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Dr. Samantha May 5, 2015

Local Product Review: Triann’s Pantry Mixes

 logo
unnamed“Perfect Pancake and Waffle Mix”

My husband and my eight-year-old are the pancake people in my house so I had them do the cooking and taste test when Eric and Triann sent me a bag of pancakes to try out!

 

Overall they called it a thumbs up.

Here’s his review:

The recipe was simple as you only need to add oil and water, great for a weekend morning when we were excited to get out of the house to kick the soccer ball around.

The pancakes themselves cooked up ‘puffy’ but I wouldn’t describe them as ‘fluffy’ as they were quite dense. We ended up adding a little extra oil (we used safflower, Dr Samantha said she would have used coconut oil) and water after the first batch because the batter was so thick. Even with that that they didn’t bubble with cooking as pancakes usually do. This didn’t seem to affect the cooking at all though. They developed a crispy outside which we really liked (you can see that in our photo to the left.)

The color was good and  they didn’t burn when they crisped up. I thought the taste and texture was more like a scone or dense doughnut, which was yummy but not my preference for pancakes. That’s strictly personal though. My 8-year-old loved the doughy texture and sweet taste. OveraDSC_2478_largell a thumbs up. Thanks Eric and Triann for sending it. We’re looking forward to adding it into our rotation.

Enjoy!
Jon and Julian

PS I got a chance to connect with these guys again at the GIG fair this week and realized that we never hit “publish” on this post when we wrote it months ago! Apologies to the folks over at Triann Pantry. I’m looking forward to trying the other bags of mix they gave me this weekend.

Filed Under: Local Products, Product Reviews

Dr. Samantha September 27, 2014

Zemas Pancake Mix. Yes, Please.

zemas pancakes gluten free portalnd

Photo credit: Jon Eisner

Well, it appears that yesterday was National Pancake Day.

Unfortunately I didn’t realize this until the middle of the day.

Fortunately, there are 364 other days of the year when pancakes can also be on the menu!

Unfortunately I haven’t yet found a pancake mix that is whole grain, gluten, dairy, rice, and soy free that my whole family loves.

Fortunately Zemas sent me some of their pancake mix to try and I was pleasantly surprised that everyone loved it.

The box they sent had a gazillion coupons in it (if any of you are in Portland, feel free to swing by my office and grab one!), a box of the Multigrain Pancake and Waffle mix and 4-5 small trial packets of the Cocoa Teff Pancake and Waffle Mix.

We (we being my husband and my son) had the Cocoa packets first as it was very convenient to make the small batches on school days. A later email from my friends at Zemas informed me that those were supposed to be to give to patients but who’s going to blame me for not knowing that ahead of time? Anyway, I digress.

The pancakes were great. A touch sweet so you only need a little bit of syrup. Crispy on the outside and soft but not gummy in the middle (if you’re the gummy pancake type this wouldn’t be the one for you.)

As for which we preferred,  since we started with the cocoa I thought perhaps my 7-year old was just thrilled to have chocolate in his breakfast but it turns out he liked the Multigrain cakes just as much. That said, I’d still pick the Cocoa version because of the 6 grams of fiber per serving. Love that!

Overall a double thumbs up on both of them. You can get the products at any New Seasons Market store in Portland.

Thanks Zemas for sending the goodies and for making such a delish product.

Enjoy!

Dr Samantha Signature siggy

Filed Under: National Products, Product Reviews

Dr. Samantha December 17, 2013

Tula Gluten-free Bakery Holiday Menu

DSC00089My husband is an architect and has been working in Portland for 20 years. About a year ago he had a project over on MLK and Killingsworth. This project was awesome. I have no idea what was being built but at least a few times a week he came home with a smile, and a gluten-free vegan sea salt chocolate chip cookie from Tula Bakery just a few blocks away (on MLK and Alberta.) I’m not a sweets person in general but let me tell you that these cookies blew me away.

When I got an email last week from Tula’s PR maven Lisa Hill to let me know there were some special holiday goodies on the menu I jumped at the chance to try them. And they did not disappoint!

