Special K Protein Shakes

               For many days I wracked my brain as I tried to figure out what to write about for this month.  Somehow nothing felt right.  Then one day, I looked down at the Special K Protein Shake in my hand and saw the words “Gluten Free”.  The words popped right out at me, which is funny, because I have been drinking these shakes for years.  I’m sure I have seen those words on the label before, but for some reason that day they really struck me.  Once I saw the words “Gluten Free” on my Special K Protein Shake, I knew what I was going to write about.

                With 15 grams of protein each, Special K Protein Shakes are great to have along with a snack or on their own.  They are quick shots of protein that are great to have around when you’re not quite sure when your next meal will be.  Currently there are six flavors available: French Vanilla, Strawberry, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Mocha, Vanilla Cappuccino, and Rich Chocolate.  My favorites are Rich Chocolate and Milk Chocolate.  To give myself a break from chocolate, I drink the French Vanilla as well.

                Special K Protein shakes can be found at most major grocery stores.  I have purchased them at Woodman’s and Pick ‘n Save, but I have also seen them at Sam’s Club. 

                 www.specialk.com

The Naked Baker Cookies

           Cookies are the next thing that gluten sensitive people want after the three Ps (pizza, pasta, and pop tarts).  Recently, during Outpost Natural Foods’ Kale Fest, we sampled some wonderful gluten free cookies made by the company The Naked Baker.  Specializing in gourmet cookies, The Naked Baker emphasizes on their business card that their products are made of “Only Clean Ingredients” and are “Naked of All the Bad Stuff”.

Currently there are five gluten free flavors available regularly: Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk, Peanut Butter Bomb, Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and Oatmeal Cranberry.  Then there are the occasionally available seasonal flavors such as the Valentine’s Day cookie Chocolate Cherry Kiss.

                These cookies can be purchased at all four outlets of Outpost Natural Foods.  They can also be found at Good Harvest Market in Pewaukee, Sendik’s Fine Foods in Brookfield on Capitol Drive, and at Metcalfe’s Market in Wauwatosa.  Cookies can also be ordered and purchased directly from The Naked Baker bakery in Brookfield.  The Naked Baker requests that if you choose to do this, please place your order ahead of time so they can accommodate your wishes.  For more information, visit The Naked Baker website at thenakedbakercookies.com.

                I suggest you give these cookies a try.  Once you do, I hope you find you enjoy them as much as I do.

Baking with Gluten Free Flours

               I have heard that many people who are gluten intolerant have given up trying to make their old favorite baked goods.  They want to have the same taste they remember, but stay within their gluten restrictions.  Based upon my own experiences, I can tell you, this can be tough.  I have experimented with many different flours, and I have come up with some very mixed results.  Some of the flours have such strong tastes that the baked good ends up only tasting like the flour, nothing more.

              This last holiday season I found three flours that worked really well.  They gave me a good finished product without the gritty texture that you get from some gluten free flours.  The three flours I used were oat, coconut, and almond.  The oat and almond flours were used for the body of the baked good as with regular flour, while the coconut was used for both body and flavor.

                These flours can be found in bulk bins and in packages.  The bulk bins of these flours are at Outpost Natural Foods and Whole Foods.  I, personally, started with the bulk bins, getting only the amount needed for a recipe.  Doing it this way, I was able to find out how the flours worked for a given recipe without having a lot left over.  Now I have the confidence to buy these flours in larger prepackaged amounts.  These prepacked flours can be found at Woodman’s, along with many others, as Woodman’s has a great assortment of gluten free flours.

                One thing I do have to say about using these flours, is that if I weighed the flour instead of using measuring cups, I came out with a better outcome.  To help me with this, I found a great cup to weight conversion chart on the King Arthur Flour website.  Visit www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html if you have a scale, otherwise keep using your cup measures.

                I hope that with these gluten-free flours you will try baking again.

Mary Jane's Farm

                My mom and I are always looking for new gluten-free recipes to try.  One place that we can regularly turn to is the magazine Mary Jane’s Farm.  A magazine full of ideas on how to live a more natural and simple life, oftentimes the recipes featured are already gluten-free or advice is given as to how you can make it gluten-free.  Not all the time, I must say, but certainly a good deal of it.

                Recently my mom and I tried Mary Jane’s Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Skillet Brownies.  They turned out really well, even with us forgetting the sugar.  My mom then made the brownies a second time for a work function.  This time she remembered the sugar, but replaced the peanut butter with a chocolate ganache.  The brownies were a hit.  Nobody even cared that they were gluten-free.

                While most Mary Jane’s Farm issues have at least one gluten-free recipe, not all of them do.  That does not mean you shouldn’t still read those issues though.  There are always great articles and news bits, no matter if there happens to be a gluten-free recipe in that issue or not.  We have personally found Mary Jane’s Farm at Woodman’s and Outpost Natural Foods, but check with your favorite bookstore as well.  If you would like a subscription to Mary Jane’s Farm, visit MaryJanesFarm.org.