gluten free corn free zucchini muffins

Here's a recipe for gluten free and corn free zucchini muffins. Great for this season as veggies are starting to mature in our gardens. I like to put peanut butter on them. This recipe also works well with grated carrot instead of zucchini.










*2 cups gluten free corn free four mix. ( I used half rice flour and half soy flour)
*2 and 1/2 tsp featherweight baking powder (Featherweight brand does not contain cornstarch)
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/2 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1 and 1/2 cup grated zucchini
* 2 eggs
*1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil
*approximately 1 cup milk (depends on the flour)

1. Combine the dry ingredients.
2. Beat eggs and add them. Add the oil or butter.
3. Add enough milk to make a nice pourable batter.
4. Mix well. Combine dry and wet ingredients.
5. Finally, add the grated zucchini and mix gently.
6. Fill muffins 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 400 degrees approximately 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown.

Making Substitutions

It's important for me to enjoy a fairly normal diet. While I have had to give up many of my favorite foods, others were just a matter of substitution. Many times I only had to switch brands. Reading labels is the most important thing that I do. I look for key words. If I see these ingredients I pass it up. See below, "things I avoid". Here are some of the substitutions that I make on a daily basis:

instead of------------------------------------- use this
white vinegar --------------------------------apple cider vinegar
mayonaise------------------------------------ vegenaise
pancake syrup --------------------------------pure maple syrup
Campbell's tomato soup --------------------Amy's tomato soup
pasta------------------------------------------ gluten free rice noodles
regular soda pop ----------------------------Virgil's real cola
soy sauce -------------------------------------Bragg's liquid aminos
baking powder -------------------------------Featherweight baking powder

Please feel free to write comments, questions or suggestions:
Lynne1408@earthlink.net

Berry Cobbler recipe

Here is one of my favorite desserts. It's low in fat and high in fiber. And soooo delicious. The flour for this recipe can vary. I use what's available in the house. This one was made with half soy flour and half rice flour. Chic pea flour, potato flour, and tapioca flours are also good choices.

*1 and 1/4 cup flour (gluten and corn free) (soy, rice, chic pea, fava bean, potato, tapioca, or some combination)
*2 Tbsp sugar
*1/3 cup sugar
*1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder (Featherweight brand does not contain cornstarch)
* 1/4 tsp cinnamon
*One egg (beaten)
*1/4 cup skim milk
*2 Tbsp canola oil
*1/8 tsp salt
* 4 cups frozen berries (unsweetened)(I like a combination of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)(The sweetened ones can contain corn syrup)

1. In mixing bowl, combine flour, 2 tbsp sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.
2. In separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, and oil. Combine this with the dry ingredients.
3. Grease baking dish. Spread batter evenly on bottom.
4. In another bowl, combine the berries, salt and 1/3 cup sugar. Toss to cover berries.
5. Spread berry mixture over the batter.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until batter is thoroughly cooked.

This is a very satisfying dessert especially when you've lost a lot of weight. Though I don't use this recipe it I am flaring, due to the high amount of seeds which can irritate ulcers.

Food diary

One of the best tools that I know of to find food allergies is a food diary. I write down everything that I eat and drink during a day. This has to include such things as vitamins, seasonings and candy or mints too. Anything that goes into your mouth. I also write down the results. Sounds gross, but I track my bathroom results. This is the way that I was able to make a connection between what I ate and how it affected my Crohn's. For me, the results were to avoid wheat, gluten, corn and all their derivatives. You could be different. Food allergies, or intolerances may vary from person to person. I also note in my diary highlights of the day. This way I can see if stress, work or exercise play a role. So far I only see a connection with food. I have had incredibly stressful days that have no effect on my colon. But eat the wrong thing, and boom, there it is. The other advantage of the diary is that I can look back several weeks or months. If I suspect a certain food, I can look back to other days that I ate it and see if I had a similar result. It has literally been years in the making for me. But every time I find a food that agrees or doesn't agree with me, it is a great accomplishment.

My email address: lynne1408@earthlink.net

Spinach Pekora

This is what I had for dinner tonight. There are only 3 ingredients to these spinach pekoras, but they are really good. I start with a can of chopped spinach and drain it really well. Then I add 2 eggs and rice flour; enough to make a nice mushy batter, not too runny. Drop by tablespoons into hot oil. Not deep frying, just enough oil to keep them from sticking. The oil that I use is canola, those others are also good, but not corn oil, of course. Turn over when the other side becomes golden brown. I take them out and drain them on a paper towel. I sprinkle them with salt. I like mine with a dollop of plain yogurt on top of them. Another variation is to add other veggies also, such as peppers, carrots (chopped or shredded), or mushrooms. You can experiment with different ones. I also sometimes add chic peas. I usually just see what I have in the fridge.

This has truly made my day! Betty Crocker has come out with gluten free mixes! I just tried the cookies (literally) and they were yummy. Checking the ingredients, they do contain vanilla. Vanilla sometimes has corn derivatives, but I think very little. The main flour is rice. Betty Crocker also came out with a cake mix and brownie mix. I did not get the brownie mix because it has xanthan gum in it; which I know I'm sensitive to. I also didn't get the cake mix because I wasn't able to find a suitable icing to go with it. I usually use a jar of Nutella for icing. Anyhow it was nice to have a special treat today!

