Traveling with Allergies

I am so sorry I haven't been able to post anything since I have been traveling!!!  For some reason, in Argentina I couldn't log-on to this site.  But, never fear, here I am, with some tips for eating whilst traveling and some amazing photographs of some of the food I tried in South America.

First things first:  I was in Argentina for two months.  They are a culture heavily influenced by the Italians and Germans.  Therefore, they are very much a bread, pasta, pastry & pizza culture.  Eating here with a gluten & lactose allergy was challenging.  A typical "porteno" breakfast is a medialuna (pastry/croissant) with jam and some tea.  Obviously this was a problem.  So, I ate loads of fruit for breakfast - apples, bananas, oranges.  While I realize I was seriously lacking in protein in the morning, this was for a fairly short period of time, and I just dealt with it.

Lunch - ok so sandwiches are huge in Argentina.  Again, this is a problem.  While gluten-free isn't new here, there really aren't too many options.  My typical lunch was anything from rice to arabian food to a quarter of a chicken to mongolian BBQ.  So, there are choices, but you have to be aware of what ingredients go into the food your eating.  This is where your pro-active research needs to come into play.

Dinner - Fortunately, the people I stayed with in Buenos Aires were amazing and worked around all my annoying allergies.  Vegetable soup was a staple in our house.  STEAK!  The steak is world-renown in Argentina and for good reason.  I NEVER got one that was over or under cooked.  It was always perfectly medium rare.  Yum.

Dessert - You need to be very creative with dessert.  In households the typical dessert is fruit, which I love.  The first night I was there we had a whole baked apple and it was fantastic.  When you go out it is pies and pastries and cake, but there usually is a fruit dish available for dessert. 

HOWEVER, while traveling in El Tigre (the delta in Buenos Aires) we happened upon this charming German restaurant (only accessible by boat taxi).  There was this dessert listed and I had no idea what it meant in Spanish or German for that manner.  So, we asked and it's whipped egg & champagne.  I had never heard of such a thing and it was... AMAZING.  For the record it's called:  Sabayon.  I looked for this dessert over and over and only found it in a couple places throughout Argentina.



One last note:  BE WARY OF STREET FOOD!  Street food is amazing!! MOST OF THE TIME!  Try everything and have fun, just be very careful and probably carry some pro-biotics with you.

Put It On A Stick!

This blog comes to you by request - fancy that!  Want to make some mouth watering-summer aromatic GF/DF food?  Go buy yourself some sticks!  Ok, well the proper term would probably be skewers, however, sticks just sounds so much more.... "rustic."  I love rustic food, rustic cuts of food... mostly because my chef in culinary school made sure our julienne cuts were to perfection or you failed!  Let me tell you how hard it is to cut carrots into perfect little rectangles- let's repeat carrots -- rectangles (oh right) - picture orange blistered and cut up fingers.  And WHO CARES if your carrot is in a perfect little rectangle?  I certainly don't - I just want to eat.  Alright, back to summer - food - yum.  

So, go get some sticks/skewers.  Then get your protein of choice - beef, chicken, tofu. shrimp, etc... - marinade it for an hour or try a dry rub.  I chose shrimp with a 5 Chinese Spice Rub (you can buy or make your own).

Next, you're going to want some serious vegetables.  I picked zucchini & yellow squash because they're in season, on sale, and taste fantastic.  I did a tiny coat of olive oil, lightly kissed with salt & pepper.  (HINT- put the skewers through the skin, not the meat part of the zucchini/yellow squash so it doesn't fall off!)

Grilled tomatoes are also quite amazing and they look pretty.  Here's a couple tips to eating well 1.  Your food should never all be the same color!  Why?  Because you eat first with your eyes.  Pretty things taste better.  AND when you have a good mix of colors you know that you are getting in a lot of good food groups.  2.  Choose foods that are in season!  Why?  They probably weren't trucked in from some other region of the world - like strawberries in winter - let's be serious.  Your carbon footprint is smaller and you're getting food that is more fresh.

Start up your grill to a medium heat.  Put the zucchini & yellow squash first, because they will take the longest.  After about 7 minutes, flip them over.  They should have strong grill marks.  After about 2 minutes, add your shrimp.  After another minute or two add your tomatoes!  Flip the shrimp and tomatoes briefly.

One minute more and ta da!  All done!  Now you have a perfectly healthy GF/DF summer meal.  With, hello!!, no dishes!  (Who likes doing dishes!?!?!)  Now that's perfection.

