Gluten Free, R U?

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Barilla Chickpea Rotini

I like chickpeas. I like pasta. I liked this chickpea pasta. It wasn't amazing but it certainly wasn't horrible. I like the consistency but there wasn't any taste to it that I could tell.

I also liked that this wasn't sticky at all, in fact I was shocked that it wasn't sticky. I almost assume gluten free pasta will be sticky and just clump as leftovers. This did not and that is a pleasant surprise.

I definitely recommend you try this pasta and if you do let me know your thoughts on it.

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Wegmans Plant Based Burgers

Imagine my shock when I found a plant based burger that was gluten free. So many are made with wheat or gluten but Wegmans came through with a gluten green plant based burgers.

I did get these for free from a Wegmans newsletter coupon and honestly I would easily pay for these. I really liked these burgers. It is has been 20+ years since I ate beef but this reminded me so much of beef burgers from way back when. I loved the "spice" and the texture after cooking was very good.

Full disclosure, I thought the burgers looked and smelled like dog food when I opened the package. So I was very very skeptical BUT once cooked up these burgers looked good and tasted sooo good. So don't let your first impressions get in the way :) I look forward to adding these to my meal rotation.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Gluten Free Mint Oreos

Stop the presses!!! I found the elusive gluten free mint Oreos!!! And they are incredible!!!

Mind you I LOVE mint and I already loved the regular gluten free Oreos. This is cookie heaven to me.

Someone mentioned that these taste like Girl Scout Thin Mints and I agree for the most part. Although I like the chocolate covering on Thin Mints and that is obviously missing here but the flavor is there.

I also love that these have more filling than regular Oreos but less than the double stuff. I think they are perfectly filled and I wish the regular Oreos would use this same filling amount.

These will become a regular in my house for sure. I happened to get these on sale for $3.33 at Giant Food Stores but I’d be willing to pay full price. I seriously love these cookies.

My gluten free history

When I turned 30 years old, I started to gain weight that I couldn't lose and I was getting back to back colds. The final straw was I got bronchitis and I had to take an antibiotic to help me get better. The side effect for 4% of people on this antibiotic was gastrointestinal issues. Yes, I was part of that 4%. The medicine basically stripped away whatever had been protecting me through my first 30 years of life. You see I have always had gastrointestinal issues since I can remember. My father also had the same issues and my paternal grandmother too. I was so sick from the medicine (or so I thought) that I had to go back to the doctor and do a series of tests. During this time I was following the BRAT diet (Banana, rice, a, toast). Saltines and toast were my go to comfort, little did I know they were NOT what I should be eating. My co-worker gave me an article about food allergies and there was a quiz. You only needed to answer 4 of the 8 questions with yes to fall under their designation and I had answered 6 of the 8 with yes. I was on my way. My husband and I cleaned out all our cabinets of the 7 allergens… all that was left was rice. After a few weeks, I was feeling somewhat better when I stayed at a home where they told me to eat whatever was in the fridge. I saw the rice and started eating. Within a hour I was violently ill. I couldn't understand. I took the rice with me to work the next day and when I told my other co-worker about my issue she asked to see the rice. It was orzo… pasta… gluten/wheat filled pasta! I had my first allergen to check off the list as being an issue. It turned out at the time dairy and eggs were also triggers but I have since been able to add them back. My husband and I went on a full gluten free diet and within a few months I had lost my weight, stopped living in my bathroom, looked healthy and was not terrified to eat things any more. Now it has been 15 years and while I have gained some weight back (darn those yummy gluten free cookies and pretzels) my issues are still in check and I couldn't be happier to figure out what was wrong with my body and be able to fix it.