Entertaining Goodies

With Labor Day weekend on the way (and the holiday's looming - have you seen the Halloween displays??!), entertaining and eating wheat-free and dairy-free takes some extra thought.

Below are a few ideas, although there is some sugar included - but nothing processed - I promise!

First up - Trader Joe's always has great dark chocolate covered something and right now I'm digging their Dark Chocolate Almonds. Belgian chocolate and raw sugar - yum!

-Blue corn chips & salsa - you can never go wrong with this combo.
-Veggies & hummus - recommend Trader Joe's hummus - best on the market
-Amy's Rice Crust Cheese pizza (add toppings like chicken and red onion), sliced into tiny pieces

If you're going to a BBQ or gathering, bring these yummy spicy mixed nuts - it's from a recipe I snagged from a former roommate:
1 egg white
2T cold water
1/2 c walnuts
2/3 c pecan halves
1/2 c Splenda or raw sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg

Beat egg white and water until frothy. Stir nuts into mixture.
Mix sugar and spices in large plastic storage bag. Add nuts and shake to coat.
Spread nut mixture on large microwave-safe plate in a single layer. Microwave 2 minutes, turn, another 2 minutes and turn and then a final 2 minutes.

Put in fridge for 1 hour and voila! Perfect party snack!

Feel free to share any of your party fave's in the comments section.
-Heather :)

Eating WF,DF,LS While Camping

I made it! I was able to camp AND eat wheat/dairy-free and low sugar. Okay, sort of on the low sugar, because I did have one roasted marshmallow. But, hey, I was camping after all!

Here's what you need to go wheat-free, dairy-free and low sugar camping. It does take a bit of preparation, but it's worth it.

Prepare:
-Spelt dark chocolate chip cookies
-Turkey pepperoni pizza (great cold or heated up on the grill - in foil as shown in the picture)
-Wheat-free graham crackers

Purchase:
-Turkey hot dogs/wheat-free buns
-Genisoy Soy crisps - Zesty BBQ is my favorite
-Apples/carrots
-Non-dairy creamer containers/small Splenda packets
-Homemade vodka with infused berries (stay tuned for the recipe...)

Tada! That's all you need for a weekend camping wheat/dairy-free and low sugar style.
Although it wasn't the greatest experience ever (check out my Heather Strang blog for more), I did eat exceptionally well. And I still have pizza and cookies left over. Woohoo!

Have any other camping food suggestions?
Leave a comment and share them with us!

--Heather :)

Ian's Natural Foods Recall

You know I hate to report bad news, but thought this was important:

Ian's Natural Foods recalls wheat-free, gluten-free popcorn turkey corn dogs (is this even good?!) due to undeclared milk product.

Apparently, there's dairy in the corn dogs, but it's not listed in the ingredients. Yikes! As someone who religiously checks the ingredients list, that's a bummer deal. At least the company is doing the responsible thing and yanking it off the shelves.

Anyway - heads up for all of you.
Let me know if you've tried these corn dogs - they sound freaky weird...

-Heather :)

Wheat-Free Graham Crackers??

I hate camping.
Well, maybe I don't hate it, since I haven't actually been since I was 12, but I know I didn't like it much. I mean, what's to like? No bathing, no electricity and sleeping on the ground. Yay, sounds like fun! :)

The only great thing is, I get a new opportunity to make my wheat-free, dairy-free and low sugar diet work for me...which is a challenge, so I'm definitely game.

At the Cedar Hills New Seasons Market, I found a mix for Honey Grahamless Crackers, courtesy of Laurel's Sweet Treats - made in Tigard, Ore. I plan to make them this week to take camping, where I'll be eating s'mores! OK, so there will be marshmallows which is technically 150% sugar, but I'll be using organic dark chocolate and wheat-free graham crackers (this is my rationale, please don't spoil it), so I figure I'm not going to totally ruin my stomach.

The recipe does call for shortening (ick!), but I did find Spectrum Naturals Organic Vegetable Shortening with no trans fats at the Fred Meyer Nutrition section. It was almost $7, but if it works, then I'm a happy girl. I'll keep you posted and let you know how it all turns out...

Got any other good graham cracker (WF) ideas for me or know of a good substitute for shortening (that doesn't involve dairy or wheat)? If so, tell us about it!

--Heather :)

Back With Yummy Chocolate Cookies

Hi! So sorry for the delay, a series of personal changes kept me from my weekly blog. I missed it too! :) Check out my writer's blog to get the scoop on what transpired - it's very Peaceful-Warrior-ish, if I don't say so myself: http://heatherstrang.blogspot.com.

In the meantime, I've discovered some more yummy wheat-free, dairy-free and low sugar foods. Remember Oreo's? You know what, it's been so long that I can't even remember what they tasted like. But I know they were good...and so I was thrilled to discover Mi-Del Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Sandwich cookies.

Their no Oreo's but they are the perfect chocolate cookie fix. Oh, and last night the boyfriend and I discovered the best way to eat them - crumbled over soy ice cream.

Get a scoop of your favorite soy ice cream (my personal fave is Soy Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter) and crumble a cookie over it. DEL-I-CIOUS.

What's your fave dairy-free ice cream? Would love to hear about it!
Send me an email at: heather@heatherstrang.com