Double Chocolate

Enjoy Life cookies

Recently Enjoy Life sent me a few boxes of their new Crunchy Cookies to try. These cookies come in four different flavours. Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate,  Vanilla Honey Graham and Sugar Crisp. They are certified gluten free and made in a dedicated nut and gluten free bakery. On top of this they are free of the eight most common allergens. Almost everyone can eat these cookies. Yay!

The Texture

Cookie fans, in my opinion, can be placed  in two distinct groups, those who prefer their cookies crunchy and those who prefer their cookies soft and bendy. John tends to be on the soft cookie team whereas I am on the crunchy side. As these are definitely in the crunchy category, I was more excited to taste them than John. However, after munching our way through a box we were both big fans of these crunchy gluten free cookies.

Many gluten free cookies fall apart as you eat them which is why I don’t often choose a cookie as a snack. I feel as though you lose half the cookie when it crumbles. These ones don’t crumble.

The Flavour

As we were already a big fan of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks, the Chocolate Chip cookies were probably our favourite, followed by the double chocolate as a close second. You would never know these cookies were as free of as many things as they are. This is definitely a good thing. I really enjoyed these cookies and would love to see them introduce a peanut butter cookie in the future.

Think Thin Bars

I received a box of Think Thin bars last week. All of their bars are gluten free and contain varying amounts of protein. Personally I enjoyed their crunch bars the most but their whole selection is pretty yummy, especially if you’re looking for a good tasting bar which also has lots of protein. Their protein bars come in at around 230-240 calories per bar and the crunch at around 190 calories.

Over the past few months I have tried a whole variety of different protein bars (Who knew there were so many gluten free protein bars out there?) but these ones I would eat again. I have never understood why some people doing endurance events waste all the calories they are burning on bad tasting protein snacks. If I’m running a marathon and I’m going to burn 2500 calories I’d much rather save those calories for something delicious and worthwhile rather than wasting them on 10 bags of gooey protein. I have trained and run one full and three half marathons so I know protein is important but this doesn’t mean it has to taste bad. This is why I’m thankful for tasty protein bars like Think Thin. They of course don’t compare to a huge plate of post run chilli cheese nachos with spicy salsa and guacamole…MMmmm…but as far as pre or post race protein snacks go, these are pretty damn good.

The Chunky Peanut Butter is probably my favourite of their protein bars. It tastes like a scoop of peanut butter covered in chocolate and with some protein added to the mix so pretty much what it says on the label. You can tell there has been something proteiney added to the peanut butter but it’s still really tasty. The Chocolate Fudge Protein Bar is pretty yummy too.

Of the Crunch Bars, I really enjoyed both the Caramel Chocolate Dipped Mixed Nuts and the White Chocolate Dipped Mixed Nuts. I was particularly happy to see that Think Thin do white chocolate bars as well as milk chocolate as many of the gluten free bars (protein or otherwise) which I’ve tried in the past have gone the dark chocolate route which I am not a huge fan of. White chocolate on the other hand is something I haven’t found myself enjoying much of since going gluten free so it was a pleasant change to enjoy the creamy taste of white chocolate again.

On a side note I’m so happy that lots of different gluten free bars have decided to add peanut butter to the mix with delicious results.

Chocolate Peanut Butter..yum!

Lots of Zing!

Zing sent me a box of their nutrition bars to try..6 different, amazing sounding flavours…Chocolate Peanut Butter, Almond Blueberry, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Orange, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Coconut Chocolate….sounds great right?

All of the bars contain certified gluten free oats. I had not yet tested myself on oats prior to receiving these samples but the fantastic sounding flavours were so tempting that I figured I’d give oats a try. After munching my way through all six flavours (not all in one sitting just in case that’s how I made it sound) I felt great so it looks like oats (when they are certified gf) are back on my safe list

Zing bars are definitely one of the best tasting protein type bars around. The strong flavours come through as you nibble your way through..especially in the case of the peanut butter ones! With 200 calories per bar for me they are the perfect snack for after a long run or for just carrying with you in your purse in case you get peckish.

My favourites are the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Coconut Chocolate as they are covered in chocolate which in my opinion makes them tastier than the others. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip is pretty yummy too..I’m a big fan of peanut butter as you can probably tell.

Zing Bars gave me a coupon code which will give you 15% off products in their online store. When you get to the checkout just enter the code “gfadventures” and click apply to get the discount.

Zing Bars only gave me samples of their product and nothing more. My opinions on this product (like anything I review on this site) come only from my taste buds.

Lots of tasty cookies

Dark Chocolate Orange Goodness

The White Chocolate Macadamia is really flavoursome. The sweet taste of white chocolate jumps right out at you from the first bite and lingers on your tongue. It has the perfect sweetness to it without being overly sweet. This was my favourite cookie of the bunch and difficult to share. Yummmmy!

