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Today we tried Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies. They are delicious. They have a little bit of the gritty texture like the cookies, but the flavor is so wonderful, you can easily overlook the consistency.
Again, a very easy mix to prepare: 1/2 stick of butter and two eggs, mix well and bake. We'll definitely be purchasing these again.
A side by side comparison of ingredients and nutritional information:
Due to my son recently being diagnosed with a mild case of Celiac Disease, I have immediately switched him to a 100% gluten free diet. Today we ventured into our local Publix grocery store to peruse the aisles in search of gluten free options. We picked up a Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Mix to try.
It's a super simple mix to prepare. Add 1 egg, 1 stick of softened butter and 1 tsp. of vanilla, mix, drop onto cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 11 to 13 minutes.
The texture is expectedly different but the taste is very similar to regular chocolate chip cookies. They have almost a gritty texture and they crumble quite easily which can be offputting to some. However, I have since done a little more research and found suggestions that might help. One suggestion was to add a gluten free pudding mix to the batter. Some people had great results by simply using a hand mixer instead of a spoon to mix. Other people rolled the dough into balls before placing them on the cookie sheet and still others froze the dough before baking. I'll be trying all of these options to see which works best.
The biggest drawback I see to these cookies, long term, is their prohibitive cost. Our Publix charges $4.59 per box (each box makes 2 dozen average size cookies). The ingredients list is very short and simple though so I think I can find a recipe, buy the ingredients and make them myself at a much lower cost.
It's also interesting to compare the gluten free and traditional mixes (click image to enlarge):
There are countless combinations of hamburger, chicken, veggies and tomato that can be worked into a low carb diet. The goal is to add as much flavor (and sometimes moisture) as possible without adding too many carbs. The comparisons below are based on a serving size of 2T to make it easier to compare. 2T of tomato sauce doesn't add a whole lot of flavor – 2T of enchilada sauce or salsa can add quite a kick. (A more likely serving of tomato sauce is 1/2c – which is 7g of carbs.) Chipotles in adobo sauce by far have the most flavor in a 2T serving, but may not be a good choice for all recipes. Remember that foods that have more flavor are also more satisfying than bland foods!
|
Product |
Net Carbs/ |
|
Fresh Tomato- Chopped |
1 |
|
Chipotle in Adobo Sauce |
1g |
|
Red Enchilada Sauce |
1g |
|
Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced |
1g |
|
Ro Tel |
1.2g |
|
Ragu Original Spaghetti Sauce |
2g |
|
Tomato Sauce |
2g |
|
Pace Salsa |
2g |
|
Condensed Tomato Soup |
3.8 |
|
Tomato Paste |
5g |
|
Heinz Ketchup |
10g |
|
Onion- chopped |
2g |
|
Garlic – 1 clove |
.6g |
With all the "light" yogurts that are out there you would think it would be easier to find some that were low carb. This is as close as I've found, with 3g/serving. The only problem is that vanilla gets kind of boring after a while (not a big fan of strawberry yogurt). This morning I added about 1tsp. of Raspberry SF syrup to my yogurt and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. It made the yogurt a little thicker and the flavoring made it a little less sour. It's supposed to be 103 this afternoon. I think I might have another one for lunch.
I've been eyeballing this popsicle maker thing at Williams Sonoma ($49.95) for almost a year now. They look so pretty and I figured I could make some low carb treats using Stevia instead of sugar alcohol that is in most commercial brands.
I read the reviews on the WS website and it seemed like it was a fairly well-liked product. Yesterday we went and bought the freezer part as well as the storage container ($19.95) and the recipe book ($15.95). It wasn't cheap!
