Friday, January 22, 2010

Chex peanut butter delight for kids-gluten free

I made this last night and the kids loved it! It's a modification of peanut butter Rice Krispie treats that my mom made in the 70's.

Gluten Free Chex Peanut Butter Delight
9 x 13 pan- if metal, grease/spray 1st.

3/4 cup Karo Syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
6 cups Chex
1/2 cup (or more) chocolate chips

Heat Karo syrup and brown sugar on medium heat until it starts boiling, stirring periodically. Remove from heat. Mix in peanut butter and stir until dissolved. Add in Chex and mix thoroughly. It is hard to stir and some of the Chex breaks, but that's OK!

Put into pan, press down evenly using wax/parchment paper. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, press down again. Cut when cool. Store covered.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

More Gluten Free Hormel foods

Hormel® Deli Sliced Oven Roasted Turkey Breast




Hormel® Deli Sliced Prosciutto Ham



Hormel® Deli Sliced Seasoned Roast Beef



Hormel® Deli Sliced Smoked Turkey Breast



Hormel® Diced Ham



Hormel® Homeland® Hard Salami



Hormel® Julienne Ham



Hormel® Julienne Turkey



Hormel® Luncheon Meat



Hormel® Natural Choice® Canadian Bacon



Hormel® Natural Choice® Cooked Deli Ham



Hormel® Natural Choice® Grilled Chicken Strips



Hormel® Natural Choice® Hard Salami



Hormel® Natural Choice® Honey Deli Ham



Hormel® Natural Choice® Honey Deli Turkey



Hormel® Natural Choice® Oven Roasted Chicken Strips



Hormel® Natural Choice® Oven Roasted Deli Turkey



Hormel® Natural Choice® Roast Beef



Hormel® Natural Choice® Smoked Deli Ham



Hormel® Natural Choice® Smoked Deli Turkey



Hormel® Natural Choice® Original Bacon



Hormel® Natural Choice® Pepperoni

Jennie-O Turkey Store® Refrigerated/Frozen Items Not Containing Gluten:



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Breakfast Lover's Turkey Sausage



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Extra Lean Smoked Kielbasa Turkey Sausage



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Extra Lean Smoked Turkey Sausage



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Festive Tender Cured Turkey



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Flavored Tenderloins: Applewood Smoked, Roast Flavor, Tomato Basil, Lemon-Garlic, Seasoned Pepper, Tequila Lime, Balsamic Herb & Olive Oil, Smoky SW Style



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fresh Breakfast Sausage: Mild Links, Mild Patties, Maple Links



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fresh Dinner Sausage: Sweet Italian, Hot Italian, Cheddar Turkey Bratwurst, Lean Turkey Bratwurst



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fresh Ground Turkey: Lean, Extra Lean, Italian, Taco Seasoned



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fresh Lean Turkey Patties



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fresh Tray: Breast Slices, Breast Strips, Tenderloins



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Frozen Ground Seasoned Turkey



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Frozen Ground Turkey



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Frozen Italian Meatballs



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Frozen Turkey Burgers



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Fully Cooked Frozen Sausage Links & Patties



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Oven Ready Turkey Breast (the gravy packet does contain gluten)



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Oven Ready Turkey: Homestyle, Garlic & Herb



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Pan Roasts with Gravy: White, White/Dark Combo



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Prime Young Turkey including Turkey Breasts; fresh or frozen (the gravy packet does contain gluten)



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Refrigerated Dark Turkey Pastrami



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Refrigerated Honey Cured Turkey Ham



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Refrigerated Qtr Turkey Breasts: Oven Roasted, Honey Cured, Hickory Smoked, Cracked Pepper, Cajun-Style, Sun-Dried Tomato



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Refrigerated Turkey Ham



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Smoked Turkey Wings and Drumsticks



Jennie-O Turkey Store® So Easy® Slow Roasted Turkey Breast



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Extra Lean and Regular Turkey Bacon



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Turkey Franks

Jennie-O Turkey Store® Deli Items Not Containing Gluten (Partial List):

Always ask your Deli Manager for a list of ingredients prior to purchase. We do not disguise any gluten ingredients under "flavoring".



