Cheerios!; Product Review of Great Value GF Granola Bars; The Rusty, Dusty Wagon Wheels Are Rolling Again

Before I arrived in South Carolina in September to see my new granddaughter, my son bought some gluten-free cereal so that I would have something to eat for breakfast while I was there. I was delighted to find out that one of the cereals was Honey Nut Cheerios, and it was gluten free! When I got home, I purchased Frosted Cheerios and Multi-grain Cheerios as well.  I love these cereals! I enjoy mixing plain Cheerios with Honey Nut Cheerios, to lesson the sugar load. 

I was fascinated as I read the back of the cereal box about the person (Phil) who works for Cheerios and made changes to the process to make these cereals gluten-free for his daughter-in-law and others. Amazing!  

I am glad that General Mills weathered the storm and stayed with gluten-free production, even though they had an unfortunate, one-time incident in July at their Lodi, California facility.  The rail system was down, and the gluten-free oat flour was being off-loaded from rail cars to trucks.  Due to human error, wheat flour ended up in the gluten-free line, and Cheerios cereal was cross contaminated.  They had to recall boxes to prevent more people from getting sick.  A huge thank you to General Mills, and to Phil Zietlow, for removing gluten from the entire process and for making sure that the oats are sorted out and separated from the wheat and barley grains. Phil invented Honey Nut Cheerios as well. :)  

Click on this link to watch a touching video about Phil and how he surprised his daughter-in-law after five years of hard work in figuring out how to make gluten-free Cheerios.

https://youtu.be/WEQbGcMVqR4

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We recently tried three varieties of Great Value Gluten-Free Granola Bars.  Way to go, Wal-Mart, for working on more gluten-free products for us!

I am rating the Peanut Butter flavor at 2 out of 10 (none of us liked it very much), Fruit Mix at 6 out of 10, and Dark Chocolate at 8 out of 10 (though these are a bit too sweet for me).

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"Rusty, dusty wagon wheels" is included in the title because I haven't written a blog post since September.  I must admit I have been consumed by several projects, but mostly I have loved spending time with family (particularly two new grandbabies, along with a visit to my 4-year-old granddaughter).  How can I resist?  They are all too cute and lovable!

I feel you would agree that we will gain more satisfaction and joy in life by nourishing our relationships and serving others than by any other way.  So please give a child, a parent, a sibling, or a friend a hug today and perform a good deed for them.  You will be glad you did!  :)

Comparison of Gluten-Free Pizza

Pizza!  Our family loves pizza!  I enjoy and frequently make my pizza recipe in my cookbook. However, I am happy that there are several brands of gluten-free pizza in my grocery store now and at Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Restaurant, which comes in handy if I am going out of town and need a quick meal for our kids.  It doesn't come without a price, though.  The average price for these pizzas was around $8-10, and the pizzas are quite small.

Here are the pizzas we tried:

Chef Anthony Russo's:  Rating 6.5

Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Gluten-Free Pizza:  Rating 8.5

Amy's:  Rating 7

Udi's:  Rating 7

Freschetta:  Rating 9.5

In our opinion, Freschetta is the winner for sure!  It has a great flavor, though the crust is slightly chewy.  In addition, I need to clarify that I am pretty sure this pizza compares very well with a Little Caesar's pizza, but not with my distant memory of what Pizza Hut pizza tastes like.  For a gluten-free pizza, it is quite tasty.  My daughter (who can eat gluten) commented that it tasted as good as a gluten pizza.  As you may guess, I am still partial to my homemade pizza recipe, found in my cookbook on page 164 and in my blog post of 9-24-14. :)

Product Review of Pillsbury Gluten Free Pizza Dough; My Pizza Recipe

I was making pizza for a large group a few weeks ago and I needed more than our two large crusts that I make with my pizza recipe.  I decided to supplement with one more small to medium-sized-pizza and to give Pillsbury dough a whirl.  I like my recipe for pizza crust better (a subliminal hint to buy my cookbook).  :)

The Pillsbury pizza crust caused my eyes to light up, however, since it is great to see companies like Pillsbury joining the gluten-free product wagon.  I am rating the crust at 7, since the flavor was quite good, but it was chewy and dense and had a slight after-taste. See my blog post at this link for my pizza crust recipe, and hopefully you will like it so much you will buy my cookbook. :)

