Go Picnic Hummus & Crackers

www.Gopicnic.com

I have heard about (in fact I've even blogged about), but never actually seen Go Picnic products near me... let alone try them... until recently. I have to admit I was giddy to find these in the Houston airport. Knowing I was going to be traveling for a while, I grabbed one to keep in my bag.

Here's what I like about these snack boxes, they're compact, nutritious, and they list all the possible allergens clearly on the side of the box. I tried the Hummus & Crackers. It comes with individual packets of gluten free Multi-Seed Crackers, Wild Garden Hummus, Power Play (roasted edamame, pumpkin seeds, and watermelon seeds), Baja Blend fruit & nut mix (habanera almonds, sweet & salty peanuts, and mango cranberries), and a piece of dark chocolate with sea salt. 

                          






The crackers are tasty and the hummus was delicious. I shared with my brother and sister during my trip and they were both impressed with the hummus. I had never had watermelon seeds and am not a fan of edamame, so I was skeptical of the Power Play mix. Soy beans just have the tendency to leave a gritty texture in my mouth, but these were toasted nicely and I found them at least tolerable. I was pleasantly surprised by the watermelon seeds. They were like delightful little puffs of toasted goodness. Overall, I preferred the Baja Blend to the Power Play. The habanero almonds were spicy but not overpowering, and the peanuts and cranberries balanced out the heat with some sweet. Now, I'm a huge fan of chocolate and of course I loved the dark chocolate with sea salt. It is a very rich chocolate so I wasn't disappointed that there was only one piece. It was just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I appreciated GoPicnic's easy to stow packaging, and their products are high quality & worth the $5-$6 price tag. I would have easily spent more buying little bags of comparable components. I will definitely be seeking these out again!

Banana & Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

I have seen this recipe floating around the interwebs for a while, and it was even recommended to me by a friend not long ago. It just took me this long to break down and give it a try. I really couldn't see how it was going to translate to "ice cream". It was actually really good. I added chopped strawberries to mine & was very pleased with the outcome. It was very creamy and did an excellent job killing that ice cream craving. 

If you're allergic to peanuts try a substitute like Sun Butter. You could probably skip the peanut butter altogether and mix in other ingredients that sound good to you. It's super easy to make!

Here's what I did. 

Ingredients:

2 bananas (over ripe is ok)

1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)

2-3 diced strawberries (optional)

Slice bananas & place in the freezer for a couple of hours. Blend in a good blender or food processor until creamy & smooth. Add peanut butter & cocoa. Mix thoroughly. Add strawberries or other add-ins.  Place in container & return to freezer to firm up.

Mine started to melt on me... It may not look appetizing here, but trust me, it was delicious! 

Chocolate Crack Cookies

I found the recipe for these little beauties somewhere on the interwebs, and I have to say they're amazing! These little gems are DAIRY FREE and FLOUR FREE! I was doubtful they would be any good, and I'm glad I was wrong! I'm not sure what they're really called, but I call them Chocolate Crack Cookies because the surface cracks when you bake them... and they're so good they're like crack!

Ingredients
3 egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt

Stuffed Peppers

My apologies for the lack of picture to accompany this recipe.
This recipe came from Foodnetwork.com, and you can find nutritional information for this recipe at Yummly.com.

This is a very traditional stuffed peppers recipe, but it IS free of the top 8 food allergens. It can be changed up by substituting thyme and oregano for cumin and chili powder. Then add corn, black beans, and jalapeno peppers for a Tex-Mex flavor. I have also seen where people have substituted quinoa for rice, or go vegan and take out the meat.


Ingredients
1/2 cup rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 ounces ground beef
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
4 red or green bell peppers

Udi's Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Visit Udi's to purchase this product.

