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Mini Pops Popped Sorghum Review (and Giveaway)!

I am SO EXCITED about this review and giveaway that I can hardly stand it!!

To all my corn-free friends out there (especially the itty-bitty’s), it’s time to throw a popcorn Mini Pop party!

What the heck is a “Mini Pop” you ask?  Well, Mini Pops are an itty bitty corn-free version of popcorn made from sorghum!  Sorghum flour is commonly used in gluten-free baking, but sorghum can also be used to make sorghum molasses and you can even pop the seed, just like popcorn!

From the Mini Pops website:

Mini Pops is air popped sorghum grain. Each individual sorghum grain has a tiny pocket of water in its center. When the sorghum is exposed to high heat, that water inside heats up and expands causing the grain to Explode! And voilà – Mini Pops are born. This just so happens to be how popcorn is made too.

Mini Pops can be flavored just like popcorn, and you’ll see that it has great nutritional benefits in addition to being gluten free and corn free. It lacks those thin popcorn hulls that typically get caught in the teeth and gums, and it’s a delicious, crunchy snack that can be enjoyed anywhere.

They make it sound so…easy.  You might even be wondering, what’s the big deal, why not just buy some sorghum seed and pop your own?  Yes, you certainly could (good luck with that)!

Have you ever tried to pop sorghum yourself?  If you haven’t, let me spare you the gazillions of tiny little seeds that angrily jump out of the pan as quickly as you dump them in (attacking you with hideously hot oil in the process), and just show you a video featuring Andrew Zimern, host of the television show Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, sharing his experience with popped sorghum (NOT the Mini Pops brand specifically).

Cool huh?

All of the Mini Pops flavors are popped using hot air (not oil), so there is less fat.  Mini Pops are also certified organic, which means the sorghum they use is pesticide-free and has not been genetically modified!

Ari Taube, President and Founder of Mini Pops recently sent me a complimentary assortment of Mini Pops to sample and review for you.  My husband and kids absolutely loved them, especially their “itty-bittiness.”  I can personally vouch for the fact that the hulls don’t get stuck in your teeth the way popcorn hulls do!

Mini Pops literally just opened their doors for business, and they just received their GFCO certification 3 days ago (they passed with flying colors, yea!). I asked Ari about Mini Pops suitability for other allergies and here is what he had to say:

All Mini Pops flavors are peanut-free, soy-free and corn-free in addition to being gluten-free (the gluten-free is by design – the others by chance).  The Baby White Cheddar and Itsy Bitsy Chili Cheese flavors both contain dairy because of the dehydrated cheddar that I use.

Currently, the available flavors are:

Subatomic Sea Salt

Petite Plain

Baby White Cheddar

Hot ‘N Chilly Chili

Little Lemon Pepper

Itsy Bitsy Chili Cheese

Flavors still in Development:

Teeny Tiny Kettle Pops

Cutie Caramel

Itty Bitty Butter

Would you like to try some Mini Pops for yourself? Well, here’s your chance!

Ari has generously offered to give THREE of my readers a complimentary sample pack of Mini Pops, each containing one of each available flavor, woo-hoo!

To enter for a chance to win one of three complimentary sample packs of Mini Pops popped sorghum, simply leave a comment below suggesting a future “itty bitty” name and flavor of Mini Pops!

Lots of Bonus Entry Opportunities (these are completely optional, but if you do decide to do one, two or even all of them, please be sure to leave a separate comment for EACH completed task that you do, this is how I keep track of all the entries):

• Sign up for the Mini Pops Newsletter (click on the link and look on the left sidebar for the newsletter sign-up form).

• “Like” Mini Pops on Facebook.

• “Follow” Mini Pops on Twitter.

• “Like” Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom on Facebook.

• “Follow” adventuresgfmom on Twitter.

• Share the link to this giveaway on your Facebook Page.

• Mention this giveaway in a blog post (be sure to include a link back to this page).

• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (be sure to include the link to this post, @Mini_Pops and @adventuresgfmom in your tweet).

Using the Random Number Generator, I will pick the 3 winners on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010.

Until then, hopefully I will see you on Facebook!

Katz Gluten Free Sweet Summer Giveaway

I recently received a big box of complimentary gluten-free sweets from Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe to sample and review on my blog.

