H1


EZ GFCF | A Gluten Free Recipes Blog

Text content

If you are GFCF and looking for gluten free recipes, reviews and engaging discussion, then this blog is for you! We have posted a wide variety of gluten free recipes and information since 2006 for people struggling with Celiac, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, other health concerns and food allergies. Thankfully, there's been great progress with gfcf food selection and ingredient listings since this blog's first posts. Please join us!

8.26.2007

Oh so coconutee ice cream

Yep, another GFCF ice cream. Oh, and, it's free of soy, rice, nuts, corn, dyes and just about everything else. I'll confess now, this is not my recipe, just as most of these are not truly mine. Most are variations of something I saw somewhere else. And, when I first saw this recipe, I truly had doubts that it would work. But, it did. It's great. I made two variations -- vanilla and carob (alternative for chocolate, but cocoa surely could be used too). Here's how.

Ingredients:

2 x 14 oz cans coconut milk (I bought organic)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp carob powder (or cocoa)

For vanilla, mix all but the carob in a bowl. Whisk well. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow directions. I use a Rival machine and it took less than an hour.

For carob, mix all ingredients together in a bowl, whisk and use the ice cream maker.

The plain mix has a distinctive coconut flavor, which some will like and others will not. My one daughter did not. But she loves the carob. So, anything to mask the coconut will work -- chocolate or carob chips, fruit, cocoa, nuts, pieces of cookies, etc.

8.15.2007

Pancakes II

This is a modification of my original pancake recipe, which you'll find on this site.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour mix (I use 1/3 cup tapioc starch, 1/3 cup sorghum flour, 1/3 cup millet flour)
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp syrup -- pure maple is good, agave is good, honey is good, Steen's is good.
1/3-2/3 cup water

Mix dry, then add liquids. Whisk until smooth and "pancakey." Drop a tsp of oil in a pan and heat. Then make pancakes. I top these either with syrup or sprinkle Domino powdered sugar on top.

8.05.2007

High Fructose Corn Syrup -- dangerous stuff

Soda Warning? High-fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Science Daily Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children. In a laboratory study of commonly consumed carbonated beverages, the scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels.


New evidence suggests that sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup may increase the risk of diabetes, particularly in children. (Credit: American Chemical Society)

HFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

In the current study, Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found 'astonishingly high' levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages. These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with "unbound" fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are "bound" and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.

Ho and his associates also found that adding tea components to drinks containing HFCS may help lower the levels of reactive carbonyls. The scientists found that adding epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound in tea, significantly reduced the levels of reactive carbonyl species in a dose-dependent manner when added to the carbonated soft drinks studied. In some cases, the levels of reactive carbonyls were reduced by half, the researchers say.

"People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country," says Ho. "It's in way too many food and drink products and there's growing evidence that it's bad for you." The tea-derived supplement provides a promising way to counter its potentially toxic effects, especially in children who consume a lot of carbonated beverages, he says.

But eliminating or reducing consumption of HFCS is preferable, the researchers note. They are currently exploring the chemical mechanisms by which tea appears to neutralize the reactivity of the syrup.Ho's group is also probing the mechanisms by which carbonation increases the amount of reactive carbonyls formed in sodas containing HFCS. They note that non-carbonated fruit juices containing HFCS have one-third the amount of reactive carbonyl species found in carbonated sodas with HFCS, while non-carbonated tea beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup, which already contain EGCG, have only about one-sixth the levels of carbonyls found in regular soda.

In the future, food and drink manufacturers could reduce concerns about HFCS by adding more EGCG, using less HFCS, or replacing the syrup with alternatives such as regular table sugar, Ho and his associates say. Funding for this study was provided by the Center for Advanced Food Technology of Rutgers University. Other researchers involved in the study include Chih-Yu Lo, Ph.D.; Shiming Li, Ph.D.; Di Tan, Ph.D.; and Yu Wang, a doctoral student.

This research was reported August 23 at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, during the symposium, "Food Bioactives and Nutraceuticals: Production, Chemistry, Analysis and Health Effects: Health Effects."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society.

Copyright © 1995-2007 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact: