Here’s to gluten-free optimism

2011 is here. Which means a fresh start. New optimism. And of course, millions of New Year’s resolutions, many of which involve a promise to eat better.

That got me thinking about the gluten-free diet. I wondered how do the gluten-free among us view these resolutions? Is it with hope…or frustration? Let’s be honest. Eating gluten-free is no small task. The tendency is to focus on all the things you can’t eat. But when you get past the gluten-free learning curve and regain your confidence, you realize just how many things you CAN eat on a gluten-free diet.

The irony is that a gluten-free diet actually makes it easier to keep those resolutions to eat better. If you make the choice to cook more often, rely on naturally gluten-free foods (like fresh vegetables, beans, gluten-free free grains and lean meats) and avoid many of the pre-packaged, processed gluten-free foods, you’ll have done much more than keep your New Year’s resolution. [More on this in a minute.] You’ll have set yourself up for a lifetime of satisfying and healthy eating. Of course, you’ll also save a bundle of money along the way. Who needs gluten when you’ve got this kind of kitchen confidence?

Speaking of confidence, just before the New Year, my husband learned that a former co-worker of his had just found out that she has celiac disease. (To protect her privacy, we’ll call her ‘M.’) He spoke with M a couple of days later and learned that her diagnosis had arrived, along with the usual mixed bag of feelings: relief, sadness and worry. Relief that her symptoms — which had been felt for many years — now had been identified. Sadness about her new reality and limited food choices. And worry about how a gluten-free life will look, feel and taste. I think of this as “gluten-free grieving” and just about everyone who’s had to go gluten-free has experienced it in some form, and it can really rattle your confidence.

The good news for M is that she is someone who already enjoys cooking. So her transition will require “relearning”— which is a lot easier than starting from scratch. The latter requires a lot more effort, including: learning to cook (and to cook gluten free) and learning to survive without relying on take out and processed foods.

Now back to those New Year’s resolutions. Last weekend I read a great cooking article in the New York Times by author and food journalist Mark Bittman. Titled Chop, Fry, Boil: Eating for One of 6 Billion, Mr. Bittman mentions that while every new year is met with an onslaught of dieting books, the real solution to eating better is not to diet. It’s to cook. Yet as a society, we are cooking less than ever before.

Mr. Bittman mentions the popular reasons why people don’t cook. Some, like being too busy are reasonable. Other reasons, like the belief that ready-to-eat foods are actually less expensive, are simply not true. He also makes a very good case that fresh, healthy food is readily accessible to most American households — and a drive to the supermarket takes about the same time as a drive to get take out. Mr. Bittman’s closing arguments begin with a suggestion that you can start building a cooking repertoire with three basic recipes: stir-fry, rice and beans and a chopped salad. “Yes!,” I nodded. Then I looked closer at the ingredient lists and guess what? These recipes were all naturally gluten-free! (The only minor exception is soy sauce in the stir-fry. But you can easily replace that with a gluten-free soy sauce or a substitute like Braggs Liquid Aminos.)

Now back to my original premise. You can eat better on a gluten-free diet. You could even confidently say that it’s easier to be gluten-free and eat healthy since you can’t rely on take-out pizza, fast food and the like. If that doesn’t give you some optimism for 2011 (Are you listening M?), then you need to go fill your glass past the half-way mark. Then come back and start cooking yourself a gluten-free dinner.

Wishing you all good health — and good food — this year and beyond.

Warmly,

Nicole

The holidays are upon us. That means good times, good company and good cheer. But for the gluten-free among us, it also means the careful — and often costly — dance around everyone else. But it doesn’t have to be that way. So in this holiday post, we’ll share some tips to help you keep your budget (and your sanity) from spiraling out of control.