I should have put the thing right back in the box when I read in three different places that it won't work well with sugar-free or low sugar mixes. My excitement over the pretty pictures that I could take of multi-colored popsicles moved me to try it anyway. You have to freeze the main part for at least 24 hours before you can use it the first time and then it claims to freeze the mix in 7-9 minutes. (Mine each took 10-15 minutes) I tried a low sugar mix of strawberries, green tea and stevia. It froze in about 10 minutes, but the stick pulls right out of the pop, leaving the popsicle stuck in a very narrow opening. I had to use a bamboo skewer to scrape the stuff out.
I also tried two of their recipes, one fruit based, and the other was a chocolate custard type mix. I had the same problem with all three mixes. I can live with the fact that it takes 15 minutes instead of 7, but the fact that all three sticks pulled out on all three recipes is a deal breaker for me. Add to this the fact that my main purpose was to make low sugar/sugar free pops. I wish they would put that little detail on the outside of the box! I am going to wash it all up and take it back to the store tomorrow and try again, this time using popsicle sticks and Dixie cups ($5, tops!). I can use the money I get back to buy myself a cool pair of shoes when I walk through Nordstrom's on my way back to the car!
BJ'S Brewhouse is one of our favorite places to eat after church. The usual order is pizza, but that doesn't really work with the whole low carb thing. They have a new menu item that is Grilled Pork Chops, green beans and mashed potatoes. I asked them to please replace the potatoes with more green beans. They gave me so many I couldn't finish them - next time I think I will ask them to just skip the potatoes. I would have never ordered this on my own, but we had gone to a beer tasting there and they gave us samples of their new menu items. I wasn't able to find nutrition information on their website, but did find a listing for some of their other items. Some say they have zero carbs, but I suspect that's because whoever entered the information didn't care about carbs, only calories. Those poor, hungry people.....
If you have one of these restaurants near you, you should check it out. I'm not sure if the beer tastings are something they do all over or just here. I'm not a huge beer fan and still thought it was fun and interesting (and my husband thought it was the best thing ever!)
I try to keep a snack in my purse or car to help ward of temptation when out and about. (The smell of Cinnabons, the free "Hot Now" doughnuts at Krispy Kreme...) The thing two things that seem to work best for me are:
1) Emerald Cocoa Almonds: They come in a one serving size pouch, don't melt and aren't easily squished at the bottom of my purse. (3 net carbs per pack)
2) Atkins Bar: One serving size but very easily squished at the bottom of my purse. A hard eye glasses case is the perfect container for protecting snack bars in purses or backpacks.
Wilson recently made his annual visit to the vet for shots, his heart worm test and a general physical. Everything checked out great, except his teeth, which have a bit more tartar build up than they should. The vet suggested we opt for teeth cleaning chews as opposed to a surgical scrape.
Rawhides are not an option in our house as Wilson's sister, Izzy (a labmaraner) is allergic to them. Pig ears are not an option as some of them tend to stain carpet and they stink. Real bones aren't an option either for some of the same reasons. We tried the Greenies and those didn't set well with either dog. I tried several others that were quite expensive and I didn't like the cleaning results.
I came across Hartz's Crunch 'n Clean at the grocery store and decided to give them a go and I'm so glad I did. Not only were the dogs teeth noticeably cleaner after one use, there was no mess, no strong smell and the dogs had no problem digesting them. We have used them for a couple of months now with continued great results.
COUPONS for your convenience.
When I sat down to write this post I looked at the nutritional info - it's fairly high in fat and salt. The chicken and shrimp varieties were lower in fat. For this particular recipe I think it would be easy to stretch it out a little by adding an extra bag of frozen broccoli. I think I would probably pre-cook the extra broccoli and then toss it in with the PF Chang's stuff.
Each bag serves 2 and is MSG free. Available blends are: Beef & Broccoli, Orange Chicken, General Chang's Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Shangahi Style Beef, Ginger Chicken & Broccoli, Shrimp in a Garlic Sauce and Shrimp Lo Mein. The nutritional value for each is available on their website.
I paid $6.00 at our local grocery store and signed up for their mailing list hoping they will send coupons :)
