Gluten Free Food Reviews

More crispini flavors from Goldbaum’s Natural Foods!

I was so impressed with their onion and garlic gluten free crackers, that I had high hopes for their other two flavors. I was happy to discover that these rice crisp-like crackers were thick and sturdy, and perfect for on-the-go snacking.

These crackers came in a single serving sized package and appear exactly like the Goldbaum’s Onion & Garlic flavor- same color, texture and size. Both flavors are also low in fat ( 1 gram) and lower in calories at 110 calories per bag.

*****

Plain flavor: These had a light and mildly sweet flavor accented by the sea salt. These crackers are simply perfect by themselves, but would pair well with any flavor dip. They are also thick enough to handle a hearty dip if you wish. Ingredients: Rice, sugar, rice bran oil, sea salt, yeast extract, natural vitamin E oil, citric acid

Rating: 5 stars

*****

Salt & Black Pepper flavor: These gluten free crackers are similar to the “plain” flavor thanks to the additional of sea salt, but were less sweetness and also boast a kick of black pepper ( in powder form). This makes for a stronger, but controlled flavor that is different and interesting. Ingredients: rice, rice bran oil, sea salt, sugar, yeast extract, black pepper powder, natural vitamin E oil, citric acid

Rating: 5 stars

*****

Something esle I like about these crackers is that the single serve bags only cost $1.11! They also make a perfect travel snack since they are packaged well enough so prevent any crushing or breaking of the rice crisp crackers. These flavors are also available in larger multi-serving size bags.

To try these for yourself, click the links below:

Goldbaum’s Natural Foods Plain Gluten-Free Crispinis (Snack Pack) from the Gluten Free Mall

Goldbaum’s Natural Foods Sea Salt & Pepper Gluten-Free Crispinis (Snack Pack) form the Gluten Free Mall

For more of my Goldbaum’s Natural Foods product reviews, click HERE

For more of my gluten free cracker product reviews, click HERE

Enjoy Life sent me these allergy friendly rice milk chocolate bars to review, and I was definitely curious. Could a chocolate bar without dairy, nuts or soy actually taste good? I was about to find out.

First and foremost, I think the idea of these bars is wonderful.  This is a nice alternative for those of us that have a very restricted diet, but still want a treat now and then. These gluten free chocolate bars are vegan, nut free, soy free, dairy free, casein free, sesame free, sulfite free, egg free, potato free, and shellfish/ fish free ( I had to giggle at the fish free claim on their package, since I have never come across a chocolate bar that did have shellfish or fish, but whatever). I also thought of children with allergies that may feel left out when their peers enjoy their favorite Hershey bar or candy bar.  They don’t have to be left out anymore!

Each of these chocolate bars is fairly thick and somewhat crunchy. They don’t provide as smooth of a melt in your mouth experience like regular chocolate does, but I did not mind. They are all quite sweet; the evaporated cane juice and raisin juice adds a sweet, but a different, taste experience.

A review of each other three flavors:

Enjoy Life Foods boom Choco boom Dairy-Free Rice Milk Gluten-Free Chocolate Bar:  This “milk” chocolate flavor is mild and not overdone. At first, the texture and flavor reminded me of the cheap chocolate I got in my Easter basket as a kid ( remember that?), but as I tasted it, the simple flavors from the ingredients came through.

Enjoy Life Foods boom Choco boom Dairy-Free Rice Milk Gluten-Free Crispy Chocolate Bar: Same as the plain chocolate, but with the addition of crispy rice, like a Nestle Crunch bar. This was my favorite. Yum!

Enjoy Life Foods boom Choco boom Dairy-Free Rice Milk Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Bar: The flavor of this dark chocolate flavor is sharper with a slight bitterness to it. The texture reminded me of baking chocolate- it didn’t really melt in my mouth at all, when I ate it.

Overall, these bars can’t compete with Lindt or Ghiradelli, but they are an excellent alternative for allergy sensitive consumers.

Rating: 4 stars

Pros: nice flavor, great for those with multiple allergies

Cons: pricey ($2.12), texture is a little different than regular chocolate bars

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Want to try this gluten free product for yourself?

Click the link below for ingredients and purchasing information:

Enjoy Life Foods boom Choco boom Dairy-Free Rice Milk Gluten-Free Crispy Chocolate Bar

from Gluten Free Mall

For more of my Enjoy Life reviews, click HERE

I was especially interested in these crackers because I heard that these Glutino gluten free crackers are just like the buttery Ritz crackers I used to eat with peanut butter and bananas with my girls.Yum!

These Glutino gluten free crackers sell for $3.99 in my area. The 5.3 ounce box actually contains two small pouches of crackers. This is great for keeping the crackers fresh, but I found the packaging deceiving. You get much less than you might think.

