Category: Food

I mentioned back in August that I was going ‘low gluten’ in my diet to hopefully help with some issues I’ve been having with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE). I *finally* have an appointment with an allergist later this week, so fingers-crossed that they can do all the tests on me to figure out what’s going on with my body.

Since June I’ve been trying out lots of different Gluten Free foods and baking mixes. I gave some of my initial feedback in my August post, but I’ve tried a bunch more options, so I thought I’d do some quickie taste reviews.

For my Gluten Free shopping, our typical store of Aldi is relatively limited when it comes to GF options. I have been making a special trips to Wegmans (baking mixes, pretzels, cookies, noodles, breads), Walmart (baking mixes, noodles) and Giant/Martins (baking mixes, noodles) which have bigger selections to choose from. The Wegmans is not convenient to our home, but there is one by my office – so I make it a point to go by there after work to load up!

Muffin Mixes:

• Bettergoods Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffin Mix (Walmart) and King Arthur Gluten-Free Muffin Mix (Wegmans) – both of these are really delicious made with 1-2 smashed bananas and some dark chocolate chips. Both of them pass the ‘wow, they taste normal!’ test and my husband and I really like them.
• Krusteaz Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Crumb Muffin Mix (Walmart) – if you like cinnamon coffee cake, this gluten free mix tastes practically identical to the filled-with-gluten version!

Brownie Mixes:

• Miss Jones Double Chocolate Gluten Free Brownie Mix (Walmart) – this is the only gluten free brownie mix that I think tastes just as good as the ones that have gluten in them. It is thick and fudgy, and I’m pretty sure if I didn’t tell my kid these were GF, he’d eat the whole pan without questioning them.
• Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Gluten-Free Brownie Mix (Giant/Martins and Walmart) – our preferred brownie brand is the Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix that we get at Costco (it’s four bags in a huge box and lasts us forever), because it’s so fudgy and yummy. I was super excited to try this GF version and they tasted good… BUT I had an EOE flare from them. So, while they do taste good, I can’t recommend them because I’m not sure what in the ingredients caused my flare.

Other Treats:

• Krusteaz Gluten Free Meyer Lemon Bar Mix (Walmart) – Krusteaz does it again with this lemon bar mix… it tastes just like the kind that contains gluten!
• Bettergoods Gluten Free Brown Butter Pecan Cookie Mix (Walmart) – I  picked up a box of this mix at Walmart (which has an impressive selection of GF mixes) and it was just ‘meh’ when I made it. I even added some dark chocolate chips to fancy it up a bit, but this mix was underwhelming.

I’m about 90% sure that gluten is one of my triggers (there may be more), so I’ll be continuing on this low gluten/no gluten journey for a while. If you’ve gone gluten free – either by choice or necessity – what are your favorites? I’m taking snacks, baking mixes, bread items that don’t taste like cardboard, etc.

I’ve recently shared that I’m on a low-gluten journey for health reasons (you can catch up on that story here). Lately, I’ve also been paying closer attention to my protein intake because once you hit your late 40’s and perimenopause rolls in, protein becomes more important than ever. So, when the team at Naked Nutrition reached out and offered to send me a few of their products to try, the timing couldn’t have been better. Not only do they offer clean, simple ingredients, but their products also make it easier to sneak in that much-needed protein to my daily diet.

I checked out their website and three items immediately caught my eye. Here’s what I tried:

Protein Shake: Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein Shake

This is the first product I picked, because I like an easy protein shake for a morning treat or afternoon pick-me-up. I’ll admit, I’d gotten out of the habit of making them, so I was excited to jump back in with this yummy-sounding flavor.

Here’s the breakdown for this shake:

The instructions say to mix two scoops into 6-12oz of milk, water or your preferred beverage. I tried it with both 2% milk and vanilla almond milk, sometimes blended with ice, sometimes just hand-shaken.

My thoughts: This one is SO GOOD! The flavor is rich and satisfying, and it really hits the spot when an afternoon sweets craving creeps in. The pea protein provides essential amino acids and is easy to digest, while the protein plus MCT oil combo kept me full much longer, helping me avoid my normal 4pm snack attack. The best part is that there is no sugar-substitute bitter aftertaste, that I’ve gotten with a few other shakes.

Protein Oats: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Protein Oats

For months, my breakfast routine included protein oats from Aldi topped with a spoonful of peanut butter. But when they suddenly disappeared from the shelves, I was thrilled to see Naked Nutrition offered their own protein oats option.

Here’s the breakdown for the Naked Oats:

You can prepare Naked Oats two ways: as oatmeal (two scoops + 8 oz milk, then refrigerate 5+ hours) or as a shake (two scoops + 6–12 oz water or milk, blended).

My thoughts: I tested both methods and hands-down preferred the shake. The oatmeal version wasn’t my favorite texture; however it was much improved by adding some sliced bananas. The shake though… that was a winner for me. I blended two scoops with about 12 oz of milk and a couple ice cubes, and it turned into a thicker, almost chewy shake that kept me full for hours. The chocolate peanut butter banana flavor is tasty, but I have my eye on the cinnamon roll version for next time.