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Deli Chicken Breast: Buffalo Style, Oven Roasted, Mesquite Smoked



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Grand Champion® Turkey Breast: Oven Roasted, Tender Browned, Mesquite Smoked, Homestyle Pan Roasted, Hickory Smoked, Honey Cured



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast: Cracked Pepper, Sun Dried Tomato, Garlic Pesto, Honey Cured



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Natural Choice® Turkey Breast: Oven Roasted, Peppered, Tender Browned



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Oven Roasted Turkey Breast



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Smoked Turkey Breast: Mesquite, Hickory, Honey Cured



Jennie-O Turkey Store® Turkey Breast: Oven Roasted, Peppered, Smoked, Tender Browned, Italian Style, Honey Maple, Honey Mesquite, Maple Spiced, Apple Cinnamon, Tomato Basil, Mesquite Smoked, Garlic Peppered, Hot Red Peppered, Smoked Peppered



Norwestern® Deli Turkey: Oven Roasted, Turkey Pastrami, Hickory Smoked

Farmer John® Refrigerated/Frozen Items Not Containing Gluten:



Farmer John® Bacon: Premium Regular Smoked, Premium Thick Sliced, Premium Cracked Peppercorn, Thick Smoked, Maple Ends and Pieces, Center Cut, Premium Old Fashioned Maple, Premium Applewood, Premium Low Sodium, Table Brand, Old Fashioned Maple Table Brand, Quick Serve Fully Cooked, Ends and Pieces, Dry Salt Pork



Farmer John® Boneless Hams: Golden Tradition Premium Original Whole and Half, Golden Tradition Black Forest Premium Black Forest, Pee Wee Half, Golden Tradition Premium Tradition Brown Sugar and Honey, Golden Tradition, Flat Tavern Half, Canless Honey Ham



Farmer John® Bone In Hams – Premium Butt and Shank Portions, Premium Gold Wrap, Premium Sliced Ham Steaks, Premium Spiral Sliced, Premium Half, Premium Spiral Sliced Half, Whole



Farmer John® Breakfast Sausage Links & Patties: Original Skinless, Old Fashioned Maple Skinless, Premium S C Links, Original Roll, Quick Serve Fully Cooked, Firehouse Hot Roll, Firehouse Hot Skinless Links, Premium P C Links Lower Fat, Premium Sausage Patties Lower Fat, Premium Original Chorizo, Premium Traditional Chorizo, Premium Spicy Hot Chorizo



Farmer John® California Natural® Chicken Sausage: Chicken Brat Smoked Chicken Sausage, Apple Chicken Smoked Chicken Sausage, Lemon Cracked Pepper Chicken Smoked Chicken Sausage, Mango and Habanero Smoked Chicken Sausage, Cajun Style Smoked Chicken Sausage, Asiago Chicken Smoked Chicken Sausage



Farmer John® California Natural® Pork: Ground Pork, Boneless Loin, Back Ribs, Boneless Pork Shoulder, Boneless Pork Picnic, Pork Cushion, Bone in Pork Picnic, Bone in Pork Loin, Tenderloins, Spareribs, Boneless Pork Butt, Boneless Pork Sirloin, St Louis Style Spareribs, Bone in Butt Roast, Case Ready Pork Chops



Farmer John® Carefree Cookin’® Pork: Picnics, Riblets, Tenderloins, Ribs, St Louis Style Spareribs, Boneless Leg, Pork Butt, Pork Boneless Sirloin, Boneless Pork Loin, Spareribs, Pork Cushion



Farmer John® Dinner Sausage: Premium Polish, Hot Louisiana Smoked, Jalapeno Pepper Premium Smoked, Premium Pork Rope, Jalapeno Pepper Premium Rope, Red Hots Extra Hot Premium Smoked, Premium Beef Rope



Farmer John® Franks and Wieners: Premium Meat Wieners, Dodger Dogs, Premium Jumbo Beef Franks, Premium Jumbo Meat Wieners, Premium Beef Franks, Premium Quarter Pounder Beef Franks



