One plus side for the Ener-G breads is that you don't have to freeze them and that they are shelf stable. Although I bought a six pack that came with one covered in all kinds of furry green-ness, they do keep quite well for a long time.
Their big problem is their taste. They taste ... weird.
When it came to the light tapioca loaf, I wasn't too repulsed. It was a weird flavor, but thus far I had had nothing but weird flavors from gluten-free breads. The Gluten Free Pantry mix tasted weird, the mix I got in Japan tasted weird, and this bread tasted weird. Hey, it's bread without gluten. It's going to taste weird.
The light tapioca bread reminded me of rye. It had a light sourness to it that wasn't unpleasant. You could usually overpower it with whatever you were putting on the bread. Butter and jam on a toasted slice would cut the sourness easily. Grill it in butter with some ham and cheese and you would barely taste it at all.
I thought the brown rice loaf would be similar. Yeah, I need to stop thinking things.
At first I didn't mind it. But then as I tried to finish off the loaf, the extreme sour flavor of it kind of got to me. I just couldn't hide it the way I had with the light tapioca. I tried butter and other sweet toppings, but only putting a BUTTLOAD of stuff between two slices could make it edible.
Fortunately for me, I've tried another brand and found something better. Not just edible, but legitimately GOOD. But if you're stuck with the Ener-G, I would suggest the light tapioca, at the very least. I haven't tried all their breads, but after slogging through the loaf of brown rice, I don't think I'll be trying much more. I hope those hot dog buns in my cabinet aren't as bad.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Food For Life Rubber Tortillas
I mean, brown rice. That's what I meant. Brown rice tortillas.
I love Mexican food (as you may have noticed in some other posts) and one thing I really missed was tortillas. Not only are tortillas good for making Mexican fare, but they're also good for those times when you want to make a sandwich but not use bread. My local convenience store had these roll-ups with vegetables, roast beef, potato salad, and sweet chili sauce. They were really, really good. Too bad I couldn't eat them anymore ...
So not only did I want to make Mexican-ish stuff, but I wanted food wraps. When I finally found these tortillas and remembered to buy them (found at Whole Foods; forgot to buy), I had every intention of making some kind of turkey sandwich.
The tortillas were frozen when I first got them, so I put them in the fridge. I did not have real access to cooking/heating implements apart from the microwave, so I didn't heat them up any. I just took out a tortilla, assembled my stuff, and went on with my life.
The first one, which was the freshest, I suppose, wasn't so bad. It was a bit chewy, but it was flexible enough and wrapped fairly well. It was the subsequent attempts at rolling up the now rubbery and extra-chewy tortillas that resulted in breakage and much gnawing. I felt kind of like a dog with its chew toy, only a chew toy that's actually edible at some point. It was, in a word, unpleasant.
And then I got my cooking implement. Well, I thought, I can give these another shot and see if they cook up very well. If they do, then at least it's not a total waste (since I had another package in the freezer).
Actually, for quesadilla purposes, these turn out quite nicely. Very crispy and they have a pleasant flavor. I'm considering giving up on bread all together and just using these instead (okay, we still need bread for peanut butter purposes. I cannot eat pb&j on a hot, crispy tortilla. That's just wrong.
But anyway, I think they are very good when grilled, either with oil or without. They just aren't very good raw. They might be good if you heated it and then used it to make your roll-up sandwich, but I haven't tested that theory and probably won't. Hopefully this next bread I'm going to try will be good enough and I'll forget all about rolly sandwiches.
(More on bread later.)
I love Mexican food (as you may have noticed in some other posts) and one thing I really missed was tortillas. Not only are tortillas good for making Mexican fare, but they're also good for those times when you want to make a sandwich but not use bread. My local convenience store had these roll-ups with vegetables, roast beef, potato salad, and sweet chili sauce. They were really, really good. Too bad I couldn't eat them anymore ...
So not only did I want to make Mexican-ish stuff, but I wanted food wraps. When I finally found these tortillas and remembered to buy them (found at Whole Foods; forgot to buy), I had every intention of making some kind of turkey sandwich.
The tortillas were frozen when I first got them, so I put them in the fridge. I did not have real access to cooking/heating implements apart from the microwave, so I didn't heat them up any. I just took out a tortilla, assembled my stuff, and went on with my life.
The first one, which was the freshest, I suppose, wasn't so bad. It was a bit chewy, but it was flexible enough and wrapped fairly well. It was the subsequent attempts at rolling up the now rubbery and extra-chewy tortillas that resulted in breakage and much gnawing. I felt kind of like a dog with its chew toy, only a chew toy that's actually edible at some point. It was, in a word, unpleasant.
And then I got my cooking implement. Well, I thought, I can give these another shot and see if they cook up very well. If they do, then at least it's not a total waste (since I had another package in the freezer).
Actually, for quesadilla purposes, these turn out quite nicely. Very crispy and they have a pleasant flavor. I'm considering giving up on bread all together and just using these instead (okay, we still need bread for peanut butter purposes. I cannot eat pb&j on a hot, crispy tortilla. That's just wrong.
But anyway, I think they are very good when grilled, either with oil or without. They just aren't very good raw. They might be good if you heated it and then used it to make your roll-up sandwich, but I haven't tested that theory and probably won't. Hopefully this next bread I'm going to try will be good enough and I'll forget all about rolly sandwiches.
(More on bread later.)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla ... OR IS IT??
I had an idea yesterday with that tasty, tasty hummus.
It involved:
Two slices colby-jack cheese
One Food For Life brown rice tortilla
Hormel grilled chicken strips
... and that organic hummus.
I spread the hummus on half of the tortilla and put the tortilla in my skillet. Then I placed cheese so that it covered the surface of the skillet. I waited for the cheese to get melty, and placed chicken on one half of the tortilla, so it was almost covered. Then I folded in half and heated on both sides for a bit.
The result was not just tasty, but it also reminded me of those Taco Bell quesadillas with their jalapeno sauce. I always found those incredibly tasty, but of course they are now forbidden as per my intestines.
And really, this is probably a lot healthier. Not sure if it's cheaper (survey says: Probably Not), since Taco Bell is the cheapest of cheap. What's a quesadilla, $2.50? Let's see, six tortillas for $4.50, ten slices of cheese for $5, six servings of chicken for $6 if we buy two packets and hummus was $4 ... so we'll call it $20 for six servings if we're conservative with the cheese ... yeah, not cheaper.
Healthier. And no gluten.
I wasn't crazy about the Food For Life tortillas at first, but now that I'm using them for quesadillas I find them much more appetizing. I had wanted to make cold wraps, but after the first one they were pretty unappetizing. Just dry and rubbery. They do crisp up nicely.
It involved:
Two slices colby-jack cheese
One Food For Life brown rice tortilla
Hormel grilled chicken strips
... and that organic hummus.
I spread the hummus on half of the tortilla and put the tortilla in my skillet. Then I placed cheese so that it covered the surface of the skillet. I waited for the cheese to get melty, and placed chicken on one half of the tortilla, so it was almost covered. Then I folded in half and heated on both sides for a bit.
The result was not just tasty, but it also reminded me of those Taco Bell quesadillas with their jalapeno sauce. I always found those incredibly tasty, but of course they are now forbidden as per my intestines.
And really, this is probably a lot healthier. Not sure if it's cheaper (survey says: Probably Not), since Taco Bell is the cheapest of cheap. What's a quesadilla, $2.50? Let's see, six tortillas for $4.50, ten slices of cheese for $5, six servings of chicken for $6 if we buy two packets and hummus was $4 ... so we'll call it $20 for six servings if we're conservative with the cheese ... yeah, not cheaper.
Healthier. And no gluten.
I wasn't crazy about the Food For Life tortillas at first, but now that I'm using them for quesadillas I find them much more appetizing. I had wanted to make cold wraps, but after the first one they were pretty unappetizing. Just dry and rubbery. They do crisp up nicely.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
I Love Hormel
I suppose this means I am cheating on Amy and Annie and ... someone else? Crap.
