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.