I have a fun giveaway lined up for you guys today!  Kit’s Organic Fruit & Nut bars are gluten-, dairy- and soy-free and the perfect addition to your lunch box to round out your meal or snack on in the late afternoon to hold you over until dinner.  I was able to sample and review all four varieties earlier this year and they have become a favorite go-to snack of mine.

The new bars were created by:

Kit Crawford, Co-CEO and “first lady” of CLIF Bar & Company, recently launched Kit’s Organic, a 200 calorie or less, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free bar made with 100% organic fruits and nuts.
 
Passion for organic products and handcrafted food inspired this simply delicious fruit and nut bar. Kit’s Organic are crafted performance snacks full of flavor and made with just a handful of ingredients (five or less), including organic fruit and nuts.

One of my favorite things about these bars, aside from the great taste is the simple ingredient list:

Chocolate almond coconut -Organic Dates, Organic Almonds, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Coconut, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Sea Salt.

Berry almond – Organic Dates, Organic Almonds, Organic Barberries, Organic Bilberries, Sea Salt

Peanut butter -Organic Dates, Organic Peanuts, Organic Almonds, Sea Salt.

Cashew – Organic Dates, Organic Cashews, Organic Almonds, Sea Salt.

Kit’s Organic has offered to give 5 lucky readers each 2 bars of each flavor (8 total bars).  Awesomeness, right?  All you have to do to enter is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below.  Continue reading →

If you are new to the gluten-free diet, you are probably just figuring out that it isn’t just food that you need to check the gluten-free status of, but anything that could potentially end up in your mouth.  Some people have a skin condition associated with Celiac Disease called Dermatitis Herpetiformis and those people must avoid skin contact with gluten regardless if the product is going to come in contact with your mouth (digestive system.). I know that most of us adults don’t intentionally eat health & beauty products, but I know that I have ended up with shampoo in my mouth and if your hand lotion contains gluten, that could potentially cause an issue.

I recently had the opportunity to try out two new ChapStick products:

• ChapStick Sport Ready
• ChapStick Moisturizer Raspberry Crème

*ChapStick does not contain wheat, barley or rye. No gluten is added to the product and it is not likely that the product contains gluten, but we can’t guarantee the product is gluten free since the raw materials may have been derived from or exposed to gluten during the raw material manufacturing process.

More about the new products:

ChapStick® Sport Ready

Designed with the Active consumer in mind, ChapStick® Sport Ready offers advanced, on-the-go hydration fit for any adventure. The perfect accessory for people on-the-move,ChapStick® Sport Ready has a clip top that keeps your ChapStick® right at your fingertips. Sure to be the perfect partner for any game under the sun … or on the slopes, ChapStick® Sport Ready has you covered with broad spectrum SPF 30 and water-resistant protection for up to 80 minutes!

ChapStick® Raspberry Crème

Satisfy a thirsty pout with new mouthwatering ChapStick® Raspberry Crème – made with 10 moisturizing ingredients and a luscious fruity flavor, lips will be left feeling soft and silky. ChapStick® Raspberry Crème delivers fruity hydration to your lips with ingredients like Aloe and Vitamin E and contains SPF 15 to protect from the sun’s UVB rays.

I loved both of these new ChapStick products!  I have been using the Sport Ready when I am out running and the Raspberry Crème daily to help keep my lips from getting chapped. The Sport Ready variety is sold for $2.59 – $2.99 and the Moisturizer Raspberry Crème is sold for $.99 – $1.99 in the cough and cold aisle at food, drug and mass retailers across the US.

Would you like a chance to win a prize pack from ChapStick?  The package includes:

ChapStick beach towel

ChapStick zip bag

Tube of each new ChapStick variety that I reviewed here

All you have to do to enter to win is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below.  Continue reading →

Sorry that I have been MIA the past few days.  I had plans to get a fun giveaway from Chapstick up on Friday, but we ended up with a surprise new addition to our family:

Meet Pippy!  Long story short – Aaron got an email from the humane society about this adorable Shih Tzu puppy and she is now ours!  Needless to say we have been a little busy, as she is only 3 months old.  Now I need to go back and read those reviews I did on gluten-free pet food! 

The theme of my menu this week is simple.  What can I do to avoid take-out and still prepare some healthy meals?  Plan and prepare as much as I can in advance. 

