Be Free For Me Blog

This week’s Friday Favorite on BeFreeForMe.com is awarded to YumEarth Naturals, the makers of candy that is free of gluten, tree nuts & peanuts, soy & dairy.

And as an added bonus all the YumEarth Naturals products are also free of fat, MSG… and even fat.

Some of the products that they make are lollipops that, according to Phil Lempert, the Food Trends Editor for NBC’s Today show and also known as the “SupermarketGuru” are “The best lollipop I’ve ever tasted.” They also make sour jelly beans, and my favorite… the gummy bears.

The gummy bears are also made with real fruit juice, have no artificial flavors or colors, and supply 100% of the daily requirement of Vitamin C. YumEarth also has an extensive list of allergen certifications on their website.

In particular I like the bag of gummy bears that contains 10 snack packs containing 4 grown-up, yet kid-friendly, flavors of gummy bears – Pomegranate Pucker, Sour Apple Tart, Mango Tango and Perfectly Peach. All of them provide an unexpected burst of flavor – unlike any other gummy bear brands.

Each snack pack is less than 70 calories per pack, so they are perfect for snacking.

All of these yummy, gummy reasons are why this week’s Friday Favorite is awarded to YumEarth Naturals Gummy Bears. Congratulations!

Want to buy YumEarth Naturals Gummy Bears? Check out this link on Amazon.com: YumEarth Natural Gummy Bears

I love popcorn. The crunchiness, the quick and easy way it’s a go-to snack, and the way that it’s one of the lowest calorie snacks around.

When I was little my Dad use to make popcorn over the stove the old fashioned way. That’s my favorite way to enjoy popcorn, but these days I just don’t have the time to make it that way.

That’s when I reach for Popcorn Indiana. All of the Popcorn Indiana varieties are gluten-free, and what great varieties they have! My favorite, Touch of Sea Salt, plus  Aged White Cheddar, Cinnamon Sugar, Buffalo Cheddar, and more.

All these tasty & crunchy flavors of good old fashioned popcorn are the reasons why this week’s Friday Favorite is awarded to Popcorn Indiana.

Congrats!

This Win-It-Wednesday on BeFreeForMe’s is sponsored by one of my all-time favorite bars …. KIND Bars. I’ve been a fan of KIND Bars for a long time, but just recently tried their newest bars… KIND Nuts & Spices, which are now my all-time favorite variety of them all.

These news bars are an exotic blend of flavors, nestled amongst the nuts and fruit that KIND Bars are famous for. The new flavors are: Madagascar Vanilla & Almond, Cashew & Ginger Spice, Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan, and my favorite… Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt. All are full of surprising spiciness and crunchy nuts.

The dark chocolate in some of these bars make them to die for!

As always this newest addition to the KIND Snacks family are gluten-free, kosher and perfect for a breakfast on the run or for snacking. Plus, all KIND Bars offer the essential nutrients often lacking in gluten free diets including fiber, protein, magnesium and vitamin B12.

All these wonderful, healthy and tasty reasons are why I am so thrilled that KIND Snacks is this week’s Win-It-Wednesday sponsor on BeFreeForMe.com.

A total of two (2) BeFreeForMe members will be selected to win a prize exclusive for this contest on BeFreeForMe. This prize, which is currently not available to purchase, is packed with five bars of EACH of the four KIND Nuts & Spices flavors – Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, Cashew & Ginger Spice, Madagascar Vanilla Almond and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan– for a total of 20 KIND bars (retail value of $42.95). One winner will be randomly selected from the entries received before Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST, and one more winners will be randomly selected to win from the entries received between Wednesday, September 26 and Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 11:59 PM. SO – make sure you enter to win two times!

How can you win?
Easy?

Reply to this blog and let us know which new KIND Nuts & Spices Bar sounds best to you. And if you want…. let us know something kind that someone has shared / done for you lately.

Good luck, remember to be KIND … and as always,
Be Free!

Keep in touch and join me in following KIND Snacks on Facebook & Twitter!

One of the things I miss the most since being gluten-free is Chinese food… exactly the way it use to be. A favorite local Chinese restaurants makes a great gluten-free Chow Mein… but, alas, san the noodles. And let’s face it: Eating Chow Mein without the noodles is about the same as eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich without the bread. In other words, it just doesn’t work.

That is why I thanked my lucky fortune cookie when I heard about Goldbaum’s newest product in their extensive gluten-free line-up… Gluten-Free Chow Mein Noodles.

The Goldbaum’s Gluten-Free Chow Mein noodles are new, so make sure you ask your store for them if they are not on the shelf. Or you can buy them on Amazon.com by clicking this link: Goldbaum’s Gluten Free Chow Mein Noodles, 7 Oz Pack (Case of 12)

Chow Mein noodles that are crunchy, tasty and like the ones I once knew and loved, are the reasons why this week’s Friday Favorite is bestowed upon Goldbaum’s Gluten-Free Chow Mein Noodles. Congratulations!

BONUS: To all BeFreeForMe members… Goldbaum’s is having a giveaway to win a $200 prize pack! Enter win by clicking this link. Contest ends 10/15/12. Good luck!

Sometimes you like things hot. Really hot. But this weekend I quickly discovered that my garden’s peppers are, yes indeed, an example of something that is just way, way too hot.

