LARABAR Cashew Cookie Bar

Posted in Food/Cooking, Travel by ksbrooks

In my attempt to eat healthier, I decided to have a LARABAR Cashew Cookie bar instead of a serving of delicious tortilla chips. I wanted something not too sweet, and I figured the saltiness of cashews would do the trick. Eh. The consistency was decent – not the nasty sports bar consistency by any means. The flavor was extremely mild. Occasionally I would get a hint of cashews or dates, but otherwise, it was just a sort of bland but not unpleasant fruitish flavor. Interestingly, there are ONLY two ingredients in this LARABAR: non-gmo cashews and dates. I lucked out and got this on sale for 99 cents.

A bit higher in calories and fat than the tortillas, I hoped it would curb my in-between-meal snacking needs. I’ll let you know how that goes in about 20 minutes. 😉 Here are the stats:

230 calories; 13g fat; 23g carbs; 6g protein; only 5mg of sodium; 10% daily requirement of iron; and other stuff.

What I really like about some LARABARs is that not only are they gluten free, but they are also soy free. I am not a fan of soy. If you are looking for a something to take with you on a plane or hiking or what-have-you, especially if you can find it for 99 cents, I recommend this LARABAR for convenient on-the-go snacking.

More at www.larabar.com.

11Nov2014

All But Gluten Chocolate Snack Cakes

Posted in Dessert, Snacks by ksbrooks

I have seen the face of evil and I live to tell the tale. These All But Gluten Chocolate Snack Cakes are probably the “falling apart” equivalent of RingDings. (I mean, come on, we all know that GLUten means glue. So gluten-free stuff falls apart. A bit. Who cares as long as the consistency is good and it tastes awesome, right?) And my oh my are they good. Like evil good. Like no self control good.

Okay, I don’t normally eat this kind of thing, so maybe that is swaying my opinion here. I was in Safeway in Spokane and I had just bought like 100 cookies to thank the guys at Staples for fixing my computer and I was feeling like the kid who didn’t get picked to play on a team. So when I saw these, I was like “oh hell yeah.” (I know, you didn’t need to know all that, but…)

I thought they were a little light on the cream filling and the cake was just a little on the dry side, but no worries, I am like MacGuyver with Cool Whip. What a treat for dessert or in between meal snacks or like in place of a meal or for breakfast or… Oops, sorry.

You can read more about these naughty puppies (including nutritional information) here: http://allbutgluten.com/products/all-but-gluten-chocolate-snack-cakes

Highly recommended.

21Oct2014

Kozy Shack Simply Well Naturally Flavored Puddings

Posted in Dessert, Food/Cooking, Health, Snacks by ksbrooks

There’s a lot of cheap junk food out there…and there’s a lot of expensive health food out there as well. So finding something healthy that tastes good at a decent price…and then adding gluten-free to the mix is an accomplishment!

Kozy Shack Simply Well puddings are naturally flavored, and state gluten-free not only on the outer packaging, but on each individual serving cup as well. They contain 3 grams of prebiotic fiber per serving, are made will real milk, are a good source of antioxidant vitamin E, calcium and vitamin D, and have no hydrogenated oils or preservatives.

Healthy Pudding? Yes, pudding…you know, like dessert? Yet each cup has only 100 calories and as little as 1 gram of fat, depending on the flavor. Speaking of flavor…they taste great. I tried the lemon ginger; don’t let the name discourage you – it is not biting or tangy. It is a light, mildly sweet, lemony treat, with an occasional tiny hint of ginger. The consistency is smooth like custard. It is great as an in-between meal snack.

The dark chocolate flavor is less sweet, and a little less smooth than the lemon. It is a little heavier consistency-wise, and more resembles the flavor of a chocolate mousse than a pudding. I would love to add some whipped cream on it for a really delectable dessert. However, it doesn’t need the topping to be delicious.

All good things come at a price; I purchased these treats on sale for three dollars per four-pack, which translates to 75 cents a cup – for a yummy, healthy, gluten-free treat. There are five flavors in all.

Simply Well Naturally Flavored Pudding by Kozy Shack can be found in your grocer’s refrigerated dairy section. For more information about Kozy Shack, go to their official website. All Kozy Shack puddings, flans and gels are gluten-free.

This article originally appeared on Celiac-Disease.com on March 10, 2010 at http://celiac-disease.com/kozy-shack-simply-well-naturally-flavored-puddings/ Flavors and prices may have changed since that date.

9Oct2014

Gluten Free LUNA High Protein Bar

Posted in Food/Cooking by ksbrooks

IMG_5664 luna bar comp One word: yuck. Sorry, LUNA, I am a supporter, but I couldn’t stand this.

