Category Archives: Dairy Free
Review & Giveaway – Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce!
While at the GFAF Expo, we tried Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce. Lizzie and I agreed that it was so delicious! We were thrilled about doing this review. Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce is made with all natural products like tomatoes, garlic, brown sugar, honey, and other good ingredients that I know and can pronounce! There is nothing artificial, and is free of nuts, eggs, and dairy. It is also gluten-free and contains no high fructose corn syrup! We avoid high fructose corn syrup, so I was really happy about that. Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce comes in four varieties – Mild, Smoky, Spicy, and Lava Hot. It is also made right here in our home state of Illinois!
So Lizzie and I planned a date, and we sure did have perfect weather for a barbecue! We decided to make chicken breasts, shish kabobs, pulled pork, and corn on the cob. Everyone wanted to try different flavors of the sauce, so we decided to grill everything and then put the sauce on ourselves afterward.
I am not a big fan of spicy food, but I loved the Mild and Smoky flavored sauce. The kids preferred them also, with the Mild being their favorite.
However some like it hot, and Lizzie, her hubby, and my hubby preferred the Spicy and especially the Lava Hot! All of it was so very tasty on the kabobs, and the shredded pork. It has to be some of the best barbecue sauce we have tried. We were all so full after the kabobs and pulled pork, that we only tried a small piece of chicken in the sauce, but that was delicious too!
Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce is available at many stores. You can find out if it’s available at one near you by clicking here and selecting your state or clicking purchasing it online!
HOWEVER, we just can’t keep Two Fat Guys Gourmet Barbecue Sauce to ourselves though, so we are doing a giveaway, so you can try it too! With Father’s Day right around the corner, this is the perfect gift for the man who loves to grill! The giveaway includes the following items:
You can enter the giveaway by clicking on this link a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: We were provided with the sauces and mugs shown in the first picture of this review, in exchange for our honest opinion of their barbecue sauces. We were not compensated in any way, and all opinions are our own.
Review: Surf Sweets Organic & Natural Candy!
My girls love fruit flavored candy and fruit snacks, but they typically tend to contain “crap” ingredients, and I am not overly thrilled about allowing them to have them. They are made with high fructose corn syrup, and other ingredients that I cannot pronounce and have never heard of before. I was thrilled to see that Surf Sweets are natural and organic candy. All the candy, none of the bad ingredients! YAY! They are made with organic fruit juices and sweeteners, natural colors and flavors, 100% RDA of Vitamin C, are free of corn syrup and GMO’s, plus they are made in a nut free facility, are gluten free, dairy free, casein free, and are made right here in the good ole US of A! They make Gummy Worms, Gummy Bears, Gummy Swirls, Fruity Bears, Jelly Beans, Sour Worms, and Sour Berry Bears.
My family all has very different tastes and favorites when it comes to candy, but we all agree that these were some of the best tasting candy we have tried. I am not sure if it’s because of the real fruit juices, or the natural ingredients they use, but they tasted more like real fruit! They are candy that I feel good about giving my girls. I have never been a big fan of sour candy, but my oldest daughter, Bean, loves them. I did try some of the sour gummy worms, and they were actually good. They were a great blend of sweet and sour, and not that make your mouth pucker and gag type of sour. My absolute favorites were the Gummy Swirls. My younger daughter Bubbles loved the plain gummy worms, and my older daughter loved the sour gummy worms! Of course the jelly beans, gummy bears, and fruity bears were a big hit with everyone.
I was thrilled to find that you can buy Surf Sweets at Whole Foods, Buy Buy Baby, and other stores selling healthy foods and products. You can also buy Surf Sweets online at places like Amazon.com.
Disclaimer: Surf Sweets provided us with all of the products pictured above in exchange for our honest reviews. We were not compensated in any way for this, and all opinions are our own and were not influenced in any way.
Review: Sweet Alexis (peanut, nut, dairy, and egg free) plus discount!
I received a package from Sweet Alexis, and what an amazing package it was! It contained two decorated cookies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, pumpkin raisin bread, and banana bread. All of their products are peanut, egg, dairy, and egg free! Sweet Alexis was developed by a mom whose daughter, Alexis, has multiple “life threatening” food allergies to the following: All dairy products and derivatives of dairy, eggs, shellfish, all nuts, including tree nuts and peanuts, mustard and cherries.
She also has environmental allergies and is asthmatic. She is so severe that three separate doctors have refused to perform skin tests on her for fear that she would go into anaphylaxis. These products are made by a mom who KNOWS all to well the battle of trying to keep our children safe from their allergens. She has had a long, scary road, and battles every day to stay safe. You can read her story here.
