Kemnitz Family Kitchen Labels & Flags

Kemnitz Family Kitchen has these great labels, stickers, and flags for foods that are gluten free and allergen free.  They also have special labels that say “NO” in red if they are not safe.  We went to my mom’s for a cookout yesterday, and my cousin has decided to try being gluten free to see if it makes her feel any better.  We were able to put flags in the foods that were safe for her.  My mom made the homemade salsa, and taco dip.  Both were safe, so I was able to put a flag in them.

My cousin brought some Udi’s Gluten Free hamburger buns, which are not only gluten free, but nut free also!  Had to put some cute flags and stickers on those too!

My cousin brought a cake she made gluten free, and it was REALLY good.  However, my grandmother brought packaged donuts that were not safe for my cousin or my daughter’s peanut allergy, so I put the STOP sticker on them.  It was great, because they were both able to see right off that they were not safe for either of them.

I am so excited about these flags and labels.  Especially at larger family functions where different people have different food restrictions, and people bring home made foods.  People can immediately see which items are safe and which are not.

My cousin said these were a great idea, especially if you are at a restaurant and they bring around desserts to view.  They could have the little GF flag in them to show they are gluten free and safe.  Another neat idea is if you order lunch from a restaurant and they have gluten free options.  They could label your meal with a Gluten Free sticker.  Kemnitz Family Kitchen has several little stickers and flags for every occasion and food restriction.  These would be great for cookouts, family parties, and school treats.

You say it’s your birthday?  Happy Gluten Free Birthday!  Imagine getting a cupcake from a co-worker that is gluten free, with a little birthday sticker on it.

Is the food vegan?  Is it an Easter, Christmas, Halloween, or Fourth of July?  There are adorable labels to label your foods to bring to get togethers.  There are even labels to make what items your food does NOT have!  This is especially important for home made foods.  The possibilities are endless!

Disclaimer: I was sent two packages of flags and labels in exchange for my honest opinion of the products.  I was not compensated in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Getting Ready For The Nice Weather

YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!! Awesome weather is back… again.  And this time it seems like it wants to stay around.  We are already planning on all of the awesome things we can do.  It helps the kids get excited and be motivated to spend more time outside, and it also helps me make a nice little mental list of all the new things we will need and all of the things I need to be prepared for.

So, I would like to share with you, a quick little run down of how we prepare for summer, and hopefully it will make your summer a bit easier too.

First, we all know that the return of summer brings the return of sun, and sunburn.  Over here we are all almost clear, so we are huge fans of sunblock.  As in industrial strength SPF as high as it can possibly be, reapplied every hour sunblock.  We use Coppertone WaterBabies SPF 100+ ( see? I wasn’t kidding).  Make sure to do your research and verify that the brand you are using is gluten free.

Second, with nice weather come the bugs.  Not only the pretty and interesting ones, but those nasty, biting, stingy ones.  Don’t forget to make sure you are using some form of protection against those little brats.  Slice a lime and push some cloves in it, it helps keep the biting insects away.  Also, if you prefer to wear your protection, find a natural based safe alternative.  Gluten can hide in bug sprays too.  I have a friend that makes ours.  You can also make your own, if you are so inclined.

Third, what would nice weather be without cook outs and get togethers? Word of warning…those grills…cross contamination issue!!!  While it may not be for some, for those that are very sensitive, it can be a source of concern.  So, how to remedy that?  We went and bought one of those table top charcoal grills. They are pretty  inexpensive and easy to transport.  Any grill party that we go to we just toss it in the trunk and we are good to go.  This way, we know that there is no way bread or gluten containing meats or what have you have been near it, and we still get to have all the yummy grilled food.

And who can forget about all the great carnivals, festivals and street fairs that happen while the weather is at its best?  So… what’s the best way to navigate those potential gluten havens?  First, look for information about the fest.  More often than not, if community restaurants are going to be present at the fest, it will be listed on the flier or other paper work advertising the event.  You can then call the different places and find out what will be served and how it’s prepared to make your safe list.  If you do not see places listed, call the city or village where the event is being held.  They can give you more information about the type of vendors that will be showcased.  If you find out that there will be no safe options while you are there, pack yourself a nice picnic lunch and bring it along.  There are a lot of great fair type foods that you can make gluten free.  Look for a post containing some of those great recipes coming soon.

