rice

The last time I was walking through the specialty foods section of Krogers, I noticed Lundberg Family Farms instant risottos were marked as gluten free. My kids love sushi rice, so I was hoping that I had found something new they would eat, that wasn't a dessert item. The first one that I tried was the Creamy Parmesan Risotto.

The directions were fairly simple to follow. They have both conventional and microwave directions on the box. I followed the microwave directions, and found that I had to cook their instant risotto an additional six minutes before it thickened up properly.

I did serve hot, and it had a creamy, Parmesan taste, but there was nothing spectacular about it. It wasn't a bad taste. It just tasted like it came out of a box. Frankly I would use this as a base to build something better. The next time I use this gluten free risotto, I'm planning to sauté some green onion, grate some additional Parmesan cheese, and add some butter. Unfortunately
neither child liked it.

If I needed a quick side dish for a meal, I might purchase this again. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it wouldn't be my last either.

Over on the LiveJournal Celiac Journal, someone had noted that Old El Paso is starting to use wheat as a thickener in their Spanish Rice. 

At this point, I have not been able to confirm anything.  It took a little digging to get to the ingredients list for the Spanish Rice.  Old El Paso is on the Betty Crocker website, which is owned by General Mills.  On the General Mills website, I was able to pull down a picture of the box that had the ingredients list.  There it still says rice and corn, but no mention of wheat.

This may be the start or a bad trend for people eating gluten free.  Wheat is a cheap filler. As money gets tight, more companies might switch to it.  So be careful and continue to check the labels.   

EnviroKidz may have problems with chocolate, but they do have fruit down to a science. Their latest version of rice crispy treats is actually quite good.

The fruity burst is a bar made from puffed brown rice and fruity pieces. They do not state what type of fruity pieces, but they are definitely there. These pieces give the sweet bar an almost citrus twang. My oldest daughter loves these. Since they are individually wrapped, they make an excellent school snack.

As a final note, take the time to look inside the box. 1% of all EnviroKidz sales are donated annually to endangered species, habitat conservation and environmental education for kids. Inside any of the EnviroKidz boxes there is some information about the animal on the packaging. In this case, it is a penguin.

It's hard to say no to a company that produces good tasting gluten free products, and helps save the environment. These will be put into the pantry again.