Back in May I had the opportunity to sample Glutino’s Chocolate Covered Pretzels. I was in heaven! Since then, I have been coveting the yogurt covered version, but have not been able to find them locally yet. I know that several online venues sell them, however, the shipping cost seems really high to ship pretzels. As I mentioned in my review, it is $12 to ship 2 bags of pretzels.

Glutino has been around since 1983 when it expanded it’s presence in the USA’s gluten-free food industry. Glutino acquired “Gluten-free Pantry” in 2005 and the company’s products can be found in stores across the US. Glutino’s mission statement:

MISSION STATEMENT

The Glutino & Gluten-Free Pantry Mission is to provide a healthy lifestyle to all those with Celiac Disease and those who follow a gluten-free / wheat-free diet.

Glutino & Gluten-Free Pantry are the two brands of gluten-free foods made with the goodness of home. You can trust Glutino & Gluten-Free Pantry to use quality gluten-free ingredients, so your family can enjoy great tasting 100% gluten-free meals that fit today’s busy lifestyles.

We are sensitive to the often over-looked population of allergy sufferers and cater to their needs for healthy, delicious products.

Keys to Glutino & Gluten-Free Pantry:

Quality, Service, Trust, and Variety

When I received the yogurt covered pretzels, I dove right in. I didn’t stop to take pictures – I had lost my mind! They were melty from the summer heat, so I tossed them in to the refrigerator and stood right outside the door thinking that might speed up the solidifying of the yogurt. A few minutes later, I couldn’t take it, I tore into the refrigerator to claim my treat. I was not disappointed. The balance of sweet & salty was like a well choreographed dance in my mouth. It was unfortunate that I had to share this bag, but I knew that I couldn’t sing the praises if I didn’t share the love. After serving these to non-gluten-free people, as well as Jon, it was decided that we need to find a local store to carry these, STAT!

The Glutino chocolate & yogurt covered pretzels can be purchased on glutenfree.com or in some stores across the US. I have yet to see them here in Columbus and I have been looking. I feel like a nut job scour the aisles for these pretzels. Can you imagine how hard it will be to contain my excitement when I do find them? I sure hope there is no hidden video footage of that anywhere.  Editing to add that I was just informed that these pretzels should be available at the Columbus Whole Foods locations by the end of the month!

Anne Steib, another blogger from Celiac-Disease.com, shared her opinion of the Glutino pretzels here.

Busy day today at the GFIL household. Kids are out of school (Fair day/curriculum day). I love that they make up days and reasons to have a 3-day weekend. You don’t see that happening in the middle of the week.

I got a chance to try the pumpkin latte from Caribou Coffee yesterday and it was nothing short of spectacular!! Even better than that place that starts with an “S”, ends with a “S” and has “tarbuck” in the middle. Now I need to make sure not to overdo the pumpkin lattes! HA!! They also have a white mocha pumpkin latte. OMG……if you have a Caribou near you (haha, that rhymes), GO!!

Now, on with the plan…

Sunday – Rotisserie chicken, roasted sweet dumpling squash, broccoli & salad

Monday -Fish Fry, baked sweet potato fries, green beans & salad

Tuesday – Taco salads with black beans & corn

Wednesday – Grilled chicken stir fry with zucchini, peppers & mushrooms and salad

Thursday -Turkey burgers, baked potatoes, roasted carrots & salad

Friday -Pizza and salad

Saturday -leftovers

Baked Goods

Cookies of some sort

Pumpkin bread

Pumpkin blondies

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The winner of my Hometown Seeds contest is…….

Diane
September 18th, 2010 at 11:03 am
I “like” you on Facebook – Diane Bennett Bramos. Thank you!! This looks great!!

Congrats Diane!!! Please send me your information so I can get it over to Hometown Seeds. 🙂

Thank you to all who entered!!

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23rd Annual Celiac Conference in Columbus on October 30, 2010.

P.F. Chang’s adds a new dessert to their amazing GF menu!

Molly Woo’s continues to impress with gluten-free dishes.

Gluten-free grocery shopping on Amazon.com can help cut down those high costs.

Clean Cravings product review. This pizza is amazing!

