Food Allergy Awareness Week: Surf Sweets Organic Candy

Recently I was given wonderful opportunity to review Surf Sweets Organic Candy!  I was thrilled to get my sample box in the mail!  Needless to say the kids were bouncing off the walls when it arrived!  Surf Sweets candy is made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners in a facility free of the top 10 food allergens.  My favorite feature of this candy is that it is made WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and flavors!!

Surf Sweets Organic Candy comes in a variety of gummy candies and jelly beans!  They offer a safe choice to families with food allergies that everyone can enjoy!

MY REVIEW:  Nothing makes this mama more happy than to see a "clean" version of candy that I can give my kids for a special treat!  It tastes AMAZING, and I didn't feel terrible after eating my samples!!  You could really taste the real fruit flavor and not just "syrup!"  They are made in a NUT-FREE facility, which is huge for those families with serious nut allergies!  They are also dairy, casein, soy, and gluten free!  They are also vegan.  

For all of those families that deal with allergies, I highly recommend picking up some Surf Sweets candy!   Check out where you can purchase them HERE!

Surf Sweets are...

-made with natural colors and flavors
-made with organic fruit juice and sweeteners
-fortified with your daily allowance of Vitamin C
-one of the only candies made without corn syrup
-produced in a facility free of the ten most common allergens including nuts
-Stage 2 Feingold approved
-Made in the USA

Connect with SURF SWEETS:  
Website: www.surfsweets.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurfSweets 

Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes

I love trying out new gluten-free recipes!  It's always fun combining different flours to create a masterpiece full of nutrients and of taste!!  I also love trying out new recipes to use up the 10 lbs of Michigan blueberries we purchased at the farmer's market on the way home from MI!

I found THIS recipe over at one of my favorite gluten-free blogs, The Gluten-Free Goddess!  Of all the recipes I have made, she has YET to disappoint!  Her GF pancake recipe was no different.  Karina has perfected GF cooking and baking!!

I did however make a few substitutions to further increase the nutritional value! (Shocker huh?)

Love me some Michigan blueberries, Butler Bulldogs, and  REAL maple syrup!

Here is the recipe that I used:

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet (ground into powder)
1/4 cup buckwheat (ground into powder)
1/4 cup almond flour/meal
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 heaping tbsp brewer's/nutritional yeast (ground into fine powder)

1 1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I used coconut milk)
1 cup water
2 eggs
4 tsp coconut oil (LOVE THIS STUFF!)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pure almond extract

I stirred in blueberries and of course topped them off with a few Trader Joes dark chocolate chips!

For the directions for preparation, click HERE

The recipe made about 14-15 pancakes!!

What do you think, gonna give it a try??


Other highlights from this weekend ... Jackson's very WEIRD and uncomfortable napping position!  I had to snap a picture! :)

How does he do this??

Sophia also decided she liked to eat her mac and cheese leftovers and turkey meat with chopsticks!  She was inspired by last night's dinner at Noodles and Company!  For a almost 4-year old American, she did really well with chopsticks!  She told me she wants to start using them for EVERY meal!  Ha!

Have a great start to the week .... 

Kim and Scott's Gourmet Pretzels REVIEW

Are you a softy for soft pretzels?  I LOVE them!  We went to a Fourth of July celebration in Danville and they had soft pretzels for sale.  Sophia was begging for more food (imagine that huh?).  I caved and we shared the worst soft pretzel in the WORLD!  It was dry, stale, and salt-free!  YUCK!!   Sophia didn't even like it and she likes EVERYTHING!  


I was thrilled when my box of Kim and Scott's Gourmet Pretzels arrived in the mail this week!   Finally, a yummy, healthy, fix for my love of pretzels!!  

Here is a little history: Since 1995, Kim and Scott Holstein, co-founders of Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels, have grown their business from the kitchen in Kim’s studio apartment to a national presence selling millions of pretzels each week via grocery store chains like Albertsons, Target, Walmart and Whole Foods.  In addition, their pretzels can be found at Barnes and Noble, and via regular appearances on QVC, where they sold more than 150,000 pretzels in just 12 minutes when they debuted on the network. 

Each one of their delicious pretzels is twisted by hand and made from scratch. Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels offer an assortment of amazing pretzels, using ALL-NATURAL and PREMIUM ingredients, like freshly shredded cheeses, hearty spices, unbleached flour and whole grains.

My Review: WOW, WOW, WOW!  It is about all I can say right now as my tongue licks the last of the salt off my lips!  These pretzels tasted amazing!  It was the best soft pretzel I have EVER tasted and it was even gluten free!!  I served one to a friend that eats GF as well as the hubby -- both agreed with me!  My hubby wished he had some homemade beer cheese to dip it in!  


The prep was super easy and quick.  We decided to cook them in the oven as opposed to the microwave to have a crisper pretzel.  It always seems like GF products are best toasted.  You just wipe a damp towel over the pretzel and sprinkle the salt.  The box recommended cooking in the oven for 6-8 minutes at 350.  I found it needed about 12 minutes or so to get crisper and finish heating throughout!

Overall, I was really impressed with this product, especially for it being GF!  Job well done Kim and Scott!  A truly delicious afternoon treat!!  Once this new baby arrives and I need special things to look forward to, I will be looking for a box of the chocolate crumb or apple cinnamon ones for myself!

