I love coconut flour. I bake with it as often as I can and eat it at least once every day. Some people would call me obsessed. Low calorie, high protein, low carb, high fiber, this flour has amazing benefits! What’s not to love? I have tried my fair share of coconut flour recipes from other food bloggers. Most worked out fantastically, but some flopped. After reading a bajillion comments on those recipes the common consensus was that the brand of flour may be the reason for the recipe failure. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of water. Coconut flours differ in how finely they are ground and how much fat they contain as well. I really wanted to figure out which flours worked best and why. Continue reading →
I love all things ginger. I was super excited to see Mrs. Glee’s Molasses Ginger Snap Cookie Mix arrive in my box of items from Mrs. Glee’s. I was in the mood to bake and immediately thought of making this mix as ginger snap cookies. I asked Alan if he liked ginger snaps and I was met with a resounding NO! I did not want to have the temptation of eating all of those cookies with no help, so I started the wheels turning in my head. Continue reading →
As you all may know I love coconut flour for its high protein content and fiber content. In looking for other protein and fiber rich gluten free flours, I came across Mrs. Glee’s Gluten Free Navy Bean Flour. Mrs. Glee’s whole bean flour is milled from the best Michigan grown beans sourced from a facility that only processes dry beans (i.e. no soybeans) They are milled using a unique process to minimize the bean flavor and effects. You can find out more about Mrs. Glee’s products on their site on Amazon. Continue reading →
Four days ago I wrote a post titled Celiac Alert: Sprouted Wheat in Athena Gluten Free Greek Yogurt Bars. Since then it has gotten many hits and shown up on reddit. This post got many people talking about these bars and their ingredients. Many said they were going to or had emailed the company for more information on the gluten free labeling. Continue reading →
While on vacation Alan and I took an impromptu detour to the gluten free expo in Washington Dc. It was a blast. We got a ton of brochures, coupons, and samples of granola bars and cookies, and other snacks great for throwing in a bag on the go. The highlight of the event for me was the hot food samples. Mostly area restaurants that had gluten free fare. There was everything from beer, to eggplant lasagna, to gourmet soups, and gluten free decadent truffles. I still felt a bit left out due to me having to ask if there was corn in whatever sample before I tried it. I found I could eat the samples from quite a few of the tables. Continue reading →
Update: Athena will be removing the words gluten free from their packaging.
Who would have thought a bar labeled gluten free would contain wheat sprout?
I often check out the gluten free options available at gas stations and rest areas when I travel. I have found some amazing products that way. While at a Sheetz in West Virginia I came across Athena Yogurt Bars.
I spotted the words gluten free on the front of the wrapper and thought about buying one. I would have walked out with a bar in hand and quickly devoured it based on the gluten free claim on the wrapper. Thankfully my corn intolerance saved me from this fate. I read every ingredient on every wrapper to check for corn as it is not a top eight allergen and is not disclosed.
When I turned over the Athena bar many ingredients alarmed me. (I am listing these in the order they show on the wrapper not in order of level of alarm or severity. If I listed them due to highest concern I would have started with the wheat sprouts.) I first saw grain dextrins and wondered what grain they were derived from. Then I saw barley grass and wheat grass which I know the fda approves for gluten free foods as long as the items test less than 20 ppm gluten or less. I will not eat anything with barley or wheat grass as it has a high rate of cross contamination. The grass itself is gluten free if it has not been allowed to sprout or begin producing grains, but who is to say that some of the blades of wheat grass don’t sprout sooner than others? It is just too much of a grey area for me to trust.
