Bring a basket of old–fashioned banana nut muffins to your breakfast table and watch them disappear. They are a delicious way to start the morning, and they smell heavenly while baking in the oven. Even if you didn’t think you were a banana bread lover, this simple, flavorful recipe will convert you. Loaded with ripe bananas and sweet walnuts, these muffins are full of vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and omega–3 fatty acids. They take just a few minutes to make and they keep well in the refrigerator and freezer so you can enjoy them for several days, or even weeks after you make them. Annalise Roberts

Makes 12 muffins or three 5 x 3–inch loaves

2 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix (see below)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 packed cup very ripe chopped banana  (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (or rice milk)
1/2 cup canola oil
Granulated sugar for garnish, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Position rack in center of oven. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray (or three 5 x 3 -inch loaf pans).

2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add bananas and walnuts; stir to coat evenly.

3. Combine milk and oil in small bowl; remove 1 tablespoon of combined liquid and discard it. Beat in eggs. Add liquids to banana mixture and stir until just blended.

4. Fill muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake 18–25 minutes until golden brown (35–44 minutes for loaf pans). Remove from pan and serve immediately or cool on a rack.

Cook’s notes: Muffins and bread can be stored in a tightly sealed plastic container in refrigerator or covered with plastic wrap and then with foil, and stored in freezer for up to three weeks.

Best when eaten within three days of baking. Re-warm briefly in microwave.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 cups extra finely ground brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour), 1/3 cup tapioca starch/flour. It is very important that you use an extra finely ground brown rice flour, (and not just any grind) or the muffins will be gritty and heavy. Authentic Foods in California and King Arthur Flour Company make a good one.

For more Food Philosopher’s® Gluten-Free recipes go to: www.foodphilosopher.com.

© 2008 by Annalise Roberts

Annalise Roberts – Annalise is one of the Food Philosophers®, two sisters who have collaborated to become a voice of reason in a world of mealtime disorder. After being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2002, Annalise devoted herself to developing gluten-free baking recipes that taste just as good (if not better than) their wheat flour counterparts. Gourmet magazine featured several of her recipes in their November, 2005 issue. An expanded and revised edition of her best-selling book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics, was released in September 2008. Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine, a collection of recipes developed for the Zojirushi bread machine came next. Annalise and her sister, Claudia Pillow then joined forces to write The Gluten-Free-Good Health Cookbook, (released January 2010). The focus of this unique work is on managing daily food-related decisions in order to strengthen the immune system, prevent disease and lose weight by eating real food. It provides food choice explanations and guidance, cooking advice, and more than 100 flavorful, culturally diverse (gluten-free) recipes. Annalise works with gluten-intolerant individuals and support groups across North America and teaches gluten-free cooking and baking classes in the New York metropolitan area. She loves to cook and entertain and as a result, spends a lot of time on a treadmill and doing weight resistance training. But she is also careful about what she eats, tries to balance alkaline and acid based foods, and drinks a couple quarts of water a day.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Author Julianne Karow’s husband was diagnosed with celiac disease, opening their eyes to a world unknown to them before the shocking day of the diagnosis. Walking out of the doctor’s office without guidance, living in a small town with no active celiac groups, Julianne was at a loss. She was the cook and grocery shopper in the family.

Her sleeves rolled up, she gained determination to satisfy her husband’s palate. Her awareness of the the world of gluten-free increased measurably. Along her journey to becoming educated about gluten-free, she realized the need for a resourceful book for the celiac community at large.

Julianne has done an incredibly good and thorough job of organizing all manner of gluten-free needs any celiac or gluten-intolerant individual will need. Some topics covered are: physicians, medications, online discussions forums, cookbooks, online grocery stores, and so much more.

