Below I have compiled a list of products I love. I have tried a vast array of disgusting and sub-par gluten/wheat/egg-free foods. It's such a waste to buy these foods only to chunk them in the trash because there's no way your child is going to eat them. I promise these are the best of the best of what has crossed my lips.
I've also included some non-food products that make life easier.
I've also included some non-food products that make life easier.
I love Enjoy Life!!! I can't stress that enough. Why do I love this brand so much?
Because they make my life easier by making delicious foods that aren't JUST gluten free but devoid of the 8 most common allergens people need to avoid! I don't know how they do it, but I'm thankful they do.
I have tried their bars and I gotta say...not so awesome. But these double chocolate crunchy cookies are fantastic. They also make smaller, soft-baked chocolate cookies and they are amazing. No lie. So moist and chocolate-y. Thank you, thank you, Enjoy Life!
I can find these at Kroger but you can also find them on Amazon.
Because they make my life easier by making delicious foods that aren't JUST gluten free but devoid of the 8 most common allergens people need to avoid! I don't know how they do it, but I'm thankful they do.
I have tried their bars and I gotta say...not so awesome. But these double chocolate crunchy cookies are fantastic. They also make smaller, soft-baked chocolate cookies and they are amazing. No lie. So moist and chocolate-y. Thank you, thank you, Enjoy Life!
I can find these at Kroger but you can also find them on Amazon.
King Arthur Flour makes this cookie mix that can whip up some awesome GF chocolate chip cookies. The mix doesn't come with "add-in's" like chocolate chips, so you add whatever you want. In place of the egg, I use Ener-G Egg Replacer (below) and they turn out really well. These days, finding gluten free goodies is easy. Making your own gluten free goodies is easy. But making you own gluten free AND egg free goodies is tricky. I can't tell you how many disasters I have had with this. When there's no gluten to bind and no egg to bind, things get tricky. But this mix works! It's pricey but a special treat and money well spent.
I am not a huge Oreo fanatic, but my husband and I have done a side-by-side with Oreos and Glutino Chocolate Vanilla Creme cookies and holy cow, these little guys are amazing. The creme actually oozes from the holes when you bite into them. The wafers are crisp and thick. Cannot say enough great things about them. It's such a treat to give Jane something like this every once in a while. They are great to cook with too, in milkshakes or crushed up in vanilla pudding. Perfect to have on hand for the lunchbox, a concept After opening, you do want to store them in a closed container to maintain the crispness of the chocolate wafer.
To date, this Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter is the best alternative to peanut butter I have found. The extra goodness of vanilla flavor is what it's all about. The consistency is much better than sunbutter.
This Ener-G Egg Replacer is a staple at our house. We use it in things like pancakes, waffles, muffins, cakes, and cookies. I don't know how it works but it does, and for that, I am grateful! Not only can you substitute for whole eggs, but whites and yolks as well. I do use flax seed meal for egg replacement as well from time to time, but I have yet to identify which replacement works best when. Shoot me an email if you have the inside scoop, will ya?
My other go-to for egg replacement; Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal. This stuff is full of nutrients (the bonus of using this over the Ener-G replacer), and when you make a slurry of it with water, works beautifully in waffles, muffins and cakes. My favorite thing to use this in is my buckwheat waffle recipe. The waffles are chock-full of goodness and something you will feel good about serving to your family.
We eat an unbelievable amount of rice in our family. If I had to choose the one appliance I could not live without, it's this one. A good rice cooker is hands down the best investment I have made to simplify my life and still make delicious, healthy food. Gluten free pastas aren't always the tastiest, but if you find a good sticky rice, like sushi rice or even brown, short grain rice, you'll be good to go. Our rice cooker is Aroma but only has options to cook white rice, brown rice, or steam. I have found I can also cook steel-cut oats on the brown rice setting and it works perfectly. Throw all your ingredients in the cooker, push a button and walk away. Get familiar with rice. It will be your BFF.
Botan Calrose rice is awesome. I can buy a 20lb. bag of it at Wal Mart and store it in a huge class jar in the pantry for easy access. I always cook it in the rice cooker and make variations with chicken broth in place of water, dried herbs, kosher salt, whatever goes with our meal. It's sticky and moist and absolutely nothing like the dry, fluffy, tasteless rice I grew up on. It probably is not THE most nutritive of rices (I imagine the grain is altered and part of it is missing because it's such a short grain), but the kids love it and I have yet to meet a guest at my table who doesn't remark on it. Once it's cooked, it's delicious with a drizzle of olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and some fresh cilantro.
Edward & Sons makes these tasty little ice cream cones which are Gluten Free, wheat free, and egg free. Until I purchased these this past spring, Jane had never had an ice cream cone. It really is "the little things" that count for me with all of this food allergy business. Little moments of "normalcy", when you can serve your child a classic summertime treat you never thought they would be able to have, are priceless. I actually purchased them in bulk from Amazon since I couldn't find them anywhere locally and didn't want to purchase one box at a time. We have all enjoyed them. They also make a sugar cone I want to try.
Did you know traditional Play Doh is made with flour? Yep. I got a call one day while Jane was at camp. Her eyes were red and swollen and the only thing they knew was she was fine until she started playing with the Play Doh. This has really been a process of learning as we go. I have tried a couple of homemade versions of wheat-free playdough from the internet, and they are impressive. When I went to grab a homemade batch to send with her on the first day of school, it had grown mold. So, I decided for school we would purchase an alternative. Aroma Dough makes these great, colorful, scented doughs. I bought a four-pack and they stay at school for Jane. Thank goodness for understanding teachers!