gluten free snacks

GoPicnic Ready To Eat Meals

January 4, 2011 By FabGrandma

GoPicnic Meals To Go

“Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.”

That quote from the old classic” The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” is how I feel about food now that I have to eat gluten free. It used to be that when we traveled, it was easy to just stop anywhere and pick up something to eat. Now, I have to really think about it all the time. In a convienience store, I can usually find two choices–potato chips or nuts. And I get so tired of eating those two things when we go on a long trip.

: Sports Munch Box

GoPicnic is a really great new product offering. Each package contains a complete meal, ready to eat. Now, while everyone else is enjoying their snack or fast food meal, I can have something filling and tasty, too.

These samples arrived in the mail right before we went on our three day trip to Georgia, 250 miles away. About half way through the day, I opened my Sports Munch Ready To Eat Meal. The outside of the package looked like it was aimed at children, but let me tell you, as an adult, I was really pleased with the contents of the box. It contained Turkey Pepperoni Slices, Cheddar Multigrain Chips, Natural Cinnamon Applesause, a Pumpkin Crunch bar, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. All of the items were packaged in small serving sized packages, that were easy to open even for someone with arthritis in her hands. The box even included a plastic spoon and a moist towelette for cleaning up afterwards.

: Turkey Pepperoni + Cheese

The second day, I tried the Turkey Pepperoni + Cheese pack. This is a very good combination of flavors. Again, all the different items were packaged in small, one serving sizes. This one had Multi-grain crackers, Asiago spreadable cheese, dried cranberries and pineapple, and a buttercrunch toffee. It filled me up and tasted very good.

As an adult who travels, I would never be embarrassed to take out one of these packaged meals. They fit great into a small tote or backpack, and the way the box opens up, it makes a little serving tray from which to eat. I am going to be ordering some for my lunches when I go back to work at the Grand Canyon.

The Sport Munch Meal has 400 calories and 51 grams of carbohydrate

The Turkey Pepperoni + Cheese has 290 calories and 28 grams of carbohydrate

Not all varieties of GoPicnic Ready to Eat Meals are gluten free, so be sure to read carefully before you buy. They also have vegetarian and kosher meals available. The prices range from $2.50 to $4.99 for the packaged meals.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Misc, Snacks Tagged With: Gluten Free, gluten free snacks

Mary’s Love Cookies Give Away

April 11, 2010 By FabGrandma

I’ve been a fan of Mary’s Gone Crackers snacks since I started eating gluten free. They have been some of my favorites, so when I read that they were introducing cookies, I had to have some! The folks over at Mary’s sent me some of each of their three flavors: Chocolate Chip, Ginger Snap, and “N,Oatmeal” Raisin.

Since Ginger Snaps were always one of my favorite cookies, I tried those first. I wasn’t disappointed, either. These cookies had a great flavor, and the same hardness I have always enjoyed in ginger snaps. They taste great by themselves, with peanut butter, and with cream cheese.

The Chocolate Chip cookies have a good flavor, and just the right amount of chocolate chips. They are good with a bowl of ice cream or with milk. And the “N’Oatmeal Raisin tasted good, and were nice and chewy.

Mary’s Love Cookies are all organic, kosher, Non-GMO, wheat-free, gluten-free, vegan and dairy free. They are made with low glycemic sweeteners and chia seeds, and have no hydrogenated oils and no trans-fats.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chip: Organic gluten free flour blend (organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic potato flour, organic potato starch, organic amaranth flour), organic palm sugar, organic dark chocolate chips (organic cane sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, soy lecithin (non gmo), organic vanilla), organic palm fruit shortening (palm oil), organic tapioca syrup, water, organic yellow split pea flour, organic ramon seed powder, organic coconut oil, organic prune extract, organic chia seeds, organic vanilla extract, sea salt, baking soda, xanthan gum, organic roasted carob powder, organic rice bran extract.

“N’Oatmeal” Raisin: Organic quinoa flakes, organic seedless raisins, organic gluten-free flour blend (organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic potato flour, organic potato starch, organic amaranth flour), organic tapioca syrup, organic palm sugar, organic palm fruit shortening (palm oil), water, organic prune extract, organic coconut oil, organic chia seeds, organic vanilla extract, sea salt, baking soda, xanthan gum, organic rice bran extract.

Ginger Snaps: Organic gluten free flour blend (organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic potato flour, organic potato starch, organic amaranth flour), organic palm sugar, organic palm fruit shortening (palm oil), organic tapioca syrup, organic blackstrap molasses, organic yellow split pea flour, organic coconut oil, organic ginger root, organic prune extract, water, organic spices, baking soda, organic vanilla extract, organic chia seeds, sea salt, xanthan gum, organic black pepper, organic rice bran extract.

