Gluten Update

We are doing o.k. with the whole gluten thing.  I try to remain positive about the whole situation and then I think about monkey bread and chocolate chip cookies and I get sad that A will not ever eat those things.... not ever.  Well....that's not actually true.  She will eat those things but just not with regular flour and well I just hope that those treats with GF flours are as tasty. 

Why you wonder am I worried about the treats?  Well, the sweet treats are the hardest part about this whole gluten free (GF) diet.  We've got breakfast under control.  I do have some questions about GF oats though.  Lunch and dinner we're doing ok with as she can still eat rice and potates.  I am sure following this diet will be much easier in the summer when fruits and veggies are abundant and tasty.  The hard part is the snacking... the sweet treats and of course eating out.  Our dining out choices are quite limited.  I'm sure traveling will prove to be a challenge.  But for now.....I've got my sights set on some chocolate chip cookies. 
I recently come across a pretty new cookbook writen by the founder of BabyCakes in NYC.  I remember hearing about BabyCakes  prior to our whole gluten saga and just figured it was another trendy bakery.  I, thankfully, know better now. 

"In a city dominated by cupcakes overflowing with sugar, flour and butter cream, it’s easy for those with persnickety diets to feel left out. BabyCakes offers all-natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs. Rest assured, all sweeteners have been chosen responsibly and used sparingly. White sugar will never be found in our bakery, nor will we ever use toxic chemical sweeteners. Instead, most products are sweetened with agave nectar—a natural syrup from a cactus which is low on the glycemia index and often a safe alternative to most non-insulin dependant diabetics. Occasionally, unprocessed and unrefined sugar is used in certain goods, although sparingly."
                                                                                      Erin McKenna
                                                                                      Founder, BabyCakes NYC

So not only does this bakery exist but Erin has written a lovely cookbook.  I perfer my cookbooks to be filled with beautiful pictures of the food I am being encouraged to make.  So many of the GF cookbooks out there are lacking in the picture department.  Not though the pretty BabyCakes cookbook.  Beautiful pictures and the treats look amazing.  Again, I have yet to make anything from this book but I did borrow it from the library and made a photocopy of the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I want to try one of the recipes before I actually purchase the book.  My issue is now that I can't find all of the ingredients.  I've got the coconut oil, the flax meal and the Xanthan gum but I can't find the evaporated cane juice in any of our local grocery stores.  I am sure Whole Foods carries it but we live so far from a Whole Foods.

 Hey....Whole Foods....are you listening.....WE NEED YOU IN THE NORTHWEST SUBURBS!!!! 

So once I get my hands on that evaporated cane juice we are making some chocolate chip cookies.  I have high hopes. 

 I love their uniforms.  Love them.

Images take from the BabyCakes website.

Holy Shit.....Looking more closely at the BabyCakes website. 
Thier prices.  Oh..My..God..

Double Chocolate Crumb Cake (serves 8)..........$35
(gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, agave-sweetened)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes..........$3.95 each, $44.15 per dozen
(gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, agave-sweetened)

Banana Bread (serves 8-10)..........$30 per loaf

(gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, agave-sweetened))