BlueWater Grill Fish Review (and GIVEAWAY)

Giveaway Now Closed

I was contacted by BlueWater Seafoods to review their new gluten free frozen grill fish fillets. I was excited to try this product because we are big fans of fish and easy dinners. In the mail I received 1 FPC (free product coupon) for a BlueWater frozen seafood item and a BlueWater bag. I also received 3 envelopes, each stuffed with a coupon and bag to mail out to 3 lucky readers.

 

 I decided to purchase the Haddock Classic Grill variety. I baked the fish in the oven according to the directions on the back of the box (I believe it took somewhere around 15 minutes at 400 F). It is clear that this product is made with high quality ingredients. The texture of the fish was moist, tender and flaky.  My only complaint is the size of the fillet. I felt that I could have eaten at least 1 1/2 times the amount. The flavour was very good but not too spicy or overpowering for those that prefer mild seasonings. These fillets would be a good option for people who do not especially enjoy fish, but are trying to incorporate more fish in to their diet, because there is no strong fishy after taste.

frozen haddock

after baking

As most of you probably know, fish is a very healthy meal option. BlueWater products make it easier to incorporate fish into your diet because the fillets are so easy to prepare. Many packaged, pre-seasoned products contain gluten, but BlueWater has provided a gluten free version that is equal to or greater in quality than other similar products. This convenience does come at a price, however. When I used my coupon to buy the Haddock Classic Grill fillet, it was on sale for $3.99 (for 2 fillets - 179g). I believe the regular price is somewhere around $5.00 and above. This makes for a very expensive meal, especially if you are feeding more than 2 people. I usually buy frozen, unseasoned white fish for  $1.00-$1.50 per 100g. The BlueWater Haddock product came to over $2.00 per 100g on sale. It's not something that I would be able to afford on a regular basis, but if you can afford it and you think it will help you get more fish in to your diet then I would definitely recommend it. Or you could just win a free box of fish by entering my giveaway (see below)!

BlueWater Haddock with a veggie and quinoa side dish

I served up our fillets with stir fried veggies mixed with quinoa and a little Italian dressing. I found this meal to be extremely filling and satisfying. BlueWater has some gluten free recipe ideas on their website if you're looking for something a little more exciting to do with your fish.


Health       5 stars
Cost          1.5 stars
Taste         4.5 stars
Texture     4.5 stars
Overall Rating 3.9 stars




What you can win:

1 FPC (free product coupon) for any BlueWater frozen seafood item
1 BlueWater bag

FPC

bag in attached case

open bag

GIVEAWAY INFO - now closed

You can enter up to 3 times but will only be able to win once (it will just increase your chances of winning)

Note:You need to post a new comment for every entry because I will be using a random number generator to choose the winning posts. If the same person is drawn twice, I will generate a new number in its place.

This giveaway is only open to Canadian readers. Sorry to everyone else :(

Entry 1: Post a comment on this blog saying why you would love to try the BlueWater grill fish fillets. (Send me an email at andraglutenfree at gmail dot com with your email address so I can notify you if you win - or simply include your email address in the comment)

Entry 2: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and tweet the page on your twitter account (click here to go to website). Post the link to your tweet in a new comment.

Entry 3: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and click the like button to like them on Facebook (click here to go to website). Post a new comment telling me you did this.


I will accept entries until March 30th, 2013. The winner will be contacted by email and announced on this page. The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them by then, I will choose a new winner and they will have 48 hours to respond etc, etc.



Thanks BlueWater Seafoods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own.

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole



Gluten Free Santa Fe Chicke Casserole

I love the Tex Mex flavours in this recipe. It's a great use for left over rotisserie chicken, but works well with raw chicken too. You can customise the add ins to suit your family's tastes (red/green peppers, corn, jalapenos, cilantro, green onion, etc).

I also love that it's a one dish meal that can be prepared ahead of time and thrown in the oven just in time for dinner (you could probably even freeze it - before or after baking - for a rainy day) Just pair it with a salad or other easy veggie side dish!

The leftovers make a great take along lunch.

serves 4-6
Ingredients

1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or 1-2 raw chicken breasts thinly sliced)
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (more or less as desired)
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can GF mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup (I use "no name" low fat)
1 can milk (use empty mushroom soup can to measure)
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup dry white rice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese (preferably low fat)
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
In 9x13 baking dish, stir together shredded chicken (not raw), corn, peppers, beans, soup, milk, salsa, rice, spices, sour cream and cilantro.
If using raw chicken breast, lay slices on top of the mixture so that they cover most of the surface.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Bake for 45 mins to 1 hr (until most of the liquid is absorbed and cheese is bubbly - if cheese gets too dark, cover with aluminium foil)

combine ingredients in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with cheese

bake at 350 for 45 mins - 1 hr

 

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Just a quick recipe to spice up your Monday! These muffins go great with afternoon tea.

They also make fabulous mini loaves. (may need to increase cooking time slightly)

makes 12 muffins
Ingredients

1/3 cup Margarine Melted (or butter)
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups Light Flour Blend (recipe here)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Zest of one orange or lemon
2 Tbsp Poppy seeds

Glaze
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Sugar


Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt .
Make a well in dry mixture and beat eggs with milk, lemon juice and melted margarine (or mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine with dry ingredients)
Mix in poppy seeds and orange/lemon zest until just combined.
Pour batter into 12 paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes (until centre hold its shape when poked)

Make glaze by mixing lemon juice and sugar.
Spoon glaze over warm muffins.
Let cool completely, then freeze whatever is not eaten within the day.
Microwave from frozen to eat.