Have I ever told you all how much I love Caribou Coffee? Not only do they have a rockin’ cold pressed iced coffee, but the baristas are some of the nicest out there. After pouting about Starbucks and my pumpkin spice latte, I found that Caribou had one on their menu, so I sent an email to check the gluten-free status. Let me share the email that made my day yesterday:

Kimberly,

Lisa
Caribou Coffee Customer Relations

AHHHHHHHHHH!!! THANK YOU, Caribou!!! Thank you for making my day. 🙂 I see a PL in my very near future. In fact, I may have to make a detour at some point today to get one.

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Now, onto the winner of the Ian’s Giveaway. Thank you to all who entered. Now, without further delay, the winner is…..

LadySnow
September 9th, 2010 at 9:05 am
I like GFisL on FB

CONGRATS!!! Please send me an email at kim@glutenfreeislife.com with your contact information so I can forward it to Ian’s.

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Didn’t win this giveaway? No worries, you can enter my current giveaway for a kitchen sprouter or another fun giveaway coming up next week.

Have a great weekend!!

As suggested in my Pumpkin Spice Latte Fans Beware post, I emailed Starbucks to get the ingredient list from the pumpkin spice syrups. This is the response that I received:

Hello Kim,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

Our Pumpkin Spice Syrup that is used in the ‘regular’ and ‘skinny’ drinks contains the following:

 

Sugar, Condensed Nonfat Milk, Sweetened Condensed Nonfat Milk, Annatto (E160b, Colour), Natural and Artificial Flavours, Caramel Colour (E150D), Salt, Potassium Sorbate (E202, a preservative).

 

A little additional information that may be helpful or neat is that one pump of syrup contains approximately 20 calories.

 

I hope that I have been able to provide you with some useful information.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns that I was unable to address, please feel free to let me know.

Warm Regards,

D.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company
800 23-LATTE (235-2883)
Monday through Friday, 5AM to 8PM (PST)

All in all, the only ingredient that I see that could contain gluten would be the “Natural & Artificial Flavors”. While wheat is required to be called out on labels by law, rye, barley & oats are not. It is not likely that the flavoring contains rye or oats, but it certainly could contain barley malt flavoring. My opinion is that it is not likely that the ingredients have changed and this product has been gluten-free in the past. Does that mean I am going to drink one or say that I think it is safe for others on the gluten-free diet to drink one? No.

On my last post Jenn suggested a way to make these at home.

Well, you can always make your own Probably healthier that way too! I don’t think they are very complicated to make, as long as you can make a homemade latte. I think all you have to add in to a standard latte is some pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice etc.), and then sweetener of your choice – you should be able to do a pretty decent copy cat at home where you can make sure of its gluten-free ness

I am lazy when it comes to this stuff, but I guess it will all depend on how bad I want a PSL! Another option would be the pumpkin spice creamers made by International Delight and Coffee-Mate. New England flavored coffees are gluten-free and have a pumpkin spice version, in addition to a couple of other great fall flavors. Caribou Coffee has a pumpkin latte on their menu right now. I have an email out to them to verify the gluten-free status. I will make sure to update with that information when I get it. I have a feeling that it is gluten-free, but want to make sure before I try it out.

Recently I had the opportunity to review a really cool product. Linda, from Hometown Seeds, contacted me and asked if I would be interested in trying out a sprouter. I loved the idea of this! How cool would it be to grow sprouts in my kitchen?

I received a 3-Tray Kitchen Sprouter and organic alfalfa seeds. I read over the instructions and found that I should be able to grow these without killing them. I have a horrible track record when it comes to plants, just ask my mother-in-law (Hi Mary!). I spread the seeds out, as directed, on the 3 trays and then stacked them up like a tower. I added water twice a day to the tray on top and watched it slowly drain down through the trays. Hannah really enjoyed watching this whole process. This would be a really cool activity for elementary school classes, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts to try! The sprouts only took approximately 4 days to get to this stage.

Look – I did it!!!

We really enjoyed eating these on our sandwiches, wraps & salads! The kids weren’t crazy about them, but I am just happy they tried them. I loved knowing exactly where these sprouts came from – my own kitchen. I didn’t have to worry about any chemicals or contamination that could have occurred during the growing or processing stages. I love the GMO statement from Hometown:

Hometown’s Safe Seed Pledge

Seeds are the core of our business and vital to life on our planet. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. We pledge that we will not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds. We are not confident in the safety of GMO seeds and therefore will not sell them to our valued customers. We believe they are being released for public use prematurely. More research and testing is necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds.

