Archive for July, 2009

Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar

Jul 27

Posted by Maureen in GF Product Reviews | 10 Comments

Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar is NOT the cheesiest.  Nor will you find Sponge Bob Square Pants, Scooby Doo, or Pokemon-shaped pasta inside the box.  That said, this mac n’ cheese does taste good.  A little doctoring of the cheese portion was needed (I like my pasta happily smothered in cheese sauce), but overall this is a great product to have on hand for a quick meal.

gluten-free-rice-pasta-cheddar

Pros:

  • Uber-simple to make.  Even a monkey could prepare it!
  • The rice pasta tastes like the “real thing” — no gritty texture.
  • Reasonably priced at $1.99 for 6 ounce package.

Cons:

  • The cheese portion of the mac n’ cheese was more like watery cheese soup.  It’s very thin and needs to be thickened up with extra cheddar.
  • The box of gluten free mac n’ cheese is 6 ounces.  A traditional glutenous box of mac n’ cheese is 7.5 ounces.  Um, hello, why do gluten intolerant peeps get less?

trader-joes-gluten-free-rice-pasta-cheddar

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Gluten for Punishment

Jul 24

Posted by Maureen in Hold The Gluten Podcast | 44 Comments

The latest episode of my Hold The Gluten Podcast is now live!

Episode 26 “Gluten for Punishment” Features:

  • Glutened by Sami’s Bakery Millet & Flax Hot Dog Buns.  My story.
  • Betty Crocker FREE coupon to sample one of their gluten free products (cake, cookie, or brownie mix).  Call 1-800-446-1898, select Option 4, and provide your name and mailing address.
  • Starbucks discontinuing their Valencia Orange Cake.  Sign Triumph Dining’s petition to bring back the Gluten Free Cake.
  • Trader Joe’s GF Pancake/Waffle Mix and GF Mac N’ Cheese review.
  • Check out Gluten Free Faces – the latest social network for gluten free peeps.
  • Celiac Disease Insights:  Clues to Solving Autoimmunity (thanks for sharing Mike!).
  • What do YOU think of this HTG Podcast? Leave your feedback wherever you download this podcast!

AleiasWeb-logo
Gluten Free Giveaway! Leave a comment for a chance to win Aleia’s Gluten Free Italian bread crumbs, parmesan croutons, almond horn cookies and chocolate chip cookies!  Deadline to enter is 08/07/2009.

Read the blog. Listen to the podcast. Educate yourself.

Rock on Celiacs!

Click the player below to listen to the show! Subscribe to the podcast using iTunes (or whatever media player you use) at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/htgpodcast

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Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Jul 11

Posted by Maureen in GF Recipe Compilation, Recipes: Desserts & Baked Goods | 11 Comments

gluten-free-blueberry-muffins

“You’re my boy, Blue.”  Will Ferrell, Old School

The above reference has absolutely NOTHING to do with my blueberry muffin recipe, but I had to include it.  As I began working on this post, I battled a case of writer’s block.  While these blueberry muffins are indeed delicious, said muffins were not inspiring writing greatness.  Grasping at straws, I searched for a witty quote about lovely blue fruits (yes, I was really reaching).  All I could find was a wordy poem about blueberries by Robert Frost.  Um, ok.   Then my mind started wandering (it has a tendency to do that more often than not) and I started thinking about the movie Old School and Joseph “Blue” Palasky.  At the ripe age of 89, Blue was the oldest member of a bogus fraternity.  Sadly, the navy veteran met his demise while preparing to wrestle two scantily-clad girls in a blow up pool.  But I digress…

Tranquilizer guns, beer bongs, and streaking aside (hmm, not a very successful transition), these blueberry muffins are moist, freeze wonderfully, and are pretty darn tasty.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup POM juice
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 mashed ripe banana
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup millet flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups blueberries
Lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, lemon and POM juice, orange extract, canola oil, agave nectar, mashed banana, and brown sugar thoroughly.  Add in brown and white rice flours, tapioca starch, millet flour, flax seed, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until combined and then fold in blueberries and lemon zest.  Using a spring loaded ice cream scoop (this is so much easier than trying to pour directly into the muffin tin!), evenly distribute the batter into muffin tins.  Bake 30 minutes (or until wooden tester comes out clean).  Makes two dozen muffins.

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Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix

Jul 5

Posted by Maureen in GF Product Reviews, Recipes: Breakfast | 13 Comments

I (finally) made my pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s to re-stock my bare pantry full of gluten free goodness.  While there, I picked up a package of TJ’s Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix.   Feeling all Betty Crocker (now that she’s gluten free!), I whipped up a batch of blueberry waffles to taste test.

gluten-free-waffles

Pros:

  • Uber-simple to make.  Even those distracted by shiny things (ahem, guilty as charged!) will be able to add the three ingredients to the mix.
  • Mix is free from gluten, peanut, milk & dairy, soy, and corn.
  • Reasonably priced at $2.99 for 18-ounce package (makes 12 waffles or pancakes).
  • The package is purple – my favorite color!

Cons:

  • The cooking instructions are for waffles OR pancakes using the entire contents of the mix.  I wish they would offer instructions for 3, 6, or 12 waffles/pancakes.  Of course, you could dump out the mixture, re-measure the contents and rework the recipe, but I am mathematically challenged, so this was not an option.
  • The mix had a faint but slightly “off” odor (something I have found in many gluten free mixes).
  • I found there to be a slight aftertaste to the waffles I prepared.  It was a bit metallic tasting (not that I frequently lick metal objects, but this is the best way to describe the aftertaste).

traderjoes-gluten-free-mix

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