Our breakfast series continues with a gorgeous (and tasty) gluten-free banana bread with cherries. This little gem is also dairy-free and nut-free. We’re sure you’ll enjoy it!
This traditional Hot Cross Bun recipe makes eight beautifully fluffy fruit buns with plump, juicy currants, warm spices and a sticky orange glaze – full of flavour and a treat for everyone to enjoy this Easter. Plus they are gluten-free.
Staring in the video is Kelowna local Nicole Knegt who is anaphylactic to all dairy and is also sensitive to gluten, yeast, and a number of other foods. Her husband Matthew also has a number of sensitivities to various foods. This is Nicole’s second appearance in a Jaime Food Tube video.
The Kelowna couple recently closed Four Spoons Bakery to focus on creating an online educational resource, fourspoonsglutenfreerecipes.com, for individuals with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity and food allergies. They also launched a YouTube cooking channel in September 2014.
For someone with celiac disease, a food allergy or a food sensitivity, a holiday built around parties and food can be a real-life nightmare. There are so many unknowns: Can I eat that? Did she use the ingredient brands I asked? Were those vegetables cut on the same board used for the bread? How many people have dragged something with gluten through that dip? What do I do – he put my gluten-free crackers on the same plate as the rest of the crackers? What do I say to Aunt Mary who just offered me her special Fluffernutter Cookies?
If you try to make everything perfect, odds are you will have a meltdown long before Christmas dinner and will want to hide in a closet until it is all over.
So here is my suggestion: figure out what things are the most important to you, and let everything just happen. I’m not suggesting that you don’t pay attention to what you are eating; I’m suggesting you make sure you have something tasty to eat at those events, but don’t fret if it is not the same as everyone else. Bring you own food if you need to, but spend a minimal amount of energy fussing about it. If someone asks about it, say “I cannot eat wheat, rye and barley and I brought my own food so I could spend time with everyone, rather than worrying about safe food.” If that isn’t enough for them, too bad; don’t argue, start a conversation with someone else.
For the important things, find the key elements and make sure they work for you. One of our Facebook members mentioned that everyone in the family gets to eat their favourite cereal on Christmas morning, even the sugary-sweet ones that are not on the table through the year. She knew that Chex wasn’t going to do it for her, so she asked for suggestions from the group. Forty responses later, she had a long list to consider including some with no nutritional value (the exact definition of a Christmas treat!). In my family, I missed having scones for Christmas lunch, but a batch of gluten-free biscuits (Nova Scotia style) satisfied my needs and gave another option to the other people at the table.
If a turkey dinner is not complete without stuffing, focus your energy on making sure there is safe stuffing (and an un-stuffed turkey) and don’t worry about the rolls and vegetable casserole with those little crunchy onions on them. If your absolutely favourite square or cookie is available, does it really matter that there is a plate of cookies you cannot eat?
This probably requires some thinking on your part, and the first time you take your own food to a party, you will be very nervous, but press through and I bet you will realize that it wasn’t so bad after all.
I know it isn’t easy, especially if it is your child who needs the gluten-free food. Make sure you discuss the situation in advance so your child knows what is going to happen and that his or her food is going to be safe. Keep an eye out that they are not being pressured to eat something that is not safe by well-meaning relatives.
Depending on the type of party, it is probably worth speaking with the host before you arrive to let them know what you will be doing. This is especially important for events planned around a menu. Be clear and be firm – you are not trying to insult them, this is what you need to do to keep healthy.
Christmas Treats and Treasures
If you are still looking for Christmas cookies, try these options from Gluten Free on a Shoestring, Food.com and The Roasted Root.
Some of these recipes may require a few clicks to find the instructions and when you see “oats” mentally substitute it with “pure uncontaminated oats”, but with 92 choices, at least one should call your name. I want to make the Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Christmas Trees.
Editor’s note: Kelowna local Nicole Knegt appears immediately after the 92 second introduction above.
Snail-mailing a large piece of cardboard in the shape of a slice of bread to a company you’d like to work with isn’t your typical business strategy.
“It was a gutsy move,” said Matthew Knegt of Kelowna, B.C., co-founder of Four Spoons Bakery, a micro bakery specializing in gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free goods.
Knegt, 30, and his wife Nicole sent the laser-cut two-by-one-and-a-half-foot cardboard toast with a bite mark to world-renowned food guru Jamie Oliver’s production company on a whim, in hopes of being featured on his award-winning YouTube cooking channel, Jamie’s Food Tube.
Engraved on the bread-shaped cardboard was the message, “Gluten-free bread can taste like cardboard. A special-diets Food Tube channel could help change this.” The Knegts included a link to a custom portfolio website which invited Oliver to consider partnering with them to bring delicious gluten and allergen-friendly recipes to the world.
