Celiac Disease

Official Website of Celiac-Disease.com

You are here: Home / Archives for Gluten-Free Diet / Holidays

Holidays

Last Minute Christmas Tips & Recipe

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Welcome to Christmas Eve! If you aren’t finished preparing for Christmas yet, you better get a move on.  The last thing you want to worry about on an already busy day is gluten, right?  Whether you are hosting or heading over to a close friend or family member’s house, these tips can help minimize stress.

  • Peanut Butter Fudge – This takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish and never fails to wow the crowd.
  • Buffalo Chicken Dip – Toss everything together in a saucepan as directed & then transfer to a crockpot to cook/keep warm.  Serve with celery & tortilla chips.
  • Old Fashioned Gingerbread – Not too complicated to make & it tastes like it was a lot of work!
  • Cocktail Wienies – Lit’l Smokies are gluten-free.  Toss in a crock pot with some Sweet Baby Rays or your favorite BBQ sauce.
  • Veggie tray with dill dip – Marzetti’s dip is gluten-free.
  • Chocolate Truffles – Ali of The Healthy Hostess shared these – 2 ingredients (both naturally gluten-free).  Simple!
  • Honeybaked Ham – Pick up a ham or turkey – they are gluten-free!
  • Salad – Grab a box of salad, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese & some gluten-free salad dressing.
  • Mixed nuts – dump into a festive, decorative dish.
  • Cheese tray – cut blocks of cheese into cubes and display them on a tray
  • Chips & salsa
  • Fruit salad – Buy pre-cut fruit if you are really pressed for time.

Last, but not least, one of my favorite potato dishes.  This dish can be made in advance, which can really be a time saver.

Catholic Potatoes

5 lbs potatoes

8 oz pkg. light cream cheese, softened

8 oz container light sour cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

8 oz. shredded 2% cheddar cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup skim milk

1.  Cook & mash potatoes. Stir remaining ingredients in and pour into a large glass baking dish (9 x 12).

2.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or until hot.

3.  This dish can be prepared in advance & kept in the refrigerator.

4.  Enjoy!

These potatoes are great served along turkey or ham for that special holiday meal.  Perfect potluck dish.  The cheeses are even lower-fat versions & they taste just as decadent as the full-fat versions.

Enjoy friends & family & give yourself permission to accept what you can do and don’t focus on things you planned to do, but were unable to get to. ’Tis the season to celebrate, spend time with the ones you love, and have fun!

Gluten-Free Baking Tips for the Holidays

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Baking gluten-free can be a challenge, so don’t give up if your recipe doesn’t turn out well the first time around. I have had my share of gluten-free flops, trust me, but I don’t let that stop me from trying again. “Cupcake Wars” two-time winner, Kyra Bussanich, shares some of her tips to help make your holiday baking a success.

• If you’re following a recipe, don’t substitute the listed flour or starch with another type unless you’re familiar with its properties. There are many different types of gluten-free flours and starches, including millet, sorghum and sweet white rice flour, and potato and tapioca starches. Each has its own idiosyncrasies. For example, millet flour has a slightly nutty flavor and is well-suited for goods with a hearty texture. Sweet white rice flour holds moisture well and is good for recipes that have a slight gumminess to them. Potato starch is light and good for fluffy cakes.

• Use eggs and butter at room temperature. Eggs are often used as a binder, the protein that substitutes for the missing gluten. Eggs and butter are both easier to work with when used at room temperature, and room-temperature egg whites whip up fluffier. If you forget to pull the butter out of the refrigerator beforehand, heat it for 7 to 12 seconds in the microwave. Put cold eggs in warm (not hot) water for 30 to 60 seconds.

• Don’t overwork batter and dough with xanthan gum in it. Corn-based xanthan gum is often used as a stabilizer and thickener in gluten-free baked goods, sauces, dressings and soups. Once this ingredient is added, overworking the dough can give it a slimy, gummy texture, and cause it to lose flavor. (A good substitute for xanthan gum is ground psyllium seed husk.)

• Heat higher, cream longer for lighter cakes. One complaint people sometimes have about gluten-free baked goods is that they’re too dense. To prevent this, try setting the oven temperature 25 degrees warmer than you would for flour. This will cause the butter in the recipe to release its water as steam, which helps the cake rise quickly. Also, cream eggs and butter together longer – about 10 minutes – than you would for flour cakes.

About Kyra Bussanich: Kyra Bussanich is a three-time winner of The Food Network’s hit show, “Cupcake Wars.” She graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu and opened her award-winning bakery, Kyra’s Bake Shop, which features gourmet, gluten-free sweets. She has branched beyond desserts to other gluten-free goods in order to help those with celiac and other autoimmune diseases enjoy quality treats

Do you have any gluten-free baking tips you would like to add?  Have you had a gluten-free baking fail?  I had a pan of cookies all run together on more than one occasion.  They were a mess, but they still tasted great!

Gluten-Free Stuffings

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Last year I shared some options for gluten-free stuffing to help make the holidays seem more normal. It’s no fun to have to avoid certain foods or bring a separate plate along to make sure your meal is safe to eat. There were only a couple of companies making gluten-free stuffing mixes at the time, but now there are a couple more to add to the list to help simplify things on an otherwise busy day.

