UGH!!! I HATE being gluten free. It will be 3 years in March that I have been gluten and dairy free.
I was trying to make the crust for the apple pie today and it just wouldn't cooperate. I was unable to roll it out and it fell apart. DH stepped in and got it to work by starting the dough from a ball again and forming into the pie plate. This was the same recipe I used at Thanksgiving for the pumpkin pie and it was fine. I dont get it why it wouldn't work today.
While I am continuing my rant, we also made raspberry bars from a recipe my neighbor gave me. I made a flour mix from 3 gluten free flours and substituted them into the recipe. *sigh* The bars were ok.....but not as tasty as I remembered them. I miss wheat flour so much.
I miss the convenience of wheat flour and all the lovely things you can do with it. I miss the way it makes bread airy and light; I miss the yummy taste; I miss the texture in cakes, cookies and pizza. This morning I went to the store to pick up the ham and there were stacks of locally made berry and apple pies. They looked soooooooo good. I would give anything to be able to eat real pie.
We have a local gf bakery in my town....that charges $40 for a pie. I could never pay that. :(
Just to let readers know... I am also gluten free. SPELT is NOT gluten free! It is from the wheat family. Anyone who has to stay away from gluten should NOT eat spelt!
amen sister. Its really hard. Since I'm only intolerant of gluten and dairy I let myself go for a few days on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I pay for it dearly but to me its worth it to indulge. My kids are the same so we all suffer, but its worth it. I understand your frusteration. There is nothing I miss more than cheap, frozen, store bought garlic bread to go with our GF spagetti. Its the little things I miss :)
I understand your frustration. This week has been hell for me...we just discovered that my DH has coronary blockages caused by crappy diet and lifestyle. Therefore, our diet is having to change radically right now. Typically I would cook a ham with honey, brown sugar, and pineapple...pure yummy. Since I have to now cook low salt, low cholesterol, that favorite meal is out. SO, I am cooking a turkey tomorrow and will likely have brown rice and vegtables with it. Just going to the grocery store sends me in waves of panic since the labels are all so damn confusing. I am quickly trying to educate myself....
I'm with you. I do not have to be GF, but my dd does, so I am doing it too. (Dh is away for extended job, so it's just she and I).
And so, due to dd's various diagnoses, I have to cook easily digestible foods that are gluten free and high salt.
So that means no hard raw vegetables, no hard to digest hard fibers and seeds, cut down on the fresh fruits and vegetables and instead serve soft vegetables and fruits, smoothies, puddings, no gluten, but everything has to have salt and tons of it. She needs almost 2500 gms of sodium from salt pills and then another 1500 or so from food. There's no way she could eat enough food to get that much so the dr supplements it.
It's making me crazy! The holidays seem to make it extra hard.
I did see pre-made pie crusts that were gluten free at Whole Foods. They looked good but I didn't try them.
I am GF also. I know it's difficult but, I feel so much better now. I don't spend a bunch of time in the bathroom missing out on all the fun. I can go out and enjoy the Christmas lights or go to a concert and not have to worry about where the nearest bathroom is.
I miss cookies. Real cookies. But, my family is so great about trying new things, even my Dad. For pies I just skip the crust, for apple or berry pies I make a crumble topping using oats (I can still eat Bob's Red Mill Oats).
Belagio's make a decent pizza crust and Schwan's frozen pizza's are good.
Please know that you are not alone.
Merry Christmas and Good Health to you!
Our 2 year old is on a gluten/dairy free diet and it can be so hard sometimes. I definitely understand that. In fact, we decided to stay home for Christmas this year because we weren't sure how we were going to deal with all the treats and other foods around. It's hard to tell a 2 year old that he can't have something that everyone else is having. I did bake gluten/dairy free gingerbread men and some other treats so he had a fun time decorating and eating those. However, I know that if we would have went to my parents, he would have wanted to eat all the store bought cookies and treats that people bought. We have let him "go off the diet" for a day or two and the result is always the same: runny diapers and runny nose, followed by an ear infection. Definitely frustrating, I feel your pain.
It sucks to have food allergies, huh? I was GF for a while and still do spelt most of the time. I miss a good loaf of pain au levain or sourdough, but hate to pay the price. I'm also lactose intolerant vegetarian and that already makes me the dinner guest from hell.
The holidays are the worst times to have food allergies too. Specialty foods are priced higher, most gatherings don't have a lot of options without gluten or lactose. Cheese and crackers, anyone?
I hope your pie turns out great. And I have a great gluten-free (well, some spelt) graham cracker recipe. My girlfriend has been GF for a few years now; her partner is a saint and he plays with different kinds of flours for baking for them. Glad your husband could 'save' the pie, though!:)
I hear you! Try the site www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. Her stuff is amazing! I also have to go corn and peanut free. Trust me just avoiding gluten and dairy is a breeze! I wish I still only had those two to watch for.
I hear ya! I'm GF/DF too and for the most part I'm glad that I don't feel the way I did 5 years ago but I have moments that I'm so mad that I can't mindlessly eat anything I want.
Do you have any of Cybel Pascal's cook books? I like her baking book. And the Gluten Free on a Shoestring has the best flour mix (google it or get the book - so worth it!). I also found these rolls for our Xmas dinner. They were really good. Even all my non GF guests thought they were good (and they're family so they'll tell me if it's not good LOL). I used a combo of sweet white rice flour and brown rice flour for the first ingredient.
http://glutenfreeinthecountry.blogspot.com/2008/10/fluffy...
Oh and if it makes for feel any better for my Xmas cooking/baking I had to do some combo of GF, DF, Egg free, nut free and low sugar just so we could all sit down something together - thank god my extended family lives in other states LOL!
