The Shopaholic's Spot: Browse or Buy!

I've talked about a few different products through out my blog. If you love to shop and try new items or just browse and "window shop", you've come to the right spot.

Take a look at some of these gluten-free and allergy-friendly goodies grouped here. All items listed are provided through Amazon.com.

The Scoop on GF Flours

Gluten Free (GF) flours are a life saver but they can be very tricky to work with for those living with wheat free and gluten free diets. It really is a good idea to experiment to see what works best for you and what your family prefers. Sometimes a person can develop a love/hate relationship depending on the taste of the flour or the texture it lends to the finished product. Just like any food product and your personal preferences, a GF flour can be your favorite but disliked by some one else.

I'll start with rice flour since it is the most common flour that pops to mind when one thinks of Gluten Free. I have found that I prefer the texture of Sweet White Rice flour versus White Rice flour as I find it less noticeable in the finished product. Regular white rice flour can leave a slight bitter or gritty aftertaste depending on what you have used it in.

Rice flour does not really brown so it is not a good option for coating for "oven-fried" items. Potato flour and chick pea get a beautiful golden brown and toast up nicely so I mix that in to get color if I'm using mostly rice flour in that instance. Brown rice has the most nutritional value and fiber of the rice flours.


I love chick pea flour (also know as garbanzo, or Gram (not Graham!) or Besan in some Middle Eastern or Asian stores, flour) because of its protein and calcium content and I think it has more fiber/nutritional value than rice flour. You can buy it for an economical price in Asian stores or if you buy the brands in the Asian food aisle of the larger, better stocked supermarket. I find though that it can have a strong raw aftertaste if not cooked well or it can overpower the flavor of your baked goods if used in excess - I never use more than 1/2 of total flour ratio needed in a recipe. Toasting the flour in a dry saucepan over low heat can help to remove the "raw" taste but will increase the "nuttiness" factor- just cool before using in your recipe. It fries very well and gives a very crispy coating to chicken fingers, etc but I usually cut it with potato flour. It also makes a delicious fried vegetable dumpling - my favorite version is with spinach (Recipe coming soon but basically you mix the chick pea flour with diced onion & other raw veggies, salt, pepper and egg, using enough water to make a thick batter and then fry to golden deliciousness in hot oil)!


My favorite flour for baking is Sorghum flour. Its taste is light enough that it lends itself to most cookie and cake recipes and has a very nice "crumb" to it in its texture. Other staple flours in my cabinet are Tapioca Flour, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Millet Flour and Cornmeal, Corn Flour and Cornstarch. I have Quinoa Flour but use it sparingly as I find its flavor is very strong.

Tapioca Flour is used more for binding or as a thickening agent, it does not have much nutritional value.

More on flours coming soon! But if you can't wait, check out Barry Farm Foods and read up on the different gluten free flours (and how to use them) available for sale - interesting varieties include black bean flour and plantain flour. They sell small bags for the curious but you can also buy in bulk and save. Their prices appear to be quite reasonable.

If you want a guarantee that your flours are gluten free, check out a popular brand of flours offered by Bob's Red Mill. They test their flours regularly but they are also more expensive. You can find a list of their gluten free products and other helpful information here.

Coconut Milk is Our New Best Friend

I don't know where I have been but I have just discovered coconut milk as a dairy-free alternative. I've used it in recipes before for Thai dishes but it never occurred to me to try it instead of rice milk until I bought coconut milk ice-cream that was unbelievably creamy & delicious. (It was a bit pricey but worth it - coming to the reviews section soon)

Anyhoozer, I have used it in place of milk for baking and it works really well as opposed to rice milk - I think because of it's fat content. You may want to remove the top creamy layer from an opened can of coconut milk if you want to reduce the fat content. We made delicious cherry-coconut chocolate chip cookies that everyone gobbled up, including my picky sister (recipe coming soon).

You can make amazing whipped coconut cream that resembles whip cream - it does have a "coconutty" flavor so it wouldn't work for you if you don't like coconut but the flavor is light enough to not compete with the other flavors in your dish.

We have made our own coconut ice cream after getting an ice cream machine as a gift (those hints finally paid off!) and it was really fun experimenting with the kids. A word of caution - you only need a tiny capful of peppermint oil for 2 quarts of ice cream - and that is if you enjoy a strong mint flavor. The kids ate up the chocolate chip mint ice cream we made regardless of the fact that it nearly made my eyes water!

I am now using it in my quest for creating the perfect pancake. I'll let you know how that turns out - I am halfway there!


There are many brands to choose from but if you have 30 minutes and are in the creative mood, you can make your own coconut milk by following this simple recipe or this detailed Brazilian recipe. Let me know how it turns out and if you think it is cost effective!


