Enjoying Gluten-Free Life

Cooking Gluten-Free

Carla Spacher’s website offers up a wide variety of recipes with new ones popping up regularly. An addition this week looks delicious: Twisted Yeast Free Gluten Free Breadsticks with Cheese. In this interview, Carla describes her road to becoming gluten-free, the way she gets around her issues that also include a tomato allergy, and shares her cooking knowledge by answering some questions. Go to the end to see the photo and link to the delicious chicken salad I made with one of Carla’s recipes.

First – You use “we” on your site.

To explain the “we,” besides myself, I have 3 other product reviewers. The main gluten-free baking reviewer is Dr. Danielle West-Stellick. Everyone enjoys her reviews. She puts so much effort into them. The other 3 reviewers are backups.

The other part of the “we” is our monthly contributors. If you check out the Contributors page (http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/contributors) you’ll see our three current contributors: Joy Bauer, NBC’s The Today Show nutritionist and author; Carol Fenster, author of several titles, gluten-free expert and internationally awarded; and Dr. Vikki Petersen, co-founder of HealthNOW Medical Center in Sunnyvale, CA (known as a destination clinic for many who have gone undiagnosed) and co-author of “The Gluten Effect.” We’ve had other contributors in the past.

The newest addition to the GFRB staff is my daughter, Erica Spacher. She’s now my part-time admin and my upcoming Public Relations Representative. Erica has a Bachelors Degree in Communication and Masters Degree in Public Administration. Erica was brought on shortly after I was contacted by a talent producer from Demand Studios (eHow.com). I have been invited to be gluten-free recipe talent for them. It’s so exciting! We have 10 videos lined up, for some of which I need to develop recipes. Needless to say, I needed some help between the blogging, recipe development, consulting and web design.

Tell us a bit about your path to becoming gluten-free.

I will never forget the beginning of my gluten free journey. In 2005, due to an undiagnosed condition, I sought the help of HealthNOW Medical Center. Prior to my diagnosis they introduced me to their version of the allergy elimination diet. You first eliminate many common food allergens which may cause allergic reactions and then avoid the foods that give you any reaction whatsoever. Among other foods, I reacted to gluten. It caused me to become very bloated. This is when I first began the gluten-free diet and gluten-free baking. My favorite dessert back then was a gluten-free carrot muffin.

HealthNOW eventually diagnosed me with a thyroid condition, which has cleared up completely. Once the thyroid condition cleared up I blamed everything on my thyroid and went back to eating some gluten, mostly when eating out. Big mistake. Huge!

In 2009, I had an injury, and became extremely bloated, thinking it was most likely due to nerve damage/pain. Again, I went to see multiple doctors for a diagnosis, and have had several different guesses. I knew that gluten had caused me bloating before. So I gave the gluten-free diet another chance. I heard it was great for chronic pain as well. Surprisingly, one of the doctors agreed! During the first few months of the diet, I would cheat about once a month. I thought, “This diet just isn’t helping me.” I stuck to it anyway, and decided to stop cheating. Within two months my nerve pain was markedly improved, and the bloating was at a minimum. However, I did discover that large amounts of corn would make me very bloated, as well, and now I eat it rarely. I’ll have to stop cheating on that as well, as I know better! Anything that causes a reaction (stressor) causes inflammation, which is the precursor to disease.

Upon searching for new gluten-free recipes, I discovered several recipes online which contained gluten ingredients. That’s when I knew I needed to help and empower others, especially those with celiac disease or a high gluten-intolerance. This eventually brought about my gluten free blog, Gluten Free Recipe Box.

So that people with specific needs know you’re a go-to site, what foods will we find or not find there?

The more I blog, the more dietary restrictions I run into from my readers, and I want to help them all. In addition to gluten-free recipes, I had many individuals ask me for dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, egg-free and more. Therefore, I added several categories for those with dietary restrictions. I do my best to add an occasional yeast-free recipe, etc.

You have a tomato allergy so it seems no recipes contain tomato. How do you get around not using tomato sauce/paste, etc. when cooking? Are there any other allergens/intolerances (other than gluten) that you design recipes around?

My own dietary restrictions are difficult. I have several food allergies, but the main ones are tomatoes and citrus. You’ll find that I have very few gluten-free recipes which contain tomatoes. When you do find one, it will be something I have made for my husband. I have learned a few tricks to substituting tomatoes in recipes, but the main one is the use of peppers, whether green, red or yellow. I also add in a little sugar or stevia to replace the sweetness of the tomatoes. Caramelized onion is great, too. I have several gluten-free chili recipes and not one of them contains tomatoes. The tomato-free recipe I am most proud of is my barbecue sauce. It tastes and looks like the real thing: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-barbecue-sauce-without-tomatoes.

Recipes which usually call for lemon juice are usually included as an option. I will either leave it out of my own creation or substitute it with vinegar and stevia or sugar, when it is necessary. Lemon juice is sometimes added not only for flavor, but for its acidic value.