So what is a girl to do with a garden-full of way, way too hot peppers?

And then suddenly a super-cool idea popped into my mind. Grilled Bacon Wrapped Blackened Pepper Poppers.

The saltiness of the smoked bacon, the creamy smoothness of the cream cheese and the blackened grilled peppers are sure bets to offset the spicy capsaicin, the stuff that makes peppers wicked hot.

The key to reducing the spiciness of the peppers in this recipe is the removal of the ribs, membranes and seeds in the peppers. This is a sure way to reduce, but not eliminate some of the heat. Also the casein in the cream cheese helps ease the burn, while the fat, mixed with the oils from the peppers helps neutralize the heat. I also think that blackening the pepper skins helps lower the Richter Scale of hotness.

Oh… and a word of caution – please (pretty please?) make sure that you wear plastic disposable gloves when preparing this recipe. Hot peppers are serious stuff.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Blackened Pepper Poppers

Ingredients:
5-6 medium sized hot peppers, (such as Italian, serrano or similar)

About 2 tablespoons olive oil

One 8-ounce package of cream cheese – softened

10-12 slices of smoked bacon

1-2 pairs of plastic disposable gloves (important when handling peppers!)

Directions:
Wearing a pair of disposable plastic gloves, slice each pepper lengthwise, leaving the stems intact.

Using a paring knife, a small fork and your fingers, carefully remove all seeds, ribs and membranes from inside the pepper (basically all of the white stuff inside the peppers). Brush the sides and inside of the pepper with olive oil.

Preheat a gas grill to medium heat, and place the peppers onto the grill, turning occasionally until slightly blackened. (Note: you could also use a broiler to do this too).

Remove the peppers from the grill and carefully stuff the peppers with the cream cheese. Wrap each stuffed pepper with one to two slices of bacon, and place back on grill and cook, carefully turning occasionally, until the bacon is slightly crispy and cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Serves 3-6 as an appetizer.

This week’s Friday Favorite on BeFreeForMe is yet another convenient and tasty product.

Classico’s Light Alfredo Sauce, paired with your favorite gluten-free pasta, is a perfect mid-week dinner solution that is quick, easy and a favorite for adults and kids alike.

Another bonus of the Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Sauce is that it has 50% less fat and 45% less calories than the leading brands of Alfredo sauces, but still tastes rich and creamy.

And in case you’re wondering, all of the Classico Sauces (both red and white) are gluten-free.

Quick, easy, tasty, convenient and less fat and calories are all the fabulous reasons this week’s Friday Favorite is awarded to Classico’s Light Alfredo Sauce. Mangia!

Back-to-school time should be an exciting time. But for many kid’s (and their parents) with food allergies, food intolerances and other medical conditions back-to-school time can be a scary time too.

That’s why I was so excited to find out about an awesome company called AllerMates, a company founded by a Mom, Iris Shamus, whose was frustrated by the lack of allergy-related and kid friendly items for her child that has food allergies. This frustration lead her to start AllerMates, a line of bright, fun and kid-friendly lunch bags, wristbands and dog tags that young kids want to use and wear – all while keeping them safe.

I love that the AllerMates lunch bag is sturdy and features an outside pocket, ample room inside and an allergy info card located in a clear pocket on the side of the bag. The bright, colorful characters on the bag are fun and kid-friendly. This lunch bag will remind & alert teachers, play group monitors and any other adults, that your child has food allergies – especially during the times that you are not there.

Most of you know that I am a huge advocate of wearing a medical alert bracelet (I wear mine all the time). The AllerMates wristbands are a must-have for kids that have food allergies, as well as asthma, insect sting allergies, cat allergies, pollen, latex, penicillin allergies… plus more. Unlike some of the “I’m too big, I’m made for an adult” medical alert bracelets – these bracelets are made for kids… they are fun, colorful, whimsical and have “kids just love us so they’ll wear us” written all over them. =) These bracelets are also hypo-allergenic (latex-free), waterproof and thoroughly tested for safety and quality. Got more than one allergy? No problem. These bracelets can be worn stacked or AllerMates has a multi-allergy customizable wristband too.

I also love that these wristbands will grow with the child since they all come with three adjustable snaps, that should fit most kids from the age of 2 and up, providing ample room for the kids to grow.

Also, AllerMates can now be found and purchased at Walgreen’s for back-to-school and Halloween. Or buy AllerMates on Amazon.com

All these fun, safe and kid-friendly reasons are why I am so thrilled that AllerMates is this week’s Win-It-Wednesday sponsor on BeFreeForMe.com.

A total of two (2) BeFreeForMe members will be selected to win an AllerMates Insulated Lunch Bag and single Wristband, of their choice.

One winner will be randomly selected from the entries received before Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST, and one more winners will be randomly selected to win from the entries received between Wednesday, September 12 and Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 11:59 PM. SO – make sure you enter to win two times!

How can you win?
Easy?

Reply to this blog and let us know which AllerMates allergy / medical alert wristband you’d like if you are a winner.

Good luck, remember you never can be safe enough when it comes to food allergies or medical conditions … and as always,
Be Free!

Keep in touch and join me in following AllerMates on Facebook & Twitter!