If you follow us on Facebook, you’ve seen the preview for Gluten Free Friday’s! This new series is a labor of love, as we try and review different Gluten Free and allergen friendly products. When I first went gluten free, I stuck to the one or two brands I had heard of before. I was scared to branch out, because I didn’t know what was safe….but also because I didn’t want to spend $6 on a loaf of bread and hate it. As I’ve blogged more about my gluten free journey, I’ve heard the same sentiments from other people facing new food allergies or dietary challenges. I didn’t want anyone else to be stuck confused, snacking on the same thing every day. I discussed this with my mom, and she went to work. She’s been my biggest advocate through all of this, and with her help, Gluten Free Fridays were born!
Each week, we will be focusing on five gluten and allergen free foods. It’s enough to keep you well-informed, but not enough to overwhelm you. This week, we’re covering everything from subscription boxes to frozen desserts! I hope you’re as excited as I am. Let’s get started!
1. Banza Chick Pea Pasta is a powerhouse pasta. It is made of chickpeas, so it packs a lot of protein into a small package! We tried a variety of macaroni and cheese products from Banza, which were all good. Our family favorite was the “Deluxe Rich and Creamy Cheddar” flavor. It was even a hit with the family members who could eat gluten, and they’re a tough sell when it comes to gluten free products! My dad even gave it a thumbs up! Banza also sells plain pasta, which can be swapped out for traditional pasta in just about any recipe. Banza pasta has a slightly different texture than traditional pasta. We found the plain mac and cheese needed a little more cheese for our tastes, and added in shredded cheddar.
Good For: Side dish, kids, can be used as the basis for pasta casserole dishes like Taco Mac.
Contains: Banza Macaroni contains dairy, Banza pastas are top-8 free.
2. Caulipower pizza is a revolution in the pizza world, and I am not saying that lightly. If you’ve been around the internet lately, you’ve seen that cauliflower is the new “it” vegetable. Despite seeing a multitude of gluten free options containing cauliflower, I have remained wary. I just don’t like cauliflower. When I tried Caulipower, I was skeptical, but I quickly became a cauliflower convert. Caulipower pizza is possibly one of the best gluten free pizzas I’ve had! These pizzas are a little bigger than personal pizza size, so plan on one pizza for every two people— that’s the recommended serving size anyway. Our favorite was the Margherita flavor. We found the cheese pizza a little bland, and it didn’t hide the fact that although the outer crust crisps up nicely, the inside of the pizza can be a bit chewy. These pizzas may be hard to find in stores, but can be ordered from Amazon. Shipping can be expensive, so if you’re in an area (or passing through) where the crusts are sold, pick up extra to keep on hand.
Contains: Eggs, Dairy
Good For: Picky Eaters, Kids, Meals, Snacking
3. Yum Earth is the #1 organic candy brand in the USA. We received their Sour Beans and Lollipops to try. I have a soft spot in my heart for jellybeans, especially around Easter, so I dove right into the Sour Beans. You can immediately tell that they contain real fruit juice, which makes them taste a lot better than most artificially flavored jelly beans! Unfortunately for me, my mom also really liked them and has been snacking on them all. I also tried one of the lollipops. It reminded me of a better tasting version of the ones I enjoyed as a child! I like that Yum Earth has detailed allergen info available on their website. It can be hard to determine if some foods are safe, but Yum Earth makes it easy.
Contains: Yum Earth Candy Corn contains eggs and soy.
Good For: Snacking, Kids, Moms who like Jelly Beans, can be used as cupcake/cake decor
4. Perfectly Free markets themselves as “allergy-friendly frozen treats.” These low calorie desserts are free of all Top 8 allergens! That means everyone in our house, including food allergy baby, could enjoy them. Perfectly Free come in four flavors: blueberry, cherry, salted caramel, and chocolate. Each of us in the family had a different favorite flavor, but we all agreed that the salted caramel tasted the most like coconut, which is the basis of the Perfectly Free bites. Ranging between 25 and 35 calories per serving, these are definitely a healthy option when you’re craving something sweet. Unless, of course, you’re like us and eat an entire package in one sitting. Whoops! As a family we all had personal favorites. Mom and I liked the chocolate the best, while my dad liked the blueberry. The caramel flavor had a slight aftertaste, but we still enjoyed it.
Contains: Coconut
Good For: Snacking & Teething Babies with lots of food allergies.
