Sure Foods Living – gluten-free and allergen-free living

The first time I made Rice Crispy Treats, they turned out hard as a rock. After many attempts, I have a yummy and soft Rice Crispy Treat recipe, and it’s gluten-free and dairy-free too!

The key to making good Rice Crispy Treats is in both the ingredients and the technique. The ingredients in my recipe are different from the traditional Rice Krispies version. First of all, I  don’t use Rice Krispies because they are not gluten-free (they contain barley malt). This is changing in June 2011 — if you haven’t heard yet, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies is going gluten-free. This is wonderful news for so many families, and evidence of the growing and powerful gluten-free market.

I personally will continue to buy Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Gluten Free Cereal because I like the ingredients better: Organic brown rice, Organic brown rice syrup, Sea salt. (The new Rice Krispies will contain whole grain brown rice, sugar, salt and BHT.) Erewhon compares in taste and crispiness to Rice Krispies, and it has been a staple in my house for years.

The next change I made to the traditional recipe was to use dairy-free butter. I used Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread, and the result was soft and chewy. You can also use coconut oil, which will result in a chewy but not as soft treat with a hint of coconut taste.

Another difference in my recipe is a higher marshmallow to cereal ratio. I have always felt that rice crispy treats never had enough marshmallow, so I fixed that problem!

I discovered after trial and error that technique is important. You must slowly heat the marshmallows or you will get a rock-hard treat.

I hope you enjoy!

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Soft and Chewy Rice Crispy Marshmallow Treats

Ingredients:
Easy to remember! 4-4-4 (or 2-2-2 if you want just a small batch)

• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance dairy-free butter or coconut oil (coconut oil will result in crunchier treat with a hint of coconut flavor)
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 4 cups crispy rice cereal (I prefer Erewhon Gluten-Free)

Directions:

1. Heat dairy-free butter or coconut oil on low heat until almost melted.
2. Add marshmallow and heat S-L-O-W-L-Y in a large saucepan, with little to no stirring, until the marshmallows are almost melded together. Be patient.



3. Stir gently until the marshmallows resemble marshmallow cream. The marshmallow cream should be light and fluffy. If you heat too quickly, it will become tough and sticky, making for a tough treat. If using coconut oil, it will seem like the oil is not stirring in at first, but gently continue to incorporate it in until you don’t see any more in the edges of the pan.

   

4. When it is creamy and the butter or oil is blended in, turn off the heat, and pour the rice cereal into the pan, gently blending the marshmallow with the cereal until evenly distributed.

   

5. Pour into any kind of greased pan.
6. Cut the treats with cookie cutters while warm or cool. If using coconut oil, it is better to cut the treats while warm, as they will harden. To cut, flip the treats out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cut with a knife or use cookie cutters. If using cookie cutters, you may have to run a knife along the edge to break the marshmallow strands. If the edges of the shapes turn out a bit rough, simply mold the edges with your hands to make smooth.

   

7. When cool, store in an airtight container or plastic bag.
8. Shapes can be frosted too!

If you haven’t tried Tanka Bars or Tanka Bites yet, you might think buffalo and cranberry is an odd combination, but let me tell you — it works! Think beef jerky, but softer, moister and sweeter. The combination of buffalo and cranberry is based on a centuries-old traditional Native American recipe, and is surprisingly good together.

In addition to the bars and bites, there are Tanka Wild Sticks (contain wild rice) and Tanka Dogs. Free of gluten, dairy (except for the Tanka Dogs which have milk powder), nuts, soy, and nitrates, Tanka Products are made from 100% prairie-fed buffalo meat sourced from as many Native American ranchers as possible. This is a great source of lean protein.

And the mission of the company is so lovely: “to heal the people and our Mother Earth by building a company that innovates real food products based on the traditional values of Native American respect for all living things by living in balance with mind, body, and spirit.” If that statement doesn’t move you, watch this video — these are real people behind this product. Such a great story.

Now the fun part — you have a chance to win a variety pack of Tanka products! Just leave a comment about how you get protein in yours or your kids’ diets. Giveway ends Friday, April 15 at midnight PST. I will announce the winner in the comments.

If you don’t win, you can purchase Tanka Bars and Tanka Bites online or ask for them in your natural foods store.