This is the basic way that I try to plan out our summer, and some of the tips that I have found to make our lives easier and more manageable.  Hopefully this has helped some of you. I welcome your tips as well.  And don’t forget to let me know if any of these help you out!

Review: Petit Bite coconut nibbles

** disclaimer: I was provided free product in exchange for my honest opinion. These views are my own and have not been swayed by an outside source. I have but been financially compensated**

A found a nice new treat from Petit Bite.  They make these awesome treats called coconut nibbles. They come in two flavors: chocolate chip and coconut delights. They come in super convenient little packs that contain three of the little nibbles. The little nibbles are a great size and each three pack is a whole serving.

They are nice and moist right out of the package. They have a great crumbly texture when you bite them. The greatest thing about them is they literally only have a handful of ingredients. They contain shredded coconut, sweet potato, put cane sugar, egg whites, and chocolate chips if you get the chocolate variety. The flavor is awesome! I love coconut, as does my husband. We had a great time with these. He took the packs, which are perfect for travel, in his lunch a few times and wound up having to share more than once.  They are just the right amount of sweet and the coconut is perfect. There have been many times where we have sampled other coconut items only to be disappointed at how fake and processed the coconut seems. I am happy to say that this is not the case here. We did offer them to the kids, and got mixed results. Bee, who loves coconut, was in Heaven with these treats. Bear, on the other hand, was not as fond of them. So, they are kid appropriate if your Littles like coconut. I would recommend cutting then in half for the kiddos though, the size was a bit awkward for them otherwise.
Here are some more bonuses of these snacks. They are all natural, gluten free, and have no hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, cholesterol, or Trans fat. These are all awesome things to find, especially when you wanna share something perfectly sweet with little ones. But….(there’s always one isn’t there?)

They may contain traces of almost every nut possible. You are definitely going to want to stay away if nuts are an issue. I really hippie to see this changed soon…they are way to good to be leaving out so much of the population. Here’s hoping they will reconsider their manufacturing process! Check them out on http://petitbite.com

Where can gluten hide?

Recently, I posted about the strangest places that we have found gluten since living gluten free, and realized that there are a lot of places that people may not think about to check.  Here is a quick list of where to find it and how to avoid cross contamination at home.

First, is to obviously remove all your basic food products that contain gluten.  This will typically be your cereals, oatmeals, pastas, bread and bread based products.  But, also make sure that any opened spread you have, peanut butter, jelly,  jams, sauces or butter, that have been touched by a knife that has been put to bread get tossed.  There is no telling whether or not these spreads are safe since bread particles could have been transferred over.  This goes for cream cheese as well.  When in doubt, throw it out!  Your health is much more important that trying to salvage something.

Check your appliances!  Toasters and toaster ovens will never be clean enough to use safely again.  REplace them for peace of mind.  Also, check your pots and pans.  If there are scratches on your pots or pans that have previously contained gluten items, get rid of those too.  There is no way to be sure that you have cleaned every tiny crevice well enough that gluten is not hiding in there.

Cleaning supplies! This can be tricky, because many times, companies do not list their ingredients completely on the labels.  You will need to check your cleaning chemicals, detergents, dish soap, dishwasher soap and anything else you use.  If the product does not specify, call the company and find out.  Or, you can go with more specialized gluten free or all natural companies instead of conventional ones.  Just remember, routinely check your products because companies can change their formulas at any time.

Now it is time to check those bathroom products!  Make up, sunscreens, lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body sprays, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, self tanners, tanning lotions, hair dyes, even bug sprays.  Check all of these things, and be diligent in keeping up with any manufacturing changes.  They happen a lot in this area.

