Category: Products

Product: Tasty Bite Lentil Magic – $3.29+

Mmmm…Indian food.

It is one of my favorite things in the world.  I literally grew up eating it.  My brother and sister were the same ages as the children of a couple from India who lived just up the street in the neighborhood I grew up in.  Often, we would go over to their home and indulge in homemade curry (my favorite!).  And their house always smelled divine.

So, having been introduced to the food and the culture so young, I have never fallen out of love with the culinary treats that await.  That being said, I have yet to actually cook up an Indian meal on my own.  Although, I am so willing to give it a try, if I can ever find a recipe that excites me.

Tuesday nights I often like to go to the park, if the weather is nice, and go for a run.  So, having an easy  to prepare dinner that won’t wreak havoc on an on-the-move tummy is ideal.  While out grocery shopping, my roommate and I spotted these little packaged delights from Tasty Bite.  They happened to be on sale, so we stocked up on a few of them.  And we were waiting for the ideal time to test them out.

That time came last night.  Here’s the best part…these are so easy to prepare.  It’s done in 90 seconds, I’m not even kidding.

The night prior, I went ahead and prepared a batch of jasmine rice, which I steamed on the stove top and then packed away for a reheat…just to make life easy.  I scooped out a couple servings upon getting home last night, added a splash of water, and microwaved the rice back to warm, fluffy life.

Then, per the instructions on the package for Lentil Magic, I tore a vent of about 2 inches, popped it into the microwave for 90 seconds, and then poured it over the prepared rice.  Like I said…SO EASY!!

Of course, the real test came in the consumption of said fast food.  One bite, and I knew this really was lentil magic.  The lentils were still al dente, so they didn’t turn to mush as I had been concerned about.  This particular kind is seasoned with garlic, cumin, and cardamom, all of which made for the perfect seasoning to pair with the lentils.  And I absolutely loved that my serving had a whopping 12 grams of protein in it.

These little Indian and Thai meals are amazing…and very low in calories, sodium, fat, and effort.  You gotta love that.  Even better…in the case of Lentil Magic…they are fantastic.  I was blown away by how delicious this was.  Not too hot, not too spicy…just the right amount of heat to infuse the lentils with that Indian flair.  I absolutely loved every component of this meal.

And coming from a girl who grew up on classic Indian fare prepared by someone from that country…that speaks volumes.  I have a few more of these to try, but I’m already set to buy up even more and give them a go.  There are a lot of options, most of which are not only vegetarian or vegan, but also gluten-free.  Many of the products are also kosher.  Lentil magic…was all four of those.  Love it.

So, if you are craving a filling, delicious, fantastically spiced Indian meal without having to go to India or the best Indian restaurant in town, you can enjoy the wonderful flavors and ease of Tasty Bite’s Lentil Magic.  I’m already a fan.

Product: Amy’s Kitchen Organic Chunky Vegetable Soup – $2.89+

As is the case with me these days, last night’s dinner was definitely going to be soup.  The kind of soup, however, changed three times.

I love soup.  I can eat soup year-round.  Yes…even in the heat of summer, I often find soup to be refreshing to indulge in.  Why?  Because of what goes into it.  And, when possible, I love stirring a pot over low heat and cooking up my own soup.  But, that’s not always possible.

Not to sound too much like Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory, but Monday night’s are soup night for me.  It’s the night I go running with a local group at a running store, so something that is filling, but not too heavy is ideal.  A bowl of soup and a gluten-free and dairy-free grilled cheese sandwich are my go-to those nights…and it works like a charm for me.  But, unless I have time on Sunday to cook up soup for the week, my standby is the canned or boxed variety you find in stores.

Like I said above, however, last night’s soup changed.  My roommate had selected Amy’s Organic Light in Sodium Butternut Squash Soup for our dinner on Sunday night, knowing that when we got home from work, we had a quick turn-around time to eat, do dishes, change, and head through traffic into Louisville so I could go for my run.  The only problem was, as I was getting breakfast going that morning, I noticed a key ingredient in big bold letters on the can: wheat.  This gluten-free girl was very, very sad because…I love butternut squash soup.  And now…it was off the menu.  When my roommate crawled out of her room for breakfast, I shared that little bit of knowledge and asked her to go pick another one.  Amy’s Organic No Chicken Noodle Soup was next off the pantry shelf…and then she said…”Duh…this has noodles!”  Therefore wheat and soy were key ingredients, meaning this soup also had gluten in it.  No go.  Her next grab…and our dinner that night…Amy’s Organic Chunky Vegetable Soup.