Tuna Puttanesca Anyone?

Not running to the grocery store today made my brain work in creative ways of what to figure out to make for dinner.  After a long trying day I decided on simple yet filling spaghetti know I had a GF noodle and a can of tomatoes at home.  Then, after a much needed break from my day, I decided that that was way too simple and needed to figure out how to get more veggies and protein into my dinner.  After running through my Rolodex of food & recipes in my head (again, it helps if you devour food magazines & cookbooks)  I realized I had all the ingredients I need to make Puttanesca.  Now, if you've never heard of this dish, don't freak out - you probably have all the ingredients you need to make this in your fridge right now- go open your fridge and pantry.

Pull out a clove of garlic, an onion, olives, tuna, olive oil, pepper, tomatoes (fresh or canned), and quinoa or whatever GF noodle you have available.  If you have capers grab those too!  I also just happened to have hearts of palm in my fridge and thought huh - yup, they're going in there.

Now, start your water for your GF noodles.  Then start a medium-sized sauce pan at medium heat.  Meanwhile (FYI - meanwhile is the secret to cooking- you should always be doing something else while other things are already started), so meanwhile you'll want to get started on the chopping.  Start with the garlic, then the onion and cut your olives in half (pieces go better in the sauce than whole, but that's a personal preference.) Now your frying pan should be hot enough to add the oil.  When you can smell the aroma of the oil go ahead and add the onion and garlic.  

Your water should be close to boiling for the noodles so go ahead and add those as well.  MAKE SURE you watch them as GF noodles are finicky.  Meanwhile (see how that works!?!?) you'll want to get your can opener for anything you grabbed in a can (like the tomatoes or tuna) and get those opened.  Stir your onion mixture and add in the olives, tuna, capers (hearts of palm).  Mix together well.  Now add the can of tomatoes & stire again.  CHECK YOUR NOODLES!

Ok, so turn the tomato mixture to low so it doesn't splash up all over everything (including you)!  Now, when you drain the noodles try to save some of the water they were boiling in.  Dump the noodles back into the pot and add the tomato sauce mixture.  Then add a little bit of the noodle water to loosen the dish up a bit.  Stir.  Done. Eat.  Ta Da!  You just made GF/DF Tuna Puttanesca, and I'm guessing that took you less than 30 minutes.  Add a good pinch of pepper.  The capers & olives should give you enough salt so there is no need to add any more.  Enjoy!

How to Start

I'm not going to lie to you.  Having any food allergy really sucks - a lot.  And it's really hard to get started.  I cheated a lot when I started but now I'm totally gluten & dairy free (and feel much better and probably have three times as much energy!)  However, I didn't realize the benefits until much later into my year of experimentation.  It took me probably an entire year to get a hold of everything, so don't get discouraged right away.  

This is what I did- pick one meal, just 1, let's say breakfast, and figure out what you can eat.  I'll wait why you go get a pen and paper........

Breakfast Meal Option 1:  Fruit, 2 eggs, tea (this is what I eat every morning as I'm a creature of habit.)

Breakfast Meal Option 2:  Steak & eggs (i usually get this when I go out - ask for no dairy in your eggs though)

Breakfast Meal Option 3:  Oatmeal (just be careful if you're really sensitive to gluten- some oats are not GF)

Breakfast Meal Option 4:  GF french toast, soy butter & syrup (my great grandmother used to put jelly or raw sugar or powdered sugar on her french toast instead of syrup)

Breakfast Meal Option 5:  Betty Crocker GF Pancake Mix, soy butter & syrup  (Also, you want to watch your soy intake - everything in moderation- I play around with soy milk, almond milk and hemp milk)

If you still don't know what to do and just can't make yourself start feel free to email me or comment and I'll be your cheerleader.  Just remember one day, one meal at a time.

Achilles Heel - Sauces -

My food 'achilles heel' is sauces.  They are killer.  Did you know there is gluten in soy sauce!?!?  SOY Sauce.  You can't be serious!  (Note: you can get GF soy sauce.)  ALSO - there is gluten in ketchup, some spaghetti sauces, most chinese sauces, most pasta sauces, seriously the list goes on and on.  So, here's the skinny on that - MAKE YOUR OWN!  Life is so much easier when you can control the ingredients going into your food.  However, I am a realist and know that you will eventually have to leave your house to eat every once and a while, my suggestions are this:  


1.  When in doubt- leave it out or
2.  Ask.  

However, don't ask 45 questions- ask if they have a gluten free menu or if the item you're looking at is gluten free.  Don't ask about every single item on the menu.  Food industry people hate this- we make fun of you behind your back for making us late to every other single table we have to get to.  Just get a grilled chicken sandwich with green beans, heck get a steak (go big or go home, right?), but don't take up 20 minutes of our time.  We get it.  You have a food allergy.  Who doesn't?  It is YOUR responsibility to know you're disease.  


