Category Archives: Product Reviews

Gluten free beauty products are a hoax

Posted on June 15, 2011 | 5 comments

A few months ago I splurged and bought a lovely bottle of Origins “Checks and Balances” face wash that cost an arm and a leg, but smelled amazing and was really highly rated.  Oh how I loved it so.  Every time I washed my face it was like a little moment of luxury.  Then I started reading about gluten free beauty products and started getting paranoid about if any of my shampoos, moisturizers, etc. contained gluten.

Long lost love

Of course, one of the ingredients in my prized face wash was actual “Wheat Protein” (say what?!).  I didn’t really see anything happening to my face since using it, but I figured to be safe I should stop using it.  And when I moved I gave it a tiny funeral in my head as I threw it in the trash can.

But THEN…

I stumbled upon the Washington Area Celiac Sprue Support Group Newsletter published in May.  And apparently the Mayo Clinic just discovered that the whole “gluten free beauty” trend is a complete sham!  Unless you actually ingest the product, it won’t do anything to you.

I feel so gypped!

The only thing that you have to look out for are products that go on or in your mouth, like toothpaste and lip balm.

Can someone please refund me $18.50 plus tax?    : /

*Note: I have heard of people having skin reactions to gluten in skincare products.  It might be a coincidence, or a DH reaction that manifests at the same time  (a rash/blistering of the skin that is caused by eating gluten), but some may say “why take a chance?” and choose to avoid gluten in products.  More power to you!  I think that going forward I’m going to try to avoid anything that screams “contains wheat protein or wheat germ”, but I’m just not going to be as anal about checking and Googling every ingredient in my shampoo.

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How to not break gluten free wraps

Posted on June 14, 2011 | 2 comments

This question has actually come up twice in the last 48 hours, so I figured it must be something that people are wondering.  I eat gluten free wraps a LOT – specifically the Food for Life brown rice tortillas.  I dip them in hummus, fill them with tuna salad, and make them into quesadillas.  When you get them from the frozen section of the grocery store, they are hard as a rock and sometimes covered in little ice crystals…not very appetizing.  I usually break off half of one since they’re pretty large, and put the rest back for later.

So, here’s the magic trick to getting the wrap not to break when you use it…

Treat them like corn tortillas and use one of these two prep methods.

Method A:

  1. Wet hands with water
  2. Rub both sides of the tortilla
  3. Put on a plate and microwave for 12 seconds
  4. If it’s still a bit too wet, flip it over and add 5 seconds more

Method B:

  1. Quickly run a paper towel under water
  2. Mush it into a ball so the entire thing is a bit wet
  3. Ring it out so the towel is just damp all over
  4. Wrap tortilla in paper towel
  5. Microwave for 15 seconds

If you use one of those two methods, the wrap will definitely not break on you. Now, it isn’t going to stay totally moist and wonderful forever.  But it will definitely stay like that for your meal.  If I’m packing one for lunch, I try to put a layer of hummus on it in the morning (then fill with whatever you want), which seems to keep it moist until lunch.

Hope that helps!

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Oh snap! (and crackle and pop)…Rice Krispies go gluten free

Posted on June 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.  Rice Krispies have finally eliminated the malt barley from their recipe and gone gluten free! Check out the Rice Krispies website for more info on the cereal, which they’re branding as “a gluten-free option with the same beloved sound”.

Can’t wait to go on a scavenger hunt to find these around DC.  I’ll update when I find them!

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Match up: Fruit Leather vs. Fruit Strips vs. Fruit Rollups

Posted on June 10, 2011 | 2 comments

Whenever I’m in line at Whole Foods, I’m enticed by the 49 cent fruit strips they have near the check out.  I’ve gotten a couple, so I figured I should put them to the test.  The contenders are a more “crunchy” version, Kaia Fruit Leather, and the classic kids treat, Fruit Rollups.

First up: Kaia Foods Gogi Orange Fruit Leather

Ingredients: Orange, bananas, gogi berries

Before I ate this, I didn’t see that there were bananas in it.  They probably use nanners to give the leather some sweetness, since there’s no added sugar.  I appreciate the simplicity of the ingredients, but not the way it tasted.

Kind of like eating a really thin, dirty orange peel.  It was definitely fun to eat, and good for me, but not necessarily the tastiest thing I’ve ever had.

Next up: Whole Foods 365 Organic Blueberry Fruit Strip

Ingredients: apples, organic natural flavor, fruit juice concentrate (blueberry and lemon)

Image from mandysmeals.com

There are a ton of varieties of the Whole Foods strips (those that I can think of off the top of my head = peach, berry, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, apricot).  All of them have apples listed as their first ingredient, but due to the fruit juice concentrate in them, they have a strong taste of whatever fruit flavor is in them.  They’re not as chewy as either Kaia or Fruit Roll-ups, but they feel more natural that way (like, fruit shouldn’t be impossible to get out of the grooves in your teeth).  They have a bit of texture to them, but are generally a great small snack for pre-workout, or when you just need a little sugar.

