Gluten Free Food Reviews

 I think these have to be my all time favorite gluten free snack cracker. Seriously, they are so good!

These crackers come in a 4.25 ounce box and sells for $2.89 in my area. These ranch flavored crackers are a  flavorful snack that successfully balances the nutty cracker with the ranch flavor. The crackers are perfectly crispy, but not too much so. Just right.  The light ranch flavoring that coats the thin crackers is also perfect. It almost remind me of the cool ranch flavor Doritos I used to enjoy, but without the heavy, greasy taste. Even my non-celiac husband loves these crackers- that’s how you know they are good!

Pros: Great flavor and crispness, decent price,

Cons: The size of the box is deceptively larger than the 4 servings it contains inside.

Rating: 5 stars

Ingredients: Rice flour, almonds, seasoning ( salt, natural buttermilk flavor (buttermilk, whey, maltodextrin, skim milk), sour cream powder (sour cream [cream, non fat milk, and cultures], cultured nonfat milk, citric acid, tocopherols, ascorbyl palmitate [maintains freshness]), garlic powder, cultured whey, onion powder, spice, yeast extract, parsley, lactic acid and natural flavors), potato starch, expeller pressed safflower oil and soy lecithin (processing aid).

Where Can I Buy These Crackers?

Amazon.com

I purchased this 16 ounce box of soup for $3.29 at my local grocery store. I was excited to find a musroom soup that was labeled gluten-free to use in recipes. I was craving some real beef stroganoff and my favorite, and simple recipe needs this soup.

This is a ready to eat soup that does NOT require you to add water. I found this soup to be moderately thin with a light mushroom flavor. It was not heavy or salty and seemed balanced in every way. It truly is creamy with no bits or chuncks of mushroom to be seen. I did not eat this soup alone  ( only tasted  a spoonful) but found that it worked well in my dinner recipes when I thickened it with some potato or tapioca flour.

 I found it a bit cumbersome to store unused portions of the soup. I sticky tab to cover the opening in the box was insufficiant to keep it sealed, so I had to store the remaining soup in a plastic storage container. However, once I got my mushroom and beef fix, I really had no use for the remaining 8 ounces of soup and it was eventually discarded.

Pros: nice mushroom flavor, may be adapted to recipes calling for condensed soup

Cons: quite thin, a slightly smaller sized box would be preferable for cooking

Rating: 4 stars

Ingredients: coming soon!

Where Can I Buy This Soup?

Amazon.com

These frozen, ready made pizza crusts were a new item at my local grocery store for $5.29. The package contains four personal size pizza crusts, and I became quite excited at the prospect of a quick cooking option for when I have a pizza craving emergency.

Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. On my first pizza attempt, I prebaked/toasted the crust as recommended on the package before adding toppings and the final baking. BIG MISTAKE.  The pizza crust was so hard and crunchy I could hardly eat it. So, I tried again, this time very lightly toasting the crust, thinking that I just cooked it too long the first time. Wrong again! It was very hard and crunchy- again. Ok, so I figure third time is a charm and I don’t toast the crust at all. Viola! An edible pizza is the result.

I realized that when it says on the bag “premium bread”, that’s really all this crust is- a medium thickness piece of rice bread, and a mediocre tasting piece at that. The crust is a combination of grainy and spongey with the distinct ”rice” flavor ( which I am not really find of.) However, the crust help up well under the sauce and ingedients, and did not flake apart or become soggy.  Oh well, I guess I am too picky about my pizza; this isn’t a product I would buy again.

Pros: holds toppings and sauce well, nice personal size crust for easy prep

Cons: so-so flavor, tastes like regular rice bread

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Ingredients: Coming soon!

I purchased this bread mix from my local grocery store. It is priced at $4.89 for a 22 ounce box, and includes a yeast packet.

To make the bread, you need to add water, oil and eggs. I mixed this in my Kitchen Aid mixer with no problems (there is a bread machine version, but I have not tried it yet). Speading the glue-ey mixture into the bread pan took some effort, and puffed up during the 40 minute rise time. After baking, the crust sounds hollow when tapped and is slightly crispy and a beautiful golden brown color.

I found this bread easy to slice both warm and completely cooled, with very little crumbling. The texture is slightly spongy, but thinly slicing the bread helped with this. This bread stored wonderfully in my refrigerator for three days and tasted and sliced like it was fresh. However, beware when freezing- it becomes dry and crumbly. The flavor was mild and balanced, not too “ricey” - just right.

This bread was really good hot out of the oven with butter and jam. It also made wonderful fresh and grilled sandwiches. I will definately buy this mix again!

Pros: easy to mix, stores well, slices nicely, great in sandwiches

Cons: Crust is pretty crispy out of the oven, doesn’t freeze well

Rating: 4 stars

Ingredients: white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, skim milk, whey, corn starch, brown sugar, guar gum, salt, yeast packet

 Yum diddy yum-yum, I just adore these crispy little pretzels! They are perfectly crisp and taste fantastic with just the right amount of salt. They are the closest thing to a gluten-containing pretzel I have found to date.

I purchase them in a 2.65 ounce snack sized bag which yields 2-3 servings, depending on how hungry I am. They are the size of a mini-pretzel and are easy to eat, with little mess. Also, they stay fresh a long time and did not go stale, despite a few times of sitting open on my kitchen counter for hours.These should be a staple in everyone’s pantry!

Pros: fantastic taste and flavor, afforable price

Cons: Are you kidding? I can’t think of any!

