Pancakes and Cupcakes and Muffins, Oh My!

We recently got back from visiting our family in the great state of Texas. Both Austin and Kaitlin had lots and lots of fun seeing and playing with everyone. I know trips might be stressful to some on the gfcf diet because it means planning and packing lots of food and/or making sure the place you are going has food or places you can get it. But for me, I was not stressed at all. I have a wonderful mother-in-law who just so happens to be great in the kitchen and she was very excited to cook and experiment with some of the foods for Austin. I'm sad that I didn't get pictures of everything but I would still like to share some good food that we enjoyed.

First are some blueberry pancakes. I'm sure for those experienced gfcf dieters, pancakes might be easy but I had no idea where or what mix to start with. We found Organic Arrowhead Mills Pancake and Baking mix. Most importantly this mix calls only for simple ingredients (egg(substitute), canola oil, honey, water). Our main problem with some of the mixes is that they have soy, sunflower, and/or safflower, or they call for so many ingredients that it is hard to substitute all of them without changing the taste of the finished product. These were great with blueberries, pure maple syrup, and Hormel Natural Choice bacon.

Second are the chocolate cupcakes you see above. Kaitlin was celebrating her first birthday and we did not want Austin to be left out when it came to the cake. We picked up Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix. Once again, no ingredients that Austin couldn't have and very simple preparation. There is also a frosting mix but I think it called for several tablespoons of butter and I didn't know if ghee would substitute well so we just decided to sprinkle with powdered sugar. All I can say is wow! These cupcakes were awesome and everyone who tasted them agreed that the difference was not noticeable. Austin's cousin even wanted a cupcake instead of cake but of course that could have been because he was eating one. If anyone has had bad cake gfcf cake experience, I encourage you to try Pamela's and I am NOT a spokesperson - they really were that good! One side note: Pamela's products are made in a factory that does process things that have dairy, eggs, nuts, and soy so there is a disclaimer on the package for those who avoid any possible traces.

Our final experiment was for muffins. Again, we used the Organic Arrowhead Mills Pancake and Baking mix. The same ingredients that are added to make pancakes are added plus baking powder, vanilla, and xanthan gum. You can add pretty much anything to the muffins but my mother-in-law chose grated apple (for moisture) and then she made a streusel topping out of brown sugar, cinnamon, ghee, and rice flour. These were pretty good and were frozen for extra breakfasts.

Now that I have a couple of go-to recipes, I feel better that I am able to serve Austin a wider range of food! I also find that the more I experiment, the more comfortable I am with the gfcf diet as a whole.