Product Review: Fosse Farms' Dressings & Marinades

Visit Fosse Farms Inc. for more information!

Elaine Fosse began making salad dressings in 1987 because she was dissatisfied with the current market offerings - and I can't tell you how happy I am! Certified gluten free, soy free, dairy free, salt free, vegan and free of additives and preservatives, Elaine's line of dressings are healthy and delicious.

With an ingredient list that reads "Pure Olive Oil, Cranberries, Vinegar, Sugar and Herbs" how can you go wrong? It is my understanding that as many ingredients as possible are produced on the farm, including the vinegar and berries, and Elaine sources her olive oil from California - creating a local and sustainable product grown and produced using West Coast ingredients.

While I had the luxury of trying all of Fosse Farms' fabulous dressings, my personal favorite was the extra-garlic Blackberry -- lightly sweet, tangy and with a garlic taste that was pungent without being overwhelming. We loved it on spinach salads with goat cheese and walnuts, as a marinade for barbecued chicken, and as an interesting way to add an extra kick to your sandwich. Definitely a new favorite!

Flavors Available:
- Raspberry (also organic)
- Cranberry (also organic)
- Marionberry
- Blackberry (also organic)
- Blackberry with extra garlic (my favorite)
- Organic Provencal

Available in-store and at farmer's markets across Western Washington and Northeast Oregon and of course online, Fosse Farms dressings are most easy to find at Whole Foods.

Product Review: Jones Mock Salt

You may be thinking "Oh, just another salt-free seasoning alternative..." but that's where you're wrong! Jones' Mock Salt is a super delicious no-sodium seasoning blend that is gluten free, organic and produced in the Pacific Northwest. June Jones developed the seasoning over the past several years in an effort to help family and friends who suffer from heart conditions which require limiting sodium intake - and what a success!

With a fine texture and complex flavor, what could be better? This seasoning blend is anything but bland and includes a few surprises - like orange peel - which creates a subtle blend of flavors that packs a big punch and lingers on the palate.

For sure, Jones' Mock Salt is my favorite seasoning blend!

Product Review: Jo-Sef Gluten Free Cookies

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Taste
For the first time in my ever-lengthening life, chocolate was not my favorite flavor for these cookies. The Cinnamon-O's sandwich cookies are divine - a blast from the past that tasted like those pink-iced animal cookies from my non-gluten-free childhood - YUM! The more elegant (dare I say mature?) square version, without the sandwich, were equally great. Vanilla-O's, and their plain square counterpart were both good, too. The chocolate could definitely have been more chocolatey, and I admit to being disappointed, but then I freely admit that the one item I miss from my pre-gluten free life is a certain chocolate sandwich cookie that is way too good to be good for me. Ah, well - these are still satisfying with a good glass of milk! Be forewarned: the sandwich cookies are sweet - almost too much so, and I think the sandwich cream is the culprit. One cookie was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. Oh, and the Animal cookies? Who needs the little circus-car-shaped box - these are perfection! BC

While I agree that the Cinnamon cookies are absolutely the star flavor, I didn't think the chocolate was quite so lacking - I don't have a huge sweet tooth and the composition of these chocolate biscuits was just perfect for me! A glass of milk, while maybe not a necessity, was an ideal partner for these great little treats and, for being gluten-free, dairy/lactose/casein-free, egg-free, corn-free, nut-free AND vegan, these cookies are unbelievably awesome! Sign me up! KG

Texture
These are a bit on the gritty side, and for some reason the Chocolate-O's and chocolate squares were more so than the Cinnamon and Vanilla cookies. The grittiness is a function of the rice flour, of course, and maybe a finer grind might do the trick here. It's nothing to detract from the great flavors, except in the chocolate cookies - again, they were much grittier, and the grit did make me pause and think about it - NOT something one wants to be doing while enjoying a sweet treat. BC

While the cookies could be a little "gritty", I'm all about keeping things in perspective -- as biscuit cookies, these are amazing! They hold up to being dunked without crumbling/falling to pieces/dissolving into mush at the bottom of my morning cup of coffee. While there is no major texture difference between any of the three shapes (O's, squares or animal cookies), this does mean that that O's are a little thick on the cookie and thin on the frosting -- perfect for dunking, but a little challenging for solo consumption. KG

