As mentioned, protein is something I worry about. Being gluten free, I no longer get benefit of the protein in whole wheat, though I have, as mentioned, added in other gluten-free whole grains. My tendency in the past was to head straight for the carbs. And while I *do* sometimes retreat to my comfort foods, I have become a voracious vegetable consumer (sorry mom!). In swapping one food for another, I find that I have to remember to add protein to my meals. Continue reading “Plant-Based Proteins”
Category: Gluten-Free Pantry
The key to a successful gluten-free kitchen is a well-stocked pantry. Here we explore some common (and uncommon!) foods to keep on hand for great gluten–free meals.
Homemade Condiments
I spend Sunday afternoons doing lunch prep, weeknight meal prep, and making fun stuff like condiments. Once I learned how crazy easy it is to make some of the foods I use all the time, I became an evangelist for saving money on certain items (dear every friend I have, I do apologize for my behavior, and, look!, I made you mustard!). Continue reading “Homemade Condiments”
Gluten-Free Pantry — GF Flours to Keep on Hand
For various reasons, I keep a supply of gluten-free flours on hand, mostly due to, I am sad to say, my brief efforts at gluten-free baking. These days, I mostly use these flours for specific recipes, and, sigh, thickeners. The lesson I took away from my naive, young, wide-eyed baking experiment was that it took too many ingredients, too much time. Continue reading “Gluten-Free Pantry — GF Flours to Keep on Hand”
Pulse Check
Did you know that 2016 was named the International Year of Pulses? Personally, I didn’t realize pulses needed a whole year of recognition, but I’m a bit of an addict. In my world, every day is Pulse Day (which, if you follow my Instagram account, is made incredibly obvious!). Continue reading “Pulse Check”
Missing Soy Sauce? Try This Instead
Between you, me, and the wall, I was in the “ain’t never gonna buy or try something call fish sauce” for many years. Let’s face it: the name doesn’t sound appealing. And, well, you know, fish sauce. I was pretty sure I’d hate it.
I didn’t. It was love at first bit. It became an addiction. The kind of addiction that had me making gratuitous fried rice and dipping sauces just so I could get my fish sauce fix (hello spring rolls!). I started sneaking the stuff into dishes where no fish sauce had been contemplated before (when I added it to my caramelized onion dip, I got raves). Continue reading “Missing Soy Sauce? Try This Instead”
GF Pantry: Gluten-Free Panko Crumbs
When it comes to pantry staples, I like to focus on items that are not pricey gluten-free specialty items. Often, there are better substitutes or alternate cooking methods that will save you money and time. One exception, for me, is gluten-free panko bread crumbs.
Traditional panko is made from crustless bread, resulting in light, airy bread crumbs. They are popular in Japanese cooking, and I loved them in my pre-GF life due to their ability to get crispy and stay crispy. I’ve found they don’t require a lot of extra seasoning to taste good. Continue reading “GF Pantry: Gluten-Free Panko Crumbs”
The Shelf-Life of Gluten-Free Bread
After I’d been gluten-free for a while, I decided to explore GF breads. I wasn’t in much of a hurry since I hadn’t heard rave reviews on these non-wheat based breads, and I wanted to get out of the habit of eating bread — I figured if I kept bread as a major part of my diet, I’d continue to miss regular bread.
Once the regular habit was broken, I introduced bread back into my diet in small quantities (half the time these days, I forget I have a loaf in the freezer!). GF bread is pricey and I don’t have a lot of time for making really good stuff from scratch (though I am trying!), so I don’t buy a lot of it.
The thing that shocked me the most came when I was checking out options online — at that point, Whole Foods was the only store in my immediate area that carried GF breads, and, well, Whole Foods is also pricey. Since I wasn’t sure I’d like the stuff, I didn’t want to invest in bread as much as explore it. Continue reading “The Shelf-Life of Gluten-Free Bread”