Category: Products

Product: Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins – $3.49+

It’s hard to beat the original.  Honestly.

Blue Diamond are the almond people.  So when Nut Thins were first introduced to the market, they came in a few flavors, which have since expanded to eight flavors.  Some are easier to find than others.  And I have had quite a few of them.  Yes, I am (slowly) working my way through the entire line.  There have been some that I’ve loved (Barbeque, I’m looking at you!) and some that have disappointed (Pepper Jack…hang your almond head in shame!).

But when it comes to finding a healthy (and gluten-free) snack to satisfy that salty craving, Nut Thins are one of my go-to options.  This was my first time ever trying the Almond variety.  I don’t know why I never picked it up before.  In fact, the only reason these made it into my pantry was that they were part of a gift basket at my local Fresh Market called “Don’t Be A Gluten.”  It had a nice variety of gluten-free foods in it, so my roommate gifted me with it one day as it was on sale.

What the Almond Nut Thins deliver is all the taste and flavor of your standard tortilla chip, but with less guilt in each crispy bite.  With only 130 calories for 16 crackers, these little discs of goodness also provide 3g of protein in each serving.  They are low in sodium and (more importantly) fat, unlike standard tortilla and potato chips.  You can’t argue with that.

Even more exciting is that the ingredients in these crackers are all recognizable.  The two top ingredients are rice flour and almonds.  That makes sense.  And it makes for a delicious, crunchy treat that tastes like a tortilla chip.  Eat them on their own or dip them in salsa, queso, guacamole, hummus, or whatever you like to dip.  This is one skinny little treat that will take the guilt away from any midday snack craving.

Sure, Blue Diamond offers up a variety of flavors when it comes to their Nut Thin crackers, but when you want something simple but delicious, go with the original.  I’m glad I did, because I absolutely loved these.  So, if you are looking for something better than a tortilla chip, or just need something new to snack on…Almond Nut Thins.  I promise…you’ll love them too.

Product: Schär Sub Sandwich Rolls – $5.99+

A couple months ago, Subway announced that, in a very, very, very, very (you get the picture) select market, it would be testing out gluten-free sandwich rolls in a few locations.  This…is a step in the right direction.  However, this very (et al.) select market is nowhere near where I live (naturally), so the little corner sandwich shops are still off-limits to me currently.

But that doesn’t mean sub sandwiches are.  In fact, thanks to the wonderful parbaked bread that is marketed by Schär, I was able to create my own sandwich the other day for dinner.  It had been a long time since I had anything that resembled a sub sandwich, so this was a great moment.

Schär has yet to disappoint me with a product.  Yes, the products can be a bit pricey, but the fact of the matter is…they are good.  Better than good.  They are downright fantastic.  I’ve had the ciabatta and baguette, as well as a few of their crackers and cookies (thank you gluten-free expo!).  Loved them all.  So, when I had an idea of how to use up the remainder of my bottle of Thai sweet red chili sauce, these sub sandwich rolls played perfectly into the recipe.

These are so easy too.  Just preheat the oven to 400 degrees and when ready…put them on a cookie sheet and bake.  It’s that simple and in five minutes, they are warm, toasted, and ready for consumption.

Schär’s Sub Sandwich rolls come individually wrapped in packs of two.  This means you don’t have to use one now and freeze the other one.  The other stays fresh within its little sealed pouch.  It’s awesome.  Even with the quick bake in the oven, these rolls came out soft, just like all those freshly baked breads you smell whenever you are near a Subway.  Mmmmm.

So, for my foray into sub sandwich making, I toasted up these rolls and then grilled some tofu that I marinated in the Thai sweet red chili sauce.  When the tofu was done grilling and the bread was oven-toasted, I sliced the rolls in half and coated each with a schmear of jalapeño hummus.  A bed of spinach was placed on one half before being topped with strips of my marinated and grilled tofu.  The other half of the bread topped it off…and bam…vegetarian sub sandwich!

These rolls were awesome.  And at only 160 calories per roll, it is basically guilt free.  The only bread at Subway that comes in under 160 calories are their mini breads.  In addition to being nutritious, all of the ingredients on the package are recognizable and identifiable.  Peace of mind.  Not only are these rolls a great source of fiber, but they also only contain 2g of fat.

