I knew they were serving pizza for supper and would have birthday cake, so I needed to find something I could send with the girls that would be comparable. Being off of wheat AND yeast, I was having a hard time finding a pizza crust substitute.
Fortunately, one of my gf sources recommended Chebe (pronounced Chee-bee). I found it at a little health food store at Wilcrest and Memorial. We tried it out Thursday night as calzone crust and really enjoyed it. So it made the cut for the party.
I also made some cupcakes. I used a chocolate cake mix from Pamela's and added chocolate chips. I also made chocolate frosting (by adding cocoa) from another Pamela's mix. They went over quite well.
For breakfast, I sent banana muffins (again made from a Pamela's mix - pancake and baking mix). We tried them last weekend and liked them a lot.
All in all the party preparations and the party itself went quite well.
Other things we've tried lately include:
Bob's Redmill Brownies - The batter was more like a dough and didn't spread in the pan. I'm sure I followed the directions, but it didn't work out quite right. The taste was fairly good but nothing like my favorite Duncan Hines. I'm not impressed.
Darby's sugar cookie recipe - I agree with Darby - not impressive and much better with frosting slathered all over. I made mine with a Bob's Redmill flour mix that included garbanzo bean flour. The girls liked them, but I found them distinctly "bean-y." As Darby told me, I had to add flour to get anything close to a dough. I may have actually doubled the flour. Also, I was hoping for something I could actually roll and cut, but this was not it. I think there's probably something better out there. But in a pinch . . . .
Dr. Praeger's fish sticks and fishies - the girls LOVE these. They're pricey, though. Not bad to have on hand for "emergency."
Ian's chicken nuggets - Emma loved these. Viv found them to be "corn-y." She means taste (even though there's no corn in the breading).
EnerG Wheat-free Crackers - Viv is a cracker fiend, so we had to find a cracker that she likes. These made the cut. It isn't a Club or a Ritz, but she likes it well enough.
Kinnikinnick muffins - thumbs up!
Whole Foods Gluten free Bakehouse muffins - thumbs up!
Quinoa Pasta - passed the kid test. I find plain quinoa a bit earthy but still good. I don't notice the taste when it is IN something or COVERED with something. Quinoa holds its shape better than rice pasta, so it works well in mac-n-cheese in particular.
Looking forward to trying:
BetterBatterGlutenFreeFlour - it is VERY expensive to just "try" but I decided to do it anyway. The website advertizes that this flour mix substitutes 1 for 1 with all purpose flour and gives a similar "wheat" experience. We'll see. If it is good, I can order in bulk and save a lot (bulk discount and free shipping). I figure it is worth the expense if I don't have to seek out special recipes, hunt down special flours, and experiment on my own. Ideally, this flour would allow me to use recipes we already know and love.
Montina - I haven't ordered this. Still just curious. Montina is a brand name for Indian ricegrass. It is naturally gluten-free and high in fiber (a lot of gluten free flours are not particularly high in fiber). Recipes that I've seen substitute Montina for part of the flour in a recipe.
1 comment:
I'm so glad to have your blog record of what you're finding in the world of special diets -- there's a lot more out there than I had imagined, but just because it's there doesn't mean it's good. I've tried out a few things, too, and will REALLY be happy if one of us comes up with a bread that's both tasty and a good texture (either a brand or a recipe or a mix). So far, I'm not impressed....
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