Easter Candy

The Gluten Free Easter Candy Lists from MyGlutenFacts.com are out. You can check them out here:

There are separate lists for Canada and the US, as well as separate lists for Jelly Beans!

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A List of Favorites

I am so happy with the progress that we've made in the past two years in taste and quality of the gluten free specialty foods that are available. I have tasted a lot of terrible products but have found wonderful gluten free substitutions for pretty much everything that we used to eat. I don't feel like I am missing a thing anymore, and wanted to share with you a list of my family's favorite gluten free products. Hopefully this saves you some money on experimenting with bad products, and inspires you to try something new!

Favorite Gluten Free Specialty Foods (and more)

Cereal - Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise, Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise, Whole O's, and Corn Flakes, Chex Cinnamon, Corn, and Rice Cereals, Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies, EnviroKidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs Cereal

Bagels - Udi's Cinnamon Raisin

Bread - Udi's Whole Grain, Udi's Cinnamon Raisin, Glutino Genius Bread

Bread Mixes - Pamela's Bread Mix, King Arthur Bread Mix, Judy's Magic Mixes Multi-mix

Snack Bars - Cashew Larabar, Chocolate Coconut Larabar

Protein Bar - Chocolate Peanut Butter Luna Bar

Kids Treats - Mi-del Gluten-Free Arrowroot Cookies, Annie's Homegrown Cocoa & Vanilla Bunny Cookies, Kinni-TOOS Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Cookie - GogoQuinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies (individually wrapped)

Cookie Mixes - King Arthur Cookie Mix, Judy's Magic Mixes Ultimate Cookie Mix (add chocolate chips)

Crackers - Crunch Master, Edward and Sons Purple Rice and Black Sesame, Glutino Original Crackers, Glutino Table Crackers

Pizza Crusts - Udi's, Kinnickinnick, O'Doughs

Snacks - Glutino Pretzels, Barkat Pretzels, Schar Cheese Bites

Pancake & Waffle Mix - Kinnikinnick

Frozen convenience items - Ian's Fish Sticks, Ian's Chicken Nuggets, Conte's Potato/Cheese/Onion Pierogis

Pasta - GogoQuinoa Spaghetti, Le Veneziane Pasta, Jovial, Tinkyada Brown Rice Macaroni and Lasagna Noodles

Mac n Cheese - Pastariso Instant Brown Rice

Sauces - Organicville Sesame Teriyaki Sauce, Organicville BBQ Sauce

Salad Dressing - Renée's Gourmet Creamy Asiago

Dip - Fontaine Santé Hummus

Cookbook - Cooking for Isaiah (we're reviewing a lot more cookbooks right now but this has provided us with an incredible base)

Do you have a favorite that's not listed here? I'd love to hear what products you enjoy. Post a comment below!

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Tazo Tea

Here's a little more tea information for you...almost all of the Tazo Teas are gluten free. Here's what their website says:

All our teas are gluten-free, except for the following: Green Ginger, Tazo Honeybush, Lemon Ginger and Tea Lemonade.

As for the rest, enjoy!

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Stash Tea

Yes, we even need to check to make sure the tea we're drinking is gluten free. I checked into Stash Tea and found the following statement on their website:

Do your teas contain gluten?

All of the flavors used in our blends are gluten-free. We do not use barley malt in any of our blends.

What I found very interesting is that quite a number of their teas contain soy. Take a look for yourself if you're interested! Search for the word "allergen" on their FAQ page to find it.

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The Gluten Free Awards

I recently came across GFREEK.COM - this website conducts a survey each year to identify which gluten-free products are the best. The Gluten Free Awards publishes a winner in various categories...Pancake and Waffle Mix...Snack Bar...Gluten-Free Publication etc. They've completed this years survey and are starting to release the results of each category. It is a great resource and likely to save you some money as well if you can avoid a good portion of the trial and error of gluten free products.

You can check out G-Freek's Second Annual Gluten Free Awards here. I'm looking forward to seeing full results!

Thanks G-Freek for putting this together!

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Diana Sauce

Here's a little info from the Diana website to tell you which of their products are gluten free:

None of the Diana® Gravy products are gluten free. However, one Diana® Sauce variety and three of the Diana® Marinade varieties are gluten free. They are as follows:

Diana® Sauce: Gourmet Western Smokehouse Diana® Marinade: Spicy Southwest Diana® Marinade: Steak Spice Diana® Marinade: Teriyaki

I used to love the Diana Sauces for cooking with meatballs...I'll have to find some of the Gourmet Western Smokehouse sauce to try. I also just found this recipe for Smokehouse Layered Dip that looks delicious. I'm going to have to make this soon!

