Category: Sweet Stuff

Product: Almond Dream Bites (Vanilla) – $5.99+

Ice cream.  It’s the dessert of champions.  It’s best when homemade, of course, which I used to do growing up.  It’s something I intend to do again this summer thanks to the acquisition of an ice cream maker on my birthday.  But, until I make some room in my freezer (getting there!), store bought ice cream is what I manage.  Dairy-free for me…gluten-free always!

It was a coupon for Almond Dream products that brought about the purchase of these little nuggets of non-dairy ice cream goodness.  I had thought about getting the unsweetened almond milk, but as I passed by the freezer, these caught my eye.  And they had to come home with me.  Almond milk went back on the shelf…ice cream won.  I mean, it usually does, right?

Well, for me it does.

This vegan ice cream is made from almonds.  Yep.  Almonds.  These are basically a non-dairy, gluten-free version of a bon bon, minus the trans fat or highly refined sugars.  Oh yeah…loving that.  These are perfectly bite-size, and fun to just pop into your mouth and let them melt against your tongue.  The rush of chocolate and vanilla flavor is amazing.  The chocolate shell is rich and smooth and the vanilla ice cream inside is sweet and satisfying.  Oh, these were good.  These were amazingly good.

When I was in Ireland, I fell in love with ice cream bars known as Magnums.  Well, Magnums have since made it to US soil, and they are fantastic.  Well, these were basically a bite-size, non-dairy version of those amazing ice cream treats.  The same taste principles apply…rich, smooth shell over sweet, delicious ice cream.  Oh…so good.

I anticipate future purchases in the Almond Dream non-dairy, gluten-free line-up.  If these are any indication of the product I will be consuming…well…I’ve been won over.  And it sure is nice to eat ice cream without having to take a supplement to help with digestion, yes?  Honestly, you’d never know there wasn’t a lick (get it?  Ice cream…lick? HA!) of dairy in these little treats.

So, treat yourself to a melty sweet treat.  Almond Dream Bites are a novelty worth buying.  The only downfall is the little container doesn’t refill itself.  But that’s why we have nearby grocery stores!

Indulge.  Even in winter.  These are totally worth it.

Product: Liz Lovely Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies – $3.99

So…here’s the deal.

Ginger has never been my thing.  Gingerbread has never wowed me.  Ginger flavor has never really appealed to me.  So…why then would I buy a ginger molasses cookie?

For the blog, yes?  Of course.  Oh…and because it was the only kind at my natural food store that I hadn’t had yet (the other being Snickerdoodle).  And, because if any company was going to create a cookie using ginger that I might actually enjoy…it was going to be Liz Lovely.

First…the simple part.  As with her other gluten-free cookies that I have reviewed, the Ginger Molasses cookie is not only gluten-free, but also vegan.  It’s soft, with fantastic texture.  Baked with care and love, obviously.  These things really do come through in the finished product.

Now…the nitty-gritty.

I actually didn’t dislike this cookie at all.  It’s a basic cookie with molasses and crystallized ginger incorporated throughout.  One bite and you get the sweetness from the molasses and then the heat from the ginger.  It’s a nice pairing, actually.  The flavor really good.  Ginger still isn’t my thing, but I didn’t immediately get turned off by this cookie.  In fact, I savored each bite I took, enjoying the different flavors, the sweet, the heat, all at once in one simple cookie.

Reminder…the serving size is only half of the cookie.  For this one, that’s not hard to stick to.  But there are some Liz Lovely cookies that would be downright dangerous for me to have around all the time.

As it stands, this is a great cookie if you really enjoy the flavor of ginger.  Like I said, it’s not my thing, but this cookie was still fantastic because it found a good balance.  One that even someone like me, who dislikes ginger, could enjoy.  Now, that’s saying something about these amazing cookies.

Find a local store that carries Liz Lovely products…or order from their Web site online, because these cookies are totally worth it.

What are you waiting for?  Treat yourself, you cookie monsters!

Product: Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks (Strawberry & Berry Patch) – $2.50+/box

One thing that I have truly missed since becoming a vegetarian are gummy products.  You know…your typical, run-of-the-mill gummy bears and fruit snacks.  Okay, so those are filled with dyes and chemicals and all that stuff…but they are delicious, right?  Of course!