The third ingredient I saw was the one that made my jaw drop: WHEAT SPROUT! I immediately dropped the bar and had to retrieve it from the floor. I then took a photo of the ingredients and emailed Bella makers of Athena Bars. I knew that sprouting grains can begin the process of breaking down gluten proteins to make them easier to digest in general. In no way does sprouting wheat make it anywhere even close to gluten free. I did a bunch of research before writing this post and all of it pointed out that sprouted gluten grains are not gluten free. They are not even low gluten (I hate that trendy fad diet term). So I asked in my email to bella why their Athena Yogurt Bars are labelled as gluten free but show wheat clearly on the label. I have not gotten a response and I emailed them over a day ago. I also left a comment on the Bella facebook page asking the same question today and have yet to get a response. I am slightly impatient and wanted to get this information out to you all as soon as possible in hopes to save someone from a possible glutening. I will update this post as soon as I hear any word from the manufacturers. Until then I would cautiously advise you to steer clear of Athena Yogurt Bars. I could be wrong. There could be new research that escapes me and wheat sprouts could magically be gluten free now, but in case I’m not it wouldn’t hurt to eat something else until I get a clear response.
We here at My Gluten Free Girlfriend entered a facebook contest to win a basket of Glutino goodies about a month ago. We were so overjoyed when we ended up as one of the three winners that we took it upon ourselves to write a few reviews of the best and worst products. These babies were supposed to be in the basket but were not quite ready yet. We received them a few days ago in a separate shipment and man are they amazing! These Glutino Pretzel Chips have not even hit the store shelves yet so we are pretty stoked to get to try them. Winning feels good! Continue reading →
I have already extensively reviewed the amazing life changing drool worthy crust for these toaster pastries in my Glutino Strawberry Toaster Pastry review. Go check it out and then immediately run to the store to buy some. I’ll skip right to the juicy filling now. I love the combination of apples and cinnamon. The flavor reminded me of a warm apple pie in a convenient toastable easy to take along anywhere form. The Glutino Apple Cinnamon Toaster Pastries gave us here at My Gluten Free Girlfriend an epic recipe idea. Alan thought it up Easy Gluten Free Apple Pie Ala Mode (pronounced Ah La Mode E) I will post the recipe as soon as I finish eating it. Nom Nom Nom 🙂 Continue reading →
I adore versatile multi-purpose foods. That’s why I enjoyed Glutino’s Garlic & Parmesan Bagel Chips so much. They are crunchier, larger, and thicker than other bagel chips I have had. All of those things make them useable in a variety of fun snacks. I Loved the Garlic & Parmesan flavored powder that coated the chips. It reminded me of a perfectly flavored crouton. I immediately thought they would be an excellent addition to my daily salads. The only thing I didn’t care for about them is that they were very unevenly coated. Many had way too much flavor and others had none at all. That did not take away from the many ways I could think of to use them. They are large enough to make snack sized bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, and lots of fresh basil, I even thought that crushed they would be a fun way to coat a few chicken breasts. These are also fantastic on their own, but I have too much fun playing with my food to eat many by themselves. I think a homemade Chex Mix is in my future. 🙂
Glutino Cheddar Crackers neither wowed me or turned me away. They were too crispy for what I like in a cracker and lacked the airy crumbliness that I was hoping for. The flavor is just as good as any other cheese cracker I have had. They remind me slightly of what I remember Goldfish tasting like. They would work well as cute party food for topping or dipping. I couldn’t eat more than 2 by themselves but could see myself trying them again with a bit of pepperoni or veggies and creamy cheese spread. I was hoping this would bowl me over but it didn’t. For being a cracker it was good but it did not stand out among the other gluten free crackers I have had.
arrive in my box of items from Mrs. Glee’s. I was in the mood to bake and immediately thought of making this mix as ginger snap cookies. I asked Alan if he liked ginger snaps and I was met with a resounding NO! I did not want to have the temptation of eating all of those cookies with no help, so I started the wheels turning in my head. 
. Mrs. Glee’s whole bean flour is milled from the best Michigan grown beans sourced from a facility that only processes dry beans (i.e. no soybeans) They are milled using a unique process to minimize the bean flavor and effects. You can find out more about Mrs. Glee’s products on their site on 
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