Product Review: Taste Guru Gluten-Free Subscription Box, May 2013

I signed up to try TasteGuru, a gluten-free monthly food subscription service. It's kinda pricey, I signed up for the $24 a month plan, so I could cancel anytime. You generally get a box of 5-7 different gluten-free items. Many of them are items that are new to the gluten-free food market.

Here are the goodies that were included in the May 2013 box: 

• Rocky Mountain White Cheddar Popcorn 
• Canyon Oats Brown Sugar Instant Oats 
• Glutino Strawberry Toaster Pastries
• Falafel Chips
• KIND Honey Oat Granola
• NOT PICTURED: Gratify Gluten-Free Pretzel Thins with Sesame Seeds
• NOT PICTURED: Le Veneziane Penne Rigate Corn Gluten-Free Pasta
• NOT PICTURED: Coco Cafe - Cafe Latte

So far I've tired the white cheddar popcorn (YUM!), one of the toaster pastries (good! better than the Eco Planet brand) and the Falafel Chips (different, but good!).  Michael also tried the Gratify pretzel thins and loved them (they had soy flour, so I couldn't eat them). He enjoyed the pretzels so much he took them to work for a snack. 

To be honest, I'm not sure it's really worth $25 for the products in this particular box, but then again as we all know ANY gluten-free processed food is going to be quite a bit more expensive than it's "wheat" counterpart. So I may be comparing the cost to what I would assume the same non-GF products would cost. 

I think the most fun part about this box is simply getting to see a neat variety of new gluten-free products every month. You can see if you like them, share them with other gluten-free friends if you don't! 

Have you tried Taste Guru? What did you think? Would you try a gluten-free food subscription service? 

Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread Recipe

One of the recipes I love to teach in my gluten-free baking classes is focaccia. An Italian flat bread thats made with gluten-free flours, yeast, eggs, olive oil, and herbs. The taste and texture of a thick focaccia bread is different than any other bread you will try. It's chewy, yet crunchy, and incredibly full of flavor.

Rich olives and sundried tomatoes, dried oregano and basil, fresh garlic... personally I'd rather eat a thick slice of toasty focaccia with a hearty homemade soup, than a piece of pizza! This recipes make two round 8" loaves or "cakes" of focaccia. You can easily freeze one loaf for later if it's too much. For those of you who need a lower carbohydrate/ "paleo-ish" version of focaccia, I plan on posting one next week, so stay tuned!

This gluten-free recipe makes a very thick, sturdy dough that can be a bit hard to handle when just stirring by hand. So if you have a heavy-duty stand mixer, it's the perfect appliance to mix this dough. Whether you're using a little elbow grease, or you'd using the stand mixer, try out this recipe and have it simply with a fresh salad and a homemade soup. It makes a delicious and fun gluten-free meal to share with your family!

I learned how to make this fantastic gluten-free dough while visiting the Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse in Morrisville, NC. Lee Tobin, the bakehouse team leader and head baker, shared his techniques and his recipe with our local gluten-free support group while we toured the facility. This incredibly chewy and crunchy bread would also make an outstanding deep dish pizza crust!

Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread  free of gluten, dairy, and soy recipe adapted by carrie forbes of gingerlemongirl.com printer-friendly recipe Yields: 12-16 slices of focaccia  Dry Ingredients  1 ½ cups brown rice flour 1/2 cup sorghum flour 2 cups arrowroot starch or tapioca starch 2/3 cup blanched almond flour or non-fat dry milk powder (if you can tolerate dairy - we use the blanched almond flour 1 tablespoon xanthan gum 2 teaspoons Saf Instant-Yeast, Red Star Rapid Rise or “Bread Machine” Yeast, or Fleischmann’s “Bread Machine” Yeast 1 teaspoon salt Wet Ingredients: 1 ½ cups water heated to 110 degrees 3 tablespoons olive oil 4 egg whites, brought to room temperature 1 clove garlic, finely minced Fresh herbs, finely chopped (such as rosemary, oregano, or thyme) Olive oil for spreading dough Optional toppings: chopped and seeded kalamata olives and roma tomatoes Directions:  Line a 9x14” baking dish with parchment paper and grease parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil.  In a large bowl whisk together brown rice flour, sorghum flour, arrowroot starch or tapioca starch, almond flour or non-fat dry milk powder, xanthan gum, and salt.   In another bowl whisk together heated water, olive oil, egg whites. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together thoroughly into a stiff dough. Continue to mix as much as you can (it is a VERY stiff dough!) for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Drizzle the dough with a little olive oil and then evenly spread dough over the entire baking dish. Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about 35 minutes.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently poke the dough all over with your fingers so small wells appear over the dough. Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle on the minced garlic and any of the additional toppings you would like.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until focaccia is golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then slice into squares and serve.

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cake Recipe

Summer screams strawberries to me! The early summer strawberries are now available in eastern nc... and normally I have to make a pie. My great-grandma P's best strawberry pie, as a matter of fact. And really, you should make that too.

But if you're not up to making a pie, you can make this cake. This soft, light, white cake filled with fresh strawberries!

We served this cake on Sunday for my awesome mom-in-law Carol. To make things easy, and to have a less-heavy dessert after a cookout, I simply frosted the cake with Cool Whip. But I know many MANY of you are not "fake" whipped topping fans, and that's A-Ok, because you can have your frosting too! For the "real food" folks, you could easily make a light, dairy-free coconut milk frosting, like this one: Elana's Vegan Coconut Cream Frosting. Or you could simply use real whipped cream with a little sugar added. So pick your favorite way to frost it.

