Taste Guru

Last month I received a sample box from Taste Guru.  I had heard of Taste Guru but had never looked too much into it.  They send a monthly box of gluten free products right to your door.  According to their site:

At TasteGuru, we strive to find the best and most interesting new gluten free products.  In a typical box, we put 7-10 food items, including several full-sized items and a number of samples.  Included in the box is a chef-inspired recipe ... and we usually find space to put an extra little item or surprise in the box.

Every box is different - half the fun is getting the mystery box of goodies delivered to your door each month.

I can now attest to the fact that half the fun was finding out what was in the box of goodies. I was so excited to receive my box and look through all the different products.  I got the box from January (I know, I know, I'm late at posting again).  Inside was:

Lentil and Quinoa Chips from Simply 7

NoGii D'Lites Chocolate Bars

Boulder Granola

Oven Baked Organics Pancake Mix

Tabasco

Old School Grits

WOWBUTTER

Wyoming Authentic Jerky

Funny Face Cherry Cranberries

a copy of Delight Magazine

and some coupons

I really liked this because I got to try a lot of things I wouldn't necessarily have bought myself.  Some products I liked better than others, but either way I was glad to try it all.  They also include a card listing everything inside the box with some product info which was really helpful.

I also like that the box has funny sayings printed in it, such as "Gluten free food that doesn't taste like the box."

I would highly recommend Taste Guru.  It would also make an excellent gift... my birthday is April 25th - just sayin'.

Tres Pupusas

On the same day I received the cookie mix samples I received some coupons in the mail to try Tres Pupusas.  I decided to make a real night of it and have these for dinner and make the cookies for dessert.  I headed to my local Whole Foods and got two free boxes of Tres Pupusas.  I opted for Spinach & Cheese and Green Chile & Cheese.

According to their website, a pupusas is a Salvadoran "stuffed corn tortilla filled with delicious goodness".  Having sampled these myself, I can confirm this is true.  These are one of the very first products I have actually gone out and bought again on my own.  I just had the Spinach & Cheese for dinner with a side of veggies.

I bought the Spinach & Cheese for myself because I liked it the best, but I also tried the Green Chile & Cheese and it was very good.  They have three other varieties including: Pinto Bean & Cheese, Kale & Pinto Bean, and Black Bean & Sweet Corn.  The ones without cheese are not only gluten free but also vegan.

Tres Pupusas are available at several locations across the county.  I highly recommend them for a great snack or part of a meal.

Baking Mixes from Ardenne Farm

Last week I received a box of samples from Ardenne Farm.  Included was gluten free pancake mix, chocolate chip cookie mix, and chocolate cookie mix.  They arrived at my office and when I showed my coworkers they all agreed to help me taste test the cookies.

I went home that night and set to work making the cookies.  Regular cookies are so easy and fun to make I'm quick to judge cookies mixes, but these turned out fantastic.  They were very easy to make and came out great.  The chocolate chip cookies were soft and chewy, just how I like them.  The chocolate cookies turned out a bit flat and crisp, but I think that was my fault for having the butter too soft.  Either way, they tasted great.

I brought both kinds of cookies to work the next day and my coworkers were very happy with them.  They all exclaimed how good they were and that they couldn't even tell they were gluten free.  They devoured them within hours and were pretty upset when I didn't have more to bring in the next day.

I made the pancakes at home this weekend and was pleasantly surprised but how light and fluffy they were.  My GF pancakes always tend to come out really thin so it was a nice change.

They have a lot of other mixes including fudge brownies, sugar cookies, and blueberry muffins.  I would definitely recommend these mixes to anyone looking for some semi-homemade treats.  They can be found at select locations or online.

OMG...It's Gluten Free

I recently received a package of baked goods in the mail from OMG...It's Gluten Free.  Based in Frankfort, IL, all of OMG's products are gluten and nut free.  They also have some dairy and sugar free options.  I sampled a chocolate chip cookie, a fudge brownie, a cinnamon crumb muffin, and a blueberry muffin.  I was very pleasantly surprised by how good they were.

All the products arrived intact and were a good size.  The fudge brownie and chocolate chip cookie were especially good.  As she was still chewing the brownie my coworker exclaimed "This is delicious!"  Packaged muffins can be tricky, but these were pretty good, especially the cinnamon crumb.

I only tried the baked goods, but OMG...It's Gluten Free also makes a line of frozen entrees including pizza, lasagna, mac and cheese, and pasta with meatballs.  Their products can be found at various locations across the country, but are also available to order online.  I sure wish I had one of those brownies or chocolate chip cookies to eat right now.

Grab the Gold

I really appreciate that people still send me samples even though I'm pretty bad at updating this site.  It works though because if I like something I will write about it.  For example, I received samples of Grab the Gold snack bars awhile back, loved them, and now here I am telling you about them.

