Kneading and Rising to Gluten Free…

Hi!  I am Mae from www.striveforprogress.com.  Amee asked me to speak as a guest blogger about my experience with gluten free so here I am!  Thank you Amee for inviting me to be a part of your very informative and inspiring blog.  I really appreciate you welcoming me, it is quite the honor.

 

Kneading and Rising to Gluten Free…

I started my family on a gluten free diet about six years ago.  My oldest kiddo, pictured here below, was diagnosed with eczema.  My journey through trying to help her heal and alleviate her symptoms led me to a gluten free diet.  She actually tested negative for having a gluten intolerance, but when she was not eating it from ages three to about five or six, she would have less breakouts.  She would never have an immediate breakout, but after a few days of eating gluten products she had more breakouts.  So gluten free was where I ended up taking our family diet.  The choice to become gluten free was easy.  Actually trying to make it work was hard.  I had to do hours of research, label reading and store searching to find food that would work for our family.

Today, where I live, you can walk into most grocery stores or even restaurants and you will find gluten free friendly products and menus.  Amazingly though, just four to six years ago, finding gluten free anything was very difficult for me.  I had to really search out what I could feed my girly.  We started eating a lot of sprouted grain breads.  I would give her rice and other grains that were considered gluten free.  At some point I found spelt flour worked because it was low in gluten.  It was a huge struggle.  I no longer could dump some Cheerios into a snack cup and run out the door.  I had to make sure what I had for a snack was prepared and ready to go.  As the years went by more gluten free products became available.  I will never forget the day I found a flour called “Gluten Free Mama”, because I was so excited I could make cupcakes, tortillas, muffins, bread!  I had found it and a recipe book that went with the flour just before thanksgiving that year.  It was so exciting to have rolls with dinner again!

Since then, more products have hit the shelves that I think are tastier than some gluten products.  Our favorite and staple baking mix is Pamela’s Baking Mix (See post on this Pamela’s Product).  Those are the best pancakes, waffles, muffins and biscuits in my family’s opinion!  I make those baked goods on a regular basis in our house.  A favorite meal is Pamela’s Biscuits and my Split Pea Soup…

 

Mae’s Crocked Split Pea Soup & Biscuits

Ingredients

1 pound of dried split Peas (two heaping cups)
12 cups of boiling hot water (do not skip the boiling part it makes the soup consistency perfect!)
2 teaspoons of salt
4 teaspoons of marjoram
1 tablespoon of dried basil
2 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups of chopped onions
4 sticks of carrots
4 sticks of celery
4 tablespoons of Better Then Bouillon Chicken or Vegetable

 

Instructions

1. Spray crock with cooking spray or grease with oil.

2. Rinse peas add to crock. Add boiling hot water, salt, herbs, bullion, onions.

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.

4. Add carrots and celery 1-2 hours before ready to eat.

5. We like to sprinkle some shredded fresh Parmesan on top of our soup.  YUM!

 

Find Pamela’s “Bisquick” Style Drop Biscuits HERE, and be sure to get xanthan gum, and add 1 tsp to every 1 cup of mix you use.  Also, I ALWAYS triple the recipe and get either 6 large biscuits or 8 small biscuits out of it.

I hope if you cannot eat gluten that you check out the two flours I mentioned above.  You can get them both shipped to you from Amazon if you do not have them in your stores.  Bob’s Red Mill carries xanthan gum, which is key to holding the flour together.  It is a gluten replacement, at least that is what I have noticed it seems to do.

Pamela’s recipes do not have xanthan gum listed as an ingredient, but a good rule of thumb is to use 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to every 1 cup of flour used.  Trust me, I KNOW when I have not added it to my Pamela’s biscuits!  They crumble up to easily without it.  Note that you do NOT need to add xanthan gum to the pancakes or waffles.

 

I have so enjoyed posting on Amee’s blog today!  Next time I make an “appearance” on Inspired-Houswife, I will share more of my ups and downs in gluten free living, and bring along my award winning Blueberry Peach Crumble Pie recipe, you will not want to miss it!  Have a great day ya’ll!

Strive For Progress!
~Mae

 

Mae is the writer and owner of www.striveforprogress.com.  At Strive For Progress, Mae aims to inspire and motivate people in everyday life.  She lives in the USA with her high school sweetheart Mike, three beautiful kiddlets, a lovable Great Dane and a crazy tabby cat!

 

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