Top Three Worst Gf Products

[Pegster]

Continuing with the Kinnickinnick thought.... Their chocolate and maple-covered donuts are wonderful, as are the carrot raisin muffins. I take them with me to Starbucks and feel like I'm cheating. Bad foods? 1. most breads, 2. Amy's frozen pizza (But who ever heard of a good frozen pizza?), and 3. white rice pastas (they clump together into one giant mass of starch).

As for a good cracker? Have you tried the Blue Diamond almond or pecan crackers?

[Jnkmnky]

Kinnikinnick pizza crusts are good. We like the chocolate glazed and dipped donuts. We use the white tapioca bread. I got the italian white tapioca and it was smaller and dryer.

[gf4life]

Okay, my 3 least favorite gluten-free products are:

(I added my favorite brand after each)

1)Ener-G white bread. I got a free loaf when I ordered a case of Wylde pretzels(which are wonderful by the way) and it was NASTY. My kids used some of it one day to stick some birthday candles in and "roast" marshmellows indoors. My friend came over and asked about the bread with candle stubbs in it and I let her smell the loaf. It was so bad she didn't want to taste it. She was also a bit freaked out by the sell by date, which was like November 2006! She and her daughter are also gluten-free and we all eat Kinnikinnick breads, rolls, pizza crust, donuts, etc.

2)ReBAR. Anybody else here ever had one of these?? They are a fruit and veggie bar (mostly veggie) and stink like dirty gym socks. Two of my kids were smart and smelled it first and declined to taste it. My other son unfortunately trusts me too much and when I said "here, try this" he took a bite. He promptly spit it out. I took one bite and refused to eat any more of it. My friend couldn't believe I actually took a bite after smelling it. You don't know how glad I am that I didn't buy a box of 12 when they were onsale online. I thought it might be a good way to get in more veggies on the go...YUCK.

3)Most gluten-free pastas. DeBoles Pasta (taste and texture were horrible), Pastariso Angel Hair Pasta (ended up a gelatinous blob in the trash) and (can't remember the brand) but it was one that claimed to be high in protein (possibly a bean pasta), was very mushy when cooked and smelled like tuna fish. Even my extremely NOT picky husband wouldn't eat it. We ONLY eat Tinkyada pasta. Our non-gluten-free friends and relatives can't tell the difference when we serve them pasta. Of course I tell them while they are eating it, since I don't want them thinking we can have regular pasta. But it doesn't stop them from taking seconds. We stick to fruit leathers.

God bless,

Mariann

[celiac3270]

Ok guys, I know that I have very limited resources where I live, but I must be missing something. Ener-g bread is the best gluten-free bread we have found. We were very excited that they just started making light versions of their rice and tapioca bread. I'm not saying that I love the stuff, but compared to the others we have tried it was definently the winner. So please, whatever I am missing help me. What kind of bread do you guys eat? I am basically limited to internet ordering, so websites would be greatly appreciated. thanx

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know what you mean. About two months ago, I was eating the Ener-G tapioca loaf. I also thought it was bad, but the best I had found. I've tried bread from a number of those weird brands you've never heard of and it was awful. The white rice loaf from Ener-G was really bad. And to me, Kinnikinnick's loaf was basically teh same as the white rice loaf from Ener-G, which was worse than the tapioca loaf.

I have two bread recommendations, only one of which is really feasible. I discovered an excellent bread at a Celiac conference (when I say excellent, I mean that I ate it plain and thoroughly enjoyed it) from Charlotte's bakery in Salt Lake City...turns out they have a website and such, but the shipping is OUTRAGEOUS...thus, I never bought it over the internet. On the search for a comparable bread, I found the gluten-free bread in Whole Foods--HANDS DOWN the best I've ever tried. It's not hard, nor soggy, nor sawdust-ish. Besides which, Whole Foods has a host of other options in their gluten-free section: pies (cherry, blueberry, etc. with an EXCELLENT crust), a regular "white" loaf, raisin bread, corn bread, carrot cake, etc.

