Well, time to get back on track with things. Even though it's been a laid back summer so far, with all the kids home I easily seem to run out of hours in the day.
As I've posted in the past, I have family members who have celiac and cannot eat any foods or beverages that contain gluten. Due to this, I am used to creating foods that they can eat. I actually enjoy trying to come up with new recipes that taste amazing and hold together. I have had my middle child tested, but my oldest is the one who has asked for no more gluten foods. Although she has not been tested, she is old enough to realize when foods are causing her discomfort and she notices how she feels when she avoids certain things. We have not consumed gluten pastas for some time and we all notice how much better we feel after our pasta dinners (not feeling bloated for one). Chips and cereals are another that we get gluten free. Of course, we consume a lot of fruits and veggies and those are naturally GF, but every now and then we like to have some sweet treats and that seems to be our downfall. So our GF trial begins...
The goal seems simple, eliminate all GF items, but believe me, they sneak it in everywhere, you would be surprised. So in order to accomplish this task, it seems logical that I would make things myself. This way I was sure they would be vegan and GF. As if this doesn't seem daunting enough, my daughter was adamant that she did not want to gain weight going GF. For some reason, many GF items are very high in carbs. So getting out my detective gear, I set to work trying to figure out the culprits and remove them as quickly as possible.
It didn't take long on the ingredient list to figure out who the trouble makers were, white rice flour and brown rice flour. I am not trying to talk badly about rice flours, but when you look at the facts, it adds up pretty fast as to why people can gain weight on GF diets, especially if they like their breads and sweets. Without getting too technical here are the facts. Generally, rice flours contain 32g of carbs per 1/4 cup, where regular all-purpose wheat flour contains 22g per 1/4 cup. That is a 10g difference per 1/4 cup. That is huge considering most recipes will call for 2-3 cups total for the recipe, add that up! You're talking 80g+ per recipe of additional carbs. Won't take long to pack on the pounds if you're used to have 2 slices of toast at breakfast and a sandwich for lunch.
First item on the list, replace rice flours with another GF flour. There are a ton; GF certified oat flour, millet flour, amaranth, sweet sorghum, tapioca, coconut, almond and the list goes on. Although the coconut and almond are low in carb, they are higher in fat. With that being said, if you just add 1/4 cup in a recipe or two you'll be okay and you'll be getting some healthy fats. I have come to realize, if I replace one cup of rice flour with a mixture of 4 different flours (1/4 cup each), the recipes turn out awesome. Depending on how sweet or savory the recipe will determine what mixes you use. I also avoid using xanthum or guar gum which seems to be a staple in all GF recipes. People seem to think they must use these for recipes to hold together, well I can tell you that is not true. I am having so much fun creating new recipes and the kids are enjoying taste testing them! Check back soon as my next few posts will give flour mixture recipes, meal recipes, sweet treat recipes and the secret ingredient I use instead of xanthum or guar gum.
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