Katz is a dedicated and certified gluten-free bakery (it is also completely nut-free and dairy-free), and all of their products are certified Kosher.  Katz was established in 2006 by Mrs. Katz, the mother of two gluten-intolerant children, so she knows firsthand the challenges that parents of dietary-restricted children have to deal with everyday in order to keep our kiddos safe. You can read more about Katz here.

Katz Gluten Free offers a wide range of gluten-free, dairy-free baked goods, from breads (including challah), cakes, cookies, muffins and rugelech.

We personally sampled the Chocolate Cupcakes, Honey Muffins, Apricot Tarts, Chocolate Dipped Cookies, Chocolate Strip, Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Cinnamon Rugelech (the nutrition information is available for each product on the Katz website).

The hands down favorites of my clan were the Cinnamon Rugelech and the Apricot Tarts.  Sam waged a great campaign for me to allow the rugelech as a breakfast option (since they look like “cinnamon rolls,” but unfortunately for him, mom didn’t just fall of the turnip truck, LOL!).

My husband loved the Apricot Tarts, he said the slightly tart apricot center was a nice complement to the sweet shortbread-style cookie.

I wish I could give you a more descriptive review on the other products, but the only words my brood could muster were “mmm, good” (I really need to expand their vocabulary of descriptive words!).  Personally, I can tell you that the products had great texture, but…I think it’s time I share something with you:

Medical Oddity Disclaimer: I haven’t mentioned this yet because I haven’t been quite sure what to make of it (and I keep expecting things to back to normal any day now!), but…I have been without my sense of taste for 3 months now!  Not only that, everything tastes like metal (I think that’s how I would describe it), isn’t that weird?  I have no idea why (I do know that it started with a sinus infection back in June), but it makes doing reviews a little challenging for me because I can only tell you about texture and what my “official taste testers” think!

Would you like to try some of the Katz Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free products for yourself?  Well, you are in luck because you have TWO opportunities to win some Katz Dollars which are redeemable towards products on the Katz Gluten Free website!

For a chance to win $100 Katz Dollars, simply visit the special Katz web page and enter the drawing.  The deadline is September 13th, 2010.

Katz Gluten-Free is also generously offering:

• One of my lucky readers a chance to win $25 Katz Dollars to spend towards products on their website,

and

• One runner up will receive a FREE sample package of Katz goodies!

To enter this giveaway:

Simply leave a comment below letting me know which Katz product you would most like to try!

For bonus entry opportunities (just be sure to leave a separate comment for each additional bonus entry you qualify for, this is how I keep track of entries…I don’t want to accidentally miss anyone!):

• Follow katzglutenfree on Twitter

• Follow Adventuresgfmom on Twitter

• “Like” Katz Gluten-Free on Facebook

• “Like” Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom on Facebook

• For 10 Bajillion Bonus Entries…Tell me how I can get my sense of taste back (pretty please)!

Using the Random Number Generator, I will pick the winners on Tuesday, September 7, 2010.

Good Luck and I hope everyone has a happy and safe gluten-free Labor Day weekend!

Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger: Alexa from Lexie’s Kitchen

I am really excited to finally be participating in my first “Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger” event!

The Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger program was started by Sea of Book of Yum, in 2008.  This is a great way to get to know gluten-free bloggers by trying some of their recipes!

August’s Adopt a GF Blogger is being hosted by my dear friend, Shirley of Gluten Free Easily (and I get to meet her in person tomorrow, yea!!!!).  Be sure to visit Shirley’s blog to find out about other fun adoptions and/or to sign up and participate (you do not have to be a blogger to join in on the fun)!

I decided to pick Alexa from Lexie’s Kitchen for my first official “adoption!”

I was first introduced to Lexie’s Kitchen by another great gluten-free blogger buddy of mine, Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake (love me some Maggie!).   Maggie “adopted” Alexa back in June, and you can check out her post here.

Let me just say, Alexa “had me at homemade deodorant!” Ever since I saw that post, I have had a great time getting to “know” Alexa better (and I get to meet her in person tomorrow too!).

Just like with our family, Alexa’s son Miles was the catalyst for changing the way her family eats.  Miles had been suffering from hypotonia, gross motor/speech delays and chronic diarrhea when she decided to take matters into her own hands and help restore her son’s neurological and intestinal health through nutrition (you go mama bear!).  You can read more about Alexa’s journey here, it is a touching story and quite inspirational!

Alexa’s recipes are all gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free, so she has been quite helpful to me as I learn the ins-and-outs of cooking dairy-free for my youngest son.