The Dark Chocolate Orange tastes more like a chocolate brownie than a cookie to me but this isn’t a bad thing. It tastes great but it comes apart a little more like I would expect from a brownie. Again, the flavour of this cookie is very strong. The yummy orange taste comes through the chocolate in every bite. Dark chocolate snacks wouldn’t usually be my first choice but I still enjoyed it. I would love to try a milk or white chocolate version of this one. With the orange flavours this would perhaps be my perfect cookie!

The Dotty (Triple chocolate cookie covered in dotty choc drops) and the Triple Chocolate Fudge tasted pretty similar to me which is why I’m putting my thoughts of them together. Both had a strong and delicious flavour of cocoa but without being over sweet so I could enjoy every bite. The dots are a fun addition and I’m all about fun, colourful things on my food so I liked the Dotty’s. I also really liked the pieces of white and milk chocolate in the fudge cookie. John thought the Triple Chocolate Fudge cookie was really tasty (despite it being all crushed after sitting in my bag for a 12 hour flight!)

The Sticky Date and Ginger cookie was awesome. It was probably my second favourite after the white chocolate macadamia. The taste of ginger is really strong and whilst I don’t always love the taste of ginger, it really works in this cookie to make it extra delicious. The consistency of this cookie was really good too. My favourite cookies have a bit of a bend to them rather than a crumble when you pull them apart and this was exactly like that. My non gluten free dad also really enjoyed this one.

My opinion of these cookies was dictated by my gluten free travelling taste buds. I received these samples but nothing further from Byron Bay Cookies. Byron Bay Cookies are available in Australia, Japan, Europe and the US.

Dots

Junior Mints

In the States, a large number of the candy and chocolate snacks that you find in stores are produced by Tootsie Roll Industries. A lot of the snacks associated with going to the movie theatre like Junior Mints, Dots and Sugar Babies are also made by Tootsie Roll, which always has me wondering which ones are safe for me to eat…

Which Tootsie Roll Industries products are gluten free?

Well… according to their website the answer is all of them!!

The Healthy Living section of their site states this:
Nutrition Labels and Allergen Information:
Tootsie provides the most accurate and updated ingredient statements for each of its products. Consult the Nutrition Chart for each product to determine whether a candy or gum fits into your dietary plan.

All Tootsie products are:

• Gluten-Free
• Peanut-Free
• Nut Product-Free

Tootsie does not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt, or any of their components, either as ingredients or as part of the manufacturing process.

Corn and soy products are used during the manufacturing process.

Razzles

Tootsie Roll calling...

I wanted to ensure that this information is update and covers all Tootsie products so I gave their consumer line a call. I was a little concerned with the statement that all of their products are gluten free when I saw that they make Andes Creme de Menthe cookies! No one was available to speak to me at that time so I left a message on their answer phone explaining my query and asking them to call me back.

30 minutes later I received a call from a cheery lady. She confirmed that all Tootsie Roll products are gluten free. I asked about the cookies and she said that they although they use the Tootsie Roll name, they are produced by a different manufacturer. She explained that if a product is manufactured by Tootsie Roll Industries then it will say this on the label and this product will be gluten free.

Butterfinger

Baby Ruth

I called Nestle North America to find out which of their candy products are gluten free.

This is the list I was given….

• Nestle Baby Ruth
• Nestle Nips
• Nestle O’Henry!
• Nestle Raisinets
• Nestle Sno-caps
• Nestle Bit-o-honey
• Nestle Butterfinger
• Nestle Goobers
• Nestle Milk Chocolate
• Wonka Pixy Stix
• Wonka Laffy Taffy
• Wonka Fundip

I asked if they could also email me a copy of this list, which I received the following day.

http://nestle-consumerservices.casupport.com/eglutenfree.pdf

With this list I also received this email from a Nestle customer representative explaining how they consider the gluten free status of products. I found this very interesting and reassuring to hear that products must also be free of any possible cross contamination before they are considered gluten free.

Dear Ms. Emmerson,

Thank you for contacting Nestlé® Chocolate and Confections.

We consider “gluten free” to mean no gluten ingredients are in the product, whether directly added, or potentially present due to cross-contact. In other words, if a product label has an allergen advisory statement such as “made on equipment” or “facility that also processes wheat etc… “, we do not consider that product to be gluten free.

It is important to always read product labels/packaging for the most accurate information.

Reece's peanut butter cups (by Hershey's)

Last week I called Hershey’s….

I explained to the man who answered my call that I was looking to find out which of their products are gluten free as this is not apparent on their labelling.