I've been a fan of Udi's products for a while now, but this weekend I picked up their pizza crust for the first time. I'm always a little hesitant when trying new gluten free products. There's such a wide variety of textures... not good for someone with food texture issues to begin with. As with most gluten free products, the serving size was a bit small (think personal pizza size), but it has a smooth texture and tastes good. I've tried Domingo's GF crust & it has a sweetnesss to it that makes it taste a little weird. Udi's doesn't have that issue. It's a thin crust & bakes up crispy. All in all I was pleased with this product & would definitely buy it again!

Go Picnic - Gluten Free Snack Packs

GoPicnic

I'm really excited about these little gems. I have not yet tried them, but they look promising. GoPicnic have a few different combinations (they also offer non-gluten free products, or "fully leaded" as I like to call them). When eating gluten/allergy free takes so much planning it's nice to know there are products out there for those "grab-and-go" moments. The price ranges between $3 and $5, which isn't much different than the cost for Lunchables. From what I've found on their website, they are mostly carried in Target stores. I'm hoping to find some soon so I can give my opinion on their taste! Please comment if you have tried these!

Green Pozole Recipe

Made Pozole tonight... for the first time. For those of you who have never heard of it (which was me until about a week ago) it's a Mexican soup made with hominy. I had never had hominy aside from grits, but I was pleasantly surprised by this soup. I found a big drawn out recipe that included cooking and grinding pumpkin seeds, but I simplified it with great success!

1-1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken
2 32oz containers of chicken broth
8-10 tomatillos (peeled)
1 small white onion (quartered)
1-2 Serrano peppers
2 tsp minced garlic
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
2 cans hominy
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

(A jar of salsa verde can be substituted for tomatillos & peppers)

Combine all ingredients except hominy and cilantro in a large pot. Heat until chicken is cooked through and tomatillos are dark. Remove onion, pepper, and tomatillos & purée in a blender with 1-2 cups broth from the pot (add garlic and salt to taste). Remove chicken shred once it's cool enough to handle. Return tomatillo purée (salsa verde) and chicken to the pot with broth. Add hominy and cilantro. Heat until hominy is warmed through.

Garnish with cheese, avocado, or lime.

I added sweet corn to mine and it worked well.

Allergy Free Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Adapted from the Rachael Ray Show. The site includes a video clip showing how to make these.

Ingredients
1 pound ground white meat chicken
1/2 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
3 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced
Store-bought, dairy free ranch dressing for dipping
A couple of handfuls celery sticks
A couple of handfuls carrot sticks

Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken with the onion, garlic and parsley, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Flatten out the meat in the bowl and score it into four portions using the side of your hand. Shape each portion into four balls – you should have sixteen meatballs in total. Arrange the meatballs on a nonstick sheet pan and drizzle them with EVOO. Place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss the baked meatballs in the hot sauce to coat. Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter and spike each one with a toothpick or serving fork. Place the dressing in a small serving bowl and garnish with scallions. Serve the meatballs with the dressing, celery and carrot sticks alongside.

Pumpkin Fluff Recipe

This recipe is from All Recipes.

This is one of my favorite fall treats. It's quick, easy, and not too heavy. I normally make this recipe with prepared pudding instead of just adding the powdered mix to the pumpkin and whipped topping. There's just one problem... if you're sensitive to dairy, most pudding mixes will not set with any milk other than real milk. Jell-O brand says on their website that you can make the cooked pudding with soy milk, but the consistency will be thick. It's all rather frustrating if you ask me. Let's hope this recipe is just as tasty and works well!

You serve this as a dip with graham crackers, ginger snaps, or any other cookie of your choice. I'm going to try it with some allergy free ginger snaps or vanilla cookies. Can't wait! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Review

I finally made something with my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix that I received from Bob's Red Mill. My husband and I had been craving cupcakes, so that's exactly what I made. I have to say, this mix makes a very tasty, chocolaty, cake. I used rice milk and egg substitute and my cupcakes came out moist and delicious! The package does directions for an egg free option using ground flax seed, but since I didn't have that I just stuck with my egg beaters (I can handle egg whites better than yolk, so this option works for me). I definitely recommend this mix and will certainly buy it again!

