Glamorous Glamorous Gluten

Gluten.  There, I said it.  It's out.  I like gluten and if you're reading this blog, you really like gluten too.  By now I expect that most of you have figured out that I really enjoy cheese and stuff made from many kinds of (wheat or wheat related) flour. Be it noodles, bread whatever.  I could easily live on the starch & dairy combo (not healthily, but we're just talking hypothetically here) and be good for months before I get bored.  While this may work for me, more and more people are now having issues digesting the protein gluten that specialty versions of our favorite dishes are starting to spring up. Often times gluten free pasta means that it's made with rice flour instead of a flour based on wheat.  But as I've experienced already here and here, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a tastier (all be it less painful gastronomically for those who don't handle gluten) option.

While people have had gluten allergies for as long as humans have been eating wheat, I don't think I've heard much about it until just a few years ago, when these specialty prepared foods, free of gluten have begun to spring up.  For those who've got problems handling gluten, it comes about in a few manners, most notably coeliac disease or wheat allergy.  If you look at the symptoms of someone who's gluten sensitive/intolerant you'll see that their afflictions of bloating, abdominal discomfort/pain, diarrhea, joint pain or muscle and muscle disturbances (no clue on what this last one actually is) are pretty open ended symptoms that one wouldn't necessarily chalk up to a gluten issue.  I won't get into any real details on it, but if you're curious Wikipedia has whole sections on gluten sensitivity, Coealic disease and all kinds of other stuff related to wheat and gluten.

While shopping at my local Sprouts I have stumbled onto very few mac meal options besides their chill case fresh one and like any mac I find in stores, it somehow finds its way into the cart and then home to my freezer whether or not I've got space for it.  I've told myself that with specialty ones like this, that I'm just preparing for the unlikely day in the future where I would need to eat gluten-free dishes (thanks to all the gluten in these pasta noodles) and need to know my scant mac options as well as helping any friends who are intolerant to gluten, so it's best that I review them as quickly as possible.

The Review

Brand:
Glutino Gluten Free Mac & Cheese

Packaging circa 2012-2013, orange and noodles, we know what this is selling.

Packaging as of spring 2013, now it looks like a Lean Cuisine box.