Surf Sweets
Natural and Organic Candy
Not too long ago a shipment of samples from Surf Sweets arrived at the NFCA’s main office. The NFCA staff is always excited when samples come in and doubly so when it is gluten-free sweets. Thankfully, I managed to make it out of the office with several of the bags to review and to use as bribes — I mean ‘incentives’ for the kids.
It did not take the kids long to spot the bags of Surf Sweets samples. For the rest of the review I will refer to them as Q and F. Q is a fifteen-year-old girl and self-proclaimed sugar addict. “Ohhh sugar!” she proclaimed when first spotting them. I informed her that they were samples for a product review. She made a sad face at that news until I told her that if she was willing to help with the review, she could have some of the candy. She quickly recruited her brother. F, a 12-year-old self-proclaimed candy connoisseur.
Though Surf Sweets provides a wide variety of fruit flavored gummy snack choices, for the review we only sampled their Fruity Bears, Sour Berry Bears, Gummy Worms, and Jelly Beans. Surf Sweets uses organic evaporated cane juice and natural fruit flavoring so there is no corn syrup in any of their fruit snacks. In addition to being Gluten-Free they are also nut, dairy and casein free. These fruit snacks include many of the positive ingredients, and more importantly are missing some of the major negative ingredients that make them an appealing treat to adults. But how will sugar-hungry, candy-loving kids react to them?
Organic Fruity Bears:
Q, noted that they were a tad less chewy than common gummy bears but felt that was a positive difference. F gobbled up his portion without complaint, which is the same as saying they are delicious. Neither seemed bothered by the absence of artificial sweeteners. Both kids thought the Fruity Bears were pleasantly sweet and found the natural fruit flavor “tasty”. Both agreed they would be glad to receive them as a treat again.
Sour Berry Bears:
A favorite road trip game for us is the “Sour Off”. Each of us samples a sour candy and waits to see who makes the most extreme sour face first. We all smiled at the idea that we might find another candy to add to the sour list. All three of us tasted one of the Sour Berry Bears at the same time. Q felt they were more tangy than sour. To me they tasted very close to a tart berry so I agreed with her. F on the other hand happily referred to them as “Brain Sour”. For the record F lost that sour off.
Gummy Worms:
The first thing we all noticed was that they were extremely stretchy, which is expected of a good gummy worm. Q stated that the taste and texture were almost identical to other gummy worms she had tasted and enjoyed. These ended up being her favorite of the four. F found them to be extremely chewy, yet very tasty and worth the effort.
Jelly Beans:
The results of this taste test were a bit surprising. Though we all enjoy jelly beans, Q is by far a bigger fan of this type of candy. However, she is not as big a fan of tropical fruit flavors. So she was not as happy with these jelly beans. On the other hand, F and I found the fruity flavor of these extremely tasty. All agreed that the best word to describe them was “fruity”.
The final conclusion of the taste test of Surf Sweets was that all participants would be happy to eat them again. For the kids, they tasted good. For me they tasted good, and contained ingredients I approved of. Another Win-Win review for us here at GFHP.
To learn more these and all of the products offered by Surf Sweets.
Pamela’s Product Baking Mix
Pancakes and Cornbread
Last year I did a review of Pamela’s Products Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies. In that review I mentioned how Pamela’s Products is a proud sponsor of the NFCA’s and generously donates cupcake kits for our fabulous Gluten-Free Cupcake Parties. If you want to learn more about this fun and easy community fundraising activity visit our Cupcake Party page.
Among the many other GF products Mambo Sprouts sent my way was two bags of Pamela’s Products baking mixes, Baking and Pancake Mix and the Cornbread and Muffin Mix. Until this recent shipment my exposure to Pamela’s Products was limited to their delicious cookie selection, and of course, their easy to make cupcakes.
First impression of these baking mixes was pretty positive. Both come in nice sunny orange packaging. A pleasant combination of images, colors and fonts used on the packaging brings to mind a warm country kitchen, and begs you to open it to start baking. And that is exactly what I did.
I started with the Baking and Pancake Mix. The blend itself is very fine and primarily consists of a combination of rice flours and starches. Cultured Buttermilk and natural almond meal are also mixed in as welcome addition to the mix. On the package there are simple instruction for standard recipes including pancakes, waffles, muffins, cookies and crepes.
