snacks

Gluten Free Chips to Munch

If you follow my blog you might notice I haven’t posted many baked goods in the past month. As I mentioned the other week, I had my right knee replacement surgery the first week of March. Due to that I haven’t been able to do much cooking and even less baking.  Just not able to stand around or work hard at anything other than my recovery which is going pretty well these days. I use a cane but in my house I often just walk all on my own. I’ve had lots of company, mostly siblings who came to help me out and to visit our mom who I normally spend time with each week.  This worked out great and now I am on my own.  While they were here people bought a number of things new to me and so I have been doing some product reviews.  Here are two more, both triangular chips and both organic.  In the interest of honesty I should say that throughout my recovery I have been actively seeking not to eat these sort of treats; too fattening/salty/addictive.  I didn’t buy them but I sure couldn’t help myself to try more than a few of each chip.

pink himalayan chipsI love tortilla chips and was excited when my brother bought a bag of Pink Himalayan Salt Red Rice & Quinoa Tortilla Chips by Lundberg in Ca. Everyone likes them but me and my beef is the salt. I guess my salt cutting back regimen for the past year or so is having a serious effect as I found these chips to be way too salty for my tastes.  No one else felt that way; they were noshed on with joy by several of my visitors so get a bag and test them out! Non GMO, gluten free and whole grain…purchased at Giant Food Stores.

popcorners chips

The other snack item I want to share with you are Popcorners, Crispy & Crunchy Popped Corn Chips, by BFY Brands in Liberty NY.  Darn it, but I just love them! No preservatives, no trans fats, not fried, doubled pressed for extra crunch.  I got the variety with some cheddar for flavoring. Thin, crisp but not hard and lightly cheesy: I could eat the whole bag in a day but I have restrained myself so far. These also came from Giant and I love that they have 7 ounces, the other ones were 5.5 so I got another ounce and a half plus they were a bit cheaper so double score on these triangular treats.

More and more tasty gluten free snacks are popping up out there in regular grocery stores; but do read the packaging carefully if you have allergies or want to limit sodium or other sorts of intake. Best not to eat the whole bag at one munching! Enjoy.

Snacky Treats Recently Taste Tested

I love it when friends give me new gf products to try.  This week I am sharing two treats that were gifts and three snacks I bought myself.  First up: Tate’s Bake Shop Gf Chocolate chip cookies.  They are 7 oz in a waxed paper bag and in two plastic bags in a plastic tray inside.  I found them to be large, thin, crisp and somewhat addictive.  For those of us who adore chocolate chip cookies, anyway! I believe they came from Giant Grocery Store. I give these cookies a 4.5 on my zero to five scale.  Leaving room for homemade cookies; mine are a 5; see my blog post on chocolate chipperscrunchy-rice-sticks

tates-cookies

 

 

 

 

Second item is Crunchy Rice Sticks; round columns; 3.2 ounces and 8 sticks to a bag.  Fairly bland but not bad at all has rice syrup to hold it together and render them faintly sweet; the sticks are about an inch in diameter and five inches in length.  Great crunch and low calories: 50 to a stick!  I think they came from Giant.

Next up: Cashew Brittle from Aldi’s.  Not my favorite.  Way too sweet for me and not that much cashew in them.  Still, if you like cashews and sweets this might be up your alley.  Made by Crazy Candy Company.  7 ounce bag.

skinny-pop

Popcorn aisle: Skinny Pop Dusted Dark Chocolate Popcorn.  Non GMO, GF, 43 calories per cup.  I believe I found this at Giant Foods. Decent tasting if slightly drab: I have been spoiled by the drizzled with chocolate popcorn I found at Aldi’s this fall.  Now that was freaking amazing!  Can’t find it at present; hopeful it will return to the stores very soon.  There is a drizzled with chocolate and white sugar topped popcorn at Giant but it was a very small bag for nearly $4.  Crazy price for that itty bitty bag.  Time to research and product test my own homemade drizzled popcorn!

 

Final product: Veggie & Flaxseed Corn Tortilla Chips.  They were pretty decent; 10 oz bag purchased at Aldi’s; store brand chips.  Organic and in several colors and flavors although they tasty pretty much alike.  Good with a dollop of hummus.  Salsa works too.  Only thing is, I re-read the label and they are manufactured in a facility that also uses wheat products.  Rethinking this one….bummer.veggie-chips

 

I don’t recommend eating gf snacks all day long but some of these are fairly healthy and not that expensive.  We all enjoy a bit of a treat.  Enjoy!

OMG: More Good Stuff at Aldi’s!

More Aldi’s reviews.  Went back this Friday for gardening gear and came away with that and so much more!  Last time I got some of the General Tso’s Chicken; frozen Chinese meal; general Tzo's chickenbreaded chicken chunks and packets of sauce. I served mine over brown rice with side of steamed broccoli.  It was pretty good, especially since I really haven’t eaten out for Chinese food in over 2 years.  I can’t find any local places that are truly safe in terms of gluten.  Soy sauce is a big issue not to mention the cross contamination problems.  I don’t think I will eat it regularly; not cheap and it is prepared food so there are additives and more salt, fat and sugar than I would like.  Still, I sure enjoyed it. For me the 22 ounce package made 3 regular servings, not the 4.5 the package says.

 

cheddar crackersThis time I got some  crazy yummy LiveGfree gluten free cheddar cheese crackers.  They were more than a little additive, reminding me of Cheezits. Only 110 calories for 28 crackers. I enjoyed them as I pulled out of the Aldi’s parking lot, starved and they were handy!.