Rudi’s gluten-free Bakery has a new Stuffing Mix out just in time for the big day. The mix is very easy to prepare and tastes great…no one will know it is gluten-free unless they see you eating it! The mix is certified gluten-free by the GFCO, dairy-free, soy-free, and non-GMO.

rudistuffingIngredients: Water, potato extract, high oleic canola/sunflower oil*, rice starch, rice flour, evaporated cane juice (cane sugar), inulin, sea salt, spices, celery, honey, sugar cane fiber, yeast, molasses, egg white, flaxseed, millet, sunflower seeds, cornmeal, vinegar, xanthangum, natural enzymes. CONTAINS: EGG

Rudi’s gluten-free Stuffing Mix can be found in your local natural foods store, select grocery stores and select Costco locations.

Three Bakers gluten-free Stuffing Mix is also certified gluten-free by the GFCO and is free of dairy.  Simply add water and bake.  It doesn’t get any easier than that, does it?

Ingredients: WATER, BROWN RICE FLOUR, TAPIOCA STARCH, CORN STARCH, EGG WHITES, CORN DEXTRIN, SUGAR, NON-GMO CANOLA OIL, POTATO FLOUR, HONEY, BAKING POWDER, YEAST, RICE BRAN, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, VINEGAR, ENZYMES(CALCIUM SULFATE & ENZYMES), DRIED CHICKEN STOCK, SAGE, CELERY SEED, DEHYDRATED ONION, MARJORAM, THYME, ROSEMARY, NUTMEG, PARSLEY FLAKES, GARLIC POWDER.

photo 1 (11)Three Bakers gluten-free Stuffing can be found online or in select stores across the US.

Whatever you do, please don’t stress about the food, especially on holiday.  The holidays are meant to reunite with family and friends that you don’t get to see often, so focus on the gathering and catching up and not on the food.  It will all be okay, I promise.

Navigating the Holidays Gluten-Free

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Yes, I did just mention the “H” word. It seems only fitting since we are in the second week of October and you know the stores will have their holiday decorations up shortly if they don’t already. As a matter of fact, I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond last week to visit the wall of coffee, and noticed a small Christmas display in the back. It wasn’t a full-on holiday, dripping with Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, etc, but a small sign that it is coming.

If this is your first year navigating the holidays gluten-free, you are probably feeling a little apprehensive. Even those of us who have navigated the holidays gluten-free before feeling this way. There are so many factors and variables involved, that it is certainly an event or season that must be planned out, but not necessarily worried about or avoided.

turkeyBelow you will find some links to articles with some wonderful information about navigating the holidays gluten-free whether you are at home or traveling.

  • Last-Minute Holiday Tips
  • Thanksgiving Timesaving Tips
  • Thanksgiving Survival Tips Part 1
  • Thanksgiving Survival Tips Part 2
  • Twitter Party Recap of Holiday Tips

One of the reasons that I am writing this post now is to ask our readers what kind of information you would like to see over the next month or so about the holidays.  Are there specific recipes you want or need help adapting?  Are lists of gluten-free holiday foods, brands, and/or establishments something that would help make things a little easier for you?  Please take this time to share what we can do to help you in the comments section below.

Gluten-Free Memorial Day

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

As we gather around to remember those that have given up so much for us to have the freedoms that we have, there is often food involved. Memorial Day weekend is the kickoff of the summer grilling season and many times that includes food and drinks that contain gluten.   Fortunately for those in the gluten-free community, there are plenty of gluten-free choices out there these days to satisfy everyone.

Of course the buns are the first thing that come to mind when thinking of food that could possibly contain gluten at a cookout.  There are some great gluten-free hamburger and hot dog bun choices that can be found in mainstream grocery stores across the US:

After you have taken care of the buns, make sure that any marinades that may have been used for chicken, shrimp, etc are gluten-free.  Some marinades may contain soy sauce, which is sometimes brewed with wheat, so please double check before ruining your holiday weekend.  If you are attending a cookout away from home, consider the surface that your food is being cooked on.  Will there be anything else on the grill that contains gluten?  Is it possible to cook yours first or in a dedicated location?  I realize that sometimes these options aren’t possible, but I find that most hosts are more than willing to help make sure your food is safe.

There are many gluten-free hot dogs and brats on the market.  Some of the most popular brands are:

Of course some people don’t consider a hot dog complete without all kinds of toppings.  Sauerkraut, cheese, ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, etc should all be gluten-free, but remember to check the source if you are dining away from home.

Side items like vegetable trays, fruit bowls, green salads, potato salad and baked beans are often safe.  Just be cautious of any dips or additions that may have been made to the baked beans or potato salad.

Now onto the fun stuff.  Drinks and desserts.  First drinks.  Wine is gluten-free, as are many other alcoholic beverages, including hard ciders, Mike’s Lite Hard Lemonades (only certain flavors)  and a variety of gluten-free beers that are relatively new to the market. Some of those beers are:

  • Redbridge
  • New Grist
  • Bard’s Tale
  • Estrella Damm Daura
  • New Planet
  • Green’s
  • Omission
  • Dogfish Head Tweason’ Ale
  • Glutenator

Last, but certainly not least, dessert!  Many ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, popsicles, and Italian ices are gluten-free, but again, you need to check the source.  Fruit is naturally gluten-free and is a wonderfully refreshing dessert on a hot day.  If you are looking for a fun, easy dessert for the Memorial Day weekend, try this out:

Brownies & Berries Dessert Pizza

Not only are berries easy to find now in stores, but the red, white & blue colors on the top of the pizza really tie in with the Memorial holiday theme.

How do you plan to spend your Memorial Day weekend?  Parade? Cookout?