As someone on both ends - ordering and taking the order - I get it.  Food allergies suck- you definitely don't want to make yourself sick.  Taking a food order that seems totally wacked out from someone with food allergies isn't a picnic either when the chefs look at you like you just ran over their dog.


Now that I got that out - sauces.  Sauces are yummy and they serve a purpose in food.  You just need to be creative with them.  For example, Alfredo sauce... dairy and gluten there's no way right?  So, try the roux with oat flour and a little xanthan gum.  Instead of milk, use soy milk (unflavored).  Then for flavoring I used vegan mozzarella cheese.  Let me tell you - it was disgusting!  But, hey at least I tried, right?  You have to keep trying until you figure out what works for you.   


Good luck and happy creating!

What do I tell the nice people who made me dinner?

After a good year of struggling not eating anything with lactose or gluten in it, I feel fairly confident in the brands I choose, the meals I make and the amazing flourless dark chocolate cake I bake.  Then, you throw me into someone else's world of cooking and it's like - "Sorry, I can't eat that, even though you've just spent a fortune on it" or "Sorry, I can't eat that even though I know it took you two hours to make."  Then, I feel really bad, because they don't know - it's not like I wear a sign that says "please don't add butter or flour to that."  Maybe I should bedazzle a shirt that says that to avoid these awkward conversations.  How do you avoid this?  Well, today, I don't have the answer.  I'm still working through this.

"I'm allergic to wheat and lactose." Oh, yes, this will totally explain to the nice family making dinner for you that you cannot eat scalloped potatoes and ham.  NOT!  They're going to look at you like you're one of those people who should live in a bubble because you're allergic to everything.  So, what next - try to get around it without telling anyone or asking any questions - so when you're in the bathroom later crying in pain... you're right, that's a great solution.  Next!?!?!  

Being sick sucks...

One week, a doctors visit, religious use of my neti pot, three gallons of o.j. and three different meds later I'm STILL sick.  Having Celiac when you're well sucks because you always have to pay attention to what you're eating.  But having Celiac when you sick sucks even more because you don't have the energy to constantly review what you're eating.  So, I enlisted the help of my friend, Progresso.  A lot of their soups are actually gluten-free.  They say so right on the back.  Made my trip to the grocery store fairly painless.

I also had some chicken in the freezer so I threw that in a pan, grab some chicken bouillon for stock and started some chicken soup.  Grab whatever veggies you have in your fridge, cut them up and saute them up a bit, throw them into the stock.  Cook your chicken mostly all the way through, but then throw them into the pot as well.  I like to throw some beans in mine and my mothers secret ingredient to her soup- stewed tomatoes.  I know it sounds weird, but try it, it's good.

Fab. Fillling. Fast.

While I'm not one to ever recommend eating fast food - yuck, I also know that sometimes you need to grab something quick while on the run.  Here are a few things to keep in mind... Rice is your friend.  Rice is readily available in most areas, quick and easy.  Can you eat it whilst driving - no, duh... but you can wrap it in a corn tortilla with how about some beans, chicken or carnitas add some nice pico de gallo - yum.  I'm hungry just thinking about it.  What I'm saying here people is Mexican can be your friend - no flour tortillas, no cheese or sour cream but it's still fab, filling and fast.

Another reason rice is your friend - sushi!  Yummy.  The only thing you need to be careful of here is the crunchy stuff, possibly the tempura.  Sometimes it's rice crunchies/tempura and sometimes it's flour crunchies/tempura.  Just ask.


Oh, and watch the sauces - there's usually a gluten substance hidden inside the sauce.  Get something without sauce.  AND, unless the soy sauce says GF- it's not.  You would think something made from soybeans wouldn't have gluten in it, but it does.  Just flip to the back of the bottle to check.


Salad is also your friend.  Get some tri-colored greens (because it's good for you and very pretty- at least as far as salad goes), throw on a protein like chicken or tuna, beans or eggs... how about some veggies like carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers.  Add some starch maybe some peas or corn.  Instead of croutons grab some sunflour seeds.  Dab on some oil & vinegar (because most dressings are not GF), shake a little salt & pepper in there and ta da! lunch is served!


