Curate Indulgent Dark Chocolate & Hazelnuts Bar

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curate gluten free barI have to admit, I was skeptical at first about this Curate bar because of its appearance. The seeds in it gave me the impression it was going to have a more earthy flavor. I am so glad I was wrong.

The Curate Indulgent Dark Chocolate & Hazelnuts bar was excellent. Good cocoa flavor. I didn’t really taste the hazelnut – I thought it had more of a chocolate/fruity flavor. At first I thought maybe there were dates in it, but there aren’t. It could be the agave nectar syrup. Who knows. Honestly, I don’t care. I like it.

This bar is non-GMO and gluten-free. I can pronounce all the ingredients, and I know what they all are. Here are the nutritional stats:

Serving size – 1 bar

Calories – 200; Total fat – 11g; Total carbs – 22; Fiber – 4g; Protein – 6g.

This is one of the best tasting snack bars I’ve run into to date – flavor, consistency, and appearance. Nothing worse than trying to convince yourself to eat something that looks like a coyote turd. You won’t have that problem with a Curate bar. Learn more about them at http://CurateSnacks.com

Highly recommended.

Yehuda Gluten Free Matzo-Style Squares

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gluten free matzo“A Unique Matzo-Style Cracker” is written right on the box under the picture that looks more like matzo than the actual product, which I found funny.

These matzo-style squares are actually not at all like matzo, in my book. If you’re expecting matzo, you’re going to be disappointed. That said – I liked them. They are more like a sweet saltine cracker than a matzo, and actually more fragile, if you can believe that. If you eat them around other people, make sure they are wearing safety goggles, because there will be shrapnel.

While yes, I’m being snarky, I did like these. Being wheat-free, I’m very limited in what I can eat to calm my stomach. So far, the only thing that seems to help is an Udi’s Blueberry Muffin. But I think these matzo-style squares may work just as well, and if you want something light, with less than half the calories of one of those muffins, this would be a good bet.

gluten free matzo 2

These gluten-free matzo-style crackers are very photogenic!

These crackers are made in Israel and are gluten- and soy-free. No soy is a big thing for me. They contain Tapioca Starch, Water, Potato Starch, Potato Flakes, Palm Oil, Natural Vinegar, Honey, Egg Yolks, and Salt. Ah, honey – hence the sweetness. The nutritional facts are as follows: 125 calories; 3.5 grams of fat; 20 mg cholesterol; 120 mg sodium; 22 grams carbs; 1.2 g of fiber; and 2 grams of protein.

I enjoyed mine with some Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt spread. But I bet it would be good with all kinds of SOFT spreads. Make sure they’re soft, or you will end up with a load of splintery crumbs! Although, you could probably use those as crackers in your soup, so it may not be a bad thing.

If you see a box, grab one. (Believe it or not, I found these in a Walmart!) Try them out. I think you’ll like them.

Sabatasso’s Gluten Free Pizza from Costco

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gluten free costco pizzaWell shut the front door. This Sabatasso’s gluten-free pizza from Costco is unbelievably good. When I lifted the first piece, the gooey cheese clung to the pie from which I pulled it, making that glorious stringy mess like a real, New York-style pizza fresh out of a brick oven. And the taste? Honestly – it tastes just like those awesome glutinous, mondo slices you get at the Costco food bar.

There’s a lot of cheese on this pizza. It’s very filling – so the fact they state 4 servings per pizza is, in fact, accurate. That’s two slices of rich, cheesy pizza. Wow.

Not sure this can get any better? Well, it does. You get not one, but TWO! of these awesome pizzas for around $11.

But wait, there’s more. Continue reading →

Smart Ones Slow Roasted Turkey Breast

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smart ones slow roasted turkey breast IMG_20150326_192046537Let me start by saying this dish is NOT labeled gluten-free. If you check the ingredients, however, the only allergen listed is milk. It does contain modified food starch in the potatoes, but nowhere does it say wheat. They do go out of their way to list potato and corn as the type of maltodextrin, so it leads me to believe if it did contain wheat anywhere, they would say so.

