Gluten Free Food Reviews

I am actually embarrassed to write this review.

This gluten free pasta has been a staple at my house for over a year now. My husband and picky children really love it in a variety of recipes. However, imagine to my surprise when I was cleaning up my sidebar categories and realized I hadn’t reviewed this brand of Tinkyada gluten free pasta. You would think this would be one of the first! I can’t believe I overlooked this. Yikes.

In fact, the above photo is my favorite pasta dish Creamy Chicken and Pasta. My family slurps up and asks for seconds ( trust me, this rarely happens at my house. Too many picky eaters!). To try the recipe, stop over and check out my Dish of The Week feature on my family blog.

I usually purchase the 16 ounce bag of this gluten free penne pasta for $3.69 and it easily feeds my family of four two hearty meals.

This Tinkyada pasta is easy to prepare- simply boil the noodles for 15 minutes, and after a cold water rinse you are ready for your favorite sauce. I found these noodles be slightly larger than a traditional wheat penne noodles. These gluten free noodles also cook up soft and slightly chewy; it really doesn’t result in a firm al dente, though. The flavor is light and mild, and pairs well with any sauce. I did not experience any aftertaste or strange texture. These noodles also hold their shape well with no splitting or cracking. It’s all good!

Seriously, with these noodles, you really can’t go wrong. Tinkyada has a great reputation, and these noodles are no exception.

Pros: pleasant, mild flavor; holds shape, simple ingredients,

Cons: doesn’t cook al dente; softer density and texture

Rating: 5 stars

Want to try it for yourself? Click the link below:

Ingredients: stone ground brown rice, rice bran, water

Click HERE for my other Tinkyada reviews and HERE for my other gluten free pasta reviews!

Have you tried this pasta? What did you think?

Can you believe it? Someone HACKED into my site- yes, this site! As a result, I completely lost my page one Google ranking for “gluten free food” and have to build my site credibility all over again. The worst part is that this will make it hard for some users to find me and share what they think of the gluten free food out there. Boo!

Thankfully I have a tech savvy husband with even more tech friendly friends, who are graciously helping me fix my site (bye bye wordpress!). However, I am still having trouble posting my original pictures of the gluten free food and products. So, to make a long story short, my reviews for the next week or so won’t have my personal photos included. But have no fear! As soon as the bugs are fixed I will add them. It’s too bad, because I have some great shots of some great products. Oh well, soon enough I hope!

OK, on to my review:

So, I spied these travel friendly Kind bars at my local grocery store and just had to try them. I am headed across the country next week and hoped these would make a great packable snack for my long trek. My family and I are moving out west this summer and we are going house hunting. I am a little nervous, especially since I am so used to the east coast now that this move could prove to be quite the adventure.

Locally these 1.6 ounce Kind snack bars sell for$2.25 each, but I got them on sale 2/$3. My first flavor I tried was the almonds & apricots in yogurt. It looked great and tasted even better! These gluten free snack bars are just the right size to pack into purse or store in a glove compartment.

Kind was awarded the “Best Snack 2005″ award by Health magazine. I also found it interesting that 5% of proceeds go to OneVoice Movement to help foster peace in the Middle East. Nice.

APPEARANCE: The bar itself is made up of huge chunky whole almonds, smooth apricot flavor, shredded coconut and coconut chips, and puffed rice dipped in a “yogurt compound” made up of sugar, palm kernel oil, skim milk powder and yogurt powder. The bottom of the bar has been dipped in the “yogurt” and with diagonal drizzled lines of the yogurt in the top. It actually looks very pretty and super yummy

FLAVOR & TEXTURE: I was surprised- this Kind bar really packs a punch! Immediately you experience a “sweet tart” from the apricot an yogurt flavors that is balanced out by the almonds. The apricot flavor is quite strong, but blends well with the other ingredients. The center of the bar is fairly soft and chunky and with a crunchy undertone and the smooth yogurt ties it all together.

Be aware though, that this Kind snack bar should be consumed only in moderation. I was shocked to discover that this gluten free snack bar packs in 13 grams of fat and a whopping 6 g. of saturated fat. However, I guess I should not be that surprised since the main ingredients are almonds and coconut! At least it does have 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

CONCLUSION: Really, this has become one of my favorite snacks- the flavors are wonderful and leaves me satisfied. This is one of those gluten free products I wouldn’t mind buying a case worth for on the go snacks and traveling.

Pros: excellent flavor and texture, perfect for traveling, satisfying

Cons: can be pricey, high fat/saturated fat content

Rating: 5 stars

Want to try these gluten free Kind bars?