I always loved Hormel's chili. See, I never knew good chili for the longest time. My mom's chili was a tomato-overload, full of ketchup, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, canned halved tomatoes, and probably some actual raw tomato thrown in for good measure (I don't really like tomatoes). She also used kidney beans. So it was all kind of sour an tomato-like, with undercooked and giant red beans in it.
It was not delicious.
I tried chili at school and found it pretty good. I could not figure out why school chili (school food! supposed to be bad! usually wasn't!) was good, but home chili (home! home-made! good for you!) was not.
I tried Hormel after years of chili-trauma at home, and was surprised that it was like school chili. I liked school chili. So I basically just used Hormel as my go-to for chili from then on. Frito chili pie, yum yum yum.
Now that I and gluten have parted ways, I have been glad to find that my beloved Hormel chili and I can continue to be friends. This is super. But what's even more super is that most Hormel products seem to be clearly labeled as being gluten-free if they are.
One thing I was aching for on coming back to America was deli meat. This included the sliced, squishy kind, but also the "hey it's real meat" kind, like chicken breast strips or whatever. And when it comes to Hormel, it's all labeled. If it's gluten-free, the package says so. Pepperoni by other guys? I have to guess. Pepperoni by Hormel? Right on the label. Go ahead and eat it.
It's a nice, meaty slice of peace of mind. With Oscar Mayer I realize they will tell you if there are wheat-derived ingredients in the meat, but I really hate scanning the labels. I hate going, "Well, I THINK it's okay." I haven't memorized the big list of gluteny ingredients, so I always find myself popping on the internet in the supermarket (and getting glared at by customers) to see what might or might not contain gluten. But with Hormel, you know where you stand. And that's excellent.
KUDOS TO YOU, HORMEL! BIG THUMBS-UP! HAPPY GRIN! GOLD STAR STICKER ON YOUR HOMEWORK!
I always loved Hormel's chili. See, I never knew good chili for the longest time. My mom's chili was a tomato-overload, full of ketchup, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, canned halved tomatoes, and probably some actual raw tomato thrown in for good measure (I don't really like tomatoes). She also used kidney beans. So it was all kind of sour an tomato-like, with undercooked and giant red beans in it.
It was not delicious.
I tried chili at school and found it pretty good. I could not figure out why school chili (school food! supposed to be bad! usually wasn't!) was good, but home chili (home! home-made! good for you!) was not.
I tried Hormel after years of chili-trauma at home, and was surprised that it was like school chili. I liked school chili. So I basically just used Hormel as my go-to for chili from then on. Frito chili pie, yum yum yum.
Now that I and gluten have parted ways, I have been glad to find that my beloved Hormel chili and I can continue to be friends. This is super. But what's even more super is that most Hormel products seem to be clearly labeled as being gluten-free if they are.
One thing I was aching for on coming back to America was deli meat. This included the sliced, squishy kind, but also the "hey it's real meat" kind, like chicken breast strips or whatever. And when it comes to Hormel, it's all labeled. If it's gluten-free, the package says so. Pepperoni by other guys? I have to guess. Pepperoni by Hormel? Right on the label. Go ahead and eat it.
It's a nice, meaty slice of peace of mind. With Oscar Mayer I realize they will tell you if there are wheat-derived ingredients in the meat, but I really hate scanning the labels. I hate going, "Well, I THINK it's okay." I haven't memorized the big list of gluteny ingredients, so I always find myself popping on the internet in the supermarket (and getting glared at by customers) to see what might or might not contain gluten. But with Hormel, you know where you stand. And that's excellent.
KUDOS TO YOU, HORMEL! BIG THUMBS-UP! HAPPY GRIN! GOLD STAR STICKER ON YOUR HOMEWORK!
Monterey Gourmet Foods Hummus
I don't often talk about foods that aren't specifically gluten-free. Usually it's boring stuff like turkey or cheese (either you like turkey or cheese or you don't, right?) But sometimes there is something that is technically or labeled GF that is so good (or so mediocre) it's worth mentioning.
I went to Down to Earth today on my way back from a very uneventful trip to Waikiki (I saw a beach!). I guess I was under the impression that Ruffage Natural Foods would have more of a grocery selection than the few sad shelves of flours that they had. Maybe I was missing something.
Down to Earth is a vegetarian superstore (well, superstore if you're stocking it with only veg/vegan products) full of vegetarian, vegan, and organic foods (there's a Venn diagram to be made here, but you get the picture--no meat). I am a meat-eater, but they don't exactly card you at the door or kick you out if you come direct from Burger King (kind of across the street) with Whopper on your breath. They have an exciting variety of gluten-free foods. I spend too much money there.
I was in there today just hoping to buy some bits and pieces to eat. I have a rule right now that I don't buy anything that isn't an accessory to another food, because I have too much food right now and need to eat it all. I get food-bored easily and need a variety of things around me, you see. So I have a tendency to just buy and buy and buy, and I need to stop.
Anyway, at home I have crackers that just weren't very good with cheese. But they're onion crackers, so they aren't good with peanut butter either (in theory). I needed to eat them with SOMETHING. I spotted a variety of flavors of hummus in the fridge section (with the cheeses and soy cheese products and tofurkey and so on). They all sounded pretty good, but given my love of Mexican food, I went with the smoked jalapeno and garlic flavor.
I took it home and tried it with my weird crackers. Wowwww. It was like a magical Mexican bean dip with the cheese already in it. It's kind of amazing, since there is nothing cheese-like even in the hummus, but it somehow tastes as though there is. The texture is very smooth (like whipped frosting? That's a bad comparison) and the jalapeno is mild enough to leave a very slight burn on the back of your tongue that you didn't notice while eating.
The price wasn't so bad. I think it was around $4. And the top of the tub labels it as gluten-free. I don't know if I just enjoy this flavor too much to want to try another flavor, but it may happen in the future.
I went to Down to Earth today on my way back from a very uneventful trip to Waikiki (I saw a beach!). I guess I was under the impression that Ruffage Natural Foods would have more of a grocery selection than the few sad shelves of flours that they had. Maybe I was missing something.
Down to Earth is a vegetarian superstore (well, superstore if you're stocking it with only veg/vegan products) full of vegetarian, vegan, and organic foods (there's a Venn diagram to be made here, but you get the picture--no meat). I am a meat-eater, but they don't exactly card you at the door or kick you out if you come direct from Burger King (kind of across the street) with Whopper on your breath. They have an exciting variety of gluten-free foods. I spend too much money there.
I was in there today just hoping to buy some bits and pieces to eat. I have a rule right now that I don't buy anything that isn't an accessory to another food, because I have too much food right now and need to eat it all. I get food-bored easily and need a variety of things around me, you see. So I have a tendency to just buy and buy and buy, and I need to stop.
Anyway, at home I have crackers that just weren't very good with cheese. But they're onion crackers, so they aren't good with peanut butter either (in theory). I needed to eat them with SOMETHING. I spotted a variety of flavors of hummus in the fridge section (with the cheeses and soy cheese products and tofurkey and so on). They all sounded pretty good, but given my love of Mexican food, I went with the smoked jalapeno and garlic flavor.
I took it home and tried it with my weird crackers. Wowwww. It was like a magical Mexican bean dip with the cheese already in it. It's kind of amazing, since there is nothing cheese-like even in the hummus, but it somehow tastes as though there is. The texture is very smooth (like whipped frosting? That's a bad comparison) and the jalapeno is mild enough to leave a very slight burn on the back of your tongue that you didn't notice while eating.
The price wasn't so bad. I think it was around $4. And the top of the tub labels it as gluten-free. I don't know if I just enjoy this flavor too much to want to try another flavor, but it may happen in the future.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Ian's Gluten Free Chicken Tenders
I was in the middle of my Whole Foods stupor when I saw something big and yellow. The amazing yellowness drew me out of my stupor long enough for me to see things like "fish fingers" and "chicken tenders" and "french bread pizza" and "gluten free."
Ian's appears to be made to appeal to smaller kids who can't eat those yummy things that their peers would be eating in kids meals. They have all sorts of healthy and allergen-free foods that appeal to kids, like mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and corn dog bites.
Of course, we adults also enjoy those things ...
