Food dyes....in strange places

It was a nice day to be out of the house...cloudy, windy, and freezing!  Brrr! We even went back to the house to grab a warmer coat and hats and mittens.  Yup...it's cold.  We enjoy going to kid's resale shops with our friends... and then going to craft stores like JoAnn and Michaels.  Today was no different.  Once we enjoyed searching the racks at Children's Orchard we entered JoAnn.  *sigh* yarn!

Part way through our adventure, Miss Ballerina asked to go to the bathroom.  We happened to be right next to it...SCORE.  When we were washing hands, that quiet little voice whispered that I should check the label on the soap; which was on sale with a cute sign next to it. It was some lemon scented soap that was bright yellow.  It made the entire bathroom smell delicious...which says a lot.  Guess what the last ingredients were...RED 40, BLUE, and YELLOW.  ACK!!!

I washed my hands, and since they were out of paper towels, I ended up wiping them on my jeans.  Ugh.  But...oh well.  Then Littlest Miss said, "Hands!" She wanted to get in on the hand washing fun!  But after reading that label there was no way I was going to wash her hands with that soap.  So, I just rinsed her hands.

We exited the bathroom and began looking at the yarn selection again.  A couple of minutes later Littlest Miss started acting like her bottom hurt or something hurt.  I picked her up and tried to console her and instead of getting happier...she got more upset, agitated and angry.  Her poor mood escalated until I could barely hold onto her.  She thrashed and threw her body around in pain.  I flipped her over and looked into her eyes...her pupils were tiny...constricted.  Somehow that hand soap had affected her even though it was on my hands and not hers.  She never touched the soap directly.  Wow.

I quickly paid for my yarn and made a bee line for the car.  I buckled her screaming, thrashing form into her car seat and got out the baking soda.  I added the baking soda to her sippy cup of water and shook it up.  But she refused to drink it.  I needed something to get her to drink the water.  I remembered that I had a small container in my purse that was empty.  I took it out and poured a little water into it.  She happily sucked down the water from the tiny cup.  After about 4 small cups of baking soda water she started to calm down.

Not only do I have to be aware of all the different types of food that have food dyes but I also have to be aware of hand soaps.  I stopped into the health food store on the way home and grabbed a bottle of hand soap that would be safe for her little hands.

I never realized how difficult it would be to keep a toddler away from dyes.  They are everywhere.  I found them, yesterday, in mayonnaise.  REALLY??? They couldn't make it without?  Crazy!!!

We are now home...relaxing...and enjoying the happy baby.  *huge sigh*

My quest continues...to make sure my home is as dye free as necessary for my little one to be as happy as possible.

GF/DF Oven fried chicken Yummy!

My grandmother shared this delicious recipe with me in the recent years.  I asked her for the recipe again a few months ago and then I lost it.  I was thrilled to find the recipe again on this page. My family absolutely loves it!  I changed it to make it fit our needs.  Now it's gluten free and dairy free....and STILL delicious!



Oven Fried Chicken

This simple oven fried chicken is coated with a seasoned flour mixture and baked with a little butter.
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 to 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
1/4 cup corn flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup  dairy free butter or olive oil
Preparation:

Directions for oven fried chicken recipe
Preheat oven to 425°.
Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels...if desired. In a bowl with a lid, combine flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Place lid on and shake to coat chicken with the flour mixture. I ended up making a second batch of the flour mixture and threw that in until it was evenly coated.

Put butter in a shallow baking pan; place in oven to melt. When butter is melted, arrange chicken in the baking pan in a single layer, (if using bone-in chicken, place skin side down and add an extra 10 minutes to baking time, after flipping). Bake at 425° for 30 minutes; turn and bake 5 minutes longer, or until chicken is tender and done. Oven fried chicken recipe serves 4.

GF/DF Corn Bread recipe

So...I wanted to make cornbread to go with my friends chili for our get-together this week.  I made some last year and it was okay, but nothing to make me go WOW. It was simply OKAY.  I have made really yummy cornbread for years and the idea that just because I am eating gluten free means I can't have good corn bread was just NOT okay in my book.  Ludicrous!  I am a FIRM believer that if you have a good recipe you can always make delicious food.

I decided to pull out my original recipe...my go-to recipe...for cornbread.  It's one I have altered and adjusted over the years, to my taste.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Corn Bread

1 1/4 cup Featherlight Flour mixture
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup corn meal
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup almond milk (or other dairy free milk)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 egg beaten

Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 inch square pan, or a round pie plate, or casserole dish.  Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.  Mix well.  Stir in milk, oil and egg.  Mix just until moistened; making sure that any large clumps are broken up.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake @ 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Or for glass or dark pans bake @ 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
These make great muffins too.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  For dark pans: 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

This recipe came out moist and delicious!  I LOVE sweet cornbread, so if that's what you like you might enjoy this treat!  This tastes scrumptious with pumpkin butter spread onto it too!  Happy Fall!