Mexican Bean Salad Recipe

I found this recipe on Yummly.com. I know it as Texas Caviar. It's a great salad and works well when eaten with tortilla chips (kind of like a salsa).

Ingredients
15 ozs black beans (rinsed and drained)
15 ozs kidney beans (drained)
15 ozs cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
10 ozs corn kernels (frozen)
1 red onion (chopped)
1/2  cup olive oil
1/2  cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsps fresh lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsps white sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4  cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp black pepper (ground)
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder

Mi-Del Gluten Free Cookies

 On a recent trip back home, my aunt bought me a bag of Mi-Del chocolate chip cookies (among other things). Since everyone else was indulging in comfort foods it was nice to know I had some goodies of my own to indulge in. I have to say, I was impressed. Now, they are a bit on the small side (see below), but they taste just like Chip's Ahoy. Let me tell you, I ate the heck out of these bite-size bad boys! I'm happy to say they even carry them at my local grocery store. They're in the $3-$4 range, which isn't too bad for a bag of cookies... especially gluten free ones!

Ground Beef Goulash

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/classic-goulash/

Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups water
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (Can substitute gluten free)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dairy Free "Ice Cream"

From: Live Free Gluten Free

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk, chilled
3/4 cup Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, chilled (or other non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup peanut butter

Directions
Blend together coconut milk, almond milk, agave, and cocoa. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.  Meanwhile, microwave peanut butter for a few seconds to make it runny.  The last 5 minutes of freezing, pour peanut butter into ice cream in streams that will swirl through the ice cream.

Gluten Free Cannoli Shells

From Carla's Gluten Free Recipe Box

Ingredients
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
3 ½ tablespoons ice water (from a cup of water and ice)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato starch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (or guar gum, if corn intolerant)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar or 1/4 teaspoon stevia powder
1/16 teaspoon (or a pinch) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder (optional)
3 teaspoons shortening
1 egg white, beaten (for brushing)
Tapioca flour/starch for dusting/rolling
Peanut oil (or extra virgin olive oil.)

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust

I love pizza. I mean, who doesn't? So you can imagine how my mouth was watering when Korry (my husband) came home with leftover pizza from his lunch. Ugh! It looked delicious, smelled amazing, and had my taste buds working overtime just dreaming of eating a slice. I hadn't had "real" pizza in... well forever. So, I gave in and ate a slice. Yeah... I'm still paying for that mistake. Believe me, it tasted AMAZING, but it just wasn't worth the days of bloating and cramping and just feeling yucky.

Thankfully, due to the generosity of Bob's Red Mill, I was given the opportunity to have pizza again, but this time without the stomach upset! I have tried a few pizza crust mixes over the last year and some worked well, while others... not so much. The biggest issue I've had is with the crust sticking when it's baked. The worst of which was my first attempt when I tried to bake the pizza on my pizza stone. Bad move! I had to soak my stone for 2 days to get it off!

Bob's Red Mill's Whole Grain Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix is pretty good! It's the first crust mix I've used that actually started with yeast (take not if you're sensitive to yeast, this is not the product for you). The dough is not difficult to make, although it is a bit tricky to handle. I strongly recommend following their directions. That's what they're there for, right? The most important things to remember are to handle it with wet hands and grease your pans thoroughly! The dough is very sticky (which seems to be a common thread with GF doughs) and will stick to your hands and pan if you don't take these precautions. Also, this is not a dough to be rolled or stretched like a traditional pizza dough. It's just a different creature altogether. You have to press it onto your pan, so if you have a pizza pan with aeration holes you might want to consider using alternate bake-ware. The directions recommend baking the crust for a bit first and then adding your toppings. After handling the dough, I can see why. It would probably end up a bit of a mess if you try to cook the entire pizza at once.

