Condiments

A friend calls her allergy and gluten-free lifestyle  a Freedom (free from) Diet. 😃

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Alfredo Sauce, Wheat-Free

2 tablespoons soy-free margarine
2 - 3 tablespoons gluten-free all purpose 1 for 1 flour or 3 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 cups plant milk
1 cup dairy-free shredded cheese 

Melt margarine in saucepan. Then stir in gluten-free flour until it becomes pasty. Pour in plant milk and stir the roux in. Keep cooking until it thickens slightly. Dump in shredded cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and pour over cooked pasta. Stir in, eat and enjoy!

Travel Tip: I made up a batch to take with me on vacation and stored it in a wide mouth, 24- ounce canning jar in a cooler and then put it in the refrigerator when we got to the Airbnb. One large jar makes two batches of wheat-free pasta. To heat the sauce up after being in the fridge, I melted some margarine in a sauce pan, spooned out half of the sauce and added more plant milk until it melted down into a gooey sauce, dumped in the pre-cooked pasta and mixed it altogether. It was yum!

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Blender Mayonnaise 

2 large pasteurized eggs

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

pinch of salt

1 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Optional Herb:

1/2 teaspoon dried dill 

Add the eggs, mustard and salt into a blender container. Pour the oil over the previous mixture, then the vinegar, water and cornstarch.  Whirl on whip setting until frothy and white like mayonnaise. Blend until thickened and combined. Add any seasonings at the very end. Store in a wide-mouth canning jar in the frig for up to four days. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

We have not been able to find a low-sodium, garlic or onion-free stock, so this is my solution for making my own. 

Meal Prep: Low-Sodium Homemade Stock Tip 

Save any bit of water from boiling or slow-cooking meats into a canning jar. Let it sit in the fridge overnight and the next day scoop off the thick fat that rose to the top of the jar. Add the fat to an empty vegetable can that you saved for that purpose and put the can into the freezer to be thrown out on your next trash pickup day.

Save the meat liquid in 1/2 cup Souper cubes in the freezer. When the stock is frozen, push out the cubes and place the "bricks" into a gallon size zippy bag to save for soups and other meals to add a bit more flavor.

Keystone Meats have been cooked in the can. I remove the white fat from the can and save the liquid that comes with the meat for gravy later. Yum! 

One of my girlfriends said she makes stock from beef or chicken bones that she has removed the meat from and several vegetables like carrots, celery leaves, etc.  She boils the mixture for about an hour, then lets it simmer all day to cook down and concentrate, then adds the strained liquid to a Souper Cube to freeze it. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Tip: Olive oil and red wine vinegar makes a great salad dressing! 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Fruit

Fruit-Sweetened Recipes

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Frozen Fruit Juice Popsicles 

Can use any fruit juice to make a refreshing summertime treat to make molded frozen popsicles to eat. In addition, can mix the fruit juice with plant-based, sugar-free yogurt to add a nice taste to the popsicles too. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Frozen Grape Snack

Remove stems from the grapes, wash grapes in a colander, then place flat in a rimmed cookie sheet pan. Place in the freezer and freeze overnight. Remove from the freezer the next morning, dump 1/2 cup portions into 4 oz. canning jars or snack-sized zippy bags and refreeze. Remove one container at a time to eat and enjoy! 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Fruity Gelatin

4 cups of fruit juice, divided into 1 cup and 3 cups

4 tablespoons beef gelatin powder

Pour one cup of juice into a saucepan. Add the four tablespoons of the gelatin powder to the saucepan. Mix it with a whisk until all the clumps are gone. Once all the gelatin is mixed in (looks cloudy), move the saucepan over to stove and cook on medium high heat. Heat and stir until it looks clear. Remove from heat, then stir in the rest of the juice. Stir gently to prevent air bubbles. Pour it into an 8" x 8" pan or Jell-o mold. Refrigerate at least four hours. Cut into small cubes. 

Suggestions: 

Add fruit pieces such as grape halves and chopped canned peaches to your fruity gelatin. 

Stir in a cup of Fruit Puree to the fruit and gelatin mixture just before pouring into the molding pan (see Fruit Puree recipe below)

Welch's Grape Juice is yummy!

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Fruit Puree

Thaw out a package of frozen fruit and puree in a blender. Or do the same to drained, canned fruit. Store it in a wide mouth canning jar in the refrigerator or make a Souper Cube container of it for the freezer. Since I'm allergic to applesauce and 5 other fruits, I puree those I can eat to use them in baked foods, beverages, gelatin, etc. 

Suggestions: bananas, blueberries, peaches, pears, prunes, pumpkin, raspberries

TIP for Out of Season Fruits:

I have no problem with eating commercial baby food purees, as long as I can find them without any of the ingredients I'm allergic to or restricted from eating. (see Spice post for Small Jar Tip).

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Snack Packs/Fruit and Vegetable Tray/Finger Food/ Trail Mix

Fruit:

Banana chips
Blueberries, raw or freeze dried
Cantaloupe, honeydew or watermelon balls/cubes

Coconut Flakes, unsweetened

Dates, pitted, chopped

Dried cranberries

Grapes, seedless

Peaches, freeze dried

Raspberries, raw

Dairy-Free: 

Follow My Heart or Violife plant cheese slices cut into quarters

Grain: 
Absolutely Gluten-free crackers

Chex, Corn or Rice Cereal

Fritos, Lightly salted

Granola, unsweetened

Protein:

2 hard-boiled eggs

a broiled hamburger, cut into quarters  (see Protein post for recipe)

Canadian bacon

Cashews, unsalted

cooked shrimps

cup of beef gelatin with fruit

Dino chicken nuggets, gluten-free

meatballs

mixed nuts, low-sodium

peanut butter crackers

protein bar

Pumpkin seeds, shelled

Sunflower seeds, shelled

Vegetable: 

baby carrot sticks 

Celery sticks

Harvest Snaps baked veggie snacks

potato sticks

Red, orange, and yellow bell pepper slices

snap peas

Terra Chips

Suggestions:

* Amazon carries a stainless steel 4 compartment container with a lid. Each compartment is about 5 ounces in size. We ordered a 4 pack set of these. Thought they would be great to fill and take when running errands, etc. 

* pack in a small cooler with an cold pack to keep foods cool and fresh. Add a packaged wet wipe to clean fingers. 

* Use a silicone or paper cupcake/muffin liners to create small divided spaces in the compartments of the snack tray. 

* Or  use a stainless steel cup with a silicone lid to hold a condiment or dip. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Treats

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Banana Cookies - 350* F. for 20 min.

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup dried blueberries, cranberries, raspberries or other low-fodmap dried fruit

1/3 cup oil (coconut or corn)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in all the other ingredients. Mix well and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven or until lightly brown. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

~~ <> @ <> ~~

 Snack Packs (see Fruit post for list of finger foods) 

~~ <> @ <> ~~