Tomato Basil Cheddar Soup

This was by far one of the tastiest soups I have ever made and completely gluten free. Give it a shot. I loved it and so did the glutenous Hubby. So easy to make it took less than 20 minutes total.

Tomato Basil Cheddar Soup Recipe

Next By Nature Dark Chocolate Cherries

These are my new favorite treat. They are amazing. I could eat the entire package in one sitting. Only 7 of the cherries is one serving, i'ts really hard to only eat one serving! They are sweet and satisfying. I highly recommend this product. I plan to try another flavor sometime soon, but cherries are something I love with or without chocolate...they are fantastic.  HyVee West Kimberly stocks these in the gluten free section.

Van's Gluten Free Snack Bars

I tried these today. I tried the Chocolate Chip version. They aren't very big. They are smaller than a glutenous granola bar. They are very chewy. They tasted "healthier" than a regular granola bar and a texture that is hard to describe. It's like a chunky soft cookie. I would probably eat it more as a cereal bar, than a snack bar at a 170 calories each. HyVee W Kimberly stocks this flavor as well as a couple others that contain fruit.

Been a while...

I feel like its been forever since I blogged. I had hip surgery over the holidays so I was out of commission for a while. I'm doing well now and back to my old self. The hubby and I are trying the clean eating plan. I haven't had any form of gluten or cross contamination since the beginning of February. I'm also currently on no sugar or starch other that what is found in certain veggies and fruit. Do I miss the sugar? Nah, I eat fruit and that gives me a good fix. I had tried a couple things that I had blogged on. I kept forgetting.

I tried the Crunchmaster Cheesy Crisps recently. I did not like them. They have a processed cheese taste that was gross. Reminded me of the processed cheese on Doritos only less tasty. I will say I love Crunchmaster's Multigrain Crackers and buy them all the time when I'm eating carbs.

I'm still a huge fan of KIND bars. They are wonderful. There are so many options and very healthy yet feel like a treat. My favorite is the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar.

Recently had the gluten free chicken burgers from the Hy-Vee W Kimberly's frozen section - they are fantastic. I just put them on the George Foreman grill. They are seasoned with basic stuff but are amazing.

I know the Hy-Vee on W Kimberly has been stocking those gf items like crazy. They have so many more choices now. It's fantastic! I still love my Udi's bread (when I'm eating carbs). My favorite recently is the cinnamon raisin bread. YUM!

Oh and one last thing I found I really like...Tofu! Who knew?! I just fry it up or cook it with other meat so it just adds a bit more protein but my family doesn't notice. So lucky to have a friend who is a pro with the stuff.

I do have some sweet potato Asian noodles to try and when I do I will blog on it. I got them at an Asian market in Iowa City.

Gluten Free Event Coming UP

Hy-Vee West Locust in Davenport will be hosting a gluten free event in a couple weeks. The event will be held March 22 from 3-6 p.m. and March 23 from noon-3 p.m.

They will be showcasing many Gluten-Free products, including Gluten-Free beers from our Wine and Spirits Department.

Stop by and check it out.

MSG - the hidden gut tormentor!

This is the worst possible ingredient for me. MSG is by far a more violent reaction for me than gluten. Gluten gives me a stomach ache and all kinds of lingering affects, but MSG literally tears me up. It kills my stomach and makes an immediate and violent reappearance 10 minutes after ingesting (sorry TMI). It is awful. I try to avoid it like the plague. It's so difficult this time of year...its in EVERYTHING.

Pretty much anything that is packaged has to be checked for MSG. It angers me to no end! The most frustrating for me lately is packaged meat, like sausages (polish, smoked, or brats). When will the high end brands get on board and stop putting that and gluten into meat. It is not needed. Farmland and HyVee are both well aware of this nifty fact. Meat tastes just fabulous WITHOUT the added MSG. Now how in the world do I get companies like Johnsonville, Jimmy Dean and Eckert on board.

I have already accepted that things like that are prepackaged like Hamburger Helper (even gf) and gravies/prepackaged seasonsings are going to have it, but applaud those companies like McCormick's that go the extra step (or skip that extra step) to ensure there is no MSG added.

Know this holiday seasoning its lurking everywhere. Watch for it,I know I will be.

Tis the Season...

Crackers are everywhere, but the gluten free ones are not the ones we want. I love crackers of all kinds...Ritz, Club, Saltines...I'm really not picky, so being GF really puts a kink in my cracker love.  I finally found a cracker I can use in place of Saltines...Glutino's Table Crackers are fantastic. They are not salted, but they still taste very similar to a saltine minus the salty. My other favorite crackers this time of year are the Nut Crackers - lightly salted. I also occasionally enjoy Crunch Master's Multi Grain GF cracker. I'm certain with all these brands to try you won't be disappointed.