Cooking has always been a part of my life. I grew up with a working single mother and helping cook dinner was one of my chores that I always enjoyed. My grandmother was known for being a great cook in her community and I loved her food. So I learned from the best.

About 15 years ago I discovered my gluten-intolerance. Back then gluten-free food in the market was almost nonexistent and honestly, pretty terrible. Finding a way to still eat my favorite foods was a huge motivation to cook.

When a career change became necessary a few years ago I decided to brave culinary school. Being gluten-free in a French culinary school was quite a challenge. Fortunately my instructors encouraged me to experiment with gluten-free substitutions. We had some fun utterly failing at gluten-free rice pasta but there were many successes as well. My goal was to be able to compete on par with my classmates. My food had to be as good or better. I didn’t want it to be “good for gluten-free,” I wanted it to be good period! And my food easily passed the test of culinary school standards.

For me, being a gluten-free chef is about re-creating everyone’s favorite traditional dishes in a gluten-free version that is as good as or better than the original. My clients long for the food they used to eat so they can feel “normal” again. Parents are concerned that their young children will feel left out if they have to eat different food. Gluten-free people want to be able to host their friends and family for holidays and not feel the burden of cooking separate gluten-free dishes in addition to the regular menu. So it’s a bonus that I can teach people to prepare gluten-free meals that are so good, everyone at the table will love it.

Fortunately these days, as any gluten-free person knows, finding good gluten-free products is easier than ever. I can skip over the part where I have to make everything from scratch and focus on the techniques that produce amazing gluten-free dishes.

-Chef Janet K.

Online, you can find her at Chef Janet’s website, her facebook, and her twitter.

Thankfully, thinkThin has got us covered.  thinkThin products are certified gluten-free and designed to taste great and fuel our bodies.  The Crunch variety is non-GMO — partnering with Whole Foods to find and develop readily available sources of non-GMO proteins, connect them with their current suppliers and get them on the path.

The Brownie Crunch high protein bar is a not-too-sweet, chocolatey, dense brownie  with crispies inside, all wrapped up in chocolate.  The Chocolate Peanut Butter high protein bar is like a fluffy, less sweet version of a Reese’s.  I haven’t had a chance yet to try any of the Crunch or Bite varieties, but thinkThin would like you to give them a try.

One winner will receive a Wellness Box, which includes:  one 10 bar box of thinkThin® high protein bars (with 0g sugar), one 10 bar box of thinkThin® Crunch (with 10g protein and 70% less sugar than leading fruit and nut bars), and three boxes of thinkThin® Bites.

What do you immediately think of when I use the word “marshmallows”?  Do you think of bacon?  What?  Why not?

Well, I have just had my maiden voyage into the seas of bacon sweets with the limited edition Maple Bacon Marshmallows from Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows.

I have to admit, I’m still not sold on the whole bacon+candy idea, though it might be growing on me now.  It was definitely the most interesting roasted marshmallow I have ever had (I had to use a lighter – it’s too darn hot for a fire ).  I have a number of friends who have fallen in love with bacon ice cream and bacon cupcakes who would definitely love these.

Artisan marshmallows are popping up in restaurants around the country.  What makes Plush Puffs special?

“Our goal is to offer the highest quality, all-natural, deliciously flavored marshmallows ever. This is a marshmallow that is not only good enough to eat on its own, but amazing when melted in hot drinks, used in any number of recipes. Each flavor is actually intensified when it is roasted. Quite simply: we want to provide a product that delights the senses.”

Plush Puffs are made without high-fructose corn syrup and many varieties are gluten-free.  The Toasted Coconut marshmallows really delight my senses.  Coconut is infused throughout the marshmallows, not just stuck to the top.  The flakes of coconut on the outside have that rich toasted flavor.  They make an excellent  S’mores, though the coconut flavor is very faint with the chocolate and the cookies.  If you melt the marshmallows in the microwave, watch out.  These marshmallows were in my microwave for a whopping 9 seconds.

I used Enjoy Life’s Vanilla Honey Grahams for this S’more.  I bet they would be even more coconutty awesome with a coconut cookie like the Coconut Oatmeal Bliss from Ginnybakes.

If that’s not enough to tempt you, you can buy a 2-pound marshmallow.  That’s right, one big ol’ honkin’ marshmallow that weighs two pounds.  A new cake idea, anyone?

Well, Ginnybakes feels the same way.  Ginny has created her cookies with love (some of them even have love in the name).  Her cookies are certified organic and certified gluten-free.  On the package, it reads “ginnybakes are preservative free so eat them now or freeze and indulge later!”  You certainly don’t find that on too many cookies.