Click on the Link below:

Ingredients: Almonds, yogurt compound (sugar, palm kernel oil, skim milk powder, soy lecithin), apricots (apricot paste, glycerol, pectin apple fiber, citric acid), homey, shredded coconut, coconut chips, glucose, puffed rice, chicory fiber, soy lecithin

OK, these noodles are just too much fun!

I picked up this 16 ounce bag of gluten free pasta noodles for a hearty spaghetti dish when my local supermarket was sold out of my favorite gluten free Tinkyada penne pasta.

Straight from the package, these noodles were a bit strange, almost like a loose wave- curvier than a gluten free spaghetti noodle but smoother than a spiral noodle.

After boiling for 11 minutes, the noodles became slightly thicker, but retained their wavy shape and overall length. These gluten free pasta noodles also appeared slightly textured. This seemed perfect for my hearty, meaty, stick to your ribs spaghetti sauce- the sauce clung to the noodles perfectly. Yum!

These gluten free noodles cook up perfectly soft and slightly chewy- not quite al dente, but definitely not soggy and squishy. I thought the texture was excellent as well- comparable to gluten noodle with no splitting or breaking.

The best part of these noodles: They tasted just as good as leftovers for my lunch the following day and my kids slurped them up, too. Perfect.

Overall, I really liked these noodles and plan to buy them again. Way to go Tinkyada- another great brown rice noodle product that my whole family enjoys.

Pros: great texture, mild flavor, pairs well with any sauce or pasta dish, no sogginess or splitting

Cons: noodles are a little longer than a standard penne noodle- may be an issue in some recipes

Rating: 5 stars

I want to try these fun noodles! Where can I buy them?

Click the link below:

Ingredients: Stone-Ground Brown Rice, Rice Bran and Water.

This April is my anniversary month.

In April I will be gluten free for two years- minus some cross contamination issues here and there (oops!). For 18 of those months, I did not eat any stir-fry, Asian influenced dishes, or marinades that required soy sauce. Why you may ask? This may sound silly. but I simply did not know that gluten free soy sauce existed. And oh did I love spicy Chinese food and stir-fry! When I realized that I could, in fact, still have my favorite dishes, I was SO excited! After I purchased my first bottle of gluten free soy sauce, I think I made stir fry four nights in a row- each a different version- spicy chicken, veggie, beef and broccoli- you name it, I made it. I was in heaven! It was the best $3.49 I ever spent.

I have had no problems with my gluten free soy sauce. I purchased the San-J Tamari organic soy sauce after my sisters wedding at a natural foods store back in December, and I have enjoyed it ever since. At first, I was unsure since the label only says “wheat free.” And as we all know, wheat free does not mean gluten free. However, on the label, it is specified that this gluten free soy sauce is made in a plant inspected by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. That made me feel better.

I have successfully used this gluten free product in grilling marinades and stir-fry so far. This product is just another reason why I have discovered cooking and eating gluten free isn’t so bad after all.

Rating: 5 stars!!

Try this gluten free soy sauce for yourself! Just click on the link below:

San-J - Tamari Organic Soy Sauce
From: glutenfree.com Ingredients: water, organic soybeans, salt, organic alcohol ( to preserve freshness)

Beth’s gluten-free all-purpose flour is a new product my local natural foods store. I was really excited to try it, because the Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour I used in my recipes was a bit too heavy and dense. I purchased this one pound box for $3.99.

I am still new to gluten free baking with a variety of flours- I just don’t have the patience or confidence ( yet!) to experiment and combine two, three, four or more flours in my baking and recipes. I want my recipes to turn out the first time! So for now, pre-blended gluten flour mixtures are what I usually use.

Beth’s gluten-free all-purpose flour mixture is made from white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, guar gum and salt. I liked the consistency of the gluten free flour mixture- it wasn’t too powdery and seemed easy to measure and handle.

I made the Nestle tollhouse cookie recipe, and substituted this flour blend cup for cup. I am one of those people that eats raw cookie dough (gasp!) and this cookie dough tasted wonderful with the gluten free flour blend! My children could not taste the difference, which is a big deal because they are experts at tasting rice flour, and usually don’t care for it.

YUM!

The final product was just as tasty- my family inhaled these cookies! They did not taste gluten free AT ALL! I also substituted Beth’s gluten free all-purpose flour in apple crisp, gravy, other varieties of cookies and sweet breads. I found the flavor to be great with limited graininess and minimal crumbling.

