Gluten Free Food Reviews

This ‘Cause You’re Special! gluten free pizza crust mix runs around $5.89 from my local natural foods store in my town. I was really wanting a good pizza and was hoping this would be what I was looking for. The mix made a 12 inch pizza with a medium to thin crust.

The crust itself is easy to prepare. It mixed up with no problems and patted it out into a nice crust with minimal stickiness and mess onto my pizza stone. I used gluten free cornmeal as a base under the crust, as suggested on the package. For my inaugural run, I stuck with a simple cheese pizza with homemade basil marinara sauce.

The final product provided a nice and chewy crust with hints of crispiness on the edges. The crust itself was mild in flavor and could easily handle the addition of herbs, cheese and spices to give the pizza a better flavor. The crust help up well under the sauce, with only the smallest hints of sogginess, but maybe that is because I ate it too fast! Overall, a decent product!

Pros: easy prep, nice flavor & texture

Cons: a bit pricey for one pizza crust, slight sogginess in the center of the pizza

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Where Can I Buy This Pizza Crust?

Cause You’re Special Famous Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Mix from GlutenFreeMall.com

I really liked this brand’s Lemon Poppyseed mix, so I thought I’d give the brownies a try. At $6.89 to make a 8×8 pan, I hoped I wouldn’t be wasting my money.

The brownies mixed up very thick, and it was a bit difficult to spread evenly. The mixture seemed a bit grainy, but smelled wonderful. After baking, I tried a small square and wasn’t impressed- the texture was still grainy & gritty and had the distinct rice flour taste that I am not too crazy about. (insert disappointing sigh here). However, I let the brownies sit for 24 hours and tried them again cold. I couldn’t believe they were the same! They were still a bit grainy but now tasted fudgy and chewy with a mild sweet flavor, more of the traditional brownie experience I was hoping for. So, let these sit a while before indulging- you’ll be glad you waited.

Pros: great chocolate flavor

Cons: grainy, “rice”taste to them, cool completely before serving for best taste

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Want to try these brownies? Click the link below:

Cause You’re Special Chocolate Fudge Gluten-Free Brownie Mix from GlutenFreeMall.com

Ingredients: Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa, Rice Flour, Corn Starch, Tapioca Starch, Xanthan Gum, and Salt.

OOO, do I ever love this mix! This is a great pancake and baking mix, hands down. This product can be purchase anywhere from $6.29- $7.19 in my area, and even cheaper online via Amazon. The blend of brown, sweet rice & white rice flour and almond meal give this mix an unparalleled leg up on the others.

First and foremost, it makes the yummiest pancakes ever: These pancakes are light and flavorful, with no sticking to the roof of your mouth like some of the rice-flour based competitors. The mix blends easily with a whisk and pours easily onto a hot griddle. If you add a bit more oil, the edges turn out a bit crispier than usual, if you wish. I would highly suggest eating these pancakes immediately. I found out that is you keep them warmed on a plate they tend to get a bit soggy and squishy. They are so good, why wait, anyway?

The package features yummy recipes for pancakes, waffles, cookies and muffins, with more recipes on the Pamela’s website. The chocolate chip cookie recipe is one of my favorites- my gluten-consuming friends just LOVE them. I also use this mix to make pumpkin and other sweet breads with fantastic results. This really is a wonderful all purpose mix.

Pros: Great basic mix for most of your baking needs

Cons: A bit pricey unless purchased in bulk.

Rating: 5 stars

Where Can I Buy This Mix? Click the link below:

INGREDIENTS: Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Cultured Buttermilk, Natural Almond Meal, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Grainless & Aluminum-free Baking Powder (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, potato starch); Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum

Photos of the packaging and foods & more reviews coming this week! I will include “real” photos of ALL of the products so you can see them for yourself- unlike other sites that use professional pics to try and sell you on the product. Until then, browse the reviews, include your own comments, check out some of the links, and enjoy!

This Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix comes in a hefty 28 ounce box. My sister actually picked this up for me, and I couldn’t wait to try it out.

This mix is a blend of organic whole grain brown rice flour, potato and tapioca starch and fava bean flour with gluten free baking powder already blended in. The mix itself looks slightly speckled and is moderately dense and heavy. I would compare it to a Bisquick type mix regarding consistency.

I used this flour to make my favorite pumpkin bread- a “regular” recipe. I just substituted this mix for the flour and baking powder. I was really happy with the results! The bread tasted wonderful- not too dense and texture comparable to a “regular” pumpkin bread made from wheat flour. It was moist and flavorful, and the mix did not overpower the spices and pumpkin flavor. The bread was a bit crumbly, but I think that was because I cut into it too soon I will add updates as I try it in other recipes and types of foods. But, so far, so good!

Pros: Nice flavor and texture

Cons: In recipes, results in a heavier, crumbly product

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Ingredients: organic wholegrain brown rice flour, organic potato starch, tapioca starch, tapioca starch, baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbobate, corn stach), fava bean flour, sea salt

 

 Yummy! Now this is a great side dish that is easy to prepare and tastes good. And at $2.79 a box, I can handle the price.