Sunday – Beef tacos with corn tortillas, chopped ice burg lettuce tomatoes and avocado, refried beans and corn

Monday – Spicy Thai Peanut Salmon, coconut baked brown rice, steamed green beans and salad

Tuesday – Italian grilled chicken with fettucine Alfredo, broccoli and salad

Wednesday – Breakfast for dinner (Belgian waffles) with fruit salad and turkey bacon

Thursday – Burgers, sweet potato puffs, zucchini and salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad

Saturday – Wiener Roast at Aaron’s parents

Week in Review:

Better 4U Foods gluten-free pizza review

The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook

Glutenfreeda adds new products to line-up

Review: Lucy’s Brownie Cakes

Check back tomorrow afternoon for the start of the Chapstick giveaway!

I wanted to make sure that I shared the very easy recipe for the Wordless Wednesday post that went up yesterday.  Sometimes I get busy and forget I shared a yummy looking picture – I promise I don’t mean to leave you hanging on purpose.  This meal was one of the easiest to make and it was so good!  Even Hannah ate it with no complaints, though she did end up dipping her chicken in Ranch dressing. 

Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

• 1-2 pounds raw, sliced boneless chicken breast or thighs
• San-J Teriyaki Sauce
• Cooked brown rice
• Sugar snap peas or vegetable of choice

1.  Clean and slice chicken.  Marinate in San-J Teriyaki sauce for at least 30 minutes.*

2.  Heat saute or frying pan over medium to medium-high

3.  Cook chicken in marinade until done. I usually cover the pan for the first 5-7 minutes and then finish uncovered to thicken up the sauce a bit.

4. Serve over brown rice and cooked veggies**.

*Try slicing chicken and marinating the night before or morning of to make dinner faster to make.

**Veggies can be cooked in the same pan once the chicken is almost done or in a separate pan.

All of the San-J sauces are certified gluten-free.  The ingredients for the Teriyaki Sauce are:

Ingredients: Tamari Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Alcohol), Water, Organic Sugar, Honey, Sake (Water, Rice, Salt), Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Puree, Rice Vinegar, Ginger Puree, Plum Juice Concentrate, Torula Yeast, Canola Oil, Spices, Arrowroot, Xanthan Gum

Are San-J gluten free products certified gluten free?
Yes. All San-J Gluten Free products are made in a plant inspected and certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. Look for GF symbol on San-J gluten free products. For more information on this group, please visit their website at www.gfco.org.

While some nights I enjoy ordering take-out for convenience, a recipe like this makes it hard to justify. 

The product used in this recipe was sent to me free of charge to use for recipe purposes.  Be on the lookout over the next couple of weeks for more information and recipes with other San-J products.

Welcome to October!  I love fall and everything about it except that winter follows it!  Oh well, I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.  I kicked off this month with a new pumpkin dessert: Chocolate Pumpkin Crunch Cake. 

The dessert looks like a pan of brownies with walnuts on top here, but I promise you, that is just the beginning.  Under that layer of Devil’s Food Cake is a layer of pumpkin, that is much like pumpkin pie.  Check this out…

Pumpkin on the bottom, cake on top.  Feeling a little sassy?  Flip it!

Now the cake that was on top acts like a thick crust on the bottom.  I know, right?

I found the inspiration for this dessert on Pinterest, however it was made with non-gluten-free cake mix and it was yellow cake.  I knew that I wanted to make the dessert, but I only had Devil’s Food mix.  I happen to love the combo of chocolate and pumpkin, so Chocolate Pumpkin Crunch Cake was born. 

Here is a quick run down of how to make the dessert and then I promise to get on to the menu plan.

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts (chopped)

1 cup butter (melted)

Method

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray 9 x 13 inch glass dish with cooking spray

3. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and salt well on low in a mixing bowl, pour into prepared dish

4. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the top of the pumpkin mixture

5. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the top of the cake mix and drizzle evenly with melted butter.

6. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cake mix is mostly set in the middle.

*Can be served warm (awesome) or cold (also awesome).  Don’t try to invert the cake while it is warm or it won’t hold together. 

Monday – Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, sugar snap peas and salad

Tuesday – Turkey tacos, black beans, corn and salad

Wednesday – BBQ pulled pork sammies on Udi’s gluten-free buns, cheesy potatoes and salad

Thursday – Leftovers

Friday – Make your own pizza with Venice Bakery gluten-free crusts and salad

Saturday – Take-out