Double Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Macaroons

I LOVE chocolate. One of my favorite Girl Scout cookies when I was in the GSA was the samoas. But they are not gluten free. So I googled gluten free samoas and got back SEVERAL recipes for chocolate macaroons. Well, I wasn't happy with the first one, so I looked some more. I landed on a no bake version using oatmeal, and then I couldn't find the cocoa powder. So I substituted Nutella. Which then led me to a version using BOTH Nutella AND cocoa powder. Now I will admit, that I am STILL tweaking the recipe and trying to figure out how to make it not so gooey and a little more dry, but maybe some of you who are reading this can lend a hand in that. I welcome any comments and suggestions for this.

By the way, this is the first recipe I am posting, so please if you try this and especially if you land on a way to tweak it, I invite your comments and follow up posts as I would like to add more recipes in the near future.

So here is my version of a no bake macaroon:

4 tablespoons of cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)
2 tablespoons of Nutella (this does contain milk, so if you are dairy allergic, you can try a dairy free version often found in health food type of stores; not sure if they have chocolate soy butter?)
1/2 cup milk (I use Silk Pure Almond in Vanilla, but if you use the Dark Chocolate, then you get TRIPLE chocolate! Soy milk is also a good substitute if allergic to nuts.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I use pure vanilla)
3 cups oatmeal (Quaker oatmeal in the canister works fine.)
1 cup coconut (ground almonds or substitute grated carrot if allergic to coconut)

Boil the cocoa, the Nutella, the milk and the sugar for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour this mixture over the oatmeal and coconut and mix well.

Drop by the teaspoon on parchment paper and wait until dry and easy to lift off. Or you can make a macaroon "pizza" or macaroon "cake" using a pizza pan or cake pan.

This recipe is entirely gluten free and an awesome substitute for those Girl Scout samoas that I so miss! But I usually end up with a very sticky and gooey mess in the end, so it is still being tweaked.

Riceworks Chips

I've been seeing riceworks for a couple of years and decided to give these gluten free chips a try. I chose parmesan because I like cheese. What I didn't expect was how dry and flavorless they seem to be.

I have even tried ranch dip. To no avail.

I will most likely not be purchasing this brand again myself. Although if you are looking for a good snack, they're not that bad. It's just I can't personally recommend them.

Indie Candy Provides Excellent Allergen-Free Candy in the Birmingham Area

So last week I had some blood work while at Trinity Medical Center for a doctor's appointment and decided to find Indie Candy in Mountain Brook while in that area. After all, I was basically in the area and had heard great things about it from their Facebook page and website. They offer allergen free candy.

Seriously. I walked in the store and was unsure what I was wanting. There was a girl working there that greeted me and after finding out that I was allergic to basically everything they are free of, she told me that I could everything in the store except what was on top of the counter. She even let me sample a gummy bear!

I fell in love. I expected higher prices, but the prices were reasonable. 25 cents for a sucker. 5 cents for a button candy. Even the counter items were not outrageously priced.

But aside from reasonable costs and excellent customer service, it was the selection available.

I have a dairy allergy but tend to limit soy due to a thyroid condition. I am allergic to wheat although my ENT said I can have it periodically since I am now grass allergy shots and it seems to be more of a cross-reactive allergy than an actual allergy. I am allergic to peanuts. Don't get me wrong. Vermont Chocolate Factory has excellent nut free candy but it's pricey, you have shipping costs, and well, they do have pretzels, so they are not 100 percent safe for me.

I ended up finally choosing a chocolate covered "oreo," a mix packet with an assortment of products, and gummy bears. Upon eating the cookie, my first thought was "There is no way this can be allergen free. It tastes too good!" Alas, I finished it and I still remember it. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

I am definitely going to be a repeat customer for this store and I will recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone wanting a nice treat for their significant other, children, teachers, friends, or themselves for everyday and special occasions.

