GFCFSFEF egg nog!

It's been awhile since I've gotten a post up. It's pretty busy here (I declare Oct.-Feb cupcake season since it seems to be). This is a work in progress but I thought I'd post my version of eggnog that I make for the boys. While I was making this I hit my not so funny funny bone on the bottle of  'nog and spilled some of the "milk" all over the floor. The dog was quite happy about this since she loves coconut and hemp milk, but since I was trying to measure this may require some adjustments. I will update when I make another batch if I find this needs more tweaking. This is a small batch, which goes really fast. You can double or triple if you wish as it will last awhile (if you don't drink it all up!) Without further ado, I give you egg-less, cook free eggnog!

3/4 cups (or 6 ounces) Vanilla Hemp Milk (I like Pacific brand)
16 ounces Vanilla Coconut Milk (So Delicious from the carton)
3/4 cup Vanilla coconut creamer (So Delicious)
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. agave nectar
buttered rum flavoring- I used 4 drops. Normally we don't use artificial flavors here. This is an extremely small amount of very concentrated flavoring. You could use rum extract or real rum (since this was for the boys I did not do that. You could cook the mixture to cook out any alcohol if you wish).

Pour all ingredients into a wide mouthed bottle or jar. Close lid tightly and shake until well mixed. Taste test and adjust ingredients if desired. Super easy. The longer the mixture sits, the stronger the flavors will get.If you don't care for coconut milk you could use another milk of your choice, but you want it thick and creamy so just rice milk may not give you your desired results. Canned coconut milk could be used in place of the creamer.

This is best served cold, but you could probably use it in home made versions of egg nog lattes or for cooking where egg nog is called for.

Some Dinner Ideas

Tonight I made baked spaghetti for the boys. Only, this was no ordinary spaghetti. For the noodles I used a spaghetti squash that I baked first. I also threw in half of a spiralized cucumber. I simmered the sauce, using one of my favorite jarred sauces, and some ground beef that I had left over (this could be very easily made vegan- you could add ground mushrooms or some kind of meat sub if you wanted or just stick with the sauce itself). I mixed the sauce and noodles up, put them in a glass baking dish, and topped it with some Daiya cheese. No real measurements here, just toss it all together! Baked Spaghetti is pretty forgiving. The side dish was roasted broccoli (I got this delicious idea from Elana, over here http://www.elanaspantry.com/oven-roasted-broccoli/). For dessert I had some left over sweet red cherries I needed to use up. I infused the cherries with agave nectar and lemon- I let this mixture boil down for 10 minutes or so and then made little tart crusts using some almond flour, vanilla, a pinch of sea salt, melted coconut oil, and just a little agave. I made the crusts by pressing the mixture into ramekins and baked them at 375 F for about 10 min. I then filled them with the cherry mixture, topped with a little more of the topping mixture and baked them for about 10 more minutes. Delicious!
Another meal idea is to make Thai salad rolls and create the dipping sauce of your choice.

Changing Things Up A Little Bit

When I started this blog I thought I would just have a running list of GF places and resources for my state. Just a place with references for people that ask me or for when I run into someone in the store staring at all the gluten free items and looking totally lost and I can't help but open my mouth and ask them if they need help. Well, since starting this up places are popping up everywhere, and I mean everywhere- it would be impossible to get it all on here (I can try, and I will, but happily GF is becoming so much more common and so much easier to find these days). And then, I get friends asking for friends of friends out of state where they can find info and buy food. Okay, so specifically for WA state will not help that. Broaden the focus. I can do that. But something was still missing... why did I start this blog and then have such a hard time adding to it. What's missing? Why am I having a hard time writing about the great food we ate out and the fab baked goods I found and well, my crazy adventures in the kitchen (picture food chemistry experiments like making yogurt and sprouting nuts and seeds)? Then, I finally figured it out- because the blog as I had it set up was cold, impersonal, and so-not-me. I value my life, my privacy, and have many reasons for keeping some things offline. But, my writing style is not so "just the facts ma'am" because that's not how I operate. So hopefully no one minds here, but I plan to change this up a little. I want to put some online places I like to shop on here for out of starters and then I will review some of the places I have tried this summer, maybe even some faves that I have made. I would also like so say that I am an equal opportunity eater. Meaning, I like to try all kinds of ways of eating and food that work with our (my family's) lifestyle. Raw, vegan, cooked, and yes, some meat too. Hopefully I can share a little something for everyone. My latest adventure in my own eating is moving towards eating a whole lot more plants and trying to get my 2 monkeys (I mean boys- and make that 3 since the hubby eats here too) to eat more veggies, because who can't use more of that? :-) 