So my verdict: WHOLE FOODS: they have a gluten-free section--go there for the bread--well, actually, where do you live? They started putting gluten-free sections in their south east stores first--like the FL, GA area...then moved up the east coast to the north east, etc. If you're on the west coast, they're not there yet.

[pixiegirl]

Best Bread: Manna by Anna it waaaaay better then the Kinnikinnick in my book. Second choice are the breads that are made in the Whole Foods Bakery.

Susan

[frenchiemama]

My pick for best bread is Grandma Ferdon's egg bread (I don't have a whole foods near me, so I haven't been able to try theirs). www.grandmaferdons.com

[celiac3270]

Best Bread:  Manna by Anna it waaaaay better then the Kinnikinnick in my book.  Second choice are the breads that are made in the Whole Foods Bakery.

Susan

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh yes, absolutely. That mix is awesome...the best.

[sweetie101282]

Time once again for my infamous 2 cents... lol

Worst gluten-free products

*NU world Amaranth Snack Crackers.. any variety. If you can imagine eating dead grass, then you already know what they taste like. bleh.

*Ener-G bread...any variety. Hard, Dry, Indigestable. nuff said.

*Pastariso or Quinoa noodles...give me Tinkayada anyday!

And for the best..

*Amy's gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese, heated in the oven. Yowza thats good!

*Chicken Bryan from Carrabbas...I could cry just thinking about it..especially when we take our gluten-free breadstix for them to heat in their brick oven. mmmmmmmm

*A Piece O' Cake gluten-free Snickerdoodles and Almond Cake...can't even tell the difference!

[anerissara]

I have two bread recommendations, only one of which is really feasible.  I discovered an excellent bread at a Celiac conference (when I say excellent, I mean that I ate it plain and thoroughly enjoyed it) from Charlotte's bakery in Salt Lake City...turns out they have a website and such, but the shipping is OUTRAGEOUS...thus, I never bought it over the internet. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whoa, are you serious? Right here in SLC?!? Guess that's *one* good thing about living here....Yipppeeee!!!! I'm going to see if I can find it and buy some bread!

[skbird]

I have to say I was not INNITIALLY impressed by EnerG bread but went to a restaurant last week and they had it and made me a turkey/pesto/mozerella cheese panini sandwich on it and it was GOOD!!! With the white rice bread. I even went out and bought a loaf after that and made my own, still good! Good for grilled cheese, too. My favorite gluten-free bread by Food for Life is the Millet one...

But I have gotten to like many gluten-free breads now, after thinking they were all gross. I just don't eat a lot, usually. Not impressed with any bagel yet, even the Kinikinnick ones...

The kinikinnick pizza crusts are ok because they are convenient (pre-made) but mine all taste and smell like the donuts that were shipped in the same package, though I have had them in the freezer for a couple of months now.

Crackers - if you like rice crackers (not the big round ones) then you won't have a problem. I love the taste but have met people who don't. One of my favorites is Mary's Gone Crackers - mixed seed, quinoa, and rice crackers. They are crunchy but have a great taste. The EnerG ones are very buttery but PRICEY!

I liked the Mrs. Leepers Tuna meal (don't remember the exact name, like Tuna Helper) but it's nasty in leftovers - it's corn pasta. I liked the quinoa/corn pasta but Tinkyada's is the best, most versatile one. And it's easily found in many places.

And the most recent impressive dairy/cheese replacement I've found is the Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. That stuff is very similar to the real stuff.

Steph

[pmrowley]

Personally, my wife and I LOVE the Quinoa pastas. Nice and nutty, very flavorful. You just have to make sure not to overcook them. They go from al dente to al soggy in about 30 seconds. Same with the Pastariso stuff (I don't like the angel hair though, it doesn't cook right.)

I also recently found a great gluten-free rice spaghetti at Trader Joe's, at about 1/2 the cost of any of the other rice pastas out there. Again, overcooking is the caution here.

I've always been a fan of the Food For Life gluten-free breads. A little dense, but GREAT when you're making a toasted sandwich.

