Saffron Road Review and Giveaway
Saffron Road is a natural foods brand that you may have seen in the freezer section of stores near you. Most of their frozen entrees and chicken nuggets are gluten free. Regarding the gluten-free status of these product, Saffron Road states,
“Most of our Saffron Road products are gluten free as certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. GFCO provides an independent service to supervise gluten-free food production according to a consistent, defined, science-based standard that is confirmed by field inspections in order to achieve heightened consumer confidence and safety. All of our Gluten Free certified products are naturally free of gluten, so there is no sacrifice in flavor!”
I tried their Chicken Bites, Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets, and the Lemongrass Basil Chicken entrée.
The chicken bites were similar to traditional chicken nuggets. Their coating includes rice and corn flours. The chicken was all breast meat. They were tender and good served with a dipping sauce. Both me and my gluten free son enjoyed them.
The seasoned nuggets were also good, but different. They are seasoned chunks of chicken and do not have any breading on them. The seasoning is not real strong but has nice flavor.
For a child who wants chicken nuggets like other kids eat, I would say the chicken bites are more similar, but I did not try their regular chicken nuggets.
As for the entrée I tried, well, it is a frozen meal. There is no getting around that. I heated it in the microwave and even though I pierced the plastic film about 5 times it “blew out” one end of the plastic and spilled sauce over the edge. Other than that it heated well, but I did not need to heat it as long as the directions said.
There were nice chunks of white meat, onions, and green peppers in the meal, and the sauce had lots of flavor. Personally, I would prefer it without the curry, but that’s just me. The rice was nothing impressive. It looked like white minute rice.
I rarely buy frozen meals, but for those who do, the Saffron Road products are worth trying.
I really liked the fact that all the products I tried were gluten and dairy free. What I did not like is that they all contain soy, and for me that’s enough reason not to buy a product. However, I do think the company has worthwhile goals. Read their 10 Facts to Share to learn more about them.
Where to Buy: Products can be found at a variety of grocery and natural foods stores nationwide. Use their store locator to find one near you. They also have an online store. Remember to look for the GFCO symbol on the front of packages to be sure you are purchasing a gluten-free product.
The Giveaway: Five winners will receive five free product coupons. The giveaway is limited to US residents.
To enter you must leave a comment on this post, not on my Facebook page and not an email. If you receive my updates by email, click on the underlined title and it will take you to my blog page where you can leave a comment.
Leave a separate comment for each entry:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me if you have tried any Saffron Road products and how you liked them.
- Like Saffron Road on Facebook (you might want to let them know I sent you)
- Subscribe to this blog via email or RSS (or tell me you already do)
- Post this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or mention it in a blog post (only one entry)
The giveaway will end on Friday, February 3rd at 11:00 pm eastern time. The randomly chosen winners will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.
Disclaimer: I was provided with coupons for free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.
Nuts.com Review and Giveaway
It amazes me when week after week I hear from companies who I am not familiar with. Nuts.com (formerly NutsOnline.com) is one of those companies.
Nuts.com has over 700 foods Certified Gluten-Free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). They offer a large variety of gluten-free products including, but not limited to:
- Flours (a wide variety) If you are looking for potato starch it is found with the leaveners and thickeners.
- Baking Mixes
- Seeds
- Grains
- Nuts & Nut Butters
- Dried Fruits & Vegetables
- Spices
- Snacks
- Candies
There really are hundreds of products, so you have to take a look for yourself. These are Nuts.com products, not other brands, so you might find something new and interesting.
Two interesting items I tried were ice cream toppings—Macaroon Crunch and Butterscotch Crunch.
It was actually warm enough that I made coconut milk ice cream last week and tried these toppings on them. Both contain some coconut and went well with the ice cream.
I really liked both toppings, but the Macaroon Crunch was my favorite. It actually wasn’t crunchy, but when I first tasted it I thought, “That tastes just like something I used to eat a long time ago.” It drove me nuts until I figured it out. It tastes just like a Good Humor Toasted Almond ice cream bar. I used to love those!
Many, but not all of their baking mixes contain bean flour, which I do not care for. I tried the Cinnamon Raisin Bread mix which does not contain bean flour. The directions were not on the package, but were sent on the back of the packing slip. You can also find them online.
The bread ended up much too wet and sunk in the middle when it cooled. When I contacted the company about it, they realized the recipe was wrong and called for too much liquid. They sent me replacement product and were very nice to work with. They are definitely open to input on their products.
Another item I received was white chia seeds. I haven’t used them yet, but I like to put chia seeds in the buns I make for sandwiches. The dark chia seeds make it look like the bread has mold spots. I look forward to trying the white.
Their prices are competitive and some things may even be cheaper than you can find on Amazon, like their almond flour.
Nuts.com is a resource I personally look forward to using.
The Giveaway: Nuts.com is giving away a $25 shopping spree (up to 1 pound for each product) to one US resident.
To enter you must leave a comment on this post, not on my Facebook page and not an email. If you receive my updates by email, click on the underlined title and it will take you to my blog page where you can leave a comment.
Leave a separate comment for each entry—only one entry per line item:
- Visit Nuts.com and tell me at least one item you would order if you win.