Snacks and Meal Ideas

This is a running list I am starting that I will clean up later. I'm putting this here so I can toss all the scraps of paper where I have had brainstorms about food ideas :-)

Turkey and White Bean Chili
Gumbo
Potato Soup
Bean Chilis
Thai Chicken bowl- Basil soup
Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
Lentil and Vegtable Soup
Itailan Soup
Corn Chowder
Tortilla Soup
Pad Thai
Roast beef/ Au Juice sandwhiches
Pork loin
Bacon wrapped pork
Burgers
Mac n' "cheese"
Spaghetti
Pasta salad/pasta dishes
Potatoes
Salads, fruit salad
Snacks and lunches: Insipred from our Germany trip
Cucumber Sandwhiches
Tomtao
Boiled egg
Bread and spread (hummus or other)

Boitchen rolls/buns
- seeded buns- poppy, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower (can add ground up nuts,or hemp for protein)
nuts
Mini Meat patties on Boichen

Cookie flavor ideas:
Maple and Pecan
Orange and Hazelnut
Fig and Chocolate
Lemon and Poppyseed

Here is a fantastic Link!

Okay, I just came across this link, which basically accomplishes what I have been trying to do here with listing what resources are out there in our state.  http://www.glutenfreeregistry.com/gluten-free-state-search.do?state=WA   I don't know about CF or SF status, but this is a fantastic place to start. So click away and check it out :-) and if you want to see what is available in another state, go to the bottom of the page, click on the state you want on the map and bingo- a new list for that state will appear. Love it!

Where Can I Shop and What Can I Find?

If you have specific questions about things or places to add to this list you can always email me (or check it out for yourself)!

Eastside/ Seattle Area:

Central Market

Located in the Mill Creek Town Center, just off the Bothell-Everett Highway

15605 Main St., Mill Creek WA 98012

Hours: 7 am to 11 pm

Phone: 425-357-3240

http://millcreek.central-market.com/newSite/millcreek/home.php

This is probably my favorite place to go because they have a great selection. The gluten free items are usually well marked and if you go to customer service you can get a list of all of the gluten free items in their store and which aisle you can find them on. Their product list is expanding every week so this list may not be exhaustive but it will give you a pretty good idea if this is worth a trip for you. They also have a wide variety of organic produce.

What kinds of things do they have? (These are some highlights)

GF flours and mixes such as Bob's Red Mill (lots of various kinds), Namaste, Chebe, Gifts of Nature, King Authur  mixes, and more.

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (GFCFSF)

So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (plain flavor only),

So Delicious Coconut Milk, Coffee Creamer, and "ice cream"

Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss "ice cream"

Frozen GF products such as Kinnikinnick's pizza crusts, bagels, breads, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and more!

Namaste pastas- Say Cheeze, Taco Shells

cereals, rice and hemp milk
Garlic Jim's Frozen Pizzas

There are many, many foods that are naturally gluten free (fruits, veggies, fresh meat, eggs)

They also have bulk honey and agave nectar and you can get fresh ground peanut and almond butter.

Smart Eats

                                   *** Updated 3/12/12- Smart Eats is not longer in business

http://www.smarteatusa.com/

15224 Main Street Suite 100

Mill Creek WA 98012

Phone: 425-338-1300

This is a newer shop located in Mill Creek Town Center (just around the corner from Central Market). They specialize in food for diabetics and gluten free items. The owners are extremely knowledgeable about their inventory and very helpful. They have some products I have not seen anywhere else.

Whole Foods

To find a store/more information you can click here:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

(I am most familiar with the Redmond location but there is also one in Bellevue and Seattle).

I don't know about the other stores, but the Redmond location now has a dedicated GF section. You can also find other GF products throughout the store, but a majority of it is now in one place, making shopping much easier and much faster than it used to be!

My favorites from here:

So delicious Coconut Milk (yep, "milk" in a carton- next to the refrigerated soy milk) 3 flavors.

So delicious Coconut Milk yogurts in a variety of flavors.

Fresh ground nut butters

Udi's bread, Pizza crusts

Ian's mac n' no cheese

They also have nitrate free deli meats, pepperoni, and bacon
Constantly expanding selection

PCC

http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/

Frequently if I can't find something at Whole Foods I will look for it here.

