Gluten free for beginners....

It has been shown through many researches that eating with less gluten is actually beneficial to your health. So, how do I start.??. Well, depending on how gluten free you want to be, there are certain flours and baking goods you will need. One that I use a lot is Bob's Red Mill- gluten free all purpose flour. The reason I use this one so much is because I can buy it in bulk and it costs less than if I buy a bunch of small bags of flour. (It is 35.50 for 25 lbs.) If I am getting creative I will buy Pamela's baking mix (I like this a lot for cookies) or I will get sweet rice flour for some recipes... It all depends on what I am trying to achieve. I am not a huge fan of rice flour because it is often very crunchy and doesn't offer a lot of nutrients. It also will fall apart when, with another flour, maybe it will glom together better.
Because I have Celiac disease I have to be very careful with what comes into my kitchen. I bleached everything that was glass or metal when I found out that I had to get rid of gluten. I chucked all my plastic everything, because plastic absorbs whatever you put in it. I bought a new vacuum, a new broom, a new mixer, new bread pans, you name it...I replaced it. I got better when I did this. I still will go out with my family and friends to restaurants, but I will only order if I know what is gluten free. If I have doubts, then I will eat when I get home. I often frustrate waiters and staff at unknowledgeable restaurants and I have been known to change my mind several times while ordering. It is totally against everything I was brought up to do, but people understand when I explain to them my condition. I even will ask for the ingredient lists for things I want to check myself. It took me a long time to be comfortable doing this!!!
Well, I hope this gives you a good start. Here is a yummy pie crust recipe for you all...enjoy!!

Pie crust

1 1/2 cups GF Flour (Bob's)
1 t salt
1/2 c shortening
1/4 + 2 T Ice water ( take any cubes out before you add this)

Sift flour & salt into a bowl
cut in shortening with a pastry blender until it is the size of cornmeal
sprinkle water onto flour a little at a time and stir together until it starts to cling together
gather dough and press gently into a ball
roll pastry Once in between two pieces of parchment paper until it is bigger than the pie plate
Fit dough to greased pie plate ( glass or stone only please)
Flute edges
Poke holes in the bottom with a fork
Bake @450* for 10-12 min.
Cool and fill
or fill with a pumpkin pie filling and bake until done

if this dough falls apart...and it will, just smash the pieces back together. It may not be beautiful, but it is delicious!!