Remember to check back every week for Win Stuff Wednesday!

There is a new gluten-free pasta on the market called Jovial.

Imported from Italy, the brown rice pasta is 100% organic, made from rice grown in Italy. I am so excited about this pasta! It not only tastes great, but it has a wonderful texture. It doesn’t get sticky or starchy or crumbly like other gluten-free pastas, and it truly has an al dente bite to it if you want it to.

Their website tells a great story:
“Jovial gluten free products were developed out of a heartfelt compassion for all of us who have had a food intolerance critically effect personal health and wellness. We believe eating gluten free should be pleasurable and not feel like a sacrifice. It is not that products formulated without gluten can’t taste great; it’s how relentless you are in developing them.”

From their packages:
“Jovial Brown Rice Pasta is as close to traditional pasta as possible because it’s made in Tuscany by master artisans who have been crafting pasta for over a century. It is pressed with bronze dies and dried at low temperatures for the most authentic flavor.”

Allergen info:
“Jovial brown rice pasta is certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group at a level less than 10PPM. This product is made in a dedicated facility free of gluten, casein, eggs, tree nuts and peanuts, but may contain traces of soy.”

The pasta comes in five shapes: spaghetti, capellini, penne rigate, fusilli and caserecce (pictured at right). The biggest problem may be finding it, but I suspect that will change as more and more people demand this product — ask your natural foods store if they can get it. And be careful — Jovial also makes an einkorn pasta, which is NOT gluten-free. The brown rice pasta comes in green and white boxes.

Want to win some gluten-free pasta? Leave a comment about which shape of Jovial pasta you would choose if you won and your favorite way to prepare or eat it — we can all inspire each other with some new ideas! You can even link to a recipe that you created or that you like. There will be SIX winners who will receive, courtesy of Jovial Foods, a box of pasta and a bonus prize of a box of Jovial gluten-free Fig Fruit Filled Cookies. Contest ends Friday, April 1 at midnight PST.

Looking for allergen-free Easter candy or candy without artificial dyes?

I’d rather give my kids candy with natural flavorings and colorings over candy with artificial dyes, so I am happy to have found a great resource: NaturalCandyStore.com. I love their tag line: “All the FUN without the FUNNY stuff!” For Easter, they have added a whole section of Easter candy, categorized by allergen, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and Feingold. There is something for everyone!

I am pleased to announce that the first Win Stuff Wednesday prize comes from the nice people at NaturalCandyStore.com who have offered one of my readers a $30 gift certificate! To win the certificate, let me know in the comments what your favorite candy was when you were a child. I used to sneak to the corner store to get my sugar fix — Tootsie Pops were my candy of choice. So, what was yours (and do you still eat it now)?

Contest ends on Saturday, March 26 at midnight PST. I will choose one winner and announce it on Sunday. Good luck!

Wonderful readers of my blog, I know how difficult it can be sometimes to eat gluten-free or allergen-free, not to mention expensive. I often get generous offers for samples of products, and I’d like to reward you with free stuff too! You deserve it.

I am excited to announce a new feature on my blog called Win Stuff Wednesday! I will be featuring products that I like, such as food, books, gift certificates and whatever else I think you would like. Be sure to read the directions, though, because I will be asking you specific questions that you will need to answer in the comments!

This will be fun, don’t you think? So check back on Wednesdays to see what goods I’ve got. And if you have a product that you would like to donate for the giveaways, please email me and I will consider it!

See you Wednesday!

Corn sensitivity seems to be on the rise. I know many gluten-free people who also can’t have corn. I must admit that I have no willpower when it comes to chips and salsa — thankfully, I don’t have a problem with corn, but for those that do, or for those that just want to have less corn in their diets, there’s a chip for you!

I came across Beanitos at The Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last month. These chips are like tortilla chips without the corn! So if you miss that crunch with your guacamole, look no further. Beanitos are 100% corn, wheat, potato and soy free. They are also low glycemic, high protein and high fiber.

The chips come in four flavors: Black Bean, Pinto Bean & Flax, Black Bean with Chipotle BBQ, and Pinto Bean with Cheddar Cheese. If you don’t see this product in your local grocery store, print the Beanitos product sheet and bring it in to show them.