First I used the mix to make pancakes. This resulted in a batch of fluffy, moist pancakes. Paired with a dab of butter and a splash of syrup, they were positively yummy. Feeling a bit adventurous I attempted crepes next. The batter held up to my poor cooking skills and the flavor was as tasty as the pancakes. I’d say the results of this mix were similar to those of a batch made from scratch but the complex and well blended flour mix make them a bit better and so much easier to make. Though I only made the pancakes and crepes I can easily imagine this mix performing equally well in a wide variety of recipes.
Next, I moved on to the Cornbread and Muffin Mix. This mix consists of a pleasant blend of semi sweet flours combined with organic corn meal. Together they work to make a perfect batch of cornbread. I was completely impressed at this mixes ability to stay moist. The flours blended the cornmeal give this mix a great flavor and texture and add to its versatility. In addition to Cornbread, this mix can be used for muffins, tart crust, sprinkled on the bottom of pizza crust (yummy), and anywhere else you would normally use a cornmeal and flour blend.
After trying out both of these baking mixes I am once again highly impressed at the quality of Pamela’s Products. To learn more about these great products or any of the Products Pamela’s offers visit www.pamelasproducts.com
Zocalo Gourmet Heritage Flours and Grains
Readers of Gluten Free Hot Products know that I often sing the praises of products that contain whole grains, natural flavors, and nutritious ingredients. I’m even more impressed when those products turn out to be tasty. Which brings me to today’s review.
A while ago a box of very interesting products arrived at the NFCA’s office. The shipment contained flours and grains from Zocalo Gourmet. Zocola is a small company that supplies gourmet cultural ingredients and foods to the U.S. In the case our shipment, Zocalo Gourmet provided Peruvian Heritage flours and grains.
Peru is home to a long list of very diverse and hardy plant life. Among that list are highly nutritious grains, potatoes, and corns. Zocalo offers many of these healthy foods as whole or puffed grains, and as flours. Today’s review will focus on four of Zocalo Gourmets products, Kañiwa flour, Mesquite (Algarroba) Flour, Purple Corn Flour, and Sweet Potato Flour
Kañiwa (pronounced ka-nyi-wa) is very similar to quinoa. It is packed with nutrition and is very high in protein. Zocalo offers Kañiwa as whole or puffed grain and as flour. When this mighty grain is puffed it can be served as cereal, or added to a granola mix. Whole or toasted and ground into flour, Kañiwa’s, makes a wonderful addition to breads, muffins, cookies and more. Because is such a potient grain it is best used when blended with other flours. The result of adding it to your mix is a product that has a more earthy flavor and texture with the additional bonus of all the nutrition Kañiwa grains contain.
Mequite Flour is made from the dried and milled pods of Algarroba trees. When included in a recipe, the MesquiteFlour imparts a sweet and slightly smoky flavor. In recipes utilizing cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, or coffee, the Mesquite Flour enhances those flavors. This multipurpose flour can be used to add nutrition and a warm yet sweet flavor to cookies and pastries, or to spice up and sweeten protein drinks or energy bars.
Purple Corn is very similar to table corn except for its deep purple color. The pigments that give this corn its rich dark purple are also high in antioxidants. Purple corn flour can be used in any recipe that normally calls for corn flour or corn meal. Use it to make breads, tortillas, pancakes, muffins, and cakes and those dishes will have the added benefit of amazing color and nutrition.
The sweet potato is an amazing source of fiber, vitamin A, iron, and calcium. Since Sweet Potato flour stays moist and has a smooth texture and semi sweet flavor it is a great ingredient to use in gluten-free baking which often depends of potato flour to prevent gf baked goods from being to dry or grainy. Though this flour makes a great addition to baked goods, such as breads, cookies, muffins, pancakes and crepes, cakes, and doughnuts, it can also be used in soups, as a thickener for sauces and gravies, and in breading for fish.
In addition to being gluten-free Zocalo Gourmet’s offers these flavor and nutrition packed flours free of preservatives or additives, GMO, Trans Fat, Sugars, Nuts, Wheat, Soy, Casein, and Dairy. To find out more about these products as well as all the products Zocalo Gourmet offers visit www.zocalogourmet.com. If you like the idea of these products but are not exactly sure how to implement them or just want a few new ideas, visit Zocalo Gourmet’s Blog for useful recipes.
Ian’s Animal Cookies
Last month, May 2010, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness(NFCA) teamed up with Mambo Sprouts as part of our Celiac Disease Awareness Month campaign. Part of this campaign was to get some great products out to the gluten-free and celiac bloggers for review. As the product blog for the NFCA, Gluten Free Hot Products joined in. To read those reviews check out Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Though the official Celiac Disease Awareness month is technically over, Mambo Sprouts has been kind enough to continue to ship gluten-free products samples our way. One of these gf products is Ian’s Gluten-Free Animal Cookies.
