Common Terms for Gluten

When you begin to learn you need to live a gluten free life, the information can be a little overwhelming.  There are so many things that have gluten in it and the FDA allows many different terms to be used in food labeling.  So, when you go to the grocery store and you are wanting to know what has gluten or not - here are some terms to look for.

• Caramel Coloring
• Modified Food Starch
• Wheat
• Natural Flavoring
• Soy Sauce
• Malt or Malt Flavoring
• Vegetable Protein
• Oats
• Barley
• Rye

If you see any of these terms in the food label, they are considered to have gluten.  Some common foods that have gluten in them are:

• Bouillon
• Broth
• Soy Sauce
• Bacon
• Canned or Processed Meat
• Canned Black Eyed Peas
• Lipton Green Tea
• Cottage Cheese
• Coffee Creamers
• Whipped Topping
• Ketchup
• Pickles
• Relish
• Most Cereals
• Granola

It is good to be armed with information when going to the store.  If you begin to feel overwhelmed, know that you can only make small changes at a time.  You can't conquer this in a day.  Make one change at a time and stick with it.  You will be better for it in the end.

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Gluten Free Chicken Broth

When you need chicken broth, you wouldn't think it would have gluten it.  However, many brands have it and it can be hard to detect if you don't know what you are looking for.  Here is a sure simple way to make your own chicken broth without the hassle of buying organic.

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken
6 stalks of celery with leaves, cut up
4 carrots, cut up
2 leeks, cut up
4 sprigs of parsley
2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
4 bay leaves
12 cups of cold water

Instructions
In a large dutch over or kettle (I use a stock pot), place chicken pieces; celery; carrots; leeks; parsley; salt; basil; pepper; and bay leaves.  Add water.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.  Remove  chicken.

To strain, pour broth through a large sieve or colander lines with 2 layers of cheesecloth.  Discard vegetables and seasonings. If using the broth while hot, skim fat. (Or chill broth, then lift off fat.)  If desired, when chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and reserve meat for another use.  Discard bones.  Store broth and reserved meat in separate covered containers in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 6 months.  Makes about 5 cups of broth and 2 1/2 cups meat.

Here is hoping you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.  It makes cooking much healthier and brings a lot of healing properties to your body.

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Canning Bartlett Pears

If you picked up a case of pears this past week, you are probably wanting to can them so you can enjoy them year round. You need to make sure you process them pretty quickly because you want them to be nice and green when you can them.  Pears ripen pretty quickly and you don't want them to turn yellow before processing them.  I was able to get 16 quart size jars from a 40 lb. case of pears.  Here is a list of supplies you will need.

Supplies:
2 Stock Pot
Quart or Pint Size Jars
Sugar
Water
Vinegar
Salt
2 Bowls
Canning Supplies (funnel, jar tongs)
Cutting Board
Knife

The first thing you want to do is to set up your work space.  You will need one stock pot to warm the jars and another stock pot to cook the pears.

Figure out how many jars your stock pot can hold and wash them.  Once they have been washed place them in the stock pot and fill the pot with water.  You will want to make sure you put some water in the jars to keep them from trying to float or flip over.  Warm the jars on medium heat as you work on preparing the pears.

In the second stock pot begin creating the syrup.  For a light syrup use 1 quart of water and 2 cups of sugar.  If you want a medium syrup, use 1 quart of water and 3 cups of sugar.  A heavy syrup will use 1 quart of water and 4 3/4 cup of sugar.  Place the ingredients in the pot and begin warming on low heat, as you prep the pears.

As everything is warming up, fill a large bowl with a gallon of water.  Add 2 tablespoons of salt and vingar to help prevent the fruit from darkening. As you core, peel, and cut the pears into quarters; place them in the solution while cutting the rest of the fruit.  Do not soak the pears for more than 20 minutes.

