Gluten-Free Coupons, Samples and More

Money Saving Mom (Thanks for this link, Money Saving Mom!) just posted a link for coupons for gluten-free products.  I just signed up for Gluten-Free Circle.  I only had to fill in my name, email, address, and answer a few questions about what types of products I am interested in.  Then they sent me an email where I had to confirm my subscription.  If you are interested click on this link to get free gluten-free products.

Popcorn

We love to eat popcorn.  It is a frugal whole grain snack that only has one ingredient.  We purchased an air popper a few years ago so that we could enjoy popcorn as naturally as possible.  Our air popper is just as fast as microwave popcorn without all of the extra ingredients and cost.  We often add a little salt, but that is all. 

If you are looking for an inexpensive snack that is free of the top 8 allergens then I suggest popping some popcorn. 

Does your family enjoy popcorn?  Do you have any allergy free toppings you like to use?  If so, I would love to hear about them.

Pancake recipe sent in by a reader.

About a month ago I received an email from a reader.  Her name is Amy and she was nice enough to send me her pancake recipe.  I tried it out today and found the pancakes to be tasty.   

I wanted to quote something that Amy said that really stuck with me.  "I do a combo of making things from scratch and buying products. It is terribly expensive, but I think of it like buying medicine for her. If she needed an expensive medicine I'd buy it."

Thank you, Amy, for this recipe.  I will definitely be making more of these pancakes.

I also wanted to share that a blogging friend of mine, Abbi of Proverbs 31 Living, made my banana pancake recipe with beet puree recently and shared about it on her blog.

This recipe is free of wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.  

Pancake Recipe

1/4 Cup Cornmeal

1/4 Cup Gluten-Free Oats

1/4 Cup  Flax Seed Meal (I usually just grind flax seed in my blender.)

1/2 Cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour (*See note below.)

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Cup Rice Milk  (Any non-dairy milk or even water will work.)

2 Tbsp. Oil

A little Honey (I used 1 Tbsp.)

*I didn't have any of the all-purpose flour so I used a combination of 1/8 Cup Sorghum Flour, 1/8 Cup Garbanzo Flour, and 1/4 Cup Tapioca Starch.   

Here are my pancake instructions for how to make pancakes from this recipe:  In a bowl mix the milk, oil and honey with a whisk or fork until blended.  In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients with a whisk or fork. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined (do not over mix). Allow the batter to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. While you are waiting preheat an oiled griddle on medium low heat.  Pour the pancake batter on the griddle in approximately 1/4 cup increments. Turn them over when bubbles have formed on the top. Cook on the other side until golden brown. Remove from heat and repeat until all batter has been cooked.

Note from Amy:  "The flaxseed meal makes it puffy, so I have to add more rice milk. I keep the batter in the fridge and use for a couple of days."

Gluten-Free Biscuits

I fiddled around with my mom's baking powder biscuit recipe and think I have come up with a tasty allergy-free alternative.  My son absolutely loved these and I have to say they tasted pretty good to me as well.

This recipe is free of wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 Cups Gluten-Free Flour * (See note below.)
4 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 Cup Shortening or Lard
2/3 Cup Rice Milk (or other non-dairy milk) or Water
Additional Gluten-Free Flour for Kneading 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a fork or pastry blender. Make a well in the center and add milk. Stir just until the dough clings together. Knead on a floured surface. Roll to a ½ inch thickness. Cut with a cutter or a cup. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes approximately 12 biscuits.

*Here is the gluten-free flour blend I used to make these biscuits.  You may use any combination of gluten-free flours you wish or any prepackaged all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.  This makes 2 cups of gluten-free flour.

1/3 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
1/3 Cup Sorghum Flour
1/3 Cup Corn Masa Flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca Starch
3/4 Cup Rice Flour

To make the biscuits pictured I used lard and water instead of shortening and milk. If you choose shortening I would recommend an organic shortening.  Also, I unintentionally rolled the dough out a little flatter than I like, so I ended up with 14 biscuits.

Dairy-Free Banana "Ice Cream"

When my son's allergies were diagnosed I wondered if I would ever find a safe "ice cream" for him.  We experimented this summer with a coconut milk version that sometime I hope to perfect enough to post here.  In the meantime, my sister-in-law recently sent me this link.  I had never heard of banana "ice cream", but I thought it would be fun to try.

This recipe only contains 1 ingredient:  a frozen banana.  

Let me just say that a frozen, pureed banana tastes surprisingly like real ice cream with much less banana flavor than I would have expected.  However, I should have come up with a different name than ice cream because my son was afraid it would hurt his tummy if he tried it.  I am so glad that at just 5 years old he has a pretty good grasp on what will happen if he eats something he is allergic to.  Yet, I would love for him to try this healthy dessert.

This recipe is free of wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts.

Banana "ice cream" with chocolate syrup added.

Banana "Ice Cream"

1.  Peel and freeze one (or more) ripe banana.  (*See note below on freezing bananas.)

2.  Place frozen banana in a food processor or blender.

3.  Blend until smooth. This will take several minutes.

4.  You may add 1 Tbsp. honey, jelly or chocolate syrup for a little extra flavor.  (I'm looking for a healthier chocolate syrup alternative.)

5.  Serve and enjoy.

*Freezing Bananas: 

Peel ripe bananas and cut them into chunks, or slice them in half and then slice the halves lengthwise (4 pieces would equal one banana).  Then, place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. In a few hours you can take them off the tray and place them in baggies or freezer containers.  This is a great way to prolong the life of bananas that are going brown.