Product Review: Enjoy Life Decadent Bars

Enjoy Life Foods reliably produces some of the best gluten free and food allergy friendly products on the market, so I was pleased when they offered me the chance to review their new Decadent Bars. My kiddo was so excited when he saw the box with the red logo arrive, that I had trouble getting it back from him to photograph the bars that were inside!

Coconut Ice Cream Parfait & A Review of Enjoy Life Granola

I'm always happy to receive samples of Enjoy Life products for review.  Usually when a carton with the red logo shows up on our doorstep, the only challenge is to keep The Kid from ripping it open, since he knows that food allergy friendly goodies are inside.  When this box with the Mega Chunks and the Double Chocolate Crunch Granola arrived, I thought we had just hit a double jackpot.

The Mega Chunks quickly became part of one of our new favorite treats, Chocolate Chunk Blondies, and we are eagerly waiting for more of the bags to show up on local store shelves.  I'll admit, though, that the granola had me a bit stumped.  The Kid simply will not eat any kind of cereal with any (nondairy) milk.  Just nibbling on the granola, snapping a photo and typing up a description didn't seem to do it justice.

Alina at Enjoy Life had helpfully suggested a nice, healthy yogurt parfait, but as the heat index crept well over a hundred degrees and my ice cream maker began to get an almost daily workout, the word parfait conjured up a much different vision in my overheated mind....

Primarily made of brown rice flakes with a generous percentage of mini chocolate chips mixed in, the crisp clusters are much lighter and less dense than a traditional oat and nut granola.  The chocolate manages to dominate without being overwhelming, and the granola's flavor is nicely balanced and not overly sweet.  If you've ever thought of granola as a virtuous health food, the Double Chocolate Crunch will change your mind.

This is not a penitential granola.

So as the temperature rose above all reason, my family worked tirelessly to find an appropriate home for the granola.  After a grueling round of taste tests we unanimously decided that the it was much better sprinkled on top of the homemade vanilla bean ice cream than mixed into the homemade double chocolate ice cream.  (It was a really good week for desserts at our house.)  In fact, the granola did indeed find its true calling as part of a parfait, layered between homemade vanilla bean ice cream and strawberries.

Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 C coconut milk  (I used So Delicious)
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, insides scraped and pod finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  Stir while heating over medium.  As soon as the liquid begins to bubble, remove from heat.  Allow to cool, then move to refrigerator to chill.  Once cold, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Enjoy alone or with your favorite toppings.

Blogger Disclosure:  I received free samples, but was not paid for this review, though I did win Enjoy Life  Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes two years ago.


I'm submitting my lovely parfait to:

• Allergy Friendly Friday, hosted by Cybele Pascal,.
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free and
• Gluten Free Wednesday at the Gluten Free Homemaker.

Vegan Blondies and a Review of Enjoy Life Mega Chunks

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Enjoy Life Foods, so when they gave me the opportunity to review two of their new products, I leaped at the chance.  The Double Chocolate Crunch Granola will have to wait for another day, though, because I couldn't resist starting with the new semi-sweet chocolate Mega Chunks.

The chunks are a high quality chocolate made from only three ingredients, evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor (non-alcoholic) and non-dairy cocoa butter, and are manufactured in a dedicated nut and gluten-free facility.  Although they are free of all of the "Big 8" allergens, the facility does also process soy and dairy.  The equipment, however, is dedicated allergen free, and Enjoy Life routinely tests ingredients for contamination.  The Kid absolutely loved the chunks, and our only complaint was that we only had one bag!

When I first saw the bag of chunks with the picture of a chocolate chip cookie bar on the front, I'll confess that my first thought was "I want a blondie."  Conveniently, there was even a recipe for gluten free "Decadent Blondies" on the back of the bag.  Although I will occasionally indulge in some wheatless baking for my local gluten free guinea pigs, I decided to be contrary and immediately moved vegan, nut-free bars to the top of my recipe to-do list.  After a few tries, the result was dense, chewy and delicious, satisfying all of my chocolate chip cookie cravings, and creating one of my family's new favorite cookies.

Chocolate Chunk Blondies

(Click here for printable recipe.)

Dry Ingredients:
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 C plain or vanilla soy milk
2/3 C brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) melted dairy free margarine

Additional:
1 C chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line an 8" by 8" pan with aluminum foil.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk together and set aside.  Mix soy milk, sugars and vanilla extract in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Melt margarine, then stir it into the wet ingredients, too.  (Mix margarine in last to keep it from clumping up.)  Stir wet ingredients into dry, then mix chocolate chunks into cookie dough.

