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GF Heart Thrive bars- go or no?

April 9th, 2010

R Quayle

heart thrive bar I was in Shadyside on Saturday with Husband to gawk at the line of people outside the Apple store waiting for the iPad (we’re on the list for the 3G release and I hope I’m not expected to camp out for that, but it is very sweet and you can play with one at BestBuy). In the meantime we had time to kill and nothing was open on Walnut street so we mosied on down to Coffee Tree Roasters to get some joe.

I have to say that we were a little disappointed to see that CTR is even more pricey than Husband’s love affair with Starbuck’s but they did have some tasty gluten free treats I decided to try. That’s not to knock Starbuck’s on this item either- though I’ve only encountered ONE GF baked good in a Starbuck’s case ONE time, they do sell a variety of prepackaged fruit chews, bars and cookies now that are GF and in some cases lactose free. But back to the Coffee Tree.

The Heart Thrives packages sitting up on top of the baked goods case caught my eye and Husband got me one to snack on. Well, actually it got put in the fridge for 5 days and then I cracked it open to split for my breakfast. What are they? ‘Sun cakes’ and heart shaped little goodies that look somewhat like suet or at least something our local birds would be fanatic about. They are gluten free, diary free, vegan and have no GMO. Sounds tasty….

I opted for the apple variety and I can say that on the go they’re a good option. Now they say they’re gluten free but the main ingredient is oats so if you’d like to call the company (Healthy Baking Company 1-800-830-0309) to make sure there’s no cross contamination, go for it but I didn’t have any issues with them.

The verdict? Well their website is pretty crappy which never gives me a whole lot of confidence in a product but the stuff isn’t bad. Not very tasty really- it’s kind of like a bar of oatmeal and I detest oatmeal but it does keep you full longer and I cheer for anything that can claim that and pull it off. I generally eat a light yoghurt and an orange with my breakfast so one of the apple cakes was the perfect accompaniment for these. If you like yoghurt (or honey or lite syrup/jam), try a little on top of your bar and eat it with a fork but if you’re going to grab and go it’s not bad, just make sure you’ve got a drink with it!

P.s. I hear that WholeFoods carries the Heart Thrive bars too And if you order through the parent company’s site you can get free bars with your first order. I’m for that!

Posted in Uncategorized

Tags: Apple, Baking, Cookie, Food, Gluten-free diet, heart thrive, Shopping, Special Diets, Starbuck, sun cakes

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Sunday Lunch with John Baxter

September 1st, 2009

R Quayle

My mother, while a good cook from a long line of women who showed their love through their steady supply of working class suppers, did rely on Duncan Hines and Pillsbury quite a bit during the years she was raising me and putting herself through nursing school. One particular dinner I remember as being ’sophisticated’ was her pork and apples.

This wasn’t really a supper I looked forward to because it was too bland for my palate. However, give yourself 20 years or so and everything your mum made suddenly seems completely different. Then I began to read John Baxter’s Immoveable Feast and his witty and loving tribute to the things fine and mundane which make up a meal. I had completely forgotten about mum’s apple pork until I hit page 122 where Mr. Baxter describes making this simple but satisfying dish. Bingo- I had my Sunday Lunch.

Sunday Lunch is usually comprised of something adapted from Gordon Ramsay (and thank you Mr. Ramsay, we have re-instated Sunday lunch in the Quayle house) but I decided to grab some things on hand and see if I could bring out a taste I could live with as a grownup. As it turned out, I ended up with a Sunday lunch that pleased both American and Brit just as it did both Australian and French in the book.

Immoveable Feast speaks of three ingredients: pork, butter and Clochard apples. I used marg, pork, half a vidalia onion and one fuji apple. I prefer fuji apples to any other because of their sweetness and you can get the biggest ones at either Lotus in the strip or Seoul Mart on Atwood Street (S. Oakland).

I cut up the pork first into bite sized pieces and fried it in a decent knob of marg and added the diced onion and sliced apple (skin on). As Mr. Baxter suggested, I turned the heat down very low and let it cook 20 minutes. Accompanied by boiled red potatoes, this dish was a crowd pleaser as the pork sweetened and tenderised with the apples and I found myself proud that I’d pulled off my mum’s ’sophisticated’ dish.

As for Immoveable Feast- I just finished it a few minutes ago and it’s a must read for anyone interested in French culture, food or just a good honest story.