lpellegr

If you are vigilant, as you seem to be, then you should be able to avoid contact between your gluten-free food and his regular food. Most cookware cleans up pretty good, although you shouldn't share a colander. I would worry about wheat flour for baking, though, because it's likely to hang in the air and then gradually deposit on cleaned surfaces and get into everything. You might have to find somewhere else for him to bake or switch to all gluten-free.

I use Bette Hagman's vinegar crust recipe and use a crumb topping made with a gluten-free flour blend. You should be able to substitute just about any flour blend (Bob's, Pamela's, etc) with good results. I don't know if rice flour alone would do the trick, but if it's just butter, sugar, cinnamon, and the flour all cut together until crumbly, it would probably work. Rice flour can be bland, so add a dash of salt. My apple pie recipe doesn't have any flour mixed with the apples, but rice flour would probably work there as a thickener. She should take her sense of humor along as well and warn people that if it doesn't come out perfect it will still taste pretty good! First time trying to convert a recipe, unexpected things can happen.

I keep all my gluten-free flours at room temp except high-fat ones like soy, ground flax, and almond meal. Rice, sweet rice, brown rice, tapioca, cornstarch, potato starch, cornmeal, garbanzo, sorghum, millet - all room temp and I haven't noticed any problems with them. I find they pick up odors when in the freezer.

I always thought it was unsafe to give chicken bones to a dog. Does it make a difference if they're uncooked? And if you're going to go raw for your cat, why not give them mice? Pet stores sell feeder mice for snakes. You'd want to kill it first, just to prevent it getting away, but it seems the natural choice for cats.

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I love my cats but I wish they would outlast me so I never have to go through another loss. I feel for you.

You also don't know whether there were any traces of the seeds when the barley grass was harvested or transported or processed. I'd avoid any part of the plant, just in case, same with wheat grass.

Lay's potato chips and Fritos. Sure, the ingredients are gluten-free, but the cross contamination must be significant.

I think any method that gets it thoroughly mixed will work, even by hand with a spoon. The food processor will speed it up and do a good job, but as long as all the dry and wet are well combined you should be okay. If you use the bread maker I would take it out after the mixing and skip the raising step, then follow the directions that came with the mix. You can try the hand mixer, but sometimes these doughs can be too dense for one of those - the xanthan gum that holds it together can really get gluey once it's wet. I'd start with a wooden spoon and if it's too hard, use a mechanical method. My opinion only, let's see what others suggest.

Although it's probably too late today, here's an idea for another time.

Bag of lettuce

Canned chicken or precooked chicken of some sort

mandarin oranges

Sliced almonds (if you have time, cook them gently in a hot pan with a few spoonfuls of sugar and let cool once the sugar has melted)

Just about any vinaigrette dressing or a sweet one like poppyseed.

Try varying your oven temperature. Sometimes a longer bake at a lower temp will give you more of a crunchy crust.

Hummus and veggies. Single serve cans/cups of tuna. Lunchmeats with lettuce or veggies. Peanut/raisin/cereal mix. Thermos of soup. Peanut butter on celery or Nut Thins (would have to check for all of your allergies). Sliced apples with nut butter. Salad. Individual serving cups of Bush's beans (they're not so bad cold). Lots of fruit and raw veggies. Hard boiled eggs. Lara bars. Cold pasta with pesto sauce. You might want to keep a little bag with plastic utensils, napkins, etc in your car or backpack. Invest in a few Rubbermaid containers, buy or cook in bulk, and portion out the hummus, baby carrots, etc so it's easy to just grab something in the morning.

If you go into Hershey Park, the gluten-free pizza at the Minetown Cafe is really good, and bigger than what all the "normal" people are eating!

Great! Maybe I'll try the one near me in Hamilton and hope they're as well trained.

