Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

Gluten-free and low FODMAP diet recipes, news and tips

November 30, 2018 FODMAP Friday

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FODMAP Friday | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen www.erikasglutenfreekitchen.com

Happy Friday!

Today is the last day of November. Which leaves me with a pressing question: is it too early to do my annual weekend of cookie baking? Although it’s the perfect weekend for it, it still feels a little too soon. But on the other hand, if I don’t reserve the time for it this weekend, I’d be looking at mid-December before I could devote the time to it. And then the shipping might take too long! What to do…

All this said, I am done with my holiday shopping. This is due in large part to having had all sorts of fun local holiday craft fairs. I am very proud of myself for not buying all the presents for myself, BTW. Because some of the stalls were verrryyyy tempting for self-gifting. Like this one:

Not only are the designs here incredibly adorable, the kitty on these tote bags looks like a lsightly fluffier version of my cat Bolvar. Especially the nom nom bag, showing the kitty’s fangs!

But, I have a bag full of tote bags, and I was there to buy holiday gifts. So I abstained. But, if you are reading this and trying to think up a cute gift idea for me, I would love a t-shirt or print of that from her shop if she makes them available!

And with that, let’s dive into the last low FODMAP recipe round-up of November!

Low FODMAP Recipes

Prep for Your Holiday Baking

If you are looking for supplies for your holiday baking and gift-giving, check out my Amazon store. I’ll be adding new gift ideas over the next week, so be sure to check back!

November 23, 2018 FODMAP Friday

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FODMAP Friday | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen www.erikasglutenfreekitchen.com

Happy Friday!

It’s been an incredibly busy past week. Not only was yesterday Thanksgiving, which meant a fantastic dinner with the family in Sonoma County, but last weekend was also the Gluten-Free and Allergen Friendly Food Expo in San Mateo.

As a guest of the Expo’s organizers, I was invited to a fun breakfast with other local gluten-free and allergy-specific food bloggers, sponsored by BFree Foods. It was fun to be in a tent full of food-lovers sharing our allergy stories, and comparing notes a bout the exhibitors we were most excited to try.

It was a great day full of trying new foods, with a few stand-outs I’ve got to share with you:

  • Sonoma Creamery brought their cheese crisp bars which are the perfect way to give in to your salty+crispy snack craving without resorting to a carb fest. I bought a stack of their cheddar cheese bars for a protein-packed afternoon snack.
  • The folks at Swerve brought their new brown sugar alternative and some great new baking mixes—gluten-free vanilla and chocolate cakes, chocolate chip cookies, and pancakes. Although I’m interested in trying out the new mixes, I can not wait to get my hands on some of the Brown Swerve for this year’s gluten free and low FODMAP holiday cookie baking.
  • I loved craft beers before I knew I shouldn’t be drinking them because of their wheat content. I was incredibly impressed with the gluten-free beers from Glutenberg. My favorites were the Belgian-style white beer, the American Pale Ale, and the Stout. 

As you go about your Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping, I encourage you to keep an eye out for all three of these brands. It will be worth your while!

Winter Low FODMAP Recipe Round-up

It finally feels like Winter throughout the U.S. (OK, except for my friends in Florida and SoCal, where it’s pretty much Summer year-round.) Here are some great low FODMAP recipes to warm you up and celebrate the flavors of the season:

  • Manu’s Menu shared a delicious pumpkin pancake recipe to make your holiday brunch a little more festive.
  • If you struggle to make sure you eat enough veggies, add this stuffed red bell pepper from FODMAP Friendly to your low FODMAP dinner rotation.
  • Not sure what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? Here’s a great plan for a low FODMAP salad that makes the most of them.
  • This cottage pie recipe is another great way to put those Thanksgiving leftovers to work.
  • Cheesy mashed potatoes get a vegan makeover in this recipe from Watch, Learn, Eat.
  • Green bean casserole gets a modern low FODMAP makeover from Jay’s Baking Me Crazy.

