Special Dinner Plans For Preschool Celiac Grand Daughters

[sandwich girl]

My grand daughters are coming for a visit. The first time they came was earlier this summer a few months after their diagnosis. My daughter loaded me up with Gluten-Free frozen meals and lots of fruit and veggies.

I would love to fix them something special that is NOT in a box. They eat enough Gluten-Free pizza to last a lifetime, although they love it.

[Mother of Jibril]

What kind of special treat are you thinking of? There are a few limits in the gluten-free world (no croissants, no licorice...), but there are lots of possibilities for baked goods. Pamela's makes a chocolate cake mix that you would NOT guess was gluten-free My four-year-old daughter loves to help me stir up a cake and decorate it with frosting I make my own frosting with butter, powdered sugar, and a little bit of soy milk or juice.

[happygirl]

What types of meals would you make them before? Post some of your 'favorites' and chances are, someone here can help you modify it to make it safe for them to eat.

[Darn210]

For a super-easy snacky/sweet treat, check out the chex recipes . . . make sure your boxes of chex are marked gluten free as there is still old stock on the shelve here and there.

Open Original Shared Link

My kids particularly love the muddy buddies and the chocolate chex carmel crunch. Depending on how much of a mess you want to make, they could even help you make it.

[hannahp57]

i like MoJ's idea. i think baking a cake with them sounds like a fun idea

also what about fried chicken or chicken fingers?

fried chicken coating mix:

1_1/2 C cornmeal

1_1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

3.4 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 tsp baking soda

mix that up and use it like flour coated over chicken that you've dipped in egg or milk or water. i usually do egg and milk mixed with salt and cayenne pepper for dredging. (if i dont have cornmeal, i use 1/2 C cornstarch and 1/2 C potato starch. if you do this cut back xanthan gum and baking soda by 1/4tsp)

chicken fingers:

Ingredients

3 large chicken breasts, cut into fingers

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons amaranth flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 teaspoon garlic powder

fresh salt and pepper

3 cups gluten-free cereal, flaked variety, crushed

Directions

1Preheat oven to 400

[brigala]

As long as they're not egg-allergic, the old "Dutch Baby" or "German Pancake" recipe works very well with gluten-free flour. I've tried a couple of gluten-free flour mixes, including Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills, I think, and it works just fine. In that, it's the eggs that do most of the holding-together and the rising, so gluten is unnecessary. You can find a recipe anywhere online. It makes a great breakfast, and can be served with fruit, jam, maple syrup, or whatever.

In fact, I think I'll go make some now. I just gave myself a great idea for lunch. ;-) I wonder how it would work with maybe a mix of brown rice flour and quinoa flour...

I make mine in an iron skillet, but I would recommend NOT cooking for the granddaughters in your iron skillets. They are too porous to be shared between gluten and non-gluten foods. Stick with glass or stainless steel pans & bakeware.

Other simple ideas that require very little modification for gluten-free cooking include chinese food (just use a gluten-free soy sauce, and coat things in corn starch or rice flour), tacos, enchiladas with home-made sauce (rice flour works just as well as wheat flour for thickening sauces), and fish & chips (use corn flour, masa, rice flour, or some combination of these for frying). The tough part is dealing with ingredients, but the more you do "from scratch" the less there is to worry about. Once you get into pre-made seasoning packets and things you have to start being pretty careful.

-Elizabeth