Gluten Free Food Reviews

Who doesn’t love a summer cook out? Whether you prefer a juicy burger, spicy bratwurst or a skewer of roasted veggies, there is something for everyone. Thankfully, when I am the host, I can ensure the affair will be gluten free, so I can eat and enjoy without worry.

However, I love my Minnesota brats with all the fixings. And to handle all of those condiments, you need a good, hearty bun. At a gluten free cookout, what’s a girl to do? I found these Kinnikinnick gluten free hot dog buns in the frozen foods section and wanted to give them a shot. I am very picky about gluten free bread, and realized this would either be very good or very, very bad.

To eat these buns, you need to defrost them. I wrapped a bun in a paper towel for 30 seconds or so and it was ready to go. To lightly toast the buns ( to minimize crumbling, and enhance flavor), I baked mine in the oven for a few minutes. Both versions tasted OK- neither one better than the other.

First of all, these buns are hearty big and thick with lots of gluten free bread to support even the largest hot dog. In fact, they are almost too big and can overwhelm whatever you choose to put inside.

The texture of these gluten free hot dog buns is a bit textured and spongy and tasted a bit of the white rice flour. They are also very soft- no coarse crumbs. To me, these buns tasted gluten free, but did what they were meant to do- cradled my cookout meat of choice without becoming a soggy mess when slathered with my favorite ketchup.

The best thing about these gluten free hot dog buns is that they have a whopping 7 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. That was a nice bonus I wasn’t expecting.

PROS: soft, hearty, lots of fiber and protein

CONS: spongy, very thick, you can tell these are gluten free, just “OK”

Rating: 3 stars

To Purchase: Click HERE to get them at WellnessGrocer.com

Ingredients: white rice flour, tapioca starch, water, sugar, poly dextrose, egg whites, dextrose, yeast, sunflower oil ( and/or canola oil), pea protein, sodium carboxy methylcellulose, salt, vitamin blend (thiamine, viatmin B2, niacin, folic acid, iron)

Kinnikinnick has started it’s own blog- “The Gluten Free Insider”

It’s informative and fun- click HERE to check it out!

**Don’t forget to check out my other Kinnikinnick gluten free product reviews!

It has been a rough month- I have been sick a whopping three times, which has made it difficult to try new gluten free products. I have had no energy, and nothing seems to taste good. As a result, I have a pantry full of gluten free bread mixes waiting patiently to be prepared and appreciated. It looks like my bread reviews will spill over into March! My March gluten free product give-away will still go on as planned though. Check back on March 1st to enter!

I picked up this large 35.5 ounce bag of Kinnikinnick Kinni-Kwik Bread and Bun mix for $5.79, which was enough to make a dozen dinner rolls and a large yummy loaf of gluten free bread.

This bread mix cannot be easier to prepare! Just add water, milk, or soy milk, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer, and it’s ready for the oven. No rise time necessary! Seriously, it is foolproof, even for me! The dough was a touchy sticky to work with, but a wet spatula easily smoothed the top of the bread dough.

I baked the bread for 50 minutes, and it came out of the oven looking golden and gorgeous! I couldn’t wait to try a piece warm with my favorite peanut butter. This gluten free bread is very, very soft, with a slightly crunchy crust with a somewhat spongy/eggy consistency. Because of the nooks and crannies, it had a somewhat rough texture. However, because this gluten free bread is so soft, it actually tasted light and smooth. I was surprised, and also pleased to discover virtually no crumbling when sliced or eaten.

This bread really tasted great. The flavor seemed quite mild and would pair up with any sandwich toppings your heart desires. I did not notice an aftertaste, either.

Because the bread turned out so well, I was anxious to try the bun, or dinner roll version. Batter preparation was exactly the same, and I used my favorite scoop to fill greased muffin tins. I smoothed the top of the buns with my fingers dipped in water and popped them into the oven. A mere 25 minutes later they were hot and on the dinner table. The texture and flavor was the same as the loaf prep. However, my rolls rose unevenly, causing them to have a bumpy, lumpy appearance. My gluten consuming family provided mixed reviews. My husband like them but my kids said they tasted “different,” and refused to eat them after the first bite. Overall, I liked this mix and would definitely buy it again.

PROS: soft, fluffy bread, looks great, super easy prep, great price

CONS: a bit spongy, buns rise unevenly

Rating: 4 stars

Want to try this Kinnikinnick Bread & Bun Mix? Click below!

Kinnikinnick - Kinni-Kwik Bread & Bun Mix
From: glutenfree.com Ingredients: White rice flour, potato starch, pea starch, tapioca starch, sugar, whole egg powder, malto dextrin, poly dextrose, dextrose, pea protein, glucono delta lactone, egg white powder, fructooligosaccharide, pea fibre, sodium carboxy methylcellulose, cellulose, sodium bicarbonate, rice bran extract, inulin, salt, sodium stearayl lactylate, fructose.