Tip #1: Shop Smart

With thoughts of stuffing, cakes and pumpkin pie dancing through our heads, the easy move is to go to your local health food store to pick up some gluten-free holiday goodies — especially since there are more and more items available in stores. But $9.00 for a FROZEN pumpkin pie?? $8.00 for a tiny package of cookies?? $7.00 for a square of corn bread?? Not very shoestring-friendly. (Or tasty for that matter.)

So if you’re going to make your own holiday meals, you have to shop smart. Rely on as many naturally gluten-free foods as you can: turkey, vegetables, potatoes and more are the centerpieces of most holiday meals, and they’re gluten free.

If you’re making your own baked goods, you’ll want to shop smart for supplies. Now is a great time to stock up on gluten-free staples. Amazon.com is running a big sale on baking supplies from companies like Bob’s Red Mill, Pamela’s, Mrs. Leeper’s Pasta and more. This is the time when I go through lots of all-purpose gluten-free flour. So the timing of this sale couldn’t be better.

Bob’s Red Mill
On sale thru December 31^st:

Save 15% on a selection of Bob’s Red Mill products. Includes all-purpose GF flour, cornbread mix, GF oats and more. Save an additional 15% when you order with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program.

To order, follow this link http://amzn.to/9ztIBe and enter code BOBS2010 at checkout.

Pamela’s
On sale thru November 30^th:

Save 5% on a variety of Pamela’s GF baking mixes such as their Ultimate Baking and Pancake mix, Cornbread & Muffin mix and more. Save an additional 15% when you order with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program.

To order, go to http://amzn.to/9YnP1y and enter code PAMMIXES at checkout.

Mrs. Leeper’s Pasta
On sale thru November 30^th:

Save 25% on corn and rice-based dried pastas like elbows and rotelli. Save an additional 15% when you order with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program.

To order: visit http://amzn.to/cmi9aR and enter code LEEPEDD5 at checkout.

NOTE: They also make wheat-based pastas, so be careful when you order.

Tip #2: Play Gluten Free Hostess with the Mostest

For years we attended Thanksgiving at the homes of family members and friends. I generally thought it would be much easier to go to someone else’s Thanksgiving than to host my own. I was wrong. Because each year I ended up making my own “Thanksgiving to-go” so that we had gluten-free covered and didn’t have to navigate the gluten minefield that is someone else’s kitchen. Sure it’s more work to host, but it’s also a lot more rewarding. And you don’t have to worry about spilling turkey drippings on your way to a holiday dinner. (Not that something like that has ever happened to me. All over the front seat and the floor. Nope. Never happened.)

Tip #3: Have the answer to “what can I bring?”

If you host a holiday meal, your guests will almost certainly ask the question. And if you don’t have an answer ready, you could be headed for trouble. At my home, we generally keep meals all gluten free. But if you don’t specify what your guests should bring, someone will inevitably show up with a gluten-filled dessert — and then take offense when you’d rather not serve it among your gluten-free creations.

While this is the safest policy when it comes to avoiding cross contamination, it’s not the most shoestring-friendly idea. Putting together a holiday meal can cost you a pretty penny, especially when you factor in the higher cost for gluten-supplies. So here’s a way to satisfy your desire to not spend a fortune and your guests’ desire to contribute to the meal: simply ask them to bring complementary items. It might be a bag of coffee or a fruit platter (which are both costly), some wine or cheese, or even bottles of soda. When you’re playing master chef for an entire crowd, every bit helps.

Tip #4: Do a dry run.

When time allows, give yourself room for error. Make your stuffing early and see if it is too dry or too moist and adjust. If you’re baking desserts, make what you can in advance and freeze. And yes, homemade and frozen is still going to taste way better than store bought. Trust me. Plus it will cost you about a third of the price.

Need to make stuffing? Why not start with GFOAS’s own Apple & Leak Cornbread Stuffing. I’ll even give you the link, for FREE. http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/apple-leek-cornbread-stuffing/

Tip #5: Plan for leftovers. And use ‘em.