DSC00083We started with the par-baked focaccia bread which I was thrilled to see didn’t contain rice (my little one has an allergy to brown rice). Ingredients include millet flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, water, agave syrup, yeast, xanthan gum, sea salt, and olive oil. We basted it with a little more olive oil halfway through the bake and polished the entire thing off between the 3 of us. Smothered with butter Soy-free Earth Balance and drizzled with honey, it was absolutely divine.

The rest of the treats my husband loved but as I mentioned I’m not the biggest sweets fan so after his thumbs up across the board, I loaded them up and trucked over to my girlfriend’s house down the street. She bakes, and loves sweets, so I felt she would be the perfect taste tester.DSC00090

We had samples of the cranberry pecan bread, the chocolate pomegranate tart, and a chocolate hazelnut roll. She thought they were all top quality baked goods, period. Her husband came home and we let him dig in and finish them off. I hate the cliché of ‘good for gluten-free.’ But the look of surprise on his face when we told him, and his response (mouth still full) “That’s pretty damn good for gluten-free food.” had to be shared because it means you don’t need to give a second thought to feeding any of this to your most discerning, foodie, nose-in-the-air, ‘gluten-free is a fad’ relatives, colleagues, or friends over the holidays. It’s just great food, period.

Here is a link to the holiday order form, and a link to their site. Go get it!

Dr Samantha Signature siggyDSC00060

Filed Under: Local Products, Product Reviews

Dr. Samantha December 10, 2013

New Cascadia Traditional- Gluten-free Holiday Menu Tasting!

New Cascadia is doing Holiday Tastings on Thursday Dec 12th and Thursday December 19th to preview their holiday menu!

11 am until supplies last.

 

Here is a snippet from their newsletter about what they’ve got for you!

 
December 12th we will sample COOKIES:
Gingersnaps (vegan)

Jammers (vegan)Linzer Cookies
Linzer Cookie w/Raspberry Jam
Snowball Cookies (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies)
Peppermint Patty Sandwich Cookies
Coconut Macaroons
French Macarons
We will have rolls and stuffing mix, too!

December 19th we will sample these fine confections:
Orange Upside Down Cake (with chocolate ganache)
Salted Caramel Bars (nicknamed “bars of gold”)
Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
Mini Chocolate Peppermint Tarts
We will have rolls and stuffing mix, too!

Macaroons

 

Holiday menu available on their site, and you can order through Sat Dec 21st!
www.NewCascadiaTraditional.com

The last day to place holiday orders
will be Saturday, December 21st!

Filed Under: Local Products, Product Reviews

Dr. Samantha July 30, 2013

Product Review: Ruby’s Rockets Frozen Fruit and Veggie Pops

RR_Header-xNatural-932x223-Trans
There are so many amazing local products that I’m bursting at the seams to review for you here at Gluten-free Portland. I’ve got a list and a line up and we’ve reorganized the site so you will be able to get to them all easily (check out the nav bar, above.) Still working on the back end stuff- and a new look for the site. It’s all volunteer so it’s taking a little longer than I’d like. Well, a lot longer, but please bear with us- the end result will make you very happy, I promise.

Ok, so back to the products thing. I was just going to do local products. But then I was eating an amazing cracker from Washington. And I thought well, that’s close enough. But then I got a large, very cold, and relatively heavy box from Texas. Inside a heap of dry ice and 3 boxes of Ruby’s Rockets Fruit and Vegetable Pops. (I’ll add here that until I sat down to write this post I had no idea that Popsicle is a brand, not a category of treat, go figure…)  So I decided that I’m also going to review cool new GF products- no pun intended, we’ll also review cooked products- from anywhere, they just won’t be listed under local, I mean, if we can BUY the products here they’re good for Gluten-free Portlanders.

Now, how about those Ruby’s Rockets?