Grab the Gold is a balanced protein snack bar that tastes like a "chocolate peanut butter oatmeal no-bake cookie". That's taken from their promo info, but honestly, that's exactly what it tastes like, and it is delicious.  Grab the Gold are not only gluten free, but dairy free, vegan, high fiber, trans fat free, preservative free, and free of high fructose corn syrup.  Basically, it's a delicious treat you can feel good about.

I received a box and shared them with my coworkers.  Everyone was hesitant at first, and honestly they aren't the most attractive bars, but everyone agreed they taste great.  I would definitely buy these myself.  In fact, I wish I had one right now.  Check out their site for a free sample!

Fort Collins, Colorado

Hey guys.  Thanks for still reading my blog even though I've sucked at posting on it.  It was a busy summer, I spent many weekends away, work is busy, blah blah blah.  Anyway, I wanted to post real quick in case you happen to be in Fort Collins, Colorado and don't know what to eat.

My dad and I used to fly to Fort Collins a lot when I was growing up to visit my grandmother who had Alzheimer's.  We stayed with my aunt and cousins and during our many trips out there we developed a few favorite places to go.  We went back recently to visit and clearly had to hit our old stomping grounds.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat anything at any of the places we used to go, but it turns out I was able to eat at all three.  Fort Collins - winning my heart once again.

Young's Cafe - Vietnamese food.  They now have gluten free sauces on their menu.

The Rio - Actually called Rio Grande, they have delicious Mexican food, a pretty good margarita, and a gluten free menu.

Walrus Ice Cream - Right next door to the Rio for an after dinner treat.  Homemade ice cream with gluten free cones available.

I'm sure there are many more places with gluten free menus in Fort Collins, but these happen to be the restaurants of my childhood.

Ian's Allergy Friendly Products

I loved chicken nuggets as a kid so when I was approached by a rep from Ian's about trying some of their gluten free chicken nuggets I was more than happy to say yes.  I had never had a gluten free chicken nugget and was really excited to try them. They sent me three varieties: Smokin' Sweet BBQ Chicken Nuggets, Southwest Chicken Tenders, and regular Chicken Nuggets.  I was pleasantly surprised by all three and would definitely recommend them to kids and adults alike.

Ian's specializes in natural, allergy-friendly and gluten free frozen foods.  In addition to chicken nuggets they have things such as gluten free fish sticks, onion rings, french toast sticks, pizza, and more.  There is a very helpful search filter on their site to help you find food by different allergies (peanut, tree nut, soy, egg, casein, etc.) as well as by attribute (organic, GMO free, Kosher, vegan, vegetarian, etc).  The chicken they use is free range and vegetarian fed and their fish is wild-caught Alaskan Pollock.  I think Ian's is doing some really good work and I'm very happy to recommend them to you.

Greenview Kitchen's New Gluten Free Products

Last month someone from Giovanni reached out about trying their new Greenview Kitchen Organic Pasta Sauce, Pizza Sauce, and Bruschetta.  They recently received their gluten free certification and asked if I'd help spread the word.  They sent me their Roasted Garlic pasta sauce, Spicy Tomato pasta sauce, Pizza Sauce, and Bruschetta. So far I've only tried the sauces but I really enjoyed both of them.  The Roasted Garlic is a little bit sweet (in a good way) and the Spicy is a little bit spicy (not overwhelmingly so).  They have aided in some very easy dinners these last few weeks which has been super helpful as my job is busy and I was extra busy finding a new roommate (she moves in tomorrow)!

I haven't had a chance to try the pizza sauce or bruschetta yet but I'm looking forward to both.  They suggest putting the bruschetta over grilled chicken and I think that sounds like a great idea. Certified gluten free and organic?  What's not to like.

What is Gluten?

Apparently no one knows.  These people kill me.  Figuratively.

Ribalta

One of my college roommates is in town for a work conference.  Typing the phase "in town for a work conference", combined with my 28th birthday being last week, makes me feel really old.  Anyway, she's here and I couldn't be more delighted to see her.  She told me to pick a restaurant for dinner last night and I was going to choose one of my old standbys when I saw a tweet yesterday afternoon about someone's gluten free pizza at Ribalta.

I had never heard of Ribalta.  When I looked it up on the internet I was happy to see it is conveniently located near Union Square (12th Street at Broadway).  I often meet people for dinner in Union Square so I'm happy to have another place to add to my list.  Not only do I like Ribalta's location, I also liked the food, so really it was a win all around.

Amanda and I split the brussels sprouts to start.  I love brussels sprouts.  Especially when they are covered in bacon and cheese.  I then got the gluten free vegetable pizza.  It was quite large and I thought it was pretty good.  Amanda had some gluten filled pasta and was happy with it.  They do have a gluten free almond chocolate cake for dessert but we didn't get it.  You probably should though, because, you know, dessert.