Collagen: Collagen Peptides with Hyaluronic Acid

I’ve heard a lot about the benefits of collagen for women in perimenopause, including for skin health and elasticity, joint support, hair and nail strength, and bone density. In fact, one of the big concerns for aging women is bone density and chronic conditions like osteoporosis, and collagen may help make up for the deficit.

Here’s the breakdown for the Collagen Peptides with Hyaluronic Acid:

The collagen peptides power can be added to coffee or smoothies and is best used consistently. The instructions say to mix one to two scoops into 8-16oz of hot or cold liquid.

My thoughts: For my first try, I added the collagen peptides powder to a shaker cup, along with two scoops of the Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein shake and about 16oz of vanilla almond milk. Then, I just gave it a good shake, shake, shake until it seemed pretty smooth, dumped it in a glass and drank it with a straw. I really couldn’t tell much of a difference between just the plain protein shake, which I think is kind of the point. I think this will also be great added to a smoothie, with some frozen fruit, ice cubes and milk or almond milk, since it just adds all the goodness and doesn’t seem to impact the flavor or texture.

Overall, I was really impressed with Naked Nutrition. Each product was easy to prepare and delivered the protein and nutrients I’m focusing on right now. My personal favorite was the Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein Shake and I’m interested to try some of their other flavors as well.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Naked Nutrition. I received these products for free and was compensated for my time, but all opinions, experiences, and thoughts shared here are completely my own.

In June, I had an EOE flare so bad that it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. So yeah, did not enjoy and do not recommend. For those not familiar, Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE) is a chronic immune system disease where certain foods can cause your esophagus to become inflamed. It’s kind of like a food allergy’s evil cousin. I’ve known that I’ve had an intolerance to gluten for years, but it amped up out of nowhere and I went from ‘oh, I try not to eat gluten at dinner because it gives me reflux’ to being scared that I was going to have to survive on pudding and jello for the rest of my life.

My new doctor can’t see me until August, so I’ve gone full detective mode… spiraling down the EOE rabbit hole, learning about allergy testing, elimination diets and eating low gluten. Because honestly, nothing says ‘world-class healthcare’ like having to auction off your firstborn for a specialist who might see you sometime in 2027.

So thanks to doctor Google/ChatGPT I had a plan to get through the couple months leading up to my appointment. I really, really, really do not want to go on an elimination diet for a variety of reasons that I won’t go into here. However, I started keeping a food journal after my flare, eating low gluten, and tracking how I feel.

I’m not diving fully into gluten-free life unless it proves necessary long term, but I have reduced gluten since I know it can be a trigger for me. Which means, testing gluten-free options. My sister (who is gluten free) has given me some great suggestions and I’ve also done a little trial and error of what I can find at my local stores.

Here is what I’ve tried and liked so far:

• Homemade Rice Krispie treats – naturally gluten free, as they are just rice krispies, butter and marshmallows. It is helpful for me to have a grab-and-go snack that I can eat if I need something sweet.
• Bettergoods brand Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffin Mix – I made it according to the directions, but also added one smashed banana and some dark chocolate chips. It was very good and tasted like ‘normal’ muffins!
• Miss Jones brand Gluten Free Monster Cookie Mix – This cookie mix was an easy mix and bake GF option. They tasted a little like they were oatmeal cookie based when they were warm from the oven, but they were WAY better the next day after being stored in a plastic storage container. They were still chewy, rather than crispy, and delicious. I had to ban my husband from eating them all.
• Barilla Gluten Free Rotini – These noodles tasted almost exactly like the non-gluten version and made for some delicious mac and cheese!
• Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels – These taste just like regular pretzels (maybe a little crunchier) and they are great for tzatziki dips.
• G.H. Cretors Cheese & Caramel Popcorn Mix – I love a sweet/salty combo and this popcorn mix is gluten free!
• LiveGfree Gluten Free Baking Mix – They carry this baking mix at Aldi and it is a base that can be turned into pancakes, waffles and biscuits. It was fantastic as waffles. I also tried it as more of a savory pancake situation (I added cheddar cheese) to take the place of the bread on my tomato sandwich and it was… okay.

There have also been a few gluten free fails. I tried chickpea noodles topped with spaghetti sauce and they were kind of awful. I mean I ate them because I was hungry, but I was mad about it. I also tried to make my normal banana chocolate chip muffin recipe but subbed in almond flour… and it was like a mushy banana pudding situation.

I’ve heard that Trader Joes has some very good gluten free options, including everything bagels and doughnuts. So, I plan to try them soon!

I’m still in the experimenting stage here though, so I can certainly use some recommendations. If you’ve gone gluten free – either by choice or necessity – what are your favorites? I’m taking snacks, baking mixes, bread items that don’t taste like cardboard, etc.