Grilled bacon wrapped scallops

All the kids and a few of their significant others came home this weekend to help celebrate my birthday.We had hamburgers with both gluten free and regular buns. Java and Bean, the kids who need to eat GFCF, said that it wouldn't bother them to have regular buns on the table for the gluten eaters. We had some cheese on the table, too! After we got the results of the GI panel we were told we could try a little cheese once in a while. Bean had a slice on his burger, Java chose not to.

We also had broccoli slaw, potato salad, a big bowl of fresh salsa, tortilla chips, and a GFCF chocolate birthday cake with fresh strawberries and our favorite GFCF whipped topping.

But the highlight for me were the grilled bacon wrapped scallops.

They were my birthday present to me! I bought good quality frozen scallops, coated them in EVOO, sprinked them with smoked paprika and sea salt and then wrapped them in bacon. The hubster grilled them to perfection, just a few minutes on each side. They were tender and delicious and my mouth is watering all over again just thinking about them. This may have to be a new birthday tradition.

Tomato Soup

Yesterday felt like fall and after spending most of the afternoon grocery shopping (it involves 4 stores since we went GFCF), I really wanted a big bowl of soup.

This recipe for Tomato Soup looked like it would be simple and delicious and I had all the ingredients so I tried it. Bean ran in the kitchen asking what smelled so good when I started cooking the carrots, onions and garlic. He was once the pickiest eater I've ever met because of his sensory processing disorder. The GFCF diet calmed his sensory issues and we learned how to enlist the help of his very strong sense of smell.

Our secret is garlic. He loves the smell of garlic and will usually try anything we put it in. I put a little extra garlic in this soup. Shhh.

After adding the tomatoes and other ingredients, cook the soup for a while to soften everything up. Then puree it in the blender. (*Cool the soup first or fill the blender only half full. You don't even want to see the mess I made processing this blender full of hot soup.)

The recipe calls for cream at this point. I wanted to substitute almond milk but didn't have any so I used Flaxmilk. It worked beautifully and added some good Omega 3s.

Everyone enjoyed a bowl last night and Java and Bean packed a thermos of it in their lunches today. This is definitely a recipe I'll make again.

Freezing pizza crusts

We picked a favorite pizza crust early in our GFCF journey and it is still our favorite. In fact, I think I like it better than regular gluten-packed pizza crust. It is from the "Cooking for Isaiah" GFCF cookbook.
I've been making up 4-6 crusts at a time (double or triple the recipe) and freezing them.

The crust doesn't really rise like regular dough but it does have to hang out on some parchment paper for a while before baking. That's when you heat your pizza stone to 450 degrees. Each of these crusts is baked for about 8 minutes on the hot stone.

The texture of the crust is crisp, not doughy, and it freezes well.

Although they certainly don't last long in the freezer! A couple of children I know have discovered that one of these with some pizza sauce, pepperoni and a few veggies makes a great after school snack!

GF soft pretzels

Bean asked me to try to make gluten free soft pretzels when he walked past the pretzel place in the mall. I am still learning to work with gluten free dough but I gave it a shot. I used this recipe.
With regular bread the gluten holds the dough together and become smooth and elastic after kneading. You don't knead gluten free dough. It's a very different consistency.

I worked with the balls of dough but they were still kinda lumpy. Rolling them out to twist into the pretzel shape was difficult, too. They tended to fall apart if I worked them too much so I accepted the fact that they were going to be a little lumpy and I baked them.

They won't win any beauty contests...

...but Bean LOVED them and asked if I would make them again soon.

Detox days 8-10

After day 7 we were able to add back foods that we had eliminated, starting with a variety of fruits and vegetables. The kids wanted potatoes so we made hashbrowns for the first "add back" meal. Since then we have added rice and gluten free flours. We had a meal with beef, too.


I called the doctor to tell him that the kids had successfully completed the 10 days and he was very impressed. I am, too! He said we could start using our probiotics and supplements again and continue eating GFCF until we see him in mid September. By then we should have the results of the extensive GI panel he ordered and we can adjust our diet if needed then.

Detox days 5-7

The detox diet was especially hard during days 5-7. I didn't even have the energy to write about it until now.

We increased the powdered protein / low allergy "medical food" drinks to 4 times a day and limited foods to certain vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, spinach..) and apples or pears for fruit. That's it. Even the smoothies could only be made from organic 100% apple juice or pear juice, drink powder and ice. Java and Bean were just getting used to designing their own smoothies each time with berries, bananas and different fruit juices but they accepted the change for these days. I'm very proud of them.

Bean had a low grade fever and complained of feeling alternately hot and cold. He had some regressive and perseverative behaviors, too. He did better when we kept him engaged in something so it was an exhausting couple of days for us. Bean complained a few times about having so few options to eat but when I told him that he was in control and he could go and eat something else if he wanted to, he insisted on following the plan. He wanted to be able to tell the doctor that he did it. And he wanted the cash prize we had offered him!

Java had more aggressive, impulsive and highly reactive behaviors. She likes the foods that were allowed on these very limited days so she ate more than Bean but she struggled more with her behaviors. We are just now, days after the 10 day diet ended, seeing a decrease in the intensity. She was committed to the plan and was very proud of herself on day 7 when we congratulated them on getting through the most difficult part!