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Arthur's Smoothies and Bolthouse Farms

Just a quick, "gluten status" post for today...

The FAQ page of Arthur's Smoothies states that Arthur's Smoothies are gluten-free...and...the FAQ page for Bolthouse Farms states

With the exception of Protein Plus Strawberry Parfait, all of our beverages are gluten-free.

Happy holidays everyone!

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Christmas Confections

There are goodies at every turn around the holidays, so I thought I'd check into some of the most popular store-bought Christmas confections to see what is safe...Hopefully this list makes it easier for you to feel comfortable picking up a candy from your co-worker's desk!

Safe List (but double check for yourself)

Pot of Gold (Hershey's, read the label)

Turtles (Nestle, read the label)

Allan Candy Canes (Allan, read the label)

Toblerone (Kraft, read the label)

After Eight Thin Mints and Straws (Nestle, read the label)

See's Peanut Brittle (this is the best peanut brittle you will ever taste - worth every penny - makes a great gift)

Ganong Delecto

York Peppermint Patties (Hershey's, read the label)

Unsafe List

Lindt - risk of cross-contamination

Ferrero Rocher - contains wheat

Quality Street - contains glucose-fructose (from wheat and/or corn)

Terry's Chocolate orange - may contain wheat

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Croissants

Are there any foods that you still haven't found great gluten free versions of? Our list is getting really short, but one of the outstanding items was croissants up until a few days ago. BoyBee and I made gluten free croissants from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring and they were fantastic. They surprised the whole family, as well as the select few that we shared them with.

I am not saying that these croissants are any comparison to the delicious gluten croissants you can get in France, but they are comparable to the kind you typically find in North America. I'll go as far as to say that they are definitely better than the kind you buy in a tube and bake. These croissants are the best gluten free bread-type food I have found. Use your favorite gluten free flour mix (I used Silvana's), and eat them straight out of the oven for the best taste.

We used to have fresh cinnamon rolls every Christmas morning before going gluten free but I have yet to find a great recipe for those. I have found good recipes, but not a great one (if you have one please let me know!).

These are going to be our new Christmas morning tradition. I'm so glad I found them! Thank you Nicole from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring :)

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Butterball

Here is a list of gluten free items from Butterball:

Thank you for contacting Butterball with your question. All of our products are gluten free excepting Stuffed Breast or Stuffed Turkey
But I will list by fresh or frozen

Fresh/processed found in deli or meat dept
Butterball Turkey pepperoni
Butterball Turkey bacon
Salt reduced Butterball Turkey bacon
Butterball Trio
Butterball Franks (wiener)
Butterball Biggies (wiener)

In deli counter---Butterball Cooked or Smoked Deli Breast (custom slicing)

Frozen dept

Butterball Whole Frozen Turkey
Butterball Light and Dark Turkey Roast
Butterball Bone-in Turkey roast
Butterball Boneless Turkey Roast
Butterball Turkey burgers

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Morris National

I'm still catching up with some companies who produce Halloween candies to find out if they are gluten free or not. I recently received this response from Morris National - it's the Just For Fun candy necklaces, bracelets and watches I was really wondering about, but the rest is good for future reference as well.

Here is what they said:

Here's a list of gluten free items:

• Marshies Pink and White marshmallows 200g bags
• Marshies Neapolitan Twists marshmallows 200g
• Sour Tongue Tinglers 1kg bag, 300 ct tub, 60 ct tub
• Sour Tongue Tinglers Bombs 150ct
• Marshies Hallow Mallow Marshmallows 300ct
• Gummy Zone Hot Dogs 60ct
• Gummy Zone Mini Burgers 60ct
• Gummy Zone Sour Mini Burgers 60ct
• Just For Fun candy necklaces, bracelets and watches
• Tangy Zangy Cubes

All of the above are free of gluten (wheat, rye, oats and barley) and free from gluten cross-contamination.

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Maple Leaf Foods and Schneiders

Maple Leaf Foods and Schneiders are currently owned by the same company. I phoned Maple Leaf recently regarding their labeling policy because I found the information on their website wasn't specific enough.

Here is what their website says about gluten and allergens:

Can we trust the allergen information on your labels?

