The Loot From Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts

So this is all that I got at Sprouts tonight during their Gluten Free Jubilee sale! All gluten free items in the store are 25% off so, of course, I took advantage! I was actually really surprised because they were sold out of a lot of things! I might go to a different location before the sale ends on January 20th to get some more Udi’s gluten free bread and some Kinnikinnick pancake and waffle mix. Oh, and their donuts. And maybe some more animal cookies just for good measure. :)

Have any of you gone to Sprouts this week for their Gluten Free Jubilee? Did your pile of stuff look better or worse than mine?

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Mix

I have eaten a LOT of really bad gluten free pancakes. I’ve tried a few different mixes and a couple of recipes, all ending in disaster.

I recently decided to give gluten free pancakes one final shot. I’ve had mostly good experiences with Kinnikinnick products so I tossed their gluten free pancake and waffle mix into my cart at Sprouts.

This mix is so easy. One cup of mix, 3/4 cup milk (or water), 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon of oil makes 4-5 regular size pancakes.

I prefer to try to make my pancakes as big as possible. Preferably plate-size like the ones at IHOP.

Ooooooh, delicious little bubbles! Almost ready to flip..

Perfectly golden brown and I guarantee no one will notice they are gluten free. Visually, they are exactly the same as regular pancakes. The cook the same, and even the texture looks the same.

But how do they taste?

Oh. My. Gosh. They are divine!

The gluten free pancakes I’ve tried before were hard and rubbery. And they tasted weird. It was like someone put syrup on a hockey puck and put it on the plate in front of me. But not these Kinnikinnick pancakes. They are light, fluffy, and airy. Not at all dense and no funky taste! They are only lightly sweet, except of course, when I drown them in syrup. In short, they are the perfect (gluten free) pancakes.

They are exactly how I remember pancakes to be. Victory!

Van's Products Package Changes and enter to WIN a FREE COUPON!!!

Hi everyone! I hope April is treating you all well! We've been having one hell of a month, let me tell you! Phew! These 3 weeks of April have felt like 3 months!!

Well, I have exciting news to fill everyone in on. We all know how I LOVE Van's gluten free waffles, right? I have a SERIOUS love affair with the mini's, especially! I adore them and am never without a box in my freezer. I have been informed that Van's will be updating their packaging!! Here is a sneak peek for everyone:

Love it!! I want to assure everyone that just because the package is changing, does not mean the delicious goodies on the inside are changing! I know too well (see the Milky Way incident) that those of us who are gluten free need to be incredibly wary and suspicious of any potential reformulations! But nothing is changing, other than the amazingly enticing picture on the front!

Keep an eye out for this new package! They should be slowly rolling out in stores anytime now or within the next couple of weeks. Van's has also launched a new website and a blog so check it out here!

Okay, now down to how you can WIN a free (yes, FREE) coupon for a box of Van's products!!

To enter to win you can do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me which of Van's Products is your absolute FAVE! Perhaps the mini's like me? Or the gluten free apple cinnamon waffles? Maybe their gluten free french toasts sticks? Or maybe you just can't narrow it down and you love them all!!

2. Post on your blog about this giveaway and link back here! (please leave a comment or drop me an email at gfsteph@gmail.com with a link to the post)

3. Tweet the following: RT @GF_Steph Van's Super New Packaging & enter to win a FREE coupon! http://tinyurl.com/3x5x47d

4. This is for the super faithful: Send me a pic of yourself holding a box of your favorite Van's product! If you do this, you are so hardcore that I will give you TWO entries!

Hurry though, you'll only have until THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH at midnight to enter!! On Friday, I'll choose FIVE WINNERS and announce them here! So don't forget to check back!!

It's Back!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!!

It's that time again, folks!!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!

May is Autism Awareness month at Sprouts and in honor of that, they are offering 25% off all gluten free products starting April 28th and continuing until June 2nd!!!



Stop by your local Sprouts and stock up on all your favorite gluten free goodies! (including Van's products...have you entered to win a coupon for a FREE box yet!?!) While you're there, you can also elect to donote to Autism Speaks!! Spread the word!

Winners of the Van's Free Coupons!!

Thanks to everyone who participated! The odds of winning were fantastic--everyone who entered won!! Yaaay!

So here's all the winners:

Blogger Entrants:

Michelle and Lauren

Twitter Entrants:

@kimicalg
@jenniferGFinGA

And yes, I said there would be 5 winners, but only 4 people entered! So I guess the last winner is...me!! Hooray! :)

To all the winners: Please email me your address at gfsteph@gmail.com or if on Twitter, please send it to me in a DM! I hope you all enjoy your free gluten free waffles/pancakes/french toast sticks! I know I will. :)

What's in our lunch?

It has been a while since I've done a post about what we're having for dinner.  Although I'm happy to note that I've been really good about making most of our dinners from scratch, and about keeping us meat-free most days of the week, the truth is that I've found myself too lazy lacking the inspiration to post about it week after week.


Since we're at the beginning of the schoolyear, I've been more motivated about packing lunches than planning dinners, so I thought I'd give my "Seven Days of Dinner" post series a bit of a twist. Instead of featuring dinners, for the next few months I'll be featuring the lunches I'm packing for the kids instead of the dinners.  Deciding what to pack for lunch can sometimes be even more of a challenge than deciding what to cook for dinner, because I usually plan for lunch about 5 minutes before I pack it -- and I don't intend to change.  So rather than plan for the week ahead, I'm going to feature some of the lunches that I packed the week before.  And to make things more interesting, I'm going to try and take a photo of each lunch that I pack.

Now, I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, and with my time-crunched morning routine, I don't have much time to spend styling the food and making everything look pretty, so my photos aren't going to look as adorable or appealing as some of the amazing bento box lunches I've seen.  But if you're pressed for time, you might find some lunch ideas that will work for your family.  With that in mind, here are some of the lunches I packed last week:


Pesto and tomato sandwich on whole-wheat white bread, with sweet potato chips.

Pretzels and cheese, cucumber slices and cherries.

Nutella sandwich, cherry tomatoes and blueberries.

Chicken salad and sliced tomatoes on a bagel, dried bananas + pineapples, and strawberries.

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Things I must have for my next party

Last night I attended a friend's birthday party, and even though I didn't know too many people, I had an amazing time.  The celebrant really went out of her way to plan the perfect party -- people were entertained and well-fed, the conversation kept flowing and the smiles were in full force.  She thought of everything!  I made lots of mental notes about all the cool stuff that went on at her party, and added them to my wishlist of attractions for the next party I throw (whenever that may be). Here's my list of "party-tractions" that I think would make any party memorable:





Conversation-worthy decor


A live band so everyone, young and old, can dance


Grownups in costume



Photo booths, preferably with costumes and props



Drinks with glowing ice cubes



Henna tattoo artists...



... and / or mini mani-pedis...


.... and / or  mini spa stations







Chocolate fountains


Indoor slides

Mickey Mouse

What a shindig that would be! Then again, having all of this at my next party would cost the earth, so I might just have to skip them all and just go with the one thing you really need to have a great party:  a bunch of great friends.

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