All But Gluten - Rekindle your LOVE of Baked Goods

Recently, Weston Bakeries launched the All But Gluten line of baked goods.  Our family was given the opportunity to sample some of the new products, which we were very excited to do.

While we do not follow a gluten-free diet, we do have a good family friend who has Celiac Disease, and we have friends who also have gluten sensitivities.  Did you know that 1 in 100 Canadians have Celiac disease, and up to 6% of the population have gluten sensitivity?  Over the last few years, we have learned and heard a lot about Celiac disease (which is an autoimmune disease, not an allergy) and gluten sensitivity.  For many, going "gluten free" (or GF) is a huge lifestyle change.  And I know that many have struggled, because the "gluten free" alternatives to their favourite gluten-filled foods tasted just awful.  

Another thing that we have learned a lot about in the last few years, are the precautions that people with Celiac disease must follow to ensure their food is safe, and free from gluten and cross-contamination.  Our Celiac friend has to keep many of her foods separate from the rest of her family, including her own butter and more.  Any chance of cross-contamination could prove very painful for her.

The first All But Gluten product that we tried was their Mini Brownies.  I was a little nervous, having heard how terrible the alternatives are supposed to taste.  Well, let me tell you, these Mini Brownies were amazing.  My entire family LOVED them.  Couldn't even tell that they were gluten-free.  And, like all the other All But Gluten products, they are also dairy free and kosher.    We turned ours into a nice little dessert:

All you'll need to re-create this treat:

All But Gluten Mini Brownies
Frozen Vanilla Yogurt
Strawberries - ours were fresh picked from the garden! Yum!

You could easily substitute homemade whipped cream for the frozen yogurt if you don't have a GF frozen yogurt option.   It was super good!  The All But Gluten website has some recipes listed that may inspire you as well!

Next up, we are wanting to try the All But Gluten Cinnamon Raisin Loaf.  We make Cinnamon Raisin French Toast as a treat on weekends, and changing up our usual bread to a GF option is one that we are eager to try!  You can check out all of the All But Gluten products on their website.  I'd also encourage you to follow All But Gluten on Facebook, All But Gluten on Twitter , and All But Gluten on Pinterest .

Canadian friends, you can purchase All But Gluten at many major retailers - Superstore, Fortinos, Loblaws, Longos, Walmart, and coming very soon (not yet available in my hometown, but possibly in other centres) at Overwaitea, Save on Foods, Metro, Cooper's Foods and Price Smart Foods.

Disclaimer: This sponsorship is brought to you by the The Gluten Free Agency whom we have partnered with for this promotion.

Strawberry Basil Muffins

It's that time of year, when the strawberries are appearing at great prices in the supermarket, and the herbs are growing!  We have an abundance of basil these days, and while our oldest likes to eat it straight (aka freshly picked), I prefer to incorporate basil into my cooking.  I've never put basil into any baking, but felt the need to do so this week.  I knew that strawberries and basil are friends, so I thought I'd like to try the two together in a muffin.  A little internet searching and I came across this recipe, which I modified and updated slightly.  Here is my version:

Strawberry Basil Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla


1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat eggs, add in the melted butter, yogurt and vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients, add to the wet ingredients.  Stir just to combine.  

Mix in the strawberries and basil, again, stir just to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins (I use paper liners).

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or the muffins start to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

VERDICT:
Another hit with my boys!  Next time, I might just add in a little more basil just to see how the flavour changes.  

Italian Cream Soda

At the beginning of the summer, Ann at Sumptuous Spoonfuls shared the recipe for Very Berry Italian Cream Soda.  I picked it as one of my features from Scrumptious Sunday that week...how could I not?  Cream soda, my favourite soda from when I was a kid!  And her photos looked so tasty.  And it was the start of summer, and this summer I made sure we enjoyed all sorts of new summery beverages!  So, not too long after featuring the recipe, we made it....and well...the verdict is below!  Here is the recipe that I used (a little different than the original...we don't have mulberries here, and I didn't substitute any other berries):

Syrup:
Strawberries - approx 1 lb fresh - washed and cut up
Handful of fresh basil leaves - washed
1 cup water
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup sugar (sweeten to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan, put the strawberries, basil, water, sugar and vanilla.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Stir occasionally.  Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the berries break down, approximately 15 minutes.  The sauce will be bright red.  Strain the syrup (I strained a few times) and pour into a glass container.  Refrigerate. 

Once the syrup is cool, you are ready to make your cream soda!  Here is what you will need:

Glass
Ice
1/2 cup Club Soda
3 tablespoons syrup (we like ours sweet)
2 tablespoons half & half

Fill your glass with ice.  Add in the club soda and syrup.  Pour the cream over top (and like Ann tells us, watch the beautiful art that the cream makes in the glass!).  Stir, and enjoy!

VERDICT:
These were so so so tasty.  A hit with the whole family!  (well, the baby is too young to have soda)  Ann shared a winner!  We enjoyed several of these over the summer (thanks to a wonderful crop of strawberries and basil in our garden!). I liked mine a little more berry-ful than the orginal recipe - so I often used 3-4 tablespoons on the syrup in my soda.

Scrumptious Sunday #10 - Features

Another week of FANTASTIC recipes...you make it so hard for a girl to pick features!  Before we get into them, I just wanted to THANK YOU for linking up in my weekly party!

If you are featured this week, please grab a button!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Alrighty, here are my features for this week:


Breakfast-On-The-Go from Lady Behind the Curtain

Pesto Pasta Stuffed Tomatoes from Hot Eats and Cool Reads

Cheesecake Burritos from Dishing with Leslie

The Crazy Brownie from Mandy's Recipe Box

And because it's Mother's Day this weekend, it just wouldn't be complete without these beautiful Mother's Day Cookies from Lizy B!

Congratulations everyone!

These features will be linked on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest page, and (new!) I will be tweeting too! Thanks again for coming to my party!

Reminder, Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #11 will open on Saturday evening at 8 pm PST and will run until Wednesday evening.  I look forward to seeing what you bring to next week's party!