A Gluten-Free lunchbox

There are many reasons why you might be trying a gluten free diet for your children - skin allergies, behavioural issues, stomach problems, or you might be like me and just think we eat far too much modern wheat in our diet and that we all have some degree of intolerance to it. My eldest was only two when she started to complain of a sore belly after eating wheat products, we live largely gluten free these days, though we aren't too strict on it.

We don't buy gluten free bread for the kids, it is gross. We have learnt to live without bread. The girls have cereal, porridge or eggs for breakfast. For lunch they have a selection of things - carrot sticks, cherry tomato's, strawberries, raspberries, easy-yo yogurt, jelly, salami, ham, sticks of cheese, olives (a favourite!), nuts, boiled egg, cold meat from the night before, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, fruit, and of course home made baking.

I was doing some lunchbox baking with the kids on Saturday and thought I would share two of the best gluten free recipes I have with you all :-) I think the sign of a good gluten free product is when my best friend doesn't believe me that they are gluten free, if they pass that test, they are good!

Dana's Gluten free baking mix:
 

2 c rice flour (the finer the better, try an Asian supermarket)

1 ½ c maize cornflour
1 c tapioca or arrowroot flour (they are practically the same)
1 ½ t gum – either xanthan or guar gum (you can buy at the health food shop or the supermarket or in bulk from www.kiwisoapsupplies.co.nz)

3 t baking powder

Mix well. This works out about half the price of buying the pre-mixed stuff and works just as well.

 

Dana's Gluten Free Chocolate Chippies
 

 

Cream together:

• 220g softened butter
• 1/2c brown sugar
• 6T sweetened condensed milk (about 1/2 a can)
• 2t Vanilla essence

Mix in:

• 2C of baking mix
• 2tsp of baking powder and
• 400g chocolate drops or buttons.

This mixture is surprisingly soft, don't stress. Put golf ball sized blobs on a lined tray and bake at 180 degrees for 13-14 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Best Chocolate cake recipe ever:

No one will believe it is gluten free!

 

Mix in a bowl:

• 2c baking mix
• 2c sugar
• 1t baking soda
• 1t baking powder
• 1/2t salt

In a pot bring to the boil then turn off:

• 250g butter
• 1c water
• 1/2c cocoa

Mix the cocoa mixture into dry ingredients, then add:

• 2 eggs
• ½ c milk
• 1 1/2t vanilla

Beat together well either by hand or with a mixer.
Bake 180 deg in 25cm tin for 60-70 min or until a skewer comes out clean. We ice this with a simple chocolate icing - 2T butter, 2T cocoa, 2C icing sugar and hot water to mix.

Gluten free baking tips:

Most recipes with lots of butter or eggs works well with gluten free baking. If you are making a cake with 'bits' in it – banana cake, carrot cake, sultana cake you need to add another teaspoon of gum powder to the recipe to hold it together. Some recipes work best if you add an additional egg or more butter – eg scones you add an extra 25g butter. Always just under bake cakes/slices and muffins, and watch cakes closely. I usually under bake cookies by 2 -4 minutes. If they are cooked for the full amount of time they end up dry and crumbly. Hunt around to find the cheapest flours, the Asian food markets often have rice flour much cheaper than the super market, and buying some stuff on line is sometimes cheaper too. Good luck with your endeavours and if you have a favourite gluten free recipe or any questions, feel free to comment below!