Gluten Free Healthy Food

This yogurt really reminds me of some great European yogurts I encountered while in the United Kingdom a couple years ago, with its thick cream-top and gently marbled texture. It is made with organic whole milk and includes the rich, creamy butterfat that naturally contains vitamins A&D too. The ingredients are simply: Organic Cultured Grade-A Milk, Organic Cream, Organic and Natural Vanilla Flavors (Organic Vanilla, Evaporated Organic Cane Juice, Pectin, and Organic Lemon Juice) -- and the Live Active Cultures that include s.thermophilus, l.acidophilus, bifidus, and l.bulgaris (bottom line: an array of "beneficial bacterium" / probiotics to help improve your GI health!)

Cultural Revolution Organic yogurt is available in six flavors in both 2 percent (low fat) and 5 percent. Six ounce flavors include blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, peach, vanilla, and plain. Vanilla and plain also are available in 24 oz sizes. Cultural Revolution is the newest product from Kalona Organics. This true, European-style, organic yogurt uses only the freshest, most natural ingredients, and—here’s the revolutionary part—it delivers naturally sweet, creamy taste without all the sugar, carbs, calories and sodium contained in most other yogurts. In fact, Cultural Revolution has as much as 1/3 less sugar than other yogurts.

Could probiotics and prebiotics lead to a cure for Celiac Disease? It turns out that scientists from the National Spanish Research Council in Valencia, Spain are researching whether dietary changes that include probiotics and/or prebiotics may help alleviate the severity of celiac disease for some patients.

This conclusion was arrived at after observations noted that bifidobacteria up-regulated the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (which is a good thing -- reducing inflammation). It was also noted that this evidence could be the first step toward changing how celiac disease is treated and possibly prevented, but that (as always, and as we would expect of any real treatment possibilities), human clinical trials are necessary.

I have wondered for quite some time whether consuming yogurts with active cultures (like bifidus, acidophilus, bulgaricus, thermophilus, lactobacillus, etc.) would be helpful. Many persons with Celiac Disease, gluten-intolerance, or wheat-allergies, may also have some intolerance to dairy products - including yogurt. But, perhaps the dairy intolerance is due to an intestinal tract lacking sufficient levels of probiotic bacteria? If so, restoring that symbiotic relationship with these beneficial "bugs" in our intestines may help bring some positive outcomes with regard to minimizing the impact and damage of Celiac Disease.

[by Mike] Let me begin by saying: this stuff is simply awesome!

I have had many a "trail mix" over the years, but this product is a cut above to say the least. It is fabulous, satisfying, and made with high-quality ingredients. For me, it is trail-mix nirvana.

Mareblu Naturals Blueberry Pomegranate Gluten-Free Trail Mix Crunch is all natural, oven-roasted (slow dry roasted) ingredients that include Almonds, Cashews, and Pistachios, with a lightly-glazed coating derived from evaporated cane juice and rice syrup, with some blueberries, pomegranate, sea salt, and natural flavors that all come together in trail mix perfection!

This is a very hearty mix - as the close-up picture below makes clear (click for more detail) - lots of nuts forming the bulk of the trail mix chunks. And, those chunks carry with them a great overall flavor of blueberry and pomegranate that is present with every crunch, and enjoyable without being overbearing.



I find the balance of flavors nearly perfect, and this gluten-free snack food lives up to Mareblu Naturals claim that they wanted to "create a perfect bite-size snack that was healthy yet didn't sacrifice great taste". Indeed! They certainly did meet that goal.

The product is Peanut-free, contains zero trans fats, is gluten-free, vegan, wheat-free, Kosher, Cholesterol-Free, Dairy-free, and is made here in the USA! That last item of interest (made in the USA) sold me over a competing brand that was also at Costco at the same time, as the other one was from China, and I just do not believe the gluten-free status of some of those products given all the other notable issues with quality control in Chinese food products over the past few years. So, the Mareblu is the perfect choice for me on many levels.

We found this nice 20oz resealable bag of Mareblu Naturals Blueberry Pomegranate Gluten-Free Trail Mix Crunch at Costco for $8.99, which is substantially less than anywhere else I could find the trail mix online when I started looking around. In fact, it was less than half the price that most places want (including Amazon.com and their dealers), as they show a "list price" there of nearly $25.00... a price to which I say, "yeah, right!"; meaning, I would not pay that even though it is a fantastic product.

NOTE --> here is a money-saving tip: if you do not have a CostCo nearby, you can order Mareblu products directly from the Mareblu Naturals website for about the best online prices I could find. Plus, they have ALL the varieties available there, as you would expect. Shipping is reasonable (in fact, it says it is FREE over $50.00 orders) too. E.g., this bag of BB/Pomegranate is $11.99 direct vs. $8.99 at Costco.