For other helpful suggestions or tips check out my What Can I Eat? tab.  


Have a great lunch!

MONSTER COOKIES!

While most pastries require some sort of flour element (and probably dairy) to them, I found a couple recipes that have managed to successfully create a work around.  What I'm saying here people, is that these monster cookies don't have any flour in them!  And they're super easy to make.  And just to prove it to you I had a five year old help me do it.  And she did great!

Here's what you need:
1 1/2 c natural peanut butter
1/2 c butter alternative
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 c GF quick cooking oats
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c GF chocolate chips
1/2 c GF M&M's


Here's a couple things to note on your grocery shopping trip: 


One- I know the natural peanut butter is more expensive, however it's better for you and it works much better in this recipe.  Once you try it, you'll never go back.  


Two-not all oats are made equally.  Make sure the package says gluten free, otherwise assume it's not.  It's a great way to make yourself sick and bloated if you make that mistake.


Three-Most chocolate chips and M&M's contain dairy.  Look for the dark chocolate which is usually safer.


Four- the better quality ingredients the better quality the cookie.  If you're going to go through all of the work to make cookies they should taste good in the end, right?!


Onto the fun part!


Mix the peanut butter, butter and both sugars.  Beat in both eggs.  Beat in vanilla.  Mix dry ingredients (oats & baking soda in a separate bowl).  Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.  Hand mix in the chocolate chips & M&M's.  (NOTE:  The mixture will end up being quite crumbly - that's perfectly ok, because it will glue itself together in the baking process.)


Drop heaping spoonfuls two inches apart.  Bake for 14 minutes.  Allow to slightly cool before eating (just so you don't burn your mouth!)  

Happy Eating!

Not All GF Food is Good

I decided to try to make a GF/DF pizza last night.  I used a recipe for the crust from a GF cookbook.  The crust ended up being this weird green color, even though I used red cranberry juice (weird, right?).  I baked it for a bit and it was massively mogul looking (google it).  Well, you never know if something is good unless you keep trekking forward right?  So, I cut up three different kinds of tomatoes, and basil.  Added some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt.  So, essentially it should've come out like bruschetta.  Well, I put the tomatoes on top of the green pizza crust, just like Christmas, and popped it into the oven for 20 minutes until I could smell the tomatoes roasting. 

Well, it wasn't pretty- but it doesn't have to be.  I took a couple of pieces and it was ok.  The water roasting out of the tomatoes made the crust soggy.  One to never give up, I tried something else.  Knowing that similar ingredients are in another fav dish of mine I tried a tuna puttenesca pasta.  (I also read recipes like novels- which helps.)

I boiled up some GF corn noodles and threw them into a new pan once cooked.  I scrapped the pizza toppings into the noodles, added a can of tuna, some capers, and a few olives.  Ta da!  New meal - or so I thought - and while I did eat ALL, yes ALL of it, I'm not sold on corn noodles.  I still prefer the quinoa noodles to anything I've tried in over a year.  

Moral of the Story - Keep Trying!  Not everything works in the GF world, but you don't know that if you don't even try.  This is true not only with food, but with everything in life.  You might turn green, or get all soggy but then try to turnit into something new and exciting.  You never know where it might take you - and that, my friends, is the fun part!  Happy testing.

My New Favorite Drink!

My new favorite tea is seriously awesome.  I start each day with one of these now.  And, it's not too terrible for you.  Here's how you do it:

1 c water

1 c soy milk (hemp milk, coconut milk, or your milk preference)

2 black tea bags

1 tsp cocoa

1 tsp raw sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Bring the water & milk to a boil.  Remove from heat and steep the two tea bags for 2 to 5 minutes.  Remove tea bags.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  ENJOY.  Makes my morning, hope it makes yours too.

Gluten-Free is NOT a Diet, People!

Seriously, gluten-free is not a diet!  It's an auto-immune disease.  What is wrong with you people who actually thing that not eating gluten is a good way to lose weight?  I'm sure that you didn't research that most people who try to go gluten-free (because it makes them sick - let's just be clear here) actually gain weight at first.
Gluten-free products can vary greatly in the amount of fat, protein and other nutrients they contain.  Some gluten-free breads have up to 13 times more fat and 16 times more protein than others, according to a recent study that compared 11 different gluten-free breads. (Eating Well, Feb 2012).


