Garrett County Gluten Free Chicken Bites

I found these gluten free, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets at Sprouts earlier in the week and excitedly scouped them up. I think they were around the 5 dollar range. I had never seen them there before and was thrilled to see another kind of gluten free chicken nuggets on the market! Plus, dinosaur shapes? How could this go wrong?

Aren't they so cute? They looked and smelled delicious. As they were cooking, the smell reminded me of the Tyson chicken tenders I use to eat way back when. I couldn't wait to try them. I bit the head off of my first dinosaur, and paused. Damn. These had so much promise. The chicken was so unbelievably dry, it was difficult to chew. The coating had a weird consistency that felt powdery in your mouth. The favor couldn't even save these nuggets. They were awful. I ate 3 and a half then gave up. I advise just sticking to these nuggets that Marlow reviewed on her blog. Don't waste your money on these. I wish I hadn't.

Glutino Cheese Pizza

Okay, so, thus far I have had really good luck with the Glutino brand products. Bagels, english muffins, pretzels, crackers...all delicious. Let's keep the good luck rolling, right? So I read a good review of the Glutino Spinach and Feta pizza on Gluten Free Food Reviews and decided to try the cheese pizza on for size. Glutino has given me back my beloved bagels, could it be I could now enjoy a wonderful slice of pizza in the comforts of my home as well?

I had an absolutely exhausting day at work today, and when I came home I thought, "Well, we could either A.) Start a fast that would start tonight and end promptly tomorrow morning or B.) Make something that required no effort or thought on my part. Pizza it is!"

I have to admit, I was extremely disappointed when I removed said pizza from its wrapping. Let's just say it left a LOT to be desired...




It was so bad that the saunce/cheese topping was completely separate from the crust. Here I am holding the sauce in my hand.

Sigh. I was downtrodden, to say the least. I almost threw it away. How could this possibly be any good?? It was then that my tummy grumbled and said, "Eat this or start eating the furniture, your choice." I gave into my bossy tummy and somehow assembled my pizza the best I could. I put it in the oven and begrudgingly waited.

11 minutes later...

This is what I had. Now I know you're thinking, Stephanie, is that a frisbee? Alas, no it is my dinner. I was angry at the damn pizza at this point (can you tell how horrible my day was? Lol). I was convinced that I was on the losing end of some really unfortunate karma. When the crust wouldn't cut at one point, my boyfriend had to take the pizza cutter away from me.

I was sad when I started eating, but after my first bite, I was surprised and delighted! This is actually edible and enjoyable! I did not eat the outer crust because I thought it was a bit dry and bland, but I ate the rest and really liked it! I would definitely eat this again, believe it or not.

Ahhh, Glutino, you are a warm flannel blanket on a cold winter morning. You are the marshmellows floating in my hot cocoa. You are the moments in between hitting the snooze button for the 5th time. I love you Glutino. Let's be together forever.

Yogurt Parfait

This weekend I made my own version of a yogurt parfait. I know they make gluten free granola out there, but this girl works hard for her money, and those grocery store prices just ain't treatin' me right. So I made one using rice chex. It actually turned out really good!

So I layered it up, here's what I did:

Strawberry yogurt on bottom
layer of rice chex
strawberry yogurt
layer of fresh sliced strawberries
strawberry yogurt
layer of fresh sliced bananas
strawberry yogurt
Rice chex to top!

The rice chex are a good substitute for granola, if granola in yogurt is really your thing. If I were super artsy-fartsy I would have stuck a little strawberry slice on top to garnish, but I was hungry!

Beware of your ketchup!!

So last night I had a quick meal at my parent's house consisting of hot dogs (Oscar Meyer...a Kraft food, so OK), and some ketchup. Within 20 minutes of eating I noticed I was feeling itchy on my stomach. I just figured it was a bug bite. I went home and after my shower, I noticed clusters of tiny, itchy red bumps all over my abdomen (dermatitis herpetiformis, caused by a reaction to gluten). What the hell? What did I eat??

Well, researching my ketchup today, I figured it out. I wanted to give everyone warning, because based on the label, I thought it was hunky-dory.