Here’s what they’ve got to say on the site:

“Looking for organic ingredients?  Over 70% of our ingredients come to us from organic growers.
Ruby’s Rockets are healthy, with natural flavors and added probiotics for digestive and immune support.*
We’re the first pop of this kind to offer probiotics.
The only colors you see in our pops are the beautiful colors of the fruits and vegetables themselves:  the kiwis, spinach and avocados in Galaxy Green, the strawberries, carrots and beets in Rock-It Red, and the yams, oranges and carrots in Orbit Orange.
And check the calorie counts:
ROCK- IT RED — Only 2 grams of sugar and 25 calories!
GALAXY GREEN — Only 1 gram of sugar and 35 calories!
ORBIT ORANGE — Only 2 grams of sugar and 25 calories!”PopsGroupShotFruitsVeggies-210x140

I hope that most parents aren’t counting calories for their kids but I get the point. Since the lovelies over at Ruby’s Rockets sent a box of each flavor I passed them out to my staff and the mail carrier, David (he’s gluten-free too.)

We all agreed the Rock-It Red was most like a typical pop in flavor (dare I say popcicle?.) Lightly sweet. Berry flavor. Karen thought it was “light and refreshing.” I didn’t taste the orange but the general consensus was that it tasted like a “frozen smoothie.” The Galaxy Green was light, less sweet, and my favorite.

When David brought our mail the next day we chatted about them a little more and we agreed the take home is that they’re very good and that kids wouldn’t know that they had veggies in them if you didn’t want them to know. I might disagree with that re: the green pop as it has a texture to it but I don’t really think that matters at all.

Since it’s a review party I gave one to my husband too. He was extremely confused about how they only have 1-2 grams of sugar per pop. Confused and excited. He liked that it was 35 calories, so I guess there is a point in touting that after all. His favorite was the Green Galaxy as well, noting it was refreshing and that it tastes like “real food.” Please note after he finished it he then wandered over to the freezer and pulled out a Rock-It Red to eat as well since “it’s only 25 calories.”

As for the little one (he’s almost 7) the Galaxy Green didn’t go over well. And I don’t think it’s because of the veggie factor. This child eats his greens hand over fist. Not quite sure what the issue was but just not his thing. After he tried it we left to walk to a neighbor’s house and he mused “they should make a red one with beets.” Funny enough, child, they did! And he got that one later in the day. Here’s what he thought about the Rock-it-Red flavor.

And he’s right, you can taste the beets in there. The sweet yummy part.

Enjoy (available at Zupans)!
Dr-Samantha-Signature-siggy

 

Filed Under: National Products, Product Reviews

Dave January 5, 2012

Things We Like: Whole Foods GF Apple Pie and Fifty Licks Vanilla Ice Cream

Gluten free apple pie a la mode, that’s what we’re talking about here. Whole Foods has a bunch of gluten free items now which are produced in a dedicated gluten free facility, so they’re not a source of worry for people who are very sensitive to gluten. The ingredients are posted on the package. We’ve found that there are two sizes of these apple pies, and have to admit enough experience with them to say that the smaller sized pies are better for some reason. Both are really amazingly delicious.

While we’re talking about pies, let’s digress a little bit and mention that some of the gluten free bakeries around town can supply pies. We’ve sampled pies from Crave Bake Shop and also a pie crust from Gluten Free Gem and can vouch for both.

Fifty Licks Tahitian Vanilla

The second part of our apple pie a la mode is the ice cream, supplied by Portland’s own Fifty Licks (their website currently appears to have been hacked – so look out). When I was a kid, I remember my parents making ice cream in an old hand-cranked ice cream maker. To get the ice cream cold enough, you had to put salt and ice into the bucket, and then everybody took turns cranking it. The vanilla ice cream recipe was almost like a custard. This Fifty Licks Tahitian Vanilla ice cream is the closest I’ve eaten to that kind from my childhood. I love it!

