Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise Waffles

Brand: Nature's Path

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Product Name: Mesa Sunrise Waffles

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $3.69



Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *

You know Eggo waffles? These are better. Not as sweet, just as crunchy, and GF!

Z's Review: * * * * *
I love these waffles. They only take a couple of minutes to make in the toaster oven and they have the added benefit of being full of Omega-3, which is really good for you. (Omega-3s are also supposed to be particularly good for people with RA, as they help control inflammation.) I think they taste great too. They are subtly sweet and not too dense or grainy, as some gluten-free products can be. Lately I've been eating these with cream cheese for a quick snack - my gluten-free replacement for bagels!

RESTAURANT: The Original Pancake House

A&Z
at
the
Original
Pancake
House

Restaurant: The Original Pancake House

Location: National chain

Location We Visited:
Boulder - 2600 Canyon Road - (303) 449-1575

Gluten-Free Options: In addition to naturally gluten-free options, like eggs and bacon, the location in Boulder also serves gluten-free pancakes. (We're not sure if other locations have GF pancakes, though.)

Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
Gluten free pancakes are a rare find at a restaurant, and having them at the Original Pancake House was a real treat. It is always packed, but the hostess and the waiter were not too busy to answer our questions and they knew exactly what we were talking about when we asked about gluten free options. The pancakes themselves were great, slightly bigger than silver dollar pancakes and just the right amount of fluffy. The portions are generous too, so be sure you are hungry when you come. I would like to see waffles or other things made with the GF batter, but that was my only complaint.

Z's Review: * * * * *
After a full week of pancake-making on Gluten-Free From A to Z, we thought we'd feature a restaurant where someone will make your pancakes for you! Before I became gluten-free I always used to face a conundrum when we went out to breakfast: do I want sweet or salty? But when you're gluten-free you don't usually have the choice. Usually the only things on a breakfast menu that are gluten-free fall solidly into the "salty" category. But, in addition to a wide selection of salty breakfast foods, The Original Pancake House (at least the one in Boulder) offers gluten-free pancakes! I ordered mine with fruit and whipped cream on top and they were delicious! They were hot off the griddle with a really pleasing texture. My only complaint was that they only came plain - you couldn't get them with nuts or blueberries in them, like the regular pancakes. And now I want to lobby The Original Pancake House to start serving gluten-free waffles too! I would love to be able to order a Belgian waffle at breakfast!

SIDE NOTE: I don't know from experience, but this restaurant seems like a great place to take kids. They have a whole bookshelf full of children's books in the waiting area (and I think kids can take the books to the tables too) and they were handing out balloons! Gluten-free and kid friendly!

365 Everyday Value's Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix

Brand: 365 Everyday Value

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Product Name: Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $3.69 for 16 oz.

Note: This product was part of Z's Blind Pancake Taste Test! See the Results!

Total From A to Z: 4 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
This mix was also very close to real pancakes. Very nice.

Z's Review: * * * *
I actually had a hard time deciding between this one and Gluten-Free Pantry's pancake. Although this mix made a thinner batter than Gluten-Free Pantry, in the end I decided that this pancake was a bit too bread-like. However, it did brown nicely and the flavor was really good. So it is certainly a good option for a gluten-free pancake.

Gluten-Free Pantry's Brown Rice Pancake & Waffle Mix

Brand: Gluten-Free Pantry

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~ This item is in A&Z's Store!

Product Name: Brown Rice Pancake & Waffle Mix

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $4.99 for 16 oz.

Note: This product was part of Z's Blind Pancake Taste Test! See the Results!

Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
These were quite close to the wheaty pancakes, good enough that you could throw down a plate of these in front of any lumberjack and get asked for seconds.

Z's Review: * * * * *
Although I think Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix is still my favorite mix for pancakes, this mix was my favorite from the blind taste test. However, this mix made a really thick batter - almost too thick. I ended up having to spread it into the pan with a spoon. But the batter baked into a really nice pancake with a great, fluffy texture. It was buttery and it browned nicely. I don't think anyone would ever realize that this wasn't an ordinary pancake!

