Glutastic.com

Glutastic Post

Thanks for Leaving
October 26th, 2009 | caitlin | Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Gluten Free, Gluten Free Calgary

You know what’s the best part about someone leaving?

They come back with presents.

And it seems that the further they go, the better the presents get!

Recently someone I know went to the land of Celiacs – Ireland. The stats are showing that Celiac disease effects 1 in 122 people in Ireland. That’s an outstanding number. And because of this, they have really kicked it into gear. Not only do the Irish have the best drinking songs, great landscape, and cute accents, they also have great GF foods.

Let me begin with the chocolate fair:

Item #1: TruFree Bourbon Buscuits.

Inside this box were bite size chocolate cookies individually wrapped in packages of two. I was excited, how could I not be! As I bit down on my first one, I had a sudden “I’ve been here before” feeling. It took me a little while to figure it out, but these are just like the Glutino cookies we find on store shelves. They were good, not great. I appreciated that the didn’t have the chalky texture and taste that a lot of pre-packaged GF cookies have. The were definitely worthy of dunking in my coffee. And trust me people, I do not take dunking lightly. Coffee is sacred and shall not be ruined by anything. So really, dunkability is a true test of how I feel about things!

Item#2 & #3: Humdinger Dairy Free Rice Crackle and Buttons.

Rice Crackle. What can I say, it’s gluten free, dairy free, Cholesterol Free and not too shabby. In perspective of what it’s missing, this was a nice chocolate bar. Is it as good as a coffee crisp? No. Would I eat it again? Absolutely. Good lactose free, gluten free chocolate bars are about as common as dogs on skateboards – it happens, but not all that common!

Buttons. Okay so Fiance LOVES buttons. Something about some fond childhood memory makes him swoon over buttons like they are responsible for world peace. That being said, when he gets his hands on them, he doesn’t share. I don’t blame him. If he ever thought about touching my Cocoa Pebbles, there would be a war. Fair is fair. So imagine my joy when a package of lactose free, gluten free buttons showed up on my door step! I couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about so I dug in – total fat kid and a Smartie moment. Needless to say I was unimpressed, underwhelmed and now making fun of Fiance’s obsessions like it was my only way to breath! In the midst of the ridicule, Fiance decided to taste it for himself so that he could be the judge. Unfortunately he had to agree with me – they were not very good, and the after taste was even worse. Now, he did inform me that they tasted nothing like the original Buttons, and since I can’t try that theory for myself, I am going to choose to believe him. Therefore, if you know what the originals taste like, and are looking for a suitable substitute…this is not it. Sorry.

Now let’s move to the cookie fair:

Item #4: Tesco Free From, Caramel Shortcake Slice.

Move over Cocoa Pebbles, there’s a new Sheriff in town! Pure, euphoric delight. There simply is no other way to say it – I would move to Ireland for these. They have a smooth shortcake base that is NOT dry, NOT crumbly, topped with caramel and milk chocolate. The caramel is fabulous, the chocolate is fantastic. Seriously people, I would serve these to the Queen with a cup of tea and consider myself Royalty. If you ever come across these, EVER, you are under direct orders to tell me where. This is not a request this is a demand. Obey my orders.

Item #5: Free to Enjoy, Mini Jaffa Cakes

Okay, I’m just going to be honest: These are like having Napalm on cereal in the morning. NOT OKAY. And to prove how I really feel about this, I researched Napalm. In short, in case you don’t know, Napalm is what you get when a thickener is used to coagulate gasoline into a gelatin. Yup, this confirms my evaluation, GF Jaffa Cakes taste like Napalm on cereal.

Now, that being said, I also think that chocolate mixed with orange or mint could be used as a torture devise. I’d rather chew rusty coat hangers than eat an After Eight Mint. So to keep things as balanced as possible, here is Fiance’s opinion of Jaffa Cakes. For some reason he doesn’t think they are that bad:

Over the past 25 odd years I’ve lived in Canada, I’ve come to understand that the ‘Orange and Chocolate’ combination is a bit a foreign concept to most of Canada. Orange Smarties taste like normal smarties and most people purchase Terry’s Chocolate for it’s stress relief benefits, rather that the sweet orangey chocolate delight inside. So with that out of the way, these Gluten Free Jaffa Cakes from Testcos are as close to the real thing as possible. Delicious dunked in a cup of milky tea and fantastic as a late night snack while your significant other sleeps. Although Glutastic would rather snuggle a wet cat then smell a plate of Jaffa Cakes, I have to say these are definitely worth picking-up… or having a relative pick them up for you.

More Glutastic!

« Going Local. Wheat or Treat »