So you’re going to invest all of this time, effort and money into hosting a holiday feast. The last thing you want is to be left with a bunch of 3-day old turkey and a cranberry sauce that you have to toss because you simply can’t bear the thought of reheating and eating it again. So mix it up. Use those same leftovers to make something new. Slice and dice that turkey, add some mayo and you have turkey salad that blows away any chicken salad you’ve ever had.

But what about that cranberry sauce? And the stuffing? I haven’t forgotten them. Use them to make one of my personal favorites: the After-Thanksgiving Sandwich http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/after-thanksgiving-sandwich/

I shared this on the site last year and it was such a hit, I figured I’d post it again, especially for those of you who just started reading GFOAS this year. This sandwich is a great example of what this site is all about. It’s easy. It’s empowering. It tastes great. And it’s 100% shoestring-friendly.

I hope these tips bring inspiration to your kitchen, joy to your guests and comfort to your budget.

Happy Holidays…

Nicole

Final note: when you order from Amazon thru links in this post or the blog, Gluten-Free on a Shoestring earns a small commission. Just so you know.

A dozen tomato plants

There’s no doubt that a gluten-free diet can be good for your health — but bad for  your wallet. Gluten-free frozen meals, baked goods and bread can be double or even triple the cost of their gluten-containing counterparts. But so many people feel that having to live gluten-free leaves them with no other choice. You simply have to buy the specialty foods and pay the high cost. With Gluten Free on a Shoestring, I’ve tried to show how that’s simply not the case. You can take back control by learning to cook and bake gluten free with more taste, and less cost.

While cooking and baking yourself can minimize certain costs of being gluten free, other expenses are harder to avoid. For example, even though you can make your own gluten-free pasta from scratch (see recipe: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/fresh-gluten-free-pasta/), sometimes we just need to rely upon packaged gluten-free pasta. And even at a good price, that can cost double what regular, wheat-based pasta costs. So you have to get more creative and look for other ways to save and make up the difference.

One way is to try growing your own vegetables. Let’s face it. Fresh produce just isn’t cheap. I use tons of frozen vegetables, which are picked at the peak of freshness and generally very cost-effective. But some things just can’t be frozen with good results (frozen tomatoes, anyone? blech). So if you can grow your own, it leaves you with some extra money to buy those $2-$3 bags of gluten-free pasta and that occasional $7 loaf of gluten-free bread when you’re really in a pinch (heaven help us!). Don’t already think you have a green thumb? No worries. The time to start is now, and here are some tips to get started:

1. Plant what’s expensive to buy, and easy to grow.

While the idea of pulling a fresh carrot from the ground may be alluring, it’s not the best use of your gardening time. Carrots are inexpensive to buy fresh, all year long. Instead, plant more costly things like cucumbers (almost $1 each in my area, even in season) and tomatoes (usually around $2.00+/pound). Also, consider what’s easy to grow. Time is money, so you want your efforts to bear fruit … or vegetables. We have had great success in our back yard with zucchini. So it’s a staple every year. Herbs are easy to grow as well. And there’s nothing like adding fresh-picked basil leaves to your pasta sauce, salad or tomatoes and mozzarella.

2. Start small and early.

If you want to get the most from your effort, it helps to start early. But be careful. Plant too early and cold Spring weather will kill your plants. So here’s what you can do instead: Save your empty cardboard egg containers. Fill them with a small amount of potting soil and  drop in and cover the seeds of your choice. Then water periodically, just enough to keep the soil moist. You can leave your plants outside during the day. But you should move them inside (or to the garage or shed) until the weather is consistently at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. Depending on your area and climate, this could be mid-May to early June.

There are a couple of reasons to use the cardboard egg cartons. 1) They give you individual sections for your seeds. 2) They biodegrade, so you can break off the individual compartments, peel off as much paper as you can (without damaging the plant) and actually plant the whole thing right in the ground. If you keep them wet enough, you’ll even notice that your plants will sprout roots right through the bottom of the carton.