However, no matter what type of whipped topping you decide to use, make SURE not to frost the cake until it's completely cool, otherwise, it will melt and be a soggy mess! Then store the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) before serving. This is definitely a cake that improves with a little time, so feel free to make it a day ahead of time for the yummiest results!

Gluten-Free Fresh Strawberry Cake
free of gluten and soy (and easily dairy-free)
created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or tapioca starch/flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 tablespoons TEASPOONS baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup - 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup almond milk, or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup light-tasting olive oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of each pan. Spritz each pan with non-stick cooking spray or brush with light-tasting olive oil and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a large bowl mix together sugar and fresh strawberries until they are fully coated in the sugar (this will help keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Add the egg whites, almond milk, olive oil, and almond extract. Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly. Slowly stir in dry mixture a little at a time, until it's thoroughly mixed into the wet ingredients. Pour cake batter evenly between the two greased cake pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. Frost with cool whip, coconut cream frosting (see recipe suggestions in above text), or your favorite vanilla or cream cheese frosting. (Pillsbury vanilla frosting and cream cheese frosting are both gluten-free and dairy-free). Top cake with additional fresh strawberries if desired.

**Cake is best when refrigerated for several hours before serving. Store cake in the refrigerator as it is quite moist and will not keep well on the counter. 

Arugula Sprouts Garden Burger

(Let's try this again spelling "ArUgula" correctly! lol) 

My husband loves sandwiches. Seriously, he could eat them every day for every meal. Squeeze in a bowl of cheerios and he'd say he's had a "well-rounded" day of meals!

When the weather gets warmer I really love sandwiches too... along with more veggie-based meals. Salads, raw veggies, and veggie sandwiches.

My favorite gluten-free veggie burgers are Sunshine Burgers. They are gluten-free, vegan, and soy-free as well. They are based from brown rice and carrots with different herbs and seasonings. My favorite is the Garden burger.

Another favorite sandwich ingredient lately has been Rudi's Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread. It's a newly formulated recipe which is softer than their previous frozen breads. It's delicious and truly tastes like the "whole wheat" bread I remember! It was perfect for these sandwiches...

So here's how we made them: 

• Bread: 2 slices Rudi's gluten-free multigrain bread, toasted
• Dressing: Spread with mayo & mustard
• Main Component:  Sunshine Burgers Garden Burger, pan-grilled
• "Cheese": Daiya mozzarella, melted 
• Additional Fillings: Arugula, broccoli sprouts, sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado

What would you add to your veggie burger? 

Product Review: Smart Ones Cheesy Scramble with Hash Browns

I'm always hesitant to post reviews of processed meals... I know people tend to love 'em or hate 'em and many in the gluten-free, whole foods, paleo-ish communities wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. I get that and I applaud those who are able to make all of their meals from scratch!

But in my life.. time is often short. I'm trying to work on my time management skills so that we can eventually eat most of our meals from scratch. However, I don't have a problem with shortcuts when you can find them and they work for you! 

And (in MY opinion) this "Smart Ones" meal is a good gluten-free option for breakfast at work. It's definitely a better choice than McDonald's. (And trust me, I'm a HUGE fan of McDonald's... when you're gluten-free and you need fast choices and options, I applaud any company who can make them available, healthy or not!)

SO let's look at the pros and cons of this product by Weight Watchers:

CONS: 

• Make sure you are an expert label reader to figure out if a product is gluten-free, especially if it's not a certified GF product. Also, you need to be comfortable emailing or calling companies to ask for details if you're not sure. Many of the Smart Ones products are absolutely NOT gluten-free, so READ THE LABEL! Then read it again! This product does have a lot of preservatives, so you do have to wade through the list of ingredients. However, this company is helpful by highlighting any ingredient that is part of the top 8 allergens. This product in particular highlights: eggs, milk, and soy. 

• This product contains a cheese sauce, so it's not dairy-free. (While I generally avoid dairy due to a sensitivity, I can tolerate it in small amounts.) This product also uses soy oil for preparing the potatoes, green and red peppers, and onions. However the product does not contain soy protein or hydrolyzed soy protein. If you avoid all soy, (due to the oil) this still won't be a good choice for you. 

• The breakfast meal isn't officially on the Heinz gluten-free food list, and this website claims that one of the ingredients: "corn maltodextrin" could be questionable for containing gluten... however, from other sources I've found, corn maltodextrin is a safe ingredient that does NOT contain gluten. So if you are concerned about this ingredient, it may not be a good option for you. 

PROS: 

• It's a super fast and easy gluten-free breakfast. 

• It's healthier and faster than "fast food."

• It has 210 calories, 9 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 15 grams of protein (and will keep you full much longer than having a bowl of gluten-free cereal.) 

• If you are using weight watchers or another version of calorie counting, this product has already configured the "points" value for you. This can be tricky with other gluten-free meals. 

• This product does use REAL russet potatoes, real green and red peppers, real onions, and real eggs. While there are many processed ingredients in the list, it also contains ingredients you would use in your own kitchen. As far as "processed" goes, this could be a lot worse! 

SO... there you go! Weigh your options and if it would be a good fit for you check it out! Do you buy other gluten-free frozen meals? What do you use? How do you judge if it's a safe product? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!