And probably one of the worst places gluten can hide, in is your medications and supplements.  Check all your OTC medications, everything from pain medicine, to allergy medicine, to cough syrup.  Usually medications that are safe will say gluten free on the label.  Check supplements too, especially kid vitamins.  If you are on prescription medications, be sure to ask your doctor about the gluten content of your medications.  Often, if  there is, your doctor can set you up on a different course of treatment to avoid it.  Just be careful about asking pharmacists, in my experience they often are not as well versed in medication contents and gluten.  Obviously, this does not mean that there aren’t some that do know, but in my experiences, I have often found that I am more well versed in the topic than they tend to be.

One more area…pet foods!  Depending on your level of sensitivity, it may be best for you to feed your pet gluten free as well.  I have heard of people having reactions from pets who eat gluten.  Often times it winds up being s skin reaction once the pet has licked the affected person.  This is not something that effects us directly.  But this is something that you will want to think about depending on the severity of your symptoms.

Hope this helps, please let me know if there are any places that I may have missed!

Product Review: Crunchmaster

**I was provided free product in exchange for my honest opinions.  I received no financial compensation and all opinions contained in here are my own and in no way influenced by an outside party.**

When I am looking for snacks that are safe for our house, I can NOT even begin to tell you how much of a pain it is to find ones that taste good!  I walk down all the aisles with the kids and of course they look and want everything.  And I know that even if I didn’t…they would see their friends with “normal” snacks and wonder why they have to be so different.  And sometimes, I can’t help but wish we could just buy whatever we wanted without looking.  Luckily though, I found a company that really has that in mind when producing their snacks.  Crunchmaster!!  Check out their website here.

The kids and I were so excited when our product got here… I could barely get a picture before the kids wanted to tear into them!

We were able to try Crunchmaster’s two new kids snacks, Cheezy Crisps and Grammy Crisps.  And we also got to try the Rosemary and Olive Ooil Multi Seed Crackers. We were very happy with each item, which is unusual.  For those of you that follow this blog regularly, you know how much of a challenge  it is for me to find something both kids will like and agree on.

The Cheezy Crisps were the first things the kids wanted to try, and I was all for it.  After checking the nutritional panel to see about a serving size, I was even more excited to give these to the kids.  60 of these crackers make up an adult serving for 120 calories!  That’s quite a s snack!  I portioned out half that amount for the kids and the full amount for myself and got to sampling.  Before I even tasted them,  I was worried that like so many other cheese snacks, they may have that fake flavor.   I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did not.  They are made with a great blend of real mozzarella and cheddar cheese and you can definitely taste them.  They are light and crunchy and have a fantastic texture.  There is enough cheese so that you know you are having a cheese based snack, but its balanced well and not ever overbearing.  These snacks are great all on their own.  The kids and I also mixed them in with some cereal and pecans and dried cranberries for a nice little trail mix.

Next up was the Grammy Crisps.  These have a suggested serving size of 25 crackers for 130 calories.  Still not a bad deal in my book, especially because both of their kid centered snacks are made with whole grain. So the kids each got a few and off we went to taste them and see how we can incorporate them into other things.  These by far were my favorite of all the Crunchmaster items we sampled.  They are nice and crunchy, and have this amazing blend of cinnamon and sugar.  These definitely took me back to when I was a kid and the cinnamon and sugar toast that we would have with breakfast. I was so happy to find something that allowed me to share these kind of flavors with my kids.  The kids could not get enough of them and were quickly coming up with some great recipe ideas.   These are amazing all on their own or in our nice little Smores mix.  The kids actually came up with this one…and we mixed the Grammy snacks, some mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips and had our own version of easier to eat, no heat Smores!  This is something we will definitely be making again, it is a great little snack mix to have for play-dates or get togethers.