Oh...the Featherlight Flour Mixture is as follows:

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup cornstarch
3 tsp potato flour

The original recipe comes from Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread book.  I altered it slightly to fit my needs.

Hummus

My new obsession...hummus.  I've had it a few times over the years and I have enjoyed it, but have always thought of it as a treat for a special occasion.  I'm not quite sure where that thought came from. Since I have recently started a gluten free/dairy free diet I am constantly on the look-out for foods that are delicious and fit the diet.  While at a recent Bridal Shower, I had hummus and was reminded of how yummy it is.

I started looking up recipes and talking about it.  This weekend we went to Kansas City to spend time with my husband's brother and his family and also attend the temple there.  While at the store with my sister-in-law I mentioned hummus and she showed me one she really liked.  I HAD to try it out.  It was so yummy!

Today, all I wanted was hummus. So, I got out the ingredients and began making it.  Find the original recipe here. I added parsley to the recipe because I found it on another page, but I can't seem to find the link anymore.  If I find it, I'll post it.

Hummus

·  1/4 cup (59 ml) fresh lemon juice or 3 Tbsp lemon juice

·  1/4 cup (59 ml) tahini

·  Half of a large garlic clove, minced

·  2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

·  1 teaspoon kosher salt

·  1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 Tbsp parsley crushed

·  One 15-ounce can (425 grams) chickpeas

·  2 to 3 tablespoons water

·  Dash of ground paprika for serving

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.

Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth. Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the consistency is perfect.

Scrape the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.
Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.

Now go...spread it on your bread instead of mayo or mustard...dip your veggie sticks into it...and scoop it with your favorite tortilla chips or vegetable chips.  

Gluten Free Cookie Dough Bites...YUM!

I seriously DID NOT think these would taste very good.  But, I was wrong.  So very wrong! These are yummy! I found the recipe here. They are SO good when they are warm and gooey; fresh out of the oven.  If they have a chance to get cold, you can place them on a paper towel and heat them for about 7-10 seconds, in the microwave, to make the chocolate chips gooey again. I will admit that they didn't last long in our house, since the batch only made 1 1/2 dozen.  Next time I will double the batch so it fits better in my Ninja blender...and lasts a bit longer than an hour. LOL!  My kids even liked the dough.  Littlest Miss was asking for thirds on her little spoon.  I wonder how these babies would taste with Ghirardelli Classic White chips.  My notes are un-bolded so that they stand out a bit from the original recipe. ;)

Gluten Free Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel (I used the entire 15 oz can, so as not to waste.  Worked out just fine.)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter (can use PB2 from gym to make healthier, check your labels)(I used 2/3 cup of Skippy natural or Jif Natural)

1/4 cup (80 grams) honey (agave would be amazing too!)

1 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it

1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (I used dairy free)

Directions

1.    Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.

2.    Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.

3.    With wet hands, form into 1½" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising. (I scooped them with my Pampered Chef medium sized cookie scoop and then flattened them gently with my hand onto my baking stones. Worked great, was super duper easy, and took less time too!)

4.    Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven. They will not set like normal cookies. (I left them on my baking stones for about 10 minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack.)

5.    Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 1 week.

Gluten Free and junk free barbecue sauce

Today I wanted to make the boneless ribs that I bought when they were on sale a couple of months ago.  They just sound good.  I have been eating gluten free for 2 1/2 weeks now and want to continue my journey to see the results.  I took out the barbecue sauce and read the label. Sure...it's gluten free...but not junk free.  I cringe every time I see high fructose corn syrup on a label. That the first ingredient on the list.  Great!  Bottled junk. 

I went searching online and found this recipe.  It's easy and I made a couple of modifications to make sure it is gluten free and to accommodate the fact that I didn't have everything on the list.  I may try it with honey next time.  Be sure to check out the recipe on the blog to see where I altered it.


Gluten Free Barbecue Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 cups Light Brown Sugar, packed {this step is crucial so the vinegar is balanced}

16 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup Water (optional)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins in the USA is Gluten Free...check the label)

2-1/2 teaspoons Ground Mustard

2 teaspoons Paprika

1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Measure and add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well until the sugar has dissolved and the spices are thoroughly distributed. Serve immediately or cover and store in fridge or freeze!

*NOTE* for a thicker sauce, simply omit the water. :)

Also, to keep this sauce high-fructose corn syrup free, use an all-natural or organic ketchup, but even better... make your own! 

I made 1/2 a batch this time, just in case it didn't turn out.  But I am pleasantly surprised!  It is sweet and tangy, just the way I like it!  I poured the entire amount over the boneless ribs in my crock pot.  I'll make potatoes and veggies to finish off the meal.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Have a fantastically wonderful day!