These gluten free crackers resemble Ritz crackers with the crinkled edge and round, golden appearance. However, these crackers are a bit thinner in the center with slightly flaky, but compact layers. There is a hint of buttery flavor. The texture and flakiness reminded me more of a saltine than a Ritz, though. The crackers are light and tasty but somewhat fragile- half of my crackers were broken into small pieces straight out of the box. Also, I had to be careful spreading my peanut butter on them, so they wouldn’t break. These crackers are yummy to eat straight out of the box and their mild flavor would pair well with any spread or topping. I can also see these crackers as being excellent morning sickness crackers for my pregnant readers.

These are great crackers- despite the breakage- and I will definitely buy them again.

Pros: pleasant, mild flavor; great alone or with a topping, contains two separate bags to maintain freshness, reminds me of round saltine crackers

Cons: deceptive packaging, be careful of breakage

Rating: 4 stars

Want to try these crackers? Click below to check them out!

Glutino - Crackers
From: glutenfree.com

Ingredients: Corn starch, rice flour, organic palm oil, modified corn starch, dextrose, eggs, salt, yeast, guar gum, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, natural flavor.

Bread of Life Gift Basket, originally uploaded by Gluten Free Food Reviews.

This give-away couldn’t be more perfect!

This amazingly yummy basket reminds me of the housewarming basket my sister Kelly gave our family hours after we moved into our new home. And since moving from Pennsylvania, I already miss the quality hand made Amish products we enjoyed- my girls especially loved the handmade children’s furniture and chocolate and peanut butter whoopie pies. This basket has yummy gluten free baked goods snuggled in an Amish made basket. Perfect!

The Bread of Life dedicated gluten free bakery is located in a 100 year old barn in Missouri. They generously donated TWO gift baskets valued at $50 for my July give-away. They describe the basket as follows:

The Bread of Life gift basket includes one loaf of Country Brown Bread, one loaf of Multi Grain Bread, one bag of Cake Muffin and Brownie Mix, one Snicker Doodle Cookie, one Flax Shortbread Cookie, one Brownie, one Blueberry Muffin and one Chocolate Chip Muffin, tucked into a hand made basket, signed on the bottom by the Amish artisan who created it.  The gift basket is valued at $50.00.

Check out the links below for my reviews of their products thus far- i will also feature reviews of their bread and more sweets this month as well. So here is the details:

TWO winners this month will receive this gift basket shipped directly from Bread of Life bakery!

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Here’s how to enter:

1. Reply to this post and share your favorite gluten free baked item- your favorite cookie, cake, bread, whatever!

(Email submission are OK, bit I prefer you enter via the site so I don’t miss an entry. It is also helpful to include a link to your personal website in case you win and miss the big announcement)

2. If you have not done so, subscribe to glutenfreefoodreviews.com via email.

The give-away winner will be announced via email and on this site. Also, you will receive future product reviews. To subscribe, simply enter your email address at the top right side of my homepage. That’s it! if you have subscribed in the past, you do not need to do it again.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 16th!

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Now for the rules:

1. You must complete #1 and #2 to enter

2. Entries must be made by Tuesday, July 15th at 11:59 p.m.

3. I will only ship to US addresses

4. One entry, per person please

Good luck!

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In the meantime, check out my other Bread of Life product reviews. (And many more are on their way!)

It is nice to be back!

It has been a few weeks without internet access for me and my family. In some ways it enabled me to focus on getting settled in our new Utah home, but I missed writing reviews, checking out your sites/blogs, and reading your comments. I also loved reading your favorite memories and was surprised at how many of them involved pancakes! I am happy to report that we have made chocolate chip pancakes with frosty glasses of OJ three times this last week to help us feel “at home” in our new house. The move hasn’t been easy for us, and my girls ( and I!) are still adjusting, but I think it is comforting to my daughters to know they are some things that won’t change.

Now, onto the randomly selected give-away winner of a bag of Pamela’s Pancake mix, handy dandy spatula and tasty chocolate chips. Thanks to all who shared their stories!

Congratulations to Lisa Irvine with her comment of:

Isn’t it funny how many memories revolve around food? Anyway, one of my favorite memories is of my grandmother’s house. She used to keep a simple metal bowl of cheese popcorn on her wood stove in the kitchen. The heat from the top of the stove was just enough to warm the popcorn and send the smell all through the house! I can still almost smell the wonderful aroma today. She also was a great baker. She used to make a cookie called a “chocolate jumble” every Christmas. Boy, I wish I had the recipe! Of course, I’d have to reformulate it GF!!!

Lisa, please email me at glutenfreefoodreviews {at} gmail [dot] com with your shipping address.

Also dear readers, don’t forget to check back for our free product give-away for July. You’ll be glad you did!

I am moving this week- moving from my fun little College Town of State College PA ( home of PSU- go Lions!) for the hot and dry western state of Utah. We are moving for my husband’s job, and it should definitely be an adventure. As a result, I will be offline for a week or so- and plan to return around July 1st to announce the July free product give-away (and trust me - it’s a good one! You don’t want to miss it).

To give my readers some fun while I am ‘away” I am giving away a prize package that represents one of my favorite memories in my old house.

