GF Baked Falafel

  I have recently discovered the wonders of middle eastern food! I love Hummus,stuffed cabbage rolls,and falafel. We have a really great local middle eastern restaurant...but i wanted to make my own Falafel at home. It turned out really good...and was relatively simple to make! This Falafel is baked instead of fried, and made to be Gluten Free.



Makes 24-25 inch and a half falafel balls

Ingredients:

3 cups dried garbanzo beans, soaked at least overnight but up to 12 hours

OR 2 – 15 oz. cans of garbanzo beans (I go with the canned)

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 sweet onion (about 3/4 cup), roughly chopped

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 Tablespoons GF rice flour or quinoa flakes

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt/black pepper to taste

+ water IF necessary to even out the texture (like 1/4 – 1/3 cup)



Directions:



1.Dump all ingredients into your food processor and grind well. You want to create an even texture of the chickpeas.

2.Preheat your oven to 350F.

3.Roll in to balls and place on a piece of parchment or a silicone baking mat.

4.Bake for 15- 18 minutes or until golden on the outside and crispy.

5. Serve with some Tahini or make your own GF pita bread...I haven't gotten to tackle that yet:)

Allergy-Free Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

NO WHEAT,DAIRY,EGGS or SOY= NO WORRIES!

Here is another treat they made when i went to Celiac camp. Very very tasty!


Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Instant Tapioca

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch or Arrowroot

Pinch Salt

1/4 - 1/3 Cup Sugar

2 Cups Rice Milk

1/3 Cup Enjoy Life ® semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy free)

1 Teaspoon Vanilla


Directions:
Whisk the tapioca, cornstarch, salt, sugar and milk together in a saucepan. Let sit for 10 minutes. Toss in the chocolate. Over medium heat, whisking gently bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Cool slightly before stirring in the vanilla. Great eaten warm or chilled.

Chex Muddy Buddies:)

   This is a treat they made when I went to Celiac camp. I use to call this Puppy Chow. It is very delicious and I tweaked the recipe a bit to accomodate my other allergies. This recipe i also saw on the side of the Rice chex cereal box.

Muddy Buddies

9 c. Chex Rice cereal or Chocolate chex

1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips (I use Enjoy life GF/ and dairy free chocolate chips)

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. butter (I use earth balance non-dairy/soy free spread...it comes in a red tub.)

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside. Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 1 quart microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth (stir after 1 minute). Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and stir until all pieces are evenly coated.

Pour cereal mixture into large container (with seal) with powdered sugar. Seal securely. Shake until all pieces are well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes 9 cups.

Guido's Pizza Okemos MI

For the first time in a reallyyyy long time I actually had pizza that tasted like pizza:) We have this restaurant where I live called Guidos and they are certified Gluten-free. They are the only place in Michigan certified through the National Foundation For Celiac Awareness to make GF pizza's in michigan. They even have a dedicated work area and utensils they only use for the GF food. They also make GF breadsticks,pasta's,subs,salads,wings and desserts. I contacted the owner ahead of time because i wanted to know if he could make me a Gluten,dairy,egg and soy free pizza. He said he could as long as he had 24 hours notice:) The cheese he uses for people that need dairy free is also soy free and he gets it from canada. It actually melts.

I got the veggie pizza with the dairy-free cheese. The crust was delicious...and tasted like any other pizza crust! The dairy free cheese was a little too rich for me. It was very creamy and overwhelming. He put less on it but i might even ask for even less next time. I can't wait to try one of his subs next time:) The pizza was a bit costly. With a $3.00 off coupon it was $20. Which for the cost of the ingredients and to prepare it makes sense. It will definately won't be a weekly thing...but as a treat for special occasions. I can't wait to try one of the GF subs. He apparantly in opening a GF sandwich shop soon.

It was just so nice for one meal not to worry and have a place that actually knows and is willing to accomodate my dietary issues. I hope more places start to do that.

Here is a link to their site/menu: http://www.guidosglutenfreepizza.com/gfmenu.php

Breakfast Cereal!!!

I have always been a huge breakfast cereal fan. Now that I have Celiac and a whole list of other food allergies, I have been trying to find ones that i can eat and taste good. I have actually been pretty fortunate in finding some really delicious ones. Unfortunately like most GF food they are expensive...but i just can't live without my cereal:)

• I am happy to say that Chex Cereal now has GLUTEN-FREE Rice Chex cereal and corn! It is so good! It even comes in Honey nut,cinnamon,chocolate, and strawberry varieties. The best part is that it is cheaper than alot of other GF cereals. I always have this cereal in my pantry:)
• Another one of my favorite brands is Envirokidz cereal. They make cereal very similar to kids cereals i used to love. My favorite is Peanut Butter panda puffs which is just like Peanut Butter Capn Crunch!!!
• Nature's Path makes really good Organic corn flakes that are fruit juice sweetened. I love to top them with fruit. I also tried their Honey'd Corn flakes which were good.