Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Biscuits

I got this great recipe from Sia's Cooking Blog - she started out just doing lactose-free, then added gluten free and even some Paleo.

Her recipe: peanut butter banana biscuits

I had to use brown sugar since I had no honey around. I tasted them before cooking and decided I wanted more sweetness, so I sprinkled some extra sugar and cinnamon on top before putting them in. Also, this oven (not my oven, we're still not living back at home) is pretty powerful and I took them out after 13 minutes.

Yummy gluten free peanut butter banana biscuits

Birthday Party Cake

Me and the Little Man

The Little Man had his little Autistic Birthday Party this weekend. With the exception of a younger sibling of one of the kids and my friend's kid, it was all autistic boys. Which went pretty much as I expected - worse than herding cats! lol


One kid could have climbed the ceilings; he never actually stopped moving. Another one ran around a bit and then threw up. (Kudos to the staff and the daddies for the prompt clean up.)
The Little Man did not eat his cake (until today, in peace), he just blew out the candles and then went to play by himself somewhere (it was at a party gym).

BUUUUT, while we had some tears, anxiety and pouts, no one had a full meltdown. Success! And I had no mess to clean up afterwards!

Would I go there again? Maybe yes, maybe no. It might have been better to just let the kids go wild. The entertainer, bless her heart, seemed to think it would be possible to get these kids to listen and follow instructions. My son does, but he is a stickler for rules. If you show him how to do something one way once, he will do it that exact way every single time after that, no exceptions. He is detail oriented, methodical and rigid, just like his mother. He will probably loosen up with age, like I did to some extent, but it does come in handy doing certain types of work/jobs, so it's not all bad. It's interesting to watch though.

The big thing everyone wants though is the recipe for the cake, which was nut free, gluten free and vegan so that EVERYONE could eat it. Whew!

la pièce de résistance!

So here it is:

Vegan Brownie Recipe
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups flour (or gluten free flour blend)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything with a fork until blended. Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

Vegan Buttercream Icing
(This recipe came from The Kitchen Magpie)
1 cup vegan margarine (Becel makes one. I used Earth Balance coconut spread though)
3 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar
1-3 tsp rice milk (I did not need it)

Use a mixer to beat margarine until fluffy. Slowly add vanilla and icing sugar. Check for consistency. If you need to add milk, do just a bit at a time.
Place in fridge until you are ready to decorate.

Where To Get Gluten Free or Organic Foods in Canada

I sometimes get asked where to find gluten free and/or organic foods. Often these foods are under the same roof since fruits and veggies are naturally gluten-free and these things fall under the umbrella of "healthy eating." (Though it's perfectly possible to eat only garbage GF foods!)

To try and make it easier for those just starting out, or maybe give you some options you hadn't thought of, here's a small list:

Montreal:

• Rachelle-Bery
• A Votre Santé
• Nature Santé 2000
• Co-op Maison Verte
• Co-op Le Frigo Vert
• Aux Vivres
• Zero 8
• Crudessence

Canada:

• Say what you will about Walmart, they have a large and inexpensive GF section with lots of variety.
• Well.ca (Use coupon code 14mamacoupon at check out to save $10 off any $40 order)
• Costco (membership required)
• Amazon.ca 

Coupons and Recipes:

• The Healthy Shopper
• Enjoy Life Foods (you can email them to send you coupons. Download their free recipe book)
• Glutino
• Udi's
• Inewa

Going Gluten Free Update

It's been just over three months now since we went gluten free. We have had slip ups and made exceptions (poutine and chicken gravy being some now and then) but we've been pretty good.

We have found some amazing recipes and quick store-bought frozen products to get us over humps.


First, I was missing bagels. I found frozen ones!

Then I missed ravioli and I found that, too!

I'm just so happy there seem to be so many companies jumping on board with GF and making my life easier.

So, how do we feel?

Well, now we all notice very quickly when we've eaten too much gluten (or any gluten, for that matter).

I'll get headaches, intestinal cramps and feel foggy-brained.
The Little Man gets "stoned-like" - quiet and stops talking. All he does is stare into space.
The Hubby gets migraines. His last major migraine was on New Year's Eve and that's while we were travelling. We think he just ate something he wasn't supposed to at AppleBee's.

All in all, if we all stay away from gluten, we all feel better, so we're sticking to it!