Spread the resulting sticky dough into aluminum lined pan.  Bake for 33 to 35 minutes and until the edges are slightly browned.  Allow to cool completely, then slice into 16 squares.

A few notes about the recipe:

• I began with several browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipes when developing these bars, and it's important to use a dairy free margarine with a good flavor.  I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks.
• If you don't have an 8" by 8" pan, go ahead and use a 9" by 9", but shorten the bake time to about 30 minutes.
• The center has an almost marzipan like texture to it, and if there's not a tree nut allergy in your family, these would be absolutely fantastic with almond extract instead of vanilla.  Back in my carefree, childless days, I used to occasionally splash some amaretto into chocolate chip cookie dough, and that wouldn't be bad, either!
• The cookies really do need to cool completely before being sliced, otherwise you'll have an incredibly gooey mess on your hands.

I'm grudgingly sharing my blondies with:

• Allergy Friendly Friday hosted by Cybele Pascale.

Blogger Disclosure:

I was provided with free samples, but not paid for this review, although I did win the Enjoy Life Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes a few years ago.  My opinions are, as always, my own, though possibly suspect as a self confessed chocoholic.

Taste Test: The New & Improved Enjoy Life Cookie Line

Enjoy Life Foods decided to do a complete makeover of their entire allergy friendly cookie line, and I was one of the bloggers fortunate to receive three boxes as samples for review.  We take both cookies and taste testing pretty seriously around here, so my family was quite excited when the Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Brownie and Lively Lemon Cookies arrived.

Not only the cookies, but also the packaging was redesigned with no detail overlooked.  I especially enjoyed the sly humor which turned the UPC code at the bottom of the boxes into a cookie jar.  Each package contained a dozen cookies.  They weren't large, but I've found that baking without eggs or gluten makes it difficult to create a larger soft and chewy cookie that still retains its structural integrity.  (I included a quarter in the photo above for reference.  All the cookies are the same size as the Lively Lemon in front; the ones on the plate simply appear smaller due to foreshortening.)

For the actual taste taste, we had four adult members of my family without food allergies and my seven year old son with multiple food allergies try all the cookies, plus an adult friend with celiac disease try just the Snickerdoodles.  All of them are definitely cookie enthusiasts.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially since most of us were using cookies that hadn't been adapted to be allergy friendly as our baseline.  The Snickerdoodle cookies were, quite frankly, a revelation.  I've never had a gluten free cookie so chewy and with such great texture before.  My mom, who doesn't like regular snickerdoodles, said these cookies could change her mind, while my friend with celiac disease simply inhaled them.  These were the favorite for both my son and me.

The Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies were also well received.  These were my mom's favorite, though she said she would have preferred larger chocolate chips in the cookie.  Considering how many other double chocolate brownie cookies have been tried and tested at my house, this is no small achievement!

My husband liked the Lively Lemon cookies best, but I was somewhat disappointed.  These had been my favorite of the Enjoy Life cookies before the recipes were reformulated, and I had been looking forward to trying them the most.  They seem to have lost some of their zing, and the lemony bits in the cookies now provide more texture than taste.  All the adults who hadn't tried the older version gave them a thumb's up, but they were still too tart for my son.

Overall I highly recommend the Enjoy Life cookies.  Their efforts to create yummy cookies free of the "Big Eight" allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, milk, fish and shellfish) have paid off.  Not only do they taste good, but Enjoy Life uses dedicated suppliers for their ingredients, as well as batch tests them for allergens to ensure their safety.

Disclosure:  I was provided free samples, but not paid for this review.  I did win the Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes several years ago and am a huge fan of Enjoy Life Foods, but I like to think I managed to squeeze out an honest review, despite my fangirl tendencies!

I just found out that my blog has been nominated to Circle of Moms list of Top 25 Most Inspiring Families.  I'm not quite sure what my family would inspire, but I am honored to be included and would be greatly appreciative if you'd take the time to vote for The Allergic Kid!

Supplies from Whole Foods

There isn't a Whole Foods near us, but I was able to stop at one last week and picked up a couple items I haven't seen at stores closer to home. I planned to get some Agar, but the rest were impulse purchases. These will keep me experimenting for a while, but I'm still in sticker shock. (That's half a tank of gas you're looking at!)

Take a close look at the label on the kosher, egg free marshmallows. I never would have thought of fish gelatin as a binder, which may be reassuring to those of you who sometimes come over for dinner!

I'll post more about these as I use them.

Update: Well, I tried making a fake Mac & Cheese from the "Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative." It was so nasty it doesn't even rate its own post. Yuck. The stuff was beyond awful. Save your money.