Rhythm Super Foods Crispy Kale Chips

A few weeks ago Rhythm Superfoods sent me samples of their new Crispy Kale Chips. I've wanted to try kale chips for years! They are posted on nearly every popular blog around and apparently a cinch to make.. but really isn't it fun just to be able to grab a bag of gluten free chips from the store?

I was very impressed with these chips. Initially I wasn't exactly sure how I would like them and I didn't know what to expect. I love kale... but eaten as a dried chip I just wasn't sure...

I have no idea what I was waiting for! These chips were delicious! I love that this company is vegan, so the chips are not only gluten free, but they are dairy free and soy free as well. No guilt. Healthy, crispy, crunchy goodness!

Rhythm Superfoods Crispy Kale Chips - Zesty Nacho Flavor

My favorite flavor was the "Zesty Nacho"  while hubs preferred the "Kool Ranch."  I LOVED how CHEESY the Nacho flavor tasted without any cheese at all! They make a vegan "sauce" using a combination of cashews, nutritional yeast, red pepper, and other seasonings. Our least favorite flavor was the "Bombay Curry" which tasted nothing like curry to us and we didn't like the coconut aftertaste.

These chips were extremely crunchy and tasted very fresh. This is a snack that I wish was available in gas stations around the country. This is something I know I could pick up on a road trip and I wouldn't feel guilty about eating it. I love that you can have your veggies with lots of flavor and real crunch. They taste like a treat. I also love that these chips contain little sodium compared to most "crunchy" snacks. Go Rhythm for making healthy and crispy snacks!

The packaging is super cute and fun to read. I am the wierdo that will even read the bottom of the bag and they even had fun stuff printed there.

I'd definitely eat & buy Rhythm Crispy Kale Chips and I give them an overall A-.

Check out Rhythm Super Foods and if you try them let me know what you think!

Winner of the TankaBar Package!!

Winner of the TANKAbars is CAKE who responded

"cake said...
With an ingredient list like that, who *wouldn't* want to try these! Nice amount of protein and low in fat. Sounds like they'd be yummy!"

Cake email me with your name & address and I'll have the package of TankaBars sent to you ASAP! :-)

Happy Friday everyone!

Tanka Bars & A Giveaway

**Update! Want to win a variety pack of these wonderful Tanka Bars? Just leave me a comment and let me know why you'd like to try them! Also for additional entries, tweet or put a post on FB with a link to this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me that you did -- for each tweet and FB post! Giveaway open until midnight January 12th.**

Several weeks ago, Linda C. from the Tanka Bar company contacted me to send samples of these all natural buffalo "bites." I was hesitant. I've never been a huge beef jerky fan, but I figured why not?

Linda sent me 2 sample packages to share with my local gluten free support group. She also sent a packaged bag of these "Buffalo Cranberry Bites" which are little bites of the buffalo jerky. I tried these when I got home yesterday and I was incredibly surprised! They were delicious! They were not overly salty or dry. They were actually just slightly sweet, chewy, but not hard, actually had a softness to them. And they also need to be refrigerated after opening which I thought was great! It meant the bars were fresh and natural.

I LOVE that they are all natural and contain absolutely NO nitrates, NO msg, no gluten, no lactose. They do contain a lactic acid starter culture which probably derives from milk, but I did not have any type of reaction to this product even though it may contain a dairy product.

Here is the list of ingredients:
Buffalo, Dried Cranberries (cranberries, sugar), Sea Salt, Red Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Lactic Acid Starter Culture

I really love the public mission of this small company and I think it's important to buy locally made products (even within the US -- while it's not local to my region, it's still local to my country).

I'm still working on a rating system for this side of Gingerlemongirl... but for now... here are my ratings (using a 1-5 scale, 5 being the best!):

• Taste & Texture - 5 stars - I really liked the soft, chewy texture of these bars. They were not super dry and they were also well seasoned. Most "jerky" I've had in the past has been way too dry and salty. 
• Product Packaging & Cost - 3 1/2 stars - I think the Tonka Bites should have more servings per package. I think it had 3-4 servings per packet, I think the bag itself could have held several more servings and be a bit cheaper to sell that way. But I also know this is a small company and the product is made locally and is therefore has a high quality standard, so therefore the cost is going to be more than you'd pay for other products similar in nature. 
• Customer Service - 5 stars - Customer service is extremely important to me as a customer. I willingly pay more for a product that I like if I receive excellent customer service. This company lists every employee that works for them, complete with short bios. Linda was excellent to work with. I will be ordering from this company in the future! 
• Nutritional Information - 5 stars - I am thrilled that these bars are gluten free, soy free, and free of nitrates and MSG. They are low fat, low in calories, and provide a really healthy serving of lean protein. 

To find out more about this product, please visit TankaBar.com. 

Thanks so much for sending samples to me Linda C! I can't wait to share these with my gluten free support group this month! 

