Are You a Gluten Free Newbie Like Me? +recipe

Our family is not "gluten free' but we are learning more about wheat and what it does. The first experience I had with gluten free cooking was when we got the book 'Breakfast Revolution" by Beth Ricci. That one ebook changed the way we did breakfast in our house and got me started with experimenting with gluten free recipes. You can read my full review here. Continue to the bottom of this post for a quick and easy pancake recipe I whipped together for my kiddos this week.

A few days ago i posted on Facebook that I had made a loaf of gluten free bread in my new bread machine and a friend asked if we were gluten free. Her son is undergoing diagnosis for celiac disease or a major gluten allergy and she really didn't know where to start. She had tried buying a loaf of gluten free bread at the store and wasn't very pleased with the experience.




From my experimenting with gluten free recipes I've learned a few things.
1. Taste~ GF products have a different taste to them when you are used to wheat based products.
2. Texture~ I think this is one of the biggest things for me. The texture is often very different than what I'm used to and that is taking some adjusting to.
3. GF flours bake differently~ GF products need things added to them like something to bind it together whether you use xanthan gum or chia seeds. You also have to make things like cookies much smaller in order for them to come out properly.
can join
We haven't made the switch completely and I probably need to do some more research (and then some convincing of my family) on wheat and it's effects as well as how to make the change permanently for our family. Here are a few things I've found so far to help you in your research and getting started.

Information 
Weeding out Wheat  a new book about wheat and cutting it out from a Christian perspective
How Wheat Gambles with Health interesting facts on what wheat does to our bodies.

Getting Started
Cheat Sheet Lists of foods that are GF and those to avoid as well as several packaged items that are GF safe.
GF Quick Start Guide great resource for newbies like me with info and links to other resources.

One last great resource is the Coffee Table Conversations. On January 21st you  can join Allison Rimmer, Beth Ricci (author of Breakfast Revolution) and Kerry Ann Foster to learn more about allergen free cooking. Here's a description of the conference session.

"No wheat, no gluten, no eggs, no dairy, no nuts, no fun. Sometimes it feels like living with food allergies is all about what you can’t have. And how do you handle tricky situations like eating at restaurants or in other people’s homes, school lunches or to-go snacks, keeping the food budget manageable, or finding the right recipes? Since Alyssa, Beth and Kerry Ann all live with food allergies (either themselves or their children), they’re no strangers to the dilemmas you face every day."

If you sign up for the conference you'll get all 12 sessions to learn more about a healthy lifestyle including gluten free living. Click here to register now. 

GF Pancakes

You can tell I've experimented a bit with this! I decided to try a pancake recipe today for the kiddos since it's one of their favorites. Here's a super easy one for those just starting out with this idea.

Pancakes
1 cup GF all purpose flour
1 cup milk (whatever kind you choose can even be water)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup or sucanat)
2T. butter melted
1 t. chia seeds
1t. vanill
2t. baking powder

Mix it all together and pour into hot griddle or skillet! Then it's just as usual, flip when you see bubbles. Serve with your choice of toppings and enjoy!