Wednesday's "What do we like?"

This week's "What do we like?" features

Schar Brand Cibatta Rolls

These rolls received mixed reviews in my house.
I gave these and A+ . They come partially baked. You finish them in the oven for about 10 minutes.
I thought they were soft, fluffy and yummy.
My kids didn't like them though. They have a dusting of flour on them that makes them feel a bit gritty to the touch (they don't taste gritty though). My son is super sensitive to things like that and he just couldn't get past it. He thought they were tasteless as well. My daughter didn't like the texture of the crust.
So, we leave you with making up your own mind on this one. I received a free sample from Schar that I had requested. It was not given for the purpose of a review though, it was just an offer on-line that I took advantage of.
Many Albertsons and Super Wal-Mart stores carry Schar products but I have only seen the Cibatta rolls on-line.
The best price on Amazon.com  was $5.62 a pack when you buy a box of 6 packs ($33.60 + free shipping). Very pricey. I will be looking for a less expensive way to purchase these and when I do, I will definitely be purchasing them for myself.

Toss it

I was so very dissapointed in a new product we tried that I felt I should post about it. I hope I convince you to save your money. Of course, tastes very, so you should make up your own mind.

In my quest to find a picture to post with this, I found a favorable review for this product. In the review it said that these were only available from the manufacturer and not sold in stores. I am wondering if they tasted better then? Maybe the review was paid for?

My son LOVES pound cake. So, I was super excited to find these little mini pound cakes (marble flavor) at Fred Meyer. I opened the box to find 5 cute little cakes, all individually wrapped.
So far, so good.
I opened one and smelled it, hmm, a little "off" but not offensive. We all took a bite. My daughter spit hers out right away. My son tried to chew his but had to spit it out. I got my bite down but that was as far as it went.
Dry, grainy and weird. Those were the words used by all three of us. Gross. From my daughter. I am not sure why they were so bad. The only ingredient I was not familiar with is "Dehydrated apple powder" but that seems innocent enough. They kind of reminded me of a piece of gluten free cake that has gone stale.
Maybe when they were available from the manufacturer directly, they were more fresh? I bought these on July 2nd, the expiration date on the box is September15th, 2012.  They won't be in our house long enough to see how stale they would be by September!
At almost $6.00 a box, I would recommend skipping these! Ours went in the trash.

4th of July Menu

What are you eating for the 4th of July? There are many of us who will be spending the day with others who eat gluten & dairy. How will you handle potluck meals?
For my family, we will be going to my mom's for the entire day. Some of my siblings avoid gluten/dairy and one can't tolerate corn. We will have an interesting mix of foods.

I for one, am going to bring what would be considered an entire meal. That way, if there aren't other choices, we aren't stuck with one dish.

Here is my menu for the 4th.

Pre-cooked chicken legs w/home-made BBQ sauce. I am trying a new recipe for the BBQ sauce. If it turns out well, I will post it later this week. I bake these up the night before and we eat them at room temp the day of.
Corn on the cob (to roast on the BBQ)
Veggie tray- celery, cauliflower, bell peppers, carrot & cucumber
Jalapeno poppers (contains dairy)- My extended family is addicted to these! I make them even though they contain dairy because my kids don't like them.  Simply take a fresh jalapeno pepper and slice it in half lengthwise. Strip the seeds out and discard them. stuff the shell with a teaspoon of cream cheese. Wrap the pepper with 1/2 strip of bacon (secure with a toothpick). Bake at 350 degrees until the bacon is done. YUM!!!!
Gluten free/ dairy free angel food cupcakes (again, a new recipe. I will post it if it turns out good)
Watermelon
Cherries
Hot dogs w/Udi's Gf/Df buns- For my extremely selective son who won't eat any of the above foods.

I would love to hear what everyone else is eating!

Have a Happy 4th!!

Wednesday's "What do we like?"

My son chose todays featured item.

So Delicious brand  Purely Decadent Dairy Free

Peanut Butter Zig Zag ice cream!

This is a soy-based ice cream, so those of you with soy and or peanut allergies, this won't work. But, if you can eat it, I highly recommend doing so! Before we found the less expensive choices at Trader Joes, this was our go to ice cream. This one can break the bank at about $5 though, so it's probably not a daily indulgence.

Great taste, great texture, enough said!

Wednesday's "What do we like?"

So once again, I planned to post this last week and just didn't get around to it. I promise I have more on my mind to share soon! For now I leave you with this.

What do we like this week????

Red Robin Restaurants!

My kids and I went to Red Robin this last weekend. This was by no means our first time.  I love that Red Robin understands Gluten-free dining. They now offer Udi's GF/DF buns as a regular menu item. No more lettuce wraps!! My son was able to enjoy a kids burger with bun and fries for lunch. They even grilled the bun for us.
Some of the Red Robin servers still aren't quite there with really "getting it" with gluten-free (some are) but we have eaten at 3 different locations and at each,  the managers knew exactly what was going on and were very competent in helping the servers.
I always start by asking for a GF menu, even though I already know what I want. I feel this gets the server thinking GF from the get-go.
Only once my son's order was mixed up, but it was super easy to spot. The reason was that if your kids order is GF, it should be served in a yellow basket rather than red. I knew right away when they brought the red basket that something was wrong. They quickly fixed the issue.
I will say that when you order GF fries, they do take longer to arrive. But that's a GOOD thing! That lets you know that they are being fresh cooked separately.

I am so thankful that there is a family restaurant that we can enjoy! I am hopeful that they will continue to expand their GF offerings.

Disclaimer: As always, I am in no way affiliated with Red Robin (or any product I have reviewed). I am simply offering my opinion. I paid for the meals I have eaten there and was in no other way compensated for this review.

Wendnesday's "What do we like?"

I can't believe it is Wednesday again!

This week is

Chocolate chips!

See the little g on the label? These are Trader Joe's Gluten-free Chocolate chips. They also do not contain milk ingredients, although they are made on shared equipment. My kids do not react to them but if you have a more severe milk allergy, these may not be for you. Please read the label and decide what is right for you.

These are one of the few semi-sweet chocolate products that I have found that my kids can eat. Neither of them likes a dark chocolate.
I posted here another chocolate chip that we love. Those were the mini's. These are full size. Great for snacking on or melting down for making candies. You can use these in GF cookies but it makes the cookies more fragile.

I apologize but I cannot remember the price. I can tell you that it is right around $3.00 a bag. These can be chopped up to a smaller size if you want to use them in cookies or granola bars.

Disclaimer: As always, this review is of a product that I purchase for my own personal use. I am in no way affiliated with Trader Joe's. I am simply offering my personal opinion.

Wednesday's What do we like?

What do we like?

Trader Joe's Dairy free Ice cream!

We have two favorites, the soy-based vanilla and the coconut milk based chocolate.

Both are fantastic.

First, the chocolate. It is $2.99 for the pint. While still pricey, that is better than the almost $5.00 a pint for brands like Coconut bliss. The Trader Joe's brand is smooth and creamy. My son describes it as creamy and yummy with just the right amount of chocolate. "Pretty dang good" was his way of summing it up! If you knew how selective my son is with food, you would realize just how high praise that is!

The Vanilla Soy ice cream is the closest to "regular" ice cream that we have found for vanilla. Creamy and smooth. A very light hint of aftertaste but not strong.

It is $3.99 for the container. I can't remember what size this is but I think it might be a quart.

My daughter likes hers with chocolate syrup.

I have a great home-made ice cream recipe as well, but the Trader Joe's brand is great when I don't have time to fuss with making it.

The only issue I have with Trader Joe's is that they don't carry the ice cream year round, so stock up when you see it!!