The Gluten Free Cereal Chemist's Point of View

Ian's Wheat Free / Gluten Free Pizza Kit

2008-10-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

FYI: When looking for this product in stores remember that they do make a pizza kit that DOES contain gluten. Be sure to get the one that says "Wheat Free / Gluten Free"

Yay! I'm finally blogging again. I'm changing my format up a bit though so it hopefully will not be as much of a time consuming project. Oh and I finally figured out to kind of add some photos...

Product Name: Ian's Wheat Free/Gluten Free Pizza Kit
Found at: The only place I've seen it so far was at a Whole Foods in San Antonio.
Other Allergen Info: No gluten, casein, soy, eggs, or nuts - Is manufactured in a facility that contains these products BUT they are not run on the same machinery (they are kind enough to tell you on the box).

What is it? - So, it calls itself a kit, I call it a genius marketing strategy. Inside the nifty paperboard canister you are given a yeast packet, a sauce packet, and a flour pizza dough mix. This allows you to add the toppings of your choice depending on your extra allergies and the container is quite fascinating (more on this later).
Difficulty: I was skeptical at first, but this was actually really easy to make. The dough does take a little while to rise, but the mixing process is done with a fork and it would be very easy for a child to help with. The table top mixer is the preferred method written on here, but I used a fork and did not have too much of a problem.
Quality of Final Product: This was pretty tasty pizza blend. The crust was nice and thick, it does not brown though. If anything it reminded me of Chebe pizza, but unlike Chebe this pizza was HUGE. There was enough dough to fill an entire cookie sheet. This would be a great option for a larger family with multiple kids because you can buy one kit and be able to feed a four person family pretty easily.
Why Myself and my Colleagues think this Product is Nifty: So yeah, this product has been the topic of discussion during several meetings of my packaging class this semester. The people that did the marketing for this were pure genius. It comes in a round paperboard canister that can be reused in traditional Ian's colors. It has the happy cartoons on the front, it has a photo of a great looking pizza, and it is clearly labeled Wheat free Gluten free. The fact that it is in the canister just makes it stand out on the shelf when compared to other products on the market. This is a product that you'll see on the shelf and even if you're not a kid the fact that it hits home with the comfort food aspect compells you to want to buy it.
Nutritional Value: Virtually none, but this is a comfort food, pizza is supposed to be one of those things in life that you do not expect to be healthy. Depending on your toppings you can add in extra veggies or fruits and change the flavor and nutritional value up so it's really up to the customer.

Should BNF Carry it? - My vote goes for yes, this is a great bang for your buck product and it is targeted for both kids and adults.

I promise I'm still alive

2008-10-15T08:17:00.001-07:00

So yeah...

Life got kind of busy this summer so I really wasn't able to post and do changes like I was hoping to. I've decided it is time for me to be proactive with this project and this time I promise real changes will take place.

Instead of attempting weekly blogs on new food products I'm going to try to slow down to do 1-2 a month along with a monthly book review. This book review will vary depending on my mood and the season but they will all relate to the gluten-free diet and lifestyle in some form or fashion.

Once again - sorry about my absence in the past months they've been pretty wild.

Why I have not posted lately...

2008-04-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yay for viral infections and not being able to even taste food for two weeks! I'm finally starting to feel better, but of course I'm in the middle of finals. I'll update more once I'm done with all of the chaos. I'll also provide my opinion on the current food supply issues that have FINALLY hit the mainstream news.

Oh random FYI since I heard this rumor recently and it really bugged me: MSG is gluten free if you don't believe me check out the University of Chicago's list of Gluten Free ingredients seen here: http://www.celiacdisease.net/gluten-free-diet

Kinnikinnick now has a Blog!

2008-04-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Much to my amateur blogging surprise this morning, I found out that the guys from Kinnikinnick posted a reply to one of my blogs. I really appreciated their feedback and willingness to come out and explain their reasoning behind the reformulation of their Donut line.

I do admit I was quite harsh in my initial review of the Sugar Donuts, but now that I have had more time to get over the initial shock I have gone back and amended my initial statements. I am still somewhat disappointed in the Sugar Donut line, but I must say that the new Chocolate Dipped Donut is absolutely fantastic. I promise I'll be writing a review on this product soon (including instructions on what microwaving techniques have worked best for me).