I can’t stop raving about Schär’s products.  Each time I try one I am impressed even more than I was before.  While my local grocery store does sell a few of Schär’s products, they don’t carry the sub sandwich rolls.  I found those at a natural food store and with that initial sighting, I built the concept of this sandwich.  Of course, the week I went back to get them, I got the last one on their shelf, so they sell fast it seems.

Do you miss sub sandwiches or have you been craving?  Thanks to Schär, you can once again indulge in a sub sandwich, made however you like it…and without the guilt.  Gluten-free continues to be delicious.

Product: Millers Finest Gluten-Free Corn Pasta Rigatoni – $2.00

Sometimes finding gluten-free things at a discount store is awesome.

While out hitting up a 20% off everything sale at Big Lots a little while ago, my roommate and I spotted these corn noodles, labeled gluten-free, from Millers Finest.  They were being sold for $2.00, plus the discount…so, we figured we could at least give them a fair shake.  While there are lots of corn pasta noodles out on the market, I never quite ventured that way since going gluten-free as I was afraid they would…taste like corn.  And unless my pasta dish has a Mexican flair, that’s not what I’m looking for.

But, at $2.00, how could I not get it?

It sat in the pantry.  And sat in the pantry.  And then sat a little bit longer until I decided to bake up a pasta dish that the other day.  While I have elbow noodles from my favorite gluten-free pasta company (Tinkyáda), I decided to pull out the Millers Finest Corn Pasta Rigatoni from the pantry and give it a go.  Besides, these would be a larger noodle and a bit easier to use in a skillet bake.  So, why not throw caution to the wind?  It was a new recipe anyway, so might as well try something new in the process.

Cooking up the pasta couldn’t have been easier.  Boil water, add noodles, allow cook in boiling water, giving a stir every few minutes or so, for about 13-14 minutes, or until a perfect al dente.  I did just that, and then started the slicing and chopping up the vegetables for the skillet while it was going.  By the time I had the vegetables sauteing away and added the vegan and gluten-free chorizo, the noodles were ready to be drained.  Moment of truth time.  I drained them and was so happy to see that they weren’t falling apart or turning to mush upon leaving the hot water.  In fact, they held up beautifully.  I had to let them sit for a moment, while I finished mixing in the chorizo, but once that was incorporated, in went the noodles and some cheese, blended that in, let it cook, and again, the noodles held up.  They didn’t shred or fall apart.  They weren’t logged with water and turning to mush.  They were the perfect consistency for this pasta dish and I couldn’t have been happier to see that.

After a quick bake in the oven to melt the cheese on top, out came the pasta.  I let it sit for five minutes to set and then dished up a serving of it for both my roommate and I.  She was the first to try it and she was hooked.  These noodles didn’t have a corny taste at all.  In fact, they tasted and had the same great texture as regular pasta.  I loved how sturdy they were and how the cheese, sauce, vegetables and vegan chorizo didn’t take away from the noodles nor overwhelm the consistency of them.

Even the following evening, with a nuking in the microwave for some leftovers, the noodles held up wonderfully.  I couldn’t be happier with a chance purchase ever.  I know Big Lots gets a lot of flack for being a “ghetto” store, but sometimes the deals and the products inside are worth checking out.  I, for one, hope to find this pasta there again and try it out in other pasta dishes.  I am absolutely sold on it.  And now, I don’t think I’ll scoff as much at gluten-free corn pasta as I had in the past.  If nothing else, this totally sold me on it.

Millers Finest may not be a brand name, but it sure is fantastic.  If you find it, I urge you to give it a try on your next pasta night.

Bon Appétit!

Product: WorldFoods Thai Sweet Chili Sauce with Kaffir Lime Sauce – $3.99+

Finding a Thai sweet chili sauce that is also gluten-free isn’t as easy as it sounds.  But I was making a Vegetable Pad Thai for dinner and it called for a Thai sweet chili sauce.  I got online the night before heading out to grocery shop and found one particular brand that was basically available everywhere.  The problem was…I couldn’t find it anywhere.  The shelves were picked clean of it.  Sure, there would be the spot where it should have been, but it wasn’t there and none were in stock.

