Long time, no post.
So, it seems I have taken a rather unintentional hiatus from reviewing gluten-free goodies. I lost my writing mojo. It started with the passing of my dear, sweet Granny in October, followed by one holiday/event/excuse after another. Now, spring has sprung. The mountain of snow has thawed, the chill in the air is fading, and new life is emerging every day. I, too, am determined to make a fresh start! With a little more spring cleaning, my mojo is sure to turn up.
Contributing to my writer’s block is the fact that our eating habits have changed rather dramatically in the last few months. After watching the documentary, Food, Inc and reading If It’s Not Food, Don’t Eat It!, by Kelly Hayford, I’ve become a bit granola. We now buy grass fed beef and free range poultry from a local farm, we buy organic produce and dairy as often as possible, and our pantry and refrigerator have been swept of all products containing high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and other chemical additives, food colorings, and preservatives. For someone who has always loved the convenience and ease of prepackaged foods, this has been quite an adjustment.
I’m still trying to figure out where my loyalties lie. Just how crunchy do I want to be? Kelly Hayford would have me give up all refined sugars in favor of natural sweeteners like honey and Stevia, but there is no replacing brown sugar on my oatmeal. Searching the grocery store shelves for organic, minimally processed snack foods for my kids can be beyond frustrating, especially if said children are in the store with me and have lost all patience for my meticulous browsing! Just yesterday we ventured to a local farm to roast marshmallow Peeps over a bonfire. Do I dare deny my kids (or myself) such delicious fun? I aim to strike the balance between healthy, nutritious foods and convenient, low-stress eating with a splash of reckless abandon now and then. No sweat!
And, so, the search begins. Please leave a comment, and share with me your favorite gluten-free, organic/all natural, minimally processed snack food(s), and I will happily return the favor in posts to come.
I’m a strong believer in moderation. I buy the “good stuff” when it’s available and affordable. I’d rather buy local, even if not organic produce, that something organic that has had to travel by jet to get to me. I’m not so worried about “refined” foods which are still from natural sources as I am about “manufactured” foods that are full of god-knows-what. So I eat healthy as best I can, and occasionally enjoy a guilt-free splurge!
Granola! I make my own, with gluten-free oats (if you’re someone who can do oats, which I am– as long as they aren’t contaminated!).
Grab a bowl of oats, some dried fruits and nuts, toss in some brown sugar, spices, molasses, honey, whatever– and a bit of lemon juice.
Bake ten minutes at 350.
It’s pretty forgiving, and easy to play around with the recipe. Experiment! I like a mix of almonds, molasses, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon juice.
becca – thanks for coming back!
we, too, have changed our eating habits after watching the movie, but sometimes you must treat the kids (and yourselves). snack foods are tough!! meals are okay and not too difficult to come up with… but snack foods! ahhh! i find myself snacking on organic apples w/ natural peanut butter… carrots & hummus… larabars… i can’t think of others right now, but i’ll let you know as soon as i do!
Succanat (evaporated cane juice) tastes almost like brown sugar and is less processed.
I see you’ve already discovered Lara Bars. Yum.
The enviro kids snack bars are pretty decent, though a bit sweet. Good for kids, at least.
Nuts and raisins are my go-to snack food these days.
Welcome back! For a brown sugar substitute, use sucanat (cane sugar w/out the molasses extracted) or a bit of molasses for a heartier flavor. Maple syrup, agave nectar or dried fruit are also great in oatmeal.
Instead of wandering grocery aisles with children, surf the www for product labels and lists of ingredients before going to buy. If you’re prone to activism, you and your kids can call manufacturers and tell them to eliminate ingredients containing gluten from food products you like. This is also a way to send the message to Big Food to stop mucking up our food supply.
I know that it may seem inconvenient to cook – we were all raised on convenience foods – but it is the only way to insure that what we are eating is actually good for our health. The trick is to become comfortable with cooking so that learning short cuts and tricks of the homemade will work for us.
Being gluten-free is tough, but reverting to whole foods insures an uncontaminated food supply for your loved ones. Teaching kids to cook will serve them a lifetime and best enable them to take control of their own health. The ability to identify and exploit the gluten-free realm of possibilities will empower them to feed themselves and others without the stress (mental and physical) of eating questionable food products. Even for those not sensitive to gluten, NO ONE should be eating refined white flour.
I hope you’ll come back to my site as I’ve been conscientious about labeling my preparations for allergies and food intolerances such as gluten, wheat & dairy. I would greatly value your feedback.
I think that part of the challenge with healthy snacks is habit. We’re so used to grab-and-go snacks, and the convenience of buying them pre-prepared. An idea: have a weekle family snack-prep session. First, stock up on fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, dried fruits, gluten free cereals, etc. Pre-cut fruits and vegies and place in snack-sized food storage bags (reusable, if you want to be really “granola” about it). These go into the fridge in a prominent place for easy grab-and-go. The nuts, dried fruits, and gf cereals can be bagged individually or combined into trail mix, then bagged in individual servings sized bags.
Grocery shopping with kids is always a challenge!
Looking forward to hearing more snack ideas.
Cindy
http://www.wheatlessfoodie.blogspot.com