Why do I love these?  

- All-Natural

- Premium Ingredients

- Microwavable

- Whole Grains

- Made in a Nut-Free Facility

- Twisted by hand

- Made from scratch

- No Preservatives 

- No Trans Fat -- IN all honesty ... You will see this on so many packages of food that actually still have hydrogenated oils in them ... all dishonest marketing from those companies!  Hats off to Kim and Scott!

- No Hydrogenated Oils - not even a trace!

Kim and Scott have so many options and flavors for those that can eat gluten!  Traditional Bavarian, Sourdough Parmesan, GF Classic, Stuffed Pretzels (Cream Cheese, Egg and Cheese, Cinnamon Roll, Chocolate Crumb, Apple Cinnamon, Pizza Pretzel, Cheddar Jalapeno, Spinach Feta, and Grilled Cheese)!

Now that we have tried the GF classic pretzel, I want to try these THREE: Stuffed Cinnamon Roll, Chocolate Crumb, and Spinach Feta!

Which one would you like to try out?  Check out their website: http://www.kimandscotts.com

Click HERE to find a retailer near you!

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.

MI-DEL Cookie Review and Giveaway (3 winners!)

My favorite kind of review and giveaway (especially now that I am WAY preggo) .... those pertaining to FOOD! :)  Over the years, I have searched for healthier sweet treats, if that is possible!  I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but seriously, it is nearly impossible to find tasty sweets void of high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, hydrogenated oils, artificial food dyes, coloring's, etc.

Since 1947, MI-DEL  has been satisfying the appetites of people like you who want snack products that are healthful, natural, and taste delicious. MI-DEL is a combination of old-fashioned recipes and new bakery methods that let us create better for you cookies that meet the latest health standards without giving up a yummy inch of taste.  The best part about this company is they offer a GLUTEN FREE product line for our family!!  

MI-DEL has a huge variety of products, you are SURE to find something you enjoy!  Their non-gluten-free line is VERY tasty as well!

For this review, I was able to choose 3 different GF products to review.  I choose the GF Cinnamon Snaps, GF Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, and the GF S'mores.  In the past, I have also purchased GF Arrowroot cookies and the All-Natural Honey Grahams.

GF S'mores: WOW, these were amazing!  MI-DEL shipped me a box of 5, single-serving 90 calorie packs.  Sophia and I usually split a pack, but it always ended up with me asking her if she was going to finish them ... they were amazing!  It is a good thing they were single-servings, or I would have eaten the whole box!

GF Cinnamon Snaps: These cookies had a great cinnamon taste and were nice and crunchy!  They probably aren't my favorite of all their products I have tried, but still are pretty tasty.  I think the batch that I was sent might have been a bit stale?

GF Arrowroot Cookies: Once again, another amazing product!  I used them in this awesome recipe (found at the bottom of the blog post).   They are a very tasty animal cracker!  Once you start buying these, you won't want to go back to the traditional animal crackers!!  PS> They would be good for a teething toddler too!

All-Natural Honey Grahams:  I just got two boxes of these from the co-op I belong to!  I have always been in search of healthy graham crackers, but even the organic ones at the stores have tons of ingredients in them.  These are simple, yet so tasty!  The main ingredients include whole wheat flour, honey, unsulphured molasses, and just a few others.  I would love to make a S'more with them but that would require me finding a healthy marshmallow and I don't think that is even possible! HA!!  I think I will just resort to melting dark chocolate chips on my grahams!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST .... ANNOUNCING MY FAVORITE MI-DEL PRODUCT EVER ...

GF Chocolate Sandwich Cookie: These would be equivalent to the GF version of Oreo's but 150x better than Oreo's ever could be or will be!  And oh, did I mention the fact they are way better for you than Oreo's?? (Relatively speaking folks, it isn't like a spinach salad! HA!)  Nevertheless, oh my goodness, these cookies are awesome!  It takes every bit of will power to only have 2 cookies per day which is the serving size!  I have to hide these cookies from myself b/c I seriously think I could eat 8-10 with a huge glass of milk!!   You can't even tell these cookies are GF.  They are tasty in EVERY way not lacking anything!!  You must head to the closest store and purchase them!  I have included the link for you ...

After reading this review, I would assume a few things ...
1) You have large amounts of drool running down your chin, to your shirt or computer keyboard!
2) You are dying to know the closest store to you that stocks these tasty treats!

I have solved problem #2 for you ... Click HERE and type in your zip code and they can tell you what stores stock which products!  As far as problem #1, grab a towel, wipe it up, get those shoes on, and head to the store!

Also, make sure to check out their website for some awesome recipes!!  I would love to make the Gluten-Free Black-Bottomed Vanilla Cream Pie!  Doesn't it sound heavenly?  I would also love to make the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving this year, but I guess we will see how that goes with a newborn in tow! :)

BUY IT: HERE
WIN IT: MI-DEL has offered up 3 winners packets including a coupon for a free MI-DEL product and information about delicious MI-DEL products.

Links you will find helpful for the giveaway:
MI-DEL on FB

MI-DEL on Twitter

Go Green Go Long on Facebook
SGsMama on Twitter

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.