And the hometown favorite: Fruit Roll-ups, made by Betty Crocker (who knew?)

Ingredients: a whole lot of stuff.

I was impressed when I saw the clear “gluten-free” label on the front of the box.  That Betty Crocker really has high gf awareness.

That said…Fruit Roll-ups were not like I remembered them to be.  When I was a kid each one felt almost like a blanket of chewy fruit goodness.  You could punch out shapes in them, stick your tongue through one, and amuse yourself for hours on end.  As an almost adult, it was just kid of…ordinary.  The colors are blinding (especially the unappetizing blue/green one), it gets stuck in your teeth, and it takes me about 45 seconds to eat one.

And the winner?

Whole Foods 365 Fruit Strips! 

I would choose these even over my old childhood staple Fruit Roll-ups, and I would choose just about anything over the Kaia ones.  So, stock up…they are only 49 cents each, after all.

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Kookie Karma

Posted on June 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

I love when a gluten free company is also hip.  I haven’t seen cookies from Kookie Karma in many places, but they are some of the best gluten free cookies I have ever had.

They’re better than Lara Bars cookie dough…

They’re better than Enjoy Life’s cookies…

And they are certainly better than Glow chocolate chip cookies (although I do appreciate their design sense) …

Kookie Karma holistic chocolate chip cookies are ridiculously moist (probably due to the almond butter) and have great texture (due to the coconut and chia seeds).  Plus the dark chocolate chips are big (and if you put them by your computer fan, like I did, then they are also melty).  Plus with 8 grams of protein these are a much better alternative to Betty Crocker.

 

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The Cheesiest

Posted on May 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

I think that even if I got the new Celiac vaccine that just passed clinical trials, I would still eat this mac and cheese from Outrageous Foods that I got at G-Free NYC in my big stock up before moving to Washington DC tomorrow.

At first I was skeptical because this mac and cheese comes frozen, but it was the best that I’ve ever had!  It’s like the Velveeta kind that’s super thick and cheesy, with lots of the cheese sauce to go around.  The noodles are also really soft and substantial.   I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting just so I could eat it twice 🙂

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Skinny snacks: gluten free

Posted on April 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve tried two “skinny” snacks lately that I’m hooked on.  I kind of hate that I’m even calling these skinny snacks, but they’re skinny in shape and low in calories, so the name fits.  None of these snacks will make you skinny, especially when you eat four servings at a time like I do.  But they sure are tasty!

Skinny Snack #1

Skinny Crisps

I tried a free sample of these at G-free NYC last week and loved all of the flavors, but I picked up a bag of the cinnamon crisps and have hardly put down the bag since. The most interesting part about these is that they taste just like pita chips baked with butter and cinnamon, but they’re low carb! (?)  The first ingredient is ground almonds, then chickpea flour, organic ground golden flax seed, psyllium husks, organic dehydrated cane juice, and olive oil.  So there’s NO rice flour, like most gluten free cracker products, and they’re so much more indulgent. Well, they taste more indulgent, but they’re really not (8 big crackers for 120 cals)

Skinny snack #2

Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks

These are basically like fish food for people.  They’re a great thing to mindlessly snack on at work, and have a ton of Vitamin A.  You will look like a weirdo eating these, but they’re pretty addictive.

Skinny Snack #3

Falafel Chips

I brought these to a potluck at work, and was surprised to hear how much everyone loved them!  The spicy chips taste JUST like the crispy part of falafel, only they aren’t fried (11 chips for 118 cals) and you can store them for longer.

Snack it up!

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Grand Opening Field Trip: G-Free NYC

Posted on April 20, 2011 | 1 comment

I managed to make it up to the Upper West Side today for the Grand Opening of G-Free NYC!  I needed some gluten free oats, plus I wanted to check out if they had any new loot that I couldn’t find at Whole Foods or the other natural stores I usually go to.

The store itself is pretty small, with a window seat, three freezers, a full wall of pantry shelves, and a table in the middle to house the baked goods imported in from Tulu’s.

The first freezer had desserts, including break-and-bake cookie dough, “Ring Tings”, cheesecakes, ice cream sandwiches, tiramisu, and ice cream.  The break-and-bakes and ice cream sandwiches were new to me, but with so many fresh desserts I chose to focus my energy elsewhere.

The second freezer had breads, including hamburger buns, bagels, and Italian bread.

