This was a great week on the gluten free diet. Instead of my regular, “Love It, Like It, Avoid It,” roundup, I have three “Love It” reviews. What a great way to start November!

Love It

I love 123 Gluten Free Lindsay’s Lipsmackin’ Sugar Cookie Mix. I follow the instructions to the letter, and the resulting cookies are delicious. I cut them in the shape of pumpkins and frosted them with homemade orange icing for a Halloween party at work this week. They were cute, and tasted great. In fact, several women at work commented that they couldn’t tell that they were gluten free. In addition, couple of them asked about how to make baked goods gluten free, and I was able to answer their questions. It was rewarding to spread awareness of celiac disease and gluten free baking. However, I left the cookies there for the rest of the afternoon and when I returned someone had combined the other glutenous treats with my cookies in my tupperware. So, I guess I need to keep spreading the awareness, but it felt like a win because I fulfilled my pledge to share a gluten-free treat in celebration of Celiac Awareness Month.

Love It

Annie’s Naturals makes fabulous gluten-free salad dressings. Not all of their dressings are gluten free, but the ones that are GF say so on the back label. The company also has an online listing of their GF products. We made gluten-free buffalo chicken salad this week and used Annie’s Naturals Cowgirl Ranch Dressing. It was delicious and creamy. I had been making my own salad dressing because I had a hard time finding any that were conclusively gluten free (and healthy). But it’s nice to have some ready-made dressing on hand, and I hadn’t been ambitious enough to make ranch dressing from scratch. At any rate, now I won’t need to because Annie’s Naturals dressings are amazing!

Love It

If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you know that Drew and I love spicy Mexican-inspired cuisine. So, we eat a lot of salsa, both homemade and ready-made from the grocery store. My favorite grocery store brand is Frontera. There are several flavors that we like, but we love Frontera’s Salpica Tomato Jalapeño Medium Salsa. It’s perfect on chips, fajitas, quesadillas, and fajita chicken salads. I love it as a quick snack on the weekends or while watching college football on Saturday afternoons. A Frontera customer service representative confirmed that all of their chips and salsas are gluten free. The only Frontera products that are not gluten free are their Chili Mix and barbeque sauces.

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Love It

The Red Avocado in Iowa City, Iowa has delicious gluten-free dining options. My grandmother-in-law treated me to lunch this weekend, and the food was delicious. The Red Avocado specializes in fresh, organic, vegan, locally grown ingredients. My lunch was entirely gluten free, healthful and delicious. I had fresh-squeezed orange juice and a tofu scramble, which included fresh, diced peppers, tomato, and seasoned tofu (it was similar to scrambled eggs). My meal came with sesame Dijon roasted home fries, which were heavenly, and for dessert I had chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a port wine reduction. It was fantastic, and the waitress was knowledgeable about celiac disease and gluten, so I knew I was in good hands. It’s rare to find a restaurant where you can trust that the food will actually be gluten free every time. I am usually on guard when eating somewhere new, so I tend to frequent the same places when I find one that can provide gluten-free meals consistently. Today the Red Avocado became one of my new favorites! If you don’t live close enough to make the trip, certain items from The Red Avocado menu can also be purchased online.

Like It

Omelets are an easy gluten-free meal to prepare with whatever you happen to have left in the fridge at the end of the week. This week I made omelets with diced onions, tomatoes, sliced turkey, and shredded cheddar cheese. I keep them from sticking to the pan by using Original Pam Cooking Spray, which is gluten free. For some extra flavor, I sometimes top my omelet with dollop of sour cream and sliced green onions. To ensure that all of the ingredients are gluten free, I use the Hy-Vee product list when making my purchases, including Hy-Vee Oven Roasted Turkey, Hy-Vee Cheddar Cheese, and Hy-Vee Sour Cream. Obviously, raw vegetables are ok, so there’s no need to worry about them. 

The Blahs

We tried Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix this week because it was on sale at our grocery store. There are a number of mixes that we love from Bob’s Red Mill, but the pizza crust was mediocre at best. It was fluffier than any other gluten-free bread or dough we’ve run across, but it lacked flavor and texture. It was not sweet or savory. It had no spices or unique flavor, so I would definitely recommend adding some of your own. We were so unimpressed that we didn’t even finish the leftovers. While I can’t bring myself to put it in the “Avoid It” category, I can’t say that we really liked it either. It was just kind of blah.