Overall, I really like this gluten free flour blend, and it is my favorite to date. It is not heavy and dense like the corn or bean based all purpose flour blends, but it is more substantial than straight rice flour. The only downside I found was that the box only contains three cups or so of the gluten free flour mixture. The mix is great if you need to substitute a few tablespoons of flour, or a half cup of gluten free flour here and there. However, if you like to bake and cook more, you will find the amount in the box insufficient.

PROS: easy to measure and handle, great in a variety of foods, affordable price

CONS: Each box only contains aprox. 3 cups- doesn’t go very far

Rating: 5 stars

Try this gluten free all purpose flour for yourself! Click below:

Ingredients: white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, guar gum, salt. May contain traces of soy.

Oh my do I LOVE these! I picked up this hefty 32 ounce bag of rolled oats for a mere $5.99 at a local natural foods store when I was in Minnesota for my sister’s wedding back in December. I was thrilled that such large bag of gluten free oats was available since I adore my recipe for coconut pecan apple crisp and oatmeal cookies. This huge bag cost the same as my 17 ounce box of Lara’s gluten free oats in my pantry. I felt like I hit the lottery!

This is what the Bob’s red Mill site states about their gluten free oats:
Our Gluten Free Rolled Oats are pure. They are grown by over 200 farmers on clean, dedicated oat-growing fields. They plant only non-GMO “pedigreed” seed stock. Each farm delivery is sampled hundreds of times and tested with an R5 ELISA gluten test to ensure the absence of gluten. Advanced color-sorting removes undetected impurities. Roasting enhances that wholesome, robust flavor you expect. The oats are packaged in our new, 100% gluten free facility and tested for gluten again to ensure their purity. *Please be advised that a small percentage of people with celiac disease may not tolerate even the purest of oats. If you are unsure whether oats are suitable for your diet, please check first with your health advisor before eating them.

My family and I love these delicious oats and consumed them with no ill effects. The only problem I can find is that unless your local natural foods store carries them, they are difficult to find online to purchase- even the Bob’s Red Mill site is sold out!

Lucky for me- and you- my local natural foods store has started filling online orders, Click the link below if you want to purchase them ASAP. In the meantime, I will post new links when another site has them in stock.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats from Nature’s Pantry

Rating: 5 stars!

Pros: Finally! An affordable gluten free rolled oats product, tastes great, large size bag

Cons: May be difficult to find in stores and online

I just love pancakes for breakfast in the morning with my girls. They prefer chocolate chips as their topping of choice, while I like banana, walnuts and a drizzle of real maple syrup. And, because I like pancakes so much, I am very picky when it comes to the gluten free variations. I still miss “real’ gluten pancakes. But you know what? With this buttermilk pancake mix, I don’t miss them anymore. These pancakes are fantastic!

I purchased this 12 ounce mix for $4.99 at a natural foods store on my last trip home to Minnesota. This gluten free pancake mix makes makes two large batches of pancakes that will feed 2-3 hungry people per batch.

Mixing the pancake batter was a breeze- just add oil, and egg and buttermilk. Since I didn’t have any buttermilk, I followed the enclosed directions for a great buttermilk substitution that combines milk with lemon juice that worked perfectly in the mix. I whisked the batter easily with no lumps to be found. Unfortunately the batter was so thin that my first attempt at a pancake turned out more like a crepe, and that was not was I wanted. However, adding 2-3 more tablespoons of the mix did the trick, and even though the pancakes still appeared to be on the thin side, they tasted perfect. I found that adding any more mix, or reducing the milk by more than a few tablespoons resulted in thick pancakes with a sticky, gooey texture.

These gluten free pancakes are only slightly sweet,and have a smooth, slightly fluffy gluten-like texture that is ideal for any topping your taste-buds are craving. There is no hint of a mushy rice texture or flavor that I have often experienced with other gluten free pancake mixes. The flavor of the pancakes is subtle, but pleasant. The edges of the pancake are slightly crisp and the pancake itself cooks evenly- perfect if you like tall stacks of tasty pancakes. On the Sylvan Border Farm website, they have a dairy free substitute that may work as well. Overall, I really liked the Sylvan Border Farm Pancake & waffle mix, and will definitely buy it again.

PROS: excellent texture and flavor, easy prep, makes thin pancake perfect for stacking and toppings.