It was at my final grocery stop at the day that I found myself in Whole Foods and in the Asian cuisine section.  Once again, the brand I had looked up was sold out.  Empty spot at the shelf just mocking me.  But my roommate spotted another sweet chili sauce on the shelf from WorldFoods.  It was even labeled gluten-free (YAY!).  While this one also had kaffir lime added to it, we went ahead and got it.  After all, the recipe called for lime juice anyway, so this would only add to that flavor.

What we didn’t expect was to fall in love with this sauce…which is exactly what happened.

This stir-fry/dipping sauce was fantastic.  It has a nice heat from the spicy red chillies that are blended in with kaffir lime and lemon grass.  This adds a nice tang to the heat, a counter-balance, if you will, that paired beautifully with the Vegetable Pad Thai and all the other components that were mixed in.  My roommate and I loved this sauce so much, we garnished each of our bowls with a drizzle of it over the top.  Honestly.  The perfect heat for the prepared dish.  The lime really adds to the flavor and makes the sauce stand out without taking away from the other components of the dish.  It does, however, add that much needed spice that I love in my Asian food.

I’m already coming up with other dishes I can supplement this sauce into, including marinating some tofu in it for a random dish that I could easily throw together one evening after work.  Yeah…this sauce is spicy sweet and delicious.  I think I sense another jar being purchased in the very near future.

Product: Annie Chun’s Maifun Rice Noodles – $3.59+

I point the finger at two different elements that lead to the purchase and use of these Maifun Rice Noodles from Annie Chun’s.  First…I blame a sale.  I can’t pass up a sale on something that is gluten-free.  So, thanks to my local grocery store having a price reduction on these, they have been in my pantry for a couple of weeks…and I have been pondering what to do with them.

That’s where the other element comes into play: My mom.

My mom has been surprising me recently with little envelopes in the mail that are full of recipes that I can try.  One of the ones she sent me was for a delicious looking Vegetable Pad Thai.  I had to tweak it a bit to ensure that it remained vegetarian and gluten-free, but it wasn’t difficult at all.  And where the recipe called for flat rice stick noodles…I used these Maifun Rice Noodles instead, as they already had taken up residence in my pantry.  Why go out and buy something else when I can easily substitute.

So, what are Maifun Rice Noodles?  They are thin rice noodles, sort of like angel hair pasta, that cook up quick and easily and are ideal to use in any Asian style meal, be it soups, salads, or stir-fries.  As I would be stir-frying mine up in my wok with the vegetables and sauces for the Vegetable Pad Thai, I followed the box directions for stir-frying with them, filled up a bowl with hot water, and soaked the noodles in it for about 8 minutes.  Sure enough, after 8 minutes passed, they were no longer hard, but soft and ready to be added into the wok when the recipe called for it.

The difficult task came after I tossed everything in the wok and was ready to serve it up.  Just like with pasta, the noodles like to wind around each other and get tangled into a giant knot, so while I had the vegetables and greens in the wok, the noodles were in the middle and none of the vegetables were easily intermingling with them.  They were sort of off to the sides.  So, I grabbed some tongs and did my best to mix everything together, but ended up scooping up noodles then ladling over the vegetables to be mixed with the chop sticks as we ate dinner.  Sometimes, you just have to submit and let the food win.

All that being said, I couldn’t have thought of a better noodle to pair with this recipe.  As the peppers and greens were sliced or roughly chopped, having the smaller, thinner noodles was a blessing in disguise.  Not only did it lighten up the dish, but it didn’t take away from the flavors of the peppers and the mustard greens, garlic, ginger, lime, chilies, etc.  Everything could be tasted without anything really dominating the dish.  I loved how thin and light they were, which made me not fill up quickly and I didn’t feel stuffed at the end of my serving sized bowl.

These noodles are so versatile and with their natural lightness and thinness, they pair well in any cuisine.  I hope another sale happens soon because I’d love to try these out in another recipe somewhere along the line, or create my own.  Regardless, I’m in love with the versatility, flavor, and lightness of these Maifun Rice Noodles by Annie Chun.  They were perfection in my stir-fry and really paired well with every component that was added to the wok and the dish in the end.