Sunday, January 30, 2011

Fast Food: Whole Foods Cheddar Biscuits

I tried once to make the gf version of the Red Lobster cheddar biscuits.  Ohhhh fail.  Fail fail fail.  It was cheddar starch soup.  I couldn't get xanthan gum in Japan and thought if I just put a bit more starch in there it would be nice and firm.  It ended up being a pretty tasty cracker at first, then I put it in a brownie pan and made some kind of cheesy cornbread. 

I wondered if the cheddar biscuits at Whole Foods would be anything like the Red Lobster biscuits of my dreams.

Well ... not quite.  They're undoubtedly good.  I put it in the oven for 10 minutes and it browned a little bit and was quite good in the texture department (except right in the center).  However, I couldn't get over the feeling that it tasted like ... soup.  It's a cheddar biscuit full of chives!  Chives!  Like soup!  So mostly I tasted bread and chives and not enough cheddar or anything else. 

Pretty good.  $10 worth of good for 8 biscuits?  Well ... I don't know about that.  But pretty good. 

Evol Fire Grilled Steak Bowl

http://evolfoods.com/bowls/

Today at Whole Foods I spied these bowls, and despite the $6 pricetag I picked up the fire grilled steak.  I've been needing beef lately.  NEEDING. 

Anyway, I prepared it in the oven and mixed it all up when it was finished.  It contains corn, peppers, beans, rice, steak, and some mixture of lime and cilantro.  There's also some cheese on top. 

The first thing I thought when I saw the contents all mixed up was, "Wow!  There's a lot of steak in this!"  I had thought the three or four pieces I saw on top were IT, but there was literally enough that you could have a piece of steak in every bite.

The flavor was good, and nothing tasted off or unnatural.  The cilantro and lime flavor was reminiscent of the grilled steak tacos at Taco Bell, which I miss immensely. 

If I had to make a complaint about it, it's that it's a bit small.  I couldn't imagine eating JUST that for a meal.  It could stand to be ... I don't know ... 1/3 larger, or maybe have more beans or something filling.  That said, it's really tasty, beefy, balanced (protein, starch, veggies, and cheese!) and I wouldn't mind trying one of the other varieties in the store ... whenever I win the lottery.  (Why can't any mainstream dinners be truly gf??  I can't afford $6-7 per meal.)

Friday, January 28, 2011

Amy's Rice Mac & Cheese

I often think about how much I used to enjoy the rich, creamy taste of Stouffer's macaroni and cheese.  I think by far, their mac and cheese is the absolute best.  It's cheddary and fantastic, with extra flavor added by the parts that get slightly burned in the oven.  Yum. 

Yes, I think about it and dream, for I can never have it again.  And I wondered, "Isn't there a gluten free mac and cheese that is comparable to Stouffer's??"

There is.  Almost.

I bought Amy's Rice Mac for $5.50 at the store (ouch, seriously, ouch) and took it home to eat it almost immediately.  It didn't burn quite as I had hoped it would (a little brown on top is always pretty tasty), but it was bubbly and cheesy, and I stirred it up well before taking a first bite. 

The pasta was firm, not mushy.  After my experience with Glutino's pasta falling apart in the cooking process, it was kind of surprising.  (Although I did bake this and microwaved Glutino.)  The cheese was almost like Stouffer's.  It was somewhere between that and Swanson.  (Those two would be my absolute favorites.) 

At first I thought there wasn't enough food in the tray, but as I got to the last few bites, I realized it was pretty much a perfect amount, as long as you don't inhale it all at once.  One package is 400 calories, so it's a pretty good size for a meal.

Amy's also makes a version with ordinary pasta and a version with soy "cheese."  I can't speak for soy, but I imagine if you are not on the gluten-free pathway, you could enjoy the regular variety very easily.  Or heck, enjoy the rice version, although I think it costs at least a dollar or two more than the other variety, and that totally sucks.  As a poor college student I really hate looking at two products (one gf, one not) and seeing that the gf one costs twice as much.  Makes me wonder if it REALLY does or if the stores are screwing with me because they think gf is some kind of wacky health fad.

(Yes, there are people who think it's a wacky health fad.)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Pamela's NY Style Cheesecake

I've been aching for some good cheesecake for a while.  Cheesecake is one of those things that wouldn't really contain gluten if not for the crust (although some recipes include flour), but it's really hard to find one that both does not have crust and does not contain that pesky flour.

What Pamela brings us here is a cheesecake that not only has a crust, but is completely gluten free.  There are several varieties, but the one at my local store was the NY style cheesecake in the miniature size.  One 3 inch cake?  Almost $7.  OUCH.