This is a packaged organic & vegan rice mix with a nice spinach flavor, There is also a mild mushroom flavor intertwined- however, don’t let the big mushrooms on the front of the box fool you. Like any packaged mix, it never quite looks like it does on the front of the box.

 This mix couldn’t be easier to prepare- just saute the rice in some olive oil, then add water and the seasoning packet, let simmer for 30 minutes and Viola! It’s ready! The rice comes out perfect- not mushy but not too firm either. Per the suggestion on the box, it tastes great with a touch of parmesan cheese and diced fresh tomato on top.

Pros: easy prep, nice flavor, affordable price

Cons: teeny tiny mushrooms

rating: 4 1/2 stars

Ingredients: organic arborio rice, organic dehydrated vegetables (spinach, mushroom, garlic, onion), sea salt, organic evaporated cane juice, yeast extract, organic spices ( tumeric, basil, black pepper, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage), organic sunflower oil, citric acid, natural garlic flavors)

This box is a decent sized 7 ouncer that fetches a price of $5.39 at my local natural foods grocer.

My first mistake was thinking these were like a bread stick- larger & lighter. They are not. They are small and dense- maybe two inches long and light in color, speckled with garlic and sesame. They have a very strong garlic smell and flavor, which is wonderful if you are a garlic fan. When you bite into one, it almost turns powdery in your mouth. These sticks would be great with a large green salad. Overall, I thought they were “ok”, but I probably wouldn’t buy them again. They aren’t something I would have with a regular meal, and I don’t like the texture and strong garlic flavor enough to eat them out of the box as a snack.

Pros: nice garlic aroma and flavor

Cons: texture is powdery, starchy when you eat it 

Rating: 2 stars

 

 Ok, I’ll be honest, this mix had a tough time competing from the get-go. I am a HUGE Pamela’s Products fan, and this mix had some big shoes to fill.

The modest 16 ounce boxed mix consists of a rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch concoction. The mix itself was easy to blend, all you need to do is add milk, and egg and some oil.  The pancakes cook beautifully and come out a nice medium brown color with slightly crispy edges that prevented the pancakes from becoming too soggy or floppy. They look really good. The batter itself was pretty thick and I had to help spread it around a bit.

As for taste, it definately has a “rice flour” consistency and texture- dense with just a touch of graininess. They felt thick and heavy to eat, with a nice flavor to them. They didn’t turn into a soggy mess with the addition of some natural maple syrup. However, they just didn’t compare to my favorite, good  ol’ Pamela.

Pros: looks good, easy prep, a touch of crispness

Cons: A bit thick/dense, sticky texture

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy This Pancake Mix?

Conrad Rice Mill

LousianaCupboard.com

Ingredients: Rice flour, potato starch flour, tapioca flour, evaporated cane juice, baking powder, sea salt, xanthan gum

 

I wouldn’t suggest eating these crackers alone, but with a spread they are pretty good.

These crackers come in a lightweight 4.5 ounce box and consist of two seperately wrapped mini-boxes. I like this because it keeps the crackers fresher longer. The crackers have a whole-grain, almost nutty texture to them. They are coarse and rippled, not smooth and overprocessed. The crackers are very thin and easy to break, so use caution when using a spread or topping on them. 

 As for flavor, the crackers themselves aren’t very good. They are very bland and just don’t taste that great. I can’t even taste the natural onion and glarlic that are supposed to be in/on them. However, I found that their blandness is actually a great pairing with soft cheeses, like laughing cow swiss cheese with a bit of fresh tomato. This has actually become one of my favorite snacks!

Pros: Great base for spreads and toppings, light and airy

Cons: bland flavor , don’t eat them straight from the box

Rating: 3 stars

This is one of the few gluten free BBQ sauce brands I have found locally so far, so I was REALLY hoping it would be a good one. I found this sauce for $4.29 for a 10.5 ounce bottle

Well, it’s good, but not great. The sauce has a strong fruit base and is mildly sweet and spicy. The consistency is fairly thin compared to its gluten-containing counterparts that are thick and rich. This sauce is merely “ok” as a marinade or for grilling. I would suggest adding more spice to liven it up. I did use this for a slow-cooked pulled pork recipe, and added green chilis, chili powder and garlic for a pretty tasty result that my gluten-consuming family and friends enjoyed to rave reviews.

Pros: A nice base for recipes

Cons: “fruity” tasting, need more spice and flavor to liven it up

Rating: 3 stars

Where Can I Buy This Sauce?

Mr. Spice Honey Gluten-Free Barbeque Sauce BBQ-

from glutenfreemall.com

Ingredients: Water, Apple Cider Vinegar*, Evaporated Cane Juice*, Tomato Paste*, Blackstrap Molasses*, Rice Starch*, Herbs & Spices* Potassium Chloride, Garlic*, Natural Flavor, Onion*, Lemon Juice*, Xanthan Gum, Gum Arabic*,Honey*, Citric Acid, Spice Extract*, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor. *ORGANIC