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 Gluten-free Pumpkin Chiffon Pie It's time to shop for our holiday parties and celebrations. We can buy easy foods for entertaining guests or prepare our special holiday recipes. But a typical holiday meal is very high in carbohydrates, saturated fats and sodium, causing problems for the food allergy sufferer. Take the classic cheese ball. All we need to do is put crackers around it. It looks innocent enough but it contains cheese, high amounts of sodium and saturated fat. Individuals with gluten intolerance cannot have the crackers unless they are gluten-free and cannot digest saturated fats without stomach distress. Many gluten intolerant individuals are also lactose intolerant -the inability to digest the lactose protein in milk products. So what does one serve instead? How about a Spicy Red Pepper Hummus, with blanched thin asparagus spears? Or try my Turkey Wrapped Scallops (recipe below) for an elegant appetizer. What about your favorite Baked Artichoke Dip? That recipe contains lactose in the form of Parmesan cheese, but you can exchange the Parmesan cheese with Pecorino Romano cheese, a cheese made from sheep's milk. It must say Pecorino in front of the Romano; otherwise you are getting cow's milk with the Romano flavoring. Use gluten-free crackers or corn chips for dipping. For gluten intolerance, it is very easy to substitute white rice flour for wheat flour in gravies. Use just a little less white rice flour (1½ tablespoons instead of 2 tablespoons wheat flour). Be sure to use white rice flour not brown rice flour. To thicken the gravy, use arrowroot instead of cornstarch. Mashed potatoes or rice are a good substitute for wheat pasta, but potatoes are high in carbohydrates. If you are looking for a low carbohydrate, low fat, and low sodium side dish, brown rice is your answer. You can make a nice rice pilaf with it, and green vegetables or a dark green leaf salad will keep the acid in the stomach under control, reducing gastric reflux problems. Dessert is a challenge, as most recipes contain wheat flour, cornstarch, and sugar. Fruit-based desserts lessen this but do not totally answer the challenge. Try my Pumpkin Chiffon pie with Rice flour crust for dessert (recipe below). Host your meal early enough so everyone has time to digest their food properly, in case any of your relatives have GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) or IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Precooking or blanching vegetables and allowing enough time for digestion will help to alleviate these potential problems. Although it may take a little more planning than usual, these extra steps will ensure that anyone with food allergies, diabetes, stomach problems, and high blood pressure will enjoy their food at your gathering without problems. What better gift you can give for the holidays? Turkey-Wrapped Scallops Makes 32 appetizers AF (Dairy-free, Egg-free, Corn-free**, Gluten-free) ¼ cup olive oil 8 large sea scallops, cut into 4,1 inch pieces each 8 organic turkey bacon (see note**) ¼ cup Sorghum flour (if unable to find use 2 tablespoons white rice flour) Place flour in shallow bowl. Roll cut scallops in flour and place to the side on wax paper. On cutting board, slice each bacon strip, first in half horizontally, then vertically. Each bacon strip will make 4 thin slices. Wrap turkey slice around each scallop. Secure with toothpick. Heat 12-inch skillet with olive oil to medium-high heat; place turkey-wrapped scallops into skillet. Cook, turning the scallops for 20 minutes or until all areas of the scallops are lightly brown and the bacon is cooked. Serve warm. Note:** Commercial brands of turkey bacon can contain corn syrup, use an organic brand. Pumpkin Chiffon Pie T (testing for eggs- Dairy-free, Corn-free, Gluten-free) 3 eggs, separated ¾ cup brown sugar 1½ cup canned pumpkin ½ cup rice milk ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon nutmeg 1 envelope unflavored gelatin ½ cup cold water 6 tablespoons sugar Baked 8 -nch rice flour pie shell (recipe to follow) Whipped topping (optional) can contain corn or soy Beat egg yolks and brown sugar until thick; add pumpkin, milk, salt and spices. Cook mixture in double boiler until thick. Meanwhile, let gelatin stand 5 minutes in cold water, then stir into hot mixture. When dissolved, cool mixture until it begins to set. Beat egg whites until fluffy and gradually add the 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until quite stiff. Fold egg white mixture into pumpkin mixture. Pour into baked pie crust and chill. Serve with whipped topping if desired. Pie Crust: ¾ cup white rice flour 1 tablespoon potato starch ½ teaspoon organic baking powder 1 ½ tablespoon sugar ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon xanthan gum 1 egg beaten 4 tablespoons margarine, milk-free, corn-free Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place aside an 8-inch pie pan. In medium bowl, beat egg and margarine. In another bowl, mix rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add to egg mixture. Gently stir until blended. Place on rice floured parchment paper. Sprinkle rice flour over mixture and cover with another piece of parchment paper. With rolling pin roll out dough larger than the pie pan. Fold the dough over the parchment paper. Place on one half of the pie pan. Now unroll the other piece. Seal edges with finger tips. Bake at 20 minutes on lowest rack in oven. Note: Sometimes this crust is very hard to roll. Another method is to place pie dough mixture into pie pan and simply press the dough to fit the pan. Cook as instructed above. Adapted from materials prepared by Terry Traub, R.D.H., B.S., Author of Food to Some, Poison to Others. Copyright 2008, Terry Traub, All Rights Reserved, Used with Permission Terry Traub has been in the health field for 37 years. She is a practicing Registered Dental Hygienist with a degree in Public Health. Her two sons both have Celiac Disease, and her husband has shown symptoms of Celiac in the last two years. Terry's first book, "The Food Allergy Detection Program", included her elimination diet to isolate the allergens causing these problems.Unlike other elimination diets, her method was in recipe form. Her new book, "Food to Some, Poison to Others", is an expanded version of the first book that also addresses GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). For more information, please visit www.eattobeallergyfree.com |