3. Skip the soil and get some FREE compost.

Here’s an extra Shoestring tip: Instead of buying potting soil, find out if your town has a compost pile. Our local sanitation department has a huge mound of compost available for FREE (and no, it doesn’t stink). People are constantly driving up to fill their buckets, trash cans, pots, etc. You can’t beat the price, and compost is great for those little seedlings. FREE compost is a lot less expensive than paying $4 for a small bag a potting soil. It’s also a whole lot greener.

So break out your garden gloves and trowels this season and give gardening a try. It’s the Shoestring thing to do. Plus, it can be lots of fun, especially when you get to harvest things like this:

Warmly,

Nicole

This has been quite a year. Filled with downs and then ups.

As many of you know, I was laid off from my job back in March. That lead to the start of Gluten Free on a Shoestring. Since then, the blog has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s been mentioned in the New York Times. It’s attracted nearly 1,000 loyal “fans” on Facebook. And now Gluten Free on a Shoestring is set to become a cookbook as well.

Much of this success is due to you. Your comments and stories have inspired me and made sharing these recipes so rewarding. So thank you for all of your support and encouragement. And please keep those messages coming.

As we move into 2010, I plan to share more recipes and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the cookbook. After all, Gluten Free on a Shoestring is as much yours as it is mine.

Let me wish you and your families Happy Holidays and success in the New Year. To cap things off, I’ve shared some “Shoestring Specials” to help you finish 2009 on a shoestring – because isn’t that why we’re all here?

See you next year!

Warmly,
Nicole

Final Shoestring Specials for 2009

Amazon.com Offers (all offers good thru 12/31/09)

25% off Oskri Organics GF bars
Use code OSKRI554
Order at http://bit.ly/5xK0dX

10% off over 10 different Bob’s Red Mill products (including gf flour, mixes for pancakes, pizza crust, cookies & more)
Use code BOBSGLFR
Order at http://bit.ly/5dlkVA

$10 off Nestle Toll House Chips ($29 min. purchase)
Discount automatically applied at checkout.
Order at http://bit.ly/6oA4Gj

35% off LesserEvil Snacks (gf popcorns and potato sticks)
Use code TSTEEVIL
Order at http://bit.ly/8sCEVV

40% off Sam Mills GF Corn Pasta
No code needed. Discount automatically deducted at checkout.
Order at http://bit.ly/4EP2yW

15% off Celestial Seasonings Teas
Use code TEACEL45
Order at http://bit.ly/790W8X

Gluten-Free Mall

10% off your order thru Jan 1, 2010
Use code 7f3a62
Order at http://www.glutenfreemall.com

Celiac Disease Book Offer

Save $10 on “Recognizing Celiac Disease” by Cleo Libonati (thru 12/31/09)

Recognizing Celiac Disease is a ready reference that identifies symptoms related to celiac disease and their underlying causes. Order at http://www.recognizingceliacdisease.com

$2.00 Coupon for Attune GF Probiotic Bars

Attune wellness bars combine all-natural, great-tasting ingredients with powerful probiotics that are clinically proven to support digestive health and promote a strong immune system.
Print the coupon at http://attunefoods.com/coupon/?MjAwb2ZmNw

Disclosure: Gluten Free on a Shoestring receives a small affiliate commission on Amazon.com orders placed via product links and Amazon banner ads on our site. So support Gluten Free on a Shoestring and order through the blog. And thanks…

Saving 15-30% on these products is no trick

Hello everyone. Nicole’s husband, Brian, here. Nicole is tied up with a bunch of things — one of which she’ll be telling you about soon (and it’s pretty exciting). So I’ll be your guest blogger today. Just think of me like a substitute teacher. Hey you in the back, I see you passing notes. Alright, maybe don’t think of me as a substitute. Think of me as Nicole, but not quite as funny.