Food Dye Sensitivity

Our littlest Miss has been a fussy little one.  She started out that way.  Recently though, we had been noticing that some days were much worse than others.  Some days she would cry, scream and throw tantrums and would not be consoled.  I had started to keep an eye on her to try to figure out what might be the cause of her sadness.  I had decided that I thought it might be dairy and/or food dyes.  But without any evidence it was hard to really figure it out.

My dad came to town to visit with us for a week.  One of his favorite treats to share with my kids over the years has been M&M's.  So, true to form, he took the little ones on a walk with my husband while I had the boys at Scouts.  They stopped and got M&M's for them and proceeded to have a GRAND old time.  When they told me what they had fed her I was a bit upset.  But my husband was not convinced that the food coloring made any difference in her mood at all....until the next day.

For the next 3 days we dealt with a lot of screaming, and tantrum throwing.  NOW my husband is a believer.

A couple of weeks later, when my mom was visiting, my husband made our favorite cereal treats with marshmallow and cheerios.  We didn't even THINK to check labels.  Everyone enjoyed yummy treats.  Later, in the evening, Littlest Miss, who was tired, began fussing.  This wouldn't be abnormal for most 19 month old children, but it was the way in which she fussed and carried on.  There was thrashing, flailing, screaming, kicking, arching of her back,biting, and she wouldn't let me hold her.  During her fit we discussed what she had eaten and looked online for a list of ingredients for the marshmallows. I finally ended up emailing the company to get the info.

After about an hour of this behavior she finally crashed and fell asleep on my lap.  But it was a fitful sleep.  She didn't sleep soundly for the rest of the night.  She woke several times and couldn't get comfortable.  In the morning I checked my email and LOW and BEHOLD at the very bottom of the list of ingredients was Blue 1.

Blue 1...I don't like you very much right now!  In fact I might just hate you! LOL!

So, now we are going to be CRAZY and INSANE label readers.

Here is a blog I found with some great info about food dye sensitivities.  I am very aware of how food can effect our bodies both positively and negatively.  It's a passion of mine and maybe that is why I was so aware of this.  BUT I was NOT like this years ago.  I gave my kids whatever I felt like...without a second thought.  Not anymore.  It's simply not an option for our family.  *sigh*

The above site also talks about the connection between milk and food dyes and other petroleum based ingredients.  Very thought provoking.  A friend of mine mentioned that her son couldn't even wear red clothing because he was allergic to the red dyes.  Basically anything that touches your skin could possibly cause a problem IF the individual has a severe enough sensitivity.  *wow*

Another great blog with a lot of useful, helpful insights on the terrible, awful, horrible-ness of petroleum based food dyes that are used ALL the time in the USA.

I will continue my research and hopefully arm myself with enough information to protect my family from the negative effects of food dyes and other artificial ingredients. My journey to rid my home of artificial ingredients and sometimes gluten and dairy has taken many years...8 1/2 years so far...and has evolved and morphed as I learned about different things.  If you have a desire to rid your home of artificial ingredients and preservatives, start small.  It can be very overwhelming at times. Just take your time and start small.  Here is a suggestion for where to start:

If you have a family you may keep peanut butter and jelly in the house all the time.  I know we do!  It's a staple in our home!  One of the first things I changed was the kind of peanut butter I purchase.  Look on the label.  Make sure it has simple ingredients like...peanuts, sugar or molasses or honey for sweetener, oil and salt.  Now, some people would just buy the ones with peanuts or just peanuts and salt, but I don't care for those as much.  We like both the Jif and Skippy natural peanut butters.  I prefer the one sweetened with molasses though.  The next thing is the jelly or jam.  Try to find one that has fruit and sugar.  The two that I am fairly sure are okay...notice I said fairly.  I don't have a jar in my house to check right now....is Smuckers Simply Fruit or the Polaner All Fruit.  And last is your bread.  Most breads have high fructose corn syrup.  Do some research of your own on that.  It's not good.  I will still use corn syrup once in a great while but NOT high fructose corn syrup.  It's been processed and really not good for you.  Anyway, look for a bread that is as healthy as you can get it for now.  If you don't recognize an ingredient go research it and see what it is.

I'll give you an example.  Do you know what cellulose powder is?  It's made from trees.  Tree pulp...if I remember correctly...it's been a while.  Some people say they add "sawdust" to bread and other pre-made products as a filler...well they're right.  My sister was the one who actually asked me what the ingredient was  and I looked it up.  We laughed.  I guess if you WANT to eat tree... that is up to you, but I'd rather not.

Also keep in mind that when they put "natural flavor" and "natural color" on a label you need to be cautious.  It's a "catch all" phrase.  It can mean too many things.  It can even mean MSG.  I try to stay away from it because it's a company's way of not being 100% honest about their ingredients.

Now I have spent far too long on the computer and the children are beginning to revolt!  Until later...