So how does it taste? Very good actually! Korry ate it with me, and he even commented on how good it was. In fact he said it was the best bread product we've tried yet. The crust was crispy on the bottom and edges but soft in the middle. I was able to get 4 small (pie pan size) crusts out of one package. There was no funky aftertaste or weird sandy texture. Bob's Red Mill's GF pizza crust is just a great product. I will definitely use it again!

Sanissimo Corn Crackers

My husband found these Sanissimo Salmas crackers at the grocery store and I was intrigued. These are thin, crispy corn crackers that actually are quite good. If you're expecting a saltine or butter cracker you'll be a bit disappointed. These crackers do not pretend to be anything other than what they are... corn. They have the flavor of a tortilla chip, but the texture of a water cracker. They have a hint of salt, and go well with savory items like tuna salad, chicken salad, pico, cheese, guacamole, hummus, etc... I like that they come wrapped in individual packets. You can grab a pack and stick it in your lunch or bag and off you go! There are 3 crackers to a packet and 8 packets in a box. They were a little pricier than normal crackers. I believe I paid around $4 for these, but I've enjoyed them and plan on taking some with me on my up-coming vacation! The Sanissimo website has information about their products, but good luck unless you can read Spanish. Google Chrome gave me the option to translate it, but a lot of the information did not translate because it was in the form of images, not text.

FRIENDLY FRIDAYS: Joe's Crab Shack

I've been a fan of Joe's since my first visit back around 2001 in Austin, TX. Obviously, if you have a seafood allergy, this is not the place for you, but Joe's has a great line of steampots and other tasty dishes. So, how does this establishment stack up for those of us avoiding wheat/gluten? Surprisingly well. As with most restaurants (especially chains) their food is all prepared in one common kitchen, and they do have a statement possible contamination from other food products. You can download a PDF version of their menus including their gluten free menu and nutritional information from their website under "Menu" (duh).

The good news? All of their Steampots and Buckets of Crab are gluten free. They mention the simply steamed and garlic herb versions in the individual descriptions, but list all the seasonings on the gluten free menu. I would ask a manager before choosing a different seasoning. I was able to find out from a forum on Celiac.com that Old Bay Seasoning is gluten free. I was also able to dig up a post on myglutenfreenj.com that actually has an email from Joe's Crab Shack stating what items were gluten free.

Obviously steer clear of their fried menu items as they're battered and therefore have wheat, but honestly, their gluten free options are also their healthier options anyway. 

Keep in mind that they do serve and prepare a lot of items with butter, so if you're allergic to dairy be sure to talk to your server about your options.

10 Ways to Cook Quinoa

10 New Ways to Cook Quinoa

This is a great page from Nature Moms! I've tried quinoa once and wasn't really impressed, but that was because I cooked it myself and didn't know what to do with it. There are some great recipes here that have me excited to try it all over again... the right way!

Bob's Red Mill Giveaway Contest!

This contest has ended....

Visit Bobsredmill.com for all your baking needs!

It's here! It is time to start the Bob's Red Mill Giveaway Contest! Are you excited, because I know I am!!!

This is your chance to win 3 - 16oz packages of Bob's Red Mill GLUTEN FREE mixes! One lucky winner will receive a package of Gluten Free Pancake Mix, Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix, and Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix! For a few short minutes of your time you could have a free breakfast, lunch/dinner and dessert! These products retail between $4.09-$4.53, but you can get them for FREE!

Here's how it works. Leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite Bob's Red Mill product or your favorite tip for eating healthy. No anonymous comments please. Extra comments will not get you extra entries, BUT you can get bonus entries for:

1. joining my blog
2. blogging about this giveaway
3. reblogging this post
4. tweeting about this contest and tagging me in your tweet @kimbellies. 

If you blog about this post, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
All entries will be entered into a spreadsheet and assigned a number. At the close of the contest one lucky winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator.

This giveaway contest ends at 11:59 pm CST on August 1! The winner will be announced August 2!
Good luck!!