The most exciting news I found out this morning is that Kinnikinnick now has a blog. This will allow them to be able to get more feedback from customers, answer questions about ingredients, and really get in touch with their target market. Needless to say, I think this is a great move on their part and I will be checking in to read what they have to say on a regular basis.

Here is the link to their blog:

http://kinnikinnickfoods.blogspot.com/

I highly suggest that you go check it out and feel free to ask any questions of them, these guys really seem like they want to answer your questions and get feedback on products.

One last note, I was very sad to see that the awful rumor going around about the Donuts was not just a local rumor. I had heard it about a week ago and initially laughed it off because I didn't think that anyone in their right mind would ever believe it. I am EXTREMELY sensitive to gluten and I had had no form or manner of a reaction when I ate any of the donuts. Kinnikinnick is one of the few brands that I have always trusted when it comes to producing a gluten free product and I always will. I hope that anyone that reads this will go and check out their blog for more details and to get some insight into the company. Plus it's just really fun that they have a blog.

If you guys from Kinnikinnick are reading this thanks for all the input I really appreciate it. Once they get the Chocolate Dipped Donuts back in stock here in town I plan on writing a review on them. If only we had the Maple dipped donuts locally... (If you ever get a chance to try one do it. The old formulation was good and if they did the same magic they did with the Chocolate dipped donut I can only imagine how fantastic it will taste now).

The Current Situation with Texas A&M Dining Services

2008-04-08T14:25:00.001-07:00

Since they won't bother to tell you what is going on I will...

For those of you just tuning in to the situation at Texas A&M drop me a note and I will fill you in on the long ugly backstory of celiac students experiences here. It is currently my mission to make sure that celiac students in the future are fed safe and nutritionally adequate food here on campus rather than being lied to and insulted by the staff...

Trying to figure out where the food is located on campus is very difficult right now because they never seem to give you the same answer when you call. There are supposed to be gluten free options at SBISA, but I have found that this semester that the food has not been labeled when I usually go. The majority of the students with celiac disease that I know refuse to eat there after we were lied to and made so sick last semester. I chose to continue to support the program and observe if the program was going to continue to decline. I became violently ill after eating food that was labeled gluten free on three separate occasions. I guess this is what I get for trying to support change. Thanks guys...

So I called up last week to see if they had made any changes, Ed Cook the manager spoke with me and said they were working on labeling and providing more options. I went this morning and the bread was not even labeled. They then proceeded to look at me like I was an idiot when I questioned why it was not labeled. There were only three other options that were gluten free, none of which contained protein. Two were squash, zucchini, and cauliflower dishes and one was a mushroom dish. Unless you went and got boiled eggs from another line there was no protein in the form of meat, lentils, or even cereal products like corn or soy.

I am greatly concerned that they continue to ignore the fact that some sort of protein, vegetarian or not is needed for the celiac students. When I voiced this opinion to Ed Cook today I was given the phone number and name of who to contact if you are interested in having meat prepared for you at SBISA that day. They said to call in the morning 2-3 hours before you come in so they can prepare something for you. They said to call 979-845-2061 and ask for Jesse Burnett to request meat. I highly suggest that other students or faculty do this that way they can actually see that there are people that want and deserve to be fed a safe gluten free meal. I am planning on calling later this week and we will see if they actually accommodate me.

The other option that is now provided but has not been publicized at all is Amy's Meals. I had heard rumors of Amy's Meals for months before this and was constantly looking for them around campus. I saw them one day in the Ag Cafe and then they disappeared and I have not seen them at that location since then. I also saw the receipt that they had ordered the Amy's Meals. What really made me angry about this was that they had gluten containing Amy's Meals labeled as gluten free on the receipt. It was like adding insult to injury, but I finally found them at the Tomato Bar. My biggest concern is that they will not always have gluten free ones stocked. We went twice last week and by the second time we went they were running very low on gluten free meals. In my conversation with Ed Cook he also informed me that the store in the Underground will be selling Amy's Meals. I was personally annoyed that it took months, multiple calls, and roaming randomly around campus to figure this out.