I wanted to make more of Alexa’s recipes, but I ran out of time with all the back-to-school craziness going on.  I settled on a lovely Cinnamon Pomegranate Glaze and used it to accompany a pan-fried pork chop and mashed yams (this was the first time I ever had a true “yam,” they are actually quite different from sweet potatoes):

The cinnamon pomegranate glaze is so good that I had trouble keeping my brood away while I was taking my photos.  Sam (God love him), got a hold of the squeeze bottle containing the glaze and proceeded to drink it straight up (which is why the first photo is lacking in the glaze department and I had to remake it for the second photo!

The other recipe I made of Alexa’s (actually, it would fall into the “not-really a recipe” category and it is a GREAT lunchbox snack!) were the Justin Nut Butter on Apples.  I happen to have quite a bit of Justin’s Chocolate Peanut Butter on hand because it is one of Luke’s favorite treats (and it is dairy-free!).  I decided to make a naturally gluten-free, dairy-free (and dye-free) healthy alternative to those damn Goldfish crackers.  So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to…

the ANTI-Goldfish Cracker!

These are definitely addictive!  I will offer a few tips on making them though:

• Use a metal cookie cutter, they are sharper and make a clean cut than plastic cookie cutters.

• When I make apples slices for the boys, I do a 5 minute dip in an ascorbic acid and water solution to prevent the apples from turning brown. (I follow this guideline for approximate measurements).

• The nut butter will fall out of the cookie cutter imprint, so for each apple snack, I cut the shape out of one slice (and fill with the nut butter) then I lay the decorated slice on top of a whole apple slice (kind of like a cracker base).

Alexa has a lot of other great looking recipes that I plan on making when I return from Seattle, check these out:

Quick Strawberry Rhubarb (and red beet) Syrup

Almond and Hemp Milk Yogurt

Saturday Pancakes (these would be fantastic to make ahead and freeze for those frenzied school mornings!).

Pirate Smoothie (the name alone will get my boys interested!)

Frozen Mounds of Refried Beans (I do this with mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes and it works great, I call them “eventually instant mashed potatoes!”).

Did you see any particular recipe’s on Lexie’s Kitchen that piqued your interest?

Lunchbox Dill Dip with Raw Veggies

The past two days have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me as I’ve been preparing to set Luke up with a safe environment at preschool.  Preschool is a dietary-restricted parent’s worst nightmare!  Gluten and food allergens are EVERYWHERE and not just in the popular processed kid fare department (have I told you lately how much I hate Goldfish crackers??).

After meeting Luke’s WONDERFUL new teacher yesterday, I found myself on a desperate scavenger hunt looking for:

• A gallon of Elmer’s Glue (one needs the gallon size for frequent “flubber” making and his school does not use Elmer’s glue, which I know is gluten-free.  I haven’t heard back from the company that makes the School Smart brand of art supplies yet, but I will let you know the gluten-free status when I do),

• 400 Gazillion pounds of cheap rice flour (so I can make gluten-free, dairy-free play dough for the class),

and…

• Frantically looking for a case of not too hideously expensive gluten-free oats for the “tactile stimulation table.”

$@*#! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO PUT GLUTEN IN EVERYTHING?!

*sigh*

Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest, I feel much better now and I am ready to move forward with a smile on my face!

The following recipe for dill dip is the one my mom made while I was growing up and even though it is naturally gluten-free, I tweaked it anyway to make it healthier (my husband is beginning to fear that I might “tweak” him next…and I just might at the rate I’m going!). 

I also make a dairy-free version of this dip for Luke, subbing out the sour cream with So Delicious plain coconut milk yogurt.  The dairy-free version is sweeter tasting than the dairy version, but that’s just the nature of the beast.  Luke likes it and that’s all that really matters, right?

Dill Dip

3/4 cup Sour Cream (I now use Fage Fat-Free Plain Greek Yogurt which has 20 grams of protein per 8-oz. serving and is certified gluten-free).

3/4 cup Mayonnaise (I use a low-fat olive oil mayo, which has less than half the fat of regular mayo).

2 tsp. Dried Parsley Flakes

1 Tbs. Fresh Minced Onion

1 tsp. Seasoned Salt (Lawry’s is gluten-free, or you can make your own)

1 1/2 tsp. Dried Dill Weed  (I grew up using dried dill weed, but just this summer I discovered that fresh dill is DEFINITELY the way to go!  Dried dill really doesn’t have any taste whatsoever compared to fresh dill).

• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight until the flavors develop.

• Serve with your favorite fresh-cut raw veggies and enjoy!

Serve with your favorite funny veggies!

The boys got a kick out of purple bell peppers this summer, Sam even developed an affinity for raw purple cauliflower (and the answer is no, Luke did not eat the purple cauliflower…he hid it in his underwear.  Imagine my surprise during a potty training session)!

Whoever said fruits and veggies are boring, must never have been to a farmer’s market!

A few other things:

• Kim from Cook It Allergy Free is doing a giveaway for Ricki Heller’s (of Diet, Dessert and Dogs) new cookbook, “Sweet Freedom,” which is filled with recipes for wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined-sugar free treats!  Did you know that Sweet Freedom is one of Ellen Degeneres’s recommended cookbooks?
  

• Have you joined Dr. Rodney Ford’s new Facebook group,  “Gluten Free Planet” yet?  Come on, join the movement with me!

• Cybele Pascal shared her recipe for Vegan and Soy-Free Chocolate Pudding on WholeLiving.com (Cybele’s recipe is also peanut and tree-nut free, unlike the recent recipe I shared using MimicCreme).  Woo-Hoo!  Chocolate pudding for everyone!

• Lastly, I am so unbelievably excited for a “mom’s weekend off” field trip that I am about to go on this Friday.  I will be heading to Seattle to attend the International Food Bloggers Conference!

The best part for me is that many of my gluten-free blogging heroes will be there too, including a certain Gluten Free Girl and her Chef!!!  As if that weren’t enough, on Sunday, Shauna and Danny will be preparing a delicious gluten-free meal for all the GF bloggers that are attending!!!!!  I mean really, is that an opportunity of a lifetime or what?!

Want to know who else is going to be there?

Shirley from Gluten Free Easily

Jeanne from Four Chickens

Kim from Cook It Allergy Free

Diane from The W.H.O.L.E. Gang

Carrie from Ginger Lemon Girl

Carol from Simply Gluten Free

Dr. Jean Layton from Gluten-Free Doctor Recipes

Wendy from Celiacs in the House

Melissa from Gluten Free For Good

Alexa from Lexie’s Kitchen

Karen from Cook4Seasons

Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

Now, if only I can keep myself from being a total groupie…I better pack some paper bags in case I hyperventilate when I meet these phenomenal women (they are pretty much the equivalent of rock stars to me).

I will do a blog post giving you all the fun details and photos as soon as I return; but while I’m there, I will be sharing frequent updates on my Facebook page and on Twitter, so you will have to “Like” me and/or “Follow” me if you want to find out sooner if I make an *$$ out of myself!

Homemade Dairy-Free, Soy-Free “Processed” Cheese

Okay, let’s just address this upfront.  “Say whaaa?“

Well, there is a very big NEED for gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free cheese slices and I can’t seem find a commercial one anywhere!  I got excited the other day when I found some “cheese” that looked like it would fit the bill perfectly BUT then (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), I flipped it over and read the ingredient label: casein (milk protein):

Is it just me, or does that make about as much sense as adding gluten to rice bread??

So, since Luke recently tested positive for anti-casein antibodies, I’ve now found myself seemingly back at square one, just like when I was handed my celiac walking papers 5 years ago and having no idea what I would be eating for the rest of my life (only with a much better attitude!).

Most things are easily tweaked to be dairy-free, well, everything except cheese!  Add to that dilemma, I try to avoid soy at all costs (not because of an allergy, but because my mom is a breast cancer survivor and any added estrogen freaks me out).

Luke’s new preschool also has strict guidelines for snack time, and each snack has to be low in sugar and contain a protein.  While I think this is great, their primary suggestion was cheese.  I am thankful that he does not go to a peanut/tree-nut free school, because I would not have all the nut butters to fall back on and while I have a great homemade beef jerky recipe, I’d rather not send meat for every snack!

Enter my life motto: “where there is a will, there must be a way,” (it’s just a matter of finding it)!

When I stumbled across an out-of-print cookbook on Amazon called “Make Your Own Convenience Foods“ by Don and Joan German, I just had to order it.  The tag line of the book is “How to make chemical-free foods that are fast, simple and economical.”

