Glutino Gluten Free 3 Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Another frozen entree on our list to try was Glutino's Gluten Free 3 Cheese Macaroni & Cheese. We prepared it in under five minutes with the aid of a microwave. The mac and cheese emerged looking scarily similar to the picture on the package. Yes the gluten free mac & cheese really was that orange! My first forkful was a bit of a disappointment after that however.

So this is a mac & cheese meal that is perhaps too rich for its own decadent self. The 3 cheese sauce was heavy, thick, and unfortunately totally lacking in flavor. I don't know if it tasted like it needed more salt, more flavoring or what, but the taste was ultimately just bland. The thought that it was missing salt is suspect- particularly as the entree contains a whopping 1430 mg of sodium! I think it lacked a cheddary tang. The macaroni itself wasn't too bad with generous sized noodles that held up pretty well after microwaving. I would say this is more like deli Mac & Cheese. If you can find it, go for Amy's gluten free mac & cheese instead. Also, you'll be able to cut back on the plastic as Amy's has more environmentally-friendly packaging.

In sum, though the macaroni itself were springy enough, the cheese sauce is too creamy and dense and doesn't taste like anything. It's just all too blah! Plus it sat like a leaden football in my stomach for many hours after consumption.

Ingredients:
Rice pasta (stone ground brown rice, rice bran, water), water, monterey jack, cheddar and parmesan cheese blend (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, bacterial culture, salt, calcium choloride, microbial enzyme, rennet, lipase, cellulose sorbic acid), whole mik powder, canola oil, natural flavor (natural flavor, milk, maltodextrin, sodium citrate, silicon dioxide, cheddar cheese solids (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey, buttermilk, salt, butter (cream, salt), sodium caseinate, disodium phosphate, lactic acid), corn starch, salt, rice starch, spices, oleoresin of paprika.

This product may contain traces of eggs, soy, fish and sesame seeds.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1 cup (250 g)
Servings per container: 1
Calories: 430
Calories from fat: 180
Total fat: 20 g
Sat fat: 9 g
Trans fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 45 mg
Sodium: 1430 mg
Total carb: 44 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 5 g
Protein: 19 g

Glutino Gluten Free Duo Mushroom Penne

Wegman's continues to feature a great selection of gluten free products. While shopping in the frozen food section we found Glutino's Gluten Free Duo Mushroom Penne. We were hoping it would satisfy our ever present craving for celiac safe pasta and our need for convenience.

So for lunch one cold, rainy afternoon we removed the plastic and popped the penne into the microwave and heated for 4 minutes. I think we may have stirred it in between. What emerged was a scorching hot meal that took a while to cool down before we could even attempt to eat it without suffering from third degree mouth burn.

Our first observation was the pleasant vapor of steamed mushrooms. We could definitely tell that this was a mushroom dish we were about to consume. I would say that's not such a bad thing!

Even better was that the penne did indeed taste like mushroom, had a mild creamy sauce and the pasta was decent. It did soften more than I like- certainly there was no al dente here, but it didn't transform to a mushy glue either. The duo-mushroom wasn't half bad! It was definitely a satisfying and not too overpowering meal. It's more like a gourmet frozen meal I would say. Next time I will probably add a handful of fresh chopped parsley to enhance the flavor.
Rob really liked this one and gave it a large number of stars in the approval rating department.
Mostly I was a fan of the mainly natural ingredient list- though this one will definitely be in the low-carb club.

Ingredients:
Rice pasta (ground brown rice, rice bran, water), mushroom broth (water, baked mushrooms, natural flavorings, potato flour, unsalted butter [cream, flavorings], dry whey), mushrooms (portobello, white), pasteurized milk (homogenized milk), onions, corn starch, canola oil, sea salt, natural flavor (maltodextrin, lipolyzed cream), garlic, guar gum, spices.

This product contains milk ingredients. May contain traces of eggs, soy, fish and sesame seeds.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: about 1 1/4 cup (300 g)
Servings per container: 1
Calories: 380
Calories from fat: 50
Total fat: 6 g
Sat fat: 1.5 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 720 mg
Total carb: 73 g
Dietary fiber: 5 g
Sugars: 1 g
Protein: 8 g

Pizza: Glutino Spinach and Feta

We've always been very impressed with Glutino's gluten free products and the Spinach and Feta Pizza is no exception.

Available in the frozen section, simply remove packaging, place in a pre-heated 400 degree oven and bake for 17 minutes. Nothing could be easier. Admittedly I did add some additional cheese as the feta mostly fell off the frozen pizza. It's tiny square shape was apparently not conducive to a round frozen pizza. Go figure.