Hometown Seeds sells vegetable, flower, and herb seed packets, focusing on small quantity home gardeners. There is a wealth of information on their site about the gardening process (something I really should read through thoroughly for future gardening attempts). The seeds can be purchased securely on their online store.

Now, the fun part – Hometown Seeds has offered to give 1 lucky reader a 3-Tray Kitchen Sprouter and packet of organic alfalfa sprout seeds!

Here is what you need to do to enter. You can enter up to 3 times, but must leave a comment for each entry:

1. Visit the Hometown Seeds website & tell me what seeds you would buy.

2. Follow me on Twitter.

3. “Like” Gluten-free is Life on Facebook.

The giveaway will run until Midnight on Sunday. I will announce the winner on Monday. Good luck!!

**In the spirit of full disclosure, I received the products mentioned above free of charge from Hometown Seeds. The opinions voiced in this blog are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything. Click here to read my full disclosure statement.

Sorry that I have been MIA the past few days. Allergies have gotten the best of me, but I believe that I have it all under control. I invested about $30 at Walmart in 2 new (to me) products.

I had been depending on Zyrtec to help me out, however, I could not function in the zombie-like state that it put me in. Enter Neti Pot & Allergen Block. I chose both products for a couple of reasons. First, they were both recommended to me by other people that I trust. Second, neither contained any gluten or medication that could cause any nasty side effects!

I was really creeped out by the thought of using the Neti Pot, but desperate times call for measures. I put on my big girl panties and ventured into the bathroom to use the Neti Pot. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared that it would be. It was no worse than learning to breath properly while swimming. 😉 The result? WOW!! I was shocked at how much clearer my head was! Not only that day, but for several days after. The box recommends using 1 – 2 times per day, which I haven’t done yet, but am working on. It has been about 4-5 days and I am definitely seeing the need to repeat this. The most important piece of information I have to share – do not ever use plain water with the Neti Pot. Make sure to use the enclosed solution in the water. This cost me just under $13 at Walmart. Click here for a $2 off coupon on a NeilMed Neti Pot.

I had never heard of the Chloraseptic Allergen Block until my friend Lisa, of Lisa’s Blogety Blog, mentioned it. I have to admit that I was skeptical, but desperate. I believe that we have another winner! I have been using this in combination with my Claritin, Zaditor and Flonase with decent results. It is really easy to use, just rub a pea size dot of the gel between 2 fingers and then rub on the outside of your nostrils & then between your top lip & nostrils. This can be used every 4 – 6 hours. How does this stuff work? Here is some information from the website:

How does Chloraseptic™ Allergen Block work?
Allergen Block works by helping to block airborne allergens before they enter the nose, so your body does not have to fight them once inside your upper respiratory system.

Why do we care if allergens have positive or negative charges?
Opposite charges attract. The Chloraseptic™ Allergen Block gel carries a charge which is opposite the charge that an airborne allergen carries. Since opposite charges attract, Chloraseptic™ Allergen Block acts like a magnet and helps to trap the oppositely charged allergens on contact, much like an air filtration system works.

So, there you have it. The Allergen Block cost me just under $15 at Walmart.

Make sure to stop by tomorrow – I have another super cool giveaway starting up! Also, there are only 2 days left to enter my Ian’s Giveaway, so make sure to head on over & enter!

When I am training to run a half or full marathon, protein is a key component for recovery. Fueling after long runs is where I often run into trouble. I have no appetite and getting in a good amount of protein within the first hour after I finish is critical. I have tried protein shakes and while I do like the Jay Robb shakes, sometimes it is easier to have a bar, then to make sure I have almond milk or water to mix the protein powder with.

PureFit Nutrition Bars were named “Nutrition Bar of the Year” by Bike magazine. I was able to sample these bars over the past month and have been really impressed with them. I want to share some information about PureFit first, then I will get to my review.

