Tag Archives: gluten-free

Great Value Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar Cheese Mix

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Great Value gluten free mac and cheese Remember the happy-happy joy-joy feeling you got from eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? Remember that feeling going bye-bye when you went gluten-free? Well, you can get that feeling back – believe it or not – courtesy of Wal-Mart.

Not kidding.

I’ve tried other gluten-free Mac & Cheese out-of-the-box mixes and they have been just awful. So when this turned out to be good – I was shocked AND happy. Happy-happy joy-joy, even.

Boil 6 cups of water and add their rice pasta. They say on the box 10-12 minutes, and that’s exactly what it was. No “it says 10 minutes but they mean 40” deal. While the pasta’s draining, mix 1/4 cup of milk with an optional 2 tbsp of butter, and then add the powdered cheese sauce mix.

There really weren’t any ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce, and I did not see any soy.

One package contains 2.5 servings of fluorescent orange, cheesy heaven. 260 calories, a boatload of carbs, 460 mg of sodium, and 6 g protein (I wasn’t sure if that included the milk).

Head on over to Wal-Mart and get yourself some of this in their gluten-free section.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for an unhealthy mac & cheese fix. 🙂

Lobster Classic Chunk Style by Trans-Ocean

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IMG_0471 lobster 1Over three years ago, I wrote about Crab Classic Chunk Style by Trans-Ocean. That’s still available, and I’m still buying it. You can usually get a package at Wal-Mart for $2.50 each. And, there are about two servings per 8 ounce package which makes it pretty affordable.

What I recently discovered was that I could get the Lobster version for the same price. Again, like the crab, this product does not claim to be gluten-free. There is no gluten added, however, unlike the flake and leg styles. Those actually say “contains wheat” in the allergens. MAKE CERTAIN you do not buy those styles if you have a gluten or wheat allergy. It’s easy to confuse them as they all look nearly identical.

I prepare the lobster the same way as I do the crab – chop up some celery, add some mayonnaise (I use canola-based mayo), and instead of just stirring, I use a fork and a knife to break it up into smaller chunks. Then I serve it over salad for a healthy, cool, summertime meal. No salad dressing needed. Great for lunch or dinner.

From their website: “Lobster Classic is a premium blend of wild caught, sustainable Alaska Pollock and real lobster meat. The product has a unique, chunky texture and crisp flavor profile that is unlike other surimi seafoods. Use Lobster Classic for delicious lobster salads, hot casseroles and as a dip style appetizer with cocktail sauce. Certified by the American Heart Association, Lobster Classic is low in fat and cholesterol. It is also a source of Omega-3 EPA and DHA, providing 100mg per 3 oz. serving. It’s fully cooked, making it easy to enjoy seafood while helping build a healthy heart at the same time.”

It’s nice to eat something that tastes good that’s good for you. For more information on this product, go to http://www.trans-ocean.com/lc_chunkstyle.html

IMG_0478

Lazy Gluten-Free Chicken Casserole

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lazy gluten free casserole IMG_5012web

Little effort; lots of yumminess.

Sometimes you just want something hearty, you know? Something like chicken pot pie, but way less complicated. Well, have I got the recipe for you. Fast, easy, and with food that’s already cooked. I just threw this together sort of capriciously, and certainly did not expect this to taste so good. I’m going to try to recreate it below – but you can’t really go wrong no matter how you do this. Add vegetables if you want. I think celery and onion might be good additions without overpowering the flavor too much.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded or broken up  (or parts of your choice)
  • 2 cups g/f cornbread, loosely crumbled (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1 cup cooked white rice
  • 1 container g/f chicken broth or stock (I used Costco’s brand)
  • Italian-style shredded cheese for garnish (mozzarella, Parmesan, etc. blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first three ingredients in 9×9 glass baking dish (I’m sure metal is fine, I used Pyrex). Mix well, with hands. Do not flatten or compact. Pour chicken broth just until you can see it come to the top of the mixture. Sprinkle a thin layer of the cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Turn oven up to 400. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is browning on top. SERVES 4.

The rice and cornbread should have absorbed almost all the chicken broth, making them moist and fluffy. This is hot, hearty comfort food that can be tweaked to your preferred level of moistness. Leftovers can easily be reheated in a bowl – fill bowl with the amount you want, then pour any leftover chicken broth in. Microwave for about 2 minutes on 70%, stir, then an addition 30 – 60 seconds on high for one bowl. It should absorb the additional chicken broth as it sits.