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2036047509040080967#editor/target=post;postID=2120220870250998932;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=29;src=postname

Product Review of Multi-Grain Crisps; Amanda's Success

My niece, Amanda brought a delicious spinach and artichoke dip to share with us on Sunday.  She is an outstanding cook, just like her mom.  She also thoughtfully brought some Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crisps along so we would have some gluten-free crackers to eat with her dip.  I have had this brand of crackers before, but if I remember right...they were bigger.  These crackers were quite small, which is an ingenious way to get more dip per cracker and reduces the chance of anyone double dipping. :)  See...there is a science to this--to maximize the taste and make our taste buds happy!  I am rating these crackers at 7 out of 10, if you have a good dip covering them.

                                                  Photo Source:  https://www.crunchmaster.com/products/multi-grain-crisps-crackers.aspx

Amanda works as a nurse in an emergency room.  I can't imagine the pressure she feels in a job of this nature.  Just as D. Todd Christofferson stated, "I wish to express gratitude for the influence of good women...Women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy, and refinement in relationships and in cultures."  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-moral-force-of-women?lang=eng

Amanda doesn't realize how much she embodies this quote, because she just simply works hard and quietly sets an example for those around her.  Her standard for what is right always shines through at work and in other settings.  As I see it, Amanda's success is based partially upon these ideas as outlined by Richard G. Scott:

Establish a set of principles by which you will guide every aspect of your life—in your home, in your Church service, in your profession, in your community. 

Don’t make exceptions to your standards. Never compromise them. Be loyal to the teachings you have received from your parents and Church leaders. They are the things of greatest worth. If you integrate your formal education with what you know about the teachings of the Lord and the examples of those worthy people who are role models to you, you will have a solid foundation. You will be productive and do things that are worthwhile for others.

Be loyal. Be loyal to your parents and your loved ones. When you seek work, find something that challenges you, that raises you to higher levels of performance. It may be harder, but you will grow, develop better, and contribute more good. You really have no idea yet who you are and what you can accomplish in life. You have great potential far beyond what you can imagine today.

Serve others. Sharing what you know with others will bring you happiness and bless their lives.

Smile. I don’t mean that you need to be cracking jokes every day, but a good joke now and then is an escape valve. Life is not all that bad. You will soon learn that everybody has problems and nobody wants to hear about yours. Put those things aside and smile.

Don’t complain. Life isn’t always fair. That’s a fact. But it’s always charged with marvelous opportunities if you know how to find them. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/02/living-a-life-of-peace-joy-and-purpose?lang=eng

Product Review of Pagodas Quinoa Pasta

I made a pasta salad (see recipe from my blog posts labeled "delicious gluten-free recipes") with Pagodas Quinoa Pasta.  I was surprised that I liked it since I am partial to Tinkyada pasta.  I am rating it at 7 out of 10.  Quinoa is a healthy choice.  Here is a recipe from my cookbook for macaroni salad that would also work well with Pagodas Quinoa Pasta:

Macaroni Salad

½ package Pagodas® Quinoa Pasta or Tinkyada® Elbow Noodles

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon garlic salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

1 stalk celery, chopped (optional)

½ onion or 2 green onions, chopped

2 hard cooked eggs, diced

1 dill pickle, finely diced

1. Cook elbow noodles until tender.
2. Combine mayonnaise with vinegar, mustard, sugar, garlic salt and pepper in a small bowl and add to drained noodles.
3. Add celery, onion, eggs, and pickles to sauce and noodles and stir well. Mix well again before serving.

Serves 5 to 7 

Just remember to make the amount of pasta salad that you can eat in one day, because I have found that every brand of gluten-free pasta I have tried becomes stale and stiff the next day (unless it is covered by a creamy sauce).