Farmer John® Ham Steaks: Original, Smoked, Maple, Clove, Pineapple & Mango



Farmer John® Lunch Meats: Chopped Ham, Sliced Cooked Ham, Brown Sugar & Honey Ham, Black Forest Ham, Bologna, Cotto Salami, Ham Roll, Headcheese, Mission Loaf, Premium Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Premium Braunschweiger, Premium Liverwurst With Bacon, Original Premium Liverwurst

Miscellaneous Items

The following list of products may contain vinegar. This vinegar would normally be white distilled vinegar. Other types of vinegar are listed on the ingredient statement. While our sources indicate that these types of vinegar are gluten free, you will need to make your own determination on whether you want to use these products:



Always Tender® Flavored Fresh Pork: Honey-Mustard, Peppercorn, Apple Bourbon



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Salsa



CHI-CHI’S® Garden Salsa



CHI-CHI’S® Natural Salsa



CHI-CHI’S® Original Salsa



CHI-CHI’S® Picante



CHI-CHI’S® Red Jalapenos



Di Lusso® Buffalo Wing Sauce



Di Lusso® Chipotle Mustard



Di Lusso® Cranberry Honey Mustard



Di Lusso® Deli Style Mustard



Di Lusso® Dijon Mustard



Di Lusso® Honey Mustard



Di Lusso® Horseradish Sauce



Di Lusso® Jalapeno Mustard



Di Lusso® Sandwich Spread



Di Lusso® Sweet Onion Sauce



El Torito® Cilantro Pepita Dressing



Herdez® Salsa Casera



Hormel® Chili Master™ Chili: Chipotle Chicken with Beans, Chipotle Chicken No Bean, White Chicken Chili with Beans



Hormel® Compleats® Santa Fe Style Chicken



Hormel® Not-So-Sloppy-Joe Sloppy-Joe® Sauce



Hormel® Party Tray - Pork Rib Tips in Barbecue Sauce



Hormel® Pickled Pigs Feet, Hocks & Tidbits



Lloyd's® Original BBQ Sauce with Cocktail Smokies



Lloyd's® Pork or Beef Ribs with Original BBQ Sauce



Lloyd's® Restaurant Style Smoked Pork Chops



Lloyd's® Shredded Meats Original BBQ Sauce – Pork, Chicken, Beef



Stagg® Chunkero® Chili



Stagg® Classic® Chili



Stagg® Dynamite Hot® Chili



Stagg® Ranch House® Chicken Chili



Stagg® Silverado® Beef Chili



Stagg® Steak House® Chili



Stagg® Turkey Ranchero® Chili



Stagg® Vegetable Garden® Chili



Stagg® White Chicken Chili

Hormel gluten free foods

We are providing the following list of products as a general guideline for those presently produced and distributed in the United States with formulas that do not contain gluten in the form of wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Although our products are labeled in compliance with government regulations, it is always necessary to read the labels on the products to determine if the food product meets your required needs. Parents and individuals with food allergies and/or food intolerances are responsible for reading the label of all products they intend to use regardless of how the product is represented on this site.


If you have any questions, please call our Customer Service Representatives at 1-800-523-4635.

Shelf-Stable Foods Not Containing Gluten:



CHI-CHI’S® Chips - all varieties



CHI-CHI’S® Con Queso



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Creamy Chipotle Chicken



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Salsa Chicken



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Plates™ Savory Garlic Chicken



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Restaurante Seasoning Mix



CHI-CHI’S® Fiesta Sweet Corn Cake Mix



CHI-CHI’S® Green Chilies



CHI-CHI’S® Nacho Cheese Snackers



CHI-CHI’S® Taco Sauce



Di Lusso® Green Ionian Olives



Di Lusso® Mediterranean Mixed Olives



Di Lusso® Red Wine Vinegar



Di Lusso® Roasted Red Peppers



Dinty Moore® Beef or Chicken Stew



Dinty Moore® Microwaveable Cups: Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, Beef Stew, Rice with Chicken



