Today I got a call from a friend asking if I had a recipe for a gluten free pie crust.
I had to tell her no, BUT I was able to let her know that I do have a frozen pie crust I love. The ‘Wholly Gluten Free 9″ Pie Shells’ in a 2 pack. They are great to work with, bake beautifully and taste fabulous.
I’m usually able to find them in either Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme or Better Health Stores, but they always seem to be down to the last two or three packages. I always buy at least two, sometimes three. Remember, they’re in the freezer section, and they last for months in the freezer.
I usually make one crust pies, lemon meringue, pumpkin, banana cream or chocolate cream. Lately I’ve gotten a little bolder with two crust pies. I’ve tried my hand at chicken pot pie and just this past week, I made a cherry pie (Kevin’s favorite) for his birthday. When I make a two-crust pie, I brush the top crust with my ‘Smart Balance’ dairy free butter. It comes out a beautiful flaky, golden brown and tastes like you’re eating pastry. Delicious!
First I saw a commercial about these non-dairy chocolate truffles. Next, I got a $2 Kroger coupon for them and today when I stopped in the Lake Lansing Rd. Kroger, I found them. And they were on sale! Aaaannnddd…they are fabulous!!
Thank you Lindt!
Thanks for stopping!
Enjoy. Brenda
Fun Fact: The pic of the chocolate fountain, below, is actually the Lindt chocolate fountain in their Germany factory. Kevin and I toured it eighteen years ago. I LOVE chocolate!
So, I recently sang the praises of the deliciousness of Nestle Coffee Mate Brown Sugar flavored Oat Creamer coffee creamer, but maybe some of you out there are looking for a more natural coffee creamer.
Jastram Farm, located in St Johns, Michigan has just what you’re looking for! All Natural Pure Maple Cream. Put a dollop or two of that in your coffee and you’re golden. (Although it won’t give you the creamy effect that you traditionally get from creamers.)
You may be asking yourself, why would Brenda take a pic with a jar that is basically empty? Because she wanted to get this post completed and had pretty much used up all of the maple cream she had on hand.
They’re just a stone’s throw from us, participate in many local craft shows, have their own store-front and a Facebook page (Jastram Farm). Check their page out to see ALL of the wonderful products they offer.
Honestly, daring is not the emotion I was feeling that day in the grocery store. It was frustration. Once again I’d hoped I could quickly find a “ready-made frozen something” I could keep in the freezer at work for those days I don’t have leftovers to bring for lunch. Silly girl.
Then, I spied a bag with the name Daring on it. “Daring Breaded Plant Chicken Pieces” to be exact. Now I’ve said it before, I’m not vegan, but ordering vegan in a restaurant assures me that my food has been prepared without dairy or eggs. With that being said, I also want to make it clear that I am not opposed to the occasional meatless burger or chicken nuggets either.
So, I bought the bag and put it in my work freezer. A couple weeks later I took the plunge and warmed several strips up. I wrapped a couple of those puppies up in lettuce with some of my Hellmann’s Vegan Dressing and Spread. I also dipped a couple pieces in spicy mustard and a couple others in bbq sauce with some green beans on the side. Tasted great! Just like regular chicken strips. (I should let you know that Hellman’s recently changed the name from Vegan to Plant Based. I had a friend trying to find the Vegan Hellman’s recently, she called and said she could only find Hellman’s Plant Based; she asked if they were the same product. I did a quick search and discovered the name change. Yes, they are the same product.)
While they’re a bit pricey, I will not hesitate to buy them again. I mean, seriously, when eating foods that comply with your dietary restrictions, what isn’t pricey, right?
So, if you’re feeling daring the next time you’re in the grocery store, take a leap and pick up a bag of the ‘Daring’ brand of meatless chicken strips! You won’t regret it.
Superbowl is a week from today. Giving you a couple quick ideas for your party.
Wholly Veggie! Mozzarella Style Sticks. Vegan and gluten free. These are REALLY good. The “cheese” actually melts. You can cook them in the oven or an air fryer. I found them in Walmart and Kroger, but I don’t think all Kroger stores will have them. (The St. John’s Kroger just did a ‘Last Chance Clearance’ on them). Pretty sure that means, I’ll be shopping for these in Walmart from now on.
Caulipower Chicken Nuggets. Gluten free. So yummy. Even the grandkids liked them. You can cook them in the oven or an air fryer. I found them in Fresh Thyme, Walmart and Meijer. Again, location makes all the difference.