- Like Nuts.com on Facebook (you might want to let them know I sent you)
- Subscribe to this blog via email or RSS (or tell me you already do)
Post this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or mention it in a blog post (only one entry) The giveaway will end on Friday, January 20th at 11:00 pm eastern time. The randomly chosen winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.
Disclaimer: I was provided with free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.
Maninis Gluten Free Review & Giveaway
“MANINIS® GLUTEN FREE is a company whose products were developed ten years ago by a mathematician mother and a chemical engineer father. Their mission: develop good tasting and nutritious gluten-free bread products for their five year old daughter diagnosed with celiac disease. The challenge was to produce gluten-free products that have the consistency and flavor they craved in wheat-based breads.”
The company only produces gluten-free products in a gluten-free facility. Their products are
Maninis Gluten Free produces several bread mixes, a multipurpose flour mix, and a pasta mix. I tried the bread mixes and flour mix and was pleased with the results of each one. They also offer five fresh gourmet pastas which I did not sample.
The Bread Mixes
The bread mixes all made very nice, soft bread which everyone loved! I have one concern and that is with the bread falling apart when it is not fresh. Except for once, the bread was eaten for dinner and was finished off. One loaf, the rustic multigrain bread, had a little left which I saved for my son’s lunch.
He didn’t go to school the next day, but took a sandwich made with the bread on the following day. The bread was still nice and soft. However, he came home with a baggie full of broken bread pieces and said the sandwich was impossible to eat.
I don’t know if that would have happened on day two or with the other bread mixes, but keep that in mind if you are thinking of using this for sandwiches. Adding more xanthan gum might solve the problem.
I made loaf bread with the rustic multigrain mix (shown above) and the classic peasant mix. The directions were easy to follow, but there are no bread machine instructions. The recipe uses a 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan which made a nice sized loaf that rose very well and did not cave in. Both had a very light, soft texture.
The country oat bread mix I used to make rolls. There were no instructions for making rolls, I simply mixed the dough as called for then dropped it onto a baking sheet. The rolls puffed up nicely but deflated as they cooled. However, they were still nice and soft in the middle.
My husband thought they were great and said they reminded him of his mother’s dinner rolls.
Multipurpose Flour Mix
I followed the directions on the package for making blueberry muffins except that I did not add the crumb topping. They turned out well and everyone liked them. I think this would work well for a multipurpose mix. I like the flours they include in the mix.
Ingredients: Flour blend (organic millet, tapioca, teff, organic sorghum, organic amaranth), corn starch, organic cane sugar, GF xanthan gum, organic Atlantic sea salt, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). All ingredients are gluten free and no bioengineering has been used to produce this product.
The Giveaway: One winner will receive $25 worth of Maninis Gluten Free mixes. The giveaway is limited to US residents.
To enter you must leave a comment on this post, not on my Facebook page and not an email. If you receive my updates by email, click on the underlined title and it will take you to my blog page where you can leave a comment.
Leave a separate comment for each entry:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me which
- Like
- Subscribe to this blog via
- Post this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or mention it in a blog post (only one entry)
The giveaway will end on Friday, January 13 at 11:00 pm eastern time. The randomly chosen winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.
Disclaimer: I was provided with free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.
Euforia Gluten-Free Cakes Review & Giveaway
Happy New Year! I trust that everyone had a safe new year’s celebration. I’m looking forward to blogging and interacting with you in the year ahead.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably never heard of
Euforia makes a regular and a flourless gluten free cake. I was very skeptical of the gluten free status given that they use regular flour in their other cakes, but they do take precautions and their products are independently tested to less than 5 parts per million gluten. Here’s what they said about manufacturing:
“The gluten-free cakes are made in the same facility/on the same equipment as gluten-containing products. However, the GF cakes are produced on dedicated days when ONLY the GF products are prepared. We do a thorough cleaning/sanitation of all surfaces and equipment on the days in between the gluten baking days and the gluten-free days. Also, the volume of product we make with gluten is very small compared to the quantities of gluten-free product.”
Unfortunately, these cakes do contain butter and milk so I did not taste them, but the rest of my family sampled them. The cake comes in individually wrapped slices. It is available in vanilla and spice flavors.
The cake was moist, I could see that. My family preferred the spice flavor. Vanilla seemed plain to them. They thought the cake was good, but not great. Being a flourless cake, it has an eggy sponge cake taste and texture to it.
I really wish I had been able to taste them because my family is not good at critiquing finer foods. That’s what these cakes are. They are probably not something you would buy to have for your child’s after school snack. They would be perfect for accompanying coffee or tea while you chat with a friend.
The Giveaway: Euforia is giving away one box with 12 slices of their gluten-free cake. You must be a US resident to enter.
To enter you must leave a comment on this post, not on my Facebook page and not an email. If you receive my updates by email, click on the underlined title and it will take you to my blog page where you can leave a comment.
Leave a separate comment for each entry:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me if you have ever heard of Euforia.
- Like
- Subscribe to this blog via
- Post this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or mention it in a blog post (only one entry)
The giveaway will end on Friday, January 6th at 11:00 pm eastern time. The randomly chosen winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond after being contacted.
Disclaimer: I was provided with free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.
