Vomitsghetti anyone?

From www.glutenfreemall.com

The first thing you notice when you go gluten free is that there is no more make-a-quick-sandwich-to-take-to-work. You have to put so much thought into your food to ensure it tastes good when you make and it still tastes good the day after. For example, this is not the case with pasta. Even if it's al dente the night you eat it, it magically turns into mush overnight. Therefore, one of the things I miss besides convenience is consistently tasty pasta.

The day I saw the "Organ Canned Gluten-Free Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce", I squealed with joy. It was just like back in the day when Mom would by us Chef Boyardees! (I know they're so bad for you, but they taste SO good). So, this morning in my usual flight, I grabbed my can of spaghetti, threw it in my purse, and felt like a normal person...until lunchtime.

The can is extremely small and pricey. I paid approx $3 for 7.7 oz. I poured my meager contents into a bowl and heated it up, waiting to eat my yummy spaghetti-o's. The spaghetti is actually just cut up, long spaghetti, so it looks like you're getting a nice portion. However, I could have finished this in a few bites, if I could have gotten through it at all.


My first bite was so-so. It was so hot I was savoring the surprisingly thin and sweet tomato sauce. Not too shabby! The next bite was much more disappointing. The pasta is too al dente and mixed with the super thin sauce, it makes you feel like you're going to choke because the pasta just slides right in there with little time to actually chew. I took a few more small bites and the texture just got worse as the spaghetti got cooler. Even my coworker commented on the rip off that it looked like, and in my naivety I defended the can. But, this is one product I won't buy again.

Rating: D.

Rating System

I've been thinking a lot about what kind of system I'm going to use to rate the food I blog about. A lot of people use stars, but I'm not fancy enough with blogging yet to know how to do that; a lot of people do "Good, Bad, Poor", some are more clever, "Super-Awesome, Doody", etc.

Since I work in admission and teach as well, I'm going to use the U.S. grading system. I feel that this is most familiar to most people. However, here are the guidelines, since this system still varies among institutions.

A   = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+   = 3.3
 B   =  3
B-  =  2.7
C+  =  2.3
C  =  2
C- =  1.7
D+  =  1.3
D = 1
D-  =  .7 (yes, it exists!)
F = 0


So, this is the scale that I'll use to make the review more universal and accessible. Of course, these are my own opinions from my own taste buds. I am picky about some things, as most people are, but one of my promises to my readers is to go outside of my comfort zone if needed to give you the deets on all of the foods out there for us Glutes to eat.

Let the grading begin!

-Amanda

Let them be allergic, and they will find the best food

My new year's resolution this year was to go completely gluten free with my diet. There was just no way around it for me: eating it made my tummy hurt. And if I chose to continue my gluttin-ous eating habits, my mild gluten allergy would turn into the full fledged, monster of a disease my mom has, Celiac. I would prefer not to, in the words of Bartelby. I've tried my fair share of gluten free foods and to be honest, most of them suck. I believe the disappointment from some of these foods is unnecessary, so I'm dedicating this blog to my reviews of the foods I buy and eat. Hopefully, I can save you those dollars (these foods are not cheap), and we can donate them to find a cure instead :) (You can donate to create awareness at https://www.celiac.org/index.php).



Feel free to email me with gluten free foods you've tried and love/hate, recipes you've come up with, or just funny ways of using the word "gluten" in a sentence.