Not the greatest pic, but you get the point. Seen one, you’ve seen them all.
That’s it. Short and to the point. Now, get to the store! Links for both products are below the disclaimer.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping.
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!
Next stop, the Upper Eastside, for a 100% organic, plant-based lunch at ‘Le Botaniste’.
We ordered 3 different ‘half portion’ bowls:
1) Pasta Bolo, a gluten free/vegan version of an Italian pasta and marinara. By far, both my favorite and Kevin’s.
2) The Spicy Chili Sin Carne, just what it sounds like – (kind of), but of course, it’s a gluten free/vegan version of chili, cheese and sour cream. Kevin and I both said this was a distant second. There was just something about the texture that we couldn’t get past.
3) The Tibetan Mama, a combination of brown rice, coconut peanut butter curry, greens and kimchi. Wow! Kevin and I… not fans! Bradley on the other hand said this is one of his favorites.
Along with our half bowls, we also ordered several sides, four of which were spreads.
1.) The roasted beets, which were fabulous. We’ve got to figure out how to make these.
2.) Green Pea Hummus, which was a bit of a let down. Even though I knew it was made with peas, it looked like guacamole and that was what I was expecting – it wasn’t.
3.) The Jackuna, which looked a little like chicken salad. I was excited for this. I’d read about Jack Fruit before but had never tried it. It was okay. I’m glad it was served with crackers!
4.) Turmeric Lemon Hummus – not a fan.
5) Lastly, the Young Coconut Ceviche, a spread of coconut meat, cashew, cilantro, jalapeno and garlic. I do not like cilantro, so one small bite of this was enough for me. Kevin didn’t like it either. Bradley liked everything we ordered.
Lunch is served! (Bottom left: Tibetan Mama, middle left: Pasta Bolo, top left: the 4 spreads, top right: the gluten-free crackers, middle right: Spicy Chili Sin Carne and bottom right: Roasted Beets.)
Bradley has talked about this place for years and was anxious for us to try it. I’m glad we were able to finally to get there.
Link for ‘Le Botaniste’ is below my disclaimer. Thanks for stopping!
On a recent trip into East Lansing, I found the O’Doughs Thins Bagels – Vegan. (O’Doughs products are certified gluten free.) I can’t remember if I found them in Fresh Thyme or Kroger. Fortunately, I’m seeing more of the O’Doughs products in many stores, so hopefully they won’t be too difficult for you to find.
This is the top and bottom. Just one goofy thing – that’s the bottom in the pic below. It doesn’t look like the bottom of a regular bagel.Looks a little goofy, but still tastes great!
I paired the bagel with Violife 100% Vegan “just like Original Cream Cheese” sprinkled with some “Olde Thompson Everything Bagel Seasoning”.
You just can’t beat this stuff. So good. (I found it in Walmart, in St. Johns.)
How are the taste and texture? Wow, really good! You got a little chewy going on, just like a regular bagel. The chewy bagel with the Violife “just like Original Cream Cheese” and the Everything Bagel seasoning – delicious. Took me back to my college days, when we’d stop at Bagel Fragel on early morning class days. Nice little bonus: As you can see, these bagels are labeled as “Thins” on the package. That means I can eat both the top and the bottom, feeling satisfied, but not stuffed.
What a nice start to my Saturday morning!
Links for the products can be found below my disclaimer.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping.
Brenda
Disclaimer:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!
I take my lunch to work everyday. I’m not a sandwich kind of gal. Never have been. I like a warm lunch. I’m pretty sure my dislike of sandwiches could be a direct result of my not having to take a lunch to elementary school. Growing up, our house was on the same street as St. Mary Elementary, one block down. Every school day, I (along with my siblings) ran home to eat lunch with Mama. (Lunch was an hour long, giving us plenty of time to eat and the remainder of our lunch hour could be spent back at school on the playground or if it was really cold, we stayed home and watched the Young and The Restless. (How funny is that?!?) It was great.
Junior high, high school, and college, I choked down many a cold sandwich. I started to work and I reverted back to warm lunches. To this day, my lunches at work rarely consist of a sandwich. I’m a leftovers fan. (Thank God for microwaves.) When I don’t have leftovers, I hope I have something convenient and ready to go in the freezer. That doesn’t happen often. As many of you know, it’s a bit of a pain finding quick frozen food that meets all of your allergy criteria, so when I do find something, I’m pretty pumped. With that being said, let me introduce, the ‘Blake’s Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie”. (Link at bottom of this post.)