At Whole Foods I paid about $8 for a (small, small, small) package of chicken tenders. When I opened the package I found three relatively thick tenders (still small) and two skinnier ones that were mating. Unfortunately, they had not given birth, otherwise I might have gotten a serving of tenders worthy of eating half the package.
See, five tenders is a serving as far as I'm concerned. If it were six, I might be able to split it 3/3. Three is almost a reasonable serving, and then I could eat some kind of side dish. =meal. But five ... see, two would be a very pathetic serving. So I just baked all five. $8 lunch at home.
Okay, so hopefully they would taste good.
After some struggling with the oven, I managed to bake my tenders and get them into my room. I took out some salad dressing for dipping (honey dijon) and set out to test my tenders.
I have to say that they are pretty good. My attempts at cooking tenders in the past had resulted in the breading just falling right off. So I was glad when the breading stayed on these. The chicken was cooked all the way through despite my oven issues, and the breading was crispy except where oil had kind of seeped out of it, as happens when you bake things.
The only real issue I had was that they were decidedly unsalted. I'm one of those people who has blood pressure not affected by salt (in fact, my bp is lowwww), so I don't mind a heavy dose of salt. These are very, very unsalted. The salad dressing helped balance that out, so it wasn't so bad. Just, a little bit of seasoning of some sort might have been nice.
All in all, after over a year of missing out on chicken nuggets and tenders and patties, I was very pleased. I would definitely buy these againif I won the lottery and try the other varieties of foods available.
Ian's appears to be made to appeal to smaller kids who can't eat those yummy things that their peers would be eating in kids meals. They have all sorts of healthy and allergen-free foods that appeal to kids, like mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and corn dog bites.
Of course, we adults also enjoy those things ...
At Whole Foods I paid about $8 for a (small, small, small) package of chicken tenders. When I opened the package I found three relatively thick tenders (still small) and two skinnier ones that were mating. Unfortunately, they had not given birth, otherwise I might have gotten a serving of tenders worthy of eating half the package.
See, five tenders is a serving as far as I'm concerned. If it were six, I might be able to split it 3/3. Three is almost a reasonable serving, and then I could eat some kind of side dish. =meal. But five ... see, two would be a very pathetic serving. So I just baked all five. $8 lunch at home.
Okay, so hopefully they would taste good.
After some struggling with the oven, I managed to bake my tenders and get them into my room. I took out some salad dressing for dipping (honey dijon) and set out to test my tenders.
I have to say that they are pretty good. My attempts at cooking tenders in the past had resulted in the breading just falling right off. So I was glad when the breading stayed on these. The chicken was cooked all the way through despite my oven issues, and the breading was crispy except where oil had kind of seeped out of it, as happens when you bake things.
The only real issue I had was that they were decidedly unsalted. I'm one of those people who has blood pressure not affected by salt (in fact, my bp is lowwww), so I don't mind a heavy dose of salt. These are very, very unsalted. The salad dressing helped balance that out, so it wasn't so bad. Just, a little bit of seasoning of some sort might have been nice.
All in all, after over a year of missing out on chicken nuggets and tenders and patties, I was very pleased. I would definitely buy these again
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Oatios
One thing I really miss is Cheerio's. Plain, ordinary Cheerio's. I'm not a huge fan of sugary cereal, and I wish that Cheerio's didn't contain that pesky wheat starch. I'd bought a giant box of the stuff before having to go GF and ate one bowl of it just to see what happened. The result was not good.
Oatios are not GF per se. They contain no wheat, and if you can tolerate oats they are supposedly fine for you to eat. The jury is still out on oats, and these are just oats.
I thought that since they looked like Cheerio's and were oats ... well ... they would be like Cheerio's. Right?
I opened the box to see what they were like dry. They were puffy, very porous, and very light to crunch. Not like Cheerio's. More like a hybrid cheerio-fruit loop. Also, very bitter. I thought maybe milk would change this, so I poured some into a bowl and put some milk on it.
Basically, it was a bowl of bitter, soggy oat rounds that I had to force myself to finish and which my stomach went, "WHAT ... IS ... THIS???" to. I saw another brand of wheat-free oat circles, and I'm kind of clinging to a hope that those will be any good. This box, which I just bought today, will be going into the trash. Blecch.
Oatios are not GF per se. They contain no wheat, and if you can tolerate oats they are supposedly fine for you to eat. The jury is still out on oats, and these are just oats.
I thought that since they looked like Cheerio's and were oats ... well ... they would be like Cheerio's. Right?
I opened the box to see what they were like dry. They were puffy, very porous, and very light to crunch. Not like Cheerio's. More like a hybrid cheerio-fruit loop. Also, very bitter. I thought maybe milk would change this, so I poured some into a bowl and put some milk on it.
Basically, it was a bowl of bitter, soggy oat rounds that I had to force myself to finish and which my stomach went, "WHAT ... IS ... THIS???" to. I saw another brand of wheat-free oat circles, and I'm kind of clinging to a hope that those will be any good. This box, which I just bought today, will be going into the trash. Blecch.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Drinky-pie
No, I'm not talking about pie.
Let's take a break here and talk for a second about drinks.
I just came from Japan, where tea and coffee are king. You can go to any vending machine and get a variety of teas or coffees in bottles and cans, with a few soft drinks or other beverages like sports drinks and soda alongside. It's something I miss in America, because not only are there so few vending machines and convenience stores compared to Tokyo, but also because the variety of beverages ... well ... sucks.
Coming back to the US I'm figuring out why people get fat. If you're ingesting a third of your RDA of calories in beverages ... yeah, that's bad. And even if it's 0 calories with fakeyfake sugar, it's still not good for you. Possibly worse.
What is wrong with unsweetened beverages?? The only one I can seem to find is water. Every variety of tea here, with the exception of the few overpriced bottles of Ito-en green or jasmine (sometimes oolong) you can find here and there, is full of crap. I only like sweet tea if it's milky. I can't stand sugar or flavoring in tea. To me, it tastes like some kind of bathroom cleaner or air freshener or candle or something.
I'm going a bit nuts. I boil my own tea, but now finding that the water's full of hexavalent chromium has me concerned. Also, hot tea in Hawaii = not so great in the middle of the day. So I'm drinking big bottles of water. I occasionally drink something else--Nesquik (I do enjoy Nesquik) or a bit of gatorade or some kind of organic fruit beverage--but as a small female person nearing 30, I can't afford to give up so many calories per day to drinks.
I really wish that more people in the US would become tea drinkers. Not sweet-sugar-crappy tea drinkers, but straight tea drinkers. I want more tea! Cheaper tea! Until then I guess I'll just be lugging as many 1.5L bottles of water home as possible. Hopefully that stuff isn't full of chromium ...
Let's take a break here and talk for a second about drinks.
I just came from Japan, where tea and coffee are king. You can go to any vending machine and get a variety of teas or coffees in bottles and cans, with a few soft drinks or other beverages like sports drinks and soda alongside. It's something I miss in America, because not only are there so few vending machines and convenience stores compared to Tokyo, but also because the variety of beverages ... well ... sucks.
Coming back to the US I'm figuring out why people get fat. If you're ingesting a third of your RDA of calories in beverages ... yeah, that's bad. And even if it's 0 calories with fakeyfake sugar, it's still not good for you. Possibly worse.
What is wrong with unsweetened beverages?? The only one I can seem to find is water. Every variety of tea here, with the exception of the few overpriced bottles of Ito-en green or jasmine (sometimes oolong) you can find here and there, is full of crap. I only like sweet tea if it's milky. I can't stand sugar or flavoring in tea. To me, it tastes like some kind of bathroom cleaner or air freshener or candle or something.
I'm going a bit nuts. I boil my own tea, but now finding that the water's full of hexavalent chromium has me concerned. Also, hot tea in Hawaii = not so great in the middle of the day. So I'm drinking big bottles of water. I occasionally drink something else--Nesquik (I do enjoy Nesquik) or a bit of gatorade or some kind of organic fruit beverage--but as a small female person nearing 30, I can't afford to give up so many calories per day to drinks.
I really wish that more people in the US would become tea drinkers. Not sweet-sugar-crappy tea drinkers, but straight tea drinkers. I want more tea! Cheaper tea! Until then I guess I'll just be lugging as many 1.5L bottles of water home as possible. Hopefully that stuff isn't full of chromium ...
