Glutino adds a delicious gluten-free twist to pretzels

Glutino Gluten-Free Pretzel Twists

I love pretzels.  I always have.  Low calorie, low fat, and just enough salt to satisfy.  They are the ultimate snack.  And I love them in every form.  Soft, crunchy, unsalted, twisted, sticks…yeah…they are an easy go-to snack.

When I had to go gluten-free however, my go-to snacks became very expensive.  With gluten-free pretzels ranging around the $5.99 and higher mark, it wasn’t fitting into my food budget any time soon.  And then, my local grocery store had a manager’s special on Glutino pretzel twists.  An equation for my imminent purchase is: Gluten-Free + SALE = My Pantry.  I bought up all five bags that were on the sale table, as they weren’t set to expire anytime soon, so I would have ample time to eat them before the sell-by date.

Pretzels make awesome work snacks.  With a pantry shelf full of Glutino pretzels, I started taking a serving to work each day for my afternoon snack.  As always, I get a little anxious when trying a new product.  Mostly because I don’t know if I’m going to like it or hate it or just be indifferent about it.  Being a foodie…I want my food to wow me.  So, with only a little trepidation, I popped one in my mouth.  Since pretzels are the ultimate party snack, these ignited a party of flavor in my mouth.  Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe how good these snacks are.

Glutino pretzel twists have a bit of a buttery flavor and have just the right hint of salt as to not be overpowering.  They are crispy, delicious, and have such amazing flavor.  I enjoyed them more than any other pretzel I had prior to needing to go gluten-free.  Even more intersting, my mom has been on a gluten-free diet as well and bought these and my dad, who doesn’t have to be gluten-free, prefers them over regular snack pretzels as well.

The verdict is in…Glutino rocks the party snack world with out-of-this-world pretzel twists.  Eat them on their own or dip them.  Either way…you’ll be happy you tried them.

Not wild over Nature’s Path Wildberry Gluten-Free Waffles

Nature's Path Gluten-Free Wildberry Waffles

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  For me, it really is.  I could eat breakfast for every meal and never grow tired of the vast array of items that are considered “breakfast food.”

While on a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed that the Nature’s Path Wildberry waffles were on sale in the organic freezer section. What was the kicker was…they are also gluten-free.  Sold.  Sale = Gluten-free = My $$$ in the grocery store.

I was really excited about trying these out, so the following morning, I popped them into a my toaster and eagerly awaited my moment of truth as to how good of a product it was.  The plus side – the waffles smelled amazing as they were toasting up.  I literally could not wait to sink my teeth into one.  I was salivating over the toaster, just waiting on the moment it would pop up.  When it finally did, I snatched them up, tossed them (They were hot! Don’t judge!) onto a plate, and drizzled them with warm (gluten-free) syrup.

The moment of truth had finally arrived.  I used my fork to slice into it, finding it already a huge disappointment with how soggy they were.  Yes.  Soggy.  Like every bit of syrup was soaked into it like a sponge, instead of resting on top and becoming part of the flavor.  What a disappointment.  They tasted okay, but I hated that they were now like mush.  If I wanted to eat mush, I would have made oatmeal or let my cereal sit extra long in my almond milk.

Nature’s Path has a great variety of foods, and even a few gluten-free choices.  The waffles, however, did not live up to expectations.  Which, honestly, was too bad since they would have been absolutely fantastic had they not immediately become soggy.  I hope, in the future, this problem is fixed because I’d love to give them another shot.  When a product smells that delicious it should taste that delicious…but the texture was all wrong on these.

Koops’ Dijon mustard naturally delicious

Koops' Dijon Mustard

Mustard is one of those condiments you either love or hate.  Sometimes, it’s best to incorporate it into a recipe rather than simply spread it on a sandwich.  The problem is, not all mustards are created equally.  Quality is important when hunting for one that suits your palate.

My good friend Amanda has this knack of providing gluten-free goodies to me every now and again.  Such was the case with Koops’ Dijon mustard.  It was one of many products she handed to me one day and I was eager to put it to use.  Thankfully, one of my favorite recipes, a vegetarian-ized version of my mom’s Chicken Breast Dijon, called for the use of Dijon mustard.  Perfect.  So, that very week, I was pulling out the mustard and putting it on my vegetarian chicken, rolling it in breadcrumbs, and cooking it in the pan to perfection.

