Gluten-Free Aspie

Gluten-Free since 2012.

[slimeandsensitive]

Self care giveaway!

I just wanted to do a little give away to promo my etsy shop as well as give comfort objects to someone! 

The rules are:

~you must find these objects useful in some way

~must be following my blog

~must live in the us

~closes June 7th 

~likes and reblogs both count (you can reblog as much as you want)

What you will win:

Three customized bracelets from my shop (any word, phrase or color), a temporary tattoo pack, foam animals, a large stim toy, two pairs of socks, gooey putty, four mini tissue packs, three packs of gum, a mini stim toy, a chapstick, and scrabble bandaids!

[glutenfreeaspie]

The winner of the giveaway is: Attackofthedork Please message me with your: Name , Address, and Email. Congratulations!

[glutenfreeaspie]

Update: The winner of one free Send Me Gluten Free box is attackofthedork ! Congratulations!

Send Me Gluten Free Box Review and Giveaway! This review for the May 2015 box comes with a coupon code and a giveaway for one box from Send Me Gluten Free. SMGF is a monthly subscription service that provides a box full of gluten free goodies. Please note that my review below (and other reviews on my page) are for boxes from different months, and the contents of the contest winner’s box will differ from what is posted in this review.

My favorite items:

• Luna Minis Chocolate Peppermint Stick. 90 calories and 70% organic. Tastes a little like peppermint bark candy.

• Walkers Gluten Free Pure Butter Shortbread cookie. Sweet, Buttery, and delicious!

• Smarty Pants gummy vitamins. One kids sample pack and one adult sample pack. I thought they tasted great and candy-like. If I ever decide to ditch my cheap Flintstones knockoffs, I would definitely buy these.

• Bare Belly Organics handmade mineral sunscreen. UVA/UVB broad spectrum SPF 34. Ideal for face, body, and sensitive skin. This came in a Chapstick-type stick which is very handy to carry around. I found it non-greasy, it went on smoothly, and it was mostly unscented.

•Sauce Goddess original super chunk spice rub sample. Gluten Free, all natural, msg and GMO free, nut free and vegan. I love spices so I was happy to try this one and I wasn’t disappointed!

Items I tried:

• TOUFAYAN Bakeries Gluten Free Scoopable Pita Chips. Full size bag in Sea Salt. Crisp, crunchy, inoffensive.

• Slender Sticks -sugar free drink sticks. One Acai Lemonade and one Pomegranate Berry. Sweetened with BetterStevia, contains 10 super fruits, low glycemic impact, low calorie, contains 50% of 9 daily vitamins. I’m not really a big fan of sugar free or sugar alternatives but this did taste pretty good. If you need sugar free beverages for any reason this would be a good choice.

Items I have yet to try:

• Dare Breton crackers - original with flax. Full size box. Nut free.

• Earth Balance natural peanut butter and flaxseed sample. Vegan, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, 0g Trans Fat.

Coupons that came with the box:

• $ 1 off coupon for Breton Gluten Free Crackers.

•1 Free Sabra Hummus

• 1 Free Gorton’s Frozen Seafood item.

If you would like to try Send Me Gluten Free you can get 20% off any subscription length with the code BLOG20.

Giveaway!

Winner will receive one free box. If the winner’s information is submitted to me by May 23, they will have their box shipped June 1. If I receive the info later, the winner will receive their box in the July shipment.

Rules: • Must be over 18 • Must be a continental United States resident • Must send a message to me to enter. Liking / reblogging is also accepted as an entry method but not necessary for entry. •Winner will be announced on my Tumblr on Wednesday, May 20th at 5:00 EST. Check back then, and if you see that your name was chosen, contact me with the following: First / Last name Email Address Mailing Address • Winner will be chosen at random.

This giveaway is not sponsored by Tumblr, but by myself with the prize provided by Send Me Gluten Free. All information collected will be used only for getting your package to you.

Good luck!

[glutenfreeaspie]

Red Apple Lipstick Review

I recently tried Red Apple Lipstick’s products after receiving a coupon from my Send Me Gluten Free subscription box.

I purchased The Lash Project mascara and 3 sample sizes of lipstick.

The Lash Project mascara is a very good product. It is very light and goes on very smoothly without clumping. It makes my lashes look long and dark, which I love, because I have very light colored lashes which don’t really stand out otherwise. Another great thing about it is that it stays put and doesn’t run if I get a little misty eyed…or a lot! The best thing about The Lash Project, though, is that it’s gluten free…no itchy irritated eyes!