Oskri Coconut Bar
I love coconut.
Not sugary sweet coconut like in Mounds (that's all right), but fresh coconut. I cut the crap out of myself some months ago because I wanted a darn coconut and spent hours hacking and whacking one open in my apartment. It was $10 but it was a delicious thing.
I'd tried to find coconuts since arriving in Hawaii. I thought Hawaii = coconut. Now I can't find a damn coconut.
I was at Long's looking at the Lara Bars and then at the other bars around them. That's when I saw these coconut bars.
Coconut? Coconut?? DID SOMEONE SAY "COCONUT???"
It was $1.20 and the ingredients were listed as coconut and rice syrup. Is that all? Sounds good to me. I was starving and couldn't help but start eating it when I was on the way home.
It wasn't like a Mounds. It was much less sweet. It tasted a lot more like a natural piece of coconut than I was expecting. I would definitely prefer real, fresh coconut, but this is a good alternative. Gluten-free, lactose-free, kosher, halal, vegan ... good for everyone, assuming you like coconut.
Or aren't allergic to coconut.
Not sugary sweet coconut like in Mounds (that's all right), but fresh coconut. I cut the crap out of myself some months ago because I wanted a darn coconut and spent hours hacking and whacking one open in my apartment. It was $10 but it was a delicious thing.
I'd tried to find coconuts since arriving in Hawaii. I thought Hawaii = coconut. Now I can't find a damn coconut.
I was at Long's looking at the Lara Bars and then at the other bars around them. That's when I saw these coconut bars.
Coconut? Coconut?? DID SOMEONE SAY "COCONUT???"
It was $1.20 and the ingredients were listed as coconut and rice syrup. Is that all? Sounds good to me. I was starving and couldn't help but start eating it when I was on the way home.
It wasn't like a Mounds. It was much less sweet. It tasted a lot more like a natural piece of coconut than I was expecting. I would definitely prefer real, fresh coconut, but this is a good alternative. Gluten-free, lactose-free, kosher, halal, vegan ... good for everyone, assuming you like coconut.
Or aren't allergic to coconut.
Glutenfreeda Banana Maple Oatmeal
I used to like eating oatmeal because it would leave me with a heavy feeling in my stomach. I didn't particularly love the taste of oatmeal, but I liked that I could eat something so small and be left feeling full.
I did try to eat Quaker's instant oatmeal since going GF, but it just was not agreeing with me. I realize oats are not glutenful per se, but mostly suffer from contamination. The reaction I got from it was not the usual reaction, but it just was not pleasant. So I don't think it was contamination, but honestly, I don't know what it was.
So that's where I was before picking up Glutenfreeda's oatmeal. I was aware of it. I was aware of other brands, but let me be honest here: I want to sit down and pour a single serving bowl of hot cereal. I do NOT want to boil a whole pot of it or measure it out or find my own toppings. I want convenience and speed. But there just seemed to be nothing available that met those needs. Except this.
I am not crazy about bananas. I'll eat them, but something in the texture bothers me (which is probably why I prefer greener bananas). I wouldn't have bought this flavor, but it was the ONLY ONE THEY HAD. And I haven't seen this stuff anywhere else I've been. So this very well may be the ONLY FLAVOR IN HAWAII. I have no idea. I can't check everywhere else, so as far as I'm concerned IT IS THE ONLY FLAVOR IN HAWAII.
I bought it and I gave it a shot, hoping it wouldn't bother my guts. And it didn't! It was good. The dehydrated banana came out pretty good and you couldn't really make out the maple except for a light sweetness. My only real problem with the oatmeal is that it's not shoved full of vitamins. I prefer to eat foods that are shoved full of vitamins. Most gf foods seem to be lacking that.
It was kind of amazing after years of a heavy feeling to not have that after eating oatmeal. I've lately determined that the heavy feeling I got eating stuff like oatmeal or pasta (I could never eat much pasta without feeling suddenly full) must have been an inflammatory response. So I would swear that these oats are cleeeean.
I paid about $6 for a box of 6 packets. A dollar per packet? Kind of stupid, but it's not as if I have a choice (THE ONLY GF OATMEAL INTHE MY UNIVERSE). I would hope to try some of the other flavors someday. Ha. IF THEY EXIST.
(Seriously, if you live in Honolulu and you know where to get any other flavor ... I will figure out how to get a bus there. I don't want to be stuck eating just banana.)
I did try to eat Quaker's instant oatmeal since going GF, but it just was not agreeing with me. I realize oats are not glutenful per se, but mostly suffer from contamination. The reaction I got from it was not the usual reaction, but it just was not pleasant. So I don't think it was contamination, but honestly, I don't know what it was.
So that's where I was before picking up Glutenfreeda's oatmeal. I was aware of it. I was aware of other brands, but let me be honest here: I want to sit down and pour a single serving bowl of hot cereal. I do NOT want to boil a whole pot of it or measure it out or find my own toppings. I want convenience and speed. But there just seemed to be nothing available that met those needs. Except this.
I am not crazy about bananas. I'll eat them, but something in the texture bothers me (which is probably why I prefer greener bananas). I wouldn't have bought this flavor, but it was the ONLY ONE THEY HAD. And I haven't seen this stuff anywhere else I've been. So this very well may be the ONLY FLAVOR IN HAWAII. I have no idea. I can't check everywhere else, so as far as I'm concerned IT IS THE ONLY FLAVOR IN HAWAII.
I bought it and I gave it a shot, hoping it wouldn't bother my guts. And it didn't! It was good. The dehydrated banana came out pretty good and you couldn't really make out the maple except for a light sweetness. My only real problem with the oatmeal is that it's not shoved full of vitamins. I prefer to eat foods that are shoved full of vitamins. Most gf foods seem to be lacking that.
It was kind of amazing after years of a heavy feeling to not have that after eating oatmeal. I've lately determined that the heavy feeling I got eating stuff like oatmeal or pasta (I could never eat much pasta without feeling suddenly full) must have been an inflammatory response. So I would swear that these oats are cleeeean.
I paid about $6 for a box of 6 packets. A dollar per packet? Kind of stupid, but it's not as if I have a choice (THE ONLY GF OATMEAL IN
(Seriously, if you live in Honolulu and you know where to get any other flavor ... I will figure out how to get a bus there. I don't want to be stuck eating just banana.)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tasty Bite
I've had a few of these Tasty Bite Indian dinners, so I just want to make a general review.
These are listed as gluten-free and some are also listed as vegan. Obviously, anything with the paneer cheese in it is not going to be vegan.
You can cook them in the microwave (not recommended) or by submerging the foil pouch in boiling water for five minutes. They do not require any refrigeration before cooking, which is awesome.
I haven't had a whole lot of authentic Indian food. I lived in Japan, where bastardized Indian food is king, and where even in Indian restaurants run by Indians (or people from that general area) you aren't sure if what you're getting is authentic or catered to the weakling tongues of the general population.
I ate at an Indian restaurant once, it was pretty good, but it did not agree with me in the slightest. I don't think it was a glutening, but it just did not ... agree.
These, however, are great. They aren't too spicy (sorry if that's your thing) and cook up quick. They're relatively healthy, and surely all that beans or spinach is good for you. And no gluten. Amazing.
I've seen them retail from between $2.50-4.50 depending on the store. Which is probably way less than you'd pay in the restaurant. Some people mention them tasting nasty microwaved, so I recommend boiling. There are quite a few varieties to choose from, so why not try them all? So far I've had about four different kinds. I'm still partial to the palak paneer. Yum. And since I have a boiling water pot in my pod (no kitchen in here) it's something I can cook without going into the main house! Joy!
(No, no one paid me to say this.)
These are listed as gluten-free and some are also listed as vegan. Obviously, anything with the paneer cheese in it is not going to be vegan.
You can cook them in the microwave (not recommended) or by submerging the foil pouch in boiling water for five minutes. They do not require any refrigeration before cooking, which is awesome.
I haven't had a whole lot of authentic Indian food. I lived in Japan, where bastardized Indian food is king, and where even in Indian restaurants run by Indians (or people from that general area) you aren't sure if what you're getting is authentic or catered to the weakling tongues of the general population.
