Starting a gluten-free diet can seem daunting. There is so much to learn. “What is gluten?”, “Where is it hiding?”, What can I eat?” and worst of all “What do I have to give up?”. Fortunately, there are many good books, websites, and blogs that answered these questions for me when we began a gluten-free (and soy-free) diet for our son, who has high functioning autism. The biggest challenge was minimizing the “what do I have to give up?”, because that just seemed so unfair! So, I began experimenting with recipes that our family already loved, turning them into gluten-free versions that were just as good as — if not better than the original. Each recipe had to receive raves from my discriminating taste testers (my husband and two boys). They are tough critics, so when I heard “is this really gluten-free?” then I knew I had a winner!
Even though there are so many great products on the market, cooking at home can be challenging. Don’t be discouraged! Yes, there is trial and error, but most recipes just require some simple substitution, using some great gluten-free products that are widely available. You will see Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix and Gluten Free Bisquick in many of my recipes. More recently I have discovered Better Batter that works pretty well as an all purpose flour swap out - but be sure to read the adjustments they suggest on their label. These pre-made mixes are quite a bit more expensive that traditional wheat flour, but you can’t beat the convenience. To save some costs, you can find many recipes on line for mixing some up on your own. I suggest that you experiment to find one that you like. One tip - always use a brown rice flour in your mix that has a very fine texture for best results - your test testers will notice!
I love to cook, but like every busy mom, most nights the goal is just to get dinner ready as fast as possible with minimal fuss. I also want to please my family and serve them something made with love. Nutrition is important, so eating at home allows me to control the ingredients, minimize costs and avoid gluten and soy.
I collected all of these recipes to share with family and always thought I’d start a blog. Well, time went by and now I finally feel that the timing is right!
I chose the name “Faith and Flour” because God used my son’s autism to draw me closer to Him and He led me to discover that avoiding gluten and soy helps my son cope better in this tough world. So, my faith changed and so did the flour that I use to feed my family. I thank my Savior everyday for how He has worked in my life, always taking my trials and turning them into blessings!
Blessings and enjoy!
Robin
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