Ed Cook also informed me that there is a celiac student on their student advisory committee and that his opinion is being taken into account. My question is why has this student not come to our local GIG meetings or even attempted to be involved in our local celiac community? There is a large and ever growing presence here in Bryan and College Station and if you google celiac and College Station, a link to our local GIG or a link to get in contact with our local GIG will show up. That's how I found the group well over a year ago when I decided it was time to take an active role in the celiac lifestyle. My other question to this student is where are you and why on earth have you not bothered to come out and promote the acceptance and tolerance of this disease openly on campus? I understand that you are newly diagnosed but those of us who have been around for many years are concerned that your opinion is supposed to account for the entire community when you haven't even come to a single meeting to try and meet those of us who have dealt with this a lot longer than you have. If you're reading this right now our website is http://www.bvgig.com I expect to see you at our next meeting. There are a lot more of us out there than Dining Services admits...

That in a nutshell is the current food situation here on campus. I am currently pushing for an open forum with the heads of Dining Services and students with all types of special diets, not just celiac disease. They need to determine where the options should be located on campus to produce the greatest profit and they need to learn how to actually listen to their students and customers, especially those of us that have years of experience and degrees in related areas.

I hope this is helpful for those of you who are as lost and confused about eating on campus as I used to be, if you have any other questions please leave comments and I will answer them as soon as I can.

Also if you want to check out Dining Services website to see the lack of information listed and numbers to call to ask questions please click here: http://diningservices.tamu.edu/index.html

An Ode to how I love Gluten Free Pantry's Pasta Fagioli

2008-04-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

I might as well review this since it's a fairly new product and unheard of product and I eat it all the time.

Product Name: Gluten Free Pantry's Pasta Fagioli

Website: http://www.glutenfree.com/Gluten-Free-Pantry-Skillet-Meal-Pasta-Fagioli/Item124001

Cost: $3.14 per unit according to their website, I found it at Amazon in six packs but they are currently sold out

Found at: Amazon, I am fairly certain they will be the death of me...

Initial thoughts: What on earth is Pasta Fagioli? I honestly think the name throws a lot of people off because they have no clue what it is. Also, it's a pain to find in person. I have not found a store in the state that carries it currently.

Cooking Issues and Taste: First off, they tell you to add one cup of cooked protein, I personally just add a pound of cooked ground beef. It's larger than what's called for but I'm currently trying to gain weight and the more protein the better. Secondly, the flavor packet has a BIG kick to it. If you are serving this to kids, I would only use about half of the seasoning they give you. I personally use about 3/4 of the packet and the final product still has a big bite of Italian spices. We're fans of lots of flavor at my house and this product does not fail to deliver. The seasoning is a very strong Italian herb blend. After you have used it once or twice you will be able to figure out how much seasoning you would like to add. Some might see this as a major flaw, I just see it as Gluten Free Pantry giving us the option to have some "real" spice added to our meals.

Overall: So what is Fagioli? It's actually a combination of meat, beans, and pasta with Italian spices. This is my favorite skillet meal by far and away. Mrs Leepers is easy to find, but it gets boring very quickly. There are also a ton of Asian flavored skillet meals roaming around out there these days, so it is nice to have a refreshing pasta dish that is not coated in cheese. This is also a very healthy meal. You have your protein source (any cooked meat you choose), simple carbohydrates to digest quickly (pasta), and lots of fiber (that is usually lacking from the gluten-free diet) in the beans. Pair it with some fresh blackberries or nectarines for dessert and you've got a great healthy meal.

Should it be Requested at BNF? Of course! I would love it if they carried this. My one worry though is that the name will throw people off.

Next Time: Update on Texas A&M's current food situation...

Behold - A Healthier Alternative to Amy's Enchiladas

2008-04-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Product Name: CedarLane Three Layer Enchilada Pie

Link: http://www.cedarlanefoods.com/p0084.htm

Found At: Brazos Natural Foods

Cost: $3.19

Initial Thoughts: Odd that they don't put gluten-free on the box but if you go to their website they state that the just reformulated to make it gluten-free. As long as it says wheat-free tamari, you're good to go. Also, yay for Mexican food!