El Torito® Sweet Corn Cake Mix



Herb-Ox® Bouillon: Beef, Chicken, Vegetable, Garlic Chicken



Hormel® Bacon Bits, Pieces, Crumbles



Hormel® Beef Tamales



Hormel® Chili with Beans (Beef): Regular, Chunky, Hot -- Not Vegetarian, Not Turkey



Hormel® Chunk Meats: Breast of Chicken, Chicken, Ham, Turkey



Hormel® Compleats® Microwaveable 10 oz. Meals: Chicken & Rice, Santa Fe Chicken & Rice



Hormel® Corned Beef



Hormel® Corned Beef Hash



Hormel® Dried Beef



Hormel® Microwaveable Cup Bean & Ham Soup



Hormel® Microwaveable Cup Chicken With Vegetables & Rice Soup



House of Tsang® Hot Chili Sesame Oil



House of Tsang® Mongolian Fire® Oil



House of Tsang® Sesame Oil



House of Tsang® Wok Oil



Kid's Kitchen® Beans & Wieners



Manny's® Corn Tortillas



Peloponnese® Kalamata Olives, Kalamata Olive Spread, Roasted Sweet Peppers



SPAM® Family of Products: Classic, Lite, Less Sodium, Smoke Flavored and Oven Roasted Turkey



Valley Fresh® Family of Products: Chicken, Turkey

Refrigerated Meat Products Not Containing Gluten:



Always Tender® Flavored Fresh Beef Peppercorn



Always Tender® Flavored Fresh Pork: Original, Roast Flavor, Citrus, Lemon-Garlic, Mesquite, Mojo Criollo, Onion-Garlic, Adobo Pork Cubes, Fajita Pork Strips, Raspberry Chipotle, Sun-Dried Tomato, Portabella Mushroom



Always Tender® Non-Flavored Fresh Beef



Always Tender® Non-Flavored Fresh Pork



Black Label® Bacon



Black Label® Canned Hams



Cure 81® Ham



Di Lusso® Beef Summer Sausage



Hormel® Canadian Style Bacon



Hormel® Crumbled Sausage



Hormel® Dried Beef



Hormel® Fully Cooked Bacon



Hormel® Ham Patties



Hormel® Hard Salami



Hormel® Microwave Bacon



Hormel® Party Trays (crackers do contain gluten)



Hormel® Pepperoni, Turkey Pepperoni



Hormel® Refrigerated EntrĂ©es: Beef Roast Au Jus, Pork Roast Au Jus, Italian Style Beef Roast, Turkey Stroganoff



Hormel® Smokies



Little Sizzlers® Original Sausage Links and Patties



Range Brand® Bacon



Wranglers® Smoked Franks

Pre-Packaged Refrigerated Lunch Meats Not Containing Gluten:



Hormel® Black Label® Chopped Ham



Hormel® Deli Sliced Black Forest Ham



Hormel® Deli Sliced Cooked Corned Beef



Hormel® Deli Sliced Cooked Ham



Hormel® Deli Sliced Cooked Pastrami



Hormel® Deli Sliced Double Smoked Ham



Hormel® Deli Sliced Honey Ham

GF kid friendly recipes

I will be testing out Gluten Free kids friendly recipes. My goal is to find treats and meals that are delicious as well as affordable. We have 10 people in our family, so price counts! Only 2 are going gluten free right now, although I really believe my husband has a gluten intolerance. That may be coming in Lent!

As soon as I have a good recipe, I will post it. If I find them online, I'll also post them along with a link to the blog or website. I did also just find a place in Cincinnati that will cater gluten free.

They are called "A Forkable Feast" and, as Providence would have it, are actually located less than a mile from our children's school.

Gluten free food ideas for kids

This list is from my friend Jenny. They decided to go GF for her 1.5 year old son when he was diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum. They noticed a big change in Jacob's attention about 2 weeks into it.