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bakery, Desserts, Ice Cream, Review, Whole Foods

Dave August 22, 2011

Grab a Gluten Free Pie: Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts Baking Company emailed us recently to invite us to try their gluten-free pies. The owner, Molly Thurston Parker, recently launched a wholesale bakery to sell her pies, which are individual-sized. She sells the pies at the Buckman Farmers Market (SE 20th and SE Salmon, Thursdays, 3-7pm), at Salt Fire and Time Community Grocery on NW 24th Ave, at Pacific Pie Company on SE 7th, and at Flying Cat Coffee Shop on SE Division. When you go to the Buckman Farmers Market, it’s usually Molly who is there working the booth.

Gluten Free Pies in Portland - Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts makes both savory and sweet pies. We stopped by the stand a couple of weeks ago and picked up some pies (which, in the interest of full disclosure, she gave us for free). On the savory side, Queen of Hearts makes a Black Bean & Pepper Jack Cheese pie and a Curried Lentil and Veggie pie. On the sweet side, Queen of Hearts makes a Hazelnut & Apricot pie, a Mixed Berry pie, and a Nutella pie. We tried everything but the Nutella pie.

Queen of Hearts Gluten Free Pies

The pies come packaged in twos. Each pie is an individual meal, and all of them are basically vegetarian. The instructions for cooking are quite simple. You can start from frozen or thawed, but basically you bake them in an oven at 375 degrees F until the crust is golden brown. We ate both the savory pies with some sauteed veggies, but they would also probably be great with a side salad.

Considering we’re talking about pies here, the most important consideration is going to be the crust. The Queen of Hearts crust is really excellent and amazing! It’s the exact kind of crisp and flavor a person wants from a pie crust. We were both really enamored of them, especially because so many gluten-free crusts are so disappointing.

We both also agreed that we liked the savory pies more than the dessert pies. The Curried Lentil and Veggie pie is filled with sweet potatoes, onion, coconut milk, lentils, kale, ginger and spices. Like most curries, we found that the flavor and experience was better with some yogurt on the side to offset the curry. It would probably also be really nice with a chutney. If you’re a curry fan, then these are a real treat.

Gluten-Free Savory Pie

Our favorite pie was the Black Bean & Pepper Jack Cheese pie. Besides the two ingredients in the name, these pies have tomatoes, green chiles, onion, spices, and pepper flakes. Besides broccoli, we added some yogurt here, too (instead of sour cream), and some avocado. These pies have a great flavor and are the perfect level of spicy.

Gluten-Free Mixed Berry Pie

As mentioned earlier, we thought that the dessert pies were just OK. Pictured above is the Mixed Berry pie paired with vanilla ice cream from Portland’s own Fifty Licks. This pie is made with blueberries and marionberries. The Hazelnut & Apricot pies are filled with hazelnut frangipane and apricot preserves, which incidentally contained corn syrup, which we found a little confusing, considering that Queen of Hearts obviously tries to use healthy ingredients in their pies. The dessert pies were a bit bland. This might be one of those cases where the crust is kind of taking the edge off of the ingredients. We both found ourselves wishing that the pies were more tart, or maybe more sweet.

Our final verdict: We really enjoyed the savory pies and think that if you’re looking for something new, interesting, and gluten-free to take home and bake one night, you should give Queen of Hearts a try. Sweet pies are really subjective, so I’d be really interested to hear from any of our readers who have tried Queen of Hearts. Let us know in the comments!

Gluten-Free Safety Rating: Gluten-Free
Times we have visited: 2 (So your experience may vary.)
Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Price compared to “regular”: not certain

Queen of Hearts Baking Company
www.queenofheartspdx.com
See locations above / 503.421.6842

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bakery, Desserts, NorthEast, NorthWest, SouthEast, Vegetarian

Dave July 13, 2011

Petunia’s Pies and Pastries Gluten-Free Vegan Bakery

We’ve been meaning to review Petunia’s Pies for months now. Literally for months. So a couple of weeks ago we got up early on a Saturday morning and drove over to the PSU Farmers Market, where Petunia’s has a stand. It also bears mentioning that Petunia’s goodies can be found at Whole Foods markets, Blossoming Lotus, Cloud Seven Cafe, Ruby Jewel Scoop Shop, Spoke Coffee, Mississippi Pizza (our review here) & Seven Virtues Coffee (who we mentioned recently).

gluten-free baked goodies at Petunia's Stand

Here is the start of a fine Saturday morning. Compared to New Cascadia’s cart, which is a stone’s throw down the sidewalk, Petunia’s is more about the sweet goodies. In the case this morning were brownies, muffins, cookies, pound cake, bundt cake, pie, cupcakes, cakes, and donuts.

