Craving one of these? Try my strawberry-banana smoothie instead! No, McDonald's smoothie does not contain gluten but it does contain dairy from the "low-fat yogurt." Not only is my smoothie recipe Dairy Free it's Sugar Free too! (That is besides the sugar found naturally in the strawberries and bananas.) 

The best part of this recipe- it's SO versatile. It can be a smoothie, frozen into ice cream or even popsicles! 

PS-If you want a good read sometime you should browse through the nutrition facts of McDonalds. It's crazy what they put in things. Take French Fries for instance...

"French Fries: Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to
preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.
CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK. *(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients)"

YIKES! 

At least with this next recipe you know you're getting REALLY real ingredients...

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free) 
Adapted by jalene

Makes 2 cups
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup sliced banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Throw it all into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. ;)

To make popsicles: 
Follow the directions above and then pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 4-6 hours or overnight. 

To make ice cream: 
Follow the directions above except use FROZEN bananas as well as frozen strawberries. Mixture will be THICK. Put it into the freezer to harden more or enjoy right away! 

The other day I had some of my yummy dinner rolls that were starting to dry out. (They were at least 3 days old.) Instead of tossing them out I decided to experiment making some croutons. They turned out great! They're crunchy, browned well, and tasted VERY identical to regular croutons. Plus, it's a great way to use up old rolls! I used my soft Gluten Free dinner rolls but you could also try it with your own Gluten Free bread. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free) 
Created by jalene

Make about 2 cups
Ingredients: 

• 6 soft gluten free dinner rolls (couple days old)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter or Earth Balance Butter Sub
• 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
• sea salt & garlic salt (to taste)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. 
2. Cut the rolls into small cubes. Place bunched on a cookie sheet and set aside. 
3. Melt the butter. Add to the oil, onion powder, garlic powder and parsley. Stir well.
4. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread crumbs in the pan and toss well. 
5. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes until lightly brown and croutons are crispy. (Mine took a little over an hour.) Add sea salt and garlic salt to taste. Allow them to completely cool before storing in an airtight container. 

This past weekend we went to Yogurtland for dessert! It's one of the few places that has gluten free, dairy free ice cream! Audrey was IN HEAVEN! And even though she IS gluten and dairy free she knows exactly what ice cream is. Why? Because we make our own at home! It's INCREDIBLY easy (and so much cheaper than buying!) but you do need an ice cream maker. Costco had one on sale the other day for $17! We bought ours for around $20. It has already paid for itself!

If you have not tried coconut ice cream before, it's amazing. The coconut milk makes it SO creamy and so the end result is a consistency very similar to a dairy-base ice cream. This recipe is very easy to throw together and then it only took about 20 minutes in the ice cream maker!  

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free) 
Created by jalene and her mom alene
Serves about 4-5 people

Ingredients: 

• 1 can coconut milk, chilled in the fridge for at least 4 hours
• 1 peach
• 3 Tbsp sugar or organic evaporated cane juice sugar
• 2 & 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Wash and peel your peach. Dice into small pieces. In a bowl, combine the peach with the sugar and vanilla. Let sit for at least a couple of minutes so the sugar can start to dissolve. 
2. Remove the coconut from the fridge, open can, and combine with the peach mixture. Immediately pour into the ice cream machine and press the start button. The ice cream is ready when it no longer turns with the paddle. Ours took about 20 minutes. You can eat it right away or place it in the freezer to continue hardening. 

If there's any leftovers, store in the freezer in an airtight container. 

I've been adding more and more restaurants to my Gluten Free Restaurants list and it's surprising to me how many places appear to be gluten free but actually aren't! Did you know that Panda Express does not even have 1 gluten free item on their menu? Yikes! You would think a lot of their menu items wouldn't need gluten! 