I ate at an Indian restaurant once, it was pretty good, but it did not agree with me in the slightest. I don't think it was a glutening, but it just did not ... agree.
These, however, are great. They aren't too spicy (sorry if that's your thing) and cook up quick. They're relatively healthy, and surely all that beans or spinach is good for you. And no gluten. Amazing.
I've seen them retail from between $2.50-4.50 depending on the store. Which is probably way less than you'd pay in the restaurant. Some people mention them tasting nasty microwaved, so I recommend boiling. There are quite a few varieties to choose from, so why not try them all? So far I've had about four different kinds. I'm still partial to the palak paneer. Yum. And since I have a boiling water pot in my pod (no kitchen in here) it's something I can cook without going into the main house! Joy!
(No, no one paid me to say this.)
Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps
I had this really amazing ginger-molasses cookie the other day, and because it's Christmas and Christmas is gingerbread season, I felt myself hankering for more of that gingery goodness. Unfortunately that other cookie, while amazing, was also $2.79! For a single cookie! A cookie that claimed to be two servings! Too much horror for one beautiful cookie!
So I looked to alternatives. I knew this would mean giving up soft, chewy deliciousness for crispiness. I didn't care. So much. Kind of. A little. (30%)
The stores I went to had several brands of cookies. They had those dateful Enjoy Life cookies. They had various cookies bearing lady-names (Pam's? Lucy's? Something like that.) But then there was Mi-Del.
I'd had a pretty good experience with Mi-Del and their faux-reos. Also, some other cookie. So I thought they could be trusted, at least a bit. Additionally, the ginger snaps were what I could find (the only gf cookie) in a mainstream supermarket where I was already buying groceries. I make special trips to the natural foods stores, but sometimes don't buy anything. (I get points or something for buying at the normal supermarket.)
Here's the good news: It's all good news.
Although they are crunchy cookies, they aren't overwhelmingly so. Five cookies clocks in at 140 calories, and they contain some minute bit of nutrition (I refuse to eat food that does not contain nutrition). They are flavorful, gingery, and delicious. They would probably make a fantastic pie crust or addition to pudding.
I think I paid around $4.50. I'm beginning to notice that at the supermarket, any time there's a regular product next to the gf version, the gf version is like, 2-3 dollars more. Hurrah. Like they're blaming us for having irritable intestines that have a kind of stigmata reaction when they see wheat. "Well, we know your body is broken and you're probably on a lot of pills, so as a consolation prize we're going to charge you more for food. COOKIE TAX. PAY UP, BROKE-TINES!"
So I looked to alternatives. I knew this would mean giving up soft, chewy deliciousness for crispiness. I didn't care. So much. Kind of. A little. (30%)
The stores I went to had several brands of cookies. They had those dateful Enjoy Life cookies. They had various cookies bearing lady-names (Pam's? Lucy's? Something like that.) But then there was Mi-Del.
I'd had a pretty good experience with Mi-Del and their faux-reos. Also, some other cookie. So I thought they could be trusted, at least a bit. Additionally, the ginger snaps were what I could find (the only gf cookie) in a mainstream supermarket where I was already buying groceries. I make special trips to the natural foods stores, but sometimes don't buy anything. (I get points or something for buying at the normal supermarket.)
Here's the good news: It's all good news.
Although they are crunchy cookies, they aren't overwhelmingly so. Five cookies clocks in at 140 calories, and they contain some minute bit of nutrition (I refuse to eat food that does not contain nutrition). They are flavorful, gingery, and delicious. They would probably make a fantastic pie crust or addition to pudding.
I think I paid around $4.50. I'm beginning to notice that at the supermarket, any time there's a regular product next to the gf version, the gf version is like, 2-3 dollars more. Hurrah. Like they're blaming us for having irritable intestines that have a kind of stigmata reaction when they see wheat. "Well, we know your body is broken and you're probably on a lot of pills, so as a consolation prize we're going to charge you more for food. COOKIE TAX. PAY UP, BROKE-TINES!"
Monday, December 20, 2010
Amy's Mexican Casserole Bowl
After the slight disappointment with Amy's tortilla bowl, I was a bit hesitant to try this other Mexican-flavored bowl. But I was hungry and dammit, I am on this total Mexican kick after being denied Mexican food for so long. I slit that thang and gave it cancer.
I must say that with the tortilla bowl, I had just walked 40 minutes home with it in my bag and so I thought in the 4-5 minute span, I could just put it in for 4:15 or something and it would be fine. It was underdone in the center. For this one, I gave it its full 5 minutes, but it too was a little under-done in the center. I'm not sure if this is a problem with our microwave or just with the cooking time.
This bowl contains a chili-like substance, masa, corn, peppers, and cheese. It claims there are olives in there as well. It is, in a word ...
Fantastic.
Even though I had to throw it in the cancer box, it was still so good. A nice, balanced mix of ingredients and flavors that left me feeling very satisfied when I was done. And relatively healthy, too. I got the full sodium variety, but they also have a low sodium type.
My only problem with this ... is that ohhhhh it's like $7. They have it at most of the stores around me, and it ranges from $6.50-6.99, One thing I like about frozen food is that it's cheaper than eating out, but this is not. The only convenience is that I can eat it at home without anyone judging me. And it's probably lower in calories than Wahoo's or Taco Del Mar. But as a student who is already paying the Hawaii premium and the GF premium ... ouch.
Come on, Amy. I love you. Yes, I'm two-timing you with cinnamon, but we can all get along, can't we?
I must say that with the tortilla bowl, I had just walked 40 minutes home with it in my bag and so I thought in the 4-5 minute span, I could just put it in for 4:15 or something and it would be fine. It was underdone in the center. For this one, I gave it its full 5 minutes, but it too was a little under-done in the center. I'm not sure if this is a problem with our microwave or just with the cooking time.
This bowl contains a chili-like substance, masa, corn, peppers, and cheese. It claims there are olives in there as well. It is, in a word ...
Fantastic.
Even though I had to throw it in the cancer box, it was still so good. A nice, balanced mix of ingredients and flavors that left me feeling very satisfied when I was done. And relatively healthy, too. I got the full sodium variety, but they also have a low sodium type.
My only problem with this ... is that ohhhhh it's like $7. They have it at most of the stores around me, and it ranges from $6.50-6.99, One thing I like about frozen food is that it's cheaper than eating out, but this is not. The only convenience is that I can eat it at home without anyone judging me. And it's probably lower in calories than Wahoo's or Taco Del Mar. But as a student who is already paying the Hawaii premium and the GF premium ... ouch.
Come on, Amy. I love you. Yes, I'm two-timing you with cinnamon, but we can all get along, can't we?
Van's Gluten Free Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
I love cinnamon. Right now we're working on the whole gay marriage thing, but once that's done I want to legalize marriage between one person and one shaker of cinnamon, because I love cinnamon that much. There isn't much that can't be improved with a dash of cinnamon.
Since I'm riding the Gluten Free Train and baked goods are kind of difficult territory, I often find myself wishing there were more cinnamon-based products I could indulge in that were pre-cooked and didn't contain dates (I hate dates--you hear that, Enjoy Life?). Or raisins. Don't go thinking you could just swap out the dates for raisins and trick me.
I want a cinnamon roll or a coffee cake or some really GOOD snickerdoodles, and of course this is a hard thing to do unless you're keen on baking by yourself. Right now I don't have a kitchen per se.
So when I saw Van's cinnamon french toast sticks at my local Whole Foods? Well, I haddd to buy them.
After a few recent disappointments, I was really worried about these. But I had nothing to worry about. I opened the box and found toast-shaped slices with indentations (each slice can be broken into three "sticks"). You can stick them in your toaster on a medium setting, and voila! French toast!
The cinnamon scent and the residue of cinnamon left on my fingers was pleasantly overwhelming. I took one slice and popped it into the toaster. It actually didn't cook all the way totally (slightly cool in the center) but was still okay when I ate it.
Actually, more than okay.
CINNAMON PARADISE.