Kikkoman has finally done it — they have created a gluten-free soy sauce. Traditional soy sauce is made with wheat, and is therefore not gluten-free. Wheat-free tamari has been available for years: San-J and Eden Foods are two well-known brands.

To clarify the difference between soy sauce and tamari:
Soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans and wheat. Tamari is made from fermented soybeans and little or no wheat. Tamari is considered richer than soy sauce because of the higher concentration of soybeans.

Some tamari is wheat-free, but many brands of tamari have wheat in them. For example, San-J makes soy sauce (contains 40-60% wheat), tamari (a small amount of wheat), and gluten-free tamari (no wheat).  Kikkoman also makes a Tamari Soy Sauce that contains wheat, so one can’t assume that all tamari is wheat-free.

Kikkoman’s new gluten-free soy sauce is wheat-free, using rice instead of wheat. The ingredients are water, soybeans, rice and salt. What I find interesting is that for years, Kikkoman has claimed that their soy sauce made with wheat is gluten-free by Codex standards, yet they have now come out with a truly gluten-free soy sauce.

Before you get too excited about going out for Asian food again, realize that it’s going to take a while for restaurants to begin using this soy sauce because it needs to be available to them in a large size. Currently there is an almost 1/2 gallon size available for restaurants, but this is small compared to regular soy sauce that comes in 5 gallons! Not only will the available size determine whether or not a restaurant decides to use the gluten-free soy sauce, so will the general availability and the price. Restaurants buy through distributors. If the distributor doesn’t carry the gluten-free soy sauce, then it isn’t available to the restaurants. And the gluten-free soy sauce will probably be more expensive also, deterring restaurants from converting all their dishes to gluten-free.

I still have hope, though, and dream of one day having more choices at a sushi or Chinese restaurant!

Yes, I’m talking to you — the one who doesn’t feel that great but doesn’t know why. You, who suspects that a food affects you, but doesn’t want to acknowledge it, or hasn’t taken the steps to figure it out. Make 2011 the year to improve your well-being!

Food intolerance is the first topic that I am writing about on the Attune Foods website, where I will be writing articles for the next six months as an “Attune Foods Brand Ambassador”, along with 11 other health bloggers.

I have been a fan of Erewhon gluten-free cereals for a long time (Erewhon is one of the brands owned by Attune Foods), so I was excited that they asked me to help them promote their brand and to share my thoughts on their website. They also make yummy gluten-free probiotic chocolate bars (chocolate + probiotics — what’s not to like?)

So go on over to Attune and check out my article (and leave me some comments over there!):
COULD YOU HAVE A FOOD INTOLERANCE?

Looking for a dairy-free substitute for baking? Instead of butter or margarine, I have used Spectrum Organic Shortening made from palm oil. It works well, although it has such a neutral flavor that it doesn’t give baked goods the same buttery taste as those made with butter or margarine. Problem solved: Spectrum’s new Organic Butter Flavor Shortening!

I have only seen this product in one store so far, Mother’s Market in Orange County, California (I LOVE this market — incredible selection of gluten-free and other allergen-free foods). It isn’t even shown on the website yet, but I called the company and they gave me the ingredients: Organic palm oil, natural butter flavor (non-dairy), annatto and turmeric for color.

I love that more companies are accommodating dairy allergies with products like these.

There is a gluten-free beer from Spain called Estrella Damm Daura, which its manufacturers call a lager and say “retains the same taste and properties as tradition beers.” The reason it tastes like other beers? It’s made from barley malt! As you students of gluten-free life know, barley contains gluten, so how can a beer made from barley malt be gluten-free? According to the manufacturer, the level of gluten is lower than the European gluten-free standard of 20 parts per million, or ppm.

According to their website, “Estrella Damm Daura is the result of a long collaborative research process between Damm and the CSIC (National Scientific Research Council) gluten unit, using the most advanced technology. It is the first beer in Spain to guarantee a gluten content below 6 ppm (products with a gluten content below 20 ppm are suitable for people with coeliac disease). Estrella Damm’s research and strong social commitment have made this breakthrough possible, which comes as excellent news for all those with coeliac disease.”

For those of you who don’t understand what this parts per million business is about, CONTINUE READING »