The first thing my girls wanted to tear into were the beautifully decorated cookies. My one daughter loves pink, so she chose the Heart Cookie. My other loves blue, so she chose the Patriotic cookie. My girls said the cookies were so delicious! They wouldn’t let me have a taste, so I have to take their word for it.
Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, so I dug right into those. I took a bite, and it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tried! I can honestly say, I have a new favorite cookie! They truly are delicious! They are soft and have large chocolate chips. I hate to admit, but I gave my girls and hubby one to try, and ate the rest of the bag myself! It took me three days to eat them, so luckily the bag is resealable. They stayed fresh and soft, even after I opened the bag repeatedly. My family agreed that these were some of the best chocolate chip cookies they have tried. There will be people who say, they are just chocolate chip cookies, how good could they be? Once you have had a Sweet Alexis chocolate chip cookie, all the rest will fail in comparison.
I am not a big fan of ginger cookies, and my husband is not a big fan of sweets, but he opened the bag, had one, and said, “Wow, these are good!”. I tried one and he was right. They are good! They have just the right amount of ginger to make them taste good, but not be overwhelming. The texture and consistency of the cookie is great too. Both of my girls thought they were yummy too! Both cookies were the perfect size, and tasted like fresh-baked homemade cookies! I cannot say enough about how great these cookies are!
We then tried the breads! Both were amazing. The banana bread rivals my home-made banana bread. Both breads are soft and moist, and very tasty! I love pumpkin, and never considered putting raisins in it, but it was really good and tasted like a spice bread. The tops were soft, like when they are home-made. I honestly, cannot find one thing bad to say about any of their products. They were just downright GOOD! I was amazed that they are peanut free, nut free, dairy free, AND egg free! I would have never guessed.
Mother’s Day is right around the corner and Sweet Alexis is offering a 15% discount right now, promo code: spring13
Disclaimer: I was provided a with the above shown products, in exchange for my honest opinions of their products. I was not financially compensated in any way. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Review: Amanda’s Own REAL chocolate (dairy free, nut free, egg free, gluten free, sesame free, fish/shellfish free)
Amanda’s Own Confections makes dairy-free, nut-free, sesame-free, egg-free, fish/shellfish free, and gluten-free chocolate. This candy is made by someone who knows what it’s like to have a child with a food allergy. Their daughter, Amanda, has a life-threatening food allergy to milk, so they developed this natural chocolate especially for her! At first sight, their packaging is pretty and decorative. I was sent a chocolate bar and a Fancy Squares Box. The Fancy Squares Box was so pretty I didn’t want to open it, however I gave in to my overwhelming love of chocolate.
The next thing I noticed is the ingredients list. The chocolate is made with real, pronounceable, natural ingredients! You cannot get more simple than that! This is REAL chocolate! No artificial preservatives, additives, or ingredients!
I have never had real chocolate before, so when I bit into a piece of the candy bar, it tasted like dark chocolate, and I actually looked at the packaging to make sure it wasn’t dark chocolate. If you are expecting a milk chocolate taste, REAL chocolate does not taste like that. I love dark chocolate though, and really liked the taste of this chocolate. I remember thinking, this is the first time I have tried REAL chocolate! My daughter’s both tried some of the candy bar and they both really loved the taste too!
The Fancy Squares were also super yummy. As you can see the chocolate has a much darker color, and also the consistency is harder than milk chocolate. These are very yummy, but I would not recommend them for small children. My five-year old had a hard time eating this. Her little jaw was not strong enough to bite through it. I cut it up for her, and she ate it just fine, and loved it, but I do not recommend giving this to a child whole. A decadent chocolate treat, exclusively just for Mom or Dad? Sign me up!
Also the prices on the site are extremely reasonable! The Fancy Squares Box is on sale for only $5! The bars are only $2.35 every day! Not much more than the price of a chocolate bar at the grocery store, and MUCH cheaper than a bar at other specialty sites or stores! They also make chocolate chips, bark, jellybeans, gummies, lolly pops, and special occasion candy!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so why not give Mom a special decadent Mother’s Day Lolly? Only $2.20! Let mom know how sweet she is!
