About Me

I’m Lisa, a 40-something Celiac in Newcastle, NSW Australia raised in Oklahoma. I was diagnosed with Celiac disease 18 years ago when the choices were rice cakes and one loaf of brick weight bread. Now there is more to choose from, but I am over flourless orange almond cake. I like it, but it seems to be the GF item on offer most of the time. Only a short time ago, my friends and family would joke about “the hot cooky thingy” in my kitchen. Cooking was NOT on my agenda! Until I embraced my disease. Enter a recipe in the Sunday newspaper for salt & pepper squid that looked delicious and was made with cornflower. OMG I could so have that! So I experimented with this dish, served it to my husband and ravenous teenagers, and THEY LOVED IT!! I had never had a reaction like that before and the cooking began. Now I have a new life filled with test kitchen madness. I love cooking for my family and my work team who, after I had a week off work, sent me messages to hurry up and come back as they had to resort to a bakery. Horror!. So after amassing recipes, GF information, and test cooking, I am hoping to share recipes and products. I wish you happy and healthy cooking!
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Thursday 16 August 2012

But have you TRIED it?


But have you TRIED it?

17 August 2012




Whenever my kids or husband say they don't like a particular food I always ask, "But have you TRIED it?".  The majority of the time the answer is no which perplexes me.
Well pot, meet kettle!
Dates - yuck.  They are gross, right?  Well, ummm, see the thing is, after turning my nose up to Sticky Date Pudding and anything else that even mentions dates, I have been obsessed with homemade Larabars.  Can't stop thinking about them.  And what binds that yummy snacky goodness?  Either raisins (which have Weight Watchers points) or fresh dates (which are point free).  In the interest of keeping food as low point and healthy as possible whilst maintaining a strict Celiac diet, I decided to bite the bullet (date) and give it a whirl.
Yum, yum, and double yum.  My very own homemade, low point, gluten free snack bar that is utterly delicious.  Plus, you get almost double the grams of goodness for the same points as our family's preferred low point snack bar.  Maybe next week I'll test gluten free sticky date pudding but you will definitely not see any brussel sprouts on my table. And yes, I have tried them (thanks Mom for insisting we taste everything on our plates!)
GF Snack Bars
1/2 cup Sunbeam natural cashews
1/3 cup fresh dates pitted
1 Tablespoon Nestle mini baking bits
pinch of sea salt
Grind the cashews in the food processor until you have a fine crumb and transfer to a bowl.  Pulse or process the dates in the food processor until it makes a sticky ball.  Add back in the cashew meal, salt and chocolate bits and pulse until the mixture comes together.  (I had to scrape the bowl several times and ended up leaving the processor running for about a minute).
Line 2 mini loaf pans with cling wrap with generous overhang and divide the mixture into the pans.  Press down to form a "bar" and wrap tightly.  Chill in the fridge or freeze if you can't wait to taste them.
PS - welcome to my first post.  Whilst I'm not thrilled with the l photography which I know will get better with research, I'm thrilled to be here and have you visit.  Thanks for having me!
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