Category: Products

Product: Garden Lites Butternut Squash Soufflé – $3.49+

The soufflé binge continues.

And can you blame me?  So many delicious flavors to try; so little time.

Nevermind the fact that these little frozen meals of wonder are vegetarian and gluten-free, meaning – just what I need to eat.  With how filling these are, you won’t even believe that they are so low in calories and fat.

Last night, I tried the soufflé that originally caught my eye and drew me to this brand – Butternut Squash.

I love butternut squash.  It’s one of my most favorite foods on this planet.  Honestly.  It’s sweet without being too sweet and it really pairs well with variety of flavors and dishes.  So, this really caught my eye.  Two of my favorite things: butternut squash and a soufflé.  Yum.

As I had another filling lunch at the office yesterday (the leftover vegan chili I made), I was quite happy to come home and prepare another easy, filling meal for my roommate and I.  Yep.  Soufflé and some sort of Ore Ida product, to be split between the two of us, resulting in a fantastically (and surprisingly) filling dinner for under 300 calories.  And it’s so easy.

Out of the freezer came the Butternut Squash Soufflé.  The first thing I noticed was how amazing the color was.  The other soufflés by Garden Lites tend to be on the white or green color scheme, but this was a brilliant orange and it was a refreshing change of pace.  I boshed it into the microwave for the required 4 minutes, let it sit for a minute, and then cut off the plastic and set it for one final minute of heating before I served it up, sliced it in half, and set some oven-crisped Crispy Crowns on each plate to complete the meal.

This smelled absolutely amazing.  So, settling down to eat it was quite exciting.  Like I said…this was the soufflé I had been looking forward to the most.  It was definitely more dense than the other ones (and is the only one to have 180 calories instead of 140 calories).  But, it is made of just butternut squash and eggs.  So, yes…it would be a little heavier.  One bite, and the rich, sweet taste of the butternut squash hits the palate and yeah…it’s pretty amazing.  I enjoyed the way it just melted in your mouth.  I was only eating half of the soufflé (because I thought there was more than 1 to a box, so my roommate and I have been splitting them), but it was just right.  I think the entire thing would have been too rich.  Full of flavor without adding anything to it, low in sodium, decadent, and straight out of the freezer.

How easy is that?

Surprisingly, this wasn’t my favorite out of the bunch like I had assumed it would be.  That still is held by the Roasted Vegetable Soufflé.  I wasn’t disappointed with this one at all, as it is definitely packed with sweet, rich flavor, but I think the lack of other flavors to round it out and break it up, makes it a little more of a challenge.  Garden Lites does a fine job with their frozen soufflés and I wouldn’t change this one for the world, but being the butternut squash fiend that I am, I was surprised that this one didn’t light my fire more than others that came before it.  But…that being said, I enjoyed every bite of this one, savoring it, and finding that butternut squash really is one of the best foods on this planet.

Remember, Garden Lites has given me a link to a coupon to share with all of you so you can go and try these products as well.  I’ve found them at my natural food stores as well as in Whole Foods…and more recently at my liquor store in their frozen food section.  So take a look.  Use the coupon.  Try these out and enjoy them as much as I am.

Five down…one to go!

Product: Garden Lites Spinach Soufflé – $3.49+

Round four of the soufflé splurge continues.

So far, all the previous ones have been quite delicious, some more than others.  Tonight, since it was the chili cook-off at the office lunch (I provided gluten-free, vegan chili), an easy and light dinner was the plan.  So, into the freezer I went for another soufflé.

Tonight, the random reach-and-grab brought out the Spinach Soufflé.  This product was quite reminiscent of the Roasted Vegetable Soufflé with its rich, deep green color.  Once again, the heating of it was easy.  A delicious, light meal (or mini-meal) is warmed and ready in just about 6 minutes.  Again, since I didn’t realize only one came in the box, my roommate and I split this and served it with a side of Ore Ida Crispy Crowns.

What I loved about the Spinach Soufflé was not just the color.  It had a great taste, that brought it up to my second favorite soufflé to date.  Along with freshly chopped spinach, this soufflé incorporates onion, cauliflower and potato to its flavor, along with the addition of natural spices and flavors.  Egg whites are what gives it the light, airy texture.  Mixed together and heated in the microwave…and it’s an easy, healthy, fantastic mini-meal for those days you aren’t super hungry but need something for dinner so you don’t just eat half a gluten-free chocolate cake (don’t judge…it happens).

Garden Lites has really hit it on the mark with these amazing soufflé meals.  I love how light and low calorie they are.  Less than 2g of fat per serving too.  Can’t go wrong with that.  And, above all, they taste fantastic.  Each one has a distinct flavor, and they all definitely taste of the key vegetable that they highlight.  Nothing overwhelms the star of each dish.