What a rotten week! The nasty fall viruses hit our home hard. Unfortunately, because of this I wasn’t online, and definitely was not into eating, thus no gluten free food reviews this past week. Thankfully we are finally well and getting back into our regular routine, and I will have lots of great reviews for you to check out for the rest of the month.

I had this gluten free pizza crust mix review tucked away, and I thought I’d finally share it with you to get the ball rolling.

This gluten free pizza crust mix by Kinnikinick Foods sells for $4.69, makes 2 medium sized pizza crusts, and requires you to add yeast, sugar, water, oil and eggs. To be honest, I was a little put off that I purchased the mix, and yet had to add a lot of my own ingredients. I felt like all I got for my money was a bag of rice flour and starch! When I saw the ingredients, I chuckled, because that is basically what is in the bag.

I found the pizza crust dough to be very sticky, so much so that I ended up patting out the crust in the pan with my olive oil coated fingers. Contrary to the directions, there was no possible way a rolling pin would handle the sticky mound of pizza dough. I found that my oily pizza crust circle did not rise much in the pan, and when it came time to bake the real fun started.

I was surprised to discover that this crust rose quite a bit in the oven, but baked unevenly. I had bubbles of dough rise up and bake, even though I pricked the dough with a fork before popping it in the oven; I would suggest poking lots of little holes in the crust to prevent baking bubbles. I discovered the crust also baked unevenly on the foil wrapped pan - soft in some spots and crunchy and hard in others. I ma sure baking this crust on a dedicated gluten free pizza stone would yield a better end result.

The flavor of the Kinnikinnick pizza crust is actually quite nice- very subtle and mild so it would pair with even the most flavorful sauces and toppings. The center of the pizza was soft, but not chewy, and boasted a fairly smooth texture-nothing course or gritty. The texture and flavor closely resembled a standard piece of gluten free rice bread. Overall, this gluten free pizza crust mix is just OK- it’s not bad, but definitely not great either.

PROS: mild flavor, not too crumbly

CONS: messy prep, soft in some spots, crunchy in others

Rating: 3 stars

Where Can I Buy This Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix?

Kinnikinnick Foods Inc.

Ingredients: Sweet Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt

This is Kristina, “the sister”. This is my first time reviewing so I hope that it is up to par!

Sorry that the pictures is not the best, but our flash is a little too strong!

If you have been looking for a white cake, this is the mix for you. This cake has a wonderful texture. It is airy and spongy. There is none of the graininess that can come with rice flour products. The taste is plain. Not very strong, which is perfect if you want to add frosting or some other topping. Very much a traditional white cake.

Preparation was very simple, with a whisk I mixed 4 eggs, 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup water. After mixing well you add the cake mix and mix until barely combined. I baked it in a 9 x 13 pan. The instructions suggested cooking for 25-30 min at 350 degrees but after 20 min my cake was done.

I also froze a piece and tried it the next day. It tasted just as good.

All in all, I was not disappointed by this brand. I am not sure I would want it for a wedding cake, but is ideal for birthday cakes, cupcakes, or even eating it with some fruit.

Pros: Mild flavor and great texture

Cons: I am not sure I would want such a spongy cake for a wedding cake

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Wanna try this mix? Click the link below!

Kinnikinnick - White Cake Mix
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Sugar, Potato Starch, White Rice Flour, Sweet Rice Flour, KinnActive Baking Powder, Guar Gum, Salt, Pea Protein, Sodium Bicarbonate, Pea Starch, Pea Fibre

Yesterday I tried the chocolate version of these sandwich cookies by kinnikinnick, and I liked them so much that I thought these would be just as good. Ummmm, not quite.

The package shows a golden sandwich cookie that I expected to taste just like a “regular” vanilla sandwich cookie. The chocolate version did, so why wouldn’t the vanilla as well? I knew I was in for a big disappointment the minute I opened the package. The cookies did not look golden, they looked almost white, like a very pale shortbread cookie. When I bit into the cookies, the sweetness hit me. WOW. very sweet. The top and bottom of these cookies tasted strangely familar- I then realized it tastes just like the kinnikinnick KinniKrittrers animal cookies! Same cookie, different shape.

These cookies are crunchy, but not hard, and crumble just a little, as most cookies do. The top and bottom layers taste like a fine shortbread- light, with a sweet sugary taste. The creme in the middle is creamy and tasty with no grittness. Now, I suppose these are decent cookies, but for me personally, they were so sweet, and so different than what I was expecting that I just did not care for them at all. It is a personal preference and not necessarily a product flaw.

Pros: Nice texture, creamy filling is yummy, nice crunch factor

Cons: Too sweet, especially with the cookie/creme combination- get your sweet tooth ready!

Rating: 3 stars

Where Can I Buy These Cookies?