Kick off Your Low FODMAP Holiday Shopping

If you’re starting your holiday shopping today, you’ll want to take advantage of special Black Friday and Cyber Monday pricing on a number of the items in my Amazon store. If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to buy yourself an InstantPot, that time is now!

November 16, 2018 FODMAP Friday

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FODMAP Friday | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen www.erikasglutenfreekitchen.com

We’ve made it to another Friday!

But man, this past week has been a tough one.

The California wildfires are still raging on, with so many people having lost their lives, and others their homes and jobs. If you are able to give to relief efforts, check out last week’s post with links to some of the organizations you can reach out to support.

Those of us in Northern California not directly impacted by the fire (everywhere from Chico and Sacramento to San Francisco and San Jose) are seeing hazardous air quality. Try to limit your time outdoors in these areas and make sure to wear a mask when you are outside to limit breathing in dangerous particles.

Situations like this—and it being the week before Thanksgiving—have certainly given me plenty of time to think about all that I am thankful for this year:

  • I am thankful for having found a naturopath who is committed to helping me on my journey to good health.
  • I am thankful for being able to work for myself with clients who share my same values and aim to make the world a better place.
  • I am thankful for the continued good health of our friends and family members.
  • I am thankful for being able to share my love for baking and great-tasting low FODMAP and gluten-free food with each of you who are reading this post.

Low FODMAP Thanksgiving Recipes

  • Although pies take center stage at the Thanksgiving table, I always like to have some cookies to send home with the leftovers. My low FODMAP gluten-free lemon cookies are an easy bake that your family will love.
  • The Roasted Root shared a mouth-watering scalloped sweet potatoes recipe that would make a perfect low FODMAP Thanksgiving side dish.
  • It’s not Thanksgiving for me without a gorgeous turkey. This recipe from The Zebra Pit shares a delicious low FODMAP approach to a well-seasoned turkey and gravy. They also have a low FODMAP dressing (or stuffing) to go along with it.
  • If your family is more into cheesecake than pie, these pumpkin swirl cheesecakes from Kate Scarlata will be the perfect finish to your low FODMAP Thanksgiving dinner.

Low FODMAP Thanksgiving Prep

Do you have everything you need for your low FODMAP Thanksgiving dinner? If not, check out my Amazon store to find great low FODMAP foods, cookbooks, kitchen tools and more to make your low FODMAP Thanksgiving dinner complete.

Low FODMAP Gluten-free Lemon Cookies

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Low FODMAP Lemon Cookies | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

As a kid, I loved Lemonheads candy. That sour, face-puckering lemony taste with the burst of sugar was my kind of treat. That’s also why one of my favorite holiday cookies was my Aunt Ruth’s lemony sugar cookies. Like my honey cookies, her sugar cookies were soft and moist—and quite unlike the typical crunchy sugar cookies everyone else’s mom was baking.

These days, I rarely eat candy, but I do still love a burst of citrus in my desserts. That’s why I decided to revisit Aunt Ruth’s recipe and give it some updates in addition to modifying the recipe to make Low FODMAP gluten-free lemon cookies.

Low FODMAP Lemon Cookies | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

Low FODMAP Gluten-free Lemon Cookie Drop Cookie Variation

The dough is quite sticky when first combined, but after an hour in the refrigerator, it’s sturdy enough to stand up to being rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters. I like to top the rolled out cookies with a lemon royal icing and hand-tinted sugar.

Low FODMAP Lemon Cookies | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

Most frequently, however, I keep my low FODMAP gluten-free lemon cookies a lot simpler. You can take a large cookie scoop and scoop out the dough and slightly flatten it on the baking sheet to create small round cookies that are perfectly topped with a lemon glaze.

Regardless of which approach you take with my low FODMAP gluten-free lemon cookies, I promise they will deliver a nice lemon and spice punch.

Store cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Pin It for Later

Pin the recipe for later, and let me know how they turn out!

