Health is Wealth finally gives some cheesy love to the gluten-free community

Product: Health is Wealth Gluten-Free Mozzarella Sticks – $4.49+

Mozzarella sticks.  Breaded cheese fried to a crispy perfection so that the outside is crunchy but the cheese inside is gooey.  It was one of my favorite comfort foods to have at restaurants.  But that all changed when I went gluten-free.  These breaded sticks of cheesy goodness were no longer on my menu plan.  Probably a good thing for my waistline, but not for the cravings every time they turned up on pub and restaurant menus.

In fact, giving into the thought that I would never again see mozzarella sticks on my plate, I pushed them out of my mind.  I stopped looking for them.  I passed them over on menus without batting an eyelash.  They were a food-non-grata with me and it was just the way it had to be.

And then…my journey to the natural food store once again took an unexpected plot twist.

I had gone inside for one thing.  A gluten-free baguette.  Which…they were sold out of.  To quell my rising anger at not being able to get what I intended, my roommate suggested I pick out something else to try…for blogging purposes, of course.  I was reluctant, but the more I lingered, the more I wanted to try something else.  So, I was scanning the shelves and finally went over to the freezer section.  There, as if a beacon of light from Heaven itself shown down upon them, sat a box of gluten-free mozzarella sticks by a company known as Health is Wealth.

Health is Wealth is more known for their vegan and vegetarian frozen foods.  I think I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.  But right there on the front of the box in big and bold letters were my two favorite words when it comes to my favorite foods that I thought were forever nixed from my diet – GLUTEN FREE.  I snatched these off the shelf as if they were a lifeline.  For real.  And when I took them home, they were the perfect side item to a gluten-free stuffed shells meal I also picked up.

These little nuggets of mozzarella cheese are breaded in gluten-free corn and rice breading.  This gives the outside a nice, crispy texture when baked up in the oven.  In addition, they breading tastes quite sweet so it pairs well with a marinara dip or just fine on its own.  I immediately put these in the oven to cook up.  No disappointment.  Crispy on the outside and ooey-gooey on the inside.  The cheese melted to perfection in the oven.  So often, these frozen, pre-packaged appetizer and sides never quite reach the proper cheese melting expectation.  More often than not, the cheese is still a solid lump of warmth, not stringy when you bite into it.  But not these.  Oh, no.  I bit into one and the cheese stretched between the breaded stick and my lips.  I think I rejoiced aloud at that.

I think these just became a ‘must keep stocked in my freezer’ sort of item.  They were so easy…and so delicious.  Both my roommate and her aunt, who are not gluten-free, raved about them.  As for me…I was just happy to be having one of my favorite comfort foods again.  Life is good when breaded, melty cheese is involved.

Health is Wealth did a fantastic job providing the gluten-free community with a fantastic product.  One that I will continue to rave about and consume.  Because I can.

I think I’m in love.  The delicious kind of love.