“Nutrition Info
Kosher-certified and vegan-approved PureFit bars do not contain dairy, wheat, or gluten, and will not melt in their packaging. PureFit works diligently to provide high-quality, award-winning nutrition bars without artificial ingredients, sugar alcohols or common allergens, including milk, wheat or gluten.

Our bars are an integral part of The PureFit Fat-Burning System. It provides many of the nutrients and calories you need to round out your PureFit diet. And it does not contain harmful ingredients found in virtually every nutrition bar on the market. 100% All-Natural Ingredients, 18 Grams of Soy Protein, Non-GMO Soy, Unprecedented Great Taste. This low glycemic, nondairy bar is based on over 20 years of research and was not practical to manufacture until now. It offers:

NO Hydrogenated Oils
NO Animal Products – Vegan
NO Cholesterol or Trans Fatty Acids
NO Wheat or Gluten
NO Artificial Sweeteners
NO Hidden Carbohydrates
NO Sugar Alcohol

Best of all, these bars are versatile. From lunch boxes to soccer moms, from Wall Street executives to pro-athletes—everybody loves the taste and they fit into any pocket. Finally—a nutrition bar designed not only for the whole person but for the whole family.”

I was very impressed with these bars. They tasted great and have 18 grams of protein per bar! I gave Jon the chocolate brownie and he really liked it. My favorite of the bars that I sampled is either the almond crunch or the peanut butter crunch. These bars did not upset my stomach in the least and had a great taste & texture. They are easy to keep in my purse, van or gym bag.

PureFit Bars are sold in many locations across the US or online. There are some special offers when purchased online:

Order 4-5 Boxes of PureFit bars save 7% ($32/box)

Order 6-9 Boxes of PureFit bars save 13% ($30/box)

Order 10+ Boxes of PureFit bars save 18% ($28/box)

Buy 2 or more Boxes of PureFit Bars — Receive a FREE PureFit Men’s T-shirt or Baby Doll T-shirt. If you’ve been waiting to try our new Granola Crunch bar – the one featuring certified gluten-free oats – or feel like this month’s other special (free shipping on 10 boxes of bars or more) is a little too much for your pantry, then check this out: Order any 2 boxes of PureFit Bars and we’ll throw in one of our Men’s PureFit T-shirts or Women’s Baby Doll T-shirts for free. Place your order today! This is a LIMITED TIME OFFER ONLY that expires on September 30, 2010.

To keep up with all of the PureFit news, follow PureFit on Twitter and Facebook.

**In the spirit of full disclosure, these bars were sent to me free of charge by PureFit Nutrition. The views & opinions in this blog are mine and were not influenced by anything or anyone.

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Don’t forget to enter to win a prize package from Ian’s Natural Foods!

Dear Mother Nature,

Please take your heat, humidity and ragweed and leave Ohio. I don’t like to complain, I like to have a positive outlook on life, but you are making it rather difficult right now. If the ragweed was not bad enough, the A/C breaking down causing us to open the windows & let my attacker right in, was the final straw. My eyes itch and are swollen, my nose itches, my skin itches. I take a myriad of medication to combat these symptoms and don’t get a lot of relief. Please don’t remind me that it may not have been in my best interest to fire my allergist last week – not only do I clearly need help, but who cares how long I had to sit there, at least there was A/C, right?

Have you ever taken Zyrtec? If you are ever wanting to be in a zombie-like state, this is the pill to take. I weighed my options and chose to take the Zyrtec thinking I could deal with a little lethargy & fatigue since we had a 3-day weekend – big mistake. My motivation went out the open window. The couch and I became best buddies as I watched the hours pass. Oh, I didn’t sleep the entire time, somehow I got sucked into watching Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami. I don’t know which show is a bigger train wreck, this one or Jersey Shore. Did I really just admit that I watch those?

So, if you can just do that one thing for me, I promise to not complain again until February when I am sick & tired of freezing my arse off.

Thank you,

Kimberly Bouldin

Now back to your regularly scheduled gluten-free programming. 😉

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Don’t forget to enter to win a super cool prize package from Ian’s Natural Foods.

Well, here I am on Monday making my weekly menu plan. Last night was a hodge podge of food, so I won’t bore you with those details. I had a yummy Amy’s Kitchen gluten-free burrito! These things rock! It was my last one, so I sure hope that my local stores start to carrying them soon!