Applegate Farms Salami, pepperoni, and other lunch meats

GF and nitrate free Bacon

So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (various flavors)

Their selection is always expanding- they are now carrying Udi's products, Mannis pastas, and many more items.

 

 

Taste of Amazing (formerly Savory Moment)

http://www.savorymoment.com/

18005 Northeast 68th Street

Redmond, WA 98052

(425) 867-1516

These guys make ready made meals. They have a gluten free menu, some items that are also dairy free. My boys especially love the gluten free teriyaki and the Shepherd's Pie (not sure if this one is dairy free). It's really nice to have a few things on hand for those times when you are super busy! Unfortunately, they do not cook a lot of items that are also soy free. But, they do have a retail section with some items that fit the bill. They are right across from Whole Foods (in the same plaza as Pomegranate). They carry Daiya cheese, egg-free Bavaria Mills Muffins, Udi's bread (this stuff tastes like real wheat bread!), muffins, pizza crust, and more.

For Meats, My favorite place to go is Bill the Butcher- now multiple locations including Woodinville and Redmond!

www.billthebutcher.us/

12637 Northeast Woodinville Drive

Woodinville, WA 98072

(206) 453-4418

He's got multiple locations. Tell them you are gluten free. They specialize in organic, grass fed meats. Most meats here are not cured with milk products and do not contain gluten. Best bacon in town. We go through about a pound or so a week with the 2 boys.  And, his staff doesn't mind that my son dances to the music they play in their shop :-)  

 

Janell’s Gluten Free Market

http://www.janellsglutenfreemarket.com/

7024 Evergreen Way, Ste A, Everett, WA, 98203

This is a small shop, but don't let that fool you. It's filled with a great selection of only GF foods and she is constantly expanding her inventory based on customer requests. Her goal is to be a one stop gluten free shop.

Manna Mills

http://www.mannanaturalmarket.com/

21705 66th Ave W Mountlake Ter, WA 98043

(425) 775-3479

New Website! They are getting more products all the time. They have a good selection of GFCF flours and products. Call ahead for hours- they are closed on Sundays.

Sno-Isle Co-op

http://www.snoislefoods.coop/

This place is cool.

They actually sell some GFCFSF baked goods and have a little smoothie shop in the back.

Trader Joe's

http://www.traderjoes.com/

They have several locations. This is the best (and cheapest) place to buy dried fruit and nuts. Check labels on the nut products as some of the roasted varieties can have soy in them.

Fresh Vitamins

11306 NE 124th St.

Kirkland, WA 98034

(800)216-1412 x 4001

http://www.freshvites.com/

Located in Kirkland. They have a decent selection of reasonably priced GFCF items- including Ener-G foods, Chebe, Namaste, yoga chips (can you say yum?) and more. They are frequently getting new items in so if you have a request let them know! They're also a good place to pick up some supplements!

Pike Place Market

http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/frameset.asp?flash=true

Besides being a hip place in Seattle to hang out and people watch you can find all kinds of great GFCFSF ingredients for your creations. Honey of all flavors, jams, jellies, cooking oils, fresh fruits, veggies, seafood. You may even find some GFCF baked goods (I'm not sure if any are soy free).

Flying Apron Bakery
Now 2 locations: Redmond and Fremont

http://www.flyingapron.net/

I can describe this place in one word- yum! Located in the Fremont district in Seattle this is the place to go if you are looking for a sweet GFCF treat! What I love is that everything has the ingredients listed next to it so there is no guesswork in getting something you can eat.

Sweet Cakes Bakery
http://sweetcakeskirkland.com/

Located in downtown Kirkland, this place has some of the best GF cupcakes around! They sometimes have vegan options as well and have just expanded their selection, so they also have cookies, bars, and whoopie pies.

Sidecar Pigs for Peace

http://www.sidecarforpigspeace.com/main/index.html

Horray for the vegan store! This shop is located in the U-district and is really a cute place. It is a small shop but they have some of GFCF stuff I haven't seen elsewhere and some of it is SF. As always, you should read labels to be sure the products fit your needs. My favorite finds from here are a product called "Parma" which is a mock parmesan cheese made from walnuts, another product my oldest son likes, called Cheezy Cheese that is a melty, GFCFSF cheese. They are now carrying Daiya cheese- in my opinion this is hands down the best GFCFSF cheese on the market- tastes almost spot on and gets melty when you heat it up. They also carry B Fresh gum, which I have yet to find in any other shop.