The first thing that assaulted my senses was the taste/smell of alcohol on the very first bite. Then there was a weird saltiness. The only reason I was able to finish the bar was because I drowned it in Cool Whip (which I then proceeded to eat directly out of the container to get the LUNA taste out of my mouth. I’ll let you decide whether I’m joking about that or not).

The flavor was supposed to be Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The only other two flavors available (in the store) contained peanut butter, and I’m not a fan of that. I’m also not a fan of soy-based protein, which is the foundation for this bar. It didn’t occur to me to check the ingredients in the store – I just saw GLUTEN FREE and the 99 cent special price and dove in. Yes, I’m a big dummy.

This LUNA bar is 170 calories, 6g of fat, 12g of protein, and contains decent amounts of calcium, Vitamin D, iron, and other stuff. Oddly, there was no chocolate liqueur which a lot of these bars use for flavor.

It turns out that they have a bunch of other flavors, too. You can check those out at http://www.lunabar.com/products/luna-protein Maybe those flavors are better. I don’t know. I do know that I’m not going to find out.

IMG_5665 luna bar

26Aug2014

Nature Valley GLUTEN FREE Roasted Nut Crunch Bars

Posted in Food/Cooking by ksbrooks

Nature Valley Gluten Free Roasted Nut Cruch Bars

Nature Valley, check out this photo. You can’t get much more naturey than this. You want to hire me, yes?

Can you believe it? FINALLY, a healthy snack bar for gluten-free folks that doesn’t taste or look like a turd. And, from a mainstream brand name, no less. Well, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I found this nugget in Safeway. Normally $3.89, with my card, the price was $2.99. No offense, Safeway – don’t get me wrong, I love you for all the gluten-free food you’re now offering – but I’d bet money you could normally find these for $2.99 in larger stores. Just sayin’. And, at $2.99, it’s competitively priced with the KIND bars I’ll be reviewing at a later time.

Each 1.2 ounce bar (there are six in a box) has 190 calories, 13 grams of fat, 13g carbs, and 6g protein. 0mg of cholesterol is always nice, too.

What’s in them? Almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds and some stuff to make them stick together.

How do they taste? Before I answer this, I must issue a warning. If you have sensitive teeth or dentures, this product may not be for you. It is hard. As a rock. As a granite rock. When they say Roasted Nut Crunch, they really mean the crunch part. That being said, they taste good. Like almond and nut brittle. Not overly sweet – the nutty flavor is definitely the main focus.

You know what else I liked about these? Hardly ever do you see a product that looks EXACTLY like it does on the outside of the box. This does. Silly? Maybe. But it gives me confidence to know that they didn’t have to doctor up the packaging to entice you.

Highly recommended, especially for vampires, werewolves, and other creatures with strong teeth.

Enjoy!

13Jan2010

Feeling Kind of ‘Nutty…Franz Macaroons

Posted in Food/Cooking, Health by ksbrooks

I was in the grocery store on the hunt for a Gluten-Free nosh. I was out of my usual stash of snacks, and wanted something satisfying. Trying to stay gluten-free makes that next to impossible, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. The words ‘satisfying’ and ‘gluten-free’ are seldom used to describe the same item.

Curiously, Franz Macaroon Cookies jumped out at me. I checked the package, and the ingredients: Dessicated Coconut, Sugar, Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Potato Starch, Dextrose, Egg Whites, Artificial Flavor, Soy Lecithin (Soybean), Nonfat Milk. Those ingredients certainly didn’t seem dangerous to me, so I decided to purchase the package and check the Franz web site to see if I could get further information about the gluten content.

Their web site, www.usbakery.com did not have the answers I sought, however, a spokesperson for Franz Family Bakeries did reply to my inquiry with incredible speed: “These cookies are produced in a bakery with other cookies that do contain gluten and on shared equipment. We do have an allergen washout between production of the other varieties and the macaroon cookies, but there is never a 100% guarantee that there is no gluten present. At this point, we don’t make the claim that they are gluten free.”

I do not believe I am as sensitive as most people to gluten, so I dug right in. They are chewy, loaded with coconut, moist, tasty and sweet. They are, in fact, satisfying when that quick snack urge rears its ugly head. There are none of the tell-tale drawbacks that normally accompany gluten-free cookies like dryness or grittiness. These are like the macaroons I enjoyed during my childhood.

Franz’ slogan on the package reads “The Good Cookie.” And their macaroons certainly are good!

Franz is the largest family-owned independent bakery on the West Coast. Their products are available primarily in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, please visit their web site www.usbakery.com