This soup was impressive from the moment I opened up the can.  The broth was light and tons of chunky vegetables were swimming in it.  No skimping on the vegetables here.  Not at all.  I could see the tomatoes, spinach, carrots, green beans, corn, peas, onion, celery…all organic, by the way, in the broth.  Chunky was not an understatement.  It’s fact.

I warmed up the soup on the stove top while I got to work on the accompanying sandwiches.  Soup and sammie nights are pretty famous in my apartment as I have discovered the perfect way to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  Oh…and even my dairy-free cheese melts up to gooey perfection too.

With the sandwiches done, I ladled the warm soup into bowls and settled in for dinner.  One spoonful and I could already tell this soup was magic.  It had lots of flavor.  I could tell it would be filling because of the chunky vegetables that were included (not those anemic little bits in most vegetable soups).  The vegetable flavor reminded me so much of homemade vegetable soup.  Yeah…it’s that good.  The soup was seasoned too perfection.  It probably had more sodium in it than I usually would have liked, but…that’s canned soup for you.  And this was worth it.  Very delicious.  I would buy this one again in a heartbeat.

Once again, Amy’s Kitchen proves that it turns out fantastic food no matter if it’s canned, frozen, or shelf-stable.  This was my first foray into Amy’s Organic soups, and I was definitely very impressed.  Aside from my little lesson about reading labels, which I normally do…I think I just assumed butternut squash soup would be gluten-free…and the noodle thing completely slipped my mind, I can’t find anything to complain about when it comes to this soup.  Packed with flavor, packed with organic vegetables, and packed with love that comes out of a company that truly cares.  Amy’s Kitchen has definitely become one of my go-to brands I trust.

If you need a quick meal on-the-go…go to your grocery store, and pick up a healthy serving of vegetables in soup form.  Find Amy’s Kitchen Organic soups…find the Chunky Vegetable…and see what I’m raving about for yourself.

Trust me…she has plenty of gluten-free soup options available.  I have a couple more in my pantry that I’m dying to try.

Product: Katz Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts (7-inch) – $5.99

I don’t know if it can possibly get better than Katz Gluten-Free.  I was skeptical, but so far, everything…and I mean everything that I have had from Katz has blown my gluten-free mind.  No joke.  When you talk about gluten-free food, point your comments toward Katz because perfection is what they offer.

I don’t know the reason for my skepticism.  After all, gluten-free foods have come a long way.  Part of it may have been the fact that in order to get these products, I have to order them online.  There is something so daunting about trusting your food to an online order, especially if unfamiliar with the products.

My first gamble on Katz products was on their gluten-free powdered sugar donuts, which, as I previously reviewed, I loved.  Next came the gluten-free cinnamon donuts, which I more than loved.  And when I had an online coupon come through, I went ahead and decided to try out the pizza crusts and ordered some of the gluten-free cookies as well.  Why not go for broke here?  The only way to branch out away from the donuts is to try other things.

I should have known to trust Katz Gluten-Free when it comes to their products.  After all, the company was started by Mrs. Katz back in 2006, who has two children who are gluten intolerant.  With that, set out with a mission to create good, delicious food that reach taste, texture and flavor perfection.  In addition, the facility that these products are made in are nut-free and dairy-free, so it’s allergy friendly too.

What Mrs. Katz did, first in her kitchen before expanding and starting this amazing company, was achieve food perfection.  So often gluten-free products lack some key quality, be it in texture, taste, or flavor.  Since the main focus of Katz’s products were these three components, it’s no wonder that perfection has been achieved every time.

The other night, I was digging in my freezer and found the little 7-inch pizza shells I ordered from Katz.  I had some pizza sauce in the fridge, plus vegan cheese and mushrooms for toppings, so I figured why not make it a pizza night.  The 7-inch pizza crusts are the perfect individual pizza, and each crust only has 180 calories (for the entire thing!).  If you top it right, this low-calorie treat can stay that way.  Four crusts come in the pack so between my roommate and I, that meant 2 delicious pizza nights.