Calories in serving:

Chocolate chip (2 cookies) 130

“N’Oatmeal” Raisin (2 cookies) 120

Ginger Snaps (3 cookies) 140

Carbohydrates in a serving:

Chocolate chip: 19 grams

“N’Oatmeal”: 20 grams

Ginger Snaps: 23 grams

Want to win a box? Mary’s Loves Cookies is giving away two boxes, one box of your choice of flavor to each of two winners. To enter, leave a comment telling me what your favorite flavor is. I’ll pick a winner at random from all the comments on April 26. Good Luck!

Filed Under: Cookies, Give Aways, Gluten Free Tagged With: Cookies, Give Aways, gluten free snacks

Kozy Shack Puddings

April 11, 2010 By FabGrandma

Kozy Shack has been making their puddings since 1967, using real ingredients and no preservatives to create some really good desserts. They sent me some last week. These puddings are gluten free, and taste really good. FabGrandpa and I loved them all. He said the Original Rice flavor tasted home made.

My favorite was the Simplywell Dark Chocolate. It was so smooth and had a wonderful chocolately flavor. The Simplywell line is a good source of Vitamin D and antioxidant Vitamin E, and also supply natural fier to help maintain digestive health.

Kozy Shack Puddings come in a variety of flavors, including Original Rice, Chocolate, Banana, and Tapioca. The Simplywell line has some delicious sounding ones like Lemon Ginger, French Vanilla, and Mangosteen Pear as well as the Dark Chocolate that I tried. They come in a several sizes, too, so there should be one that fits your needs.

Ingredients:

Original Rice Pudding: Milk, rice, sugar, eggs, salt, natural flavors.

Calories per 1/2 cup serving: 130 Carbohydrate per 1/2 cup serving: 22 grams

Simplywell Dark Chocolate: Low fat milk (vitamin A and D), sugar, modified tapioca starch, breakfast cocoa processed with alkali, inulin (natural dietary fiber), natural flavors, fruit and vegetable juice blend (color), salt, cocoa extract, carageenan, vitamin E acetate.

Calories per 4 oz serving: 100 Carbohydrate per 4 oz serving: 17 grams.

For more information on Kozy Shack products, visit their website.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Refrigerated, Snacks Tagged With: Gluten Free, gluten free snacks

Southern Recipe Pork Rinds

March 10, 2010 By FabGrandma

I have always liked pork rinds, but since I started eating gluten free, they have become one of my “go to” snacks. They are naturally gluten free, and taste good, too. High in protein, low in cholesterol and carbohydrate-free, a serving of pork rinds has approximately 80 calories, 9 grams o protein, 10 mg of cholesterol, and 5 grams of fat, most of which is unsaturated fat. That means a serving of pork rinds is higher in protein and lower in fat than a serving o peanuts! And, they are gluten free, which is the #1 thing I look for in snacks for myself.

Southern Recipe Pork Rinds were created from a family recipe at Rudolph Foods in 1955. Since then, Rudolph Foods has grown to be the world’s largest producer of pork rinds. In blind label consumer testing in four cities, pork rinds from Rudolph Foods were preferred by a wide margin over other brands because of their taste and appealing crispness. I wasn’t a part of those tests, but I agree that these pork rinds are better tasting than others I have tried. They don’t taste “greasy” or heavy at all. They just have a crispy, crunchiness that I love.

These pork rinds come in five flavors–Sweet BBQ, Bar-B-Q, Salt & Vinegar, Spicy Hot, and Original. While I am not so much a fan of hot things, I love the Original and the Salt & Vinegar flavors. My friend, Rob, tried the Spicy Hot and Bar-B-Q flavors and says they are great, too!

Ingredients (Original flavor): pork rinds and salt

Calories per 1/2 oz serving: 80 Carbohydrates: 0

Ingredients (Hot & Spicy flavor): pork rinds, salt, dextrose, spices including chili pepper, torula yeast, maltodextrin, paprika, msg, onion powder, garlic powder, extractives of paprika, yellow # 6 lake, natural flavor, carmel color, red 40 lake.

Check out the fun Man Cave website for some interesting recipes using pork rinds and a chance to win a T-shirt.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Snacks Tagged With: gluten free snacks

Boomi and Prana Bars

February 4, 2010 By FabGrandma

I received a couple of these bars in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I promptly got busy and forgot about them until I found them sitting on my desk last night. I shared the Boomi Bar with FabGrandpa. At least, I THOUGHT we were going to share. He took one bite and decided I didn’t get any more of it!

