Gluten Free and Peanut Free a Rarity

Having multiple food allergies, I know that it can be hard to find foods that can be safely eaten and still taste good but after today, I am now hooked on the mixture of Nutella and Blue Diamond Honey Almond Butter. It doesn't look pretty, but it is high in protein and peanut free! And it tastes good! But don't take my word for it. Give it a go for yourself.

Mixes From the Heartland Lime Pound Cake

As I was making the Lime Pound Cake from Mixes from the Heartland this past Saturday, I was extremely overwhelmed with the lime smell. I realized quickly, and not for the first time, how hard gluten free mixes are to stir into batter. This thing did freak me out a little because it somehow reminded me a little of ogre snot in terms of the color. But I made it to take to church with me Sunday evening.

It was very easy to bake. I also tried to make a glaze using Betty Crocker Vanilla Frosting and the microwave. Of course, little did I know that over night that glaze would frost.

The cool thing is that at least half of it was eaten before the night was over and no one seemed the wiser that it was even gluten free! My experience is that most people get nervous if they know that what they are eating is gluten free, but perhaps not knowing or not suspecting may have worked out. But our group does not seem to really big on desserts.

Mixes From The Heartland Dilled Pasta Salad

The Dilled Pasta Salad from Mixes From the Heartland hasn't survived my household very well. Both my mother and myself tried some immediately after making it Sunday afternoon, and I have almost finished it. My mother commented that it was "too dilly." I agree that it does have a bit too seasoning to it, but otherwise, it's okay. As we did not have milk on hand other than almond milk or soy milk (vanilla or chocolate, anyone?), we used powdered milk and Miracle Whip salad dressing. We also added bacon bits. All in all, it reminds me a lot of those Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad mixes that I used to be able to eat before I developed a severe allergy to wheat and not just an intolerance to wheat products. It uses the shells and everything! Of course, they're brown rice pasta shells. But this product gets three and a half stars out of five.

Mixes From The Heartland Veggie Snack Dip

Okay, so I was super excited to try the Veggie Snack Dip from Mixes From the Heartland. A gluten free veggie dip? Who can resist?

I chose the method of using 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup (or a whole box) of cream cheese. I tried every vegetable I could get access too - the homegrown organic cucumbers and store bought tomatoes (the homegrown tomatoes and bell peppers weren't ready). However, when I tried it on these, I felt tempted to put my homemade vinaigrette on top of that. It tasted a lot like I remember French onion dip tasting. You know the kind that comes in the can or the jar?

Then I got an idea. If it tastes like a chip dip, why not try it with chips? Well, it did taste better when I did that, but alas, the poor chips, they broke because it was so thick and creamy!

This product gets one thumb up for a taste to be acquired and two thumbs up for being gluten free.

Mixes From The Heartland Southwest Chicken Stew

The Southwest chicken stew from Mixes From the Heartland was not a big hit in my household. Some people like spicy foods and others don't and this stew proved to be spicier than anyone in my family really cared for. It had a rice base and dehydrated vegetables and spices. In my house, we used chicken and some vegetable broth to make it which made it very tasty, except that it did create some fire as we had to follow pretty quickly with antacids. After rinsing our batch, it was a lot calmer, but we froze about half of it as is for a family in my church who has a member that LOVES spicy food! I took it to church that following Sunday night to give it to whoever wanted it. When asked what it was, I explained and described it as being spicy, and immediately he perked up, so I gave that batch to him to take home and enjoy. I will admit though that my excitement came from the fact that it is a gluten free rice-based meal!

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Mixes From the Heartland Brown Rice Pasta Shells

I received an invitation to accept a box of gluten free products from Mixes From the Heartland in my Facebook inbox. I gladly accepted with the knowledge that I would need post about each product I received and tried. A couple of products came in my box that I will not be able to try due to severe food allergies but to the person or people who end up trying these in my stead, I will want a full report about it as compared to other similar products.

The first thing I have tried obviously is the brown rice pasta shells which can be found on Mixes From the Heartland for $3.99 for a one-and-a-half pound bag. And the first thing we did with these at my house is make a mac & cheese using Velveeta cheese. It was a little starchy and the shells turned so white, but otherwise, it was quite tasty!

So, if you are looking for some exceptional gluten free products, I would recommend Mixes From the Heartland as one of your resources.