KRAFT foods will say "contains wheat" if it has wheat/gluten. If it does not say "contains wheat" it IS gluten-free. Skyline chili in the CAN or FROZEN IS gluten-free...but NOT in the restaurants as they can not guarantee cross-contamination. (Skyline is a Cincinnati favorite).

We basically eat a pretty "pure" diet...any meats that don't have gluten as a "natural flavoring" (Tyson) but you may have to call a few companies and they ALWAYS want the UPC number. All Veggies and fruits, of course, are gluten free. Jake eats a lot of that. And, the "Can't Believe Its Not Butter" Spray is gluten-free.

  • Bistro Naturals Hot Dogs (in hot dog aisle at Kroger)--really good.
  • DeBoles pastas--rice or cornRisotto Rice Box mixes (we all love those)
  • Kroger Lite Balsamic Vinegarette Dressing (as a marinade)
  • Hungry Jack Instant Potatoes (for "emergency") ONLY large box--not small box (different preparation warehouse)
  • Skyline Chili in can or frozen
  • Glutino Cheddar Crackers
  • Glutino pretzels
  • Glutino Breakfast Bars - apple
  • Cream of Rice (Next to Cream of Wheat in orange box)
  • Fritos (Frito Lay)
  • Muir Glen Spaghetti Sauce (in organic section)

GF food suggestion list for kids

This is a list that we did to make life easier. When I have it fine tuned, I will laminate it and put in on the fridge. Our goal was to primarily focus on what they CAN eat, which is why that list is longer.

I can't claim that this is my idea-it actually came from my sister Amy whose 9 year old daughter went gluten free in Sept 09. Note: apparently, most lunch meats contain gluten. Boar's Head does not.

On a Word document, I did the following. It actually has 3 columns with a YES (picture of happy girl), SPECIAL FOODS   and under that LUNCH IDEAS and NO (picture of thumbs down)

Gluten Free diet-
Avoid: farina, flour, caramel coloring, enriched flour, cereal, malt flavoring or extracts, monosodium glutamate (MSG)-may have wheat gluten in it, modified food starch, emulsifiers, stabilizers, distilled vinegar, semolina, durum, and triticale.

YES!

Fruit

Fruit juice

Milk

Rice Chex cereal

Corn Chex cereal

Salad

Corn tortillas

Peanuts

Cheese

Cheese stick

Quesadillas

Applesauce

Corn tortilla chips

Potato chips

Doritos

Cheetos

Celery with peanut butter

Carrots

Chicken

Steak

Bacon

Hard boiled eggs

Scrambled eggs

Rice

Potatoes

French fries

Raisins

Ice cream

Popsicles

Chocolate


SPECIAL FOODS - specifically purchased as GLUTEN FREE
Only Ava & Therese

Whole O’s (like Cheerios)

Gluten free cookies

Rice spaghetti

Gluten free crackers

Special gluten free foods

Special oatmeal

Lunch Ideas

Quesadillas w/ corn tortilla

Celery w/ PB

Chex w/ milk

Boiled eggs

Boars’ Head lunch meat w/corn tortilla


NO!

Crackers

Pretzels

Cheese-its

Bagels

Bread

Animal cookies

Cookies

Regular cereal

Regular oatmeal

Lunch meat

Pizza

Anything with WHEAT in it

Sandwiches

Cake

Pie crust

Gluten free and asthma

Back to the gluten and asthma connection. Firstly, asthma and excema are closely related. My sister and her daughter both have excema, my niece having it ferociously and painfully.

My twins, Ava and Therese, have asthma. Ava also gets excema usually on the back of her legs. Therese gets it periodically and less often than Ava.

My husband has asthma. My mom is gluten intolerant.

Here is some information on the connection, which is taken from the Allergy-Links.com. The link is provided  below.
A surprising number of people may be experiencing asthma from wheat and gluten, but indirectly.



Some studies have show a link between gluten sensitivity and asthma. For example, children with asthma have a higher incidence of celiac, according to one study.


Other studies have shown that when some people eliminate wheat from their diet, their exercise-induced anaphylaxis symptoms stop.


Numerous reports and anecdotal stories are showing a strong link between wheat or gluten, and asthma.


