Babycakes cookbook/ Cake Pop Machine Review

Okay, I must admit, about a year ago I read this book by
Erin Mckenna, owner of the famous Babycakes Bakery in NYC. I was a little intimidated. She used a lot of strange flours, ingredients like agave nectar, coconut oil, and stevia-things I have never heard of.
Well, fast forward to today. I started doing some research on weight loss, and this book was referenced as having "healthy" indulgent snacks. I started out small, using only the recipes that called for agave or stevia as sweetners, since I knew my local market carried them.
I noticed that after I ate these snacks, I wasnt reaching for another snack 2 hours later, because I was hungry. I learned that agave and stevia have lower glycemic index, which means it won't spike your blood sugar. The finished products were very good. I moved onto the recipes that also included coconut oil, and these recipes were especially moist and decadent. The coconut oil is pricey-anywhere form 6-10$ per 16 oz. jar.
I'm sure you can buy it wholesale, but havent found that source yet. I'm happy to say that when I feel the need to bake(which I enjoy as my hobby), or have a rich dessert, this book had helped me to feel better about my need to snack! Watching what I am eating, and learning to bake without refined sugar, has helped me to lose 18 pounds in 3 months!

Now onto the Cake-Pop Maker...

My daughter received a Babycakes Cake-Pop Maker for Christmas, and I finally got to use this little gadget. I have to say, it makes round mini- muffins, and gf donut holes perfectly! Those little balls cooked up in 3 minutes, and were delicious. I used an apple cinnamon muffin mix from Hodgson Mills to test the muffin balls.

I hope this information has been helpful, and wishing you luck finding the Baycakes Maker. It was hot item this past Christmas, but I located them at Kohls, and Bed Bath & Beyond in my area.....Happy eating!

Losing weight

About four months ago, I decided it was time to lose some baby/nursing weight I had put on. My baby is four now, so I was really running out of excuses!
I started out by making small changes, cutting out chips, cheeses, and chocolate, my three favorite go-to snacks. I replaced my cheese with hard cheeses, such as parmesan, or lower-fat cheese sticks. I also substituted baked chips, and on one day a week, I do indulge in a few peices of my favorite chocolate.
I also stopped putting mayo on my sandwiches, and stop drinking Cokes. I'm sure skipping all that sugar each day has really helped.

My morning breakfast usually consists of a smoothie, or some low-fat homemade granola, over yogurt. My mid-morning snacks is usually a peice of fruit, or toast, with Best Life spread.

I'm happy to say, making these small changes I've lost almost 15 lbs. Now, if I added some exercise, I'm sure I would see more results.

Here is my recipe for my morning smoothie.

Yogurt Fruit Smoothie

2 cups Frozen fruits(berries, peaches, etc.)
1 cup fruit juice(I like orange)I use apple in a pinch.
5 ice cubes
1 container greek yougurt, plain or flavored
1 banana
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 packet Stevia

Blend all until smooth, in blender.

Thanksgiving prep and other shortcuts

How is everyone? Totally stressed out yet? Sometimes going gluten-free on Thanksgiving involves a little more work, but aren't you and your family worth it?

One thing that helps me, is to prepare the side dishes the day before.
Now I realize, there is no way to make those fluffy mashed potatoes early.(I suppose you could freeze them.) This year, I prepped my green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes, and stuffing early.

Another tip I use, to save time, is when I prep my dishes, I cover them with foil. To finish, I take a sharpie and mark the item, the degree, and time, that the dish takes to cook. It saves a ton of time, and no searching through that cookbook to find the information you need.

My third tip is, if you are able, order ready made desserts.
If you are lucky enough to live near a dedicated gluten free bakery, or
if you can online order, many companies now ship GF pies. This year I skipped the mess, and the high cost of pecans(9$ a pound) and ordered my pie from Charolette's Bakery in Salt Lake City. True, it costs about 3 times the price of a regular pie, but it's worth it to me.

Hopefully these tips will help take some of the stress out of your
Turkey Day. Everyone have a great gluten-free holiday!

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Okay, is you are not from the South, you probably have no idea what I am talking about, but believe me, you are missing one of the great dishes of Southern Cuisine.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and instead of wasting your loaf of $6 GF bread on stuffing for your turkey, try this recipe instead. Although this is a two-part process, it is well worth the effort.

First: Prepare the Classic Cornbread recipe( I often do this the night before)

Classic Cornbread Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup GF flour mix (spooned and leveled)
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs


Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined (do not overmix). Transfer batter to pan and smooth top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Once the cornbread has cooled enought to handle, take a large bowl and crumble the cornbread into it.

Cornbread Dressing

2TBSP Butter
2 medium onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, sliced
1/2 lbs of white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
fresh black pepper to taste
1 14.5 GF chicken broth(like Swansons)
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme

Heat heavy pot on stovetop, and add 2 TBSP butter to melt. Add diced onions and sliced celery, and cook until onions become transparent. Add mushrooms, and saute until slightly softened. Add salt and pepper, sage and thyme. Transfer the hot vegetable mixture to the bowl with the crubled corn bread. Mix, then add chicken stock to moisten. Turn into a 9x13 greased casserole dish, and bake at 350 degrees, for approximatley 30 minutes, or until crisp around edges. Serve with turkey or ham.

