Udi's gluten-free foods

My husband and I went on a little road trip last weekend to Austin. My mom and my brother are also diagnosed celiac's so it's nice to get together with them and have lots of gluten-free treats. My mom picked up some muffins, blueberry and lemon, from Central Market. The brand was Udi's These are hands down the absolute best muffins I have ever had. Sorry, I didn't take a picture, but I can assure you that I will be repurchasing more of these so I will have a picture in the future. We ate them much too fast this time! The texture of these was very surprising. They are the most moist bread that I have ever eaten gluten free. Very springy texture. We carried a couple of these back to Dallas with us and after sitting in our refrigerator for a week (we were kind of muffined out) I had one this morning for breakfast and they tasted exactly the same! I could not believe it. Normally it would have dried out. I have done a little bit of exploring online with this company, and I do believe you can order online, but you may have to call them to place the order. I did not see an online order form. Trust me on this, please order from them or find a local store that carries their products. If you don't have a Central Market or Whole Foods in your area ask your local grocer to carry them. Lots of stores will do this! Gluten free is so popular now that many people that don't even need to eat this diet do because it is so healthy. Please, please, PLEASE trust me on this one and get your hands on these products. If you live in Denver or are visiting stop by and try them in person. You won't be sorry!

pasta, pasta, pasta!

I will admit, I am not very adventurous when it comes to trying different gluten-free pastas. I have heard horror stories about a few brands. The one I liked the most and would eat pretty often after I was diagnosed was the tinkyada brand. You can view the website here This brand tastes pretty much exactly like regular wheat pasta. You have to be careful not to overcook gluten-free pasta or it becomes mushy and gross. I have never had that problem when using this brand. The only grocery stores that I have found it at are the more upscale, specialty-type stores like Whole Foods or Market Street.

One of my new favorite brands that I find myself buying a lot now is Mrs. Leepers. There are so many different types of pastas with this brand. The only thing so far that I have tried is the spiral rainbow colored pasta. So good. This brand also offers many quick-fix type pasta dinners, similar to hamburger helper. I personally have never had them, but they look good.


Another favorite of mine is the gluten-free mac & cheese. I eat this stuff all the time. My absolute favorite brand is the Annie's brand. It is a little more expensive, but when it is on sale I stock up. The other brand I buy (which you will see in the picture) is the Debole's brand. This one is more like a white cheddar style mac & cheese. This one is good too, just not my favorite.

I have a new pasta that I have not had the chance to try yet, but when I do I will post a review of it here. The brand is bionaturae I have heard from a few people that this one is the best.




and a picture of my mac & cheese

Gluten-free pancakes

All I can say is wow! These are so good. I have gotten myself used to not eating many bread products in the mornings now. Face it, if you are a celiac or eat gluten free just because, breakfast is not an easy meal. On the weekends I take more time preparing breakfast than I do during the week. I am a huge fan of Pamela's products. Everything I have tried is very good. (see my previous post about the cookies/cookie bar.) Pancakes have endless options too, try them with blueberries or cinnamon apples. YUM!

Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie is a great comfort food. Potatoes, ground beef, and veggies make this a satisfying meal. It is easily made gluten free which is even better! It is up to you on what veggies you put in it. I chose to use carrots, onion, corn, and green peas. I use the leanest ground beef I can find. (97/3)

Now for the recipe-

1 1/2 pounds of extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cups of your choice of veggies (carrots, celery, corn, peas, etc.)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 1/2-2 cups potatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken gravy


Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender.

While the potatoes are cooking coat large frying pan with olive oil.

Saute onions in olive oil. Add vegetables according to cooking time. Carrots first, then softer vegetables after carrots are mostly cooked.

Add ground beef and brown until no longer pink. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. (I add quite a bit more Worcestershire sauce than this recipe calls for because we really like it. I use more like 2 tablespoons.) Add 1/2 cup of beef broth and cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Gradually begin adding cornstarch (dissolved in water) to thicken the sauce into a gravy. I didn't thicken mine quite as much as I would have liked, but it still tasted fine.

Mash your potatoes. (I use a stand mixer for mine, but you can easily do this with a potato masher that you can find in a grocery store if you do not have a stand mixer.) I throw in 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter and salt and pepper in mine as well.

Place beef and veggies in a baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes evenly over the top.

Cook in a 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown. (about 25-30 minutes) Broil for the last 5 minutes to brown the potatoes.