I really thought the Spinach Soufflé had great texture and flavor.  I rank it right behind the Roasted Vegetable…so it holds second place.  With only two more to go in the line-up, I’m curious to see how the rest measure up.  But, if nothing else, I can already tell they will taste amazing.

Look for these delicious, light, healthy meals at your grocery store and give them a try.  Soufflés aren’t just for restaurants anymore!

Product: Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce – $6.99+

Who says pasta sauces have to be tomato based?  I love a little variety in my meals and with the flavors that cross my palate and love shaking up a ordinary dish with something extraordinary.

While out grocery shopping one day, I spotted a line of pasta sauces by Dave’s Gourmet.  And one in particular caught my eye – Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce.  I love the flavor of butternut squash.  It is, quite possibly, my favorite in the squash line.  So, this intrigued me enough to purchase it.  And after it sat in my pantry for a couple weeks, I decided it would be the best sauce to use in a gluten-free lasagna.  What kind of lasagna.  Cheese.  Five cheese at that.

First of all, the bright orange color of this sauce is fantastic.  When I opened up the jar, I could smell the sweet aroma of the variety of vegetables incorporated into this sauce.  While butternut squash is the star of this particular sauce, onion, garlic, and roasted red peppers also contribute to the flavor.  When something smells that great upon just popping the lid, I could only imagine how amazing it would be in my pasta dish.

So, it started off my dish with a small layer of sauce, then noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce noodles, sauce and more cheese.  Because, this is lasagna.  You layer on the goodness.

I baked it accordingly and the aroma of it was amazing.  I was ready to eat long before it was even done cooking.  The hint of sweetness was evident even as it cooked away in the oven.  And when my timer went off telling me that my lasagna was ready, I didn’t want to wait to let it sit to cool a moment.  I wanted to dig right in.

So, I did.

Dave’s Gourmet hit the pasta sauce right out of the proverbial ballpark with the Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce.  It’s sweet and carries a delicate flavor that really, really paired well with the variety of cheeses that I opted to use.  Fantastic.  I later found out that this sauce actually won Best Pasta Sauce at the 2009 Fancy Food Show in New York.  Go figure.  I can tell you why.  It’s like no other pasta sauce you have ever had before.  And once you get  a taste of it, you’ll want to try it out on other dishes.  I was actually sad I used the entire jar in my lasagna, because it was SO amazing and so full of flavor that I just wanted to see how it would go on polenta, or as a spaghetti sauce, etc.  You get my drift.

So, I guess another purchase of this flavor will be in the very near future.  Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce…who would have guessed it would be so good?

And now that I know, I can’t wait to see what the other flavors offered by Dave’s Gourmet taste like.  It’s pricey…but damn…it’s worth the cost.

For now…this is my favorite pasta sauce…ever.

Product: Tinkyáda Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles – $3.49+

Who says gluten-free pasta has to be bland and mushy?  While I have definitely had my fair share of these, nothing has ever come close to the amazing texture and flavor of regular pasta as Tinkyáda Rice Pasta.

Trust me.

I’m a gluten-free vegetarian who runs.  Pasta is in my life on a constant basis.

When a friend of mine from high school recommended Tinkyáda, saying that it was the best gluten-free pasta on the market, I knew that there had to be something to it.  I have tried a couple of their products in pastas and caseroles and have never been disappointed.  But this time, I was embarking in a dish I hadn’t tried to make since going gluten-free.

Lasagna.

Not just any lasagna.  Five Cheese Lasagna.

Yeah…go ahead and drool a moment.  I can wait.

I needed a good lasagna noodle to hold up against my delicious blend of ricotta, mascarpone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh mozzarella, and goat cheese.  On instinct, I knew it had to be Tinkyáda’s.  So, off to the grocery store I went and happily returned with a box of the gluten-free, brown rice, lasagna noodles.

Cooking it up to get it oven-ready was easy.  Boil water and put desired amount of noodles into pan.  Cook for about 12-14 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water.  Yep.  Easy as that.  These got them to just under al dente, so that they wouldn’t overcook in the oven.  A layer of gluten-free butternut squash sauce, noodles, layers of cheese, more sauce, more noodles, more cheese, more sauce, more noodles, more sauce, more cheese…and the lasagna was assembled and ready for the oven.  It cooked for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees and came out a bubbly mass of pastas perfection.

The noodles definitely stood up against the test of the oven and the layers of cheese and sauce.  They had fantastic texture, just like actual lasagna noodles.  And they paired so well with the mix of cheese and the sweetness from the sauce.  Gluten-free cheesy goodness all in one dish.  All made possible by the sturdy, delicious, gluten-free noodles made by Tinkyáda.

Accept no substitutes.  They make the best gluten-free pasta on the market.

Hands down.

Product: Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Homestyle Pancakes – $2.99+

Who doesn’t love pancakes?