5. Love with Food is a subscription box marketed towards diehard snackers. If you know me at all, you know that I would rather snack than eat a full meal, so I was excited to try the Love With Food Gluten Free subscription box. Beginning at $20/month for a 12 month subscription, Love With Food contains Celiac-friendly snacks. Many of them are dairy free as well, which is great because a lot of celiacs are lactose intolerant, like me! Each box contains around 8 snacks, and each gluten free box purchased donates two meals to hungry children. Snacking and giving back at the same time? Awesome! We have a live Unboxing video of our Love With Food box on the Simply Southern Mom Facebook Page if you would like to see what was inside. Check out their Presidents Day special to receive a box for only $12!
Contains: May contain Top 8 allergens except wheat.
Good For: Snacking
Do you have food allergies? What are your favorite products?
Gluten Free Fridays 5
Gluten Free Fridays 2
Gluten Free Fridays 3
Gluten Free Fridays 4
And don’t forget to check out our selection of Gluten Free recipes.
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I do not have any food allergies thank God! I would love to try those frozen fruit looks good!
It’s really incredible how far gluten free has come. I know awhile back a coworker of mine couldn’t have gluten but his mom needed to bring him special lunches because most stores didn’t have anything for him.
My son love mac and cheese but we have never tried this brand yet. It looks so delicious, I like that is gluten free.
I have some gluten free family members and they swear by that cauliflower pizza. I even tried it and didn’t even notice that it was different from traditional pizza!
I dot follow a gluten free diet but would eat all these meals. yummy!
yum! I’d love to try the caulipower pizza, that sounds super good to me AND healthy! I’m going to look for it the next time I’m in the store. Thanks for the gluten free list, I’ll send it to one of my good friends who has an allergy to gluten : )
I am sure the Caulipower pizza will be a big hit in my house. My Daughter is gluten free so I am always looking for new things to try.
gluten free sounds interesting! been looking for gluten free food since January! keeping my meal on track!
I have actually had the chance to try cauliflower pizza. It really is impressive tasting.
Some of that stuff looks really good! I especially want to try the chickpea pasta.
We’ve been able to find a lot of gluten-free products that we truly love. There are a few that are far too pricey, as you stated but also some that were really gross.
All those look very yummy! I have to try the mac and cheese for sure.
That chick pea mac and cheese has my interest piqued. I love mac and cheese, and I love chick peas. That sounds like it would be really tasty.
This is awesome. I will have to try having a gluten free Friday from now on. These food items look great.
It’s incredible the amount of gluten free that we can now choose from.
Love these! I’ve been gluten free and I am always looking for new gluten free products to try! Thanks for these!
I want to try that pizza. I have not heard about pizza crust made from cauliflower until now. The Perfectly Free frozen bites would also be great for my grandson who’s teething right now.
I have been gluten free for a few years now and the products have come so far. These look like some great options.
You are so right about cauliflower being the new “it” veggie. I have seen so many awesome recipes that use cauliflower as the main ingredient. I’d love to try the cauliflower pizza!
I am always looking for new gluten free products to try. These all look so good. I will have to start with the Caulipower pizza.
I have many gluten free friends. We love the Yum Earth treats when we get together with these friends.
Great recommendations! I’ve been happy with a few different gluten free pastas. I might like the chick pea pasta.
I have always had a hard time finding gluten free food that is delicious, like actual meals. Snacks are pretty good and easy to find. Loving your gluten free Friday post, perfect way to help others find good stuff!
I love that you are offering this for folks like me who don’t now where to buy gluten free food. I had no idea you could buy that pizza online.
I am starting to follow a gluten free diet and these treats look delicious. It can definitely be tricky finding great snacks that are GF.
oooo, how is the chickpea pasta? I’ve been using the gluten free pasta that I’ve found at Walmart, but don’t really enjoy it alone. It helps curb my pasta cravings though!
It has a different texture than regular pasta. We really liked the deluxe shells and cheese, but the regular version needed a little more cheese. We added shredded cheese.
Wow, such a nice selection of gluten free products. They options keep expanding. We are fortunate not to have food allergies in our family but I still see some products we would buy just because we like them. This will be a good series.
These products are great! I love that they’re gluten free. This makes dinner prep easier for me. Thank you for introducing me to this brand.
Seems to be more and more products arriving on the shelves all the time that addresses gluten free. Helps those that need those products.
I need that pizza in my life! I don’t HAVE to be gluten free, but I do find that I feel better without it, so I enjoy finding great products like these.
I’d like to try the chickpeaacand cheese. My daughter-in-law and her sister make a delicious cauliflower pizza crust from scratch but it takes so long. I wonder if they’d like to try these ready-mades.
All of these items look so good. I had no idea you could get gluten free mac and cheese! Om nom nom nom.
All these products look really tasty. I love how far gluten free has come. There was a time when gluten free meant eating cardboard.