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Recipe: Gluten-Free Hello Dolly Bars

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

As September comes to an end, I can’t help but begin to think about the upcoming holidays. Halloween is five weeks away. Thanksgiving is nine weeks away. Christmas is thirteen weeks away. All of those holidays usually mean there will be festive desserts of some sort to add to the celebration. Walker’s Shortbread is a great cookie to keep on hand for impromptu entertaining or to use in a recipe like the Hello Dolly recipe below.

Hello Dolly Bars

*Courtesy of Tasty Eats at Home

Ingredients
·        2 4.9 oz boxes Walkers Gluten-Free Shortbread Rounds
·        3 T butter, melted and cooled
·        1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
·        ½ cup white chocolate chips
·        1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
·        ½ cup chopped pecans
·        1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ square baking pan, line with parchment paper, and grease the paper. Set aside.In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the cookies into crumbs. Add the butter and process until a dough forms. The dough should be rather dry, but hold together if you press it. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan.Top the shortbread base with the shredded coconut, spreading evenly. Top with white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips, then pecans. Finally, drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Walker’s gluten-free Shortbread can be purchased online for $4.99/box directly from Walker’s website and shipping is free on all orders over $50. Their products can also be found in select grocery stores…our local Giant Eagle stores carry them here in Columbus.

Review: Pillsbury Ready-to-Eat Blueberry Muffins

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

College students are all about quick and easy food choices. Our son is now a sophomore in college and living in an apartment with friends so he has a kitchen to prepare food. That doesn’t always mean that he does, but he has the option. He is learning about how to grocery shop for gluten-free specialty foods and is finding that it isn’t always easy to find the products he knows and loves. I offered to pick up a few of his favorites for him last week and ran across these Pillsbury Ready-to-Eat Blueberry Muffins in the process.

I can’t find the product located on the product website, but after a little research, I discovered Uncle Wally’s partnered with Pillsbury to make these muffins, and turns out they are also available in a Chocolate Chip variety.

Ingredients: Rice Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Soybean Oil, Water, Blueberries, Whey Powder, Glycerine, Contains 2% or Less of: Modified Rice Starch, Potato Starch, Modified Corn Starch, Mono and Diglycerides, Invert Sugar, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Natural Flavors, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Xanthan Gum.

I was unable to sample these muffins because they have dairy in them, but my son says they are amazing and he can’t wait to buy some more! I found them at Giant Eagle. They are also available at Wegman’s, Ingles Markets, and ShopRite Supermarkets. The muffins can be found in the freezer section, are individually wrapped, and are certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization.

Have you tried the new Pillsbury Ready-to-Eat Blueberry Muffins? 

Review: Gluten-Free Cheerios

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 7 Comments

General Mills and Cheerios have taken a big step…they have made five varieties of the popular cereal gluten-free. This is awesome news, though there are some concerns swirling around the level of gluten in the cereal. The oats (and cereal) are produced in a dedicated facility and are testing (by General Mills) below 15 ppm gluten (FDA law specifies below 20 ppm). Gluten-Free Watchdog has also done testing on the yellow box gluten-free Cheerios. The full results can be found on the website by scrolling down to the report on the left-hand side but tested below 10ppm.

I don’t know who was more excited to get his super-cool package of gluten-free Cheerios the other day, me or the kids.

We received all five varieties of gluten-free Cheerios:

  • Original
  • Frosted
  • Apple Cinnamon
  • Honey Nut
  • Multi-Grain

I have done more than one happy dance around my kitchen with a handful of gluten-free Cheerios in my hand since these arrived! Hannah has fallen in love with the Apple Cinnamon variety and Jon loves them all. I am also happy to report there have been no upset tummies or symptoms of being glutened. Look for the new gluten-free Cheerios on grocery store shelves across the US. If they aren’t in your local stores yet, be patient, they should be by the end of September.

*Eating gluten-free foods that contain oats is a personal decision, as some people with Celiac Disease do not tolerate oats. 

**The products mentioned in this post were sent to me free of charge for review purposes. The thoughts and opinions are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything. 

Review: Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Bagels

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

I discovered my love of bagels when I was 11 or 12 and living in New Jersey. Of course, we lived close to New York City, known for the best bagels. I would choose a bagel over a muffin or other breakfast pastry any day. When I had to begin to follow the gluten-free diet in 2006, I almost felt like I lost a family member. Thankfully, gluten-free baked goods have come a long way and there are many delicious gluten-free bagel options on the market these days.

Trader Joe’s has always been one of my favorite places to shop for gluten-free groceries. They have a lot of options which include many different gluten-free specialty items. On my latest visit to Trader Joe’s, I picked up their name-brand gluten-free bagels. They are priced very reasonably.

I lightly toasted the bagel and made a turkey and avocado sandwich for the following day for lunch. These bagels have a great texture and flavor. I also tried them for breakfast on Saturday after my long run topped with peanut butter and jelly and they were equally as tasty that way.

Trader Joe’s has locations across the US, though not all products are available in all stores, so make sure to consult the gluten-free product list before getting your heart set on a certain product. Have you tried Trader Joe’s gluten-free Bagels? What is your favorite Trader Joe’s gluten-free product?

Review: Gluten-Free Chex Clusters Cereal

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Chex Cereal has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I became an even bigger fan several years back when they made many of their varieties gluten-free and now continue to expand the line. The latest additions to the line-up include Chex Clusters and Gluten-Free Chex Granola Mix. Today I am going to share my thoughts on the Chex Clusters.

Chex Clusters combines real fruit pieces, rice crisps, and rolled oats together. More about the new cereal:

  • Whole Grain Rice as the first ingredient
  • gluten-free
  • No Colors from Artificial Sources
  • No Artificial Flavors
  • No High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • A 1-cup serving contains 200 calories. If ½ cup of skim milk is added to your serving, it’s 240 calories.

I first tried Chex Clusters right out of the box. Then I poured a bowl and added some almonds (extra protein) and almond milk. There really isn’t a bad way to eat this cereal, as it tastes phenomenal any way you choose. Look for Chex Clusters, and the rest of the Chex family of cereals, on the shelves of mainstream grocery stores across the US.

IMG 6212I feel it is our duty to note that while the Chex Clusters box does say, “gluten-free” on the front, they are not certified gluten-free and do contain “whole grain oats”. All products that carry the “gluten-free” label must adhere to the FDA’s ruling, which says the product must contain less than 20ppm gluten. Here is the specific language directly from the FDA:

Do oats have to be certified as gluten-free to be labeled gluten-free? No. However, as with any other non-gluten-containing grain, oats that are labeled gluten-free must contain less than 20 ppm gluten.

Choosing to eat gluten-free products that are not certified gluten-free is a personal choice. I eat them, as does our son, as it is our personal choice.

Have you tried the new Chex Clusters? What are your thoughts?