With Halloween just around the corner, I figured you might like some treats in the form of gluten-free savings. I mean, isn’t that what this blog is all about? I’d post a recipe for you, but you’d probably never come back. I’ll leave the recipes to Nicole. So here you go. Your gluten-free savings tip for the week:

Save 15% – 30% on GF Products from Arrowhead Mills, DeBoles Pasta, Imagine Foods

Here’s the deal:

1. Click the link above for Amazon.com

2. Order any of their gluten free products from Hain by October 31, 2009. The savings apply to flours and mixes from Arrowhead Mills, rice and corn pasta from DeBoles, soups and broth from Imagine Foods and much more.

3. Enter the promo code HAINGF25 at checkout and you’ll SAVE 15%

4. To SAVE AN ADDITIONAL 15%, choose the Subscribe & Save option (for automatic reordering every 1 – 6 months).

That’s it. No tricks. No hassles. And no shipping charges when your order is at least $25. Now isn’t that better than a candy apple? Does anyone really like those things anyway? So do me a favor. Or actually two favors. Go ahead and order gluten free from Amazon.com. And tell Nicole that I was a good sub, or quote unquote guest blogger. Positive reviews keep me in good standing.

Amazon.com on a Shoestring ??

When you’re on a shoestring budget, living gluten-free can sometimes be challenging. Your choices are limited. Health food stores are expensive. And ordering online is no good when shipping charges start to add up. But there are ways to be smart about it.  One of those ways is with Amazon.com. 

I’ve written about Amazon.com before as a great place buy things like all-purpose GF flour and get free shipping (and often a better price). But free shipping is only the half of it. There’s more to the story…

Save 15% on selected GF products
You can save an extra 15% off Amazon’s already competitive prices, and still get free shipping, on many Gluten-free cereals, Gluten-free flours and Gluten-free baking mixes through Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program.

Here’s how Subscribe & Save works: You place an order of eligible items and choose to receive repeat shipments of that order every 1, 2,3 or 6 months (it’s up to you). Don’t want another 4 bags of gf flour that soon? No problem. You can change, cancel or deactivate the subscription right after your initial purchase – and you still get the 15% discount, and there is no penalty at all. That’s shopping smart. And that’s living Gluten Free on a Shoestring. 

So go shop and save. You know what basics you need to have in stock.  Just take a pantry inventory, and stock up.  You can thank me later.*

Warmly,
Nicole

* P.S., In case you’re wondering, Amazon did not put me up to this.  Yes, if you click through a link to amazon on this site, you will help support us a teeny tiny bit (we get a tiny little monetary reward through their amazon affiliate program), and we’d appreciate that.  But you can always avoid that, if it makes you feel not-so-fresh at all.  Just put amazon.com in your browser and go it alone.  No problem, no hurt feelings.  Just savings, shoestring-style.

Mangia!

This isn’t a moneysaving tip.  It’s just a tip Tip. 

A number of years ago, I found this little ceramic guy in a kitchen supply store in Manhattan called Sur la table, and I love him.  You stick him in a pot of boiling liquid of any sort, and he dutifully keeps it from boiling over.  I have no idea how it works, why it works, or even what he is called.  But it works.  I think it absorbs some of the heat energy.

I have browsed Sur la table’s website, though, and have not found the Okay Chef.  I have to guess, though, that any old piece of ceramic would do.   The Okay Chef is jaunty, but I honestly don’t think there is anything particularly magical about him as compared to other bits of ceramic — except his happy face.

On second thought, his happy face can be kind of irritating.  What’s he so happy about?  I guess that he has one job, he’s good at it, & he’s never going to get laid off.  I also am willing to bet that either he doesn’t have any children, or he only has grown children who have all gone on to live productive and self-sufficient lives.  In Italy. 

Anyway, that’s my tip.  It may seem like a small thing, but having one of these little gadgets allows me to make more of things because I get to fill my pots to the brim and worry not, within reason.  So it appears it’s a Moneysaving Tip after all (sort of).

Mangia!

Warmly,
Nicole