Thanksgiving Menu — Gluten and Dairy Free

Preparing an allergy free Thanksgiving Menu can be a challenge if you are not sure about what substitutes to use.

Here is a menu plan and recipes that will make your holiday effortless and, most importantly, delicious!

Menu

Soup Course-

• Carrot orange ginger soup with toasted pumpkin seeds  Recipe>>
• Cheddar-Chive Biscuits with Daiya Cheese  Recipe>>

Salad Course-

• Pear, persimmon and walnut baby green salad with balsamic vinaigrette  Recipe>>

Dinner-

• Sweet potato casserole with pecan cinnamon crunch topping  Recipe>>
• Green beans with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts Recipe>>
• Southern cornbread stuffing with chicken apple sausage Recipe >>
• Roasted Turkey
• Bourbon Spiked Gravy  Recipe>>

Dessert-

• Apple cranberry crisp with coconut vanilla “ice cream” Recipe >>
• Pumpkin Agave Pie  Recipe >>

More Recipes coming soon!

Family Friendly Products
and Recipes
Whether you are looking for a gluten-free mix or gluten-free recipes, Elizabeth Kaplan can oblige.  Kaplan is the founder of The Pure Pantry, a line of gluten-free baking mixes, as well as a recently published cookbook author with her book, Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen.

Kaplan’s inspiration comes from her own kitchen.  She has celiac disease and all three of her children are gluten-free.  In addition to gluten, various members of her family have allergies or intolerances to dairy, peanuts, soy, eggs, and some beans.  Wanting to provide them with options, Kaplan got to work and created The Pure Pantry.  Her line of mixes includes four organic mixes: Old Fashioned Pancake & Baking Mix, Buckwheat Flax Pancake & Baking Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and Organic Sugar Cookie Mix.  She also offers two wholegrain mixes:  Oatmeal Cookie Mix and Dark Chocolate Cake Mix.

Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen continues Kaplan’s mission to create family friendly recipes and dishes that everyone can enjoy. The book, published in January 2011, includes recipes such as Peach Cobbler Muffins, Mojito Chicken with Cilantro Rice, and Blueberry Cheesecake with a Gluten-
Free Graham Cracker Crust. In addition to the recipes, there is a chapter titled “Stocking Your Gluten-Free Pantry,” which includes Kaplan’s recommendations for gluten-free grains and dairy-free ingredients.
thepurepantry.com
From glutenfreeliving.com

The Pure Pantry offers mixes that are not only delicious, but good for you, serving as proof that gluten-free, dairy-free, casein-free, soy-free, and even sugar-free don’t equal taste-free—quite the contrary!

The Pure Pantry offers a variety of mixes for gluten-free cookies, cakes, and pancakes, and even an all-purpose mix for creating other baked goods such as biscuits, muffins, and breads. The mixes are also versatile. We added tons of nuts to the Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and we loved them. They were not only delicious, but so healthy tasting.

Other mixes include Wholegrain Chocolate Chip Coconut Organic Cookie Mix, Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking Mix, Organic Sugar Cookie Mix, and the decadent Wholegrain Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, oh so chocolately and full of good-for-you nutrients including protein, antioxidants, and protein from ingredients such as quinoa. The Organic All-Purpose Baking Mix is vegan and free of gluten, sugar, dairy, and casein and remarkable for its versatility. It’s even kosher!

Elizabeth Kaplan, Founder of The Pure Pantry, was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago. Discontent with the poor nutritional value of gluten-free products, Elizabeth put her skills as a trained chef to work to develop great-tasting as well as healthy gluten-free substitutes. The Pure Pantry’s website, http://www.thepurepantry.com, features recipes, an online store, and resources for the gluten-free community. I highly recommend checking out their mixes for your gluten-free baking.

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

As seen in iVillage: See full article here.

Need some tips for gluten and allergen free lunches?  Here are some “out of the lunchbox” ideas.

Parents with children that have severe food allergies can especially feel challenged by the morning lunch prep routine– easy options for lunch seem limited.   Without advance planning, the morning rush can make your head spin. Here are some easy ideas to help overcome those mental blocks that we can face during the hectic, rush around mornings.  The tips below are all geared towards the gluten-free and allergy-friendly lunchbox but really anyone can add these ideas to their lunch prep repertoire.

1. Plan and prepare in advance

As much as possible, prepare at least part of lunch the night before, while you are preparing dinner.  If you are making a salad for dinner, make an extra salad for your child’s lunch.  If you are preparing pasta, make an extra serving and re-warm in the morning.  Soups, pastas, risottos all make great lunch box options.

