Kallo Organic Original Rice Cakes

This review is for Kallo Original Rice Cakes.  This is not specifically a gluten-free product (it isn't just in the "free from" sections in supermarkets), but it doesn't contain gluten anyway.

After I stopped having my normal and gluten-filled cream crackers and bread (ham and cheese toasties were a particular favourite), I tried searching for alternative lunches.  I also started trying to eat healthier, and so after searching the supermarket aisles I came across rice cakes.  Boasting “all natural ingredients and less than 3% fat” I thought these would be a good choice to put with dips and other various toppings.

This is the rice cake on its own, with no topping.  Most rice cakes either come plain or with a little salt, so on their own they can be quite unappetising!  They’re a decent size as well (the one shown below is on a small plate).  For calorie counters, they’re just 30kcal per rice cake.

I personally like to eat my rice cakes with houmous, which is regularly suggested as a food for keeping you fuller for longer, has a good nutritional value, can be of benefit to menopausal women and is, you guessed it, gluten-free!

The houmous I ate on this occasion was Delphi chargrilled red pepper houmous (a bargain at £0.87 from Asda).  Unfortunately the picture doesn’t look very appealing, but it tasted really good!

Taste: Very bland if eaten on its own.  Good as a base for any toppings you fancy.

Price:  Rice cakes are another bargain, costing only £0.87 from Asda.  Prices for different types (such as salted, unsalted, flavoured, organic) tends to vary.

Availability: A variety of types in all supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op) and well as health-stores such as Holland and Barrett.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: No.  Check the allergen information on the back of the packet.

Nutritional value: Low calorie, low fat, low sugar.

Comparison to the regular version:  N/A

Overall rating: 7/10

Although I have reviewed a product that is not just marketed as gluten-free, I have noticed that some supermarkets sell “special” gluten-free rice cakes that cost twice as much.  I would suggest checking the allergy advice on the back of regular products before buying the gluten-free versions, sometimes you may be pleasantly surprised!

Asda Butcher's Selection Gluten-Free sausages

Whilst doing my fortnightly Asda shop online recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pack of gluten-free sausages in their advertised "Butcher's Selection".  A reasonable price for a pack of 8 sausages, and included in the regular section of the supermarket, I thought I'd give them a change instead of my usual pack of frozen sausages.

WARNING: If you choose to read it that way, this post has the odd sausage-based innuendo. Sorry about that. 

Sausages can be a problem when purchasing gluten-free food, because the majority are bulked up with breadcrumbs, obviously containing wheat and gluten.  Occasionally, regular packets of sausages can be gluten-free, but it's not made clear on the front of the packaging.  With the summer coming up, and hopefully a few barbeques, I am still looking for good quality sausages!

These sausages look like regular sausages! A little on the small side (this may be because I am used to bigger ones).

I tried both recommended cooking methods (grilling and shallow frying), and I will admit, the first two times I tried were a DISASTER.  The outer casing (even though I regularly turned them!) was burnt, and the middle of the sausge was cooked through (just).

I tried cooking the sausages in a lot of oil, and they actually cooked nicely. I had to use kitchen paper on the sausages to wipe off the excess fat and oil, and there was a lot of fat drained from the pan.  They shrunk a little whilst cooking (which happens to sausages which are lower quality with a lot of breadcrumbs).

 

 

I would not recommend them for a summer barbeque!

Taste: When cooked in lot of oil, the sausages tasted nice, just like a regular sausage.  I ate mine with a cooked breakfast and it tasted very fair - but not incredible.
Burnt offerings when grilled or cooked with low-fat oil. The inside was a nice enough sausage, but didn't taste seasoned enough and was quite bland. The outside tasted like burnt sausage.  Overall the whole thing did not taste good. 

Price: The price was £1.50 from Asda, which is a cheaper than any pack of gluten-free sausages I've ever bought!  However, this price was definitely reflected in the quality.

Availibility: These were just available in Asda.  Most other supermarkets tend to produce their own versions.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes. Written clearly on the front. (Also had the Coeliac UK crossed-grain logo).  Not sold in the gluten-free section of the supermarket.

Nutritional value:  High in fat (but then again, most sausages are!)

 

Comparison to the real version: A similar quality to other cheap sausages.  Disappointing flavour compared to higher priced sausages (these sausages were advertised next to other "Butcher's Selection" sausages, which were made with regional English meat).  They contained a wheat-substitute similar to most other sausages.  Gluten-free sausages often contain more meat to compensate for the lack of wheat.  I think I'd rather pay a little bit more for the extra!

Overall rating: 5/10

Really unhappy with these sausages.  Put in a better casing, these would taste a lot better!  After cooking in a lot of oil, they turned out fine (and like any other sausage).  Not the best gluten-free sausages you can get out there, I would recommend shopping around.