(Photo source:  amazon.com)

Review of ShirleyJ Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Cake

(Photo Source:  shirleyj.com)

Wow!!  This gluten-free brownie cake in a cup is AWESOME!  If I could rate this 12 out of 10, I would!  I will have to settle for 10 out of 10.  Amazing!  I shared a bite with each member of our family and even those who can eat gluten were raving about how delicious it is.  Even though I have eaten gluten-free food for the last 10 years or so, I can still remember the taste of cake with gluten, and this is totally comparable.  It was convenient and fun to make it in a mug.  We had to microwave it an extra 20 seconds, and then it came out perfectly.  I can't get over how it is possible to "bake" something in the microwave.  Cool, huh?  And soooo delicious!

http://shirleyj.com/en/store/products/mugging-gluten-free-chocolate-brownie-cake/

Review of Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Fudge Brownie Mix

Every once in a while it is important to get chocolate into our day...don't you agree?  I had a good excuse, too.  It was our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet, and I was assigned to bring gluten-free brownies for the event.  My awesome neighbor gave me an Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Brownie Mix for Christmas.  I kept saving it for just the right occasion...and when I was asked to bring a dessert, I knew this was the right time. :)  Yum!  Amazing brownies...and 10 out of 10, for sure.  Perfect texture and taste!

(Photo source:  http://www.arrowheadmills.com/product/gluten-free-fudge-brownie-mix)

Review of King Arthur's Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix

Wow!  Ten out of ten for this mix. It was delicious!  The texture was perfect, too.  I served these cupcakes at a dinner and all of the guests said they couldn't tell a difference between the gluten-free cupcakes and regular gluten cupcakes.  Awesome!

(Photo Source:  www.kingarthurflour.com)

Product Review of Mom's Place Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

This mix is quite good and is easy to prepare.  I chilled the dough overnight and I decided to roll it out on parchment paper.  I tried doing it without dusting the parchment flour with gluten free flour (which is specified in the instructions :).  The dough rolled out easily, but removing the cookies was another story.  It was a sticky mistake.  So, my daughter scooped up the dough and got it off the parchment paper, and we started over on a new piece of parchment paper that was dusted with gluten-free flour.  It worked much better and we were able to remove the cookies with ease.

The mix directions specify to roll it out to 1/2 inch thick, but I prefer to roll them out thinner and add more frosting. :)  These cookies have great flavor, but because they are a little bit dry, I am rating them at 7 out of 10.

Product Review of Hodgson Mill Gluten-Free Cookie Mix

This is a tasty cookie mix, and I like the lower price compared to some other gluten-free mixes (although any gluten-free mix costs more than a gluten counterpart, unfortunately).  I am rating it at 7 out of 10.  The flavor is good, but the cookies tend to fall apart easily.

Photo Source:  amazon.com

Product Review of Mom's Place Gluten Free Luscious Lemon Squares

These lemon squares are quite tasty.  I love the tart lemon taste, but both of my daughters and my son puckered a little and they feel the lemon squares are too sour.  My husband shocked us all since he is very opposed to sour foods, and he loves the taste.  Pretty amazing.  Eight out of ten is my rating for this product.

The preparation was easy and quick.  The first step is to prepare the crust and bake it.  Here is a photo of the crumbs.  It kind of made me nervous because the butter didn't mix in with the crust mix to become a creamy texture.  It looked like coarse crumbs.

Yet, when I pressed the crumbs into the baking pan, it combined together easily.

I baked the crust and I took it out at 18 minutes instead of the 20 minutes specified--probably due to the dark baking pan I used.  The next step was to add the sugar mix from a separate packet enclosed in the bag, to which I mixed in eggs and water.  I poured it over the slightly-cooled crust and baked it the full twenty-five minutes.

As you can see, the crust was a bit crumbly, but mostly just on the first piece out of the pan--which is tricky to remove.  Mom's Place Gluten Free scores again!  :)

Review of Mom's Place Gluten-Free Pound Cake, Brownies, and Wonderful White Bread Mix

Mom's Place Gluten-Free has won my heart for their amazing mixes.  I had the opportunity to sample three of their products this last week, and they are DELICIOUS!!

Buttery Pound Cake Mix was smooth and silky with a perfect texture and great flavor.  It stayed moist for days.

Mom's Best Brownie Mix is a great solution for my chocolate craving.  I still hold to the idea that chocolate is an anti-oxidant...don't you? :)  Yum!  These are wonderful.