I find the $8.99 price at Costco reasonable (as well as the not too much higher prices on the Mareblu web site) given the high-quality, hearty ingredients. I would certainly not pay that for a generic bag of "trail mix" that is just a bunch of raisins and M&Ms and peanuts; but, this Mareblu product is anything but generic - it is a quality snack food (or a dinner in a hurry - lol) that satisfies with substantial ingredients chosen to complement each other well and deliver some low-sugar, high-protein, great taste when you want it.

Mareblu Naturals makes a wide range of snacks and trail mix products in addition to this Gluten-Free Blueberry Pomegranate version, though I have yet to try them since Costco only had this one variety currently (note to Costco: get some more flavors!). The back of the bag lists varieties (visible on tehir website) like Almond, Almond Coconut, Cashew, Cashew Coconut, Pistachio, Pecan Cinnamon, Cranberry Pomegranate Trail Mix, Acai Blueberry Trail Mix, and a couple featuring my favorite thing - CHOCOLATE - like, Dark Chocolate Cashew Crunch and Dark Chocolate Almond Crunch. And , until Costco gets more, I just ordered a few other varieties online to try them out -- now I just have to be patient while they ship to me! Given the wonderful impression this Gluten-Free Trail Mix made on me, I expect similarly high-quality and delicious results in their other products, and look forward to trying them.

Everything about Mareblu Naturals Blueberry Pomegranate Gluten-Free Trail Mix Crunch said "high quality and attention to great taste, texture, and even health" as I consumed it, and it gets an emphatic thumbs-up rating from me, my wife, my parents, Nick (who seems permanently distracted lately and may not be writing further reviews for me), and Nick's father. We ALL loved this product. The only down-side: we find it difficult not to consume an entire bag in no time once we open it... this is some really great, and nearly addictive, trail mix!

[by Mike] I wrote a Gluten-Free Recipes series here on the Gluten-Free Blog last year entitled "Garden-to-Plate", where I featured all sorts of homegrown vegetables grown right here in our organic garden. Some of those recipes included things like:

• a very versatile tomato, onion, peppers, basil, and garlic "base" recipe that we use for many additional recipes
• Zucchini, White Squash, Onion, Garlic, Basil recipe - fast and tasty
• Eggplant recipe featuring caramelized garlic, onion, basil, and some hot pepper flakes
• Pumpkin-Tomato Soup Recipe (using our versatile tomato-base above)
• A "recipe" of sorts: a recipe for a bio-diverse yard and garden
  

and now...

2009 Brings Spaghetti Squash to the Garden


Oh, how I love fresh Spaghetti squash, covered with all sorts of other fresh vegetables from the gluten-free garden! This simple recipe starts with baking a Spaghetti squash while simultaneously pan-searing some fresh zucchini, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and a bit of basil in some olive oil.

The spaghetti squash is cooked "al dente" (leaving the fibers in the squash just ever so slightly "crisp" or "firm" yet - versus overcooking), which makes for a wonderful texture just like a great "real" pasta cooked to perfection. In fact, I tried this gluten-free spaghetti squash with just olive oil and some fresh ground black-pepper (prior to topping with the tomato / zuchini sauce), and it was wonderful even served that simple.

I highly recommend these squash, and if you can not grow them where you live, hopefully you can find them at the grocery store. We are grateful to be able to grow them ourselves, especially given that (in the off-season for sure) they tend to be rather over-priced at the store. This year, we have already harvested 4 of these nice gluten-free diet products, with each being about 10 or 12-inches long by perhaps 5 or 6 inches in diameter.

Now, the only down-side to things is that we must soon leave our old organic gluten-free garden behind as we move, permanently, to our new house that has the much larger gluten-free farming area with it. Our old house has sold now (closes this week), and that means we have a LOT of work to do at the new property to get the garden ready for 2010 larger-scale production. That new "farm" will definitely include spaghetti-squash, as we have already saved and dried some seeds from the squash featured in the pictures here -- ready to plant next year. Oh how I look forward to planting an ever-increasing variety of Celiac-safe vegetables, fruits, and perhaps even grains (e.g., Millet, Teff, etc.)... if only my body keeps up with my ambition!

Looking Forward...
Nick should be back soon writing a few more wheat-free and gluten-free product reviews in the coming week once he finishes up some other business he had to take care of. I know he has a large lineup of commercial products to taste-test and share an opinion about.

And, once my wife and I are fully situated at the new house, we should have some later-season garden treats to feature on the Gluten-Free Blog in addition to other product reviews. We were lucky enough to have had the chance to plant some garden items at both locations this year, so we have plenty of squash, sunflowers, cucumbers, and even a few tomatoes at the new house that should keep us cooking up healthy dinners there... and recipes/suggestions for online too.