A Good Cereal--allergen free

Okay, so I have been too busy to cook much this week. With co-coordinating a little girls' camp all week, we cooked, crafted and learned all day with 20 little girls. Then we all came home and were too tired to cook for own families! (The girls gave much of their cooking away or saved it up for a big luncheon we had yesterday, the final day!)

I thought instead of a recipe I haven't cooked this week (!), I'd instead post a couple of new gluten-free finds--cereals that Joe likes! As far as cereals go, I keep a stockpile of Sunrise Mesa and a couple of different EnviroKidz cereals, but Joe, who most certainly doesn't have a penchant for soggy cereal, likes the crunchiness of granola also. We found Enjoy life granolas at Whole Foods a while ago, but we restocked this week on our way back from the violin shop. Check out their oat-free versions of granola. You may say, "What? Oats don't have gluten in them, do they?" Well, they're not considered gluten free.

These cereals are allergen free, which means they contain none of the top food allergens: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. They also don't contain casein, potato, sesame and sulfites. What ARE the ingredients? Check out their site at the above link.

Ah, Whole Foods. You'd think since the headquarters is right here, we'd have a store just down the street, right? Not so. Oh, I wish...I wish. Okay, I can't complain. There's one about 12 miles away. It's just that it's in a busy, congested area that I rarely frequent otherwise. I even let my Costco (essentially next door to Whole Foods) membership expire since I never got down that way.

Okay, back to granola...The crunchier texture of granola is a welcome change to put into the usual cereal rotation. Joe likes to eat it over his (only plain) yogurt...or with Lactaid milk! He has tried all the granolas except the cinnamon flavored one (reviews aren't good anyway). We'll be trying other gluten-free granolas, like those made by Bakery on Main. They're not allergen free, but they're gluten free and are supposed to be really good! But until then, we'll finish up our current granola stockpile!

Also--surprise, surprise--Rice Chex has gone gluten free. You'd figure that RICE Chex wouldn't have gluten in them anyway, no? Before their new gluten-free recipe, they used barley malt (glutenous) instead of their new addition of molasses. So, check the box, as they have it clearly marked on the front: gluten free.

By the way, Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles are gluten free. Maybe Kellogg's Rice Krispies will one day take the malt out and go gluten free as well. Before then, make your favorite marshmallowy krispy the bars the Pebbly way!

I've added these links to my Amazon "Favorite Gluten-Free Products" side bar.

Quinoa

Have you tried quinoa? If you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, most likely you have heard of it if not tried it many times. This beautiful whole grain from South America is very nutritious. It's high in protein, has essential amino acids, and is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. You can cook and use it like rice or couscous. It can be made in a rice cooker as well--with the same ratio of grain-to-liquid (1:2) as rice. It lends itself very nicely to stuffed peppers and a yummy vegetable pilaf, which is usually how I prepare this complete food. Since it's gluten free, it's also autism spectrum friendly as well! Learn more about quinoa by reading this article.

I wasn't in full cooking mood today. We had some left over chicken fajita meat, a bunch of luscious fruit, and some veggies that I needed to use. I thought I'd make some quinoa since Joe hasn't probably had his fair share of good grains lately since we've been on the road.

Here's how I make quinoa:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup quinoa
2 cups gluten-free, low-sodium chicken broth

On med-high, heat saucepan with oil and toast the quinoa until golden brown (3-5 minutes). This gives it such a yummy nutty flavor--it's a step not to miss! Remove from heat to add chicken broth (We like Pacific.)--watch out, it will sizzle! Put heat back on and bring stock to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is soft but still has a bite (like al dente pasta). Fluff with fork and add other vegetables and flavorings as you like.

Tonight's additions:
1/2 cup seriously sweet grape tomatoes, diced
1 green onion
2-3 TBSP homemade basil pesto
1 TBSP chopped pine nuts
1 TBSP olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
I also added some left over diced chicken fajita meat to Joe's bowl
If I had it, I would have thrown in some diced cucumber and maybe even some feta.

My "usual" quinoa side:
I usually add sauteed, diced veggies (zucchini, peppers, carrots, onions) and fresh parsley for my quinoa pilaf, but since I was also serving roasted veggies tonight I didn't bother to add more veggies to the quinoa.

Here's what the kids ended up eating tonight: quinoa, roasted veggies, and fruit--a low-maintenance meal from their low-energy mom on this particular Friday! It's just been a busy week, and I'm going to bed!