Thursday, October 23, 2014

G-free at Aldi

A few months ago, I gleefully discovered Aldi's Live G-Free in a store. I wasn't sure if this was overstock that would only be there during that one visit, so I bought several items - three different varieties of granola, four baking mixes, crackers and wraps (aka tortillas).  I've since found out that stocking up and hoarding the products is not necessary; it sounds like they'll be regulars at Aldi now. 

Quick reviews, then I’ll get to the real point here:

Granola: 2.5/5 stars. I don’t like the texture. I’m not sure which ingredient it is I don’t like, but it doesn’t seem to soften at all in milk (almond, of course) and it left a weird residue in my mouth. I’ll pay a little more for my favorite kinds from other stores.
Baking mixes: 3.5-4/5 stars. I’ve used the yellow cake mix in a few recipes (but not as an actual cake) and it worked great. I’ve also used the cornbread mix twice. It is delicious, but very sweet – sugar is one of the first ingredients. I have brownie mix, cookie mix and pizza crust mix that I have used yet.
Crackers: 4 / 5 stars. Love them. The texure is thinner and lighter than Crunchmaster, but I really like them. The Rosemary and Garlic is kind of salty. I prefer the Sea Salt – great with nut butter and fruit for a quick snack.

The real point of is blog is the wraps. I freaking love them. I’d been using Toufayan and like them okay, but they don’t seem to travel well and get crunchy/chewy too quickly. I give the Live G-free wraps 5 / 5 stars. They taste like the wraps I used to know and love. They are thin enough to easily wrap, but don’t fall apart too easily. They do not need to be refrigerated. I’ve rediscovered my love of burritos and wraps again.

This week I’ve had chicken, black bean and avocado wraps twice and today it was a regular old burrito with ground turkey, black beans, salsa, and lettuce. Here’s my tricks to a good lunch-time wrap:

  1. Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil about 12”x12” and set it aside.
  1. Get ingredients ready for wrap – meat, beans, veggies, avocado, hummus, greek yogurt…whatever you want. I’ve found that it tends to work best if the filling is room temperature or warmer. I heat up the meat and beans. I also mix everything up at this point so it is well-distributed in the wrap.
  1. Place wrap on plate and cover with microwave-safe plastic or another plate. (you could also heat it on the stove in a pan over a low temperature – you don’t want it to get toasted, but soft). Microwave for about 20 seconds.
  1. Immediately slide wrap onto center of foil square and dump ingredients in middle of wrap.
  1. Fold up one side of the wrap to make an end. Then fold one side over, then the other side. As you fold up the wrap, keep the aluminum foil tight around the wrap, starting with folding over the bottom so the wrap stays together. Once you have the entire wrap folded up in foil, tuck the top over to close the foil and keep everything inside.
  1. When you eat, start at the top (Mark the “top” with a marker if you need to so you can make sure this is the end you start from) and slowly remove the foil as you eat so nothing falls out.  
This method has kept my wraps nice and soft even when stored in the fridge until time to eat.



Chicken Avocado Wrap
3 oz shredded chicken
1/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 avocado, diced
1 green onion, chopped
Dash of cumin
Dash of salt
Sriracha, to taste (optional)
1 gluten-free wrap

Mix chicken and black beans in a small bowl. Microwave on high about 1 minute. Mix in other ingredients except wrap.


Following instructions above, place ingredients in wrap and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Eat it.