Gluten-Free Food that Makes You Forget It’s Gluten-Free!

Welcome back my fellow celiacs and gluten allergy folks!

This week my blog is going to be a little shorter. I’m preparing to do video cooking sessions, but I’m waiting for the kitchen I’ll be using to be finished. In the meantime, here are some awesome recipes. Even people who don’t have an issue with gluten love them!

Once diagnosed, we feel as if we need to give up the foods we love in order to be healthy. I’m here to show you that you don’t have to give them up! You just have to adjust (a little).

So, you’re on a gluten-free diet? What exactly does that mean? Well… the first thing you realize is that you can no longer have some, if not most of the foods that you love.  Well, that’s not exactly true.

I kind of consider myself the Paula Deen of gluten-free cooking (Yea! butter!). Comfort food is possible in a gluten-free diet.  It is my mission to develop (or find) as many comfort-food-type recipes as I can so that we can all go back to enjoying and craving food again. On the flip side please remember, just because the word “diet” is a part of the gluten-free lifestyle doesn’t mean that you won’t gain weight. Here’s a little personal story about me.

When I first was diagnosed with celiac I was pretty upset that I couldn’t eat all the stuff that I loved. I’ve always considered myself a foodie and my large butt kind of proves it. When you first go on the gluten-free diet you lose weight right away. Most of the time it’s because you are staying away from all the processed foods (fast food etc.), bread and pasta that you might normally eat. You might also have a slight food aversion at first, such as I did. I was afraid to eat most things during the beginning of my diet. Prior to being diagnosed, food had become my enemy.

About a month after starting the gluten-free diet, I had lost almost 30 pounds. I found out something wonderful, you can eat cheese…every kind except blue cheese. So I put cheese on everything! I ate a gourmet grilled cheese (on gluten-free bread that I’ll talk about next week) probably twice a day. I ate fully loaded baked potatoes with a ton of cheese. Cheese helped add the comfort food factor that I was missing at the time. To be honest, if I had thought to put cheese on my cereal I probably would have. I fell in love with it that much.

What comes along with that kind of eating is gaining back half of the weight that I initially lost (in two weeks). So my lesson is, if you want the good gooey food, eat in moderation. I’m obviously all for comfort food and I don’t claim to create recipes that are low in fat or calories. However I will say, that for health reasons, don’t eat this stuff five times a day like I did. I now have my cheese addiction under control (kind of).

Here is that Ah-Mah-Zing Brownie recipe that I mentioned last week.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie

Ingredients:

I package of Betty Crocker gluten-free brownie mix (see pic)

2 eggs

Half a stick of butter (any kind)

Reese’s peanut butter chips (they are gluten-free)

Jif creamy peanut butter (It’s gluten-free)

Instructions:

Prepare the brownie mix per the instructions on the box (I don't always use boxed products, but this one is really good).

Add a cup of Reece’s peanut butter chips, mix into brownie mix

Cook per the instructions on the box

Remove brownies out of the oven, let cool

Melt ½ cup of peanut butter (I use a coffee cup) in the microwave for 2 minutes

Take a spoon and drizzle the peanut butter over the brownies

Let cool (I stick them in the refrigerator)

Cut and serve

I tested them out on some of the toughest critics, children and people who don’t have to worry about gluten. They loved it! The only thing that I don't like is the packaging that the brownie mix came in. It's so boring and bland. Almost as if it’s trying to remind us that a gluten-free diet isn’t exciting. Well, I’m here to prove ol’ Betty Crocker wrong!

Certified AWESOME! Pass it on! 

In case you haven’t noticed, when I really like something I certify it as AWESOME! I have a rating system when I review products or restaurants. It works like a scale of 1-4 stars….

1. Certified “Ewww”

2. Certified “It’s OK”

3. Certified “Pretty darn good”

4. Certified “AWESOME” (It deserves all caps!) 

Next week I’ll discuss the unusual acne (in odd places) that people with celiac and gluten allergy can get. I’ll also discuss cheating on your diet and the affect is has on your body. I’ll also be reviewing another gluten-free-friendly establishment and give you guys my gourmet grilled cheese recipe.

If you have any questions, please email me and I will post your question (not your name) and answer the following week. Your question could help someone else as well.