Contes Margherita Pizza

This gluten free product review comes from a lazy day and a search for convenience : )  I'm still looking for that perfect gluten free pizza experience.  Contes Margherita Pizza with roasted garlic and olive oil offered me another option to try.

Ease of Use

In the grand tradition of frozen pizzas, Contes Margherita Pizza is super simple.  Heat the oven, pop the pizza in and you're done.  I cut mine before eating, but nothing says you have to...

Appearance

Before and after it is cooked, Contes Margherita Pizza looks like any other frozen pizza.  The cheese is a big shred size and covers very well.  The crust is thin and looks crispy.  There are no chunks on the pizza, despite what the picture on the box shows.

Taste and Texture

The flavor of this gluten free pizza is fantastic!  It has a fresh tomato and garlic flavor that is quite pleasing.  Be prepared to have pretty potent garlic breath for awhile after you eat it.

The outside crust is nice and crisp.  It has a good flavor and texture.  The crust under the toppings is a different story.  It doesn't crisp up and stays very soft and "stick to the teeth chewy".  It still tasted good, but gave the impression of being undercooked (even after baking ten minutes longer than specified).

Versatility

You can top Contes Margherita Pizza with just about anything.  Other than that, despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to use pizza for anything other than pizza.

Overall Value

 Contes Margherita Pizza costs about ten dollars for a 16 oz. pizza.  It's a decent size and value.

Rating

For the fresh tomato and garlic flavor, I would recommend this gluten free pizza.

Gluten Free Life Muffins

Muffins!! Yay! I love muffins, but good gluten free muffins are hard to find! Either they are muffin-cicles that could double as hockey pucks once thawed or they are so sweet and sugary that I might as well be eating cake. This is not to say that there aren't great recipes out there, just that they are few and far between.

Well, Gluten Free Life, a great local (ish) bakery has supplied the inspiration for this gluten free product review. They offer four different flavors of muffins and since I got to try them all, they are all taken into account for this review. The flavors are Apple Pie, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip and Blueberry.

Ease of Use

The wrappers on Gluten Free Life Muffins are pretty well sealed, but that is definitely the biggest challenge here. You might want to make sure to have a plate or napkin handy as a crumb catcher.

Appearance

In the package, all four flavors of Gluten Free Life Muffins look the same. They are a normal size that I remember from my youth (as opposed to the gigantor size that is common today). They are light brown in color and have a coating on top that appears at first glance to be sugar.

Taste and Texture

Gluten Free Life Muffins are so moist and delicious! They even impressed my gluten eating dad who is not big on gluten free food. They are crumbly, but just the way any muffin should be. There is no dryness in site!

The only failing here is that there are not many chunks. There were only a few pieces of fruit and chocolate in each. The muffin itself makes up for it though. I really enjoyed eating them!

Versatility

As a prebaked gluten free muffin, there is not a whole lot of versatility. They would lend themselves well to a lot of different toppings, jam, cream cheese, butter- but they don't require anything. They are perfect to eat as is.

Overall Value

Each 4 oz. muffin from Gluten Free Life costs $2.79. They are a bit pricey. The major selling point here, aside from the fact that they taste fantastic, is the use of all natural ingredients. They are made from sorghum flour and sweetened with organic cane juice. This is pretty rare when you consider that a good majority of gluten free goodies have no nutrition to them at all due to the use of sugar and rice flour. The nutrition factor has a way (in my mind) of balancing out the price a bit.

Rating

I will definitely eat Gluten Free Life Muffins again, and I recommend that that everyone should try them at least once.

Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix

In honor of the holiday season, I decided it was time to do something festive. What could be more festive then the spicy notes of spice cake and gingerbread? This gluten free product review is all about the holiday flavor found with Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix.

Ease of Use

Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix is super easy to use and modify. Just remember that if you are going to make gingerbread you will need to have some molasses on hand.

Appearance

The mix itself is a fine powder. You can see the spices in it and smell them from the moment you open the package.

After baking, the finished products are exactly the right shade of brown. You can still see the spices interlaced in the goodies. The cake rises perfectly and has a springy look.

Taste and Texture

I have never in my life found a better blend of spices for spice cake. There is just enough bite to it to make your mouth water. Nothing is overpowering about it.

The texture of the cake is amazing! It is soft, moist and springy. I didn't have any molasses on hand, so I can't say how cookies would be. If they are anything like the cake, though, you won't be disappointed.