My chicken pot pie lunch: I made it in the microwave. Follow the instructions on the box. (Go with the minimum time suggested for microwaving, you can always add another minute.) They recommend, putting something under it. I used a paper plate.
Before.
I opened the microwave. It smelled great. The crust browned up, a little. It had bubbled over a bit, so I’m glad they recommended placing something under it. There was just one unusual thing, the center of the pie. It looked like it had 5 rows of 1/4 inch dots in a grid. After taking it out of the microwave, I attempted to punch a hole in it’s center, to release some heat. I was unable to punch a hole in it with my plastic fork. (Okay, maybe a ‘real’ fork could have. Remember, I’m at work and I use plastic silverware.) Anyway, after I busted through the crust, off to the side, and let it cool; I dug in. It had great flavor! I liked the crust, nice texture. I just wish it would have been stuffed with a little more chicken, veggies and gravy, I wasn’t ready for my lunch to be over.
The dots are kind of crazy, right? (And you can see it bubbled over a bit, but nothing terrible.)After cooking. Yum!
I will pick up a couple more of these and keep them in the freezer, for those days I need something to pack for lunch or one of those nights Kevin and I want something quick for supper.
I’ve heard the fall colors up in the northern part of lower Michigan are at their peak. That means many of you may be heading north for a fall color tour. If you’re heading in the Traverse City direction, I’ve got a couple of food suggestions for you.
The ‘Red Mesa Grill’, offering Latin American Food & Fun. (With locations in both Traverse City and Boyne City.) We went to their Traverse City location on US 31, ½ mile from the state park.
I ordered their ‘Tacos – Create your own combo’. I got 3 tacos with the corn tortilla, no cheese: I chose 3 different tacos, the Shredded Ancho Chicken, the Spiced Ground Beef and the Shredded Beef. The combo comes with Panama red rice and refried smoked pintos. The manager came out and said they wouldn’t be able to serve me the rice because it contains butter (nice catch Mr. Manager), but that they would instead give me a double batch of the refried smoked pintos. Win!
I don’t have a picture of my food. Sorry about that. It really was a very nice presentation and oh, so delicious. I literally inhaled all 3 tacos and devoured the pintos, then looked at Kevin and said, “I should’ve taken a picture.” So, you’re just going to have to take my word for it that the food is great.
We stopped at each of the next two places on two separate occasions. Once last year and again this year.
‘Milk & Honey Café & Ice Creamery’, offering both dairy ice cream and vegan ice cream options. Seven vegan options to be exact, in a nice variety of flavors. If you’re ordering vegan ice cream because you are allergic to dairy, please tell your server. Your server can then get your ice cream from the back to avoid cross contamination with the dairy ice cream.
Round 1: Chunky Monkey – Vegan chocolate ice cream with banana, Oreos and roasted salted pecans. They didn’t have the gluten free Oreos, so I just had the bananas and salted pecans. I can’t even tell you how enjoyable it was, for Kevin and I to be able to walk into an ice cream shop, both place an order for ice cream and each eat our dish of ice cream together. (Over the years, I’ve watched Kevin eat lots of ice cream as I drank a lemonade or Coke.) My review: Yummy, even without the Oreos.
Chunky Monkey ice cream
Round 2: Vegan Rocky Road – Vegan chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and roasted almonds. My review: Yum! And again, so fun to go out and eat ice cream with Kevin.
Vegan Rocky Road ice cream
“Third Coast Bakery’, a gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan bakery. How wild is that? Baked goods are so tasty and both times we were there, the place was hopping. Bonus: They also sell many of their baked goods in the freezer section of grocery stores up north.
Round 1: I was a little hesitant to order, still seemed a little too good to be true, also, I was kind of full. (This is where I should mention we’d already picked up some Third Coast Bakery items at the grocery store near the campground we were at. A two pack of chocolate cupcakes, a gingersnap cookie and a lemon/lavender cookie.) I don’t even eat baked goods once a week and now I’d been grazing on them several times a day. That being said, in the name of research, we forged ahead and ordered a chocolate donut and a chocolate chip cookie. My reviews:
Chocolate Cupcakes: They were divine.