Her details are well-researched and appear under item clearly listed. She leaves out nothing! One chapter I found most interesting was travel. She covers hotels and specific chefs, as well as yachts and celiac travel clubs. I was left with so many options and a desire to travel now, rather than the common travel regrets so many of us celiacs are left with.
Her chapter on food company links makes it extremely easy to do time-saving shop online. Not only did Julianne list out the company, address, link, phone number, and e-mail address, she concisely describes the company’s main products, saving a lot of Internet research.

Julianne went onto start a celiac support group and has co-hosted celiac and food allergy food expos. She has perfected the art of GF cooking, refers to many of her resources in her own book, and you can bet she’s satisfying her husband’s palate these days.

Julianne’s book, Celiac Resource Guide, is a wonderful addition to any celiac’s GF book resources, which we all seem to accumulate.    This resource book is HIGHLY recommended.
Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook:

A Seasonal, Vegetarian Cookbook

Author Leslie Cerier

Friend Leslie Cerier has just published another fabulous cookbook, proudly released by Harbinger, Inc. to the world at large, for which I had the fabulous opportunity to do a gluten-free review and write a testimony on.

As many people discover intolerance or sensitivities to wheat, an interest in delicious and gluten-free foods and recipes increases. Cerier truly shows that a diet lacking gluten does not mean a diet without flavor. People with wheat allergies can now enjoy a broad range of “interesting” grain foods. She creates flavorful appetizers, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts.

The key point that I want to share about this book is her unique approach to introducing grains not found on the ordinary table. She freely offers resources to locate any and all which are needed throughout her recipes if they are not readily available in your local stores.

Leslie emphasizes the importance of using seasonal and organic ingredients in her cooking with attention to detail for preserving the integrity of our planet.

Read many testimonies inside the book including mine:

“With our health and the health of our planet in mind, Cerier has successfully created exquisite culinary sensations using grains, exotic rices, fruits and vegetables.”  Tina Turbin

The book is available through Harbinger Press (1-800-748-6273), Amazon.com, and her website, or for your autographed copy go to http://LeslieCerier.com/cookbooks.html.

I was happy to see the book proudly displayed in this months Living Without magazine for everyone to see.

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Ross Cohen is the President of Triumph Dining, a website, blog, and newsletter for the celiac and gluten-free world.  Family-owned and run by five happy gluten-free dieters, it has released its third edition of The Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide with the latest research of 30,000 products including 1,100 brand names.

The book uses 5 symbols for our ease in determining which products satisfies one’s individual needs in purchasing grocery items in a store or online. I have not come upon such an extensive list of items in any book I’ve had in my hands or researched online.

The availability of items in this 3rd edition far outweighs the availability in the previous edition, and the shopping tips and overview of new food labeling laws are invaluable in themselves. The addition of their honest in “limitations of the Guide itself” only shows Triumph Dining’s dedication to providing a service with nothing but one’s health and service in mind.

The grocery guide is updated yearly and according to Ross they are currently the largest independent gluten-free publisher in North America.

This resource book is given a thumbs up and is HIGHLY recommended by me.
Please visit Triumph Dining – www.triumphdining.com

Tina Turbin

www.glutenfreehelp.info

Kendall Conrad has done a lovely job of recreating her gourmet recipes and customizing them to suit the principles which healed her child’s body- More Than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet(TM)-Compliant Recipes.

Author Kendall Conrad was faced with the fact that her youngest child’s gut and immune system had been severely compromised after her first ten months of life after being on many antibiotics to address severe ear infections. Her daughter finally needed surgery to drain her ears at only ten months old, which did resolve the ear troubles, but she was left with digestive troubles, wasn’t thriving, and wasn’t absorbing nutrients. Conrad spent a year visiting many doctors to no avail.

Conrad was introduced to a nutritionist who introduced her to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which eliminated virtually all starch and complex sugars. The result was that her daughter began to grow and feel much better. She is now a thriving healthy child.

This cookbook and its detailed introduction shares many aspects of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet’s effects on many people with Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis,  IBS, diverticulitis, and other digestive conditions—to incredible results.

The recipes in Kendall’s book are gourmet in every sense of the word, and your family and guests will have no clue that each one of them is a strict adherent to the SCD.