Ian’s Animal Cookies is a gluten-free alternative to the classic kid friendly treats Animal Crackers. 
Though they did have fun animal shapes and the sweet sugar cookie flavor I remember from the animal cookies I used to eat when I was much younger, there were also a few major differences worth mentioning. On the negative side, the texture was slightly grainy and the cookies were chewier than crunchy. On the plus side, in addition to being gluten-free, there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Despite these differences, it did not take long for my household to finish of the whole 70z bag. My personal favorite way to eat them was dip them into peanut butter. Others in the household preferred a more traditional method, and enjoyed them with a glass of milk.
To learn more about Ian’s Animal cookies as well as all the other gluten-free and allergy free products Ian’s offers visit www.iansnaturalfoods.com.
Food Should Taste Good June Update
Cheddar, Blue Corn and More.
Since the first shipment from Food Should Taste Good I’ve been a big fan of their chips. All their favors use a great blend of corn, grains, and seeds merged with other high quality natural ingredients to make truly snacks worthy chips. So of course I was very happy to receive a package with bags of Cheddar and Blue Corn, the latest additions to the Food Should Taste Good product line.
I was very impressed with the Cheddar flavor. Being a big fan of cheese in general and cheddar especially, I’m very glad that Food Should Taste Good finally added this to their line up. The smooth cheddar flavor is not overwhelming, but definitely present. Another big plus to these chips, is that since the flavor is natural, real and baked in there is no grimy artificial cheese powder coating the delicious crunchy chip.
I’m equally pleased about the addition of a Blue Corn flavor. The same great blend of grains and seeds partnered wonderfully with organic blue corn. Just like all the varieties of Food Should Taste Goods Chip, the Blue Corn Flavor is crunchy, sturdy and lightly seasoned they are the perfect addition to your favorite salsa or dip.
In addition to the newest flavors, Food Should Taste Good, also sent me a sample of the newest way to enjoy their very popular Multigrain flavor, convenient To-Go Packs. To-Go Packs include 6 individual 1 oz bags.
To learn more about these flavors as well as all the other delicious productsFood Should Taste Good offers visit www.foodshouldtastegood.com
Mambo Sprouts Part 4: Breakfast with Barbara’s Bakery
If you read Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1: Glutino, Part 2: Crunchmasters, or Part 3: Gluten Free Pantry then you know that as part of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) month long celebration of Celiac Disease Awareness Month(May) we have teamed up with Mambo Sprouts. The goal of this partnership is to use our joint resources to get the message of awareness out to an even larger audience.
Though May is over there is still one review left in this 4 part series. Now on to Part 4.
Mambo Sprouts Part 4: Breakfast with Barbara’s Bakery
Brown Rice Crisps, Multigrain Puffins, and Honey Rice Puffins
For this review mambo sprouts sent me three boxes of Barbara’s Bakery Cereals. I received a box each of Organic Brown Rice Crisps, Multigrain Puffins, and Honey Rice Puffins. Three great cereals, filled with organic whole grains and natural flavors, and void of all the things that should be missing like gluten, preservatives, and artificial flavors.
All three of these cereals contain whole grain brown rice. As you may know, rice is a very common substitute for ingredients that contain gluten. When white rice is used, the resulting product loses many of the healthy aspects the wheat version would have naturally contained. The alternative, brown rice, contains a healthy dose of protein, fiber, and vitamins. Not only is it healthier but the texture and taste tends to be closer to that of the gluten filled versions. That is why I am very happy when a gluten-free product is made from whole grain brown rice instead.
Brown Rice Crisps
Barbara’s Organic Brown Rice Crisp is a healthier alternative to white rice counter parts. It is very lightly sweetened with organic fruit juice. If you prefer a sweater cereal then tiny bit of your favorite sweetener could be added. Or top this cereal with some fresh fruit to make an even healthier start to your morning. If you enjoy making or eating marshmallow rice crisp squares, Barbara’s Organic Brown Rice Crisp is the perfect ingredient to make those tasty sweet squares not only good, but somewhat good for you too.
Multigrain Puffins
Of the two flavors of Barbara’s Puffin brand cereal I received the Multigrain Puffins were my favorite. A bowl filled with Multigrain Puffins will contain semi-sweet yellow, brown and white squares. The colors are not the result of artificial colors or flavors. Instead they come from the ingredients, all natural whole oats, brown rice, and corn. They stand up to sitting in a bowl of milk perfectly.
