Lemon cupcakes from Katz

For some reason, I've not been able to find the Katz gluten-free apple fritters at Sprouts.  I haven't looked elsewhere for them yet, but plan to eventually.  Anyway, with graduation season upon us, I picked up a box of Katz gluten-free lemon cupcakes so I'd have something handy to throw in a cooler for short road trips to family graduations.  My fave lemon cupcakes from lucky Spoon have also been MIA at Sprouts of late.  Since the Katz option is individually packaged, they're better for travel anyway.     

I ended up not using the Katz treats for my travels as I found some other tasty things to take instead. But the lemon cupcakes from Katz were pretty good.  I really like the icing and prefer to eat the cake when it's not fully thawed out...it reminds me of a lemon icebox cake..though a gf version of one, for sure.  Please note that the amount of filling IRL is in no way, shape or form indicated in the image on the box.  That is almost always the case for anything filled, for some reason.  And the filling that is there hardly has any lemon flavor to it at all. 

There are four units per box.  For the price of approximately $1.25 per cupcake, it's a decent value in the gf world.  My favorite ready-made treat, which I finally found here, runs $5.99 for one piece so not a good value at all.  More about that irresistible treat later.       

Let's talk about gluten-free fritters!

For someone who used to avoid going to the grocery store at all costs, it still amazes me that I can entertain myself at even a regular grocery store - if I have the time for it.  You've probably noticed all the gluten-free signs popping up at even the basic grocery stores, not to mention Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's and Earthfare.  And you've probably also noticed that there are products with those tags that are not gluten-free and many more items that are gluten-free with no such tag.

The only way to find something new when at the store is to be looking for it, to pay attention and lots of it, so that you don't miss anything exciting!  This brings me to the how I found gluten-free apple fritters when I had no idea they existed.  While I love many Katz products, all of which are gluten-free, I have honestly been cutting way back on processed carbs like bread, waffles, bagels, pizza and pasta.  So while perusing the freezer at Sprouts, actually looking for the amazing small gluten-free apple pie from Katz, I spotted their apple fritters.  I also found their mini pies which I decided to try as well.  For some reason, the mini pies weren't for me....they're nothing like the small pies from the same line.

*Image courtesy of Katz Gluten-Free

The apple fritters are shockingly delicious.  One might even say they're magically delicious!  Amazing, unbelievable, scrumptious, incredible - these things are the absolute "bomb"...lol!  For best results, you need to heat them minimally - it's very important not to overheat them - in the microwave.  If you get it right, you'll think you just dumped the fritters out of the gluten-free fryer!  If you like ice cream, adding a dollop of vanilla to the fritters take this treat to a whole other level!

   

       

Katz Gluten Free arrives at Ingles!

Katz Gluten Free is a company that someone from Chattanooga told me about via a comment about gluten-free bread on Celiac-Disease.com.

Eventually, the company ended up sending me a goodie box of many different things to try, but the only thing I needed from the line were the Challah rolls. It turns out that they work great as a whole wheat type hamburger bun!

The mini Challah - or dinner rolls - in the line are as delicious as the larger size. They are the same thing of course, just smaller. The smaller rolls work great for sliders if you're into eating small burgers. Anyway, for whatever reason, Katz Gluten Free items have been missing at Atlanta stores - until now. Leah, the Ingles dietitian, tweeted about the dinner rolls being on the way to Ingles stores here a while back. I went into the location nearest us to look for them but they'd not arrived at that time.

Finally, last week I found out the Katz rolls were at the Ingles near us so we headed there that evening. There were only four packs and I didn't want them to sell out before I arrived since I only had one Challah roll in the freezer (not one bag - one roll!). The Katz dinner rolls are in the freezer next to Udi's bread (which is only $3.98 with your Ingles card or $4.39 without it!) and I bought three of the four packs left. The small rolls are a perfect dinner roll, but they also make a mean pb&j sandwich. Yes, it's a weird combination but trust me - it's really delicious!

Ingles is the only mainstream grocery store in this area that acts swiftly to satisfy their gluten-free customers requests. The smaller a company, the faster change can come about and that is very evident when looking at Ingles. In fact, it's surprising how fast they can change with the times. On the other hand, when I asked Publix to bring in the gluten-free cookie dough from Immaculate Baking (which Publix already orders from), they brought in four other cookie dough flavors in the line, but not the gluten-free option. Special thanks to Ingles - a company that truly understands how profitable the gluten-free market can be. It's a win-win situation for them and us!