Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Gluten free pierogies, gluten free chicken nuggets and gluten free Udi's bread


We had a chance to try some new products lately and I figured I would share what we thought of them. First up, the much anticipated Udi's bread. From what I have read, this is the holy grail of gluten free breads. Because of its egg content, we opted not to give it to M. While we do give him some products with egg, I really did not want to get him hooked on a product that could potentially be an issue on an ongoing basis. We use the Gluten Free Creations white baguette for him in his school lunches. But, my husband and I ate our sack lunch at his field trip. The texture of this bread is much like that of sourdough bread. But just the texture, not the taste. It was DELISH! I would highly recommend this bread. This will be a staple in our house now. You cannot tell this bread is gluten free in my opinion! I wish the slices (and loaf) were bigger but hey, I will take what I can get! We bought this from the Gluten Free Country Store but I hear you can also get this at Sprouts.



Next up, gluten free pierogies. Also a must try in my opinion. They were delicious, had a great texture and really good flavor. The only negative was that I like my pierogies sauteed with olive oil and onions. I first boiled them as per the instructions. Then when they were done I sauteed them. The dough was really ripping easily so we didn't saute them too long. So that was the main difference between these and ones with gluten. I found these at the Gluten Free Country Store.


Last up, Garrett County chicken nuggets, in the shape of dinosaurs. I do not buy a lot of processed meats. This bag said gluten and dairy free as well as no preservatives. I decided to give them a try because hey, we all need some convenience options once in a while. The kids LOVED them and so did I. Now, I have to disclose that last year there was some controversy over this brand (and their mother company) testing very high for gluten even though they list their products as gluten free. As a result Whole Foods had pulled them from their shelves after repeated customer complaints. From what I read on other blogs, they have corrected the problem but, buyer beware. If you have a child who is very sensitive, it may be worth a call to them yourself. My kids showed no reaction, nor did I but that doesn't mean your child won't. My son has also been very unreactive to infractions (a bite of a real Twinkie at school, before his Winkie could be given to him, another parent at school gave him a regular Twinkie and he promptly took a bite). I feel that his Respen-A has helped tremendously because previously even a small bite would have ended in behavioral outbursts, aggression, tantruming, etc. He had no reaction after the Twinkie. So, it could be that he was not reactive for that reason. My daughter has eczema flares when she gets gluten and immediately starts scratching her feet, that did not happen with these but you should be aware of what has happened in the past. I found these at Sprouts.

So, for what's it is worth, our reviews of a few gluten free products. I hope it helps!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm having a hard time locating the breads discussed in this post.

Terri Burges Hirning said...

Carolyn, if you live local (AZ) you can find them at Sprouts and the Gluten Free Country Store (and I would assume Whole Foods although I have not tried them yet). If you don't live local, here is their website http://www.udisfood.com/ and you can find them at other online stores as well. Just google Udi's bread.