Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Udi's Gluten-Free Brownie Bites - The Bite Sized Spotlight

Udi's Gluten Free Foods has become a household name. Yet, this popular brand is a paradox in itself, for all it's bread, bagels, pizza crusts and muffins contain cornstarch or an ingredient derived from corn; however their cookies are miraculous corn-free.

We accidentally stumbled on Udi's Gluten-Free Brownie Bites.  As soon as we took that first bite- We were in heaven [choir sings] :3  Each Brownie Bite is perfection. The inside is extremely moist, the chocolate is rich and exquisite.... you'll be left wondering can this really be Gluten-Free?

The Good Stuff Rating: 5/5

Udi's Gluten-Free Brownie Bites are free of: Gluten, Soy, Nuts and Corn

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Can I eat this? There's an app for that.


Are you tired of checking ingredients list for allergens? Even after reading them are you still left wondering," Can I really eat this?" Now there's an app for that; several in fact! Technology is catching up with the everyday needs for those with allergies, food intolerance, Celiac Disease, and special dietary needs. There are many problems faced when grocery shopping, and thanks to these bar code scanning apps life is so much simpler.

Here are the Top 2 free apps on currently on the market: Scan-Life and RedLaser.

Scan Life- [For: iPhone, Android, Windows Phone,and Ovi(nokia)]

Pros- Is the most popular of the allergen bar code scanners.This app loaded with lots of features. In addition to listing allergen contents;it also lists calories, and nutritional values, price comparisons and much more. It lists top 8+ allergies, including corn, and sulfates, and sesame seeds.The best part, is this app is all about personalization. Customize it to search for your allergens and nutritional needs, or even bargains.

Cons- Some users might find these type results a bit too simplistic.The app has a color coated system(Green-safe, Yellow- possible allergen, Red-allergen alert) indicating if your product is safe to eat. It doesn't list which ingredients are derived from which allergen.

The Good Stuff rating- 4.5/5


RedLaser
- [For: iPhones, Android and Windows Phone]

Pros- Is a well known bar code scanning app that is great for finding bargains. One of its many newest features; is it can be used to check the allergen and nutrition info. The app is fairly simple and straight forward. Just scan the bar code, it will list Nutrition Facts, Allergen Info and Item Prices. It provide a nice allergen summary. It also lists which ingredient came from what allergen; making it a useful learning tool.

Cons-The app doesn't have the customization features such as Scan Life. It only includes Top 8 allergies.One of my concerns with this app, is the warning at the end of the allergen summary. The allergen data comes from FoodEssentials.com if a company changes the formula of it's product and FoodEssentials.com isn't aware of it, then it raises a risk. In spite of this flaw, it's still a nice app.

The Good Stuff rating: 4/5