Heinz Farmers Market Seven Vegetable Soup

As I'm writing this review, the weather is quite cold, a layer of snow covering the tops of the cars which is slowly starting to melt. So for lunch today, I did reach for Heinz Farmers Market Seven Vegetable Soup.  I did read on the following forum on-line that this is gluten free and I cannot see any gluten ingredients on the tin (normally it does advise if gluten is contained and listed on the allergens), the only thing that I would say is that it doesn't say that it's gluten free and so for Celiac's I'm not sure at the moment if this is safe to eat or not.

Taste:

I was pretty impressed with the taste of this, I think it did more or less look like the picture on the tin. I personally did season this soup slightly.

Texture / Consistency:

The soup was a nice consistency, fairly thick with good chunks of vegetables. 

Price:

Currently £1 from Asda (Checked on Asda.com on 11/03/13)

Calories:

115 calories per 1/2 can or 230 calories per full can.

Rating:

For a tinned vegetable soup, I'd probably give this about a 4 / 5 as I really enjoyed this.

I did enjoy this for tinned food and it does contain vegetables, which I'm trying to up my in take of so all in all a pretty good eat. If I'm honest, I am trying to cut down on eating canned foods and pre prepared food from the supermarkets, but I think every now it probably wont hurt me (this is just my own personal opinion).

Review: DS Gluten Free Margherita Pizza

Today, I was planning to blog about a lovely slow roasted lamb dish that I had planned. However, due to a bit of drama over dinner and lack of time, we decided instead to have Pizza. Although this is not something I wish to eat all the time (mainly for health reasons and the fact that I couldn't get away with it!), I do really enjoy it. This is one of the things I missed the most when when I initially stopped eating gluten. It's getting a lot easier now though, with Dominos and Pizza Hut providing a gluten free alternative as well as some of the local fast food restaurants.

Today I tried the DS Gluten Free Margherita Pizza, which I must admit was not bad. It didn't take long to cook and it tasted pretty good for a frozen meal. I added a few slices of Prosciutto Ham to mine to make the topping a bit different, as I didn't really fancy the pepperoni alternative today. 

I enjoyed this as convenience food, I will try and make my own gluten free pizza base again soon. I love pizzas with a crème fraiche topping more like the french have, so I'm going to put this on my long list of things to try and make!

Taste:

It tasted ok for a frozen meal, the tomato and cheese flavours came through. Though I did add proscuitto ham to mine to liven it up a bit.

Texture / Consistency:

The texture of the pizza was ok, fairly crispy which I enjoyed. I prefer the thin and crispy bases to deep pan in general.

Price

Price was £2.68 from Asda 26/02/13, which I'd say is a little more than you're average pizza but I didn't find this too expensive in comparison.

Calories

335 calories per 1/2 pizza or 670 for the full pizza, which isn't bad compared to other pizzas. The calories do not include my extra topping of prosciutto.

Ratings: 

3.5 / 5

I would buy this again for convenience, but if I'm honest I do prefer Dominos Gluten Free Pizzas, but these are slightly more expensive to order. I've read on the site that there are several safety precautions put in place to ensure there is no cross contamination, but this still means that they're being made in the same place as normal Pizzas.

What are people's thoughts on this, do you think its enough to say that there are procedures in place to prevent cross contamination? Has anyone had any adverse affects from eating Dominos gluten free pizzas?

I'm personally not Celiac so can tolerate it more if I do have some gluten, but I know there are some people out there who are more senstive that I am.

Review: Baxters Favourites Lentil and Bacon Soup

There are an increasing number of gluten free products out there and products already on the market starting to label themselves as gluten free. This is starting to make it much easier to recognise which products are ok to eat and which aren't. There are still some out there that are slightly ambiguous, but I do think it's getting easier.

I thought that I'd start sharing my views on products that I've bought and tried. I've tried Baxters Favourites Lentil and Bacon soup now on 3 occasions and I must say that I do like this and would definitely buy this again. I'm not the only one to enjoy this in my house!

I don't think that it beats a home made soup by any means and actually this has inspired me to attempt my own version of this. I do think that this is one of the healthier convenience foods and good for those occasions where you don't want to cook. I actually take this to work to have for my lunch.

Taste: 

The smoked bacon flavour does come through and I really enjoyed the flavour. I don't really think that it needs any extra seasoning to it. 

Texture / Consistency:

It has a nice thick consistency, but is not so thick that you do not enjoy eating it. The smoked bacon flavour does come through. I would appreciate more bacon and more lentils.

Price:

£0.98 for a 400 g can from Asda - based on prices on 18/02 (verified on asda.com). I think this is a fairly average price and fairly good value.

Calories: 

109 for 1/2 a can or 218 for a full can

Rating: 

3.5/5

Would I buy again? I would definitely buy this again as I think this does taste good. Some tinned soups have the tendency to be lacking all flavour and are not very filling.  So I was quite pleased that the flavour came through and that it was quite filling. Its enough to keep me from grabbing the chocolates in the afternoon. It's not the best soup that I've ever tasted, but it is pretty good for a tinned product and would quite happily have this on stand by in the cupboard or at work.

http://www.baxters.com/product/lentil-and-bacon-soup