Gluten Free Food Reviews

With noodles like these, who needs wheat? These Tinkyada gluten free spaghetti noodles were one of the first gluten free products I tried and it has become a staple in my own gluten free pantry.

I usually buy these noodles locally for $3.69. The bags are 16 ounces and will easily have enough noodles for a few meals. One aspect that makes these noodles great is the fact that you can overcook them and they are still edible! With other brands of rice noodles, overcooking can be the kiss of death- you end up with a sticky, mushy, bowl of goo. Yuck. These noodles are very forgiving! I tend to prefer them more al dente with a cooking time of 14 minutes, softer noodles should be cooked at 16 minutes.

The width of these noodles is slightly larger than their wheat counterparts and have a soft but slightly chewy consistency. The flavor is pleasing and mild and compliments any sauce you want to whip up for dinner. Thin sauces tend to slip off the noodles, so I like to use a chunky veggie or meat sauce. I have found that these noodles leave me satisfied and content, unlike regular noodles that leave you feeling heavy and overly full. Both gluten free eaters and gluten consumers will both enjoy these noodles.

Pros: Great texture, flavor, simple ingredients, holds sauce well

Cons: Are there any?

Rating: 5 stars

Where Can I Buy These Amazing Noodles?

Ingredients: Stoneground brown rice, rice bran, water

I purchased this 13 ounce bottle of salad dressing for $3.95 from my local grocery store, in the natural foods section. I was excited to find an italian style dressing marked “Gluten-Free”. Yah, baby!

I must say, this dressing is wonderful, amazing, light, and flavorful. The consistency is that of any good vinaigrette, and pours easily, but is not runny. The aroma is so strong and fresh, you can almost taste the herbs. This dressing is not too sweet or fruity, but balances the blend of flavors harmoniously. The addition of lemon juice also gives it a nice kick. My gluten consuming family and friends always remark about how good it is. I must agree! This dressing works well on fresh salads as well as in recipes or marinades. A little dressing goes a long way, and I found the bottle lasts a long time at my house.

Pros: strong and flavorful

Cons: Can’t think of any!

Rating: 5 stars!

Where Can I Buy This Salad Dressing?

WellnessGrocer.com

Ingredients: Water, safflower and/or sunflower oil, vinegar, honey, sea salt, cornstarch, dried vegetables (bell pepper, onion, garlic), garlic puree, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, locust bean gum, spices and lemon juice concentrate.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size:2 tablespoonServings Per Container:12  Amount Per Serving % Daily Value Calories: 50 Calories from Fat: 35 Saturated Fat: 0g 0% Sodium: 400mg 17% Dietary Fiber 2g 9% Protein: 0g  Vitamin C: 0%  Iron: 0%  Organic: 95% Â

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I purchased this mix for $4.59 from my local natural foods shop. The mix is 17.5 ounces and makes a 9×13 pan and makes 12-20 brownies, depending on how small you cut them.

This mix requires vegetable oil, eggs ( or egg substitute) and water. The mix is moderately thick and spreads fairly well in the pan. After baking it is best to wait until the brownies are completely cool before cutting and eating; otherwise they tend to be sticky and the taste isn’t as great. After baking, the brownies tend to be fairly thin. For a thicker brownie consider using two mixes or a smaller pan.

These brownies are a nice moist cake brownie with a hint of fudginess. When slicing and removing the brownies from the pan, the corners tend to break off and the top didn’t have the crinkley texture I like. To me, these brownies had a nice cocoa flavor without overpowering sweetness, thanks to the evaporated cane juice. I liked that they held their shape, and the bits of mini chocolate chips added just the right touch. The texture was great, with no indication of grittiness or chalkiness.  I could taste the rice flour base, but strangely enough, I did not mind this time. These are decent brownies that will suffice for any chocolate or brownie craving; however, they are not the decadent, lucious chocolate treat you may dream about. That said, I will probably buy them again. Especially if it is topped with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Pros: soft and chewy, moist, holds shape well

Cons: fairy thin, chocolate flavor could be richer

Rating: 4 stars

Where Can I Buy These Brownies?