-Wash and chop a plethora of fresh veggies and place in air-tight container in the refrigerator.  Use what you need as you go.

-Make and freeze larger batches of items such as gluten-free granola bars and home-made gluten-free cookies.

-Purchase handy lunch containers, a thermos and a large enough lunch box to fit everything.

2.  Think outside of the regular sandwich

The challenge with gluten-free sandwiches is, of course, the bread. It often crumbles, doesn’t taste good, has holes in it, is expensive, etc.  A great way to prepare sandwiches on gluten-free bread is by using a panini maker or sandwich press.  The flavor and texture of purchased gluten-free bread is enhanced by toasting or grilling.

Panini’s:

Turkey Pesto Panini:

2 slices whole grain gluten-free bread such as Rudi’s

2-3 turkey slices, nitrate free, try organic brand like Applegate Farm

1 slice cheddar, Monterey Jack or Provolone Cheese, or Daiya dairy free cheese

Sliced tomato or avocado

Pesto sauce for the adventurous kids

Spray a little cooking spray on the Panini maker, place your first bread piece, then add nitrate free turkey, a cheese slice or Daiya Cheese Shreds (our favorite!)  add optional sliced tomato or avocado, then another cheese slice, and top with second slice of bread, for the adventurous kids, pesto sauce can be spread on the top piece of bread.  Cook as instructed.  Wrap in reusable sandwich wrapper.  While the Panini will not stay hot until lunchtime, it still tastes great.

Almond Butter, Jam and Fruit Panini: Spray a little cooking spray on the Panini maker, spread one piece of bread with almond butter, the other with low sugar, organic jam, place first bread piece, thinly sliced apples or bananas, place other piece of bread on top.  Cook as instructed.  Wrap in reusable sandwich wrapper.

Waffle sandwiches: Try The Pure Pantry Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking mix to make waffles on the weekend.  Make extra a freeze.  In the morning, lightly toast two waffles, spread with nut butter and organic jam or cream cheese and jam.  Try turkey slices or ham with swiss cheese or Daiya Mozzarella to create a “Montecristo” type of sandwich. 

Cookie Cutter Sandwiches: appearance is everything to some kids.  Create cute cut-out finger sandwiches with large shaped cookie cutters.

 3.Make a Hot Lunch

Not a lover of the gluten-free bread choices out there?  Think outside the sandwich, and get into thermoses!

This Bento box type thermos provides great versitility: www.ebagsetc.com

Thermos Meals

Again, planning ahead pays off in the morning.  Left overs make great lunches the next day.  Soups, stews, pastas, risottos, are all easily reheated and packed into a thermos.

Soups: What can be more satisfying that a nice homemade cup of soup?  Here are a few ideas:

White Bean Oregano Chili: A family favorite in our home. A large pot can be made on the weekend and doled out during the week.  Accompany with organic corn chips or gluten-free corn muffins.

Asian Noodle Soups: gluten-free rice noodle packaged soups with added veggies are a perfect, quick hot meal to take to school. 

Pastas:

Pasta Salad: gluten-free fusilli pasta tossed with chopped celery, cooked broccoli, shredded carrots, diced black olives, and 1 tablespoon Balsamic salad dressing. 

Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Meatballs – make a big batch for dinner, then warm and serve it up for lunch the next day. 

Mac and Cheese – Dairy based or Dairy-Free with peas or broccoli. 

BBQ Chicken:

Left over BBQ’d chicken: My son’s favorite.  Barbeque extra chicken legs or thighs, pair them up with coleslaw or a side salad.

4. Get in the greens with salads

 I am proud to say my 3 year old eats salads.  If your children are salad eaters, a whole world opens up for lunch box choices.  It is easy to prepare a chef salad or garden salad with a protein.  For dinner the night before, prepare an extra portion and place in a lunch container.  Put salad dressing in a smaller container.  There are endless options. Here are a couple of ideas:

Chef Salad: top lettuce mixture with slices or turkey,cheese, add hardboiled egg slices, cherry tomatoes, avocado slices.  Place salad dressing in a separate small container.

Greek salad: top lettuce mixture with cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, Greek olives and feta cheese crumbles or Daiya Mozzarella shreds, add sliced grilled chicken if desired.  Place salad dressing in separate small container.

