Gluten Free at Jason's Deli and at Great American Cookies

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to treat my mother to a free cookie from Great American Cookies at the Galleria Mall in Birmingham, AL. Well, actually, it's in Hoover, but we call it part of Birmingham. But she actually two cookies because I gave her mine. This month, they are accepting book donations and with those donations, you get one free chocolate chip cookie.

Anyway, I was looking and noticed this big flag that said gluten free sitting next to a batch of Chewy Chocolate Supremes. They taste a lot like a brownie with walnuts. They do have walnuts. But it was definitely a chocolate supreme! I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. It was so delicious. And at just under two dollars including tax, it was not bad.

This past Tuesday, I had another opportunity before me that presented at a health fair where I obtained so many pens, notepads, and antibacterials that I'm going crazy now, as I learned that the Jason's Deli at Colonial Brookwood Village on Lakeshore also had gluten free offerings. They use Udi's Gluten Free Bread. So I had a gluten free roasted turkey with spinach, lettuce, and mayo sandwich. For the size of the bread, it was quite expensive, but it was very tasty. It took me two meals to eat it though because they put so much stuff on the sandwich. And they are one of the only, if not the only, locations in the Birmingham area to use bread on the gluten free menu.

Now, they have a note that for celiacs, they may want to consider not eating from the menu, but for those with mild sensitivities and intolerances that it should be fine. Since this latter group is the group I fall into, I gave it a go. I was impressed. The bread fell apart easily, but it was so good that I am actually planning to buy a loaf from my local Whole Foods store if I find it there.

Needless to say, I am glad that Gluten Free is garnering more attention and that there are food places out there that are catering more to the Gluten Free community than there used to be. Ever since I started on a gluten free diet for my wheat allergy, I have been thriving more. Now if only ALL gluten free foods could taste as good as these without it having to be homecooked.

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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