The third had more bread, with frozen baguettes, buns, and English muffins.  The frozen baguettes are not something I’ve seen before, but at $7 and some change I decided to wait until a special occasion.

The pantry shelves held a couple more gems, including one of my purchases: individual packets of tamari soy sauce!  Usually I lug around my La Choy in my purse, but this will be much more convenient.  I’ve considered ordering these online before, but they only come in multi-packs, and who really needs 10 boxes of these?

I found another item that I considered purchasing online before in the pantry as well…Skinny Crisps!  They also had all four flavors on the counter as free samples, and all of them were wonderful.  Onion and cheese for savory-lovers and chocolate and cinnamon/sugar for the sweet-lovers.

Speaking of free samples… cinnamon rolls were out for the taking!

I picked up a carrot cake from Tulu’s for the train home, and an apple pie from Pi!  This things smells amazing and looks buttery and flakey, can’t wait to try it!  They also had potato knishes made by Pi, and some vegan cupcakes (which didn’t look that great to me – especially compared to the frosting perfection on Tulu’s).

I love that this store exists, that I could walk around and not be afraid to taste things, and not have to check labels.  I only wish that it was closer to my work or apartment!

My haul = Skinny Crisps ($7), Tulu’s carrot cake loaf ($3.95), Pi apple pie ($4.50), and 20 pack of tamari soy sauce ($4.95).

For a full list of the products sold at G-Free, check out their website.

I hope more people go to G-Free to support local business and the gf community!

G-Free NYC

77 West 85th Street (1,2, A, C, E)

g-freenyc.com

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The Celiac Kid!

Posted on April 12, 2011 | 1 comment

Last week I received a super fun package, containing a copy of “The Celiac Kid“, by Stephanie Skolmoski.  The cover is amazing – I wish I could have a t-shirt in this design (except with a cartoon that looked a bit more like me, and a bit less like Charlie Brown with a toupee on:) ).

Since I don’t have any kids, I was trying to put myself in the seat of my 6 year old self when I read the book.  I know that kids with Celiac’s must have a really hard time feeling “normal”, explaining their food choices to their friends, and learning about what is and is not okay for them to eat.  I can see how a book like this could be really helpful in explaining the disease to younger siblings, cousins, or classmates who have never heard of a kid who can’t eat bread.  There was obviously a lot of thought put into explaining each type of situation that a kid might find him/herself in (at school, at home, at a picnic, at a party).

I especially appreciated the pages about the mechanics of Celiac’s disease, how it destroys the villi in our intestines and makes us feel sick and lose nutrients.  I wish that I could give some of the people I meet such a simple tutorial!

I also like that the author integrated a lot of typical kid foods into the book, to show that the diet doesn’t have to be so restrictive or unusual.  However, there were a couple of things that I thought could be confusing to kids.  Like there’s a page that says “I love waffles and pancakes – gluten free, of course… So you see, there are lots of different foods I can eat.”  But, without describing that these are special waffles, made with different flour, I can see how another kid might think, “Oh great, my friend can eat waffles!  I’ll make sure to share mine with him/her next time!”

When I first saw the cover of the book, I thought it was going to be more of a fairy-tale-like story about a kid who fights off gluten-filled foods, and maybe takes a journey inside his body (ala The Magic School Bus) to defend his GI Tract from the evil gluten proteins.  Maybe he’d even have some kid of gluten-killing wand, or a sidekick of vitamins to defend himself with.  Instead, the book is more of an explanation of what it’s like to live as a kid with Celiac’s.  Which is definitely helpful, just not as exciting as I thought it would be.  Maybe I should get to writing that Celiac Fairy Tale myself!

After reading the book, I was curious how many other children’s books were out on the market about having Celiac’s, and I found this whole list on Amazon!  Who would have known that there were so many emerging resourced out there?  Hopefully this trend continues so there is plenty ready for when I have kids.

The book is only $6.50, so there’s really no good excuse for not buying it for yourself, your son/daughter, or any young Celiac you know.

Buy it!

 

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Feeling Jovial

Posted on April 11, 2011 | 2 comments

What a way to be welcomed into the office on a Monday morning!  A package of free pasta and cookies from Jovial Foods!  I love their tag line, “inherently good”, as well as this message on the back of the cookies:

“Cookies should bring joy to everyone.”

Peanuts!

Thanks to Sure Foods Living for hosting this give away!

I’ve never seen fusilli-shaped gluten free pasta, so I’m very excited to try this out.  I might have to make this asparagus pasta recipe on their website.

I tried out one of the Fig Newton-esque cookies, and it was really satisfying!  It has a buttery, crumbly texture, and I love that they’re packaged in pairs – that means that I can’t down the whole package at once!

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