I think my top bugaboos are:

Ener-G white rice bread (although, I love just about everything else; biscotti cookies, doughnuts and doughnut holes, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, pizza shells. Pricey though.)

Most of the gluten-free macaroni just don't seem to do the cheese sauce right. The last time we did it, I bought a box of Kraft, threw the noodles out, and used the sauce on some Quinoa elbows. Mmmmmm. Just like I remember it from childhood.

That's about all I can think of right now. Most of my experimentation was years ago. Now I have a pretty good shopping list.

-P

[Guest kmmolina]

This is great. Some of you made me lol. So far I havn't had any bad experience but it because of people like you that have given such forthcoming comments on their experiences. I certainly am going to keep all of this in mind the next time I go shopping.

[westiepaws]

I can't remember brand names, but I have had NO success in the arenas of gluten-free/soy-free/dairy-free

*pasta

*cookies.

I also tried to make some pancakes, and man, they were horrible.

Given these experiences and the fact that I have multiple allergies, I have given up trying to replace wheat-based products, pretty much. Instead I am eating mostly veggies, fruits and meat.

However, when my body wants a splurge:

*my saving grace is the great cranberry-walnut dessert posted in the recipes section at this site. I omit the flavoring (worries about gluten if alcohol-based). I use olive oil and bake it in a 9x13 pan because the texture is more crispy, like a cobbler/pie then. And YUM, I have been known to eat the whole thing myself in 24 hours !

Also, I love Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I have yet to use them in baking because they are so good I snarf them down as snacks.

I don't mind giving up the breads, cookies, etc., because it gives me more caloric room for the above two snacks every now and then. I pray to God I don't develop allergies to chocolate or cranberries. If I did, I would cry.

[connole1056]

As a rule we stay FAR away from Midel cookies and EnerG everything, not just the bread!!!

My daughter hated the canned spaghetti at first but now eats it once in awhile. The Chebe bread mix is ine the cupboard but we haven't gotten around to making it yet. Also, we have found the more restrictive a food is (the more "x-free" listings on the label), the more likely it should be labled "taste-free".

[Jnkmnky]

Hey, the ENER-G pretzels are good. Give them a try.

[cdford]

I finally gave up even trying the gluten-free stuff. The one thing I found that I really liked were the Ener-G pretzels...then I found out I couldn't have soy. I have thrown away too many items. I just make my own now. If I can ever get the crackers down pat, we will want for nothing (well, most days anyway). I just cannot seem to get the texture right on those crackers.

[Susantg3]

Anerissara

you wrote about making, or attempting, crepes. I have a wonderful receipe. using corn starch. I use it to make cheese blintzes-which is a major treat.

Crepes= 8 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 3 cups cold milk, 2 cups cornstarch, and 6 tablespoons butter (melted)

beat eggs with fork, Add cornstarch gradually, add baking soda, add milk gradually and beat until smooth. you will see occassional unmixed bit of corn starch-but thats ok. Add butter and mix in. heat 8 inch pan, keep it greased or use teflon coated pan. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to hot pan, work quickly tilting pan so that a thin layer of batter coates pan. When firm slide our, or lift out and allow to cool. fill with favorite filling

may need to reduce heat on pan to keep crepe from cooking to fast. enjoy Sue

[Guest kmmolina]

I can't remember brand names, but I have had NO success in the arenas of gluten-free/soy-free/dairy-free

*pasta

*cookies.

I also tried to make some pancakes, and man, they were horrible.

Given these experiences and the fact that I have multiple allergies, I have given up trying to replace wheat-based products, pretty much. Instead I am eating mostly veggies, fruits and meat.

However, when my body wants a splurge:

*my saving grace is the great cranberry-walnut dessert posted in the recipes section at this site. I omit the flavoring (worries about gluten if alcohol-based). I use olive oil and bake it in a 9x13 pan because the texture is more crispy, like a cobbler/pie then. And YUM, I have been known to eat the whole thing myself in 24 hours !

Also, I love Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I have yet to use them in baking because they are so good I snarf them down as snacks.

