cream puffs with chocolate glaze

These nutella cream puffs were so good that they disappeared before I could even take a photo. So I grabbed this throw back thursday photo from 2014–way before they even had throw back thursday!  These cream puffs  taste like chocolate filled donuts when you fill them with nutella. I kid you not. I first made cream puffs in cooking school years ago before gluten free was a thing and they seemed okay but I was never really wowed by them until my kids had the bright idea to make gluten free unicorn cream puffs which are basically  cream puffs filled with rainbow pastry cream with purple and white chocolate glaze.

yum. yum. yum.

only we had someone here who can’t have cream so the unicorn cream puffs were a no go for him.

so, I made these nutella cream puffs…

note: these aren’t dairy free but you can easily substitute this chocolate pudding recipe if you need a dairy free alternative.

CREAM PUFF RECIPE

NOTE: If you prepare these in a kitchen that also uses gluten/wheat containing flour PLEASE prepare these first thing in the morning using all utensils and bowls straight out of the dishwasher and use parchment paper on the sheet trays so that they are not contaminated by gluten/wheat items. This is the best workflow in a kitchen that isn’t 100% gluten free so that you prevent cross contamination–plus it shows a level of understanding of gluten free preparation. THANK YOU!

1 cup water
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the water, butter, gluten free flour and bring to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Stir in the flour. Stir vigorously to combine. Remove from heat. Stir until the batter pulls away from the edge and sticks to the spoon. Add the eggs one at a time–incorporating them fully before adding the next egg.

Drop by  rounded tablespoon or use a pastry bag to pipe out small balls onto a cookie sheet.

Bake in a 425 oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 bake 25 minutes.

Let cool. Poke small hole in the bottom to fill. Using a pastry tube or parchment made into a pastry tube–fill the puffs with nutella or filling of choice.

Dust the cream puffs with powdered sugar or chocolate glaze.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup cream or coconut milk

Combine chocolate chips and coconut milk in a small glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Microwave 30 seconds more and stir. Repeat this step until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle over the filled cream puffs.

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Yes–the Haribo Gummy Bears I have always loved– the Haribo Gummy Bears that I have always thought of as gluten free contained a new ingredient–GLUCOSE (MADE FROM WHEAT OR CORN.) Despite the package which reads “The original since 1922″–the ingredients have changed recently.

Bummer. Not just for the celiac community–the wheat allergy community is also affected by this change of ingredients.

The even big bummer is that Haribo Gummy Bears are listed on so many gluten free candy lists as being gluten free. (Another reason to check labels even if you think that a product is gluten free.)

Haribo Gummy Bear Package with gummy bears

I sent this email to Haribo…

“When did the US formula for Haribo Gold Bears change to contain WHEAT as an ingredient??? This is a VERY concerning to the celiac community as well as for individuals with wheat allergies.”

Haribo’s Response:

At HARIBO, the wellbeing of our consumers is our top priority. As such, we place high demands on the quality of our products. Those demands extend to our labels. Because our production facilities making Gold-Bears, Sour Gold-Bears and Roulette products use different glucose suppliers whose ingredients could contain very low levels of the wheat proteins, we decided to make this label change in an abundance of caution. In addition to the label change, we tested our U.S. products and found no identifiable levels of the wheat allergen. Still, we changed our labels to ensure consumers have the most information available to make informed decisions regarding their health. The new product labels will hit shelves in December. The new ingredient label will read: “glucose syrup (from wheat or corn)” or “dextrose (from wheat or corn).”

Our recipe has not changed, so consumers can expect the same delicious and fun experience with our Gold-Bears.

Haribo Gold-Bears Gummy Bears Label 2016 which shows WHEAT as an ingredient

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I called McDonald’s to find out what the gluten free options were in 2016.

We avoid eating at McDonald’s for many reasons. Unfortunately,  I have discovered that avoiding McDonald’s is more of a challenge for my kids. Whenever there is a long bus ride for school or camp the bus inevitably stop at McDonald’s. For gluten free teenagers living in the real world— McDonald’s seems to be a restaurant  they need to learn to navigate. Not eating is sometimes not an option—because there are no other food options available.

Navigating the website is complicated  and nutrition info, ingredients and allergens are all hidden and hard to find so I provided the steps below that were given to me by McDonald’s customer service at 1-800-244-6227.

