stolly

Amy's is not bad, but I much prefer homemade. When DD was first diagnosed, I couldn't find a packaged mac n cheese she would eat, so I had to make homemade, and now that I realize it's not much extra work, I have a difficult time paying the prices for gluten-free frozen dinners. I make a big batch and free in 8 oz portions for DD for school (we use a thermos to keep warm) or larger for DD/DS to share for a quick meal at home. I've made it with Tinkyada elbows and Velveeta in the past, but more recently I've been doing shredded cheese/milk etc...it's a surprisingly easy one dish stovetop recipe, nothing fancy.

We're going to Sesame Place next week so I called to get info about their food options. I spoke with Diane Jones who sounded very knowledgeable about the gluten free diet and cross contamination. She said all beef hot dogs and hamburgers (can get a cheeseburger) are available, as well as a plain piece of grilled chicken. Diane said to alert the staff about the need for a fresh hot dog/hamburger due to a dietary restriction so they know to get one that hasn't touched a bun. The cafeteria style set up sounds like you'd be able to watch the staff prepare the food for you. gluten-free sides include fruit salad or Musselman's applesauce. Diane also read me the ingredients for their soft serve ice cream (it's gluten free) and mentioned thet Dippin Dots are sold there but the company can't guarantee gluten free status despite their ingredients sounding ok. She also said you can take in a soft sided cooler (no hard coolers), just let park staff know it's for dietary restrictions. This sounds good...has anyone had any actual experiences at Sesame Place? Any other tips going to an amusement park gluten free? We've only done Disney with DD, and they are very accomodating. Thanks!

My husband and I are starting a ROCK chapter in the Bucks/Montgomery county area (we live in Lansdale, PA). DD (almost) 4 has celiac, we also have an 18 month old DS. Please let me know if you are in the area and interested! We're not listed on the celiackids.com website, but Danna Korn has asked Scott to add us, so hopefully we'll be on soon. In the meantime, you can send me a message. We're planning to do a potluck picnic in the next few months, just looking to see who is interested so we can set the details of when and where. Hope to hear from you!

How many cookies does the mix make? Average size cookies because I guess that can vary!!

I emailed OPI about a month or so ago and just received this information in an email:

Tech Response:

Thank you for your email, we apologize for the delayed response.

The following OPI products contain hydrolyzed wheat and/or oat protein, which may have traces of gluten:

Acrylic Nail Base Coat

Feet

I'm not sure about the chips and salsa, but I called on Sunday about the Wild Harvest Organics yogurt. I received a call from the supplier today that all of their yogurts are gluten free.

DD's school serves different flavors of quick breads for snack a few mornings a month. I've been sending in chocolate chip banana bread for all of them, and I'm looking for a good cinnamon swirl quick bread recipe (in a loaf pan) to match what they have at school. Does anyone have a good recipe? Thanks!

Made these for Kiddo today and he loved them! Open Original Shared Link

This recipe is excellent. This tastes like a brownie, but it's the consistency of a chewy rice krispie treat. We crushed the Rice Chex slightly to make them smaller and easier to chew for the kids. We only made half the recipe which is a good thing because we'd eat it all...but we put it in a 12x8 pan so it was thinner. We ate some slightly warm because we couldn't wait, and that was great too. Enjoy! Here is the original recipe from the link above:

Ingredients

6 cups of Rice Chex

1 cup of chocolate chunks/chips (make sure gluten-free)

1 pound bag of Marshmallows (any size)

1 1/2 sticks butter

Cooking Directions

Throw the butter in a big pot over low heat until melted.

Add the marshmallows and stir consistently until completely melted (10 minutes or so).

Add the chocolate and the Rice Chex, stir until the cereal is completely coated.

Scoop out the mixture and press into an 8" x 12" pan. Press to compact. Place in fridge to cool.

Once cool, slice into squares and chow down!

We went to Biergarten last year and really enjoyed it. If I remember correctly, about 1/2 of the buffet items were gluten free...the chef walked me through the buffet and discussed each item. My husband and I were suprised by how many of the items we enjoyed. I can't remember exactly what was/wasn't gluten-free since DD3 is the only one who has celiac and she isn't into sausages and other German foods. They also gave DD gluten-free mac n cheese (Amy's I think) and a gluten free roll (Ener-G dinner roll and it was pretty good). The buffet desserts weren't gluten-free from what I remember, but they did bring DD a gluten-free brownie (French Meadow Bakery). I am not sure if they (or anywhere in Disney World) serves gluten-free beer...beer is a big thing at Biergarten. However, the atmosphere of Biergarten is great--live music/show every 30 minutes. We went down to the front and danced--I think it would be a great place for a big group so you can chat with other members of your group during dinner. We went to 'Ohana about 3 years ago and the food was very good, but it was before DD was diagnosed, so I don't know how gluten-free-friendly it would be. I would definitely recommend Biergarten for you based on the gluten-free options and the atmosphere. Have fun!

Jimmy Dean sausage patties are gluten free. I believe that Kellogg's/Disney fruit snacks are gluten free.