We have had a bit of a change of sporting teams in the house this week. Jon made the decision to play JV or varsity (if he makes it) instead of travel hockey. I am proud of him for making this big decision. He has always wanted to play travel, but things weren’t working out the way we expected with the travel team he was placed on, so he opted to go with his school team. This is nice for us because the real season doesn’t start until later in the year. Try outs aren’t until the first week in November, so he will just have meetings and drop in sessions until then. He will definitely play JV and does have a shot at making the varsity team. Apparently they take 5-6 JV players for varsity. Aside from the obvious reason, a huge break in my schedule, I am glad that Jon has a chance to settle into his school routine before the season starts up.

Monday – Salmon, roasted red skin potatoes with basil infused olive oil, broccoli & salad

Tuesday – Tacos, Mexi-corn & salad

Wednesday-Filet mignon, baked sweet potatoes, green beans & salad

Thursday- Spicy Chile Burgers, home baked steak fries, roasted veggies & salad

Friday-Veggie pizza and salad

Saturday-leftovers

Baked Goods

Zucchini Brownies

Bread

Weekly Recap

NFCA presents “The Gluten-Free Effect on Athletes: Improving Performance Through Diet“

It’s time for pumpkin!!

Chicken Tostadas

Helen’s Kitchen Tofu Steaks

Holiday Baking Company offers new hours.

BJ’s Brewhouse offers gluten-free ciders.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza serving gluten-free pizza in Columbus.

Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily shares how she makes waffles that make the perfect waffle sandwich!

Check out Amy’s Labor Day Round Up for a bunch of wonderful recipes all in one place!

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Don’t forget to enter the Ian’s Sweepstakes for a prize package to serve you & 14 friends or family!

Recently I was contacted by Ian’s to review a couple of their newer products and host a giveaway for a really cool prize package for one lucky reader & their friends or family. I have previously tried only a couple of Ian’s products, so I was excited to give some others a try. I was able to try the Chicken Tenders & Pepperoni French Bread Pizza, or maybe I should say Jon was. I was able to get a couple of bites out of the food before he destroyed it and boy, was I glad that I did!

Chicken Tenders

These were some of the best gluten-free chicken tenders that I have tried since going gluten-free. They were very crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, like the name implies. I followed the box directions and made them in the oven (microwave preparation is not recommended). The box says that there 2 servings, 3 ounces each, in the box, but Jon ate the whole box in one sitting. I can see where 2 servings would be possible if these were being fed to a younger child, but otherwise, just 1 serving.

Pepperoni Pizza French Bread Pizza

Another hit from Ian’s! These pizzas were really good. They were crunchy, just like a French bread pizza is supposed to be. Again, Jon polished off this whole box in one sitting. The kid can eat! I was lucky to snap the picture and snag a bite! As with the chicken tenders, the instructions recommend baking in the oven, not the microwave.

Now for the fun stuff!!

Ian’s will be giving away an Allergen Free Food Party Package, serving 14 guests. The winner will receive one of two kinds of party packages; a “Gluten Free Pizza Party”, with our NEW Wheat Free Gluten Free Pepperoni French Bread Pizza and our NEW Wheat Free Gluten Free Wafer Bites, or a an “Allergen Free Fun Fest” with our Wheat Free Gluten Free Chicken Tenders, as well as our ever-popular Alphatots! Each party includes plates, utensils and napkins, invitations for each winner to send to guests, and fun Andy the Otter stickers, tattoos and prizes!

In order to enter, readers must post a comment in response to this blog post describing how dietary restrictions affect their lives. The Winner will be chosen at random from these comments. Contestants must also register with Ian’s Natural Foods’ SuperFit Kid Program at www.imasuperfitkid.com, and will only receive their Grand Prize winnings upon confirmation of SuperFit Kid Membership.

So, to recap:

1. Comment here on how dietary restrictions affect your life. (required)

2. Register with Ian’s Natural Foods’ SuperFit Kid Program. (required)

3. Follow me on Twitter (bonus entry)

4. “Like” Gluten-Free is Life on Facebook.

This contest will run until midnight on September 17, 2010. Good luck!!

*Contest is open to US residents only

**The samples for this review were provided to me, free of charge, courtesy of Ian’s Natural Foods. The views and opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.