Quick Dinners

It has been way too long since I have posted and it's definitely time I try to catch up.  We have been busy just like everyone else but it's time I share some gluten free meals that get us through the crazy busy times.  People often think that gluten free cooking is time consuming and expensive but that doesn't have to be the case.  Here are seven simple gluten free meals to get you through the week. These are quick and don't require any "special" ingredients.

1. Tacos - We also have corn tortilla shells on hand. Tacos are great for picky eaters - you can use chicken, beef, pork or veggies and everyone can customize their own toppings.
2. Nachos - We like to cover a tray with tortilla chips and sprinkle chicken and cheese. If we don't have chicken we'll use black beans and corn. After the cheese is melted we add tomatoes, onions, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. It's a bonus if we have guacamole.
3. Quesadilla -  Are you noticing a theme? We almost always have tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, etc on hand. I love adding olives in my quesadilla. This is a great meatless option.
4. Eggs & Hash browns - Typically we make scrambled eggs and add mushrooms, green peppers and onions.  Serve with hash browns and fruit.
5. Breakfast Burritos - Again, those tortilla shells come in handy. Cook some scrambled eggs (feel free too add some sausage) and add your favorite toppings. Serve with fruit.
6. Chili - I rarely follow a recipe for chili.  Keep your favorite ingredients on hand so you can make it in a pinch. We like to make a large batch and save the leftovers to make chili fries.
7. Baked Potato - Bake your potatoes in the oven or microwave, I know some people wrap them in foil and cook them in a crock-pot. We often serve these with a medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.  Then add cheese, sour cream, butter or salsa.  Everyone can customize it to their liking. I like to make an extra for lunch the next day.

If you don't have the time or energy to "cook" a meal pick up a Rotisserie Chicken. Make sure to check the ingredients, I know the ones at Sam's Club and Cosco are gluten free. If we happen to be out we'll pick one up and serve it with salad or mashed potatoes and warm veggies. The leftovers are great for nachos, tacos, quesadillas or making chicken salad sandwiches for lunch the next day.

I hope these ideas serve as a reminder that it doesn't have to be complicated to eat gluten free. Don't be afraid to keep things simple. I'd love to hear your quick go to meals.

Leeann Chin, Finally

It's about time. Leeann Chin finally offers a few gluten free menu items. My sister was at Leeann Chin recently and noticed they now have a couple of gluten free items. I didn't notice it on their website so I had to ask what they offer gluten gree.

Here is the response I received:
Currently the items on our Leeann Chin menu, that are gluten free, would be our white rice, Bourbon Chicken, Curry Chicken Stir-fry, Shrimp and Vegetable Stir-fry and our Red Cherry Frozen Yogurt with any of the fresh fruit toppings.

We can also prepare, upon special request, a Vegetable Stir fry made with our Hunan Sweet Chili Sauce or our Bourbon Sauce.

One more item would be to special request our Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry to be made without the Teriyaki sauce but substitute either the Hunan Sweet Chili Sauce or our Bourbon Sauce.
----

It is always nice to have a quick and convenient option. Now we can use the buy one get one coupon from the Sunday paper.

Chocolate Covered Banana Slices

We found a new convenient and somewhat healthy gluten-free treat at Sam's Club, Dole's Banana Dippers. They are frozen banana slices covered in dark chocolate. Yum!

They are packaged as 2 servings per box but the package can easily be resealed if you have the willpower to not eat them all in one sitting.

As you can tell Brody is a huge fan. He makes sure to eat the chocolate and leave the bananas.

Celiac Awareness Month - Amazon Deals

May is Celiac Awareness month and Amazon has some great gluten-free deals. Be sure to check out these deals before the end of the month to save up to 30% off. It even includes some of our favorites like Udi's Granola and Pamela's Baking mixes. To get the best price sign-up for subscribe and save and enter the code to receive an additional percent off.

Lettuce Entertain You - New App for Your Android

Many of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants have gluten-free menus. Lettuce Entertain You now has an application for Android phones. In the android apps market search for "Lettuce Eat" and install the app. You will be able to search for the nearest restaurant and even log in to the frequent diner club. If you live in or are visiting the Chicago area this app will be especially helpful.

Aldi

When it comes to grocery shopping I don't stick to just one store. I'll shop the standard Cub, Rainbow or Super Target and buy some things in bulk at Sam's Club. For the more specialty gluten-free items I'll go to Fresh and Natural Foods. Occasionally if I just need a few things I even shop at Aldi. I used to just get the basic produce and milk when I didn't want to run into a large store. As I looked at more labels I noticed there they carried more gluten-free items than I thought. I know a lot of people that say they can't shop at Aldi because they don't have much for a gluten-free diet. Let me show you that you actually can shop there.
Notice that standard produce and pantry items as well as some treats. Aldi is one of few places where I can find gluten-free meatballs and they are very reasonably priced.
It is difficult to see in this picture but this chipotle pepper hummus says "gluten-free" right on the lid! I love to have options and not be tied to one particular store.

