Cookies: Mi-Del Gluten Free Double Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

These chocolate treats are very similar to full gluten Oreos. They have crispy chocolate tops and bottoms, but contain a layer of chocolate cream in the center. The cookies are not as sweet as the Royal Vanilla sandwich cookie, which makes them in my mind even tastier. I think it’s because the chocolate cream is less dense than the thicker Royal Vanilla.

The true test was their “dunk-ability” in milk. Once dunked, the Mi-Del remained extremely crunchy. They don’t have quite the same consistency as an Oreo, but it’s very close. Rob, my favorite celiac, enjoyed them immensely.

I couldn't find a site for Mi-Del only for their distributor, Liberty Richter.

Ingredients:

Cookie: Gluten free flour (contains corn flour, soya flour, potato flour, corn starch, rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum), organic dehydrated cane juice, canola oil, cocoa, egg, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, natural flavor, sea salt, soybean lecithin (used as an emulsifier), baking soda

Crème filling: Fructose, canola oil, natural flavor, soybean lecithin (used as an emulsifier)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 3 cookies (36 g)

Servings Per Container: about 6

Calories: 170

Calories from fat: 70

Total fat: 8 g

Sat. fat: 0.5 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Sodium: 90 mg

Total Carb: 23 g

Dietary Fiber: 2 g

Sugars: 13 g

Protein: 2 g

Cookies: Mi-Del Gluten Free Royal Vanilla Sandwich Cookies

Mi-Del’s Gluten-free sandwich cookies are as close a match to regular gluten sandwich cookies as I’ve ever tasted. Literally there is no difference. With the same crunchy top and bottom halves securing a disk of creamy sweet vanilla sugar in the middle, it’s easy to be fooled. The Mi-Del brand of royal vanilla are just as sweet too, and are also imprinted with the same curly-cue imprint in the shortbread.

If you are seeking to forget your celiac status and recall the taste of gluten foods, Mi-Del’s Royal Vanilla Sandwich Cookies are for you. The cookies are sweet, contain a high amount of fat as well as several unhealthy ingredients including high fructose corn syrup. They most certainly satisfy Rob’s sugar cravings!

Again I couldn't find a site for Mi-Del only for their distributor, Liberty Richter.

Ingredients:

Cookie: Gluten free flour (contains corn flour, soya flour, potato flour, corn starch, rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum), organic dehydrated cane juice, canola oil, egg, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, natural flavor, sea salt, soybean lecithin (used as emulsifier), baking soda

Crème filling: Fructose, canola oil, natural flavor, soybean lecithin (used as emulsifier)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 3 cookies (36 g)

Servings Per Container: about 6

Calories: 170

Calories from fat: 70

Total fat: 8 g

Sat. fat: 0.5 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Sodium: 85 mg

Total Carb: 24 g

Dietary Fiber: 1 g

Sugars: 14 g

Protein: 2 g

Wafers: Glutano Wafers

Another celiac product to taste-test was Glutano Wafers. These are an interesting food item that are certainly crunchy and light, but left me wondering how I would use them. They come packaged in a large stack. Each wafer is a flat rectangular stamped with a waffle pattern. The wafers are quite bland and don’t have much going for them, save for their high crunch factor. They aren’t sweet, salty, bitter or savory, and have no fat, no sugar, no protein and no fiber. Not surprisingly, the wafers don’t really taste like anything. Though they did remind me of crisp bread, the wafers looked more like dessert crackers. I can’t imagine using them for ice-cream or as a garnish however. If anyone out there can find a recipe for them, I would love to have it to try out.

So while, these certainly are gluten free and wheat free, I’m not sure what to do with them. They aren’t too satisfying on their own!!

Ingredients:

Maize flour, potato starch, emulsifier lecithin (soy), salt, thickener guar gum, raising agent (ammonium hydrogen carbonate)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 3 wafers (9 g)

Servings Per Container: 11

Calories: 35

Calories from fat: 0

Total fat: 0 g

Sat. fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 25 mg

Total Carb: 8 g

Dietary fiber: 0 g

Sugars: 0 g

Protein: 0 g

Breakfast Bars: Glutino Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars- Chocolate

Okay, so I didn’t give the apple and blueberry Glutino breakfast bars a very good review. I thought I’d try again with the Chocolate. Thanks to Nancy for the input on the Chocolate version- I completely agree with you (see November 8^th posting). On first bite, you may or may not be pleasantly surprised that the center of the bar is not chocolate at all but rather a mix of dates, raisins, and prunes. Only the exterior is chocolate which left a bit of a bitter taste compared to the moist interior. The chocolate is however, far superior than its apple and blueberry counterparts.

