Gluten-free sandwiches

Note: Although the recipe below is still very valid, full disclaimer that I've ultimately turned to store-bought bread for my girls. My oldest prefers the Kinnikinnick Tapioca Rice bread and my youngest likes the Ener-G Yeast Free Brown Rice Bread. I buy bulk to cut down the cost. **Even more updated - try some store brand GF breads now on the market, such as Aldi's Live G Free gluten free bread.

 Ahh, the most difficult food item to re-create in my children's diet -- and arguably on the Autism Diet

in general -- lunchmeat sandwiches. This is difficult for a number of reasons. What lunchmeat is OK? Even if it's OK, what about harmful preservatives? And, finding a gluten-free, casein-free bread that your picky child will eat is nearly impossible. In my house, it's been a struggle for years.

I've finally found a solution to all of this that works. It's a compromise, for me. I'm using gluten-free lunchmeats but give on the preservatives. I buy meat that's prepackaged to prevent the cross-contact issues. If you're not satisfied with that, buy some of the preservative-free deli meats out there, like Applegate Farms.

Like all of my recipes, this is simple and easy to make. It's versatile, too, and the bread also can become a mini-pizza shell, which also is very popular at my house.

The bread is a variation of the Noah's Bread recipe. Here's my variation.

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix 1/2 cup of sorghum or brown rice flour, 2/3 cup tapioca flour, 2 tsp xanthan gum, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp oregano (or other spice), 1 tbsp sugar.

Then, add, 1/3 cup of oil, 1/3 cup of a dairy sub (like Darifree), and 1/2 cup of water.

Beat until well combined.

Now, use a ladle or 1/4 cup measure to dump into circular bun-sized pieces. Keep them apart as much as possible. You can make regular bun shapes or like mini-hoagie or hot dog bun shapes. They aren't perfect and I'm sure you could buy forms to make them better. Anyway, then, I take a wet spatula and press down lightly on each and with one or two swoops, flatten each one out some.

Then, bake for 20 minutes.

These will be flatter than regular buns, but that's OK. They taste pretty good.

My kids like a slice or two of GF ham with some mustard and ketchup. This is a big hit at breakfast or lunch.

For the mini-pizzas, I add garlic powder to the dough, and then after baking, top with sauce and toppings, and bake a little longer.