & make someone’s day a little brighter. 

 If you want to join the mission, send Caitlin an e-mail at seebriderun@gmail.com with a photograph of your Operation Beautiful note or a description of your experience, and she will post it on her blog !  And feel free to spread the word on your blog as well!