I try to avoid soy as much as possible, not only because much of it is GMO (genetically modified organisms), but because it is known to effect estrogen levels. I have even developed a soy-free soy sauce substitute: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-soy-free-soy-sauce. I also try to maintain a high percentage of a corn-free diet. Bob’s Red Mill makes a GMO-free cornstarch and I use it when using cornstarch in baking, which is seldom. You’ll find a few recipes on my site, though, which do contain corn: polenta pizza crust, corn muffins, corn bread, etc. I have to use corn in recipe development. It’s just part of the job. My husband is always glad to consume them!

My most recent discovery of food allergies is coconut.

I make every attempt possible to request recipes that contain tomatoes, citrus, and coconut when I review cookbooks. I usually ask for 2 recipes from each publisher in hopes to satisfy the needs of others. However, sometimes I just cannot resist a delectable recipe that will benefit us all, including myself.

You spend a lot of time testing recipes. Describe how you experiment with a recipe.

At first, I was watching cooking shows and would drool over some recipe I found challenging and would just start adding ingredients together to see what would occur. Or I would have a craving for something and reach for my old 1980 copy of Joy of Cooking and see how basic gluten-free flours and starches would turn out as a substitute for all-purpose flour. As time went on, I began to learn what worked and did not. I have learned that in most cases a 55-60% starch ratio works with gluten-free flour(s). However, it depends upon what texture you are trying to achieve. Tapioca flour, also known as tapioca starch, tends to be lighter and rises more than potato starch. However, it is so light, that potato starch balances it out.

Do you change one ingredient at a time if it doesn’t come out quite right or do you make many changes when you try it a second time?

I used to try and only make one change at a time, however, now that I have more experience, I often make more than one change. An example of this would be in bread baking. If a bread caved in on its side upon cooling, that tells me there is either too much liquid and/or too much of a leavener. I may decrease a little of both, depending upon its severity.

Do you ever have to give up on a recipe?

I have never given up on a recipe, though I may set it aside and work on something else until a bright idea hits me. When developing recipes for clients I have no choice but to forge on!

I’ve enjoyed your ingredient posts “Guar Gum vs Xanthan” and “High Protein Gluten-Free Flour.” You’ve experimented with so many flours that I’m going to ask you this – Is there a substitute for sorghum flour in a recipe? (other than oat?) One of my first attempts at gluten-free baking used sorghum flour and though the cake was delicious it didn’t agree with my insides. I’ve noticed others who have the same problem. (Thank you.)

I haven’t used buckwheat flour much, but I believe it would make a wonderful substitute for sorghum flour. Sorghum contains about 4 grams of protein and buckwheat contains 5.

When should we use superfine rice flours and when regular? Or should we always use the superfine?

I have had much success in baking gluten-free cakes and muffins using superfine rice flours. Because it is more condensed than regular rice flours, when using it to substitute rice flours it may require additional liquid. I have developed a gluten-free cake flour blend (http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-cake-flour-blend) that works perfectly and already includes the baking powder, baking soda and gums. All you need to do is add the required amount of salt called for in your recipe. I have successfully used this blend, cup for cup, in regular gluten recipes, with rarely a change in any ingredients. I experimented on a white bread recipe using superfine rice flour, and though it was delicious straight out of the oven, it really is too heavy for a bread. I suggest using it in other recipes, though, especially those calling for very little flour. It avoids the grittiness that regular rice flour produces.

On your website, you ask us to send recipes we’re struggling to convert to gluten-free. Are there any specific challenges you’re looking for?

I’m not looking for any particular challenges. I am always working on improving my existing recipes and adding new ones. I just like helping people and that’s why the offer is there. Recently a reader gave me a huge challenge. She was looking for a bread recipe and there were very few ingredients she could tolerate: arrowroot, rice flour and guar gum. Luckily she was able to tolerate flax seed, which gave it a little more flavor. She was so happy to have something that didn’t weigh like a brick. I sent her the recipe along with suggestions on how to improve upon it.

I try to help my readers as much as possible. I am happy to help anyone who has questions, needs help with a specific recipe, and/or has specific allergy needs. You may contact me via http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/contact.

Happy cooking and good health to you!

Carla Spacher

Blog: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/glutenfreecarla

Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/gfrecipebox

Gluten-Free Avocado Chicken Salad

If you like avocado, this is a must try recipe. The creaminess (and deliciousness) of avocado transforms chicken salad into something better. (This said by a woman who loves chicken salad.)

I like the fact that Carla gave me choices in the recipe. I’m dairy-free so I used more avocado instead of yogurt as she suggested. My avocado was on the small side so I decided to use all of it. I thought a bit of mayo would be good (another of her suggestions) so I also added one tablespoon of it. Since I’m fine with citrus (unlike Carla who’s allergic), I used lemon juice instead of vinegar.