One of my favorite memories was making chocolate chip pancake for my girls on spring mornings, with sunlight streaming through the windows and a cool breeze meandering through my kitchen. Chocolate chip pancakes and a tall glass of OJ is the all- time favorite breakfast treat at my house,and in the spring it was just a nice way to start our morning with great weather, tasty food, and conversation about what we wanted to do that day. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just a simple pleasure I hope to continue in our new home.

So, the give-away will be a bag of Pamela’s Products gluten free pancake mix, a spatula, and a bag of chocolate chips. No fancy rules to win, just reply to this post and share your favorite food related memory or tradition in your past- or present- home.

The winner will be announced on this site around July 1st or so, and the announcement will also be emailed to my subscribers.

I can’t wait to hear what your memories and traditional are in your home!

When visiting my parents, I picked up this 6.2 ounce frozen Glutino gluten free pizza to make as hot and quick lunch. Since I love feta, I was excited. However, I am not a fan of cooked spinach, so I was interested to see how this Glutino gluten free pizza would turn out.

I popped this pizza into the oven for 16 minutes, and let it cool for five minutes before slicing. I noticed it seemed more like a personal size pizza, and sure enough, the packaging indicated this pizza is meant to be a single serving. Which means you don’t have to share, unless you really want to.

This gluten free pizza boasts a thin and tender rice crust that is light, chewy and slightly crisp on the bottom. The flavor is mild and provides a neutral palate for the toppings. The flavors of the ingredients tasted well balanced. The yummy flavor of fresh spinach, feta and riccota cheeses with a touch of safflower oil, came through loud and clear. I liked it alot, which is huge, considering I am not a huge fan of spinach!

On the down side, the crust thickness was inconsistent and somewhat lumpy, resulting in crisp overcooked spots and softer, chewy spots in the pizza. Also, there was a very generous space of crust around the edges. I prefer my topping to cover most of the pizza, and this gluten free pizza seemed to skimp on the ingredients by making such a wide crust. However, that is just my personal preference. Overall, a tasty pizza I would definitely buy again.

PROS: fresh, full flavored, smells wonderful, 10 g protein

CONS: crust is inconsistent, but easy to overlook since the toppings are so tasty, high in sodium (1000mg!), 5 g. saturated fat, skimpy spinach and feta toppings

Rating: 4 stars

You can buy this gluten free pizza from organicdirect.com

Ingredients: Water, corn starch, tapioca starch, spinach, mozzarella-brick cheese blend (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, salt, microbial enzyme, calcium chloride, cellulose), feta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, calcium chloride, microbial enzyme, lipase, salt, natamycin, lactic acid), ricotta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, lactic acid, salt), safflower oil, evaporated cane juice, glucono-delta-lactone, dried egg whites, salt, guar gum, yeast, garlic, pectin, sodium-bicarbonate, spices, sodium alginate, modified cellulose.

Check out what Racheline and Dr. Gourmet thought about this gluten free pizza product!

Free Gluten Free Flour!

Yes, my fantastic readers- it’s true! My give-away for the month of June is based on

Kitchen Basics!

I have found white rice flour and sorghum flour fantastic for my gluten free baking needs. I have used white rice flour to make everything from pie crusts, soups, sauces and baked goods. Sorghum flour is something new I have experimented with. I really enjoy the mild flavor and moist crumb it provides. Now, I am not the best cook or baker, but I have found these two flours quite forgiving, especially when blended together in recipes.

Think you could use some in your gluten free kitchen? Here’s how to enter:

The winner this month takes home BOTH of these gluten free flours!

1- full size package of Arrowhead Mills organic white rice flour

AND

1- full size package of Bob’s Red Mill “sweet” white GF sorghum flour

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Here’s how to enter:

1. Reply to this post and share your favorite gluten free kitchen staple- it could be a product, mix, or even a gadget.

(Email submission are OK, bit I prefer you enter via the site so I don’t miss an entry. It is also helpful to include a link to your personal website in case you win and miss the big announcement)

2. If you have not done so, subscribe to glutenfreefoodreviews.com via email.

The give-away winner will be announced via email and on this site. Also, you will receive future product reviews. To subscribe, simply enter your email address at the top right side of my homepage. That’s it! if you have subscribed in the past, you do not need to do it again.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 10th!

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Now for the rules:

1. You must complete #1 and #2 to enter

2. Entries must be made by Monday, June 9th 11:59 p.m.

3. I can only ship to US addresses , thanks to the picky and somewhat irritable disposition of my local postmasters. They give me a really hard time shipping food products to other countries- even Canada.

4. One entry, per person please

Good luck!

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Want more information about gluten free flour? Check out these sites while you wait for the winner to be announced!

“A Guide to Working with Gluten free Flours”- Shauna the gluten-free girl

“Tips for Baking With Gluten Free Flour” - Nancy from About.com: Celiac Disease

“Gluten Free Recipes & Tips” - Zoe from Epicurious.com

“Using Wheat Free Flours” - Victoria from About.com: Food Allergies

“Gluten Free Grains 101: the Best Flour Blend” - Natalie from glutenfreemommy.com