Successful Gluten Free Halloween

Halloween was a success! Armed with my basket of gluten free goodies, we doled out candy to about 85 trick or treaters. Much to my surprise, we are not the only family in our area that lives a gluten free lifestyle. As children and their parents came knocking on our door, I informed the adults that all our candies were peanut and gluten free.

I met one adorable little princess who is also living with celiac disease and her parents were happy to know that she could safely munch on a treat, before the big sort back at their house.

Our puppy, Kelly, was my sidekick… well that is a nice way of putting it! Although she was well behaved in regards to wearing her costume for the entire evening, she did try to escape numerous times and chased a few witches and barnyard animals across our lawn in hopes of starting a good game of catch.


I also had the pleasure of trick or treating with our friends' daughter Gabrielle, who is two and a half. It was her first Halloween experience and once we established that it was not customary to try and dash into peoples' homes once they opened their doors, everything went smoothly. She was quite the hit on our street, as she loves to talk to new people and tried to make friends with everyone. By 9 pm she was curled up on my bed watching cartoons, exhausted from all the excitement and having crashed from her sugar rush. The adults ended the evening with a well deserved coffee and some gluten free Patsy Pie cranberry & orange biscotti… yummy! If you have yet to try Patsy's delectable treats, I suggest you run out and snatch up a bag. Whether or not you are following a gluten free diet, they are scrumptious! http://www.patsypie.com/

For all Those with a Celiac Husband!

My husband is a true beer lover, not the kind that likes to have a cold one or two every night, but someone who actually enjoys savoring the taste and aroma of a well crafted brew. Personally, I would much rather consume those calories in a decadent crème brûlée, but to each their own.
His world nearly fell apart with the realization that beer was no longer an option once he began his gluten free diet. And I am not exaggerating! Somewhere in our basement still lives his rating system from the original and specialty beers he has tried over the years at the Montreal Summer Beer Festival.
I have tried to appease him, by picking up La Messagère Gluten Free Buckwheat beer, the only gluten free bottled beer available here in the province of Quebec. But it wasn't the same. He would always complain that although it allowed him to partake with his buddies in a cold one during football games and poker nights, it just didn't do beer justice.
Well, lo and behold, I was totally shocked the last time I went grocery shopping and there gleaming on the shelf was their new GF version "Rousse" or "Red Ale". I snatched one of the three 6-packs and hurried home to show him my new score. I was a little afraid it would be yet another disappointment, as so many of you can understand following this diet. But he loved it. The taste is a little sweeter, but much smoother, it was a real hit in our house.
So I just wanted to pass this little tidbit of information along to you. This beer is available all across Canada and by visiting their website, http://www.lesbieresnouvellefrance.com/home; it will locate all the stores selling their products in your area.
Cheers :)

Gluten Free Halloween

Halloween is less than a week away. For most of the little Goblins and Ghouls out there that means a fun filled night of costumes, trick or treating and munching on tasty treats. However, for the child with celiac disease, this night can easily turn into a nightmare!

But Halloween does not have to be an evening filled with trepidation and worry for celiacs and their families. By following these simple tricks, everyone can enjoy a Spell-ta-cular Halloween!!!

1. Direct your child’s attention to other aspects of Halloween. Instead of focusing on the loot they hope to acquire and devour, create some other traditions. For example, have your children help design and make their own costumes or create a haunted house and have the children help you dream up ideas and decorate.

2. As hard as you try to divert your child’s attention from the free flowing massive amounts of salty and sweet snacks being handed out, it is inevitable that they too will want to savor some of these delectable flavors. Make sure you arm yourself with a reliable and updated gluten free candy list. There is one available on www.TheGlutenSolution.com. I cannot stress enough how important it is to research the accuracy of the list you choose to use. During my research, I came across numerous outdated lists that boasted gluten containing confectionaries as safe.

3. Spread the word to friends, family and neighbors. Let people know what candies are safe and hopefully they will be willing to ensure they have safe options for your child. You can even make little baggies of safe treats beforehand and arm your neighbors with them so that your child receives at least a few safe candies.

4. Wear something that has big pockets when trick or treating and fill them with safe gluten free candies. The yummiest treats are always those first few that are nibbled on while skipping from house to house. Make sure that you child can join his/her friends in this tradition. Have a wide variety so they have the pleasure and anguish of trying to decide which Halloween treat to eat first.