Then, I ran across these delightfully vegan, gluten-free, organic, free of artificial coloring, made with real fruit juice snacks from Annie’s Organic.  Oh…yes…I was eager to try these.

I actually picked these up during the sell-off of Halloween candy (hence the witch’s hat on the giant bag) because they were on sale.  You know me and gluten-free (and vegetarian/vegan) products being on sale.  Couldn’t pass these up because I had been meaning to try them out.  Now, I had the opportunity, without buying a big box of them with the possibility of them tasting horrible and me not wanting to finish off the box.

No worries here.  With Annie’s Organic products, I’ve only been impressed.  And this was another of those times.  This bulk bag comes with a mix of Summer Strawberry and Berry Patch flavor varieties.  The Summer Strawberry pouches contain strawberry flavored bunny-shaped snacks.  Yummy!  The Berry Patch variety contains raspberry, strawberry and and cherry flavored bunnies.  A lot of vegan gummies taste reminiscent of cough syrup.  So…when I popped one of these in my mouth and was met with a great berry flavor, I was impressed.  Not only that, these fruit snacks aren’t tough to chew, nor do they get stuck in your teeth.

And I think they would be perfect to stick in my pouch when I go for long runs to help fuel my runs.  They are delicious, full of natural ingredients, and really fun.  I mean…they are shaped like bunnies.  I might be a woman in my 30s, but I can admire a cute food when I see it.

My hat is off to Annie’s once again for providing a fruit snack that is nutritious as well as delicious.  It’s fun.  And it’s something this gluten-free, vegetarian athlete has no problem with splurging on.  When fake fruit flavor won’t do, reach for Annie’s because you get the real thing!

Did I mention they’re shaped like bunnies?

Product: Nestlé Dark Chocolate Raisinets – $1.99+

Growing up, I snacked on raisins all the time.  Sometimes, too much.  But every now and again, my mom would treat us to Nestlé Raisinets.  And why not?  Delicious, plump raisins coated in chocolate made a semi-healthy snack, right?

But then, as I grew up, I acquired a taste for dark chocolate.  I love that bittersweet taste that comes with a darker blend of cocoa.  So, when I spotted these on the shelf at a local convenience store, I promised myself to check them out.  After all, clearly printed on the package are the words – GLUTEN FREE – and that meant…they needed to be blogged about regardless, right?

Hey…help me out here.

Don’t get me wrong, these are in no way a healthy treat.  But…they are a healthier choice when presented against other candies that are out there.

With less fat than other candy snacks on the market, and containing real, sun-ripened California raisins, you at least get some health benefits from that.  Add to that the antioxidants you receive from the dark chocolate coating and you can justify eating a small handful of these when the craving for something sweet hits.  And let me tell you, the bittersweet chocolate is the perfect compliment to the sweet raisin beneath it.  Honestly, it’s a fantastic pairing that I’m so glad Nestlé finally matched up.  I don’t dislike milk chocolate, I just prefer the deeper, richer flavor of dark chocolate and eat that whenever possible.

If you are looking for a delicious snack, I do recommend giving these a try.  They are a healthy alternative to other candy out there, and they do bring an antioxidant punch with it’s combination of dark chocolate and raisins.  If you like dark chocolate and if you are a raisin fanatic, do find these and do give them a shot.  Of course, like with all candy, moderation is key.  But every now and again as a nice afternoon snack…a serving is a nice treat.

Go ahead…catch some Dark Chocolate Raisinets today!

Product: Liz Lovely Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – $3.99

Liz Lovely…you have reclaimed your cookie throne!

I know…I was a little hard on you when it came to the less-than-satisfactory taste of the Gluten-Free Coconut Lemon cookies.  But, it was only because it wasn’t anywhere near the flavor and quality of the previous cookies I had sampled from your vegan and gluten-free line-up.

But, redemption was yours today, my delicious cookie-baking friend.

Let me say this first…I am not a lover of oatmeal raisin cookies.  If given the choice between an oatmeal raisin cookie and two other cookies, I’d probably select one of the two other cookies before going for the oatmeal raisin one.  Why?  I don’t know.  I love oatmeal.  I love raisins.  But in cookie form, the texture, the flavor…it’s just never been my thing.