Thoughts after Microwaving: It's not as pretty as it is on the box, but it smells good so I don't care.

Taste: Pretty good, it is not NEARLY as greasy as Amy's frozen enchiladas. There's a layer of black beans and then some cheese and lots of tortillas. Great flavor, I'm currently eating it with some corn chips (I'm a big fan of crispiness so I eat them with my microwaved Mexican food) and the combination tastes great. Not very spicy, but it still does have quite a bit of actual "flavor".

Overall: I really like this product and I will definitely purchase it again for myself and my boyfriend. It is not loaded with fat and grease like Amy's and you get more "product" in your purchase. Usually Amy's enchiladas are just two small rolled up enchiladas with a plate full of grease. The enchilada pie gives you a decent sized (for a college female) plate of food that fills you up without too much excess nastiness that you did not need to begin with. This incorporates whole beans into the equation which increases the fiber intake as well.

Should they keep this at BNF? Of course, and I will probably buy it on a regular basis.

Next time: Who knows, I never end up writing about what I plan... Probably the new Ian's GF Microwavable kids meal but we'll have to wait and see!

Finally Restaurant Reviews!

2008-04-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

So during spring break I had the chance to eat at the three restaurants in the state (sad I know), that I feel do a really great job at catering to the Celiac population. Since I like these places so much I decided I'd give each of these places a bit of P.R. and review them for you to let you know my favorite menu items. I'll start with an old favorite, Laura's Bistro...

Restaurant Name: Delicious N' Fit Laura's Bistro

Location: Plano, Texas (Just north of Dallas)

Website: http://www.delicious-n-fit.com/

My Thoughts: This place has chicken strips to die for. I order them every time I go, they're absolutely fantastic. I also really enjoy their hamburgers and sandwiches. This is definitely the place to take your family to when the kids are begging for "normal" food. Prices are not too bad, I really enjoy the atmosphere of the place as well. The store that is attached to the restaurant is also VERY good. Great place to get lots of hard to find items like Authentic Foods Flours that are almost impossible to find these days in this part of the state (thank-you HEB for not carrying them anymore...).

One word of warning: For those of you out there like myself that avoid oats, they have used Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free Oats in their products in the past. Not sure if they are doing this still, I just know I got REALLY sick after eating a rolled oat batter coating on one of their chicken sandwiches one day. What I would suggest is double checking when you order to make sure what you're getting is oat free.

Overall: Definitely a great restaurant, I really enjoy going there when I'm up in that direction. The owners are very nice and this is a great place to take your kids.

"mini" review time...

2008-04-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

So I'm thinking about doing some "mini" product reviews on things that aren't big meal ticket items. Since my boyfriend has now been diagnosed as wheat intolerant I've been on the lookout for new snack items that he will enjoy as well. I'll post my thoughts on the gluten free ones here in a shorter form than I usually do. So let's get started...

Product Name: Oskri Organics Quinoa Bar

Found at: Brazos Natural Foods

Cost: $1.19 per pack

Website: http://www.amazon.com/Oskri-Organics-Quinoa-1-9-Ounce-Bars/dp/B000HKLHX2

Thoughts as a Whole: This is a good bang for your buck product. Unlike a lot of products out there that you spend two dollars on for a small bar that you finish in two minutes, each pack of these contains three thin bars to snack on. They are not nearly as high in calories and are good for those of you who are dieting out there and are trying to find something that will take you a while to eat but won't cause you to go over your calorie intake. The guys (my boyfriend and his friend) really like them as well when they're working late nights. They've got a bit of a sweet taste to them and they're fun to munch on. They do have sesame seeds in them (sorry Monica) and at times they might stick to your teeth. Probably not a good product for anyone with braces on their teeth. I would not suggest the sister product to this, the Oskri Sesame Bars. The guys had a lot of trouble eating these and they said they were REALLY sweet for their taste. Overall a pretty good product that is good for those of us who are living a "campus" lifestyle at a reasonable cost. As always, go try one before you order a massive case just in case your taste does not agree with ours.

Let's see how many different GF grains we can use in one bread

2008-04-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yes I know this is not a restaurant review but as I digress...

