The round crackers are beautifully displayed and a terrific idea, made with organic brown rice, quinoa, and flax. Again, they were a bit dry, and we found them to be best eaten with a moist topping or spread. The Caraway was the most true to its name in its taste and has the most flavor.

Mary Waldner, founder of Mary’s Gone Crackers, suffered from intestinal pain for years until discovering her pain was the result of gluten, and her son was soon after diagnosed with celiac disease. Mary’s Gone Crackers has been her solution to satisfy the needs of people and her family with a good, nutritious fiber-packed food.

Here is a video review I did on these wonderful crackers:

I welcome others to share opinions in the comment box provided below

Miranda Jade
www.glutenfreehelp.info

     We review a lot of gluten-free companies and products, but it isn’t very often that we come across a body product line that is gluten-free.

Green Beaver is a Canada-based company that truly believes in being gluten-free. From kids’ products to women’s lip products, this company is sure to have something for everyone. This company takes pride in making sure their products are certified organic as well. Green Beaver understands that pesticides accumulate in fatty tissue (bioaccumulation) and are endocrine disruptors. As many of us know, repeated contact with even small doses of pesticides can cause build up in the body which possibly can cause immune and nervous system disorders years after exposure. Using certified organic products can be very beneficial for those with celiac or gluten-sensitivity due to our weaker immune systems.

We tested many of Green Beaver’s products. One of our testers fell in love with the Star Anis toothpaste. He said that he had tried other anis(anise)-flavored toothpastes, and they always tasted very artificial to him. Green Beavers Star Anis toothpaste tasted like real licorice!

     Most important, we always want to protect our children. Green Beaver has a wonderful children’s line complete with a bubble bath. It is gentle enough to use on your kids but still gets the job done. The products are all naturally scented so you don’t have to worry about overwhelming scents. We found them to be very light and pleasing.

Some people who are celiac or gluten-sensitive don’t see a reaction from gluten touching the skin, but why take the risk? With your pores opened from the heat of your shower, whatever you use on your hair or body is sure to get into your system. Green Beavers line of body products for adults is no ordinary organic gluten-free line. It also works! I find that most of the body products at my local health food store just don’t get the job done. My hair is left feeling dry and my skin isn’t moisturized well enough.

     One of our testers said that the lavender shampoo and conditioner were just what she has been looking for. The shampoo really cleaned her hair, and the conditioner gave her that deep-conditioned feel that she normally only gets from salon conditioner. She also thought the body lotion was excellent. It is very thick so she wanted me to warn you that “a little bit goes a long way!”

My favorite product of Green Beaver would have to be their lip shimmers. They moisturize your lips so well and leave them with just the right tint of color. Having a gluten-free product to put on your lips is a must. We all lick our lips and eat food throughout the day. We are bound to get any lip product into our mouth.

When it comes down to it, if you are going to be on a gluten-free diet, remember that everything that touches your body can get into your system. Green Beaver has taken the initiative to ensure these healthy choices are readily available to us.

Green Beaver is truly at the top of our list now.

Miranda Jade

www.Glutenfreehelp.info

Sunshine Burger

Organic Sunshine Burgers come in several flavors: Garden Herb, Barbecue, South West, Breakfast and Falafel. All Sunshine Burgers are fully cooked and browned in the oven and come frozen to preserve freshness. You can find these burgers at Whole Foods as well as in many other health food stores and co-ops across the country.

For more information or recipe ideas, check out the link below!

www.sunshineburger.com

Tina Turbin

http://www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

You can get a copy of our Press Kit here.

Recently I published a rave review of Just Poppin’s delicious popped sorghum, including many recipes which include this delicious ingredient. More recipes will be posted over the coming months so be sure to sign up for my regular emails on the Home Page.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a very large banner featuring my review and me sitting along with Oprah. Yes, that is right! Just Poppin is an amazing company with an amazing gluten free product unlike others, sorghum. They were honored to have a company appearance in Oprah Magazine and well, the rest is history. Click on the link below to check it out!

http://shop.justpoppin.com

Tina Turbin

www.glutenfreehelp.info

The Pure Pantry offers mixes that are not only delicious, but good for you, serving as proof that gluten-free, dairy-free, casein-free, soy-free, and even sugar-free don’t equal taste-free—quite the contrary!

The Pure Pantry offers a variety of mixes for gluten-free cookies, cakes, and pancakes, and even an all-purpose mix for creating other baked goods such as biscuits, muffins, and breads. The mixes are also versatile. We added tons of nuts to the Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and we loved them. They were not only delicious, but so healthy tasting.

