Gluten Free Expo Inspiration

Recently a Gluten Free Expo came to Utah and a friend and I went to check it out. I have to say it was well worth the $8 entry fee! We tasted tons of samples while we were there and came away with a bag full of more samples and coupons!

I learned a lot about new products I can try and found some inspiration for a few new dinner ideas! One of the coupons we received was for $1 off Schar brand products and they have a gluten free bread that I thought I would give a try. For lunch last week I made a BLT with the bread and fresh tomatoes from the garden. I've also had the bread as toast for breakfast and I'd say it was a great gluten free alternative. It looked and tasted like the real deal!

I found a link to download another $1 off coupon here!

I also thought I'd share a little fall treat. Dairy-free pumpkin spice steamer! It was super simple to make the pumpkin spice syrup (I got the recipe here) then I just stirred a few spoonfuls of the syrup into coconut milk and warmed it up in the microwave. I'm sure you could make it much more fancier but when your dairy options are limited this is a delicious substitute.

Here's a little peak at how Sawyer is liking his introduction to solids! Hehe.... It's so funny to watch him try to figure out this food thing. He makes super funny faces and wants to grab the spoon as I feed him. Love this messy face!

Roasted Tomato Soup

We had this roasted tomato soup last week to use up some of the tomatoes from our garden. I've pretty much never had anything outside of the canned Campbell's tomato soup so this was so much tastier and healthier! I found this recipe here on the gluten free goddess blog. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted tomato ingredients:

3 lbs. of tomatoes (I actually weighed them)

Garlic cloves (I used about 4) 

Balsamic vinegar

Italian herbs

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sliced tomatoes and chopped garlic in a baking dish. Splash with olive oil, and vinegar. Sprinkle with herbs- I used a herb grinder (see picture below). Bake for about 45 minutes.   

Soup ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (optional)

2 cans diced tomatoes

3 c. chicken broth (about 1 1/2 cans)

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

While the tomatoes are roasting, add olive oil and onion to a soup pot and cook onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Add oven roasted tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. 

Discard bay leaf and puree the soup using an immersion blender, which I don't have, or use blender and puree in batches.

Return soup to pot and add additional seasonings if desired. You can also add a cup or two of coconut milk like I did for a more creamy consistency. Now if I could just remove the dairy and wheat from a grilled cheese... 

 

Black Bean Burgers

Well after a few weeks of not posting I have a few updates and lots of recipes I want to share! For now, I have a great recipe for black bean burgers that we had for dinner a couple weeks ago. We've still been trying to find ways to cut our grocery budget since the food I'm eating is much more expensive so my husband has gracious approved of a meatless meal once or twice a week. We are pretty big meat eaters and I thought it would be hard to find meatless meals we would enjoy but so far it hasn't been too bad! These burgers were so easy to throw together and they tasted great!

Black Bean Burgers

1- 16oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 egg (I used 1 tbsp. ground flax and 3 tbsp. water)
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 c. oat flour- ground up rolled oats (or bread crumbs for non-GF)

In a medium bowl, mashed beans with a fork until thick and pasty. Add pepper, onion and garlic in food processor (I used the magic bullet) and process until finely chopped, add to beans.

Stir in egg (or flax), chili powder, cumin, hot sauce and oat flour.

Combine black beans mixture well and shape into four patties. Place patties on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet and place in the freezer for about a half hour before grilling so they hold together better while cooking. Grill burgers for about 5 minutes on each side or until desired doneness :) I served Brent's on a bun and mine with lettuce, tomato and ketchup. Such a cheap and easy meal!

Sawyer went to see the gastroenterologist last week Monday. The doctor said Sawyer is growing great, which I already knew! And he said to stay off dairy for another six months until he is a year old. He also said we can try to introduce wheat again at a year. So for the next six months it's no dairy or wheat... But I'm so thankful we've come so far from having no idea what was going on to having his allergy problems pretty much under control. God has really blessed our journey and given me a persistence I never would have been able to come up with on my own.

I read this verse today, Proverbs 16: 3, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." So true for any challenge we face in life!

Here's Sawyer and his buddy Josh playing in the leaves! Josh is like Sawyer's big brother, they have so much fun together!