Product: Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites – $6.99+
They had me with the product name – Pizza Bites. PIZZA. BITES. PIZZA-FREAKIN’-BITES! As in…pizza rolls? Maybe? Possibly? Could I be that fortunate to stumble across (finally) one of the products that I no longer ate, not because it was made of crap (and they are), but because they were my favorite go-to snack when I needed something to eat while very, very busy?
Well…kinda.
In fact, these were more like breaded cheese ravioli, rather than pizza bites, but we’ll go with it. Let’s just run with it. Pizza Bites! WOOO!
So, I found these at my local natural food store, Rainbow Blossom, and had a freakin’ dance of joy in the freezer section. Honestly. I mean, I’ve been to parties where pizza rolls are laid out and everyone is just enjoying a few here and there. I get to stare at them. Dammit.
No longer.
Thanks to Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet…Pizza Bites (rolls…ravioli?) are back on my every-now-and-again want list. And now…I know where to get them. After purchasing these, I had to go through more fresh produce before allowing myself an indulgence from the freezer or fridge…but after a full day of professional soccer and time with friends…I needed to have something quick for dinner. I was going to do up some green beans with almonds, but my roommate was craving pizza. So…these made their debut in our kitchen.
Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet came about from Neil Russo, a professional chef who was hard at work on gluten-free recipes, which he was striving to perfect after hearing about the many people connected to himself that were having a hard time finding food while on a gluten-free diet due to intolerance or Celiac disease. After experimenting on his Italian bread loaves and Tiramisu, Russo was ready to give his food to the world. He first introduced the gluten free food in his restaurant, where he got high praise. Soon, he opened up Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet. And from there…the frozen versions of some of the classic Italian foods he perfected in gluten-free form. So good, that people even would ask if he was certain it was gluten free. All of Russo’s products are prepared in a strictly gluten-free facility.
So, two hungry soccer fans (my roommate and I) were ready to give these a try. I was surprised, when I opened up the bag to find large ravioli like bites inside. I was definitely expecting more of the pizza roll just from the name. They were frozen, lightly breaded stuffed pasta. But…I was hungry. Cathy was hungry. Pizza. Bites. Rolls. Whatever. Give us something delicious in some sort of pizza form.
Cooking the Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites is super easy. Simply preheat the oven to 350°F and place the frozen bites on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 5 minutes. Take out when or if the cheese starts to show. Mine cooked in 10 minutes without the cheese leaking out or anything. Bonus.
So, it was chow time. I dished up half the bag for my roommate and half for me. That was about 6 of the Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites each. We settled in with an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series and dug in. One bite…and I couldn’t argue…they were delicious. I was a bit thrown by the ratio of dough to filling…but that is a small, slight complaint. I thought there was too much dough encasing a cheese filling…that was a little scant. The pocket had more air than filling, but it was still crispy on the outside with a melty, molten center, regardless. And yes…they were really, really great. Delicious. Amazing.
Yeah…I’d buy these again.
Let’s talk about the ingredients that are in Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites. These pasta pockets of pizza goodness are made from gluten free flour (rice flour, corn starch, tapioca dextrin, xanthan gum, rice extract) tomatoes, part skim mozzarella, vegetable oil, soybean oil, soybean lecithin, water, whole eggs, yellow corn flour, ricotta, onions, sugar, salt, granulated garlic, onion powder, parsley, basil, and black pepper.
As for nutrition, this isn’t bad for pizza bites. There are three servings in a bag of the Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites. One serving is 4 pieces. These 4 pieces will provide you with 260 calories and 15 grams of fat. You will be taking in 40 mg cholesterol, 430 mg sodium, and 2 grams of sugar. In addition, a serving dishes up 27 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 6 grams of protein.
I was actually impressed by Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites. But, what’s not to love about a company that does 100% gluten free products right, that is family owned and operated, and has exceptional quality. And…they are doing products no one else has managed to put out there. And they are doing them well.
If you can find Russo’s Gluten Free Gourmet Pizza Bites in your grocery store or natural food store freezer…buy them and try them. You’ll love them. And…pizza rolls are, kinda, back in your life. And that…is amazing in and of itself. For real!
The Celiathlete 