Planet Rice – My New Favourite Rice

I recently acquired several bags of Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice.

You might say that brown rice is brown rice. I beg to differ!

This rice cooks up light and fluffy every time.  I tried the traditional method of cooking in a saucepan on the stove top as well as in my trusty rice cooker and both methods were immensely successful.

Have you ever had a bag of brown rice with crunchy bits?  I have.

But Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice had nary a one!  I couldn’t believe it!

This rice works great in recipes too. (You can get recipes on their site)  I tried fried rice and rice pudding.  I tried it in casseroles too.  I also mixed it with wild rice and topped it with pepper sauce. (YUM!)  Next time I make cabbage rolls (soon) I will be using Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice.

I have been staying away from white rice because of all the media reports of high levels of arsenic and because I prefer the taste of brown rice.   But, as I said earlier – crunchy bits.  I am so happy that I have been introduced to Planet Rice!  I is my new favourite.

Visit Planet Rice today!

 

Aunt Jayne’s Gluten Free Honey BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ tbs olive oil

1 cup ketchup (check the ingredients)

1 cup white vinegar

¼ cup molasses

¾ cup honey

¼ cup GF Worcestershire sauce ( See recipe  http://wp.me/prAld-aJ)

1 medium onion, minced

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp minced garlic

½ tsp dried marjoram

½ tsp cumin.

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, warm the oil.

Add the minced onion and garlic cook until lightly browned.

Add remaining ingredients, stir well  and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Remove from heat and cool.

Store in the refrigerator in a container with a lid.

Gluten: ZERO Global | Dr Rodney Ford’s Allergies / Food Intolerance eClinic

Although I have never met Dr. Rodney Ford in person, I have known him through the internet for several years now.

Dr. Ford is working toward making the entire planet gluten free – I am doing my small part to help him.

Go to this website:

Gluten: ZERO Global | Dr Rodney Ford’s Allergies / Food Intolerance eClinic.

Check him out on Facebook in the “Gluten Free Planet” group and find him on twitter.

Then jump on the bandwagon and help him improve the lives of everyone in the world!

Food Colouring Substitutions

Those of you who know me at all, know that I HATE additives, preservatives and artificial colours and flavours.

Anyone who has food allergies or intolerance (Which includes most people with Celiac) should be very careful about things like food colourings. (Store bought Red is made from crushed beetles for example)

I just found a site that gives you the how-to on making your own food colourings.  This site has many other wonderful articles.

I hope you will check them out here:  http://www.buzzle.com/articles/natural-food-coloring.html

 

Gluten Free Too Busy to Cook Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 can diced tomatoes with herbs

2 cups frozen mixed veggies + ¼ cup diced onion

11/2 cups GF vegetable broth

¼ tsp basil

¼ tsp ground rosemary

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

 

 

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, bring the veggies to a boil in the vegetable broth.

Toss the tomatoes into a blender and liquefy.

Add the tomatoes and spices to the veggies and simmer about 10 minutes.

DONE!

 

Variation:

Add left-over chicken breast cut into cubes.

Use GF chicken broth instead of veggie broth.

 

NOTE:  I don’t normally like to use canned or prepackaged foods but as long as they are organic and GMO free, I will make an exception once in a while.

 

If you have the time, you can make this soup from scratch:

INGREDIENTS

6 large ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, skinned and put through the blender

1 ½ cups GF vegetable broth

½ cup green beans cut into ¼ inch pieces

½ cup fresh diced carrots

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

1 tbs minced garlic

¼ tsp basil

¼ tsp ground rosemary

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients except the tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and drop heat to low.

Add the tomatoes.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve while hot

Gluten Free Lemon Bundt Cake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups NuNaturals More Fiber Stevia Baking Blend

½ cup butter, softened

4 eggs

1 ½ cups Cassava Flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ cups almond milk

3 droppers full of NuNaturals Pure Liquid Lemon NuStevia

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Lightly grease a bundt pan.

Mix the softened butter and Stevia Baking blend until fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients and almond milk alternately, a little at a time.

Add the Lemon NuStevia and beat well.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes.

Test with a toothpick after 40 minutes and again at 45 and 50.

Do not overcook.

Allow to cool about one hour and invert onto a cake plate.

Glaze if desired. (Not recommended for diabetics)

Glaze

1 ½ cups of powdered sugar

¼ cup melted butter

2 to 4 tbs fresh lemon juice.

Beat the butter and sugar together and add the lemon 1 tbs at a time until “spreadable”

NuNaturals Has Added Citrus To Their Line-up!

I love NuNaturals NuStevia products, so when I found out that they had pure liquid Lemon NuStevia and pure liquid Orange NuStevia, I jumped at the chance to try them out.

Here was my chance to develop some gluten free, sugar free citrus treats!

NuNaturals is an Oregon company that has been in business for 20 years. They produce only quality, all-natural products.

I have only made a few things with these products so far, but the flavour is so wonderful, I couldn’t wait to share this with my favourite folks – my readers.

You need to go, right now, to www.nunaturals.com and get these easy-to-use delicious flavours for yourself, then try the recipes here and on their site. (Or make your own)

My next two posts are two of the recipes I have developed so far.  I hope you enjoy them as much I my BF and I.

Gluten Free Nutty Fruit Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups certified GF oats

1 ½ cups shredded coconut

½ cup ground almond

½ cup ground flax

½ cup hulled hemp seeds

½ cup unsalted sunflower seeds

½ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

½ cup walnut crumbs

½ cup chopped almonds

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup palm sugar

1 cup honey

2 eggs

½ cup tahini

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325ºF

Generously grease a 9” X 13” glass cake pan.

In a very large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the center.

In a small mixer bowl, blend together all of the wet ingredients and pour into the well you made in the dry ingredients.

Using a spatula or your hands, mix well until all the ingredients are wet.

Press into the prepared pan. (I used a large piece of waxed paper with butter on it to press)

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and cut into squares.

Cool completely and remove from the pan.

These are peanut free, delicious and full of fibre.  A great take along snack

Simply G Free – Support For A Gluten Free Lifestyle

I recently acquired some very handy items for living gluten free from a company called Simply G Free.  The name really says it all.

The products are all meant to help you live gluten free more simply and help avoid cross-contamination.

The metal kitchen tags are clearly marked “gluten free” and can be affixed to any pot handle or cooking implement that has a small hole.  I have put mine on my pasta claw, my favourite pot and my measuring spoons.

The rectangle stickers are great for the fridge or freezer for left-overs and make-aheads. They don’t come off in the freezer, like some stickers and you can easily put them on your plastic or glass containers or storage bags.

I use the oversized star shaped stickers when I go to the bulk store, so that my gluten free items are easily recognized and there is room on them if you want to write what the item is.

I also got a simplygfree bracelet which has not left my wrist since I put it on. It is a great reminder to friends, family and wait staff that I must eat gluten free and it also helps to raise awareness.

You can get all of the above-mentioned items in a kit or you can purchase them separately.

Simply go to www.simplygfree.com and order these reasonably priced items.  Check out the entire website while you are there and you will find valuable information on cross-contamination and so much more.

Weatfree = Gluten, Dairy, Soy and Nut Free Breakfast Treats

www.weatfree.com

Here is a wonderful  gluten, dairy, soy, nut free breakfast food business.

They currently offer waffle mixes, mini loaves and biscotti. Weatfree.com is expanding to include pancake mixes soon. Their products are certified by GFCO and baked in a dedicated facility in Decatur, GA.

“Our belief is that we can eat free of allergens and have delicious food.”

Pictured above is their chocolate chip mini loaf.