Gluten Free Sugar Cones - Product Review

I love ice cream, and I haven't had any cones in awhile so I decided to try the PaneRiso Foods Sugar Cones from Real Food Market. I've tried the "regular" gluten free cones before, and honestly, they didn't taste like much, but they did the job of holding onto ice cream.

These cones are slightly smaller than standard sugar cones (I would call them mini cones) but they resemble the cone portion of a drumstick. In fact, one of the gluten eaters in the house was looking around for the "Drumstick" I was eating. hehehe - they were surprised when I told them it was gluten free - not only that - they wanted one and gobbled it down :)

While the cones are small, they are sturdy, and hold the weight of the ice cream no problem. They have an excellent crunch factor and a mild sweet taste. Each cone is only 41 calories so it won't break the calorie bank.

I think I will keep these cones as a staple - they are awesome :D Happy eating!

Extra notes: The cones cost about $4.50 - a little more expensive than some other GF cones, but not totally out of the ball park. The cones are also corn free, but do contain soy.

Gluten Free Costco Shopping List

I love Costco – I’ve posted several times of a new organic and/or gluten free product I’ve found, so I’ve decided to make a list of items you can get at Costco that are organic and/or gluten free - it has to be gluten free or I won’t list it. Also - I didn't mention fruits, meats, etc. that are naturally gluten free unless they are available in organic. I’ve put down some general prices (and those are for NL) so you are pretty well assured you won’t ever pay more than that at your local Costco!

1. Mary’s Gone Crackers Cookies – I did a post here

2. Larabars – $12.99 for 12 bars – these are great for travel or an afternoon pick-me up! (and they are non-GMO)

3. Taste of Nature Bars – $12.99 for 12 bars – these are organic as well J

4. Felicia Gluten Free Pasta - $6.69 for two 500g bags – I did a post here.

5. TruRoots Quinoa - $8.99 for a giant bag – organic as well.

6. TruRoots Ancient Grains Spaghetti - $8.99 for a 1 Kg bag – I did a post about that here

7. Crunch Master Crackers - $7.79 for a 2 bag box – I did a post about these – they are my favourite and are non-GMO certified

8. Mary’s Gone Crackers, Crackers - $7.99 for a 2 bag box – these are organic – I prefer the milder taste of Crunch Master however.

9. Organic Frozen Corn and Peas - $8.99 for 1.5 kg – ok, so that’s a lot of corn and/or peas (They are two separate packages).

10. Kirkland Tostitos Chips - $5.99 – and they are organic

11. Kirkland Organic Salsa - $7.99 for 2 jars

12. Simply Organic Pasta Sauce - $8.99 for 3 bottles

13. Grimms Deli Products – Varying varieties and prices – sometimes there is pepperoni, sausage, etc. They are clearly marked gluten free

14. Fruit Snacks - Welsh’s – Blue box - $6.99 and marked GF

15. Organic Chicken Broth - $7.99 for 6 boxes 
16. Riceworks Chips - 16 smaller bags in two varieties (thanks to a reader for this one!)
17. Organic Honey - $7.49 for a 1 Kg container
18. Organic Dried Figs - $9.99 for a Costco sized bag 
19. Organic olive oil - $9.99 for 1 litre - this is a super deal compared to grocery store prices! 

Does anyone have new finds to add? I’d love to hear about other products I can purchase!

Organic Works Bakery Review

Over the summer I stumbled upon an Organic, gluten free store in London, Ontario – Organic Works Bakery. I was excited because 1. I found a new gluten free source for breads and sweets, and 2. It is made with organic ingredients! Something you can’t find much around here.

The company was really friendly, and after my first shipment via CanPar was too slow to arrive, they re-shipped via UPS and it was here the next day! The whole kitchen smelled wonderful thanks to my 2 boxes of goodies J

This bakery is unique in the types of breads and baked goods that they sell. You can check out their website here, but some highlights include Brown Rice and Garlic Bread, Focaccia buns, Quinoa and Honey bread, Buckwheat, Oat and Flax bread and Cinnamon Raisin bread. Their sweets include cinnamon buns, oatmeal raisin cookies and a sugar free date, apricot and hemp protein powder cookie.

So far I’ve tried the Brown Rice and Garlic Bread, the Cinnamon Raisin bread and the sugar free cookies.

 

It is so delicious! The breads are so full of flavor and the Brown Rice and Garlic Bread makes a deadly avocado and tomato sandwich! (see picture on left). You can eat the bread toasted or not, and it stays together J

The cookies are have a unique taste, are not sweet, but do provide a dessert feel to them, while still being healthy!

The breads can be purchased whole, thick sliced or thin sliced. I choose the thin slice option and they were pretty standard size for GF bread. Also, pre-sliced makes for easy access out of the freezer!

This is such a great company, full flavored organic food that’s gluten free – I’m not sure how you can beat that!

PS They have an actual store in London, ON if you happen to live close by!