If you go to the effort of making pizza crust, I would definitely recommend trying Drew’s gluten-free pizza crust recipe over this mix. It has much better flavor and texture!

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Love It

I admit that I am not exactly gifted in the kitchen and leave much of the cooking to Drew (yes, I am very, very lucky). Most of the meals that I make come out of box or from a recipe. I can, however, make spaghetti and marinara. My favorite gluten-free pasta is DeBoles Corn Spaghetti. It has terrific flavor and texture similar to regular pasta. It is also a good source of gluten-free fiber. I notice that rice pasta falls apart easily, but corn pasta seems to hold up better-especially upon rewarming for leftovers. I enjoy serving corn spaghetti with Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Gourmet Pasta Sauce. I highly recommend both!

Like It

Food for Life White Rice Bread is pretty delicious. I really miss the homemade potato bread from our local Amish community that I used to eat (B.C.: before celiac), which is probably the only reason this bread is not making my “Love It” list. It is good, and it works well as toast. It’s actually perfect for grilled cheese. I made gluten-free grilled Brie sandwiches and tomato soup last week when Drew was feeling under the weather, and he loved it (even though he is used to eating his glutenous Amish potato bread). The main thing with this rice bread is to put something on it because it’s a little crumbly and falls apart easily. The Brie held it together nicely, but even just a little butter will do. My mom had the idea of putting butter on it and toasting it in a frying pan for me with some eggs for breakfast, and I have to say it was quite delicious.

Avoid It

Glutino Chocolate Dreams Sandwich Cookies are not chocolate-y enough to stand up to other gluten-free chocolate options, especially given that Snickers are also gluten free. The texture is a little weird for a cookie, but most gluten-free cookies are a little weird. The most problematic thing about Glutino Chocolate Dreams Sandwich Cookies is that the chocolate tastes kind of off. It’s just not that rich chocolate flavor that you might get from chocolate chips nor is it that wonderful Oreo flavor that I have yet to find in any gluten-free source of chocolate. At any rate, I don’t really recommend them, and as much as I hate to put Glutino on my “Avoid It” list two weeks in a row, it just needed to be said.

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Love it

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Brownie Mix is spot on! All of Bob’s Red Mill GF mixes are terrific, and these brownies top my list. The brownies are moist, light, and fluffy, and have a nice fudge flavor, all of which is difficult to achieve with gluten-free ingredients. One of the baking instruction variations involves making a cream cheese filling, which makes the brownies even moister and more flavorful. I also added some gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips, which upped the fudge factor. They’re particularly delicious topped with gluten-free ice cream-I’m partial to Haagen Dazs Dulche de Leche. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Brownies would be the perfect thing to share with your friends, relatives, and coworkers in celebration of Celiac Awareness Month. They’re delicious! Just be careful not to eat too many in one sitting-they’re best enjoyed when savored.

Like it

Mary’s Gone Crackers Black Pepper flavor is very good. As you know if you’re a regular reader of our blog, I am partial to Blue Diamond Nut Thins, but Mary’s Crackers are a close second. They have a nice crispy crunch and unique flavor. They are made with organic brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, and sesame seeds and come in five flavors, including original, caraway, herb, black pepper, and onion. I enjoy them with tuna salad, and would certainly recommend giving them a try.

Avoid it

As much as I hate to say it because I believe in supporting companies dedicated exclusively to providing gluten-free foods, I feel compelled to warn others that Glutino Lemon Wafers are awful. They taste exactly like how lemon-scented Lysol smells. I took one bite and couldn’t take another. Even Drew, who admittedly, will eat almost anything, could not eat them. What’s more, Glutino is a repeated offender, marketing a variety of products that are consistently bad. My local grocery store has a gluten-free section that is almost completely monopolized by Glutino products, and early on in my gluten-free days, I tried many of their products and became very frustrated with the gluten-free options available. I thought that the gluten free community would have come up with some better options by now, and luckily, they have. Sadly, Glutino Lemon Wafers is just not one of them.

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