I love them.  Honestly.  Every carby bite of them.  But, they didn’t always love me back.  And after I went gluten-free, I had to find a new way to make them so that I could once again indulge in these battery cakes of breakfast goodness.  I mean, melt some butter between a stack of them, pour hot maple syrup over them and just slice into them, mopping up the pool of syrup on the plate with each forkful.

Yeah.

The problem is, sometimes making pancakes (especially gluten-free pancakes) can take some time.  And if you don’t want to spend a good chunk of your morning over a mixing bowl and a skillet, there is at least one delicious, gluten-free (and diary free) option out there.

Thank you, Trader Joe’s.

I discovered the Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free & Dairy Free Homestyle Pancakes existed through a Facebook ad on my profile.  When a Trader Joe’s opened up in Louisville, my roommate and I went on the hunt for these.  We both love pancakes and wanted to totally give these a go.  I mean, I normally will make some if I really must have them, but there are days where I just want to sit on the couch and relax, not stand in the kitchen for 30 minutes preparing breakfast.  Lo and behold, we found them in the freezer section and snatched up a box of them.

This morning, I went on a long training run.  Seven miles down and I came home ready to eat breakfast.  After a run, staying on my feet for awhile mixing up batter and pouring it out into a skillet didn’t sound like fun.  Instead, I opened up the freezer, pulled these out, and got to making a simple, quick, pancake breakfast.

These pancakes come in serving size packages, which is three pancakes.  Just open up the packet, separate the frozen pre-made pancakes and warm.  Three options: oven, toaster, microwave.  I went for toaster because I figured it would be the most like a skillet pancake, giving the pancake a nice toasty crust instead of just being mushy in the microwave and taking 15 minutes in the oven.

Into the toaster they went, and as they were warming, I got out the margarine and heated up my gluten-free maple syrup.  Up popped the pancakes, and I put them back down for another minute or so to insure that the center was warmed all the way through.  Popping them up, I plated them, spread a little margarine throughout the stack of three, then drizzled over 1/4 cup of maple syrup.

One bite, and I was hooked.  They tasted almost homemade.  Almost.  The toaster was a great call.  However, I did find the center to be a bit doughy despite the extra time to warm through.  At least it wasn’t cold.  I thought the texture was great and the serving (3 pancakes each) was perfect!  Delicious, pancake-y goodness in the morning.  And as easy as opening a package and throwing it in the toaster.  Yeah…breakfast can be that easy and still be good.

I appreciate Trader Joe’s making not only vegan options but gluten-free (and vegan or vegetarian) options for those of us who fall into that category.  But even if you aren’t gluten-free or dairy-free, I think you will enjoy the taste of these amazing pancakes.  Go ahead, pick some up, throw them in the toaster, heat, top with syrup and indulge.

Delicious and easy.  How can it possibly be bad?  And being from Trader Joe’s…I completely trust the product.  Go ahead…easy pancakes as easy as a Sunday morning.

Product: Imagine Natural Creations Creamy Portobello Soup – $1.50+

Thank goodness not everything tastes the way it looks.  If that were the case, I never would have attempted to eat the Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup from Imagine Natural Creations.

I mean…upon first glance you might think you are getting served a bowl of sewage.

Yeah…it doesn’t look appetizing.  So, when I began heating it up on my stovetop, I was pretty certain that I was going to want to find ways to spice it up and make it…palatable.  With it reaching a simmer and the soup warmed through, I finished up the gluten-free (and dairy-free) grilled cheese that was accompanying the soup for dinner and dished up a bowl for both myself and my roommate.

Soup is tricky when you are gluten-free.  Some are safe.  Some are not.  Thankfully, Imagine labels their soups gluten-free and this was one of the ones that I found at Big Lots for a great price and couldn’t pass it up.  I brought my roommate her serving of soup and sandwich and she sort of eyed it and looked at me with this ‘you must be out of your birds’ kind of look on her face.  But I went to go grab my dinner from the kitchen and she was already sniffing the ladle of soup on her spoon and taking a taste.

Thank the cooking gods…she seemed to like it.  And if she liked it, well, something had to be right.

I settled in and gave my own spoonful a cooling blow before taking a cautions slurp of it.  What I discovered was, once again, judging a book by its cover is not the best way to assess something.  This soup was one of the most flavorful ones I have had yet from this line of gluten-free soups.  It packs a rich, intense, earthy flavor, seasoned with onion and garlic.  Perfectly seasoned, I might add.  It was delicious without having to bulk it up with potatoes or onions or mushrooms.  It could stand on its own as a broth and be fantastic.

So, yes…it may not look appetizing, but the Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup from Imagine’s creamy soup line-up has wowed me and moved to the front of the pack as one of my absolute favorites.  If you can’t get past the gray color, close your eyes and take a sip.  I promise, it’s fantastic and full of flavor.  You won’t be disappointed in the taste.