Nature's Path Organic Gluten Free Waffles - Review

I like a waffle for a snack every now and then. I often make pancakes, but I don't have a waffle maker so this is the next best thing.

My favourite boxed waffles are Nature's Path - they are organic, sweet but not overpowering, and crunchy. There are 8 waffles in a box, and usually on sale you can get them for $3 or less - well worth the money :)

I highly recommend these as a staple for your freezer if you like waffles!

Anyone have any other waffles they have tried?

Relish Gourmet Burgers - Restaurant Review

Relish Gourmet Burgers opened up this summer in St. John's. I'm always eager to try new restaurants, and this one had a special draw because it has gluten free hamburger buns from Nourish :)

I had heard mixed reviews but figured I'd take the risk and try it out.

We got there around 5:45 on a Friday and it was starting to get a little busy by 6ish.

Basically they have 3 types of burgers to pick from - beef, turkey (contains pork), and vegetarian. Not being a huge meat eater, I chose the vegetarian after hearing what was in it - chickpeas, quinoa,  onions and spices. They are made in-house and gluten free.

I chose the Cabo Diablo - which was spicy and had salsa, guacamole, sour cream and hot sauce - and of course the gluten free bun!

The sides were a little limited as the fryers are shared with the glutened onion rings so I chose the coleslaw which they said was safe.

The burger was very tasty, the bun was great, but it was kind of like sloppy joe in that it kept falling apart...either way - yummy!

Prices were a little expensive - $15 for a side, hamburger and drink but it was unique in that they did have GF buns and different burger options.

I think I would go for a treat every now and then - but maybe even try to make my own burger at home.

Has anyone else tried here?

Real Food Market - Review of Shopping Experience

Last week I discovered a new on line store in the St. John's area - Real Food Market. I was excited because they offered gluten free options, as well as organic foods and personal care items.

So how does it work? Well, you browse the site, pick the items you want, checkout with Paypal, Visa or Mastercard, and either pick up your items at their warehouse on Friday 2-6pm or get it delivered to your house or work. Delivery days depends on your postal code. They also have a $10 off your first purchase if you "like" them on Facebook.

For my order I purchased some organic chickpeas (Eden) which were $2.46 a can (about 60 cents cheaper than the grocery store), organic corn kernels (again cheaper than the grocery store), organic gluten free pasta, gluten free ice cream cones (these were awesome), organic oranges, gluten free English muffins, and an ice cream sandwich cookie (I wrote a post about that here).

So, Friday after work, I drove to their warehouse - it's just behind the Needs on Logy Bay Road and everything was boxed up and ready to go. It was such an easy process, no fighting crowds on a Friday afternoon at the grocery store, and they have a great selection of organic fruits and vegetables (both fresh and frozen) which is awesome for me!

They have specials each week, and you can choose to order their Fruit and Veggie basket if you want. You order weekly, and the items are posted on Sunday. Keep checking back because they seem to be adding new products!

On a final note - if you are a GF person, don't limit yourself to just the GF category as there are products like dairy, fruits and veggies etc. that are naturally Gluten free :)

Mapleton's Organic Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie Review

I love ice cream - but to date, I've never seen an ice cream cookie that was gluten free - far less one that was ORGANIC AND GLUTEN FREE.

When I was surfing the new on line store - Real Food Market - I came across this Gluten Free ice cream cookie. It's an individually wrapped item, and costs $2.82. That's actually not bad compared to the single regular ice cream sandwiches you would purchase at a convenience store.

As soon as I got home, I opened it up and had a taste. The crust/cookie portion was a little crunchy, but soft and chewy on the inside.

The vanilla ice cream was creamy and smooth, and while the cookie was sweet, it wasn't overwhelming. I'd buy these again, and they may become a staple in my weekly order from Real Food Market!

Product Review - Truroots Ancient Grains Pasta

I picked up a new package of spaghetti pasta at Costco a couple weeks ago. It is by Truroots and they have a couple products at Costco including quinoa. As per Costco standards, it is a 1 kg package and costs $8.99. What is unique about the pasta is its ingredients - quinoa, amaranth, and brown rice.

This product is clearly labelled organic and gluten free (a great start in my books) and actually has some fibre and iron!

The package instructed a 12-14 minute cooking time. I had the water at a hard boil before I added my spaghetti and it was done about 30 seconds shy of the 12 minute mark. Once I had it drained I rinsed it slightly with cold water, but it didn't appear to be extremely sticky.

Texture wise, the pasta was a little thicker than corn spaghetti I'm used to, and had a nice chewy pasta taste and texture. Great for a home made sauce recipe :) The pasta didn't appear to clump and didn't stick together in a huge ball :)

I really enjoyed this spaghetti and will be purchasing again in the future - it has a "real" spaghetti look and feel and could easily be used in a variety of dishes! Five stars from me!

Real Food Market - NEW ONLINE STORE - Selling GF Food in St. John's!

