GFCF Rice Chex

So, hello everyone. I've been lax in posting for a while, but I'm still here. I realize I'm likely very behind on this one, but I didn't find out that General Mills made its Rice Chex cereal gluten-free. I popped in the supermarket today to check. They did. So, if your kids like cereal, this is a great option that you can grab in a bind. However, I noticed it's priced higher than the Health Valley Rice Crunch Ems I normally buy for my kids. So, which should I buy? With health value in mind, I'm sure the Health Valley is better, with no preservatives, etc. Pricewise, the Health Valley is less expensive and thru my food co-op, I can buy it in cases at a 20% discount. But, there's also some value in supporting a mainstream company -- General Mills -- that's willing to offer a gluten-free product on my supermarket shelf. Hmmm. Maybe, I'll buy one of each.

Bad GFCF pizza crust

I love to talk and write about the GFCF foods I love. Here's one I really didn't care for -- and I'll tell you why. This is the Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust. This looked great in the freezer section at Whole Foods and I thought I'd give it a try for ~$5/2 crusts. 

I usually make my own, but this was worth a shot. Here's the problem, the crusts are very chewy after they're cooked and they only become tougher and chewier -- like jerky -- upon cooling. It's actually just bad. I would not recommend this to anyone. For now, I'll keep baking my own crusts.

GF/CF/SF Rice Cheese

OK -- so I've had a few comment about the kind of rice cheese I'm using. This is gluten free, casein free and soy free. I understand it might be tricky finding this stuff, but I assure you it exists. To prove it, I'm including a photo of the packaging. It clearly states gf, cf and sf. And, the ingredients indicate the same.

I buy this at a local Whole Foods and also at a local food co-op. I notice two things about this particular item that might help you find it.

First, it's not the brick of cheese, it's just the slices.

Second, this packaging also has a lot of Spanish on it. I've seen other sliced Galaxy cheeses that contain either soy or casein. This one is different.

I hope that helps and I hope you can find it.

GF/CF/SF Toasted cheese sandwiches

Here's another great classic you now can make, thanks to Galaxy cheese slices, which are gluten-free, casein-free and soy-free. Note again, as in previous posts, that the Galaxy cheese chunks are not casein free, just the slices. So, head out to a Whole Foods or your local food co-op and find the following: -- Galaxy cheese slices, either American, Cheddar or Pepper Jack flavors. -- Ener-G gluten free bread (I buy the brown rice, yeast-free bread. There's others.) -- Whatever type of margarine or oil you use that's dairy-free. Some use Fleischmann's Light spreadable margarine, or ghee, or oil. I use canola oil. -- Sea salt. You know how to make this. It's easy. I'll note a couple of tricks that I found helpful. And, of course, you can use any type of gluten-free bread. I just happen to be using the Ener-G bread right now. Other times, I'll make my own. OK, get a frying pan out and pre-heat on medium-high. Let it get hot. This is crucial to get the nice toasted bread markings. While it's heating, get out two bread slices and put a slice of cheese in the middle. I add a small pinch of sea salt. The cheese is low-salt and this adds a bit of flavor. When the pan's hot, add the oil or margarine. If oil, just a tsp will do. Not too much. Now, place the sandwich in the pan. You should hear a slight sizzle. Brown on one side. This only takes a minute or so. Then turn over and brown the other side. You'll probably notice the cheese really isn't melted. So, turn off the pan. Put the toasted sandwich on a plate. Microwave this for 15 secs (try 10 secs in yours first -- in mine, it's 15 secs). This will melt the cheese AND keep the toasty bread. There you go. Toasted cheese. And now that you know how to make this, you obviously can make a nice ham and cheese sandwich or even a turkey and cheese sandwich. Buy your gluten-free lunch-meat and add a slice to the cheese sandwich before toasting. Very tasty. The cheese is a bit pricy, but to me, it's well worth it. I can't stand the soy cheeses. They're aweful. And most other cheeses have some form of casein in there. This is the best I've found. I plan to make a pizza using this cheese sometime next week -- also with a new GF crust I found. I'll let you know how that goes.

GF/CF/SF chili-cheese fries

Bet you didn't think this was possible on a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Well, it is possible, and even without soy too. For my money, the soy-based cheeses are really bad. So, how do you do this? You can grab everything in one trip to Whole Foods. -- French fries: either Whole Foods' 365 brand or Cascadian Farms brand. -- Chili: Amy's brand chili is OK. -- Cheese: Galaxy brand rice cheese (yes, the slices are casein-free, not just lactose free -- be careful because the bricks are not casein-free). 

They sell sliced pepper-jack, american and cheddar. The pepper jack adds some zip to this. So, toss the fries in the oven for 10 mins, then turn them over. Bake another 5 mins. Spread the chili over top and bake another 3 mins. Add the cheese with about 1 minute left. I cut this up into smaller pieces and toss over top. There you go. You could also add some salsa to this if your kids like it -- plain Tostitos brand salsas are OK and so is Muir Glen brand, among others.

Sending Michael Savage email

Ahhh, the email link I posted below to send Talk Radio Network your opinion on Michael Savage's remarks about autism doesn't really work. 

You have to go to an online contact form, which you can find here: http://www.talkradionetwork.com/contactus

Savage's autism comments

If you haven't read or heard Michael Savage's comments about autism. Here they are. Remember, he's a talk show host and is looking for ratings. Attacks like this are mostly attention-getters intended to draw listeners. Still, we must respond.


Savage Defends Remarks Questioning Autism
NEW YORK, July 22, 2008
(CBS/ AP) Right-wing radio talk show host Michael Savage, who described 99 percent of children with autism as brats, said Monday he was trying to "boldly awaken" parents to his view that many people are being wrongly diagnosed. Some parents of autistic children have called for Savage's firing after he described autism as a racket last week. "In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out," Savage said on his radio program last Wednesday.
Savage said: "What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, `Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, you idiot."' Savage offered no apology in a message posted Monday on his Web site.

Read the rest at the site.

Oh, by the way, here's the email to Talk Radio Network, which is where he works.

info@talkradionetwork.com