I don't mind giving up the breads, cookies, etc., because it gives me more caloric room for the above two snacks every now and then. I pray to God I don't develop allergies to chocolate or cranberries. If I did, I would cry.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Westiepaws...I too get frustrated with paying for things that don't taste good. However, Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix is really good and according to their website Open Original Shared Link, it is soy and dairy free and gluten-free. That would probably be really good with some of those chocolate chips in it.

[dogear]

Actually, I know I must be in the minority, but I think Ener-G tapioca loaf is not only the best bread I've ever tasted in my life, but I think dry untoasted Ener-G is my favorite food in the world hands down.

[Guest Viola]

Isn't a good thing for all of these companies that we all have different taste buds? Otherwise we would only have one company with no choices.

[blueshift]

As for me, the worst gluten-free food is flax crackers. I can't stand them..Tree of Life's brown rice bread toasted tastes great and so does Kinnickinnic's tapioca bread but I think all flours might be bothering me since my gut seems to obstruct a day after I have had any..like right now in fact.

[Kenster61]

My worst experience yet has been dry dusty cookies from some company that is sold by whole food. The story about the cookies crumbling in your hands was about right.

Most of my horror stories are with cooking. I wanted Graham Crackers and milk sooo bad one time that I got a recipe and went about making it. The batter was too thick and so was my brain because I just got a cookie cutter and made the fattest graham crackers ever. When looking at the page in the recipe book I accidently read the oven tempature for the recipe on the other page. 450. GREAT! burned fat graham crackers. After two hours I wasn't giving in. I ate them anyway.

Best desserts are from a bakery just down the road from me. Mr. Ritts. He makes these delectable pecan bite. ARRG

Ken Ritter

[mytummyhurts]

I liked the Mrs. Leepers Tuna meal (don't remember the exact name, like Tuna Helper) but it's nasty in leftovers - it's corn pasta.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've had the Mrs. Leepers hamburger lasagna and chicken alfredo. They were both ok fresh, but you are right, Steph, the leftovers are always really nasty.

[mandigirl1]

Ive just read your conversations about crappy gluten-free products. I have to admit, for those foods mentioned that Ive tried, I can agree with. As far as the others, I wont bother buying. Thanks!

Personally I am on a new eating "kick". I dont know if you remember my blog concerning the problem of getting hooked on 1 particular food and then just eating that all the time???

I find something I love, and thats it---all I want to eat is that product. Case in point:

Food by George Pizza---OH MY GOD! Its Soooooooooooo delicious. Ive been eating them almost every night.They have an incredible flavor and lots of cheese. I am so grateful for his products......another one (but dangerous) is the brownie cake-UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!! I have eaten almost the entire thing within 24 hours!!! Then spent the next 24 hours in the gym!!!! LOL

Pamelas Peanut Butter cookies are another I love, love,love.

Did you know that Buckwheat is not a grain but from the fruit family? I love having buckwheat....sooooo filling.....does anyone else like this?

Another once a day addiction are the Sesame Pretzels as mentioned in the other blog ---cant get enough of these!

Oh----heres another favorite not mentioned--COZY SHACK RICE PUDDING!!!!!!! If you didnt like this before, you will now.....its a delicious gluten-free treat/dessert. It's even labeled Gluten Free! How awesome is that?

Vans gluten-free Waffles are good as are Hunts Chocolate Pudding.

There are great gluten-free products now----I never feel bad when eating with nonGF people. I used to feel miserable now Im happy!!!!!!

Enjoy what you CAN have!!!!!!!

[jimbo]

Hee Hee - I've had a brick of ener-g bread in the cabinet since I've been diagnosed (a month or so) - I was always afriad to open it... I figured any bread that will last over a year can't bee too tasty... Now I think you've convinced me to just toss it!

I didn't care for the Pamela's Pecan cookies - kind of a cardboardy aftertaste and dry as the Sahara.

I'm going to try making up a pizza with gluten-free dough (forget the brand) tonite for the first time... Wish me luck...

JIm