Product Review: Glutino Chicken Penne Alfredo

Being a huge fan of other Glutino products, I wanted to try a pasta dish to see if it stacked up to their other items.

Their Chicken Penne Alfredo was my first foray into their pasta dishes. To start, the chicken was good - tender and flavorful. The sauce smelled divine - just like the real deal with alfredo. But the flavor was just a little lacking - it felt like it needed the punch of fresh garlic or a touch of ground pepper. The pasta was a bit of a letdown, too. A bit more than al dente, even when cooked just a touch longer than the box advised. Very chewy and bland. It wasn't the best pasta I've had, but it wasn't the worst either.

This one does have dairy products in it - so if you have dairy sensitivities, this one is not for you.

I would eat it again, but only if I had extra money to spend and some fresh garlic and broccoli on hand to mix in.

Product Review: Glutino Spinach & Feta Pizza

WOW!!!

Glutino was making Spinach and Feta pizza a little while ago, and it was pretty good to begin with. But now, with an improved recipe - the crust is crispier, there is more melty cheese goodness, and the taste is out of this world.

Let's start with the crust, shall we? This is where most companies fail to meet the taste test right off the bat. Usually it either it tastes like glue, or the cardboard box it came in. Glutino's new crust is light and crispy, with a hint of buttery flavor that I was missing from the old pizza places I used to go to as a kid.

Next - the CHEEEEEESE. There isn't just feta cheese here - there is also grated mozzarella and ricotta cheese - and mixed with the spinach, this is heavenly. My son, who normally can't stand spinach, loves this pizza. And he's not celiac, either.

This is ready in a quick 17 minutes from the oven. It's awesome on it's own, but I also like to add olives or chopped ham to it - you could also add sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc to make it a "mini-supreme pizza".

Definitely a must-try - find it at Whole Foods in the frozen section or try http://www.glutino.com/ for more information.

Product Review: French Meadow Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Found this one in the frozen foods section at Whole Foods...

The box looks too pretty to pass up! The picture of the cookies is so inviting and you can just imagine the smell of freshly baked cookies filling the house. Not only are these beauties gluten free, they are also casein, lactose and peanut free and are kosher.

Indeed, the smell was heavenly. I had very high hopes for these cookies, though you only get about nine per box. With a family of four, you know someone was going to fight over the last one!

These are made with potato starch instead of your typical rice flour, so that made for a much more mild flavor. They were tender to the bite and much more of a "soft-chew" cookie than a lot of others we've tried. Cookies made with fava bean flour always throw me off, so this was a pleasant change of pace. The chocolate chips TASTED like chocolate chips - not like some carob wanna-be. These were very close to the original version I'm used to - and kept well for the two days they were stored in ziploc bags. Yes, I rationed them out!

My only suggestion to the company would be this - I would love to see a version made WITH butter, so those of us who are able to have it would still get that buttery flavor of the real deal. Other than that, if you have multiple sensitivities, this is a GREAT alternative for the cookie monsters among us.

Recipe: Gluten Free Pizza Crust by Beth Hillson

Beth sends out the weekly e-mails for GlutenFree.com. She is also the food editor for Living Without magazine. This recipe is for her gluten free pizza crust. If you've been missing pizza, give this one a try!

Gluten Free Pizza Crust by Beth Hillson
*Enough for Two 12-Inch Pizzas

Ingredients:

½ cup arrowroot flour
½ cup tapioca starch
1 cup chickpea or other bean flour
1 cup rice flour
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
1¼ cups warm water
1 egg, lightly beaten, or flax gel
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon cider vinegar

Toppings
Gluten-free tomato sauce
1½ cups grated mozzarella cheese, soy cheese or other nondairy cheese
Other toppings, as desired (some ideas are canadian bacon and pineapple; pepperoni and black olives; or vegetarian pizza with red and green peppers, red onions, black olives)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare two 12-inch round pizza pans by spraying them lightly with vegetable spray or brushing with olive oil. Combine first eight ingredients until well blended.
In a separate bowl, mix together water, egg, olive oil and cider vinegar. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and beat for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth.
Place half the dough in each pan. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with vegetable spray and place it oil side down on the dough. With the palm of your hand, push dough evenly to the edges of the pan to form a crust. Repeat with the second pan of dough.
Discard plastic wrap. Brush dough with olive oil. Top with pizza sauce, grated cheese and other toppings of choice.
Bake in preheated oven on lowest rack for 14 to 16 minutes or until edges are golden. Let cool 2 to 3 minutes before slicing and serving.

Product Review: La Tortilla Ivory Teff Wraps

Bearing in mind that if you've had flour wraps before and crave the soft texture, finding a wrap to replace it that is gluten free is truly a challenge. Corn tortillas offer little solace - they often crack and split open after warming and all your fillings spill out. I've been looking for a better option, but unfortunately, this isn't it.

A more accurate name for this product might be TUFF wraps. I tried a few different heating methods just in case something worked better than another, but there was no way this product was going to taste any better or behave like a traditional tortilla.

These tasted a LOT like cardboard. They were awful, awful, awful. And the texture was tough and difficult to chew. After only a few bites, I pulled the wrap off and threw it in the trash. This has been, without a doubt, one of the worst gluten free substitutes I've ever had the misfortune of trying.

Product Review: Crispy Cat Mint Coconut

Well technically this really isn't much of a stretch for gluten free, but it IS a gluten free product nonetheless! I love coconut and mint, and I figured this would taste a bit like a Mounds or Almond Joy. Indeed it does - but with a bigger hit of flavors than you might expect.

The mint is strong but not overpowering, the coconut is soft and fleshy and is mixed with crispy rice cereal. I liked this best after it had been chilled - the flavor almost compares to a mint ice cream bar that way. It's coated in a rich dark chocolate blanket that is truly decadent to the senses.

The calories are a bit high on this one at 210, so enjoy in moderation or share it with a friend!

Product Review: Glutino Pretzel Twists

Pretzel lovers rejoice! This is the best pretzel I've had since going gluten free. And I think there can be quite a few recipes for this one with regards to crushing and breading things. I'm already thinking of a superfine crush to create a breading for fried chicken... Oh, and this would go great on fish, too...

These taste like the real deal - salty, crunchy and delicious. Open the bag and it SMELLS heavenly - the baked fresh scent that any wheat based product has. Glutino also sells stick pretzels, but I'm partial to the twists...

If you need a product to satisfy a salt craving, make these a "go-to" product - 24 of these (one serving) only has 190 calories. Available at glutenfree.com (click the banner to the right or at the bottom to go to the store) and in many health food stores, including Whole Foods.

Now if only I could find a soft baked pretzel that is as good as these are...