You can also like their Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amandas-Own-Confections-Dairy-Free-Chocolates-Candies/173118496057846
Disclaimer: I was sent a candy bar, and a Fancy Squares Box of chocolate to sample in exchange for my honest opinions of their products. I was not financially compensated in any way. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Review: Dr. Lucy’s Cookies
**I was provided free product in exchange for my opinions. I was not financially compensated for this review. The opinions here are all my own and have not been swayed by a third-party.**
Who doesn’t love cookies? I know my family does, but I also know that in order to keep them safe having cookies usually means quite a bit of work for me. Not that I mind, of course. But every now and then it would be nice to be able to go to the store and just grab some. That is why I was so happy to find the Dr. Lucy company. This company was started by a mom, who also happens to be an M.D. She is a mom of a child with severe allergies and was always looking for safe foods that tasted great, but had a hard time finding them. So, she created her own! And they have a ton of great bonuses. All her treats are made in their own carefully controlled bakery. They are gluten free peanut free, tree nut free, milk free and egg free. Plus, they test for trace amounts of milk, egg, gluten, peanuts, almond, and hazelnut. I love that they do all this, and I can feel confident that these are going to be safe for my family. And, just when you think that these treats could not get any better, they are also certified vegan and verified non-GMO!
Just waiting to be eaten!
While I was super excited at how allergen free these were, I was a bit skeptical on how they would taste. Based on past experiences, I know that a lot of times things that are so safe are often lacking in flavor. Luckily, I was happy to find out that this was not anywhere near the case!
Cinnamon Thins
The first ones out of the package were the Cinnamon Thins. They were fantastic! Perfectly sized and a great texture! We tried them first with a nice glass of Almond Milk and they held up great for dunking. The kids were very fond of these. I could not believe that these were free of so many allergens with how great they tasted! They had the perfect amount of cinnamon and just the right amount of sweetness. This package definitely did not last long in my house! I will be buying some more of these. These are going to be the perfect thing to use as a base for pies, with no worry! While I have not done it yet, because we ran out of cookies, it is going to be very easy. Toss the cookies in a zip top bag, smash them up ( let the kids help!) and then mix with a bit of melted butter and press into the bottom of your pie pan! Look for a blog post in the near future with the complete recipe.
Ginger Snaps
Next came the Ginger Snap cookies. Here again, I was a little hesitant, not being a huge fan of ginger. Surprisingly thought, they were not at all overbearing, like other ginger items that I have tried. They had a great ginger flavor, and just a bit of an underlying kick to the finish. Nothing spicy, just a nice burst of flavor. My daughter actually preferred these to the cinnamon thins. My son also liked these, but he said the cinnamon ones were better. My husband and I enjoyed these as well. While I am still working on a recipe that incorporates the ginger snaps, my husband gave me a great pairing. He had suggested pairing the ginger snaps with a nice cup of hot herbal tea. I prefer Tulsi tea and so I made a cup last evening. I sat down with my cup of tea and a couple of the ginger snaps. What a great combination! A little dunking into the tea, a little nibble followed by a sip of the tea…anyway I paired them was fantastic. These are a great way to wind down the day!
I would love for you guys to check out this company and see all of the other great products that they offer. I can guarantee that we will be frequent purchasers! Check them out on their website! They are also on Facebook. I would also like to give my personal thanks to Dr. Lucy Gibney for taking on a great project and helping out all of us with allergic children!
Review: Premium Chocolatiers Peanot Butter Cups (nut free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free,vegan)
I received a package Peanot Butter Cups from Premium Chocolatiers Gourmet Chocolates to review. Premium Chocolatiers makes peanut free, tree nut free, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, vegan chocolate! The Peanot Butter Cup is a new product that will be available online in 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, they do carry Rabbit Peanot Cups (on sale!).
I told my daughter, Bean, I had a candy surprise for her. I told her it was one she had never had before. She got so excited!
I handed her a Peanot Butter Cup, and as she unwrapped the foil, she asked what it was.
I explained that it was a Peanot Butter Cup made with Wowbutter, and told her to try it. Just like any child, she loves candy. However, this is one candy, until now, that she has never had before, so this was a special occasion! Her first EVER peaNOT butter cup! I love the name by way!
She took a bite of one and proclaimed that it was SOOOO good! I told her that unlike Reese’s these were safe for her to eat! She looked at me with an odd look, and said, “is that was Reese’s are? Peanut butter and chocolate?” I admit it, I teared up. The realization hit me that she didn’t even know what a peanut butter cup was. My almost 8-year-old daughter had never seen, held, or tasted a peanut butter cup. She has been allergic to peanuts since she was so little, that it just became a normal fact of life, that she would never be able to have one. Well now she CAN and she loves them!
The Wowbutter center is soft and creamy. The combination of chocolate and Wowbutter is perfect. It tastes just like a true peanut butter cup! It was delicious! Bean had only one bite and proclaimed that she loved it. She is holding the rest of it in one hand while giving the thumbs up with the other!
