Freeyumm Gluten-free Bars Review

         

                 
Helloodles Loverlies!

I went for a zip out to the health food store to get some organic produce, and discovered these new bars! Holy Hannah was I ever a happy camper! I decided they deserved a Bien Confit! Gluten free food review.
       

Yes, they needed stars around thars, to magnify the awesomeness of tasty treatdom!
They are free of the top 9 priority allergens and they taste really good, like, seriously good!
               

My fav is the honey apple and oat but I also tested the raspberry chia, as well as the blueberry oat bars. Nice texture, good bite, a small crumb, wrapped in a fruity and oat, well balanced, yummy bar!
I was well-behaved and stayed away from the chocolate.
This is a tough allergy I have redeveloped, but contend with it I must, so I do.
I will admit, that it is not always easy, but it is a journey and I am making the effort.
Back to bars, yup, these are a new staple in my pantry. I like that they are not overly sweet, do not give me a sugar high headache or hurt the teeth, and don't taste chemically saccharine. I really like that they are a petite snack size and I can read along and understand EVERY ingredient.
I had stepped away from prepared bars because they were just doing awful things to my stomach, they were gluten-free but they had other allergy or digestive issue triggers. These are doing great, and the taste blew me away! I shared one with a work colleague, who recently went gluten-free, and she took a pic of the package and was going out to buy some asap.
                 

I paid $5.49 at Tau, for a box of 5 cutesie, delightful bars, and have been such a satisfied customer; that I returned to buy 3 more boxes!
Some might feel the price is a bit high for the size of the bars, to this I say, (as a professionally trained chef, who makes her own products to sell, and has been responsible for costing in a myriad of kitchens) the price is very reasonable and fair.
Yes, the bars are smaller but that is a GOOD thing.
                                      
We eat way too much, super sizing does not equal value or bang for your buck.
                             

I have always believed that less is more, too much of anything is not a good thing, and that we as a North American society have seriously distorted perceptions of what proper portion sizes are, thanks to the fast food world dominating our psyches.
                            
Perhaps because I am from Quebec, where we take a more European approach to food, (although we have adopted some bad habits as of late) I prefer something that meets dietary needs, (not to be confused with wants) is portioned properly, helps me when time is constrained for snack prep, is of great quality, and is obviously made with love and understanding to my allergy/health struggles.
Your kids will want to eat these bars and they will not be triggering the allergies of kids around them or their own.

Oh! By the way, they are GMO free! They also have cookies but I did not try them yet.
                                      



                                        

                                       
I am using them in my portion controlled, healthy, whole food, meals for work and on the road. The taste is a bit nutty, with the right touch of sweetness, and it feels satisfying without feeling deprived. I have also noticed that the variety makes my taste buds happy, and I do not get food bored. I know, I know, first world probs but I am being honest.I am seriously thinking of doing a back-to-school giveaway with these bars in the fall. Yes, that good!
I suggest that you try these out and tell a friend, they really are a bar of Yumm Yumm Yumm!
(No, they didn't pay me for any of this, did not give me any free bars to try, I literally liked them and geeked out that much, as to copy the tag line on the packaging.)
                                           

What are you still doing reading?
Get out there and snag some of these, here is the link to the company site:
http://www.freeyumm.com/our-goodies/

                                     

Take care, be well, love freely!

VH General Tao GF Sauce Review

                    

Good morning one & all! 

It's Saturday and what better time than now to post a review for a new gluten-free product I just discovered at a local Asian market. 

VH has finally figured out that sauces can be made without wheat and there are people who will buy it, wow! 

Now, I usually prefer to make my own sauces because I like being able to pronounce what goes into them and not expose my body to a host of ungodly chemicals that no human should ingest; but I digress; but this caught my interest.

We had to stop to get some more tofu puffs for a recipe and I was searching for a Japanese sauce I had come across in a recipe, I searched because I was wanting to check out the ingredients to see if it could be de-glutened. The latter was a dud but instead, I came across this General Tao sauce and was utterly floored to see the no gluten written on it. Feeling adventurous and realizing I was way overdue in the product review department, I decided to get a bottle. 

                    

It was just under $5.00 and I found it at

Marché Kim Phat on Taschereau on the South Shore. A bit of a trek for us but worth it because there's always so much to see there and prices are amazing! Plus there are loads of ingredients that are new to me and I get to have fun. 

Back to General Tao sauce, I have not had General Tao in YEARS, thanks to my allergies; so I was pretty psyched about this. 

First thoughts, It is much darker than the sauce I used to get on my tofu that I ordered at Wok café downtown. That one was this intense orange and v-e-r-y sweet, I liked it but having observed General Tao in other restaurants, I knew that this darker one still fell in the same category but would be more savoury. I cooked it with vegetables and tofu puffs. 

                      

It coated well and I added loads of garlic and some extra gf soy sauce to smooth out the taste. Why? Read below. 

