I am not putting up a recipe today – I actually have some ready to go but I decided to take a different direction this morniing. I have to be honest, posting fewer than three recipes a week makes me a little twitchy. It’s become my weekly schedule and I do feel a sense of obligation about it at times. But so many of you have expressed interest in what products I love and what brands I use, I thought it was time for a little review post. When it comes to low carb and gluten-free cooking and baking, I certainly have strong preferences about what I like to use. When it comes to actually eating, those preferences are even stronger. What can I say? I like what I like and some things just aren’t worth compromise.
A few of the products here were sent to me for review and I will make note of that for transparency. Most of the products are things I purchased myself. Either way, if they are included here, I really liked them and want to give them a shout out.
Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Maple Syrup: This is what I pour on all my low carb pancakes and waffles. It’s made with xylitol and it’s much thicker than most sugar free syrups. I don’t detect any aftertaste at all, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s as close to real maple syrup as I am going to get. I haven’t tried anything else from their product line yet, but it all looks good so I might try their honey. I purchased it on Amazon.com.
Cabot Whole Milk Greek Yogurt: For a while there, I despaired of ever finding a decent whole milk Greek yogurt in my area. I even traveled several towns over to the closest Whole Foods, to no avail. It was all low and non-fat. Turns out, it was right under my nose the whole time. Both of my local grocery stores carry many products from this local-ish (Vermont) dairy co-op. I’ve eaten lots of their cheese and when I finally took note that they had full fat Greek yogurt, I fell in love. A little stevia and some chopped strawberries and it’s like ice cream. We keep it on hand at all times now.
Savorfull Okay, so this is more of a service than an individual product, but I think it’s a brilliant idea nonetheless. I met the owner at the Nourished Food Blogger Conference and she offered to send me a box to try. The basic idea is a monthly box of allergy-free foods sent to your door…without a hefty price tag. Everything is gluten, wheat, peanut and dairy free, and it gives you a chance to try new products on the market so you can decide what works best for you. My box contained samples of noodles, all-purpose flour and some snacks. I am fortunate that no one in my house has any sort of food allergies, but I can see just how helpful this service would be if I did.
Trader Joe’s Mahi Mahi Burgers: When I bought these the other day as a quick convenience meal, I was expecting a dry-ish, fishy tasting burger. I figured it would be good for us but that I’d have to whip up an interesting sauce or mayo to make it palatable. Boy, was I wrong! These are fabulous and need absolutely nothing to accompany them, although they were good paired with a ginger sesame dressing. I was so impressed, I plan to go back and buy about 4 boxes to keep in the freezer for those busy weeknights! We grilled ours, which surely made them extra good, but I think they’d be great broiled as well.
Simple Squares: These were sent to me for review because of my emphasis on gluten-free and I was impressed. Now, they do contain a little honey so they aren’t something I can indulge in too much, but they were a fantastic healthy snack for my kids. They are entirely organic and made just with nuts, honey, vanilla, sea salt and herbs. And they come in really interesting flavours like Cinnamon Clove, Rosemary, or Sage. We are big snackers in this house and they are a great grain-free, gluten-free alternative to granola bars.
Bob’s Red Mill Golden Flax Seed Meal: It’s not overstating things to say that I am slightly obsessed with this at the moment. Up until recently, I always used the regular brown flax meal. And truthfully, I think they taste about the same. But the golden flax has captured my fancy because the lighter colour looks better in most baked goods. My Walnut Flax Pancakes were made with golden flax and you honestly cannot tell them apart from regular pancakes. And it’s available in most grocery stores, which is a huge boon for this busy mama.
Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour: Finally, I have to give a shout-out to the good people at Honeyville, because this is the Cadillac of almond flours. There are some other decent ones out there, but this is the gold standard in my opinion. It’s blanched and finely ground, and for most of my recipes, you honestly can’t tell that the final result is made with almond flour. And pound for pound, it’s really no more expensive than any other brand on the market, as long as we are talking about true almond FLOUR. Almond meal is another thing altogether and I will say that you can’t use them interchangeably. Almond meal is not as finely ground and won’t bake quite the same way so be sure you know what you are using. I purchase my Honeyville directly from their website because I am on their email list and they send around discount codes every month or so. And can I just say…I don’t work with them to promote their product, but if they ever asked me to, I’d jump at the chance!
So that’s my little round up for today. What are your favourite low carb or gluten free products?