On a side note: Today gluta-baby is 6 months old. I have also been eating gluten-free for 6 months now since I decided I would nurse him. Surprisingly it has been much easier than I have thought and I haven't felt deprived. I believe the combination of nursing and eating gluten-free have been major factors in helping loose the baby weight as well.

Hamburger Helper & Asian Helper

I'm sure you heard they were coming but have you seen them yet? I found the Chicken Fried Rice and Cheesy Hashbrowns at our Super Target (they didn't have the Beef Fried Rice yet). Make sure you check each box because they still had some of the old ones that aren't gluten free. These were on sale and I was also able to use a hamburger helper coupon on them.

We tried the Cheesy Hashbrowns one night while Nate mowed the lawn and I took care of the baby. It was nice to have a different option besides our typically lazy meals. They were good (not great) but I've never been much of a Hamburger Helper fan. My mom always made better things from scratch and I couldn't help but add onions, peppers and garlic to it. We won't be making this all of the time but it is nice to have an inexpensive and convenient option.

BitterSweet Bakery Now at Coborns Delivers

Coborns Delivers is now offering BitterSweet Bakery products. BitterSweet Bakery is a small family owned bakery that offers some great treats. This is a great way to be able to order some gluten-free treats and not have to worry about if they are open this Saturday or next Saturday. You can have your gluten-free carrot cake or hamburger buns delivered to your door with the rest of your groceries. I was very surprised to see that the BitterSweet Bakery items they carry are on sale this week. That's definitely a good incentive to try something new.

Gluten- Free Clearance Finds at Target

Nate and I ran to Target to pick up some basic items and purchase a gift for an upcoming wedding. As we were running through the frozen food section I noticed frozen broccoli on clearance. We eat a lot of broccoli at our house so I grabbed two bags and noticed they had a lot of other frozen items on clearance.

I scanned a couple more items as Nate looked for the Starbucks ice cream that we had a free coupon for. I yelled, "Nathan!" He quickly turned assuming he was in trouble. (I think the lady next to him thought he was in trouble too.)

We were shocked to see French Meadow Bakery Gluten-Free Fudge Brownie on clearance. I grabbed four boxes considering that you keep them frozen until you use them and then we noticed they also had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Both the brownies and cookies were marked down from $5.99 to $2.98. With two gluten-free guys in the house I'm sure these won't last long.

When we got home Nate made a box of the cookies. They are preformed so you just need to preheat the oven and place them on a tray. It couldn't get much more convenient than that. They are done in 10-12 minutes.

I could have made this an even better deal if I printed some of these coupons from their website.

This was a great reminder to check clearance for gluten-free products!

Enjoy Life Products 10% Off

Now until June 30th you can save 10%off your favorite Enjoy Life Products 10%. Click here to take advantage of this offer through Peanut Free Planet. Then enter the code Enjoy10off when you check out.

Enjoy Life Products are free of the top 8 allergens. We love their Snickerdoodles.

Coborn's Delivers

Coborns Delivers (formerly Simon Delivers) is making gluten-free shopping easier. If you live in the greater Twin Cities area you can purchase all of your groceries online and have them delivered to your door. Coborns Delivers has added a section for gluten-free specialty products. Ingredient lists are easy to read for those with additional allergies. You can find some of your favorite brands of gluten-free pasta, crackers, soups and baked goods. Don't see a specific product you're looking for? Send them an email and request they add it.

Gluten Free Menu Planner

Enjoy cooking but hate planning meals? For only $10 a month you can skip the menu planning and just worry about cooking. GFree cuisine takes care of the menu planning and grocery list. You pick your weekly recipes and they create the grocery list for you. They worked with Carol Fenster to create these recipes. You can view sample options on their website.
This sounds like a great idea for our house where everyone has the same attitude, "I'll cook if you tell me what to make."

Glutenfreeda's Real Cookies Frozen Dough

Nate cheated last night. When I got home from work the house smelled like cinnamon and sugar. I knew he wasn't making dinner yet so I was a bit confused. He decided to make Glutenfreeda's Snicker Poodles, their version of a snickerdoodle. Now he even admits that he "cheated" since this isn't really baking. These are super easy to make though when you want a fresh warm cookie. The dough comes frozen and the cookies are already formed so all you need to do is put them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. The bake into the perfect size cookie and are very soft. Now these aren't necessarily cheap but I think they're worth if for the occasional treat and the convenience. The containers are resealable so you can make just a couple or mix and match for a variety. We recommend the Snicker Poodles but Nate might have to try the other flavors to see if they are worth it as well.

Frito-Lay Allergen Lists

Frito-Lay has recently updated their list of products for those with special dietary needs. They have a list of products not containing gluten as well as those not containing corn. Unfortunately depending on your sensitivities or how strict you are you need to look at a couple of their lists and it quickly limits the items. For example, some people now say MSG is "safe" although we prefer to avoid it.

They are obviously aware of the need. Their first nutrition question is:
Do Frito-Lay products contain gluten? Some of our snacks contain gluten.
For a list of products not containing gluten click here.

Heinz

Heinz has recently added a world-wide list of gluten-free products to their website. Check it out for easier planning/shopping.