Kinnikinnick - KinniToos Vanilla Cream Sandwich Cookies
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Icing (icing sugar (may contain 2-3% corn starch), palm fruit oil (non hydrogenated), vanilla flavor, soy lecithin, salt), sugar, pea starch, potato starch, palm fruit oil (non hydrogenated), white rice flour, cocoa powder, water, tapioca starch, glucose, pea protein, sodium carboxy methylcellulose, salt, vanilla flavor, pea fibre, guar gum, inulin, ammonium bicarbonate(90), sodium bicarbonate, soy lecithin.

Ok, so I had to find out what all the fuss was about. I have a few GF online friends that have raved about these cookies. However, I was hesitant. At $5.39 for an 8 ounce package of cookies, I thought the price was a bit steep. My friends assured me it was worth every penny, so I bowed to peer pressure and picked them up at my local natural foods store. I lucked out and purchased their last package of these cookies. The cashier, who also happens to be the owner, assured me these cookies were one of their best sellers in the gluten free section. I felt a little more confident in my purchase, and headed home just in time for my kiddos snack time. I figured they would be the ultimate test to see if these cookies are, in fact, the best gluten free Oreo alternative.

Well, my kiddos and I were not disappointed. These cookies are simply yummy. The chocolate cookies are crunchy, but not hard, and the cream center was smooth, creamy and perfectly sweet. I was amazed! These cookies are really really good, and if you are one that missed your Oreo dunk tradition, look no further. This is your cookie. The chocolate cookie part is not perfect- kind of light and sugary- but that was what I was expecting with this gluten free cookie after looking at the ingredients.

My my gripe with these cookies are with the cream filling. First, there isn’t enough cream in the middle- just a touch more would make them perfect. Also, the cream is applied in a donut shape:

This results in gaps and spaces in the cookie- a little disappointing considering the price.

Pros: Decent flavor, texture, perfectly crunchy, best GF oreo substitute out there so far!

Cons: skimped on the cream filling, a bit pricey, sugary sweet chocolate cookie may be too much for some

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Where Can I Buy These Yummy Cookies?

Kinnikinnick - KinniToos Choc. Cream Sandwich Cookies
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Icing(Icing Sugar(may contain 2-3% corn starch), Palm Fruit Oil (Non Hydrogenated), Vanilla Flavor, Soy Lecithin, Salt), Sugar, Pea Starch, Potato Starch, Palm Fruit Oil (Non Hydrogenated), White Rice Flour, Cocoa Powder, Water, Tapioca Starch, Glucose, Pea Protein, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt, Pea Fibre, Vanilla Flavor, Caramel colour, Guar Gum, Inulin, Sodium Bicarbonate, Soy Lecithin, Ammonium Bicarbonate

While perusing a natural foods store in Richmond, VA, my oldest daughter discovered samples of these little cookies and just had to try them, not knowing they were gluten free ( she is infamous for hating anything that is “different” or GF). After gobbling up a handful, she proimptly placed a box in our shopping basket. Now, if she liked them that much, then I just had to try them too. However, I opted to wait unitl we got home and opened a new box- who knew what hands and crumbs lurked in that sample bowl?Ii paid $3.99 for an 8 ounce box, and because these cookies are small, a box gives you a whopping 11 servings of 8 cookies. Not bad.

Now, I must make this clear- even though these cookies are shaped like animal crackers, they are not crackers. They are, in fact, very sweet little cookies concoctions. The cookies come in 6 different animals: longhorn sheep, an elephant, a pig, a bison, a camel, and a horse. My kids liked the originality and detail of the animals. They really do look fun to eat. However, I must admit I did not like the taste as much as my daughter.

These cookies are very sweet and have a fine, shortbread-like texture. They are crunchy, but not hard, and are just a touch crumbly. I discovered that upon chewing these little cookies, they become almost pasty and sticky in my mouth; you’ll definately need something to drink and wash them down. I would also be wary of very young children eating these- I can see them being a choking hazard; much more so than with a regular animal cracker. The flavor is a mild vanilla in a sugary flour/starch concotion. They are OK, but not great.

Pros: Decent texture, looks fun to eat (kids), good value

Cons:Pasty when chewed, too sweet

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy These Cookies?

AllergyGrocery.com

Ingredients: sugar, pea starch, potato starch, palm fruit and/or canola shortening (non hydrogenated), white rice flour, tapioca starch, water, glucose, pea protein, sodium carboxy methylcellulose, vanilla, salt, pea fiber, guar gum, inulin, ammonium bicarbonate(90), sodium bicarbonate, soy lecithin

Nutrition Information:per 8 cookies:

Calories-90, Fat-1.5g, Sat Fat-1g, Trans Fat-0g, Chol-0mg, Carb-17g, Sugar-2g, Fiber-1g, Pro-1g, Sodium-25mg. Vit A-0%RDA, Vit C-0%RDA, Calc-2%RDA, Iron-2%