The reason Celiacs are so skinny is because all the years we digested gluten are bodies weren't actually absorbing the nutrients we needed - which (again, just to be clear) is really unhealthy.  Personally, I think that diets are unhealthy.


It's all about your life style - your activity, what you choose to put in your body.  For example, I started mountain biking with a friend of mine and started to get stronger and healthier.  When I went to eat I thought, well I'm not going to throw a bunch of junk in my body now that I've worked so hard to get to where I am.  So, I'd reach for something healthier - like tuna or cashews.  One begets the other.


The "experts" say to not cut out gluten unless you have a gluten intolerance or have Celiac.  It's really hard to do it when you are forced to.  I can't imagine doing it out of choice.  


Happy and healthy eating!

Buckwheeeee... wait, what?

I was introduced to Buckwheat while in Asia, (there it's called soba).  It's a grey looking noodle, served cold that does not look appetizing at all.  A friend of mine had ordered it for me and I looked at her like what in the...  But, being the adventurer that I am, I tried it anyway and IT WAS AWESOME!  


Now, present day with Celiac, I see some in the grocery store and I'm thinking buckwheat, there's no way this is gluten-free and the packaging doesn't help at all.  Spending money like I'm a superstar (seriously who pays $5 for noodles?), I pick it up anyway and decide that it will make a good blog post to figure it out.  So I'm here to tell you that after my extravagant noodle purchase and some research, Buckwheat IS gluten-free!  Yeah!  It is approved as GF in Canada, Australia, and Europe.  Buckwheat is not actually a wheat, it just physically looks like it is.  It's technically harvested from the fruit of the plant.  It's high in protein and fiber.  Win and win.


Here's the rub - Sometimes buckwheat is grown in the same field as wheat and can become cross-contaminated.  Also, sometimes buckwheat is processed on the same manufacturing equipment thereby becoming cross-contaminated.  So, here is my disclaimer - I am going to eat my buckwheat noodles, however, if the packaging doesn't say GF you probably shouldn't eat it.  

How do you eat buckwheat noodles?  You boil them like normal noodles.  Rinse them off in cold water so they cool.  I eat them cold with GF soy sauce or you can make a soba sauce with 2 cups of dashi, 1/2 c GF soy sauce, 1/2 c mirin.  All these products you'd probably find at an Asian grocery store, as they are Japanese staples.  Then you dip the noodles into the sauce (also cold).  Enjoy!

Christina's Appley Crisp

So, I'm going to trust my sister on this one that she didn't actually kill anyone with her cooking.  She has a friend who is GF, so as a courtesy, my sister makes their get together meals all GF.  Thank you sis!  She swears by this apple crisp recipe so I thought I'd share it with you:


7 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 c GF rolled oats (not all oats are gluten free!)
1/4 c alternative soy butter (or alternative butter of your choice), room temperature


1.  Preheat over to 375 degrees.  In bowl combine apples, lemon juice & vanilla.  Toss to combine.
2.  Layer sliced apples in a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.
3.  Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and oatmeal in a bowl.  Cut in the soy butter.  Sprinkle sugar mixture over apples.

Cut in the butter

4.  Bake 45 minutes or until topping looks crunchy and apples are tender.

How it should look before baking

Serves 8.  Serve with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy Christina's Appley Crisp

I'm Healthy, I'm Happy & I Feel Great!

2012 is starting off to be a great year but sometimes I still struggle with Celiac.  And then, in my time of frustration I remember this quote:  “I’m healthy, I’m happy, and I feel great.”  A long time ago, while on vacation with family friends their dad made us get up every day and yell it as loud as we could.  I used to roll my eyes and think wow, really?!  And now it’s something I say to myself fairly often.

There is the constant reminder in the back of my head of those who live each day sick and unable to get out of bed.  They wish for nothing more than to be able to get up and just go to work or to go fishing.  So when you think that living with Celiac is hard, or life is hard in general, repeat this quote to yourself and remember that each day you have a choice of what you want to do and how you want to live.  What you put in your body so that you can fulfill your dreams is your choice.  And when you aren’t happy, healthy and feeling great – fake it.  Tonight I’m making halibut in a mushroom sauce, tomorrow conquer the world.  (Thank you Mr. D)

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

So, this Celiac thing is still new to me.  And while I know the adverse effects of not being GF/DF (gluten-free, diary-free) I still like pizza.  I have been craving pizza for days with the gooey yummy greasy cheese and the crunchy awesome crust.  I researched how to make gluten free crust and a dairy-free topping.  I think I actually found something yummy I wanted to try.  Then my butt magically became attached to my couch and I somehow reached for the phone and called a pizza place.  So, yes, I totally cheated.  And no, it wasn't that delicious.  And yes, it made me really sick - stomach crampings and all. Aaauuuggghhh!  Needless to say, I will be more careful from now on.  And, hopefully, I will have a really great GF/DF pizza recipe for you shortly.  Lesson for the day - Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

What the Hell is Xantham Gum?

