The Great Gluten Escape Summer Camp Dispatch & A Giveaway
Hi friends,
For the third year I loaded up my youngest child, and headed 10 hours away for gluten free summer camp.
Ok, he’s the one going to summer camp, but I tag along as I work in the camp kitchen for the week.
Whew boy is it a great (and tiring) time for everyone!
Over the week staff at Camp Gilmont and volunteers for the Great Gluten Escape put on an amazing experience for these kids. Classic camp stuff like canoeing, swimming, hiking, crafts and more
In the piney woods of east Texas, this beautiful camp is so very caring for all of their campers, and boasts a Gluten Free Safe Spot certification year round. But once a year they host The Great Gluten Escape - an entire week with no gluten at all, and for these kids a week off from the worries having a dietary restriction can bring.
It’s such a GIFT to be able to see these kiddos on a week of total kid freedom. No vigilance about what they can eat, they’re just kids. They go through the line for meals like everyone else - quite a treat when you’re used to bringing your own cupcake to every party or missing out.
We churn out kid-pleasers from the kitchen like clockwork with 3 meals a day and a snack- and try to put a few things on the menu that are really difficult to find gluten free. GF Fried oreos are obviously a favorite
This year I think we managed to create quite the legend around the homemade cinnamon rolls. Rose, the longtime Great Gluten Escape kitchen queen told the campers it took me and Ken (King of the onion chopping and the side eye) 5 hours to make 156 cinnamon rolls… (it did, if you count the time it took for me to discover our yeast was dead, decide to drive to town to buy some, my car battery to die, get the battery jumped and get to the store and back- ha!)
Most of the pictures I’m sharing here are of the food, the staff or volunteers, as I’d like to protect the campers privacy, but trust me when I say, the faces are pure joy. I feel so lucky to be a small part of it.
Wanna make some camp food? These nuggets are a camp crowd pleaser!
Or you could join in on the cinnamon roll lore! Hopefully without the car drama…
Fourth of July Mightylicious Giveaway
Our friends at Mightylicious have generously offered to give one of you dear readers one of their baker’s bundles or vegan baker’s bundle if you’d prefer. To enter please comment on this post with your favorite gluten free summer bake!
Paid subscribers comments count for 2 entries instead of one. No purchase necessary to win. The winner will be chosen at random on July 3rd. I will contact you for your shipping details. Shipping limited to the contiguous 48 U.S. States. Void where prohibited.
You might have missed…
I was excited to be featured in this recent article about The Culinary Medicine department at KU Med! My work there with medical students is so rewarding.
There are also a couple of recipes from the program, a honey mustard pork tenderloin and an avocado chocolate mousse.
Happy cooking,
Rachel
Next Level Gluten Free recipes are tested over and over and scientifically work! Then I walk you through all the details. Upgrade to a full membership for a library of gluten free baking workshops, product comparisons, and exclusive gluten free recipes.
My favorite summer bake is angel food cake, to pair with fresh berries, and top with whipped cream.
Wow wow wow! I love that you do this Rachel and I’m sure your son is thrilled to attend camp! And that’s very cool about working with students in culinary medicine! I did not there was such a thing. Bravo! 👏