Despite the additional seasoning, what I found about this particular brand of Dijon mustard was that it had a nice, smooth, rich flavor to it.  It just melts into the food, highlighting every flavor and not overpowering the other products on the plate.  In order to really test it, I simply dabbed my finger in it and sampled.  Tangy.  Velvety.  Koops’ does everything right.  Even better, every ingredient they use is all natural and recognizable.  No chemicals or high fructose corn syrup.  Naturally good.  And gluten-free.

I’ve used this mustard now to dip vegetarian chicken nuggets in and have simply dabbed cherry tomatoes in it to add a kick to the fruit.  It’s delicious.  No other mustard has ever compared, in baking or on its own.  And when you recognize everything that goes into a product, well, for me anyway, it makes it much more appealing.  No added colors or chemicals make this my mustard of choice.  And with a variety of flavors out there…I look forward to testing out each unique flavor to see how it stacks up.

Koops’ does only mustard…which is why they must do it so well.  Being gluten-free, all-natural, and completely delicious is the definite payoff.

Crumbs on the Table – Glutino breadcrumbs add flavor to any meal

Glutino Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs

Bread.

There, gluten-free world.  I said it.  I used “the ‘B’ word.”  It is one of the most used ingredients in today’s food world.  Bread is often paired with a dish (Italian, French, Crostini, etc.), or as a dish (French Bread Pizza, sandwiches, etc.), or in a dish (croutons, breadcrumbs, etc.)  And when you go gluten-free…a lot of this gets crossed off your diet.  There are some gluten-free substitutes out there.  But, they do take a chunk out of the grocery budget should you choose to give in and give it a try.  And what if it taste’s awful?  Then you’re out the price of the product and the time.

I have been wanting to make a variety of recipes for my roommate and I…and that task got even more difficult when I had to go gluten-free.  But, I decided one evening, to give it a try and make something out of my mom’s cookbook she gave me when I moved.  Her recipes.  Her favorites.  That sort of thing.  I had talked about a Chicken Breast Dijon with my roommate that I remember loving.  Now, I’m also a vegetarian, so the chicken had to be substituted…which is easy enough.

The difficult part was getting breadcrumbs.  We did find a package of Glutino’s Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs at Whole Foods, however.  So…we bought them and decided to give it a try and hope upon hope it was worth the investment.  I cooked up the recipe that week.  I was nervous from the moment I breaded and seasoned the “chicken” to the moment it came out of the oven.  But upon first taste, I don’t know why I was worried.

Glutino’s breadcrumbs are corn-based.  So, they have a different flavor than what Panko might have produced, but it’s delicious.  And light.  And it adds the perfect crunch to the protein of the meal.  I was surprised.  Pleasantly surprised.  It was my first sampling of anything by Glutino, and already I was willing to give more products a try.  When they can do gluten-free breadcrumbs well…anything else is a walk in the park, right?  I know Glutino is a pretty reputable brand when it comes to gluten-free food, so that was a bit of a comfort when I blindly purchased them for the meal.  The fact that they tasted even better than what I would have made them with had I not had a dietary restriction was icing on the (gluten-free) cake.  Fantastic flavor, texture and taste.  It’s what good food is all about.  And Glutino is a good company that does make good products.

My meal was a delight.  And Glutino impressed me enough to encourage further exploration of their variety of gluten-free products.  But…more on that at a later date.

Should you need to add a bit of crunch and flavor to a meal, Glutino Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs are just the ingredient I recommend.  Highly recommend at that.

Dijon-Crusted "Chicken" (using Glutino's Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs) with mixed veggies and a gluten-free ciabatta roll

 

Recipe: Gluten-Free Corn Spoon Bread

I love to cook.  A lot.  Give me a couple of ingredients and turn me loose in my closet-sized kitchen.  I will whip something up.  I often post a lot of my creations on my Facebook page and I get a lot of requests for recipes.  So, I figured I might as well add recipes to my blog.  I’m looking forward to sharing even more of my love for food with this new addition.

For my first recipe blog…

Gluten-Free Corn Spoon Bread

Gluten-Free Corn Spoon Bread

Servings: 6-8
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Bake 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1-1/2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (14-3/4 oz) cream-style corn
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Set aside

In another mixing bowl, beat egg yolks.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring milk to a boil.  Whisk in cornmeal and salt.  Reduce heat.  Cook and stir for one minute or until thickened.  Remove from the heat.

Stir in the corn, butter, and baking powder.

Stir in egg yolks.

Fold in egg whites.

Transfer to a greased 11-in x 7-in x 2-in baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or just until set.

Serve immediately with a spoon.