But I've been really sick recently and reasoned that I deserved a little sweet, creamy happiness.  I bought a single cake hoping to make it last a few days.  Or two.  I think I can do two.

The first thing I noticed was the lovely flavor of rich, creamy cheesecake.  My second bite included some of the crust, which was an interesting ginger snap flavor that didn't overpower the cheesecake itself.  In fact, it complemented it quite well.  It's an absolutely super cake.  I can't really say anything bad about it except for the fact that it cost almost as much as my loaf of Udi's.  I can justify the bread with the fact that there's about 14 slices in there, but one cake at almost $7 is hard to justify as a broke college student, especially when I'm basically forced to pay more for food or else suffer the consequences.  :/

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Gluten Free Cafe - Chicken Noodle Soup

Of all the foods I think I missed, soup was near the top of the list.  Just about every commercially available soup has some sort of noodle or gluteny thickener in it.  Progresso has a few varieties of soup that they label as gluten-free (clam chowder, mushroom, and some kind of chicken/corn chowder) and which are pretty good.  But sometimes you want one of those less fatty soups.  You want a toasty cheese sandwich and a bowl of vegetable soup. 

You want some freakin' chicken noodle.

I bought this at a local store.  It cost a bit, as cans will when you're halfway across an ocean.  I'd had the mushroom variety when I was living in Japan, so I trusted it to not be awful. 

It isn't awful. 

I'm not sure if I love it, though.  My first impression was that the broth has a very distinctly celery-ish flavor.  I'm not sure that anything but celery should ever taste like celery (I am anti-celery in soups).  The soup does include celery and carrot, as well as noodles and the rare piece of chicken (just like Campbell's!).  The chicken doesn't taste so awesome (just like Campbell's!) and the noodles won't stay on my spoon.  I'm kind of sure the noodles don't even have a flavor.  Maybe the broth is just too strong. 

It isn't ... horrible.  I ate the whole can.  I just think it's a bit too seasoned for my tastes.

One can is about two servings.  One serving will give you 90 calories, 760 mg of sodium, 2g of fiber, 4g of protein, 30% of your vitamin A, and 25% of both calcium and iron. 

Sweet!  I just got 50% of my iron!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

What's Wrong With Gluten-Free Products

I find Glutino is the worst at this, but it's a common enough problem.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Glutino Breakfast Bars - Strawberry

I remember when Nutri-Grain bars were kind of a new thing, and I remember trying them for the first time.  Oh, they were soft and delicious and supposedly nutritious.  They had rich, sweet fruit filling surrounded by a very moist, whole grain outer shell that had just the right amount of a whole grain bitterness to offset the almost too-sweet filling.

I imagine that that's what Glutino was trying to recreate with their Gluten Free Breakfast Bars.  If I were grading their effort, I think I would give them a D.  Maybe a D+.

I looked at the box in Whole Foods and saw what appeared to be a Nutri-Grain bar, only gluten-free.  I opened the box to find 5 foil-wrapped bars (still looking good).  Then I tried the first bar ...

The outer part was somewhat dense, which is kind of to be expected in a gluten-free product.  But not only was it dense, it was bitter and had a very unpleasant sort of cardboardy flavor.  It wasn't stale, no.  It just tasted the way it smells when you shove your head into a cardboard box and inhale. 

The inner part wasn't much better.  It was far too sweet, which I could either chalk up to the fructose or the raisin paste in the ingredients.  Or both.  It wasn't tangy at all, the way strawberry should be.

As for nutrition (as you know, I'm big on things HAVING nutrition), these do contain something.  Not quite enough of something to warrant wanting to eat these over say, a Kind Bar, but definitely a little something.  You get 160 calories per bar (comparable to Nutri-Grain) and 3 grams of both fiber and protein.  There's also a little calcium (2%) and iron (4%). 

I have to say this really put me off of potentially trying any other flavors.  Glutino has been really hit or miss with me so far.  I haven't given up on them yet, of course.  But I'm certainly getting a little annoyed.  I would like to try their candybars, except I'd get more nutrition from a Nutrageous.  No, I'm serious. 

Anyway, did you notice you get FIVE bars in a box?  Who puts FIVE bars in a box?  Six just seems so standard that five makes you think you got ripped off. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Easy GF Pizza Pocket

If you like pizza but hate buying crusts (or hate crust) this is for you:

What do you need?
1 Food For Life brown rice tortilla
Ragu pizza sauce
Hormel pepperoni (and/or your favorite toppings)
Your favorite cheese

Spread as much sauce as you prefer around the full surface of the tortilla, and place in a large frying pan or skillet with a non-stick surface.  (Do not turn on the heat yet!)