Versatility

There are a lot of uses for Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix. Any of your holiday recipes would be good to use it for. I made Cranberry Apple Spice Cupcakes that were amazing!

Overall Value

Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix costs around $5. That will make one cake, a dozen cupcakes or 3-4 dozen cookies. Very good value!

Rating

I love Gluten Free Pantry Spice Cake and Gingerbread Mix!

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour

Gluten free flour can be a tricky thing. To be honest, I don't bake a lot because the exacting science can be a bit much. This gluten free product review seemed like it was going to be quite a challenge because of that. I realize that having reviews of flour here is important. They are one of the most important products to know about. So, I took the plunge.

For this review I made brownies, using the recipes off of the bag of Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour. I also made Chicken Cacciatore using a recipe from the Tropical Traditions recipe site. Using coconut in savory food was scary for me, but the results prompted me to bump this review to the top of my list.

A quick note about the Tropical Traditions recipe site: There are a ton of gluten free recipes there. I also found a lot of recipes that were not in the gluten free section that actually were gluten free.

Ease of Use

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour is very easy to use. Likewise, the recipes I found for it are pretty simple. As with any flour, it can be very easy or very complicated, depending on it's use.

Appearance

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour is a fine powder, slightly off white in color. It clumps a little bit, but not in hard clumps. The appearance of the finished brownies and chicken were great. There was no flour in site:)

Taste and Texture

The flour itself smelled and tasted like coconut. (Because it's ground coconut)

The brownies were great! They were chewy and fudgy. They rose well and looked very good. The coconut flour gave them a slight coconut flavor and a thicker texture. There were no big pieces of coconut, but you could tell it was there. I am a huge fan of the chocolate and coconut combo, so I loved it.

The Chicken Cacciatore was a big surprise for me. Not only did this recipe use Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour to coat the chicken, but it was cooked in coconut oil. I was really afraid that all that coconut would not blend well with the tomato sauce.

I was wrong! This stuff was good! The coconut flour added a pleasant hint of sweetness. It was not at all overpowering. The coconut flour browned up beautifully when cooked in oil. I will definitely be using it again for coating fried foods.

Versatility

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour has unlimited potential! It can be used for everything that flour can, but it also has other uses. Due to the fact that it is made of pure, ground coconut, it can be eaten alone, sprinkled on food or blended in smoothies.

The only limitation comes when you are making food that should absolutely not taste like coconut. I've learned from my chicken experience that there are not as many things in this category as I once thought.

Overall Value

Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour costs $10.95 + shipping for a 2.2 pound bag. This is pretty comparable to other gluten free flours. My recommendation is to buy in bulk to reduce shipping costs if you plan to use this product often.

Rating

I really like this product. I can't say I'm in love with it yet, but I may get there:)

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Gluten Free Cheese Based Crust Pizza

Van Harden has introduced the Cheese Based Crust Pizza. The slogan is, "No bread, no kidding!" A pizza with no bread? This I had to see.

It is an interesting concept. With no bread, there is no gluten, but what about crust? I set out to do this gluten free product review with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Ease of Use

Super, super easy! This pizza even comes in it's own pan. You pop it in the oven for ten minutes. After it is baked, let it stand for about five minutes to firm up the crust. After that you can cut it just like any other pizza.

Appearance

Cheese Based Crust Pizza is very thin. It bakes up the perfect golden brown color. It is very greasy, which really comes as no surprise when you consider that the entire gluten free pizza is made of cheese.

Taste and Texture

I was shocked by the fact that the Cheese Based Crust actually had a texture like bread crust. It was firm and held up pretty well.

The crust had a sharp, complex flavor that proved the claim on the box that several cheeses had made the whole thing possible. It was great! I loved both the taste and texture, but the grease was a bit much for my stomach.

Versatility

You can change the toppings a million different ways. Either way you slice it, pizza is still pizza.

Overall Value

Gluten Free Cheese Based Crust Pizzas cost ten dollars each in the store. One pizza will give you eight average sized slices. The price itself is comparable to most pizzerias, and less than a lot of other gluten free pizzas. Most gluten free pizza crusts by themselves run about the same price and you have to top them yourself.

Rating

Tough call on this one. As great as this gluten free pizza is, I can't give it the highest possible rating. The grease is just too much. I definitely recommend it for an occasional late night pizza fix.