True, though the bars are not terribly sweet which is always a plus at breakfast time for me, and they did curb my hunger pang, I’m not sure I would call this a superior-tasting food product. In all fairness, the bars are a portable and convenient gluten-free snack made from very natural ingredients and very little fat all packaged in a box made from 100% recycled fibers. Hey how can you beat that? Also I believe these might be one of the only Celiac friendly breakfast bars available.

Glutino Gluten Free Breakfast Bars are made from:

Gluten-free flours (chickpea, corn, tapioca, rice), raisins, dates, fructose, pear juice concentrate, cocoa powder, cocoa liquor, inulin, canola oil, water, natural flavors, sodium bicarbonate.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 40 g

Servings Per Container: 5

Calories: 110

Calories from fat: 10

Total fat: 1 g

Sat. fat: 0 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 10 mg

Total Carb: 21 g

Dietary Fiber: 4 g

Sugars: 16 g

Protein: 3 g

English Muffins: Foods by George - Cinnamon and Currant English Muffins

I was recently delightfully surprised by the Cinnamon and Currant English Muffins made by Foods By George.

The gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free, casein-free, dairy-free, corn-free and soy-free English muffins come in frozen stack of four. The muffins have a baked brown exterior that truly resemble a tall English scone, rather than the flattened version of English Muffins most American grocery stores sell. We defrosted ours in the oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes then sliced in half and threw in the toaster for about 5 minutes. Up popped two delicious looking muffin-halves just waiting for some butter- hey it was the holidays and we were out of SmartBalance.

The butter melted perfectly into the nooks and crannies and in between the currants. Rob and I were in heaven on our first bite. The exterior toasted up to crunchy perfection, while the inside remained soft and moist. There was enough cinnamon to actually be tasted and the currants were plentiful throughout.

Though not as rich and filling as gluten English Muffins or scones, the Foods by George muffins have an authentic mouth feel and closely resemble the real-deal. The muffins are especially convenient for the weekend when nobody feels like eating regular cold cereal. We’ll definitely be adding these as a staple. Plus, we learned that a portion of the proceeds from Foods By George is donated to Celiac Disease research.

Gluten-Free Foods By George Cinnamon and Currant English Muffins contain:

Flour base (white rice, tapioca, potato), water, egg whites, currants, evaporated cane juice, canola oil, yeast, salt, guar gum, cinnamon.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 muffin (102 g)

Servings Per Container: 4

Calories: 22

Calories from fat: 35

Total fat; 3.5 g

Sat. fat: 0 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 220 mg

Total Carb: 42 g

Dietary Fiber: 2 g

Sugars: 13 g

Protein: 4 g

Pasta - Pasta Schar

I recently had the opportunity to cook up some Pasta Schar for dinner, and what can I say other than that I was very impressed. Made in Italy, Pasta Schar is gluten-free and quite delicious, even for a non-celiac. The little anellini pasta tastes just like the real thing- though be careful not to overcook it. A swift 4 minutes of cooking brings the anellini pasta to the table in no time flat. We had ours with basil tomato sauce, chick peas, garlic and a sprinkle of asiago cheese. Pasta Schar even withstood 20 minutes of additional baking in the oven. I hadn’t expected it to be such a light pasta with the perfect consistency- in general the right everything. I do believe Pasta Schar could be served to to non-celiacs who would never be the wiser. Rob (my celiac) really enjoyed it.

Pasta Schar Anellini pasta is made from naturally gluten free and wheat free ingredients, including maize starch, maize flour, rice flour, pea protein isolate, emulsifier: E471. It contains 361 kilocalories, 7.7 g of protein, 78.7 g of carbohydrates, and 1.7 g of protein. If I can locate it again, I will definitely make this a staple!