South End Resources

I will add to this list as I learn about more places. Since I don't live on the south end of the state I have not had an opportunity to go to these places myself yet.

G.F. Joe's Market

http://gfjoes.com/

5739 Littlerock Road SWSuite 103Tumwater, WA 98512

Phone: (360) 628-8010

I can't wait to go here someday. I have heard fabulous things about this place! It looks like they have a great selection and they are a family owned business! Yay for supporting our local economy :-) You can order from him online, too!

This is by no means a complete list but it is a few of the best stocked places I have found around here. I will post more shops as I find them and have time to do so. When we first started this diet it felt like we had to go to 3-4 stores to find what we needed and I still had to order a good portion of products online. As GFCF has become more popular I have been able to find most of what I need locally.

Know of other stores/resources not on this list? Email me at zebramama@hotmail.com and I will add them!

Running list of favorites

This is a start of a running list for people who ask me about ready-made foods. Please, do not be thinking that all we eat here are processed foods. Um, no way! Hubby and I do a lot of cooking. (He does most of the meats and I do the baking, salads, other stuff). But, this is a question I get asked a lot and I understand not everyone has the time to make each meal from scratch so I have put this up with my personal disclaimer that fresh is best :-)
I will add to this list as I think of the things we use or have used and like at our house.
Some of these things have the 2 monkey (boy) approval but I have not tried them for myself.
You should always check the labels to be sure the items are free of your allergens. Manufacturer's do change ingredients from time to time.

Frozen foods: GFCFSFEF
Applegate farms gluten free Chicken Nuggets
Ian's Chicken nuggets
Ian's Alpha tots
Ian's French toast sticks
Cascadia Farms French Fries
Cascadia Farms hash browns
Amy's Macaroni and Cheese (GF, soy free made with Daiya Cheese also VEGAN)

Bread (GFCFSF):
Udi's whole grain
Udi's bagels
Udi's whole grain hamburger bun
(okay, we love Udi's at our house)
Rudi's cinnamon raisin bread

GF, some CF and more- read labels
Gluten Free Cafe Meals- Chicken and Rice Pilaf

GFCFSF, not Egg Free
Udi's bread, muffins, bagels, and pizza crust
Kinnikinnik's doughnuts
Kinnikinnik's cinnamon rolls

Non-Frozen packaged meals GFCFSF
Namaste Foods Say Cheeze
Namaste Foods Taco Shells

Pasta:
Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta (This brand is my fav since it has a fair amount of protein in it!)
Tinkyada Rice Pasta (my fave is the spinach one)

Breakfast:
Gluten Freeda Instant Oatmeal

Eco Planet Instant Hot Cereal
Edward & Son's Chreesy Mashed Potatoes (and the regular ones too)

Soups/Soup Stock:
Pacific vegetable, chicken, and beef stocks
Pacific tomato soup (and other flavors too- check labels- not all are dairy free and some may not be GF)

Cookies :-) GFCFSFEF
Outback Animals (chocolate and vanilla flavors)
Sun Flour Baking Co. vanilla, peanut butter, and lemon shortbread cookies (These are 3 different flavors)

Ice Cream
Turtle Mountain's So Delicious coconut milk ice cream (read labels- select flavors GFCFSF, ect.)
- they also make a line of "ice cream" bars that are really good. They have fruit ones that are soy free. They also have a yummy bar covered with chocolate- similar to a dove bar but GFCF. This one is not soy free.
Larry and Luna's Coconut Bliss (read labels)
* We stay away from Rice Dream products. They contain hidden gluten and made my kids nuts when I gave it to them.

Gluten Free Everywhere!

Okay, maybe not everywhere, but almost everyday I learn about a new company or a new product. I really, really, really have to update my list here. I can think of at least 3 stores that have opened since I first made a posting on where to shop and several that I just didn't know about or didn't list. Originally I was going to restrict this to just shops in WA state. But, I keep getting requests from friends or friends of friends about how to start and where to shop, what is good, etc. So, rather than continuing to type the same emails (and just adding state specific links I find) I think it will be easier to list some online favorites as well. I am still happy to help on the specifics, but this should make it easier. So, I need to put my hubby to work on getting some tabs on this site. There are tons of fantastic sites out there with recipes and tips, etc. So don't be afraid to Google, or Bing, or whatever your favorite search engine is! Personally I am working on my masters from the Universities of Bing and Google :-)
Alright, I will get some more info up here STAT! (I am afraid the weekend will have to be good enough).