We tried the gluten-free Honey Nut Chex and I was surprised I really liked it. It was too sweet for me eaten dry right out of the box, but was delicious mixed with milk. I am still waiting for the new Corn Chex in our area. I have seen both gluten-free and non-gluten-free Strawberry Chex side by side in the stores, so be careful which box you buy. The Strawberry Chex is delicious mixed with regular Chex.

I just received this update on another group email...

Open Original Shared Link

"Hi, it

The Strawberry Chex lists peanut flour in the ingredients. I am not sure about the other Chex flavors.

I recommend a Thermos. You can use it for anything you would normally eat if you were home...chili, pasta/sauce, chicken stirfry, rice/beans, hot dogs and baked beans, scalloped poatoes with ham...really anything. Just put some very hot/microwaved water in it while you are getting ready in the morning...that helps to get it even hotter...then dump the water and fill with your microwaved food just before you leave. Lasts 4-5 hours. We use a Thermos for DD almost evey day a preschool.

Chi-Chi's Fiesta Sweet Corn Cake mix is gluten free. It's not as good as homemade, but I thought it was pretty good for a mix...and very inexpensive.

This is great news--thank you for posting! Maybe we will venture out to a Phillies game this year.

I've tried a few different bread recipes lately. I usually take the loaf out of the oven when the loaf is between 205-210 degrees and the crust is dark golden brown. It's usually slightly gummy inside (but fine to eat), but really gummy (looks gray/undercooked) just above the bottom crust. I usually need to cover with foil part way through to decrease some of the browning, but I still usually end up with a really brown crust and a gummy inside...especially along the bottom of the bread. That gummy part on the bottom becomes hard after is sits for a day so I have to cut it off for DD to eat. Any suggestions? Do I need to cook at a higher/lower temp, decrease the liquid slightly in the recipe? Do you think I'm letting it rise too long or not enough? The past few times I've tested the liquid temp before I mix it with yeast to be sure it's warm enough but not too hot. Help!! Thanks in advance!

What brand of salsa do you use? Is it really chunky or not? Looking for one that isn't really chunky for DD, but chunky is fine for me and DH. Thanks

Did you add xanthan gum? Gluten free flours need something to hold baked goods together because gluten is what holds gluten baked goods together. If that's not the issue, maybe you need to cut back on the amount of butter/fat in the recipe to prevent the spreading. You can post your recipe so we can help make adjustments. Good luck!

I just saw a commercial for Outback Steakhouse advertising new menu items so I went online to check it out. Some of the new items are gluten free...roasted filet tenderloin, sweet glazed pork, pepper mill steak. Here is a link to the updated gluten free menu with modifications necessary to ensure each dish is gluten free: Open Original Shared Link

Please share if you try any of the new items!!

One egg plus one egg white scrambled with either spinach and a dash of parmesan cheese or diced deli ham and a little bit of cheddar cheese. Very yummy!

Here is a recipe for gluten free, egg free Thin Mints. It's from Stephanie O'Dea who has the Crockpotting for a Year blog. She has a new blog Totally Together that has this recipe, but I am having trouble opening that blog today. I had already copied/pasted this recipe into a document yesterday b/c it sounds yummy! Stephanie made it once with Pamela's brownie mix, once with Bob's chocolate cake mix and said Pamela's was much better.

Hi BarbPA,

We're in Lansdale, so we are starting a Bucks/Montgomery chapter. My daughter is 3.5, but the group will cater to kids of all ages. We recently attended the CHOP Celiac Education Day and met some other families (with kids of all ages) interested in joining. I'll keep you posted...it will probably be late spring, early summer before we organize our first event.

Holly

-Cereal: Rice Chex (with bananas or raisins), Honey Kix (regular Kix are not gluten-free), Trix, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles

-Crackers: Glutino

-Bread: DD likes the Buttermilk Sandwich bread (it's like white bread) from Robin Ryberg's cookbook The Gluten Free Kitchen. I just made the dinner rolls from the same cookbook, they taste more like a whole wheat roll and they were very good. Her recipes are VERY easy, and most of her bread recipes don't require you to wait for the dough to rise.

-Pasta: Trader Joe's (cheaper) or Tinkyada brown rice pastas-- both are great

-Baked goods: we use Pamela's pancake and baking mix to make pancakes, banana chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin muffins, chocolate chip cookies. We also use a lot of our old recipes but sub an all purpose flour blend like Better Batter flour, Domato flour.

Coongrats AmyLeigh! I understand how you feel....tomorrow will be one year gluten free for my DD. She has gained 6 pounds and grown 2.5 inches. Now at 3.5 yrs old she's up to 27 pounds, still a peanut, but so much better than a year ago. Family and friends constantly comment on how great she looks....no more sunken eyes, her hair is shiny again, and it makes me feel so good to see her want to eat. I remember being so overwhelmed this time last year, and now it all comes so naturally. Thanks to all on this board who have been so helpful this past year and the month before she went gluten free when we weren't sure of her diagnosis. You truly helped me get through a very tough time!