Oliver launched a search last month for foodie talent among the world’s greatest entrepreneurial chefs, cooks and artisans. This “fresh talent” will be uploaded to his Food Tube channel, where views and “thumbs-up” votes will help determine who is given the opportunity to work with his network.
In a recent video, Oliver explains his new Fresh Talent Playlist: “We want to find the best people from around the world and get it up on Food Tube so we can share it with everyone.”
Since its kickoff in January 2013, Jamie’s Food Tube has become a cooking show and online recipe resource for the masses. It is the largest foodie community in Europe and boasts 1 million plus subscribers.
The Knegts shot a video featuring a gluten-free and dairy-free adaptation of Jamie’s chocolate profiterole (cream puff) recipe from his most recent cookbook, Comfort Food. When Oliver’s team uploaded it to Jamie’s Food Tube, they dubbed Nicole as “the Canadian queen of gluten free baking.”
Nicole Knegt
Nicole’s knack for tweaking run-of-the-mill recipes into glorious allergen-friendly deliciousness could be a game changer in the foodie world and for countless people worldwide who have dietary restrictions.
Nicole is anaphylactic to all dairy and is also sensitive to gluten, yeast, and a number of other foods. Matthew also has a number of sensitivities to various foods.
“We felt there was a niche for a food channel that caters to those of us who live with allergies, celiac disease, and other food sensitivities,” said Knegt.
The Canadian couple recently closed Four Spoons Bakery to focus on creating an online educational resource, fourspoonsglutenfreerecipes.com, for individuals with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity and food allergies. They also launched a YouTube cooking channel in September.
The Knegt’s chocolate profiterole video is featured alongside eight fellow Food Tube fresh talent competitors, who have already earned considerable recognition within the food industry as MasterChef champions, TV chefs, authors and food writers. Seven are London-based and one is from Dublin.
“We are beyond thrilled,” Nicole said. “Please watch the video and give us a thumbs up! We hope to make Canada proud and to be able to provide high-quality gluten-free and allergen-friendly recipes.”
Answer the question “What’s For Dinner” with ease?
Zip in and out of the grocery store and know what should be in your shopping basket?
Put wholesome and nourishing foods on the table in no time flat?
Lose weight AND keep it off?
After completing this workshop series you will become confident in your food
choices, get nourishing dinners on the table in 15 minutes, and find your body’s
natural weight with ease!
3 Week Series:
Three Essential Skills for Fast, Flavorful and Healthful Meals
Oct 18: 1:30-3pm
Oct 25: 1:30-3pm
Nov 1: 1:30-4:30
Session 1: Decoding Nutrition Labels
Session 2: Foundational Food Skills: Meal Planning Like a Pro
Session 3: Streamline Kitchen Time – Gluten Free Cooking Class 1 Recipe, 8 Meals
Register: Online at healthbean.ca or call Selena at 778-990-6047
White Chocolate Dipped Gingerbread
Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Homemade Hot Chocolate on a Stick
PLUS:
+ Learn the 3 golden rules of how to convert gluten filled recipes to gluten free
+ Take home the foolproof recipes and be able to replicate them again and again,
These classes are hands on so be prepared to roll your sleeves up!
English: American-style pigs in blankets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Courtesy CCA National Newsletter
I’m not sure why, but April 24th is Pigs in a Blanket Day. In North America, making Pigs in a Blanket usually involves packaged unbaked dough that is definitely not gluten free. Here are some options that are gluten free and will appeal to the kids (and grown up kids) alike. The last recipe uses a surprising substitute for the pig.
Pigs in a Blanket – more or less the traditional approach.
When: Saturday, February 19th 2011, 10 am – 3pm Venue: East Kelowna- at the home of Okanagan Gluten Free Consulting (a celiac-friendly kitchen)
Come and learn the stress-free way to make delicious gluten-free cakes and cookies for every occasion. Sponsored by Nature’s Fare Markets, this interactive class will help demystify the process of gluten-free baking, and help you to produce top-quality treats at home.
Hosted by Angela Petrie of Okanagan Gluten-Free Consulting and gluten-free pastry cook Elana Westers, participants will leave with a good understanding of gluten-free flours, starches and baking techniques, the ability to convert classic recipes to gluten-free, and a selection of gourmet cookies and cakes to enjoy with friends and family throughout the week.
All participants will receive a 10% off voucher for Nature’s Fare products, and a chance to win a hamper of gluten-free specialty foods provided by Nature’s Fare!
Class size is limited to 10 people to ensure individual attention.
Cost: $110 (includes HST, materials, and a light gluten-free lunch). Gift Certificates are available.
For more information, or to book your place on this workshop please contact Elana Westers (organizer) at Sustainworks Ventures: (250) 470-2610 or email: [email protected]
Just thought I would pass this on. You can go to this link there is a free gluten-free cookbook!