This next recipe comes from a craving I was having for some good Chinese... Sweet & Sour Chicken! I found a way to do it completely Gluten Free and the taste is incredible! You're probably tired of me saying that but this one is seriously so yummy! I don't post them otherwise! Enjoy! 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, contains corn)

Adapted by jalene from a recipe by lifeasalofthouse.blogspot.com


Ingredients:

• 2-3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• fresh ground pepper and sea salt
• 1 cup non-GMO cornstarch
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or another high smoking point oil)

Sweet and Sour Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup sugar or organic evaporated cane sugar
• 4 Tbsp Gluten Free Ketchup
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Gluten Free Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp garlic salt

Directions: 

1. Whisk the sweet and sour ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Put the cornstarch into 1 bowl and the beaten eggs into another bowl. Set aside also. 
2. Rinse your chicken breasts in water, shake dry and then cut into chunks. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I only added a titch.) 
3. Dip chicken chunks into the cornstarch, coating well. Then dip into the eggs. 
4. Heat your oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Place the chicken into the pan and brown on each side. (The chicken should still be rare in the middle at this point.)
5. Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the chicken and reduce heat to medium. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer until it thickens and the vinegar taste has calmed down. (Took about 10-15 minutes.) 

Serve warm and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Best served with rice.  

Audrey LOVED this meal! Probably because of the sweetness! ;) 

Oh was that mean of me or what to make you wait almost a week for this recipe?! These babies are so AMAZING. I have been trying to not make them every day but as soon as I make a batch they seem to disappear. Not only do they taste amazing but they're super cute too! I've seen some gluten free cinnamon rolls that don't even look appetizing! The bonus on these ones...they're pull-aparts! You don't even have to mess with rolling them out! (Which lets be frank, gluten free dough does not have the same consistency to be rolled out. It's just too sticky.)

(Before we begin I must say: though you don't have to have one for this recipe, a 1 inch cookie scoop comes super in handy.) 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Created by jalene

Makes 12 cinnamon rolls
Roll Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cups warm rice milk (about 100 F)
• 3/4 cup sweet white rice flour (You can also grind your own from calrose rice)
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 6 Tbsp potato starch (not flour)
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 & 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp butter or organic unsweetened applesauce or Earth Balance butter sub
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

Roll Directions: 

1. Grease 12 muffin tins and set aside. 
2. In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Cover with a towel and let sit 6-8 minutes. I usually wait until it has doubled in size. 
3. In a mixing bowl or food processor combine rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 
4. Add the yeast mixture, egg, butter, honey and apple cider vinegar and blend while scraping sides. Mix for 3 minutes on medium speed.

3.    Using a 1 inch cookie scooper, scoop a mound into your cinnamon and sugar. Coat the dough and place into muffin tin. Repeat two more times so you should have a total of three cinnamon & sugar coated mounds in 1 tin. Repeat until the entire dough is used. 
4.    Pour 1/2 tsp of the melted butter over the top of each muffin section. (This gives an excellent taste and helps prevent sticking.) 
5.    Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with olive oil and place on top of the rolls. Let rise about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 F.  
6.    Bake for about 15 minutes or until light brown. Meanwhile make your frosting.  (These are really good without frosting too though!)

Frosting Ingredients: 

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Frosting Directions: 

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix until well combined.  If a thicker frosting is desired, add more powdered sugar. 

(PS-My powdered sugar was made from scratch from organic evaporated cane sugar that was light brown in color to begin with. Hence the slight tint of the frosting on these babies.) 

So I have some bad news and some AMAZING news... K, bad news first. Now that our recipes are built up (we have over 130+ now on our website!) I will now only be posting recipes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Sad I know! But you'll be able to reap the benefits soon...that's right! Fun surprises to come from donteatwheat! But that's actually not the amazing news... Maybe some of you saw it on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Donteatwheat) but I invented a yummy Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll this past weekend!! Hooray! They are seriously make-you-wanna-cry good. I'm posting them this week so stay tuned! ;) 

This next recipe came from necessity. My sister-in-law left town and, before she left, she brought over all these cherries. You can only eat so many until you need a good way to mass eat them...ha ha.  I seriously haven't had cherries for so long! When I was a little kid my grandpa used to sell them from the trees in his backyard. He had so many of them! We even had this contest to see who could pump high on his swing set and eat cherries right off of the tree. Proud to say I accomplished it once. Man, we would eat them by the handfuls. Now a days, it seems like if I have to buy cherries they're overpriced and not as good as the ones he grew. 