Amazon.com

WellnessGrocer.com

Ingredients: organic evaporated cane juice, organic white rice flour, organic chocolate chips (organic sugar, organic chocolate liquor [non-alcohol], organic cocoa butter, soy lecithin [added as an emulsifier], organic vanilla flavor), organic potato starch, organic cocoa powder, tapioca starch, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, (organic sugar, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors), xanthan gum, sea salt, baking soda, and non-aluminum baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, cornstarch).

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/20 package (about 25g)
Servings Per Container: about 20
Amount Per Serving					Mix	Prepared
Calories					110	160
	Calories from Fat				20	70
% Daily Value**
Total Fat 2g*					3%	13%
	Saturated Fat 1.5g				7%	11%
	Trans Fat 0g							Â
Cholesterol 0mg					0%	7%
Sodium 40mg					2%	2%
Total Carb. 21g					7%	7%
	Dietary Fiber <1g				3%	3%
	Sugars 13g				Â	Â
Protein 1g					Â	Â
Vitamin A					0%	0%
Vitamin C					0%	0%
Calcium					0%	0%
Iron					2%	2%
* Amount in mix. Prepared as directed with eggs, butter and water contains an additional 5.5g fat (0.5g saturated fat), 20mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 1g protein.
** Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
		Calories:			2,000		2,500
Total Fat		Less than			65g		80g
	Sat Fat	Less than			20g		25g
Cholesterol		Less than			300mg		300mg
Sodium		Less than			2,400mg		2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate					300g		375g
Â	Dietary Fiber				25g		30g

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Yummm, another example of peanut buttery perfection from Pamela’s products.

Each box contains nine cookies and boldy states on the packgaing that these cookies are “soft, chewy, nutty perfection.” These cookies are medium sized and just one or two is perfectly satisfying. The cookies have a really nice aroma and peanut butter flavor accented by bits of real chopped peanuts. The texture is suberb with no hint of grittiness or crumbling.

These cookies make a great substitute if you are not up to creating some great homemade peanut butter cookies in your own kitchen. Even my gluten-consuming kids love them with a glass of ice cold milk, and that’s a big deal. My only warning is to be careful of the fat and calories in each cookie, they can really add up.Perfection comes at a price, I guess.

Pros: great flavor and texture, yummy aroma, satisfying and chewy

Cons: Watch the calories and fat content!

Rating: 5 stars

Where Can I Buy These Yummy Cookies?

GlutenSolutions.com

ShopByDiet.com

INGREDIENTS: Peanut Butter (Peanuts and Salt); Molasses, Eggs, Rice Syrup and Grape Juice; Flour Base (Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Xanthan Gum); Dry Roasted Peanut Pieces, Gluten-free Natural Flavor; Baking Soda; Sea Salt.

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These garlic sticks come in a 7 ounce box. I paid $5.39 at my local natural foods store.

These garlic sticks are fairly small (3-4 inches) and moderately crunchy. Initially, I thought these sticks would be comparable to a small crispy breadstick. Nope. Wrong. They are, in fact, excatly what the title implies. The sticks have a good crunch when bitten into, however, the texture and consistency is almost powedery when chewed. The flavor is of good strong garlic with just a hint of sesame.

These garlic sticks make a great companion for a fresh crisp salad, but I probably wouldn’t consider them a snacking option to eat alone. Initially I didn’t like them, but they have since grown on me enough to be saved from the dreaded garbage can. However, I doubt I will purchase them again.

Pros: great garlic flavor

Cons: strange crunchy/powedery consistency

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Ingredients: corn starch, potato starch, eggs, vegetable fat, water, yearst, salt, emulsifiers, stabilizers, garlic sesame

Where can I buy these garlic sticks?

 *Check local natural foods sections and stores, I couldn’t find a current online source as of 5/26/07)*

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I purchased this 8 ounce round container of almond macaroons for $3.49 from a natural foods store. I really like macaroons and thought it would be fun to try this flavor.

The macaroons are just moist enough to eat, but no so much that they are sticky. A few of them were even on the dry side. However, when they say “almond flavored” they are not joking. The almond flavoring is quite overpowering, so much so that it is hard to taste the coconut. This surprised me, because I was expecting more of a “hint” of almond. Mind you, they smell wonderfully sweet and look great, just be sure you really like almond flavor before purchasing them.