The lipsticks that I tried are: Audrey, Coral Crush, and Love My Kiss. I love them all! They go on smooth and keep my lips nice and moisturized.

Their products are: •non-toxic •gluten, paraben, lead, and soy free •100% guaranteed or your money back

www.redapplelipstick.com

[glutenfreeaspie]

Review of my Send Me Gluten Free subscription box for September.

This box caught me by surprise. It was delivered by UPS right to my door instead of the way it came last time which was transferred to the post office, then delivered to the apartment office the next day. I think everyone hates tracking their package through UPS, watching it speed along, only to see “transferred to post office” once it’s finally in town. So close but so far. It was also delivered around lunchtime so I dove into it without taking a picture!

My favorite items:

•Savory Choice Pho broth concentrate. Came in a box with 4 pouches of a dark gooey concentrate. Mix it with 2 cups of water, add some rice noodles and you have a great lunch!! I loved it! Came with a coupon that I will certainly be using!

•gopicnic Turkey Pepperoni & Cheese Ready-to-eat-meal. This quickly became my lunch and I liked it a lot. Container had crispy crackers, savory cheese, yummy pepperoni, lovely fruit and nut mix and a sweet caramel pop. These would be great to take to work or school for a quick lunch, to the park, or when you plan to be out and unsure of your food choices.

•Schar Honeygrams. Came in a sample pack. So good. I had tried another brand of gluten free graham crackers that were thick and rock hard. These are light, sweet, and crunchy. I can’t wait to make a cheesecake with these! The only thing stopping me is finding them in stores.

•Lovely Candy Co. Caramels. I think there were around 5 caramels in the package, I can’t quite remember because I was too busy eating them all. Delicious.

•Virtuous Living Spices. I love spices and was happy to see this sample size spice trio in my box. Their spice blends are Faith (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean), Hope (Rosemary, onion, cayenne), and Love (Himalayan pink sea salt, black pepper, garlic). Their spices are all organic, gluten-free, kosher, wheat-free, halal and non-GMO.

•Soapbox Manadarin 100% natural handsoap. Smells great!

Items I liked:

•Pamela’s Pancake and Baking Mix - These were fairly easy to whip up and had a pretty good flavor. My only complaint was that they seemed to be slightly on the heavy side, when I was hoping for light and fluffy.

•Giddy up and Go Granola by Thoughtful Food. Dairy Free, Gluten Free, and organic. A nice crunchy snack!

Items I wasn’t crazy about:

•SoyJoy Blueberry Whole Soy and Fruit Bar. Ok, I didn’t actually try this. The look of it put me off. My husband said it wasn’t bad, though.

•Beanfield’s BBQ Bean and Rice Chips. Their chips have 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. The flavor was bold but I just didn’t care for them.

Items I have yet to try:

Kelapo Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, I shall update once I try it!

As you can tell, I was very happy with this box! I can’t wait for next month!

[glutenfreeaspie]

Evol. Chicken Tikka Masala Review

I’m not usually a big fan of frozen meals but I like the convenience of keeping some around for a quick meal.

I would rate this maybe 3 out of 5.

Pros:

•gluten free, 270 calories,15 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber so not too bad for a frozen meal.

•the texture of the chicken and rice was pretty good and it had a nice but light flavor.

Cons:

• I hope you like peas and carrots.

Overall not bad but I would have preferred way less peas and carrots, or better yet none!

[glutenfreeaspie]

Espionage Cosmetics Review

One thing I took for granted before going gluten-free was being able to pick up makeup anywhere that sold it. Now, I’m always on the lookout for GF beauty products, especially ones I can afford and that actually work well.

I tried out the Neo-Victorian Steampunk collection made exclusively for ThinkGeek.

The colors from top to bottom on my arm are: Retrofit, Clockwork, Riveting, and Oxidize.

They all have a slight shimmer (oxidize is glitter), go on nice and smooth and stay put for most of the day.

Their website has a great assortment of shades and collections. They also sell gluten free lip-glosses and really cool nail wraps both of which I am looking forward to trying in the future. Check them out! http://espionagecosmetics.com/

[glutenfreeaspie]

Plantation Pancake House, North Myrtle Beach

Normally, I get nervous on trips and don’t venture out of my comfort zone for fear of spending my vacation…well you know.