Spread the pepperoni and/or other toppings on one half of the saucy tortilla. 

Spread cheese on the other half. 

Heat until cheese is melted.  This may require a lid to speed things up and ensure even and thorough heating. 

When the cheese is melted, use a spatula to fold the cheesy side over the topping side.  Do NOT try the reverse, as toppings will be flying everywhere!  Cheese on top, toppings on bottom!  (I know this sounds like it doesn't make sense, but trust me--toppings are bottomings.)

Continue to brown on either side if you prefer a crispy "crust."

Remove from heat and let it cool a bit before enjoying your quesadilla-style pizza pocket!  Yum!

Cookie Monster: Pamela's Ginger Cookies (with sliced almonds)

Recently I have become a cookie monster.  All I want are some delicious cookies to call my own, and which are pretty tasty.  And not giant cookies that are soft and delicious, but something small and bite-sized to snack on.

This is a little difficult.  I really liked the Mi-Del ginger snaps, but I wanted to try some other cookies and was hoping I could find a soft cookie (I prefer soft cookies) that was also good but small.  (The WOW cookies are awesome, but expensive at the store I found them at, and one cookie is two servings!)

I saw a few varieties of Pamela's cookies at the store I was in, and since I enjoy ginger cookies, I decided to buy them.  I tapped the plastic part of the package and was sure that these were soft cookies before buying them, although I was pretty careful not to actually dent the cookie ... just in case, you know?

I tried them almost as soon as I got home.  They were pleasantly soft and very dark brown, with lots of sliced almonds.  The problem was that the molasses flavor was very overwhelming.  They were quite bitter as a result.  I kept thinking they would be better with some cream cheese frosting, but as they were they were just not pleasant to eat.  Kind of like taking medicine.

If you like a bitter, dark molasses and ginger cookie, then these are for you.  But if you prefer something sweeter, I'd still have to go with Mi-Del or the big, soft WOW cookies. 

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Udi's Gluten Free Foods: White Sandiwch Bread

Bread is such a wonderful, versatile thing.  When I lived in Japan, a lot of people said to me, "Why don't you just eat rice?"  But there's not a whole lot you can do with rice, especially the sticky Japanese rice (I kept looking for long grain for crock pot meals, but couldn't find it).  You can put it in a bowl and put something on it.  You can make an onigiri.  Onigiri require a lot of preparation, since you have to make the rice and form it into balls with something.  (I didn't have a rice cooker.)  Just eating something on rice, more often than not, requires heating.  At work we generally did not have a microwave, and I'm not a fan of the "soggy, cold bento."

But bread!  Pop it in the toaster and make toast.  Or make a sandwich.  Or put a little peanut butter on it.  And there are lots of hot and cold options.  Because of the lack of a microwave, all I really wanted was a nice, cold sandwich to stick in my bag and eat at work.  But all the bread I had required toasting or otherwise heating it to make it not be like munching on a big, rubbery, dry slice of crumbliness.

And then there was Udi.

I saw this when I was in Vim & Vigor, a health food/supplement shop in the Ala Moana Center between Foodland and the post office.  I had missed it the first time I looked for it, but once I found it I was surprised that it had a pretty decent selection of gluten free foods, such as cereal, bread, cookies, biscotti, and a few frozen items.  They had the Food For Life bread, some Kinnikinnick, and then Udi's.

I had already gotten tired of Ener-G, so I thought I would give another brand a try.  Udi's claimed I did not need to refrigerate or freeze the bread, which was HUGELY appealing.  So basically I would just need to take it home, let it thaw, and eat it.

The first test was the end piece.  It wasn't even really a piece.  It was a strip of crust that they left on there for some reason.  It was interesting because it tasted like something I'd eaten before.  I wasn't sure what, and it took me a short while to figure it out.  But I did a test with some peanut butter and found that it was a tiny bit dry (yeah, well, whatever) but otherwise very good and the most normal bread I've had so far.  Not mushy like the breads I had in Japan, not crumbly like the Gluten Free Pantry mix, not rubbery and dense like the Ener-G breads.  It was just good.

It occurred to me later what it tasted like.  In Japan I could get some "baguettes" that were sold in convenience stores or supermarkets and were really cheap.  Not very high quality or baguette-like, but if I wanted a sandwich at midnight and didn't want the fluffy, shortening-ful squares of white pillow-bread, they did the trick.  That's what the Udi's bread tastes like.  Cheap, fake baguettes.  Which isn't a bad thing.  Cheap, fake baguettes have their place in the world.  And they are real bread, which is a great thing to taste like.