In the second bowl, fill it half-way with cold water.  This will be the bowl you rinse the fruit in before transferring to the stock pot with syrup.  Begin peeling, coring, and cutting all the pears and put them in the salt and vinegar solution when done.  Once you have filled the bowl with pears, transfer to the bowl with clean water, rinse, and begin putting them in the pot with syrup.  Turn the heat to medium high.  Once the pears have begun to boil, lower heat to medium and cook for 4-8 minutes.

When the pears are done, begin packing the jars with hot pears.  This is called hot packing.  If the pears and syrup are cold and the jars are hot, the jars will break due to the extreme change in temperature.  Stuff as many pears as you can in each jar and then fill the rest of the jar with syrup.  Leave 1/2" head space at the top of the jar, remove any air bubbles using a spatula or knife, and put the lid on.  Place the jar back in the original stock pot and fill the rest of the jars.  Once the jars are filled, fill the stock pot with hot water until the water rises above the jars.  Turn up the heat to medium high.  Once the water begins to boil slightly, set the timer for 25 minutes for quart size jars or 20 minutes for pint size jars.

When the jars have finished cooking, turn off the heat and take the jars out to cool off.  As the jars cool, you will hear some popping.  Don't let the popping scare you.  The jars are sealing themselves due to the vaccum in the jar. 

You might have to do a second batch of pears to finish filling your jars and/or make more syrup.  If that is the case, fill the half-filled jar with some syrup while you cut up more pears.  Turn down the heat of the syrup until you are able to transfer the pears to be cooked.  Start the process of cooking and stuffing the pears into the jars until you have a pot full of stuffed jars.  Once you have cooked and processed the pears, you will be able them throughout the year and not be concerned about the ingredients that were used to preserve them. 

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DIY Organic Produce

The dilemma most people face going organic is organic produce can be a lot more expensive than regular produce.  You can try to by it canned, frozen or fresh and you will still the difference hit your pocket book.

I am ALWAYS looking for ways to do things feasibly, financially, and effectively.  One way you can save this spring is to buy produce in bulk.  You may not be able to afford to buy organic produce; however, produce is better than canned with man-made synthetic preservatives that can be potentially harmful.

Last week Publix in Northeast Georgia had Bartlett Pears .99 lb!  I NEVER see pears that cheap!  When you see a sale like this; buy in bulk and freeze, can, or dehydrate for healthy snacks.  Most stores will give you an additional discount on top of the sale price.  For example, I bought a 40 lb case of pears from Publix for $32.00 .  Most Farmer's Markets or grocery stores sell pint and quart size mason jars you can use to store and preserve food.  Quart size jars can cost anywhere from $7 to $10 for a 12 count.  The best time to by jars is at the end of fall or in winter.  They run around $5 to $7.  After doing some canning this past fall, I was able to can 16 quart size jars for about $2.50 a jar!  Now that's a GREAT DEAL!

If you are interested in getting a great deal on pears, Ingles has them for .98 lb this week!  If they don't have enough in stock, talk with an employee in the produce department and they can order a case just for you!

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Gluten Free French Toast

If you can't do gluten or you haven't found a gluten free bread recipe yet; this is surely to satisfy your taste buds.

At Publix, Kroger, or Ingles you can find in the frozen bread section gluten free breads.  The kind I used was made by Udi.  The breads can be expensive, so look for them at Kroger or Ingles.  When they get ready to expire, they mark them down.  I saw them at Kroger last week marked down to 2.39 when they are originally 6.99.  You can then use a $1 off coupon and get a loaf for 1.39.  Make sure you store them in your fridge when you get home to keep them fresher longer.  This bread is nice and fluffy compared to other gluten free breads.

Ingredients:
1 egg
milk (water or rice milk)
1 tsp. vanilla


Place a little extra virgin olive oil or butter in a nonstick skillet.  Dip the bread in the mixture and place in the skillet until it browns.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, butter, and pour maple syrup.  Make it extra special by eating it with some fresh strawberries or blackberries.

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