I have always been an adventurous cook, who rarely measures anything. I toss together various ingredients and enjoys the excitement of what results. Rarely do my recipes ever turn out disasters. My children and husband will eat about anything. If it's really bad, I consider taking it to the neighbor who has quadruplet teenage boys (4 right?).
But there is something to be said for tried and true and the convenience of mixes. Gluten-free mixes are newly available in health food stores, but most are made from starches like potato, corn and tapioca that have little nutritional value and can be very expensive.
Gluten-free prepared food is also available, but expensive. I bought a box of wheat-free ice cream cones for ten dollars, hot dog buns are $5.75 for a package of four, and rice crackers and bean pasta can cost $5.00 for a small box. If I order online from my favorite gluten-free shop in Canada, shipping doubles the price.
So I bake. Bakery foods are healthier and taste better when they are fresh. There are some really great cookbooks out there that use alternate exotic grains and I like to experiment.
I don't sell mixes. That would cut into my therapy/writing time, but more than once I've delivered a basket of homemade gluten-free mixes to someone that has developed my same intolerance. I don’t make it up and send it right away. I wait a couple of weeks until a person is really desperate. I call and ask them if they've cried in the supermarket yet. When they admit that they have stood in the middle of the aisle and couldn't find anything to eat, then I know they are ready to try new foods and really appreciate them.
So many people are being diagnosed that major food manufacturers will eventually catch on. In the future the market will be flooded with new foods, but until then we will continue to bake from mixes.
Click on the Mixes label (17 choices) and jump to the bottom of the posts. Sorry, I can't take you there automatically... yet!
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