Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix - Devils Food

 Our "Mommy & Me" project yesterday was to take this gluten and dairy free cake mix by Betty Crocker and make them into cupcakes. You can find these Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes at Target in Hilo! The pricing for a box is around $5 - $6, but the smile on your child's face is priceless! 

The recipe on the box calls for :

 3 Eggs

1 cup of  Water

1 stick Softened Butter 

(**I used Earth Balance Non-dairy Stick Butter)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Empty Cake mix into mixer.

Add water, 3 eggs & softened butter and mix for 20 secs to combine.

Mix at a medium low speed for 2 additional minutes.

Prep Cupcake tin with liners and fill 2/3 of the cup.

Khloe enjoying a lil batter scraping from the bowl!

Mommies lil Sous Chef....complete with Chocolate mustache!

Bake the cupcakes for 22 minutes or until center is completely cooked and toothpick test comes out clean.
**Ovens and altitudes vary

More information about Betty Crocker Gluten Free products can be found at http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/GlutenFree

The over all experience of making these delicious cupcakes were enjoyable. Its child friendly and easy to follow. A great project for the lil sous chef in your house and something they can eat too. I highly recommend it as a cake substitution for birthdays or special occasions! Thank you Betty Crocker for making this fast, easy alternative!

Gluten Free Chicken Fingers made with Ian's All-Natural Panko Breadcrumbs!

Ian's all natural Panko bread crumbs are the perfect GLUTEN FREE selection when making crispy chicken fingers or tenders. They have a great crispy texture and flavor to them and children just love it!

These wonderful Panko bread crumbs can be found in Hilo at Island Naturals or visit their website for more information! http://www.iansnaturalfoods.com 

 For simple chicken tenders just follow this easy recipe!

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken cut into tiny pieces or finger-like strips

2 Eggs beaten

Ians All-Natural Panko

Garlic powder + Salt + Pepper to taste

Canola oil to fry

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium-low heat. Take chicken strips and dip them into the egg mixture. Place chicken coated in egg into the bowl with the panko and coat. Repeat the process once more, then fry in the heated oil until golden brown. 

Serve the chicken fingers with Betty Crocker GLUTEN FREE  Potato Buds or Hawaii's favorite white rice! Children of all ages love it and so will the adults!!

Found in Hilo at Wal-Mart!!

Khloe's Gluten Free Mochiko Chicken

Aloha! This weeks recipe is Gluten Free Mochiko Chicken. I took a regular mochiko chicken recipe and modified it so that our gluten free angels can enjoy them as well. It was a huge hit with adult and children both GF and not. Enjoy!

5 lb Boneless/Skinless chicken thighs, cut up into small bite size pieces

1 Cup mochiko flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Kingsford Gluten Free Cornstarch

1 Tablespoon salt

1/2 cup Gluten/MSG Free soy sauce

2 eggs

5 cloves garlic (chopped into small pieces) or 5 (1/4 teaspoon) Garlic Powder

Oil to pan deep fry

Combine all ingredients above and marinate chicken for at least 2 hours, over night is best. Cook until golden brown.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.

Combine ingredients and mix with cut chicken pieces.

After marination heat oil in pan and deep fry until golden brown.

Finished product! Enjoy!!

Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers

Today's lunch for the little love bug was Crunchmaster brands Multi-Seed Crackers topped with a mixture of seasoned can tuna and Vegenaise made by Follow Your Heart. Khloe loved it and ate till her hearts content! 

Its light, wafer-thin and oven baked with yummy goodness. I found these crackers at Abundant Life which is located in downtown Hilo. There are 4 different types of Multi-Seed Crackers, Original, Rosemary & Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic & Toasted Onion. Crunchmaster is a fabulous brand that carries a wide variety of gluten free products! Another one of khloes favorites from this brand is Crunchmaster Grammy Crisps in Cinnamon Sugar flavor. 

Grammy Crisps are also found at Abundant Life in downtown Hilo. For more information check out Crunchmaster's website http://www.crunchmaster.com/home.aspx

Vegenaise By Follow Your Heart

Here is one of Khloe's all time favorite, Vegenaise, a healthy Gluten free and Dairy free alternative to Mayonnaise. It doesn't have the greasy and oily texture of regular mayo and my 3 1/2 year old loves it!! Its a product that is made by a company called "Follow Your Heart".

