How to Cook Healthy Food For Kids : Watch out for Wheat Flour in Disguise

Whether you are trying to stick to a gluten-free diet, paleo diet, low carb diet, or simply trying to eat and cook healthy for yourself and your kids, you are probably trying to cut wheat out of your diet.  Some sources of wheat are obvious and easy to avoid.  It's easy enough not to buy a loaf of bread for instance.  Other sources of wheat are not as obvious.  For instance, wheat flour is a common thickener in sauces and gravies. 

One of my favorite dishes with gravy is gumbo.  Gumbo is typically prepared with a thick gravy, called a roux.  A Roux is made out of equal parts wheat flour and fat, such as butter.  According to wikipedia, "Gumbo is a dish that originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It typically consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoning vegetables, which can include celery, bell peppers and onions (a trio known in Cajun cuisine as the "trinity"

But while some gumbos use wheat flour and butter to create a thick gravy, others use okra as a natural thickener.  I find gumbo to be hearty and flavorful regardless of how thick the sauce is.  I found this recipe for a roux-less gumbo, which I prepared for the kids.  They loved it!  I feature this recipe in this week's movie trailer called, Forest Gumbo:

http://youtu.be/EsYE4TOO-2s