Product Review: SOYJOY Bars

I have been curious about SOYJOY bars for awhile but haven't noticed them at the grocery store. When we went to help my parents move my mom packed us little snack bags for the drive back. She gave us a couple of the berry flavor SOYJOY bars. I was excited because they say they do not contain gluten right on the wrapper.

The label says that there are "No Artificial Colors, Flavors, Hydrogenated Oils or Gluten."

The bars don't look very appealing to begin with since they look burnt but I thought the berry flavor couldn't be all that bad. I really wanted to like them because they are a healthy and convenient gluten-free snack. They were very dry and bland. If you are still interested in trying them I would recommend buying just 1 or 2 and making sure you like them first. I did like the wrappers they came in but that doesn't say much for the taste. Lame, I know but I've been looking at a lot of giveaway samples at work and the wrapper stands out.

Has anyone had a better experience with any of the other flavors?

Laura's Wholesome Junk Food Product Review

A little while ago Nate and I tried Charlotte's Chocolate Chip cookies by Laura's Wholesome Junk Food. They are a nice snack when I'm craving something sweet but I don't feel guilty afterwards. I told myself that I should eat them because Nate probably doesn't care for them since they contain coconut. So I was surprised that he actually like them.

Don't expect them to taste like a "normal" chocolate chip cookie. You'll get a wholesome cookie sweetened with natural juices. We are addicted to them now.

Laura's Wholesome Junk Food has some other gluten-free cookies including:
Sally's Raisin
Better Brownie
Cole's Cashew Chocolate Chip

Check out Dr. Laura's interesting story on how the company got started.

Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas

I have been looking for a gluten-free wrap to mix up our lunches a bit. We bought some of the Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas. I brought one for lunch the first day and it was very brittle which made it difficult to eat. If I remember correctly the package says they recommend to heat them up. The second day I brought them I tried heating them up. They were still falling apart. We finally gave up on making them work and are on the search for a different sandwhich wrap.

I had higher expectations.

We love love love Namaste mixes!

Nate loves the blondies from Cooqi so when I saw a gluten-free blondie mix at the health food store I thought we'd try it. We love the Namaste Foods blondie mix. My dad preferred the gluten-free blondies over the wheat ones. We decided to try the brownie mix and loved that as well. Everything turns out very moist and you can barely tell it's gluten-free. The cashier told me it was her favorite brownie mix and since I've been back they've been sold out of the blondie mix. These mixes are so convenient and easy to make. We buy them at Fresh & Natural Foods. I've also seen some at Rainbow and they are available online.

Gluten-Free Bread

Anyone who has tried gluten-free bread knows that it can be difficult to find a decent one. Some people compare the breads to cardboard however, I've never tasted cardboard. For convenient sandwich bread we buy the Ener-G Foods bread. Nate preferred the tapioca loaf and it was pretty easy to find at Fresh and Natural Foods or Rainbow. Now there was a trick to using this bread, he would wrap the bread in a damp paper towel and put it in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds.

One day we noticed the Ener-G Light Tapioca Loaf and decided to give it a try since it was cheaper and lighter than our usual version. It is one of their lightest breads and has less fat and calories than the regular tapioca loaf. When we went to the health food store to purchase more we noticed they were selling out of it and we'd have to special order it.

Ener-G Food's breads come in vacuum sealed packaging that gives it a long shelf life up to a year. It never lasts that long in our house even with buying it by the case at.
The light tapioca is a lot lighter and does not need to be wrapped in a paper towel. It is better in the microwave for about 30 seconds or toasted.

Look for the neon green bag of light tapioca loaf, that is if they are not sold out!

Let's Do...Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones

The other day we had a problem when Nate realized the only ice cream we had in the house was plain vanilla. He was upset because it wasn't exciting enough for his ice cream cones. These are very reasonably priced at about $2.50 for a box of 12 and they come packaged nicely so they're not all broken. They look and taste just like the "regular" cake cones. I think these would be great for kids since they look just like the original cones. It wouldn't look like they had to eat a different version than their siblings or friends.

Glutenfreeda's Real Cookies Frozen Dough

Nate cheated last night. When I got home from work the house smelled like cinnamon and sugar. I knew he wasn't making dinner yet so I was a bit confused. He decided to make Glutenfreeda's Snicker Poodles, their version of a snickerdoodle. Now he even admits that he "cheated" since this isn't really baking. These are super easy to make though when you want a fresh warm cookie. The dough comes frozen and the cookies are already formed so all you need to do is put them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. The bake into the perfect size cookie and are very soft. Now these aren't necessarily cheap but I think they're worth if for the occasional treat and the convenience. The containers are resealable so you can make just a couple or mix and match for a variety. We recommend the Snicker Poodles but Nate might have to try the other flavors to see if they are worth it as well.

Shabtai Gourmet Review

To celebrate Nate's new promotion I ordered him some items from Shabtai Gourmet. I decided we would try the Raspberry Roll and the Devils Food 7 Layer Cake. The Raspberry Roll had a little more coconut than Nate prefers but he still enjoyed it. The raspberry filling is very sweet. He really liked the 7 Layer cake as well. Their products are also corn free and dairy free for those with multiple allergies. Nate says we will definitely be ordering from them again, we were both impressed with the size of these items. They offer some slightly different options than the bakeries by us too. I placed my order on Monday and they were delivered by Friday, packed with an ice pack. We love that they have free shipping too. FYI - They also go by the name Cinderella Sweets.

Chebe Cheese Rolls

The other night we tried the Chebe Bread mix for the first time. I planned on making half of it and freezing the other half of dough. Nate didn't like that idea so we made all of it. I added some cheddar cheese and then Nate added another handful of cheese and we rolled them into small rolls. Nate used them as bread for Italian Dunkers and ate the rest for lunch the next two days. Since I had my own bread I only snuck one but they were very good, next time I might take more. I would like to try making bread sticks or sandwich buns with it.