It was so good, but I had just had lunch and couldn't have another just yet. The sticks broke apart so easily, and apart from realizing I would need to set the dial a little higher next time, there were no cons to speak of with these beautiful bits of toast. The only thing I would say is that their status as "french toast" is pretty questionable. They don't contain any egg or dairy. So I would call them more like, "Cinnamon toast-shaped patties" than french toast sticks. But still. Delicious. I can't wait to try the waffles I bought.
Since I'm riding the Gluten Free Train and baked goods are kind of difficult territory, I often find myself wishing there were more cinnamon-based products I could indulge in that were pre-cooked and didn't contain dates (I hate dates--you hear that, Enjoy Life?). Or raisins. Don't go thinking you could just swap out the dates for raisins and trick me.
I want a cinnamon roll or a coffee cake or some really GOOD snickerdoodles, and of course this is a hard thing to do unless you're keen on baking by yourself. Right now I don't have a kitchen per se.
So when I saw Van's cinnamon french toast sticks at my local Whole Foods? Well, I haddd to buy them.
After a few recent disappointments, I was really worried about these. But I had nothing to worry about. I opened the box and found toast-shaped slices with indentations (each slice can be broken into three "sticks"). You can stick them in your toaster on a medium setting, and voila! French toast!
The cinnamon scent and the residue of cinnamon left on my fingers was pleasantly overwhelming. I took one slice and popped it into the toaster. It actually didn't cook all the way totally (slightly cool in the center) but was still okay when I ate it.
Actually, more than okay.
CINNAMON PARADISE.
It was so good, but I had just had lunch and couldn't have another just yet. The sticks broke apart so easily, and apart from realizing I would need to set the dial a little higher next time, there were no cons to speak of with these beautiful bits of toast. The only thing I would say is that their status as "french toast" is pretty questionable. They don't contain any egg or dairy. So I would call them more like, "Cinnamon toast-shaped patties" than french toast sticks. But still. Delicious. I can't wait to try the waffles I bought.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Amy's Tortilla Casserole Bowl
Oh, Amy.
I fell in love with Amy in college, when I first discovered her cheese enchiladas. They weren't spicy or overpowered with weird sauce. They were just cheesy and good.
Then I fell into this chasm for several years which contained no Amy's products. My hometown grocers didn't carry them, and then I was in Japan. In Japan I could get verrrry few products, but fortunately those enchiladas were one of them.
I had held off buying any Amy's until now because I wanted to try all these other mysterious GF products in the supermarket. But today I had a hankering for Mexican and I knew I wasn't going to make it all the way to Ala Moana or one of these mysteriously hidden Taco Bells. I picked up two Amy's Mexican bowls at the supermarket and trudged home.
The first on my list was the tortilla casserole bowl. I like tortilla chips, so I thought this would be tasty. Since I'm sharing a kitchen with umpteen people, I decided not to be an oven hog (even though no one is ever home) and make it in the microwave.
I think my review of this item is, "Hmm." It wasn't really bad but it wasn't really good. I would have liked some more cheese than the bit flicked on top. The tortilla part tasted okay on the edges, but in the middle was soggy and dry at the same time. I wasn't sure what else was in there (it's a casserole, after all) but mostly could just taste corn chip and a weird sweetness that I assume was some tomato substance. It had the veggie sweetness of bell peppers.
The black beans were pretty nice.
So I don't know if I would buy this again. Maybe, if I had an oven all to myself, I would go for it. Or maybe I'd just be better off buying a can of beans, some tortilla chips, salsa and cheese. Or making my fantastic Taco Bell "relatively gluten free mexican dinner I think" of nachos, beans, and rice.
I fell in love with Amy in college, when I first discovered her cheese enchiladas. They weren't spicy or overpowered with weird sauce. They were just cheesy and good.
Then I fell into this chasm for several years which contained no Amy's products. My hometown grocers didn't carry them, and then I was in Japan. In Japan I could get verrrry few products, but fortunately those enchiladas were one of them.
I had held off buying any Amy's until now because I wanted to try all these other mysterious GF products in the supermarket. But today I had a hankering for Mexican and I knew I wasn't going to make it all the way to Ala Moana or one of these mysteriously hidden Taco Bells. I picked up two Amy's Mexican bowls at the supermarket and trudged home.
The first on my list was the tortilla casserole bowl. I like tortilla chips, so I thought this would be tasty. Since I'm sharing a kitchen with umpteen people, I decided not to be an oven hog (even though no one is ever home) and make it in the microwave.
I think my review of this item is, "Hmm." It wasn't really bad but it wasn't really good. I would have liked some more cheese than the bit flicked on top. The tortilla part tasted okay on the edges, but in the middle was soggy and dry at the same time. I wasn't sure what else was in there (it's a casserole, after all) but mostly could just taste corn chip and a weird sweetness that I assume was some tomato substance. It had the veggie sweetness of bell peppers.
The black beans were pretty nice.
So I don't know if I would buy this again. Maybe, if I had an oven all to myself, I would go for it. Or maybe I'd just be better off buying a can of beans, some tortilla chips, salsa and cheese. Or making my fantastic Taco Bell "relatively gluten free mexican dinner I think" of nachos, beans, and rice.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Glutino Multigrain Crackers
Ever since arriving n Hawaii I found myself looking for crackers. I had grown to enjoy those Ener-G crackers quite a bit, and I was sad that I had so much trouble finding them. On the day I finally did find them, I also found these Glutino crackers, available in several flavors. I thought multigrain sounded like a great option, but I should have read the label.
See, I hate fennel seeds. Hate hate hate.
Who expects fennel seeds in their crackers?
Anyway, so I was a bit disappointed in that regard. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
On the box, Glutino's crackers look like crackers of the Ritz variety. Glutino and I are having a strained relationship. Their penne was terrible and their breakfast bars were so-so (I didn't review that yet). I was really hoping that their crackers would at least be edible.
When I opened the box I was very surprised, because I expected the usual individually wrapped tubes of crackers, like you get in a box of Ritz. No no no. I guess as a cost-saving measure they decided to just THROW A BUNCH OF CRACKERS IN A BAG. Not even one big bag. Two smaller bags. Why is this a bad idea? Don't they do that with other brands of crackers? I seem to recall that Wheat Thins do this, but Wheat Thins don't break very easily. This sort of cracker? Breaks.
So I opened up a baggy to find a lot of broken and some whole crackers. Not exactly pleasant. I took one out and tasted it. Fennel. Fennnnnnnel. But it wasn't terribly overpowering. I'd survive. I think these crackers are best suited to the meat and cheese approach. Too bad I bought them for peanut butter.
So I dug out my peanut butter. It did cover up the fennel well enough. It also completely overwhelmed the cracker itself.
It isn't a bad cracker. It's just ... there's a certain nuttiness I expect from multigrain crackers, and that's missing. Perhaps because there's no (or very little?) salt on it, the flavors don't really come out in the cracker itself. But I wouldn't be very harsh on these. 6.5/10 or thereabouts. They serve their purpose. They aren't gross. They lose a point for poor packaging and the FENNEL. (WHO PUTS FENNEL SEEDS IN CRACKERS??)
But definitely not bad. And not Nut Thins. Sorry, Nut Thins, but if I wanted to eat things that tasted like Fritos ... I would buy Fritos.
See, I hate fennel seeds. Hate hate hate.
Who expects fennel seeds in their crackers?
Anyway, so I was a bit disappointed in that regard. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
On the box, Glutino's crackers look like crackers of the Ritz variety. Glutino and I are having a strained relationship. Their penne was terrible and their breakfast bars were so-so (I didn't review that yet). I was really hoping that their crackers would at least be edible.
When I opened the box I was very surprised, because I expected the usual individually wrapped tubes of crackers, like you get in a box of Ritz. No no no. I guess as a cost-saving measure they decided to just THROW A BUNCH OF CRACKERS IN A BAG. Not even one big bag. Two smaller bags. Why is this a bad idea? Don't they do that with other brands of crackers? I seem to recall that Wheat Thins do this, but Wheat Thins don't break very easily. This sort of cracker? Breaks.