Hunt's Ketchup from their website:

Q: Which Hunt's tomato products contain gluten? Do you have a list of products that contain gluten?

A: Most Hunt's tomato products are gluten-free. The exceptions include Hunt's Ketchup and Barbecue Sauce, which contain distilled vinegar made from wheat or corn and may contain trace amounts of these grains. Therefore, they are not gluten-free. Among the 11 varieties of Hunt's Spaghetti Sauces, the following three varieties include an indirect source of gluten (wheat, oats, barley, or rye):
Original Meat
Four Cheese
Italian Sausage

It is always best to read the ingredient statement printed on the label because reformulation occurs from time to time.

From the Heinz Ketchup website:

Where can I find gluten-free products?

Heinz Ketchup and Heinz Organic Ketchup do not contain any gluten (the distilled vinegar used is from corn sources). Also, Wine Vinegar, Distilled White Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar are gluten-free. Heinz Hot & Spicy Ketchup Kick'rs is gluten-free as well.

I have Heinz in my fridge at home. My parent's have Hunts. I noticed this and read the label, but didn't think it was bad. But I was wrong! Just wanted to give everyone the heads up! Watch out for your ketchup!

Crunch berries are for losers, anyway

It seems like for every awesome gluten free product you find, another one of your absolute favorites falls of the list. Hello Rice Chex, goodbye Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries.

RE: Cap'n Crunch's Crunchberries Cereal , REF.# 026554341A

Stephanie:

We're happy to address your concern regarding gluten in Cap'n Crunch Crunch Berries. We understand that individuals sensitive to gluten cannot digest even trace amounts of gluten. Since so many of our products contain grain ingredients and many products are made in the same facility, we cannot guarantee that any particular product is entirely free of gluten.

Although we would like to help you find products that meet your dietary needs, we are not able to recommend any of our products. We invite you to visit: ww.celiac.nih.gov for more information on gluten and Celiac Disease.

Thank you for your interest in our products, Stephanie. We hope this information is helpful.

Jeff
Quaker Consumer Response

Interesting New Symtom

So I was a big dumb-dumb doodie today. I went to lunch with my boss and coworker today. I requested that my salad have no croutons or bread or anything of that nature on it. My salad showed up sans croutons, but with two delightful slabs of bread plopped right on top of my now tainted salad. Not wanting to be the "difficult customer" at the table, I opted not to send it back for a fresh one. This is when I started my reign as the Biggest Idiot In The World. I have a sash and everything. I ate the salad, silently praying maybe this one time I would get lucky.

UGH.

I am miserable at my desk right now. What's interesting though, is a new symptom I've never experienced before. My hands are shaking like mad. I am having difficulty handling papers and when I write I can barely hold my pen or pencil. My handwriting in all scribbly from my unsteady hands. It's weird. Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Hidden Valley Ranch - The Mystery Uncovered!

A while back I posted the email from Hidden Valley Ranch stating that their regular Ranch dressing is gluten free. I world rejoiced. But I got a comment saying that someone has had bad experiences with the dressing mix. So I decided to email them again and inquire about their dressing mix, since I prefer the homemade dressing to the pre-packaged dressing. Here is their reply:

Reference Number: 5448102
Dear Ms. Freeman, (Hey! No stalking.)

Thank you for contacting us.The FDA requires that we list the following allergens on our ingredient labels:

1. Egg
2. Soybean (excluding high refined oil)
3. Dairy
4. Peanut
5. Wheat (barley, rye, oats, or any source of gluten)
6. Fish
7. Crustacean
8. Tree Nut

For the most accurate source of information, please check the back of the ingredient panel for every purchase as ingredients may change.

Currently only the following Hidden Valley Products have gluten in them:

HV Bottled Salad Dressing - Crushed Garlic Caesar
HV Bottled Salad Dressing - Fat Free Honey and Bacon French
HV Bottled Salad Dressing - Fat Free Original Ranch with Bacon
HV Salad Crispins - Bac'n & Onion
HV Salad Crispins - Italian Parmesan
HV Salad Crispins - Ranch

Again, thank you for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Thomason
Consumer Response Representative
Consumer Services

I hereby declare today National Eat-Ranch-Dressing-In-Excess day!