New note 4-12-11
They have added xanthan gum to this box. I am very disappointed. When I ate just 2 cookies I was fine. But when I ate 6 the next day (yeah, I said 6), I got a mild flare. It seems that quantity does make a difference with certain ingredients.

Please feel free to contact me with comments, questions or suggestions.
Lynne1408@earthlink.net

This is another one of my favorite cereals; Crispy Brown Rice with mixed berries, by Erewhon. They also make it without the berries. It is like rice crispies cereal but it is gluten free. Rice crispies has malt in it, a gluten derivative. This cereal is found at health food stores. Not all gluten free cereals are also corn free. I usually start with the gluten free stuff, and then look for ones that are also corn free.

Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments or suggestions:
Lynne1408@earthlink.net

Chinese Food

Chinese food was one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately, it is full of gluten, from the soy sauce. I have found that I can order steamed chicken and vegetables with no sauce at all. I add Bragg's liquid aminos to it instead. It taste like soy sauce, almost. I also like to add tumeric, fresh pepper and olive oil. Not to mention there's MSG in Chinese food which is an allergen to some people.

Cereal

Cereal

This is one of my favorite cereals. It's gluten and corn free. Stays crispy in milk. I like it with a cut up apple or strawberries. Found also in health food stores.

Steroids

There have been many many times in the past that I have had to be on steroids. The side effects were very unpleasant. For me, I especially get bloated in the face and neck (moon face). This happened right before my wedding, and now I hate a lot of my wedding pictures. But it was a necessity that I couldn't avoid at the time. One interesting thing about steroids is that it contains cornstarch. However the benefits greatly outweigh the negative effects of a little cornstarch. I have been able to avoid steroids for quite a while now, due to this diet.

Mouthwash

Most mouthwashes contain xylitol, sorbitol, or manitol as a sugar free sweetener. All of these are corn derivatives. I use Listerine, regular, which has none of these and does agree with me. Because of these sugar free sweeteners, I have yet to find a chewing gum that agrees with me. Many of them also contain maltodextrin.

Vitamins

These are the supplements that I take right now. They do vary from time to time. I read the labels with a magnifying glass.
GNC acidophilus
CVS cod liver oil
Nature's Way Sippery Elm
Solgar vitamin C (non corn source of ascorbic acid)
CVS prenatal vitamins (I'm not pregnant, but this agrees with me and is a good source for iron)

I am not recommending these to anyone. I am listing the supplements that I take on a regular basis and that agree with me.

This is what I use to season my meats, especially roasts. Other soups by this same brand are also good, but check the labels. I've also used their chicken broth and tomato soup.

Vegenaise

This is what I use for a mayo substitute. I found it at a local health food store in the refridgerated section. The problem with regular mayo is that it is made with vinegar. This is made with apple cider vinegar which agrees with me.

Things I Avoid

The following are corn derivatives that I found myself particularly sensitive to. A complete list can be found at www.cornallergens.com.
malt
caramel and caramel coloring
citric acid
dextrose
white vinegar
xanthan gum
vanilla
modified food starch
malto dextrin
iodized salt
powdered sugar

Because of the limit on vinegar, I eliminated all mayo, ketchup and mustard. I did find a mayo at the healthfood store made from apple cider vinegar, "Veganaise". It's not as good as regular mayo, but not bad. I like it mixed with tuna. I use apple cider vinegar on salads along with olive oil.

Wheat

I had noticed at the time of this first flare that I had been eating a lot of whole wheat muffins, made with wheat germ. They were homemade and delicious and I thought they would be healthy. It was here that I got my first clue that wheat may be a problem for me. I started by eliminating all wheat products from my diet; cereal, pizza, bread, bagels, cake, cookies... This immediately helped me, but not 100%.

Gluten

I then turned my attention to eliminating gluten as well. Gluten is a wheat protein, but also found in other grains such as oats and rye. I eliminated these as well. I could still eat potatoes and rice as well as gluten free noodles for my carbs.

Corn

It wasn't until I eliminated corn and all it's derivatives that I finally found 100% relief. This meant popcorn, corn starch, corn syrup. As well as corn derivatives such as white vinegar, citric acid and xantham gum. There area sites on the web that help list corn sources and derivatives. There are a lot! This was not an easy task for my to do. It also meant giving up soda pop! Now I drink Virgil's Cola, which is made from sugar, found in health food stores.

What I Eat

It seems that I would be very limited in what there is to eat. This is true, but I've learned to make substitutions. My basic diet:

All fruits and veggies (except corn)
chicken, pork, beef, fish (no lunch meats)
tuna and sardines
potatoes, rice and gluten free noodles
spaghetti sauce
peanut butter (Jiff)
jelly (without corn syrup or citric acid, hard to find)
pure maple syrup
plain yogurt
most cheese (not soft)
milk (not chocolate)
butter (in moderation because of fat) (no margerine)
olive oil and canola oil
apple cider vinegar
beans, chic peas
eggs
chocolate (pure, read label)
cream of rice cereal
gluten free waffles

Much more which I will go into in the future.