Has anyone tried using coconut oil in place of shortening/butter? Which brand do you prefer?

I've used coconut oil once so far in a gingerbread recipe I found on the web (I'll share it as soon as I find my bookmark for it). It is interesting to work with as it is solid at room temperature but melts as soon as you touch it because of your body temperature.


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Birthday Cake!

Well Jenna turned 4 and LOVED her special day! I solved my birthday cake dilemma by making her Cinderella cake out of marshmallow & rice cereal (recipe coming soon!)

I think it came out cute (except for my spelling mistake - I was soooo tired by the time I finished it!) and more importantly, Jenna loved it and it was enjoyed by ALL. That was key for me because I didn't want Jenna to have to eat something different at her own party and I wanted the other kids to like it too. Made modelling cinderella a piece of "cake" too - pardon the pun but I couldn't resist - because you can mold it around anything :)


We had a Pirate/Princess themed party so she could dress up as a princess and we held the party at a craft store! I didn't know they had a party room until I stopped in for some art supplies at AC Moore. It was great! No running around! All the kids sat at a large table and made a great themed keepsake project to take home. For lunch, I ordered pizza for the kids from the place next door(made it even easier for me!) and I got an extra empty pizzeria box to put in Jenna's gluten/dairy free pizza. When it was time to serve, it looked like she was getting a slice of pizza like everyone else.

What did you do for your child's birthday?

Buy in bulk for the best savings!

If you tend to use a lot of the same ingredients, it is a good idea to research the best suppliers and buy your staples in bulk. Make sure you store them properly and freeze whenever possible to maintain freshness. When I first moved into my own place, my uncle gave me an upright deep freezer as a housewarming gift and I am so thankful every time I use it. It helps me to save money and have ingredients on hand for when I need them. I buy spices, flours, nuts, meat and poultry in bulk; divide into portioned sized freezer bags or containers; label with date and contents and freeze until needed.

Check out this online store for a large selection of goodies:





Barry Farm Foods is a great resource for flours, spices and dry fruits! They are a chemical-free farm and can their own fresh fruits and vegetables, too.

How do you deal with food allergies in your family?

I was wondering how many other kids or adults deal with similar food allergies. Where you shop & eat out? Did any of your kids outgrow their allergies?

I shop for her groceries mostly at health food and Asian stores (cheap rice flour & garbanzo flour! I mean really, I get a bag 3 times the size of what I pay for in the supermarket or health food store. The difference is usually that the stuff made in America and labeled as Gluten-free is packaged better and hold up to FDA standards). Does anyone have any tips to share? Wheat-free gets expensive! And I can only feed her so much rice, LOL.

Please share! I am very interested in your story.

Thanks,
Blessed Momma

Jenna is turning 4!

She'll be 4 in 2 weeks! Jenna is very excited and looking forward to a Princess Birthday Party. I think I am more excited than she is, LOL!

Her birthday falls in the middle of the week so we decided on having Italian ice to celebrate with her (daycare) class. Jenna loves Luigi's Italian Ice and it was the best solution I could think of to to stay away from cookies, cupcakes, or ice cream so she can enjoy the same treat as the rest of her class. I could have given her a special dairy-free & gluten free cupcake or cookies but it is HER day and I didn't want her to feel different than anyone else on her special day.

Speaking of cookies, she is a pretty smart one & understands that some things make her very sick. She has been very careful since she had a severe reaction to candy her father gave her without reading the label over a year ago. She did not enjoy throwing up repeatedly or the intense pain in her tummy and she remembers it vividly. She also had a terrible reminder when she first reacted to wheat and had to endure a similar scenario a few months ago. She always asks about new food items - "Does this have milk?" and "Does this have wheat?" or "Will this make me sick?" Even when I give it to her! At first, I was a little taken aback (and a little wounded!) and responded quickly, "Do I ever give you anything you can't eat?" Then I realized it was a good thing she is overly cautious and always assure her that I made it special for her or that I read the ingredients and it was safe to eat.

I notified Jenna's Daycare of her new allergy and spoke with all the teachers save one who was out that day. I was told she would be informed. One day shortly after reacting to wheat, the teacher I missed told me that Jenna announced at snack time, "I'm allergic to wheat so I can't eat pretzels anymore". Her teacher replied, "Are you being silly? You eat these all the time". Jenna firmly repeated the mantra I kept telling her over the past few days (because she loves pretzels and would ask for them a lot) and the teacher took away the pretzels and told her to get something from her lunchbox instead. I was so proud of Jenna! I was so relieved that a potentially dangerous reaction was avoided (not to mention angry at the owner. I shudder to think of the "what if" alternative.) They have benedryl for her at school just in case but it doesn't stop all the pain if she hasn't thrown everything up first. Thank God!