If you miss turkey with gravy, I’m inclined to say you’ll like this a lot. Personally, I’m not big on gravy, so I can take that part of this or leave it. The turkey is decent white meat with a good texture. Microwaving it did not rubberize it. My beef with this dish is I have a sensitivity to paprika (I know, I know, what don’t I have a sensitivity to?) and that eventually overpowers my mouth and ruins the flavor (yes, even though it’s the very last ingredient!).

I’m not sure what to tell you about the potatoes. there are indeed chunks of real red potatoes, skin and all, in there. To me, though, they taste more like pepper than potatoes. So, not a big fan.

Here’s the rundown on the nutritional stats:

210 calories, 3.5g fat, 690mg sodium, 22g carbs, 22g protein.

So, if you’re not super sensitive to gluten and you miss your turkey in gravy, you may want to give this a shot. If not, then you’re welcome; this has been yet one more thing that I ate so you wouldn’t have to.

Chex Gluten Free Granola Mix

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gluten free chex granola comp IMG_20150323_112207Finally. Affordable gluten-free granola you can find in a regular store that doesn’t have all sorts of weird, supposed-to-be-healthy for you, rock-hard, nasty grain-like junk in it. Thank you, Chex. It has a lovely aroma when you open the package, and you don’t need to use much to enjoy the flavor. Just the right amount of chewiness, and just the right amount of crunch. I tried the mixed berry almond (even though I wanted to try the honey nut flavor) because I had a coupon for a free bag and didn’t want it to go to waste. That would be blasphemy. Normally, I would not go for anything with dried fruit it in because I’m a meatatarian. In any case, I was pleasantly surprised; I didn’t hate it – and in fact, liked it quite a bit.

Here are the stats, good people:

Serving size: 2/3 cup. (I think I may have used 2-3 tablespoons, so I didn’t come close to that.)

270 calories, 9g fat, 0 cholesterol, 75mg sodium, 43g cards (yikes!), 5g protein. It is loaded with a bunch of other vitamins and minerals as well, including 20% of your RDV of iron.

The carb and fat content are pretty crazy high, but I think I’ll still put this in rotation with my other granolas since I don’t tend to use a lot at once. And change is good.

Cole’s Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

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Coles Cinnamon Roll IMG_20150416_142237587OMGFG (Oh My Gluten-Free God – and frankly, I can’t believe I even had to explain that), this cinnamon roll from Cole’s Fine Foods needs to be eaten slowly and savored.

Jeanine at Cole’s told me this cinnamon roll might be a little dry because it had been frozen. Whether it was or not isn’t really pertinent. What is? To think of how dreamy these must be fresh out of the Cole’s oven. The icing is delicious, the cinnamon tucked into each crease perfect, and the bottom is gooey with awesomeness like regular wheat cinnamon rolls. And the center? Tender, moist, and laden with spice and sugar and everything that makes the Pillsbury DoughBoy go running because he knows this cinnamon roll will kick his ass with one hand tied behind its back. That final, last bite is a burst of cinnamony awesomeness. (Yes, I can make up words, I’m a writer!)

Wowza. If you miss feeling like a kid enjoying big, gooey cinnamon rolls, give Cole’s a call. You can always ask them to ship them to you if you don’t live near Spokane. Now,  pardon me whilst I go lick my plate.

RECOMMENDED

Cole’s Fine Foods
521 E. Holland, Suite 20
Spokane, WA 99218
Place an order: 509-419-1739
www.colesfinefoods.com

Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Gluten Free Beef Merlot

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gluten free healthy choiceWow. My notes on this one read like this: Skin-on red potatoes very tender. Veggies tasted very fresh and flavorful. Consistency was good. The sauce – not a big fan of wine in food but it was not overbearing and the taste was pleasant. Smaller pieces of meat were very tender.  Larger pieces were a little tough and did have some veins of fat. Good char-broiled flavor.  Thought the basket steaming gimmick may fall flat, but it seems to have worked. Not a fan of the extra container waste, but…

The crazy thing is the nutritional information.

180 calories, 4g fat, 600mg sodium, 20g carbs, 15g protein. That’s a winning combination right there.

