Udi's Gluten Free Goodies

Gluten Free.  It has haunted me for several years now.  So many random people suggesting it for a variety of reasons.  But the gluten free diet is not one I would necessarily say is easy to follow.  It's in everything.  Gluten is everywhere. 

But then came Babs rash.  The doctor said it was just eczema and didn't have anything to do with a food allergy.  And yet.....the gluten haunted me still.  And there were also the stomach aches.  Not just the "my dinner tummy is full, but my dessert tummy is empty" kind of stomach aches.  Stomach aches after so many meals, that consistently had higher amounts of gluten.  She was tested for celiac and thankfully it was negative.  But I still just wondered. 

We do eat bread, but not a ton of pasta.  We have pasta about once every two weeks and don't eat bread with every meal, etc. 

And then I had surgery.

We were lucky enough to have many people happy to help us out with meals and support.  Obviously, our eating habits changed.  And Babs rash went crazy.  I couldn't help but see the connection between an increase in wheat based products and the flaring up of the rash. 

And so began our gluten free journey.  At first we reduced the amount of gluten in our diet and noticed a decrease in the redness.  Then we went gluten free. 

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  It's everywhere!  And I only had one arm available to help us through the adjustment.  Our gluten free focus was on Babs, so that gave us a little bit more wiggle room for family meals.  But the results were clear.  The stomach aches seemed to go away and the rash lost a lot of it's redness in just the two weeks that she was completely gluten free.

Luckily, we got a box of goodies from the lovely people of Udi's Gluten Free.  It could not have come at a better time.  It was like a big brown box of divine intervention.  Try Gluten Free!!!

Just tilt your head.  I can't get it to rotate.

 
And try we did.  I've asked around about gluten free products and most people have said to not bother since they're just not that good.  My gluten free experience is pretty limited.  We made some gluten free bread from a mix that was.....different.  It tasted fine, but the texture was a bit....off.  But the cinnamon raisin bread from Udi's was quite good.  It didn't have the funny gummy texture that the other bread did.

We made a yummy dessert with the Chocolate Chia Muffin Tops, vanilla bean ice cream and a little hot fudge.  MMmmmmm.......chocolate........

We got to try quite a few of the products including granola (we added dry blueberries & milk for some awesome breakfast cereal), Snickerdoodles and Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites.  The Brownie Bites were hands down my very most favorite.  But I wouldn't turn away a Snickerdoodle, truth be told.  They were soft and yummy, not at all like the cardboard-like atrocities I had heard about. 

And if you're wondering what CG's response was to this, it can be summed in one sentence. 

"When are we ordering more?"


   
**As previously mentioned, Udi's sent us a box of goodies to try.  The opinions, long rambling back story and dark chocolate brownie bites are all mine.**