I put one in her lunch yesterday as a surprise. When she came home, I asked her if she liked her surprise. She said she really, really likes them, and she told everyone at her “peanut-free” lunch table all about them. She made them guess what was in it. She said that her one friend Zoe guessed Wowbutter right away, and then Zoe said she really wished she could try one too. It made me wonder, how many peanut allergic children have never been able to eat a peanut butter cup? I am thrilled to share this product with all of you, so that now your peanut allergic child can have their first Peanot Butter Cup too!
Premium Chocolatiers makes gourmet chocolates, so check out their special Mother’s Day chocolates including long stem chocolate roses!
They have so many more yummy options too… truffles, and Chocolate Cheesecakes. How yummy does that sound? Check out their site for lots more delectable choices!
Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of Peanot Butter Cups from Premium Chocolatier in exchange for my honest opinions of their products. I was not financially compensated in any way. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Product Review: Bakery on Main Oatmeals
I am very happy to introduce you guys to Bakery on Main!! They are a great company located in Connecticut. They began as a small bakery, making all of their products in small, careful batches. They started with the simple idea that those with gluten issues should not be restricted from delicious foods! They have since expanded their company, but still hold true to their original ideas, making yummy gluten free foods in small batches, with amazing results! All this brought to you with great prices and an easy to navigate website (click their logo to visit!). On their page you will also find their store locator, or, you can order products directly from them, with a really easy to use order form!
I was invited to try their line of instant oatmeals, and I was super excited! Oatmeal is always a favorite here… especially with the little ones. Living a gluten free lifestyle usually means that oatmeal that is safe, is typically hard to come by…and good luck if you want something instant! Bakery on Main has managed to solve both of these problems! An awesome array of flavors that are made with a blend of Chia, Flax, Amaranth , and Quinoa. They are also free from dairy, casein, wheat, gluten, and on top of all that are NON-GMO!! Mix that with the fact that they only take 60 seconds in the microwave and you really have a great find!
All the yummy flavors!
The company was kind enough to send me a total of 6 flavors: Apple Pie, Blueberry Scone, Maple Multigrain Muffin, Strawberry Shortcake, Traditional, and Carrotcake. Four of the flavors are currently available and can be purchased either in stores or on their website. The two that are no currently in stores (but will be soon) were the Carrotcake and Blueberry Scone.
We tried the Strawberry Shortcake first, and it was amazing! You could taste the strawberries, the nuances of the shortcake, and it had just the right amount of sweetness. The Apple Pie was equally amazing, and tasted remarkably like the real thing! My husband even commented that he felt like he should put ice cream in it! Maple was also really good, and we loved that it was just the right amount of maple, while still being able to distinguish that nice multigrain taste. Carrotcake was very true to flavor, and tasted just like a carrot cake. I was very surprised, because any time I have tasted other Carrot cake items, I have been very disappointed with the artificial type taste they have all had. That is why this one was so different, and I will definitely be buying this once its available! The Traditional was another great option. I am one of those people who love to add fresh fruits, nuts, and other things to my oatmeal, and this was a great way for me to do it! I divided it in half, added a nut mixture to one half, and a fruit mixture to the other. The oatmeal flavor stood up well against the mixtures that I added and worked as a great base. And I can only imagine how great this would be a base for some Gf oatmeal cookies! And last but not least…. our favorite…..
Blueberry Scone!! THE WINNER!!!
The Blueberry Scone flavor!!! There were plentiful pieces of blueberry that were perfectly sweet and ripe. I seriously felt like I had just tossed in some fresh picked ones from my garden! That is an amazing flavor to get in an instant oatmeal. On top of that… there was a great undertone of scone flavor…something I miss very much since eliminating gluten. It reminded me of sitting at my favorite coffee shop, bakery treat in one hand and a coffee in another. The kids also loved this one, and for both of my kids to actually agree on a flavor is a feat in itself. I promised them that as soon as this flavor hits the stores, we will be purchasing it, more than likely in large quantities!
This review was one that I had a lot of fun with, and Bakery on Main is a company I would trust again and again to provide my family with great tasting food that I know is safe. Check them out in the links below and help support a company that knows what it means to our community to have safe and great tasting foods!
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BakeryOnMain
Twitter – https://twitter.com/BakeryOnMain
Instagram – @bakeryonmain
Pinterest – https://pinterest.com/bakeryonmain/
**Disclaimer** Bakery on Main provided me with free product in exchange for my honest opinions in this review. These opinions are my own, and I was in no way financially compensated for this review.
