Product Review: Trader Joe's Brownie Mix

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I have always loved Trader Joe's. I love the exotic finds in their frozen foods section, all of their delicious dark chocolate-covered concoctions, and their Hawaiian shirts. I also love that they have off-beat foods that you won't find anywhere else. My only wish for Trader Joe's is that they carried more gluten free/dairy free options for people on special diets. Last time I was in the store I searched high and low trying to find some gluten free options to try, and much to my dismay the pickings were slim. I did, however, come across a gluten free brownie mix. Here are my thoughts...

Pros:

 

This mix is extremely easy to make. All you need to do is add an egg, water, and oil (I used canola oil). Then you mix everything together, pour it into a pan, and bake. I also added dairy free chocolate chips to make it a even more chocolatey. If you need a quick baked good for a bake sale or a potluck, this is a great option.

Not only are these brownies gluten free, but they are also dairy free. Another huge plus! 

The best part about this mix is that it tastes great! I made it for a dinner party I had at my house and I did not tell the guests it was gluten free because I wanted to see what they thought without knowing it was an alternative recipe. Everyone loved it! I was actually surprised at how good these brownies were. I was expecting them to taste somewhat off, as many gluten free recipes do. Luckily the brownies were a huge hit with my guests.

 Cons:

 

The brownies did not cook evenly for some reason. The outer edges got somewhat hard and crunchy, while the center was gooey and even a tad oily. It did not impact the taste necessarily, but I found it odd that the texture was so uneven after it baked.


This mix is not necessarily the most healthy gluten free dessert I have come across. It's definitely not Paleo (it has rice flours in it) and it has a lot of sugar in it.

Conclusion:

This is a tasty, quick dish to make in a pinch if you are craving some chocolate. However, I would not want to make this all the time just because I think I could find a healthier option. I will keep my eye out for gluten free brownie recipes made from scratch and post it if I find one!

BBQ Turkey Burgers

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This is a great recipe to make when you want a quick, tasty dinner. It's easy to make and takes very little prep time. I particularly wanted to share this recipe because of my new favorite sauce: Stubb's brand. In general I would caution you to be careful about the barbeque sauce that you use. Many are not gluten free, and others are loaded with sugar. But I love Stubb's because it's gluten free, low in sugar, and it tastes great! The company makes a whole line of BBQ sauce, marinades, and rubs. I have tried several of their flavors and I am a huge fan. This recipe is just one example of how you can make a delicious, simple dish with a yummy, gluten free sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons Stubb's Original BBQ Sauce (or your favorite gluten free BBQ sauce)

Preparation

1. Add the BBQ sauce to the ground turkey and mix until well combined.
2. Form the turkey into 4 burger patties.
3. Cook the patties on the grill or on a pan on the stove until fully cooked (about 10-15 minutes). Make sure to flip the burgers while you cook them so that they cook evenly.  Note: unlike beef burgers where you can leave some pink in the middle, turkey burgers taste best when they are fully cooked through.

4. Top with your favorite condiments and serve!

I topped my burgers with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and spicy brown mustard. I ate mine without a bun because I wanted to go gluten free and I did not have any gluten free buns handy. Be creative and use any bread or bun that you like, or just eat it without a bun like I did. If you eat dairy, I think a piece of sharp cheddar cheese would be great on this burger. Enjoy!

Recipe Review: Elana's Pantry Bread 2.0

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I am still on my quest to find the best gluten free bread recipe. This week I tried Elana's Pantry Bread 2.0.  I enjoyed her Paleo Bread and thought I would give this one a try as well to compare the two.

Pros:

This bread is very easy to make, and just like the Paleo Bread, there is no need to knead the dough or let it rise. Simply mix the ingredients, pour into a loaf pan, and bake. It also does not require a food processor like the Paleo Bread does, so it's an even easier clean up.

Another benefit of this recipe is that, similar to the Paleo Bread, it only takes 30 minutes to bake, which saves you time if you don't have over an hour to wait for the bread to bake.

This bread tastes great! It has a slightly different texture and flavor as compared to normal whole wheat bread, but I enjoyed the flavor and so did my family members who tried it. 

Finally, this recipe is very healthy when you look at the ingredients. Anyone worried about not eating dairy, soy, gluten, potato starch, and butter will be very happy to see that this recipe contains none of those ingredients.

Cons:

 

The same problem exists with this recipe as I found with the Paleo Bread. The bread doesn't really rise, so it comes out rather short in a normal bread pan. As with the Paleo Bread, the recipe author recommends a special loaf pan which I do not have.  As a result, my bread came out about half the height of a normal slice of bread. This is not a huge deal but somewhat annoying if you want to use the bread to make a sandwich. I ended up making two mini sandwiches with my loaf, which was fine with me, but others may want to invest in the recommended loaf pan. If I end up buying it I will post my thoughts about using it.

Another downside of this recipe is that I could not find large quantities of arrowroot powder, a required ingredient, at my local grocery store. As a result, I had to buy 2 small containers of it so I would have enough for this recipe, which was a little more expensive than I would have liked. I did not try looking at a specialty store like Sprouts of Whole Foods because I did not have time this week, so it may be the case that you can buy it in bulk at those stores. Arrowroot powder is not an ingredient I have used in cooking before so I did not have it readily available in my pantry.

I also think this bread is not quite as healthy as the Paleo Bread. I love that the Paleo Bread has coconut flour and coconut oil. I think that is a great addition that is not commonly seen in bread recipes.

 Conclusion:

Overall, this is a very healthy and easy to make recipe that I think most gluten free people would think is a great substitute for normal bread. However, comparing it to Elana's Pantry Paleo Bread, I think the Paleo Bread is healthier and I would be more inclined to make it again in the future. 

Tropical Smoothie

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I love having smoothies for breakfast. They are easy to make and are a great way to jump start your day with some fruit and protein. This smoothie is naturally sweet because of the pineapple and the orange juice, so I did not add any extra sweetener. Feel free to add some honey or agave nectar if you want to make this smoothie even sweeter.

Ingredients

1 cup or orange juice
1 banana
several large chunks of pineapple
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
handful of ice
dash of xanthum gum (this is optional - it helps thicken the smoothie, but the smoothie will still taste great without it)

Preparation

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with a piece of pineapple and enjoy!