Product Name: Bob's Red Mill Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix (Gluten Free)

Found At: Brazos Natural Foods (for the moment at least)

Link://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Gluten-Free-20-Ounce/dp/B000PDMDQG/ref=pd_sim_gro_img_1 I linked here so you can see the packaging.

Cost:$5.29 per bag

Initial Thoughts: Someone in their product development department got "ingredient happy".

Thoughts when Opening the Bag and Preparation: I have to admit, it smells kind of funny. The consistency was not like "normal" bread at all, no punching or really touching involved. HIGHLY impressed with how well it rose during proofing. They get an A+ for that, I have to admit I didn't think it would rise as well as it did.

Cooking Issues and Shelf Life: After the dough was proofed it baked beautifully, just like the packaging said. When it came out of the oven I was really surprised at how much it had risen, the crust was beautiful and crisp (just like it should be). The inner crumb was also very impressive, the starch gelatinized beautifully, the crumb was very soft and moist. The consistency of the air pockets within the crumb was also impressive considering this dough had not been "punched" to get a more even distribution of air pockets. The shelf life on this definitely is not the greatest, this morning the crust was already rubbery and overall it looked like it was going through retrogradation fairly quickly.

Taste: This gets its own category since there were lots of people around to try it and we got LOTS of reactions. Overall I don't think it was that great. Their overuse of multiple grains threw the taste off a bit. I could taste the tanins within the bread (not sure if they used white tanin sorghum or not). I personally had issues with all of the seeds that were added (sunflower and sesame). I really do not think they added to the flavor and they were NOT appealing to they eye. Overall we got a pretty negative reaction from the crowd about the bread. I think Kayla was the only one that really liked it but even her reaction was mixed. The one suggestion we did get is to combine this with some sort of garlic butter to mask the off flavor.

Overall Thoughts: There is a reason why I preach about not getting "ingredient happy" - this is why. If you're looking for a high fiber gluten free bread, this could probably be done better with fewer ingredients. If asked to formally describe what type of bread this is I'd probably say artisan style. Some last night were saying it reminded them of pumpernickel. It's been so long since I've had normal bread I have no clue what that even tastes like. The initial crust and crumb texture were fantastic, but it did not hold up well over time. Probably not a good choice for a single person like me who will not sit and eat an entire loaf of bread in one sitting (there were 7 of us last night and we only ate like 3 slices.) Overall it has good aspects but the flavor just surprised me.

Should they continue carrying this at BNF? If they have room on the shelves, sure why not. I am sure that there are some people out there that will really enjoy this bread, and it was very easy to make. I'm personally curious to see how Ana's breads stack up in terms of cooking consistency compared to this, because this product did bake quite nicely.

Next time: Gluten Free Pantry's new Coffee Cake Mix - I expect good things from this since they are members of the Glutino family...

Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake Mix

2008-03-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

Product Name: Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake mix

Found at: Brazos Natural Foods

Website Link: www.pamelasproducts.com

Cost: Need to look it up...

Initial Thoughts: I wonder what the chicory root is for? Other than that the ingredients look like your traditional gluten free cake.

Cooking Issues and Taste: I decided to try this for a friends birthday and chose to do cupcakes instead of a traditional sheet cake. I also iced them with Pamela's Vanilla Frosting Mix (I'm combining the two reviews to one). Had to cook a little bit longer because they were cupcakes and was concerned by the look of the tops. They looked more like cornbread than cakes, it was really odd. The final product was VERY rich and sugary. Moist Texture, kind of tastes like you're eating butter though which grossed me out. Icing is good, appeared to be rich powdered sugar and butter based. I was not a big fan of sprinkles, they didn't stay on well and were hard to put on cupcakes.

Overall: I thought they were way too buttery for my taste. I think they should scale back on the oil you add. My friends really liked them, but I thought they were just ok. I suspect it is a VERY similar recipe to what I used when I make my own cakes from home.

Do I think it should be requested at BNF? They already carry it.

Next up: Restaurant Reviews from my adventures to Austin and San Antonio...

