Ok, so I didn’t make any special meals for the 4th of July weekend…but I did make cookies!  I tried a new baking mix by The Cravings Place.  Their Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix is egg free, dairy free, gluten free and nut free.

The cookies have a different taste then a regular cookie mix,  they have almost a biscuit type texture to them.  It comes with alot of big chocolate chunks, although I did add some Hershey chocolate chips in: )  I ended up eating quite a bit of the cookie doh like I always do however since they don’t call for eggs I didn’t have a stomach ache afterward!  I’m definitely going to be buying more of this mix, it made for some delicious cookies and cookie doh!

For anyone interested in buying this mix I bought it at Whole Foods and you can view their site at The Cravings Place.

It turned out really good!  I personally liked it either grilled or just heated up it up in the microwave to make it a tad bit softer.  It makes for some great sandwiches!  The upside of this bread over the bread mix is that these are already cut into the perfect size sandwich slices.  Sometimes the bread mix bread is kind of hard to eat or make into sandwiches since it falls apart and is hard to cut.

So if you want some great gluten free bread and have a Whole Foods around you, try some out!  You can also search on Udi’s Gluten Free part of the site for a location near you that carries Udi’s products.

I ending up trying the chunky peanut butter protein bar, dark chocolate protein bar and of course their Lemon Creme Pie Dessert Bar (pictured above).

I do live a good bit away from Whole Foods so I don’t make the trip often and they do cost about $2 a piece, so they aren’t exactly something I will be buying all the time (even though I would love to try all of them to see if they are all just as good!).

You can even buy Think Thin Protein Bars Online if you don’t live close enough to a whole foods to buy some of these great tasting protein (and dessert) bars!

Be sure though if you do ask for something (like cheese) that they use their hands to grab that you ask them for some fresh cheese.  The reason I ask is because they use the same gloved hand to grab your cheese and they do to roll up another persons wheat burrito.  It is kind of annoying to have to ask for this request – It would be nice if they used utensils for all of their condiments, not just some.

They do offer corn tortillas, however I am still weary of them since the heater they put them in (I believe) is also used for the other wheat tortillas.

So if your ever in a Chipotle wondering what you can have, try the chicken and rice!

So finally I saw that they were offically done their testing stages and that their chicken fingers were ready to be purchased and eaten!  I was pretty excited to see what they tasted like since I haven’t had chicken fingers in 7 years.  Tonight I was able to go out and try some!

I called ahead and ordered 8 gluten free chicken fingers that they said would come out to $11.52, which I thought was a pretty good deal.  However once I got there they kept calling them wings, which made me worried they were going to give me wings so I checked to see what they looked like before I left.  To my surprise they are not chicken fingers at all!  They are actually tiny chicken pieces (reminded me of the ones you can get at Chic-Fil-A).  I’m going to be honest and say that I was pretty disappointed since they advertised them as chicken fingers and they were really “Boneless Bites” as they call them…not exactly what I was expecting.

Would I pay over $11 for these Boneless Bites again?  Probably not, I mean yes, they were good…just not what I expected.  So definitely check them out if your in the area, just don’t count on them being chicken fingers!  I will say I prefer their pizza over their other gluten free products.  Apparently they also have gluten free cookies now too.

I tried their Jaipur Vegetables and really enjoyed it!  Honestly while I was eating it I was trying to figure out how on earth I would describe it.  It was spicy, but it was kind of weird just how it was.  It tasted nice and spicy (though not as spicy as I enjoy…I like it so spicy that my eyes water).  But it was very spicy going down my throat…which I’m not sure I’ve experienced before?  Did I say the word spicy enough : )

And of course for those you would like to know what exactly does this pre-packed meal contain? Not only is it gluten free it does not contain any MSG, preservatives, it is Kosher along with being vegetarian.

Anyway it is definitely something I would try if you can get your hands on some!  I checked out the Tasty Bite website and you can order them online.

I just had to take a photo and let you guys know if you have a Fresh & Easy around you to check them out!  I picked up a couple gluten free items that I will soon blog about once I try them!

Each drink has 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber along with alot of different vitamins.  They are pretty filling too, kept me full for about 3 hours.

For the best taste serve chilled, and remember to shake before drinking!

Green’s Gluten Free Beer makes a variety of gluten free beers.  I decided to try their Triple Blonde Ale since my husband likes the lighter ales I thought I might too.  Plus I personally don’t know a whole lot about different ‘regular’ beers because by the time I was old enough to drink, beer was not one that I could try since beer it is made with barley.

So how did it taste?  It was interesting…considering I had never before tasted beer before, I think it was somewhat of a shock to my taste buds!  I love sweet drinks, hence why I usually go for Kahlua.  Honestly, I’m gonna say I did not care for beer.  But, don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing against this brand – I really think I just don’t like beer in general.  Now if you love beer, I’d suggest going to try it, you just might like it!

Keep in mind it contains more alcohol by volume compared to a regular Budweiser!  Green’s Gluten Free Beer – Triple Blonde Ale contains 8.5%  ABV (alcohol by volume), where a Budweiser contains only 5% ABV.  I didn’t realize and just a tiny cup I was pretty surprised it was hitting me so fast, then I read the back and realized it has alot more alcohol then a regular beer!

So that’s my first experience with gluten free beer!  Anyone else try Green’s Gluten Free Beer, or any other GF beers and liked them?

Bolthouse Farms – Berry Boost

They aren’t kidding when they say Berry Boost!  I personally love this one because it combines a sweet taste with an almost bitter berry.  But combined perfectly so its not too sweet nor too bitter.  This smoothie is infused with lots of antioxidants which are great for you.

Berry Boost contains the following:

• 48 Berries
• 6 Apples
• 1/2 Banana
• 20% of your daily vitamin A
• 20% of your daily vitamin E
• 500% of your daily vitamin C

Bolthouse Farms – Purely Chocolate

Their Purely Chocolate is not a fruit smoothie, but it’s still delicious!  If I just drink straight milk it sometimes will upset my stomach  so since this is made from Soy I was thinking it might not aggravate my stomach as much as regular milk.  Packed with 40 grams of protein and 18 amino acids, it’s a great treat that’s still good for you.

The taste is very different than chocolate milk.  At first that’s what I expected it to taste like, however it has a very silky smooth texture.

My only complaint about these drinks is that I drink them way to fast!  Beware, they are pretty addicting : )

You can visit Bolthouse Farms website to view their collection.  My husband bought “Green Goodness” once and right as I started to take a sip I realized that it is not gluten free!  So just make sure to read the labels.  These I have posted about are marked gluten free on the bottle.