The cookbook is something of a “Back to the Future” time capsule and politically correct, it is not!

I suppose we would fall into the “invalid” group, LOL!

This cookbook has all sorts of crazy recipes that can be easily tweaked to fit one’s particular dietary restrictions.  There are recipes for “Gee Whiz,” (Cheez Whiz), bologna, “Lecithin Pan Coating,” which is a non-stick spray, so you could make your own non-stick spray with Sunflower Lecithin (instead of soy) AND…

There is even a recipe for “Extended Butter” which I presume is a margarine.  So for folks that are corn-free (but not dairy-free), you can easily make your own corn-free buttery spread!  I am curious if it would work to sub the butter called for in the recipe with palm shortening and just add some butter extract/flavoring to it (assuming it’s corn-free) for a dairy-free and corn-free buttery spread??

This cookbook is the perfect example of why I affectionately call myself a “glutadoodle!”  Living a healthy, dietary-restricted life in a world of processed food can make one a little wacky (in a good way, mind you), so why not embrace it and have some fun?

Okay, before I share the recipe there are a few things I need to mention, because I think this recipe still needs some tweaking (and I could use some help)!

• While my tweaks make it dairy-free, it is not vegan because of the gelatin.  I am wondering if pectin would work, but I fear that the “cheese” may end up with a fruity aftertaste.  I was also thinking that agar might be a good alternative, or even xanthan gum (I used this as a substitute for gelatin in a recipe for corn-free marshmallows last January.  I found the idea to use xanthan gum in a super cool downloadable (and free) e-book called “Texture-A Hydrocolloid Recipe Collection,” I definitely encourage you to check it out and tap into your inner “food scientist!”).

• I subbed the instant non-fat powdered milk with powdered rice milk and it did lend a slightly sweet taste to the end product.  I can’t seem to find a dairy-free/casein-free powdered milk that is not sweet.  I am wondering if there is something else that would work instead, maybe even just replacing the powdered milk and water altogether (and just using a very hot dairy-free milk instead?), or replacing it with a gluten-free flour/starch (since I am not a chemist, I have no idea what purpose the powdered milk serves.  If I knew, that would help narrow down the potential substitutes!).

• The “processed” dairy-free cheese turned out on the soft side, not really like American cheese slices or even Velveeta.  The consistency reminded me more of a cheddar cheese spread, like Kraft’s Old English, which is okay, because having something to spread on a cracker is much easier and less messy than sprinkling on some Daiya vegan shreds (I am really hoping that a sliced cheese is next on Daiya’s “to-do” list!).

I will share the original recipe with my dairy-free tweaks next to it (the recipe is for a 2-lb. bar of cheese, so I only made 1/3 of it just in case it bombed; Daiya is not cheap!) so experiment away (and if you figure out a way to improve it, please let me know)!

If you are not dairy-free, but are dye-free, you could just follow the original recipe and use white cheddar cheese to make a food coloring free Velveeta-style cheese!

American Cheese

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. Grated Mild Cheddar Cheese (I used 8-oz. of Daiya Cheddar Shreds)

1 1/2 cups Very Hot Water (I used 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. Instant Nonfat Dry Milk (I used 3 Tbs. Powdered Rice Milk)

1/2 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin (1 1/2 tsp.) (I used 1/2 tsp.)

Directions:

Because your blender will not handle all of the ingredients at once (a Vitamix will hold all of the ingredients but they weren’t around in 1978!), make the cheese according to the following directions:

• In a blender or food processor put 1/2 cup very hot water,  3 Tbs. Instant nonfat dry milk and 1/2 tsp. gelatin.

• Whip until the gelatin is dissolved.

• Quickly add 1/2 pound of the grated cheese and blend until well combined.

• Pour into an 8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan that has been lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper (since I made a smaller batch, I used a mini loaf pan).

• Repeat this process two more times, until all of the ingredients have been used and the loaf pan is filled.

• Cover the pan with more plastic wrap and chill overnight before unmolding.  Keep cold and slice as needed.

Like I said, the recipe could still use some tweaking (for dairy-free and vegan), but I figured I would go ahead and share the recipe, so we could make this a collaborative project!  If you find something that works really well, please let me know and I will update this post (or if you are a blogger and post the recipe with your tweaks, let me know and I will link up to you from here)!

Glutadoodles Unite!

Yeah, I am definitely off my rocker…

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