Arrowhead Mills' Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix

Brand: Arrowhead Mills

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Product Name: Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix

Location/Cost Info: Arrowhead Mills' website


Note: This product was part of Z's Blind Pancake Taste Test! See the Results!

Total From A to Z: 2.5 Stars

A's Review: * * *
My first thought when biting into one these pancakes was of cookies...snickerdoodles to be exact. There was a very strong flavor of cinnamon. Strange and not very good as pancakes but they might be better if the batter was re-tasked as cookie dough.

Z's Review: * *
This mix made a pretty thick batter and these pancakes didn't really brown on the griddle. The pancakes had a sweet, almost cookie flavor, which I actually enjoyed. However, the downfall of these pancakes was the texture. It was extremely grainy - almost like chewing sand. I would have liked these pancakes more, because the flavor was actually good, but I just couldn't get past the grainy texture.

Namaste Foods' Waffles & Pancakes Mix

Brand: Namaste Foods
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Product Name: Waffles & Pancakes Mix

Location Purchased: King Soopers

Cost: $5.99

Note: This product was part of Z's Blind Pancake Taste Test! See the Results!

Total From A to Z: 3 Stars

A's Review: * * *
The flavor was...close enough...but the texture was all wrong. These were thin and dense and crunchy instead of light and fluffy. Edible, but not a good substitute for the good ol' pancakes of wheat.

Z's Review: * * *
When I followed the directions on the bag, this mix made a really thin batter. I thought it was almost too watery, but at least it did end up cooking. However, of all the pancake mixes we've tried, this mix resulted in the least attractive pancakes. They were extremely thin - almost like stiff crepes - and had an almost greenish tint (which I think was probably from the vanilla in the mix). These pancakes also didn't brown no matter how long you left them on the griddle. The flavor was good, but the texture and appearance wasn't my favorite.

Z's Blind Taste Test #3: Gluten-Free Pancakes!

Z's Blind Taste Tests are a monthly feature on Gluten-Free from A to Z!

Z's Blind Taste Test #3: Gluten-Free Pancakes

How It Works: Z will cook/bake/prepare four different versions of the same gluten-free product and randomly label each version with a number. Then A and friends will try all four versions and rank them from most favorite to least favorite. The results will allow us to see exactly how different brands of gluten-free products compare to each other!

The Contenders:

1. Namaste Foods' Waffles & Pancakes Mix
2. Arrowhead Mills' Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix
3. Gluten-Free Pantry's Brown Rice Pancake & Waffle Mix
4. 365 Everyday Value's Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix
   

The Final Results:

• Most Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry (4 of 6 votes!)*
  
• 2nd Favorite: 365 Everyday Value (4 of 6 votes)*
  
• Tied for 3rd Favorite: Namaste Foods (3 of 6 votes)
  
• Tied for 3rd Favorite: Arrowhead Mills (3 of 6 votes)
  

*Although the votes did eventually come up with a first and second place, everybody had trouble deciding between Gluten-Free Pantry and 365 Everyday Value. After the tasting was over we discovered that these two brands actually have the exact same ingredients in the exact same order! So these two mixes are basically the same thing! No wonder people had difficulty deciding!

A's Blind Rankings:
(For A's comments on each cookie, please see the individual A-Z reviews!)

• Most Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry
  
• 2nd Favorite: 365 Everyday Value
  
• 3rd Favorite: Arrowhead Mills
  
• Least Favorite: Namaste Foods

Z's Mama's Blind Rankings:

• Most Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry - "fluffy, yet crispy; it looked pretty and browned"
  
• 2nd Favorite: 365 Everyday Value - "similar to favorite one"
  
• 3rd Favorite: Arrowhead Mills - "texture like cornmeal? sweet, vanilla flavor."
  
• Least Favorite: Namaste Foods - "flat & green!"

