Thursday, May 23, 2013
Back Soon!
Sorry for the lack of reviews! I've been super busy and will be leaving tomorrow for my sister's wedding so nothing new will be posted up yet! Things are going to wind down shortly after and I will post a lot more reviews of products that I have received/purchased. Some of the foods include Crunch Master, Go Raw, Larabar Alt, more Udi's breads and even a random Aldi find that I was excited to discover yesterday! I'm excited for everything that will be posted soon :)
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Quick Review: Lucy's Maple Bliss Gluten Free Cookies
I'm not much of a cookie/sweets person but I'm a big fan of things that are maple flavored. While walking through Whole Foods Market I came across Lucy's Gluten Free Cookies and saw they were on sale for $3.50 so I quickly snatched up the maple bliss flavor. Lucy's Gluten Free Cookies are gluten free (obviously), vegan, kosher pareve, allergy friendly and contain 0 trans fats and cholesterol. Each package contains 15 cookies which is good amount for the price and the size of the cookie.
The ingredients list is pretty good considering these are gluten free cookies and I love that it contains real maple syrup and not just flavoring. I'm also really happy to see Non-GMO corn and organic soy milk/soy beans. The nutrition is good and doesn't have too many calories or sugar per serving if you can stop at one serving ;)
These cookies get two thumbs up from me. They are crunchy, sweet with a hint of saltiness and delicious! I prefer soft chewy cookies but these were actually really good and I didn't mind the crunch. It has a sweet/salty combo going that I love and makes it super addicting! Overall I would highly recommend you buy these. Besides the maple bliss flavor, there is also chocolate chip, ginger snap, chocolate, cinnamon thin, oatmeal and sugar cookie.
The ingredients list is pretty good considering these are gluten free cookies and I love that it contains real maple syrup and not just flavoring. I'm also really happy to see Non-GMO corn and organic soy milk/soy beans. The nutrition is good and doesn't have too many calories or sugar per serving if you can stop at one serving ;)
These cookies get two thumbs up from me. They are crunchy, sweet with a hint of saltiness and delicious! I prefer soft chewy cookies but these were actually really good and I didn't mind the crunch. It has a sweet/salty combo going that I love and makes it super addicting! Overall I would highly recommend you buy these. Besides the maple bliss flavor, there is also chocolate chip, ginger snap, chocolate, cinnamon thin, oatmeal and sugar cookie.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Review: Part 2 Udi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, Cranberry Granola and Classic Hamburger Buns
If you haven't seen part 1 of my Udi's Review, you can click here. After contacting Udi's about sending me some products to review they generously sent me a box of goodies with their millet chia bread, cranberry granola, cinnamon raisin bagels and classic hamburger buns. I was really excited to see bagels since I haven't eaten one in forever! It was one of my favorite breakfasts to eat before going gluten free especially buying them at a local bagel place that made the best bagels I have ever tasted. The next morning I toasted half a bagel and spread some Earth Balance Buttery Spread on it since I'm also dairy free. The flavor of it was great but the texture wasn't the same as a wheat bagel which I was expecting. It doesn't have the same amount of chewiness like a wheat bagel does and tasted more like a heartier bread. Udi's Cinnamon Raisin Bagels are dairy, soy and nut free and while some
of the ingredients aren't the greatest it's expected in gluten free
bread products. Some people may complain that there are too many calories in it but it's a bagel! Bagels have a lot of calories and I was satisfied with just eating half of one. Overall I would recommend buying Udi's Gluten Free bagels but don't have high expectations of it tasting exactly like a wheat bagel. Besides cinnamon raisin they also have whole grain, plain, everything inside and mighty bagels.
The next thing I tried was the cranberry granola. In the process of cleaning up my diet I discovered granola. Surprisingly prior to getting sick I have never eaten it except for the tiny speck they put in parfaits in those super processed sugary yogurts. Before making my own I bought a bag of one but it tasted way too sweet for me and after that experience I decided to look up recipes to make my own granola instead. When I realized how good it tasted and how easy it was to make I went granola crazy! Pumpkin, cinnamon raisin, vanilla almond, maple granola and so on! Remembering my first and last experience with store bought granola I had low expectations of how this one would taste. I ate it by itself as a snack and was surprised at how subtly sweet it is. It was perfectly crunchy and had small bits of walnuts in it as well. The only thing I didn't like were the texture of the cranberries, they were a bit hard and stuck to my teeth. The ingredients list is great and the nutrition is better than most store bought granola. It is also soy, nut and dairy free. Overall I probably wouldn't purchase this myself since I make my own and wouldn't recommend this exact flavor of Udi's granola but they also have other flavors that look really good such as their au naturel, vanilla, original, omega 3 cherry walnut granola clusters and antioxidant blueberry cashew granola clusters (this one sounds especially good!).
Lastly to go with the classic hamburger buns I made my favorite turkey burger recipe that I changed around to make it gluten free. I love to toast my hamburger buns so I took it straight from the freezer to my toaster oven. After taking my first bite I was very impressed by how soft and fluffy it was on the inside and how it tasted exactly like a regular hamburger bun. Udi's classic hamburger buns are dairy, soy and nut free as well. As I've said before there are some ingredients in it that aren't the greatest but gluten free breads need that extra support to make it taste good and have a better texture. Compared to a regular white hamburger bun it does have more calories but unless you're eating a burger every single day I wouldn't worry about it and I was surprised to see it had 4 grams of fiber which is a major plus. Overall I would highly recommend Udi's Classic Hamburger Buns and I will be buying these again in the future for all that grilling coming up in the summer! Besides their classic buns they also have a whole grain version. This completes my Udi's Gluten Free Review and a big thank you to them again for sending me all these goodies to review on my blog!