I just found this new "store" that is delivering within the St. John's Region - Shop Real Food . They have organic foods, allergen free food, GF food, I'm so excited! Delivery is free over $100 in the St. John's area or you can pick up at their warehouse on Logy Bay Road (by Needs).

I haven't ordered yet but a quick glance shows better prices on some things than the supermarket! :D

I AM SO EXCITED!

NL Canadian Celiac Association - Facebook Page

Hi all - just a quick post today - you might want to check out the NL Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association page. Some individuals have posted links, reviews, and great general info. It's another source to add to your Gluten Free Newfoundland living.

Gluten Free Pasta at Costco - Felicia Gluten Free Penne - Review

I posted a long time ago that Costco has gluten free pasta, but never got around to doing the review. Things are busy! 

The instructions on the pasta say to cook for 5-7 minutes and as I've mentioned before GF pasta needs to watched carefully so it doesn't go to mush in seconds...

As per usual, I added olive oil and salt to the water and brought to a hard boil before dumping in the pasta. It's best if you have LOTS of water so the pasta has less chance of clumping. I cooked for about 5 minutes and took it off, drained and ran cold water over the pasta. I was using it for a cold pasta salad, so I really needed it to be non-sticky! 

It was a success! It had a mild pasta taste, everyone ate it - non-GFs included, and similar to higher end GF pastas, the taste difference is hardly if at all noticeable. 

This pasta would be great with cream or tomato based sauces as well as the tubes can gather up the sauce goodness :) 

Home made Gluten Free Date Squares

My Mom was in last week, and with her broken wrist, she is a little limited to what she can do - especially in the kitchen. One of my projects last week was Gluten Free Date Squares. She used to love the "regular" date squares when she could eat gluten, and haven't had any since.

As a side note - this recipe has pure oats - most celiacs can tolerate a small amount of pure oats - so I gave her a warning not to eat the ENTIRE tray at one time.

These were actually pretty simple to make and they turned out to be awesome! They stayed together when I cut them out of the pan and tasted great (my Dad who is not GF also tried to sneak a couple).

I used Bob's Red Mill Pure Oats that I purchased at Sobeys.

Ingredients:

2 cups of dates (pitted)
1 cup of water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour - I used Kinnikinnick all purpose
1.5 cups of pure oats
1/2 baking powder
1.25 cups of brown sugar

Instructions:
1. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Line an 8X8 pan with non-stick foil (I used Alcan Slide)
3. Chop the dates and boil them in the water until they are a paste (takes about 5-10 minutes)
4. Mix together flour, oats, baking powder and sugar in a separate bowl.
5. Add softened butter to dry mixture with a fork or pastry cutter to make the crust mixture
6. Add 1/2 the crust mixture to the pan and press firmly to make the base
7. Pour the date mixture on top and spread evenly
8. Add the remaining crust and slightly pack down
9. Bake for 25 minutes - I left mine in for an extra 5 minutes to brown the top.

Let cool adequately before cutting

Gluten Free Apricot Cake

I used to have apricot cake when I was growing up, and it was one of my favourite desserts. It's like a Sara Lee pound cake in terms of texture and it's very moist and non-crumbly. Moist and non-crumbly are not 2 words you typically find when you make a gluten free dessert however.....

When I went looking for a recipe, I found a version I liked from a Newfoundland cookbook. What makes this recipe slightly different from others on the internet is the Newfoundland recipe typically calls for cream cheese.

As with any new recipe that is not specifically gluten free, there is always the risk that the GF flour will not work the same way the regular flour does.

I used Kinnikinnick All Purpose Flour - and it was excellent! Not only did the cake come out of the pan easily, it stayed together, and was EXTRA moist! The kids ate it and loved it, as well as other non GF family members :) As for myself and my mom - we were in heaven! Real, yummy cake!

If you want to try the recipe - I've listed it below.

As a warning - this a time consuming cake, not hard - just takes a bit of time. For the cake you will need:

Apricot Mixture 
2 cups of apricots (chopped)
1.5 cups of water
1/4 cup of sugar

Dry Mixture 
2 1/4 cup of flour
1.5 tsp of baking powder

Other Ingredients 
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter
250g of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

1. Preheat your oven to 325 and grease a bundt pan (or tube pan)
2. Add the apricot mixture to a pan and let boil for 20 minutes. If there is any excess water left after the 20 minutes you can pour off the extra liquid.
3. Let the apricot mixture cool.
4. Cream together sugar and butter. I used a mixer and let it mix for 15 minutes on low-medium setting.
5. Add the cream cheese to the sugar and butter and let mix for another 10 minutes. At this point the mixture should be very smooth and creamy.
6. Add the vanilla
7. Add one egg at a time, ensuring each is incorporated before adding the next egg.
8. Mix in the dry ingredients
9. Fold in the apricot mixture
10. Bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes. The baking time really depends on your oven. My cake was done at 75 minutes.