Coolin

Gluten Free holidays in our house are stocked full of sweets!  Cupcakes, squares, candies and oh the meals!  This past weekend was a baking extravaganza!  Valentine’s Day plus two birthdays meant my oven was COOKIN!  Here is a simple recipe for moist and awesome white cake!

WF/GF/DF  White and Moists!

1/2 C  Mayonnaise (yes… trust me.  You won’t taste it!)

1/2 C  Extra Fine Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1/2 C  Sorghum Flour*

1/2 C Rice Flour

1 tsp Vanilla

2 tsp heaping of baking powder

(Preheat oven to 400′F/200′C)

Cream together mayonnaise and sugar until light smooth.  Gently mix in remaining ingredients. Transfer to paper lined cupcake pans, cake pans or cookie sheet!

How long to bake for?  Mini cupcakes took 10 min.  Medium cupcakes and cookie sheet took 12-15.  8″ Rounds took 20 minutes.   Just remember to check with the prick test.  ( toothpick comes out dry from the middle of the cakes but the cake is still spongy to a soft touch)

Allow to cool and frost!

My boys each frosted theirs ( class parties today) with bright pink frosting.  Classmates received small rounds (transported in open egg cartons for cupcake-child safety) and teachers received pink frosted hearts!

Pink Frosting

3 T Celeb Margarine ( or Casein/dairy/ whey free option)

3 C  Icing sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Corn Starch

Red Food  Coloring

Whip together margarine, extracts and icing sugar until creamy.  If it is not thick enough ( you don’t want it dripping off the cupcakes!) I use corn starch to thicken while keeping the sweet factor low.   If you LOVE sweet icing, use icing sugar instead. This is the fun of frosting… taste testing to a perfect balance.

Sweet Squirrelly Goodness

Whipped Frosting

1 carton Liquid NutriWhip ( Casein/whey/dairy free)

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Almond Extract

OR

Mimic Creme Whipping Cream made from Almonds and Cashews (Check out Good 4 You and Planet 2)

1-2 Cups Icing Sugar (optional)

Food Coloring

Whip together whipped topping and extracts to form stiff peaks.  Fold in icing sugar to taste (for sweetness and stability).  Divide into smaller bowls and tint each to color choice.  Spread evenly over entire surface of cake, using piping tubes to add details to the top and sides.

Hope these help you to make your day sweet and tummy happy!

Part Three of Four – “I’m Six” Recipe

Keep It Simple Crumb Crust

Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Dairy Free

* 1 1/4 cup Kinnikinnik graham crumbs

OR  for Chocolate Version use

* 1 1/4 cup Kinnikinnik Chocolate Cookie Crumbs
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup Celeb margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press into one pie shell. Chill  Fill with your chosen Sweets!

Shopping is now an adventure ( or hell, depending on the day).  This will get easier and  less discouraging.  I have  a wheat free home that houses 3 boys soon entering teenage hood!  There is hope!

Early in  highschool we were taught that the HEALTHIEST way to eat was by only shopping around the OUTTER circle of any grocery store. Why?  Less prepackaging, less additives and MORE primary food group items.  THAT is where we will fill the majority of our shopping cart.

The Outer Elites – Produce, Meats, Dairy and Baked goods.

The Bakery – These are an entire weeks worth of posts and so we will set those to the side today and consider them, for the most part, out.  So lets move on to the Produce.

The Produce – How often to you see a label on an orange saying ” may contain traces of peanuts”?  Good!  So, we get to eat a little healthier on this journey too. When I began shopping “enlightened”  I was so overwhelmed I just set aside the Organic for the time being.  I want to feel I have CHOICES first.  I do not function well on feelings of deprivation.

Tips:  Avoid packaged to start! Salads with croutons in little cello packs,  sliced fruit in syrups, and anything that has that Label of Ingredients – read!

Meat Department – Here it’s not as clear cut.  Watch out for;

• sausages, smokies, and hotdogs - toasted wheat crumbs, flour and other forms are often used as fillers, seasonings, and coatings to keep things looking fresh and enticing.  Johnsonville and Butcher’s Choice both have lines of sausages, Top Dog and President’s Choice has a line of hotdogs
• Deli Sliced meats - Ask to see the unopened package, box or tube.  If they can’t produce the packaging, smile in appreciation and decline.  All Beef” just refers to the MEAT content and not the additives.  Sobey’s has a leaflet on their counter listing ALL the wheat/gluten free options!  If you don’t see it there, ask and they are very helpful!

Dairy Department - Milks and cheeses contain just what they say.  Milk and cheese ingredients  but do not assume that MARGARINE does not!  Whey  and Casinate are two ways of saying ” Dairy”.

Dairy Free Alternatives to get you started :

• Butter - SuperStore’s Celeb Margarine,  Fleishman’s Lactose Free Margarine ( double check, there are two that say LF but one has whey!),
• Cream/ whipped cream - Nutriwhip cartoned ‘cream’ ( there is ONE!  It is a great replacement for many recipes or desserts that call for cream, including Alfredo !)
• Milk - Almond Milk.   It comes in chocolate, vanilla or original.  The Vanilla gets used in a lot of cooking and baking here as it is a very mild vanilla taste.

For the most part the Dairy, Meat and Produce aisle are not going to be the biggest challenge so start there!  Give yourself that pick me up of a GOOD cut of steak, a rosy piece of salmon or some treat of the GOOD cuts of chicken.  Plan for some lunch nibblies by  picking up some extra thick slice ham or thin sliced pure roast beef to wrap around cheeses and spreads to make ‘sandwich wraps.

You can do this.  You just need some basic items to build from.