Cartwheels at Walmart

Ok, not really. But I thought about it. They've been remodeling our Walmart and it looks really nice. The kitchen area is on low shelving so you can survey the whole area and the grocery section has expanded, more foods, including (drum roll please) a gluten-free section. They carry some of my favorite products like Lundberg Rice Chips and Tinkyada noodles. And their prices? Well, they are awesome.

Sometimes I envy those who have enough money to boycott Walmart.There are many good reasons to boycott Walmart. I wish they were more generous to their employess and to the community. But here are the facts at my house. One income, because that's what we have chosen to live on. Even if I worked a job with a salary, my income would not go toward daily expenses like groceries. We just think it is wise to live off one income. And given that my husband is a teacher, not a doctor or lawyer, our one income isn't huge. When Walmart offers me better prices than my food co-op or any other stores on expensive necessities for my girl, like Rice Milk (yes they carry it in many sizes) or gluten free noodles, deciding to boycott Walmart is a luxury I don't feel I have.

Oops, that was a long tangent. I meant to just say, "Yippee! Walmart has gluten-free." And make a little note about how funny it is that when stores get a gluten-free section, they don't educate their employees. I always tell the checkout people how happy I am about new gluten-free products. In fact I tell any employee I can find. Unless I stumble on a manager of some kind, the employee generally stares at me and says, "Huh" or "Newton -free?" One step at a time I guess.

Oh and in case you are wondering...next up...agave nectar.Take the poll on the right.

Gluten-free goes mainstream

Six years ago a good teacher friend was diagnosed with Celiac disease. I had never heard of the disease and certainly never heard of gluten, the protein which wreaks havoc on the intestines of the person with Celiac. Finding gluten-free food was tricky and expensive. It is still expensive, but not so difficult. Many main stream grocery stores have special labels marking gluten-free products or special sections. Some chain restaurants like PF Chang's, Unos, and Outback and Lonestar all have gluten-free menus or specialty items. Chex cereal in the last year has made Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Cinnamon Chex, and Strawberry Chex all gluten-free (be careful though some of the flavors are so newly gluten free that stores still have the old boxes, make certain the front says "gluten free". And now, now Betty Crocker is selling gluten free baking mixes: chocolate chip cookie, devil's food cake, yellow cake, and brownie mixes. They came out this summer and cost about $2.00 more than other baking mixes. And by fall, all their frosting will be gluten free. I haven't tried them yet, but I am thrilled to see the effort. I try not to think about how the effort, like all things American, is mostly motivated by marketing (a big name like Betty can make gluten-free products without much advertising and the gluten-free community will spread the word for them--like me). Whatever the motivations--it's not a bad time to be gluten free.

And for what's it worth. I tried a new gluten-free pancake recipe this morning and did a little dance of joy when they rose into perfect pancakes, not the usual flat lifeless things. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Meatloaf and Muffins

I generally don't like meatloaf. Something about all that meat, mashed into a loaf pan and baking in its own fat juices disgusts me. I remember loving meatloaf as a kid, but not so much now. That is, until Wednesday. On Wednesday I tried a new turkey meatloaf recipe from Karina's Kitchen (easily my favorite food blogger because she caters to all my food exclusions). It was strangely sweet and simple to make and everyone happily ate it, even the company. Three of the four kids at our table even asked for seconds. And while I had plans to use the leftover meatloaf in a shepherd's pie dish the next day, I had to switch to plan B because there weren't any leftovers. While this recipe is gluten and dairy-free, it doesn't require any strange ingredients and I actually used a gluten-free  and dairy-free box of tomato soup (Imagine brand) in place of some the ketchup to decrease the sugar content. The key to the recipe is the cornbread crumbs. But you don't have to use Karina's gluten-free cornbread recipe, I actually used some scrumptious applesauce muffins to make the bread crumbs. Bread with gluten will work just as well. Here's a link to a the meatloaff recipe---Karina's ideas for cooking gluten-free on a budget are helpful to anyone, but scroll way down to find the recipe. 

And for Sarah and Laurie, here's a gluten and dairy-free applesauce muffin recipe. This one is modified from the original, which was a recipe developed by someone who gave it to someone who gave it to a friend in Des Moines who gave it to me. 

1 cup gluten-free flour blend

3/4 cup teff flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp xantham gum

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup hemp milk (hemp is key here...gobs better than rice or soy...cow might work as well but I'm not at liberty to try it)

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp baking soda

Mix together 1 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp water, and 1 tsp of baking soda. Set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Mix together remaining ingredients and add to day ingredients being careful not to overmix. 

Scoop into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees or until golden and top springs back when gently pressed, about 20 minutes. Makes about 12 muffins.