To celebrate their expansion to shipping nationwide, to Amazon.com, and to many Whole Foods stores, Ginnybakes sent me some samples to entice you.  :)

Braden and I tried the Sunshine Biscotti Bliss. I’m not really a fan of biscotti, so Braden had no idea what it was. He wasn’t sold on the idea of biscotti itself, but we love the pistachio and cranberry flavor.

Three words describe the cookies: crispy buttery goodness.  I’m usually a chewy cookie kind of girl, but man, these are great.  I don’t know how much butter is in these, but I think Paula Dean would be proud.  Not only is there Chocolate Chip Love, but there is also Chocolate Chip Macadamia Love!  Boom, baby!  I won’t say how much I enjoyed those cookies for breakfast dessert.

Coconut Oatmeal Bliss puts a new twist on a classic flavor.  It’s like eating an oatmeal cookie on an island (which really makes me desperate for a vacation ).  It’s the first time I’ve ever had coconut in my oatmeal cookies, but it definitely won’t be the last.

If you like to make them yourself, Ginnybakes also has some mixes, including a divine-looking Peace Love & Crumble Muffin mix.

I bet Ginnybakes cookies would make an awesome cheesecake crust or even a crumb topping for a pie or crisp.  Hmmm…so many ideas…

The chocolate chip macadamia are definitely my favorite so far.  I’m a little sad I shared them.  ;)

Give them a shout out on facebook and twitter!

I packed my cooler with some ice, drove up there and headed over to check out this “wonder food.”  I got one box of the fish sticks and one of the fish fillets, made and ate them at her house, then went back for about 20 boxes more because they were only sold during the Passover season.  Yeah, I know how to stock up on the good things.

Thankfully, now you can find Dr. Praeger’s gluten-free foods year-round at many health food stores (though I only just recently realized this).

Braden and I enjoyed a little after-dinner treat of the fish sticks when Carter and Corice headed to bed.  Braden said: “it tastes like fish under bread.”  Yup.  The fish stayed together really well when you cut it (another of Braden’s comments).  He did find that he liked a little more salt on his.  I think he’s channeling his inner Grandpa.  The breading was soft, light and thin, and not very crispy.

 Spinach Littles taste like moist tator tots with a very faint spinach flavor.  When eaten with ketchup, you can hardly tell the difference except that the Spinach Littles don’t have the tiny cubes of potato.  Oh, and they look like Spongebob, in case your child needs a reason to eat something green.

The California Veggie Burger is also very moist and it is packed  with vegetables: carrots, corn, peas, string beans, zucchini, soybeans, broccoli, spinach, red peppers.  I had to look a few of those up in the ingredients, but most I was able to ascertain just by looking at the burger.  I tastes a bit like mixed veggies in a shepherd’s pie.

Tasting very nearly like the mashed sweet potatoes I make for the children, the sweet potato pancake is both new and reminiscent.  The picture on the box shows the pancake with a dollop of applesauce, which excited me, but I am apparently out.  I did try it with a bit of maple syrup, an interesting and enticing combination.

Dr. Praeger’s would love for you to have a chance to try these out, too!  They are offering 3 giveaway packs containing one box each of California Veggie Burgers, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Potato Crusted Fish Sticks, and Spinach Littles!!  Wow!!

All you have to do to enter this contest is to leave a comment on this post about fish sticks or veggies in new places or making an awesome gluten-free find while shopping.

This contest is open to U.S. addresses.  It will close at 9:00 p.m. central on Thursday, May 30, 2013.

These samples were sent to me by Dr. Praeger’s in order to review if I so desired.

It is extremely important for restaurants and their workers to take notice.  Just because one person “with Celiac Disease” may choose not to take care of their health, or doesn’t care about being sick “one night” doesn’t mean that others act that way.  Not only is it harmful to our bodies when they don’t pay attention and make a mistake (even if it is an honest one), there may be far-reaching consequences for some people.  With Celiac Disease and food allergies, you may not know how harmful something is until it is too late.

Please, stand up and take notice.

Another way to help prevent teens from eating their excluded foods is to make sure they have enough treats to share with their friends so they can still be part of the group.  I found, a few months ago, that Braden just wanted to share some things with his friends at school since they often shared food.  I try to remember every once in awhile to give him extra treats for his lunch: brownies, almond fudge, oatmeal cookies, etc.

I recently received (from the publisher) a cookbook entitled Cooking for Your Gluten-Free Teen: Everday Foods the Whole Family Will Love.  The best part of this book, in my opinion, is that it is co-authored by a teenage girl, Sarah Berghoff McClure.  Her mother and co-author, Carlyn McClure, is a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, but her daughter is the star of the book.  Sarah writes with that tell-it-like-it-is, sometimes annoyed attitude of a teenager, which many teenagers will more easily relate to than a cookbook authored by someone in their fifties.  For instance, Sarah writes of the horrors of taking her lunch to school:  ”I didn’t really feel bad about having to pack it, but I did get annoyed because I had to carry it.”  I actually laughed out loud when I read about her breakfasts of “some gluten-free banana bread, maybe an egg, some gluten-free cereal – or one of my mom’s disgusting smoothies.”  Don’t worry; there are no smoothie recipes in the cookbook, but I’d venture a guess that they contain things like flax and kale (perfect for adults, right?).

