Archive for the ‘Gluten Free’ Category

I should start off saying that the kids and I order pizza evey week or two. We have a great local family owned pizza place right around the corner that serves up great pizza at a great price. Two medium 3 topping pizzas, delivered, comes to $16.85. I usually give them $20 and tell them to keep the change. They usually argue that I’ve paid too much. I insist. And every so often they sneak an order of garlic bread with cheese “on the house” into my order. Unfortunately they don’t offer a gluten free crust option, they’re a very small family run place.

On Friday, after spending the day moving furniture and boxes around (I’m not moving but I’m rearranging, getting ready to paint, etc.) I was in no mood to figure out food. Pizza. I wanted pizza.

A quick bit of research showed that I had two GF pizza options in my area: Pizza Nova and Pizza Pizza

Both Pizza Nova and Pizza Pizza charge an extra $3.25 per pizza for gluten free crust and both offer only medium sized pizzas. At the time we were ordering we could not access Pizza Pizza’s web site (it’s working today though) so decided to try Pizza Nova.

Two medium gluten free pizzas, delivered came to just ove $32! I’m used to paying less than $17 for 2 pizzas! Pizza just doubled in price

Now for the pizzas themselves – we ordered a “Bruschetta” white pizza and a “Portebellismo” pizza. Pizza Nova did not list the prices for their pizzas on the website so we were flying a bit blind on pricing. I’m sure had we ordered some basic toppings the prices would be a little lower.

The crust is a “multigrain” crust with flax seed in it. It’s sort of a dense, flat, chewy crust – not really awesome. While we all ate the pizza none of us were too excited about it. Leftovers the next day were so hard that you just couldn’t eat them even after reheating.

Overall, after the initial excitement that we could indeed have gluten free pizza delivered, we were very disappointed in the results and the wasted uneaten pizza that was left.

We do intend to try again with Pizza Pizza for comparison but we’re not feeling very hopeful at this point.

photo by "pain_amp1013" on flickr.com

My Ukranian Mother-in-law used to make what she called “Smashed Cabbage Rolls” all the time and it was always one of my favourite meals.

Basically instead of making cabbage rolls (or stuffed cabbage) by hand, which can be time consuming, she’d often just chop up cabbage and mix it with rice, onions and ground beef in a big roasting pan, top it with canned tomatoes and cook it in the oven. All of the taste of cabbage rolls with a lot less prep time.

Last night I made cabbage casserole myself for the first time. I didn’t make it quite like she did but the kids liked it enough to go for seconds and 19 year old Girlchild announced that she’d be “down” with having it for dinner once every week or two.

It’s basic so far…

Smashed Cabbage Rolls

half head of cabbage, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups of cabbage)

2 onions, sliced

1 tablespoon oil

5 hot Italian sausages, cooked and chopped into 1/2 chunks

3 cups of cooked brown rice

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon oil

Saute the cabbage and onions in the oil over medium heat until the onions start to brown and the cabbage softens. Mix with remain ingredients, put into large casserole dish, cover and bake at 300 F for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 – 8 servings

I was surprised by how much the kids liked this. Both kids said they preferred the chunks of sausage instead of the ground beef (which Girlchild says “creeps her out”). This is inexpensive to make, takes very little time, freezes and reheats easily, and is healthy and gluten free. And the kids liked it. What more can I ask for?

Update: I found The Gluten-Free Homemaker today and added this post to her “What do you eat that’s gluten free” Mr. Linky. Head over there for more great recipes!

Photo by Sifu Renka on Flickr.com

Cereal. Bagels. Waffles. Muffins. Toast. Porridge.

How on earth are we going to manage quick, easy gluten free breakfasts?

A bowl of fruit, even with some cottage cheese is just not going to be enough to keep anyone going. Especially a pair of always hungry teenagers.

My budget just does not allow to stock gluten free breads, etc. so that’s not even a option.

Eggs, bacon, sausage, ham – all are good sources of protein and will keep you going for longer than the fruit would but they all take a bit more time and thought to have ready on time.

Tonight I’m making a big pot of coconut rice pudding. My thought is to have it ready so that all the kids have to do is heat up a bowl in the morning and they’re all set. Both of my teens dislike rice pudding and it’s not something I make usually. They like the taste (especially if I make it with coconut milk and cinnamon) but they hate the texture. I’m hoping that instead of cold rice pudding as dessert I can convince them that warm rice pudding is almost exactly the same thing as eating warm oatmeal porridge. I’ll let you know tomorow of this ploy works (along with the recipe).

What are your gluten free breakfast favourites?

photo by "whatshername" on Flickr.com

When I first started planning FridgeForagers.com I had intended it to be a blog about batch cooking, once-a-month cooking, quick and easy meals all on a budget with easy to find ingredients.

As a single mom with 2 teenagers who seem to be always hungry and always on the go – combined with the fact that I’m away often for days at a time for work reasons – batch cooking and freezer stockpiling has kept the kids going when I’m not here and kept the budget under control.

We’ve just learned that all three of us must go on a gluten-free diet – no wheat, barley, oats or rye. Considering that pastas are a staple in this household and my kids go through a loaf and a half of bread per day this is going to be a big adjustment.

My 19 year old daughter can’t grab a couple of english muffins or a bagel at the campus coffee shop when she has an early class. My 14 year old son can’t make a mountain of egg salad sandwiches to snack on. I can’t leave a lasagna and a casserole of mac & cheese in the freezer for them when I’m away.

Life just got a little more difficult around here.

The first thing I did after getting rid of everything that contained wheat, barley, oats or rye in my kitchen was head to the grocery store. The store I typically shop at has a special diet & health section, a section I’ve never actually been into, but I figured that was the first place to start.

As I approached the gluten-free aisle I saw a box that said “gluten-free breadsticks” and my heart skipped a beat. Wow. GF breadsticks? Ok, maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought. I was pulled up short by the fact that the box of GF breadsticks (which looked to contain maybe 8 or 10 skinny sticks) was $6.99. *GASP*

Further investigation of the gluten-free aisle found pie crust mixes, cake mixes & pancake mixes. Gluten-free pasta, cookies & bread. Even a box of gluten-free turkey stuffing mix! Oh but the prices! Double, sometimes triple what the ‘oh so yummy full of gluten’ versions were. I might manage to talk myself into buying some of these items for special occasions but I just cannot fathom using them on a regular basis at those prices.

So it’s time to rethink everything about how I cook, how we eat, and how we relate to food.

From today on, as I learn more about living gluten-free, as I experiment with new recipes and new ways of doing things, it’s all going to be here. The good and the bad. Suddenly the name “fridge foragers” has taken on a whole new meaning.

If you have any suggestions for blogs, websites, products that are gluten-free please post them in the comments. If you live in the Toronto/Hamilton area and have any recommendations for restaurants or places to find gluten-free products I’d really appreciate that too.