The one bite that I had of the Coconut Acai flavor was delicious. The bar was moist and slightly chewy, and a great mix of flavors.

The Boomi Bar tasted just as good, but because we both wear dentures, it was a little hard for us to eat. For younger people who don’t have to worry about things like partial plates, it would be a very good snack.

Boomi Bars have a 12-month shelf life owing to the fact that all oxygen is removed from the wrapping and honey is used as a natural preservative. All flavors are 100% natural with no artificial flavors, no preservatives, no GMO’s, no sulphured fruits, and all 13 flavors are 100% Gluten Free.

The Prana Bars also have a 12-month shelf life, are organic and are sweetened with organic agave nectar that offers a great taste and low glycemic index. There are 6 flavors, and these are also 100% Gluten Free.

Ingredients:

Prana Bar Coconut Acai: organic almond butter, organic agave nectar, organic date paste, organic dried coconut, organic almonds, organic raisins, organic puffed amaranth, organic acai dry powder, sea salt.

Calories: per bar 220 Carbohydrates: 26 grams

Boomi Bar: almonds, cashews, honey, dates, crisped rice, puffed amaranth, salt.

Calories: per bar 260 Carbohydrates: 23 grams

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Review, Snacks Tagged With: gluten free snacks, Snacks

Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks

November 24, 2009 By FabGrandma

What a fun package I got from Betty Crocker! They sent me a box of their Variety Pack Fruit Flavored Snacks and a box of their new Create-A-Bug Fruit Flavored Snacks to try out. They came with a frisbee, a yo-yo, and a set of pick-up sticks. Want to win a package just like this one? Read about how at the end of this review!

I never knew that these snacks were gluten free, and was surprised to find that they taste really good, even for a grandma! The bug snacks are shaped like different parts of bugs, like heads, wings, and tails, so kids can put them together like a puzzle before eating them up. They taste a little like soft jelly beans. For older folks, watch out, they do stick to your dental work somewhat, but if you need a quick, gluten free portable snack they are really good.

Create A Bug Fruit Snacks

The Fruit Roll-ups have been on the market a long time but I had never tried them before. They are a like fruit leather that I have tried and liked. They are rolled up on a piece of plastic so be sure to remove it first. It may be a little difficult for very young children to eat them without help. The Fruit By the Foot is easier to get off the paper it is wrapped up with, so may be a better choice for little hands.

Ingredients:

Fruit By the Foot: sugar, maltodextrin, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, Contains less than 2% of Carrageenan, citric acid, acetylated mono and diglycerides, sodium citrate, mailc acid, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), natural and artificial flavor, potassium citrate, color (red 40, blue 1, yellow 5) Calories per package: 80 Carbs: 17 g

Fruit Roll-ups: Pears from concentrate, corn syrup, dried corn syrup, sugar, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, Contains less than 2% of citric acid, sodium citrate, acetylated mono and diglycerides, fruit pectin, malic acid, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), natural and artificial flavor, color (red 40, blue 1, yellow 5)

Calories per package 50, carbs 12g

Fruit Gushers: Pears from concentrate, sugar, dried corn syrup, corn syrup, modified corn starch, fructose, grape juice from concentrate. contains 2% or less of partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, maltodextrin, cottonseed oil, carageenan, citric acid, glycerin, monoglycerides, sodium citrate, malic acid, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), potassium citrate, agar-agar, natural and artificial flavor, color (red 40, blue 1, yellows 5 & 6, and other color added), xanthan gum. Calories per package 90, carbs 20g

Create-A-Bug: Fruit juice blend from concentrate (apple, pear), corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch. Contains 2% or less of Fruit pectin, citric acid, dextrose, sodium citrate, malic acid, potassium citrate, vitamin c (ascorbic acid), mineral oil (adds a trivial amount of fat), natural and artificial flavor, color (red 40, yellow 5, blue 1 and other color added), carnuba was, sulfiting agents, beeswax. Calories per package 90, carbs 21g

Want to win a package like the one I got? just leave a comment, telling me which one of these fruit snacks you think you’d like best. I’ll pick a winner at random on Sunday, November 29. Be sure you leave me a way to contact you if you win. Get another chance to win by tweeting about this post on Twitter, then come back and leave me a comment telling me you did. Prize package includes one box of Creat-A-bug snacks, one box of Variety Pack Fruit Flavored snacks, a frisbee, a yo-yo, and pick-up sticks.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Other Products, Snacks Tagged With: gluten free snacks