Gluten-Free Book Review: Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide & Cookbook

Back in December my friend Hallie Klecker asked me to review her newest e-book. A wonderful collaboration written with Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free. This book, "Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide & Cookbook" is exactly that: a perfect place to start when you go gluten-free and dairy-free.

What I love about this amazing little book is that it not only gives you a full description of what gluten-free and dairy-free REALLY means... it also gives you list after list of foods you can eat, foods you should avoid, shopping lists, a menu planner, etc... this book is a one-stop-shop for learning how to fully become both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Hallie and Alisa have also created 75 delicious recipes that will get you started on your gluten-free & dairy-free journey. How do these recipes sound:

• Banana Cream Pie Shake
• Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Biscuits
• Maple Apple Turkey Sausages
• Weeknight Chicken & Vegetable Chili
• Fresh Salmon salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing
• Florentine Flatbread "Pizza" 
• Chicken Curry in a Hurry!
• Chewy Dark Chocolate Brownies
• Maple Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Then, in addition to all of the mouth-watering recipes, you'll also receive meal planning tips and hints which show you how to cut down on prep time and make weeknight gluten-free & dairy-free cooking fast and easy. 

Would you like a copy of this book? (And you absolutely should!)  I'm giving away one electronic kindle copy of this book! Simply leave a comment on this blog post letting me know why you'd like this book and what recipe you would try first! 

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The Giveaway:

• I am giving away one brand new electronic kindle copy of Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook. 
• This giveaway is open to everyone. 
• One entry per person.
• Enter by leaving a comment below on this post AND please include a way for me to contact you -- your email address preferably.
• The giveaway begins March 27, 2013 and ends on March 31, 2013  at 11:00 pm eastern daylight savings time.
• No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  
• The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winners will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

GLG Disclosure: 

Hallie Klecker provided me with an electronic copy of 'Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook' for the purpose of sharing an online review, if I chose to do so. I am personally purchasing the new e-book that is being given away. This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive compensation. The opinions in this post are completely my own. 

2 Hour Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Meals: Jambalaya

One thing I learned when I wrote my slow cooker cookbook was that people have very strong opinions about their slow cookers. They can love them or they can hate them. There aren't many 'tweeners.

Well one thing I love about them (especially newer "Crock Pot" slow cooker models) is that they actually cook pretty fast, especially on high heat. And yes, I know that's a contradiction. Why in the WORLD would you want a "slow cooker" to cook FAST?

Because I'm never home. That's why!  I'm out of the house over 10 hours a day during the work week, which unfortunately is not conducive to MOST slow cooker recipes (unless you like really burned, or really over cooked food!). So some evenings when I get home... I throw something in the slow cooker as SOON as I get in the house. Toss it in... I can do a ton of other things (like write other cookbooks) while that's cooking and by the time Michael gets home a few hours later... dinner is done. And it took me all of five minutes to throw together.

And that was tonight's dinner. Zatarain's Jambalaya with gluten-free sausages cooked in the slow cooker. We served it with leftover broccoli from the night before and some canned green beans. We're super gourmet like that.

I don't make boxed mixes every week... but it's so cool you can make them like this in your slow cooker. Nothing burns, it's not overcooked (it actually cooked the rice through in about an hour and forty minutes), and there's very little to clean up. And since there's only two of us... this mix (and we added extra brown rice and water, so it wouldn't be as spicy) will make at least 3 meals for us.

Thanks Zatarain's! I love seeing those two happy words on your box! Now if only you could make it with less sodium and fewer preservatives you'd make a lot of other people happy too! :-)

So try it out! A slow cooker meal in two hours. And there's quite a few recipes you could use in one of my favorite cookbooks!

Cat Shaming #1 - No Leftovers...

Thanks for no lunches tomorrow Whiskey Jack... And from now on, the leftovers will go in the fridge AS SOON as we've plated our food...

Gluten-Free Review: Three Baker's Bread - Part 1: 7 Ancient Grain

Three Bakers Bread is a small company in Moscow, Pennsylvania that makes all different kinds of gluten-free breads. The company started as a regular bakery, but several years ago the owner's daughter discovered she had celiac disease. Realizing that she could no longer eat the bread that provided her family's income, they decided they needed to learn how to make gluten-free bread. After many tests and trials they came up a number of products that are now available in several grocery stores across the US. Three Bakers also ships many of their products nationwide, so if you can't find them locally, you can have it shipped directly to your home. (If you can't order from their website -- that info seems to be down, you can order from the Gluten-Free Mall.)

They sent Michael and I several samples after Pam of I'm A Celiac, tried the breads and enjoyed them.

The first bread we tried was the 7 Ancient Grain bread. My husband has never been a "whole grain" type bread fan, so he didn't like the bread fresh and he didn't like it toasted either. He said it was too 'grainy' and had an aftertaste. I have to admit it wasn't my favorite bread either. It did have an odd aftertaste and I wasn't sure where it was coming from.

HOWEVER... as I've learned with other gluten-free whole grain breads... I decided to try the bread as the base for French Toast... and woah baby... it makes AWESOME french toast!! I'd buy the bread just to make french toast!!

Gluten-Free French Toast with Three Baker's Bread: 

We made the french toast simply by whisking together 2 eggs with about 1 cup of almond milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, and lots of ground cinnamon. Dunk each slice of bread (we used up the entire loaf!) generously on both sides into the egg/milk mixture and then cook for several minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown. Serve with butter and maple syrup!

We had enough leftover that I froze enough for 3 servings (3 slices each) in the freezer so I could take them to work the next week. 

Our Overall Review: 

Pros of 7 Ancient Grain Bread: 

*Large slice of bread, just like "regular" size of wheat bread for a sandwich

*Entire loaf is about 60% larger than Udi's bread, more bang for your buck

*Great nutritional stats: 7 grams of fiber per serving (2 slices), 190 calories for two slices

Cons of 7 Ancient Grain Bread: 

*We were not fans of the taste of the bread, straight from the package or toasted (however, made awesome french toast!)

Ginger Lemon Girl Featured in The Roanoke Times

I am thrilled today to be a featured story in the Extra Section of The Roanoke Times today in an interview with Lindsey Nair, Food Writer.

Lindsey asked me a bunch of questions about why I wrote the cookbook, how I started the blog, and how I became interested in cooking and writing. I really enjoyed answering Lindsey's questions and I'm really excited because I grew up in the Roanoke area, so to be featured in the local paper there is a true honor.

Not only does Lindsey share a fun interview with me about the book, but she shares two of my favorite recipes in "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" and you a sneak preview of some additional projects I'm currently working on that are due out late summer and early fall 2013!

Please head over to the Roanoke Times today and read Lindsey's story today! And meanwhile, don't forget to order a copy of "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" if you haven't already!

Special thanks to Sarah Neilsen, author and photographer of Celiac in the City for sharing her photograph of the Hot Chicken Buffalo Bites for the story, and to Kat of Kat's Food Blog for the picture of Roast Chicken with Lemon and Artichokes! You ladies ROCK!