This time, I saw a sign for GF pancakes. After reading a few reviews on Yelp, the allure of pancakes I didn’t have to make myself was too much.

When my husband returned to our room with the pancakes I was pretty excited to not be eating another snack bar for breakfast.

Ok so the “butter” was of the oily spread variety and they were a tad undercooked in the middle. Yes, the ones I make at home are better but I was still quite happy with them! Decent tasting non frozen pancakes on vacation was enough to get a thumbs up from me!

[glutenfreeaspie]

Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach, SC

Margaritaville is my go-to place while visiting Myrtle Beach. They have a nice little gluten free menu with appetizers, salads, entrees, sandwiches, and even a dessert! They have gluten free buns for the burgers and sandwiches and a dedicated fryer so you know what that means? French fries!!

I went there twice on my trip last month. The first time I had:

Volcano Nachos - Tortilla chips topped with chili, cheese, fresh guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, tomatoes and scallions. These were delicious and although they are an appetizer the plate is huge! My husband and I shared these for our lunch and went away full and happy.

The second visit I had:

Grilled Chicken Sandwich Grilled chicken breast, melted Monterey Jack cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, sliced tomato on gluten free bun and a side of dijon aioli.

This was delicious and I was very excited to be eating a sandwich with an actual bun and french fries! Even better, the bun was really good, not crumbly or too bready like some GF buns I have had.

To complete the visit we shared a yummy GF strawberry margarita.

[glutenfreeaspie]

I went by Target today and found these Goldfish Puffs. I used to enjoy Goldfish crackers so I gave these a try.

They are a corn based puffed snack that tastes very similar to Cheese Puffs but with a nicer cheese flavor and without the finger staining greasiness. I was a little sad that they weren’t cracker like but they were quite tasty. I would probably buy another bag.

They also come in Buffalo Wing and Cheddar Bacon flavors.

They aren’t obviously labeled Gluten Free but it does state that the product is Gluten Free above the nutrition info on the back of the bag.

[glutenfreeaspie]

My first (and their first) Send me Gluten Free Monthly subscription box from August. Boxes come once a month and cost $30 per box. The price for each box gets lower the more months you sign up for. I signed up for 3 months and took advantage of an introductory discount they were offering which I think was 50% off. My favorite items in this box were:

•Red Apple Lipstick’s Rallye Balm sample. It’s a clear lip balm that is really smooth, not sticky, and has no weird taste. I tend to keep very chapped lips and this works great! It also included a 30% off coupon which I took advantage of.

•Juice Plus+ orchard and garden blends chewables. No artificial flavors and colors, 100% vegetarian, 17 different fruits vegetables and grains. Tasted very good.

•Surf Sweets Fruity Hearts made with organic fruit juice and fortified with vitamin C. These were very tasty sweet gummy treats.

•Raw Rev 100 by Raw Revolution Spirulina Dream bar. 100 calorie organic live food bar. Sounds gross but actually tasted quite good!

Items I wasn’t big on:

TeeChia Sustained Energy Cereal. Blueberry Date flavored. I didn’t really care for it but it was mostly due to the oatmealy (I dislike oatmeal) texture more than the taste.

Items I have yet to try:

•Full sized bag of gluten free organic black bean spaghetti. I like black beans. I like spaghetti. Will I like black bean spaghetti? I’m not so sure.

•Full sized bag of Sevierly Good organic traditional bread mix. Certified Gluten Free. Nut, soy, dairy, bean, and corn free. I do plan on trying this soon so I will update once I do.

•one packet of Better off Red rooibos caffeine free tea. I’ll get around to trying this eventually.

•one packet of Teeccino non acidic, caffeine free, organic dandelion dark roast coffee. I’m more of a Starbucks iced coffee with sugar and soy milk kind of person so I will likely give this one to a friend to try.

•one packet of San-J organic Tamari soy sauce. Certified Gluten free and verified non GMO. I will try to remember to use this next time I make an asian style dish. My standby at the moment is Kikkoman gluten free soy sauce.

The box also included several good coupons.

Overall thoughts: I’m a big fan of trying new things so this was lots of fun for me. I also was pleased with the value for the introductory rate that I paid. I don’t know if I would have been as pleased had I paid the full $30, however they do offer discounts and giveaway contests on their facebook page pretty often. Overall a good first box!