The only drawback I see to this is I can imagine those of you who like a good wine sauce would want a big piece of crusty gluten-free bread to sop up the leftovers. That’d blow the Weight Watches PointsPlus Value of 4, I do believe. But I won’t tell if you don’t.

As I write this (April 2015), there are three Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers that are gluten-free. You can read more about them at http://www.healthychoice.com/products/cafe-steamers

RECOMMENDED.

Lean Cuisine Gluten Free Ranchero Braised Beef

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gluten free lean cuisine Ranchero Braised BeefWell, I was a little nervous about this one. I was so excited to see a gluten-free Lean Cuisine that I didn’t read the description very well. All I saw was braised beef served with a side of mashed sweet potatoes. I complete read over the spicy red chile sauce and the chipotle in the mashed taters. Oops.

When I opened it after cooking for 3 minutes in order to stir it (per the directions), it was hot as heck. The steam nearly burned my thumb. And, the fumes from the chiles in the meat’s sauce nearly burned my eyes. This wasn’t looking good.

The texture of the meat was actually pretty good. A little bit chewy, but mostly tender and moist. A couple of pieces did actually melt in my mouth. They do have it listed as prime rib in the ingredients, and I won’t argue that. The sauce, however, did set my mouth and lips ablaze. Please remember that I am freakishly sensitive to spicy food, so this probably won’t happen to you. The sweet potatoes were very light and fluffy. They did have a bit of a Southwest bite to them. I’m pretty sure it was the potatoes and not the meat because I took a big spoonful of Nutella in between to stop the burning. Yes, I’m a big sissy. Shut up.

For those of you who are normal and whose mouths won’t be set on fire by this, here are the nutritional details:

250 calories, 6g fat, 30mg cholesterol, 570mg sodium, 33g carbs, and 15g protein. Not bad.

So, there you have it.

I’m honestly torn on this one – for a microwave dinner, especially a gluten-free one – this is a winner. I just wish it didn’t start a frikkin fire in my mouth. Otherwise, you’d see me filling my freezer with them. This is definitely worth trying – especially for $2.00. That’s just insane. Hopefully Lean Cuisine will come out with some more gluten-free dinners.

RECOMMENDED

EATING RIGHT Gluten Free Mac & Cheese

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eating right gluten free mac and cheese IMG_20150312_193400931Okay, I’m not really sure how I feel about Eating Right’s Gluten Free Mac & Cheese. The consistency of the pasta is very good. The cheesy flavor is pretty good. It’s the consistency of that cheese sauce I’m just not sure about. It’s not really all that smooth. It’s sort of “particle-ish” in a sense that it’s not gritty, but you can feel the particles in your mouth. Maybe it’s my microwave, or maybe the ingredients separated somehow. I don’t know. But I’m not a big fan of it.

Maybe I got my hopes too high because I’ve had really good luck with the Eating Right Gluten Free series. But not this time. In any case, here are the nutritional statistics:

380 calories / 16g fat / 50mg cholesterol / 860mg sodium / 47g carbs / 12g protein

It costs $2.99 (regular price) at my local Safeway.

Considering the consistency issue and the heavy duty not-so-healthiness of it, I’ll pass on this next time. I only tried it so I could report back to you-all. Yeesh, I took one for the team. You’re welcome.

Easy Gluten-Free Onion Dip Recipe

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GF onion dip ingredients IMG_2481 This simple, quick, and easy gluten-free onion dip recipe is a great way to ensure that you will have something safe to eat at pot luck parties, office events, etc. The only catch is – make sure to throw it together the night before. It really needs to sit overnight so the onion flavor can permeate.

Remember those extra onions we sauteed? Grab those, your favorite plain yogurt, and your Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. That is a gluten-free staple in my house! There’s really no “recipe”here – the quantities all depend upon your personal taste. Want it with more bite? Use more Lea & Perrins. Want it more oniony? You know what I’m getting at.

Mix it in a nice container, let it sit overnight, stir, and boom – you’ve got a great tasting, healthy, and gluten-free onion dip. Serve with your favorite gluten-free dipping chips.

GF onion dip IMG_2484