When I do her recipes I never use all the water she calls for, more like 3/4 of it. Most of her breads don't come out like the wheat breads you're used to. I have made these alterations in her recipes, but this is for the oven and not the bread machine. I mix in a Kitchenaid stand mixer, using about 3/4 of the water she calls for. I generally stick to the recipes with a total of 2 cups of flour and not 3 - the smaller loaves work better. Only let the bread rise to the top of the pan before you put it in the oven, so make sure to start preheating when you start the raising time. Instead of 400, set the oven to 350. Put the pan in with the short end and not the long end facing you or the bread will raise much higher on one side than the other. Bake for the recommended time, then knock on the top of the bread. If it's at all soft in the middle, put it back for 5 minute increments until it's no longer soft, or it will cave in while it cools and be gummy in the middle. Don't cut it until it's completely cool.

Some of her breads are better than others. Her Four Flour Bean bread is best for making croutons and crumbs because it's rather crumbly. The Mock Pumpernickel is good and more long-lasting at room temp. But the best bread recipe I've tried so far is from www.gingerlemongirl.com, her Gluten-Free Favorite Sandwich Bread. This is the most "normal" bread I have made. Good luck!

Ditto. I've taken it every day for years, and no gluten reaction.

Awesome! Isn't it great when you find something that works? Here's another chicken breading option: slice chicken breasts thin (or buy chicken/turkey that way but more $), coat in a mixture of egg and whatever kind of mustard you like, then coat in a mix of bread crumbs and finely chopped walnuts or pecans (add salt and nutmeg for seasoning). Fry in butter and/or olive oil until browned on both sides and chicken is cooked through. This is a starting point - you can leave out the mustard or add different spices. Last time I made it I realized (too late) that all those browned bread crumbs left behind in the pan would probably be really good to sprinkle over veggies or potatoes or just about anything.

The problem with things in bulk is you never know where the scoop has been previously or whether someone who just ate a sandwich reached in there and took a handful. It's a small risk that there is cross-contamination, but it is a plausible risk.

I eat it, but I have only tried the plain, so I don't know about the ones with the lump of seasoning in the middle. No problems.

Nut Thins are easier to find than some of the crackers from specific gluten-free manufacturers. They're my staple cracker for dips or tuna salad or egg salad. If you like hard and crunchy and very seedy, Mary's Gone Crackers are also widely available in regular grocery stores.

Here's where I found individual soy sauce packets and other single-serve things:

Open Original Shared Link

If you want to heat it up like peppers do, maybe horseradish? A. I don't know if horseradish plants are in the nightshade family, and B. this could be a really weird combination and might take some experimenting, but if you're looking for something to make your mouth burn, horseradish could do it.

And don't be offended or surprised if, after all your effort, your co-worker still turns down your item. We have to be very careful, and most of us won't take a chance just to spare the feelings of a co-worker or family member who doesn't have to live with the consequences. This diet can be a booger to follow, and the results of one small mistake can be with us for a long time. But we always appreciate when someone like you recognizes our predicament and is nice enough to want to make something for us to share.

Uh, maybe you could explain what liver cheese is? Sounds like something Shrek would like.....

Tinkyada rice pasta freezes well - I have frozen lasagna and chicken tetrazzini with good results. Can't guarantee any other brand. Just be sure to not overcook it before you add it to the casserole, and freeze it right away. If you leave it in the fridge for a few days before freezing the pasta will absorb more liquid and not be as good.

As for sausage, you can't be sure unless you check the label or the company website. I believe Premio brand is gluten-free.

For bread crumbs, I make my own bread. I'm sure a bread mix would work, but you still have to make it into bread first. Don't just use the bread mix to replace bread crumbs, although it would probably work to replace flour. Bake the loaf, cut it into slices, eat a few while it's still fresh, then cube the rest and let it dry for a few hours to overnight covered with a towel to keep it clean. Bake in the oven at 250, stirring every 30 minutes, until the cubes are nice and dry. Crumb them up in a food processor - a blender works, but I think the crumbs get too small. Store the crumbs in a heavy ziploc bag in the freezer. Other options are to get gluten-free cereal like a corn flake or Chex style and crush it to the fineness you like for breading.

I had no idea that I could still be intolerant of gluten free flours. Why is this?

Thanks.