Low FODMAP Lemon Cookies | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

Low FODMAP Lemon Cookies | Erika's Gluten-free Kitchen

Low FODMAP Gluten-free Lemon Cookies

These soft, low FODMAP gluten-free lemon cookies can be rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters and topped with your favorite royal icing, or scooped into balls and served with a lemon glaze.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 40 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup butter Bring butter to room temperature and cut into chunks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 zest of one lemon
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup lactose free whole milk
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp Penzey's cake spice Can substitute all spice or nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Cup for Cup gluten-free flour

Lemon Glaze

  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 zest of one lemon
  • 2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice.
  • Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well to combine.
  • Add lemon juice and milk mixture, cake spice, and lemon zest to the mixing bowl and mix until just combined.
  • Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until you have a soft, sticky dough.
  • Scrape dough into a Ziploc or other food storage bag and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Either roll out dough to a 1/2 inch thickness and cut out with cookie cutters or drop dough from a cookie scoop and slightly flatten with your hand.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly browned. Cool on wirre racks before decorating.

Glaze

  • Combine glaze ingredients in a glass or other non-reactive bowl and whisk together by hand until you have a glaze that coats the back of a spoon. Add more lemon juice or powdered sugar as needed to get your glaze to your preferred consistency.
  • Place wax paper under the cookie racks. Spoon lemon glaze over each cookie and let glaze set before putting cookies into air-tight containers.
Keyword lemon, low fodmap
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Why Attend the 2018 Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo in San Mateo + Ticket Giveaway

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It can get to be expensive—and disappointing—ordering new gluten-free foods you’ve never had before. But when it comes to finding great gluten-free and other allergen-free foods, that’s what many of us pretty regularly do. I know that’s meant I’ve thrown out food that I had high hopes for but that missed the mark.

But last year, I attended the Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo in San Mateo for the first timie, and it was a game-changer. There were a ton of my favorite brands there—like Enjoy Life, Bread Srsly, and Schar—sharing the latest and greatest from their line-up. But most importantly for me, there were dozens of brands I’d never tried before who produced all sorts of great food I can safely eat.

I loved how the vendors all clearly noted which allergens they did or did not have present in their food. Too often, I get excited when I see something with gluten-free on the package, but find out after reading the ingredients that it contains soy or cashews which I’m also allergic too. The signage gives me the freedom to walk the aisle and try whatever catches my eye without having to spend quality time with the ingredients list.

All this is why when I was given the opportunity to attend this year as a blogger and have the chance to give away free tickets to the event, I jumped at the chance. 

What to Expect at the 2018 Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo in San Mateo

If you’ve never attended the show before, here’s what you can look forward to over the course of the weekend:

  • More than 100 exhibiting brands. A few of my favorites include:
    • Bob’s Red Mill
    • Bread Srsly
    • Enjoy Life
    • Glutenberg
    • Milton’s
    • Petit Pot
    • Schar
    • Sonoma Creamery
    • Swerve
  • As many free food samples from exhibitors as you have room to taste
  • Coupons to save on your next purchase from gluten-free & allergen-friendly brands
  • Discounted products available for purchase and take home
  • Informative classes on gluten-free and allergen topics
  • Free reusable bag to carry home all your goodies

Show Details 

WHEN:
The 2018 Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo will be held in San Mateo on Saturday, November 17, and Sunday, November 18;

WHERE:
San Mateo County Event Center- Fiesta Hall
1346 Saratoga Drive
San Mateo, CA 94403

HOURS:
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. daily

TICKETS:
Tickets are $15 per day, or $25 for both days. Get 20% off your ticket price with the code ADVANCE (thru 11/16).

How to Win Free Tickets to the 2018 Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo in San Mateo

For a chance to win a free ticket to the event:

  • Follow me on Twitter @ErikaGlutenFree and RT one of my posts about the event.
  • Like my Facebook page Erika’s Gluten Free Kitchen and leave a comment on one of the posts
  • Leave a comment here and let me know the one gluten-free baked treat you wish you knew how to make but haven’t yet perfected.

I hope to see you there!

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