Other mixes include Wholegrain Chocolate Chip Coconut Organic Cookie Mix, Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking Mix, Organic Sugar Cookie Mix, and the decadent Wholegrain Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, oh so chocolately and full of good-for-you nutrients including protein, antioxidants, and protein from ingredients such as quinoa. The Organic All-Purpose Baking Mix is vegan and free of gluten, sugar, dairy, and casein and remarkable for its versatility. It’s even kosher!

Elizabeth Kaplan, Founder of The Pure Pantry, was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago. Discontent with the poor nutritional value of gluten-free products, Elizabeth put her skills as a trained chef to work to develop great-tasting as well as healthy gluten-free substitutes. The Pure Pantry’s website, http://www.thepurepantry.com, features recipes, an online store, and resources for the gluten-free community. I highly recommend checking out their mixes for your gluten-free baking.

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

k.m.

French Meadow Bakery offers a lineup of gluten-free baked goods that are certified Gluten-Free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. We were honored to test French Meadow Bakery’s delicious products, specifically their Gluten-Free Tortillas and Fudge Brownies.

The fudge brownies are to die for. You store them in the freezer, yet they stay soft and moist. You can pop them in the microwave or toaster oven to heat them up if you like. Each brownie comes individually wrapped and is small enough to not make you feel like you have to dash to the gym.

My staff and I agree that these brownies are not only good for being a gluten-free dessert, but are amazing in general even compared with non-gluten-free desserts. My daughter keeps raving about these brownies, and she is a bit of a chocolate snob, so I know any chocolate lover would really enjoy these.

The fact that they are individually wrapped allows you to do a lot with them. They can be given as an afterschool treat because they are not too big, or they can be enjoyed with a big scoop of ice cream for you and your spouse to share.

One of my testers described them as “homemade-tasting.” I couldn’t agree with her more. If you put them on a platter, nobody would know they are pre-baked or gluten-free. As you bite into the snack-size brownie your teeth sink into the top and bottom layers as if it was fresh chocolate fudge. I could go on and on about Fresh Meadow Bakery’s brownies, but my stomach is starting to growl and I’m beginning to salivate!

French Meadow Bakery’s gluten-free tortillas come six to a bag. You can store them in the refrigerator for freshness or place them in the freezer so they last longer. They are gluten-free, lactose-free, casein-free and peanut-free. These tortillas do have some corn starch in their ingredients but are corn- free. They may be free of a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean they lack flavor.

Having gluten-free tortillas on hand is a must in any kitchen. They allow you to make delicious meals in a flash. I made enchiladas with them, and they were devoured in a matter of minutes. For kids, you can put grated cheese in them to make quesadillas and add grilled chicken for extra protein.

According to their website, www.FrenchMeadow.com, French Meadow Bakery® is the longest established certified organic bakery to run continuously in the United States. Their products are available in stores nationally, and while their website doesn’t have an online store, you can use the store locator to find where French Meadow Bakery® products can be found near you. You’ll definitely want to add their fudge brownies and tortillas to your gluten-free pantry.

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

k.m.

A good friend baked a gluten-free cake (with chocolate and vanilla ice cream on top!) for her daughter’s birthday celebration and it was a great hit with all of her non-GF dieter guests.  Though the below recipe was made with regular ice cream, you can always opt to make your own gluten-free version. If you whip out your ice cream maker, here are some of my homemade ice cream tips.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fine millet flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup butter
½ cup clover honey
1 TB of organic sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 egg yolks
½ cup vanilla yogurt
½ cup water
6 egg whites
Flavor(s) of ice cream of your choice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Oil and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan.

3. Mix 2 C fine millet flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder and
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

4. In separate bowl cream 1/2 C butter with 1/2 C clover honey and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

5. Add 3 egg yolks, one at a time. Beat well.

6. In separate bowl, add 1/2 C yogurt to 1/2 C water. Mix.

7. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the honey-butter-vanilla-egg mix and beat well.

8. Add 1/3 of the yogurt-water mix and beat well.

9. Alternate, adding dry, then wet, beating well after each addition. Add more flour if necessary to make the batter thick.

10. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff.

11. Fold the batter into the egg whites carefully.

12. Spoon the batter into the oiled and floured cake pan.

13. Bake 30-35 minutes. Might need to bake for 40 minutes, depending on your oven’s strength. Insert a toothpick to check done-ness – when it comes out clean, then it’s done.

14. Cool 5 minutes before turning the cake out onto a cooling rack.

15. Once cooled, spread your flavor of ice cream all over the top, and add sprinkles, chocolate syrup, etc.

16. Freeze for about 8 hours afterwards and enjoy!

Rosie Newman

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

Just Poppin’s Organic Popping Sorghum Grain is a product I was very excited to test. I could not believe that there could be a corn alternative—that is so available for my gluten-free friends and visitors to enjoy.