Poppy Seeds and Orange Zest

bake at 350 for 17-20 mins

Glaze while still warm

Let cool and freeze

Enjoy Life Foods Plentils Review

A couple weeks ago I was asked to review the new Plentils (crunchy lentil chips) from Enjoy Life Foods. They sounded really interesting and I was excited to try them. After I agreed to review them I kind of forgot about them. Then one evening, my husband and I were sitting in the living room watching TV and the doorbell rang. My husband answered the door and brought back a package, declaring that he had been brought a gift. He had no idea what it was yet, but had been complaining all night that he needed some snacks (he is a sucker for crackers and chips). Before I could take the box away from him, he had it open and was starting to snoop. All of the sudden his face lit up and he shouted "Snaaaaaacks! From Santaaaa! I prayed to Santa and he sent me snaaaaaacks!". He started running around the house celebrating and inspecting his 4 flavours of snacks including Light Sea Salt, Dill and Sour Cream, Garlic and Parmesan, and Margherita Pizza. Of course they were my snacks, but he gave me no choice but to share. It was all I could do to keep him from eating every bag right then and there. We opened the garlic and Parmesan flavour that night and tried the next 3 flavours over the next 3 nights.


The texture wasn't what I expected. They were more puffed up than chips and felt very light and airy. I liked that they weren't too crunchy. The closest texture comparison I can make is to those new pop chips. The flavours were fairly mild but good. My favourite was the margherita pizza and my husband liked all of them about the same (so long as they're crunchy and salty). I also appreciated that they contained less fat and more protein than potato chips.


This product is a great alternative to the regular snack chips and crackers. At just under $4 a bag they cost more than potato/corn chips, but are not outrageously expensive. They would make a good snack for individuals with multiple allergies.

Cost        3 stars

Taste      4  stars

Health    4  stars
Texture  4   stars

Overall Rating: 3.75 Stars

Thanks Enjoy Life Foods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

gluten free carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing

I made these cupcakes last weekend for my dad's birthday. It's actually December 24th, but we like to celebrate it on November 24th to give some separation from Christmas. We like to refer to it as his "un-birthday" (-Alice in Wonderland) Carrot cake is his favourite and he hasn't had much since he's been gluten free. The cupcake part is delicious, but nothing can compete with cream cheese icing... mmmm.

Something tells me it's your unbirthday too!

makes 18 cupcakes
Ingredients

2 cups my GF light flour blend recipe
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp guar gum
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups shredded carrots
½ cup crushed pineapple with juice
¼ cup of coconut

Icing
1 package cream cheese at room temp
1/4 cup butter or margarine at room temp
1 1/2 cups icing sugar (more if you need it)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions

Peel and grate carrots.
Mix together wet (oil, eggs, vanilla, carrots, pineapple and coconut) and dry ingredients in separate bowls.
Stir all ingredients together until no lumps remain.
Pour into cupcake papers.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool completely on rack.

Icing

In an electric mixer, beat together margarine and cream cheese until smooth.
Add vanilla and beat.
Add icing sugar, 1/3-1/2 cup at a time, beating for 1 minute in between additions.
Spread icing with a knife or put in plastic bags or decorating bags to apply. (make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before icing)

before baking

just out of the oven

let cool completely

cream cheese icing

makes 18

Freeze any leftovers in plastic containers and let thaw at room temperature before eating.

Quinoa Pancakes

Gluten Free Quinoa Pancakes

I can't believe I haven't posted for nearly a month! I started back to work full time September 4th, and between that and my husband coaching football, this last month has been a bit of a whirlwind. I haven't been doing much baking or even cooking lately, but I did have time for a quick batch of leftover quinoa pancakes.

They work best if made quite small

(serves 2-3 people)
Ingredients

1 cup cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Buckwheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Oil
1/4 cup Milk
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Beat together eggs, oil, milk and quinoa.
In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients.
Stir dry ingredients into wet until no lumps remain (besides the quinoa).
Cook pancakes in hot, oiled pan, using about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.
Flip pancakes when top begins to bubble.
Serve with syrup, fruit, etc.



Cook in hot, oiled frying pan

Flip when bubbly

Serve with syrup and fruit













Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

Lately I've been experimenting with quinoa in baked goods. I am not a huge fan of salads containing quinoa, and I wanted to find other way of incorporating quinoa in to our diet. I've also noticed that my recipes with quinoa are some of my most popular posts. My favourite recipe so far is Quinoa Brownies, but I had success with this quinoa muffin recipe too.

I used blueberries, but you could add in anything you want (chocolate chips, dried fruit, chopped or grated apple). You can definitely taste the quinoa in this recipe, and it is delicious.

Enjoy!

makes 12 muffins
Ingredients

1 cup Cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Millet Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Canola Oil
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Blueberries (or other fruit or 1/3 cup chocolate chips/dried fruit)
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions

Stir together dry ingredients and quinoa.
Beat together wet ingredients (not blueberries) and mix with dry ingredients.
Fold in blueberries and spoon into paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool on rack and store on counter for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

spoon into paper lined muffin tins

bake at 350 for 25-30 mins

let cool on rack

mmm...