CONS: thin batter, resist the urge to add too much extra pancake mix to thicken

Rating: 5 stars

Want to try this mix out ?Buy it from:

GooddayGlutenFree.com-(product packaging photo at this link)

Sylvan Border Farm website

Ingredients: Potato Starch, White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour*, Amaranth Flour, Quinoa Flour*, White Cornmeal*, Garbanzo Bean Flour*, Sugar, Soy Flour*, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt. ( * organically grown)

This Lundberg creamy parmesan risotto mix has become a staple in my pantry. It is great for those rushed, no fuss evenings because I know it will be hot and ready to serve by the time my chicken is off the grill. I purchased this 5.5 ounce mix for $2.19 at my local grocery store, it serves my family of four perfectly.

To prepare this mix, you saute the rice in oil or butter until lightly browned, then add the seasoning mix and water. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, and it’s ready! This gluten free parmesan risotto is the perfect density- not too mushy, not too firm. The sauce is indeed creamy with a nice balanced herb and strong parmesan cheese flavor, and pairs well with grilled chicken or fish. There is no hint of a processed or “boxed” flavor as with some side dish mixes- gluten free or not. This is another reason I like it so much. It’s yummy!

The packaging indicates that this risotto dish is best served piping hot, and they’re not kidding. It tastes best straight from the stove- literally. The longer you wait to eat it, the consistency and flavor quality declines, and it just isn’t as good. Also, forget about leftovers and reheating it- it’s not nearly as tasty and flavorful.

PROS: Great flavor and consistency, risotto is perfectly cooked, quick and yummy option for dinner.

CONS: Eat it quick! Doesn’t taste very good as leftovers

Rating:Â 5 stars

Wanna try this mix? Click the link or picture below:

Lundberg - Creamy Parmesan Risotto
From: glutenfree.comIngredients: Eco-Farmed California Arborio Rice, Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese Blend, Salt, Natural Flavors, Buttermilk Powder, Onion and Garlic Powder, Cane Juice Powder, Butter Powder, Whey Powder, Rice Flour, Dehydrated Parsley, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Expeller-Pressed Safflower Oil (Less than 2% Added as a Processing Aid).

Before going gluten free 18 months ago, I lived on bagels. Loved them. Especially with cream cheese and sliced strawberries, peanut butter, or strawberry jam . . . yummm. And before last week, I hadn’t tried a gluten free bagel because I convinced myself a decent tasting replacement just wasn’t possible. I am not sure why I picked up this package of Glutino Sans Gluten Free Premium Plain Bagels and plopped it in my basket, but I did. And boy am I glad!

These bagels are sold in packages of five for $5.79 in the frozen foods section of my local grocery store, and are double packaged for ultimate freshness.

I first thawed my bagel in the microwave for 40 seconds before slicing it and placing it in my preheated oven on a piece of tin foil ( I don’t have a dedicated gluten free toaster in my home- yet.). I baked it until it was golden brown on the top. I removed it and immediately smothered it with cream cheese, as I used to do before my celiac diagnosis.

Yum.

I found the bagel to have the perfect thickenss and size for a satisfying breakfast or snack. The exterior was crisp and crunchy, the interior soft and chewy, but a bit of a springy texture. However, this did not take away from the product. I found the flavor to be gentle and perfect for spreads and toppings. I did not detect any dryness or graininess.

I don’t miss my “old” bagels anymore. The only thing I like better is the sesame flavor! (Look for the review tomorrow!)

However, on the down side, this bagel must be toasted for maximum flavor and texture. If thawed and sliced, it crumbles more and resembles a typical piece of rice bread- slightly dry and grainy. Therefore, if you wish to make a bagel sandwich, please toast the entire bagel. You’ll be glad you did. This gluten free product is also high in fat- 16 grams of fat per bagel. Note the nutritional information of the package is for 1/2 a bagel, but I don’t know anyone that just eats a half, after thawing and toasting . . .

PROS: Crunchy and chewy when toasted, pleasant but mild flavor, closely resembles a “regular” bagel

CONS: untoasted eating is not recommended, high in fat

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where Can I Buy Glutino San Gluten Free Premium Plain Bagels?

Glutino - Premium Plain Bagels
From: glutenfree.comIngredients: Corn mix (corn starch, skim milk powder, evaporated cane juice, salt, glucono-delta-lactone, pectin, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, modified vegetable cellulose), water, tapioca starch, margarine (palm and palm kernel oils, soy lecithin), skim milk powder, evaporated cane juice, liquid egg whites, safflower oil, liquid yolks, guar gum, yeast, salt, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, iron, calcium Read what Gluten Free For Me  , Going Gluten Free, or Ellen from I am Gluten Free  say about these bagels!