Gluten Free Love

A I was perusing Penterist, I came across these cute heart shaped mini cakes so I decided to put a gluten free twist on them and enjoy sweets like the rest of mankind.

1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix (white)
Cool Whip
Butter Cream Frosting
1 stick softened butter
1 1/2 cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tbls Almond Milk

Follow the directions on the cake mix box. Add red food coloring to your desired color. Divide cake mix in 2 9x11 pans and bake 350 degrees until center is set. It only takes about 10 minutes to cook.

Let cool. Use a heart cookie cutter and place on parchment paper. Frost, stack and sprinkle with fun.

I used Cool Whip on some of the mini cakes for my Dairy Free lifestyle and the Butter Cream frosting for the rest of my family.

I just had to take a picture of these "sweet hearts" with my tea set as a backdrop.
Enjoy!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ok, if you know me you know I don't measure ingredients, I just go by taste. So I will try my best to give details on this.

For the fruit salsa:

1/2 green apple
Strawberries
1/2 Pear
All cubed.
I used more strawberries because I like them. Try whatever fruit you like or have on hand.
I think I will try blueberries and pineapples next time.

Mix:
olive oil(about 1/3 cup)
juice from 1/2 lime
fresh or dried cilantro ( fresh is more flavorful)
salt, pepper and poppy seeds
Toss all and add to your desired taste

For the chips I bought:
Target, Archer Farms Cinnamon & Sugar White Corn Tortilla Chips

Hope you enjoy!

Detox Smoothie

I found this on Pinterest and made it this morning with a few variations.

I substituted Arugula for the baby spinach, used a fresh banana, and instead of orange juice, I put a scoop of frozen orange juice concentrate and about 3/4 cup of water. It worked out well.

Click here to visit the website for the Detox Smoothie

Out With The Old, In With The New

So I relinquished control and went to see my Doctor a few weeks ago. She put me on an antibiotic to kill the bacteria that had been building up in my stomach. We had to do this last year when things got pretty bad. I'm not sure if this pertains to Gluten-free people but for me it helps. I could tell things were going downhill when the stomach pains, nausea and the inability to keep anything in my stomach progressively got worse. After a week on the medication, I began to add in pro-biotics and increase my vegetable and fruit intake.

It can be frustrating living on a restricted diet. But the alternative is not much better. I don't like the idea of taking a powerful antibiotic that strips my stomach of all bacteria, good and bad, but I am thankful for modern medicine and the help it gives me when I need it most.

On the upside, I bought a great new product today.

Bold Organics turn on the flavor Pizza. It is Gluten-free, Milk free and Egg free.

I scanned the ingredients and even though there were a few things that raised questions in my mind, I decided to take the plunge and buy it.

I made it for lunch today and it was yummy and a good alternative to the real thing. I'll take an extra probiotic tonight, just in case!

Gluten Free Blueberry Filled Muffins

Super Easy Blueberry Muffins!!

Get a box of Bloomfield Farms Gluten Free Muffin Mix
Substitute Vanilla Rice Milk for Milk
Add 3/4 cup Frozen Blueberries

Follow baking instructions

Enjoy

Chocolate Caramel Apples

I found a recipe on line for these wonderful treats but tweaked mine a bit, as usual.

http://candy.about.com/od/fruitcandy/r/choc_apples.htm


Instead of melting semi-sweet chocolate chips, I took the easy way out and used Dolci Frutta. Just follow the instructions on the container.

I used a pastry brush to apply the chocolate since the apples were too big to fit in the container, but it worked.

This is Gluten Free but NOT Dairy Free.

It's a wonderful fall treat.

Cream of Broccoli Soup - Minus the Milk

Yesterday was a dreary Sunday afternoon. Even though it wasn't cold outside, I felt like it was so I decided to make some Cream of Broccoli Soup.

Since I'm not very good with measuring ingredients, I'll just tell you what I did and you can experiment on your own.

I sauteed a quarter Onion, chopped and 2 chopped broccoli crowns in enough water to steam.

When they were nice and mushy, I added a few splashes of Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth. (I use this brand because it doesn't contain yeast!)Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg and Chili Powder. (just a shake of each).

While that was cooling down a bit, I sauteed chopped Portobello mushrooms in 1 Tablespoon of Butter.

Next, I pureed my broccoli and onion mixture and put it back in the pot with the vegetable broth. I like my soup not to thin and not too thick so I guess I added about 16oz of the broth. And the final ingredient was about 4 Tablespoons of Butter. (I know, I know, BUTTER I'm just happy I can eat it without being sick)

Add the sauteed mushrooms and cook on low for 20 minutes or so. I'm guessing that it makes about 4 Cups.

I added a few pieces of chopped left over chicken from the day before and topped it off with Tortilla Chips.

The picture at the top is not the soup I made because I've already EATEN my batch.

I love when I can tweak something to fit my dietary restrictions. The soup not only satisfied my stomach, but also my psyche!