GF Mini Pancakes

We go through a lot of gluten free pancakes here. I like to cook big batches and freeze them for quick fix school day breakfasts. My kids love mini pancakes, but it's a bit tedious for me to make them.

This morning, I was testing Gluten Free Bisquick for the first time. I made the first batch of pancakes the usual way. They turned out great, but I needed to make a lot more and was running short on time. I had an idea...

I made up another batch of batter following the directions. (I added a bit of vanilla extract and substituted cow's milk with almond milk.) Then I greased some muffin tins. I placed about 1 tablespoon of batter in each tin and baked them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. It made 36 perfect mini pancakes!

I found this to be a tremendous time saver. Plus, I'm not chained to the stove cooking the whole time. Easy peasy!

Product Review: Simply Shari's

It was a most pleasant surprise to receive a package of goodies from Simply Shari's. You may have known the company as Gluten Free & Fabulous, but they've recently changed the name and are in the process of developing more gluten free products. After my taste test, I'd say this is a company to watch!

I received samples of Simply Shari's Shortbread Cookies and Fudge Brownie Cookies as well as the Quinoa & Marinara Dinner and the Mac & Cheese Dinner. The packaging is quite attractive and easy to store. Bonus points for resealable bags!

We sampled the cookies first (of course!). Both varieties are bite sized but packed with a lot flavor. I found the texture to be extraordinary for gluten free cookies. The shortbread cookies were buttery and sweet without being too sweet. The fudge brownie cookies had a lot of chocolate power for such a small cookie. Yum!

The pasta mixes were also surprisingly good. I generally do not like prepackaged mixes because they are often too salty or have a chemical flavor to them. This was not the case with the Quinoa & Marinara dinner or the Mac & Cheese dinner. Both tasted great and were easy to make. Both of the pasta dishes had an excellent texture. I use quinoa pasta regularly, but the quinoa pasta in these mixes had a better texture than the brand I usually use. I compared labels and found that my usual brand had corn in it and Simply Shari's pasta combined brown rice with the quinoa. This made for a substantially better texture that was very similar to regular noodles. Well done!

Simply Shari's products are GMO free and processed in a plant that is dedicated gluten free. Please visit their website at SimplySharis.com for more information.

Disclaimer: Bloggers are required to disclose receipt of complimentary items to review. This was the case for the above mentioned product. Any review with my name on it will be my honest opinion.

Product Review: Savory Choice Liquid Broth Concentrate

I received samples of Savory Choice's line of liquid concentrated broths to review. This all natural brand is free of gluten and MSG and is non GMO. I was eager to test it out.

I was immediately impressed by the packaging. Each small box contains four stick pouches that hold two teaspoons of concentrate. One stick pouch is added to a cup of water to make one cup of broth. Four of these tiny pouches makes one quart of broth. That takes up a lot less real estate in the pantry than other brands of broth.

The single serving pouches are very convenient. I made french onion soup with the beef broth and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm the only one in the family who likes onions, so it was nice to make a single serving of the soup instead of a whole pot. It was a quick fix meal too. I happened to have some sliced onions stinking up the refrigerator and was happy to find a use for them. I sauteed the onion slices until they were soft. Then I added a cup of water and the contents of one broth pouch. I let it boil for a minute and then removed the pot from the heat. That was it. I had a nice cup of soup that tasted like it had simmered all day, but actually only took a few minutes to prepare.

I used the chicken flavor as a base for chicken and rice soup. It was delicious. I have also tried the reduced sodium chicken flavor and the vegetable flavor in rice dishes. These Savory Choice broths never disappoint!

Savory Choice Liquid Broth Concentrates are available online and in many grocery stores nationwide. For more information on this product, please visit: www.savorychoice.com

Disclaimer: Bloggers are required to disclose receipt of complimentary items to review. This was the case for the above mentioned product. Any review with my name on it will be my honest opinion.

Call Me Crazy

This post has been on my mind for a while but I have had a tough time writing it. You see, I want to address the negative caricatures of autism moms often seen in the media. But, I can't seem to find a way to discuss it without sounding a bit (okay, a lot) crazy myself. What's an autism mom to do? Should I bite my tongue and sit quietly while injustice occurs? Or, do I speak my mind and risk sounding like a lunatic?

Once again I choose to wave my crazy flag high and proud...

Some of my favorite TV shows have let me down. I enjoy NBC's "Parenthood". It was the first prime time show to feature Asperger's in a major storyline. And, they've done a pretty good job with the topic. However, I was furious at their portrayal of biomed parents. I know most of you saw the episode I am referring to and there was much discussion online following it. Many of us sat in horror as we watched the frazzled mom discuss biomed interventions while her autistic child ran wild in the background. The message received was that misguided and delusional parents cling to the hope of ineffective interventions. While I know that not all biomedical interventions help all children on the spectrum, I personally have witnessed huge improvement in my children. I also know thousands of other parents have experienced similar results. I think the numbers would be even higher if mainstream medicine wasn't so close-minded and content to offer parents little to no advice on how to help their children.

A recent episode of ABC's "Private Practice" referred to Dr. Andrew Wakefield as a 'wacko'. Another episode last year featured a non-vaccinating 'wacko' parent. Ah yes...the vaccine issue. There really is no way to enter the fray of the vaccine discussion without getting called a name. If you question the safety of the current vaccine schedule, you are immediately dubbed an anti-vaxxer. If you say your child regressed after a vaccine, you are crazy. The fact is, few people are truly anti-vaccine. Most simply want more studies done or have the vaccines administered with more caution. Many parents have witnessed regression or other adverse events and would like for someone, anyone, to hear them. I'm going to take a truly unorthodox approach to this and give a little credit to the moms. You know, the people who are with their children every day...the ones who know their children best? If a mom tells me her child was not affected by vaccines, I believe her. If a mom tells me her child was adversely affected by a vaccine, I believe her too. Why? Because she was there. She knows more about her child than I do. At this point, the only way to restore confidence in the vaccine program is to provide studies that are relevant to the way vaccines are administered today. Those studies should be done by an objective third party that has no financial gain from the product in question. It was not that long ago that Big Tobacco provided their own studies that said smoking was safe. In fact, pregnant women were often advised to smoke in order to control weight gain. How crazy is that?

Dr. Oz recently dedicated most of an episode to the causes of Autism. I sincerely appreciated the presence of experts with diverse opinions and the town hall style discussion. Half of the audience consisted of parents of children with autism. It was clear to me that these parents were angry and there were a couple of outbursts during the discussion. I don't fault the show for this. Our anger is real and I think these open discussions are necessary to bring much needed change for our children. We have a lot to be mad about. The lack of research, respite, services, and awareness all weigh heavily on the minds of parents. The conflicting information alone is enough to drive a parent batty. You can ask 3 different doctors about the causes and treatments for autism and you will receive 3 different answers. So yes, we are angry, frustrated, and scared. While some viewers may have perceived this as 'crazy', we know we're mostly just really pissed off.

That's all for now. I've got to go polish my tin foil hat and figure out which meds I forgot to take this morning.