Over the weekend, I was at my natural food store and they had just gotten in a shipment of every Liz Lovely gluten-free, vegan cookie available.  Of the three kids I had yet to try (Snickerdoodle, Ginger Molasses, Oatmeal Raisin), I decided to knock out the Oatmeal Raisin variety…just to get it over with.  HA!  Now I’m regretting that line of thinking.

Tonight my dessert was half (because that is the serving size, fellow gluten-free cookie lovers!) of one Oatmeal Raisin cookie.  First of all, as with every Liz Lovely cookie I have had to date, it was super-soft.  Amazingly soft.  The knife slid right through it as though it was fresh out of the oven.  I could see a great number of raisins and walnuts scattered throughout my slice of the cookie.  It was loaded with flavors and packed with ingredients.  No skimping here.

My first bite…and I was hooked.  You would never know that I’m not a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies the way I hoovered this one down.  Honestly.  I managed to savor the sweet and salty combination of the raisins and walnuts.  I didn’t even mind the baked oatmeal texture within the dough.  There was a nice level of spice to balance out the sweetness.  It all just…became cookie nirvana.  Bite after amazing chewy bite, I devoured my half of a cookie and had to resist going back for more.

You’re back on top, Liz Lovely, when it comes to your amazing vegan and gluten-free cookies.  You did the unthinkable…you made me fall in love with an oatmeal raisin cookie.  Knowing that these treats are not only vegan but gluten-free makes the sinful nature of each bite all that more…amazing.

The hard part is limiting yourself to only half.

Find these cookies.  Order them online from the Web site.  But try them…and savor them!

Product: Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies – $3.99+

The Cookie Monster in me has struck again.

I can’t help myself.  See cookie.  See that it is gluten-free.  See me devour.  Cookie…good.

But I’m so particular about my cookies.  No, really, I am.  You see…in most cases I want my cookies to have that first initial snap to it and then be soft and chewy in the middle.  To me, that is the perfect cookie.

So what compelled me to purchase a bag of Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies while on a recent grocery shopping expedition is beyond me.  Crunchy cookies…not my thing.  The fact that even the bag declares that these are crispy and crunchy should have put me off immediately.  But…they didn’t.  Which can mean only one thing…I wanted gluten-free cookies, dammit!

Opening up the package, what I find inside is two small sleeves of seven cookies.  The serving size is two cookies, so I went ahead and doled that out.  These cookies are very thin, and you can definitely tell simply from handling them that they are going to be “crispy crunchy.”  I was hoping they wouldn’t be like munching on miniature, wafer-thin hockey pucks.  But there was only one way to find out.

What I discovered was Trader Joe’s managed to bake with rice flour and do it right!  Yes, these cookies do come with a crunch to them.  But, just as the package states, they have an amazing buttery flavor to them and they just sort of melt in your mouth.  No bite lacked chocolate chips.  In fact, these tasted…wait for it…homemade.

Ingredients couldn’t be simper: semi-sweet chocolate chips, rice flour, butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, water.  I have every single one of those ingredients in my own home.  No joke.  No weirdly named chemicals.  No high fructose corn syrup.  Nothing that I couldn’t just reach into my pantry and fridge, knock together, and bake up myself.  How fantastic is that.

For being anti-crunchy cookie, these won over the cookie monster raging inside of me.  Crispy…check.  Crunchy…check.  Chocolate-chippy (it’s an adjective, people!)…check.  Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth flavor…check.  Homemade…not this time.  And I’m okay with that.  Because when it comes to gluten-free cookies, Trader Joe’s did something so very right with these.  I need to pick up another pack next time I’m in Louisville and visiting our local Trader Joe’s.

Even if crispy crunchy cookies aren’t your thing…give these a try.  They will win you over as they did me.

Product: Glutino Glazed Chocolate Donuts – $6.99+

While I love making my own gluten-free donuts at home, it’s quite time consuming and often can be stressful and frustrating.  Donuts that stick to the pan are a recipe for culinary disaster and much cussing and tears.  Trust me.  The last time I made my own donuts, this was the result…until they stopped sticking.

Knowing there are gluten-free donuts available on the market is a relief.  Especially when craving something sweet.  I had previously delved into the store-bought gluten-free donuts once before, when I picked up a box of Kinnikinnick’s Chocolate Dipped Donuts.  I had been quite impressed with them, so I was more than eager to give Glutino’s take on the donut a try.