  (http://followyourheart.com/ )

 Their products can be found in Hilo, Hawaii at Abundant Life & Island Naturals. The Follow your Heart website has a lot of recipes and alternatives you can use in the place of gluten and dairy products. I highly recommend this product!

Here are the following comparisions between Best Foods Mayo and Vegenaise..

Nutritional Info	Best Foods Mayonnaise	Vegenaise Gluten/Dairy Free
Calories/serving	90	45
Total Fat	10g/15%	5g/ 8%
Sat. Fat	1.5g/8g	0g/ 0%
Trans. Fat	0g	0g
Cholesterol	5mg/2%	0mg/ 0%
Sodium	90mg/4%	90mg/ 4%
Total Carbs	0g	1g
Fiber	No	0g/0%
Refined Sugar	No	No
Additives/Preservatives	Yes, Calcium Disodium EDTA	No
Refrigerator Fresh	No	Yes
Shelf Stable	Yes	No

Not only perfect for Gluten and Dairy free diets but a more healthier choice to living! Hope you enjoy this alternative as much as Khloe and I do! 

Kinnikinnick Foods S'moreables Graham Style Crackers

Today we tried a new Gluten Free/Dairy Free snack, Kinnikinnick Foods S'moreables Graham Style Crackers. I have come to find that pretty much everything made by this brand tastes pretty fabulous! Khloe loves them and they taste pretty good! 

 I found these at Abundant Life in downtown Hilo, Hawaii. Abundant Life has a whole section as well as products throughout the store dedicated to Gluten Free products.

 

Abundant Life Natural Foods & Cafe

292 Kamehameha Ave  Hilo, HI 96720 (808) 935-7411 Open 7 days a week Store Hours Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:30am-7pm Wednesday & Saturday 7am-7pm Sunday 10am-5pm Cafe HoursMonday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:30am-3pm Wednesday & Saturday 7am-3pm http://www.abundantlifenaturalfoods.com/

What is Gluten?

                  You may be asking yourself...."What exactly is Gluten? Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Part of the Gluten family consists of the following:  bulgur, farro, kamut, spelt, triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), couscous, dinkle, durum, einkorn, emmer, Farina®, fu, graham, seitan & semolina. Almost any product made from flour has wheat flour as a base.  Other common wheat products include wheat berry, wheat germ, wheat germ oil, wheat grass (also called triga), wheat gluten, wheat nut and wheat starch. Common ingredients and additives made from wheat include edible starch, food starch and glue. 
                  Obvious examples include breads, cakes, cookies, bagels, crackers, pasta and many cereals. Wheat flours and starches are also excellent thickeners and binders and are often found in sauces (including soy sauce), gravies, soups, cornbread mixes, dairy products like sour cream, cottage cheese and yogurt, and processed meats like sausage, hot dogs, lunch meats and broth injected poultry. 
                        Another important part to gluten free living is ALWAYS READ YOUR LABELS when grocery shopping. There are possible sources for gluten indicated on the food label but you may not realize it. Here is a list of some of the tricky verbiage on those ingredient labels:

• Modified food starch—can be made from corn, tapioca, potato, WHEAT or other sources. Corn is almost always the source in North America with potato and rice occasionally used. 
• Caramel color—can be made from BARLEY or WBRO grain products, but is usually made from coal by- products
• Dextrin—can be made from WHEAT. 
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein/hydrolyzed plant protein/textured vegetable protein—could contain protein obtained from wheat. Most is made from soy, corn or peanut and label will specify. 
• Maltodextrin/Malt Sugar/Maltose- can be made from wheat starch. 
• Monosodium Glutamate/MSG/Adjinomoto
• Natural Flavoring
• Vegetable Gum
• Cereal Protien
• Edible Starch/Gelantinized Starch/Food Starch
• Meat products containing "rusk"

As I find more information through the research I am doing, I will make it available. Please remember to read your labels! It could mean all the difference in your child's well-being.