After the kids had their fun with the new snacks and building new recipes, my husband and I set out to try the more “adult” type snack from Crunchmaster, the Rosemary and Olive Oil Multi Seed Crackers.  They are super thin and all natural and nice and crispy.  They have a great blend of seeds including sesame, quinoa, flax, and amaranth.  They are great right out of the bag, with nice undertones of Rosemary and Olive Oil. I was a little nervous that the Rosemary would be overwhelming but it was not at all.  My husband was totally content to eat them just plain, but I could not help but wonder what sorts of topping would work best for these awesome little crackers. I tried various cheeses, and our favorite was a New York Extra Sharp Cheddar.  I also had a dinner to attend with some  friends and wanted to bring something along.  I used these crackers and make up some Bruschetta.  What a great combination!!! My friends at the dinner party could not get enough of them and just had to know what kind of crackers I was using.  They are such a great substitution for bread in dip like recipes and I cannot wait to try therm with other options.

All in all, before trying these Crunchmaster products I had come in contact with mixed reviews from other people I know who have tried them.  I was a little hesitant, but I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to try them for myself.  I am excited to say they are one of the better gluten-free snack companies out there.  For those of you interested in trying them for yourself ( and I highly recommend you do!!) check out this link for a great coupon! Also, please check them out and show them your support on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!  And don’t forget to share your opinions with me!

Lizzie”s Wordless Wednesday

My princess always has to match what I do, and I love it…I would NOT ask for it any other way…. But that does come with its own set of drawbacks.  This picture shoes why it is so critically important for me to follow a gluten free diet, even though gluten is not an issue for me.  As parents, we lead by example, and in my case, I have my fantastic little copycats watching my every move.  They are my reasons for living, my everything, and I owe it to them to provide the right kind of example to follow.  Me cheating and adding gluten only cheats the people I hold dearest to my heart.

 

Product Review: Second Helping

In my quest to continuously seek out the best of the best in gluten-free companies and products, I have come across a real winner and an instant kid friendly, family favorite!  I am happy to share with you today, Second Helping!  They are a great company that provides fantastic meatballs, called Mama’s Meatballs and awesome corn dogs, called Corn Puppies!  Check out their website here.

Second Helping was nice enough to send me both of their products to try.

After checking out this great nutritional info….we could not wait to try them out!

In fact, we were so excited about these that we decided to have the Corn Puppies for lunch and incorporated Mama’s Meatballs into our dinner!

The first thing I noticed when I opened up the Corn Puppies was their plentiful size!  With two as a serving, we were feeling entirely satisfied!  Bonus is, there are 5 servings per bag!  We made these on a day my kids actually had friends over, and it was the perfect food for our play date! The turkey hot dogs inside are nice and plump and juicy.  The ratio of corn to hot dog is perfect.  Just enough corn to add that great flavor, without masking the hot dog, like I have seen from other companies.  They are incredibly easy to make, just toss in the oven ( we used our counter top convention) and let them cook while the kids are finishing up playing and lunch is all done.  There was no turning or messing with them and they came out deliciously golden brown and crunchy!  After they were cooled and served, I was surprised to see even my pickiest eater, Bear, dig right in!  After getting the approval from my youngest critics, I got the chance to sample them.  I loved that they tasted so home-made!  If I would have been served these at a friend’s house, I would have never guessed that they were frozen and store-bought.  What a great find!

After the great success with our lunch, I quickly refocused dinner to a pasta night ( gluten-free of course!) so that I had a great excuse to make Mama’s Meatballs!  I opened the package and could not believe how BIG these meatballs were!!  I knew for sure that it would be more than enough to satisfy everyone for dinner, since we tend to have some pretty large appetites. There are a bunch of easy options on how to prepare these.  Luckily, there is also a speed method.  We were really busy that day and by the time I had a chance to start dinner, I just went the quick and easy way, using pre made sauce.  Luckily, Second Helping thinks of everything!  Just a few seconds per meatball in the microwave and they were nice and hot and ready to go.  I, of course, like to pretend I am a big fancy chef, so I tossed them into the sauce before I served anyone 🙂 .  I could not resist so after I took them out of the microwave, I took a taste of one, just plain.  Oh my goodness!  The texture ( even microwaved!) was amazing!  They were meaty and juicy and packed full of flavor!  I wanted to eat the whole thing, right then and there.  A perfect blend of just the right spices.