Gluten Free Cookies and Pound Cake at Petunia's

Letting the camera do the talking…

Gluten-free donuts

Gluten Free Donut

We also got a box full of items. Here they are, item by item:

Candy Girl Cookie – This is sort of like a fortified chocolate chip cookie. It has other various items in it, the most noticeable of which is raisins. I really like these cookies. They are crunchy/chewy in the right places. The added adult cookie ingredients supply extra interest. In fact, as of now, Petunia’s has my vote for the best gluten-free cookie in Portland.

Lemon Blueberry Poundcake – Because of the density and texture, it’s more like a slice of muffin with some glaze on top than pound cake. I really like the flavors, though.

Chocolate Almond Coconut Power Bar – This is something like a rice crispy bar with chocolate, dried cranberries, almonds, and coconut. This item was not our favorite, but I don’t think that we’re really the intended audience. So if you’re a fan of this sort of treat, don’t listen to anything I have to say about it.

Raspberry Lemon Glazed Cake Donut – Both of us were disappointed by this item. I found the donut to be too thick, both in texture and in size. With donuts, I’m looking for that unmistakable it-must-be-bad-for-you cake donut flavor. These had a little of that, but to me they seemed overcomplicated. (Side note – Looking for donuts? We featured gluten-free donuts a long time ago, but they weren’t also vegan.)

Bumble Berry Pie – We both loved this pie. The pie had the exact right everything: flavor, texture, crumb, crust, sour, sweet. Delicious! Awesome! Amazing.

gluten-free carrot zucchini muffin

Carrot Zucchini Muffin – Will you look at this muffin? Looks good, huh? This muffin was like a love letter to muffins. It was delicious. Besides the pie, this was our favorite item from Petunia’s. It was light, airy, crumbly, and not too sweet. I’m kind of a fan of zucchini muffins, and this was easily the best one I’ve had in years.

I forgot to mention that the people at the stand were all really friendly and helpful, on both times we visited. Besides the difficultly of preparing good baked goods without gluten, Petunia’s also delivers them without animal products. I’m really hoping that they follow the lead of New Cascadia Traditional Bakery and Crave Bake Shop and open a retail operation somewhere. Maybe in the NorthEast, within walking distance from our house?

We want to know: Have you had any of Petunia’s other pies? Any other favorite stands at the Farmers Market? Let us know in the comments.

Gluten-Free Safety Rating: Gluten-Free Facility
Times we have visited: 2 (so we feel good about our score.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Price compared to “regular”: Same

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bakery, Desserts, Farmers Market, SouthWest, Vegan

Dave July 1, 2011

Portland Gluten Free Beer Review

Editor’s note: I’ve been wanting to do a feature on gluten-free beers for a while now, but I’m really more of a hard alcohol guy. Fortunately, we were able to recruit Heather Marsh, who gathered some friends, drank a lot of beer, took notes and photos, and wrote the excellent review you’re about to read. Thanks Heather!

Gluten Free Beers Reviewed

When I moved back to Portland, I wasn’t much of a beer fan. I know, no one admits that. But it didn’t take very many dinners out with friends to be converted from no beer, to some beer, to being a genuine fan of beer. Our beer options in Portland are fantastic, and I was slowly learning to love the various flavors. Then I found out I was gluten intolerant. Then I found out I may be celiac.

I’ve been gluten free for long enough that I can’t really remember what the beautiful Portland beer (that I was just starting to appreciate) tasted like.