He gave me this short list (confirmed as gluten free by Hershey’s corporate Headquarters):

• Original Hershey’s Kisses
• Milk chocolate bar (1.55 size)
• Milk chocolate bar with almonds (1.45 size)
• Coco
• Baking chocolate
• Chocolate chips
• Chocolate syrup

My response of ‘Are these really the only products you have that are gluten free?’ was met with an explanation that Hershey’s do have other products where none of their ingredients contain gluten but as these haven’t yet been checked?!? they cannot be added to the gluten free list.

I was told to check the labelling on any products not on this list as there shouldn’t be any hidden ingredients. If a product contains rye, wheat, oats or barley it will be stated on the label. If there is the possibility of contamination of one of these grains this will also be included on the labelling.

Sooo, basically, if there are no obvious glutenous ingredients and no cross contamination warning then we can assume that the product is gluten free.

I took the man’s advice and looked at the back of a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup (made by Hershey’s) wrapper…there were no obvious glutenous ingredients and no cross contamination warning. According to Hershey’s customer service that means I could safely eat this but can I really trust them if they are not willing to put it on their ‘gluten free list’ and officially confirm that this product is gluten free?

My question to you Hershey’s…..’Why would these ‘assumed’ gluten free products not be on your gluten free list if they are in fact gluten free?!?!?

Are there any Coeliacs out there who eat any of these ‘assumed gluten free’ Hershey’s products? I would be very interested to find out what your opinions are on this and whether you feel glutenated if you eat them?

Snickers are gluten free!

My email to Mars North America:

I am Coeliac and therefore can only eat gluten free products. I live in Scotland but will be travelling throughout the United States this summer and was wondering whether you could provide me with a list of your products, which are safe for me to eat? Thanks, Laura

Their response was unhelpful to say the least…

Dear Ms. Emmerson,

In response to your email regarding MARS CHOCOLATE NORTH AMERICA.

Thank you for your email.

The ingredient statement on each wrapper is the best source for this information. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network advises consumers to rely on ingredient labels, not lists that can become outdated when products change.

Please feel free to contact us at 1-800-627-7852 if you have any specific product questions.

Have a great day!

Your Friends at Mars Chocolate North America

Oh, of course, my friends, I can just look at the label. Why didn’t I think of that? Erm?!!? I guess I won’t be eating any Mars candy this summer! I do find it strange that Mars in the UK were able to provide me with a list of which products are safe for coeliacs.

UPDATE (07/07/2010): I called Mars North America to ask one of their customer service people if they could provide me with any further information on Mars’ gluten free products since their email suggestion of reading the label isn’t something I feel comfortable relying on.

I was surprised and impressed that I was able to get the information I was looking for without even speaking to a real person, especially after the crapppy email response. A recorded message said to press 3 for information on products that do not contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, gelatin or gluten. The following message then said to press 1 for a list of products that do not contain gluten.

“The following products do not contain gluten…all m&m’s products, all milkyway products with the exception of the milkyway bar, snickers and snickers dark bars, all dove chocolate products, munch bar. As always please read the label for the most accurate information.”

I’m not sure why they couldn’t have provided me with this list in their email but at least now I have the information. I’m guessing that by all m&m’s they mean with the exception of the new pretzel ones…

With gluten free buddies!

Creme Eggs

According to Cadbury’s website…yes they are and as you would expect the mini creme eggs are too!

Easter eggs

Thornton's Nutritional Info

Easter is fast approaching and chocolate eggs are everywhere to be found on UK supermarket shelves. The question is…which of these eggy delights are gluten free? For those of you unfamiliar with these easter eggs, the majority are a hollow egg along with your choice of chocolate bar. If you buy a Creme Egg, Twirl or Dairy Milk egg for example, expect to get a hollow cadbury’s chocolate egg and the cadbury’s chocolate bars of your choosing.

Easter egg lovers throughout the UK, year after year, put all of their hopes into the idea that this year Cadbury’s will have finally decided  to make an easter egg sized creme egg! Unfortunately these mega creme egg dreams have not yet been realised and as always we are slightly disappointed to find a hollow egg beneath all of that creme egg wrapping.  Perhaps one day creme egg lovers….

So…would it be safe to assume that if we choose an easter egg where the chocolate bar is suitable for coeliacs then the hollow egg will also be suitable or should be only look for eggs which say ‘suitable for Coeliacs’? But wait….how often do we see that on popular chocolate products made my companies like Cadburys and Nestle?

Personally, I would recommend Thorntons if you are looking for a 100% safe gluten free easter egg option. Their eggs may be a little pricier then some of the others but every egg in Thorntons states whether or not the product is gluten free!

Coeliac UK have produced a list of gluten free easter eggs which you can check out on their website..you may be pleasantly surprised to find that there are lots of ‘safe’ eggs and other treats for us to nibble on this easter!

Gluten Free eggs in Thorntons