So I opened up a baggy to find a lot of broken and some whole crackers. Not exactly pleasant. I took one out and tasted it. Fennel. Fennnnnnnel. But it wasn't terribly overpowering. I'd survive. I think these crackers are best suited to the meat and cheese approach. Too bad I bought them for peanut butter.
So I dug out my peanut butter. It did cover up the fennel well enough. It also completely overwhelmed the cracker itself.
It isn't a bad cracker. It's just ... there's a certain nuttiness I expect from multigrain crackers, and that's missing. Perhaps because there's no (or very little?) salt on it, the flavors don't really come out in the cracker itself. But I wouldn't be very harsh on these. 6.5/10 or thereabouts. They serve their purpose. They aren't gross. They lose a point for poor packaging and the FENNEL. (WHO PUTS FENNEL SEEDS IN CRACKERS??)
But definitely not bad. And not Nut Thins. Sorry, Nut Thins, but if I wanted to eat things that tasted like Fritos ... I would buy Fritos.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Hawaiian Gluten Free Paradise
One of the biggest factors in my leaving Japan was being unable to eat food. I like food. I'm not one of those people who can cook a vat of chili and eat it for two weeks straight. My body just will not consume food it does not want to eat, and if it's bored or uninterested in something, I can't argue. If my body wants pizza and I try to give it rice, it will shut down the hunger after a few bites and I feel full but unsatisfied. Of course, I get hungry again about 30-60 minutes later. Horribly inconvenient.
So just a week or so after moving here, I have pretty well scouted out the best and worst places to get anything gluten free within my own little sphere of the world.
Keep in mind you're not only going to be paying the gluten free tax, but also the Hawaii tax. Food is expensive here.
If you're staying in Honolulu, I'm going to bet you're in Waikiki. If you aren't ... well ... too bad. But surely you can find something you can eat near you.
The first store I hit on my gf run was Down to Earth ( http://www.downtoearth.org/ ). They're an all-vegetarian store with a huge amount of gluten free food. I'm not vegetarian, nor do I have any desire to be, but they don't card you or interrogate you or sniff you for essence of meat before you go in.
They had a lot of frozen items (the usual Amy's as well as some other stuff), cereals, crackers, bread, pretzels, pasta, etc. The only item I was hoping they would have that they didn't (but the brochure said they did) was tortillas. They had the Annie's deluxe gf, so I was happy.
In their deli/bakery they had a couple of pizzas that were listed as gf, as well as wheat-free cookies (I assume not gf due to the potential for cross-contamination). I was intrigued by both, but a bit turned off by fake meat (dude, if you're going to eat meat ... just eat meat) on the pizza and dates in the cookies. I just have a thing about raisins or dates in cookies. Can't stand them. Always taste them. No good.
The next on my list was Whole Foods. This is in the Kahala Mall and a bit of a trek if you're ... anywhere. I had to take two buses to get there, and by the time I got home I had spent over an hour and a half on buses and my food was melting.
It was my first time in a Whole Foods, but I think they're pretty standard, yeah? Really expensive, but lots of gf stuff. I was very tempted by the doughnuts, pie, and carrot cake. Ohhhh carrot cake. But I can't afford $12 in carrot cake or $16 pumpkin pies! They had a lot of nice stuff and I spent a lot of money on it. Mostly things I hadn't been able to find at Down to Earth or the other supermarkets in the area.
The next was Kokua Market ( http://kokuamarket.ning.com/ ). Fortunately for me and my tortilla lust, after forgetting to buy them at Whole Foods, Kokua had some for me. They also had a decent selection of items, including Glutino crackers, bagels, frozen items (mostly Amy's), and instant oatmeal in a flavor I would never touch (ewww banana). They had a bit more pizza than Down to Earth had, and since they're just down the street I bet they stay a little bit competitive in pricing. A little. Chicken noodle soup! Hurray!
All in all, not bad, and probably the least I've spent on groceries thus far, even though I got several items.
Now, don't think you have to go to these hippy-dippy crunchy earth-loving vegan all-natural shops to get your food on.
Walmart is not the place to go for anything. It's not a grocery store for all intents and purposes, and is more of a tourist destination for Japanese people who want to be able to say they went to a Walmart.
The Japanese version of Walmart, in a sense, is Don Quijote (or "Donki" as we usually called it in Japan). I actually found several gf foods in Donki, such as cereals and pastas. It was kind of odd, considering I'd just left Japan due to its dearth of gf food. Of course, in Japan they don't sell the same foods ...
I haven't been to Times, but the Safeway I went to has very little in the way of gf stuff. A few Amy's dinners, a couple of bags of pasta. They do have some lunch meat that is labeled gf (Hormel, IIRC) at least. It's a little disappointing, since it's my nearest store.
Foodland in Ala Moana has a few items (mostly Amy's), but the other Foodland I went to on S. Beretania had a LOT of stuff. Waffles and chicken tenders and cereals. They even had some breads in the freezer case. A decent selection at a relatively normal store. The prices are still kind of insane, but at least you can get one of those little shopper cards and pretend you're getting a discount.
So there you go. Just a short list of my findings. If I find anything else ... I will report back.
So just a week or so after moving here, I have pretty well scouted out the best and worst places to get anything gluten free within my own little sphere of the world.
Keep in mind you're not only going to be paying the gluten free tax, but also the Hawaii tax. Food is expensive here.
If you're staying in Honolulu, I'm going to bet you're in Waikiki. If you aren't ... well ... too bad. But surely you can find something you can eat near you.
The first store I hit on my gf run was Down to Earth ( http://www.downtoearth.org/ ). They're an all-vegetarian store with a huge amount of gluten free food. I'm not vegetarian, nor do I have any desire to be, but they don't card you or interrogate you or sniff you for essence of meat before you go in.
They had a lot of frozen items (the usual Amy's as well as some other stuff), cereals, crackers, bread, pretzels, pasta, etc. The only item I was hoping they would have that they didn't (but the brochure said they did) was tortillas. They had the Annie's deluxe gf, so I was happy.
In their deli/bakery they had a couple of pizzas that were listed as gf, as well as wheat-free cookies (I assume not gf due to the potential for cross-contamination). I was intrigued by both, but a bit turned off by fake meat (dude, if you're going to eat meat ... just eat meat) on the pizza and dates in the cookies. I just have a thing about raisins or dates in cookies. Can't stand them. Always taste them. No good.
The next on my list was Whole Foods. This is in the Kahala Mall and a bit of a trek if you're ... anywhere. I had to take two buses to get there, and by the time I got home I had spent over an hour and a half on buses and my food was melting.
It was my first time in a Whole Foods, but I think they're pretty standard, yeah? Really expensive, but lots of gf stuff. I was very tempted by the doughnuts, pie, and carrot cake. Ohhhh carrot cake. But I can't afford $12 in carrot cake or $16 pumpkin pies! They had a lot of nice stuff and I spent a lot of money on it. Mostly things I hadn't been able to find at Down to Earth or the other supermarkets in the area.
The next was Kokua Market ( http://kokuamarket.ning.com/ ). Fortunately for me and my tortilla lust, after forgetting to buy them at Whole Foods, Kokua had some for me. They also had a decent selection of items, including Glutino crackers, bagels, frozen items (mostly Amy's), and instant oatmeal in a flavor I would never touch (ewww banana). They had a bit more pizza than Down to Earth had, and since they're just down the street I bet they stay a little bit competitive in pricing. A little. Chicken noodle soup! Hurray!
All in all, not bad, and probably the least I've spent on groceries thus far, even though I got several items.
Now, don't think you have to go to these hippy-dippy crunchy earth-loving vegan all-natural shops to get your food on.
Walmart is not the place to go for anything. It's not a grocery store for all intents and purposes, and is more of a tourist destination for Japanese people who want to be able to say they went to a Walmart.
The Japanese version of Walmart, in a sense, is Don Quijote (or "Donki" as we usually called it in Japan). I actually found several gf foods in Donki, such as cereals and pastas. It was kind of odd, considering I'd just left Japan due to its dearth of gf food. Of course, in Japan they don't sell the same foods ...
I haven't been to Times, but the Safeway I went to has very little in the way of gf stuff. A few Amy's dinners, a couple of bags of pasta. They do have some lunch meat that is labeled gf (Hormel, IIRC) at least. It's a little disappointing, since it's my nearest store.