I did pizza two ways for this reason, because not only would it test the integrity of the crusts, but the flavor profile would change with how it was topped off.  So, one pizza had a sauce on it, the other was a white pizza.  The first night was a simple pizza with red sauce, mushrooms, caramelized shallots, and vegan mozzarella shreds.  The package, unfortunately, didn’t say at what temperature to bake the pizzas at, so I threw them in for 10 minutes at 425°F.  This temperature worked its pizza baking magic.

From the oven emerged two perfectly done pizzas.  The tortilla-like crusts were thin, but crisped to perfection, where it still had a bit of a chew to it.  Not overdone.  Not underdone.  That perfect crust consistency that wins me over.  I don’t like soft crusts because they don’t hold up to the toppings.  And too crispy of a crust and the pizza just seems dry.  This fell right where it needed to.  I sliced up each pizza into four slices, plated them, and settled in to pizza nirvana.  Honestly, my blog has covered quite a variety of pizza crusts, but this one won me over.  This one…has become my favorite.

Last night, I decided to see if I enjoyed the crust as much without being laden in sauce.  So, I made up a white pizza.  I simply took the pizza shell, misted it with olive oil, drizzled a bit of honey over it, added some mushrooms, pecans, and caramelized shallots, topped it with some vegan mozzarella cheese and popped it back in the oven for that 10 minutes at 425°F.  When the timer went off, I threw some spinach on top, put it back in the oven for a minute to let the greens wilt.

What emerged was, again, nothing short of fantastic.  Without the sauce, the crust would have to stand on its own.  A white pizza is the ultimate pizza crust test.  I was not disappointed at all.  The crispy/chewy consistency remained.  It really does have the perfect “pizza crust” flavor in each bite.  And, I devoured it each night with gusto because it was really, really that good.

I never should have doubted the company that brought amazing donuts back into my life.  Honestly.  If you are looking for individual pizza crusts that are great in flavor and not heavy at all on the calories, even if you aren’t gluten-free, you should really consider Katz Gluten-Free.  It’s pizza perfection in each slice.  And you’ll wish you bought more.

And now that mine are gone…that’s what I’m off to do.

Product: Edward & Sons Vegetable Baked Brown Rice Snaps – $3.99+

I’ve had my fair share of delicious gluten-free crackers.  From my Mary’s Gone Crackers to Glutino to Crunchmaster to Nut Thins, all have had something amazing and unique about them.

One day, while out on a grocery errand for me, my roommate returned with a surprise purchase for me.  Another new product…’for the blog.’  What she handed me was a package of Vegetable Brown Rice Snaps from Edward & Sons.  I had never heard of them, but they looked a lot like Nut Thins.  This could only be a good thing.  As I was working my way through another crunchy snack at the time, these were put away in the pantry, until yesterday when I cracked them open to take to work.

Like I said, these little brown rice crackers look a lot like Nut Thins.  They are little round discs of snackage.  In fact, it seems Edward & Sons has 10 different varieties of these brown rice snaps, with some very unique sounding flavors like Tamari Seaweed, Tamari Sesame, and so on.  The Web site says that these little crackers are the ideal base for spreads and hors d’oeuvres, or straight from the package.  I’m a straight from the package girl when it comes to crackers for the most part, so that’s how I took them to work.

A serving of these is a mere 8 crackers, at only 60 calories.  Not so bad.  They have under 2g of fat per serving as well.  NICE!  And much of what goes into them is completely organic.  If you look at the ingredients, there is nothing fake or chemical sounding either.  I recognized everything that was put into them.  That was the good stuff.

Now, the bad news.

While the Vegetable Brown Rice Snaps aren’t horrible, they lack that certain “WOW’ factor that has accompanied other gluten-free crackers that I’ve sampled.  These just sort of fell flat in the flavor department.  They taste is a bit…different.  I can’t really describe it.  I bet these would really work better with a bit of hummus or a light dip, but that’s not always feasible.  Like I said…they aren’t bad, I would probably just buy a different brand before I picked these up again.  They were okay, but there are others superior to it.  And I stick with brands that wow me.  These…are forgettable.