Gluten Free Cheerios….OmG!

Monica and Daria say:

How fast can you run?

Just run!

Run, run, run!

To your nearest grocery store, or in our case, to the nearest Sam’s Club!

You NEED to try the new Gluten Free Cheerios! And at Sam’s Club, you get 2 boxes bundled together at 1 pound 4.35 ounces apiece!

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Oh so much Cheerios goodness to eat!

Why are we so excited about Gluten Free Cheerios?

We haven’t eaten them in 13 LONG years! Since our diagnoses, this great little cereal and reminder of our childhoods has been off limits!

So, we are ecstatic!

We were so hoping that the gluten free version of this classic cereal would be close to the original version….the little round O’s that we remember being so crunchy and standing up to the milk!

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Well, our hopes were satisfied!

Gluten Free Cheerios tastes just like regular Cheerios!

It’s awesome!

Oh we couldn’t wait to dive into a bowl this morning!

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So we got out the dark chocolate almond milk, cut up some strawberries, and readied our taste buds!

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YUM!

Isn’t it amazing how the simple things in life are the best?

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So make Gluten Free Cheerios a part of your breakfast routine again…and relive some happy moments like we are!

Enjoy!

© 2015, Monica & Daria of glutenfreedoubletalk

Red, white, and blue…everywhere!

Monica says:

We are slowly approaching America’s birthday….and that means red, white, and blue!

One of my favorite breakfasts is oatmeal with cinnamon sprinkled on it….so to be patriotic and add some wonderful antioxidants to my diet, I added a bunch of blueberries and strawberries!

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Delicious and nutritious!

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This post is a little different because in early June, in honor of Flag Day (June 14th), I made a red, white, and blue wreath for my front door.

It was inspired by Meredith while reading her blog Wait ’til Your Father Gets Home. When I came upon her post and saw the wreath, I knew I had to replicate it! So thanks to Meredith!

So I decided to add in a few pics of the way I constructed it…that way, you may be inspired, too!

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Gather your materials….you will need a wire wreath as shown; 3 colors of tulle (red, white, and blue); 4 spools of ribbon (red, white and blue designed) and 2 large spools of wired ribbon (red, white and blue designed); scissors or rotary cutter, and a ruler.

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If you are using a rotary cutter, you will need a mat or cutting board (I used an old plaque).

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You will need to cut 96 total pieces of blue tulle to place on wreath….

12 pieces on each wire using 2 of the 9 sections that make up the wreath.

Then cut 112 pieces of white and 112 pieces of red.

Place 8 total pieces on each wire alternating white and red. Put 2 red, then 2 white, etc.

Place these all around the remaining 7 sections of the wreath.

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As I cut my tulle, I gathered the pieces into groups of 10 and clipped them with a clothespin.

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While I was making it, I enjoyed a bowl of blueberries in a red colander draining in a white bowl….planned?

No, it just happened to be my mid-morning snack!

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Now cut your ribbons….small ribbons with red white, and blue designs are cut to approximately 10 inches.., you can cut as many as you want. We also added in very fine white ribbon to our wreaths!

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Make sure that wider ribbon that you buy is WIRED because it will make the final look amazing, as you can manipulate it!

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The wider ribbon is cut to about 13 inches and our wreaths had 8 pieces added. Three of one design and five of the other design!

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It’s looking great and the blueberries are disappearing!!

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LOVE it!

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Now to attach it to the door, we need to add some fishing line!

Do you see the pricetag on this line?? Holy cow, that’s how long I’ve had it!

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Voila! Our patriotic welcome!

Anyway, once visitors to our home saw it, they, too, had to make one!

So my sister Maria started her wreath with the help of her sweet granddaughter, Emily.

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Emily, in turn, wanted to make one for her house, so now we are up to three!

Emily’s is super special because we used sparkle white and sparkle red for her wreath!

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Didn’t Emily do a great job? She is super proud of her work, as she should be!20150621_184107

Emily and I say, “Ta-Da!!”

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And Gracie (my sister Maria’s other granddaughter) gets in on the act! Too cute for words!

So what are you planning to do for the biggest birthday celebration in the world?

Whatever you do, enjoy with pride and patriotism!

© 2015, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk

Blend up some nutrition!

Monica says:

Smoothie recipes are everywhere! They are THE go-to breakfast or energizing snack in the afternoon!

If you have a blender, you can make virtually any smoothie!

Smoothies are quick and easy, help you get more fruits and veggies, and can sustain your energy for a longer time! And did I mention, FUN?

If I didn’t…FUN ranks right up there!

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I LOVE listening to the whir of my HealthMaster™ blender (Montel Williams Living Well series)….yes, we got sucked into the infomercial and resisted, however, when we saw it at our local Boscov’s, we purchased it (and are happy to say it has been great)!