When we popped it, it looked like miniature popcorn. It was actually rather cute, and not at all less tasty for this. In fact, it was bursting with flavor, and much more so than popcorn. It became a conversation piece.

Just Poppin Organic Popping Sorghum Grain is slightly sweeter than popcorn with a true popcorn taste. It is low in calories and fat-free, gluten-free, and best of all, free of hulls that get stuck in your teeth like popcorn! Although sorghum is smaller than corn, it has more protein.

You can do so much with this tasty treat. You can simply pop it for a movie or make a whole dessert out of it. How about homemade Moose Munch, folks? Yes, this is what we made. It was fabulous and everyone loved it.

Another one of my testers made popcorn treats for her son’s birthday. She popped the sorghum, added honey, bits of nuts, and mini chocolate chips. She put all of it in a glass dish. After about 10-15 minutes, she cut 2”x 2” squares and put them out for all the kids to have fresh.

You can use Just Poppin’s Organic Popping Sorghum Grain to make Indian, Spanish, Italian and  French dishes. It all depends on what spices you use with it. You can be as creative as you want. For our Indian take, we added a little curry and cumin. Simple! For my evening sweet tooth I added a variety of cinnamon, nuts and currants. Delicious!

The first time I popped the sorghum grain, I was in shock. The little popcorn look-alikes were amazing to see. My husband loves popcorn but doesn’t do well with corn, so he is thrilled about this product. Until you try making some of Just Poppin’s Organic Popping Sorghum Grain, you truly don’t know what you’re missing.

Families are constantly in need of healthy snacks for children’s lunches. At the end of the school day, you’ll often find those healthy snacks still sitting there staring back at you uneaten. Place a small bag of popped sorghum in your children’s lunch box and watch it disappear.

Now, for those of you wondering about using the Popping Sorghum Grain in a hot air popper, here is what Buck, the owner, had to share:

“ Tina- I found a class of hot air poppers that actually work with the sorghum. This is HUGE news, Tina. We’ve had so many people asking about it but every hot air popper we tried blew the grain everywhere – it was like rolling around on the beach. You’d find those little buggers in places you didn’t know you had! It turns out that I kept buying poppers that had the same basic design which did not work with the sorghum.

However, I stumbled across a style of hot air popper that works great with my Popping Sorghums.  It blows the grains around in a circle, as opposed to the poppers I had been using which have a piece of mesh at the bottom center, and the air blows straight up through it. This circular motion keeps the grains in the popper until they can pop – it works like a dream.

So if anyone would like to try the sorghum grain in a hot air popper (and that’s the only way some folks will pop) then take a look inside the popper to see if you have the right style. They may have to look at a few before they find one that’s right. FYI, the 2 bestselling hot air poppers – the one by Orville and the Presto Pop Lite – are the WRONG style for our Poppin Sorghum product.

If anyone does try hot air popping, be sure they let the popper run a full 1-2 mins BEFORE adding the grains. If they add the grains to a cold popper and turn it on, it will dry out the grain before it pops and they’ll have a much lower yield. Also, no one is to worry about a little smoke at the beginning – just the nature of the beast.”

I can say that whenever I popped popcorn in a hot air popper, I felt it always lacked taste. I was eating airy cardboard at best. Well, Just Poppin sorghum keeps its sweet flavor when popped per the instructions above. Yummy!

Popped in a little oil or in a hot air popper per Buck’s instructions above, this is a great treat, snack, gift, and a unique find for us here in the gluten-free arena. You can try it yourself by ordering it at http://shop.justpoppin.com.

This amazing company has gone one step further to ensure they are processed in a gluten free environment ( not gluten on the premises).  Thanks Buck!

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

k.m.

I really believe these products are the perfect snack for anyone—mom, adult, or child on the go.

Sensible foods offers 7 products which are dehydrated little packs of ¾-oz. packages of nutrition. All are loaded up with a perfect blend of fruits, except the sweet corn and soy nuts.

Each fruit bag offers a ½ serving of fruit and 3 of their 4 products are 100% organic. With names like Cherry Berry, Apple Harvest and Tropical Blend, you will certainly find one you’ll grow fond of.

The fruits are picked at the height of their season and dehydrated, immediately preserving their delicious flavor. While eating them, I felt as if I was munching on pieces of fruit just dehydrated.

Watch the video review I did on these fun snacks here or below.

I have a dehydrator and know a lot about dehydrating and the flavors of fruits coming off the trays. Sensible Foods has contained this flavor void of any preservatives or hidden ingredients.

The products are a perfect snack for any child’s lunch box, in the car toting kids around, and for any adult on the go. They offer many other products. They burst in your mouth.

Tina Turbin
www.glutenfreehelp.info.