                      

My final thoughts on this sauce? I felt it was too strong in an odd vinegary way, which totally surprised me because I have never had this sauce taste like that in a restaurant before. It needs the addition of garlic and soy. Like I said, I found it coated the tofu and veg well, was quite tasty once cooked, and was much less sweet in a good way. I would have liked a more smooth flavour that didn't sting the back of my throat and if you're looking for the authentic General Tao, you might be disappointed. It was enjoyable, for a store bought sauce but reminded me more of Hoisin with a lot of vinegar and spices. I won't buy it again but the people who ate it did not mind and we all finished our plates of food. If you don't feel to make your own sauces and need something quick/easy, then this is the sauce for you. It's decent but still not up to par with General Tao we are used to in North America.

                 

On a completely unrelated note, I am toiling away on my cookbook and am happy to report that the recipe for my black bottom pecan pie, is finally ready to go in with a worthy crust.

            

She tasted so good! It was my sons request for his birthday, instead of cake. I know it seems crazy but he does not like frosting at all, you might get him to eat cream cheese frosting on carrot cake but he really prefers this pie. To be honest, I am more of a pie person myself. Simply lovely to have sweet off-set by proper flaky goodness. It took a long while but I finally got a crust I am satisfied with, that even the gluten mouths touted as tasting fantastic with a nice flakiness minus the grit. That awful grit was so tough to get away from and it is a subtle yet ever apparent texture in so many gluten-free pies I have had; good and bad. Look how lovely the bites were...

              

Although I won't be posting the recipe here, sorry, I am excited to add it to the cookbook and will announce on here when it's ready to send off and God willing, do well. For now though, here's another pic to tie you over.

                

Keep coming back because I will be posting the lovely Spirulina Apple Protein Charms recipe this week to come. Vegan treats that will fuel your workout.

              

Let me hear from you, leave comments or questions down below. God bless you!

                              

Cannelle Bakery Bread Review

                         

Morning lovelies!

I am all about this bread and I cannot wait to share with you. 

It's a new player on the gluten-free bread scene at my local grocers, it's from a Quebec based company called Cannelle Boulangerie; not to be confused with Maison Cannelle (QC has a thing for cinnamon), has a line of breads that I think, in the history of gluten-free bread from the freezer section, blows away any bread  I have had. Yes, it was and is that good. Allow me to break it down for you. I bought the Muesli Cheri bread which was whole-grain with walnuts & a touch of honey. 

First things first, this bread is a great value; it is priced at under $6.00! I paid $5.69 and the size is bigger than my usual gluten-free breads, like almost double the loaf! I was over the moon because of the selection of flavours, flours used, whole-grain, lactose-free, non-gmo, and locally made, it was amazing to behold. 

                             

As you can see in the above picture, the slices are more on par with regular slices of gluten whole grain breads. You can see that it's still holding together-like no problem holding together! It DID NOT crumble at any point, not before toasting, not during, not after, not while being handled, (I divide my bread in half and use only half per week, the rest I refreeze)

and this was a loaf that had previously been frozen! For all you gluten bread eater's, I know this may seem like an extreme exaggeration but ask any gluten-free eater, it's a big deal.

                           

Slices were a proper thickness, not ridiculously thick or too thin, and you will adore how you can actually see the walnuts and grains in the bread. 

                          

This was the bread divided in half that I froze, the rest I refrigerated in a Ziploc bag because there are no preservative chemicals in this bread-double win!

                          

Another huge selling point for me was that it was not a brick of death heaviness, that feels like it's twisting one's intestines for the sole purpose of further torturing the gluten challenged; but I digress...

Next, it toasted gloriously! See for yourself:

                           

Most importantly, it tasted stupendously good! It was light but not empty fluff, it was crisp with good substance, a nice balanced bite, shorter toast time-including not needing to be flipped for a second side re-toast! I put butter on both, tried one with marmalade and kept one plain.

                           

I had to test the marmalade one twice to be sure I had it right, hehheh. Okay, I just like marmalade. Anywhoodles, this bread is a smashing success! It tasted slightly nutty but very mild, had a very balanced texture/crunch/flavour profile, it didn't get horribly dry, held up to spreads, and in my opinion, tasted best on its own with butter and a delightful Earl Grey spot O' tea! I am highly recommending you go out and try this brand, it's the bread you have been looking for. Especially if you were a whole grain, healthier bread eater before you had to go gluten-free. There are other flavours such as: (I tried the quinoa & it was delicious!)

And it's this wonderful group of people who are bringing us such a fantastic product, thank you so much for helping me fall in love with gluten-free bread! 

This company also has a line of mixes, desserts and a myriad of other cool gluten-free baking stuff. You really need to get out there and grab some Cannelle Boulangerie goodness!

Leave any comments or questions down below, I love to hear from you.

Have a happy & blessed day everyone!