New Year’s Eve Dishes and Appetizers

Celiac Central’s Seasonal Gluten-free Recipes
The official site of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Celiac Central, is jam packed with information, including gluten-free holiday suggestions and recipes. Many of the delicious recipes found through out the site are contributed by gluten-free food manufacturers like Blue Diamond, Thai Kitchen, French Meadow Bakery, and Rudi’s Gluten-free Bakery just to name a few. These companies also provide support for celiac awareness through generous sponsorships. Check out Celiac Central’s Seasonal Gluten-Free Recipe Box for delicious New Year’s Eve Recipes.

Glutenfreeda: Celebrate New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free
Glutenfreeda Foods is the manufacturer of gluten-free oatmeal, granola, cookies, and frozen wraps. You can read full reviews of Glutenfreeda’s Products here. In addition to tasty gluten-free products, Glutenfreeda also publishes an online magazine. This month’s edition is filled with holiday recipes that would be welcome additions to any gluten-free New Year’s Eve dinner party. While you are there check out an older article with tips on Celebrating New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free.

New Year’s Eve Gluten-Free Libations

What alcoholic drinks are safe and unsafe to consume can be a confusing subject for celiacs. In case you choose to ring in the new year with a toast here are a few clarifications.

Distilled alcoholic beverages including rum, gin, whiskey and vodka are considered gluten-free because gluten does not survive the distillation process. If you rather play it safe and would prefer to avoid alcohol derived from grains then Tequila, White Rum, and Vodka when it is made from potatoes are all safe choices. It is important to be aware of what you are drinking. This is especially true of cocktails which may be made with mixers and other ingredients that are not gluten-free. As always, reading labels and asking questions when someone else is making your drink is an important step in avoiding hidden gluten. Wine and Champagne also make excellent and safe choices when toasting in the New Year since they are made from grapes.

If you prefer beer then you are in luck since there are some great gluten-free options available. Many of them have been reviewed here on Gluten-free Hot Products. Gluten-free beer options include: Redbridge distributed by Anheuser Busch, Bard’s Tale, Green’s Gluten Free Beers and Crispin Hard Cider.

From all of us at Gluten-free Hot Products,
Happy New Years!

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The tortilla chips, which come in six flavors, are made using a process known as “sprouting.” Basically, they let the seeds germinate before they add them to the chip. The sprouted chia seeds, broccoli seeds, quinoa seeds, etc. add nutritional benefits like more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Sprouting also promotes good digestion and nutrient absorption. You can learn more about it on the company’s website: Sprouting: The Difference.

With all those nutrients, you’d wonder if some flavor would be compromised. Not the case. These chips are addictively good, and the perfect size and shape for dipping (they’re just as good solo, too).

Here’s the rundown:

Multi-Grain: These are the closest to a standard tortilla chip. Salty, cruchy and hearty without having an overwhelming flavor one way or the other.  Great for taco dip.

Sweeet Potato (Yes, that’s three e’s): These were my favorite of the lot. I’ve had sweet potato chips before that tasted barely like sweet potatoes, but these left no questions asked. A nice dusting of salt makes them perfectly snackable. I’ll be honest – I ate them straight out of the bag. No dips or pairings needed.

Sweet Chili: This flavor is for the spice fans. There is a good bit of heat – the kind that tickles your throat as you continue to munch. Have a glass of water handy so you can enjoy these without interruption.

Black Bean: I don’t know what it is about black beans that make them tasty so meaty, but these chips fall along that line. They’re surprisingly filling, yet still delicious. Use them to finish off a bowl of turkey or vegetarian chili.

Unbeatable Blues: These are comparable to blue corn tortilla chips currently on shelves. They’re versatile enough for many dips or dishes, but look more intriguing than the classic yellow or white corn chip.

Naked Blues: These are a no-salt version of the Unbeatable Blues. Personally, I missed the salt. The chips tasted a little drab, but nothing that fresh guacamole or fruit salsa couldn’t liven up. If you’re monitoring your salt intake, this is a great option. If not, the other flavors are worth the extra sodium.

Way Better Snacks are available in grocery stores across the country, including Wegmans and Fairway. They will be available in Whole Foods Market starting in January. You can also order them online.

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1) Tru Sweet Candy Canes
Tru Sweet is the manufacture of organic and natural fruit flavored Surf Sweets candies (read the full Surf Sweets review here).  Tru Sweet Candy Canes are classic treats made with all natural ingredients and no artificial flavors or colors. In addition to being gluten-free and organic they do not contain any corn syrup. Learn more about Tru sweets and where you can buy them by visiting trusweets.com.

2) Pure Fun Organic Candy Canes
Pure Fun Peppermint Candy Canes are also organic. They are also hand wrapped adding a bit of an old fashion flare to this traditional treat. If you visit Pure Fun’s Website you can get full and very detailed allergy information on this product. Visit www.purefun.ca for more details.

