Pre-packaged food = frustration -- Product Review

Recently, I was asked by CSN stores to do a review of a product of my choosing from one of their online stores.  First off, let me say that my product arrived in less than a week and it was in perfect running condition.  I selected a food dehydrator.  Our daughter loves dried fruit, but it can be pretty expensive.  We often find the cheaper version of dried apricots or raisins to have been made in a facilty that shares equipment with tree nuts or peanuts.  That's not a risk we want to gamble.

The Product

I used the Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster.  I read the reviews of different food dehydrators and this one seemed to be the best for our needs.  It has four trays and one fruit roll tray.  Many of the reviews said it was noisy, but I didn't find it any noisier than the fan over my stove.  It ran all day in my house and it wasn't much of a bother in terms of noise.  I just kept thinking I had to turn the fan over the stove off.

I also had read that the clean screens that come separately are almost a neccesity for using this food dehydrator.  I searched for them locally and couldn't find them.  I gambled without them.

The prep work (took about 30 minutes)

I decided to focus on a just a couple fruits for my first experimental dehydrating experience.

• 2 Golden Delicious Apples:  I cored and soaked in Fruit Fresh.
• 2 Bananas: Cut and sprinkled with Fruit Fresh
• 1 Braburn Apple and 2 Bananas: Purred in blender, mixed in a little water and Fruit Fresh and poured in roll up tray
• 3/4 pint Bluberries: Soaked in Fruit Fresh (later read I was supposed to blanch, oops)
• 1 lb Green Grapes:  Soaked in Fruit Fresh (oops, didn't blanch)

I sprayed each tray of the food dehydrator with cooking spray because I didn't have the clean screens.

The results

• Apples took about 4 hours.
• Bananas took about 8 hours
• Fruit Roll took aobut 8 hours
• Blueberries took about 13 hours
• Grapes didn't turn out (guess I should have read the directions beforehand)

What did my food allergic child think?  She loved everything she tried -- apples, bananas, fruit roll and blueberries.  Each time she tried one of them she asked for more and more.

The clean up was easy and I don't think I need to buy those screens if I use these fruits on it.  I was very impressed how little mess it made.  I was expecting a sticky, gooey mess.  Not the case.  It took just a couple minutes to wipe each tray

Conclusion

I was initially a little overwhelmed by the directions and the length of time it takes to dehydrate food.  But it turned out to be much simplier.  It did take a long time, but to know that it we have safe food for our daughter to eat makes it worth it.  We often have extra fruit that goes bad before we eat it.  This is a great option for that predicament.  I feel the dried fruit will be a great addition to snacks at home and for preschool.

I highly recommend buying a food dehydrator if you child has food allergies.  You can check out CSN stores for a good selection.  Or you can go over to my other blog and enter to win a $50 gift card with CSN stores to help with the cost!

Product Review--Cherrybrook Cake Mix and Frosting

It's that time of year again when I search high and low for cake and frosting.  Our daughter turns 3 next month.  Yes, I know I've had all year to figure this out (2 years actually), but for some reason I just haven't found a cake we like that is dairy-free.  I recently tried a chocolate Cherrybrook Kitchen cake mix and vanilla frosting.  My hope was to have a back-up cake mix and frosting in the pantry that was allergy-free for those just in case we need them.  And maybe I can use it for a birthday cake.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Review

First the good stuff.  This cake was very easy to make.  Just add water and oil to the mix.  Stir and pour in cake pan or muffin cups.  I made cupcakes and they rose beautifully.  I was impressed with the texture of the cupcakes and how well they baked.  I also appreciate their dedication to make in allergy-free facility. It is free of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and eggs.  However it does contain soy and wheat.  Cherrybrook Kitchen also has a gluten-free cake mix.

Now, the not-so-good stuff:  The taste was medicore.  It was bland and the chocolate chips didn't taste like chocolate.  It was a little dry and I didn't get that can't wait to eat another bite feeling.  Our daughter didn't seem to mind them, but for serving at a birthday party it won't cut it.  Also, I paid more than $5 for the box and could only find it at one store in my area (I live near a big city, too).

While this cake mix would be good in a pinch, the taste and cost will probably limit me from buying it any time soon.

My Ratings (out of 5 stars)
Allergy Free - 5 stars
Ease of making - 5 stars
Quality of cupcake - 4 stars
Taste - 2 1/2 stars
Cost- 2 stars

Cherrybrook Kitchen Vanilla Frosting (in a jar)

This was the most disturbing allergy-free product I've ever bought.  I was so excited to find a dairy-free frosting.  But when I opened this product, it had a hard coating on the top of the frosting.  The directions said to stir (a common direction for allergy-free products).  Optimistically I stirred and all the hard coating clumped up in the frosting that now resembled a thick clumpy icing rather than a spreadable frosting.  I tasted it and it was okay for flavor, but I don't even know how I could spread this on a cupcake or cake.  It was a disappointment to say the least.  I spent more than $3 for this item and will never use it.

Overall, I give this 1 star only because of the attempt to make it allergy-free.

 (I did however find a homemade frosting that I will share with you in the next week that is fabulous.  And I have two cake recipes to try that I've found on blogs.  I'm not giving up hope yet!)