I’ve seen gluten free beers around town, and tried a couple. It was nice to have the option, but I was never terribly impressed. One day I decided to compare them, so I did an internet search and pulled together a couple GF options. My brother and I (both gluten free) had an informal tasting, for our own information. But due to our novice knowledge of this strange and wonderful beverage, we really only succeeded in selecting our favorites. After conversations with several gluten free friends, and after discovering a couple other gluten free beers, I decided I wanted to do a more thorough investigation. I’m including my findings here, but I highly encourage you to try this at home! Both for the sake of the knowledge it will provide you, and because it’s just plain fun. And your friends will think it’s the best idea you ever had.

Because of my inexperience with beer in general, I brought in a posse of beer-loving, non-gluten-free friends and experts to consult on this important experiment. Here’s what we came up with (in the order we sampled them)! (Editor’s note: They sampled the beers from light to dark, so they end up being listed in roughly that order.)

1) Estrella Damm Daura
This pale, smooth beer has hints of apple. A mild, gentle flavor, with a bitter finish. Not bad, but it didn’t hit the top two list of anyone in the party. Also, I understand it’s made with barley, and has the gluten removed to under 6ccs. Not sure how that works for someone who is extremely sensitive, but it sounds like a risk that might not be worth it for the mild taste. I recommend hitting a hard cider instead if you want this sort of flavor.

2) Green’s Triple Blond
This one was much more complex than the Estrella, and didn’t have the bitter aftertaste. It was sweet, fruity, and smelled of apple. One of the tasters thought it had hints of vodka, but that could be from the high alcohol content. It was almost reminiscent of a sparkling wine. I really liked it, and I’m not usually a fan of the paler beers.

3) St. Peters Sorgham
Certainly the best bottle in class (lighter beers). I realize that doesn’t say anything about what’s inside, but hey! The beer itself is bitter, with layers of different flavors. Sawdust and peanut shell were both mentioned. We all agreed it has a strong wood flavor and it smells vaguely of tobacco, good cigars. I wasn’t crazy about it, but others enjoyed it. Someone else finished off my taster.

4) New Grist
Sweet and light, and reminiscent of a hard cider, only not as flavorful. It’s a little like drinking juice, understated, with a mild flavor. I didn’t mind it, but I don’t think I’d seek it out. The consensus was a resounding “meh.”

5) Redbridge
This light, golden beer has more color than any of the previous selection, but it wasn’t our favorite. It has a citrus start, and a smoky, caramely finish. Its smell was described as olive oil and acetone (the main ingredient in finger nail polish remover… yumm?). No one finished their taster.

6) Bards
A smoky smell and a heavier flavor. Tasted like caramelized molasses with hints of tobacco. Wasn’t my favorite, but certainly not bad.

7) Deschutes Gluten Free
While not yet available in bottled form (although I have heard rumblings that they are hoping to start bottling eventually… fingers crossed for sooner, rather than later), I wanted to include this in the test anyway. I’ve had the beer in the Deschutes Brewery and Public House on NW 11th and Davis, and I love it, and when I called to find out how to get it “to go,” they assured me that they could fill any size receptacle (that seals), so I went in with my Mason jar and got a pint and a half. A little spendy, but I really think it might be worth it.

The Deschutes was our pick for the Pale Ale lover. It had the 3rd best head, a bitter–lets call it tangy–smell, and had hints of grapefruit and bergamot in the flavor. I have a vague recollection of tasting apricot when I had it with a burger at the restaurant, but no one could find that flavor when we did the tasting, so maybe the complexity is affected by food. Either way, it’s an absolutely lovely beer, and those in our party who love IPA were all impressed. Get yourself a jar (or if you can drink that much, a growler, they sell them at Deschutes) and pick some up, or just go down there and enjoy a great meal. They’re not paying me to say this… it really is just that good.

8) Green’s Amber Ale
This one has the second best head, a creamy white that sets off the amber of the beer itself. Even compared with gluten filled amber ales, this one got a very enthusiastic thumbs up. It’s tangy, with strong apple and gentle coffee flavors. Mild hints of caramel that linger and a malty twinge. A lovely, complex, flavorful choice. And, as with all three of the Green’s options, it comes in a 16.9oz bottle, so there’s more to share! There was no disputing it’s spot on the top three list.