The book also contains some good kitchen organization and baking information, as well as important medical information from Sarah’s doctor, Dr. Suzanne P. Nelson.

While I haven’t had a chance to make many of the recipes yet, what I have made have been excellent.  Who knew you could use cream cheese to make alfredo sauce with half the calories?

To celebrate National Celiac Awareness Month, if you buy the cookbook through theberghoff.com, they will donate 40% of the proceeds to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center.

One-third of children with food allergies are bullied because of it (with the food they are allergic to).  I have experienced this myself, as an adult, with gluten.  Some people find it amusing to see how scared I am of “just a piece of bread” on my plate.  How hard it must be for a child to have to process something like that!  And for the children with life-threatening food allergies, how scared they must truly be to go to school when something like that is happening.

FARE’s “It’s Not a Joke” campaign is to raise awareness of this growing trend of food allergy bullying in an effort to stop it.  If we, as parents, adults, educators, etc., can understand the consequences and discuss it with children, perhaps many of these incidences can be prevented.  Please watch and share the PSA.

It was good timing, as I received a package of samples from Stubb’s last week.  I already had the last of the chicken defrosting, so we had a “Stubb’s-stravagansa,” meaning, of course, we put different Stubb’s products on each of the chicken breasts.

Stubb’s makes a variety of sauces, marinades, and spice rubs.  We had a nice variety: 2 spice rubs, a marinade, and a barbecue sauce.

“Stubb’s makes it good.”  Carter obviously really liked his Stubb’s chicken.  The chicken was nice and moist and very flavorful.  Braden even liked the barbecue rub (now that’s saying something!).

Stubb’s are certified gluten-free and contain no high fructose corn syrup.

Do you want to give Stubb’s a try, too?  Well, they have provided 3 coupons for free Stubb’s products for one lucky winner.  All you need to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment on this post about barbecue, grilling, or something along those lines (i.e., I hate that my gas grill lives unusable on my porch and will until I get into a house.  I love grilling!).

This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses and will close at 9:00 p.m. central on Saturday, May 25, 2013.  Happy barbecuing!!

As mothers, we fill so many different roles.  Cab driver, nurse, dresser, hair dresser, teacher, friend, disciplinarian, trampoline (you know it’s true)… the list goes on and on.

Sometimes people want to do nice things for us to show us that we are special, too.  Today, as we arrived home from church, I saw Braden’s scout leader and his wife waiting outside our house.  I was curious as he had his hands behind his back, and she was holding a pie, and I kept thinking “please God, don’t let her give me that pie.”

Why do I feel like that?  Because it is really hard to turn gifts that came with good intentions.

Luckily, he had a big plaster heart with Braden’s handprint that they had made in Boy Scouts last week.  Unluckily, the pie was, in fact, intended for me.  At that point, I just said “thank you very much but we can’t eat that.”  She said something like “ok,” and that was the end of that, but I often wonder how people really feel.  Did I say enough?  Did I say too much?  (Sometimes I really explain the reasons.)

In the past 9+ years, I have had to turn down food A LOT.  With it comes an extremely wide variety of responses and emotions.  I have even had people get angry that I wouldn’t eat their food, because, after all, if I cared about them or their feelings, it shouldn’t hurt me to eat their food.  (Wrong!, of course.)  These people don’t tend to feature prominently in my life.

I have also had many people who are genuinely concerned about my health.  Once a month in the women’s organization at church, somebody brings homemade treats to celebrate all of the birthdays that month.  Knowing that I can’t eat them and that I would be wary of cross contamination even if they tried making something from a gluten-free mix, one of the leaders always makes sure there are some chocolates available that I can have.  When we have a dinner at an event, she will make sure there is a bowl of fresh fruit for me (knowing that I like fruit).  They may not be big things, but it means something big to me.

If I know ahead of time that someone wants to bring me food (like if I’m sick or had a baby or just moved, etc.), I tell them that a fruit basket would be wonderful.

These are delicate emotional waters we tread, but the most important thing to remember is our health.  Are you the type of person who takes the food and then gives it away or throws it in the trash?  I’d prefer for people to understand (it also helps cut down on it happening again).  Do you explain Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance every time?  Do you have a scenario that works with most people?

I love that this lady wanted to bring me a pie.  I really, truly do.  I love that, even though she barely knows me, she thought enough of me to bring me a pie.

I wish I had been able to convey that.

Photo by Angel Rogers