Stokes Marketplace Review

Stoke'

At long last, Salem, Utah has thier grocery store back. Last year due to budget cuts, Crisps Grocery closed it's doors for good. Ironically, I was employed there, and soon found myself looking for another job.. Fast forward 10 months, and Stoke's Market opened up today. The Grand Opening is scheduled for November 2nd. They accept coupons and printable coupons, but the jury is still out on the ad price matching, such as Walmart.
I thought I would give you a gluten-free review of what the store offers.

Like Maceys, Stokes does have a dedicated gluten free isle. They have King Arthur products, Schar products, Glutino, and Tinkyada pastas. I also noticed that on the product specific aisle, such a cake mixes, there was 1-2 gluten- free offerings in that section.

The thing I was impressed with the most, was the produce section. Fresh watercress for 69 cents, and large RED bell peppers for the price of green-69 cents also. Another area that impressed me, was the gluten-free frozen section. They offered about 4 different types of pizzas, mostly Glutino, and Amy's brands. The frozen section included sliced breads, like Udi's(my favorite) Glutino bagels, english muffins, and my favorite guilty pleasure- Cinnamon Donuts by Kinnikinnick. For those of you that like convience foods, they had the single serve Fettucini Alfredo, by Gluten Free Cafe.(Look for coupons on thier website.)
For the chidren, they had Ians brand breaded fish sticks, and chicken nuggets. All of the gluten free items were price comparable to other stores.

So if you are in the area, and in need of gluten-free food, give Stoke's a try. They should have you covered.

*UPDATE*
I failed to mention that they also have a huge selection GF Auguson Farms baking mixes. They are located at the very front of the store, near the other food storage items. So far my favorite, is the rolled oats.
They hold up really well for cookies and granola.

Rolled Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat

Okay, I have to admit, I love my sweets! The past month, I haven't been baking much. I am eating healthier, and losing weight in the process.
I find if I bake, I eat! Dont get me wrong, I do splurge one day during the week, usually a Saturday.

I was watching Studio 5(Amy Richardson) a couple of months ago, and they featured this variation of a Rice Krispy Treat. My SIL came to me, and asked for a good treat to serve her Celiac co-workers. I tweaked the recipe a bit, and here it is.

Warning these are so addictive. I usually slice them up, and wrap individually in foil, and hide them in the freezer for later :)


5 tbsp butter
5 1/2 cups Gluten Free Rice Krispie Cereal
1-10oz package marshmallows
1/3 cup peanut butter (White Chocolate Wonderful, Peanut Butter & Co.)
1- 4oz bar of chocolate, melted (Hershey or other GF milk chocolate)
1- 4oz bar white chocolate, melted
3/4 cup coarsely chopped cashews(get these in the bulk isle, they are cheaper)
1/4 cup prepared, or homemade caramel(I like Mrs. Richardsons)


Method:

· Butter a small flat baking sheet(I used my broiler pan from my oven,remove the insert, of course)
set aside.

· In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add marshmallows and stir until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter.

· Fold in cereal.

· When evenly coated, pour into prepared pan. Press to flatten slightly.

· Sprinkle cereal mixture with half the nuts. Drizzle half of the chocolate, white chocolate and caramel over the nuts.

· Refrigerate for 5-7 minutes, or until chocolate is slightly set.

· From the small end of pan, lift cereal and roll, jelly roll style. Pressing lightly to compress. Smoothing edge to seal.

· With seam side down, drizzle remaining, chocolates, and caramel over the top of roll, finishing with remaining chopped nuts.

· Refrigerate until firm. Slice into rounds when ready to serve.

Makes 10 pieces

Tuscan Soup

The weather is turning colder here in Utah, so it's time to break out the soup pot!
One of my good friends posted this recipe on Facebook, and I must say, it's a keeper. I wanted to share it with you because it is gluten free, and also super easy to make. Serves 4-6.

Zuppa Toscana

4 oz bacon or pepperoni
1 small onion,diced
1 lb Italian sausage
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt & pepper (to taste)
3 cans gluten-free chicken broth( I like Kroger Brand)
2 cups whipping cream
4-5 cups chopped kale
3-4 small potatoes cut into slices, or small chunks


Dice bacon, and saute about a minute.(fat will render in the pan) Then add the onion, and saute for about 3 minutes on low. Add the Italian sausage, and cook until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the red pepper flakes, if you like some zing.
Add the kale, and saute until it has has reduced.(it will wilt quickly)
Add chicken broth, and whipping cream to pot, and stir gently.
Cook on low, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.(if it boils,the cream will curdle) Add potatoes, and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with crusty GF bread, or my favorite, Chebe rolls.