Product Review: Glutino Pretzel Twists

A few days ago, my friend Andrea was talking to me about various gluten free foods. Her son is allergic to wheat, so they eat a lot of gluten free things. She asked me if I had tried gluten free pretzels. I hadn't because I'm not a big fan of them, except for the big soft and chewy ones slathered in butter and coarse salt. Andrea isn't gluten free, yet she said that she liked gluten free pretzels better than regular ones. Of course this meant that I bought them on my next shopping trip.

Andrea didn't specify a brand, but the common one I see in grocery stores around here is Glutino. 

They are a bit pricey compared to regular pretzels. I paid $3.89 for an 8 oz package, which was the sale price. The regular price is $4.29. By comparison, I can usually get a 16 oz bag of regular pretzels made from wheat for $1 on sale or $1.69 regular. This is normal for gluten free products.

I barely made it to my car in the grocery store parking lot before opening the pretzels. It was lunchtime, but I was pretty excited to try the pretzels too. So, did I like them? Yes! I are half the bag over the next hour or two. And remember, I'm not a big pretzel fan. They were crispier than regular pretzels, and they tasted a little bit buttery. They don't have any butter in them, and they don't have an excessive amount of fat in them either. So I'm not sure how that works, but it does. The pretzels also had just enough salt in them...not too much or too little. I really liked these pretzels and will be buying them again, although probably not too frequently just because of the price.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated by any party for this post. I bought the pretzels with my own money, and all opinions are my own.

Product Review: Baker's Corner Gluten Free Brownie Mix from Aldi

I bought the new gluten free brownie mix from Aldi a couple of weeks ago, and I finally tried it out the other day.  Not bad, I say.  Here's a list of pros and cons for the mix.

Pros

• Thick: These brownies turned out about 2 inches thick.  This was a pleasant surprise since it only makes a small pan.
• Chewy: These brownies were not too cakey and not too fudgey.  They were a great chewy brownie.
• Not Gritty: A common problem with gluten-free baked goods is grittiness, but not with these.  Aldi's brownies were not gritty at all, not even the next day (which often happens with GF baked goods as well).
• Tasty: These GF brownies taste like a brownie.  Yum!
• Cheaper: Like most products from Aldi, this mix is cheaper than what you will pay for name brand products at other grocery stores.  I paid $2.99 for the Aldi mix.  Other grocery stores in my area have brownie mixes that run about $4-$6 each.
• Moist: These brownies were not dry at all.  Even the next day, they were still moist.
• Convenient: Like all brownie mixes, this one was convenient.  In addition to the mix, you only need 2 Tablespoons of water, 1/2 cup of oil or melted butter (I opted for the butter.), and 2 eggs.  You probably have all of that stuff on hand right now.

Cons

• "Not Chocolatey Enough": These were the words of my husband, who consumes gluten daily.  And I have to agree.  Although these brownies were pretty good, they could have used a little more chocolate flavor.
• Only makes an 8x8 or 9" round pan: Be forewarned, Baker's Corner GF Brownie Mix will not feed a crowd.  If you want to make a 9x13 pan of brownies, you are going to need two mixes.
• Looked Weird: These brownies looked odd when I pulled them out of my oven.  Brownies made from a mix tend to have a crackly top.  These brownies do have a crackly top, but only in the middle.  I had about an inch wide border around the pan that did not have a crackly top.  (See the picture below.) Why this happened is a mystery to me.  If I were serving them to company, I definitely would have covered them in frosting so they would look normal.
• Crumbly: Probably the worst part of these brownies was the fact that they completely fell apart when I tried to take them out the pan.  They were a mangled mess even though I sprayed the pan liberally with cookie spray.
• Long Bake Time: The box listed the bake time as 30-35 minutes.  Mine took about 45 minutes (as you can see from all the toothpick holes in the picture from testing repeatedly). This seemed really long for brownies.  The recipe I normally use for brownies from scratch bakes up in about 20-25 minutes.

In conclusion, I will keep making my brownies from scratch.  However, if I bought brownie mixes regularly, I would buy these again.  They were pretty tasty.  And if I could figure out how to get them out the pan without completely destroying them, I would even share them with friends.

Note: I was not compensated for this post.  I bought the brownie mix with my own money, and all opinions are my own.

Just Another Reason to Love Junior Mints

Sorry for the iPod pictures. If you can't read the back of the box, it clearly says that Junior Mints are made in a facility that does not use gluten, peanuts, or tree nuts. Hurray! I can't tolerate gluten, and one of my children is allergic to peanuts. That makes Junior Mints twice as good in my book.

Tips for a Gluten-free Endurance Race

I ran a half marathon on Saturday.  It was my fourth one, but only the first time I have run a race gluten-free since I have only been GF since October.  Here are my tips for enjoyable gluten-free racing.

• Check with the race to see what fuel is provided during and after the race.  This information is usually available on the race's website.  If not, there is usually contact information provided for races.  It's worth looking into so you don't end up glutened. 
• GU products are gluten free!  The website for the race that I participated in stated that GU energy gel would be available, which is what I used for my previous races.  According to GU's website, all of their products are gluten free.  Check it out here.
• 
• CLIF SHOT Energy Gel is NOT gluten-free!  I probably should have put this first because I think it is my most important tip.  I bought a CLIF SHOT Energy Gel for my race because it did not say anywhere on the package anything about gluten, wheat, barley, rye, etc.  I figured that it was fine.  When I got home, I googled it just to check.  It clearly states on CLIF's website that their energy gel is not a gluten-free product.  Check it out here.  I wish it had warned me on the package.  I wouldn't have bought it.  Here's an example of what it looks like.
• 
• Bring your own food for after the race.  Most races, including the one that I ran, have various food and drinks at the finish.  Unfortunately, this usually means bagels and granola bars along with fruit, water, and Gatorade.  Obviously, I could have the fruit and drinks, but that wasn't enough for me post-race.  Luckily, I had planned for this and packed an extra Larabar and a Ziploc bag of Chex cereal in my gear check bag. This worked well for me.  Do what works for you.

What tips do you have for competing in endurance races gluten-free?

Note: I was not compensated by any party for this post.  All opinions are my own.