Here are the items that I found to be gluten free according to me searching on their website (date: September 21, 2016)

GLUTEN FREE  ITEMS (that don’t contain wheat)

SALADS:
• Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad
• Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad

DRESSINGS:
• Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing
• Newman’s Own Low Fat Family Italian Dressing
• Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Newman’s Own Creamy Southwest Dressing

SNACKS:
• Apple Slices
• Mandarin Orange Cuties
• Yoplait Go-Gurt Lowfat Strawberry Yogurt

DESSERTS:
• Hot Fudge Sundae
• McFlurry with M&M’s Candies
• Hot Caramel Sundae
• Strawberry Sundae
• McCafe Vanilla Shake
• McCafe Strawberry Shake

CUSTOMIZED ITEMS THAT CAN BE MODIFIED TO BE GLUTEN FREE…

BREAKFAST
• Egg McMuffin (customize—request without the classic english muffin)
* Sausage McMuffin with egg (customize – request without the classic english muffin)
• Egg White Delight McMuffin (customize – request without the classic english muffin)
• Bacon Egg and Cheese Biscuit (customize – request without the biscuit)

LUNCH/DINNER:
•  Hamburger (customize- request without the  bun or you can request it wrapped in lettuce)
• Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich (customize – request without the bun)

ADVICE FOR SEARCHING THE McDONALDS WEBSITE..
• Go to McDonald’s website
• Click on “OUR MENU” at the top left corner.
• Click on “VIEW FULL MENU >” at the bottom of the pull down menu.
• Click on the menu item that you want to check. (I clicked on hamburger)
• Click on “VIEW FULL NUTRITION AND INGREDIENTS”  (in small faint gray letters underneath the pictures of the ingredients)
• Scroll down to the menu item and on the right side click on “SHOW DETAILS”
• Click on INGREDIENTS tab
• You can see the components of the menu item at the top of the screen. There will be a list of the ingredients in each component. And at the bottom of the list of ingredients for each component is the allergens it contains.
• You can deselect the component/ ingredient (for instance the bun in the hamburger) but clicking on the red circle under the photo of the regular bun. Then the menu item will pop up without the bun allergens (and be wheat free.)

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It is hard to find a chewy gluten free bagel that isn’t “bread-like”–so The Odd Bagel comes out ahead of most gluten free bagels for chewy bagel like texture. My only criticism is they might be a little too chewy! The good thing about the chewiness is that you can eat a quarter of a bagel and you are actually satisfied in a way that you rarely are with most gluten free baked goods.

If they are frozen, defrost them in a microwave for 40 seconds with a wet paper towel over them to give them a fresh baked taste. “Definitely toast them” was another comment by our gluten free review team. Yes–these bagels are meant to be toasted. Not just warmed up–toasted. The crispiness of the toasted bagel makes them even more satisfying.

The everything bagels were the most popular and I had to quickly snap these photos before they disappeared completely. I enjoyed my everything bagel with Tree Nut cream cheese–and my other tester had a cinnamon raisin bagel with earth balance buttery spread.

Another amazing thing about The Odd Bagel is that they are made without eggs–which is great for vegans and people who are avoiding eggs  because of allergies.

As always–here are the pros and cons of The Odd Bagel…

PROS…Chewy texture. Satisfying. They actually taste like a bagel. Made with real ingredients. Made in a dedicated gluten free facility. Delicious flavors–the onion bagels and the everything bagels were the most popular. Excellent toasted.

CONS…On the small side. For those who are avoiding other allergens, they are made in a facility  that also processes soy, milk and eggs. Cinnamon raisin bagels need a few more raisins.

To find out more about the Odd Bagel  or to order visit oddbagel.com.

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This carrot cake hemp seed smoothie has the sweetness and spice of carrot cake—but the protein and omega 3s in the hemp seeds make it a nutritious smoothie. It tastes like a carrot cake milkshake. Use maple syrup for kids or if you like natural sugar—or nu-stevia if you are avoiding sugar.

Carrot Cake Hemp Seed Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot
• 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 1 tsp fresh ginger
• 1 packet of nu-stevia or 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 fresh vanilla bean
• 1 cup almond milk (or 6 almonds and 1 cup water)
• pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a Vitamix blender. Blend for 1 minute. Add 6 ice cubes. Blend for 30 seconds more until smooth. Serve topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

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