Friday, January 29, 2010

Lisa Tries Mixes from the Heartland

I am a very lucky allergenista, as you all know, I have a new full time job; well it’s in sales so it’s full time plus, and sometimes I get home after 8 or 8:30, but my wonderful husband, Mark, always has a hot meal ready for me when I get home. As I went through culinary school, Mark's skills as a cook have improved right along with mine… but this last week Mark has been really busy with his own computer consulting business (he did my website) and hasn’t had time to prepare homemade meals.

Well, were we in luck- Teri Whisenhunt, of Mixes from the Heartland sent me some samples of her product to try and dinner can be made in as little as a half hour, so we haven’t missed a beat! Mixes from the Heartland is based in Amarillo, Texas which is part of the panhandle, this facility is free of wheat, soy, barley, oats, rye, eggs, nuts and by products. Some of their mixes do contain dairy or shellfish, so be sure to read the labels. We tried the Tex Mex Spaghetti Meal and Texas Bean Bake Meal. The Texas Bean Bake is very similar to chili but has an interesting sweet and spicy taste, and the Tex Mex Spaghetti is tasty with a little kick, I love heat, so this will definitely be a staple in our home.

I have dairy allergies so some of the products are off limits to me, but never fear, I am making some for my sans allergy friends to test and will keep you posted for those of you that can enjoy dairy products.

Having tried these convenient, tasty and reasonably priced meals require only a few readily available ingredients to make a full meal. Teri shared with me, “it kills me to know how high the prices are for Gluten Free products.” We used a pound of ground beef with our mixes and the cost came in under $10 with leftovers for the next day. Teri is also starting a new Organization, called Gluten Free Families in Need, to help feed families that suffer with allergies eat safely and well, how cool is that?

I was so impressed with the company and quality of the products, I asked Teri to provide me with some samples for our Safe & Sound dinner on February 9th, I received a huge box of samples for our gift bags and can’t wait to share them with you.

10 comments:

iampalegreen said...

Those look great! I tried one of the bread mixes and it was wonderful! I'll have to post my review too!

Unknown said...

These do look great and as a mom getting ready for Baby #2, I will need some quick, easy meals to throw together! Thanks! Jasmine

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new job---what are you selling?

Anonymous said...

This is great! You should really consider posting these suggestions on http://innatehealthfoundation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
It is a wiki-based site that provides resources for the food allergy/intolerance community and users can add their own suggestions/recommendations to the site.

Hua said...

This looks delicious. I have never tried those bread mixes before, but I think I'm going to pick some up at the store this week.

Best,
Hua
Director of Blogger Relations
wellsphere.com

Pencildancers said...

I have the mixes and hope to try them soon. We haven't been home enough lately.

I wish I'd have known about the safe and sound dinner. I just came back from Chicago and I could have waited to go until the 9th! Having been glutened on the trip it wasn't much fun. I'm always searching for a safe place to eat.
Website looks great!
www.pencildancer.com

Lisa Cooks Allergen Free said...

Thanks for all the comments, Diana, so sad you won't be at the next Safe& Sound, please let me know when you are back in Chicago, I would love to recommend some places for you to try...

1artsychick said...

I noticed almost all of their meal and soup/ stew mixes have bell peppers in them. Do you really tastes these peppers or are they so dehydrated and tiny that they are just a little flavoring?

I was just about to order a couple of things to give them a try, but that's holding me back.

Would really appreciate your feedback.

thanks
wendy

Lisa Cooks Allergen Free said...

Hi Wendy,
I love bell peppers, so I probably am not the best person to ask...but you are in luck, my husband has never really liked bell peppers and he enjoys the mixes we sampled. You should email/call them and ask for recommended products to suit your tastes.There is a link to their website on the post... let me know what you think.

1artsychick said...

Thank you so much for your opinion...well, really your husband's opinion! : )

I also have a blog and they've offered to send me a couple of things to try, I just can't decide on what to try. And I just wanted someone else's opinion about this bell pepper thing. My husband loves them. Me? Not so much. But I think I'll give one of the meals a try.

Thanks for your input!!