As I said, this recipe was an accident, and was not measured. You may have to experiment a little to get the combination of broth/food that works best for your taste. However – the flavor is just awesome. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Dining at the Ninety Nine

Posted in Food/Cooking, Health, Travel by

2-5-11

RESTAURANT:
Ninety Nine Restaurant
149 So. Broadway
Salem, NH 03079
http://www.99restaurants.com/

Well this was a fun evening.  I hadn’t been to a 99 Restaurant in a very long time, and I’ll be honest with you, I was expecting it to be mediocre.  We picked the restaurant because of its convenient proximity to Route 93 in Salem, NH. I didn’t realize at the time that the “Nines” even had a gluten-free menu – one of my friends who met us there told me.  You can see the gluten-free menu on their website – the link is above.

To start, our waitress Connie was patient and gracious over the fact that our party arrived in spurts.  Then, when I asked for a gluten-free menu, she was very responsive.  That always gives me a good feeling.  (On the bill, it even says “allergy alert” next to my meal.) 

The food was served hot and in a timely manner.  And it was really good.  My 16 ounce sirloin tips were marinated and perfectly cooked until they were tender and delicious.  They came with excellent mashed potatoes and broccoli for only $11.99.  There was so much food I couldn’t eat it all.

Everyone at the table enjoyed their food, and Connie was even nice enough to take a photo of our group.   Well done, 99!

Crab Classic Chunk Style by Trans-Ocean

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Lunch is the most annoying meal of the day for me.  With the horrible selection of gluten-free breads, sandwiches are not an option.

Seafood salad is also normally not an option as most of the imitation crab products contain wheat.  So, I was glad to discover Crab Classic Chunk Style surimi seafood.  Because it doesn’t say gluten-free on the product, I contacted Trans-Ocean, and their consumer service department replied immediately with this:

“We do not add any gluten containing ingredients to the Lobster Classic Chunk or Crab Classic Chunk formulas.  However, we do not certify these products to be gluten free.  Certification requires specially designed lines which we do not have.  We take all reasonable precautions to avoid cross contamination however we can not eliminate all risk.”

Since I am not that sensitive, that response was good enough for me.  I mixed some canola mayonnaise, light sour cream, chopped celery and a little bit of relish with the Crab Classic to make a delicious seafood salad for lunch.

So, if you are interested in something different for lunch, give Crab Classic a try.  More information on the product, including ingredients is available at:  http://www.trans-ocean.com/cc_chunkstyle.html

Namaste Foods Gluten-Free Baking Mixes

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Howdy all,

Sorry I’ve been scarce.  I’ve been writing articles for Celiac-Disease.com.  If you are looking for product suggestions and/or reviews, that site is extremely thorough.

Meanwhile, I’ve tried the Brownie Mix and Spice Cake Mix by Namaste Foods.  They are awesome:  moist, rich, and great flavor.  I didn’t even think the Spice Cake needed the gluten-free cream cheese icing I made.   Check out their website at www.namastefoods.com

That’s my tip for today…eat well!

Feeling Kind of ‘Nutty…Franz Macaroons

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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

©  K. S. Brooks – Gluten-Free Gusto

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownies

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Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownies Part One:  The Social Dilemma

Ever have a shock that just messes you up?  That happened to me last Wednesday while I was shopping at Wal-Mart.  I was in the baking mix aisle looking for the Jiffy Cornbread Mix for my gluten-mongering spouse when my sight unintentionally fell on something completely unexpected:  Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownies.

Say what?  Damn straight.  You heard me right.  I did a double-take.  I stood frozen in the aisle behind my cart.  No frikkin way…really?  Gluten-free brownies by…Betty Crocker?  I had to have read it wrong.  So I touched the box to make sure it was real.  It was, indeed.  $3.79 was the price.  I don’t tend to bake gluten-free brownies, but I had to try this out, so I gingerly placed it in the cart.

It was time to go to produce, but I still couldn’t move.  What exactly did this mean?  As mainstream as Betty Crocker, and as universal as Wal-Mart:  were Celiacs finally getting the service we have been asking for?  Or are the numbers of gluten-intolerant people becoming so staggering that a conglomeration as large as Betty Crocker saw a profit potential there?  Part of me was incredulous on a happy level, while another part of me was stunned by the possible gravity of it.

Then I started to feel a little badly for the companies who have supported Celiacs all along, producing gluten-free cooking mixes because they cared.  And now, here was Betty Crocker, jumping on the band wagon, getting prime real estate at Wal-Mart, and selling the mix for only $3.79 (compared to $5.00 and more for other brands).  How are the little companies who have supported folks suffering from gluten-intolerance going to compete with this?  What about Pamela’s, and Bob’s Red Mill, and all the other “little guys”?  These companies started producing gluten-free foods long ago.  How will they compete…and survive?