Monday – Wowbutter & Jelly Sandwiches
Some kids are out on Spring Break this week already, while my girls don’t have spring break until the second week of April. So today is back to the hustle and bustle of every Monday – getting the girls ready for school while I get ready for work. I figured what better post for today than a yummy Wowbutter & jelly sandwich for my girls (and my) lunch!
Everyone knows how to make a sandwich, so I wanted to share some things with you about Wowbutter, that I love!
First thing I love is the price! This is my local grocery store – not a specialty food store. Wowbutter is quite a bit cheaper than other peanut free spreads. Every day price of $3.99 a jar. It comes in two varieties – creamy or chunky. Both are yummy!
I feel good about giving it to my daughters and eating it myself, because it is is made with only natural ingredients. The ingredients are NON GMO Toasted Soy, Soy Oil, Granulated Cane Sugar, Monoglyceride (from vegetable oil, prevents oil separation) and Sea Salt – that’s it! It has no added colors, flavors, or preservatives. It contains 7 g of soy protein, 1200 mg of Omega 3, 4g of fiber, and has no transfat! AND it is made in a 100% peanut free, nut, gluten, and dairy free facility!
Another huge plus… it spreads super easily and is super creamy. It doesn’t separate like others, or tear the bread while I am spreading it. I could spread it with a spoon or knife!
Every jar comes with stickers, behind the label, that you can affix to your child’s lunch showing that it is peanut free! This avoids any confusion with the lunch ladies. It’s also great for friends to bring to lunch, so they can sit with their peanut free friends at the peanut free table.
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a case of Wowbutter HERE!
Week of Wowbutter and GIVEAWAY!
This week is dedicated to Wowbutter! My family loves this stuff, especially my severely peanut allergic daughter, Bean. Since finding out my daughter was allergic to peanuts we have kept a peanut free home. I really love peanut butter and miss having cookies, PB&J, and other yummy snacks made with peanut butter. We have tried other peanut alternative spreads like sunflower butter and almond butter. I really didn’t like how they would separate, spread, or the consistency of them.
I just happened to be shopping at Whole Foods about a year and a half ago, and saw Wowbutter on the shelf. It looked like peanut butter in the jar. I thought, why not? When I got it home, I showed Bean what I got for her. She wasn’t very enthused, because she really never liked the alternative ones that I bought in the past. So I opened it and it smelled just like peanut butter! So I got out a spoon, and tried some. It tasted like peanut butter and even stuck to the roof of my mouth. I instantly fell in love. Bean agreed to try it and she loved it too! My younger daughter tried some too and also loved it. It has become a staple in our house. All of the things I couldn’t eat before, I can have again, and my daughter can have too! So many things she was missing out on, she can have now. Any recipe that calls for peanut butter, I have used Wowbutter as a substitute. They have all come out fantastic!
WOWBUTTER IS PEANUT FREE, TREE NUT FREE, GLUTEN FREE, AND DAIRY FREE!
Wowbutter is doing a giveaway to TWO lucky winners!!
The first winner will be chosen randomly from Facebook likes using Rafflecopter to win a case of Wowbutter (6 jars 500g)!!
The second winner will be chosen by entering a recipe that includes Wowbutter as the ingredient. It cannot be the same as any that have been posted already on their website. This winner will be chosen using Random.org. To enter, post a Wowbutter recipe in the comment section of this post. The random winner will have their recipe posted on the Wowbutter website, and the person who submitted the recipe will get honorable mentioned on their site for submitting the recipe! PLUS they will also win a case (6 jars 500g) of Wowbutter!
Now for the disclaimer… I was not compensated for this post or any other Week of Wowbutter post in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way. All items reviewed and used for the Week of Wowbutter recipes were purchased by me.
Super Yummy Fig Bars (Egg, milk, peanut, & tree nut free)
Fig Bars – Makes 36 Bars
Filling
3c chopped pitted figs
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
Bars Mixture
1 c packed brown sugar
1 cup softened butter (margarine can be substituted)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp salt*
1/2 tsp baking soda*
*If you use self-rising flour, omit the salt and baking soda
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook dates, 1/4 c sugar, and 1 1/2 cups of water in a 2 quart pan on low heat, stirring constantly. Cook 10 mins, and then let cool for 5 minutes. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13X9 pan with shortening. Mix brown sugar and butter until well mixed. Add flour, oats, salt*, and baking soda* until crumbly. Spread half on the bars mixture on the bottom, cover evenly with fig mixture.
Here is a picture of the mixture spread over the top of the bars mixture, and a side view
Use the rest of the bars mixture to cover the filling, press lightly. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes, and cut into 6X6 rows while warm.
ENJOY!
Allergy Warriors & Gluten Free Living 