3) Spangler Candy Canes
Spangler Candy Canes are possibly the easiest to acquire among the three gluten-free candy canes in this list. In addition to manufacturing the traditional peppermint flavored candy canes, Spangler also produces candy canes in other fun branded flavors like Jelly Belly, Sour Punch, and Smarties. Visit www.spanglercandy.com for more details.

For more information on gluten-free candy visit Celiac Central for a printable gluten-free candy list.

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I started with a recipe I found on Betty Crocker’s official site for Gluten Free Cheese Garlic Drop Biscuits. Since I wanted the younger members of the household to be able to try them I left out the garlic powder, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It is only a tiny bit more complicated then the standard directions for drop biscuits, so it was not very hard to make. Nor did it take very long. In less than a half hour the biscuits were done and ready to taste.

The finished product did not look exactly like traditional drop biscuits. I partially credit this to trying out a new recipe.  In addition the flour mixture, a combination of rice and potato flour, was much finer than the original. They did not taste exactly like traditional drop biscuits either. To me they tasted too much like potato. However everyone else in the house liked them. Even though I didn’t enjoy the flavor as much as everyone else, I was pleased with how fluffy and moist they were.

Since the cheesy drop biscuits had a potato after taste I was concerned the pancakes would as well. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In addition to being fluffy and moist they tasted exactly as pancakes, gluten-free or not, should taste.

Though I do not agree that Bisquick Original or Gluten-Free is the right choice for a pizza crust or maybe not even a pie crust, it is amazingly handy for early morning pancakes and dinner biscuits.  Especially when you are short on time. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the gluten-free consumer has to pay a bit more for this convenience. For a 16 oz box of Gluten-free Bisquick I paid $4.99, while the same size of Original Bisquick was only $2.29.  On the positive side, individuals diagnosed with celiac disease may be able to receive tax deductions for expenses associated with gluten-free foods in instances were the cost is higher than that of regular items.  To learn more on how this works check out Celiac Central’s Tax Deduction Guide for Gluten-Free Products.

If you would like to learn more about Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Bisquick as well as get great recipes and more visit www.bettycrocker.com.

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If you have been on CeliacCentral.org lately, you may have noticed a banner that looks like this:

Click on it and you’ll arrive at NFCA’s Gluten-Free Holiday Central, a microsite filled with gluten-free recipes and advice to help you through the holidays. Since Nov. 16, we’ve also been running our Gluten-Free Holiday How-Tos, which include our Gluten-Free Holiday Tip of the Day and special blog posts and exclusive tips from four of our gluten-free blogger friends.

So far, we learned “How to Survive Your First Gluten-Free Holiday” from Shirley Braden of gluten free easily, and Silvana Nardone of Silvana’s Kitchen and Easy Eats taught us “How to Host a Gluten-Free Holiday Your Kids Will Love.” This week, Rachel Begun, RD, explained “How to Fit a Fruit or Vegetable in Every Gluten-Free Holiday Dish.” Next week, we’ll feature our capstone on “How to Keep Your Gluten-Free Holiday Low Fuss and Low Cost,” with Carol Kicinski of Simply…Gluten-Free.

Now, getting some pearls of wisdom from these ladies is a gift in itself, but we wanted to sweeten the deal by offering up some giveaways. Our friends at Crunchmaster were more than happy to oblige and gave us enough loot for 5 giveaways: 4 weekly prizes consisting of $40 worth of Crunchmaster crackers, and 1 Grand Prize of $100 cash + $40 worth of Crunchmaster crackers.

We’ve already given away 2 weekly prizes, but there’s still plenty of time to enter the remaining giveaways. Here’s how:

Enter the weekly giveaways by signing up for each of the remaining Gluten-Free Holiday How-Tos eblasts:

• Gluten-Free Holiday How-Tos Eblast featuring tips from Rachel Begun, RD (Deadline to enter: Dec. 9 at 12 noon ET)
• Gluten-Free Holiday How-Tos Eblast featuring tips from Carol Kicinski (Deadline to enter: Dec. 16 at 12 noon ET)

By entering the weekly giveaways, you’ll automatically be entered to win the Grand Prize. Winners will be notified via email.

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Though Amy’s Organic Sandwich rounds are thin they are surprisingly sturdy and versatile. They arrived frozen and can be thawed in the fridge or by toasting them directly out of the freezer. Thawed in the fridge or very lightly toasted they are extremely soft and fluffy and make a great gluten-free option for kid favorites like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Toasting them a bit longer and they become much stronger making them a perfect base for open face sandwiches and pizzas. Since Amy’s Organic Sandwich Rounds are vegan friendly they can also be used as a bun for your favorite veggie burger.

The flavor of the Sandwich Rounds alone, without anything added, is pretty simple and reminds me of slightly starchy and spongy potato bread. However, when combined with sandwich ingredients or toppings  the flavor becomes extremely complimentary. With Thanksgiving only a day away I’m looking forward to testing Amy’s new Organic Sandwich Rounds on my traditional leftover Turkey sandwich.