Foodland in Ala Moana has a few items (mostly Amy's), but the other Foodland I went to on S. Beretania had a LOT of stuff. Waffles and chicken tenders and cereals. They even had some breads in the freezer case. A decent selection at a relatively normal store. The prices are still kind of insane, but at least you can get one of those little shopper cards and pretend you're getting a discount.
So there you go. Just a short list of my findings. If I find anything else ... I will report back.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Amy's Cheese Pizza with Rice Crust
While I was in Japan I had almost no problem getting rice crusts with which to make my own little pizzas. And they were good, too. I just hated having to buy all the ingredients and assemble them. You never know which cheese is any good, or which pizza sauce, and then I had to figure out ingredients. Black olives and mushrooms were easy. Green peppers a little more difficult. Ham couldn't be counted on to taste any good, and pepperoni? What I really wanted was pepperoni.
So I dreamed of a time when I could just go down to the store and get a frozen pizza and be done with it. Oh sure, I could pay the $17 and go to Z Pizza and have them do everything for me. But until that time, I just wanted to taste a real frozen pizza like I used to make when I was aching for a pizza but didn't want to go out to get one.
The Safeway nearby stocks the rice crust pizza, as does just about every other supermarket I've encountered so far (Walmart is not a supermarket and does not count). It was probably $12-14 as I recall. A bit pricey, but still better than Z Pizza's $4 GF markup. I got it home and took it to the oven.
Now, I'm in a bit of a contamination pickle (nothing to do with actual pickles) here. I share a kitchen with several other people. Amy is telling me to stick the crust on the oven rack and I know I can't do that. So I put it on tin foil. I'm sure this affected my baking. I just know it. But it was my only option.
In pretty much the time stated on the box I had a hot pizza waiting for me. But let's first go into how the thing looked, right? It looked cheesy enough, I guess. There wasn't a lot of sauce trying to escape, as there often is in these kinds of pizzas. So that was a plus in the "not much cheese" department. The crust looked nice too. It smelled kind of frozen pizza-ish on the way out, but no matter if it tastes good.
I would have to say I would give the pizza a 3/5. I am taking into account that it is frozen pizza and that frozen pizza is frozen pizza. The cheese had almost no flavor or texture, which was weird. When I got a bite of the inner part of the pizza all by itself, I could usually taste the cheese, but if there was any hint of that large outer crust, I could not. The sauce might as well have not existed, and then there was the crust. It was floppy due to my tinfoil predicament, and the texture was as you'd expect from GF food. Gritty. But the flavor was nice. It reminded me of those artisan-type breads you'd get at Panera. You know, garlic and sun-dried tomato herb bread or something.
On the whole, I think I might buy it again if I could find some pepperoni to put on it. And maybe some more cheese ...
So I dreamed of a time when I could just go down to the store and get a frozen pizza and be done with it. Oh sure, I could pay the $17 and go to Z Pizza and have them do everything for me. But until that time, I just wanted to taste a real frozen pizza like I used to make when I was aching for a pizza but didn't want to go out to get one.
The Safeway nearby stocks the rice crust pizza, as does just about every other supermarket I've encountered so far (Walmart is not a supermarket and does not count). It was probably $12-14 as I recall. A bit pricey, but still better than Z Pizza's $4 GF markup. I got it home and took it to the oven.
Now, I'm in a bit of a contamination pickle (nothing to do with actual pickles) here. I share a kitchen with several other people. Amy is telling me to stick the crust on the oven rack and I know I can't do that. So I put it on tin foil. I'm sure this affected my baking. I just know it. But it was my only option.
In pretty much the time stated on the box I had a hot pizza waiting for me. But let's first go into how the thing looked, right? It looked cheesy enough, I guess. There wasn't a lot of sauce trying to escape, as there often is in these kinds of pizzas. So that was a plus in the "not much cheese" department. The crust looked nice too. It smelled kind of frozen pizza-ish on the way out, but no matter if it tastes good.
I would have to say I would give the pizza a 3/5. I am taking into account that it is frozen pizza and that frozen pizza is frozen pizza. The cheese had almost no flavor or texture, which was weird. When I got a bite of the inner part of the pizza all by itself, I could usually taste the cheese, but if there was any hint of that large outer crust, I could not. The sauce might as well have not existed, and then there was the crust. It was floppy due to my tinfoil predicament, and the texture was as you'd expect from GF food. Gritty. But the flavor was nice. It reminded me of those artisan-type breads you'd get at Panera. You know, garlic and sun-dried tomato herb bread or something.
On the whole, I think I might buy it again if I could find some pepperoni to put on it. And maybe some more cheese ...
Glutino Penne Alfredo
Of course it's delicious! It says so right on the website!
Now that I'm in America and have at my disposal a seemingly limitless supply of GF yummies, I had to run out and buy ... everything. Well, as much as I can carry at one time and that I can afford, since I quit my job and moved back to America.
I went to Whole Foods and gawked a bit, but ended up buying a handful of frozen items including this Glutino Penne Alfredo. I love me some alfredo. I love me some penne. And if it looks anything like it does on the box, well, count me in!
After paying my $6-8 (it was something like that), I expected quality. So imagine my disappointment when I opened up the box and saw this sad plate of frozen, gray noodles staring at me as if all crying out for me to end their pathetic, gray lives. Okay, I know brown rice pasta is going to be a little sad-looking, but where was the sauce?? Maybe the sauce was hiding.
I put it in the microwave and some sauce started to peek out as it bubbled and rotated in the cancer box. It smelled pretty good. But what about flavor?
After dodging my quasi-housemate's (too hard to explain) dogs to get to the front door, I sat down in my room, stirred up my pasta ... and ...
Wait, all my penne had broken into sad fragments of its former penne shapeliness. What the heck? But that doesn't mean it can't still taste good, right?
I took a bite. It was ... underwhelming. There was the mildest hint of creaminess, like when you reheat macaroni and cheese in the microwave and it mostly tastes like bland noodle and a little bit of cheese. There was just no flavor. So it wasn't bad. It was edible. I didn't throw it away or anything. But it just tasted like nothing. Noodle and noodle.
I wondered if it would be better in the oven. Normally I would cook things in the oven. But I didn't see any baking instructions (even though it refers to microwaving as "baking" on the back for some reason). So if that were a possibility I would try it. However, I don't think I'll be purchasing this--or that mac and cheese I saw next to it in the freezer case--again.
Now that I'm in America and have at my disposal a seemingly limitless supply of GF yummies, I had to run out and buy ... everything. Well, as much as I can carry at one time and that I can afford, since I quit my job and moved back to America.
I went to Whole Foods and gawked a bit, but ended up buying a handful of frozen items including this Glutino Penne Alfredo. I love me some alfredo. I love me some penne. And if it looks anything like it does on the box, well, count me in!
After paying my $6-8 (it was something like that), I expected quality. So imagine my disappointment when I opened up the box and saw this sad plate of frozen, gray noodles staring at me as if all crying out for me to end their pathetic, gray lives. Okay, I know brown rice pasta is going to be a little sad-looking, but where was the sauce?? Maybe the sauce was hiding.
I put it in the microwave and some sauce started to peek out as it bubbled and rotated in the cancer box. It smelled pretty good. But what about flavor?
After dodging my quasi-housemate's (too hard to explain) dogs to get to the front door, I sat down in my room, stirred up my pasta ... and ...
Wait, all my penne had broken into sad fragments of its former penne shapeliness. What the heck? But that doesn't mean it can't still taste good, right?
I took a bite. It was ... underwhelming. There was the mildest hint of creaminess, like when you reheat macaroni and cheese in the microwave and it mostly tastes like bland noodle and a little bit of cheese. There was just no flavor. So it wasn't bad. It was edible. I didn't throw it away or anything. But it just tasted like nothing. Noodle and noodle.
I wondered if it would be better in the oven. Normally I would cook things in the oven. But I didn't see any baking instructions (even though it refers to microwaving as "baking" on the back for some reason). So if that were a possibility I would try it. However, I don't think I'll be purchasing this--or that mac and cheese I saw next to it in the freezer case--again.
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