This week has not been the best of weeks for me!  Like I mentioned in my last post I had gotten sick so I wasn't up to making those gf gingerbread cookies, then I start feeling better and get the cookies made, then come down with bronchitis and don't have have the energy to frost the cookies!  So my loving husband took on that task for me, so I am FINALLY able to post if for you guys!  They turned out really yummy.  I will mention that they are on the crunchy side, but still good in my book!  The icing is royal icing and is really good.  Not very hard to make.  Here is the link that I got the recipe from:   http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/seasonalandholiday/r/gfgingerbread.htm  Let me know how yours turn out, I would love to see pics!  Merry Christmas to you all!  "...A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master."  Luke 2:12

Well, I so had plans to make the gluten and dairy free gingerbread cookies today, but, my body decided to come down with flu-like symptoms, and that was pretty much that for my day :(  But as soon as I'm better, I will be making those cookies in no time and posting some pictures!  Being that I'm sick I didn't have much of an appetite today, but I did have me some "Live G free" toast with pb and j.  That was really yummy.  I also had Nabisco gf rice thins with the "daiya" cheese I mentioned in my last post.  
So that's all for now, I'm going to go and get some sleep and hopefully feel like making those cookies tomorrow!  

Blessings!
Gina

Christmas Greetings everyone!  Well I don't know about you guys, but I've been so busy shopping for Christmas gifts that I haven't gotten to the cookie-making yet!  But I came across a yummy-sounding gingerbread cookie recipe that I am going to try and will be sharing soon.   
I am having a hard time accepting the fact that I have had to not only cut gluten from my diet, but the dairy as well.  When you eat something all of your life and then suddenly have to totally delete it from your diet, IT'S HARD!  I learned that I cannot even have a little bit of shredded cheese on my salad without suffering the consequences :(  I came across some dairy-free cheese at my local natural foods store called "daiya".  It is tapioca-based, and not bad!  It actually melts too!  If you go in expecting it to taste exactly like dairy cheese though, you might be disappointed.  I've learned that if you are going to try alternatives to traditional foods, you can't dive in with the mind set that it's going to taste EXACTLY like the traditional version!  Back to the salad issue though.  Bringing a baggie of my shredded "daiya" around with me whenever I go to a restaurant is not a feasible task, so perhaps next time I should just ask for something like more tomatoes instead.  
So maybe it's time to go through a "mourning process" about the fact that I can't have dairy any more.  Anybody out there that has had to deal with these issues for a long time, I would LOVE to hear about any of your ideas or tips as to how to handle this issue with the best of ease!  Let's be supportive of one another :)

Until next time,
CHRISTmas blessings to you all!
Gina

Hey friends!  Well, I don't know about you guys, but now being in the middle of the Christmas season, I'm having some cravings for those traditional sugar and gingerbread cookies!  I know that I've got a sugar cookie recipe that I will be trying and will definitely post pics of, but I'll need to scour the internet probably to find a gluten and dairy-free version of gingerbread cookies!  If YOU know of any yummy ones, I would love for you to share them here with everyone :)  What will you be making for this Holiday season?

On another note, I have had to scour out restaurants in my town that meet my gluten and #dairy-free criteria.  Taco Bell definitely has several options believe it or not!  Plus they have decent prices, it's a win-win!  Olive Garden even has #gluten-free pasta!   Chinese/Japanese restaurants that have the Mongolian Grills DEFINITELY have gf/df options.  You just pile whatever meat, veggie, egg that you want cooked together, and then your ingredients are sauteed with some oil and soy sauce.  Oh my gosh, that just makes my mouth water thinking of it!

Well, I hope this encourages you, and lets you know that there IS hope in what might seem like a hopeless world (as far as your diet goes!) when you have to take some major ingredients out of your diet :)

Blessings this Christmas season!
Gina

Well, Friday nights have always been "movie night" with my family, and our meal is ALWAYS pizza!  So how disheartening it was when I was forced to go gluten-and now dairy-free!  I felt like the world was coming to an end when I could no longer make one pizza, and enjoy it as a family :(  So I've started experimenting with 2 or 3 different kinds of pizza, and have found some pretty yummy ones.  I've just pretty much had to suck it up and deal with the fact that I will always need to make two different pizzas for movie night now!  It actually hasn't been as painful as I thought it would be, and when the end product is really yummy, that supersedes the fact that I have to now make multiple pizzas!  I have found a good one that is both #dairy-free and #gluten-free, and is REALLY yummy at that!  Here is a photo of that pizza, and let me know of any yummy ones you have come across!  It was so yummy, that I just had to have some before I could even get the pic taken!

Good Morning (almost afternoon for me!)  I made some #glutenfree and #dairyfree peanut butter cookies today.  They turned out really yummy.  Too bad there's not a scratch-and-sniff option here :)  They turned out darker than usual because this time I wanted to try #coconutsugar I'm trying to cut the traditional cane sugar out of my family's diet when possible.  I also used crunchy pb this time to try for a different texture.  The cookies turned out to be a really yummy gluten and dairy free dessert!  Here is the recipe that I came across some time ago from the internet:

2 egg whites, beaten stiff

1 cup sugar (of your choice)

1 cup pb

Beat egg whites until stiff and fluffy.  Add sugar and mix well.  Add peanut butter.  Roll into small balls and press with fork.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe was originally meant to be made with regular white sugar, so they turn out with a little different texture using coconut sugar.  I used to use brown sugar, and that turned out really good as well, but as I mentioned before, I'm trying to feed my family healthier things!

I would love to hear how yours turned out if you try the recipe, and feel free to share some gf or df recipes of your own!

Have a wonderful day!

I decided to start this blog in hopes of being and encouraging, supportive and informative to those of you who are also gluten and dairy-free.  I have just recently found out that I now have to totally avoid dairy!  I am not taking this news with eagerness of any sorts!  I am your pizza-loving, tacos and cheese/crackers kind of girl, so this is pretty much a crisis in my life right now :)  So I will be seeking out some YUMMY recipes that are gluten and dairy-free and sharing those with you!  I would love for you to share any gf and df recipes that others might enjoy on by blog :)
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope that we can be an encouragement to one another!  I will be posting some recipes soon!