This cookbook is given a thumbs up and is HIGHLY recommended by me.
Tina Turbin
www.glutenfreehelp.info

Living a life with multiple food allergies did not place Marie-Annick Courtier in an extraordinary position until when, a few years ago, some of these foods became life-threatening, and she feared she’d have to give up not only her expertise and love of being a chef but also many of her favorite foods.

Determination, research, and time have not only resulted in her well-written cookbook, they have also resulted in Marie-Annick Courtier’s freedom from all allergies excluding aspirin.

With a Culinary Arts Degree, a background in science and nutrition, certification as a fitness nutritionist, and having her own chef school in Irvine, California, Marie offers much more to her readers than her nearly 150 recipes in her latest cookbook, Cooking Well: Wheat Allergies.

You’ll be additionally enlightened in the areas of Understanding Wheat Allergies, Living With Wheat Allergies, Nutrition’s Role, Eating Out, Organic Choice and Why, Foods to Avoid and Choose, and much more, including her Chef’s Secrets.

The chapters preceding her nutritionally labeled recipes are not only informative, but the information is all very well-written, and I had a sense of sitting with her as she selectively chose the key points she felt were important to impart.

I am armed with delicious breakfasts, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes, desserts and more. All her recipes are easy to prepare and offer options and nutritional content. I can’t wait for the second book in this series!

This resource book is given a thumbs up and is HIGHLY recommended by me

Tina Turbin

www.glutenfreehelp.info.

Pamela’s Products NO COOK & SIMPLE COOKIES . These are delicious and fast and fun to make. Even kids enjoy these as they can get a “result” quickly and munch away. I made these for a wonderful cookie exchange in Tampa at the Celiac Group’s meeting. These were all eaten up and the plate was empty.

My Orange-Iced Lemon-Shortbread Delights. Another extremely delicious and easy adaptation of Pamela’s already make cookies and whipping up a frosting that is sweet, easy fun and absolutely scrumptious

You will need:

Two Boxes of Pamela’s Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Frozen)

½ bag of Pamela’s Vanilla Frosting

1 large orange

Water

4TBL Butter

Directions:

Add  room temp. butter and water to half the bag of frosting

Mix well so no lumps.

Finely grate the orange rind to make orange zest (about 1-1/2-2 tsp. full)

Add to frosting and mix well and let sit about 15 minutes to “marinade”

Frost your cookies and set out for everyone to eat. (You may decorate them at this point too)

NOTE:  I prefer to lightly frost my cookies as the flavor of both the lemon and orange come though this way. They are delicious!

You may store in refrig. or freezer covered.

Tina Turbin

If you have ever looked for a good gluten-free recipe for the perfect coating for your fish, shrimp,chicken, onion rings, potatoes,vegatables and you’ve settled for less, you are not alone. Finally, I have tested a product that is so far superior to any recipe or ready made”mix’ I’ve come across and so versatile that it can be used as a mix for meatloaves and to enhance the flavor of rice, stews, soups and much more—Dakota Lakes Gourmet Coating.

With my staff, I tested numerous recipes with this “spice blend,” and they all came out delicious. The fried and baked fish came out like the delicious fish I used to have in London. Our baked chicken came out better than intended. The onion rings were perfectly seasoned as well as our meatloaf.

According to president and owner Darold Walls, the Gourmet Coating is gluten-free and manufactured in the well-known packing plant in Seattle, Ener-G Foods, ensuring no cross-contamination or “poisoning.” Prior to each packing, the spice blend is tested at the Food Allergy Research Lab at the University of Nebraska. The Gourmet Coating is the perfect blend of flour, savory spices, and herbs for use in many dishes and meal options. It is convenient and very well-priced to serve the GF community.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Many children, especially autistic children, have to give up chicken nuggets. Luckily this product is the perfect substitute for this beloved kid’s dish, whether fried or baked.