PopChips May Not Be As Gluten Free As They Claim

PopChips states on their bag that they contain no gluten ingredients. The bitter irony is that they also have a statement underneath the ingredients that repeats that they contain no gluten ingredients underneath a statement that says that they are manufactured on equipment shared with wheat.

I made this discovery myself after having purchased a bag of them from a local store that carries a lot of gluten free products. Needless to say, I'm a bit irritated by this.

As someone who went gluten free because of severe wheat allergies, this kind of misleading information drives me up the wall.

Misleading how? Because at the top of the bag in large, bold print it says no gluten ingredients. But at the bottom underneath the ingredients the statement comes in about the shared equipment. Wheat is a gluten ingredient and if a product is manufactured on equipment that also processes wheat, it is unethical and misleading and false advertising for them to claim that they have no gluten ingredients.

Good luck getting the FDA to actually do their job and get this kind of misleading labeling eradicated.

By the way, I am forwarding this review to the company and will post their reply if and when I get one.

Hodgson Mill Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix

The Hodgson Mill Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix with Milled Flaxseed is rather dry. Although the first product that I have run into that actually comes out looking anything like the picture on the box, it is not the most tasteful product I have encountered. I actually found myself liking it better after I put vanilla frosting on it.

Also, not having seen information on the Hodgson Mill site that specifically states exactly how they guarantee the gluten free nature of the gluten free foods considering their line also has non gluten free foods, I am hesitant to say that this mix is safe for someone who has to be strictly gluten free or wheat free. Only a small note on the box saying that all the ingredients are by nature gluten free and that is not very assuring.

My assessment of this item on a scale of one being the worst and ten being the best is a five.

Udi's Gluten Free Sandwich with Nutella and Blue Diamond Honey Almond Butter

My first non-deli gluten free sandwich now that thanks to Jason's deli at Colonial Brookwood Village gave me a good exposure to gluten free bread.

So, what do you get when you mix two slices of Udi's Gluten Free White Bread with Nutella Hazelnut Spread and Blue Diamond Ready to Spread Almond Butter with Honey?

Only one of the best sandwiches chock full of protein!

The best part is that not only is it gluten free, but it is also peanut free.

Highly recommended for people with multiple food allergies!

Gluten Free at Jason's Deli and at Great American Cookies

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to treat my mother to a free cookie from Great American Cookies at the Galleria Mall in Birmingham, AL. Well, actually, it's in Hoover, but we call it part of Birmingham. But she actually two cookies because I gave her mine. This month, they are accepting book donations and with those donations, you get one free chocolate chip cookie.

Anyway, I was looking and noticed this big flag that said gluten free sitting next to a batch of Chewy Chocolate Supremes. They taste a lot like a brownie with walnuts. They do have walnuts. But it was definitely a chocolate supreme! I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. It was so delicious. And at just under two dollars including tax, it was not bad.

This past Tuesday, I had another opportunity before me that presented at a health fair where I obtained so many pens, notepads, and antibacterials that I'm going crazy now, as I learned that the Jason's Deli at Colonial Brookwood Village on Lakeshore also had gluten free offerings. They use Udi's Gluten Free Bread. So I had a gluten free roasted turkey with spinach, lettuce, and mayo sandwich. For the size of the bread, it was quite expensive, but it was very tasty. It took me two meals to eat it though because they put so much stuff on the sandwich. And they are one of the only, if not the only, locations in the Birmingham area to use bread on the gluten free menu.

Now, they have a note that for celiacs, they may want to consider not eating from the menu, but for those with mild sensitivities and intolerances that it should be fine. Since this latter group is the group I fall into, I gave it a go. I was impressed. The bread fell apart easily, but it was so good that I am actually planning to buy a loaf from my local Whole Foods store if I find it there.

Needless to say, I am glad that Gluten Free is garnering more attention and that there are food places out there that are catering more to the Gluten Free community than there used to be. Ever since I started on a gluten free diet for my wheat allergy, I have been thriving more. Now if only ALL gluten free foods could taste as good as these without it having to be homecooked.