Let's face it, I am a stay-at-home Mom, which means we live on a single income. Our grocery budget is NOT flexible. I made alot of casseroles and soups before we realized that gluten needed to go away. Most of those recipes called for pasta as a main ingredient in order to stretch our food dollars.
In our town, we have a wonderful, warehouse-type, grocery store that has an enormous health-food section. (I am soooo grateful) I scoured the aisles, looking for something that might work. I tried several varieties, such as pasta made out of quinoa, spelt (which is really just ancient, non-GMO wheat...some gluten sensitives can handle it, some can't) and other grains. I was doing my level best to avoid anything made with BROWN RICE FLOUR (more on this subject in a different blog post). But nothing I tried made the grade. Either the texture was off or the flavor was too strong.
I tried converting my casserole recipes to use rice in place of the pasta, and my long-suffering husband & kids were very brave. But it just wasn't the same.
Finally, I decided to try some pasta made with dreaded BROWN RICE FLOUR (again, more on that in a different blog post) made by a company called Tinkyada.
It was FANTASTIC!!! As long as I watched close to make sure I didn't over cook it, the texture was perfect, "al dente", and the flavor was just fine! My husband was so glad to be eating what looked like, felt like, and tasted like normal food for the first time in weeks! And the kids devoured it! There was one small caveat : a 16 oz. package was $3.48. The store brand pasta I had been buying was $1.89. But for me, it was worth it! Jut getting to eat like a relatively normal person was worth the extra $1.59. And again, remember that casseroles spread the food out for several days so that one little package can make your family 3 dinners! And buying this pasta in bulk is easy using some of the links i have posted.
Since that day, when my family heaved a not-so-silent sigh of relief, every time I go grocery shopping I pick up a package or two, even if I already have some at home, simply because then I will always have it when I need it...whether that means an impromptu get together for a bbq (I can make GF Pasta salad) or remembering at the last minute that I was supposed to bring something for the church potluck in the morning (I can throw a casserole, complete with GF pasta, into my crockpot and let 'er cook all night).
For all of my local peeps in the "Burg," Sherms has a wonderful selection of Tinkyada in the "health foods" section of the store. Don't be afraid to ask someone to help you if you can't find it! =)
If you can't find Tinkyada in your area, there are several options: Amazon.com sells it in bulk packages of 6 or 12 which can really save you some money in the long run. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tinkyada+brown+rice+pasta&sprefix=tinkyada%2Caps%2C307
The Tinkyada website also sells direct. Here is their link: http://www.tinkyada.com/
If you live in Oregon and would like to order in bulk, Azure Standard is a wonderful company that not only carries Tinkyada (in bulk) but many many other healthy, raw, organic, and alternative foods and they carry them in many sizes usually so you can order bulk or in smaller quantities if need be. Here is their link: http://www.azurestandard.com/ Just type in Tinkyada in their search box and it should take you where you need to go.
I sincerely hope this causes you all to leap for joy wherever you are, knowing that you can enjoy pasta again! As always, feel free to comment or check back often for more recipes and helpful tips!
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