Getting Started:

I have had countless emails and Facebook messages asking how to get started, etc. I have replied to  them, but I’m guessing there are more people wondering how to get started. You can read “A Little About Me“, to see my first post.  If you already know what you are doing when it comes to being gluten or allergy free, just ignore this post… I’ll have a new recipe on in a couple days.

Here is the starting program:

• All my recipes can be substituted with regular milk and regular sugar if you are only gluten free. You can also use regular vinegars and oils.
• Gluten is basically the “glue” that holds regular flour together. Take out the gluten and you need another glue to keep baked goods from crumbing. That is why you will need xanthan gum or chia gel eggs (mix 1/4 c. water and 1 Tbsp. ground chia seeds to make a gel egg), to hold your products together. Both are available health food stores and in the Bulk Barn.
• There are pre-made gluten free flour mixes out there. They are available at health food stores, the Bulk Barn, and major grocery stores.
• To make my gluten free flour mix, I get my flours in bulk at the Bulk Barn or also on Amazon. They would also be available in health food stores as well as bigger grocery stores. I mix a big batch together and store it in a plastic container so that I always have some ready when I want to bake.
•  I use coconut palm sugar, erythritol and monk fruit sugar. I buy it at the Bulk Barn and on Amazon. You can use regular white or brown sugar in its place if you are not concerned about sugar.
•  I usually buy quinoa at Costco, but it is also available at the Bulk Barn and grocery stores, but its much more expensive.
•  Crackers  that I like (Mary’s Organic and Crunch Master)  I buy at Costco. Other pre-made products are now readily available at most bigger grocery stores.
•  There are corn tortillas that are very inexpensive and there are also brown rice tortillas available in the specialty freezer section at bigger grocery stores.
•  I bake quite a bit, and make sure that I always have goodies and muffins in the freezer for lunches and snacks. It makes my life easier to know exactly what is in a product instead of worrying about the ingredient labels. My shopping trips took me hours at the beginning.
• There is rice, corn and buckwheat pasta available but much of the time I use alternatives as well such as, spaghetti squash and zucchini ribbons.. I also go into the oriental section of the store and get their rice noodles. Its still  made from rice and is gluten free but is less expensive and tastes better than rice pasta.
• Regular soy sauce has wheat in it. Bragg’s soy sauce is gluten free. If you can not have soy sauce at all, then you can use coconut aminos found in health food stores and on Amazon.
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  Having food allergies takes more planning. There are many alternatives to eat without completely giving up the old foods you were used to, just by changing things a little bit. Don’t panic or get too overwhelmed.
  I hope this helped. If you have more questions please either leave me a comment or send me a private message.
   
  Have a wonderful day!!
   
  Sandi
   
   
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• Starting Out (sandisallergyfreerecipes.net)