So, I will try one batch of these Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownies in order to review them.  I understand that many people do not have access to small health food stores which carry gluten-free products, or the internet, but do have a Wal-Mart in their town.  But my heart will be with the little guys who were there for me when I was first diagnosed and didn’t know what to do. 

Stay tuned for Part Two…The Product Review!

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownies Part Two:  The Review

Okay, it was time to try out the Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie Mix.  Part of me was reluctant, as I mentioned in Part One, because if this mix turned out to be good, that meant trouble for the “little guys” like Pamela’s and Bob’s Red Mill.  And since I have been eating more healthily with less gooey sweets, brownies were really not on my diet.  But the box had been sitting on the counter, staring at me, daring me to try it despite the horrendous stove in my apartment.  I accepted the challenge.

The directions are incredibly easy.  The mix requires only eggs and melted butter.  Betty Crocker’s web site even offers butter-free directions for non-dairy diets.  The directions state that the “batter will be thick.”  That is an understatement.  They offer three different size pans; don’t even THINK about doing anything larger than the smallest:  the 8×8 pan.  It is so thick and elastic-like that you couldn’t spread it any farther if you had to.  I’m not kidding.

31 minutes later, I pulled my little square pan of brownies from the oven.  I let them cool most of the way, then tasted a sample.  Honestly, I have to say, these brownies were incredible.  Thick, rich, moist, chocolately, and I really couldn’t tell that they were gluten-free.  There was no grittiness whatsoever.  They were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  I covered and refrigerated them, and they lasted for about a week between myself and my gluten-mongering spouse.  He actually found them to be a little too rich for his taste.  I did notice that I would cut 1 inch squares for a quick snack and that would more than fulfill any food or chocolate craving.  After being refrigerated for a few days, they did become somewhat fudge-like and if you don’t seal them tightly (as it instructs to right on the box), they will get pretty crispy/stale.

The three plusses are there:  inexpensive (compared to other gluten-free brownie mixes), easy to prepare, and delicious.

So, that is my verdict:  Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Brownie Mix is a winner. 

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie Mix

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie Mix

http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free/gluten-free.htm

© 2009 K. S. Brooks / Gluten-Free Gusto

White Box Pies Bakery and Café Review

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I have two favorite food places in the world:  Lou’s Café on West 52nd Street in New York City, and White Box Pies Bakery and Café in Spokane, Washington.

What constitutes a favorite food place?  Quality of food, knowledge-level and courteousness of the staff, cleanliness and price should all be considerations.  But a favorite food place, just as any favorite anything, should give a person a feeling of comfort and pleasure.  Both restaurants provide those.  However, White Box also provides gluten-free meals and desserts. 

Only a person with food allergies can fully appreciate feeling “safe” in an eatery.  White Box is one of those safe places; everyone on staff knows about gluten.  You won’t find a couple of uninformed, not to mention uncaring, teeny-boppers behind the counter huffing at you when you ask for gluten-free. The staff at White Box is always happy to answer any questions about their creations.

Take feeling safe and add to it amazingly delicious desserts, many of which non-allergic people did not realize were gluten-free, and you’ve got a winning combination.  Cream pies, sugar cookies, brownies, pineapple coconut cake, cheesecakes, chocolate pecan cake, hazelnut cake, cream puffs…and the list goes on.  They are all heavenly.

But that’s not all!  White Box also features gluten-free sandwiches, soups, salads, quiches, and my favorite:  pot pies.  You can eat in or take out, and all these foods are reasonably priced.

Not only is the staff at White Box knowledgeable about gluten-free foods, they are friendly, courteous and all around nice.  It’s a small, family-run business and you can tell they take pride in everything they do.  The ambiance is bright and cheery, with the hum of satisfied patrons at their café-style tables.  And their bathrooms are super clean, too.

Not a Celiac?  Don’t worry, there are plenty of goodies at White Box for you as well.  Pretty much everything they make gluten-free is also available for wheat-eaters.

To top it off, their foods travel and store well.  I am always freezing their cakes and slicing off bits and pieces for snacks or dessert. 

The only problem with White Box Bakery and Café foods is that they are so good, that I usually take a bite out of them before I can get a photo.  When I ate lunch there last week, I did it again; I dove right into the bacon broccoli cheddar quiche without thinking!

And it was during that lunch last Wednesday that I sat at a table in the Café, savoring the piping hot piece of quiche, that the feeling of safety, comfort and pleasure came over me.  I realized I was in a favorite food place.  White Box Bakery and Café is truly one in a million.  Try it out and see if it doesn’t become one of your favorite food places, too.  You can find them at the corner of East Sharp Avenue and Ruby, Spokane, Washington, or on the web at http://www.whiteboxpiesbakery.com.  Check their site for coupons and specials. 

 © 2009  K. S. Brooks