We are very careful about listing known allergens. Although, we recommend that you check the list of ingredients on our labels every time you buy, just in case there’s been a change. If you require further detail, please contact our Consumer Affairs hotline at 1-800-268-3708.

Do you have a gluten free or nut free list?

No. At Maple Leaf Foods we produce our products in multiple facilities. We also are always changing and improving our products. We take allergens very seriously. We recommend you look at the label every time.

When I spoke to the representative on the phone I asked whether they considered wheat, rye, oats and barley allergens. The answer was yes, and that if there is a risk of cross-contamination it will be listed in a "May contain" statement.

Not that processed foods are good for us, but sometimes we've gotta do what we've gotta do...as long as it's gluten free...

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Clover Leaf

I came across the following gluten information about Clover Leaf products on their website:

Clover Leaf Spicy Peanut Satay contains wheat, as do the crackers in our Tuna Salad Kits, the Clover Leaf Tuna Steak-Mild Curry and the Clover Leaf Crab & Lobster Delectables products. All other Clover Leaf canned products are gluten free.

Thanks Clover Leaf for making this information available!

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Blue Sky Soda

I generally don't drink soda, but someone offered me a Blue Sky Creamy Root Beer last night and I thought I'd give it a try. It has all natural ingredients, so if am going to drink soda this looks like a good choice. It was a nice treat - I'm going to have to find a way to get my hands on a few more cans :) I contacted Blue Sky Soda regarding gluten and here is their response:

All Blue Sky products are wheat, rye, oat and barley free. Blue Sky Soda is made in plants that have closed lines so there is no chance of cross contamination. So, drink up and enjoy!

I love clear-cut responses like that!

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E.D. Smith

I contacted E.D. Smith recently to find out whether their Pure Pumpkin is gluten free. They sent me a very nice response, along with a full list of E.D. Smith and Habitant Brand gluten free products...

Thank you for requesting information regarding E.D. Smith products. We are always pleased to hear from consumers who have enjoyed our products, and are concerned that your diet now requires special needs.

Our manufacturing facility is not gluten free, however, cross contamination between products with differing ingredients that are produced on the same line is prevented by sanitation and processing procedures such as flushing the lines to drain, a hot water rinse, or complete sanitation washups as required.

The following is the allergen information for our Pure Pumpkin.

Item Description EDS Pure Pumpkin 12-796

Allergen In Product On Line In Plant
Coconut N N N
Dairy N N N
Eggs N N N
Fish N N N
Gluten N N Y
MUSTARD N N N
Peanuts N N N
SESAME OIL N N N
Sesame Seeds N N N
Shellfish N N N

Attached, please find a listing of our E.D. Smith and Habitant Brand gluten free grocery products, which we hope you will find useful.

(See attached file: EDS Gluten Free Consumer List.xls)

We appreciate your interest in our products and thank you for your inquiry.

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Gogo Quinoa Spaghetti

After going gluten free we spent a fair bit of money trying all of the different types of gluten free pasta we could get our hands on. Spaghetti is a staple in our house and if we couldn't have great spaghetti anymore this might end up being a pretty sad place. After a lot of trial and error we finally found Gogo Quinoa Spaghetti. We were so happy to find this pasta - it is by far the closest in taste and texture to gluten pasta. We have often served it to guests without them realizing that it was gluten free.

Until we finally sorted out the terrible, the mediocre and the great gluten free foods on the market we had a lot of missing pieces in our kitchen. It was wonderful to be able to fill in one more piece when we found Gogo Quinoa! They make a number of other great products including Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies, Quinoa Crunchies, and Pancake Mix. I haven't been disappointed with any of their products :)

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Old Dutch Snack Foods

Here is an excerpt from the Old Dutch Snack Foods website regarding gluten free foods:

The following Old Dutch products are Gluten-Free:

All Old Dutch Flat Potato Chips & Rip-L Potato Chips (includes Baked Potato Crisps)

All Dutch Crunch™ Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

All Arriba® Tortilla Chips

All Restaurante™ Tortilla Chips (except Multigrain)

Restaurante™ Salsa (Mild, Medium, Southwest Style, Salsa Con Queso)

Old Dutch Rip-L Dips (Spinach & Ranch)

Old Dutch Corn Chips (Original & Bar-B-Q)

Old Dutch Popcorn Twists™ (Regular & 4 Cheese)

Old Dutch Bac'n Puffs

Old Dutch Cheese Pleesers™

Old Dutch Crunchys™ (Nacho & Extreme Cheddar)

Old Dutch Popcorn (Cheese & White Cheddar)

Old Dutch Original Beef Jerky

Old Dutch Nuts & Seeds (excluding BBQ Peanuts & Olympic Mix)

Humpty Dumpty Sour Cream & Onion Rings

Humpty Dumpty Cheese Sticks

Humpty Dumpty Ched-A-Corn

Humpty Dumpty Corn Chips

Humpty Dumpty Cruncheez

Humpty Dumpty Ringolos BBQ

Humpty Dumpty Potato Sticks Bacon & Hickory

Happy snacking!