If you would like to learn more about this product or about the many other products offered by Amy’s visit www.Amys.com.

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Now, I’m game for trying these new gluten-free options, but on Thanksgiving Day, all I want is the bready stuffing I grew up eating. I’m sure many of you can relate.

Years ago, that hope, like the turkey, went unfilled in gluten-free kitchens. Few alternatives were available to create a suitable bread-based Thanksgiving stuffing. Today, there are plenty of options to choose from, thanks to the improved quality and availability of gluten-free bread.

In our new Alternative Appetites video, Dan Kohler shares his favorite gluten-free Thanksgiving stuffing recipe, using Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread as the base for the filling. He layers on the flavor with additions like fennel, sage and hazelnuts, which also boost the nutrition profile of this dish. Is it as healthy as a quinoa-pumpkin-kale combo? Probably not, but it will give you that taste of childhood you’ve been dreaming of.

Watch the video:

Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Hazelnut Sage Stuffing

Watch more Alternative Appetites gluten-free cooking videos at www.CeliacCentral.org/cookingvideos.

Get more gluten-free holiday tips at www.CeliacCentral.org/holiday.

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After receiving samples and trying Rigoni Di Asiago’s spreads for myself I discovered why they have received such high praise. Their Nocciolata is definitely a treat with its rich hazelnut and cocoa flavor and its creamy texture.  Nocciolata can be enjoyed as a spread on cookies or bread, an accompaniment to cakes, crepes or ice cream, or as an ingredient in holiday cooking and baking. As much as I enjoyed sampling Rigoni’s Nocciolata, I found their Fiordifrutta to be my favorite. I like strawberries, but I love pomegranates, so finding an all fruit spread that could make both flavors taste great without making either overly sweet is a very worth while discovery for me and something I think RdA’s Fiordifrutta really delivered on. Along with classic strawberry and the newer pomegranate flavors, Fiordifrutta organic fruit spreads are available in a wide range of popular flavours including apricot, plum, peach, cherry, Seville orange, lemon, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, rosehip, black currant, fig, and wild berries.

If you would like to learn more about any of Rigoni Di Asiago’s fine Italian products visit rigonidiasiago.com.

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The recipes in Make it Paleo can range from extremely easy, to those that require a tad bit more skill. Regardless of the difficulty level very few of the dishes require more than eight ingredients. Although the ingredient lists are simple the dishes are far from bland because they use natures own flavor enhancers like garlic and pepper along with delicious food pairings to achieve maximum flavor while maintaining the larger goal of a healthy diet.

Simple ingredients do not mean boring either. This cook book is jam packed with a wide variety of dishes ranging from Asian or Indian inspired to traditional American meals and all are adjusted to fit the Paleo Diet. Just like the subtitle implies the dishes in Make it Paleo are indeed for any occasion, since the book does not only cover breakfast, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and deserts it also includes recipes to make the sauces, soups, salads, and even a recipe to make homemade Almond and Coconut milk! A few recipes you can look forward to if you purchase this book include (just a very small sample as there are far too many to list):

• Eggs Paleo (the Paleo Diet version of eggs benedict)
• Deviled Eggs (includes homemade mayo that is paleo approved)
• Chicken and Vegetable “Lo Mein”
• Artichoke and Avocado Salad (yummy)
• The seasonal must, Butternut Squash Soup (I made for the first time after being inspired by this recipe)
• Garlic and Herb Mashed Cauliflower,
• Cajun Sweet Potato Fries (I’ll be attempting these fries this weekend).

The recipes for all the sauces and dressings required for any of the dishes in this book are also included. And the dessert section includes cookies, cakes, pies and baked fruits all made the grain-free Paleo way.

Make it Paleo is easily worth its cost in recipes alone, but this cookbook includes so much more. Along with explaining the basics of the Paleo Diet, the first few sections are very guide like with in-depth instruction for changing your kitchen into a Paleo Kitchen. After seeing how much thought and effort went into this book it is clear to me that the authors not only subscribe to this diet but feel passionately about it.

It is important to note that though the Paleo Diet ends up being gluten-free it is not designed specifically for those suffering from Celiac Disease. The recipes included are naturally gluten-free as long as you make sure any of the ingredients you purchase to include in these recipes are also gluten-free. This shouldn’t be too hard since the majority of the recipes are made with fresh ingredients. The authors of Make it Paleo and all of us here at GFHP promote actively thinking about what you are eating and reading all food labels, both are something that HAS to become a way of life for those with dietary restrictions.

To learn more about Make it Paleo visit www.makeitpaleo.com

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To learn more about all of Food Should Taste Good products visit www.foodshouldtastegood.com. While you’re there check out how you can help Food Should Taste Good raise money to fight breast cancer.

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