UPDATED: not so much of a "shame on you to Kinnikinnick Foods "

2008-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

So, I have been quite busy lately with school, work, and not feeling so great. I have been driven out of my blogging dry spell to discuss why I was initially very disappointed with Kinnikinnick Foods reformulation of their Sugar Donut. When you have a market as limited as the celiac population, you should not take your tried and tested products that you have had for many many years and completely change them. Only two things can come from this - it either works and you get a superior product or all you get is alienation of your target group. Right now I'm still pretty sad (but I will survive to live another day) about the reformulation of my all time favorite gluten free snack - the Kinnikinnick Sugar Donut.

A little history lesson for the newly diagnosed... Kinnikinnick Foods has been around for a long time, in fact when I was first diagnosed back in 2002 they were one of the few companies catering to the gluten free market. They were the source to soothe my cravings and they provided the comfort foods I dearly wanted. One of these foods happened to be the Sugar Donut. I tried all their varieties, back then there were more than there are now, but the Sugar Donut was my absolute favorite. It might seem trivial now but to a 17 year old who had their life turned upside down and was forced to bed-rest for over a month and not allowed to socialize with other people her age it meant a lot to me. I was able to feel like a normal person, because I could at least still have a donut I liked. The packaging did not change throughout the years and my beloved Sugar Donuts have been a mainstay in my diet. When I started learning more about proper nutrition in my undergraduate classes I came to appreciate them even more. The portion sizing was great for a quick breakfast, grab one microwave it and then run out the door. It might not have been the healthiest choice, but it was better than many other options out there and I did not feel like I was wasting my money on food.

My normal habits were crushed the other day when I went to the health food store and saw that my beloved Sugar Donuts now had a new type of package. To the average person this might not raise any alarms, but the food scientist in me went, "Oh damn they reformulated". Reformulation is food companies way of changing a product for a particular reason, putting it in a new shiny box so they can call it "new and improved"(Please see my Amendment and upcoming posts for the exciting reason why). It appears that they reformulated to create a soy free version of their product and discontinued the original line of donuts. While I do understand that it is important to create GF, SF products it saddens me when companies discontinue successful lines just so they can come out with a product to appeal to a new market that hurts my perceived quality.

I finally sucked it up and bought a box of the "new and improved" Sugar Donuts today and they were very disappointing at first. You open the box to find six small sad looking donuts, a stark contrast to the size of the old formulation, which could serve as a full breakfast. These new donuts will probably take three to provide the same satiety as one of the older version. I was initially saddened that they create a smaller product that was disappointing in terms of portion size, they also increased the fat making it less desirable to people like myself who try and avoid excess saturated fat in their diet. The taste was acceptable, just slightly fluffier than the old formula. I have a feeling this is what the old formula would have tasted like if you had made it smaller.

Now that I have that off my chest I need to get back to work... More updates Friday...

Update: Since initially writing this blog the new Sugar Donuts have grown on me (I still miss the old formulation though), but I have also tried the new Chocolate Iced Donuts (I'm not quite sure what the official name is because their website is slightly angry at my Mac right now), but these are the next greatest thing since the induction of the Kinnitoo into our lives. I promise I will write an entry on them this weekend, or when they get them stocked back in the store.

Amy's Black Bean Tamale Verde - What were they thinking?

2008-03-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Product Name: Amy's Kitchen Black Bean Tamale Verde

Website: http://www.amyskitchen.com/products/new_products.php

Cost: I'll have to unbury my receipt to look it up for you but the only place I was able to find it was at the original Whole Foods in Austin, Texas.

Initial Thoughts: I was so excited when I saw this product go up on the Amy's Kitchen website, to the point that I was searching all Whole Foods locations I could get to to try and find it. Amy's Mexican food dishes have traditionally been successful, so why would I think this one would be bad?

Thoughts when opening the box: There's an awful lot of sauce on the tamale, but other than that nothing appeared out of the "norm".

Cooking issues and taste: I like to tout Amy's products for having such consistency during cooking, this product does not fail to meet my very high expectations. The taste is another matter... I am not sure what the product developers were thinking when they created this product. What they came up with was definitely NOT a tamale. The "tamale" itself did not have a bad taste, it appeared that they wrapped the bean filling with masa, rather than mixing the filling or flavoring in with the masa like you would with a traditional tamale. Anyone who is a die hard tamale fan would be highly offended by this. The flavor was not that bad, but I personally could not get over how they used the masa. The rice was also a big issue with me. It was very sweet and it did not sit well with the other flavors of the dish.