Depending on which store I am in, my gluten-free donut options are limited.  This time…there was only the Glazed Chocolate variety by Glutino.  I was okay with that, because I’m female, and chocolate is one of my favorite vices.  Purchase made.  Done deal.

Sunday always seems like the ideal warm donut day.  And yesterday was no exception.  I opened up the box and heated the donut up from frozen in the microwave as directed.  I always forget that I’m working with ancient kitchen equipment, so my donut was still a little chilled in the center, but not frozen.  Next time…a few seconds longer.

But that didn’t take away from the fact that I was holding onto a donut that looked like the kind of donut you can pick up at donut shops everywhere.  It looked like a classic, chocolate cake donut.  It felt like a classic, chocolate cake donut.  So…it all came down to taste.

I eagerly dug in.  While this donut, warmed in the microwave, resembles a hot, fresh, cake donut…it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  First of all, the glaze over the cake-like donut was just a sticky mess.  I don’t know if it really added to the flavor of the donut, but it did get my fingers coated.  The texture was good, though not as cakey as Kinnikinnick’s variety.  And while this one was a chocolate base, unlike Kinnikinnick, which was a yellow cake base dipped in chocolate, I found that I actually preferred the softer, chocolate coated version over this one.

Not saying Glutino’s donuts aren’t good.  The glazed chocolate donut does warm to a moist, cake-like perfection that I associate with the fresh donuts I used to be able to eat.  It’s just that Kinnikinnick did theirs better.  I wouldn’t turn up my nose at Glutino’s donuts should the craving hit and it be all that my local grocery store has.  Not at all.  I wasn’t disappointed with the product.  I just happened to have something I liked better prior to noshing on this breakfast pastry.

Glutino does continue to turn out fantastic gluten-free products time and time again.  While the donuts were good, they just didn’t wow me like other Glutino items in the past.  Perhaps it is unfair to compare to a different brand that I had before, but that’s what this blog is all about, right?  But, I will not say no to the opportunity to eat these donuts again.  In fact, I can’t wait for Sunday to break out another one from my freezer to enjoy after I hit the gym.

Kudos to Glutino for marching into the donut-making process and offering the gluten-free community something sweet and sinful for breakfast.  While I liked their Glazed Chocolate Donuts well enough, I didn’t love them.  But, in the end, it was a chocolate donut and therefore, devoured and enjoyed down to the very last bite.

Product: Liz Lovely Gluten-Free Coconut Lemon Cookies – $3.99

Liz Lovely’s vegan and gluten-free line of cookies had been hitting a home run with me with each and every purchase I made.  Determined to work my way through her gluten-free (and vegan) line, I have encountered some of the most fantastic cookies I have ever had in my life.  I can’t sing the praises of this company enough.

So, we had to hit a snag somewhere in this tasty love affair, right?

It happened this week, when I stopped by the natural foods store in Louisville that stocks these amazing cookies.  I have only about four varieties I have yet to try.  Three of them were in the basket this week.  So, I opted for the Gluten-Free Coconut Lemon cookies.  I love lemon things, so I figured the coating of coconut would be evenly balanced by the lemon flavor.

These were dessert the other day, and after slicing the cookie in half (remember, Liz Lovely cookies have a serving size of 1/2 a cookie) to cleanse the palate after dinner, I couldn’t wait to take my first bite.

And yet…the explosion of flavor I expected wasn’t there.  In fact, these cookies tasted more of coconut than lemon.  I couldn’t taste lemon at all.  Disappointing, because lemon is one of my favorite flavors when it is cooked into something.  It can be overpowering, so I understand the reason to keep it light, but I feel if lemon is included in the name of a cookie, the tell-tale lemon flavor should be in every bite.  These tasted like coconut…and soft cookie.  That was it.

Liz Lovely has always delivered fantastic cookies prior to this, so this was a huge let-down to me.  I hope that I just got a batch that was lacking the normal lemon flavor.  I won’t know, however, because these didn’t blow me away like her previous ones did.  So, when given the choice, her other cookie varieties will come home with me before this one.

Despite falling flat with these Coconut Lemon cookies, I do look forward to my next Liz Lovely experience.  I know the company can bounce back from this flavor flop.  I have faith.