Gluten Free, R U?: June 2016

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Baguettes

I love bread. I love Italian bread, I love French bread. Lucky for me I have been able to try some yummy gluten free baguettes of both varieties recently.

Schar Italian Baguettes
Udi's French Baguettes
Wegman's White Baguette

From just that listing one of the biggest differences amongst the three baguettes I tried is that the Wegman's version only has one baguette in the packaging. This would make it the most expensive then:

Schar $6.99 2 baguettes

Udi's $7.99 2 baguettes

Wegman's $5.99 1 baguette

Schar is the softest of the bunch both outer and inner
Udi's is in the middle of soft/hard both outer and inner
Wegman's is the hardest/toughest both outer and inner

Schar is sold on the shelf in the gluten free aisle
Udi's is frozen
Wegman's is also off the shelf but found in the bakery section

Schar is good both right out of the package and heated per directions.
Udi's I was only able to try heated from frozen following the package instructions.
Wegman's was ok out of the package and much better heated per instructions.

All three are good with and without butter.
All three are about the same size.

Schar is unlike any gluten filled bread I have had but I love it.
Udi's tasted just like I remember gluten filled French Bread and it is wonderful.
Wegman's reminded me of gluten filled Italian bread but different but not bad.

So with all this said, my order of choices for baguettes is:

Schar
Udi's
Wegman's

The number one reason for Schar is that I like it both out of package and heated. I like that it is a little sweet. I like that it isn't as messy as Udi's and Wegman's which have very tough outsides. I also like that it is easier to find in stores than Udi's and Wegman's and ordering online if needed.

Everyone's tastes are different, so if you have any baguettes you think I should try please let me know in the comments.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Aldi Gluten Free Ravioli

Ravioli is one of my favorite foods.

When I had to start eating gluten free 16 years ago I was so sad to have to give up ravioli.

Since then a few companies have made gluten free ravioli. I have liked many of them and I will eventually post about them here.

This post is about my favorite by far at this time.

Aldi's Live Gfree Gluten Free Ravioli

And not only just the cheese ravioli

they also have Spinach & Cheese Ravioli

Yummy yum yum yum is the best I can say.

The insides of the ravioli are perfect.

Thick, cheesy, just right moistness, perfect spices, just like I like ravioli.

The pasta perfectly offsets the insides, not too much and not too little.

I followed the directions exactly as stated and cooked for the longer 8 minutes.

There were 12 in the cheese bag and 11 in the spinach and cheese bag, so basically two servings and six ravioli was the perfect amount for me for dinner, although I could have easily eaten all of them :)

Another great part... they are only $3.99 a bag.

If you love ravioli, I say run out to your nearest Aldi and pick up these ravioli now and enjoy!

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.