Here is a link that provides information between all of them:
http://www.allergy-details.com/allergies/allergy/asthma/gluten/wheat/asthma-gluten-wheat

Our Gluten Free first day

Going gluten free requires a lot of preparation. I'm not an expert, not by any stretch of the imagination, as you'll witness with my first day of official Gluten Free.

When going gluten free, there are a lot of foods to avoid. Wheat, barley and malt are the biggest. But there are a lot of hidden ingredients that may contain gluten.

AVOID:  farina, flour, caramel coloring, enriched flour, cereal, malt flavoring or extracts, monosodium glutamate (MSG)-may have wheat gluten in it, modified food starch, emulsifiers, stablizers, distilled vinegar, semolina, durum and titicale.

You'd think that Rice Krispies would be gluten free, but they are not. As are the generic Corn Chex. The problem is that the foods are made in factories that make wheat products, so cross contamination is an issue. Prepackaged Rice Krispie treats have malt flavoring in them, so they're a NO, despite that it says on the box "contains milk and soy" and does not mention wheat.

Foods to avoid that we accidentally used yesterday:
  • Kroger Honey Nut Bitz
  • Rice Krispie Treats (prepackaged)
Our first gluten free day menu (which was not 100% successful, despite my best efforts):
Breakfast: generic Corn Chex (from Kroger) with milk. Actual name is Kroger's Honey Nut Bitz, and they contain malt barley, which is a big NO. Actual Corn Chex and Rice Chex say "Gluten Free" on the box. Buy those.
Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 string cheese, fruit juice box, Doritos, Rice Krispie Treat (NO-don't do that again. Make your own with Brown Rice Cereal treats), Honey Nut Bitz dry (NO). Not a well rounded meal, I know, but it was my first day.
Snack: Enviro Kidz Organic Crispy Rice cereal bar (expensive), one piece of fruit.
Dinner:Steak and baked french fries, Duncan Hines gluten free cake with chocolate icing

Obviously, the meals weren't all that great, and I'm missing out on the veggies. But it was also my oldest son's birthday, and he's not gluten free. I had to make a cherry pie for him and gluten free cake, so I did my best.

Why Gluten Free

Why am I doing another blog? Because my twins went gluten free yesterday. They are 6.5 year old identical twins, and they both have asthma. They take Pulmicort in a nebulizer at least once a day and have prescriptions for both Albuterol and Zyrtec.

A couple of years ago, I found out that having acupuncture might help them. So I asked their pediatrician for a referral, which you needed at the time in Ohio, and he said "NO." What??? Something that could help them, and he wouldn't refer them for it? He didn't know enough about it, and he thought they were doing fine on the meds.

Sounds like a doctor, doesn't it? Except that: I don't want them to be on medications. If they can resolve their issues without meds, why not try it? The expense: Pulimort costs over $400 per month for both the girls (together), plus the Zyrtec and Albuterol. The time: we have one nebulizer, and they both have to use it. When we had an older one, each one had to spend at least a half hour on the "fishy face." Now it's about 18 minutes each (not that I'm counting, right?). They cry sometimes when they don't want to do it. Usually, they're pretty good, but it's a real pain in the butt.

I am a massage therapist, and one of my clients is an MD who now does acupuncture. So he and I have traded a few times. The girls did great with the needles, and they saw some improvement. But the good doctor doesn't have time for too many trades, and  it's pricey!

Enter GLUTEN FREE. I really hadn't heard much about it before, and I knew nothing. Turns out that in April of 2009, my mom was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. And corn. No signs of celiac disease, but she had the DNA markers for it. She went gluten and corn free and has since completely weaned off her blood pressure medication and has lost about 30 lbs.

So one of my sisters researched about the gluten and excema connection. Her 9 year old daughter, Claire, has had excema so badly that they used to have to duct tape socks on her hands at night so that she wouldn't scratch herself bloodly. Since they went gluten free on Septmeber 20, Claire has seen an 80% improvement in her excema. Her skin looks great and she seems so much happier (who wouldn't now that they're not in pain?).