Gluten Free Week: Our Journey (and DONUTS!)

I hope your day was as beautiful as mine, it finally felt like summer. The sun was shining, the clouds were glorious and it was just hot enough to make you think, we might be getting a summer after all. We ate a delicious dinner, frittata with steak, onions and mushrooms and a healthy side of grapes. Ahh for quick dinners that utilize leftovers in a 'new' way! We took a trip to a coffee shop, tried (unsuccessfully) to fly kites and played until it got dark with dear friends!

Did you see the giveaway? I wouldn't want for you to miss Pamela's baking mix. It is just that good. And no, they are not paying me to say that. I firmly believe it!

Going Gluten Free: 

Starting back when Isabel was in preschool we noticed that she had been having migraines, ones that would make her so sick she would vomit. We noticed it happened mostly after she ate processed food. So we eliminated fast food and that seemed to help. In kindergarten, she got more headaches and they came more frequently near the holidays. 

And then in first grade, she was ill almost everyday after lunch. We had been through a few appointments, her eyes checked, allergist scratch testing and so on. But nothing was really helping. So after consulting with my dear friend who was getting her Master's degree in Nutrition, we had a few options to think about. One of them stood out, it could be gluten.

My twin sister has been gluten free for five years, so I knew that could be a big possiblity. And my older sister has gone gluten free for health reasons in the last 18 months.

After only a few weeks gluten free, her headaches were much better, her daily illness stopped and she was feeling so much better. As a parent, I am still wondering why we didn't try this sooner!

We made just a few adjustments in our diet. We traded wheat for gf pasta, wheat-based crackers for nut thins and oatmeal to cream of rice.

The only things she complained about missing were fish crackers and donuts. She'd say, "the REAL fish crackers, please don't try homemade... it will make me sad." I didn't attempt the fish crackers, but I did try to make donuts.

I found few recipes for donuts on the web. But since I had a bag of Pamela's on hand. I decided to try their recipe. I had to tweak it based on the ingredients I had in the house. And they were really good. So the next time, I made them, I adjusted it a bit more. Now we have a recipe that we love when we are in the mood for donuts. And it doesn't take forever. It's really easy!

Easy Gluten Free Donuts

2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix 

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

1 egg lightly beaten

1 quart light tasting oil

Combine Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and cinnamon. Mix milk with apple cider vinegar, it should gently curdle immediately. Combine with dry ingredients, mix in beaten egg.
Start oil at low medium heat. When oil shimmers, drop batter by scant teaspoonfuls into hot oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until balls puff and turn darker golden brown, if you don't cook long enough they will be doughy in the middle. Cooking them lower temp and for longer makes for much better spongier donuts. Drain on paper towels. Roll in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. Best served warm.