Challenges
Well, despite being home full-time now, with all the summer parties and BBQs, etc. I am actually finding it harder to get back to the way I want us eating. I was able to go the other day and spend 2 hours alone in a bookstore. I searched through dozens of cookbooks (sadly not The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook as they did not stock it) and decided to get Cooking the Whole Foods Way. Some of the recipes looked just divine. I did not buy it from the store as sales tax in the city is so high and I new I could get is cheaper online. I did find it Much cheaper on ebay and it should be here early next week.
But, back to challenges. Being gluten-free now seems like second nature. But, it is still presenting challenges. I tend to get complacent sometimes and forget to check a label on something I assume would be GF. Luckily, the twice I was wrong it was me that suffered and not my girls. But, it has made me more careful again.
I have been dairy-free off and on for years, since I was a child. But, I actually find that much more challenging. I do not like soy and want to avoid it. I do like Almond Breeze but it is so expensive and not organic. But, it is actually cheese and ice cream I am having the hardest time with. We all love cheese. I have the Uncheese Cookbook and every recipe has been wonderful. But, they are a bit time consuming and expensive. And, while wonderful, they don’t replace the cheese I am missing.
I am also finding we get stuck in ruts. I am trying to vary our diet and I am hoping the new cookbook with help. I am also going back to Cooking Gluten-Free! by Karen Robertson and cooking from it. It is the best GF cookbook I have found. It is not dairy-free but I have never had an issue subbing any of the dairy in it.
One day soon, when I have more time in my life (like when?), I am going to detail what I know about grinding alternative grains for flours and what their characteristics are. I will go through both the flours available commericially and what I grind. The freshly ground flours do act differently in baking.