Rating: 5 stars

Ingredients: corn starch, potato starch, palm oil, soy flour, salt, sugar, baking powder (ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid Pyrophosphate), sodium carboxymethylcellulose, yeast, lecithin from soy (emulsifier). May contain sesame seeds.

Despite the numerous company names on the box (Chateau Cream Hill Estates, Lara’s, & The Pure Oats Company), this product is a keeper, hands down!

These rolled oats are guaranteed to be free from gluten and wheat, a very common contaminator of many other “regular” oats products due to manufacturing and harvesting techniques. These oats are harvested from fields that have been free from wheat for at least three years, packaged in a dedicated gluten-free facility, and batch tested for purity. For more information on this company check out their website HERE. Also, since this product is manufactured in Cananda, I feel especially secure about their gluten-free status due to strict Canadian requirments to be labeled gluten-free.

These oats taste wonderful, and may be used in any oat or oatmeal recipe. I was impressed that the inner plastic storage bag has a ziplock to ensure freshness and purity. This company really thought of everything. I am so excited I found these!!

Pros: finally a gluten-free rolled oat product, Great taste, ziplock storage seal inside the box

Cons: price- $5.99 for a 1.1 lb. box

Rating: 5 stars!!

To purchase these oats click the link below:

Cream Hill Estates Lara’s Rolled Oats (No Cross Contamination) from glutenfreemall.com

Ingredients: Pure whole grain rolled oats

For some amazing recipes using these oats, click HERE. Be sure to check out these cookies, too. I substitute Pamelas baking mix for the oat flour and they are to die for! In fact, I ate a ton of the dough before they made it into the oven. (I know, I’m so bad!)

 

Right here you have a little slice or heaven. Or it could be a big slice, depending on how hungry you are. This gluten-free angel food cake mix is so simple to make and tastes even better than the “real” thing. Yes, it is that good!!

The 16 ounce mix ($4.89) makes one regular sized angel food cake, and I would guess enough to feed at least 8 people.  To prepare, all you add is gluten free vanilla and warm water. Now, here’s the tricky part. You need to mix this in a sturdy stand mixer- don’t even attempt to do so with a hand mixer. You mix it on high for TEN MINUTES ( yes, you read that correctly.) I used my kitchen-aid mixer and disovered that for the first 6-7 minutes I had to drape a towel over the mixer because the cake mixture splattered everywhere. I was able to remove the towel when the mixture thickened up. ( of course, be cautious if you do this so the towel doesn’t get caught in the beaters). I learned this the hard way- the fist time I made this mix, it splattered everywhere, and when the splatters dried, the cake mix droplets were like cement. I had to use a razor blade to remove them from the mixer, counters, and cabinets. However, the work is worth it. At the end of the 10 minutes, you spoon the fluffy cloud-like mixture into the pan and then bake for 35 minutes.

Taste wise, this cake is amazing.   It is light, fluffy and slightly sweet and moist. You would never guess this was gluten-free! Every person- even my gluten-consuming friends and family have proclaimed this to be the best angel food cake they have ever tasted. I have to agree. This is one mix that is worth every penny and every bite.

Pros: amazing taste and texture, fat free

Cons: Mix prep can be very messy

Rating: 5 stars!!

Ingredients: sugar, corn starch, white rice flour, egg whites, baking powder (corn), cream of tartar, salt

Yum! I just love this syrup with a stack of hot Pamela’s pancakes on a chilly morning.

This syrup comes in a 12 ounce glass bottle, ready to serve. It is dark amber grade and pours fairly thin. Therefore, it absorbs into the pancakes or waffles pretty quickly. Be conservative in your dosage unless you want mushy pancakes, and be prepared to eat quickly.  The natural flavor is fairly strong but not overly sweet. I particularly like this syrup heated in the microwave or on stovetop for the best flavor.

Pros: nice flavor, 100% organic

Cons: Consistency is pretty thin

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

**Please see the Pamela’s products review to see the syrup on pancakes

 

 This mix comes boxed and ready for prep- just add some butter and water for a nice side dish. And for $2.69 a box, it’s not a bad deal.

To prepare, you saute the rice in a touch of butter, then slowly boil until the water is absorbed into the rice. When I prepared this, I found the final product to be more of a sticky rice; however, not so so much that it became mushy. The alfredo flavor was nice and mild and the alfredo seasonings and sauce clings to the rice.  This is nice because you don’t get an overly saucy or soupy result, it’s just perfect. It also has a nice presentation- it actually looks good. Now, this mix is “OK” overall, and really isn’t a mix I would rave to my gluten-free friends about, but it is good enough to buy again from time to time.

Pros: nice flavor, easy prep, basic side dish

Cons: nothing too special, just “OK”

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Ingredients: coming soon!

This 3 ounce plastic bottle of vanilla powder is great in any recipe that calls for vanilla. The price is steep (a whopping $8.69 in my local market). However, the wonderful thing is that you only use 1/4 tsp. for every 1 tsp or “regular” liquid vanilla when baking or cooking. Therefore, this little bottle will last you a v-e-r-y long time.

I love the taste of this vanilla and it adds a nice, rich scent and flavor to anything I bake. I have had mine for a few months and have hardly made a dent in it, since I usually only need 1/4 tsp at a time. I also like that it doesn’t have any extra alcohol that is often added to liquid vanilla. Overall, a high quality product and a great find!

Pros: bottle lasts a long time, great aroma and flavor, use in any recipe

Cons: Price, using powdered vanilla might seem strange

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy This Vanilla?

Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Vanilla Powder- at glutenfreemall.com

Ingredients: natural vanilla bean extractatives, evaporated cane juice, silica, cellulose