Gluten Free Product Review

Let me start out by saying that as I type this post I am happily snacking away on a roll of boursin cheese and corn chips... I googled it... Boursin is gluten free.

So last weekend Sprouts Market had a sale on all their gluten free products, 25% off. I decided this was an ideal opportunity to check out all those over priced gluten free packaged products I've been eyeing. It was pretty hard to control myself.

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts *** (3 out of 5 stars)

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar  Donuts

These caught my eye in the frozen section because of course who doesn't miss a yummy sugary donut. I have made gluten free donuts at home and they were absolutely scrumptious but oilier than the donuts you buy at the store. These do have a donut flavor but were not as good as the ones I made at home... Also they were a little doughy and less cakey as though they were almost under cooked. So if you crave a donut and these are on sale they are sort of worth the buy but they won't blow your mind or anything.

My home fried donuts from over the winter break.

Glutino Parmesan & Garlic Bagel Chips **** (4 out of 5 stars) and Pretzel Twists **(2.5 out of 5 stars)

Lets start off discussing the Pretzel Twists. They taste just like a pretzel but the weird thing is the outside almost has a sliminess to it when you eat it and so when you chew there is almost like a glue element to it (careful or I may go on a tangent about xanthum gum.) 

The bagel chips are pretty spot on though. Myself and my friend Taylor thought they were a little dry, but the flavor and texture was perfect. I have only tried the Parmesan and Garlic flavor but I've heard the others are good as well. 

I used both in some homemade chex mix and honestly once they were seasoned you absolutely would not know the difference. 

Van's Say Cheese Crackers **** (4.5 out of 5 stars)

While I am still on the topic of the chex mix I made I should mention that I also got a box of Van's cheese crackers. They would have gotten a full 5 stars from me if it hadn't been for what I believe was the quinoa creating random crunches and sticking in my teeth. Their main flour blend includes Oats, Brown Rice Flour, Millet, Quinoa and Amaranth. They are a little more like a chip than a cracker as well because they are thin and crispy so I don't think they would be all that successful as a cracker to serve with cheese or anything like that. I would buy them again but I don't need to rush out immediately and restock my kitchen with them. 

Robbie's Gluten Free Vegan Worcestershire Sauce ***** (5 out of 5 stars!)

I used to eat Worcestershire sauce on veggie burgers, in my egg salad, bloody mary's and in chex mix... until I realized it was anchovies. :( 

For those of you who are not vegetarian its ok Lee and Perkins Worcestershire sauce is gluten free so you are safe... for those of you who are vegan or vegetarian you'll be delighted to know that this tasted EXACTLY like the original salty fish based Worcestershire sauce. That sounds bad, but I mean that in the best possible way. 

Also, of interest when I googled Robbie's Worcestershire I came up with a website that listed one of the ingredients as wheat protein with a side note that it had tested at less than 20ppm. I am a delicate little flower so I don't care how many parts per zillion something contains, if it has wheat as an ingredient I do not want it IN, ON or AROUND my body! So with a heavy heart I called Robbie's directly to ask for some clarification. 

I am so glad that I did! They told me that they have since changed their recipe and it no longer contains ANY wheat ingredients at all and that they now test below 5ppm which should be fully safe for anyone. I was very pleased about this. 

This does bring up an important topic though. Apparently there are some talks with the FDA to regulate that only foods that test at 20 ppm or less can be labeled as "gluten free" even if they do contain wheat derived ingredients. I guess I'm in support of this as long as the labels still clearly indicate that they do contain wheat as I still will be avoiding any products with wheat in them. I'll be keeping track of how this progresses. 

I also got a few other products like gluten free English muffins, flour tortillas and ravioli that I will be trying out this weekend... I will let you know how they all are. 

xoxo - Iris