After we sat down at the table, I watched and waited, I was so excited to get everyone’s thoughts.  My husband was very surprised, and could not believe they had once been frozen!  He remarked how fresh and great tasting they were, and I had to agree. My daughter Bee dug right in, as I figured she would and told me how much she liked the new meats.  Then we came to my son Bear.  I waited, pretty positive that I could not get lucky twice in the same day.  Getting him to eat is always an adventure.  Much to my surprise and delight, he tasted the meatballs and told me how yummy they were!!  You can only imagine how happy I was that I had finally found a company that I know my whole family enjoys!  Second Helping should get awards just for getting my son to eat!!

We all had such a great time with Second Helping and their products, I know they are going to become a staple in my house.  I love that they are quick and easy, especially with how busy and fast paced my days seem to get.  I love that everyone in my family enjoys them, since that is something that rarely, if ever, happens. I love that you can order their products and have them shipped to you, so there is no need to worry about whether or not your local stores carry them ( although some do!!).  I love that I can have pride in these foods, that I know exactly what I am feeding my family.  Most of all, I love, that for that day at least, we really felt like we were eating “like everyone else”.  While I always tell my kids there is nothing wrong with being different, no one can argue against the fact that it IS nice to feel “normal” every once and awhile, and I am so thankful to find a company that allows me to do that.

I would love for you guys to check them out on Facebook and Twitter and give them your support!

**Disclaimer** Second Helping provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinions of those products.  I was not financially compensated in any way, nor were my opinions swayed or altered for any purpose.  These opinions are all my own.

Gluten Free Auntie Annes Copy Cat Recipe

I noticed earlier today on our twitter feed that someone had said they would LOVE to have an Auntie Anne pretzel, but couldn’t because they are now gluten free.  This got me thinking and so I scoured a million and a half pages of copy cat recipes.  I finally came across this one and made them earlier today and I LOVED them.  So I had to share.  This was on a fellow blog… click here for the recipe.  Hope you enjoy!

Awareness in the Food Service Industry

It was another one of those nights tonight…

You know, the whole, hey let’s try and go out and grab something for dinner.  For those of you who can do this effortlessly, and without any kind of thought, I envy you…dearly. For us, it is a lovely game of first, finding somewhere safe, and then second, trying to find somewhere that my uber picky Bear will eat from.

After a long debate and thought process, we finally settled on somewhere.  As usual, once we were there and getting ready to order, I went through our typical “we can NOT have anything with gluten, so I need to know what your ingredients are” speech.    And this was met with the typical “Oh is this for an allergy” question.  I begrudgingly say yes, not wanting to get into how it is NOT an allergy (that is another post for another day).  But then, to my dismay, our server said they would have to go and ask someone else, and they would get back to us about what was safe.   It took quite awhile, and finally someone else came out to talk to us, with a large book that they told me contained all the items they had and what was in each item.  And I am NOT kidding when I say that this binder had to be 3 or 4 inches thick.  At this point, we explained that we did not feel safe enough to continue our experience, thanked the establishment, left a small tip for our server ( I used to waitress, so I feel that it is only right to leave a little something for taking up some time at a table) and wound up back home eating leftovers.

But here is my point, I just feel like if you work in an establishment where food is served, you should be knowledgeable enough to explain to patrons what is or is not in your products.  Not just for those with gluten issues or food allergies, but for anyone who asks.  People are becoming more and more aware of what they put in their bodies, and typically most like to know what they are eating.  I just find it amazing that in most cases the servers or counter staff typically have no clue what they serve.  Even worse, as in our case, the management did not even know what was in the products they were serving.  Um…what?  While I understand that this may be a paycheck for you, this could be a life threatening mistake for someone else.  I am not at all trying to downplay the need for us with food issues to do our homework…but it would be nice for places to start educating their staff on the make up of the their products.  Also, maybe a bit of education on the plethora of food issues that people can have.  It would be nice to walk into a restaurant and explain my situation and have it met with something more than a weird look.  A bit of extra effort on the part of restaurants could do wonders for their customer service, and open up their businesses to a whole new market of people who may have previously been unaware that eating there was a safe place.

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.