K, enough being nostalgic. This next recipe is SOOO yummy.  I use FRESH cherries instead of a can and you CAN tell a difference! Plus, it's guaranteed gluten free and I didn't have to hunt the aisles looking for a gluten free cherry pie filling. Enjoy! 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free) 
Created by jalene but inspired by a recipe off food.com

Serves 4
Cherry Filling Ingredients: 

• 2 cups cherries, pitted & cut in half (see note)
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp sugar (I use evaporated cane juice sugar)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch (I use non-GMO)
• 3/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp almond extract

Crisp Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup Gluten Free Oat Flour (or you can make your own by blending 1/4 cup oats in your blender)
• 1/4 cup Gluten Free Quick Oats
• 2 Tbsp cold butter or Earth Balance butter sub. 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl combine cherry filling ingredients together. Pour into a greased 4x8 pan. 
3. In another bowl, mix the crisp ingredients using a pastry blender or fork. The mixture should resemble course crumbs. Crumble the mixture over the cherry filling. 
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown.

Serve warm with ice cream or if you're dairy free, try my coconut whip cream! This is one sweet treat! 

One day while I was out doing my normal grocery shopping I stumbled upon some fresh basil. And we're talking so fresh it still had the roots and dirt attached! But that made me think... Oh my goodness! I could grow my own basil and save a lot of money. Basil is easy to grow inside your house and is low-maintenance. Plus you get that "eating for free" feeling. You should try it! 

So whenever my basil leaves are large and plentiful enough, I make this next recipe. There's nothing like taking a plant straight from it's root and eating it. Of course if you don't grow your own basil you can always find it at your local grocery store as well. ;) 

I made this Gluten Free as well as Dairy Free so Audrey can eat it. It's so yummy, you wont even miss the cheese! Of course if you are not vegan, you can always sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan cheese on top for an extra bonus. 
 

Adapted by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed into measuring cup)
• 4 fresh cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup pine nuts 
• 3 TB fresh squeezed lemon juice
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Toast the pine nuts (Optional to toast them but sure makes the dish taste better!) To toast: place pine nuts on a pan and put into an oven set to 350. When nuts are fragrant and golden, remove from oven and allow to cool. (Be sure to watch carefully as they change quickly!)  
   
2. Combine the garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. 
3. Wash and completely dry the basil leaves. Place into a blender.
4. Add the olive oil and the garlic & lemon mixture. Blend well. (Scrap sides if necessary.)
5. Add the toasted pine nuts to blender and pulse until your desired consistency. 

Keep unused portion in an airtight container in the fridge. I usually consume it within a week. 

Wew. That title is a mouthful... I wasn't sure what else to call these though! They are such yummy little treats BUT you actually can feel good about eating them. The only flour I used was brown rice and I threw in a little secret ingredient. Want to know what it is?! I'll give you a clue... It's over running my garden... That's right! Zucchini! But just look at those pictures. You can't even see the Zucchini, even if you dissected the suckers and LOOKED HARD for it! So, when those picky eaters want a treat, make these babies, sit back, and snicker to yourself on how they are, in fact, eating their vegetables. ;)

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a recipe by Shanna B.

Ingredients: 

•  1/4 cup butter or Earth Balance butter substitue (see note)
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup finely grated zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 & 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder + more for flouring
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• gluten free chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Sorry, no recipe today but there's a really good reason why... Introducing our NEW page: 

You can find it under the Gluten Free Help tab or simply click HERE for the link. 
On this page you'll find TONS of great information for Gluten Free Beginners! 
Such as: 

• symptoms of gluten sensitivities
• basic help/advise
• lists of gluten free meals and snacks
• recipes that only use 1 kind of flour (no mixing!)
  
• gluten-infested recipes you're going to miss made gluten free
• links to helpful parts of my website you may have never seen before

So check it out! It's jam-packed with helpful info. Even if you're a Gluten Free Pro, you'll find something useful. ;) 

A Cafe Rio style salad is just not the same without these babies. They are so easy to make it should be a CRIME to sell them. If you're not familiar with Cafe Rio, let me tell ya, they are amazing! Not everything that appears gluten free IS gluten free though. See HERE for allergy info for the restaurant. Luckily, I've posted some VERY SIMILAR recipes. (See bottom of post to try them out!). 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free) 

Recipe from favfamilyrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 10-12 corn tortillas
• oil for frying (use a high smoke point oil) 
• sea salt

Directions: 

1. Cut tortillas into strips using a pizza cutter. You can cut 2-3 at a time. 
2. Heat oil in large frying pan. Place some of the strips into hot oil and fry until they become crispy. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. 
3. Repeat until all strips are cooked. 

Store in an airtight container.