Gluten Free, R U?

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

O’Doughs Double Chocolate Muffins

YUMMY!!

These are very similar to the Trader Joe’s muffins I wrote about recently. Big difference is that these are also vegetarian. I thought they were vegan as most of the O’Doughs line is. Not that I am vegan but I do like that they are a vegan brand with amazing taste.

These are light, airy and oh so chocolatey. Yummm

They are quite large too. The best part for me is that these are easier for me to get than the ones from Trader Joe’s. These were at one of the many Giant Foodstores near me. I know they have blueberry too so I will be on the lookout for them next.

$5.99 for four isn’t a bad price and it will cost me a lot less in gas to get these too 🙂 hmmm maybe I’ll get both sometime soon and have a side by side taste test. Mmmmm

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Tattooed Chef Cauliflower Crust Cheese Pizza

I decided to try this pizza when I needed to spend a certain amount of money in frozen foods at Giant. I believe it was $9.99 at the time.

It was not bad but it wasn't great either. I wouldn't turn it down if it were offered to me but I don't think I will buy it again myself unless I need to spend the money and there is nothing else to try.

I think I'd rather gluten free "traditional" crust instead of cauliflower crust. I just seem to prefer the taste of "flour" crust than cauliflower. But again the pizza was good, just not great. It was crunchy which I like and it was a good size for two people to eat in one sitting.

It is worth a try if you are seeking different pizzas to try but if you have something you love, I am not sure this will beat it BUT everyone has different tastes.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins

I am not sure there were chocolate chips in the one I had but it still tasted amazing. Unless they are melted chocolate chips. I was expecting a crunch of a chocolate chip but there was none. BUT that does not mean these are not excellent chocolate muffins. I am quite happy with them.

So light and airy. I am sure there are no calories in these muffins either ;)

It is a soft chocolate taste and while I expected an overwhelming chocolate, I am actually happy that it was a lighter touch. It was almost refreshing as it wasn't a heavy muffin at all and that is hard to do with chocolate.

Also $4.99 for 4 like the coffee cake muffins, which I think is a great deal.

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.