Product Review - Garbo Toast Bread

Garbo attended (and gave out samples) at a support group meeting last fall. I was amazed at how good their bread was even untoasted. On occasion, "Livin' Gluten Free" a local sandwich shop has their Sun Bread but I was excited to find that my neighborhood Kings Super Market is carrying their Toast Bread and Sport Bread.

The Toast Bread is great. It browns up nicely in the toaster and the taste reminds me of the homemade loaves of yeast bread my grandmother used to bake at Easter. I do however see why they call it 'Toast' bread. It unfortunately does not have the durability to be sandwich bread.

I don't really eat enough toast to justify the extra trip to Kings (it's local, but not a store I usually shop in). I'll just toast a slice of sandwich bread instead. It won't be as good as Garbo's but it will do.

If you can't find Garbo's Toast Bread locally, you can purchase it online here: Garbo Toast Bread.

Mom's Turkey Cutlets - gluten free/dairy free

I've been on a kick to duplicate everything that Mom used to make growing up, only this time gluten and dairy free. Some were easy (spaghetti and meatballs) as her sauce and meatballs are already gf/df and gf pasta is easy to come by. Others, such as steak and handcut french fries, were already gluten and dairy free. Others took a little work.

One of my favorites was Turkey Cutlets with a side of Fettuccine Alfredo. This was also the first thing I learn how to make when I learned how to cook (of course back then it contained gluten). I'm going to split out the two recipes for those who are looking for one or the other but they really are best together!

Mom's Turkey Cutlets

Ingredients:
1 pound Turkey Cutlets
1 egg
1/2 cup GF bread crumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
2 tsp gf chicken bullion

Add egg to a shallow pan and beat with a fork or whisk.

Add bread crumbs to another pan.

Dip each cutlet first in the egg and then in the bread crumbs to coat.

Heat oil is a frying pan over medium heat. Add cutlets and brown on each side (about 3 minutes a side). Don't worry if they don't all fit at once; fry them in batches.

Return all cutlets to the pan and add water and bullion. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes (or more) until tender. Note: if not fully covered by the water, rotate them (top to bottom) at least once during this simmer.

Serve covered with the juice from the pan and a side of Fettuccine Alfredo and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Fettuccini Alfredo - gluten free/dairy free/vegan

Growing up Mom used to make Fettuccine Alfredo as an accompaniment to her Turkey Cutlets. I've broken out the recipes into separate posts for benefit of those looking for one or the other.

Please note, this recipe is for 8oz of pasta however, some GF brands come in 12oz or 16oz. In that case, the recipe easily scales up (by half for 12oz and double for 16oz).

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:
8oz Gluten Free Fettuccine
1 cup rice milk
2 Tbsp GF flour
3 Tbsp Vegan Parmesan Cheese
3 Tbsp olive oil

Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's directions. Meanwhile in a sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until it starts to brown. Add vegan Parmesan and rice milk while continuing to stir. Allow to thicken stirring occasionally. If it finishes thickening before the pasta is done, remove from heat until pasta is done (you'll need to reheat it once the pasta is ready). Drain the pasta and cover with sauce.

Makes 3-4 side dish servings.

Product Review - Organic Bistro Frozen Meals

A little while ago I noticed a link for Organic Bistro appearing in the Adsense ads on this site. Since Adsense doesn't allow me to click on my own ads, I typed Organic Bistro into google and checked out their website. Everything about these meals sounded great: gluten free, dairy free, all natural, etc, until I got to the part about where they were on sale and realized they weren't available here in NJ! Since I don't like to order food online (I prefer to support the local stores that carry GF/DF) I figured I would just have to wait until they were available here in New Jersey. Well, thanks to Whole Foods, I didn't have to wait long!

On my last shopping trip to Whole Foods, I noticed two varieties of Organic Bistro meals in their freezer case and bought both. The price is pretty reasonable especially when compared to other gluten free frozen meals on the market. I ate the Ginger Chicken (see photo at right) over the weekend and the Chicken Citron (see photo below on left) last night. The Ginger Chicken had green beans, carrots, snap peas, edamame and brown rice while the Chicken Citron had spinach, edamame, sun dried tomatoes, carrots and quinoa.

The meals are organic and contain multiple vegetables and whole grains. Best of all, their entire line is both dairy and gluten free! I think the meals will take some getting used to as my palette adjusts from what it remembers of frozen meals packed with salt, refined sugar, white rice, unpronounceable additives, and/or refined flours. I am certainly a fan of the convenience as well as the nutrition packed into each meal.

I've been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables but when grabbing something quick (read: microwaved in a couple of minutes) that can be hard to do. I think these meals will be a nice addition to the nights I don't have time to cook.

Update: I ran to Whole Foods tonight and they now have what appears to be the entire line! Since I have such a small freezer I'll have to try these one or two at a time. Up next are the Jamaican Shrimp Cakes.