Out emerged a celiac safe, decadent-looking pizza. The taste of course was wonderful. The crust was crunchy, substantial and almost buttery in flavor. Certainly not a low-carb, low fat or low sodium food, this gluten free goody was a real treat.

Ingredients:
Water, corn starch, tapioca starch, spinach, mozzarella-brick cheese blend (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, salt, microbial enzyme, calcium chloride, cellulose), feta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, bacterial culture, calcium chloride, microbial enzyme, lipase, salt, natamycin, lactic acid), ricotta cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, lactic acid, salt), safflower oil, evaporated cane juice, glucono-delta-lactone, dried egg whites, salt, guar gum, yeast, garlic, pectin, sodium-bicarbonate, spices, sodium alginate, modified cellulose.
This product contains eggs and milk ingredients. May contain traces of soy, fish and sesame seeds.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1 pizza (175 g)
Servings per container: 1
Calories: 430
Calories from fat: 140
Total fat: 16 g
Sat fat: 5 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 25 mg
Sodium: 1000 mg
Total Carb: 62 g
Dietary fiber: 4 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 10 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

Macaroni and Cheese: Glutino 3 Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Again I find myself purusing the isles of Wegmans, every week I see another new Glutino product available.

I'm a big fan of macaroni and cheese and when I saw Glutino and remembered the fond memmories of their pretzels I had to buy.

The product comes in frozen with one serving per box. Preperation is easy, microwave for 4 minutes, stir, and microwave another minute then serve.

The experience:
After the first microwave go-around, as I stirred the macaroni and cheese I noticed it was very oily and the cheese seemed chunky.

After a few minutes to cool down I was able to take my first bite. The macaroni seemed a bit tough and wasn't smooth. The cheese tasted ok, but wasn't too impressive. Amy's seems a much tastier choice.

Nutrition:
430 calories / 180 from fat / 0.5 g of trans fat (not good)
The rice pasta is made from brown rice which makes it a bit healthier. The cheeses are monterey jack, cheddar, and parmesan.

Pretzels: Glutino Gluten-Free Pretzels

Second on the Thanksgiving feast of products Rob brought for us to test were
Glutino brand gluten-free pretzels.

All I can start with is WOW! I will never eat another gluten pretzel again!

Glutino sure makes a mean and tasty little pretzel that is packed with flavor and crunch. On my first bite, I right away noticed how light the pretzel is. The snacks contain the perfect amount of saltiness, and have a buttery, nutty note to them that is close to bliss. We pretty much devoured the 14 oz. bag in 2 days- (that's a short time for us who don't normally snack). As tasty as they are, I'll have to keep myself away from them as they do contain a fair amount of sodium (540 mg per 32 pretzels), and a few non-natural sounding ingredients I wouldn't normally eat.


Ingredients:
Corn starch, potato starch, palm oil, soy flour, sugar, sea salt, carboxymethylcellulose, sodium bicarbonate, sodium pyrophosphate, soy lecithin, yeast extract, sodium hydroxide.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 32 pretzels
Servings per container: 10
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 70
Total fat: 8g
Sat. fat: 3.5g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 540 mg
Total Carb: 28g
Dietary fiber: 0g
Sugars: less than 1g
Protein: 1g

Level of Realism: Better than gluten pretzels!

Glutino gluten-free pretzels are a satisfying and tasty snack with huge crunch appeal. I highly recommend them- just be sure to re-hydrate with plenty of h20 to flush out the sodium!

Breakfast Bars: Glutino Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars Apple and Blueberry

Next on the Thanksgiving list of goods that Rob and I taste-tested were
Glutino brand Gluten-free Breakfast Bars in apple as well as blueberry.

So Rob happily rips open an apple breakfast far and hands me half. Hmmm I thought
as I took my first bites, I wondered how I might describe them.

As much as I loved the pretzels is pretty much how I loathed the breakfast bar. Now, I should make it perfectly clear that I don't normally like breakfast bars. They tend to be terribly dense, chock full of sugary sweetness, and end up sitting in your stomach like a can of lead paint. So I was not terribly surprised to find Glutino breakfast bars followed suit. There was nothing particularly repulsive about them, they were just too heavy and too sweet for me. Granted the bar might be the perfect energy pick-me up for a hike up Mt. Everest, but otherwise, I think I'll steer clear.

Rob on the other hand enjoyed both flavors and enjoyed them during his week in Dulles, Baltimore, and College Park.