Storage

The cookies are in a thin plastic tray (except the animal cookies) and the tray slides into a plastic foil wrapper. On all the boxes of cookies I opened, every single wrapper caught on the tray and ripped to shreds - I blamed myself at first, but after all the packaging did this while I was being mindful, I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. I think the cookies will be stale before I can eat them all, and this is disappointing, especially since I really like these cookies! It's too bad a different packaging method couldn't be attempted, or that the wrapper couldn't be made bigger. It all slides into a beautiful box, of course, but the box won't protect against freshness. BC

The freshness issue is a big one - to be fair, I didn't have quite the same issue with the wrapper but regardless, I did end up sticking all but one box of them in ziploc bags to keep them fresh. That one box - the Vanilla Squares - was kept out as an experiment and I have to say, after a week of sitting on the counter in nothing but their opened foil wrapping and cardboard box, they were still pretty fresh - maybe not exactly fresh, but not soggy or stale tasting either - I was pretty impressed! KG

Availability

Four stars! Widely available in most grocery stores and natural markets, and through the Jo-Sef website as well. Worth seeking out, that's for sure! BC

While what Becky writes is true on the East Coast, these cookies are a rare find in grocery stores out West. Available online from Amazon.com, Gluten Free Mall and the Jo-Sef website you can definitely still order them, but good luck finding them in a grocery store. Sorry guys, but I'm giving you a 2/5... KG

Price Point
With an MSRP of $4.89/box for the O's, $4.49/box for the squares and $3.99/box for the animal cookies, these cookies fall into the average price range for gluten free baked goods - on the upside, the boxes are pretty darn full so I felt, at least, that I was getting a lot of bang for my buck -- instead of just packaging!

GFCF Weekly Round-up: Spicy Sesame Dip

Perfect for entertaining (New Year's, anyone?), this Asian-inspired dip is spicy, tangy, naturally dairy free and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons gluten free Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup cooled, brewed black tea
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1-1/2 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce (like Tamari)
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 cup mayonnaise
Paprika for garnish

Directions
Place the garlic, mustard, cayenne pepper and chili powder in a food processor and process until the garlic is finely chopped. Add the cooled tea, red wine vinegar, gf soy sauce and tahini; process until incorporated. With the machine running add the mayonnaise and process until smooth. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Sprinkle paprika over the top and serve with fresh vegetables.

Tips
This dip is packed with flavor! It is great served with a variety of fresh vegetables or you can even mix it into cooled gluten free pasta for a nice lunch "salad".

Product Review: Zing Bars

Zing! bars are unbelievable! With six “deliciously different” flavors (Chocolate Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Coconut, Almond Blueberry and Cranberry Orange) Zing bars are healthy and delicious. Developed by a team of four registered dietitians (each with a master’s degree in nutritional biochemistry - wow!) Zing bars are healthy without being healthy tasting (if you know what we mean). Each bar contains 10-13g of protein, all-natural ingredients and are soy-free -- three of the six flavors are even vegan (dairy-free)!

Ingredients
Vary by flavor; all are wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free and the Cranberry Orange, Chocolate Coconut and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavors are also vegan/dairy-free.

Taste
I’ll be honest, I’m a picky eater - especially when it comes to protein bars. Usually, if I’m lucky, there will be one or two flavors of a given product line that I will enjoy - but this is absolutely not the case with Zing! bars! While my favorite is the Chocolate Coconut, I can (and have...) happily eaten and enjoyed all six of their flavors

Texture
Just the right combination of chewy and crunchy, these bars don’t leave you looking for a glass of milk or water!

Storage
Small enough to fit in your purse or backpack, these bars are perfect for on-the-go snacking.

Availability
Widely available in grocery stores on the west coast, you can also order Zing bars online both through Amazon.com and directly through store.zingbars.com

Overall Score (5.0)
Nutritious, delicious, free of soy proteins, three gluten-free/dairy-free flavors and routinely tested for gluten content - what’s not to love? Sign me up!

Special offer to Glutenfreeda readers: enter Glutenfreeda in the coupon code at checkout and receive $5.00 off per box-no limit. Offer good through December 31st, 2010