Warning: include(/home2/advenue6/public_html/wp-content/themes/glutenfreemom/breadcrumb.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home2/advenue6/public_html/wp-content/themes/glutenfreemom/tag.php on line 9

Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/home2/advenue6/public_html/wp-content/themes/glutenfreemom/breadcrumb.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib64/php:/usr/lib/php') in /home2/advenue6/public_html/wp-content/themes/glutenfreemom/tag.php on line 9

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

So have you heard the news yet?

General Mills will be debuting Gluten-Free Bisquick (and a few other items ) at the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Annual Education Conference and Food Faire in Los Angeles, on May 15, 2010!

I am still speechless (shocking, eh? Don’t worry, it won’t last for long. ) that this is actually happening so I will direct you over to Anne Steib’s article on Celiac-Disease.com so you can read it in more detail.  Anne is another one of my favorite bloggers, check her out at Gluten-Free Musings, I love her honesty, her spirit and her courage, and I think you will too.

I grew up on Bisquick.

Bisquick Pancakes, Bisquick Biscuits, Bisquick Strawberry Shortcakes, Bisquick Impossible Pie Casseroles; you name it, my mom made it.  It was one of the products I missed most after my diagnosis 5 years ago (my 5 year diagnosis anniversary is actually this Thursday, April 29, 2010…woo-hoo! ), as that neon yellow box was an integral part of growing up for me.

Being diagnosed with celiac disease at age 31 meant I would never again eat the foods of my past… mainly, my mom’s “home cooking.”  That actually had a lot to do with my 3 years of “cheating,” before I finally sought help to come to terms with my diagnosis; but I will save that for my “About Me” page I will finally have up next month (it’s been difficult to write because I have evolved so much over the past 10 months that I have been blogging. What I write today, may not be entirely accurate tomorrow!).

I have long since moved beyond the “need” for food nostalgia (note that I didn’t say “want”), but the very idea that the day has come where Bisquick will again be an option (albeit, a GF option), almost moves me to tears.

That being said, I have made many homemade gluten-free versions of Bisquick over the years but the product that I think has come closest, at least in my memory, is Better Batter’s Gluten-Free Pancake and Baking Mix (I hadn’t been to the Better Batter website in a while, since I buy it in bulk (and am well stocked)… have you seen their new site? Very cool Naomi, I love it!!).

I have been using the Better Batter GF Pancake and Baking Mix for a few months now in those old Bisquick recipes from my youth.  One of my all-time favorite Bisquick recipes is the Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake, and the following is the original recipe that my mom always used to make, with my tweaks in red.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Streusel Topping

1/3 cup Original Bisquick Mix (I used the Better Batter GF Pancake and Baking Mix)

1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

2 Tbs. firm Butter or Margarine (I used 1 Tbs. Earth Balance)

Coffee Cake

2 cups Bisquick Mix (again, I used the Better Batter GF Pancake and Baking Mix)

2/3 cup Milk or Water (I used Skim Milk)

2 Tbs. Sugar

1 Egg

• Heat oven to 375° F.

• Grease 9-inch round pan.

• In a small bowl, stir streusel ingredients until crumbly, set aside.

• In a medium Bowl, mix coffee cake ingredients until blended.

• Spread in Pan then sprinkle with streusel topping.

• Bake 18 – 22 minutes or until golden brown.

I’ve also decided to launch a new campaign…

My all-time favorite cereal (I am not sure that anyone will even remember this cereal from the 70′s/early 80′s), was actually a cereal made by General Mills, called “Buc-Wheats.”

Now that the 1980′s seemed to have regurgitated all over the department stores and General Mills is a gluten-free super hero… maybe, just maybe, a reincarnated “Buc-Wheats” (that is gluten-free, of course… hey, I am not launching a cereal campaign that I cannot benefit from!).  Just replace the wheat with something else (corn or rice will work fine), replace the malt flavoring with molasses and manufacture in one of their dedicated facilities and we will be good to go!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfIdnwd6Ic&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Oh Lordy Pete…I love those old commercials!

Two quick things I want mention; if you haven’t heard about the “30 Days to a Food Revolution” being hosted by Diane over at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, it began today with a great post by Shirley Braden of GFE – Gluten Free Easily. Check it out and get involved for a chance to win some great prizes and learn some healthy new recipes! You can also “Like” The W.H.O.L.E. Gang on Facebook (is it just me or does that not roll as well as “become a fan?”

Also, there is something really cool about to start… The Gluten-Free Challenge. If you have a friend or loved one with Gluten Sensitive Enteropathy (GSE), why not spend a couple of days walking in their shoes?

I did an EE (Eosinophillic Espophagitis) challenge a few years ago in support of one of Sam’s old playmates who had the disease. I ate nothing but chicken, sweet potatoes and grapes for an entire weekend. It was such an enlightening experience for me to better understand what someone else has to go through each and every day for the rest of their lives… 2 days was nothing in comparison. It really changed my life in the sense that it brought me greater awareness of the challenges other people face and instilled a level of compassion I had never known before. I am now thoughtful about making sure all children that come into my home for a birthday party, play date, etc. are made to feel like a regular kid by being able to eat what everyone else is eating. This is how I really became aware that young kids don’t care about the food itself… they really just want to play and eat what their friends are eating, Sam ate raw sweet potatoes sticks (to mimic carrot sticks) for years, just because his little friend did!

I am working hard at getting Sam to understand that he is different, but you know what? We all are, and that is what makes life interesting and fun. There are times though, when it feels good to sit at the table with our loved ones and be able to fully enjoy a celebratory meal (like the holidays) without having to watch with an eagle eye for a rogue bread crumb that may land on your plate. When I sit down with my parents, sisters and their families for a meal, I am not fully engaged in them because I can’t be while I am watching to make sure my son and I stay safe.

Of the roughly 1,095 meals a year we all consume, would 6 gluten-free meals be that big of a sacrifice? You might just find a few great new recipes that are naturally gluten-free to add to your mealtime!

I want to leave you with an excerpt from the Gluten-Free Challenge website that I think sums it quite perfectly:

Why have a Gluten-Free Challenge?

Living gluten-free can feel isolating, but it shouldn’t. We believe that if we invite our gluten-consuming friends and family to join us at the table, we can all enjoy a delicious meal together. Our goal is not to change everyone to a gluten-free diet, but to simply show our gluten-consuming friends and family that they can enjoy our food with us. We believe that everyone who to takes this challenge for their gluten-free loved one, will find that eating together is more enjoyable, easier and less stressful.