9) Green’s Dubbel Dark
This one takes the award for best head, which apparently the Belgians (from whom this fine beverage comes to us) scrape off. We did not. It’s sweet and dark, caramely and beautiful. Dark beer people loved this one, and I’m assured it’s as good as the gluten filled options for the person looking for a barley wine substitute. I can’t say enough good things about this beer; it’s hands down my favorite. My friend Lexie determined “it’s like a beer cappuccino!”

All of these options, with the exception of the Deschutes, can be found at various locations around our lovely city. I picked them all up at Beermongers on SE Division, which I love, because they have all of these beers, and because they’re friendly, and it’s on my way home.

For more information on these beers, check out their websites, or the links below. The above are only the opinions of a panel of six judges, with varying tastes, so who knows what you’ll discover!

gluten free beer

Further Reading

Gluten Free Beer Festival, compiled by a group in the UK. Not all of these options are available here in the States, but it’s fun to read, and they have ratings and explanations that might be helpful for others who are new to the beer scene!

For more information on the gluten free Deschutes brew, check out these sites, far more knowledgeable than I: Review one. Review two.

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Beer and Wine, Grocery Stores, Portland, Review

Dave April 14, 2011

Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Curry Chicken Tenders Make a Great Sandwich

I decided to get straight to the point in my title. It’s been a long while since I’ve reviewed any Trader Joe’s gluten free offerings. We were looking for something new and exciting on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. That’s one of the cool things about them. When you’re in a Trader Joe’s, you can stop about anywhere, spend a minute or two checking out everything around you, and find something new and interesting to try. I was in the meat department, looking at chicken parts, and this particular item demanded to be tried. They’re Curry Chicken Tenders. And they have the Trader Joe’s “No Gluten Ingredients Used” mark on them.

Trader Joe's Curry Chicken Tenders

The only instructions they include with these amounts to: “Grill them.” Here are the ingredients: Water, Curry Powder (Turmeric, White Pepper, Ginger, Mustard Powder), Garlic, Sugar, Salt, Coriander, Dessicated Coconut, Citric Acid, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, Onion Powder, Cumin, Cilantro, Sodium Lactate (for PH control). As can usually be expected with Trader Joe’s products, this all looks pretty straight-forward (except for the last ingredient) – until you notice how high on this list the salt appears.

Gluten Free Curried Chicken

Of course, I didn’t notice this fact until it was too late. I do a lot of complaining about the salt content in Trader Joe’s products, but these are really off the charts. A serving size of 4 oz of chicken has 850mg (!!!!) of sodium. That’s ridiculous. It’s like eating a salt lick. Really.

Trader Joe's gluten free curried chicken

Which we didn’t realize until I had served up the curry chicken tenders. I served them up with some broccoli, squash, and yogurt on the side. I love curry with yogurt. Another thing that goes great with curries is dried cranberries. You should try it sometime. Unfortunately, this dish just plain did not work. Mostly because of the salt I just mentioned. We also both felt that this dish is a little heavy on the cardamom. I really love cardamom, but in a curry I don’t usually want it to be the main flavor. It wasn’t inedible. But it wasn’t something we would want to eat again. We ended up with a bunch of leftover chicken from this, sitting in the fridge.

Gluten free curried chicken sandwich

I would love to take the credit for this amazing idea, but actually Sienna came up with it. Why not try the curried chicken in a sandwich? So here you have it. Gluten-free bread, mayonnaise, pieces of lettuce, red onion, and slices of the curried chicken tenders. This, my friends, is a good sandwich! Did I mention that the chicken comes out amazingly tender? It does. Must be like, practically brined. But we both totally recommend this for sandwiches.

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Health, Review, Trader Joes

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Dr. Samantha Brody is a licensed Naturopathic Physician and acupuncturist and the owner and founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon. She is both a health educator and coach who can help introduce patients to new ways of caring for themselves. Read More…

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