 

Then I saw this item in the bargain bin, bought it and later tested the fusion Jerky Island Teriyaki Artisan Pork Jerky, tasty if a bit chewy.  Really long time since I had jerky so I honestly don’t remember what it tastes like much less the chew factor. pork jerky  Still, a handy portable snack.  The package advertises no artificial ingredients and minimally processed.  There were two other flavors, one was garlic jalapeño and chipotle lime, thinking on them….

 

roasted popcornAnd then there was the somewhat tasty spicy Roasted Sweet Corn Popcorn. I thought it a tad dry, rather roasty for me.  I didn’t eat too much of it, yet.  Maybe it will grow on me.

 

There are so many gluten free food items at Aldi’s these days I have to stop and just walk away towards the register, I want them all.  But I don’t like to eat too much processed foods so I try to restrain myself.  Looking for fruit, I did buy a big bag of navel oranges for three bucks and chose some USDA Choice stew meat for making my beef goulash this weekend. They have some fairly decent fruits and veggies; seems like more than in past months. Worth a trip especially if you eat gluten free.

Aldi’s has a lot of gardening, patio, camping, outdoor dining gear at great prices if you need some of that sort of thing.  I went for some garden stuff and came away with the cheese crackers and other food items…well I was actually looking for those crackers; heard they were tasty.  And I found a sweet looking, pale blue glass Mason jar patio light for my porch set.  Cool!  mason jar light

Banana Chip Snafu

A few weeks ago I bought a bag of banana chips at Aldi’s, one of my favorite shopping places. I never got around to them until the other day, home recovering from a twenty four hour stomach bug.  The thing is, if you have celiac, you tend to take a bit longer to get over that which used to be 24 hours.  One’s tummy just doesn’t rebound like it used to.  More time, lighter fair and less stress are called for.  So banana chips seemed like a suitable snack.  I ate a lot of them.  And within an hour I was fairly ill with that familiar burning pain of being glutened.  It isn’t the same as a tummy ache.  Just to be clear, not the same area nor the same feeling.  Not fun.

banana chips

After several days for my digestive system to recover from the setback I am mostly better this week, finally back to exercising, and almost able to eat as before although it will be a few more days before I attempt anything too spicy!  Learned my lesson…the packaging didn’t say gluten free.  It didn’t list wheat or any type of gluten on the package.  Nor did it say processed on equipment that processed wheat.  But somehow it had been cross contaminated and that was a real shame for my health and my peace of mind.  I had been feeling so comfortable with Aldi’s foods.  Now I need to re think them and make more careful choices.  I won’t stop shopping there but no more banana chips and I suggest you avoid them if you have celiac disease. If you suffer from it as I do, you know how easily we can become ill from a tiny amount of gluten.  It is no exaggeration but hard reality. So be cautious when you are snacking and look for that gf label folks. There are lots of safe snacks available from fresh produce to homemade snacks and store bought processed items.  Just read the packages and be safe.

GF Product Review Roundup

 

Finally I got to try the much vaunted Canyon Bakehouse  7 Grain bread.  It looked kinda small when I pulled the loaf from the Wegman’s freezer case.  No matter, it is the taste that matters I thought as I yanked out a bag of Against the Grain sesame bagels.  There were already a few new crackers in my pantry that are being tested…and eaten. Comments below.Canyon bakehouse 7 G bread

Later that day I made a slice of the bread, toasted and half butter and half with homemade lemon marmalade.  It was small but tasty.  Maybe the best store bread I have had but not earth shatteringly good.  I was somehow expecting to feel just that OMG taste after reading reviews and comments on it. But, I wasn’t blown away.  I have made gf multigrain bread that tasted as good if not better.  So I now feel okay about my own baking; it doesn’t have to be a huge slice to be successful.  Nor is the flavor of my own bread lacking in comparison. I just prefer homemade.  No preservatives. And I get the pleasure of mixing up my dough and of smelling it bake.  Not saying this was bad bread, not at all.  Just that my homemade is comparable and I am not missing a lot by making my own.

againstthe grain bagelsSecond item; the bagel.  I had bought Utz gf bagels long ago and was not impressed, they were like an old stiff sponge and had minimal flavor.  This bagel; it is more open and has more flavor.  Very light in weight and lots of holes; sort of like airy French bread as a bagel.  I made homemade bagels last year and they were better in the chew department especially when really fresh.  Still, it was hugely appealing to have a toasted bagel with no effort.

skinny quinoa sticks

Third item; A huge bag of Skinny Quinoa Sticks given to me a while ago by a friend.  They are sweet onion flavor and made with ancient grains per the label.  Only 140 calories per serving and incredibly crunchy and rather addictive. Can’t eat just one, or ten.  Yumm!  I think she got them at Sam’s Club or Costco.  Big bag, still eating. Not stale and not tired of them.

hummus crackersFourth item: Hummus crackers by Mediterranean Snacks, roasted garlic flavor. Thin, crisp and mild.  Made with garbanzo beans and pretty edible if not outstanding.  I believe they were from Aldi’s. Their bland flavor will not compete with your dip or cheese.  They are somewhat delicate; break easily if used to dip; say in hummus. Great with guacamole

breton crackers

Fourth item: Breton gf crackers.  I tested the black bean and found it tasty, very delicate meaning it kept breaking in half just getting a cracker out of the box but somehow I kept wanting yet one more.  I have another box not opened yet but a friend says it is a super great cracker, can’t wait to crack that box…

rye bread and cassoulet 022

In conclusion, I liked all of the above but really loved the Skinny Quinoa sticks and I did enjoy both the convenience and the flavor of the bagels and breads.  I use these crackers with cheese, guac, hummus and all on their own. All worthwhile to purchase.  Still, I just made scratch “rye” bread this afternoon and am blown away by the flavor and crust.  Homemade is best in my book!