Gluten Free Reviews

Betty Crocker has come out with some gluten free products.  Usually we make things from scratch, but since going gluten free, it has been harder (and more expensive) to make things from scratch.  Because of that and because it is always great to see more products that I can readily eat, I was very excited to see Betty Crocker's new dessert mixes on the shelf of ALL of my usual grocery stores.  Not only are the mixes Gluten-Free they are also made in a gluten free processing facility.  What a relief for those that are very sensitive to gluten.

So far the four mixes they have are: Brownie Mix, Cookie Mix, Devil's Food Cake Mix and Yellow Cake Mix.  We have made the brownies several times now -- VERY YUMMY!! and made the Yellow Cake mix -- very good.  We have not tried the cookies yet and we have been unable to find the Devil's Food Cake Mix.

On Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Page they have many recipes to make with the mixes as well, which will greatly increase my dessert repertoire! I have to say, you could not tell that these mixes were gluten free.  They would definitely be able to be served to anyone who likes a yummy dessert!

On their box (and on their page) they also include the story of why they have added gluten free products to their line.  I find it encouraging that they are branching into GF and hope that other companies will as well.  It is also great that the mainstream stores are carrying the GF products now. It is very helpful to not have to shop at a specialty store to be able to buy things I can eat and enjoy.  I am sure that Betty Crocker, by having a gluten free line, is helping to bring awareness to store buyers that GF consumers are willing and excited about buying GF products at the stores they regularly shop.

As a side note...it is important to know that the cake mix only makes ONE 8x8 cake. If you are wanting to make a double layer cake or a larger cake you will need to buy two boxes.

As a "newbie" celiac, I am still in the "trying things out" stage.  I have tried Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix and I really liked it.  We have used it to bread Marsala Chicken (turned out okay but I think it needed more breading) and we made muffins.  Yummy for the tummy muffins. They came out wonderfully! I can't wait to try out more recipes with the mix.  

We also tried Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix. Although I have heard RAVE reviews about it, I did not like it - it was very bitter to me.  We had a small glitch while making it, which may have caused the problem, so we are going to try again. The problem being - the GF products are rather costly to keep trying them out.

Before becoming GF I frequently had pasta. Pasta was one of my favorite easy and quick lunches to make on school days.  I had tried some low carb pasta a few years ago when I was on the Atkin's diet.  I did not much like the pasta and have been happy not to try it again.  However, being a pasta fanatic, I couldn't stay away. This time I bought some quinoa pasta.  I tried it the other night and wasn't too impressed.  It was rather tasteless. It did, however, have a good texture and wasn't bitter at all.  I may try it again with a different sauce or in a dish with a lot of taste.

For the most part, I find it easiest (and cheapest) to just stay away from any bread-type products.  It is nice, though, to be able to add a few items to our menu that are "bready."  It is especially helpful to see that the grocery stores are starting to add more and more GF products.