*I did not pay for this product and it was sent to me for review purposes. This review is strictly my opinion and I was not paid or influenced in any way.
The next thing I tried was the cranberry granola. In the process of cleaning up my diet I discovered granola. Surprisingly prior to getting sick I have never eaten it except for the tiny speck they put in parfaits in those super processed sugary yogurts. Before making my own I bought a bag of one but it tasted way too sweet for me and after that experience I decided to look up recipes to make my own granola instead. When I realized how good it tasted and how easy it was to make I went granola crazy! Pumpkin, cinnamon raisin, vanilla almond, maple granola and so on! Remembering my first and last experience with store bought granola I had low expectations of how this one would taste. I ate it by itself as a snack and was surprised at how subtly sweet it is. It was perfectly crunchy and had small bits of walnuts in it as well. The only thing I didn't like were the texture of the cranberries, they were a bit hard and stuck to my teeth. The ingredients list is great and the nutrition is better than most store bought granola. It is also soy, nut and dairy free. Overall I probably wouldn't purchase this myself since I make my own and wouldn't recommend this exact flavor of Udi's granola but they also have other flavors that look really good such as their au naturel, vanilla, original, omega 3 cherry walnut granola clusters and antioxidant blueberry cashew granola clusters (this one sounds especially good!).
Lastly to go with the classic hamburger buns I made my favorite turkey burger recipe that I changed around to make it gluten free. I love to toast my hamburger buns so I took it straight from the freezer to my toaster oven. After taking my first bite I was very impressed by how soft and fluffy it was on the inside and how it tasted exactly like a regular hamburger bun. Udi's classic hamburger buns are dairy, soy and nut free as well. As I've said before there are some ingredients in it that aren't the greatest but gluten free breads need that extra support to make it taste good and have a better texture. Compared to a regular white hamburger bun it does have more calories but unless you're eating a burger every single day I wouldn't worry about it and I was surprised to see it had 4 grams of fiber which is a major plus. Overall I would highly recommend Udi's Classic Hamburger Buns and I will be buying these again in the future for all that grilling coming up in the summer! Besides their classic buns they also have a whole grain version. This completes my Udi's Gluten Free Review and a big thank you to them again for sending me all these goodies to review on my blog!
*I did not pay for this product and it was sent to me for review purposes. This review is strictly my opinion and I was not paid or influenced in any way.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Review: Better Batter All Purpose Flour
I have always enjoyed baking and when I started this gluten free diet I took it as a personal challenge to bake gluten free foods that actually tastes good. I had a lot of duds and quickly found out gluten free baking is hard. I searched online for recipes for gluten free flour blends but it quickly became overwhelming. Rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, coconut flour, almond flour, tapioca flour and so on. After looking at all these recipes I decided it was best to buy an all purpose flour mix even though it does cost more and I began to research which ones got the best reviews. Eventually I found Better Batter flour and with my first order discount on vitacost.com I decided to try it. I ordered the 20 oz box for $7.29.
Better Batter flour is a mix of rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, potato flour, xanthan gum and pectin. It is vegetarian/vegan, OU Kosher and acceptable for Feingold I and II. What attracted me most to Better Batter is that it states cup for cup substitute for regular flour for most recipes. Once it arrived the first thing I baked with it were soft pretzel bites from a recipe that I found on the Better Batter website. I also baked mini pumpkin muffins and vanilla bean biscotti.
The soft pretzels tasted good but you could definitely they were gluten free. The mini pumpkin muffins tasted great but again you could tell they were gluten free, however I think the gluten free flour worked in it's favor making the muffin's texture soft and fluffy. The winner was using the Better Batter flour in the vanilla bean biscotti, it did not taste gluten free whatsoever and actually baked better than when I use to make this recipe using regular flour. Even though this flour is on the expensive side I would buy it again and use it for baking recipes but probably not for savory types of breads. The pros to this flour would be the texture it gives baked goods and it truly is a cup for cup substitute in recipes. The muffin and biscotti recipe I used were not a gluten free recipe and I substituted the regular flour with no problems. The cons would be the price, a 5 lb bag of flour costs $21.95 so I wouldn't do too much experimenting with this flour since it would get costly. Overall I would highly recommend buying this flour and trying it in sweeter recipes such as cookies, scones and muffins.
The soft pretzels tasted good but you could definitely they were gluten free. The mini pumpkin muffins tasted great but again you could tell they were gluten free, however I think the gluten free flour worked in it's favor making the muffin's texture soft and fluffy. The winner was using the Better Batter flour in the vanilla bean biscotti, it did not taste gluten free whatsoever and actually baked better than when I use to make this recipe using regular flour. Even though this flour is on the expensive side I would buy it again and use it for baking recipes but probably not for savory types of breads. The pros to this flour would be the texture it gives baked goods and it truly is a cup for cup substitute in recipes. The muffin and biscotti recipe I used were not a gluten free recipe and I substituted the regular flour with no problems. The cons would be the price, a 5 lb bag of flour costs $21.95 so I wouldn't do too much experimenting with this flour since it would get costly. Overall I would highly recommend buying this flour and trying it in sweeter recipes such as cookies, scones and muffins.
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