Anyway, the blender itself comes with a Smoothies and Power Drinks recipe manual and additional titles for making soups & sauces, appetizers & dressings, and desserts & ice cream, as well as an eating plan.

I’ve collected quite a few recipes into a “Smoothies” file, and I downloaded the Smoothies for Migraines ebook onto my Kindle, along with a few other titles.

When I first started blending my smoothies, I followed the recipes to the T.

Now, not so much!

It all depends what’s in the refrigerator and on the countertop….these ingredients will become my smoothie for the day!

A favorite of mine that I make fairly often is a nut and fruit smoothie.

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This one was made with 1 cup of fresh blueberries, ¼ cup of natural peanut butter (no sugar added), 2 very ripe bananas, 2 T chia seeds, 2 cups of vanilla soy milk and 6 ice cubes.

The ripe bananas give this smoothie a sweet taste

and the blend of blueberries and peanut butter round it out!

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Delightful!

So if you haven’t become part of the smoothie craze, I would suggest that you join us!

Easy, nutritious, and fun!!

What could be better?

Enjoy!

© 2015, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk

The Real Deal With Gluten-Free Cheerios

This is a must-read for all of you who grew up with the iconic cereal, Cheerios!

April Peveteaux wrote this great post to update the celiac community about one of our favorite breakfast cereals…great job, April!!

Thank you!

Gluten is my Bitch

gluten-free cheeriosHello peeps! I’m freshly back from Minneapolis where General Mills is cooking up some gluten-free business. If you took part in the lively Facebook thread, you know that GM is changing the way Cheerios are made and as of this fall, 5 varieties of Cheerios will be gluten-free: Original, Honey Nut (woot!), Multigrain, Apple Cinnamon and Frosted.

Naturally, those of us who have celiac disease and other intolerances, allergies, and darn good reasons to stay away from gluten, are wondering two things: Is it safe? How does it taste?

Well, I can answer one of those questions.

View original post 1,552 more words

February Foods We LOVE! Quinoa!

Monica says:

Several years ago if you would have asked me what quinoa was, I would have had the “deer in headlights” look on my face!

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is probably the most perfect plant protein that can be found!

Naturally gluten-free and wheat-free, this is THE perfect food for those of us who suffer from celiac disease or have gluten-sensitivity.

Nutrient-rich, quinoa has anti-inflammatory properties, contains all of the essential amino acids, and is a great source of manganese (migraine sufferers often are lacking this)!

Fast forward to now…

I am comfortable cooking quinoa and anyone who knows me, will tell you that I LOVE to collect recipes and will try any recipe at least once. That being said, I discovered this amazing breakfast quinoa.

Being a “Martha Stewart Wanna-be” (as far as crafts and recipes go), I learned that she has a video series called Eat Clean with Shira Bocar, the Martha Stewart Living food editor.

The recipes in this series are simple and nutritious.

Here is a link to my new favorite quinoa recipe, called Quinoa Porridge!

http://www.marthastewart.com/1072187/eat-clean#1100582

I wrote down the recipe as Shira spoke on the video, so here it is!

Quinoa Porridge

First:

½ cup rinsed quinoa (rinse through 3 changes of water)

¾ cup almond milk (I used Silk Vanilla Almond Milk)

½ cup water

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cardamom

¼ tsp sea salt

Swirl ingredients and then bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover for 16 minutes.

When done, fluff with fork and set aside.

Now:

Chop half of a pear into bite-size chunks. Grab a handful of toasted sliced almonds.

(I toasted sliced almonds on parchment paper in a 350˚ oven for about 5 minutes….as soon as they are fragrant, remove from oven)

Assemble the porridge by placing quinoa in the bottom of a bowl. Add some almond milk, place chopped pear on top and garnish with toasted almonds.

©marthastewart.com/eatclean

So let’s recap….

Quinoa can be eaten for breakfast!

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Quinoa is a seed, not a grain!

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Quinoa will keep your tummy happy!

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Let’s dig in…

Enjoy!

© 2015, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk

February Foods We LOVE! Ice Cream!

Monica and Daria say:

Ice cream is a food that we can eat anytime, any season, right?

Well today is “Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day” so who’s ready to celebrate?

WE ARE!

Oh so many flavors, so little time to eat them all….we decided on a pistachio almond that is so smooth but has the great crunch that we are craving!

And of course, since it’s breakfast, we decided to combine the ice cream with gluten-free waffles to ramp it up a bit! We used Pamela’s Baking Mix!

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So delightful!

When Daria was little, she and her sister along with all of the neighborhood kids and parents, used to descend upon our house on the 4th of July. Why? Because we lived near a hill which overlooked our local high school football stadium and that’s where the city would have the fireworks show!