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King Arthur Flour's Gluten-Free Cookie Mix

I love to bake, and found the thought of giving it up heart-breaking when we went gluten free. I couldn't stand the thought of BoyBee missing out on baking sessions with me as he grew up - I loved baking with my Mom when I was little. After going gluten free I tried recipe after recipe and nothing was turning out. After many trials I began to concede - if the result was edible I considered it a success. It was not so easy to convince PapaBee of these successes. At one point things started to turn around; I found a couple of really great recipes that rivaled their gluten-containing counterparts, and some were actually BETTER than the originals! I have been on a mission ever since to find the best recipes and I hope that through this blog I can save you some of the disappointment by passing along only the best.

Now BoyBee loves baking with me. He is constantly pulling up a chair to the kitchen counter and saying "Cook! Cook!". He helps with almost every part of the process...measuring, pouring, passing me eggs, mixing etc. It is a great opportunity to practice skills like counting and following directions. Sometimes it is not always practical to spend the time to measure out 15 ingredients for a cookie recipe, so we sometimes use store-bought mixes.

The best mix I have found is King Arthur Flour's Gluten-Free Cookie Mix. YOU CAN EAT THE DOUGH!!! I learned early on not to taste gluten free cookie dough - it is usually terrible before it is baked. I think it is the xanthan gum. So I'm not sure why I even thought to taste this dough (maybe it's just a reflex that I hadn't gotten rid of yet), but it was great (no xanthan gum)! It tasted just like "real" cookie dough. I am in love. The cookies were wonderful as well, chewy and delicious.

You can buy King Arthur products throughout the United States and they also ship to Canada. Keep an eye out for the red maple leaf on their website for products that are easy to ship to Canada (there is a flat rate shipping fee and no need to deal with Customs).

Thank you King Arthur for making a product that will allow BoyBee to have one more "normal" experience as he grows up. You don't know how much that means to me.

Update: I just received a discount "stamp" from King Arthur Flour that my readers and I can all use...

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The BEST Gluten-free Halloween Candy List for 2011

I just came across a fantastic gluten free Halloween candy list, self-proclaimed as the BEST gluten free candy list. I tend to agree. MyGlutenFacts.com is a website focusing on providing detailed information about products in Canada and the USA and indicates whether a product is made on a cleaned production line, a dedicated GF production line, or a dedicated GF factory. Their information is updated every 90 days. These guys are really on top of it, saving the rest of us a TON of work!

Here are links to their 2011 gluten free Halloween candy lists:

Canadian Halloween Candy List
USA Halloween Candy List

A huge thank you goes out to MyGlutenFacts.com!

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Halloween Candy

You may have noticed that I have been placing a strong emphasis on posting labeling policies for confectionary companies. With Halloween coming up I want to have a strong awareness of which products will be safe for BoyBee. I've purchased quite a variety of gluten free candy - it has actually been fun to shop for this year. Companies are getting much better with their labeling policies and they are also producing more gluten free products. If I find Halloween candy in the store that is labeled "gluten free" it is an automatic sale for me.

The plan this year is to go trick or treating and bring our loot home to sort through with BoyBee, explaining to him as we go which products are safe for him and which ones will hurt his belly. We'll give away the gluten candy to the later trick or treaters to get it out of the house, and we'll replace it with an assortment of safe candy that I've stocked up on. It should be a good learning experience for BoyBee.

For my gluten free Halloween candy list I am not going to provide you with specific products. Instead I am going to point you to the relevant posts for various confectionary companies so you can check the packages yourself as manufacturing processes are not always the same in different locals. I've covered a large portion of the market. I hope you find it useful.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!!!

Allan
Frito Lay
Hershey's
Kraft (Cadbury, Maynard's)
Nestle
Sunkist
Tootsie

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