Honey Rice Puffins
Barbara’s Honey Rice Puffins are whole grain brown rice squares lightly coated in a thin honey glaze. Though it is the sweetest of the three, they are still not overly sugary. This makes it a great children’s cereal.
In addition to the Multigrain and Honey Rice varieties of Puffin, Barbara’s also comes in Original, Peanut Butter, and Cinnamon flavors. All varieties of puffin include great information on how you can help Barbara’s Bakery help improve life for Puffins. Barbara’s is a sponsor of the Audubon’s Project Puffin, which is working to restore puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine. To learn more about Project Puffin visit www.projectpuffin.org.
To learn more about these great cereals and all the gluten-free products offered by Barbara’s Bakery visit www.barbarasbakery.com.
Before I had a chance to finish the 4 Part Mambo Sprout Review series, Mambo sprouts was kind enough to send another box filled with gluten-free products to review. Stay tuned for reviews that include Pamela’s Products, Ian Gluten-Free Animal Cookies, and much, much more.
Mambo Sprouts Review Part 3: Gluten Free Pantry
If you read Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1: Glutino, and/or Part 2: Crunchmasters, then you know that as part of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) month long celebration of Celiac Disease Awareness Month(May) we have teamed up with Mambo Sprouts. The goal of this partnership is to use our joint resources to get the message of awareness out to an even larger audience. All may long the NFCA and Mambo Sprouts will be featuring recipes, product reviews, and of course, coupons for fantastic gluten-free products.
Mambo Sprouts has sent us some samples from Glutino, Crunchmasters, Gluten Free Pantry, and Barbara’s to review. Now on to Part 3.
Mambo Sprouts Part 3: Gluten Free Pantry
Brownies, Cookies, and Pancakes!
For this review, Mambo Sprouts sent me 3 of Gluten Free Pantry Baking Mixes. I received a box each of their Chocolate Truffle Brownies Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie & Cake Mix, Brown Rice Pancake & Waffle Mix. After a busy day of baking and tasting I was pretty pleased with these products.
Gluten Free Pantry’s Chocolate Truffle Brownies Mix was my favorite of the three. I followed the directions and let them chill before eating. The product was a dense, and rich chocolate flavor you expect out of a brownie. I was relieved that the brownies texture was smooth instead of grainy as is often the risk of using gf mixes. Another great thing to note is though the brownies that are made from this mix are comparable to results of using the gluten-free Betty Crocker Mixes, Gluten Free Pantry’s mix is cheaper by almost half.
Gluten Free Pantry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie & Cake Mix came in second mainly because I prefer cookies to be bit chewier. That said, the cookies that were produced by using this mix were pretty tasty. The cookies them self were crispy and filled with pleasant tasting chocolate chips. The overall flavor was pleasant enough that I am interested in getting another box to try out the cake directions.
My favorite thing about Gluten Free Pantry’s Brown Rice Pancake & Waffle Mix is that is contains more brown rice than white. The more gf foods I try that include at least some brown rice seem to taste better and have a more pleasant texture. The pancakes made from this mix were fluffy and light. Mix in or top with some fresh fruit and they make for a pretty yummy morning. Gluten Free Pantry’s Brown Rice Pancakes & Waffle can make two decent sized batches of pancakes or waffles, or can be used to make Irish Soda Bread. This makes the price, the highest of the three mixes, very reasonable.
To learn more about these and other Gluten Free Pantry Products visit glutenfree.com.
Mambo Sprouts Review Part 2: Crunchmaster
If you read Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1: Glutino, then you know that as part of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) month long celebration of Celiac Disease Awareness Month(May) we have teamed up with Mambo Sprouts. The goal of this partnership is to use our joint resources to get the message of awareness out to an even larger audience. All may long the NFCA and Mambo Sprouts will be featuring recipes, product reviews, and of course, coupons for fantastic gluten-free products.
Mambo Sprouts has sent us some samples from Glutino, Crunchmasters, Gluten Free Pantry, and Barbara’s to review. Now on to Part 2.