Overall thoughts: Very disappointed with this product, I expected more from Amy's Kitchen. They took a very traditional food and butchered it. The taste was not that bad, but my main issue was with labeling it as a tamale, when it was not. My boyfriend on the other hand liked it. He thought it was a bit bland but not that bad, he also does not work with masa based products on a regular basis like I do so I guess I might just be a bit of a "masa snob".

Should they carry this at BNF? NO. In fact I disliked this product so much I think that Amy's should rethink the whole concept behind it.

Next time: There will be reviews coming up of Pamela's White Cake Mix and White Vanilla Sprinkle Frosting, Cherrybrook Kitchen's Brownies, Little Aussie Cafe in San Antonio, Wildwood Art Cafe in Austin, and Amy's new breakfast Cream of Rice Bowl.

So I'm behind

2008-03-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Very, very behind... I'll try and catch up this week I promise. I have been traveling and I have lots of interesting new products and restaurants to talk about.

Amy's Kitchen Tofu Rancheros

2008-03-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

Product name: Amy's Kitchen Tofu Rancheros

Found at: Whole Foods, Kirby Drive location in Houston

Website Link: http://www.amyskitchen.com/products/category_view.php?prod_category=21

Cost: $3.99

Initial thoughts: I love Mexican food, and since my sensitivity to gluten has increased dramatically in the past six months eating at the Mexican food place a block from my house is one of the things I dearly miss. When you look at this product you think to yourself potatoes, black beans, and eggs - well kind of it is tofu.

Thoughts when you open the box: It's just like any other Amy's meal. You put the slit in the top and microwave for five minutes. Looks like a pretty good portion size but I was slightly frightened when I looked at the fat content on the back. It has 5 grams of saturated fat, which is 26% of what you need in a day. It does contain 7 grams of fiber and fair amounts of calcium and iron so I see it as a pretty fair trade off. If you're trying to diet though I might skip this one.

Cooking issues and taste: The most important thing to remember while eating this is that it is tofu, not eggs. Tofu, no matter how hard they try will probably not taste exactly like eggs. Other than that it cooked well, there was a little bit of browning on the beans but that is expected when cooking food in the microwave. I also really enjoyed that there was a corn tortilla at the bottom of the tofu, making it a modified breakfast taco. Amy's always has good portions and it was very filling, overall a pretty good microwave dish.

Should they carry this at BNF? Probably, only if they have room or if they eliminate one of the items that doesn't sell as well (I'm looking at you Ian's fish sticks). This is a dish that can be eaten for any meal of the day, I ate mine for dinner one night. It might not sell as well as others but I think it would be a consistent profit and might be good as a seasonal replacer (as in switching out a new product every few months and bringing it back later as a way to keep customers interest).

Next time: Amy's Mexican Tomale Pie - I promise I've blown through all of my stash of new Amy's products for a while and will come up with something else fun and new when I go on my adventures this weekend...

Random FYI

2008-03-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine tried the Pacific Foods Sweet Corn Soup and claims it tastes like pureed creamed corn. I personally haven't tried it yet, and I probably will not. I am really not a big soup person. This might be good for mixing in for other recipes but other than that I would suggest buyer beware...

Amy's Gluten Free Non-Dairy Cheeze Rice Crust Pizza (single serve) Also known as Amy's response to Glutino's line of pizzas

2008-03-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

Product name: Amy's Gluten Free Non-Dairy Rice Crust Pizza (Single Serve)

Found at: Whole Foods, Kirby Drive location in Houston

Website Link: http://www.amyskitchen.com/products/new_products.php

Cost: $4.99

Initial thoughts: Glutino must have taken a bite out of Amy's GF pizza sales. Unlike Glutino's product, Amy's single serve does target multiple markets. It's corn, gluten, dairy, lactose free, and vegan. Sorry folks it does contain soy.