So, Xanthan Gum by definition is a polysaccharide (a molecule), derived from the bacterial coat of xanthomonas campestris.  When you buy it get it in a powder form.  It should be in the grocery store right next to the alternative flours.

Structure of a molecule

Next question for us non-chemistry majors – WHY do we care about Polysaccharides?  Polysaccharides again are molecules (you can't actually see them with your eyes!)  

They are important when you eat because they give you energy.  They change the food you eat in your gastrointestinal tract.  Polysaccharides also change how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed.  So, when you have Celiac and you eat gluten you aren’t absorbing nutrients that your body needs.  This is why it’s important to eat things that your body can absorb.  There are also many benefits to this:

• 1.    Lower cholesterol levels
• 2.    Reducing sugar responses after eating
• 3.    An association with a reduced diabetes risk

Ok, now I’m sure you’re next question is What the hell is xanthomonas campestris, right?  Well, this is kind of gross, so if you are grossed out easily stop reading now.  It is a bacterial species that causes a variety of plant diseases. But, keep in mind, not all bacteria is bad for you!  (apparently just plants)

Xanthomonas campestris on plants

If you’re still reading you’re probably wondering why we’re talking about Xanthan Gum right now.  So- when you can’t use wheat flour you need an alternative, like oat flour.  However, alternative flours don’t have a lot of natural “glue” to them like wheat flours do.  So, you need to add some “glue” like Xanthan Gum.  

Xanthan Gum

Not convinced?  The last time you made cookies with an alternative flour did you use Xanthan gum-No?  Ok, so did they turn out crumbly and a weird texture-Yes!  So, if you use the Xanthan gum that won’t happen!  Be forewarned, you only need a tiny bit!  I made banana bread today and my recipe was only for 1 ½ teaspoons.  Ta da!

My Banana Bread

I Can't Eat My Favorite Foods Anymore!

While this might be true, we can certainly try to get as close as possible to our old time favorite comfort foods.  I'll share one of mine with you.  Scalloped Potatoes and Ham.  This recipe calls for flour, milk and butter.  I just made this one without any of these products and this is how.  

First, heat up a pot on the stove and turn your oven onto 350 degrees.  Melt a butter alternative or olive oil in the pan.  Meanwhile cut up 2 medium sized onions.  Throw into the pot.  Cook until they are translucent.  

Next, grab your oat flour or alternative flour of choice, and of course, your xanthun gum.  Put in 2 heaving tablespoons of flour and a 1/2 teaspoon of the xanthun gum.  Mix into the onions until you get a lumpy mixture.

Measure out three cups of Soy or Almond Milk and add to the pot.  Grab your whisk and get to it.  You are going to whisk until it's not lumpy anymore.  Also, turn up the heat because you want the white mixture to come to boil (you're making what the French call a "bechamel sauce" or "white sauce").  When it starts boiling and you have no lumps, turn the heat back down until you dip a spoon in it and the sauce mostly stays on the spoon.

While you're waiting for your sauce to thicken, you should be dicing up your ham into bite sized pieces.  Also, you are cutting up your potatoes into nice thin circles.  Your sauce now should be done.  NOTE:  Stir your sauce often - it will burn if you don't!

Remove the sauce from the heat once it's reached its desired consistency.  Grease the bottom of a casserole dish or cake pan.  Carefully ladel just enough sauce to barely cover the bottom of your dish.  Then, lay your first layer of potatoes.  They can be touching, but not by much.  Add in a layer of ham.  Then dump some of your sauce over the layer.  Start over with another layer of potatoes, then ham, then sauce.  Repeat until you're out of all three.

Cover the dish with foil.  Put in the oven for about 40 minutes or until a fork goes through the potatoes easily.  Be sure to remove the foil AWAY from your face so you don't get a bad steam facial.  The sauce in the dish will set a little bit when you let it sit.  Serve immediately with your favorite veggie - like corn or green beans.  Yummy!  

REMEMBER:  You can make your own favorite foods, you just need to tweek them a smidge!  Good luck!