Mambo Sprouts Review Part 2: Crunchmaster
Original Multi-Seed Crackers
Crunchmaster is a brand of oven baked brown rice crackers packed with a great blend of seeds. Their mulit-seed crackers are made from all natural ingredients like brown rice, sesame, quinoa, amaranth and flax seeds. The result is a nutrition filled, naturally gluten-free snack. But how does it taste? Far from bland is the answer. Though they are low in sodium, they have a pleasant salty flavor that compliments the grain and seed blend. A touch of soy sauce is also added. They are enjoyably crunchy and the fact that they are backed instead of fried keeps them from being oily. I only received samples for the Original flavor Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers, after tasting what a great job they did with a basic cracker, I’m am eager to try there Roasted Garlic, Rosemary & Olive Oil and Sweet Onion varieties.
To learn more about Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers visit www.crunchmaster.com
Purely Elizabeth
Ultimate Cacao Muffin Mix Perfect Pancake
A while ago I received samples of a muffin mix and a pancake mix from Purely Elizabeth. With most of the NFCA staff off to Chicago for the NRA I finally had enough time to try these out. A certified holistic nutrition counselor, Elizabeth Stein, created Purely Elizabeth in 2009. While receiving her training she began to understand the negative impact the ingredients like sugar, wheat and dairy that are in so many of our favorite treats can have on a persons health. She created her line of mixes to recreate homemade baked goods using healthy ingredients that were beneficial for the body. Purely Elizabeth’s Ultimate Cacao Muffin Mix and Perfect Pancake mix are great examples of her effort to improve foods that are normally guilty pleasures.
The star ingredient in Purely Elizabeth’s Ultimate Cacao Muffin Mix is raw cacao, an ingredient known to be high in antioxidant. The raw cacao adds the chocolaty flavor to the highly nutritious flour mix made of millet flour, almond flour, flax seed, hemp seed and chia seeds. Suggested additional ingredients you will need to make a batch of Purely Elizabeth Ultimate Cacao Muffins includes applesauce, olive oil, agave syrup, almond milk and Vanilla. Using the suggested ingredients helps keep truer to the mixes purpose of being a pure and healthy way to enjoy muffins. But you can also use your preferred sweetener, substitute non-dairy milk to make it dairy-free, or for a more traditional muffin use an egg instead of applesauce. The flexibility of this mix provides a simple and convenient way to gather high quality dry ingredients to make muffins that have the nutrition needed in so many celiac diets.
Purely Elizabeth’s Perfect Pancake mix is a great way to add whole grains to your diet while indulging in this classic but traditionally non-healthy breakfast choice. The mix consists of a blend of 5 whole grain flours paired with 3 super-food seeds. The result is a fluffy yet very filling breakfast packed with protein and fiber.
To learn more about these and all of Purely Elizabeth’s Products visit www.purelyelizabeth.com.
Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1: Glutino
Mambo Sprouts, the nation’s leading natural and organic marketing company, has teamed up with the NFCA to raise awareness of celiac disease and the gluten-free lifestyle! All may long the NFCA and Mambo Sprouts will be featuring recipes, product reviews, and of course, coupons for fantastic gluten-free products.
For this month long celiac awareness campaign Mambo Sprouts has also teamed up with some great gluten-free companies. Some of those companies have provided them with enough samples of their products to share with some of the amazing GF bloggers for reviews. As the product review blog for the NFCA, Mambo Sprouts has been kind enough to send Gluten Free Hot Products samples from Glutino, Crunchmasters, Gluten Free Pantry, and Barbara’s. I will share my impressions on these samples in a 4 part series, Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1-4.
So, with out much more delay onto the first review.
Mambo Sprouts Review Part 1: Glutino
I received two products from the huge and always growing Glutino Product line, a bag of Chocolate Covered Pretzels and a box of Strawberry Breakfast Bar.
Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels are simply amazing. To find a delicious gluten-free pretzel is impressive by itself. Cover that yummy pretzel with premium milk chocolate and you get an extraordinary gluten-free snack. These gluten-free snacks are crunchy and sweet with just a hint of salt. The pretzel itself is firm and crunchy with a great texture. Each little pretzel is coated in a thick layer of smooth, just sweet enough, milk chocolate. The result is a deliciously perfect gluten-free snack that will fulfill a variety of cravings.
Glutino Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars come in a variety of flavors. I sampled the Strawberry flavored ones. Each bar has a soft pastry-like outside with a moist strawberry jelly center. The outer layer is moist and thick with only a slightly grainy texture. In addition to being gluten-free they are also egg, casein, and milk free. More importantly for someone on a gluten-free diet they also have the benefit of a good amount of dietary fiber.
To learn more about these as well as any of the other great gluten-free products made by Glutino visit www.glutino.com. Be sure to stop back by to check out Mambo Sprouts Reviews Part 2-4.