Thoughts when you open the box: It's a good portion size for single serve, which means you might find it a bit small, I know my big problem with the normal Amy's gluten free pizza is that I end up eating the whole pizza to myself because I don't want it to go to waste. This allows for a pretty good alternative to feeling really greasy.

Cooking issues and taste: I was kind of disappointed in the baking qualities. The edge of the crust browned pretty badly and the soy cheese had issues melting. There also wasn't nearly as much cheese as I am accustomed to on a pizza. The taste is pretty similar to your normal Amy's GF regular cheese pizza, it's just not as greasy. I am not quite sure if I was imagining it or not, but the crust seemed a bit thicker in this product than the normal Amy's product. The crust did not remind me of cornbread as much as the usual Amy's pizza does, which is a big plus in my book.

Overall thoughts: Good product for a comparable price to Glutino's. Good choice if you are sensitive to dairy proteins (I'm fairly sure "dairy free" and "lactose free" mean caesin free. Amy's does their online product labeling a bit different from everyone else). Still has some of the same issues that I had with the original Amy's pizza, but it does look like they are learning from their mistakes. One big issue, it is still really high in fat and lacking in functional nutritional properties (aka vitamins, minerals, high in fiber, etc...)

Do I think it needs to be requested at BNF? Yes and No - yeah I know, cop out answer. This would be a good product for vegans, and caesin/gluten free. If they do carry it, I think they should stop carrying the original rice crust pizza. If they carried both it would be doubling up on essentially the same product. If you are vegan GF or GF/CF go request it, if not you still have your traditional rice crust pizza.

Next Up: Amy's Kitchen Tofu Rancheros - Yay for Tofu!

Ian's Wheat Free/Gluten Free Soy Cheesy French Bread Pizza

2008-03-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Product Name: Ian's Wheat Free/Gluten Free Soy Cheesy French Bread Pizza

Found at: Whole Foods on Kirby Drive in Houston

Website link:http://www.iansnaturalfoods.com/WFGF.html
Cost: $5.99 per box (One box contains two servings)

Initial thoughts:

In theory very good idea, no one else is marketing a product like this right now, it looks like they've paired with Glutino on the bread.
Thoughts when you open up the box:

Packaging is very deceptive, much smaller portions than I expected.
Cooking issues and taste:

So you can microwave or bake this product. I chose to microwave because I was in a hurry. Bad idea. The crust of the bread was VERY tough. No way a kid would have been able to eat it. The inside of the bread was very soft and a good tasting product, not as much cheese as I was hoping and the product did not have a consistent spread of products on the top (half of it had cheese half of it didn't). The nutrition content is not too bad, it doesn't have as much fat as other pizza products, but this portion size is also much smaller and there wasn't very much cheese. It was barely enough for a small lunch for me, if you have a hefty appetite you'll definitely need something else to go with this.
Overall thoughts:

It's ok (I probably won't get it again), also pretty pricey for the amount of product you get. I think it will be better if you bake it in the oven, I'll try that next time and let you guys know if the crust was any better. Personally if you want pizza I would take Glutino or Amy's over this any day, the crust was just too hard. It was a fight to try and eat it.

Do I think it needs to be requested at BNF?

No, I don't think this would be a big money making product. Too many issues and way too expensive.

Next Up: Amy's Gluten Free Non-Dairy Cheeze Rice Crust Pizza (single serve) Also known as Amy's response to Glutino's line of pizzas

Let me Introduce Myself

2008-03-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, I finally got this to work!

For those of you who don't know me my name is Sara. I'm a Food Science graduate student at Texas A&M and my specialty is cereal chemistry. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in June of 2002 and I have hypothyroidism. I have all of the "classic" gastrointestinal symptoms and my mom also suffers from celiac except she has more D.H. symptoms.

I am creating this blog because the world of gluten free is changing right before our eyes. There's a lot of fact, fiction, and "I'm not quite sure" facts running around out there. Hopefully I can help clear up some of the confusion and give a bit of insight from the food science and nutrition perspective of it all. My main goal is to provide food product reviews on all of the new, interesting products I find in the East and Central Texas area and let you know if I think they really live up to all the hype and where to find them.

If you guys have any requests or random finds, let me know. I love food.