**Update! Want to win a variety pack of these wonderful Tanka Bars? Just leave me a comment and let me know why you'd like to try them! Also for additional entries, tweet or put a post on FB with a link to this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me that you did -- for each tweet and FB post! Giveaway open until midnight January 12th.**

A Gluten Free Holiday: Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

Welcome to the 5th installment of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free's "A Gluten Free Holiday."  This week we are focusing on gluten free recipes for breakfast & brunch!

The previous posts in "A Gluten Free Holiday" include:

• Ricki of Diet, Dessert, and Dogs: A Healthier Gluten Free Holiday
• Shirley of gluten free - easily: Gluten Free Thanksgiving Favorites
• Alta of Tasty Eats at Home: Gifts of Good Taste
• Diane of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang: Christmas & Hanukkah Side Dish Favorites
• Next Thursday (12/16/2010), Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free will host the last week of the series which will focus on Gluten Free Holiday Desserts! 

Congratulations to last week's winners chosen by Random.org: 

Winner of Gluten Free Girl & the Chef:

Marisa H.

Winner of Gluten Free Girl: How I found the Food that Loves me Back

Jeannie

Winners of Ricki Heller's 3 E-Books: Sweet Freedom, Desserts without Compromise, and Anti-Candida Feast:

Youthful One & Mary K.

Winner of a copy of Ricki Heller's book: Sweet Freedom:

Susan M. 

Winners have been contacted via email. 

I'm honored to host this week! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and eggs are my very favorite food!

Every Christmas one of the most enjoyable parts of the day for me is preparing a special breakfast for my husband! He loves omelets, pancakes, waffles, and strangely enough  -- quiche! When we were first married, the only way I could convince my husband to eat spinach when it was in a quiche! Now, 6 years later, he'll eat raw spinach in salads! We've come a long way!

Today's recipe looks hard, but it's so simple to prepare and the dairy-free tangy white sauce is absolutely delicious drizzled beautifully over a slice of bacon quiche! The white sauce could also double as a mock hollandaise sauce for eggs benedict. This recipe can be prepared the night before and baked on Christmas morning for a stress free, enjoyable holiday breakfast!

Christmas Morning Bacon Quiche
free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
created by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Tangy white sauce for quiche:
1  1/2 cups hemp milk
2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Herbs De Provence
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Quiche Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
5 green olives, finely chopped
½ cup chopped red peppers, or canned pimientos (drained)
½ cup green onions, sliced

Crust:
10 oz. frozen shredded gluten free hash browns, defrosted and drained of all water
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl mix together defrosted and drained shredded hash browns. Mix in egg, salt, and pepper. Press mixture into a crust in a greased 9” deep pie pan or an oven-safe casserole dish.  Place in heated oven for 10 minutes, remove and set aside.  In a small sauce pan whisk together hemp milk, sweet rice flour, olive oil, Herbs De Provence, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium heat whisking constantly until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened whisk in lemon juice and set aside to cool. Reserve ½ cup of white sauce for serving. Layer cooked crumbled bacon, chopped green olives, and red peppers  in the hashbrown crust. Beat eggs in a bowl. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of white sauce. Pour eggs/white sauce mixture over the vegetables and bacon in the hashbrown crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until quiche is set in the middle. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Serve quiche in slices drizzled with warm white sauce.

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Some of my favorite gluten free breakfasts: Popovers, French Toast Casserole, Vegan Dark Chocolate Muffins

Now it's time for YOUR recipes!  Please share your favorite gluten free Breakfast & Brunch recipes by using the link at the bottom of this post.

THE GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK are: 
This contest is now over! Thank you for participating!

4 copies of Elana Amsterdam's "The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook."
3 "Elana's Pantry" totebags
Elana is the author of two cookbooks & the popular gluten free blog, "Elana's Pantry." 

3 copies of Diane Eblin's NEW E-Cookbook: The Gluten-Free Diner!
Diane is also the author of the popular gluten free blog, "The WHOLE Gang."

2 autographed copies of Silvana Nardone's NEW gluten free cookbook, "Cooking for Isaiah." 
Silvana is the author of the gluten free food blog, "Dish Towel Diaries." 

3 autographed copies of Lori Karavolis' self-published cookbook "Gluten Free Breakfast & Brunch."  
Lori is a former gluten free bakery owner who has written 4 gluten free cookbooks all of which are available at her website: LoriBakes.com.

Many thanks to the authors of these cookbooks for donating copies of their work! 

The winners of this contest are: 

Winners of the Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam (Elana’s Pantry):

Johanna B., Megan Hassen, Neva H., and Elaina Thiemann

Winners of the Elana’s Pantry Tote Bag:

Brooke from B & The Boy, Spryte from Learning Something Everyday, and Julie Reuter

Winners of Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone (Dish Towel Diaries):

Noelle from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen and Diane Bramos

Winners of The Gluten-Free Diner by Diane Eblin (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang):

Kelly Cooper, Cherylene, and Colleen M.

Thank you for entering!! Happy Holidays!!