Gingersnap cookie: Good – if you like ginger. I like ginger, Kevin not so much.
Lemon/lavender cookie: I’ve discovered while I enjoy the scent of lavender, I don’t like eating it. (Kevin, Brent and Jamie echoed my sentiments.) Cookie had good texture. The lemon flavor came through nicely, but I just couldn’t get past the lavender taste.
Chocolate Donut: I like chocolate, and the flavor was good, but it just wasn’t a doughnut; which is what I’ve been craving for 10 plus years. (But we still definitely ate it.)
Chocolate Chip Cookie: Nice hearty cookie, great taste. Something I enjoyed sinking my teeth into!
Round 2: Feeling emboldened by our previous experience, I ordered an almond milk vanilla latte, Kevin a latte with caramel and we both went with a beautiful, thick slice of lemon blueberry cake. (A slice as thick as any self-respecting grandma would serve to her grandchild. Now that’s a slice of cake!) My reviews:
Almond Milk Vanilla Latte: Very good, I enjoy a good, hot latte.
Lemon/blueberry cake: Oh my, it was SOOOO good. It had just the right balance of lemon and blueberry and the lemony icy on top was just what was needed to top off perfection. Coupled with my latte, eaten at our campsite, well, it just doesn’t get much better than that.
What’d I tell ya? That’s a slice of cake!
Ok, I’ve regaled you with tales of eating, lots of eating and nothing about where to find this year’s best fall colors. I’ll let you figure out the color tour, I’ve covered the food for you.
I could’ve sworn I’d told you about this cake, and yet I don’t find any mention of it. So, I hope this isn’t a rerun for you.
Aunt Elsie’s Banana Cake has been a family favorite at our house for well over twenty years. I made it all the time, so, when I had to start baking wheat/gluten free, I knew this was the first cake I would try. It baked beautifully.
A few years later, I had to tweak the recipe again, this time using almond milk to replace the dairy milk and applesauce instead of eggs. The cake took each of these changes in stride, I can’t seem to go wrong with it. It still is my go-to cake when I want to bake something that I know will actually turn out. Back in the day, when the kids all lived at home, I baked it in a 9×13 pan. Now that it’s just Kevin and I, I bake it in 2 – 8×8 pans. We eat one, freeze the other. (Cake recipe below.)
Last time I baked this cake, instead of making up my usual frosting, I opted for the vegan “Miss Jones Baking Co. Cream Cheese Flavored Frosting” which Bradley and I found at Whole Foods.
I opened the container. It looked and smelled like cream cheese frosting. Stirred it up – kinda dry. The texture actually reminded me of spackling. (Check out pic below.)
Definitely needed to be warmed up just a bit in the microwave. Then it spread on the cake smooth as butter.
It said on the container that I might want to microwave it for 5-10 seconds. I did 9 seconds, then another 6. That softened it up and it frosted the cake nicely. The flavor works great with the banana cake. While it doesn’t taste, exactly, like cream cheese frosting, I’d say it’s close; especially when you consider there is no cream cheese, milk or butter in it! All in all, it is good, very good, and very sweet. Tastes a lot like something you’d get at a bakery. I will definitely buy this again… for my banana cake and I think I want to try it in a pumpkin roll.
Aunt Elsie’s Banana Cake (wheat free and vegan)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 ½ c. sugar
½ c. shortening
½ c. applesauce
1 c. mashed bananas (about 3)
½ c. sour milk (Add ½ tsp. vinegar to your milk alternative, let it set for awhile before using.)
2 c. flour alternative*
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum (Unless if your flour alternative is a pre-made mixture already containing xanthan gum.)
Cream sugar and shortening. Then add applesauce and bananas. Stir. Add milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, soda and xanthan gum. Stir to mix. Pour batter in greased pan(s) & bake at 350 degrees.
Bake for 35-45 minutes in 2- 8×8 pans or 1- 9×13 pan, 25 minutes in layers or 50-55 minutes in loaf pan. Check if done with either a knife or toothpick, which should come out clean.
Cool before frosting.
Top with walnuts, if desired.
Just waiting to be frosted!Look at that!!Yum!
*(I used the flour mixture I blogged about in my 2nd post “In the Beginning: Our First Encounter with Food Allergies”. If you’re interested, the recipe for the mixture can be found at:
These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!