Garden salad with tuna: top lettuce mixture with sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers and any other veggies your child likes. Combine one can tuna with 1 tablespoon Vegenaise (egg free,dairy free mayo) ½ cup diced celery, ½ cup diced pickle, a squeeze of ½ lemon, dash of dill.  Place one scoop of tuna salad on top of greens.  Place salad dressing in a separate small container.

5. Add Some Easy Snacks and Sides:

Trail mix: make your own or purchase.

Yogurt Parfait: Your child’s favorite yogurt or coconut yogurt flavor with a small container of sliced fruit and a container of gluten-free granola to top it off.  Our favorite gluten-free granola is from Healthy Creations.

Home-made Gluten-Free Granola Bars: try this recipe for Cherry-Almond Oat Bars. Make double batches, cut into bars, wrap each bar individually and freeze.  Pull out a ar when needed – it will defrost by snack time.

Home-made allergy-friendly cookies:  Try some fun fall recipes like Pumpkin Pie Bars, or Molasses Ginger Cookies, or an old time favorite, Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip cookies. 

Gluten-free Chex Mix: try my Agave-Almond Chex Mix recipe for a great snack to pack for lunch or to bring to a class party.

Pre-packed healthy snacks: Organic Fruit leathers, organic squeezable fruit purees, organic apple sauce are all easy to throw in options.  Gluten-free crackers and cheese, and organic gluten-free corn chips with salsa are also easy to pull together.

Fresh fruit is a staple in every lunch we make.  We always keep apples, oranges, bananas and grapes on hand as a grab and go lunch item or snack.  More fragile fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, we place in small containers. 

Fresh veggies and dips: Carrots, celery, red pepper strips are all great with hummus, organic ranch dip, or Edamame Pesto Dip (recipe in “Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen”).

 There are so many options for gluten-free, allergen friendly lunches.  With a little advance planning you can provide healthy, tasty lunch options that will keep your kids well-fed and make your mornings flow smoothly.  

Apricot Almond Tart with Sugar Cookie Crust

Ingredients:

Gluten-free Crust:
1 package Organic Sugar Cookie Mix from The Pure Pantry*
1/2 cup butter or butter alternative, such as Earth Balance, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup organic, non-hydrogenated shortening, such as Spectrum
1 egg
1 teaspoon cold water (or more if needed)
1 teaspoon almond extract

Dairy-free Pastry Cream Filling:
1/3 cup organic raw agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave brand
1 cup coconut milk (canned, not light)
6 large egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons arrowroot
1 teaspoon almond extract

8-10 ripe apricots
tablespoons slivered almonds, lightly toasted , optional
Powdered sugar for dusting
*Available at Whole Foods, Sprout’s, and many other fine natural food stores. For store locations:  http://thepurepantry.com/store-locator/

Instructions:
Prepare pie crust:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Place sugar cookie mix, butter and shortening in large mixing bowl.  Blend with pastry blender or fork until mixture is in pea sized bits.  Add egg water and almond extract and blend with pastry blender until dough comes together.  Using your hands, pat dough into a flat disk.  Cover with waxed paper and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove pastry dough from refrigerator.  Prepare a work surface by placing a large sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper down and lightly dust it with rice flour or corn starch.  Dust rolling pin with rice flour or cornstarch as well.  Roll out dough  to 1/4 inch thickness.

Place pie plate or tart pan upside down on top of pastry dough.  Lift parchment paper cup on sides and flip over so pie dough lands in pie place.  Peel away parchment paper.

Trim edges of pie dough and reserve scraps for decorating pie or for making an extra little treat for the chef!

Poke holes in each pastry with a fork so surface has tiny holes throughout.

Decorate edges of pie crust, if desired, using small cookie cutters.

Bake pie crust for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

Prepare pastry cream:
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or double boiler, combine agave nectar, coconut milk, beaten egg yolks, melted coconut oil and salt.  Whisk together over medium heat until bubbles begin to rise.  Lower heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute.

In a small bowl whisk together two tablespoons of the hot egg/coconut milk mixture with arrowroot.  Add almond extract and stir.  Whisk arrowroot mixture into egg mixture over low heat and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken.  Set aside for 2-3 minutes. Place a piece of plastic wrap touching the top of pastry cream to prevent a film from forming.  Place in refrigerator to cool.

Remove pie crust from oven and let cool completely.  Fill with pastry cream.

Cut apricots into quarters, removing pits.  Arrange apricot quarters on top of pastry cream in concentric circles.  Top with toasted almond slivers and dust with powdered sugar.