5. When sorting your child candies allow them to be involved. Make three piles; safe, not safe and research. From the candies that do not contain enough information to be considered safe, allow your child to pick a few of the really awesome treats and call the manufacturer to see if they are edible.

6. Buy an assortment of gluten free treats and special little gifts your child will enjoy (for example, homemade free movie rental coupons, hockey cards, stickers, etc) that your child will be able to “buy” from you by trading in their gluten containing candy.

7. With the help of your child, come up with an idea of what to do with the gluten containing candy they received. This way, instead of feeling like they are missing out, they can be proud of doing something worthwhile. Donate the candy to a soup kitchen or shelter. Also, in some areas there are Dentists and Doctors that buy Halloween candy from children.

8. Be positive! Having a great attitude and not focusing on the difficulties will help your child to not feel left out. After all, spending quality time with your child is the best treat possible.

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

All About our Turkey Time!!!

This year, we hosted our first gluten free Thanksgiving dinner. With a little trepidation I rolled up my sleeves and began baking and roasted our traditional dinner with a twist. I was a little nervous, that the traditional Thanksgiving meal wouldn’t be enjoyed by our gluten consuming guests, but everything went off without a hitch. Even the little ones scarfed down dinner and people even helped themselves to seconds of our gluten free apple bake.

As usual, we celebrated with Denis’ side of the family, as mine is spread across the entire country & parts of the states. However, this still meant hosting 10 people, and a huge Bouvier/Standard Poodle puppy in our little bungalow!!!

Essentially, what that meant is I had to be very organized. When I host, I want to schmooze and mingle with the loved ones I don’t get the chance to see as much as I would like to, so I tried to choose my recipes wisely and focus on those that could be made ahead of time. Most of the meal was prepared before our guests even arrived.

This year The Robinson Clan feasted upon…

Honey’d Goat Cheese Bites

Roast Turkey with Savory Rice Stuffing

Thyme Turkey Gravy

Decadent Mashed Potatoes

Harvest Squash Medley

Warm Apple Bake & Vanilla Ice Cream

Even though, most of these recipes were ready beforehand and reheated, nobody was any the wiser. I prepared the Savory Rice Stuffing, the Decadent Mashed Potatoes, the Warm Apple Bake, and I roasted squash for the Harvest Squash Medley the day before.

For everything that had to be done last minute, the day before, I pre washed, cut and measured all the ingredients and stored them in individual and labeled containers in the fridge. Yes, this means that the day before I was a busy bee, but the day of our Thanksgiving Feast I was hardly in the kitchen at all. The key is to have a cupboard stocked with many different sized airtight, plastic containers.

My hubby Denis, takes care of the cleaning. As most of the messy work was done the day before, the house was ready to go in the morning. Thanksgiving Day, we got to sleep in just a little, shoved the bird in the oven, walked Kelly our puppy and best of all we enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee on our patio.

I know that Denis and I had a great time and truly enjoyed the company of his sister Stephanie, her beautiful family (Dan, Sabrina and Zoe), my father-in-law Tom and some truly great friends Val, James and their precious daughter Gabrielle. This year I was definetly thankful for the realization that we are surrounded by such wonderful people.

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and are as blessed as we are,

Kimberly

Greetings from Kimberly's Kitchen

Welcome to my Blog!

I must forewarn you all, this is my first ever experience with blogging. I am excited… but a little nervous at the same time.

My plan is to come here once a week and fill you in on little tricks and tips I come across in our quest of living a gluten free lifestyle. Please feel free to post comments and ask questions, I would love to get your feedback.

First of all, I want to share with you a little about myself…
I married Denis (the co-founder of TheGlutenSolution almost two years ago); he was advised of his possible condition about 6 months after the wedding. It is a running joke between us that he was keeping his gluten free diet a secret till we were married, so it was too late for me to run away. It has been quite an ordeal and made a huge impact on our lives, but we are learning to cope quite nicely.

I have extensive training and work experience in Natural Health & Nutrition, so I was quite knowledgeable about his condition right from the start, which definitely made the transition a little easier. Nonetheless, we have been forced to make many changes in our daily lives and routines. Luckily for Denis, cooking and baking is a hobby of mine, so I have taken it upon myself to find yummy recipes so that he doesn’t feel as if he is missing out. Not to mention, as a person living in a gluten free household, I still want to be able to enjoy food as much as I used too.

Wishing you health, love & happiness,
Kimberly