After the wonderful display, everyone would walk back down to our house and we would make waffles and ice cream for everyone! It became a tradition!

Then when we were diagnosed with celiac disease, our celebration changed. We continued to make waffles and ice cream for everyone, but for the first year or two, we only indulged in the ice cream. Once we learned how to mix the flours, we searched for waffle recipes. In those days, there were no mixes!

Bottom line, we survived it and it’s the memory of the fun times we had all those years that’s important!

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We’ve since moved away from that wonderful neighborhood but still stay close to the best neighbors anyone could have!

If you want to make some great memories, fire up the waffle maker, get out the ice cream and invite your neighbors, friends, and family over!

You won’t be sorry!

Enjoy!

© 2015, Monica & Daria of glutenfreedoubletalk

My favorite fruit has its own holiday!

Monica (mom) says:

I can hardly contain myself!

It’s National Blueberry Muffin Day!

Oh blueberries….my favorite little fruit.

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I eat some every morning on my cereal or just a bowl full. Any way I can get them, I do. Full of antioxidants and just pure joy!

Do you think I love blueberries?

Researchers say that fresh blueberries are an excellent source of fiber, provide vitamin C and iron, as well as have antioxidant power. Findings show that these little powerhouses can protect against certain types of cancer and help with memory. Blueberries may also protect against urinary tract infections and intestinal upsets….just like their cousin the cranberry!

My favorite way to eat them is, of course, raw, but who can pass up a great blueberry muffin?

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After trying many, many recipes for blueberry muffins, we tweaked combinations of ingredients and this is what we came up with!

A lovely little muffin that gets its sweetness from the fresh blueberries! Yum!

 

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Blueberry Muffins

Dry Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour

½ cup sweet rice flour

¼ almond meal

1 T baking powder

½ tsp salt

 

Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (½ stick), softened

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¾ cup milk (we use Lactaid milk)

 

1 ¾ cups of fresh blueberries

1 T brown rice flour

 

Muffin Making Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Place muffin (cupcake) papers into 12-cup muffin tin.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  If using an electric mixer, this should take about 1 minute.

Add your egg and combine until smooth and thoroughly incorporated. About 1 minute, too!

Next add ½ of your dry ingredients and blend.

Add your milk and incorporate. Finally, add the last of the dry ingredients and blend again. You should have a yummy fluffy dough.

Take your fresh blueberries and coat them with the 1 T of brown rice flour in a small bowl.

Now add the berries to the dough mixture and fold them in. Be careful not to break too many of them!

Using an ice cream scooper, fill each muffin cup with dough about ¾ full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until your muffins are golden brown and spring to the touch!

Once the muffins are baked to your liking, remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for several minutes. Then remove from pan and let cool completely.

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Try not to eat all of them at once!!

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Yield 1 dozen delightful gluten-free blueberry muffins!

Happy Baking! And eating, of course!

© 2014, Monica & Daria of glutenfreedoubletalk whisks

Birthday Scones!

Monica (mom) says:

Yesterday was my birthday! And as I was waking up to the smell of something delicious, I was really hoping that it was scones!

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Can I tell you how happy I was that my husband got up early to bake these for me?

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The recipe uses Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix as the base and has scrumptious dried cranberries and fresh orange juice in it! To add even more flavor, Lewie adds in extra orange zest and pulp, too!

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Look at the presentation! Isn’t he the best??

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You’re thinking….how did she eat just one?

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I didn’t!

Could you?

The plate “says” it all….I had a thankful heart and was so grateful for a plateful!

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Here is the recipe that he has been using for many years! He found it online, so many thanks to RecipeZaar!

Happy Baking!

© 2014, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk

Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe #366484

27 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 10, 10 scones

  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 2 1/3 cups Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of one orange
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Add the dried cranberries to the orange juice and set aside. (This allows the cranberries to get plump and juicy).
  3. Combine the dry ingredients.
  4. Cut in the butter using two knives.
  5. Add the beaten egg, milk, orange juice/cranberry mixture, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix together with a fork. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
  6. Drop large, tall dollops onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. About 1/4 cup of batter will make for even scones.
  7. Bake for 15-17 until lightly browned.
© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

What’s for breakfast?

Monica (mom) says:

Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day….but it could get boring eating the same thing over and over! I am a cereal person but know that I need to add more protein to this meal, so recently I have been eating more oatmeal with either peanut butter swirled into it, or chopped nuts with some kind of fruit.

Look at my yummy oatmeal today with almonds, walnuts and fresh blackberries! And all of it was prepared with one arm….I just had right elbow surgery on Monday!

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© 2014, Monica of glutenfreedoubletalk