Wonderful White Bread Mix is sooo good that you kind of feel like you are cheating and eating bread with gluten...and you're not!!  It has a beautiful shape and a soft texture.

I suppose you can tell that I am excited about these tasty products...and I am rating them at 10 out of 10. Gluten-free mixes can be quite expensive, yet these are priced lower than the other brands of mixes I have tried.

Check out their great website and especially their "Gluten-Free Kids" tab with all of their fun ideas.

http://www.momsplaceglutenfree.com/weblog.php?id=7

Review of Glutino Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies

When our daughter went to Girls' Camp, we sent along some gluten-free cookies so she would have a delicious gluten-free substitute when the other girls were eating cookies with gluten.  She brought home some leftover cookies, which took some self control, since these are awesome. :)  I would rate these at 9 out of 10.  I like them even better than my memory of the taste of gluten chocolate sandwich cookies from before my diagnosis.



(Photo Source:  http://www.glutino.com/our-products/snacks/cookies/chocolate-vanilla-creme-cookies/)

Say "Thank You" to Wal-Mart

Remember my post about writing Wal-Mart to ask if they would change things so their potato chips would not be cross-contaminated?  We are part of that celiac army that wrote in....and the chips don't have the cross-contamination warning!  How awesome is that?

Let's write corporate Wal-Mart today and thank them.  :)

Gluten-free 72-hour Emergency Kits

Have you ever wondered what gluten-free food you would survive on if there were an earthquake, hurricane, flood, or some other emergency crisis in your area?  It is vitally important that we have a backpack all stocked with gluten-free items.  As part of my preparation for a presentation at a university during their Education Week, I am planning to display a gluten-free 72-hour kit.  Here are the products I have so far:

Progresso Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Campbell's Chunky Grilled Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Soup
Dinty Moore Beef Stew
Bush's Baked Beans (I am going to include a can opener in my 72-hour-kit)
Blue Diamond Almonds
Idahoan Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Flavored Mashed Potatoes (I am going to include extra water in my 72-hour-kit to re-hydrate these)
Starkist Tuna Creations--Zesty Lemon Pepper
Starkist Tuna Creations--Hickory Smoked
Thai Kitchen Green Onion Instant Rice Noodle Soup
Kind Fruit and Nuts in Yogurt  (I am particularly fond of this flavor)

My friend from our support group told me about the following three products that would also work in a 72-hour-kit.  She takes these along when she travels.  I haven't tried these, but they look delicious!

Pamela's Whenever Bars--Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut
GoPicnic--Hummus + Crackers
GoPicnic--Turkey Pepperoni + Cheese

Recipe for Sensational Tomato Basil Soup; Review of Schar Snack Crackers and Pacific Foods Tomato Soup

Sensational Tomato Basil Soup

one 14½-ounce can stewed tomatoes (not Italian)

3½ cups milk

pinch of baking soda

3 tablespoons butter

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon onion salt

½ teaspoon ground Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon basil leaves

¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 tablespoon cream cheese (or more)

salt and pepper to taste

1.      Purée stewed tomatoes in blender and pour into medium saucepan over medium heat.

2.      Microwave milk until it comes to a boil. Remove hot milk carefully with hot pads.

3.      Bring stewed tomatoes to a boil, and add a pinch of baking soda (this keeps the milk from curdling).

4.      Add  milk, butter, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion salt, Italian seasoning, basil, mustard powder, sour cream and cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 5

My mom had a huge hip revision surgery a few months ago.  My sister-in-law brought her some great gluten-free crackers for snacking between meals at the rehabilitation center.  My mom told me about these Schar crackers and we tried them.  As usual, gluten-free products are quite expensive--and these crackers are no exception--but they are delicious.  I would rate them at 9.5 out of 10.  They are my new favorite.  I especially love this type of cracker with the above recipe from my cookbook:  Sensational Tomato Basil Soup.  When I don't have time to make homemade soup, I like to buy Pacific Foods Tomato Soup, which is also gluten-free.  I would rate this soup at 10 out of 10.  It is smooth and perfect.

(Photo source:  www.schar.com)           (Photo source:  www.pacificfoods.com)