Our Friend MM's Blind Rankings:

• Most Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry - "smooth, not chewy, pancakey!"
  
• 2nd Favorite: 365 Everyday Value - "sticks in my teeth! grimy, crunchy"
  
• 3rd Favorite: Arrowhead Mills - "crumbly, too sweet, cookie flavor, grainy"
  
• Least Favorite: Namaste Foods - "dense, good flavor, but really flat"

Our Friend TL's Blind Rankings:

• Most Favorite: 365 Everyday Value - "awesome! moist and pancake tasting, my favorite!"
  
• 2nd Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry - "very good, still a little bland but generally quite tasty; not as good as my favorite but with butter and syrup totally passable for a regular pancake"
  
• 3rd Favorite: Namaste Foods - "a little bland, very strong floury taste; sort of unremarkable like those protein things they give astronauts - nourishing but not yummy"
  
• Least Favorite: Arrowhead Mills - "cinnamony tasting, which I like, but the texture is really gritty - ew! like chewing sand and syrup cannot hide it"

Our Friend MS's Blind Rankings:

• Most Favorite: 365 Everyday Value - "fluffy, buttery, holds syrup, mmm...."
  
• 2nd Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry - "fluffy, colored well, not quite as buttery as my favorite"
  
• 3rd Favorite: Namaste Foods - "flat and not fluffy, really light in color but holds shape"
  
• Least Favorite: Arrowhead Mills - "a bit chalky and still flat, light in color but doesn't hold shape"

Z's Not Blind Rankings:
(For Z's comments on each cookie, please see the individual A-Z reviews!)

• Most Favorite: Gluten-Free Pantry
  
• 2nd Favorite: 365 Everyday Value
  
• 3rd Favorite: Namaste Foods
  
• Least Favorite: Arrowhead Mills
  

Pamela's Products' Baking & Pancake Mix

Brand: Pamela's Products

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~ This item is in A&Z's Store!

Product Name: Baking & Pancake Mix

Location/Cost Info: Pamela's website



Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

I was impressed with the Trader Joe's pancake mix, but this was way better than that. Fluffy and perfectly pancake-like. Good flavor and good density.

Z's Review: * * * * *
I loved these pancakes. They were soft and fluffy and tasted amazing. I ate them hot with butter and syrup and then I ate some of the leftovers cold later on for a snack. By far the best gluten-free pancakes I have had so far. Since I enjoyed the flavor and texture so much, I am excited to try out some of the other suggestions from Pamela's Products for using this mix. They have all kinds of recipes on their website for other things you can do with this baking mix. I'll be sure to update readers with whatever I try next!

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Pancake & Waffle Mix

Brand: Trader Joe's
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Product Name: Gluten-Free Pancake & Waffle Mix

Location Purchased: Trader Joe's (why oh why isn't there a Trader Joe's in Colorado?!?)

Cost: $2.99 for 180z bag

Total From A to Z: 4 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
I made these for breakfast this morning. If you've ever made pancakes before, you know the drill. There is nothing new about prep or cooking. The result is a typical looking pancake that is slightly more dense than its glutenous brethren. This particular mix had vanilla bean ground up in the flour and I caught just a hint of that. One of my pet peeves is bready things that are waaaaay too sweet, unnecessarily so. You cover pancakes with sweet toppings, so why should the pancake itself be sweet on top of all that? The best part about this mix for me was that it was not sweet. Which made the butter and maple syrup all the more enjoyable.

Z's Review: * * *
I thought these pancakes were ok. They were pretty dense - not light or fluffy like regular pancakes - so I'm not sure if I was really a fan of the texture. The flavor was buttery and pretty nice, though I couldn't help feeling like a little something was missing. Maybe I wished they had been sweeter? After I tried them plain (for taste test purposes) I ate the rest with strawberries and whipped cream, which made for an enjoyable weekend brunch. I think these pancakes probably tasted best right off the griddle, which is when they were softest. They seemed to get even denser as they cooled.