Pros: looks good, tastes good

Cons: very strong almond flavor

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Ingredients:unsweetened coconut, honey & egg whites, natural flavor, no synthetic color, no artificial flavor and no chemical preservatives

Where Can I buy These Macaroons?

Jennies

I have used this mix to make bread with great success, so when I realized the packaging displayed a recipe for pizza crust, I knew I just had to try it.

Mixing the dough was not problematic. I easily shaped the dough on my pizza stone. To reduce stickiness I used GF canola oil spray on my fingertips. With this particular mix, I baked the crust naked first, then added toppings and baked it again until my cheese was bubbly and veggies appeared browned. For this pizza, it had a mexican flare, topped with cheddar, salsa and fresh veggies.

The bottom of the crust provided a decent crunch when consumed, with a softer, chewy center. I did not have any complaints about texture or appearance. However, my beef is with the taste. It was AWFUL. Yes, that’s right. AWFUL. This particlar mix is way too sweet for a pizza, in my opinion. I could barely choke down my first slice! Who would want a sweet flavored crust? I then remembered that the Pamela’s bread does have a mildly sweet flavor thanks to the evaporated cane sugar, honey and molasses. I was really disappointed.

Pros: nice texture

Cons:Â too sweet for a pizza with traditional toppings

Rating: 1 1/2 stars

Ingredients: Sorghum flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, organic natural evaporated cane sugar, chicory root, white rice flour, millet flour, molasses and honey, rice bran, sea salt, xanthan gum, yeast packet ( active dry yeast.)

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I purchased these cookies from my local natural foods store for $3.79;Â a 7.25 ounce box of 9 cookies. The cookies are medium sized and fairly thick- no thin and crispies in this box.

The box described these cookies as “sweet pecans mixed with lots of butter.” So true, and SO GOOD. These cookies are just as good, if not better, than any other shortbread cookie I have tried- even the “regular” gluten cookies. These cookies have a slight, but soft crunch to them and almost melt in your mouth. The pecans are generously sprinkled throughout the cookies and add a wonderful nutty sweet flavor. What I really liked about these cookies is that they are rich, but not overly sweet or sugary. There are no issues with texture or grittiness, just a really good cookie to enjoy.

Pros: wonderful buttery pecan flavor

Cons: Watch the calories! 130 per cookie!

Rating: 5 stars

Where Can I Buy These Cookies?:

Amazon.com

Glutensolutions.com

INGREDIENTS: Flour Base (Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Xanthan Gum); Butter (salted); Organic Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar; Pecans; Xanthan Gum; Gluten-free Vanilla Flavor.

These tasty little pretzel rings come in a 2.65 ounce bag that provides aproximately two servings. I purchased them for $1.89 at my local natural foods store, and I believe it was worth it. These are great!

First of all, it’s not like I am a huge sesame fan, and I wasn’t quite sure what to think about these. I really like their pretzels ( click HERE for the pretzel review), so I was willing to take the risk. And really, the price is so reasonable, I wasn’t really risking my pocketbook.

These sesame rings are simply wonderful and a perfect snack if you want something flavorful, light, crunchy with a touch of salt. I found the saltiness and the sesame was balanced perfectly. The products provided a satisying crunch, but definately were not hard and brittle. These pretzels keep well and resist getting stale, so feel free to store an opened package with confidence, Overall, a great buy and great product.

Pros: Great flavor, perfectly crunchy, affordable price

Cons: They don’t come in a bigger bag!

Rating: 5 stars

Ingredients: Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Sesame Seeds, Palm Oil, Soy Flour, salt, Sugar, Baking Powder (ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate), Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, Yeast, Soy Lecithin (emulsifier).

Where can I buy these?

Ener-G product website

Amazon.com

Bob’s Red Mill

Gluten-free.com

Check it out! I am in the process of revamping my site and making it more user-friendly as I add more gluten free product reviews. Please take your time, browse around, and add your thoughts and opinions. I look forward to hearing from you!