I still can not believe the flavor of my various fishes as well as chicken dishes. I even added a 1/2 tsp. to scrambled eggs and the guests were raving. I am still amazed at how each dish I made tasted absolutely different but yet we are using the same seasoned mix- Dakota Lakes!

The box comes with many recipe suggestions as well as their websites, but any creative cook with an imagination can come up with many more ideas. The flavor is outstanding!

This food company is given a thumbs up and is HIGHLY recommended by me.

Please be sure and check out more recipes on this site as well as at http://www.dakota-lakes.com. Thank you Darold!

Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Annalise Roberts is anything but new to the gluten-free and celiac scene. At this date she is involved with celiac groups, has four books, one being  a second edition, teaches GF baking and produces and manages the ever-growing popular website, www.foodphilosopher.com, with her sister Dr. Claudia Pillow, co-author of her most recent book.
I’ve been using Gluten-Free Baking Classics (second edition) for some time now. The recipes are not only out-of-this-world but easy to play with. When adding my own touches and changes, I still have success.

Annalise’s intention with her first book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics, was to share recipes that not only taste good and are fool-proof but to offer basics for a new cook or novice to adapt the recipes easily to their own favorite dishes.
This 2nd edition offers 42 new, unique, and delicious additions—flour tortillas, doughnut holes, egg-fresh pasta, and, as I told her, my new absolute favorite, the richest, moistest “can’t-get-enough,” to-die-for “banana muffins.”

When opening any of her cookbooks, I feel as if I have a sincere friend sharing all her tried and true helpful advice, letting me in an all her little food “secrets.” Each book shares all the little nuances of that particular book’s recipes so there can be ultimate success in anyone’s kitchen following her exact recipes or adding your own touches. She really let’s you into her “test kitchen” and wants you to succeed in yours.

Her Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine is the book any GF cook needs to avoid the all-too-common dried out or “fallen” breads. The various reasons for these mistakes and tips for how to make many delicious, mouth-watering breads such as multi-grain, challah, and artisan breads are again liberally offered. She stresses the use of the Zojirushi Home Bakery Bread Machine model BBCC-X20 and V20 with their amazing self-adjustment capabilities.

Annalise’s concerns for health and the knowledge that so many celiac and gluten-free eaters, who find themselves surrounded by grains, often forget that this is only a portion of our food pyramid led her to another book, the Gluten-Free Good Health Cookbook, co-authored with her sister, Dr. Claudio Pillow.

Dr. Pillow had been teaching GF nutrition classes for many years, but not being celiac, she was not on a GF diet. She decided to try the diet for 2 months. Swelling in her toe and finger joints subsided, her weight stabilized, she felt better, and she had loads more energy. Soon after, she personally fine-tuned her diet with a better balance of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and carbohydrates . With this new lifestyle, the numbers of patients stood out to her who didn’t see the link between the foods they were eating and their health.

The medical profession emphasizes drugs to treat symptoms, yet what is needed is to locate the underlying cause. Food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances, and of course celiac disease, result in physiological reactions, giving us warning signs: inflammation of various degrees and symptoms. Their book, the Gluten-Free Good Health Cookbook shows how to neutralize this inflammation and strengthen the immune system, leading to weight loss and restoring health, physical fitness, and mental clarity. In a nutshell, this book shows you how to eat smart to protect your health, offering 140 delicious and new recipes.

Taking into account the allergens which may reside within it, each recipe has detailed “cook’s notes” offering additional hints, suggestions, and/or details. Annalise Roberts has stepped into a more detailed territory than usual, one which is travelled by many others preceding her, but with her abundant experience in this field and teaming up with her sister, what results is a book unlike others.                                              

Annalise holds a world of knowledge and experience, and we are all very fortunate that she has generously taken care to see that we have the opportunity to take advantage of this in our kitchens and households.

I give Annalise and her three books a thumbs up and HIGHLY recommend them. Please visit her site:  www.foodphilosopher.com

Tina Turbin
www.glutenfreehelp.info